On January 31, 1945, the Red Army stood on a line along the Oder River, about thirty-five miles east of Berlin. The fall of the Third Reich seemed imminent, especially with Marshal Georgi Zhukov leading the offensive, but the Soviets would not reach the German capital for more than two months, after a bloody campaign to establish bridgeheads across the Oder, seize the fortress of Kustrin, and take the Seelow Heights. While many historians have tended to focus on the final battle in Berlin, Tony Le Tissier provides a detailed account of how the Soviets fought their way to the city.

Includes maps of: Race to the Oder; Kustrin Factor; Initial Bridgeheads; Kienitz-Genschmar Sector; Karlsbiese-Kienitz Sector; Raegener Division in Action, 3-5 February 1945; 33rd Army's Bridgehead; Soviet Attack of 2 March 1945; Reitwein Spur; Frankfurt Bridgehead; Kustrin Battlefield; Closing the Corridor, 22-23 March 1945; German Counteroffensive, 27-28 March 1945; East Pomeranian Operation; Zhukov's Deception Plan; Kurmark Corner; Zhukov's Plan of 12 April 1945; Northern Battlefield, 16-17 April 1945; 47th Army's and 3rd Shock Army's Sectors, 16 April 1945; 5th Shock Army's Sector, 16 April 1945; 8th Guards Army's Sector, 16 April 1945; Southern Battlefield; 47th Army's and 3rd Shock Army's Sectors, 17 April 1945; Seelow Sector and the Stein-Stellung, 17 April 1945; Way past Wriezen; Advance on Muncheberg; Northern Breach; Muncheberg Breach.

Part I: Deputy supreme commander: The man -- The Soviets -- The Germans / Part II: The Bridgeheads: The Vistula-Oder operation -- The struggle for the bridgeheads I -- The Struggle for the bridgeheads II -- The Kustrin corridor and fortress -- The East Pomeranian operation / Part III: Launching "Operation Berlin": Planning and logistics -- Defense in depth -- Orders and reconnaissance / Part IV: The big battle: First day of battle -- Second day of battle -- Third day of battle -- Fourth day of battle / Part V: Beyond the breakthrough: The fate of the German 9th Army -- Stalin rules / Abbreviations and symbols / Appendices: Organization of a Red Army rifle division in 1945 -- Organization of Red Army tank and mechanized formations 1945 -- Combatant strength of the 1st Byelorussian front for "Operation Berlin" -- Establishment of a German infantry division in 1945 -- Organization of a Volks artillery corps -- Combatant strength of the 9th Army on 15 April 1945 -- Armored strength of the 9th Army on 13 April 1945 -- Allocation of artillery resources in support of the 8th Guards Army on 16 April 1945.