Tony Le Tissier

This book is in the typical "then and now" format, showing pictures from the past (i.e. before, during and after WWII), and juxtaposing that with current (i.e. 1990's) pictures of the same area/buildings. The author is an authority on the battle of Berlin and the final battles of the Third Reich, so he was an ideal person to write this book. The book has 100's of beautiful pictures, both before and after. The majority of the pictures are from the Battle of Berlin, but there are a few from before WWII, and there is an extensive amount of text and pictures post WWII as well. In fact, the author takes the reader all of the way up to the reunification in the early 1990's. What is truly fascinating is how devastated Berlin was, and how much it has changed from the end of WWII. The majority of Berlin was laid to waste during the war, and it was extensively rebuilt after the war, but using the so-called Modern (i.e. tasteless) buildings so popular during the 50's, 60's and 70's. One thing in particular that lest a bad taste in my mouth from reading through this book, was the authors reliance on the musings of William L. Shirer. This individual was a "journalist" during WWII, and he spent much of his time in Berlin. Needless to say, he has nothing good to say about the Nazi's (obviously, few people do), but every time he mentions one of the Nazi "big wigs", he has to use a derogatory adjective. It almost becomes childish after a while. This man had a lot of hatred in is heart, not sure if it didn't stem from some early child trauma, but needless to say, he should never have become a journalist. That being said, the author of the book would have been better to have left out this individuals insane ramblings. One other issue I had with the book, was that the book literally fell apart while I was reading it. The interior of the book became detached from the book cover. I have since had to glue it carefully back together. It might be because the book is somewhat old (1992), and it is HEAVY. It is made with thick acid free paper. Overall, this is a fascinating book on the battle of Berlin. Recommended if you are into the "before and after" aspect of WWII.… (plus d'informations)

While the author has had the reputation of being "Mr. Berlin" for awhile, this book is not his best work, and the only reason that I'm even giving it three stars is because this is basically the only study available on the destruction of the German 9th Army in 1945. What's most dubious is that Le Tissier takes seriously the presence of "Seydlitz Troops" in this battle, that is to say, turncoat Germans tasked with spreading chaos in the ranks in the way that Otto Skorzeny's 150th Panzer Brigade was supposed to during the Ardennes offensive of 1944. That no additional information has emerged about these troops in the almost 15 years since this book was published has to leave one skeptical that this was an actual Soviet tactic, and leaves one suspecting that this was only an overheated rumor in the German military; or a German excuse if you decided to take your chances and surrender to the Soviet tide. The bottom line is that the personal accounts of several survivors of the battle does not a monograph make. Perhaps it would take the skills of a first-class novelist to tell the emotional truth about this battle, say, a Gunter Grass; heh, heh.… (plus d'informations)

Soviet Conquest – Berlin 1945

We all know that the war ended in Europe in 1945 with triumph for the successful Allies but for some do not regard that war to have ended until 1989 when the Soviet Army finally left their country. Tony Le Tissier has written and translated from firsthand accounts the Soviet Conquest of Berlin in 1945 and tells the story of how Stalin set Marshal against Marshal and did not allow the personal accounts to be published which finally happened almost twenty years after his death.

The Battle for Berlin was not only bloody and the Soviets had to fight street to street, house to house in the battle but also they were racing against the Western Allies to get to Berlin and plant their flag over as much of Berlin as possible.

We are reminded from the accounts that Berlin and the surrounding areas were to be defended by nearly a million soldiers of all ages, with 10,000 guns and missiles, 1,500 tanks and self propelled guns and 2,200 aircraft, so the defence would be strong. We find out that the Soviets has over 6,200 tanks over 42,000 guns and over 2.5million soldiers so they had the overwhelming numbers. They may have had the numbers but the Nazis had built many pillboxes and Berlin had been built in to a solid defensive area.

It is wonderful to read Zhukov record of how the events unfolded in the Battle for Berlin with maps and the challenges that he faced. He also records the declaration of defeat that had been prepared for the Germans to sign and how it was announced over loudspeakers to the German population and soldiers.

I found one of the more interesting accounts of the Battle from the records of Marshal Chartshenko who was Marshal of the Engineers who was charged with overcoming the obstacle that would be presented in the Battle of Berlin. Berlin especially by the Oder was surrounded by marshlands that would not be kind to the tanks and would have to build the bridgeheads to allow easier access to Berlin. He outlines some of the battles that took place as well as the use of the sappers in battle which makes interesting reading.

Soviet Conquest – Berlin 1945 is a fascinating account of the Battle from the perspective of the Soviet Army leaders so there is no mention of the violence and terror that was rained down up on the citizens of Berlin and especially the rape of the women. It is an interesting and important account of the final battle of the Second World War and seeing an account from the Russian perspective is important to broaden ones view of the war.… (plus d'informations)

Berlin Battlefield Guide

Tony Le Tissier’s Berlin Battlefield Guide is one of the most informative and interesting tours of the great city I have read. I have always been fascinated by Berlin, by the interwar years, the war years and the cold war and the new rebuilt Berlin. I supposed as the grandchild of a Polish soldier I should not be so drawn to that damn city but it is and always has been a City of Intrigue I just wish I had this book with me.

As the race to Berlin in World War 2 was taking place Greater Berlin was getting smaller, the defence forces less, the rumours more and the Russians far too close for liking. This book is broken down with maps and pictures starting outside of Berlin showing which Army Division was attempting to defend the city from invasion.

Throughout the book we are given directions to each battleground, colour pictures and maps with the defensive maps. More importantly we are given brief descriptions of the action as it took place sometimes using the words of the combatants. This at times can be desperate but required reading. You can feel the desperation of the defenders and at times their fears.

When you read through to the actual Introduction to Berlin Le Tissier you will find it packed with information for travelling round Berlin with the various transport links. He again he has broken it down so you can work out the street by street fighting and the pictures also show the utter devastation of the city. The is special mention of the Battle for the Reichstag where we have the iconic picture of the Soviet flag above it, when one looks at the Reichstag today it is hard to believe that there was total devastation and fighting taking place around the vicinity in April 1945.

Berlin Battlefield Guide is the best guide of that City I have read and will be taking with me when I next travel to Berlin. The more I read this book the more I want to be there looking at the buildings, the streets and can hear all those silent and long since dead voices of war fighting to the death. This is simply a stunning book.… (plus d'informations)