Berlin: Endgame 1945

by Prit Buttar

Written by one of the world's leading experts on the Eastern Front, this captivating history explores the final battle for Berlin and the heart of Germany.

This sweeping saga takes us from the banks of the River Oder as the Red Army begins it relentless drive towards the still beating heart of the Third Berlin. Only the Seelow Heights stood between the Soviet forces and the capital. Over the course of three days in May 1945 almost one million Soviet troops would attack these final entrenched positions. Once these defences were breached it was guaranteed that a bitter street-by-street battle would take place in the city itself between a vengeful Red Army and desperate, fanatical Nazis until final capitulation. Using vivid first-hand accounts, Prit Buttar reveals the brutal combat that defined the final death throes of the Third Reich.

Not only was the outcome of the war at stake. As the Red Army rolled into Berlin this was already a foregone conclusion even if it would take its toll in blood. Already battle lines for the forthcoming Cold War were being drawn. Stalin, fearful that the Western Powers would not honour their agreements, was determined to have boots on the ground to ensure his control of what would become the Soviet occupation zone.

Berlin: Endgame 1945 is the brilliant account of the ferocious climax to World War II and a chilling prologue to the Cold War.

Genres: World War II, History

480 pages, ebook

First published May 7, 2026

About the author

Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he has worked as a GP, first near Bristol and now in Abingdon. He is extensively involved in medical politics, both at local and national level, and served on the GPs’ Committee of the British Medical Association. He appears from time to time on local and national TV and radio, speaking on a variety of medical issues. He contributes regularly to the medical press. He is an established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th century military history.

Reviews

['Aussie Rick']

Review of advance copy received from Netgalley - "Berlin: Endgame 1945" by Prit Buttar (Osprey Publishing) is another excellent book by this author covering the desperate battle for Berlin in 1945.

I rate this book alongside my two favourite books on the subject; "The Fall of Berlin" by Anthony Read & David Fisher (Publ. 1992) and "The Fall of Berlin 1945" by Antony Beevor (Publ. 2002).

The book is 448 pages in length and is made up of an Introduction and 13 chapters:

Introduction: The Road to Berlin
Chapter 1: The City on the Spree
Chapter 2: 'Call Me Meier'
Chapter 3: Preparing for the Last Stand: The German Defences
Chapter 4: The Red Army: Plans For Vengeance
Chapter 5: The Storm Bursts: 16 April
Chapter 6: Breakthrough: 17–18 April
Chapter 7: To the Gates of Berlin: 19–20 April
Chapter 8: Der Krieg ist verloren: 21–22 April
Chapter 9: Into the City: 23–25 April
Chapter 10: Disintegration: 26–28 April
Chapter 11: The Bitterest of Ends: Berlin, 29 April–2 May
Chapter 12: The Roads to the West: 29 April–8 May
Chapter 13: Conclusion: An Uneasy Silence

According to the publisher there are seventeen maps (not seen) and numerous illustrations (8-page plate section in B&W - not seen) along with a detailed Notes, Bibliography & Index.

This is a great story, well told and highly researched and a cracking good read. There are numerous first-hand accounts from soldiers and commanders on both sides, and all aspects of this final campaign are covered. We read about the German defences along the Seelow Heights and the Soviet preparations to break through the German lines was quite staggering:

"In numerical terms, these forces were perhaps smaller than the troops that had been deployed the previous summer for Bagration, but they still greatly outnumbered the Germans:

Zhukov's 1st Belarusian Front had 786,000 men, nearly 1,800 tanks, 1,300 assault guns, nearly 17,000 guns and mortars, 1,500 rocket launchers, and over 3,800 aircraft. To his south, Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front fielded over 511,000 men, nearly 1,400 tanks, nearly 700 assault guns, 11,700 guns and mortars, 900 rocket launchers, and 2,100 aircraft."

The author highlights the cynical leadership displayed on both sides with the forthcoming battle to take Berlin. With the Nazi leadership being in denial about what was coming as shown when the Berlin garrison commander requested that the children in Berlin (estimated at 120,00) be evacuated before the Soviet forces arrived:

" ... Goebbels replied that there would be sufficient mild for the duration of the fighting, and if necessary the Nazi Party would organise the transfer of herds of cows into Berlin to provide milk. Questions from Reymann and Refior about where Goebbels expected to find fodder for such herds of cattle went unanswered."

