
The Last Battle
When US and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.97
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Joe Barrett
-
By:
-
Stephen Harding
About this listen
May 1945. Hitler is dead, and the Third Reich is little more than smoking rubble. No GI wants to be the last man killed in action against the Nazis. But for cigar-chewing, rough-talking, hard-drinking, hard-charging Captain Jack Lee and his men, there is one more mission: rescue 14 prominent French prisoners held in an SS-guarded castle high in the Austrian Alps. It's a dangerous mission, but Lee has help from a decorated German Wehrmacht officer and his men, who voluntarily join the fight.
Based on personal memoirs, author interviews, and official American, German, and French histories, The Last Battle is the nearly unbelievable story of the most improbable battle of World War II—a tale of unlikely allies, bravery, cowardice, and desperate combat between implacable enemies.
©2013 Stephen Harding (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Last Battle
- By: Cornelius Ryan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Battle for Berlin was the culminating struggle of World War II in the European theater. The last offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich, it devastated one of Europe’s historic capitals and marked the final defeat of Nazi Germany. It was also one of the war’s bloodiest and most pivotal battles, whose outcome would shape international politics for decades to come.
-
-
Thanks to Dan Carlin of Hardcore History podcasts.
- By GB on 06-30-12
By: Cornelius Ryan
-
The Napoleonic Wars
- By: Alexander Mikaberidze
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Napoleonic Wars saw fighting on an unprecedented scale in Europe and the Americas. It took the wealth of the British Empire, combined with the might of the continental armies, almost two decades to bring down one of the world's greatest military leaders and the empire that he had created. Napoleon's ultimate defeat was to determine the history of Europe for almost 100 years. From the frozen wastelands of Russia, through the brutal fighting in the Peninsula to the blood-soaked battlefield of Waterloo, this book tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire.
-
-
No description of battles
- By John Gaston on 01-15-21
-
The Last Hill
- The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were known as “Rudder’s Rangers,” the most elite and experienced attack unit the Army had. In December 1944, they would be the spearhead into Germany, taking the war into Hitler’s homeland at last. Their colonel was given this objective: Take Hill 400. After two days, when they were finally relieved, only 16 Rangers remained to stagger down from the top of Hill 400. The Last Hill is filled with unforgettable action and characters—a gripping, finely detailed saga of what the survivors of the battalion would call “our longest day.”
-
-
more a history of the rangers in ww2
- By M. Johannes on 10-12-23
By: Bob Drury, and others
-
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
-
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943)
- The Liberation Trilogy, Volume 1
- By: Rick Atkinson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern learner can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. That first year of the Allied war was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great power.
-
-
Fascinating book, great performance
- By Ted on 05-30-16
By: Rick Atkinson
-
A Higher Call
- An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II
- By: Adam Makos
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Four days before Christmas in 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a 21-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber’s tail - a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber with the squeeze of a trigger.
-
-
An Absolutely Incredcredible Audiobook!
- By JerryL on 03-23-13
By: Adam Makos
-
The Last Battle
- By: Cornelius Ryan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Battle for Berlin was the culminating struggle of World War II in the European theater. The last offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich, it devastated one of Europe’s historic capitals and marked the final defeat of Nazi Germany. It was also one of the war’s bloodiest and most pivotal battles, whose outcome would shape international politics for decades to come.
-
-
Thanks to Dan Carlin of Hardcore History podcasts.
- By GB on 06-30-12
By: Cornelius Ryan
-
The Napoleonic Wars
- By: Alexander Mikaberidze
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Napoleonic Wars saw fighting on an unprecedented scale in Europe and the Americas. It took the wealth of the British Empire, combined with the might of the continental armies, almost two decades to bring down one of the world's greatest military leaders and the empire that he had created. Napoleon's ultimate defeat was to determine the history of Europe for almost 100 years. From the frozen wastelands of Russia, through the brutal fighting in the Peninsula to the blood-soaked battlefield of Waterloo, this book tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire.
-
-
No description of battles
- By John Gaston on 01-15-21
-
The Last Hill
- The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were known as “Rudder’s Rangers,” the most elite and experienced attack unit the Army had. In December 1944, they would be the spearhead into Germany, taking the war into Hitler’s homeland at last. Their colonel was given this objective: Take Hill 400. After two days, when they were finally relieved, only 16 Rangers remained to stagger down from the top of Hill 400. The Last Hill is filled with unforgettable action and characters—a gripping, finely detailed saga of what the survivors of the battalion would call “our longest day.”
-
-
more a history of the rangers in ww2
- By M. Johannes on 10-12-23
By: Bob Drury, and others
-
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
-
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943)
- The Liberation Trilogy, Volume 1
- By: Rick Atkinson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern learner can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. That first year of the Allied war was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great power.
