Impasse (The Red Gambit Series) (62 page)

Stalin looked around to see if there were any doubters. One or two hard-liners stood out
, but he rapidly convinced himself that there would be no issues.

“
It is my recommendation, based upon my directknowledge of the situation and recent reports, that the main attacks are called off until we can improve the supply situation and provide replacement men and equipment to all our forces in the field. That does not mean that we should not continue to probe and keep the Capitalists off-balance, but we must give our soldiers time to train, re-arm and recover.”

“
Thank you, Comrade Marshal.”

“
If I may, Comrade General Secretary. I was handed this report in error as I waited to be admitted. The contents have a bearing on this meeting.”

The handed the report to Stalin who read it and, in turn, passed it to Beria.

The piece of paper, bearing the signature of the Chief Meteorological Officer of the Red Army, was unequivocal.

The discussion went on for some time after Zhukov had left
, but was never in doubt. Not that it had been in doubt from the moment Stalin had decided upon the course of action some hours previously, but he had wished to avoid the normal blood-letting and banishments that went with such matters.

The vote was taken and there were no dissenters. A quick discussion followed on another matter
, and ended in similar agreement.

An hour later, Konev received his orders and the news that Marshal Zhukov was now placed
above him as the new Commander of Soviet Ground Forces.

As for Yugoslavia, Tito was furious that some of his commanders had launched an unauthorised attack on the Allies
, and would have sanctioned those responsible. However, the support he needed for such an action would not have been forthcoming, so he chose the path of Janus.

On one hand, he permitted the forming of a volunteer army, which he would send to fight with the Russians in due course, having
finally halted the attacks on Trieste, and in the other places that had seen flare-ups.

On the other hand, he sent trusted emissaries to the Allies, with conciliatory messages, citing the British attack as a cause, explaining that he would keep Yugoslavia out of the war
, but that he could not prevent a volunteer unit from being formed to fight with the Russians. He deliberately did not mention how big the force would be.

To Tito, that kept him in play with both sides and, importantly, maintained the borders of his new country.

“Preliminary reports indicate that we’ve given their air force another good going-over this morning. They keep on coming, but less of ‘em, Sir.”

“
Good news, Walter.”

He had poured a coffee whilst his CoS spoke and pushed the mug across to Bedell-Smith.

“Thank you, Sir. Navy says that the torpedo boats got in amongst them again last night ,but it got a bit messy. We lost quite a few boats. Cunningham’s pulled them back for now.”

Both men sampled their drink in silence, Bedell-Smith understanding that Eisenhower was now doing some quality thinking.

Three officers arrived together, and were silently motioned to chairs. They also knew the routine.

“
So, Spectrum Red has been a success, in as much as we have inflicted heavy casualties on Soviet naval and aviation forces. Our losses have been incredibly light, thank the lord.”

He motioned Von Vietinghoff towards the coffee service.

“The Poles will profit from it in time as well,” he spared Rossiter a nod in acknowledgement for his contribution to that side of the planning.

“
On the ground, we are coming to a halt, despite what George says. Will we make Cologne and encircle them?”

The shaking head betrayed his thoughts on the matter.

“Do we call the rest of Spectrum off?”

“
No, I don’t think so, Sir.”

McCreery spoke with an unusual forcefulness.

“Sir, we’ve just pulled off a magnificent coup against their northern forces, but that cannot cloud our judgement.”

Eisenhower looked at British General and invited further comments.

“Sir, I think we must try and complete the opening phase of Spectrum Blue whilst the assets are in place and the men still have the capacity. It’s going to get colder, so my people tell me, and we may get to the point where Mother Nature may dictate to us. I spoke with General Bradley this morning and he shares the same view.”

He added
a quick afterthought.

“
If we stop Blue now, all those French boys will have died for nothing too.”

McCreery was getting no negativity from his audience and Bradley
’s agreement counted for a lot with Ike.

“
The air force can continue their mission regardless, in fact, they must, or months of good work will be lost as the enemy rearms and restocks.”

He acknowledged the arrival of a coffee poured by Von Vietinghoff.

“White has been successful, and laid the groundwork down for the rest of Spectrum in the spring. We can’t abandon that, Sir.”

Eisenhower waited for Von Vietinghoff to finish drinking before addressing him direct.

“And your view, General?”

The German wasted no time whatsoever.

“I agree with Generals McCreery and Bradley. Finish up Blue, and then postpone until we are properly ready.”

Eisenhower nodded at the unequivocal statement.

“Walter?”

“
Sir, the way I see it, we can stop Blue now, without prejudicing the greater aims of Spectrum. Blue will be finished, of course, but we can develop some of the other alternatives we discussed, and maybe get an improvement overall.”

Ike nodded at his CoS
’s words, wondering if Bedell-Smith was just playing Devil’s Advocate.

“
Well, one thing’s for certain. A decision is needed soon. George is pushing hard and about to cut loose some more of his force on a flanking move, and Field-Marshal Guderian has pushed a tank division up front, ready for a full push on eastern Cologne.”

