Having driven across Poland and into Germany, Soviet forces began planning for an offensive against Berlin. Though supported by American and British aircraft, the campaign would be entirely conducted by the Red Army on the ground asGeneral Dwight D. Eisenhower saw no reason to sustain losses for an objective that would ultimately fall into the Soviet occupation zone after the war. For the offensive, the Red Army massed Marshal Georgy Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front to the east of Berlin with Marshal Konstantin Rokossovky's 2nd Belorussian Front to the north and Marshal Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front to the south.
Opposing the Soviets was General Gotthard Heinrici's Army Group Vistula supported by Army Group Centre to the south. One of Germany's premier defensive generals, Heinrici elected not to defend along the Oder River and instead heavily fortified the Seelow Heights east of Berlin. This position was supported by successive lines of defenses extending back to the city as well as by inundating the Oder's flood plain by opening reservoirs. Defense of the capital proper was tasked to Lieutenant General Helmuth Reymann. Though theirMoving forward on April 16, Zhukov's men assaulted the Seelow Heights. In four days of heavy fighting, the Soviets captured the position, but sustained over 30,000 killed. To the south, Konev's command captured Forst and broke into open country south of Berlin. While part of his forces swung north towards Berlin, another pressed west to unite
