My greatest omission was to fail to mention the assistance I received from the Nazarbayev family. Piecing together all the events from the word of mouth stories of the Nazarbayev’s themselves, anecdotes from comrades through to personal diary entries of those who fell before the firing ceased. Thanks to all of you, and my respects and sympathies for the sacrifices your family made for all of our futures.
With the help of all these documents, the personal memories of the above, and others, I have been able to put together a story of the last two years of World War Two, or as they became known, World War Three, years which cost many lives, and which left such an indelible mark on those who fought on both sides.
The events that led up to the Soviet assault are well known. I have tried to combine the human stories with the historical facts, and to do so in an even and unbiased manner. In my humble opinion, the heroes wear different uniforms and only in one specific area are they on common ground.
They are all ordinary human beings.
The story so far…
As this book forms part of a series, I would recommend that you read all books in sequence. ‘Opening Moves’ deals with the political decision making behind the Soviet attack, and the first assaults into Allied occupied Europe.
In any case, as a reminder, this is the story so far.
The Soviets have been presented with reasons, seemingly substantial, to suspect treachery from the Allies.
Stalin and his cronies harness the indignation of the Soviet Officer Corps for their own Imperial intentions, and plan a lightning attack on the Western Allies in Germany.
Elsewhere, the US Atomic Bomb test was a failure, and Soviet intelligence secures American information that permits their own Atomic project to advance.
Rumours of a Soviet attack do not arrive in time, despite the best efforts of some German POW’s, who work out what is happening, and make a daring bid to get to the Allied forces in Austria.
The war starts, commando attacks and assassination squads preceding the ground forces, Soviet air force missions reaping huge benefits and reducing the Allied air superiority to parity at best. Initial Soviet advances are made, but the resilience of the Allies is unexpected, and the Soviet leadership develops a sudden respect for the ‘soft’ capitalist troops. The war descends into a gutter fight, not the free flowing fight that the Soviet High Command had envisaged would take place once they broke through the front lines.
The USSR’s new ally, Imperial Japan, rearmed with captured German weapons, starts making inroads in China, as well as taking advantage of subterfuge to deal heavy blows to the US Pacific Fleet and Pacific ground forces.
The world is plunged again into combat.
Casualties are horrendous on both sides, and Allied commanders find themselves unable to regain the initiative, constantly responding to the Soviet assaults.
The German Army, displaying incredible resilience, commences reforming, promising to commit substantial numbers to the Allied forces.
The Soviet Navy plays its part, its submarines, many of which are former U-Boats, wreaking havoc on the Atlantic reinforcement programme.
However, the American war machine begins to whirr again, once more underestimated by an enemy.
Men and weapons, slowly at first, begin to flow from the camps and factories.
Also, the Allied Air forces recover, showing great resilience and taking the Air War back to the Soviets.
In particular, the Soviets have failed to appreciate the heavy bomber force, a mistake of immense proportions, but perhaps understandable, given their own bomber force’s capabilities and the rushed nature of their strategic planning.
None the less, the Red Army continues to make inroads into the Allied defences, and the rate of attrition is awful.
Whole divisions can be swallowed up in the smallest of battles for the most insignificant of locations.
The Soviet plan has allowed for a number of phases of attack, with substantial reinforcements under central command, ready to be fed in when needed.
Despite some serious setbacks, the Red Army launches its second phase on 13th August 1945.
Map
Chapter 55 – THE WAVE
Artillery is the god of war.
Whilst not as big a bird as the Lancaster, or as potent a weapon in general, the Handley Page Halifax Bomber had seen its fair share of action and success up to May 1945.
NA-R was one of the newest Mark VII’s, in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 426 Squadron, presently flying out of a base at Linton on Ouse, England.
Tonight, its mission was to accompany two hundred and forty-one aircraft and their crews to area bomb woods to the south-east of Gardelegen.
The Halifax crew were relatively inexperienced, having completed only two operations before the German War ended, added to four more in the new one.
The night sky was dark, very dark, the only illumination provided by the glowing instrument panel or the navigators small lamp.
Until 0300 hrs arrived, at which time night became day, as beneath the bomber stream thousands of crews operated their weapons at the set time. Across a five hundred mile front, Soviet artillery officers screamed their orders and instantly the air was filled with metal.
From their lofty perches, the Canadian flyers witnessed the delivery and arrival of tons of high explosive, all in total silence, save for the drone of their own Bristol Hercules engines.
They watched, eyes drawn to the spectacle, as the Russian guns fired salvo after salvo.
Their inexperience was the death of them, as it was for the crew of K-Kilo, a Lancaster from 626 Squadron RAF.
Both aircraft, their crews so intent on the Soviet display, drifted closer, until the mid-upper gunner in UM-K screamed in shock and fear as a riveted fuselage dropped inexorably towards him.
Aboard the Halifax, the crew was oblivious to their peril, the Lancaster crew resigned to it, as contact was made with the tail plane and rudders, the belly of the Halifax bending and splitting the control surfaces.
The Lancaster bucked slightly, pushing the port fin further up into the Halifax where the ruined end caught fast, partly held by a bent stay and partially by control wires caught on debris.
The Halifax captain, a petrified twenty-one year old Pilot Officer, eased up on his stick, dragging the Lancaster into a nose down attitude and ruining its aerodynamic efficiency. The young pilot then decided to try and move left, and at the same time, the Lancaster pilot lost control of his aircraft, the nose suddenly rising and causing the port inner propeller to smash into the nose of the Handley Page aircraft.
Fragments of perspex and sharp metal deluged the Halifax’s pilot, blinding him. His inability to see caused more coming together and the tail plane of the Avro broke away, remaining embedded in the belly of the Halifax.
Both aircraft stalled and started to tumble from the sky. Inside the wrecked craft, aircrew struggled to escape, G forces building and condemning most to ride their charges into the ground.
NA-R hit the earth first, with all but two of its crew aboard. The resultant explosion illuminated the area enough for many Russian soldiers to watch fascinated as the ruined Lancaster smashed into the ground some five hundred yards north, four parachutes easily discernable in the bright orange glow which bathed the area.
Fire licked greedily at one of the NA-R crew’s white canopy, taking hold and leaving only one man to witness his comrade’s fate, plunging earthwards, riding a silken candle into the German soil.