who led the soviet union at the end of world war ii
Soviet Union in World War II
Stalin directed the Red Army to move rapidly in a broad front into Germany because he did not believe the Western Allies would hand over territory they occupied , while he made the overriding objective capturing Berlin . After successfully capturing Eastern Prussia , three Red Army fronts converged on the heart of Eastern Germany , with one of the last pitched battles of the war putting the Soviets at the virtual gates of Berlin . By April 24 , Berlin was encircled by elements of two Soviet fronts , one of which had begun a massive shelling of the city on April 20 that would not end until the city 's surrender . On 30 April , Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide , after which Soviet forces found their remains , which had been burned at Hitler 's directive . German forces surrendered a few days later . Some historians argue that Stalin delayed the last final push for Berlin by two months in order to capture other areas for political reasons , which they argue gave the Wehrmacht time to prepare and increased Soviet casualties ( which exceeded 400,000 ) , though this is contested by other historians . Mass 
Stalin directed the Red Army to move rapidly in a broad front into Germany because he did not believe the Western Allies would hand over territory they occupied , while he made the overriding objective capturing Berlin . After successfully capturing Eastern Prussia , three Red Army fronts converged on the heart of Eastern Germany , with one of the last pitched battles of the war putting the Soviets at the virtual gates of Berlin . By April 24 , Berlin was encircled by elements of two Soviet fronts , one of which had begun a massive shelling of the city on April 20 that would not end until the city 's surrender . On 30 April , Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide , after which Soviet forces found their remains , which had been burned at Hitler 's directive . German forces surrendered a few days later . Some historians argue that Stalin delayed the last final push for Berlin by two months in order to capture other areas for political reasons , which they argue gave the Wehrmacht time to prepare and increased Soviet casualties ( which exceeded 400,000 ) , though this is contested by other historians . Mass
Stalin directed the Red Army to move rapidly in a broad front into Germany.   Some historians argue that Stalin delayed the last final push for Berlin by two months in order to capture other areas for political reasons,
Stalin directed the Red Army to move rapidly in a broad front into Germany because he did not believe the Western Allies would hand over territory they occupied , while he made the overriding objective capturing Berlin . Some historians argue that Stalin delayed the last final push for Berlin by two months in order to capture other areas for political reasons , which they argue gave the Wehrmacht time to prepare and increased Soviet casualties ( which exceeded 400,000 ) , though this is contested by other historians .
Stalin directed the Red Army to move rapidly in a broad front into Germany and he made the overriding objective capturing Berlin. By April 24, Berlin was encircled by elements of two Soviet fronts and on 30 April, Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide. German forces surrendered a few days later.
Stalin directed the Red Army to move rapidly in a broad front into Germany because he did not believe the Western Allies would hand over territory they occupied , while he made the overriding objective capturing Berlin . By April 24 , Berlin was encircled by elements of two Soviet fronts , one of which had begun a massive shelling of the city on April 20 that would not end until the city 's surrender . On 30 April , Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide , after which Soviet forces found their remains , which had been burned at Hitler 's directive . German forces surrendered a few days later .