Between Giants, Prit Buttar
Between Giants, Prit Buttar
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Between Giants
The Battle for the Baltics in World War II

Author: Prit Buttar

Narrator: James Cameron Stewart

Unabridged: 17 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/22/2019

Synopsis

During World War II, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia found themselves trapped between the giants of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Over the course of the war these states were repeatedly occupied by different forces, and local government organizations and individuals were forced to choose between supporting the occupying forces or forming partisan units to resist their occupation. Devastated during the German invasion, these states then became the site of some of the most vicious fighting during the Soviet counterattack and push towards Berlin. 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. By the end of the war, death and deportation had cost the Baltic States over twenty percent of their total population and Soviet occupation was to see the iron curtain descend on the region for four decades. Using numerous firsthand 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.

About Prit Buttar

Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he worked as a GP, first near Bristol and then in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. He appeared from time to time on local and national TV and radio, speaking on a variety of medical issues, and contributed regularly to the medical press.

An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th-century military history, Buttar's books include the critically acclaimed Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45 and Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II and a definitive four-part series on the Eastern Front in World War I which concluded with The Splintered Empires: The Eastern Front 1917-21. He lives in Kirkcudbright, Scotland.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brett

Auftragstaktik - military concept centered on achievement of a mission, which allowed junior officers to make decisions, in contrast to older, more rigid command and control systems. pgs 63-4 I really enjoyed this and learned a great deal. This was a well-written and well-researched endeavor on a les......more

Goodreads review by Bryan--The Bee’s Knees

A detailed but clear account of events in the Baltic countries during World War II. It should probably not be surprising to me--but it is, somewhat--that there are still groups arguing over the narrative of this time in this place, or across the entire Eastern Front, for that matter. If you doubt it......more

Goodreads review by John

I am the grandchild of Lithuanian immigrants who came to the USA before the First World War, so this book filled in some historical gaps for me. The book tells the story of various communities in the Baltic states who had no good choices when it came to choosing a foreign patron. Perhaps the hardest......more

Goodreads review by Michael

"Between Giants" is the story of the Baltic states, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, during World War Two. When I was in school in the 60's, we were taught about these countries and how they were under the jackboot of Soviet control. I doubt if children are taught about things like this now, the proba......more

Goodreads review by Steve

This is an impressive book on the Baltic Republics and their involvement in WW2 from 1941 and the German invasion through the occupation to then re-capture by the Soviets. This book is extremely detailed and a mine of information for reference. Unfortunately that is also its problem as it is hard to......more

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