"The Naval War in the Baltic Book review GREAT ! " Topic

This book adds a lot on the technical side: for example he tells about the various mines that were employed in the Baltic. He explains the really bizarre operations. Like RAF raid on Gestapo HQ ! This book is outstanding. Got it in an audio version so I could listen to it on way to and from work.

FROM AMAZON: From the shelling of the fort at Westerplatte, on the Polish coast, on 1 September 1939, to the loss of thousands of German refugees at sea in May 1945, the Baltic witnessed continuous and ferocious fighting throughout World War II. In this new book Poul Groos chronicles naval warfare in the region and covers such major events as the siege of Leningrad, the Soviet campaign against Sweden in 1942, the three wars in Finland 1939–44, the Soviet liberation of the Baltic states, and the German evacuation of two million people from the East, and the Soviet race westwards in 1945.
Groos also explores topics such as Swedish cooperation with Germany, the Germans' use of the Baltic to train U-boats crews for the battle of the Atlantic, the secret weapons trials in the remote area of Peenmünde, and the RAF mining campaign that reduced the threat of new and revolutionary German submarine technology. He explains how messages from Bletchley Park were the basis for the RAF attacks on German coastal regions. Moreover, Groos provides the political and military context of the war in this theater and he describes details of ships, radar, artillery, mines, and aircraft.

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I tried to listen to books while I commute to and from work. But I guess I am easily distracted. I could listen to the book or drive but couldn't do both.

Try not to look at the maps :)

Ye, this s an excellent book. Maybe a bit heavy on the land warfare context for some but to me it added essential context. plenty of good ideas there for operational level campaigns and tactical tabletop actions.

Quite concur with Dr Manley.

I will mention that author Grooss does a very good job covering the relatively unknown (to me at least) political, diplomatic and military intelligence machinations and complications that played a large role in the progress of the war in the Baltic.

B