lt gen evelyn barker’s

From early December 1944, VIII Corps was commanded by Lieutenant-General Evelyn Barker, and took part in Operation Plunder, crossing the Rhine on 28th March 1945. Following the crossing, the corps was reactivated and allocated the 2nd Army’s right flank for the advance into Germany. By April 1945 the principal formations of the corps were 11th Armoured Division and 6th Airborne Division reinforced by 6th Guards Armoured Brigade and 1st Commando Brigade. The 15th Scottish Infantry Division joined the corps on 4th April. The following weeks were filled with many short but intense battles and fighting across Northern Germany. The corps crossed the Elbe in Operation Enterprise at midnight on 30th April and advanced north east and occupied Plön in Schleswig-Holstein. The fighting continued until the unconditional surrender by German forces on 7th May 1945.

Despite being a major assault in terms of manpower and equipment, and a complete success, the River Rhine was the last major barrier to the allies’ advance from the West and is not as well-known as D-Day, Arnhem or the Battle of the Bulge. Perhaps to historians, by 1945 there was an inevitability to the German defeat and also it was not actually a single battle but a series of separate advances.

A narrative of the events of the advance of VIII Corps from the bridgehead of the River Rhine to the Baltic, and its contribution to the final assault on Germany and defeat of the German army, the book is based upon the Official War Diaries and was compiled by Lieutenant-General Evelyn Barker’s staff. An order of battle during the advance completes this detailed account, one that was originally published shortly after cessation of hostilities. Somewhat of a forgotten battle, it demonstrated that the allies were at the peak of their performance. The text is complemented by 13 full-page captioned monochrome aerial photographs and four good colour maps.