by Gee, Colin
2302 hrs Friday, 3rd August 1945, Gopfritz am der Wild. Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 221
Chapter 32 – THE RAILWAY.. 226
0002 hrs Saturday, 4th August 1945, On eastbound train, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 226
Chapter 33 – THE RAILYARD.. 235
0920 hrs Saturday, 4th August 1945, Persenbeug, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 235
Chapter 34 – THE DANUBE.. 242
2255 hrs Saturday, 4th August 1945, Ybbs an der Donau, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 242
0155 hrs Sunday, 5th August 1945, Ybbs an der Donau, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 244
0503 hrs Sunday, 5th August 1945, Ybbs an der Donau, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 247
0657 hrs Sunday, 5th August 1945, Ybbs an der Donau, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 248
1147 hrs Sunday, 5th August 1945, Ybbs an der Donau, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 255
1313 hrs Sunday, 5th August 1945, Ybbs an der Donau, Soviet Occupied Lower Austria. 259
Chapter 35 – THE PEACE.. 261
2125 hrs Sunday, 5th August 1945, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 261
2158 hrs Sunday, 5th August 1945, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 265
Chapter 36 – THE GENERAL.. 274
0104 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Enns, US Occupied Upper Austria. 274
0223 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Enns, US Occupied Upper Austria 280
0545 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Salzburg, US Occupied Upper Austria. 290
Chapter 37 – THE ZILANTS. 293
Early Morning, Monday, 6th August 1945, Airborne over Allied occupied Germany. 293
Chapter 38 – THE CHTEAU.. 299
0401 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, With the Zilant #4 Group, Airborne over Allied occupied Germany. 299
0420 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Zilant #4 Group, Saint-Hippolyte drop zone, French Alsace. 302
0510 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 306
0535 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Temporary Military Laager, Selestat, French Alsace. 322
0555 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 327
0608 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Approach roads to the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 348
0609 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 350
0620 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, North road approach to the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 360
0623 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Lower Courtyard, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 361
0657 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, French Alsace. 365
Chapter 39 – THE BALTIC.. 375
0521 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Aboard ShCh-307, Baltic Sea, 20kms East-South-East of Gedser Point, Lolland, Denmark. 375
Chapter 40 – THE ATTACK.. 383
0522 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Headquarters of Red Banner Forces of Soviet Europe, Schloss Schönefeld, Leipzig. 383
0531 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Sterninghofen Bridge, US Occupied Lower Austria. 384
CHAPTER 41 – THE PILOT.. 390
0535 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, 182 Squadron, RAF, Rheine Airfield, Germany. 390
0559 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, 182 Squadron RAF, airborne over Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. 393
0608 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, 182 Squadron RAF, airborne over Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. 394
CHAPTER 42 – THE COMMANDERS. 398
0545 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe. I.G.Farben, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. 398
1030 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe. I.G.Farben, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. 405
1035 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Headquarters of Red Banner Forces of Soviet Europe, Schloss Schönefeld, Leipzig. 410
0530 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Rittmanhausen, Germany. 412
0810 hrs Monday 6th August 1945, Neumarkt im Mühlkreiss - Kefermarkt Area, US occupied Lower Austria. 415
2102 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe. I.G.Farben, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. 425
CHAPTER 43 – THE BETRAYAL.. 434
0525 hrs Tuesday, 7th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe. I.G.Farben, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. 434
1201 hrs Tuesday 7th August 1945, Heiligenthal, South-West of Lüneberg, Germany. 447
CHAPTER 44 – THE COUNCIL.. 464
1400 hrs Tuesday, 7th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe. I.G.Farben, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. 464
CHAPTER 45 – THE ANNOUNCEMENT.. 475
0656 hrs Wednesday, 8th August 1945, Headquarters, Allied Forces in Europe. I.G.Farben, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. 475
0659 hrs Wednesday, 8th August 1945, Headquarters of Red Banner Forces of Soviet Europe, Schloss Schönefeld, Leipzig. 479
0721 hrs Wednesday, 8th August 1945, Headquarters of Red Banner Forces of Soviet Europe, Schloss Schönefeld, Leipzig. 480
1131 hrs Wednesday 8th August 1945, Office of the NKVD Chairman, the Lubyanka, Moscow, USSR. 488
1210 hrs, Wednesday 8th August 1945, Geesthacht, Germany. 489
1500 hrs Wednesday 8th August 1945. Former Headquarters of SHAEF, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France. 491
1528 hrs Wednesday, 8th August 1945, Headquarters of Red Banner Forces of Soviet Europe, Schloss Schönefeld, Leipzig. 496
