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Last Battle

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Few battles in history have been waged with greater ferocity, desperation, bravery, and atrocity than the battle for Berlin at the end of the Second World War. No one can tell a story better than Ryan, and he is at his very best here. In this book Cornelius Ryan brings his masterful powers of description and discerning eye for extraordinary detail to bear with force and elegance. This is a wonderful book, immensely informative, densely packed with facts and figures, and told in a compelling way by a best-selling author who can vividly recount seemingly countless tales of the most ordinary of individuals caught in the unforgiving and often deadly embrace of total war.

By this stage Hitler had begun to withdraw farther into the recesses of the fabled German Chancellery complex, while around and above him raged an endless barrage by Soviet artillery, British, American and Canadian bombs, and the clashes of German and Russian tanks and armor. This then, is the final epic struggle amid the ashes and ruins of a once proud and great metropolis, the chaotic and blood-curdling death throes of the Nazi regime. Fearing the terrible wrath and ritual rape and murder of rampaging Russians, German forces tended to withdraw from the western front in an attempt to either surrender outright to the Americans or British, or to let these more "civilized" western forces take Berlin before capitulating the hated Russians. Hitler had expressly forbidden any kind of surrender, intending this to be a fight to the death. Indeed, the stage was set for some of the most horrific excesses of the war.

This, then, is a riveting and well-told story told down to the final exciting detail of how this battle of titans was fought, with an amazing degree of description of the "on the ground, as it is happening" kind of story telling. Of course, Ryan excels at this, as proven with not only this book but by his other best sellers, as well. Written with compassion, it recognizes and empathizes with a sensitivity for the terrible ordeal faced by individual civilians who through bad luck and circumstance happened to be standing in the path of an oncoming maelstrom. The pages are filled with the struggle of all to survive, sometimes quite against the odds, and the pages gleam with example after example of single acts of defiance and courage, acts to help to save someone else, often at great personal risk.

The narrative of the book dramatizes the catastrophic and irreversible consequences of war, for both combatants and noncombatants alike, and helps the reader to appreciate the ways in which the events as they unfolded in the battle for Berlin, the stage of European and world history were both positively and negatively affected. This is a book all students of modern history should read, and one I highly recommend for your bookshelf.

Mr. Ryan was the Stephen Ambrose of his time. The books THE LONGEST DAY and A BRIDGE TOO FAR stand as World War Two classics, these books were even made into 2 pretty fine movies. THE LAST BATTLE which was re-released in May 1995 to comemorate the end of the European conflict in WW2 is another of Mr. Ryan's books, it is an outstanding and hair-raising account of the final orgasm of violence involved in the death of Nazi Germany. The author presents all sides to this conflict American, British, Russian and German as the allied armies rush in from all sides to dismember the Reich. The author was able to interview personalities involved from top Soviet generals down to a simple milkman who made his daily runs through the Berlin suburbs which were to become a hellish landscape of slaughter, rape and mass destruction. The Soviets were cooperative in letting Mr. Ryan interview key personalities and view important documents, but I agree with Mr. Ryan that they likely held back several important aspects of their part in the battle such as the existence of The Rape Memo which was an instruction read to Soviet troops encouraging them to put the German in his place and claim the victors spoils by raping German women. There is almost an entire chapter filled with rape stories, horrifying stuff. The meat of the story involves the clash of Soviet and German arms. With the destruction of Army Group Center in the spring of 1945 most German commanders knew that the best thing they could do was to hold off the Soviet onslaught long enough to allow German civilians and then slodiers enough time to escape west, towards the Americans and British, some German commanders even hoped that by buying time in the east the Anglo-Allies would reach Berlin first. What they did not know was that the Anglos were not coming to the rescue, ordered to stop in an amazing chain of events that 50 years hindsight clearly shows as a mistake. In any case Hitler decided that Berlin should be a "Fortress" which was his favored term for a no surrender, no withdrawl fight to the death. Berlin had little protection, the city was never really fortified. The troops protecting it were tired, ill-equiped veterans, old men of the Volksturm or Hitler Youth, the were some well equiped and fanatic Waffen SS formations (several were foreign volunteer groups) in the area but as the command and control structure was destroyed they could do little but local holding actions. The combat descriptions are outstanding, the descriptions of the Soviet build-up for the assualt are particularly chilling, rockets, mortars, tanks even heavy artillery being used as a sniper weapon. There are descriptions of roving SS execution squads, Allied bombing raids, suicides to avoid capture and/or rape. I found the descriptions of the gigantic Flak Towers facinating, these 13 story forts complete with generators, water supply and even hospital were able to house about 10,000 soldiers and civilians. There are before and after photos which I have never seen before. One can almost imagine Hitler pounding his fist on the table "Where is Steiner? Where is Wenke?" I highly recommend the film THE BUNKER to anyone reading this outstanding book, they must have used it to produce the screen play.