-
-
Fascinating book, great performance
- By Ted on 05-30-16
By: Rick Atkinson
-
A Higher Call
- An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II
- By: Adam Makos
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Four days before Christmas in 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a 21-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber’s tail - a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber with the squeeze of a trigger.
-
-
An Absolutely Incredcredible Audiobook!
- By JerryL on 03-23-13
By: Adam Makos
-
Crimea
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 20 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The terrible conflict that dominated the mid-19th century, the Crimean War, killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. It was a war for territory, provoked by fear that if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse then Russia could control a huge swathe of land from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf. But it was also a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populist and ever more ferocious belief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia's task to rule all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land.
-
-
Outstanding History of the Crimean War
- By Rick Sailor on 11-08-18
By: Orlando Figes
-
With the Old Breed
- At Peleliu and Okinawa
- By: E. B. Sledge
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Joe Mazzello, Tom Hanks (introduction)
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The celebrated 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific, winner of eight Emmy Awards, was based on two classic books about the War in the Pacific, Helmet for My Pillow and With The Old Breed. Audible Studios, in partnership with Playtone, the production company co-owned by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and creator of the award-winning HBO series Band of Brothers, John Adams, and The Pacific, as well as the HBO movie Game Change, has created new recordings of these memoirs, narrated by the stars of the miniseries.
-
-
This is the second audio book of Sledge's work
- By Richard on 10-21-13
By: E. B. Sledge
-
Devotion
- An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice
- By: Adam Makos
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Devotion tells the inspirational story of the U.S. Navy’s most famous aviation duo, Lieutenant Tom Hudner and Ensign Jesse Brown, and the Marines they fought to defend. A white New Englander from the country-club scene, Tom passed up Harvard to fly fighters for his country. An African American sharecropper’s son from Mississippi, Jesse became the navy’s first Black carrier pilot, defending a nation that wouldn’t even serve him in a bar.
-
-
BUY A HIGHER CALL FIRST - IS MUCH BETTER
- By Count B on 06-29-18
By: Adam Makos
-
Defeat into Victory
- Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945
- By: Field-Marshal Viscount William Slim, David W. Hogan Jr. - introduction
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 23 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Field Marshal Viscount Slim (1891-1970) led shattered British forces from Burma to India in one of the lesser-known but more nightmarish retreats of World War II. He then restored his army's fighting capabilities and morale with virtually no support from home and counterattacked. His army's slaughter of Japanese troops ultimately liberated India and Burma.
-
-
Excellent account of a theatre of ww2 that many Americans know little about of
- By Thomas W White on 01-06-24
By: Field-Marshal Viscount William Slim, and others
-
Spearhead
- An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II
- By: Adam Makos
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of the international best seller A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel - and forge an enduring bond with his enemy.
-
-
Excellent
- By Msgr. John R. McGrath on 03-11-19
By: Adam Makos
-
On Desperate Ground
- The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hampton Sides' superb account of this epic clash in the Korean War relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.
-
-
typical armchair critic armed with hign site
- By Brent on 10-03-18
By: Hampton Sides
-
Ghost Soldiers
- The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: James Naughton
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At once a gripping depiction of men at war and a compelling story of redemption, Ghost Soldiers joins such landmark works as Flags of Our Fathers and The Greatest Generation Speaks in preserving the legacy of World War II for future generations.
-
-
Ghost soldiers
- By Zach on 09-07-03
By: Hampton Sides
-
Luck of the Draw
- My Story of the Air War in Europe
- By: Frank Murphy, Chloe Melas, Elizabeth Murphy
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Murphy, Jonas Moore, Chloe Melas
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning on August 17, 1942, American heavy bomber crews of the Eighth Air Force took off for combat in the hostile skies over occupied Europe. The final price was staggering. 4,300 B-17s and B-24s failed to return; nearly 21,000 men were taken prisoner or interned in a neutral country, and a further 17,650 made the ultimate sacrifice. Luck of the Draw is more than a war story. It’s the incredible, inspiring story of Frank Murphy, one of the few survivors from the 100th Bombardment Group, who cheated death for months in a German POW camp.
-
-
Personal Accounting that the Narrator Destroyed
- By David Sajben on 03-09-23
By: Frank Murphy, and others
-
The Evening and the Morning
- Kingsbridge, Book 4
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 24 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns. In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined.
-
-
I was really waiting for this book!
