On 13 January, 1BF began an offensive toward Pillkallen (Schlossberg between 1938 and 1945) in East Prussia, against which they met stiff resistance from the 3rd Panzer Army.

The 1st Belorussian Front opened its attack on the German Ninth Army from the Magnuszew and Puławy bridgeheads at 08:30 on 14 January, again commencing with a heavy bombardment.

Marshal Georgy Zhukov was appointed commander of the 1BF, in November 1944, for its last two great offensives of World War II.

Marshal Georgy Zhukov concentrated 1BF, which had been deployed along the Oder river from Frankfurt in the south to the Baltic, into an area in front of the Seelow Heights.

While this redeployment was in progress gaps were left in the lines and the remnants of the German II Army which had been bottled up in a pocket near Danzig managed to escape across the Oder.

Initially the 1BF had great difficulty smashing through the German lines of defence, but after three days they had broken through and were approaching the outskirts of Berlin.