Armageddon

Armageddon follows the destruction of Nazi Germany from the autumn of 1944 to the end of the European war. Max Hastings moves between the Western Allies and the Red Army, examining the stalled advance after Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, the Rhine crossings and the Soviet assault into Germany that culminated in Berlin.

The narrative combines strategic decisions by commanders such as Eisenhower, Montgomery and Stalin’s marshals with testimony from soldiers and civilians on all sides. Hastings compares the military performance, motivation and losses of the competing armies while asking why German resistance continued after defeat had become unavoidable. It is nonfiction military history.