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City Under Siege: The Berlin Blockade and Airlift, 1948-1949
City Under Siege The Berlin Blockade and Airlift 19481949 Author:Michael D. Haydock At the close of World War II, the Soviet Union controlled all of eastern Germany with the exception of the American, British, and French sectors of Berlin. In June 1948, Soviet authorities halted the West's land access to the city, apparently dooming the inhabitants of its Western sectors to starvation. Would half of Berlin remian free and dem... more »ocratic, or wquld it succumb to Stalin's stranglehold? American and British planes immeditaley began a massive airlift that would last for fitfteen months. Flying 276,926 dangerous missions, often in bad weather, and bringing in 2.3 million tons of food and coal, the legendary Berlin Airlift cost the lives of 75 US and British airmen but saved the besieged enclave. Focusing on the experiece of airmen, politicans, and ordinary citizens, historian Michael D. Haydock tells the human story of a spectacular aviation and logistical accomplishment that has had lasting geopolitical significance.« less