On 16 April 1945 the Red Army unleashed a colossal offensive against Berlin with the aim of destroying Hitler's armies in the East and capturing the German capital before the Western Allies. Over two million soldiers confronted each other in the last act in the war against Nazi Germany. In the course of the next three weeks, relentless Soviet assaults crashed against a desperate, sometimes suicidal defence, and the historic city was turned into a vast battlefield. This epic contest, which has fascinated students of warfare ever since, can only be understood by visiting the sites of the battle on the ground, in the outskirts, in the suburbs, in the centre where the final dramatic combat took place. That is why Tony Le Tissier's detailed, graphic and highly illustrated guide is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to understand the battle and follow its course along the streets of the modern city. AUTHOR: During many years working in several senior official positions in Berlin - including spells as provost marshal and British governor of Spandau prison - Tony Le Tissier has accumulated a vast knowledge of the campaign the led up to the fall of Berlin. He has researched every aspect of the 1945 battle for the city in unprecedented detail and has published a series of outstanding books on the subject, including The Battle of Berlin 1945, Farewell to Spandau, Berlin Then and Now, Zhukov at the Oder, Slaughter at Halbe, The Third Reich Then and Now, With Our Backs to Berlin, Death Was Our Companion, Berlin Battlefield Guide: Third Reich and Cold War and The Siege of Kustrin 1945: Gateway to Berlin 120 colour and 180 b/w plates