1820 hrs Wednesday, 8th August 1945, Airborne over Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. 498
2019 hrs Wednesday 8th August 1945, 12th US Army Group Headquarters, Wiesbaden, Germany. 502
CHAPTER 46 – THE GENERALISSIMO.. 505
0520 hrs Thursday 9th August 1945, Rear-line positions, ‘B’ Btty, 60th Field Artillery Btn, 9th US Infantry Division at Neunkirchen am Sand, Germany. 505
0800 hrs Thursday 9th August 1945, The Kremlin, Moscow, USSR. 507
0830 hrs Thursday 9th August 1945, Headquarters of SHAEF, Trianon Hotel, Versailles, France. 508
0845 hrs Thursday 9th August 1945, Curau River crossings, South of Malkendorf, Germany. 517
1028 hrs Thursday 9th August 1945, Headquarters of the French First Army, Baden-Baden. 530
1215 hrs Thursday 9th August 1945, Headquarters of the French First Army, Baden-Baden. 531
2135 hrs Thursday 9th August 1945, Headquarters of SHAEF, Trianon Hotel, Versailles, France. 532
CHAPTER 47 – THE NIGHT.. 539
0215 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France. 539
0257 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, Airborne over Leipzig, Germany. 539
0259 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Headquarters of Red Banner Forces of Soviet Europe, Schloss Schönefeld, Leipzig. 542
0535 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, Vendeville Airfield, France. 543
0320 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, Advance Headquarters of 12th US Armored Division, Bad Windsheim, Germany. 544
0325 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, Airborne over München, Germany. 546
0423 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, Battle lines of the 15th US Armored Division, Bad Driburg, Germany. 551
CHAPTER 48 – THE RIPOSTES. 555
0545 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, 12th US Armored Division and other Assault formations of the US Fifteenth Army, Ochsenfurt- Goßmannsdorf, Germany. 555
0858 hrs 10th August 1945, American Counter-attack, Vicinity of Rottenbauer, Germany. 560
1239 hrs 10th August 1945, Soviet Ambush and Counter-attack, vicinity of Reichenberg, Germany. 571
CHAPTER 49 – THE WEAKNESS?. 584
1355 hrs 10th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France. 584
2056 hrs 10th August 1945. Headquarters, US Forces in Europe, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France. 589
1422 hrs 10th August 1945, Durnbucherforst, Germany. 596
1748 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, Ainauwald, Germany. 599
&
nbsp; 1959 hrs Friday 10th August 1945, The Kremlin, Moscow, USSR. 601
CHAPTER 50 – THE PLAN.. 610
0255 hrs 11th August 1945, Headquarters, Red Banner Forces of Europe, Kohnstein, Nordhausen, Germany. 610
0951 hrs Saturday 11th August 1945, Office of the NKVD Chairman, The Lubyanka, Moscow, USSR. 622
CHAPTER 51 – THE HORRORS. 628
0341 hrs 11th August 1945, Units of the 1st Guards Tank Army at Stammen, South of Trendelburg, Germany. 628
0351 hrs 11th August 1945, Soviet attack, Stammen & Friedrichsfeld-Sud, south of Trendelburg, Germany. 630
0352 hrs Saturday 11th August 1945, US Front Lines, Stammen, south of Trendelburg, Germany. 633
0400 hrs Saturday 11th August 1945, Trendelburg, Germany. 637
0412 hrs 11th August 1945, US Front Lines, Stammen, Germany. 638
0513 hrs 11th August 1945, Trendelburg, Germany. 641
0512 hrs Saturday, 11th August 1945, Exen, south of Trendelburg, Germany. 647
0512 hrs Saturday,11th August. Trendelburg, Germany. 647
0620 hrs Saturday, 11th August 1945, Stammen Heights, Germany. 660
0655 hrs Saturday 11th August 1945, Stammen, Germany. 665
CHAPTER 52 – THE FRENCH.. 678
1001 hrs Saturday 11th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France. 678
1910 hrs Saturday 11th August 1945, Headquarters, US Forces in Europe, Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles, France. 685
CHAPTER 53 – THE RATHAUS. 692
0437 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, ‘Haus der Zufriedenheit’, Baltische Straße, Metgethen, East Prussia. 692
1439 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, Altona, Hamburg, Germany. 695
1439 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, St Georg Krankenhaus, Hamburg, Germany. 695
1515 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, The Rathaus, Hamburg, Germany. 701
1615 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, The Rathaus, Hamburg, Germany. 707
1630 hrs, Sunday 12th August 1945, Altstad, Hamburg, Germany. 713
1930 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, Altstad, Hamburg, Germany. 738
2300 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, Adjacent to the ‘Bride’, Altstad, Hamburg, Germany. 741
0040 Monday 13th August 1945, Altona, Hamburg, Germany. 745
2045 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, Curau River Bridge, south-west of Heiligenthal, Germany. 747
1807 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, Headquarters of SHAEF, Trianon Hotel, Versailles, France. 749
1844 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, The road to Calvados, France. 757
2213 hrs Sunday 12th August 1945, French Foreign Legion Camp, Sassy, France. 761
CHAPTER 54 – THE STORM... 765
0258 hrs Monday 13th August 1945, The Frontline, Europe. 765
List of figures. 767
Bibliography. 768
Glossary. 770
About the Author. 790
‘Stalemate’ - the story continues. 792
Chapter 55 – The Wave. 792
0255 hrs Monday, 13th August 1945, Europe. 792
The ‘Red Gambit Series’ novels are works of fiction, and deal with fictional events. Most of the characters therein are a figment of the author’s imagination. Without exception, those characters that are historical figures of fact or based upon historical figures of fact are used fictitiously, and their actions, demeanour, conversations, and characters are similarly all figments of the author’s imagination.
