Northern European overture to war, 1939-1941 : from Memel to Barbarossa / / edited by Michael H. Clemmesen, Marcus S. Faulkner.

• Superior document: History of warfare, 87
• TeilnehmendeR: Clemmesen, Michael Hesselholt, 1944-; Faulkner, Marcus.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: History of warfare ; v. 87.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (536 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

While the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 was a pivotal moment in European history and precipitated the outbreak of the Second World War western historiography has largely neglected Northern Europe. Two questions dominated the course of events, the Anglo-German contest for control of the access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Soviet-German contest for control of their former territories as a precursor to the future Total War they expected to wage against each other. This anthology of 23 essays considers both these issues collectively and provides a new international perspective on the region’s transition from the relative peace of the interwar era to the all out war following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Contributors are Azar Gat, Michael Epkenhans, Andrew Lambert, Tom Kristiansen, Rolf Hobson, Gunnar Åselius, Jörg Hillmann, Werner Rahn, Sławomir Dębski, Ole Kristian Grimnes, Česlovas Laurinavičius, Alfred Erich Senn, Lars Ericson Wolke, Karl Erik Haug, Boris Vadimovich Sokolov, Toomas Hiio, Magnus Ilmjärv, Palle Roslyng-Jensen ,Hans Christian Bjerg, Valters Ščerbinskis, Michael H. Clemmesen, and Marcus Faulkner.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Michael H. Clemmesen and Marcus S. Faulkner -- Introduction / Michael H. Clemmesen and Marcus S. Faulkner -- Containment and Cold War before the Nuclear Age: The Phoney War as Allied Strategy According to Liddell Hart / Azar Gat -- Responding with Kindness or in Kind? On Conceptions of War and the Democracies’ Responses to Military Threats / Jeppe Plenge Trautner -- The Only British Advantage: Sea Power and Strategy, September 1939–June 1940 / Andrew Lambert -- The Soviet Policy towards the Baltic States in 1939–41 / Boris Vadimovich Sokolov -- Soviet Naval Perceptions of the Baltic Sea, 1938–41 / Gunnar Åselius -- The Long and Winding Road to Weserübung / Michael Epkenhans -- Slipping into the War: German Naval Strategy between 1920 and 1940 / Jörg Hillmann -- The Lithuanian Reaction to the Loss of Klaipėda and the Combined Gift of Soviet “Security Assistance” and Vilnius / Česlovas Laurinavičius -- Polish Perceptions of the Strategic Situation on the Eve of the Second World War / Sławomir Dębski -- Government and Public Reaction in Estonia to Soviet Pressure and the Events of September–December 1939 / Magnus Ilmjärv -- Responses During the First Months of the Second World War: The Latvian Government, Army, Society and the Finnish Winter War / Valters Ščerbinskis -- Norway and the Withering League of Nations / Karl Erik Haug -- A German Menace to Norway: The Evolution of Threat Perceptions and Strategy between the Wars / Tom Kristiansen -- The Strategic Considerations and Actions of the Danish Commanding Admiral in the Years before the German Occupation in 1940 / Hans Christian Bjerg -- The Armoured Commerce Raider: The Concept that Guided German Naval Lobbying for Control of Norway / Michael H. Clemmesen -- Unternehmen Weserübung April 1940: The German and Allied Strategy and Operational Approaches in Northern Europe 1939–40 / Werner Rahn and Milan Vego -- British Operational Responses to German Control of Denmark and Norway, April 1940–June 1941 / Marcus S. Faulkner -- The Two Norways, 1940–41 / Ole Kristian Grimnes -- Soviet Military Preparations in Estonia during the Year beforeLBarbarossa / Toomas Hiio -- Swedish Responses to Soviet Moves East of the Baltic Sea: The Baltic States in Swedish Military Planning, 1939–41 / Lars Ericson Wolke -- Weserübung in German and Norwegian Historiography / Rolf Hobson -- Conspiracy, Guilt and Rationality: The Memory and History of the German Military Occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940 / Palle Roslyng-Jensen -- Problems of Baltic Historiography, 1939–41 / Alfred Erich Senn -- Index of Names / Michael H. Clemmesen and Marcus S. Faulkner.