“Attention!”
He sprang to parade attention, along with the rest of the escort. Only the raggedy man remained at ease.
“Sir, my apologies but… what… how… where’ve you come from? Why are you in this state? What the…”
“Calm yourself, Comrade Chamanov.”
Ex-Polkovnik Atalin had told the man all he wanted to know about the penal unit officer.
“One question at a time. Now, can I have a drink, something to eat, and some room by that fire?”
Chamanov leapt aside like a supercharged deer, opening the way for the raggedy man to gain a seat near the warming flames.
One of the soldiers hesitantly offered up his canteen and it was gratefully accepted. The new arrival took a deep draught.
His mind immediately leapt back to another time, when vodka had tasted really good, and his soldiers were still alive, before this abominable war started all over again.
"Thank you, Comrade."
Chamanov had an idea.
“Atalin, fetch my greatcoat.”
“Sir.”
He found it easily and held it out, but Chamanov directed him to the figure by the fire.
“Sir, can I relieve you of your… coat and replace it with this one?”
The grunt was clearly one of agreement, the new arrival standing immediately and shedding his rags.
Beneath them, tired, dirty, and incomplete, were rank markings still identifiable as those of a Red Army Major General.
The blanket covering the door flew open and in burst an extremely irritated Captain Arganov.
“What the fuck is this all about, Comrade Chamanov. This better be fucking good or you’ll… err… I… Blyad! Who the hell’s that?”
“Comrade Kapitan,” Chamanov quickly checked the pass he still held in his hand, “May I introduce Mayor General Ivan Alekseevich Makarenko, commander of the100th Guards Airborne Rifle Division ‘Svir’.”
Table of Figures
Fig #71 – Comparative ranks.
Fig #72 – European locations of Impasse.
Fig #73 – Éire, Great Britain, and the Atlantic 1945.
Fig #74 – Éire and the Atlantic 1945 [Full copy]
Fig #75 – Allied forces defending and Puch, Austria, 14th November 1945.
Fig #76 – Töplitsch and Puch, Austria, 0027 hrs, 14th November 1945.
Fig #77 – Soviet and Roumania forces assaulting and Puch, Austria, 0027hrs, 14th November 1945.
Fig #78 – Töplitsch and Puch, Austria, 1500hrs, 14th November 1945.
Fig #79 – Operation Spectrum – December 1945.
Fig #80 – Gail River Valley, Austria, Overview.
Fig #81 – Ambrose Force, Gail River Valley, 28th November 1945.
Fig #82 – Soviet 40th Army lead units, Gail River Valley, 28th November 1945.
Fig #83 – Gail River Valley, Austria, dispositions as of 0930hrs, 28th November 1945.
Fig #84 – Allied defensive lines in the Gail River Valley, 28th November 1945.
Fig #85 – The problem at Notsch, Gail River Valley, 28th November 1945.
Fig #86 – Death from the West, Gail River Valley, 28th November 1945.
Fig #87 – The end, Gail River Valley, 28th November 1945.
Fig #88 – La Legion Corps D’Assault, Spectrum-Black, 2nd December 1945.
Fig #89 – Operation Spectrum Black, Alsace, 2nd December 1945.
Fig #90 – The assault on Hattmatt, 2nd December 1945.
Fig #91 – Forces involved in the Battle of Hattmatt, 2nd December 1945.
Fig #92 – Legion Forces committed to Brumath, 4th December 1945.
Fig #93 – Brumath, 4th December 1945.
Fig #94 – The Battle of Brumath, Legion assault, 4th December 1945.
Fig #95 – Soviet Forces committed to Brumath, 4th December 1945.
Fig #96 – The Soviet surprise, Brumath, 4th December 1945.
Fig #97 – The Battle of Brumath, Third assault and Soviet counter-attack, 4th December 1945.
Fig #98 – Spectrum Blue Operational Area, The Front Line, December 1945.
Fig #99 – US forces committed to the assault on Dahlem, 6th December 1945.
Fig #100 – Soviet forces committed to the defence of Dahlem, 6th December 1945.
Fig #101 – Battle of Dahlem, first attack, 6th December 1945.
Fig #102 – Battle of Dahlem, second attack, 6th December 1945.
Fig #103 – Forces involved in the Battle of La Petite Pierre and the Allied relief attempts, 7th December 1945.
Fig #104 – Combat Command ‘A’, 4th US Armored Division, Euskirchen to Weilerswist, Germany, 11th December 1945.
Fig #105 – Soviet 38th Army, Euskirchen to Weilerswist, Germany, 11th December 1945.
Fig #106 – Dispositions, Euskirchen to Weilerwist, Germany, 11th December 1945.
Fig #107 – Initial assault of Combat Command A, 4th US Armored Division, Route 194, Germany, 11th December 1945.
Fig #108 – TF Hardegen’s assault on Müggenhausen & Strassfeld, 11th December 1945.
Fig #109 – TF Hardegen’s second assault on Müggenhausen, 11th December 1945.
Fig #110 – The end at Müggenhausen, 11th December 1945.
Fig #111 – Imperial Japanese Army forces, advance down Route 487, China, 15th December 1945.
Fig #112 – Chinese Nationalist and US forces deployed in Luxuzhen, China, 15th December 1945.
Fig #113 – The battlefield, Route 487, Luxuzhen, China, 15th December 1945.
Fig #114 – The Battle of Luxuzhen, 15th December 1945.
Fig #115 – The Battle of Luxuzhen, Hamuda’s counter attack, 15th December 1945.
Fig #116 – Impase paperback end cover.
Glossary
.30cal machine-gun: Standard US medium machine-gun.
.45 M1911 automatic: US automatic handgun.
.50 caclass="underline" Standard US heavy machine-gun.
105mm Flak Gun: Next model up from the dreaded 88mm, these were sometimes pressed into a ground role in the final days.
128mm Pak 44: German late war heavy anti-tank gun, also mounted on the JagdTiger and Maus. Long-range performance would have made this a superb tank killer but it only appeared in limited numbers.
50mm Pak 38: German 50mm anti-tank gun introduced in 1941. Rapidly outclassed, it remained in service until the end of the war, life extended by upgrades in ammunition.
6-pounder AT gun: British 57mm anti-tank gun, outclassed at the end of WW2, except when issued with HV ammunition.
6x6 truck: Three axle, 6 wheel truck.
92nd Colored Infantry Division: The US Military used to distinguish between units of different ethnic backgrounds, such as Nisei, Puerto Rican and, in this case, Coloured soldiers. Racism was rife in the WW2 US Army, something which is not widely known or accepted. Black soldiers were mainly employed on pioneer or transport duties and not permitted near the front for some time. However, the shortage of manpower following the Battle of the Bulge created a vacuum the black soldiers could fill. The 92nd developed a reasonable combat reputation. other units such as tank-destroyer, tank and artillery units gained very good reputations
Achgelis: The Focke-Achgelis Fa223, also known as the Dragon. One of the first helicopters.
Achilles: British version of the M-10 that carried the high velocity 17-pdr gun.
Addendum F: Transfer of German captured equipment to Japanese to increase their firepower and reduce logistical strain on Soviets
Adin: In Russian, the number one.
Airspeed Oxford: Twin-engine Allied transport aircraft.
Aldis: A signal lamp used for communications consisting of a fixed light with a shutter on the front that was opened and closed to produce morse code messages. The lamp referred to by the Sunderland crew would not have been an Aldis but the word became synonymous with signal lamps of all types.