Stalemate (The Red Gambit Series) Read online

  ‘Stalemate’

  The third book in the ‘Red Gambit Series’.

  WRITTEN BY COLIN GEE

  Dedication for the Red Gambit Series.

  This series of books is dedicated to my grandfather, the boss-fellah, Jack ‘Chalky’ White, Chief Petty Officer [Engine Room] RN, my de facto father until his untimely death from cancer in 1983 and who, along with many millions of others, participated in the epic of history that we know as World War Two, and by their efforts and sacrifices made it possible for us to read of it, in freedom, today.

  Thank you, for everything.

  The ‘Red Gambit Series’ novels are works of fiction, and deal with fictional events. Most of the characters therein are a figment of the author’s imagination. Without exception, those characters that are historical figures of fact or based upon historical figures of fact are used fictitiously, and their actions, demeanour, conversations, and characters are similarly all figments of the author’s imagination.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright holder. The author has asserted the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  Foreword by Author Colin Gee

  There has been some suggestion that the action sequences contain descriptions that are too graphic, and in some quarters, I have heard the key word ‘gratuitous’ whispered.

  It is my habit to think about what my readers have to say on the content; to do otherwise would be foolhardy in my view.

  Therefore, in reply to those who find the sequences too powerful, I make the following observations.

  I have never been in combat, but have spoken with those who endured a great deal of it, in all its horrible forms. Listening to descriptions of hand-to-hand combat, I very quickly formed the opinion that it was wholly bestial, and without qualms or rules of any kind.

  My time in the Fire Service exposed me to some of the worst traumas imaginable, and some that went beyond that threshold.

  Together, I believe that the two experiences permit me to give some air of reality to my action sequences, and not portray the standard format that carries other authors successfully through their own literary confrontations.

  Some of what I present is my interpretation of historical fact, as recanted to me by men who were there. Some of what I present comes from my own knowledge of the events of World War Two. Yet more is a product of my own dealings with the horrible ways that our fellow man can find to leave this planet.

  In some ways, I would apologise to any reader who is unsettled by reading such sections, and in some ways, I find that I cannot.

  I would not wish to disturb anyone, but similarly, why should readers be hidden away from the awfulness of combat?

  Such avoidance could leave the reader with all the tastes of glory, and none of the true cost of battle.

  After all, we still send our young men and women into foreign fields, and they all return in one way or another; alive and well, alive but scarred forever, both mentally and/or physically or, as in the case of far too many, dead, returned home for their loved ones to intern.

  In my view, to wrap up combat in the traditional glorifying and sanitised way would do them, and all those who went before, an injustice.

  I do not believe that what I write is gratuitous violence, and it is not my plan to shock. I firmly believe that what I present to the reader is my best effort at telling combat how it was, and, to focus on one of the main points of my books, how it was for the soldiers on either side of the divide.

  There has been some criticism of spelling, so I would ask the reader to remember that I am an Englishman, and therefore, honour is just that, as is valour. I have been extremely surprised to find just how many words have been varied between the USA and the UK. However, I have tried to use Americanism’s where dealing with American figures and scenarios, and the reader will find some, such as ‘armored’, ‘honor’ and ‘valor’, where appropriate.

  Again, I have deliberately written nothing that can be attributed to that greatest of Englishmen, Sir Winston Churchill. I considered myself neither capable nor worthy to attempt to convey what he might have thought or said in my own words.

  My grateful thanks to all those who have contributed to this project in whatever way, as every little piece of help brought me closer to my goal.

  My profound thanks to all those who have contributed in whatever way to this project, as every little piece of help brought me closer to my goal.

  In no particular order, I would like to record my thanks to all of the following for their contributions. Gary Wild, Jan Wild, Mario Wildenauer, Loren Weaver, Pat Walsh, Elena Schuster, Stilla Fendt, Luitpold Krieger, Paul Dryden, Mark Lambert, Greg Winton, Greg Percival, Robert Prideaux, Tyler Weaver, Giselle Janiszewski, Brian Proctor, Steve Bailey, Bruce Towers, Victoria Coling, Alexandra Coling, Heather Coling, Isabel Pierce Ward, Ahmed Al-Obeidi, Hany Hamouda, and finally, the members of the ‘Red Gambit’ facebook group.

  Again, one name is missing on the request of the party involved, whose desire to remain in the background on all things means I have to observe his wish not to name him.

  Once more, to you, my oldest friend, thank you.

  The cover image work has been done by my brother, Jason Litchfield, and his efforts have given the finished article a professional polish beyond my dreams. Thanks bro.

  Quotes have been obtained from a number of sources, which have included brainyquote.com and quotegarden.com. I encourage the reader to visit and explore both sites.

  Wikipedia is a wonderful thing and I have used it as my first port of call for much of the research for the series. Use it and support it.

  My thanks to the US Army Center of Military History website for providing some of the out of copyright images. Many of the images are my own handiwork.

  All map work is original, save for the Château outline, which derives from a public domain handout.

