Countdown to Victory: The Final European Campaigns of World War II (P.S.) [Paperback]

Barry Turner (Author)

Book Description

Series: P.S. | Publication Date: November 8, 2005

In most accounts of World War II, the last six months of fighting in Europe are tucked into an epilogue. After the Battle of the Bulge, the Nazis are assumed to be as good as defeated. In fact, they fought to their last breath. In the Hürtgen Forest, in the Po Valley of Italy, and in the German industrial heartland of the Ruhr, the Allies suffered horrific losses.

Drawing on never-before-published sources, Barry Turner captures the thrill of victory, the despair of defeat, and the staggering human costs of war. From the grunts on the ground to the machinations of generals and statesmen and the daily miseries of civilians caught in the crossfire, Turner brings this critical chapter of World War II searingly and indelibly to life.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Contrary to popular misconceptions, some of the bitterest, bloodiest fighting on the western front came months after the breakout from the Normandy beachhead. Turner, a writer and television commentator, is not a military specialist. So he wisely tells his story with heavy reliance on the memoirs and recollections of those who planned and participated in the campaigns as well as those civilians who endured as destruction and even starvation raged. The result is an engrossing and frequently surprising saga. Those looking for comradeship and heroism will be disappointed. Soldiers, both Allied and German, seemed to be driven primarily by the desire to survive. When he examines the command structure, Turner is fair but unsparing in revealing the strengths and weaknesses of various personalities. While acknowledging that disagreements between Allies were inevitable, Turner reveals just how petty supposedly strong personalities like Montgomery and Patton could be as they nursed their personal rivalries and resentments. This informative study will be an excellent addition to military history collections. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Barry Turner has used many hitherto unpublished first-person accounts and is commendably objective in his use of material.” (Daily Post (Liverpool) )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (November 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060742828
• ISBN-13: 978-0060742829
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,328,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Competent Summary, March 31, 2005

By 

Two Tone "timafc" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Countdown to Victory: The Final European Campaigns of World War II (Hardcover)

This is a well put together book but I didn't think it was as good as Max Hastings' "Armageddon" which covers the same topic.

It really only looks in detail at the end of the war in Western Europe and pretty much ignores the Eastern Front, which was where most of the really intense fighting took place - maybe it should have been titled "Countdown to Victory in the West."

There are some a number of fairly basic errors which if you know anything about the subject are irritating eg he repeats the old but discredited myth often quoted by bomber crew about the Germans using "scarecrow" shells which looked like exploding planes to frighten them (no, they really were exploding planes); plus Hitler was 53 in 1945, not 46.

So all in all, a good summary of the end of the war in the West but probably not the definitive book on the subject.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's the 30th Infantry Division not the 13th!, January 10, 2006

By 

W. D. Sowinski "WWII Reenactor" (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Countdown to Victory: The Final European Campaigns of World War II (P.S.) (Paperback)

This is an interesting book which deals with the trials and tribulations of all soldiers as well as civilians. It deals primarily with the war in Western Europe from September 1944 through December 1944.

Among some errors mentioned in another review, there is one glaring error which stands out to me anyway. Specifically, Turner refers to a U.S.Army Division as the "Thirteenth" ( on page 274 ) but there was no Thirteenth division...it was the 30th Infantry Division known as Old Hickory. Turner correctly identifies the 117th Infantry Regiment of the 30th ID however.

I did enjoy this book and found that the civilian stories added an interesting dimension to the overall content.