The fear of large numbers of casualties was very real. While many German troops had been surrendering to the Allies, the SS had all too frequently been fighting to the bitter end. Resistance would certainly be fierce in an assault on Berlin. In fact, Captain Arie D. Bestebreurtje of the Dutch Intelligence Service briefed members of the 82nd Airborne, stating, “The army, the SS and the police will fight until the last bullet, and then they will come out with their hands in the air, tell you that the whole thing was really a dreadful mistake, that it was all Hitler’s fault and thank you for getting to the city before the Russians.” General Omar N. Bradley, commander of American ground forces, estimated that the capture of Berlin would cost the British and Americans 100,000 casualties.

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The number of expected casualties sealed Eisenhower’s decision. The Western Allies would occupy a portion of the German capital without firing a shot in its streets.[ TOP ] [ Cover ]

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