Armageddon

An impressive panoramic narrative of the battle for Germany, "Armageddon" combines a wide range of sources (including many veterans) with Hastings's sharp, often iconoclastic judgement. His criticism of the military folly of Operation Market Garden, the Ardennes offensive, and Zhukov's Oder crossing is hard-hitting, but frequently deserved. Hastings is no apologist for military failings, although he frequently gets moralistic: discussions of the justice of the allied cause or the tyranny of Stalin, which is perceived in downright Manichean terms, should not be part of a work of history. This is not to deny the reality of good and evil, or to say that tales of atrocity should not be included: of course they should, especially in a book that intends to provide a comprehensive narrative. It's just that anti-communist and anti-Nazi polemic should not be part of a work of history; it should be left to philosophers and politicians.

Apart from that criticism, Hastings provides a compellingly readable and frequently heart-wrenching account of the final months of the war, paying almost equal attention to the topics usually ignored in the west, such as the sheer magnitude and ferocity of the war on the eastern front. In "Armageddon", the catastrophic climax of the Second World War comes to life, and although we probably can't imagine accurately that awful time, Hastings comes pretty close.

Two minor criticisms. The first is that Hastings argues that the allied carpet bombing of German civilian homes is justified on the grounds that the workers who got bombed were supporting the German war effort through their labour. This is of course correct, but it's a very slippery slope. Taken to an extreme, this argument completely removes the distinction between civilian and military targets: after all, enemy women are also working and supporting their working husbands, thus contributing to the war effort, and children will grow to become enemy soldiers.

Secondly, the maps Hastings includes (e.g. pp.4-5) are extremely strange, inasmuch as they show Europe in the borders of 1937 (except for Luxemburg, which Hastings for some reason considers a part of Germany). As a consequence, Hastings's maps feature a number of countries which did not in fact exist in 1944-5, such as Austria, Czechoslovakia, or Estonia, and simply do not show several countries which did exist, such as Slovakia and Croatia. Of course, the borders of 1937 are broadly those accepted by the Western allies, but they have nothing to do with the political realities of 1944-5; Austria, for instance, was not an independent country, as "Armageddon" suggests, but an integral part of Germany. The problem is sometimes compounded in the text. What is the reader to imagine when told that a certain regiment was moved "to the Czech border"? What Czech border? The pre-1938 Czech border did not exist in 1944-5 either politically or ethnographically. Thus Hastings causes considerable confusion, as there is no clear sense where exactly the "frontiers of Germany" are, or anything else for that matter.

Excellent Narrative (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is a superb book, and I can really appreciate the level of knowledge about the war in 1944-45, and the personal quotes and insights into the conflict at the time that he has brought into the book.

Highly recommended, especially the lesser parts of the campaign he covers, such as the annihilation of East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia, and the moving of borders and people westwards.

I'd highly recommend anyone read this to gain insights into this tumultuous time and help them see how a modern, civilised, Western European civilisation can descend so quickly into chaos, brutality and destruction. One is left pandering for a visit to pre-war europe to see what Dresden and Warsaw used to look like.

Expected Better (0/0 people found this helpful)

The author has obviously put a great deal of time and effort into this book and dealt with many aspects of the latter part of WW2 that tends to be overlooked, such as the suffering of Soviet prisoners, even when repatriated. Although very patchy, my biggest gripe is with Max being a tad naughty when stating German and Russian armies were excellent just about all the time, and that the American and Commonwealth armies were useless most of the time. As with Overlord (a much better book) he is particularly unimpressed by the Canadian performance, while ignoring the actual opponents and terrain. Still definetely worth reading once, just get a copy from your local library.

Brilliant (0/1 people found this helpful)

This is Hastings at his best. He tells the story in typical gripping fashion, and his use of eyewitness accounts helps give the reader a true 'feel' for what it was like to be there. Even for someone who thinks they've read too much about WW2 (as I felt I did before I started this book), this book is recommended. Great stuff, and I really enjoyed reading it.

What kept them going? (1/2 people found this helpful)

an astonishingly good book!The history of the final 2 years of WW2 on the Western front covers in detail the defeat of Germany,and pulls no punches.Contrary to what we were taught at school,the defeat of Germany would have been impossible without the Russians,who not only fought against most of Germany's forces on the extended Eastern front,but who drove forward accepting enormous casualties.Millions of Russians died in this advance.Without this huge sacrifice,the Western front alone would not have succeeded in defeating Germany.Surprisingly,the British author also points out the sparse contribution of the British army on the Western front,relative to the Americans who seemed to carry the invasion and hard fighting forward.
In reading about the Germans during this period,I couldn't help but wonder what kept them going for so long with no hope of winning?The German army was still fighting street by street in Berlin against vastly superior Russian forces right until hitler's suicide-why,when they had no hope of winning?I suppose all the German protagonists are dead now,but it would have been interesting to explore what kept them going when clearly all was lost.A terrific book.

Max Hastings

Reader Reviews:

A compelling and sometimes preachy overview (1/1 people found this helpful)

Excellent Narrative (0/0 people found this helpful)

Expected Better (0/0 people found this helpful)

Brilliant (0/1 people found this helpful)

What kept them going? (1/2 people found this helpful)

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