Prelude to Berlin

Much has been written about the battle for Berlin, as the Soviet Red Army closed in on the great city during the final weeks of the war. The events have been turned into films and even documentaries. Until now, many western historians have had to work with material which could only be corroborated by files held by the Soviets and that was difficult to access. This work is the first to publish much of that material to present it in a single volume for military enthusiasts and they have much to wade through, with over 600 pages. It was prepared by the Soviet General Staff and charts the Red Army’s operations in 1945 and fascinating reading it makes, too. The numbers of troops, tanks and artillery, along with the build-up of supplies, shows that Germany was caught in the ever tightening jaws of the vice with the Red Army in the East and the Allies in the West. Hitler never stood a chance. If anyone thinks otherwise, they would be well advised to read this book, which is a countdown to the end of the war in Europe.