Baptiste, Fitzroy Andre. War, Cooperation, and Conflict: The European Possessions in the Caribbean, 1939-1945. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988.

Preface; Code Names; maps; charts; documents; Epilog; abbreviations; footnotes; Bibliographical Notes; Selected Bibliography; Index.

351 pages
ISBN 0-313-25472-9

Proving once again that virtually no corner of the globe was untouched by the Second World War, Professor Baptiste gives us a rather dry but comprehensive study of how the islands of the Caribbean were affected by the war.

In retrospect these may seem to have been of minor importance in the course of the worldwide conflict, but at the time the islands were seen as flashpoints of espionage, economic warfare, U-Boat menace, and potential Axis infiltration through the staunchly pro-Vichy possessions of France. Those who have seen Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in "To Have and to Have Not" will exactly understand the sort of tropical intrigue and political ferment chronicled in factual, scholarly detail by the author.

In addition to the international maneuvering over Vichy Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana after the fall of France (during which the US and UK were usually at odds), the book covers the pre-war situation in the Caribbean, occupation of Dutch territory by Britain and France, the economic importance of the Caribbean possessions, the gradual imposition of American forces and policy, defense against German U-Boat patrols, and the final ralliement of the Caribbean in the wake of the Allied landings in North Africa. Thereafter the Caribbean lost even its "sideshow" status and faded back into its pre-war torpor.

The ralliement of Guadeloupe and Martinique to the Allied cause in June/July 1943 coincided with the last major U-Boat offensive in Caribbean waters. The institution of convoy within the Caribbean and along the northeast coast of Brazil from the second half of 1942, as well as the increased amount of air cover in the area, had led to a sharp reduction in the high rate of merchant ship losses by U-Boats in the Trinidad sector particularly by the start of 1943. With the exception of March 1943, when two U-Boats penetrated the Guantanamo Sector and another two raided in the Trinidad Sector, the entire area was virtually free of U-Boat activity. The main theaters for the U-Boats were in the North Atlantic supply route and the route to North Africa.

There was a corresponding reduction of stations and activities within the Caribbean Sea Frontier up to and including V-E Day. From a total of 111,000 in June 1943, the forces of the Caribbean Defense Command dropped to 91,000 in December 1943 and to 67,500 by V-E Day. Of these, Puerto Rican troops made up a significant portion in replacement of Continental United States troops. Similarly, naval stations and activities were reduced. By late 1944 San Juan, Guantanamo, and Trinidad were the only naval stations of the Caribbean Sea Frontier with some significant operational status. These operations and facilities were progressively run down between January and May 28, 1945, when the Caribbean Sea Frontier was formally declared a noncombat zone, along with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.

While boasting neither the most exciting topic nor the most kinetic prose in the historiography of World War II, Professor Baptiste's book is nonetheless a welcome addition to the literature, covering thoroughly the little-known story of the Caribbean from 1939 to 1945.

Available through mail order booksellers, from local bookshops, or directly from Greenwood Press (where it is currently on sale for $24.95).

Thanks to Greenwood Press for providing this review copy.