good. video on demand. keys mind old girls and streets in the palm of your. comb. you're watching the russia marks picture of the ground for a protest begin the capital to celebrate sixty six years since the nazi germany was defeated in world war two by the treatment she marries preparing to ronan's red square veterans gathered to watch to see the great stuff already starting throughout russia he calls home one time and there are troops from there is french . but up next we report on the ballot as to what interoperation of world war two involving millions of troops and tens of thousands of tanks artillery and aircraft

from both sides battle. berlin the rush dog home to germany's parliament it was right here the final fight of world war two took place. there are ever fewer surviving witnesses to the events of those days soviet veterans will never forget what happened sixty five years ago show us gun fire corpses flames that's how the right start look by the end of april nine hundred forty one. german soldiers fought for every piece of footage and really tried to stand to the last minute against soviet troops. using more than fifty thousand soldiers and officers brushing the polish and german each of us four for all. the russians for

their zero on twenty four hours. the. last of fortune. the red flag the raids on the top of the lifestyle game a nine hundred forty five. became the symbol of victory of soviet people over fascism. six in one nine hundred forty five of a silly two wolf was an anti-tank gun platoon commander she still keeps him out that he got before assaulting berlin. if the river i do this is a map they gave out before the dawn we were supposed to attack the outskirts of girl in the dark back and before that they gave me a map. in late january nine hundred forty five the success of the vistula other offensive had gained soviet troops

a foothold deep in german territory. causing the other river they had covered nearly five hundred kilometers in twenty days the germans no longer offered any serious resistance the soviet line was now just a stone's throw away from berlin he also made objective of the red army offensive yet really on the map i measured the distance with a ruler the just the one kilometers to the outskirts of berlin it only sixty one kilometers or media and when the allies bombed the flashes of an aircraft shells lit the sky like stars. stone stump of the plane short. the battle for poland had left the advancing soviet troops with almost no any mission and fuel the soviet army took two months to prepare for the assault. while the germans also took advantage of the delay. beautified seclusion their reserves around brought south here this was the place where the army's strongest units were

concentrated in the was final weeks after the germans also built a formidable defenses extending twenty kilometers west ward from the forward positions within six and a half kilometers from us and then he came for. soviet inge german forces were being amassed along the author for the most massive military operation in world history. and social of three and a half million troops from both sides some ten thousand tanks schools of thousands of assault guns and eleven thousand aircraft some of those no other operations of that scale in world war two you know could there be any building was at stake is secret. meanwhile the leaders of the soviet union the united states and britain had not yet agreed on which army would take the german capital the british prime minister winston churchill called on the us president franklin d. roosevelt to start the sultan berlin in a letter addressed to roosevelt on april first one thousand nine hundred five churchill wrote the following if the russians also take berlin will not their

impression that they have been the overwhelming contributor to our common victory until the infringement on their minds and ages not lead them into a mood which will raise grave and formidable difficulties in the future. because above old britain was aiming to see germany destroyed at least as he was on the other hand it wanted the soviet union weakened as much as possible i need by the real concern was to bobby appearance of a new rival in the coincidently and the continued from. in early april the ford most u.s. troops were about one hundred kilometers west of berlin there were almost no battle ready german armies facing them all of them had been moved to eastern front to repulse the soviet offensive. horizon ours known to have asked general simpson whether u.s. troops could take berlin from star wars losses he expected in that case and that

same sense that he expected some thirty thousand casualties or as an hour sad that wouldn't do for us troops were to hold their positions at the russians do the fighting. on april first stalin called a meeting of his supreme command or he decided that the berlin operation should start in mid april. you sleep when you want and i think that if roosevelt hadn't signed on april the twelfth stolen would have agreed to the participation of the western allies forces in their souls on the limb calling seoul residents as a kind of caring tool would prevent the allies from stopping him in the buying. roosevelt's death prompted the soviet commands to take a resolute action the assault was set for april sixteenth stalin may have had yet another reason for wanting to take berlin without delay in early april the british prime minister ordered the drafting of operation unthinkable. the british military