The author also covers Stalin's deviousness in playing his two senior commanders, Zhukov and Konev, against each other - in an effort to spur a greater effort and a race between to the two to seize Berlin. Zhukov wins this race by his ruthless determination, regardless of the cost to his soldiers and the massive use of artillery:

"From 21 April to 2 May, 1.8 million artillery shells were fired at Berlin. In total, more than 36,000 tons of munitions were hurled at the enemy defences in the city."

Soviet casualties during the assault on Berlin were pretty horrendous:

"The end of the war seemed imminent, but casualties were still climbing on all sides. It is estimated that the two Soviet Fronts battering their way into Berlin were losing an average of nearly 13,000 men every day; after adding the casualties suffered in the battles immediately around the city, the total climbed to about 16,000 per day, and at least 100 tanks or assault guns lost. These were the heaviest daily losses suffered by the Red Army in a sustained period of any phase of the war since the mass encirclements of 1941. Despite these losses, Zhukov kept up the pressure on his subordinates. Berlin had to be captured as quickly as possible, regardless of the cost."

The final tally of casualties to take and hold Belrin was horrendous:

"Estimates of the casualties suffered by both sides between the commencement of the attacks along the Oder-Neisse line and the end of the fighting in Berlin vary. The Red Army claimed that it killed over 396,000 German soldiers and captured a further 390,000. German assessments are a little different, giving a total of about 100,000 killed, 220,000 wounded, and 480,000 taken prisoner. In addition, about 125,000 civilians were killed in the fighting. Soviet casualties between 16 April and 2 May for 1st and 2nd Belarusian Fronts and 1st Ukrainian Front are put at about 352,000 dead, wounded, or missing. In addition, the Polish formations in the assault suffered a further 8,900 casualties, Losses of tanks and assault guns were also substantial, with nearly 2,000 destroyed. The number knocked out during the fighting was far higher - many were recovered from the various battlefield and eventually repaired."

Overall, this is a great military history and should be on the shelf of any WW2 or military enthusiast. It's a great read and highly recommended.

[Robert Neil Smith]

By 1945, the Second World War had turned inexorably against Germany. Both in the west and east, Allied armies made steady progress, pushing the Germans further into their homeland. The Allied leaders had decided the outcome of the war while the shells were still falling, and for the Soviets, that meant they were tasked with administering the coup-de-grâce by capturing Berlin if the Germans refused to surrender. That suited the Soviets who were intent on revenge for German atrocities in the east, and they pursued the war with fanatical vigour right to the steps of Reichstag. The German soldiers fought hard, but their armies disintegrated and the city fell. Pritt Buttar, a specialist of the Eastern Front, narrates this epic tale of victory and defeat.
Buttar opens with the geopolitical and strategic context of the war and brings us to the crisis facing Germany as 1945 began. The wolves were at the door and defeat seemed almost certain. Then Buttar emphasizes the central importance of Berlin to Germans and particularly Hitler, whose ambitions for his capital city were dashed by a persistent Allied bombing campaign throughout the war. Buttar describes the aerial degradation of Berlin but not its people. With the scene set, Buttar begins his narrative of operations leading to the fall of Berlin.
In January 1945, the Soviets launched their offensive that initially led to a spectacular advance but fell afoul of logistics difficulties, a recurring theme for the next few months. On the other side, a rigid and ideologically orientated command structure retarded German flexibility thus hampering the defence. Nevertheless, the Germans desperately held on to their bank of the Oder river, but the German army was disintegrating, with gaps in the ranks plugged by boys and old men with little training. Dwindling resources did not help. Meanwhile, the Germans prepared defences to cover the roads to Berlin and in the city itself and waited both for the Soviets and, hopefully, reinforcements from the western front. Commanders on the ground, and some in Berlin, knew that the Soviets were on a revenge mission and that they outnumbered the Germans defending Berlin both in manpower and resources.
Buttar works his way through the respective plans for the final battle of Berlin. This would be a massive logistical operation on both sides, but while the Germans could not afford heavy losses in material or men, the Soviets were habituated to mass casualties and were constantly being resupplied. The final battles began on 16 April behind a massive barrage. Buttar describes the battle for the Seelow Heights, Berlin’s last real external defensive position. The Soviets made slow progress against a stout German defence and counterattacks, but that defence was unsustainable against the unrelenting onslaught that Buttar describes as a ‘slow brutal, grind’.
By 20 April, Buttar argues, the battle for Berlin had been decided: the Soviets were on the outskirts of the city, and the German army was in disarray. Command confusion reflected the chaos on the ground against relentless Soviet attacks, and while there was some confusion in Soviet ranks too, they moved forward relentlessly. On 22 April, Hitler conceded that the war was lost. Buttar describes the following days marked by intense street-fighting, the sacrifice of the indoctrinated Hitler Youth, many armed with just panzerfausts, deadly but one-shot weapons, and atrocities against deserters by SS patrols. By 27 April, order in the German army had all but collapsed, and two days later, Hitler authorised a breakout to the west. It was all over in Berlin by 1 May, with sporadic fighting in isolated pockets, but German soldiers still attempted to flee to the ‘safety’ of surrendering to the western Allies.
In his conclusion, Buttar follows the last remnants of the Germany army as they continued to fight the Soviets in the east. He speculates on a hypothetical attack by the Western allies against Berlin, and decides it was probably not worth the losses, though there were some western plans to continue war against Soviets alongside the Germans. He finishes by assessing the Soviet army and the depth of German resistance bolstered by their knowing what defeat might mean for them under Soviet occupation.
Berlin Endgame 1945 is a thorough retelling of the battle that ended World War II in Europe. Buttar considers the campaign from all sides, switching between operational level and the fighting on the ground, and he includes many quotes from those who lived through it all. He is particularly good at highlighting the increasing infighting and confusion amongst Germany’s senior officers and politicians and the raw ambition of the Soviet commanders vying to be first to Berlin’s centre and claim victory. Buttar also does not forget the civilians and ordinary soldiers struggling in the face of disaster. For many readers, Buttar presents an immersive world full of detail and insight; other, more unkind, readers might argue that Buttar needed a more combative editor to sharpen his text and adhere more tightly to his mission. Whichever side they fall on, readers will benefit greatly from reading this illuminating and informative single volume history of Europe’s last epic battle.

