Here is a short article reporting on the progress made by Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov as he prepared to march on Berlin. Zhukov’s principal forces were positioned along the Oder opposite Frankfurt and Custrin, Germany’s fortified gateways to Berlin. From Frankfurt, Soviet troops were roughly 30 miles from Berlin’s outskirts and 50 miles from its center. The mostly flat terrain beyond the river offered broad highways, factories, and power infrastructure, but also gave the defenders usable approaches for resisting the advance. Zhukov’s First Belorussian Army advanced west across the German frontier in a rotating assault: tank and infantry formations led for several days, then were relieved by fresh units. The main objective was Berlin, making the Oder front the decisive sector of the broader Soviet offensive.
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