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Battle for the Ruhr
- The German Army's Final Defeat in the West
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
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Battle for the Ruhr
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Summary
With Allied armies poised on the banks of the Rhine, Nazi Germany tottered on the brink of collapse. The ensuing battles on German soil - especially those in the so-called Ruhr Pocket - were as fierce and hard-fought as any in the European theater. Going well beyond previous accounts, Derek S. Zumbro chronicles this key military campaign from a unique and fresh perspective - that of the defeated German soldiers and civilians caught in the final maelstrom of the war's Western front.
Best known for his translation of In Deadly Combat, the best-selling World War II memoir, Zumbro chronicles the relentless assault on the Ruhr Pocket through German eyes as the Allied juggernaut battered the region's cities, villages, and homes into submission. He tells of children pressed into service by a desperate Nazi regime - and of even more desperate parents trying to save their sons from sacrifice at the 11th hour. He also tells of unspeakable conditions suffered by foreign laborers, POWs, and political opponents in the Ruhr Valley and of the mass graves that gave Allied soldiers a grisly new understanding of their enemy.
Zumbro also recounts the story of Field Marshal Walter Model's final hours. His eventual suicide effectively ended the existence of the Wehrmacht's once-formidable Army Group B after being pursued, methodically encircled, and finally destroyed by US and British forces. Through interviews with surviving members of Model's former staff, Zumbro has uncovered the attitudes - and harrowing experiences - of beleaguered officers that official records could never convey.
Other interviews with former soldiers reveal the extent to which Allied bombing contributed to the rapid deterioration of German combat effectiveness and tell of civilians begging soldiers to abandon the war. Zumbro's deep research reveals the identities of specific characters discussed in previous works but never identified, describes the final hours of German officers executed for the loss of the bridge at Remagen, and offers new insight into Model's acquiescence to Hitler in military affairs.
By taking us inside the firsthand experiences and memories of Germans from Reichsmarshals to Burgermeisters, Battle for the Ruhr gives a profound and harrowing ground-level view of the enormous destructive power of war.
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What listeners say about Battle for the Ruhr
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ian Smith
- 15-09-23
Detailed and interesting but engrossing
This is a period of WW2 which I didn't know much about from previous reading, so it was interesting to be able to learn more about a specific area of combat over a period of a few months, and hear individual accounts of incidents from diaries and recollections. I also appreciated the brief "after the war" information about some of the people. It was interesting too to learn that the Allies clearly hadn't thought hard enough about what to do after they'd won the war, and it did bring to mind the comparable situation after the second Gulf War.
There were a few places where I felt it was rather repetitive, which could have been "fixed" by a good editor.
The narrator did a solid job with the German personal names, place names, military titles etc.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeff Pinnock
- 06-12-23
Very detailed
Detailed and accurate description of all actions from both sides of all allies although very little regarding British forces
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P. Cunningham
- 24-01-24
A Great Historical Narrative
Excellent, well read book. I strongly recommend it to you as it covers a section of WW2 history that is often overlooked - the plight of civilians.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nigel
- 17-06-19
Excellent Book
Brilliantly detailed without going over the top, some excellent side line stories, especially from a German perspective. Very well narrated as well, making it easily listening. would highly recommend this read/listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-11-20
Excellent
A detailed well researched book concerning the end of the German Army in the Ruhr pocket.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 28-03-23
Excellent
My favourite chapter was that which dealt with the fighting around Paderborn.
I served there whilst in the Army.
Familiar areas.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- T. J. Gluckman
- 11-09-23
Well-read but sketchy unbalanced history
A) The paper version may have plenty of maps; without them it is difficult to follow the action even with the help of Google Maps. Likewise there may be a list of sources; in the Audible version, one can only guess about that.
B) The author never refers to the views of other historians and writes as if there were no doubt about his version of events; inevitably then this version of history appears to be cherry-picked.
C) His point of view becomes clearer in the final chapter in which he attacks the behavior of the US Army after the German capitulation (8thth May, 1945) in its treatment of German POWs. I believe that there were indeed many cases of ill-treatment & negligence where such POWs were put into large fields without any shelter e.g. the notorious 'goldene Meile' at Remagen. However for balance it should be pointed out that the Wehrmacht treated many millions of Soviet soldiers & citizens in exactly that way, and let them starve to death which the USA with some exceptions did not.
D) The British, Canadian, Polish and French armies hardly appear in his account.
E) Without maps & sources, this book suffers significantly
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- TonyG
- 18-04-19
Anecdotally exhaustive
The narration is excellent, though occasionally even the narrator becomes exasperated by the repetitive themes of the narrative. The book focuses upon the exploits of US formations in closing the Ruhr pocket, and then eliminating the trapped German army under Model.
In short, if a town or village did not surrender it was destroyed either by artillery or tank fire or, more efficiently, by area bombing. Most civilians were consequently anxious to avoid this destruction of their property and lives. Most German soldiers were aware of Nazi policy to execute those soldiers who gave up the fight, and to exact reprisals on the soldiers families. US troops generally treated their opponents adequately but occasionally executed the leaders of those forces that resisted them. They frequently took souvenirs from captured soldiers, watches seemingly a popular choice.
The British and Canadians get little mention, mostly critical, such as the passage that excuses US soldiers individual vandalism by saying the British did the same or by reference to their supposedly slow progress further north. While not wishing to detract from any US soldiers who had to fight and risk their lives to dismantle Nazi Germany, hearing these stories repetitively does make this a very long book.
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5 people found this helpful