Red Inferno: 1945

Robert Conroy does a fine job with this very plausible alt history scenario. The characters are all well drawn, and I appreciate that the major historical personalities and their reactions to the scenario receive a great deal of attention from the author. The battles, weapons, tactics, and strategic goals are all described in great detail.It is an intriguing question that one would assume would get more coverage: what if the Soviet's pushed too hard after the defeat of Germany and went to war with the rest of the Allies? Conroy sets up the conflict fairly well and creates a few interesting characters but also some dull place fillers. The Russians get aggressive and trap an allied force in Germany as their main force pushes the Allies back further and further out of Germany. Much space is devoted to espionage in the West and the resistance the trapped U.S. force puts up behind enemy lines, including their respective love interests. Consideration is given to the Soviet advantage in men and tanks, with the Allies' reliance on air power and giving up space for time to bleed the Soviet advance. All ends in massive fireballs as the first atom bombs are used on the Soviet Army rather than the Japanese.I have three criticisms of the book, but they don't affect my overall assessment of the story. First, I came across three references to Germany invading Russia in 1940, vice 1941. The second is that he doesnt really go into detail about how Allied Armies would have fought the Russian army and how they would have matched up with one another.What I was hoping for more of was how the Soviet and U.S. (and British) armies would face off with each other. Conroy gives little space for a closer look at how the Allies would handle the T-34s. Their advantage over the Sherman is noted, but there is no discussion over how they would match up against British Fireflies or the newer, heavier tanks that the U.S. was already shipping to the European Theater. It also would have been interesting to see how Soviet and U.S. artillery would have matched up against each other. The Soviet's prized their artillery, but the U.S. had boiled it down to a masterful science. And would the Soviet's have truly had such a massive manpower advantage? Conroy depicts the U.S. as having no real reserves to send to fight the Soviets. The US Army Had 12 million men serving so Im sure we would have been able to send reserves over to Europe. Where did Conroy think they were going to get the troops for Operation Olympic (The invasion of Japan scheduled for late 45)? Second is the ability of the Red Air Force to compete with the USAAF and RAF in German skies. Did the 7th and 8th Air Forces just vanish? Russian aircraft couldn't have stayed in the air with Mustangs and P-38s for a day. Russian aircraft were designed for combat support, not air superiority. Conroy's Red Army moves huge armored columns across Central Germany without significant impedance from the air. What were the thousands of bombers from 8th Air Force doing? What were the many thousands of tactical bombers in 7th doing? Also, there is almost no naval discussion at all and the issue of the cutoff of lend-lease is barely noted.The third is that General Patton is nothing more than a minor character is this book. When in the actual history of the immediate aftermath of WWII he warned about Soviet intentions and pushing an aggressive response. He also pushed strongly for rehabilitating former Nazis, which eventually cost him his position as Miltary Governor of Bavaria. I believe that in an actual Red Inferno, George S. Patton would have been ready and waiting for a attack and once it came he would have been kicking Soviet butt so much so that the Russians would have found out the reason why the German high command feared him so much. In any Alternate history book about a WW2 USA vs USSR conflict Patton, surely the go-to-guy for US-vs Red Army fantasy essentially has to have a major role.If you are WW2 buff like me then you might find this book interesting to read. But be warned it takes a lot of liberties that most WW2 buffs will not like. If you want a great book about a USA vs USSR conflict you will not find it here. I recommind Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. But overall the story is imaginative and very well done. Red Inferno 1945 is just perfect for a rainy afternoon.

