The Last Battle: The Classic History of the Battle for Berlin

Ryan, Cornelius. The Last Battle: The Classic History of the Battle for Berlin. 1995. 571p. ISBN 9780684803296. 

By April 1945, Nazi Germany was being attacked on two fronts, with combined American, Canadian, British, and French armies attacking from the West, and Soviet armies marching from the East. The situation was growing desperate, and the capital city of Berlin was under constant aerial bombardment. The end of the war was near, and as a result the Nazi regime was growing desperate. The defense of the city had never been envisioned, but with Soviet units mere miles away, it suddenly became a growing concern. Adolf Hitler decided to make his last stand in Berlin, and planned to take Germany down with him since it had failed him.

The Allies, meanwhile, were in a race to see who could capture Berlin first. Plans in early 1944 had been drawn that divided Germany into three conquered and occupied areas, with the Soviets in charge of Berlin. But as resistance remained stiff on the Eastern Front, German armies were less effective on the Western Front, allowing units to move up to 50 miles a day on their drive to the German heartland.

With a population already under siege, the city of Berlin would soon find itself surrounded for one last ditch attack that would essentially end the war in Europe. The Battle of Berlin was the climax of five years of war and destruction.

Fans of history will appreciate the details documented by the author, and will follow well-known individuals as well as regular inhabitants of Berlin as the city fell under the bombs and soldiers of its enemies.