Military Model Scene

Title: The Soviet Battle for Berlin, 1945
Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Casemate Illustrated
ISBN: 978-1-63624-437-2

Another in the Casemate Illustrated series from author Ian Baxter. A 128-page soft-cover book.
Starting off with a timeline of key events between January 12 1945 and May 5-7 1945, the book is split into 10 sections. It sets out both the Russian and German situations and does include a map showing the fairly straight arrangement of the front line, from Stettin in the north, following the line of the River Oder southwards. The Russians wanted to safeguard the flanks of the central assault forces so that strong German units that were still intact both north and south of Berlin would be unable to get through and support the German forces which held out in the city of Berlin itself. The four phases of the plan are featured, from Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation, April 16-19, the Stettin-Rostock Offensive Operation, April 16-May 5, Cotbus-Potsdam Offensive Operation, April 16-27 and finally the Spremberg-Torgau Offensive Operation April 16-27, leading to the encirclement and final assault on Berlin itself, and of course, its' aftermath. Throughout the book there are individual entries with profiles for the key commanders of both sides, of the troops and their equipment plus some detailed Orders of Battle of both sides, and in the early stages as well as the closing stages of the battle. The many photos included in each section do a good job in illustrating the story with plenty of them giving both detail and diorama idea for modellers.
By 1945 the German forces on the Eastern Front were a shadow of their previous strength and the large numbers of fresh Soviet troops and large quantities of tanks, artillery and air superiority meant that the various Soviet armies were numerically much stronger than the defending German units. The German units fought hard, but lacked any replacement troops or equipment and suffered from ammunition shortages. The Soviet victory was in little doubt by this stage but it makes for an interesting story and the photo references will be welcomed by historical enthusiasts and modellers alike.
Thanks to distributors Script Books for the review copy.

Robin