The North Atlantic Front

Download or read book The North Atlantic Front written by James Miller and published by Birlinn Limited. This book was released on 2005 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the two world wars, the chain of island groups - Orkney, Shetland, the Faroes and Iceland - linking Europe to North America, acquired great strategic significance. From its main base at Scapa Flow, the Royal Navy and its allies sought to contain the German naval threat within the North Sea and protect the northern flank of Allied maritime activity. This book tells the story of operations along this northern front that had to contend with fierce weather as well as a determined and capable enemy. While the clandestine, daring activities of the Shetland Bus to maintain contact with occupied Norway are well-known, some other aspects of the story are less well-known. This book re-captures many extraordinary incidents, such as the arrest in 1914 of the staff of the Lerwick Post Office, the laying and clearing of the North Sea mine barrage and the VE Day riots in Reykjavik. Illustrated with over a hundred archive photographs, this is a glimpse into a theatre of war overlooked by other naval history books.