TIC—Troops in contact
USAFE—US Air Force Europe
VHF—Very high frequency. Radio waves between 30–300 MHz
VIP—Very important person
VJTF—Very High Readiness Joint Task Force
VTC—Video teleconference
VVIP—Very very important person
Acknowledgments
THE INSPIRATION FOR this book came from the many good friends I made as a result of a number of trips to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Not only have they shown me great kindness and warm hospitality, but they have shared their personal and family histories of the brutal period of Soviet occupation. The courage with which they regained their freedom in the dying days of the Soviet Union is nothing short of inspirational, hence the dedication at the front of this book. Those events took place more than a generation ago and have passed into history. But in the face of a resurgent Russia, once again a potentially existential threat on the eastern frontiers of the Baltic states and to all members of NATO, they must never be repeated.
But that inspiration needed a catalyst and this book would never have been written without Roger Field. It started at a Sandhurst reunion with a conversation about what I would do when I left the Army. With the irrepressible enthusiasm that has always been his hallmark, he urged me to consider writing. After what seems now feeble resistance, perhaps because somewhere within me I had always wanted to write, I gave in and this is the result. But Roger Field has been much more than agent and editor. A published writer himself, he brought a novelist’s eye to the project and I owe him profound thanks for his creative imagination, eye for detail and the rigorous red pen of his many suggestions, extensive additions and corrections that have gone far beyond the normal call of duty for an editor and agent. In addition, I owe Mark Booth of Hodder and Stoughton particular thanks. I am deeply grateful to him for the enthusiasm and interest he has shown from the start of the project, together with his wise, extensive and detailed advice, to say nothing of the time he has put into the project.
Much of what I write about is based on my own experience—and I plead guilty to simplifying the complex for the sake of the story. However, I have depended on professional advice from those who have operated at the sharp end, particularly at sea and in the air. Maritime advice has been freely given by a former colleague who wishes to remain anonymous, while the advice on air warfare has come from Henry Salmon, a former fast jet pilot.
While many of the characters and names in the events of 2017 are purely fictional, others are based on, or named after, individuals I have known. I am indebted to those who have generously allowed me to draw on their individual characteristics or to name fictional characters after them. I trust you will understand if I do not acknowledge you all individually.
The foundations of this project have been my family without whose encouragement, support and objective criticism the book would never have been completed. In particular, my loyal companions Delilah and Maisie, our two springer spaniels, have been instrumental in applying the adage “solvitur ambulando”—“it is solved by walking,” which has overcome many an impasse. But more important than anything else, and utterly consistent throughout the nearly thirty-six years we have been married, the rock on which everything has been built has been my beloved wife Sarah-Jane, to whom I owe more than I can ever say. No thanks and gratitude can ever be enough for what she has done, and continues to do for me.
Copyright
© 2016 by General Sir Richard Shirreff
Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com
First published in the United States by Quercus in 2016
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e-ISBN 978-1-68144-137-5
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, institutions, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons—living or dead—events, or locales is entirely coincidental.