Germany's Eastern Front Allies (2): Baltic Forces

Description

The Baltic nations - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - enjoyed a brief independence between the World Wars before being annexed by the USSR in 1940. The grim experience of Soviet occupation made it inevitable that after the German invasion of Russia in 1941 they would fight beside the Wehrmacht as allies against the Red Army while always hoping for restored independence. That hope was crushed again in 1944-45; yet 'Forest Brother' guerrillas continued to fight against hopeless odds for years after the second Soviet occupation. This extraordinary story is illustrated here with rare photos, insignia charts, tables of units and detailed uniform plates.

Nigel Thomas PhD is a Senior Lecturer in charge of the Business Language Unit at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle, whose interests include 20th century military and civil uniformed organisations, with an emphasis on Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. His work for Osprey includes a five-part series on the German Army 1939-45. Carlos Caballero Jurado was born in Spain in 1957, and served as an NCO in the Spanish Army before graduating with a BA in History from the University of Alicante. He has contributed to four Osprey titles and has written several other books and articles on military historical subjects. A history teacher in Alicante, he enjoys travel and is a keen climber and skier. Darko Pavlovic was born in 1959 and lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia. A trained architect, he is now a full-time illustrator and writer, specialising in militaria. Darko has illustrated a number of books for Osprey.