Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble

Product Description

On 16 December 1944, Hitler launched his 'last gamble' in the snow-covered forests and gorges of the Ardennes on the Belgian/German border. Although Hitler's generals were doubtful of success, younger officers and NCOs were desperate to believe that their homes and families could be saved from the vengeful Red Army approaching from the east. The Ardennes offensive, with more than a million men involved, became the greatest battle of the war in western Europe.

In January 1945, when the Red Army launched its onslaught towards Berlin, the once-feared German war machine was revealed to be broken beyond repair. The Ardennes was the battle which finally broke the Wehrmacht.

'Antony Beevor, one of the finest narrative military historians now writing, is a master of revealing vignettes.' The New York Times

'If there's one thing that sets Beevor apart from other historians - beyond his gifts as a storyteller - it's because he is not afraid to look at the most uncomfortable, even frightening subjects, but does so in a way that does not threaten the reader. There's rarely a judgmental note to his writing. It's like having Virgil there to lead you through the underworld: he doesn't leave you stranded amid the horror, but leads you back out again, a wiser person for having undergone the journey.' Keith Lowe in The Daily Telegraph

'Indispensable.' David Aaronovitch, The Times

'The best military prose of our era.' El País

'A wonderfully compelling follow-up to D-Day. No one has recounted it better than Beevor. His gripping, beautifully written narrative moves seamlessly from the generals' command posts to the privates in their snow-covered foxholes, and confirms him as the finest chronicler of war in the business.' Saul David, Observer

'Enthralling.' Daily Mail

'An exemplary picture of the misery and horror of this most appalling conflict, in which more than a million men fought in conditions comparable to those on the eastern Front. This is history as it should be written.' Spectator

'Another perfectly judged episode of the second world war, a worthy companion to the works that made Beevor's name. Yet again, he has shown that he has the gift of alchemy.' Roger Moorhouse in the Financial Times