Before Stephen Ambrose took center stage as the best current historian of WWII, there was Cornelius Ryan. Mr. Ryan wrote a trio of classic books about WWII: The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, and this book. The first two were made into movies, and are commonly known. They cover two of the most important European theatre campaigns that involved the US and British forces. If you have not read either one of those books, I highly recommend both of them.

The Last Battle is the least known book of the trio. None the less, it is a classic. In it, Ryan gives a gripping account of the battle for Berlin. He does an excellent job of introducing the scenario that lead to this truly horrifying and desperate battle. Just like his other books, he weaves a captivating narrative that takes the reader from the planning sessions of the Red Army, to Hitler's bunker, on to the streets of Berlin where the battle was actually fought. He covers this conflict from many angles (Generals, soldiers, civilians, Germans, Soviets, etc.) and gives the reader an accurate account of what happened during this battle. As always, the amount of research and personal interviews he did for this book are quite impressive.

Mr. Ryan does an excellent job of building the battle drama into the fury that erupted when the Soviets finally rolled into the city of Berlin. The payback that the Red Army gives the Wehrmacht, the city, and the civilian population of Berlin is a real eye-opener. If you have never read anything about this battle (like myself), you may be shocked when you learn the details. As Ryan points out, the Soviets saw this campaign as the one opportunity to avenge their losses on the Eastern Front (especially in places like Stalingrad), and they took full advantage of the situation (to include many heinous acts against innocent civilians). Just like when the British and Americans bombed Dresden, the Soviets wanted to teach the Nazis, and the German people, a lesson they would never forget.

I first bought this book because of the author. I had some interest about the battle because I visited Berlin as a young man back when the wall was still in place. Once I started this book I became totally engrossed with it, and finished in a few days. I highly recommend it to any Cornelius Ryan fan. If you liked his other books, you will definitely enjoy this one also. Also, this book is great for anyone wanting to learn about the battle that sealed the fate of the Nazi regime.

The Last Battle, the second book of Cornelius Ryan's World War II trilogy, is a vivid and haunting account of the last days of Hitler's Third Reich and the fall of Berlin. As in The Longest Day (1959) and A Bridge Too Far (1974), Ryan weaves his narrative tapestry with meticulous research and eyewitness accounts of military and civilians on all sides who were caught up in the cataclysmic events of that terrible spring of 1945.

It is April, 1945, and Germany is tottering at the edge of defeat. On the Western Front, General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Allied armies have crossed the Rhine, the Reich's last natural defense against invasion from the west. Now, sensing that victory is near, American, British, Canadian and other Allied divisions are racing for the Elbe River and beyond - with Berlin as the long expected prize.

In the East, millions of Soviet soldiers have swept into Germany from the Baltic states and Poland, storming into the Nazi heartland with blood and fire. Urged on by their thirst for revenge and the orders of Red dictator Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Army also races west toward the German capital. Here the dying Third Reich will stand or die in its last battle.

Ryan deals here not only with the fall of Berlin, but he also explores in detail the very complicated political and military issues behind Eisenhower's most controversial decision of the War: the Western Allies would not cross beyond the Elbe River to capture Hitler's capital. Though Ryan's tone is impartial and he delves deeply into the wrangling between President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Premier Stalin, the reader is still left with the impression that the plans dealing with Germany's postwar fate sowed the seeds of the Cold War which followed V-E Day.

The Last Battle, although longer and far more complex than The Longest Day, is a very human story that keeps the reader involved. One feels the suspense of the frantic Allied advance eastward, cheering the "Amis" (as the Germans nicknamed the Americans) on even though it will be the Red Army that gets to Berlin first. The German participants, military and civilian alike, are depicted fairly and without the expected "victor's triumphal" tone that would have painted all the Germans as Nazi villains. Indeed, one can feel sympathy for Berliners who - with the exception of Hitler and his most loyal followers - would rather be at the mercy of the British and Americans rather than fall to the feared Russians. It must be said, however, that although Ryan wrote this book during the Cold War, he is fair and balanced in his reporting of the Soviet advance to Berlin.

In The Last Battle, Cornelius Ryan presents the battle of Berlin in shocking, realistic detail. Rather than the usual broad stroked, glossed over version of history that we usually get in movies and textbooks. Rather Ryan shows the events unfold through the stories of individuals that were there. From civilians to foot soldier, politicians to high ranking command officers. All sides are presented to the reader. This the real nitty gritty of the events, not just history told from one point of view or perspective. A must have for any serious World War II reader and a highly recommended read for anyone else!

