The Naval War in the Baltic, 1939–1945
The Naval War in the Baltic, 1939–1945

Author: Poul Grooss

Publisher: Seaforth Publishing

Published: 2017-04-30

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1526700026

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A military historian and naval warfare expert delivers a revealing history of the Baltic Sea Campaigns and their significance throughout WWII. From the Battle of Westerplatte on the Polish coast in 1939 to the thousands of German refugees lost at sea in 1945, the Baltic witnessed continuous fighting throughout the Second World War. This chronicle of naval warfare in the region merges such major events as the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet campaign against Sweden, the three wars in Finland, the Soviet liberation of the Baltic states, the German evacuation of two million people from the East, and the Soviet race westwards in 1945. Naval historian Poul Grooss explains the political and military backgrounds of the war in this theatre while also detailing the ships, radar, artillery, mines and aircraft employed there. He also offers fascinating insights into Swedish cooperation with Nazi Germany, the Germans’ use of the Baltic as a training ground for the Battle of the Atlantic, the secret weapons trials in the remote area of Peenemunde, and the Royal Air Force mining campaign that reduced the threat of German submarine technology. A major contribution to the naval history of this era, Naval War in the Baltic demonstrates the extent to which the Baltic Sea Campaigns shaped the Second World War

Naval Warfare in the Baltic, 1939-1945
Naval Warfare in the Baltic, 1939-1945

Author: Charles Koburger

Publisher: Praeger

Published: 1994-12-08

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Previous books written about naval warfare in the Baltic from 1939 to 1945 focus only on single navies, while the role of smaller secondary players--the Finnish, Danish or Swedish navies--tends to be ignored. This book looks at the overall picture, with each player receiving his proper due. One of the narrow seas, the Baltic has a set of characteristics and operational problems different from those on any open ocean. It is these challenges that this book seeks to emphasize, challenges which the U.S. Navy will now face.

Naval Warfare in the Eastern Mediterranean
Naval Warfare in the Eastern Mediterranean

Author: Charles Koburger

Publisher: Praeger

Published: 1993-03-30

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The purpose of this book is two-fold. First, it presents in a single place a coherent account of the tumultuous naval events that took place in the Eastern Mediterranean between 1940 and 1945 during World War II. Second, the book aims to demonstrate in an interesting fashion what naval warfare in the narrow seas is really like. Koburger demonstrates that there was a definite Allied strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean during World War II. He delineates that strategy, showing its two halves, and demonstrates the roles of Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey. Koburger contends that the Eastern Mediterranean offers an excellent example of what warfare in the narrow seas is about. He remains convinced that, in the 1990s, the narrow seas are where the wars are going to be. This book will be of interest to policymakers, the military, and military historians.

Hitler, Dönitz, and the Baltic Sea
Hitler, Dönitz, and the Baltic Sea

Author: Howard D. Grier

Publisher: Naval Inst Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 9781591143451

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"In examining that strategy, Grier answers lingering questions about the Third Reich's final months and also provides evidence of its emphasis up naval affairs and of Admiral Karl Donitz's influence in shaping Hitler's grand strategy. Donitz intended to starve Britain into submission and halt the shipment of American troops and supplies to Europe with a fleet of new Type XXI U-boats. But to test the new submarines and train their crews the Nazis needed control of the Baltic Sea and possession of its ports, and to launch their U-boat offensive they needed Norway, the only suitable location that remained after the loss of France in the summer of 1944." "This work analyzes German naval strategy from 1944 to 1945 and its role in shaping the war on land in the Baltic."--BOOK JACKET.

Hitler, Donitz, and the Baltic Sea
Hitler, Donitz, and the Baltic Sea

Author: David Grier

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2013-07-10

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1612514138

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The popular conception of Hitler in the final years of World War II is that of a deranged Fuhrer stubbornly demanding the defense of every foot of ground on all fronts and ordering hopeless attacks with nonexistent divisions. To imply that Hitler had a rational plan to win the war flies in the face of widely accepted interpretations, but historian Howard D. Grier persuasively argues here that Hitler did possess a strategy to regain the initiative in 1944-45 and that the Baltic theater played the key role in his plan. In examining that strategy, Grier answers lingering questions about the Third Reich's final months and also provides evidence of its emphasis upon naval affairs and of Admiral Karl Donitz's influence in shaping Hitler's grand strategy. Donitz intended to starve Britain into submission and halt the shipment of American troops and supplies to Europe with a fleet of new Type XXI U-boats. But to test the new submarines and train their crews the Nazis needed control of the Baltic Sea and possession of its ports, and to launch their U-boat offensive they needed Norway, the only suitable location that remained after the loss of France in the summer of 1944. This work analyzes German naval strategy from 1944 to 1945 and its role in shaping the war on land in the Baltic. The first six chapters provide an operational history of warfare on the northern sector of the eastern front and give evidence of the navy s demands that the Baltic coast be protected in order to preserve U-boat training areas. The next three chapters look at possible reasons for Hitler's defense of the Baltic coast, concluding that the most likely reason was Hitler's belief in Donitz's ability to turn the tide of war with his new submarines. A final chapter discusses Donitz's personal and ideological relationship with Hitler, his influence in shaping overall strategy, and the reason Hitler selected the admiral as his successor rather than a general or Nazi Party official. With Grier's thorough examination of Hitler's strategic motives and the reasons behind his decision to defend coastal sectors in the Baltic late in the war, readers are offered an important new interpretation of events for their consideration.

Defeat at Sea
Defeat at Sea

Author: C D Bekker

Publisher: Uncommon Valor Press

Published: 2023-12-27

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Defeat at Sea, first published in the United States in 1955, is a former German naval officer's account of the successes and failures of the German naval fleet during World War Two. The book was originally published in Germany as Kampf und Untergang der Kriegsmarine and in England as Swastika at Sea. Included are chapters on the decisive battles involving the Bismark, Graf Spee, Tirpitz, and Scharnhorst, among others, plus the role of German U boats (submarines), and raiders. The book concludes near the end of the war with the massive naval rescue effort of German citizens from the Baltic region in the face of the Russian advance. Included are 16 pages of photographs.

War at Sea, 1939-1945
War at Sea, 1939-1945

Author: Jürgen Rohwer

Publisher: US Naval Institute Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A superbly illustrated history of the naval operations of World War II, this book describes the inter-related nature of the events that took place in the Baltic and North Seas, the Arctic, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific. Rare photographs from all the countries involved bring fresh insight into the events of half a century ago.