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 GP. He is extensively involved in medical politics, both at local and national level. An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th-century military history, his previous books include the critically acclaimed two-volume series on the siege of Leningrad: To Besiege A City (Osprey 2023) and Hero City (Osprey 2024). He now lives in Kirkcudbright in Scotland.

Subject to Change: Introduction - the factors that combined to make the utter defeat of Germany - and the devastation of its capital - unavoidable. Chapter 1 - the campaigns that led to the eve of the Battle of Berlin; the great Soviet advance across the Vistula and to the Oder; the drive by the Western Allies over the Rhine and across Germany. Chapter 2 - both Soviet and German preparations for the final battle. Chapter 3 - the assault begins. The defence of the Seelow Heights. Chapter 4 - Konev's breakthrough. The advance of 1st Ukrainian Front into eastern Germany, separating the German Army Group Centre from Army Group Vistula. German countermeasures and the Battle of Bautzen. Chapter 5 - The advance by Konev and Zhukov on Berlin. The beginning of Soviet artillery bombardment of the city. Rokossovsky attacks across northern Germany towards the lower Elbe. Chapter 6 - The Halbe pocket. The encirclement of Ninth Army. Hitler agrees for Ninth Army to try to move west while Twelfth Army, deployed along the middle Elbe, marches east to link up before attacking north to relieve the pressure on Berlin. Chapter 7 - The battle within the Berlin urban area commences in earnest. Chapter 8 - Climax at the Reichstag. Hitler commits suicide. Chapter 9 - The remnants of the garrison attempt to break out. The final surrender in the city. Chapter 10 - The last battles of the Third Reich. The final disintegration of Ninth Army, and link-ups by the Red Army with British forces in the north and American forces in the centre and south. Chapter 11 - Aftermath. A brief outline of the course of events in Berlin after the war and the division of the city, and the onset of the Cold War. Conclusions.