In most standard histories of the Second World War in Europe, the last six months of battle are given little attention. After the Germans were defeated in the Battle of the Bulge, the war is often assumed to have been over, bar sporadic shooting. As Countdown to Victory shows, this is a long way from the truth.
Countdown to Victory explores the turbulent last days of the war; while world leaders divvied up post-war Europe, the German army, far from being beaten, fought hard for every inch of ground. Barry Turner draws on a wealth of previously unpublished sources to reveal the resistance movements, political bids for power, squabbles between military leaders, the horror of the concentration camps, and many individual acts of kindness and courage. Countdown to Victory recaptures the excitement of victory and the despair of the defeated in the midst of a critical moment in world history.
Barry Turner was educated at the London School of Economics and London Institute of Education. He has been a full-time writer for 20 years, and has been a regular guest on television and radio programs, mainly for commentary on the arts and education. Some of his published works include: And the Policeman Smiled; Equality for Some: A History of Girl’s Education; A Place in the Country; and The Other European Community.
“Turner quotes at length the words of many who fought and suffered in those six months. The vivid power of their testimony is striking.” — Sunday Times (London)
When does a war end? Is it the day the treaties are signed? Is it the day the last soldier falls? Or is it the day the enemy finally realizes he is fighting a lost cause?
In standard histories of the Second World War, the last six months in the western European arena invariably make a short epilogue. After the German failure in the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's bold counterattack across the Ardennes, the war is often assumed to have been over, bar sporadic shooting. As Countdown to Victory shows, this is a long way from the truth.The German army, far from being beaten, fought hard for every inch of ground. This in-depth look at those final months reveals many individual acts of great courage and recaptures the excitement of victory and the despair of the defeated, told by the people who were eyewitnesses to these momentous events.
Countdown to Victory also examines many contentious issues: the race between Montgomery and Patton to become the first to cross the Rhine; the rarely discussed Hunger Winter in Holland, in which the Dutch people were left to starve by the Nazi administrators under the knowing eyes of the Allied forces; the destruction of German cities; Eisenhower's decision to leave Berlin to the Russians and the disagreements between British and American generals; the concentration camps and the question of German collective guilt; and the drama of the last days of the Third Reich. The memories and reflections are set in the wider context of the political struggle among Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill, with Stalin winning on points for dominant say in planning a postwar Europe.
Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished American, British, Canadian, German, Dutch and Scandinavian sources, Countdown to Victory is a reinterpretation of those final months through he eyes of ordinary people forced to experience the trauma. These memories and reflections of the soldiers and civilians in the front line will make us rethink the popular images of the last stage of the war.
Searing and indelible, this riveting history puts a spotlight on a transformative moment in the twentieth century, from a historian whose page-turning style will have readers transfixed.
Barry Turner was educated at the London School of Economics and London Institute of Education. He has been a full-time writer for twenty years, and has been a regular guest on television and radio programs in the UK, mainly for commentary on the arts and education.
