Berlin

Written by one of the world's leading experts on the Eastern Front, this captivating history explores the final battle for Berlin and the heart of Germany. This sweeping saga takes us from the banks of the River Oder as the Red Army begins it relentless drive towards the still beating heart of the Third Reich: Berlin. Only the Seelow Heights stood between the Soviet forces and the capital. Over the course of three days in May 1945 almost one million Soviet troops would attack these final entrenched positions. Once these defences were breached it was guaranteed that a bitter street-by-street battle would take place in the city itself between a vengeful Red Army and desperate, fanatical Nazis until final capitulation. Using vivid first-hand accounts, Prit Buttar reveals the brutal combat that defined the final death throes of the Third Reich. Not only was the outcome of the war at stake. As the Red Army rolled into Berlin this was already a foregone conclusion even if it would take its toll in blood. Already battle lines for the forthcoming Cold War were being drawn. Stalin, fearful that the Western Powers would not honour their agreements, was determined to have boots on the ground to ensure his control of what would become the Soviet occupation zone. Berlin: Endgame 1945 is the brilliant account of the ferocious climax to World War II and a chilling prologue to the Cold War.

Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he worked as a general practitioner. An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th-century military history, his most recent titles include the critically acclaimed new history of the siege of Leningrad: To Besiege A City: Leningrad 1941-42 and Hero City: Leningrad 1943-44. He lives in Kirkcudbright, Scotland.

List of Illustrations List of Maps Dramatis Personae Introduction: The Road to Berlin Chapter 1: The City on the Spree Chapter 2: 'Call Me Meier' Chapter 3: Preparing for the Last Stand: The German Defences Chapter 4: The Red Army: Plans For Vengeance Chapter 5: The Storm Bursts: 16 April Chapter 6: Breakthrough: 17-18 April Chapter 7: To the Gates of Berlin: 19-20 April Chapter 8: Der Krieg ist verloren: 21-22 April Chapter 9: Into the City: 23-25 April Chapter 10: Disintegration: 26-28 April Chapter 11: The Bitterest of Ends: Berlin, 29 April-2 May Chapter 12: The Roads to the West: 29 April-8 May Chapter 13: Conclusion: An Uneasy Silence Notes Bibliography Index