Steiner's Success

Steiner's success is a timeline which explores the possibility if Felix Steiner and is accompanying army detachment broke through Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front's grip over Berlin creating a small gap allowing for refugees and the German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler to escape the Soviet onslaught.
== Background ==
The year is 1945 and the Soviet East Pomeranian Offensive was a complete failure leading to over 50,000 battle hardened German soldiers escaping the impending Soviet onslaught and in return being redeployed to Berlin. Despite their being only 50,000 Germans most of them were capable to take part in the defense of Berlin. On February 16th about 15,000 German soldiers of the 3rd Panzer Army were secretly redeployed to Wittenberg under the guise that it's meant to act as a reserve. The rest of the 35,000 soldiers were consolidated in the units defending Berlin. 
Meanwhile at around the same time Karl Dönitz and Hitler agree to conduct small attacks in the Courland Pocket area hoping that the Soviets would redeploy 100,000 troops to the area. Dönitz and Hitler also ordered the evacuation of 30,000 Germans from Courland though only 9,000 would successfully redeploy to Berlin. Only 15,000 escaped Courland and the other 6,000 were either killed or unaccounted for. 
On February 18th, after the East Pomeranian offensives failure Konstantin Rokossovsky was sacked and moved to Yugoslavia, in return the seemed to be competent Fyodor Tolbukhin was put in command of the 2nd Belorussian Front. The following day Hitler made an executive order that all remaining oil will be transported to Berlin and all surrounding units. By mid day on the 19th Steiner was put in command of what will later be called "Army Detachment Steiner".
Following these events the Soviets also began to blame the Pomeranian offensives failure on the Polish people and removed over 100,000 Polish fighters from their ranks. This would later prove to a massive blunder on the soviets side leading to the battle of Berlin being extended by 3 weeks.
== Battle of the Oder–Neisse ==
The Battle of the Order-Neisse became a predecessor to the battle in the general Berlin area beginning on April 16 the battle began. Soviet forces initially did quite well breaking multiple rings of defense but then German fuel reserves concentrated in both the 509th and 510th Heavy Panzer Battalions pushed back the soviet attack. Despite the German Counter attack Zhukov redeployed his reserves to battle then continued the attack. 
Both the 509th and 510th were subsequently disintegrated and Zhukov was within 5 miles of closing the gap and uniting with Tolbukhin's forces. Hitler foresaw the encirclement and ordered all German troops near Zhukovs and Tolbukhin's forces to retreat outside Berlin. The encirclement was subsequently completed and the battle for the City of Berlin Subsequently began.
== Battle for the City of Berlin ==
The Battle for the City of Berlin began on April 17. Although German histories account that the battle didn't start until the 20. Hitler decided to stay in the city. Already beginning on the 18th Soviet troops began forcing their way into the city. Taking multiple outer city suburbs it seemed that German defenses have completely collapsed and the end was in sight. 
Between the 20th and 25th brutal fighting took place inside the city of Berlin with Soviet forces fighting brutally for every square inch. On April 23rd Hitler phoned Felix Steiner begging him for an attack on the outer soviet rings of defense as Soviet forces were closing in on Hitlers bunker. Hitler was offered multiple times to leave Berlin but he refused. 
Going into April 24th and 25th Hitler ordered every able body to defend the city and asking even Joseph Gobbeles to leave the bunker and act as a field commander. Multiple German Kampfgruppe were relocated to the bunkers location as Soviet forces began closing on the bunker. 
== Steiners Counterattack ==
On April 26th Hitler begged Steiner to begin his counter attack. Steiner reluctantly agreed though the Western Front had completely collapsed by then and Steiner could not ensure that his forces won't be outflanked from behind. Steiner panzers immediately pierced the Soviet lines getting within 3 miles of the Fuhrers bunker. Soviet forces attempted to encircled Steiner spearhead but Steiners lines held. 
On April 27th Steiner began one last push to the encircled German lines. At about noon on the 27th Hitler was informed that Steiner had successfully met up with the bunkers defensive lines. At 2 PM local time Hitler left the Fuhrer Bunker escorted
Category:World War II Timelines
Category:Steiner's Success