Impasse (The Red Gambit Series) (2 page)

Fig#1 - Comparative ranks.

Book Dedication

My best friend and I have often discussed what we would have done,
or where we would have chosen to serve, had we been called to arms in World War Two.

As you might ex
pect, personal safety plays a huge part in our discussion, and he and I agree totally on the place we would least like to have served.

In a number of conflicts, struggling over the same lands, and confronting the same terrible enemies, both man-made and those created by nature, man endured the unendurable in one corner of the planet; one that
, in regard to 1939-1945, still seems to be ignored in favour of its more well-known and more overtly dramatic cousins.

From the days of the 1941 Ja
panese invasion to the struggle of the Fourteenth Army in Burma, men, more often than not forgotten by those for whom they fought, endured the unendurable.

When silence fell in May 1945, it was not long before others were called to serve over the same battlefields, such as the French Army, whose soldiers and Foreign Legionnaire
s fought and died in Indo-China.

T
he fighting and the dying only ended when the last US marines and soldiers came home in 1975 or, in some cases, later.

Even then, the suffering was incomplete,
something I remember seeing on newscasts, a final ignominy visited upon some returning US veterans, all of whom were worthy of an honourable reception; soldier’s welcome from a grateful homeland.

S
ome were solely greeted with derision, others were abused, sometimes spat at, and many were simply ignored.

I, even at that young age, was horrified, and I take this opportunity to say my piece now.

To those that did such things to your military, you are forever shamed and I offer you nothing but my utter contempt.

Therefore,
it is with due deference and admiration, that this book is dedicated to those soldiers who, from 1940 to 1975, earned their spurs in the ‘Big Green’, the Boonies, or whatever expression is used to describe the awfulness of the jungles of Asia.

Although I never served in the Armed forces, I wore a uniform with pride. My admiration for our young service men and women serving in all our names in dangerous areas throughout the world is limitless.

As a result,
‘St Dunstan’s’
is a charity that is extremely close to my heart. My fictitious characters carry no real-life heartache with them, whereas every news bulletin from the military stations abroad brings a terrible reality with its own impact, angst, and personal challenges for those who wear our country’s uniform. Therefore, I make regular donations to
‘St Dunstan’s’
and would encourage you to do so too.

As 1945 draws to a close, I found myself thinking more about the innovations and advances that would have been made, given the continuance of war.

Some weapons that progressed slowly out of the war years might well have been developed a lot quicker, had combat been shouting its needs in the ears of those working on engineering and design.

To that end, from this point forward, it is possible that
the reader may find equipment appearing before its rightful time.

At no time will it appear before a time that I consider wholly feasible or, I hope, that is unacceptable to the reader.