declassified documents relating to it a few years ago. which received these documents relating to operation unthinkable from a british. twenty nine pages tells. britain's joint planning staff started preparations for hostilities against the soviet union a month before the war's end the operation planned by the british implied an attack on the soviet union without declaring war on july first one thousand nine hundred forty five forty seven british and us divisions were to deliver a crushing blow to the soviet army the attack was to have the support of twelve german divisions. they went so to say that russia should be forced to succumbs to the will of the great britain and the united states here is just one quote from the plane of the operation. of the russians could only be

achieved as a result of the occupation of such areas of metropolitan russia that the war making capacity of the country would be reduced to a point and which for the resistance became impossible. some credit is certainly due to the british military planners they were clearly aware that the soviet army was nearly twice the size of the western allies combined forces and quick success in any such conflict would be all but impossible. some historian suggested stalin was wary of something like operation unthinkable. he knew that something was brewing it's hard to say whether he had a clear knowledge of the details though we now know that our famous firing led by kim philby was operating in britain at the time those were top foreign affairs officials they were doing a very effective job which in effect. stephan jordan bird son of a german anti-fascist had joined the soviet army in one thousand nine hundred forty

two as a volunteer. in april of one thousand nine hundred five he was a propaganda officer. at the early hours of april sixteenth he was summoned to juggles headquarters he was told to announce to the germans from the loudspeakers the start of the war's final so he defensive in a few hours time. i said susie because assistant at those newcomer general this isn't possible with we can't possibly give away military secrets personalized me instead tenons we can have an interest in keeping casualties to me and. the war's most massive preparatory bombardment genet five o'clock in the morning of april sixteenth. thousands of artillery pieces shelled german positions for half an hour. but you sure multiple rocket launchers were the first to start up the pounding is so deafening you can't hear or think of they really

somebody shows something into your ear. antonius schneider was a corporal in the opposing army a platoon of heavy machine guns was under his command when they were defending a small railway station near the seal heights. at the very outset his platoon lost three out of four machine guns. nobody rossiter at the lodge could we do in that situation got absolutely nothing a quarter of this or that artillery had overwhelming superiority and if we were gripped with blind fear all we wanted was to hide somewhere from that ferocious fire as if. everything was ablaze a lot of flying all around at last for something like thirty five minutes the north of the northern tanks rolled forward and we followed in behind me. there were anti-personnel mines on religiously and they do no harm to tanks secure that i had

to phone the tank units trackless void the mines so that they didn't blow my legs off. to achieve greater effect one hundred forty high powered searchlights and who many of the german positions. marshal to cause idea was to blind to the germans to hinder their return fire. you out this was you had to fire as well as though you didn't know where to look because you were blinded by searchlights we couldn't see any detail as if all we saw was a blazing bank of the river instancing. through the germans cielo was the last defensive line before berlin so the german soldiers defended the highlands with general determination petri tism aside the german army had still other reasons to keep fighting to the bitter end despite the desperate situation. that any

soldier of slain his position might be shot in killed by an officer on the spot so many soldiers hanged on poles for attempting to leave their position propaganda had hammered into our heads that we must avoid being taken prisoner by the soviets at all costs and. the soviet forces expected to overrun the seal heights in a matter of hours. the germans clung to their defenses for nearly three days and nights. after a head on thrust fail to take the heights soviet troops down flank of the german defenses only vended the defending army led by general bruce a fall back now nothing stood in the way of the red army stood fans towards berlin . the cost of the assault was a very high. the soviet forces lost tens of thousands of men in a tiny center near the order. to move those going i have never

seen so many dead bodies as i sold the sailor heights well thousands and thousands of men died in a very small close of land the most terrifying thing of all was that people dying there i knew that the war would be over in a couple of weeks for this but on the day read message. after the fall of the seal heights the germans never again offered any organized resistance. some elements of the german army were still trying to fight as we advance and soviet army simply swung from the moment. of rugby towards the wooden stage and it fanned berlin because there was nobody who could project but because many people died it's got any flak to the west if you give into the americans a meeting got it in. one of the biggest german cemeteries is situated in not far from berlin in a small town of hama it occupies a few square kilometers. more than twenty thousand german soldiers are buried here

most of them were in an ancestor vision coast northlands. private harry from seal heights was retreating with the rest of the life army led by general who said. he was running from the advancing soviet army with just one gun in his hands. when his column was entering the town of hall but it could. team under heavy fire. right here a furniture factory was here as us soldiers when they took us for a soviet column and they opened fire on this so the crossing was covered with dead bodies for the fight the fight was going on between two german divisions and. when the germans realized they were shooting their own people they stopped the fire but by that time the soviet troops had already approached the town of talbot.

