|
|
(Larger Image)
|
ARMAGEDDON OST: The German Defeat on the Eastern Front 1944-45
by Nik Cornish
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Ian Allan (2006-08)
ISBN: 0711030367
EAN: 9780711030367
Dewey Decimal #: 940.54217
Hardcover: 160 pages
SKU: 72308000112
Condition: Fine
Comments: 0711030367 New, never read, may have minor wear on cover.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
By late 1944, with the Allies having successfully landed in France in June 1944 and subsequently expanded their bridgehead to encompass much of Northern France and Belgium in the west and with the Russians inexorably advancing westwards, World War II in Europe was rapidly approaching its finale. However, as evinced by the Ardennes campaign in the west, whilst Germany was facing ultimate defeat, like a wounded animal, it was still capable of inflicting major losses on Allied forces. In the east, it appeared that every inch of soil was defended to the last and some of the most bitter fighting of the entire war occurred during its final six months on the Eastern Front, as the Germans doggedly sought to defend the territory it had conquered in 1940 and that of its erstwhile Allies, such as Hungary. For the Germans, it was not just that the loss of this territory would bring the dreaded Red Army to the very gates of-and later into-Berlin but also it was these areas that much of the raw material required to sustain the war effort was derived. Despite the efforts of the remnants of Hitler's once great Wehrmacht, the Russian army proved unstoppable; sheer weight of numbers and quantity of materiel ensured that the best defence that the Germans could offer proved inadequate and, by May 1945, the fight had reached the very centre of Berlin. Armageddon had literally reached the heart of Hitler's Reich.
In Armageddon Ost, Nik Cornish examines the final six months of the war on the Eastern Front. Describing events in detail he records the gradual, but inexorable, advance of the Red Army towards ultimate victory. With a narrative drawn from a variety of sources, including first-hand accounts from those who actually fought in the war, the book records the movement of the Red Army through Hungary and the Balkans, through Poland and, ultimately through Germany itself.
Illustrated throughout with a superb range of photographs, many drawn from Russian archives and never previously published, the book is a sobering account of the destruction of this final phase of the war in the East.
With the 60th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe having been marked during 2005, publication of Armageddon Ost is opportune; it will be required reading for all those with an interest in the history of World War II and of the campaigns in the east that were ultimately to prove so costly for the Third Reich.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Generic photo album with a breezy narrative
Rating  (1)
Date: 2008-07-26
1 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Those lacking a basic understanding of WW2's Eastern Front will want to reach past this title and grab Christopher Duffy's "Red Storm on the Reich".
Red Storm On The Reich: The Soviet March On Germany, 1945
|
|
The Destruction of Eastern Europe 1944 and 1945
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-01-19
9 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
The author has done his homework! There are a great number of details in this book that are factual and recently discovered. It is so hard to imagine destruction and death on such a huge scale. There were many instances where the Russian's killed civillians just because they had the ability to do it.
This book begins with the story of the final year of war in Europe. The author discusses the Hungarian Army as well as the Romanian Army.He begins the book with a brief explanation of how Operation Barbarossa began, to bring new readers up to date with the last year of the war. He also briefly discusses the Battle of Kursk, and the Crimea, the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky pocket, and many more interesting moments in the history of the eastern front.
This book has EXCELLENT MAPS! The author clearly shows what he is talking about and often the maps show several lines describing the advances of the Russians against the axis forces. He also includes many photographs that I have never seen before. He has done a great job of illustrating exactly what he is explaning.
This book contains many detailed original photographs of tanks and artillery from all sides of the conflict. He includes chapters on the Balkan Collapse September 1944,Belgrade, Budapest, On to the Oder, Fall of Budapest, Reich's Last Offensive, Objective 105 The Reighstag: April 1945 and finally the last ten days of the Reich.
This book tells a story that is shocking. It is a true story and the story is told well. The thing that impressed me so much is that the killing just went on and on and on and on. While I have no sympathy for the former Government of Germany, I have even less respect for the Russians. Sending their aircraft to strafe collums of refugees who are civillians simply trying to escape the rape and murder machine coming to them as quickly as American lend-lease could bring it to them, is a hard story to read. It is am important story to read though.
Just because the enemy of our enemy is out there does not make them our friends. Several German divisions stayed and fought and died simply to buy time for the civillians to escape to the western sector. Again, it does not excuse their previous behavior but it does shed light on a rarely told story.
Books about the final collapse of the Eastern Front have been uncommon because the historical records were either unavailable or didn't exist. This author has done an excellent job of putting the story together in a concise and easily read book. I highly reccomend reading this book. The methods of the Soviet military need to be exposed for future generations to understand how violent war is and how final death is. The Soviet Armies smashed entire European cities just because they could.
This book is excellent and could easily fit in anyones collection of military history books. If you buy it you won't be disappointed. There is a lot of action in this book.
Thank you! SilverWhiskers
|
|
|
|
|