Battle for the Baltic Islands 1917

Triumph of the Imperial German Navy

by Gary Staff

Imprint: Pen and Sword Maritime

192 Pages, 6 x 9.25 in, 40 plus black and white illustrations & 14 maps

Paperback
9781526748492
November 2018
In Stock

$22.95

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Hardcover
9781844157877
March 2009
Out of print. Available in digital formats at the links below.

$39.95

Digital download
9781783033188
March 2009

$10.99

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Description
Authors
Praise

In late 1917, the Russians, despite the revolution, were still willing to continue the war against Germany. This is an account of Operation Albion, the highly-successful seaborne operation launched by the Germans to change their minds. The Baltic Islands were pivotal for the defence of the Finnish Gulf and St. Petersburg, so their capture was essential for any campaign towards the Russian capital. Only after the fall of the islands did Russia begin peace negotiations (freeing nearly half a million German soldiers for the Kaiser's last gamble on the Western Front). This then was a campaign of great significance for the war on both Eastern and Western fronts.

A large part of the High Sea Fleet took part in the invasion of the Baltic islands, including the most modern dreadnought battleships. The Russians mounted a resolute defence despite being heavily outgunned and over a ten day period there were many naval clashes around the islands as well as the campaign ashore, all of which are described in detail with the use of both Russian and German first hand accounts.

This book shatters the myth that the Imperial German Navy spent the last two years of the war cowering in port.

Gary Staff is a former airline pilot but he has been fascinated with naval history, and specifically with the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserlischmarine) for decades. He has visited archives in Britain, Germany and elsewhere to study, and often translate for the first time, official documents relating to this subject. His previous books for Pen & Sword are The Battle for the Baltic Islands 1917; Battle on the Seven Seas and German Battlecruisers of World War One. He lives in Australia.

"A very detailed operational account of the highly successful German amphibious landings in October of 1917 on the Russian islands of Osel and Dago, off what is now Lithuania…. Important reading for anyone interested in amphibious and joint operations." ~The NYMAS Review, Winter 2009

“German dreadnoughts battled a pair of Russian pre-dreadnoughts and
sank one. The actions, part of the successful Operation Albion with the German army, also enabled Finland to separate from Russia. The author used firsthand German and Russian accounts
to enhance the narrative.” ~PowerShips

“This history of the German combined arms attack on the Baltic Islands should be a blueprint for other military history books. The book itself is less than 200 pages, but it is filled with maps (14) and has sixteen pages of photos (40 photos). The maps are some of the best I have seen in military books that were not an atlas. The author tells the story of the campaign from the smallest mine sweeper to the various battleships involved.” ~A Wargamers Needful Things