[Brian]

I've been long overdue to read a Prit Buttar book.

This book provides a nice history of the Soviet campaigns in 1945 to capture Berlin. Buttar covers the military aspects of the campaigns as well as other areas such as the friction and rivalry within the Soviet high command; the experience of civilians; and the political battles within the Nazi party as the regime collapsed.

Buttar intermingles the story of individuals within the overall historical narrative to help provide a better understanding of the struggles that individuals faced.

This was a set of campaigns on a massive scale, and there were a few times I felt lost in the narrative, but Buttar does a solid job organizing a vast amount of content and material.

[John Munson]

Berlin: Endgame 1945 is the first work by Prit Buttar that I have read and I came away impressed. I've read a number of works on the Battle of Berlin and Buttar's book ranks right up there with Anthony Beevor and Cornelius Ryan. Unlike other histories of the final battle, Buttar chose to avoid making the actions inside the Fuhrerbunker the centerpiece of the book and instead spent significant time examining the battles around the Seelow Heights that preceded the urban fighting inside the German capital. He makes good use of first person accounts from generals to foot soldiers. My slight quibble is that he assumes the reader is paying close attention to the maps provided and therefore so does his text. I enjoyed the book and plan to read more of his work.

[Darya Silman]

It's hard to write a review of a book that has no flaws. As always, Prit Buttar delivers a masterful, military-focused narrative told largely from Berlin's perspective. At first, the book explains Berlin's unique position among other German cities, including its meteoric rise to power as the capital of Germany and the envy this inspired elsewhere.

Gradual changes in the Soviet decision-making system gave commanders on the ground greater autonomy, while Stavka increasingly issued only broad directives from above. Some military leaders, such as Zhukov, accustomed to a more authoritarian style of command, still demanded strict obedience to orders even during the final months of the war, causing the Red Army to suffer additional, senseless losses. The German command structure, meanwhile, was paralyzed by Hitler's will. He inhabited an illusory world of figures and continued to direct military formations that, in reality, existed only on paper.

If you want a comprehensive picture of the military operations around and within Berlin from January to May 1945, BERLIN: ENDGAME 1945 will not disappoint you.