Selected Book
Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945
- Paperback
- Author: Max Hastings
- Publisher: Vintage
- Release Date: October 2005
- ISBN-10: 0375714227
- ISBN-13: 9780375714221
- List Price: $16.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryIn September 1944, the Allies believed that Hitler’s army was beaten and expected the bloodshed to end by Christmas. Yet a series of mistakes and setbacks, including the Battle of the Bulge, drastically altered this timetable and led to eight more months of brutal fighting. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
One theater, two wars.
Rating:
"American and British officers knew that their citizen soldiers were attempting to fulfil tasks which ran profoundly against the grain of their societies' culture. The Germans and Russians in the Second World War showed themselves better warriors, but worse human beings. This is not a cultural conceit, but a moral truth of the utmost importance to understanding what took place on the battlefield ... If American and British soldiers of 1944-45 had matched the military prowess and become imbued with the warrior ethos of Hitler's armies, it is unlikely that we should today hold the veterans of the Second World War in the just regard that we do. They fought as bravely and as well as any democracy could ask, if the values of civilization were to be retained in their ranks." - Author Max Hastings in ARMAGEDDON
"Between 13 January and 25 April, 2nd Belorussian Front lost 159,490 men dead and wounded, and 3rd Belorussian Front 421,763. During three months in East Prussia, therefore, the Red Army suffered almost as many casualties as the Anglo-American armies in the entire north-west Europe campaign." - Author Max Hastings in ARMAGEDDON
The timeframe for ARMAGEDDON: THE BATTLE FOR GERMANY 1944-1945 is the last 9 months of the conflict in Europe, from September 1, 1944 into May 1945. On September 1, the Red Army was poised to invade East Prussia and cross the Vistula River to capture Warsaw. In the West, Eisenhower's armies had advanced across France to liberate Paris. Now, the Anglo-American forces were preparing to cross into Belgium, and Field-Marshal Montgomery's ill-conceived plan to take the bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem - a "bridge too far" as it would turn out - was on the planning board. Perhaps the war would be over by Christmas.
Author Max Hastings paints his literary canvas using the recollections and documents from those on both sides who participated in and survived the events of those last apocalyptic months: Operation Market Garden, the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, the Soviet rape of East Prussia, the Allied heavy bombing of Germany, and the Red Army's assault on Berlin. And, most poignantly, those - slave laborers, POWs, concentration camp inmates - who outlived their sojourn in the cruel, massive prison that was, for them, the Third Reich.
ARMAGEDDON includes two sections of black and white photographs of widely varying subjects and several small scale maps of the Western and Eastern Fronts.
Hastings takes great pains to establish two major truths of the European war: that the savagery in the East made the Western Front look like a comparative garden party, and that, based on casualties suffered, casualties inflicted, and extent of territory wrested from the Nazis, the Soviet Union can truly be said to have won the war against Hitler. And, about the cooperation between the American and British allies, he explodes the popular myth with such statements as:
"... it is important to emphasize that affection played no part in the decisions or actions of either ally ... There was a deep resentment among Churchill's people of American wealth and British poverty, matched by American exasperation about Britain's pretensions to influence, and to empire ... It is against this background that Eisenhower's great achievement should be measured. He sustained the military partnership between allies who were weary to death of each other, and led them to share in victory with the facade of unity unbroken."
Serious students of World War Two may find ARMAGEDDON too superficial in its treatment of any of the topics it covers, e.g. the Soviet drive on Berlin or Monty's Market Garden. But the book wasn't meant to be a comprehensive history, but rather an overview based on individual and personal experiences. Further, Western sensibilities, especially of those now aged veterans, may be offended by the view that Ike and his generals didn't shoulder the bulk of combat against Hitler's legions. I, too, might have been taken aback had I not seen, long ago, the 1978 documentary series THE UNKNOWN WAR about the Eastern Front. (Conversely, the Americans and the British Empire won the war against Japan.)
ARMAGEDDON is a balanced, intelligent, well thought out summary. Hastings manages to put a human face on the last convulsions of the Reich. Bravo!
Be prepared for the long haul...
Rating: 
First off, I graded this moreso on how difficult a read this was and not so much the content. There is no doubt that Hastings thoroughly researched this material. It's all here and then some. I've read the reviews about incorrect details which is something I can forgive when such a broad subject is covered.
For me, the difficult part was keeping it all tied together - it may not be the author's fault - more of a personal limitation. Be warned, if you aren't interested in having most if not all major and minor events broken down and examined, then this may not be the book for you. The overall story is here in spades, but several chapters overlap and repeat upon past events already covered. I understand why this is done, but there is so much here it can be overwhelming. This won't be a quick read for the casual reader. I'm sure from time to time, I can go back and re-read the chapters that interest me at any given time and always find something new that I hadn't concentrated on. I guess that is where this work will find its longevity. It is well written for sure and taken in small chunks, can be a rewarding study.
Also, don't be worried about being put off by the critical views of the leaders, especially the victorious Allies and the Red Army. This conflict was a worldwide terror and not even those who emerged on the winning side could have been expected to make the best choice at every turn. Those who think so are simply naive.
A gigantic work that needs a gigantic effort to finish, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
An interesting WW II perspective
Rating:
Max Hastings is an excellent British historian who bings an interesting perspective to the last year of World War II in the European Theater of Operations. Not only does he look at what happened in the military context but also the effect of the war on PoWs on both sides and civilians particularly the Germans of East Prussia.
He has some interesting comments on the war in the air and airborne assaults both of which he criticizes. British Air Marshal "Bomber" Harris comes in for particular criticism for continuing the incineration of German cities long after it was clear such terror raids were not having the effect he promised.
Hastings starts his narrative with an exploration of Operation Market-Garden which was Field Marshal Montgomery's desparate attempt to invade Germany through Holland into the Rhur Basin. It failed miserably but Monty had so much favorable press in England that Churchill couldn't discipline or sack him.
Hastings posits that airborne operations were planned mostly because parachute and glider-borne regiments and divisions existed. The Germans he argues suspended parachute assaults after Crete which is generally pointed to as a success. The cost in casualties and aircraft did not justify the tenuous results.
General Patton, too, feels the sting of the author's pen in his recounting of "Old Blood and Guts" assault on the fortress city of Metz and hair brained attempt at rescuing his son-in-law from a German PoW camp.
The aspect of the book I found most confusing was Hastings contradictory remarks. For example, he criticizes the quality and warrior ethos of the American Infantry in the last year of the war. Then he recounts episodes of gallantry under fire by these same troops.
Altogether, though, a well-researched book every serious student of military history should read for an interesting viewpoint of the major battles and events from September 1944 to May 1945 in Northwest Europe.
Good Overview and Story for Late WW2
Rating:
Mr. Hastings presents an excellent overview of the late war period and actually discusses the eastern front which is not covered by most books. However, the coverage of the eastern front is not nearly as detailed, especially from a military point of view as that in the west.
So long after the war, you would hope for coverage of the eastern front as detailed as that in Overlord, or at least that of the west in the same book.
Grognards will mostly not be impressed, as a few technical mistakes are made.
I held back on the 5th star because I was expecting something more like an Overlord for the eastern front.
An objective account of the last year of WWII.
Rating:
In Armageddon, the author avoids the usual nationalistic hype that underlies accounts of World War II. Russia, the U. S., Britain, and Germany are described with painful objectivity in this history. Though the author is British, Montgomery's desparate attempts to play the hero are described in detail. What is truly valuable about this book is the many accounts of civilian experiences during this terrible time. This book is a must for any serious reader.
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