A fascinating look at the British naval intervention in the Baltic in
1918-20, and at the British, Soviet and Baltic nationalist fleets that
fought.
Following the Russian Revolution of October 1917, the Baltic states
became a battleground between Russian Reds and Whites, German troops and
emerging Baltic independence forces. In November 1918, the British
government decided to intervene, to protect British interests and to
support the emerging Baltic states.
This initial small force of cruisers and destroyers was eventually
augmented by other British warships, including aircraft carriers, a
monitor, as well as a handful of submarines and torpedo boats. Opposing
them was the far more powerful Russian Baltic Fleet, now controlled by
the Bolsheviks. The campaign that followed involved naval clashes
between the two sides, the most spectacular of which was an attack on
the Soviet naval base of Kronstadt in June 1919 by a force of small
British torpedo boats. They torpedoed and sunk the Russian cruiser
Oleg, an action which effectively bottled the Baltic fleet up in port
for the remainder of the campaign. Finally, in early 1920, the British
squadron was withdrawn, following Soviet recognition of Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania.
This New Vanguard title explores the naval side of this little-known but
strategically crucial campaign fought by the war-weary navies of Britain
and Russia and by warships of the emerging Baltic states. Describing the
political background to the conflict, and the key points of the naval
campaign as well as the warships involved, this is a concise and
fascinating account of an overlooked naval campaign that helped reshape
the map of Europe.
