‘a first-rate and highly readable account of the campaign that ended with the surrender of Germany.’ The American Historical Review
About the Book
On 6th September, 1944, Major-General Sir John Kennedy wrote ‘We should be in Berlin by the 28th’.
Yet, it was only after a further eight months of ferocious conflict that Germany surrendered, by which time the political initiative in Eastern Europe had been taken by the Soviet Union.
Why did Nazi Germany hold on for so long when it was clear that it faced insurmountable odds? And what happened during these months, which saw some of the most brutal fighting of the Second World War?
As a commander of an infantry brigade during the campaign and a renowned military history, Major-General Essame provides a uniquely incisive chronicle of the final eight months of World War Two.
The Battle for the Scheldt, the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine, the race for Berlin, all are here examined in fascinating detail, as well as the actions of the principal actors, from Montgomery, Patton and Eisenhower on the Allied side to Hitler raving at his generals in his bunker. Essame discusses how the disunity of Allied Command and Hitler’s megalomania, led to a prolongation of the war, and uncovers what this meant for ordinary soldiers, whether that be American, British, Canadian, or German.
‘This is an excellent account of the last battles of the War and can be strongly recommended to the student of military history’. Times Literary Supplement
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