A very nice addition to Pen & Sword's 'Images of War' series is this on the fall of Berlin during the last months of the war. There was a real competition between the British and the Russians to be the first to reach the German capitol. However, the Soviets were closer and really on the move. The Soviet army was at its largest and German defenders were unable to staunch the juggernaut for anything more than a very short while. Once the Soviets were in the outer portions of Berlin, the fighting became even more rugged as the Germans knew that no quarter would be given. The Soviets had a reputation for brutality towards both military and civilian populations so the fighting was mixed with the exodus of German citizens from the city.

The author has chosen to divide the book into several sections. This starts with the Vistula-Oder Offensive as the outer defense barriers were breached. Then there is the defense of the Oder river itself. It then moves on to the Battle of Halbe before going into the Battle for Berlin itself. Each section has a historical introduction before getting into the images themselves. In the first sections, many of the images are from the German side while the latter come mostly from Russian archives. In addition, there is a section that covers the order of battle.

All of these books in the series are superbly illustrated with period photos, which is the main draw of the books. This one is no exception and provides not only a great read but quality images as well. A book that I can easily recommend to you.

February 2020

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