Helion has published a very interesting book on a subject about which I have read nothing over the decades I've been on the planet. Turkey was put into a very difficult position when WWII started. The nation itself was fairly new having come out of a civil war in the 1920s, the result of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. The government was not really the most stable in terms of being a democratic nation and was prone to being ruled by strong personalities. In addition, the country did not have a very strong military. It was sufficient to deal with internal situations, but there was always the fear of conflict with its neighbors.

Initially the highest level of conflict possibility was with Greece, however, Bulgaria also was a concern as both of those nations had border disputes with Turkey. However, by far the greatest concern was with Stalin and the Soviet Union. The Turkish government had seen how willing the Soviets were to threaten neighboring nations, this being especially brought home in the early days of WWII with their invasion of Poland, the Baltic states and Finland. This completely colored their attitudes towards both the Axis and Allies during the war.

Turkey was determined not to get drawn in by either side of the conflict. The nation had a good working relationship with Germany, with a goodly amount of its exports going to that nation. Germany also, though on a really small scale, helped to provide the Turkish military with equipment. However, the greatest amount of pressure came from the British, who were anxious to see Turkey join the Allies so they could use the nation as a base from which to attack southern Europe.

Throughout the book we read of various plans and operations by the British (actually Churchill) regarding Turkey, as Churchill was rather fixated on the 'soft underbelly' of Europe and that required a friendly Turkey. Hitler also had contingency plans made up regarding a Turkish invasion, but those were never needed and turned moot as the Germans were slowly pushed out of the Caucuses. Eventually, very late in the war, Turkey joined the Allies, but by then there was little to fear from Germany, or Bulgaria, and Turkey needed the Allies to ensure that the Soviets didn't turn their army on the nation.

The author has really done a great job of researching this one. I say that about all Helion books, but it only requires a look at the extensive bibliography at the end of the book to see that this is true. Turkey is often very much a forgotten part of WWII, but even though a non-belligerent nation, it did play a fairly important part in the conflict, even if it was a passive one. The book has the usual great photos, well done color illustrations and maps and a well written narrative. I very much enjoyed reading this one and you will as well.

August 2023

Copyright ModelingMadness.com. All rights reserved. No reproduction without express permission.

Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishers, where you can order your copy at this link.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.