War in the Sea
Soviet naval strategy during World War Two deliberately focused on submarine warfare. So the Soviets maintained a relatively small surface navy. While the Baltic surface fleet was important for the defense of Leningrad, most other important engagements involved submarines. Notable are the sinkings of two Turkish freighters in the Black Sea that were loaded with chrome ore, a minor but crucial component of steel. The Nazis managed to marginalize the Baltic fleet with a submarine net midway through the war. But the Soviet-Finnish armistice signed late in the war enable …