Swedish responses to Soviet moves east of the Baltic Sea: The baltic states in Swedish military planning, 1939-41
2013 (English)In: Northern Overture to War, 1939-1941: From Memel to Barbarossa / [ed] Michael H. Clemmesen & Marcus S. Faulkner, Leiden & Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2013, p. 433-446Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
With the German attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 the three Baltic countries became an active theatre of war and, consequently, the strategic significance of the Baltic Sea region changed. Throughout the interwar era the Swedish military focused its attention on Finland. The parliamentary commission declared that any Soviet attack against Sweden would first pass through Finland, which would remain the key factor in Swedish military planning. The implications of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact for the three Baltic countries is common knowledge. When the Swedish government had to handle the Soviet demands to take over of the legations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in Stockholm, it decided to comply. Swedish intelligence collected a lot of information on regular Soviet troops and about potential targets for the Swedish air force. However, the lack of any qualitative information about the Soviet forces is evident.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Leiden & Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2013. p. 433-446
Series
History of Warfare, ISSN 1385-7827 ; 87
Keywords [en]
Baltic States, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Soviet occupation, Swedish air force, Swedish military planning, Swedish Responses
National Category
History and Archaeology
Research subject
Historia med inriktning mot militärhistoria
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-4324DOI: 10.1163/9789004249097_022ISI: 000325208600021ISBN: 9789004249080 (print)ISBN: 9789004249097 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:fhs-4324DiVA, id: diva2:684265
2014-01-072014-01-072017-08-02Bibliographically approved