Avenging Steel 4: The Tree of Liberty
By Ian Hall
()
About this ebook
Edinburgh, October 1940...
When Nazi troops march triumphantly along Princes Street, James Baird feels drawn to watch the parade.
It’s his punishment, for at 20 years old, and a Philosophy student at Edinburgh University, he is ashamed he has done nothing in the defense of his country.
Behind him, he cannot look at the high ramparts of Edinburgh Castle, for they are festooned with garish red swastika banners.
Sickened by the music and swaggering Nazis, James soon takes refuge in the Edinburgh University bar, determined to drown his sorrows before returning home.
As his new role in German-controlled Edinburgh is revealed, James is determined to fight the oppressors in any way he can.
When he is approached by a member of Military Intelligence (the newly formed S.O.E.), James at last finds something he can get his teeth into. But as he begins life as an undercover agent, each day brings new challenges, and increased danger. Once committed to the S.O.E., life for James Baird will never be the same again.
In Avenging Steel, we follow his adventures as a nation struggles against the rule of Nazi jackboots, and begin to rebel against German rule.
Avenging Steel 4: The Tree of Liberty, is a fast-paced adventure on the streets of Edinburgh. High-octane, it never stops until the final page.
Thus begins Avenging Steel, a new WW2 Alternative History series set in the streets of Edinburgh, and the countryside of Scotland.
“Avenging Steel: The First Collection”, is the first 3 novellas in the series, all together in a bumper, budget bundle.
Includes...
Avenging Steel 1: The Fall of Edinburgh
Avenging Steel 2: The Nuclear Option
Avenging Steel 3: The Final Solution
Avenging Steel 4: The Tree of Liberty is the latest installment in the saga of James Baird, Secret Agent.
Ian Hall
Ian Hall is a former Commander Officer of No. 31 Squadron (1992-4), as well as being the editor and writer of the Squadron Association's three-times-a-year 32-page newsletter. He is the author of Upwards, an aviation-themed novel currently available as a Kindle download. This is his first full-length historical study, having previously penned a 80-page history of No 31 Squadron's early Tornado years.
Read more from Ian Hall
World War 2 Spy School The Complete 1943 SOE Counter-Espionage Manual Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTornado Boys Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmplified Encyclopedia Of Music Trivia: One Hit Wonders Of The 50’s, 60’s, 70’s And 80’s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChurchill's Secret Armies War Without Rules: Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jaguar Boys: True Tales from Operators of the Big Cat in Peace and War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ridiculously Comprehensive Dictionary of British Slang Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Intellectual Disability Psychiatry: A Practical Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPenny Dreadful Adventures: Mysteries of London 2: The Mysteries of London (Exposing the Truth) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jamie Leith Chronicles 2: A Parcel of Rogues Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsControlling Diabetes. Keeping Blood Sugar Low, By eating Low-Carb Soups Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Goldstar Century: 31 Squadron RAF, 1915–2015 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel 5: The Man From Camp X Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow To Write Your Own Zombie Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel 3: The Final Solution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpace Academy Rebels: Beyond the Grey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy You Should Write e-Books, e-Novels, e-Shorts. (Electronic Publishing versus Traditional Publishing) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel: The Second Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStar-Eater Chronicles 2. The Stars Are Fire... Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPenny Dreadful Adventures: Vampyres of London 1. Varney the Vampire (My Part in His Creation) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Clockwork Killer (Steampunk Detectives: Book 1) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOpportunities: Jamie Leith in Darién Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jamie Leith Chronicles 1: The Accidental Stowaway Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIf the World Suddenly Stopped Spinning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel: The First Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVampire High School: (Vampires Don't Cry: Book 1) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Childhood Memories of Gorebridge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenaissance Festival Survival Guide Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5
Related to Avenging Steel 4
Related ebooks
Avenging Steel: The Second Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel 2: The Nuclear Option Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel 3: The Final Solution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel 6: The Long Way Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvenging Steel 5: The Man From Camp X Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 500 Year War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNapoleon’S History of Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wrong Box Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lionel Sharpe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShort Stories of the New America: Interpreting the America of this age to high school boys and girls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrance at War - On the Frontier of Civilization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe A to Z of Alfie Zeller Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Man Most Driven: Captain John Smith, Pocahontas and the Founding of America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Chesterton Calendar Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prince and the Page: A Story of the Last Crusade Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Maud Allan Affair Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Lost Diary of Robin Hood’s Money Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaptain John Smith, Adventurer: Piracy, Pocahontas & Jamestown Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWrit In Barracks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Robert Louis Stevenson: Seven Novels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Arrow(Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Burning Spear: "Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem" Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5James Sullivan's First World War Diary Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Rising Son Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scarlet Letter & A Scarlet Stigma (Illustrated Edition): A Romantic Tale of Sin and Redemption Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKIDNAPPED(Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House of the Seven Gables (Illustrated Edition): A Gothic Classic on Salem Witch Trials Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Body Snatcher Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
War & Military Fiction For You
The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Lost Names Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grapes of Wrath Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rose Code: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cold Mountain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Going Postal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Winemaker's Wife Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of the Affair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Visitors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: A powerful, important historical novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like the Appearance of Horses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5North and South Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dancing at Midnight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Room on Rue Amelie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Johnny Got His Gun Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The War of the Worlds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Lake of the Woods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Soldier of the Great War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three Fates Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Avenging Steel 4
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Avenging Steel 4 - Ian Hall
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living, dead or undead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016. Ian Hall. Phantom Gavel Publishing; Smashwords Edition.