Comrade Stalin turns on the Allies.Very good alternate WW2 history. Robert Conroy does a good job of answering the always intriguing question: What If Stalin turned on the Allies at the end of WW2? As the war in Europe drew to a dramatic close in April 1945, two gigantic Allied armies came together at the Elbe River. In Mr. Conroy's alternate history, Joseph Stalin's paranoia concerning America's supposedly super secret weapon (The Atomic Bomb) drove him to attack the unsuspecting Allied armies in the hopes of dominating Europe before America could use this weapon. He feared if America had "The Bomb" they would control Europe as Hitler did and put Russia at risk of exploitation. Conceivable? Only in the paranoid mind of a man like Stalin. So, like the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Stalin attacked the Allies without warning and another war ensued.All in all a fairly well thought out scenario. I liked how he had an American army trapped in the Potsdam Pocket as the main Russian force bypassed them to strike at the main American forces under General Omar Bradley. Due to the nature of the sneak attack, and the overwhelming size of the Russian forces involved, Marshal Zhukov (the overall Russian Commander) was able to easily drive the Allied forces eastward toward the Rhine leaving an American army trapped in Potsdam. The action is intense at times and you can pretty well guess how the story ends, so I won't spoil it by saying any more.Red Inferno 1945 was more than just a war story. Although there were some good combat narratives the story was more about the people involved. Mr. Conroy did a good job of making the characters more of the focus than the actual fighting and for that I give him kudos. Character development was surprisingly well done. He pressed all the right character buttons giving the story interesting personal depth. His use of historical characters in their right context was noteworthy and also added to the realism. No gratuitous sex, language, or violence. Simply a well crafted story of what if.Highly recommended as an alternate history. Somehow Mr. Conroy crammed quite a lot into 353 pages and made it all seem so very plausible. Again, his excellent character development help make this a very good story. Not for serious WW2 history buffs or academicians except as an interesting reading interlude.

Very interesting premise for a story. What would have happened if Josef Stalin decided to continue beyond Berlin to take the rest of Europe? Could be have done it? They certainly had the manpower and the technology for the time.That is exactly what Robert Conroy explores in this historical fiction. The book begins after the death of FDR as Truman takes power. The cold war is at the very beginning, and tensions are high as people do not trust the USSR. Rumors have circulated about his violent mood swings and his paranoia.In fact, the Allies are concerned that Stalin's ego not be too inflated by taking Berlin without the rest of the Allies. There were indications that he may not honor the quadrants set up in the city for the various allies. So, Truman sends a small group of American troops to come up to Berlin from the west, but not to enter the city lest they provoke the Soviet troops.Stalin, disturbed by the presence of the American troops, presumes the Americans want to beat him into the city and steal his glory. That leads to a new war - between the remaining Allies (led by the US troops) and the Soviet Union.Once again, I'm impressed by Conroy's knowledge of the history of the time, and his imagination of what might have been. I think Conroy has another couple of books he's written on various key times in the 20th century. I'm eager to read more.

I have read all but two of Robert Conroy books and he is one of the best. There have been a few times when I have taken the book to bed, something I rarely do, so that I can read some more and I have found myself reading till the early hours of the morning. He is a writer that you want to keep reading till you have finished the book. The plots are feasible, the writing sucks you in, the characters believable and hardly if any spelling or grammar mistakes. I wold recommend any of his books to fans of alternative history.

This is the first book I've read by Robert Conroy, and it won't be the last!This is an excellent read about how WW2 might've finished if Stalin - as was feared by the Allies- had torn up the Yalta Agreement and decided to turn the end of that war into the beginning of WW3 against Britain and the USA.Obviously Robert Conroy had studied his material well before putting pen to paper.Set against the real and the 'what if ....' which includes both real and fictional characters from that period, this is a book that I would thoroughly recommend reading.

A good read. Mr Conroy tends to denigrate the British again, but his later novel "1920 America's Great War" redresses this, so is not a consistent bias.Small quibble p.348 refers to fighting between Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan. There is no border shared by Armenia or Georgia with Kazakhstan nor history of animosity.I believe the author meant to write Azerbaijan.Recommended.

Although the plot is feasible the content lacks substance! the book is trying to portray a lot in one cover. some of the content is shabby as well, in relation to the rank of major in the royal air force (rank does not exist only in the USAF). Most annoying is the american bravado on how they are great and the thought that Britain is weak and inferior, although it has to be reminded that Britain was fighting Germany before the Americans arrived.

Alternate history is a very exciting genre. Robert Conroy is knowledgeable enough about what actually historically happened to tweak the mix slightly. His writing his superb and his characters believable. The plots could go anywhere and that is part of the excitement, though he keeps it believable.If I had one criticism it would be that the books are too short. This book by itself could easily have been a trilogy.