  Particular thanks go to Steen Ammentorp, who is responsible for the wonderful www.generals.dk site, which is a superb place to visit in search of details on generals of all nations. The site had proven invaluable in compiling many of the biographies dealing with the senior officers found in these books.

  If I have missed anyone, or any agency, I apologise and promise to rectify the omission at the earliest opportunity.

  This then is the third offering to satisfy the ‘what if’s’ of those times.

  Book #1 - Opening Moves [Chapters 1-54]

  Book#2 – Domination [Chapters 55-77]

  Book#3 - Stalemate [Chapters 78-102]

  Author’s note.

  The correlation between the Allied and Soviet forces is difficult to assess for a number of reasons.

  Neither side could claim that their units were all at full strength, and information on the relevant strengths over the period this book is set in is limited as far as the Allies are concerned, and relatively non-existent for the Soviet forces.

  I have had to use some licence regarding force strengths and I hope that the critics will not be too harsh with me if I get things wrong in that regard. A Soviet Rifle Division could vary in strength from the size of two thousand men to be as high as nine thousand men, and in some special cases could be even more.

  Indeed, the very names used do not help the reader to understand unless they are already knowledgeable.

  A prime example is the Corps. For the British and US forces, a Corps was a collection of Divisions and Brigades directly subservient to an Army. A Soviet Corps, such as the 2nd Guards Tank
Corps, bore no relation to a unit such as British XXX Corps. The 2nd G.T.C. was a Tank Division by another name and this difference in ‘naming’ continues to the Soviet Army, which was more akin to the Allied Corps.

  The Army Group was mirrored by the Soviet Front.

  Going down from the Corps, the differences continue, where a Russian rifle division should probably be more looked at as the equivalent of a US Infantry regiment or British Infantry Brigade, although this was not always the case. The decision to leave the correct nomenclature in place was made early on. In that, I felt that those who already possess knowledge would not become disillusioned, and that those who were new to the concept could acquire knowledge that would stand them in good stead when reading factual accounts of WW2.

  There are also some difficulties encountered with ranks. Some readers may feel that a certain battle would have been left in the command of a more senior rank, and the reverse case where seniors seem to have few forces under their authority. Casualties will have played their part but, particularly in the Soviet Army, seniority and rank was a complicated affair, sometimes with Colonels in charge of Divisions larger than those commanded by a General.

  Stalemate

  The third book in the ‘Red Gambit’ series.

  7TH SEPTEMBER TO 27TH OCTOBER

  1945

  Book Dedication

  This book is not dedicated to a specific person by name, but to a national icon, a figure that represents something different, and very personal, to each of us.

  He or she is an institution, and an object of great affection for the British nation.

  He stood behind the wooden stakes at Agincourt, and knelt in an infantry square at Waterloo. He rode a charger into the Valley of Death at Balaclava, and suffered in the heat at Spion Kop.

  A whole generation went to war and walked into a hail of bullets on the Somme, manned a battlecruiser at Jutland, or drove a tank at Cambrai.

  The next generation took their own mounts into the skies over Britain in 1940, or stood on the Imjin River in Korea.

  Their issue went forth into the South Atlantic, and found immortality on, and around, a barren windswept island.

  Their sons and daughters now give their all in the combat zones of the world; in Afghanistan, Iraq, and everywhere that the flag is raised, and people need protecting.

  * * * * *

  This book is humbly dedicated to the ordinary British soldier.

  God bless ‘em.

  Although I never served in the Armed forces, I wore a uniform with pride, and carry my own long-term injuries from my service. My admiration for our young servicemen and women serving in all our names in dangerous areas throughout the world is limitless. As a result, ‘Blesma’ is a charity that is extremely close to my heart. My fictitious characters carry no real-life heartache with them, whereas every news bulletin from the military stations abroad brings a terrible reality with its own impact, angst, and personal challenges for those who wear our country’s uniform. Therefore, I make regular donations to ‘Blesma’ and would encourage you to do so too.

  Index

  Contents

  Dedication for the Red Gambit Series

  Foreword by Author Colin Gee

  Author’s note.

  Stalemate

  Book Dedication

  Index

  My thanks to...

  The story so far.....

  Chapter 78 - THE TERROR

  1017hrs, Friday 7th September 1945, Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany.

  1957hrs, Friday 7th September 1945, Allied defensive line, east of Unterankenreute, Germany.

  2007hrs, Friday 7th September 1945, Junction of Routes 317 & 323, two kilometres south-west of Wolfegg, Germany.

  2052hrs, Friday 7th September 1945, Airborne, east of Wolfegg, Germany.

  Chapter 79 - THE INSIDER

  0801hrs, Saturday, 8th September 1945. Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany.

  0917hrs, Saturday, 8th September 1945. North West Atlantic, 20 miles south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia.

  2157hrs, Saturday, 8th September 1945. North West Atlantic, 20 miles south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia.

  Chapter 80 - THE WEREWOLVES

  1135hrs, Tuesday 11th September 1945, Skies over Hesse, Germany.

  1801hrs, Saturday, 8th September 1945. Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany.

  2307hrs, Saturday, 8th September 1945, One kilometre south-west of Pörnbach, Germany.

