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T20E2 Garand — US selective fire version of the Garand, with a 20-round magazine and a recoil checker.

T3 Carbine — US M2/3 Carbine fitted with infrared siting and a 30 round magazine.

T34m45/100 — Standard production T34m44 upgunned to a 100mm with restyled gun mount and extended turret.

T34m46/100 — Production model similar to the T34m44, but with increased hull armour, front, and side, and a 100mm main gun.

T-44 — Soviet medium tank carrying either an 85mm or 100mm gun.

T-54 — Soviet MBT armed with a 100mm gun, superior in performance to the 88mm on the Tiger II. Eventually the 54/55 became the most produced tank in history. RG introduces the 54 ahead of schedule.

Tabun — Nerve agent, manufactured in huge quantities by Nazi Germany.

Tam o’shanter — Scottish bonnet.

Thompson SMG — US designed submachine gun.

Thunderbolt — US republic single seater single-engine fighter and fighter-bomber

Trews — Scottish tartan trousers.

V2 — German long-range rocket, also known as the A4.

Vár — The Norse Goddess of oaths and agreements.

Vickers Windsor — British four-engine heavy bomber.

VNIIEF — Soviet Union’s Central Research Institute of Experimental Physics.

Winchester M-12 — US pump action shotgun with an external tube 6 shot magazine. [12, 16, 20, and 28 gauge.]

Winchester M-69 — US bolt-action .22 rifle fitted with a suppressor.

Wolf — Marriage of a Panther hull and a Panzer IV turret.

Wound Badge in Gold — Awarded for five or more wounds due to hostile action, or total blindness, loss of manhood, or severe brain damage.

X7 Rotkäppchen — German wire-guided AT missile used during WW2. Literally ‘Red Riding Hood’, the missile apparently enjoyed success against the IS series of heavy tanks.

XXI Submarine — Also known as the Elektroboote, this was the ultimate in WW2 submarine design.

ZiS-151 — Soviet six-wheeled heavy truck

ZiS-6 — Soviet six-wheeled heavy truck

ZSU-12-4 — Soviet SPAA mount with 4 x 12.7mm DShKm machine-guns.

ZSU-12-6 — Soviet SPAA mount with 6 x 12.7mm DShKm machine-guns.

Fig # 222 – Rear cover. Initiative Paperback rear cover

Bibliography

Rosignoli, Guido

The Allied Forces in Italy 1943-45

ISBN 0-7153-92123

Kleinfeld & Tambs, Gerald R & Lewis A

Hitler’s Spanish Legion – The Blue Division in Russia

ISBN 0-9767380-8-2

Delaforce, Patrick

The Black Bull – From Normandy to the Baltic with the 11th Armoured Division

ISBN 0-75370-350-5

Taprell-Dorling, H

Ribbons and Medals

SBN 0-540-07120-X

Pettibone, Charles D

The Organisation and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II

Volume V – Book B, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

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Pettibone, Charles D

The Organisation and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II

Volume V – Book A, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

ISBN 978-1-4269-2551-0

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The Organisation and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II

Volume VI – Italy and France, Including the Neutral Countries of San Marino, Vatican City [Holy See], Andorra and Monaco

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Pettibone, Charles D

The Organisation and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II

Volume II – The British Commonwealth

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Read the first chapter of Endgame now.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Chapter 172 – THE STRAIGHTS

1509 hrs, Monday, 19th August 1946, Chateau de Versailles, France.

Kenneth Strong, Chief of Military Intelligence to SHAEF, stood as his visitor was ushered in.

“General Gehlen. Good afternoon. Tea?”

The head of the Germany’s Military Intelligence Section shook his head.

“I’m afraid not, General Strong. I have only a little time. This is an unofficial call, as I told your aide. I must not be missed.”

In itself a curious statement, and one that piqued Strong’s interest.

“I’m all ears, General.”

No words came. Instead, Gehlen extracted a set of pictures from a grey folder and set them out on the desk.

“What am I looking at, General?”

“The Soviet Union’s May Day parade this year. I can only apologise, but I did not have sight of these pictures until yesterday, otherwise I would have brought them to you much earlier.”

Strong was puzzled.

“But we had a briefing document through, with pictures your agents took on the day… didn’t we?”

Gehlen sat back in his seat and shrugged.

“Yes, you did. These were not considered of sufficient quality to have been included in the original submission, neither did they appear to contain anything not covered elsewhere in the original briefing documents.”

“But they obviously do, or you wouldn’t be here, eh?”

“What do you see, General Strong?”

“Big bloody tanks, big bloody bombs, and some…”