Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944-45

In this compelling study the author addresses the big human and military questions. Why did the Allies not win the war in 1944, when they were vastly stronger than the Germans? Why did the Russians produce the best generals? What was it like to fight the British, American, German and Soviet armies? This book embraces the fates of more than a hundred million people, from the tragic teenage fanatics who died in the ruins of Hitler's Reich to the British 'Tommies' who simply yearned to finish a painful job and go home. Few books on the Second World War have so vividly brought together the story of the battlefields, east and west, with the decisions of the generals and the impact of great events upon ordinary soldiers and civilians.

Max Hastings is the author of eighteen books. For almost a decade he was editor of the Daily Telegraph and then for six years edited the Evening Standard. He was knighted in 2002. For Armageddon he has researched archives in four countries and interviewed 170 witnesses to piece together a saga that is at once fascinating military history and the greatest human tragedy of the twentieth century