Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #456066 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Synopsis
During WW2 hostilities in the Baltic Sea commenced on 1 September 1939 when the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish fortress of Westerplatte and ended on 9 May 1945 with the final evacuation of German refugees from the Hela peninsula. In the intervening years, battles raged back and forth between the confines of this cold cruel sea. The Soviets attacked the Finnish island of Russaro on 30 November 1939 with an air and naval bombardment. The Russian naval blockade of Finland began and their submarines attacked merchant vessels in the Gulf of Bothnia and their ships engaged shore batteries and coastal towns. The German fleet then turned on their former allies and attacked the Soviet Union, each side's submarines stalked the others and the Russians encountered disaster in a minefield. Finally the Russians retreated under heavy sea and air attack. The siege of Leningrad began in September 1941 and was not broken until 1943. In 1944 the Russian's reached Riga, leaving pockets of stranded German troops on the Courland Peninsula. Then the Russian navy broke out - the race for East Prussia was on, sparking the biggest seaborne evacuation in history.

Customer Reviews

Another well researched account from this author.
The casual reader might think of the two "world" wars of the 20th Century as just that - World War One (1914-1918) and World War Two (1939-1945). Within those wars, however, there were many minor wars. For example, the war in the Pacific during WW2 was very different from the war in Europe and, even within Europe, the war in the Atlantic was very different from the war in the Mediterranean. And so it goes on.

Perhaps one of the most overlooked of all conflicts during the period 1914-1945 are the Battles which raged throughout the Baltic states. In this account, however, Robert Jackson has applied his customary skills of research and underlying knowledge to excellent effect to give both the casual reader and the serious historian an insight into exactly what they were all about. Many will think hostilities ceased in November 1918 and did not commence again until 1939. Not so! British Forces were in action to defend the independence of Estonia Latvia, and Lithuania from Soviet Communist forces just as soon as World War One was declared over. Those actions included some the bloodiest battles ever seen.

In a career which included being the Defence Correspondent for a major newspaper, this author has written over 90 books on military, aviation, naval and scientific subjects. Not a writer to blindly accept any "official" account of what may or may not have happened, his research into what "did" happen often sets his books apart from similar works. In what is, perhaps, his best book to date, Robert Jackson has provided a full and accurate account of the Battle of Baltic and I can do nor more than fully recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject.

NM