The classic account of the final offensive against Hitler's Third Reich -- newly in print for the 50th anniversary of VE Day.

The Battle for Berlin was the culminating struggle of World War II in the European theater, the last offensive against Hitler's Third Reich, which devastated one of Europe's historic capitals and brought the Nazi leviathan to its downfall. It was also one of the war's bloodiest and most pivotal moments, whose outcome would play a part in determining the complexion of international politics for decades to come.

The Last Battle is the compelling account of this final battle, a story of brutal extremes, of stunning military triumph alongside the stark conditions that the civilians of Berlin experienced in the face of the Allied assault. As always, Ryan delves beneath the military and political forces that were dictating events to explore the more immediate questions of survival, where, as the author describes it, "to eat had become more important than to love, to burrow more dignified than to fight, to exist more militarily correct than to win."

The Last Battle is the story of ordinary people, both soldiers and civilians, caught up in the despair, frustration, and terror of defeat. It is history at its best, a masterful illumination of the effects of war on the lives of individuals, and one of the enduring works on World War II.

Foreword: A-DAY, MONDAY, AVAIL 16, 1945

PACE 9

Part One: THE CITY

PAGE 11

photographs

PAGE 57

Part Two: THE GENERAL

PAGE 67

photographs

PAGE 105

Part Three: THE OBJECTIVE

PAGE 117

photographs

PAGE 177

Part Four: THE DECISlON

PAGE 195

photographs

PAGE337

Part Five: Tim BATTLE

PAGE 343

photographs

PAGE 513

A Note on Casualties

PAGE 520

The Soldiers and Civilians: What They Do Today

PAGE 521

Bibliography

PAGE 541

Acknowledgments

PAGE 552

Index

PAGE 555