  Chapter 81 - THE SWEDE

  1247hrs, Sunday, 9th September 1945, one kilometre south-west of Pörnbach, Germany.

  1328hrs Monday, 10th September 1945, Two miles south-west of Mother Owen’s Rocks, Gulf of Maine.

  1337hrs, Monday, 10th September 1945, airborne over the Gulf of Maine.

  1645hrs, Wednesday, 12th September 1945, Mälsåker Castle, Strängnäs, Sweden.

  0957hrs, Friday, 14th September 1945, Langwedel Area, Germany.

  1000hrs, Friday, 14th September 1945, The Brahmsee Gap, Allied defensive positions, one mile north-west of Langwedel, Germany.

  1014hrs, Friday, 14th September 1945, MuhlStraβe, the Brahmsee Gap, Germany.

  1214hrs, Saturday, 15th September 1945, Office of the Head of GRU Western Europe, the Mühlberg, Germany.

  1335hrs, Saturday, 15th September 1945, Basement of Dybäck Castle, Sweden.

  Chapter 82 - THE TRUTH

  1000hrs, Monday, 17th September 1945, Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany.

  Chapter 83 - THE DELAY

  0911hrs, Tuesday, 18th September 1945, Les Hauts Bois, the Vosges, Alsace.

  2351hrs, Tuesday, 18th September 1945, Les Hauts Bois, the Vosges, Alsace.

  0917hrs, Tuesday, 18th September 1945, Tiste Bauernmoor, Germany.

  1103hrs, Tuesday, 18th September 1945, Ekelmoor, Germany.

  1400hrs, Wednesday, 19th September 1945, Headquarters of 1209th Grenadiere Regiment, 159th Infanterie Division, Neuwied, Germany.

  1005hrs, Wednesday, 19th September 1945, Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany.

  Chapter 84 - THE TRAWLER

  1312hrs, Friday, 21st September 1945, nine miles due west of Fair Isle, North Sea.

  2109hrs, Friday, 21st September 1945, Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany.

  0907hrs, Saturday, 22nd September 1945, Headquarters of SHAEF, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France.

  Chapter 85 - THE FLAMES

  2058hrs, Sunday, 23rd September 1945, Scientist’s Residential Block, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA.

  1107hrs, Monday, 24th September 1945, Headquarters of SHAEF, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France.

  1349hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, Route 7776 Bridge over the River Argen, Germany.

  1412hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, US defensive position at point ‘Panyedelnik’, west of UnterWolfhertsweiler, Germany.

  1420hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, Soviet mobile command point, Unterwolfertsweiler, Germany.

  1430hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, Soviet assault force, Unterwolfertsweiler, Germany.

  1431hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, US defensive position at point ‘Vtornik’, west of UnterWolfhertsweiler, Germany.

  1435hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, Soviet assault force, west of Wolfertsweiler, Germany.

  1431hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, US defensive position at point ‘Vtornik’, west of UnterWolfhertsweiler, Germany.

  1439hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, US defensive position at Point ‘Sreda’, Argen River, Germany.

  1441hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, concealed US defensive positions astride Route7776, Argen River, Germany.

  1447hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, in and around Position ‘Sreda’, Argen River, Germany.

  1453hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, US defensive position a
t Point ‘Sreda’, Argen River, Germany.

  1459hrs, Tuesday, 25th September 1945, US defensive position at Point ‘Chetvyerg’, Argen River, Germany.

  Chapter 86 - THE BRIEFING

  1023hrs, Wednesday, 26th September 1945, The Kremlin, Moscow, USSR.

  1203hrs, Friday, 28th September 1945, Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany.

  Chapter 87 - THE PAST

  1147hrs, Sunday, 30th September 1945, Legion Command Group ‘Normandie’ Headquarters, Hotel Stephanie, Baden-Baden, Germany.

  1219hrs, Sunday, 30th September 1945, Weiβenburg in Bayern, Germany.

  2132hrs, Sunday, 30th September 1945, the Kremlin, Moscow.

  0817hrs, Monday, 1st October 1945. Office of Lieutenant Colonel Rossiter USMC, Headquarters of SHAEF, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France.

  0857hrs, Wednesday, 3rd October 1945. Headquarters of US Third Army, Albert Ludwig University, Freiburg, Germany.

  Chapter 88 - THE RESCUE

  1732hrs, Thursday, 4th October 1945, with 616 Squadron RAF, Airborne over Bremen, Northern Germany.

  1749hrs, Thursday, 4th October 1945, With 25th Long-Range Guards Aviation Regiment, Airborne over Luneberg Heath, Northern Germany.

  1751hrs, Thursday, 4th October 1945, With 616 Squadron RAF, Airborne over Luneberg Heath, Northern Germany.

  1800hrs, Thursday, 4th October 1945, With 25th Long-Range Guards Aviation Regiment, Airborne over Luneberg Heath, Northern Germany.

  0030hrs, Friday, 5th October 1945, Swedish covert military installation, Gotland.

  0158hrs, Friday, 5th October 1945, Fischausen, Soviet Occupied Prussia.