Customer Reviews

BATTLE IN THE BALTICS 1944-45: The Fighting for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, a Photographic History

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I guess the "great photos" part shouldn't be a surprise, given that this is a photographic history. But every now and then new photo books hit the market that recycle trade-worn shots or offer poor photo quality for a premium price. This book isn't one of them..the photos are fine (although not every one is an action shot), the text and captions are well written and fairly engaging, and the price is not too bad. The book's only technical fault is that there are very few maps to help guide the reader--especially given the amount of ground covered during Army Group North's retreat--and to portray the tactical and strategic situation.

Nitpick Alert: OK, this book markets itself as being presented from the German perspective. Fine..no charges of false advertising here. It is something of pity, however, given the dearth of works on the late war Baltic and East Prussian campaigns that there is nothing presented from the Russian perspective. Not that the author is biased--the text is neutral, I think--but the book would have been more enjoyable had it used photos from both sides.

All-in-all, a worthwhile addition to your collection if the subject interests you. As I mentioned, there are few books out there that cover the Baltics and East Prussia in much depth, so this one is a keeper.

"Battle in the Baltics" purports to be a photographic history of fighting for Latvia, Lithuanian and Estonia. It is nothing of the sort. Working off what appears to be a trove of Bulgarian-held German-soldier snapshots of fellow soldiers, there are endless closeups of Germans in foxholes, Germans next to a cannon, Germans looking this way and that. The rare long view of an unrecognizable village, usually an Estonian one, is a relief, but there's no history or geography to speak of here, only the feeling, once you're done paging through this disappointing throw-away, that you've been had.

This book has numerous errors in the text, something which is unforgivable in a book of this type. The pictures are redundant and boring. For those who know nothing about the topic this may be of passing interest, but for all others it is a waste. Definately NOT worth the price.

This book is exactly what the subtitle says it is, a photographic history of Army Group North from the defense of Narva til the bitter end, although it does include some photos from Barbarossa. It is packed with a lot of interesting and rare photos of this often overlooked part of the Eastern Front, mostly from Bulgarian archives. Accompanying the photos are brief summaries of the different stages of the army group's retreat, along with orders of battle. Although a serious student or aficianado of the Eastern Front might find this volume lacking in textual content ,it does give an excellent historical and photographical overview of the latter stages of the war. It is perfect for a newbie that is just getting started, and also nice for the more well read students of the Eastern Front just for the pictures alone. All in all, it is a nice addition to anyone's Eastern Front collection!

The book's a sham and shamelessly uses photos taken prior to 1944, thus before the campaign supposed to be the object of the book. The so-called author going as far as picking ones that originate from the western front.
What's more, many are blurred or without any interest whatsoever, repeat without any interest. I mean blurred for most because the quality of reproduction has been bungled together with the quality of the paper which stinks on top of that.
To be thrown into one of Goebbel's bonfires without hesitation.

The very difficult life of the three countries in the Baltics during the occupation of the german army in excelent photos showwing the hardness of the battle and there consequences.