Stalemate (The Red Gambit Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

halted in mid swipe, his face demonstrating a lack of understanding, whilst his body knew very well that it was dying.
    A second shot from Graham’s Webley dropped him lifeless to the earth.
    The captain bore all the hallmarks of a man drunk on blood, his wild eyes and grinning face betraying his combat madness.
    In his right hand, he now carried a bloodied shashka, the former owner having no further use for it. Graham’s kukri remained deeply embedded in his skull.
    “Up and at ‘em, Havildar-Major, up and at ‘em I say.”
    In an instant, he was gone, gobbled up by the steadily increasing fight.
    Securing the position, Gurung installed a Bren gun team with back up to prop up the left flank, and pushed back into the throng to help secure the centre.
    More Cossacks entered the fight, the organised remnants of the 3rd Battalion focussing on the perceived weak point, desperate to break through.
    Some Cossacks were learn ing the hard way that a trench was not the best place to be when the enemy has a kukri, its lack of length suddenly becoming a strength, as the longer shashkas fouled the wooden boarded sides of the old German earthwork.
    The sun disappeared, leaving the illumination to the flames and flashes from explosives and weapons.
    A group of cavalrymen became isolated and pressed on both flanks, the heavy bladed kukris carving men into pieces, until the Gurkhas met in the middle over the dead bodies of their enemy.
    A Soviet grenade exacted a price from the victors of that small battle, levelling the score in an instant.
    Parts of the wooden trench began to burn, slowly at first, but then gathering in ferocity.
    One group of Gurkhas, under the command of Naik Rai, stepped back from the close fight and started to pour fire into the approaching Cossack reinforcements, forcing them into cover and delaying the support they tried to bring to their fellows.
    5th Platoon’s commander attempted to turn the right flank of the Cossack attack, advancing two sections to the southeast.
    As they rushed the road, the Gurkhas fell foul of Soviet machine-gunners, positioned to cover just such an effort.
    5th Platoon lost a dozen men and failed to affect the fighting on the other side of Route 317.
    The Captain commanding the Soviet machine-gunners sent up a magnesium flare to help see. It deflected off an overhanging branch, slamming back into the ground and illuminated his own positions long enough for a Bren gunner to extract some revenge.
    The remaining men of 6th, 7th and 8th Platoons fought harder in an attempt to throw the enemy out of their positions, but they were fighting high calibre troops who had no intention of giving ground.
    It made for a bloodbath.
    The final portion of Major Graham’s reserve launched itself forward and fell in behind the close combat zone, firing at targets of opportunity, careful to avoid their own side.
    Rai, t he Naik, was down, legs smashed by a burst from a DP, but he still encouraged his men, directing their fire, and keeping them focussed with his shouted encouragement.
    Graham appeared on the edge of the position, his loud voice immediately getting the attention of the carrier platoon’s Havildar c ommanding the adjacent reserve. He followed the officer’s gesture, spotting a group of enemy pressing hard to the left of centre.
    The Havildar’s group switched their fire, dropping a few Cossacks , but the cavalrymen refused to halt, speeding up to get to the doubtful safety of close quarters.
    Ordering his men forward, the Havildar fell in mid-shout, a single rifle bullet instantly taking his life.
    None the less, his men plunged into the fray, driving hard into the flank of the new Soviet arrivals and, once again, balancing the numbers in the frontline position.
    Gurung, his wounded shoulder aching badly, watched as the battle temporarily moved away from him. He permitted himself to take a few deep breaths before seeking further involvement elsewhere.
    He spotted Graham fighting like a