Colin Gee - Impasse

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright holder. The author has asserted the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Warning! This book contains some scenes of a sexual nature that could cause offence and upset. That is not my wish and I have written them only because I felt they were necessary to convey the full story in a proper manner.

I have included a warning at the beginning of the phase so that those who do not wish to read it may bypass it without being exposed.

Apologies to anyone who reads the piece and is subsequently offended.

It is not my wish to offend, but I felt that I could not gloss over the events of which I write, so gave them my best efforts without wishing to be gratuitous. I can assure you that it was not easy to write.

Please note that the book is written in, and checked in, English. There are fundamental differences between US English and English that have been highlighted by comments regarding poor spelling.

In many, many cases, that would appear to be because an Englishman sees an Americanism, and vice versa.

In general, I will use the American version solely when it is in regard to something American.

By way of example, Armor [US] and Armour [UK], Honor [US] and Honour [UK]. Whilst I accept that there will probably still be basic spelling errors, please try to remember the national differences. Thank you.

The Red Gambit series of books is dedicated to my grandfather, the boss-fellah, Jack Chalky White, Chief Petty Officer [Engine Room] RN, my de facto father until his untimely death from cancer in 1983, and a man who, along with many millions of others, participated in the epic of history that we know as World War Two. Their efforts and sacrifices made it possible for us to read of it, in freedom, today.

Thank you, for everything.

If you have read the books leading up to Impasse then, I hope, you will already understand the concept behind Red Gambit. Therefore, my words now will be mainly for those who have come in at this moment.

After the end of the German War, the leaders of the Soviet Union found sufficient cause to distrust their former Allies, to the point of launching an assault on Western Europe. Those causes and the decision-making behind the full scale attack lie within Opening Moves, as do the battles of the first week, commencing on 6th August 1945.

After that initial week, the Soviets continue to grind away at the Western Allies, trading lives and materiel for ground, whilst reducing the combat efficiency of Allied units from the Baltic to the Alps.

In Breakthrough, the Red Army inflicts defeat after defeat upon their enemy, but at growing cost to themselves.

The attrition is awful.

Matters come to a head in Stalemate as circumstances force Marshall Zhukov to focus attacks on specific zones. The resulting battles bring death and horror on an unprecedented scale, neither Army coming away unscathed or unscarred.

As the war progresses throughout the three books preceding Impasse, other agencies are at work across the continent and, sometimes, beyond.

Soviet organisations, such as the NKVD and the GRU [Soviet Military Intelligence], come together or clash, depending on their masters, and their agents reach far and wide.

Across no-mans land, their rivals, SOE, OSS, the FBI, MI5, and the Deuxieme Bureau retaliate, seeking out advantage over their clandestine enemy.

In the Pacific, the Soviet Union has courted the Empire of Japan, and has provided unusual support in its struggle against the Chinese.

In the three previous books, the reader has been presented with the facts of the matter, all the way to November 1945. That has taken him or her on a journey from Moscow to Alamogordo, the Haut-Knigsbourg to Hamburg, Ireland to Greenland, and brought them to other places that have since become synonymous with the horror and pain of those years, such as Trendelburg, Reichenberg, and Bloody Barnstorf

We all know that what came to pass was known as the Cold War.

This series is written about the alternative that our forebears could have faced.

From this point forward, the writing will be done in such a way as to reflect an historical record of events.

Much of what has been written before is factual, and sometimes, in the research, I wondered why it was that we did not come to blows once more.

We must all give thanks it did not all go badly wrong in that hot summer of 1945, and that the events described in the Red Gambit series did not come to pass.

Again, I have deliberately written nothing that can be attributed to that greatest of Englishmen, Sir Winston Churchill. I considered myself neither capable nor worthy to attempt to convey what he might have thought or said in my own words. The pressure to do otherwise is mounting.

My profound thanks to all those who have contributed in whatever way to this project, as every little piece of help brought me closer to my goal.

[For additional information, progress reports, orders of battle, discussion, freebies, and interaction with the author please find time to visit and register at one of the following:-

I have received a great deal of assistance in researching, translating, advice, and support during the years that this project has so far run.

In no particular order, I would like to record my thanks to all of the following for their contributions. Gary Wild, Jan Wild, Jason Litchfield, Mario Wildenauer, Loren Weaver, Pat Walshe, Elena Schuster, Stilla Fendt, Luitpold Krieger, Mark Lambert, Simon Haines, Greg Winton, Greg Percival, Robert Prideaux, Tyler Weaver, Giselle Janiszewski, James Hanebury, Jeffrey Durnford, Brian Proctor, Steve Bailey, Paul Dryden, Steve Riordan, Bruce Towers, Victoria Coling, Alexandra Coling, Heather Coling, Isabel Pierce Ward, Hany Hamouda, Ahmed Al-Obeidi and finally BW-UK Gaming Clan.

One name is missing on the request of the party involved, who perversely has given me more help and guidance in this project than most, but whose desire to remain in the background on all things means I have to observe his wish not to name him.

None the less, to you, my oldest friend, thank you.

The cover image work has been done by my brother, Jason Litchfield and, as usual, his skill has produced a cover of excellent quality. Thanks bro.

Quotes have been obtained from a number of sources, which have included brainyquote.com and quotegarden.com. I encourage the reader to visit and explore both sites.

Wikipedia is a wonderful thing and I have used it as my first port of call for much of the research for the series. Use it and support it.

My thanks to the US Army Center of Military History and Franklin D Roosevelt Presidential Library websites for providing the out of copyright images.

All map work is original, save for the Chteau outline, which derives from a public domain handout.

Particular thanks go to Steen Ammentorp, who is responsible for the wonderful www.generals.dk site, which is a superb place to visit in search of details on generals of all nations. The site has proven invaluable in compiling many of the biographies dealing with the senior officers found in these books.