Impasse (The Red Gambit Series) (13 page)

There were vacancies across the range of Galtisky
’s formations, as the fighting had savaged his leadership groups.

With the new attack in mind and, in the knowledge of his own planning, he assigned the two smart but worn Colonels to the formation that would bear much of the strain.

On cue, Semenov announced their presence and the room sprang to attention.

Left to right
, each man introduced himself as Galitsky welcomed them in turn, listening to a brief resume of each officer’s service. Referring to a clipboard held out by Semenov, the 11th Guards’ commander assigned each man to a vacant slot, once the newcomer’s credentials had been established.

Galitsky turned to the last two Colonels, assessing each in turn and seeing
firmness in each man, but also a weariness reserved for those who have spent more than their fair share of time playing with the devil’s horsemen.

He nodded at the first man and returned his salute.

Each man introduced himself in turn.

“
Comrade General, Polkovnik Deniken, formerly a battalion commander in 16th Guards Rifle Division of 36th Guards Rifle Corps.”

“
Ah yes, I’ve heard of you, Vladimir Vissarionavich. You have performed brilliantly throughout the war and your arrest was totally misplaced. I hope that you weren’t ill-treated, Comrade?”

The truth would serve no purpose
, so a lie slipped easily from his lips.

“
My treatment was satisfactory, thank you, Comrade General.”

Galitsky knew it for the lie it was.

He took a quick look at the clipboard just to confirm his memory.

“
Well, Comrade Polkovnik, I’m afraid that I cannot spare you. Your assignment is not an easy one and you’ll be taking your men in danger’s path again. Competence attracts such tasks, of course.”

Deniken
’s silence spoke volumes.

“
You’ll assume command of 1st Guards Rifle Division, within the 16th Guards Rifle Corps. I’m having as many of the men of your old unit transferred to you as I can find.”

The sound of Semenov
’s pen scratching away on the list followed and Deniken received his written orders, the two officers exchanging salutes by way of terminating the exchange.

Galitsky turned to the last man.

He raised a hand, stopping the Colonel before he could even start.

“
You, I know, Comrade Polkovnik. Your reputation precedes you. Again, your arrest was ill-conceived and I'm pleased that the authorities have seen sense.”

He leant
in towards the tank officer, lowering his voice and inviting the listener forward and into his confidence.

“
From what I understand, we should have been awarding you another one of those stars, rather than holding you accountable for matters beyond your control.”

Both men recovered their poise and Galitsky continued, introducing formality to cover his genuine respect for the man in front of him.

“You, Comrade Polkovnik Yarishlov, you are assigned to command 120th Special Tank Brigade, also part of 16th Guards Rifle Corps, where your undoubted skills will once more be tested in the service of the Motherland.”

Semenov completed the form with a flourish
, passed it to Yarishlov and stepped back.

“
Now then, Comrades. Go and get settled in with your men. You’ll have only a few days before the Rodina will call on you again. Use the hours wisely.”

Salutes were offered and received and the two Colonels departed.

Galitsky and Semenov followed after a moment’s pause and observed the two soldiers parting on the steps to the old school.

His shrewd eye took in every aspect of the scene.

“Those two are more than comrades, Ivan.”

Semenov grunted.

“Those two are friends; we should use that to our advantage.”

A second grunt.

“Let’s have a look at the plan and see if we can’t bring the 1st and 120th into closer cooperation eh?”

Semenov
proffered the clipboard with a smile, the heavy markings clearly joining the two units together and annotated with a single word.

‘
Tovariches.’

“
Just as well I know you're not after my job, Ivan!”

With a deadpan look, Semenov delivered the coup de grace.

“Not likely, Comrade General. I wouldn’t get a Chief of Staff half as good as you’ve got, would I?”

Since August 1945, the
1st Guards Rifle Corps and 120th Tank Brigade had both suffered horrendous casualties and were now being pieced back together with a hotch potch of men and equipment.

In the case of the former, personnel from destroyed formations were combined with men who had once been incarcerated by the Nazi regime.

The latter was more fortunate, receiving a very high proportion of experienced men from the destroyed 2nd Guards Tank Corps.

No sooner had Yarishlov taken command of the120th Tanks than it ceased to be, by order of STAVKA, assuming the title of a formation immolated in the previous month
’s conflict.

Yarishlov found himself in command of the newly elevated 7th Guards
Special Tank Brigade, its new elite status bought by the sacrifice of those no longer alive.

