As the Soviet forces closed in on the Reichstag on 29 April, Hitler sent for General Mohnke in order to clarify what exactly was happening. Mohnke reported to those present at the midday situation conference. The latest news from the front lines was catastrophic. With the aid of a map, Mohnke outlined the situation:
In the north the Russians have moved close to Weidendammer Bridge. In the East they are at the Lustgarten. In the south, at Potsdamer Platz and the Aviation Ministry. In the west they are in the Tiergarten, somewhere between 170 and 250 feet from the Reich Chancellery.
When Hitler asked, ‘How long can you hold out?’. The answer given by Mohnke was unequivocal, ‘At most twenty to twenty-four hours my Fuhrer, no longer’. With this shattering news Hitler prepared his final withdrawal from the world stage. He first gave orders for his dog Blondi to be poisoned. Whilst he could not bear the thought of his beloved German Shepherd falling into Russian hands, the killing of Blondi would also provide an opportunity to test the cyanide capsules left by Himmler.
That evening news filtered through into the bunker via radio that Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci had been executed. This news awakened fears in Hitler that if captured by the Russians (dead or alive), he would be taken to Moscow for the amusement of Jews and Communists. Shortly afterwards Hitler spoke with the overseer of the bunker garages Obersturmbannfuhrer (Unit Leader) Erich Kempka:
Hitler: How are things with you, Kempka? How are your men?
Kempka: Their morale is good and they’re waiting for relief from Wenck.
Hitler: Yes… We’re all waiting for Wenck. Good bye, Kempka, and take care of yourself.
At the evening situation conference Weidling again suggested a breakout with the remaining troops. Hitler replied rather confusingly that whilst he would permit the breakout of small groups, capitulation was still anathema to him. Somewhat nonplussed by Hitler’s reply, Weidling later arranged to meet his commanders the following morning at his Bendlerblock HQ.
That night Hitler bade farewell to his remaining entourage, telling them that he did not want either his living body or mortal remains falling into Russian hands. At some time between 01.00hrs and 03.00hrs, Hitler received confirmation that all efforts to relieve Berlin had failed. It was now 30 April and the Soviet assault on the Reichstag and central government district had began in earnest. The first direct assault on the building was a failure as attacking troops came under a murderous crossfire from German defenders holed-up in the Kroll Opera House. The Soviet Army General Staff report compiled after the battle went into some detail with regard to the storming of the Reichstag:
The German’s powerful strong-point – the Kroll Opera House – interfered with the unfolding of the subsequent attack on the Reichstag. The Germans had configured the opera house for all-round defence. Barricades had been erected in the lanes and avenues north and east of the Kroll Opera House. On the building’s roof, as well as on the second floor, the enemy had set up guns that fired on the windows of ‘Himmler’s House’ which we had captured. The enemy could also sweep from the Kroll Opera House the southern face of ‘Himmler’s House’ and the Konigsplatz.
Moreover, it was from this building that the Germans were able to keep under fire the Moltke Bridge and the quays north and south of it, which made the crossing of the 79th Rifle Corps tanks and artillery over the Spree River’s southern bank more difficult. We only managed to cross a few self-propelled guns and 122mm and 153mm guns along the bridge during the night of 29/30 April and concentrate in the courtyard of ‘Himmler’s House’…
At 05.00hrs a concentrated artillery-mortar fire was opened up on the Kroll Opera House and the Reichstag from the northern bank of the Spree River, and direct fire from ‘Himmler’s House’ and the corner building on the Al Moabit Strasse and the Kronprinzenufer… The 207th Rifle Division’s 598th and 597th Rifle Regiments, which had crossed to the southern bank of the Spree River, by 09:00hrs had occupied positions west of ‘Himmler’s House’, but could not advance further because of the powerful fire which the Germans, holed up in the Kroll Opera House, were pouring on them. However, the 207th Rifle Division’s offensive actions drew the fire of the Kroll Opera House’s garrison on to itself. Thus the Germans could not wage intensive fire on our units storming the Reichstag.
By 12.00hrs elements of the 150th and 171st Rifle Divisions had occupied their jumping off positions for storming the Reichstag in a German trench having high embankment sides and breastworks. At 12.00hrs more than a company of enemy infantry, supported by machine gun fire and fire from anti-aircraft artillery mounted on the Reichstag, counter-attacked elements of the 525th Rifle Regiment, which had consolidated in the block between the Kronprinzenufer and the Alsenstrasse. This enemy counter-attack was successfully repulsed by the timely opening of our artillery’s fire. Then the Germans changed the direction of their counter-attack. Up to a company of infantry, along with two tanks, began to attack the flank of the 380th Rifle Regiment’s second battalion, which had occupied its jumping-off position for storming the Reichstag east of ‘Himmler’s House’… The 380th Rifle Regiment’s second battalion repulsed the German counter-attack in savage hand to hand fighting.
At 13.30hrs the artillery preparation for the storming of the Reichstag started. All the guns, which had been crossed over to the southern bank of the Spree River, as well as tanks, self-propelled guns and guards mortars, opened direct fire on the Reichstag… The artillery left behind on the northern bank also concentrated its fire on the Reichstag… A solid cloud of dust and smoke stood over and about the building…
The artillery barrage lasted for twenty minutes. At 13.50hrs, Captain Neustroev’s 1st Battalion of the 756th Rifle Regiment of the 150th Rifle Division broke into the Reichstag, carrying with them Banner No 5.
Fighting alongside Neustroev’s battalion were the seasoned troops of Senior Lieutenant Samsonov’s 1st Battalion of the 380th Rifle Regiment and Captain Davydov’s 1st Battalion of the 674th Rifle Regiment, each carrying their own banners. The assaulting troops entered the circular vestibule through breaches in the walls. They were immediately met with intense small arms fire. Return fire from automatic weapons and grenades suppressed the defenders, enabling the attacking troops to rush the main staircase. The first floor was then cleared of defenders, room by room. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion of the 380th Rifle Regiment, which had seized the half-smashed concrete structures to the to the north-west corner of the building, were subjected to a company-strength counter-attack backed up by four tanks. The counter-attack was repulsed by the 171st Rifle Division’s 185th Independent Anti-Tank Battalion which put the German tanks out of action.