The BEF in France, 1939–1940

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Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1473838444
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis The BEF in France, 1939–1940 by : John Grehan

Download or read book The BEF in France, 1939–1940 written by John Grehan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-07-09 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British force in Europe from 19391940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force.The British Expeditionary Force was started in 1938 in readiness for a perceived threat of war after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 and the claims on the Sudetenland, which led to the invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. After the French and British had promised to defend Poland, the German invasion of that country began and war was declared on 3 September 1939.The BEF was sent to France in September 1939 and deployed mainly along the BelgianFrench border during the so-called Phoney War leading up to May 1940. The BEF did not commence hostilities until the invasion of France on 10 May 1940. After the commencement of battle, they were driven back through Belgium and north-western France, forcing their eventual evacuation from several ports along the French northern coastline in Operations Dynamo, Ariel and Cycle. The most notable evacuation was from the Dunkirk region and from this the phrase Dunkirk Spirit was coined.

British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1781593302
Total Pages : 334 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (815 download)

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Book Synopsis British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856 by : John Grehan

Download or read book British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856 written by John Grehan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-01-22 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Crimean War was the most destructive armed conflict of the Victorian era. It is remembered for the unreasoning courage of the Charge of the Light Brigade, for the precise volleys of the Thin Red Line and the impossible assaults upon Sevastopol's Redan. It also demonstrated the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the British military system based on privilege and purchase.??Poor organisation at staff level and weak leadership from the Commander-in-Chief with a lack of appreciation of the conditions the troops would experience in the Crimea resulted in the needless death of thousands of soldiers. The Royal Navy, by comparison, was highly effective and successfully undertook its operations in the Baltic, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.??The relative performance of the two branches of Britain's armed forces is reflected in the despatches sent back to the UK by the?respective commanders. The comparative wealth of detail provided by Admirals Napier, Dundas and Lyons contrast sharply with the limited, though frequent, communications from Generals Raglan, Codrington and Simpson.??The despatches of all these commanding officers are presented in this compilation just as they were when first published in the 1850s. They tell of the great battles of the Alma, Balaklava and Inkerman, of the continuing struggle against Sevastopol and the naval operations which cut the Russian communications and ensured an eventual, if costly, victory. They can be read, just as they were when revealed to the general public more than 150 years ago.

The BEF in France

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis The BEF in France by :

Download or read book The BEF in France written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The French Defeat of 1940

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Author :
Publisher : Berghahn Books
ISBN 13 : 0857457179
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (574 download)

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Book Synopsis The French Defeat of 1940 by : Joel Blatt

Download or read book The French Defeat of 1940 written by Joel Blatt and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 1997-08-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why France, the major European continental victor in 1918, suffered total defeat in six weeks at the hands of the vanquished power of 1918 only two decades later remains moot. Why the stunning reversal of fortunes? In this volume thirteen prominent scholars reexamine the French debacle of 1940 in interwar perspectives, utilizing fresh analysis, original approaches, and new sources. Although the tenor of the volume is critical, the contributors also suggest that French preparations for war knew successes as well as failures, that French defeat was not inevitable, and that the Battle of France might have turned out differently if different choices had been made and other paths been followed.

To Lose a Battle

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0141937726
Total Pages : 736 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis To Lose a Battle by : Alistair Horne

Download or read book To Lose a Battle written by Alistair Horne and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2007-06-28 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1940, the German army fought and won an extraordinary battle with France in six weeks of lightning warfare. With the subtlety and compulsion of a novel, Horne’s narrative shifts from minor battlefield incidents to high military and political decisions, stepping far beyond the confines of military history to form a major contribution to our understanding of the crises of the Franco-German rivalry. To Lose a Battle is the third part of the trilogy beginning with The Fall of Paris and continuing with The Price of Glory (already available in Penguin).

The British Expeditionary Force, 1939-40

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Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137494204
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (374 download)

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Book Synopsis The British Expeditionary Force, 1939-40 by : E. Smalley

Download or read book The British Expeditionary Force, 1939-40 written by E. Smalley and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between September 1939 and June 1940, the British Expeditionary Force confronted the German threat to France and Flanders with a confused mind-set, an uncertain skills-set and an uncompetitive capability. This book explores the formation's origins, the scale of defeat in France and the campaign's considerable legacy.