True to their gut feelings, Galitsky and Semenov restyled their planning to place the two units in mutual support.

On such whims are the fates of nations decided.

It is absolutely true in war, were other things equal, that numbers, whether men, shells, bombs, etc, would be supreme. Yet it is also absolutely true that other things are never equal and can never be equal.

J. F. C. Fuller

Chuikov was delighted and yet, in the same breath, expressed disappointment.

The gains made by 1st Alpine were pretty much according to schedule, with the sole exception of
Villach, where the British infantry and tanks had stopped his force bloodily, sending the lead formation reeling backwards.

His orders to the Corps Commander had been simple to understand.

‘Attack again and take the position immediately.’

Chuikov was an uncomplicated general.

Unlike his peers in the European sector, he was prepared for the higher than normal expenditures in the necessaries of war, a preparation that had proved more than adequate as the nature and terrain reduced ammunition and fuel use. The additional toll on his men and animals in portering the heavy loads was not factored in.

A telephone discussion with Yeremenko, recently returned from a meeting with Marshal Konev, had proved timely and fruitful,
the men finding their discussion revealled a potential issue at the join between their forces, one that was addressed by swift messages to the Army commanders, requiring a tightening up of the front before the Allies exploited the small void.

Yeremenko echoed Chuikov
’s experiences, in as much as 1st Southern European Front was seeing very little by way of Allied air activity.

Soviet air regiments, accepting the problems of operating in extreme conditions, seemed to be doing very well
in support, although Yeremenko’s Frontal Aviation Commander had reported higher levels of losses to weather and accident than normal.

None the less, both senior men accepted the ramped up losses in air units as an offset for the close support the Red Air Force was providing.

One coup had been the capture of two usable bridges over the Drau, the first at Patemion, the second totally undamaged at Feistritz an der Drau.

The Red Air Force had savaged a half-hearted RAF attempt to destroy the crossings
and decimated a counter-attack aimed at recovering Feistritz. That four of the RAF aircraft had already crashed en route to the target had lessened the enthusiasm of the Allied flyers and the appearance of the Soviet LAGG’s had easily dissuaded the Squadron commander from pressing home the attack.

For Chuikov, b
eing able to put forces on the south-western bank of the Drau meant that his plan to capture Villach was greatly assisted. Its capture would trap a good size portion of the British Army against the Yugoslav border.

In a departure from his normal style, Chuikov had ensured that e
xtremely specific orders had been issued and cascaded down to platoon level, stressing the importance of not violating the Yugoslavian boundaries, a brief he was given directly by Konev at each meeting and during each phone call. Yeremenko constantly received a similar instruction in regard to Swiss neutrality and its preservation.

However, Chuikov had additional and ver
y secret orders that required him to orchestrate an attempt to bring the Yugoslavs into the war against the Allies. He was to promote circumstances where the British and Commonwealth units might be forced into some act that would drag Tito’s soldiers into the fight. When he first received the order, his eyes were drawn to Villach and he cut his cloth accordingly. The capture of Villach was seen as an excellent opportunity to bring that about, by way of Allied units violating the borders of Yugoslavia in an attempt to escape being cut off, whilst the Red Army would be able to look innocent of the charge when the Yugoslavian leader started beating his chest.

The lead units of the 1st Alpine
plunged south, taking advantage of their unexpectedly intact river crossings, forces either side of the river almost racing down the Drau valley, the important junction at Villach their goal.

Fig#75 - Allied forces defending and Puch, Austria, 14th November 1945.

Fig#76
- Töplitsch and Puch, Austria, 0027 hrs, 14th November 1945.

“
It’s so cold, Corp.”

Kearney counted it off mentally.

‘That’s the feckin dozenth time, boyo.’

“
That’s cos it’s fucking winter, Nipper.”

“
Wasn’t ever this fierce at home, Corp, never.”

Kearney
’s exasperation prompted him to mischief.

“
Did yer hear that, Nipper?”

The new boy took a breath of
the painful air before replying in a whisper.

“
No, Corp, not a sausage, Corp.”

The NCO raised an eyebrow in judgement, accompanying the gesture with a shake of the head.

“Blimey. Bloody deaf as well’a two left feet, ya eejit.”

The boy had been with the platoon since June and seemed unable to grasp even the most basic of soldierly
qualities. However, Kearney was drawn to his honesty and gullibility in equal measure, hence them pairing up on one of the platoon’s Bren guns.