Anthony Tucker-Jones (https://www.atuckerjones.com) is the author of more than 60 books. The Fall of Berlin: The final days of Hitler’s evil regime was published in June of this year. It is the 67th book I completed reading in 2024.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to spree scenes of violence, I categorize this book as R.

The war was coming to an end, and Berlin was firmly in the sights of the Russian Army. The author gives a general overview of the war to this point, then begins to dig into the situation within Germany. The Russian Army is advancing rapidly towards the west, intent on surrounding Berlin. The Wehrmacht is doing its best to defend Berlin, but the lack of manpower, munitions, fuel, and reserves gives them little hope.

Hitler at this point, has mostly lost touch with reality. Outraged with the failures of the Wehrmacht, he continues to issue impossible orders. No coherent chain of command is left. Stalin is pushing his generals to take Berlin without any help from the Allies.

Desperate, Hitler orders all males 12 and older to turn out to defend Berlin. They receive little training and have few weapons. The capture of Berlin is inevitable. The author does address what happens to the few in Hitler’s bunker at the end.

I enjoyed the 7 hours I spent reading this 242-page WWII history. This book is a good, detailed look at the final days. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.

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Thank you NetGalley and Arcturus Digital for this ARC!

This is a very thorough summary of what happened in the final days of Berlin. It mainly seems to be an outline of events specific to this time period and place. If you are interested in more thoroughly understanding the sequence of events during this time, I would definitely recommend. It's a smooth read and written well. If you are already familiar with the events and are looking for more of an in-depth analytical commentary, this book might not give you that exactly.

The author has produced a reasonably compact volume that tells the story of the final days of the Third Reich. Given Hitler’s acknowledged admiration of the music of Richard Wagner it is perhaps fitting that the dreadful final days of Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich should collapse in a storm of fire, explosions and terror in its own version of a Götterdämerung, which Tucker Jones captures well. The author has chosen a crowded field for this book, given the number of excellent books that some of the best historians have already published on this subject - John Toland’s ‘The Last Hundred Days’ and Beevor’s ‘The Downfall’ being among the best - but Tucker Jones acquits himself well and provides a coherent account of the violent climax of the fighting in Europe in World War Two.
I would only echo the comments of other reviewers: more maps, please. When, as in this case, the key engagements are given clear geographical locations it can be frustrating to try to visualise the movement of the forces engaged without a reasonable. number of maps. This minor criticism apart, however, this work holds its own against some highly regarded standard works on the Fall of Berlin and is well worth a read for those wishing to understand how the fighting in and around Berlin could be sustained long after all hope was lost.

This very well researched book (just check out the bibliography!) gives anyone a good overview of the end of the war in Germany. There were so many moving parts, from the military leaders of all sides, the army groups, and the citizens, there is lots of ground to cover. This book does not attempt to do everything, but it does offer an effective overview of all the aspects of what was faced.

I always want a book dependent of location to have lots of maps, and this book was no different. Chapters that discussed specific battles such as that for Seelow Heights would have been inproved with more and better maps.

Anthony Tucker-Jones made the action in Hitler’s Bunker clear to me, especially the movements of Hitler’s minions as they came and went.

I appreciate the generosity of NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for sharing this book.

An interesting historical read on the fall of Berlin during WW2. The first-hand accounts and stories gave more impact to the story. The author does a great job in weaving in the facts with the story to give you a feeling as if you were there. A good read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

In the final days of the third reich, and it was horrifying. The writting was on the wall, Berlin was going to fall to the Russians. Anthony Tucker-Jones gives a vivid picture from both Allied and German point of views. It was fantastic to get both points of view.

Thank you NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for the copy!