- By Firebolt on 09-20-20
By: Ken Follett
-
Three Ordinary Girls
- The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins and WWII Heroes
- By: Tim Brady
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
May 10, 1940. The Netherlands was swarming with Third Reich troops. In seven days it's entirely occupied by Nazi Germany. Joining a small resistance cell in the Dutch city of Haarlem were three teenage girls: Hannie Schaft, and sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen, who would soon band together to form a singular female underground squad.
-
-
Communist fan fiction
- By Rodney on 03-12-23
By: Tim Brady
-
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan
- By: Drew Karpyshyn
- Narrated by: Marc Thompson
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There’s something out there: A juggernaut of evil bearing down to crush the Republic - unless one lone Jedi, shunned and reviled, can stop it. Revan: Hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior. A Jedi who left Coruscant to defeat Mandalorians - and returned a disciple of the dark side, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was high. His memories have been erased. All that’s left are nightmares - and deep, abiding fear.
-
-
Did you play Knights of the Old Republic?
- By Ryan on 11-18-11
By: Drew Karpyshyn
-
Star Wars: Ahsoka
- By: E. K. Johnston
- Narrated by: Ashley Eckstein
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fans have long wondered what happened to Ahsoka after she left the Jedi Order near the end of the Clone Wars and before she reappeared as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum in Rebels. Finally her story will begin to be told. Following her experiences with the Jedi and the devastation of Order 66, Ahsoka is unsure she can be part of a larger whole ever again. But her desire to fight the evils of the Empire and protect those who need it will lead her right to Bail Organa - and the Rebel Alliance.
-
-
The highs were high! But the lows, very low.
- By K Michael on 11-03-16
By: E. K. Johnston
What listeners say about The Last Battle
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- groove_e1
- 10-24-15
Great story, but the names make it hard to follow
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Any time we get to learn about those that triumphed during WWII, and their remarkable stories is time well spent.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
It was tough to discern all the foreign names. Because of this, it was hard to track the various characters throughout the book. I hate to say this, but perhaps use nicknames, or abbreviations of the names, to make it easier to track. Also, I enjoyed learning about the various backgrounds of each of the characters...but I would have preferred to hear more about the defense of the castle.
What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?
Well spoken. Easy to understand, even at various speeds.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
Yes
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joseph
- 10-31-16
Long on details, short on story
Is there anything you would change about this book?
I would have spent less time retelling the entire life stories of every single prisoner. So much detail is provided, it almost felt like the author was padding the book's length. The actual battle, and the events surrounding it, were well told. It just took hours and hours to get to it.
Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen Harding? Why or why not?
Yes, I would. He's a competent storyteller, and maybe this book just suffered from a lack of editing.
Which character – as performed by Joe Barrett – was your favorite?
Definitely Captain Jack Lee, the American tank commander who led the defense of the castle.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
Yes, I would. It's a good story, and one that few know about. A film version would refocus the book away from historical minutia, and towards the actual events.
Any additional comments?
There are so many prisoners, and the book spends so long on each one, I had trouble keeping track of who was who. Making a few quick notes on each one might help.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 5017077050
- 03-13-18
Great story - weird performance.
The work by Harding is top notch--a thoroughly researched, well-written story. However, I have never heard an audiobook where the narrator takes on a foreign accent. He feigned a French accent (while speaking English, mind you) when reading direct quotes from French characters, a German accent for German characters, etc. That was an odd stylistic choice.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 06-24-16
pronunciations were amazing and great research
good book what the title above said..I .would definitely recoment to ppl who have already read a lot about ww2 but r looking for a story that hasn't already been told a 100 times
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- brian j
- 07-18-23
I found it very slow to the actual story
didn't grab my attention until the last few chapters was wondering when does the last battle start
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- N. Bettes
- 01-17-23
Great history lesson
Great listen, love the reader. Story moves very quickly so brush up on your WW2 history and Austrian locations.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John K. Marsh
- 03-20-20
Great book, narrator needs to speak better German
Great story, very interesting.
the end seemed to be a bit anti climatic
the narrator had lots of trouble pronouncing the large amount of German throughout the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Edward Thomas
- 03-26-18
if it's not a movie, it should be.
a little bit of a hard start but it was well-read and a very good story. If it's not a movie yet it should be I'd go see it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 06-22-22
Good read
It was a really good listen. Saw some people give it 4 stars but I think the author set it up well; I have listened to several books read by Joe Barrett… I think he is really good especially in the war genre.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- tory
- 04-26-20
One hell of a story!
Enjoyed this quick read of an impressive historical event. I'd never heard of this battle and it really was a bizarre, important and inspiring story. The educational/informative style of the writing, though rather dry, gave ample information and background on all the players and events in the story. The Last Battle is plenty exciting and drew me in despite the detached perspective. Loved it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!