That was only news to Rossiter, who, as he put it, did not normally concern himself with the trivia of
frontline battles.

The sound of footsteps interrupted everyone
’s train of thought, and Eisenhower raised his eyes to find Group Captain James Stagg clutching paperwork as if his very life depended on it.

Stagg had obviously moved swiftly, a bead of sweat on his forehead despite the coolness of the room.

“Jimmy, what’s got you so fired up?”

“
The weather’s changing, General, and not for the better.”

Everyone, even Rossiter, was suddenly wholly attentive.

“All our data reports indicate the temperature will drop dramatically, starting next week, probably Tuesday.”

“
Yes, you briefed us on that last week, Jimmy. Has that changed?”

“
Yes, Sir. I now believe that we will see low temperatures of a record nature.”

“
What’s record mean exactly?”

Bedell-Smith couldn
’t help himself, and held up his hand by way of apology to his boss.

None the less, the question stood.

“Sir, the lowest recorded temperature in Germany was nearly -38°. That was 1929. In 1940, Belgium experienced -30°, Austria, up in the Alps, dropped to -52° in 1932.”

Eisenhower was shaken.

“You mean we are heading for those sorts of temperatures, Jimmy?”

“
No, Sir, not exactly. We’ve looked at all the predictions and historical data.”

Stagg took the plunge.

“I believe it will be worse, the worst ever recorded, with the very worst reserved for Scandinavia, Denmark, Holland, Western Germany, all through the Alps and into Northern Italy.”

He selected a chart that showed where the
Meteorology analysts thought things would go.

Eisenhower exploded.

“Minus 45°? The Rhine Valley... Cologne... minus 45°? Can this be an error?”

The remark stung Stagg and Eisenhower knew it
, but he had to ask.

“
Sir, there is always room for error, but this data has been checked, checked, and rechecked. I will guarantee this to 5° either way.”

‘
So it could be 5° colder!’

Rossiter put their thoughts into words.

“Jeez but that’s fucking cold!”

“
Guaranteed?”

Eisenhower sought indecisi
on in his Meteorological supremo and found none.

“
Guaranteed, Sir.”

“
Thank you, Jimmy”

Stagg departed and Ike nodded to himself as he rapidly digested the latest information.

“That’s the decision made then.”

Ike stood up, suddenly aware that he had been deprived of tobacco for an unusually long period of time, picking a new pack from the side table
, and getting a cigarette lit in record time.

“
Walter. Tell George and the Field Marshal that they have until Sunday to get Cologne. After that, it’s a no-go. Tell them what Stagg just told us.”

He continued speaking, including the rest of the room.

“We’ve discussed this scenario, but it seems it’s gonna be much worse than we anticipated. I want our provisions for cold weather checked, and any problems highlighted immediately. Arthur’s going to love this, I don’t think!”

The sniggers were genuine, despite the circumstances
, as the low temperature could prove to be a big problem for the Allied air forces.

The more so when some talented tenor started singing Christmas songs as he strolled the ground
s on sentry duty.

The room cleared, all except Rossiter, who had another story to tell, leaving the two of them with a newly-arrived fresh coffee pot.

Both men laughed as some noisy NCO started ripping a strip off the tenor, his colourful language and intense humour bringing some light to Eisenhower’s dark morning.

“
So, Sam, what brings you here?”

“
You asked to be kept in the loop over the Soviet agents, Sir.”

“
Indeed, Sam.”

“
The one that was with the French, supposedly a Polish officer. He was killed on Sunday, supposedly by the woman he slept with. But it wasn’t her.”

“
Sounds like a detective novel. Why not her?”

“
She was one of ours. She’s dead too.”

“
Sorry to hear that, Sam. So what does it mean?”

“
It means the French still have a problem.”

“Pull over, man, goddamnit!”

The big
WC51 Dodge staff car pulled into a rough area, allowing the front passenger to stand.

His hands caressed the .50cal that was mounted there, betraying his agitation.

“Say that again, Walter.”

Patton listened to the same words, repeated at a slower pace, as a teacher might do to a pupil that doesn
’t quite grasp the lesson.

“
Sunday! You kidding?”

Clearly
, Bedell-Smith wasn’t kidding.

“
I understand my orders, General Smith. Yes, I will.”

As the exchange ended, Patton threw the handset skywards in anger. The
item returned to ground, pulled back by the cable, dropping undamaged into the snow.

The signaller pulled on the wire and recovered his instrument.

Meanwhile, Patton continued to rant and rave as he extracted a map from his case.

Calm overtook him finally
, and he flopped back into the seat.

Slapping the driver on the shoulder, he spoke slowly and deliberately.

“Now, son. You make this thing sing, and I don’t care what gets in your way. Drive over it if you have to, but just get me to the 4th’s forward command post quickly.”

“
Yessir!”

The powerful Dodge leapt forward and Patton almost considered an admonishment
, but decided he had asked for it. Besides, the staff car was virtually flying down the road towards the headquarters of the 4th US Armored’s command group.

He consulted the map, starting
to plan his new push on Cologne, something he found difficult as the Dodge bounced on every rut the road had to offer.