I orginally bought all three of Ryan's books at the same time since his book "The Longest Day" was the basis of the movie "The Longest Day", and the reviews of all three books were very good. I decided to read "The Last Battle" first, since my strong interest in WWII is dealing with the Americans, British, & Germans; the Russians have held little interest to me. With that in mind, I figured this book would be the least interesting to me of the three books.
Boy, was I in for a surprise! "The Last Battle" was a very interesting and very well written book about the battle for Berlin. The book takes turns telling the story from all sides; the Americans, the British, the Germans, & the Russians. The book is so very well written that it just keeps flowing, very smoothly. The book is hard to put down. Inaddition to telling the story of the military side, you also get the horrible stories of what it was like to live in Berlin as a civilian, during its final battle.
If you read some other reviews for this book, they all say the same thing: this is a great book, very well written. You wiil not be disappointed!!

Cornelius Ryan sets the stage for the last few months of World War II invoking Adolph Hilter's military order forbididding his losing troops to retreat from battle: "Starre Verteidigung! (Stand Fast!)."

The drama unfolds as told by the people who were there, in accounts taken from a diverse sampling of players -- German, American/British and Russian. From conferences between Generals to the fearful whisperings of townspeople to the manic military briefings in the subterranean Fuhrerbunker led by a drugged-out, decompensating Adolph Hitler, the reader is lead through a compelling labyrinth of facts and details underlying the death throes of a World War, and of Nazi Germany.

Along the way we're reminded that this could have been prevented; there was a failed assasination attempt of Hitler led by Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg on July 20, 1944, and even months before the end, Hitler's trused architect, Albert Speer, sought to use poison gas on Hitler and Co. by feeding it into the air filtration system of the Fuhrerbunker -- but, no! In March, 1945, just as Speer had conjoured a way to prevent the inevitable mass loss of life (including most of animals at the Berlin Zoo, as Ryan poignantly reminds us), a chimney is built above the bunker and SS guards are stationed to protect it, and we are drawn into the fray of a World War as it plays out in the bitter battle for Berlin.

Soldiers become autonomous from polititicians, the Americans halt on the Elbe, chaos and order intertwine as Stalin pits his Generals, Koniev and Zhukov, against one another to take the German capital as the ferocious Nazi regime is whittled into compliance through sheer brutality of waves of assaults, and finally, street to street fighting in the city of Berlin.

This is an amazing reminder for all of us how war engenders colossal waste of life, and that all that remains in the aftermath of the will to conquer is ashes, rubble, rape, insanity and death.

Stalin's prize for taking Berlin is the charred, remains of Hitler's body and jaw, identified by dental technician Kathe Hausermann. Her reward? Hausermann is placed in solitary confinement in a Soviet prison for over ten years as the Cold War warms up.

This book is a grim reminder of how hideous war is, and how foolish an act it would be to repeat it -- out of boredom, nationalism, quest for resources or lack of direction. It is a primer for considering prevention that anything like WWII will ever happen again, and stopping dangerous world leaders from rising to power in the first place.

Ryan does such a superb job in knitting together the state of so many things happening in the city prior to being abandoned by its leaders and being taken by the Soviets. Mayhem, confusion, lies, and destruction abound, whilst life somehow continues for so many. This is very well researched, supported by many first hand accounts, and recounted in mesmerizing fashion. I've read Beevor's book too, "The Fall of Berlin 1945," which is also a fine account, but this one tops it.

When I first read this book 25 years ago I could barely put it down, and I've read it several more times since then. This is simply the best single title on the battle for Berlin.

This book also has the true history of the final days of World War II as does the great book " Conquer : Story of the Ninth Army" that is not documented in videos or televised versions of History. Video Tapes of WW II have dredfully slated versions of true history about the final days of WW II. The 2nd Armored Division crossed the Elbe River at Magdeburg and established a Bridgehead but had to withdraw due to great german defenses. The 83rd Inf. Division took Barby after bitter fighting, we crossed the Elbe River on Friday the 13, April, 1945 and established our bridgehead and other troops that stopped on the west side of the Elbe helped to reinforce it. I was there, 1st machine gun squad, "I" Co. 3rd Bn. of the 83rd Inf. Div. You will not regret the purchase of this great book also. These books rank more than 5 stars. I have them both and they do document the final days of WW II as it was.

This book is easily one of the best books on any subject I have EVER read. Ryan brings many different lives and stories together in one horrid account of the collapse of the Reich. It's almost like reading about your neighbors as you follow these people through to the end. Ryan does not hesitate to give us all the details as the citizens of Berlin came under the heel of the conquering Russians. The pictures in this 50th anniversary addition are stunning. As important as the best Hitler biographies and Shirer's RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH.

Essential reading.