Armageddon

Archival Summary & Scope

Acclaimed military historian Max Hastings delivers a definitive account of World War II's final, brutal eight months in Europe. Beginning September 1944, when Allied hopes for a swift victory were dashed by setbacks like the disaster in Holland and the Battle of the Bulge, Hastings examines both the Western and Eastern Fronts, including the Red Army's devastating onslaught. Drawing on extensive archival research and 170 survivor interviews, he provides an intimate look at the battles and their human cost on American, British, German, and Russian soldiers and civilians. Hastings raises provocative questions about Allied strategy, the relative effectiveness of combatants, the morality of late-war bombing, and the roots of German fanaticism. Featuring vivid portraits of figures like Stalin, Churchill, and Eisenhower, this is a gripping and revelatory chronicle of the conflict's dramatic conclusion.