Publishers Weekly
05/30/2022
Caddick-Adams (Snow and Steel), a lecturer at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, chronicles in this exhaustive history the Western Allies’ drive into Germany in the final 100 days of WWII. After repelling German offensives in the Ardennes and struggling to take the Colmar Pocket, Caddick-Adams explains, Allied generals refined their ability to work together in their concerted push to the Rhine, “the most formidable natural obstacle in western Europe, next to the Normandy beaches.” Drawing on eyewitness testimony from journalists and soldiers, including the future Archbishop of Canterbury, Caddick-Adams documents hazardous battlefield conditions, fierce urban fighting, and the first horrified encounters with enslaved laborers and concentration camp inmates. In February 1945, 25,000 American infantrymen “slid in one continuous, unstoppable wave” across the flooded Roer River, surprising the enemy and setting the stage for a series of pivotal clashes on the Rhine. Caddick-Adams provides incisive details about the unexpected capture of the Ludendorff railway bridge at Remagen, the fractious relationship between American and Free French generals, Hitler’s plans to “impose extortionate casualties” on the Allies, the struggle to coordinate piecemeal surrenders by German forces, and more. This is a must-have for the bookshelves of dedicated WWII history buffs. (July)
From the Publisher
"This is a must-have for the bookshelves of dedicated WWII history buffs." — Publishers Weekly
"The final volume in the author's acclaimed World War II series....A first-rate analysis for military buffs." — Kirkus
Kirkus Reviews
2022-04-26
The final volume in the author’s acclaimed World War II series.
Caddick-Adams covers the 100 days from late January 1945 until May 8. He begins by arguing that many accounts of the war in Western Europe focus too heavily on D-Day, the summer battles in Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge. “Like a movie suddenly speeded up,” historians treat this period as an anticlimax. “Once across the Rhine,” writes the author, “the advance into Germany of March-May often passes in a few paragraphs, with the end seemingly predetermined, and it only remained to occupy territory and mop up a few diehards.” In his first anecdote, Caddick-Adams illustrates this error. In mid-March 1945, more than 600 American soldiers crossed into Germany and alerted the enemy by stumbling into a minefield; 456 became casualties or prisoners. Having recovered from the Battle of the Bulge, the Allies pushed into Germany, which meant confronting the Westwall, a defense line that “comprised more than 18,000 bunkers and stretched four hundred miles from Holland to the Swiss frontier.” Although it was a formidable defense, Caddick-Adams points out that fixed defenses “cannot halt an opponent unless fully manned and infinitely resourced.” In 1945, the Wehrmacht consisted mostly of burned-out veterans and poorly trained, dispirited replacements. Many historians emphasize their eagerness to surrender, but Caddick-Adams points out that a few disciplined German units maintained a powerful resistance until the end. The author divides the campaign into three parts: conquest of the Rhineland (a brutal business), the effort to cross the Rhine (mostly through good luck and massive resources), and the race across Germany (easier than the previous two but never a walkover). Caddick-Adams includes vivid anecdotes, small-unit fireworks, and strong, well-informed personal opinions on the often unwise decisions of leaders. He also recounts mass movements that require close attention to his maps and dutifully records more names and nicknames of smaller units and their commanders than general readers require.
A first-rate analysis for military buffs.