Published by Ian Hall at Smashwords
ISBN- 9781370141456
All rights reserved, and the author reserves the right to re-produce this book, or parts thereof, in any way whatsoever.
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Avenging Steel
4: The Tree of Liberty
Ian Hall
(From The Tree of Liberty)
By her inspired the new born race
Soon grew the Avenging Steel, man;
The hirelings ran — her foes gied chase
And banged the despot weel, man.
Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)
Cover Photo:
Also by Ian Hall, related to Avenging Steel…
Churchill’s Secret Armies
War without Rules:
Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
A short history of the secret departments and Special Forces put together by Winston Churchill in World War 2.
WW2 Spy School:
The Complete 1943 S. O. E. Counter Espionage Manual
The complete SOE manual used in World War 2 to train Allied spies and counter-espionage agents.
Over 400 pages of authentic WW2 documentation.
The Ridiculously Comprehensive Dictionary of British Slang
A huge dictionary of British slang, regional slang and Cockney Rhyming Slang. Thousands of definitions, hundreds of pages.
With a slightly comic twist.
On 10th May, 1940, Germany attacked British and French troops in France and Belgium.
At that time, the British Army had more than half a million men in Continental Europe.
By 4th June 1940, Britain had rescued 330,000 men (British and French) from the defensive bubble around Dunkirk.
Between 15th and 25th June 1940, they rescued another 190,000 through Operation Ariel from French coasts and ports.
In the short Battle of France, Britain had left behind 70,000 men, 450 tanks, 2500 artillery pieces, 85,000 vehicles, and 600,000 tons of ammunition, fuel and stores.
The figures show Britain had 500,000 men for its defense… but with little arms, armor and ammunition to fight… Britain was ripe for invasion, and everyone knew it.
Churchill spoke…
… we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; We shall never surrender…
On 16 July 1940 Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 16, setting in motion preparations for a landing in Britain. He prefaced the order by stating…
"As England, in spite of her hopeless military situation, still shows no signs of willingness to come to terms, I have decided to prepare, and if necessary to carry out, a landing operation against her. The aim of this operation is to eliminate the English Motherland as a base from which the war against Germany can be continued, and, if necessary, to occupy the country completely."
On the 16th August the first waves of German paratroopers descended on rural England. The next day, under the cover of the Luftwaffe, tanks and armored vehicles drove ashore in numerous locations.
Within a month Germany had captured London, Birmingham and Manchester.
Four weeks later, Churchill’s much vaunted Battle of Britain was over.
Churchill spoke to the British people from a fleeting headquarters in Ireland…
… let us not consider this a retreat, not a farewell to our homeland, but as a gathering for a new offensive. And let me make this promise to Herr Hitler; we will return…
Thus begins a brand-new Alternative History series… Avenging Steel
An Introduction to the Characters…
James Baird…
James is our main character, our story’s hero and the book’s narrator. He is a 20-year old philosophy student at Edinburgh University, and has been recruited by the S.O.E. as an agent. His code-name is Biggles, and is used by the S.O.E. as a liaison between cells in Edinburgh. He also works at The Scotsman newspaper as a writer and copy-editor. His father, in the Scots Greys Regiment, is stationed in Palestine.
Alice Howes…
Alice is James’s partner in spy-crime, girlfriend, and the head of the S.O.E. cell inside The Scotsman newspaper. She is from the border town of Selkirk, and speaks fluent German; her father having been a POW from the Great War who stayed in Scotland in 1918. She seems to take her orders from Lilith, but her actual bosses are unknown to James. Alice also works at The Scotsman newspaper as a copy-editor.
