Ike’s Last Battle: The Battle of the Ruhr Pocket April 1945

March – April 1945. Victory for the Allies was only a matter of time. Two great armies were racing towards each other crushing German resistance in their path.

Berlin was the prize, which the Soviets were in the event to seize. Instead Eisenhower, always more a political, rather than military, figure opted to destroy the German armies in and around the Ruhr. Churchill’s warnings were ignored and Mongomery’s plans overruled. What drove the decision-making at this vital time? Was it high level strategy or naked personal ambition? Charles Whiting sets out to examine the facts in his own distinctive style and reach a conclusion, no matter how unpalatable.