The Baltic Trade was vital to the British Isles for hundreds of years, dating back to before the Medieval period. The First World War saw Britain and Germany competing for trade with Scandinavia, providing vital supplies to Britain and requiring the defeat of German trade to enforce a tight blockade of Germany. – Very Highly Recommended
NAME: Southern Thunder, The Royal Navy and the Scandinavian Trade in World War One FILE: R2824 AUTHOR: Steve R Dunn PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword, Seaforth BINDING: hard back PAGES: 304 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWI, World War One, World War I, World War 1, First World War, The Great War, naval warfare, tactics, technology, politics, Baltic Trade, Scandinavian Trade, convoys
ISBN: 978-105267-2663-6
IMAGE: B2824.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/y2s5rzc5 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The Baltic Trade was vital to the British Isles for hundreds of years, dating back to before the Medieval period. The First World War saw Britain and Germany competing for trade with Scandinavia, providing vital supplies to Britain and requiring the defeat of German trade to enforce a tight blockade of Germany. - Very Highly Recommended The Scandinavian Countries were neutrals but had a strong vested interest in supplying both sides in the conflict, not only maintaining the pre-war levels of trade, but also now at premium prices. Germany needed food and raw materials as the British blockade cut access to most overseas trading partners and greatly restricted supplies from those remaining. For Britain, cutting German trade had the dual benefit of providing essential supplies to Britain from traditional trading sources, and denying those supplies to Germany. The situation was much as it had been during the Napoleonic Wars, where the British had to use naval power to cut supplies to mainland Europe and protect its own merchant ships. In WWI, this involved the aggressive use of ships and submarines of the Royal Navy in the North Sea and in the Baltic, and the introduction of escorted convoys of merchant ships. The author has brought new light to a vital part of the story of WWI and one which has been strangely neglected by historians. There is good analysis, careful research, assembly of first hand accounts, and good illustrious in a black and white photo-plate section, including images of airship and aircraft convoy escorts from the RNAS.