Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945

For this outstanding book, military historian Max Hastings researched in the archives of four countries and conducted 170 interviews with survivors of the war. Brilliantly written, it conveys the horror of war, without idealisation. Throughout, he makes realistic judgements.

For example, he writes of the Warsaw uprising, "the Polish commander wanted it both ways: the success of his revolt hinged upon recognising Russian military support, while its explicit objective was to deny the Soviet Union political authority over his country."

Hastings asserts, "the British Joint Intelligence Committee had concluded that, if the Poles carried out their long-planned uprising, it was doomed to failure in the absence of close co-operation with the Russians, which was unlikely to be forthcoming. It seems lamentable that, after making such an appreciation, the British failed to exert all possible pressure upon the Poles to abandon their fantasies."

He points out, "Despite some historian's idealisation of those who were ruthlessly returned to Stalin, the murderous record of Cossacks who served the Wehrmacht in northern Italy and Yugoslavia deserves more attention than it has received."

He observes, "Stalin's people were overwhelmingly responsible for destroying Hitler's armies." He cites American historian Forrest Pogue who wrote that the Soviet forces "broke Germany and made the [D-Day] landing possible." Hastings judges, `the single most impressive ground operation of the war' was Operation Bagration of July-August 1944, and Stalin was `the most successful warlord of the Second World War'.

The key dilemma at the end of the war in Europe was whether the Anglo-American forces should try to take Berlin, which was a hundred miles inside the agreed Soviet occupation zone. Hastings applauds Eisenhower's decision not to try, and shows that no Anglo-American action in spring 1945 could, or should, have undone the agreements reached at the Teheran and Yalta conferences.

For someone like myself who didn't know the details of the end of WWII, this book was a complete eye opener. It should be recommended reading for everyone and graphically describes the danger and shear brutality of a government and people gone completely awry. The first chapter is a little slow and perhaps not so well organized but by the second chapter I found it almost impossible to put the book down. One of the most disturbing chapters to read is about the exodus of over 2 million German civilians from East Prussia as the Russian armies destroyed Army Group Centre. Both the Germans and Soviets display appalling brutality to civilians and military alike. Let's hope it never happens again, though like much of history, we have a terrible habit of repeating it.

Max Hastings delivers another exceptional volume to the history World War 2 giving attention to both the Eastern and Western fronts. I especially enjoyed his glimpses of daily life in Germany during the winter of 1944.

There are a few moments though that might not quite rank as WTF but still raised a few "Why did he write that?" questions.

In the introduction the reader discovers that some former German soldiers are apparently not penitent enough for Hastings. It seems that the author considers it wrong if a German soldier shows any pride in his history of service or if a woman complains about her house being occupied by GIs.

At another point Mr. Hastings makes an observation that I have heard several times about how many soldiers on the battlefield never fire their weapon. But for some reason he feels the need to add that such soldiers still serve a purpose by dividing enemy fire. "Uhhh...okay."

He mentions that he finds it unbelievable that a German chaplain or clergy person would have prayed a patriotic prayer on behalf of the German nation that asked blessings on the Fuhrer. Why is it so extraordinary that a German clergy person would pray a German patriotic prayer?

He also calls Ms. Goebbles an, "unboundedly foolish woman." Tell us how you really feel Mr. Hastings.

I found these kinds of comments a little irritating, but not enough to quit reading. Overall it is a great book and some stirring history.

Great book! When I first started reading this book I was put off by the writer's style. By the second chapter I came to the conclusion that this is a must read-very informative volume.
He deals very objectively with the nations at war, the leaders, commanders and the rank and file soldiers, airman and civilians.
His description of Eisenhower was a revelation to me. Ike just was not a good, let alone, a great stratigist. Montgomery and Bradley fought and planned their advances at a snail pace.
The Russians faced the overwhelming majority of the German armed forces. Since the Boss, Stalin, had no regard for human life this characteristic passed down to his generals who fought the war with no regard to casulaties on their side.
The East Prussian campaign was also a revelation to me. The vast killings, rapes, vandalism of the Red army is something we know little about in the west.
Hastings intertwines his narratives with accounts of privates, civilians, concentration camp inmates, teenage girls, teenage Hitler youth soldiers, etc. together with accounts of generals and national leaders.
The scale of suffering that Max Hastings narrates is overwhelming, but enthralling. I couldn't put the book down!

If you are interested in the history of World War II, you will definitely like this book. More generally, it's also a good case study of man's inhumanity to man and the book does a good job of illustrating how civilians and non-combatants (focusing on the Germans in 1944-1945 in this case) inevitably end up suffering when they get caught in a war zone. Atrocities were committed on all sides, but this book describes how the Russians in particular were seething for retribution after years of unimaginable casualties both on and off the battlefield and looked at the invasion of Germany in 1945 as payback time. As a result, German soldiers and civilians alike paid a terrible price in areas conquered by the Red Army during the drive to Berlin.