The weather turned colder. Cole and the others awoke in the French autumn mornings to a layer of frost on their helmets and gear. The sun rarely shone, but the weather cleared enough for the Allied planes to unleash their holy wrath on the Germans. As they trudged west, Cole could begin to see the outline of real hills on the horizon. The country grew steep and rugged, with dense pine forests. He was reminded of the mountains back home.
"These are called the Ardennes," Vaccaro said. "Real mountains. I hope to hell we don't have to cross them. One good thing is that the Germans won't come back at us through there. The terrain is too rough."
Cole studied the brooding hills, some of them already dusted with snow from the coming winter. "We'll see," he said.
NOTE TO READERS
This story is based on the events surrounding the Lorraine campaign, or the final push across France made by the Allies in pursuit of the retreating Germans.
These Caje Cole books begin at D Day with Ghost Sniper and then move on to Iron Sniper, set during the horrific fighting and destruction of the Falaise Pocket battle that firmly placed Normandy in Allied control.
By the fall of 1944, the Germans were in retreat toward Germany. Two major boundaries played an important role in that fighting retreat; these were the Moselle and Rhine rivers. The Rhine is more famous, being the boundary line of Germany itself. Located in France, the Moselle is actually a large tributary of the Rhine that runs parallel, several miles distant. The river is known for being swift and deep as it passes through the French countryside, making it a substantial obstacle for American forces.
In order to thwart the Allied advance, the Germans sought to destroy any crossings once they had their own forces across. Many of the details about this final push across France come from The Lorraine Campaign by Hugh M. Cole.
Eventually, the Germans would manage to regroup and counterattack through the Ardennes Forest in what came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Cole finds himself in the thick of that fight in Ardennes Sniper. Red Sniper is set during the final days of World War II and just beyond.
With the big picture out of the way, a few notes on locations and events in Gods and Snipers will be helpful.
Located on this actual river, Ville sur Moselle is an imagined place, but it could represent any of the small French villages that sprang up around the bridges across the Moselle River. It's such a small village that it has largely been spared from the actual fighting until the Germans and Americans converge there at roughly the same time, both intent on the bridge across the Moselle.
Sadly, the fight at Dornot that Frenchie survives was based on actual events that occurred when American troops attempted to gain a foothold across the Moselle in September 1944. They encountered fierce resistance and there were problems in coordinating the attack, as described in The Moselle River Crossing. This 188-page report by the U.S. Army’s Combat Studies Institute provides a detailed analysis of the battle at Dornot, in which nearly 800 American troops died. The battle took place a short distance upriver from Ville sur Moselle.
There are a couple of plot devices that some readers may feel strongly about, but I kept them because they were so unusual or showcased Cole's prowess as a marksman. The first is that the German sniper dons WWI armor to protect himself from Cole's bullet. Such body armor existed in the Great War, but it was cumbersome and not terribly effective against rifle rounds. The story reflects that because the armor that Hauer finds in a barn does give him some protection, but it's not complete, as he finds out the hard way when the two snipers duel in the woods. I thought that the armor added an interesting twist to the story and gave me an excuse for spending countless hours researching the obscure topic of WWI body armor.
Moving on to the second plot device, could a bullet actually detonate a grenade and then in turn set off satchel charges? By all accounts, a rifle bullet could theoretically explode a grenade. The grenade setting off the satchel charge was actually inspired by an incident in the 1968 novel Panzer by Harold Calin, a popular writer of the day who was also a WWII veteran. His books (sadly, long out of print) are filled with the sort of details and descriptions that could only have come from someone who was there, so the grenade scene has some precedence. As for a marksman being able to hit a German stick grenade at any distance, it's just the sort of thing that a dead-eye like Caje Cole is capable of doing.
Finally, a word about the title, which was inspired by a quote from the wonderful Michael Shaara novel, The Killer Angels. Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize, this fine literary novel describes the heroic 20th Maine at Gettysburg in 1863. If you haven't read it, please be sure to add it to your list. Shaara’s son, Jeff, wrote a fine sequel called Gods and Generals, and I only realized the similarity after I’d chosen the title for this book. For me as a writer, the title always comes first and then the rest of the book seems to fall into place.
Writing can be lonely work, so I want to thank the many readers and acquaintances who continue to offer encouragement. A special thanks to my family for their support and to my small-but-mighty team of advance readers for their input.
As always, thank you for reading and putting up with all my faults and shortcomings in turning actual events into historical fiction. As Caje Cole might say, "I reckon it'll do."
About the Author
David Healey lives in Maryland where he worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and a contributing editor to The Big Thrill magazine. Visit him online at www.davidhealeyauthor.com or www.facebook.com/david.healey.books
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Also by David Healey
Other David Healey historical thrillers you may enjoy:
American hunter Caje Cole and German marksman Kurt Von Stenger first encounter one another in the wake of the D-Day invasion, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse across the hedgerow country of Normandy.
Please click here to learn more at the Amazon store.
"The story was fascinating, and the point of views being used brought humanity into the storyline."
— Mythical Books on Ghost Sniper
"His research is one of a kind, and makes the story plausible."
— Cruising Susan Reviews on Ghost Sniper
When German sniper Dieter Rohde’s older brother is unjustly shot for desertion by the SS, he will stop at nothing to win the Iron Cross medal and redeem his family’s name by targeting as many Allied troops as possible. The German sniper’s efforts bring him into direct confrontation with Caje Cole. As the final pitched battle for France takes place around them at the Falaise Pocket, these two snipers declare war on each other.
Please click here to learn more at the Amazon store.
As German forces launch a massive surprise attack through the frozen Ardennes Forest, Caje Cole and Kurt Von Stenger find themselves aiming for a rematch. Having been in each other’s crosshairs before, they fight a final duel during Germany’s desperate attempt to turn the tide of war in what will come to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Please click here to learn more at the Amazon store.