The Foreword
This is a work about men and their capacity to endure. I hope it is balanced and even, just telling how it was for the soldiers of both sides that fought and died in those troubled times. The references, evidences, and memories that I have been able to consult have been strangely both starkly detailed and sketchy in equal measure, possibly because the mind can be very selective when it wishes to be.
So I have tried as best I can to tie in personal contributions with the general military and political facts we all now accept. I admit that I have tried to tell little of the politics, save those details that I have considered essential and concentrated upon using the personal details and evidence to weave the story of those awful times in a way that best shows the reader what incredible men all our grandfathers were.
It is a fact that bravery knows no national boundaries and that the other side always have their honourable and courageous men too. I hope that I have reflected that and done due honour to all those about whom I have written here.
My prime interest has always been the World Wars, probably because I grew up with their first-hand effects upon my family. The Great War laid my family low, my great-grandfather’s three brothers, and two cousins, permanently entrusted to the soil of France, from where none returned; there were no tales of heroism or of horror brought home from the front in the Great War.
Whereas, for the conflicts of 1939-1945 and 1945-1947 stories abounded, tales of great-uncles and family friends who perished in the sands of North Africa, fought in the waters of the North Atlantic, were enslaved as prisoners in the jungles of Burma or who died violently on the farmlands of Germany. I would polish an array of medals for Granddad on the occasions he ventured out for reunions and events, and I often listened to the conversations of old men around tables on a warm summer’s eve, when stories of those times came alive in their words.
I always wanted to write something; not just something to satisfy my own desire for the immortality of a writer, but something that would pay tribute to the good and brave of all sides who fought and died in those difficult years.
I suppose I was destined to write this particular book. By accident, happenstance or coincidence I came into possession of the knowledge to construct this account, varying from the writings of participants, through official documentation that I hunted out onto personal interviews with surviving combatants or their families.
Synchronicity took over, that turn of events that make that of which you mused possible if not likely, and Madame Fate started to weave her web over me, delivering into my possession the means to do something really special.
The first set of memoirs that came into my hands were those of SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Rolf Uhlmann, formerly of the 5th SS Panzer Division “Wiking” and whose exploits in the conflict are now the stuff of legend. A hand written personal journal of his war that was never published was offered to me to consult by the woman into whose hands it had been entrusted, on her explicit understanding that I would faithfully reflect its contents. This I now do Krystal, in tribute to both of your men, so lie easy in your eternal rest.
It was my privilege to meet with the family of the legendary SS-Standartenfuhrer Ernst-August Knocke, who were able to furnish me with private papers and anecdotes as told them by their husband and father. It was they who secured me an introduction to a secretive and proud group of men who were vilified in the days after the German surrender, despite the sacrifices they made in the name of their country. To all of you my thanks, but especially to Anne-Marie, his wife, and a woman I greatly admire.
On my first trip to Russia, an official research visit to some of Russia’s Military museums, I was approached in my hotel by an old gentleman who knew surprisingly much of my purpose. He offered to loan me an unpublished document written partially by Colonel [Polkovnik] of Tank Troops Arkady Yarishlov, referring to his role in the Great Patriotic War from 1941 through to its bloody end when it was entrusted to one of his comrades. That comrade then gave me the responsibility to use it wisely and ensure its main author received the laurels he truly deserved. I hope that I have done so and honoured a brave man. To Stefan, who completed the writings, translated them, and filled in missing information, I thank you for seeking me out and entrusting me with those precious documents and the story of a true soldier.
Gaining access to the fourth set, namely the soon to be published memoirs of Vladimir Stelmakh, was more bizarre. A shared moment with an old man looking at a famous battle-damaged tank in the Kubinka Museum led to an enduring frie
ndship and access to the kind of intimate information historians can normally only dream about, particularly your intermediary work with the family of one of the Soviet Union’s greatest General’s and heroes and the incredible documents they permitted me sight of. Without your direct support for my cause, much of the important events in Moscow during September 1947, one of the most remarkable elements of the history of World War Three, would never have been fully known. Thank you my friend.
The fifth set I had access to all the time but never knew it. My grandfather, Major John Ramsey, was something of an amateur writer and left many papers relating to his wartime exploits, typically penned in a self-effacing fashion as befitted the modest man he was. My grandmother casually told me of their existence over Roast Pork one Sunday, shortly after I returned from my trip to Russia. It never occurred to her to offer them beforehand and never occurred to me that such things existed. Of his actions, we British know much already. Thank you Nan. If only I had been old enough to understand the nature of the medals I diligently polished!
