The Forgotten War Of The Royal Navy : Baltic Sea 1918-1920

This book covers the little known period of naval warfare in the Gulf of Finland, sparked by the German intervention in Finland and Estonia in early 1918 and evacuation of the Baltic Fleet through ice to Kronstadt. Through the entire year 1918 the Soviet forces were preparing their bases in Kronstadt and Petrograd. The attack of the German fleet was expected, but it was too busy in operations in the west and the forces assigned to attack on Kronstadt proved to be too weak. When the German Empire was defeated on the Western Front and the country was engulfed in revolutionary flame, British forces as well as sporadically American and French ships appeared in the Baltic Sea. By the end of the year the Soviet fleet tried to attack Tallinn, which ended in capture of Soviet destroyers, which were then handed over by the British to Estonia. All the ships involved are described and illustrated with full technical specifications. Profusely illustrated with scale drawings (side views) and illustrations of the ships. Rarely documented aspect of World War I and post-war naval history. In 1919 the operations consisted in active blocking of the Soviet fleet by the Royal Navy and supporting land fighting. The peace treaty signed in 1920 in Tartu effectively ended hostilities in this area. This document sanctioned and confirmed the independence of Finland and Estonia for the next nineteen years.