Battle of the Seelow Heights

A major battle of the Soviet Berlin Offensive, fought against German forces east of Berlin from April 16 to 19, 1945. Soviet forces broke through the German defenses and opened the route to Berlin.

Oder River: A major Central European river that flows through Poland into the Baltic Sea. Soviet forces crossed it before attacking the German positions at Seelow.
Georgy Zhukov: A Soviet marshal who commanded the 1st Belorussian Front during the Berlin Offensive. He directed the main Soviet assault across the Oder toward the Seelow Heights.
Vistula–Oder Offensive: A Soviet offensive that drove German forces west from the Vistula River to the Oder River in January and February 1945. It established the Soviet bridgeheads and positions from which the Berlin Offensive was launched.
Soviet casualties in World War II: The military and civilian deaths and injuries suffered by the Soviet Union during World War II. The assault's heavy losses became part of the enormous human cost of the Soviet advance into Germany.
Battle of the Oder–Neisse: The wider Soviet offensive across the Oder and Neisse rivers in April 1945, aimed at Berlin and central Germany. Seelow was one major sector of this broader offensive, not its entirety.
Seelow Heights: A ridge in Brandenburg, Germany, overlooking the Oderbruch lowlands west of the Oder River. The ridge formed the dominant terrain feature of the German defensive line.
Konstantin Rokossovsky: A Soviet marshal who commanded the 2nd Belorussian Front in the Berlin Offensive. His advance north of Zhukov's front helped protect the northern flank of the Berlin operation.
Berlin Offensive: The Soviet military campaign to capture Berlin in April and May 1945. The battle was the principal eastern approach engagement of this campaign.
German surrender in World War II: Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies in May 1945, ending the war in Europe. The capture of Berlin after the breakthrough hastened the collapse of German resistance.
Battle of the Oder–Spree Canal: A series of April 1945 engagements as Soviet forces advanced southwest of Berlin toward the Spree River. It involved a separate Soviet approach to Berlin after the Oder crossings.

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Human wave attackRelated: Soviet forces used overwhelming numbers and artillery against prepared defensive lines.