Title: Battle for the Baltic Islands 1917
Author: Gary Staff
ISBN: 978-1-84415-7877
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Hardcover
Pages: 178
Photographs/Maps: 47
b/w//15
Conventional knowledge regarding naval operations in the
First World War tends to be limited to the Battle of Jutland and perhaps the
Battle of the Falkland Islands. Additionally, they are traditionally focussed
almost exclusively upon engagements between the British and the German capital
fleets; Russian, French, Austro-Hungarian and Italian fleet operations have
generally been forgotten. Furthermore, the casual history buff will know only that
the German High Seas fleet did not have another major engagement with the
British following Jutland, rebelled at the end of the war and was scuttled
after being interred at Scapa Flow. This is one of the main attractions of
Staff’s book, the fact that it sheds light on a heretofore little known, yet
critical, joint German engagement that had a fundamental impact upon the course
of the war.
The German Fleet was, in fact, quite busy with operations
in the Baltic against the naval forces of the Czar. This book centres upon the
largest of these engagements, the Baltic Islands. Why this battle was
undertaken involved both operational and strategic considerations on the part
of the German Empire. Germany desperately needed to free up forces from the
eastern front and the Russians continued to fight despite the Russian
revolution which toppled the Czar and destabilized the country; Germany needed
to deliver a blow that would quickly bring ‘whomever’ on the Russian side to
surrender talks. The Baltic Islands were key to this as they controlled access to
the Gulf of Finland which, in turn, controlled the approaches to St Petersburg,
the Russian capital.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this battle was the
jointness of the operation (led by the German navy under the command of
Vizeadmiral Ehrhard Schmidt) on the German side. Planning involved the landing
of naval as well as regular army forces (at Regimental and Divisional
strength), supported by aircraft and zeppelin assets. The complexity of the
planning, the cooperation between the elements and the critical success of the
operation itself is testament to the capabilities of the German leadership.
Another facet was the impact of the revolution on the effectiveness of the
Russian forces. Soldier’s/sailor’s councils acted to consistently challenge and
undermine the command and control of the Russian Commanders (as they had to
convince as much as order in many cases). Regardless, they were still very well
led by the overall Russian fleet commander, Vice-Admiral MK Bakhirev; there was
a great deal of fight left in the Russians as they too realized the importance
of these islands.
Staff’s writing style is very engaging and his analysis
thorough and comprehensive. He presents a very balanced view of both of the
protagonists in terms of tactics, personalities and strategic interests. Additionally,
he draws attention to a number of interesting facets of the engagement that
serve as a foreshadow of things to come: the fact that despite the confusion of
the Russian Revolution, the Czar’s Intelligence service continued to function
almost unaffected and the German Air Force undertook a series of successful air
raids on not only land positions but also naval targets. The end of the book
contains a series of appendices that explain the technical capabilities of the
naval forces engaged, their command structures and a timeline of the battle;
excellent for quick reference. Finally, much of the narrative is drawn from
first hand recollections and sources of individuals present at the situations
described. The author has made very good use of these, weaving the accounts
seamlessly into the broader storyline.
Overall, I strongly recommend this book for its high
production value, fascinating history and the strength of the writing and
research of the author. The role that the German Fleet played in the war has
been diminished and greatly overshadowed by events elsewhere and its utility as
an effective arm of German foreign policy largely lost; Staff’s book sheds
light on a successful fleet engagement
that had a fundamental impact upon the course of the war and resonated far
beyond the islands that it was fought over.
No comments:
Post a Comment