Contrary to popular myths and misconceptions, the American army was never tasked with taking Berlin by storm during World War II. The Western Allies of the USSR had their own goals and strategic objectives. The entire burden of the Berlin assault was to fall on the shoulders of the Red Army, hardened in hundreds of battles. However, once the American assault on the capital of the Third Reich almost happened because of the willfulness of the commander of the 9th US Army.
General William Hood Simpson commanded the 9th US Army. As for Berlin, he was given very clear instructions from Dwight David Eisenhower: the capital of the Third Reich is not our job. However, Simpson's hands itched and for good reason. A rare commander, who found himself in the position of William Hood, would refuse the idea of \u200b\u200bperforming a feat. And all because in the last 2 weeks of the war, the 9th Army literally "flew" through the enemy's lair, covering almost 400 km in 10 days.
Allied successes and heavy losses in the western direction demoralized the German army. There was a brief lull in the east, but the Wehrmacht clearly understood that the Bolsheviks were preparing for the last decisive breakthrough. The end was obvious and inevitable. The roads were flooded with traffic jams from troops and refugees retreating to the capital. Hood's army in such conditions advanced confidently. On success, success grew and it seemed that nothing was impossible anymore. Soon the US 2nd Armored Division, with the support of paratroopers, reached the Elbe, the city of Magdeburg. Berlin was just a stone's throw away - a miserable 148 km. Nothing compared to what was trampled across France, real dust compared to how much the Red Army trampled.
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But William Hood Simpson did not yet know that the German General Walter Wenck and his "paper" army of 100 thousand people would stand in his way. In fact, Wenck had only 58 thousand people, a significant part of which were from the Volkssturm. The General of the Wehrmacht had only 12 tanks. At the same time, he was instructed to hold the front along the river in 170 km. When Wenck found out about the approach of the 2nd US armored division to Magdeburg, he sent all 12 tanks and the most motivated fighters there. 7 tanks were Tigers.
Meanwhile, American paratroopers, with the support of the Shermans, were able to cross the river and take a foothold. However, immediately after that, they were ambushed by the fire of the Tigers. In the first battle, the Americans lost 7 tanks. However, the bridgehead was not given to the Germans. William Hood Simpson asked for help from management, but Omar Bradley refused to provide it, demanding that Simpson follow the plan and not engage in amateur activities. Of course, Bradley was well aware that his subordinate with his 9th Army could not take any Berlin. On this promotion of the 9-ki ended, but the adventures of William Hood did not end. True, this is a completely different story.
In continuation of the topic, read about why did Soviet tankers hang on the gun T-34-85 bucket.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/030622/63182/