France and Belgium, 1939-1940

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis France and Belgium, 1939-1940 by : Brian Bond

Download or read book France and Belgium, 1939-1940 written by Brian Bond and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Søgeord:Tyske Blitzkrieg; Frankrig's Fald; Tyskernes Invasion af Belgien, Maj 1940; Belgisk Neutralitet, 1936-1939; British Expeditionary Force; Dunkirk-Evakueringen, 1940; Weygand; Reynaud; van Overstraeten; Pownall; Petain; Leopold III; Keyes; Ironside; Hitler; General Georges; Gamelin; Alexander, H.; Bilotte; Blanchard; Churchill; Chamberlain; Davy, G.; Dill; Dunkirk; Gort, J.; Hore-Belisha; von Manstein; Spaak; Vuillemin; Yser Line;

The War in France and Flanders

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781845740566
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (45 download)

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Book Synopsis The War in France and Flanders by : Lionel Frederic Ellis

Download or read book The War in France and Flanders written by Lionel Frederic Ellis and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering the 1939-40 Phoney War in a single chapter, the focus of Major L.F. Ellis s official history of the campaign in France and Flanders falls on the role of the British Expeditionary Force in attempting to defend Belgium and France from the fury of the German Blitzkrieg in May-June 1940. He describes the BEF s advance into Belgium in response to the German attack in accordance with the pre-arranged Anglo-French Dyle Plan , and its rapid retreat as the Germans broke through on the River Meuse. Despite an attempted counter-attack around Arras, Ellis shows how the BEF and their French allies were forced back on the Channel Ports by the swift advance of the German armoured columns. The history culminates in the confusion caused by Belgium s sudden surrender, the failed British stand on the Somme, and the momentous decision to evacuate the BEF from Dunkirk. Illustrated by 7 general maps, 14 situation maps and 17 sketch maps, the book has eleven photographs, and additional appendices detailing the German planning of their spectacularly successful campaign, and listing the British and German forces engaged.

Strange Victory

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Publisher : Hill and Wang
ISBN 13 : 1466894288
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

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Book Synopsis Strange Victory by : Ernest R. May

Download or read book Strange Victory written by Ernest R. May and published by Hill and Wang. This book was released on 2015-07-28 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A dramatic narrative-and reinterpretation-of Germany's six-week campaign that swept the Wehrmacht to Paris in spring 1940. Before the Nazis killed him for his work in the French Resistance, the great historian Marc Bloch wrote a famous short book, Strange Defeat, about the treatment of his nation at the hands of an enemy the French had believed they could easily dispose of. In Strange Victory, the distinguished American historian Ernest R. May asks the opposite question: How was it that Hitler and his generals managed this swift conquest, considering that France and its allies were superior in every measurable dimension and considering the Germans' own skepticism about their chances? Strange Victory is a riveting narrative of those six crucial weeks in the spring of 1940, weaving together the decisions made by the high commands with the welter of confused responses from exhausted and ill-informed, or ill-advised, officers in the field. Why did Hitler want to turn against France at just this moment, and why were his poor judgment and inadequate intelligence about the Allies nonetheless correct? Why didn't France take the offensive when it might have led to victory? What explains France's failure to detect and respond to Germany's attack plan? It is May's contention that in the future, nations might suffer strange defeats of their own if they do not learn from their predecessors' mistakes in judgment.

French Soldiers' Morale in the Phoney War, 1939-1940

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 131531147X
Total Pages : 158 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (153 download)

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Book Synopsis French Soldiers' Morale in the Phoney War, 1939-1940 by : Maude Williams

Download or read book French Soldiers' Morale in the Phoney War, 1939-1940 written by Maude Williams and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-31 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The collapse of the French army in 1940 is a well-researched topic in Second World War Studies but a surprising gap in the historiography emerges when it comes to the study of the French military prior to the German offensive of May 1940. Using various public and private sources in different languages, this book aims to address this gap by studying morale on the frontline and its management by the French Government, the Grand Quartier Général, at the scale of the regiment and on a personal level. This research also investigates German and British propaganda in French and aimed at the French sector of the frontline in order to offer the first comprehensive comparative study of French army morale in any language.

Armor Camouflage & Markings of the British Expeditionary Force, France 1939-1940

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Author :
Publisher : Armor Color Gallery
ISBN 13 : 9788360672297
Total Pages : 80 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (722 download)

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Book Synopsis Armor Camouflage & Markings of the British Expeditionary Force, France 1939-1940 by : Robert Gregory

