1945: Victory in the West by Peter Caddick-Adams

1945: Victory in the West by Peter Caddick-Adams

March 1945. Allied troops are poised to cross the Rhine and sweep on into Germany. Victory is finally within their grasp. But if they believe this victory can be easily won, they face swift disillusionment. The final 100 days of the Second World War will prove to be bitterly and bloodily fought, village by village, town by town.

In Victory in the West 1945 acclaimed military historian Peter Caddick-Adams brings this closing stage of the Allies' fight against Nazi Germany brilliantly to life. He explores the immense challenges they faced in crossing the Rhine on a 300-mile front. He tells stories of individual acts of resolve and heroism, of often exhausted troops pressing forward attacks in the face of ferocious resistance. He recounts their shocked first encounters with the barbarities of Hitler's regime as they reached the gates of Buchenwald, Belsen and Dachau. And he goes behind the front line to analyse the strategic decisions made at Allied headquarters and to offer pin-sharp portraits of the military leaders.

Throughout he draws on a vast range of memoirs and personal interviews with survivors to give a vivid sense of what it was like to encounter enemy combatants and civilians face to face. Compulsively readable, this will be the standard work on the closing days of the Second World War for a generation.

Peter Caddick-Adams cements his place as one of our foremost historians of the Second World War with this major new account of the final months of the war in the WestSuperbly written and full of wisdom and deep understanding, this will stand as a defining work on these darkest months of the conflict. -- James Holland
Magisterial . . . Peter Caddick-Adams has done full justice to the vast range of the fighting in the west in those last months of the war , in all its complexity, brutality, awfulness and, frankly, pointlessness . . . [he] not only covers these events in detail but also does so with genuinely new and convincing perspectives . . . Caddick-Adams [has] an authority that oozes off every page. He has a particularly enjoyable habit of suddenly ducking down rabbit holes of anecdote, often personal or which delve into deeper history . . . [a] fine, balanced and superb account. It deserves to be read for many years to come. -- James Holland * The Telegraph *
Caddick-Adams includes vivid anecdotes, small-unit fireworks, and strong, well-informed personal opinions on the often unwise decisions of the leaders . . . A first rate analysis for military buffs. * Kirkus Reviews *
Excellent. Most accounts of the Second World War in Europe devote only a few pages to the last 100 days. 1945 corrects this balance and makes an important contribution to military history. It is also a great read and powerful reminder of how the Second World War in Europe was definitely not over until the final surrender. * BBC History Extra Magazine *

This is the most vivid and detailed narrative of the subject that we are likely to see.

* Military History Magazine *

Peter Caddick-Adams is a writer and broadcaster who specialises in military history, defence and security issues. He previously lectured in Military and Security Studies at the UK Defence Academy for twenty years, and in Air Power for the Royal Air Force. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Geographical Society, he also spent thirty-five years as an officer in the UK Regular and Reserve Forces, and has extensive experience of various war zones, including the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. His previous works include Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives (2011), Monte Cassino: Ten Armies in Hell (2012), Snow and Steel: Battle of the Bulge 1944-5 (2014) and Sand and Steel: A New History of D-Day (2019).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781529151701
ISBN 10	1529151708
Title	1945: Victory in the West
Author	Peter Caddick-Adams
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cornerstone
Year published	2022-05-19
Number of pages	688
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.