Operation Pike : Britain Versus the Soviet Union, 1939-1941

by Patrick R. Osborn

Release Date: 30 March, 2000

Edition: Hardcover

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Absolute Must for Politics 'n War Aficionado

This is simply a must-have book for the international military-political history fan. I thought I pretty much knew most of the political intrigue aspects of WW 2, but Osborn's revelations about the machinations involving Britain, France, Finland, Scandinavia, Turkey, Germany and the USSR are fascinating and will surprise many of my ilk.
The options for initiating hostilities with the Soviets that the British and particularly the French entertained had grave implications for the war and the subsequent history of the world. What if the "Allies" had gone to war with the Russians in 1939 in defence of the Finns? The dynamics of this scenario are potentially endless.
The belief that Russia was as grave a threat, if not more so, than Hitler's Germany, comes across very strongly in Osborn's "instant classic" work. Stalin's treacherous attacks on Poland, the Baltic states and Finland ranked him next to Hitler in the eyes of the world, and the fact that the USSR was supplying the Nazis with embargo-busting material shipments made the prospects of killing dozens of birds with one stone too tempting for many in the UK. Attacking Stalin's lair in Finland, the Crimea and the Caucausus were tempting goals for many who preferred fighting in someone elses' backyard instead of their own Sitzkrieg "front." The hypocrisy of the Allies in deferring conflict with the Germans in favor of the weaker Soviets did not go unnoticed but was overwhelmed by the fear of another WW 1 holocaust and the need to bolster morale by doing something.
The drawback of this title is its price, like many of the Greenwood titles. But it needs to be in your library.