Download or read book Armor Camouflage & Markings of the British Expeditionary Force, France 1939-1940 written by Robert Gregory and published by Armor Color Gallery. This book was released on 2018 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the inter war period, the British army decided upon two tank designs: the Infantry Tank, which featured thick armor and slow speed to attack defensive positions, and the Cruiser Tank, with thin armor and fast speed to exploit any breakthrough. The Infantry Tank would equip an Army Tank Brigade and the Cruisers would equip the Armored Brigades. These designs were based on the theory that any new war would resemble the static warfare of 1914-1918. Early in the 1940 campaign in France and Flanders, the British Expeditionary Force, along with the Belgian army and the best French divisions, were encircled north of the Somme. Futile attempts were made to break the encirclement. One such attempt was made by the 1st Army Tank Brigade, launched south of the town of Arras. The appearance of these Infantry Tanks stunned the German commander, who did not realize how few tanks there actually were, which caused the Germans to slow their advance, thus buying valuable time for the Dunkirk evacuation. The only British tanks north of the Somme that were capable of fighting other tanks were the Infantry Tanks of the 1st Army Tank Brigade. The Brigade had only two of its three Battalions and only one Battalion with its full complement of the larger A12. Part 1 of Armor Camouflage & Markings of the British Expeditionary Force, France 1939-1940 examines the tanks of the 1st Army Tank Brigade. For security reasons, photography by British soldiers was strictly forbidden but encouraged on the German side. These after-the-battle photographs taken by German soldiers are valuable in examining what the tanks looked like during the 1940 campaign. Included are 157 b&w photographs and 26 full-color plates. Using war diaries, training pamphlets and other documents, the camouflage and markings of these armored vehicles are described. A brief description of the three types of tanks used, and the movements of the Brigade during the campaign are also covered. The photo captions point out the differences in the three types of A11, the modifications made specifically to the A12s and other information when known, such as the vehicle's location and tank crew. The color plates depict the Light Tanks, the A11 and A12 Infantry Tanks, and show the camouflage and markings on several of each type. This book is the best-captioned reference to date, companioned with charts, rare unpublished photographs and color plates. It is a valuable resource for the armor enthusiast and military modeler.

Building the Gort Line

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Author :
Publisher : Helion
ISBN 13 : 9781911628767
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (287 download)

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Book Synopsis Building the Gort Line by : Dave Thurlow

Download or read book Building the Gort Line written by Dave Thurlow and published by Helion. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main theme of this book is the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the defenses it constructed in France during September 1939-May 1940. Although there have been many books written about the BEF, virtually all deal with the campaign in France and Flanders that cumulated in the evacuation from Dunkirk. No detailed account has ever been published on the defenses the BEF built in the Secteur Défensive de Lille - the front allocated to it by the French - along the Franco-Belgium border. This account of the Gort Line aims to fill this gap in our knowledge of Second War defences. The book's objective is to broadly answer four questions: What events led to the Gort Line being built? What defenses were built and what were the ideas behind them - did they reflect a flawed 'Maginot' mentality? What exactly did the BEF do in France during the Sitzkrieg? How relevant was the Gort Line to what was done in Britain in respect of the anti-invasion defenses immediately after Dunkirk? The book starts by looking at the historical context, with a review of how the inter-war years shaped the grand strategy of Britain, France and Germany. In doing so, it can be understood why the BEF dug in along the Franco-Belgian border alongside their French allies. Having set the historical context, the book will describe how the Gort Line was set out with reference to British principles governing the employment of all arms in positional warfare. Chapters will deal with the construction of the Gort Line and its defenses: the pillboxes, field works, obstacles and demolitions. A chapter will describe the activities of the BEF - including training - and a glimpse at what life was like for the ordinary soldier while 'holding' the Gort Line. Allied higher strategy, determined by the French as the senior partner, is outlined in a chapter and this gives the context as to why the BEF did not fight on the Gort Line. Instead, French strategy committed it to rush into Belgium alongside the French Army and the Gort Line was in effect relegated to a reserve position. The Sitzkrieg ended violently with the German Blitzkrieg and the events of those three weeks are described, when the Gort Line was actually occupied - albeit briefly - by the BEF and French. Finally, the book will look at Britain's anti-invasion defenses immediately after Dunkirk and the influence the Gort Line had on these.

Dunkirk

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0141906162
Total Pages : 720 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis Dunkirk by : Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

Download or read book Dunkirk written by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2007-05-31 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: * * * Special 75th Anniversary Edition * * * Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man tells the story of the rescue in May 1940 of British soldiers fleeing capture and defeat by the Nazis at Dunkirk. Dunkirk was not just about what happened at sea and on the beaches. The evacuation would never have succeeded had it not been for the tenacity of the British soldiers who stayed behind to ensure they got away. Men like Sergeant Major Gus Jennings who died smothering a German stick bomb in the church at Esquelbecq in an effort to save his comrades, and Captain Marcus Ervine-Andrews VC who single-handedly held back a German attack on the Dunkirk perimeter thereby allowing the British line to form up behind him. Told to stand and fight to the last man, these brave few battalions fought in whatever manner they could to buy precious time for the evacuation. Outnumbered and outgunned, they launched spectacular and heroic attacks time and again, despite ferocious fighting and the knowledge that for many only capture or death would end their struggle. 'A searing story . . . both meticulous military history and a deeply moving testimony to the extraordinary personal bravery of individual soldiers' Tim Gardam, The Times 'Sebag-Montefiore tells [the story] with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail and an inexhaustible appetite for tracking down the evidence' Richard Ovary, Telegraph Hugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and then an author. He wrote the best-selling Enigma: The Battle for the Code. One of his ancestors was evacuated from Dunkirk.

