The Baltic region of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia saw some of the most prolonged and savage fighting of any on Germany's Eastern Front during World War II. The coastal nations were invaded by the USSR in 1940; captured by the Wehrmacht in 1941; provided major recruitment for the German Army and Waffen-SS in 1941-44; were retaken by the Red Army in 1944-45 despite stubborn resistance; yet still sustained a guerrilla movement which was not wiped out by the Russian occupiers until 1952.

The tragic period covered in this book saw many combat and local security units raised by both sides, offering a most interesting range of uniforms and insignia.