Jones - After Hitler: the last days of the Second World War in Europe

ALSO BY MICHAEL JONES

The Kings Mother

Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle

Agincourt 1415: A Battlefield Guide

Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed

Leningrad: State of Siege

The Retreat: Hitlers First Defeat

Total War: From Stalingrad to Berlin

The Kings Grave: The Search for Richard III

NAL CALIBER

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This book is a publication of New American Library. Previously published in a John Murray (Publishers) edition.

Copyright Michael Jones, 2015

Maps drawn by Rodney Paull

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Jones, Michael K. After Hitler: the last ten days of World War II in Europe/Michael Jones. p. cm. Originally published: London : John Murray, 2015. ISBN 978-0-698-40781-7 1. World War, 19391945EuropeEnd. 2. World War, 19391945Diplomatic history. 3. World War, 19391945Peace. I. Title. D755.7.J66 2015 940.534dc23 2015018149

PUBLISHERS NOTE

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

Version_1

To all those from East and West who fought to rid Europe of fascism

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The spell breaks: the Nazi eagle and swastika above the damaged grandstand of their rally site at Nuremberg.

East meets West: Lieutenants William Robertson and Alexander Sylvashko embrace at Torgau on the Elbe (April 25, 1945).

US infantrymen move down a street in Waldenburg, south-central Germany, April 1945.

Berlin falls to the Red Army: Marshal Georgi Zhukov on the steps of the Reichstag, May 2.

British tanks race toward Lbeck, May 2.

The horror: a sign erected by British forces outside Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, May 1945.

The British arrive at Hamburg: a Cromwell tank guards the bridge over the Elbe.

German soldierssome using horse-drawn transportmake their way toward British forces to surrender.

British and Russian troops meet at Wismar, May 3.

A Russian tanker and British sapper drink to victory.

Montys triumph: the British field marshal receives the German delegation at Lneburg Heath, May 3.

A day later the formal surrender of Denmark, Holland and northwestern Germany is signed in Montgomerys tent.

The American field commandseated (left to right) are Generals William Simpson, George Patton, Carl Spaatz, Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Courtney Hodges and Leonard Gerow. Standing (center) is Eisenhowers chief of staff, General Walter Bedell Smith.

High-ranking American and Russian officers meet on the Elbe, May 5 (from the Soviet 3rd Guards Tank Corps and the US Third Army).

Confronting the truth: a German woman walks past bodies of murdered slave workers exhumed by US troops near Nammering, Germany.

Prisoners of Mauthausen concentration camp (Austria) liberated by US soldiers on May 5.

The anguish: refugees on the road trying to return home.

Displaced Personsone of the great humanitarian challenges faced by the Allies.

Calling all Czechs! Barricades go up in Prague at the beginning of the uprising, May 5.

US troops enter western Czechoslovakia, May 6.

Operation Manna: loading supplies to be airdropped to the starving Dutch population.

Unlikely rescuers: troops from the 1st Division Russian Liberation Army (Vlasov Army) arrive outside the Militia HQ, Prague, May 6.

Field Marshal Montgomery meets his Russian counterpart, Field Marshal Rokossovsky, at Wismar on the Baltic.

General Alfred Jodl signs the first unconditional surrender at SHAEF headquarters, Rheims, May 7.

False alarm: a special edition of Stars and Stripes prematurely announces Germany Quits on May 7.

VE-Day in London, May 8: a huge crowd gathers at Whitehall to hear Churchills speech.

The German war is... at an end: Churchill broadcasts to the nation.

The day of death: SS units fight for the center of Prague with Czech insurgents, May 8.

The second signing at Karlshorst: the German delegation now headed by Field Marshal Keitel.

The Allied delegation now headed by Russias supreme commander, Georgi Zhukov.

Russian troops liberate Prague.

VE-Day in Moscow, May 9.

The celebratory fireworks that night.

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

Imperial War Museums: 1 above/IWM CL3092, 3 above/IWM BU4972, 3 below/IWM BU6955, 4 above/IWM BU5077, 4 below/IWM CL2538, 5 above/IWM BU5230, 5 below/IWM BU5238, 6 above/IWM BU5145, 6 below/IWM BU5207, 12 above left/IWM BU5523, 12 above right/IWM EA65715, 12 below/IWM EA65948, 13 above/IWM D24586, 13 below/IWM H41846, 14 below/IWM FRA203385. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): 1 below/NARA 111-SC-204516, 2 above/NARA 111-SC-205778, 7 above/NARA 280-YE-182, 8 above/NARA 111-SC-264895. Prague Military Institute: 10, 11. RIA Novosti: 2 below/RIA Novosti 608394, 7 below/RIA Novosti 362876, 8 below/RIA Novosti 369161, 9 above/RIA Novosti 608790, 9 below/RIA Novosti 355, 14 above/RIA Novosti 677390, 15 above/RIA Novosti 574539, 15 below/RIA Novosti 881134, 16 above/RIA Novosti 594370, 16 below/RIA Novosti 583984.

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but if there are any errors or omissions, NAL Caliber will be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgments in any subsequent printings or editions.

LIST OF MAPS

General situation map showing Allied advance to May 1945 xvii

The British advance to the Baltic, May 2, 1945 xviii

xix

PREFACE

M ay 2015 is the seventieth anniversary of VE-Day in Europe. For many, in the Allied armed forces and among the civilians who supported the war effort, it is a last opportunity to connect with a vitally important achievementthe overthrow of Hitler and the Nazi regime. We remember those who sacrificed their lives so that we might see this day. All of us are in their debt.

This book tells the story of the last ten days of the war, from the death of Hitler on April 30 to the celebration of VE-Day in Moscow on May 9, a day after it is held in the West.

In its structure, it follows a countdown formula from day to daybut within this framework it also takes a thematic approach, bringing out the complex international politics and diplomacy that underlay these military events. It also addresses a wider concernthe humanitarian catastrophe that was engulfing Europe and the psychological impact this had on those caught up in it.