ARMAGEDDON - THE BATTLE FOR GERMANY, 1944-1945

In September 1944, the Allies believed that Hitler's army was beaten and expected the war to be over by Christmas. But the disastrous American landing in Holland, setbacks on the German border and in the Hürtgen Forest, and the bitter Battle of the Bulge stretched the fighting on through the winter and spring. Hastings outlines the last eight months of the war in Europe, drawing on the archives of the major combatants and interviews with 170 survivors to understand how the battles were fought and what the effects were on American, British, German, and Russian soldiers and civilians. Hastings, a journalist based in the UK, has also presented historical documentaries for the BBC and is the author of Bomber Command and Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy, 1944.