Total War ; the Difficult and Bloody Last Months of World War Ii
The Washington Times › January 17, 2005
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Summary
Max Hastings' earlier book on the Normandy landings, "Overlord", contains a haunting scene that foreshadows the story he has to tell in "Armageddon". As American forces approach Omaha beach, an error results in more than two dozen amphibious tanks being launched too far from the shore, in water that is far too deep for them: "Each one, as it dropped off the ramp of the landing craft, plunged like a stone to the bottom of the sea, leaving pitifully few survivors struggling in the swell. Yet the following crews drove on into the water undeterred by ghastly example."
Out of error and chaos comes victory, but at a halting pace, and at a desperate cost. As "Armageddon" opens, hopes are high in the Allied camp that Germany will capitulate in a few months. As late as September 1944, Whitehall planners set December 31 as the likely end of hostilities. Unlike his senior generals, however, Winston Churchill sensed that the struggle would continue into the New Year.See the full content of this document
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Total War ; the Difficult and Bloody Last Months of World War Ii
What were the reasons? As in "Overlord" and his book on RAF Bomber Command, Mr. Hastings (the son of a war correspondent and a distinguished journalist himself) does not flinch from listing the strategic blunders made by the Allied side. His re-telling of the Arnhem fiasco makes painful reading. He is particula...
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