Freeing the Baltic

Edinburgh, Scotland: Birlinn Ltd, 2002. Soft cover. Very Good. 5.5" X 8.5. P/B 263 pages. Condition is very good. In 1919 the Baltic was one of the most politically volatile areas of the world: Finland was in revolt; the German army was rampaging through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and White troops were marching on revolutionary Petrograd. In this desperately unstable environment, the new governments of the Baltic states appealed desperately to the Allies for assistance. Britain responded by dispatching a small flotilla of light cruisers and destroyers commanded by Rear Admiral Walter Cowan. Lacking clear instructions, Cowan had to improvise his own strategy, which he did to devastating effect. After a brief display of audacious and fearless tactics, including a daring raid into the heart of the nearly impregnable Russian naval base at Kronstadt, British ships outmanoeuvred the Germans and Russians, demonstrating that the greatness of the British navy lay not simply in the size and power of its ships but also in the brilliance and courage of its officers and men. The operation not only ensured the (temporary) freedom of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but also created an enduring bond between these countries and Britain.