private ship again his german column turned out to be in a circle of fire on the one side of the street the soviet soldiers were shooting. and on the other side v.s.s. soldiers were fighting back. the four hundred nates were flying from both saw it's the fighting was intense there where the bakeries now were entertained for sophistication is a part they prevented soviet tanks from entering the territory for a little so they prohibited the germans from running from the battlefield it was on this street we lost hundreds and hundreds of all men from. the remains of hussein's army managed to leave the circle and fled to the west but during those three movies an hour but more than sixty thousand german soldiers died and one hundred twenty thousand were taken prisoner. there was just one day left before the capitulation of germany.

hungary for the full story we've got it first hand the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers on. cultures that so much i was about to fade into life in the form of a really incredible what is happening to be a war movement there are plenty of wars being fought though with far fewer protesters was the anti-war movement just. the typical german town of torgau on the el the river like in many provincial cities the pace of life is slow here. might never have been known to the world if not for the events of april twenty fifth one thousand nine hundred forty five. more current on the day an american patrol came to torgau and climbed it off as sixteenth century castle zaandam there they saw a bridge over the alamo river it was blown up by the germans and they saw the

soviet soldiers on a string of the commander lieutenant william robertson and you took a battle in and drew an american flag on it then he climbs to the castle settings on more programmers and looked outside in through the flag out of the window and that very moment he heard the whistle of a shell coming from the eastern bank someone tried to shoot the window that was a shell from the soviet union how it sounded assad must go through. the group was still with us so it was a group of people including women but it was approaching the river i thought we knew that german army officers were hiding on the other bank so it was necessary for us to understand the situation did we need to shoot first find an alternative way with the four with. but finally the soviet soldiers realized that the mysterious men on the far bank were actually their american allies what followed would become an iconic moment in the world war two history the meeting at the elba

. it happened when the bulk of the soviet forces encircled berlin and some elements of the red army reached the on the river. the allies from both sides and decided to celebrate the meeting. the american internet million robertson and the soviet lieutenant alexander some vanished became friends a picture of the two men husband became a symbol of the end of the second world war. we were both he was grinning and i was grinning rather both happy to meet each other. we were happy to know that we were the victors probed. the first link up of american and soviet troops could have taken place much earlier had the british and americans opened for a second front not in one thousand nine hundred four but when they first agreed back in one thousand nine hundred two. talks on the establishment of an anti hitler

coalition began on june twenty seventh one thousand nine hundred forty one a year later the soviet union the united states and great britain signed a declaration on the opening of the second front in europe. one thousand nine hundred forty two one thousand nine hundred three passed with no second fronts to relieve pressure on the soviet union in the east. plans to open a second from one made. but churchill and roosevelt agreed that it would be launched only when it became clear that the russians were trading. on the contrary that they were gay male patterns by crossing the nineteen thirty nine borders and entering europe i believe. the long delay in the british and american response had a significant impact on the balance of forces in post-war europe. many in the west are upset about stalin's power to shape the post-war arrangements it makes me want

to say look each of them and was with should have gone in the fort sooner hoosegow the other way were it not the woman. on april twenty eighth soviet troops encircled the city center and began an assault on the way stop. the building was protected by bans in the spring river and the bridge crossings had been blown up. troops crossed the sprit aboard tiny dinghies from one tank to the other a distance of several dozen meters. they face continuous german fire half of the sailors who were there to secure the crossing died in the shadow of the white star . in the seven sailors were given the titles of heroes of the soviet union the last summer slain the then one of them was nikolai a barometer the bands are fast a rocket snapped a controlled cable there was nothing left for him to do hoover grip the two ends of the cable with his g.'s that he done in that position. the race stand

