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Rating:  Summary: A good primer on the arctic theater in WWII Review: Hitler's Arctic War is a useful introduction to that theater of WWII. The book starts by covering the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939. Although this seems odd, given the title, it makes sense since strategically that war was important for later actions in Scandinavia. Next, the invasion of Norway is fairly well-covered, although without a lot of detail.
The German/Finn invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 is covered in much more detail. Included is a chapter on the naval convoys to send Lend-Lease material to the USSR via the arctic port of Murmansk. This is very interesting stuff, and is a topic that is only lightly addressed elsewhere. This is probably the main contribution of the book. The Soviet (re)invasion of Finnland in 1944 is also covered in solid fashion. Glantz provides more detail in his Battle for Leningrad, but this book will do if you just want the general overview and highlights of the battle. The book concludes with by examining covert operations and commando raids in Norway during the war.
If you are looking for an exhaustive source on WWII in Scandinavia, this is not for you. If you're looking for a solid introduction to the topic, this book will do nicely.
Rating:  Summary: Hitler's Arctic War Review: I was surprised when I read this book, at the number of errors, inaccuracies, and untruths I found in it. It is painfully apparent that no one with any knowledge of that theater checked this book before it was published.I also had a problem with reading it. It felt like the authors each wrote what they wanted, and didn't bother to compare their efforts before putting them together. There is nothing wrong with reinforcing information in previous chapters. Telling it to the reader again, though, is a different matter. I ordered this book to aid my own research into the campaigns in the North. I kept it only as a reminder of what not to publish. I was sorely disappointed with this product.
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