Plunder

Plunder follows the final Western Allied drive into Germany in spring 1945, beginning with the crossings of the Rhine and the collapse of the last coherent German defensive positions in the west. The title refers to Montgomery’s Operation Plunder, but Hastings ranges more widely across the capture of the Remagen bridge, breakout battles, concentration-camp liberation and the rapid advance through a disintegrating Reich.

The book continues through the last special-forces operations, German surrender negotiations and the short-lived government of Karl Dönitz. Hastings combines commanders such as Montgomery, Eisenhower and Patton with soldiers, prisoners, displaced civilians and victims of Nazi rule. It is nonfiction military history and is scheduled for first publication on 24 September 2026.