Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945

Rating:
Summary: Terrific history of final WWII events in E. Prussia, Poland
Review: "Red Storm" is an excellent history of an overlooked yet vital part of World War II: the fighting between the Soviet Union and Germany in the last months of the war from East Prussia and Poland into Berlin. The text is very readable with a refreshing and frequent use of personal experiences of both Soviets and Germans. Not just soldiers but ordinary people describe life during this inferno. Some of the incidents are truly heart-wrenching, especially the scenes of deprivation suffered by the people unfortunate enough to live in this region during those last few months. The descriptions of the military action are well-paced with a good use of maps. The detailed appendix and endnotes are full of interesting trivia and departure points for more reading on specific topics. The author also digs up obscure episodes of interest. An example is the use of German capital ships like the heavy cruisers Prinz Eugen and the Admiral Scheer in bombarding the advancing Soviet troops. These German ships and others hurled thousands of rounds of shells over the heads of the German troops from their positions offshore in the Baltic Sea. The German Navy also played a crucial role in the evacuation of civilians and troops from seaports in front of the Soviet offensive. The discovery of Nazi concentration camps like Auschwitz by the advancing Soviet troops is also covered. The only (minor) faults I could find were the lack of any historical photographs and the author's tendancy to talk about the Nazi's regime's survival "into summer"-though the regime seized to exist after May 10, which is still spring to most people. I highly recommend "Red Storm on the Reich" if for no other reason than it keeps alive the memories of the fighting and now vanished ways of life in cities like Breslau, Danzig, Stettin, Konigsberg, and other cities which today have lost even their German names.

Rating:
Summary: Missing only the finale
Review: Duffy has written an excellent book on the chaotic times as the Soviets invaded Germany from the east. Some things will never be known with any certainty, but Duffy manages to give a coherent account of a tumultuous time. I give only four stars because the book omits the actual capture of Berlin. In some ways Berlin was anticlimatic, because the Reich was disintegrating, but without Berlin in the book, it feels incomplete.

Rating:
Summary: Missing only the finale
Review: Duffy has written an excellent book on the chaotic times as the Soviets invaded Germany from the east. Some things will never be known with any certainty, but Duffy manages to give a coherent account of a tumultuous time. I give only four stars because the book omits the actual capture of Berlin. In some ways Berlin was anticlimatic, because the Reich was disintegrating, but without Berlin in the book, it feels incomplete.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent narrative of Russians' final set of offensives.
Review: I thought this book was well written, research and quite interesting. The book was written without much bias and accounts from both sides were taken into consideration. Like the previous reviewer, I didn't understand why Mr. Duffy didn't go into Battle of Berlin which was the crowning jewel of the Soviet offensives which ended the war. I guess Antony Beevor's work have to covered that end. The book come highly recommended for anyone interested in the final months of the Third Reich along the eastern front.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent account of a neglected period of war
Review: Mr Duffy has provided us with a definitive account of the last stage of the war in Europe. Sadly there appears to be little in the English language literature dealing with the operations of the Red Army to reach Berlin and bring to an end the war. We can count ourselves all the luckier that Mr. Duffy's book is such a gem. He sets out to tell us the operations in a seamless narrative, effortlessly switching between layers of command reaching from a German platoon commander to a Soviet Marshal and into the Fuehrerbunker. After this section, he discusses in detail the operational problems facing both armies. He does so in a very accessible way, providing references to the first section for the specific examples. Mr. Duffy has an impressive amount of sources that he draws on, and the literature list is exhaustive.
I came away from this book with a significantly increased respect for the capabilities of the Red Army that my grandfather fought. The operations described in here dwarf the Ardennes battles in every respect, and are a serious reminder as to who won the second world war, and why Europe looked the way it did for 50 years after 1945.
A must read.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent account of a neglected period of war
Review: Mr Duffy has provided us with a definitive account of the last stage of the war in Europe. Sadly there appears to be little in the English language literature dealing with the operations of the Red Army to reach Berlin and bring to an end the war. We can count ourselves all the luckier that Mr. Duffy's book is such a gem. He sets out to tell us the operations in a seamless narrative, effortlessly switching between layers of command reaching from a German platoon commander to a Soviet Marshal and into the Fuehrerbunker. After this section, he discusses in detail the operational problems facing both armies. He does so in a very accessible way, providing references to the first section for the specific examples. Mr. Duffy has an impressive amount of sources that he draws on, and the literature list is exhaustive.
I came away from this book with a significantly increased respect for the capabilities of the Red Army that my grandfather fought. The operations described in here dwarf the Ardennes battles in every respect, and are a serious reminder as to who won the second world war, and why Europe looked the way it did for 50 years after 1945.
A must read.

Rating:
Summary: the only book on this tragedy of history in English language
Review: Mr. Duffy's books are well researched and quite balanced . this books is the only one inEglish language which deal with last chapter of Nazi Germany and her military bankrupt.Although each Battle for vistula river, East Prussia , silesia is largely forgotten now (at least in the western countries),these battle were reflections of ruthlessness , irrationality and fanaticism of Nazi party and subsquent and obvious human sufferings .there is German Author Kurowski's book which is translated in English, however it is horribly translated and represented only German side. On the other hand, Mr. Duffy's books is well balanced and surprisingly readable .
unfortuntely , there is a mistakes on both side's tanks' capabilities( Mr. Duffy wrote German Tiger II was somewhat inferior to Soviet ISII heavy tanks but it's not true)but it's understandable..
anyway, this book is the most concise one of last year of Eastern Front .recommended to both Military history buffs and any other readers who are interested in Third Reich and its tragic demise.

Rating:
Summary: the only book on this tragedy of history in English language
Review: Mr. Duffy's books are well researched and quite balanced . this books is the only one inEglish language which deal with last chapter of Nazi Germany and her military bankrupt.Although each Battle for vistula river, East Prussia , silesia is largely forgotten now (at least in the western countries),these battle were reflections of ruthlessness , irrationality and fanaticism of Nazi party and subsquent and obvious human sufferings .there is German Author Kurowski's book which is translated in English, however it is horribly translated and represented only German side. On the other hand, Mr. Duffy's books is well balanced and surprisingly readable .
unfortuntely , there is a mistakes on both side's tanks' capabilities( Mr. Duffy wrote German Tiger II was somewhat inferior to Soviet ISII heavy tanks but it's not true)but it's understandable..
anyway, this book is the most concise one of last year of Eastern Front .recommended to both Military history buffs and any other readers who are interested in Third Reich and its tragic demise.

Rating:
Summary: Well-researched military history
Review: This book is an excellent source of information on a sector of the Eastern Front that does not get that much attention--the fighting retreat into Germany in late '44 to the outskirts of Berlin. The book is informative and well-written but I would have liked to read about more individual experiences of the combatants involved. Of particular interest are the chapters on the sieges of the fortress cities like Breslau and Konigsberg. Some illustrations would also had been nice. Overall, recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Well-researched military history
Review: This book is an excellent source of information on a sector of the Eastern Front that does not get that much attention--the fighting retreat into Germany in late '44 to the outskirts of Berlin. The book is informative and well-written but I would have liked to read about more individual experiences of the combatants involved. Of particular interest are the chapters on the sieges of the fortress cities like Breslau and Konigsberg. Some illustrations would also had been nice. Overall, recommended.