The Battle for Berlin was the cumulative battle in the European theater in World War II. Three massive Russian Fronts aligned from north to south (Second Belorussian, First Belorussian and First Ukrainian Fronts) had battered two German Army Groups (Vistula and Center) and the three armies (Third and Fourth Panzer Army and Ninth Army) westward from October 1944 to mid-April 1945 to set the stage for the final onslaught and bloody Battle for Berlin.

Author Ian Baxter has once again provided a succinct, well researched and presented book on a complicated and seminal campaign.Using period photographs, illustrated pages, tables and immaculate references, this book provides the reader with the harrowing and horrifying last months and days of the Third Reich.

The Soviet Battle for Berlin, 1945 is composed of eleven chapters:

Value Gear resin products are well known to most modelers for the excellent quality resin stowage and gear to use on your models and diorama scenes. Owner Steve Munsell is a quality guy who, more often than not, throws in some extra pieces into most of the packages and one package can often inhabit more than a couple builds if used wisely- or you can completely deck out one model if you wish. His 1/16 product lines are growing as more companies release more 1/16 scale kits.

What’s Inside the Box

This set contains a small zip bag with five 75mm ammo crates for whatever 1/16 scale StuG or Panzer is sitting in your stash. A card with preparation and priming instructions are included. The quality is excellent in this scale and one might want to ding them up a bit to add some variety to the five– but the details of the wood grain, nail holes for the cross slats, and strap enclosures are amazing.

The book “The East Pomeranian Offensive, 1945: Destruction of German Forces in Pomerania and West Prussia” is a fully illustrated account of the offensive that took place before the Soviets pushed toward Berlin in 1945. Before that final drive toward the Nazi capital, the Russians wanted to clear the areas in the northern part of occupied Poland and reach the Baltic Sea to ensure the northern flank of the Red Army was secured during their advance toward Berlin. The Soviet advance created a series of German encirclement's that had to be dealt with. Many of the encircled areas were heavily fortified, although the fast Russian drive forced the German to build some of these fortifications in haste, making them less effective. There were some key cities like Danzig and Kolberg (today’s Gdańsk and Kołobrzeg, respectively) that the Germans were determined to hold at all cost to ensure an uninterrupted route for supplying their troops by the sea remained in place.

Pig Models is a model company based in Taiwan. It was established in 2016 with a commitment to providing interesting model kits. I first became aware of the company with their release of their 1/1 scale German Tiger II 8.8cm Pzgr.39/43 (APCBC-HE) L71 Shell Replica [Kit # 1-002]. They have also released 1/1 scale variants, 8.8cm Pzgr.39 (APCBC) L/56 Shell Replica [Kit # 1-001] and 8.8cm Sprgr. 43 (HE) kwk43 L71 Shell Replica [Kit# 1-004]. Since then, Pig Models has released over a dozen unique and interesting kits.

Jon Diamond, MD, is a U.S.-based kidney specialist enthusiastic about World War II history. An avid collector of historical photographs, he has authored several titles in Pen and Sword's Images of War series, including Stilwell and the Chindits, War in the South Pacific, Invasion of Sicily, Invasion of the Italian Mainland: Salerno to Gustav Line, 1943–1944,Onto Rome 1944: Anzio and Victory at Cassino, and Beyond Rome to the Alps: Across the Arno and Gothic Line, 1944–1945. His works also include Op Plunder: The Rhine River Crossing.

Book Specifics

With over 220 black-and-white images, Normandy Beyond The Beaches is the latest offering from Pen and Sword, published in December 2024. This 209-page book measures 6.75 by 9.5 inches and includes an introduction, six chapters, an epilogue, and a bibliography.