Berlin: The Final Reckoning

In April 1945, the final dramatic act of World War II in Europe was played out in Germanys capital city. Berlin The Final Reckoning is the comprehensive history of the last battle of Nazi Germany, which would see the virtual destruction of a city, and the eventual suicide of Adolf Hitler.
The book begins with a study of the background to the battle and a description of events on the Eastern and Western Fronts before Soviet forces reached Berlin. The citys strategic importance to the German war effort and morale is considered, along with the factors that caused the Western Allies to halt their advance on the Elbe rather than push on to the Nazi capital. The German forces available for Berlins defence and their actual defensive preparations are covered in depth, as is the devastating destruction caused by the ceaseless Allied bombing and the remorseless shelling by the Red Army.
The book describes in words and graphic pictures how, in a city reduced to rubble, a bitter hand-to-hand struggle developed between fanatical Nazis, SS troopers, old men and young boys of the Hitler Youth and the hard- bitten Soviet frontline troops bent on revenge. The suffering of the soldiers and civilians are revealed in full detail, with personal accounts from those involved in the battle.
The book also describes the events in the bunker behind the Reichs Chancellery, where Hitler spent his last months. Finally the reader learns how German commanders disobeyed the Führers orders to fight to the last man, and the fate of the city was sealed. The final chapter discusses the full implications of the battle for the Germans and Soviets, and briefly describes the search for Hitlers body.
Berlin The Final Reckoning is a brilliant, superbly illustrated account of the battle that ended the Nazi dream of a thousand-year Reich.