The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe

by Stephen Harding

Overview

May, 1945. Hitler is dead, the Third Reich is little more than smoking rubble, and no GI wants to be the last man killed in action against the Nazis.

The Last Battle tells the nearly unbelievable story of the unlikeliest battle of the war, when a small group of American tankers, led by Captain Lee, joined forces with German soldiers to fight off fanatical SS troops seeking to capture Castle Itter and execute the stronghold's VIP prisoners. It is a tale of unlikely allies, startling bravery, jittery suspense, and desperate combat between implacable enemies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306822964
Publisher:	Da Capo Press
Publication date:	06/03/2014
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	51,135
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Stephen Harding is a longtime journalist specializing in military affairs. For nearly two decades he was on the staff of Soldiers, the official magazine of the US Army. Currently he is editor-in-chief of Military History magazine. The author of seven previous non-fiction books, he lives in northern Virginia.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Last Battle

“A tale as compelling as it is unlikely. The Last Battle demonstrates that truth can indeed be stranger than fiction, particularly in war. Well-researched and well-told.”—Rick Atkinson, author of The Day of Battle

“Stephen Harding has a laser-beam instinct for the detail that tells the story, he’s a fine writer, and, most important, knows a good story when he sees one. All the above is true of The Last Battle, one of the more remarkable battles in a truly vast war, now very nicely illuminated.”—Alan Furst, bestselling author of Dark Star and Night Soldiers

“A little-known but fascinating story brought brilliantly to life.”—Alex Kershaw, bestselling author of The Liberator

“I love untold stories from World War II, and this is a great one. Brilliantly told, meticulously researched, and filled with larger-than-life heroes and villains. The Last Battle is such a compelling read, I couldn’t put it down.”—Patrick K. O’Donnell, bestselling author of Dog Company

“The Last Battle combines good history and good storytelling. Harding writes with the skill and grace of a novelist but also the authority of an historian who has done some rather remarkable research into a previously lost chapter from World War II’s final days. I had trouble putting this book down, and I think you will, too.”—John C. McManus, author of September Hope

“The Nazis capture two former Prime Ministers of France (who detest each other) and lock them in a medieval castle in Austria. A handful of intrepid American soldiers sets out to rescue them. And then...well, you’ll have to read The Last Battle to find out what happened. It’s going to make a fantastic action movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger, call your agent!”—Peter Carlson, author of K Blows Top

San Diego Union Tribune, 4/28/13
“At the heart of The Last Battle is a largely unknown story that (a) seems implausible, (b) would make a great movie, and (c) reminds us that almost 70 years after the end of World War II there are countless tales still to be told…Harding’s skills as a researcher and dedicated historian are apparent…[A] moment-by-moment real-time report of the events from the viewpoints of the Americans and prisoners…Page-turning…Harding has brought the implausible story to life.”

New York Journal of Books, 4/29/13
“Well done and eminently readable.”

Daily Beast, 5/12/13
“The most extraordinary things about Stephen Harding's The Last Battle, a truly incredible tale of World War II, are that it hasn’t been told before in English, and that it hasn’t already been made into a blockbuster Hollywood movie…Steven Spielberg, how did you miss this story?...Harding is a respected military affairs expert…and his writing style carries immediacy as well as authority…Everything that Harding reports in this exciting but also historically accurate narrative is backed up with meticulous scholarship. This book proves that history can be new and nail-bitingly exciting all at once…While the book concentrates on the fight for Castle Itter, it also sets that battle in the wider strategic contexts…This book is thus a fascinating microcosm of a nation and society in collapse…Part Where Eagles Dare, part Guns of Navarone, this story is as exciting as it is far-fetched, but unlike in those iconic war movies, every word of The Last Battle is true.”

Roanoke Times, 6/9/13
“If, in these halcyon days, a Hollywood screenwriter had approached a major producer with a movie script so packed with improbabilities, so extraordinary in its premises and fanciful in its conclusions, he — the screenwriter — would very likely have been shown the door….sheer tension and melodrama…Stephen Harding, a career journalist and military historian, has put together a fine tale of heroism and cowardice, petty bickering and unselfish sacrifice, and if Hollywood does not snap it up for an epic film, that’s its loss….A page-turner.”

ARMY Magazine, 9/1/13
“The book is a very quick read…The Last Battle has the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster… Harding is a gifted storyteller and effective military historian who details the battle and its background with precision…This compact work is an unqualified success and will prove immensely enjoyable for virtually any reader of ARMY.  With the pace of a tightly-written novel, Harding writes with the determination of a true crime novelist and thoroughness of a first-rate historian.”

CollectedMiscellany.com, 8/15/13
“Harding recounts a fascinating piece of World War II history…Harding writes an engaging story about a battle that helped save many of France’s political elite from certain death.”

On Point: The Journal of Army History, Winter 2014
“The Last Battle provides a fascinating glimpse into a situation so bizarre and deadly that Hollywood could not have dreamed it up, though they will probably be happy to buy the movie rights…truth is stranger than fiction.”

Examiner.com, 1/17/14
“One of the most bizarre and fascinating tales to come out of World War II is documented in the highly praised new book The Last Battle.”

War History Online, 1/19/14
“The most extraordinary things about Stephen Harding’s The Last Battle, a truly incredible tale of World War II, are that it hasn’t been told before in English, and that it hasn’t already been made into a blockbuster Hollywood movie…Everything that Harding reports in this exciting but also historically accurate narrative is backed up with meticulous scholarship. This book proves that history can be new and nail-bitingly exciting all at once.”

Military Review,9/1/14
“Harding does an excellent job in his research and pieces together the few available fragments to tell a story of trust, uncertainty, and moral righteousness.”

From the Publisher