Leutnant Möller…
Gerhardt Möller is the German officer in charge of German bias/slanting for the Scotsman newspaper’s stories. James has to report their stories to Möller each day by one o’clock for his inspection. James suspects Möller has opened the hand of friendship to him, but cannot be certain.
Ivanhoe (Mr. Irvine)…
Ivanhoe is James’ contact within the S.O.E. in Edinburgh, and the man who recruited him. James only glimpses the level at which Ivanhoe works, but does harbor the suspicion that Ivanhoe might be the top S.O.E. man in Scotland.
Lilith…
Named after the character by George MacDonald, Lilith is a beautiful enigmatic S.O.E. contact, possibly working in conjunction with Ivanhoe, but definitely also operating outside his purview. Lilith introduced Alice to James, and is Alice’s main contact. Although James seems to be in love with Alice, Lilith’s face comes to him at the oddest times.
Balfour…
Code name Balfour, after the R. L. Stevenson character in Kidnapped, he is Ivanhoe’s right-hand man. He has accompanied Jamie on a few missions, and is stoic; very-straight forward.
The Baird Family in Edinburgh…
Veronica Baird is James’ mother. She lives for her family and rules with a slightly flexible iron rod. Frances is James’ fourteen-year-old younger sister. They live in a first floor apartment in Bruntsfield, on the edge of the Links and Meadows.
Chapter 1 Jumping in the Deep End
Chapter 2 The Tree of Liberty
Chapter 3 Meeting the Family
Chapter 4 Bound for London Town
Chapter 5 New Boss; Different from the Old Boss
Chapter 6 Auld Claithes and Porridge
Chapter 7 A Certain Patriotic Duty
Chapter 8 The Distant Ghost
Chapter 9 The Morning After
Chapter 10 Operation Whatever-It’s-Called
Chapter 11 Ops Day Two
Chapter 12 Bleeding Out
Chapter 13 A Double Whammy
Chapter 14 Requiring Desperate Measures
Chapter 15 A Very Scottish Standoff
In this volume I include the poem written (or collected) by Robert Burns, from which the novel is named.
The Tree of Liberty
1
Heard ye o' the tree o' France,
I watna what 's the name o't;
Around it a' the patriots dance,
Weel Europe kens the fame o't.
It stands where ance the Bastile stood,
A prison built by kings, man,
When Superstition's hellish brood
Kept France in leading-strings, man.
2
Upo' this tree there grows sic fruit,
Its virtues a' can tell, man;
It raises man aboon the brute,
It mak's him ken himsel, man.
Gif ance the peasant taste a bit,
He's greater than a lord, man,
An’ wi' the beggar shares a mite
O' a' he can afford, man.
3
This fruit is worth a' Afric's wealth:
To comfort us 'twas sent, man:
To gie the sweetest blush o' health,
An’ mak us a' content, man.
It clears the een, it cheers the heart,
Maks high and low gude friends, man;
And he wha acts the traitor's part,
It to perdition sends, man.
4
My blessings aye attend the chiel
Wha pitied Gallia's slaves, man,
And staw a branch, spite o' the deil,
Frae yont the western waves, man.
Fair Virtue water'd it wi' care,
And now she sees wi' pride, man,
How weel it buds and blossoms there,
Its branches spreading wide, man.
5
But vicious folk aye hate to see
The works o' Virtue thrive, man;
The courtly vermin 's bann'd the tree,
And grat to see it thrive, man;
King Loui’ thought to cut it down,
When it was unco sma', man;
For this the watchman crack'd his crown,
Cut aff his head and a', man.
6
A wicked crew syne, on a time,
Did tak a solemn aith, man,
It ne'er should flourish to its prime,
I wat they pledged their faith, man.
Awa’ they gaed wi' mock parade,
Like beagles hunting game, man,
But soon grew weary o' the trade
And wished they'd been at hame, man.
7
For Freedom, standing by the tree,
Her sons did loudly ca', man.
She sang a sang o' liberty,
Which pleased them ane and a', man.
By her inspired, the new-born race
Soon drew the avenging steel, man;
The hirelings ran--------her foes gied chase,
And banged the despot weel, man.
8
Let Britain boast her hardy oak,
Her poplar and her pine, man,
Auld Britain ance could crack her joke,
And o'er her neighbours shine, man.
But seek the forest round and round,
And soon 'twill be agreed, man,
That sic a tree can not be found,
'Twixt London and the Tweed, man.
9
Without this tree alake this life
Is but a vale o' woe, man;
A scene o' sorrow mixed wi' strife,
Nae real joys we know, man.
We labour soon, we labour late,
To feed the titled knave, man;
And