Analysis Of The Battle Of Berlin By John Keegan

John Keegan, a distinguished military historian, most known for being the senior lecturer at Sandhurst, the Royal Military Academy, wrote the essay Berlin in which he chronologically details the events that occurred leading up to the Battle of Berlin and the aftermath. Keegan is also the author of fourteen books, including the best seller, “The First World War”. His obituaries describe him as “possessing a rare ability to describe warfare from the standpoint of the frontline soldier” . Keegan begins Berlin by discussing the importance of the city Berlin. It was strategically known to be a more difficult target. The city had not experienced the catastrophic bombings like in Dresden or Hamburg and the buildings themselves were solidly made, rooted in deep cellars that served as effective firebreaks. Berlin was also a significant place because it was the location of Hitler’s self-sufficient bunker that lay under the Reich Chancellery. Hitler recognized the city as being the place for a final stand. On his last birthday, April 20th, he said to one of his secretaries, “I must force the decision here or go down fighting” .
So essentially, the siege of Berlin was a competition between two military rivals: Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev. Zhukov was Stalin’s personal military adviser, senior staff officer and operation commander while Konev was the Commander of the Western Front. Stalin said, “who ever breaks in first, let him take