A Great Feat of Improvisation

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781913336158
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (361 download)

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Book Synopsis A Great Feat of Improvisation by : Clem Maginniss

Download or read book A Great Feat of Improvisation written by Clem Maginniss and published by . This book was released on 2021-06-28 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Great Feat of Improvisation is a unique publication on a forgotten aspect of an important campaign for the British Army.

Hitler's Soldiers

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Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300219520
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Hitler's Soldiers by : Ben H. Shepherd

Download or read book Hitler's Soldiers written by Ben H. Shepherd and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-06-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades after 1945, it was generally believed that the German army, professional and morally decent, had largely stood apart from the SS, Gestapo, and other corps of the Nazi machine. Ben Shepherd draws on a wealth of primary sources and recent scholarship to convey a much darker, more complex picture. For the first time, the German army is examined throughout the Second World War, across all combat theaters and occupied regions, and from multiple perspectives: its battle performance, social composition, relationship with the Nazi state, and involvement in war crimes and military occupation. This was a true people’s army, drawn from across German society and reflecting that society as it existed under the Nazis. Without the army and its conquests abroad, Shepherd explains, the Nazi regime could not have perpetrated its crimes against Jews, prisoners of war, and civilians in occupied countries. The author examines how the army was complicit in these crimes and why some soldiers, units, and higher commands were more complicit than others. Shepherd also reveals the reasons for the army’s early battlefield successes and its mounting defeats up to 1945, the latter due not only to Allied superiority and Hitler’s mismanagement as commander-in-chief, but also to the failings—moral, political, economic, strategic, and operational—of the army’s own leadership.

The BEF in France 1939-1940

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1783462116
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (834 download)

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Book Synopsis The BEF in France 1939-1940 by : John Grehan

Download or read book The BEF in France 1939-1940 written by John Grehan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-07-09 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British force in Europe from 1939_1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force.??The British Expeditionary Force was started in 1938 in readiness for a perceived threat of war after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 and the claims on the Sudetenland, which led to the invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. After the French and British had promised to defend Poland, the German invasion of that country began and war was declared on 3 September 1939.??The BEF was sent to France in September 1939 and deployed mainly along the Belgian„French border during the so-called Phoney War leading up to May 1940. The BEF did not commence hostilities until the invasion of France on 10 May 1940. After the commencement of battle, they were driven back through Belgium and north-western France, forcing their eventual evacuation from several ports along the French northern coastline in Operations Dynamo, Ariel and Cycle. The most notable evacuation was from the Dunkirk region and from this the phrase Dunkirk Spirit was coined.

German Northern Theater of Operations 1940-1945 [Illustrated Edition]

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Author :
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782899774
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (828 download)

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Book Synopsis German Northern Theater of Operations 1940-1945 [Illustrated Edition] by : Earl Ziemke

Download or read book German Northern Theater of Operations 1940-1945 [Illustrated Edition] written by Earl Ziemke and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: [Includes 23 maps and 31 illustrations] This volume describes two campaigns that the Germans conducted in their Northern Theater of Operations. The first they launched, on 9 April 1940, against Denmark and Norway. The second they conducted out of Finland in partnership with the Finns against the Soviet Union. The latter campaign began on 22 June 1941 and ended in the winter of 1944-45 after the Finnish Government had sued for peace. The scene of these campaigns by the end of 1941 stretched from the North Sea to the Arctic Ocean and from Bergen on the west coast of Norway, to Petrozavodsk, the former capital of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic. It faced east into the Soviet Union on a 700-mile-long front, and west on a 1,300-mile sea frontier. Hitler regarded this theater as the keystone of his empire, and, after 1941, maintained in it two armies totaling over a half million men. In spite of its vast area and the effort and worry which Hitler lavished on it, the Northern Theater throughout most of the war constituted something of a military backwater. The major operations which took place in the theater were overshadowed by events on other fronts, and public attention focused on the theaters in which the strategically decisive operations were expected to take place. Remoteness, German security measures, and the Russians’ well-known penchant for secrecy combined to keep information concerning the Northern Theater down to a mere trickle, much of that inaccurate. Since the war, through official and private publications, a great deal more has become known. The present volume is based in the main on the greatest remaining source of unexploited information, the captured German military and naval records. In addition a number of the participants on the German side have very generously contributed from their personal knowledge and experience.