With the exception of Poland, no region or territory suffered more
greatly during World War II than the Baltic States. Caught between the
giants of the Soviet Union and the Third Reich, Latvia, Lithuania, and
Estonia became pawns in the desperate battle for control of Eastern
Europe throughout the course of World War II. This is a story of
conquest and exploitation, of death and deportation and the fight for
survival both by countries and individuals. The three states were
repeatedly occupied -- by the Soviet Union in 1939, by Germany in 1941,
and again by the Soviet Union in 1944-45. In each case, local government
organizations and individuals were forced to choose between supporting
the occupying forces or forming partisan units. Many would be caught up
in the bitter fighting in the region and, in particular, in the huge
battles for the Courland bridgehead during Operation Bagration when
hundreds of thousands of soldiers would fight and die in the last year
of the war. Over 300,000 Soviet troops would be lost during the repeated
assaults on the 'Courland Cauldron' before 146,000 German and Latvia
troops were finally forced to surrender. No mercy was shown and all
Latvians, Lithuanians, and Estonians who fought for Germany were
executed. By the end of the war, death and deportation had cost the
Baltic States over 20 percent of their total population and the iron
curtain would descend on the region for over four decades. Using
numerous first-hand accounts and detailed archival research, Prit Buttar
weaves a magisterial account of the bitter fighting on the Eastern Front
and the three small states whose fates were determined by the fortunes
and misfortunes of war.