was defended by remnants of elite s.s. units personal bodyguards. there were also french volunteers from the charlemagne division of the scandinavian division nordland and the latvian battalion of the fifteenth s.s. division. i mean i'm pretty sure they were crying up from the basement hey yvonne surrender you where many you are a fools the rules a couple lot but in the year. of the first of may they changed their tune yvonne we want to surrender they shot. on april thirtieth hitler committed suicide in the reich chancellery but some s.s. units continued resistance. in the evening soviet troops captured to the right stark stark floors for the first time the red flag was hoisted over the. edge of an insane aircraft showdown that threat flag was in it but it didn't go on

for sure that's gone was no tells by a man of my telly and. the new york bill. on the morning of may second general helmet veiling commander of the berlin defense area arrived at the soviet headquarters to sign a cease fire order. was the first to read and type out that order. frankly i thought it was a very old order there is an almost exact quote from the initial lines are sure of his committees you saw i did not living else of the faith therefore we are no longer committed to the oath we have taken considering the situation of the civilian population in many young considering the situation of our wounded here by order a cease fire and surrender with the consent of the service commander. to change anything in that's all that he held a theme i said to myself the world let him say what he likes as long as the war

comes to an end. soon after the ceasefire order silence fell over central berlin soviet troops took the city under control the soldiers knew that was the end of the war. this is just so at ten am there was complete silence instantly be that that's the end of it all yes there it is a white flag not a flag really but the white sheet even germans showed us another and yet another the best soon as they start scrambling out of their shelters we to get out into the open who will germans surrendering that's short lived near. by the evening of the second of may civilians were out in the streets of berlin. there are many kids but the adults stayed at home with the russians and come you know they'd heard many stories about them. what if they were treated in the same way i did the kids had pill faces they were wearing short bands some had small balls on

their hands and knees when they were given some poor and they rushed home was in their way yeah winchell's i saw myself in may just skipping something else to the cause i found out that the people who were queuing for the food what access from the local theater all skinny and hungry as they stood there sobbing which element of us me that's the russians or. i you know they actually were afraid of us they thought russians were cossacks with a long mustache say they were looking us all over thinking where the russians mustaches were your first hand they wanted to know with the we were wearing field camps we were just young boys but i mean. on the evening of may marshals you called and representatives of great britain france and the united states signed the act of germany's unconditional surrender at the headquarters of the soviet fifth army in berlin. give it up and went back

on the ninth of may we were losing to our hearts content and found a big bottle containing ten liters of rattle while suddenly because there was a deafening noise. they were firing from all sides and anybody who was a german break through them with you when we rushed out we saw fireworks going up in celebration of victory so there you go i don't need to tell you that we finished off that bottle in no time. the berlin operation lasted for sixteen days the soviet troops lost up to two hundred thousand men according to various estimates the soviet army lost from eight and a half to eleven million men between nine hundred forty one and nine. forty five. including civilians

a total of twenty seven million soviet people died in the war with germany. losses of the usa and great britain hundred thousand people. was a result of casualties on the heroism of off fathers and grandfathers it was the result of self-sacrifice and heroic deeds. of force in europe not just in africa. hundred thousand victims come to compared to twenty million lives. history of mankind was over sixty five years have passed since. survive still remember the victory like it was yesterday they still live with victory in their hearts.

the price of freedom from the most polluted fascist regime in history. those who fought to win the war stand proud. against the tide of history being written. sixty six years of victory on our team. they faced it this is not a provocation but a warning that comes from the forces and you should see everybody you should

disapprove retraced because they have no idea about the hardships to face. plate one is this is it ok to do this and for any army the life of the usaf is the most precious thing in the world. is of self-sacrifice and heroism with those who understand it fully but you have to live a. real life stories from world war two. to nine hundred forty five dollars on t.v. dot com. mission free accreditation free transport charges free the maintenance free or is free studio types free. download free blogs just plug in video for your media projects and free media and john to our tetons tom.

live from the russian capital you're watching our team and we're following the commemoration of victory day it's sixty six years since nazi germany was defeated in world war two and russia as welcome us with a traditional military parade on red square. is there for us because you know the parade is about to start says everything ready for the big event good morning carrie yes everything is ready and we approach casting from this iconic location from brats who are with the crown in just several minutes has from me and of course it will be the centerpiece of russia's a big three day commemoration which millions of people will be watching in russia and across the world as well now it marks the sixty sixth anniversary of the defeat of nazi germany in that war a big.