On 17 September, a military operation that bordered on gambling for the Allies began.

In order to secure the operation, Patton east of Paris had to halt his advance to ensure that the British 2nd Army in Operation "Market Garden" had enough fuel to support it - a gamble in which the Allies pressed all their chips.

But......

Unbeknownst to the Allies, the Germans had already deployed two Panzer Divisions of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and part of the 1st Airborne Army in the place where they were going to be airborne - this intelligence error would be fatal for the Allies, because the lack of heavily equipped paratroopers would parachute into the heads of the Panzers and fight in the wilderness with the Panzers......

……

"We're not going to be thrown dozens of kilometers away from the intended landing site, are we?"

Inside the plane, Ali, who had suffered a loss once, suddenly asked.

"Unless they're all fools!"

Welsh said unceremoniously: "On D-Day, it was airborne in the dark, coupled with the German anti-aircraft firepower, there were all kinds of oolongs, this time, absolutely not!" ”

Listening to Welsh's assurances, the paratroopers in the plane laughed, yes, this time, there will definitely be no previous oolong.

Compared with the airborne landing on D-Day in Normandy, the airborne conditions of Operation Market Garden are indeed better, a comparison between day and night can make people dispel the feeling of powerlessness in the face of darkness, coupled with this dark cloud that covers the sky, how can it not give birth to confidence?

Amid the roar of the planes, the swarm finally began to disperse, and after seeing that the swarm outside was reduced, the paratroopers in the cabin began the final checks and preparations.

During this final inspection, Zheng Yingqi saw that Private Stroh was doing the final inspection with difficulty, so he asked in a low voice: "Are you sure you are okay?" ”

This guy was wounded in the battle on June 13 and squatted in the hospital, and he did not have a discharge certificate, but he heard that if he could not return to the team within 3 months, he would have to go to other units after he recovered.

Just in time for this wave of airborne landings - it was just as "lucky" as Welsh and Arley, the only difference was that the two of them returned from injury, while the hapless Starrow was still injured.

"Although it is a little weak, it will definitely not affect me to fight the Germans!" Stroh assured.

"Be careful." Zheng Yingqi patted this guy on the shoulder and whispered, and Stroh nodded to show that he understood.

When the D-Day in Normandy was airborne, the height of the parachute jump, the leg bag taught by the British paratroopers of the pit dad, and the night of the pit dad, have always been a lesson that the veterans can not forget, this time the Allies learned the lesson, and the unreliable leg bag was completely ordered to be used in the form of the order, and the parachute jump height was also adjusted.

It's just that this overkill is very strong.

At this time, the standard skydive height was 244 meters, but this time the parachute jump height was 366 to 457 meters, although this would increase the time of the paratroopers in the air, and the danger would be greatly increased, but the Allied command believed that their huge bomber and fighter fleet would clear all threats on the ground for the paratroopers in advance, so that the paratroopers could float peacefully in the air until they landed.

I really don't know where the command got such a big breath!

Zheng Yingqi was thinking about it, the anti-aircraft fire visible to the naked eye began to bloom, the anti-aircraft fire was very fierce, and even lasted for five minutes, but the pilots with Normandy airborne experience performed much better than before, the formation was not scattered, and the pilots did not make additional evasive actions.

The 506th Regiment was in a relatively fortunate group, until the beginning of the airborne, did not encounter the special attention of the German anti-aircraft fire, with the beginning of the airborne, dandelions began to fill the sky, countless paratroopers began the most dangerous, exciting and desperate minutes.

Unlike the extremely exciting landing in Normandy, this time the landing point of E Company did not deviate from the intended position, and the landing ground was still the favorite new ploughing field of the paratroopers.

[This is the most successful airborne landing since Lao Tzu entered this world, whether it is training or actual combat!] 】

Zheng Yingqi, who quickly left the airborne zone, thought happily in his heart, but when he thought of the ending of this operation, he inevitably felt a sense of powerlessness, just like the magic comedy of bad movies since ancient times, the more beautiful the beginning, the more tragic the ending, and this airborne landing confirmed this again.

All kinds of equipment are also falling, and from time to time steel helmets and weapons will fall from the sky - the devil knows how the owner of these things can get rid of the two most important things from his body when he is airborne.

The paratroopers who landed made the same choice as Zheng Yingqi, and while leaving the advent zone for the first time, they searched for the assembly point, and soon some paratroopers shouted: "The assembly point is there!" ”

The smoke from the smoke grenades made it easy for the paratroopers to come into view, and Company E was able to assemble in a very short time.

Not only did the assembly of E Company go smoothly, but the various companies of the entire 506th Regiment assembled very smoothly, and the result of this smooth was that the whole regiment completed the most difficult assembly of the airborne operation unusually smoothly - the fully organized 506th Regiment began to march along the road to Thorn.

Saône was a small town in which the inhabitants of the town realized that they were about to be liberated at the sight of the Allied planes that covered the sky, and the townspeople prepared a grand welcome for the liberators - something that the paratroopers had not experienced in France, where there were not many people running away.

Orange flags, forbidden by the Germans, fluttered in revenge at the doorsteps of every house, and countless residents stood on both sides of the streets, greeting their liberators and handing out fruit to everyone who entered the town, and tavern waiters handing out beers to reward the liberators who had fallen from the sky.

In Zheng Yingqi's shocked gaze, E Company, no, the paratroopers of the entire 2nd Battalion, were immersed in this kind of welcome, this kind of feeling of being regarded as liberators, so that these paratroopers were fascinated, and the paratroopers actually accepted the welcome of the Dutch, and many of the two fools actually drank a cup of beer.

Although it is said that beer is not intoxicating, it ......

What the fuck is this, these bold, nervous bastards dare to drink?

Zheng Yingqi flashed the hug of a 198-pound aunt, and by the way, a paratrooper whose head was stuffed into the girl's arms was pulled out, this guy was pushed up by Zheng Yingqi who couldn't smile bitterly behind him, and after a few steps, he was given a bear hug by a bearded man, and he woke up from the dizziness and followed Zheng Yingqi in embarrassment.

Not far away, Ali was moving forward with his head held high, and his handsome appearance attracted several girls to rush over and kiss Ali's clean cheek, this guy continued to advance disapprovingly, but Zheng Yingqi could see from this guy's back how embarrassed this guy is now.

The march was greatly hampered by the warm welcome of the Dutch people, who were greeted by the paratroopers, and various group photos kept appearing, and the streets of the town, just a few hundred meters, became an impassable moat.

The suddenly liberated Dutch people suddenly turned over, and the revenge began in an instant, and a group of young people began to take revenge on the "pro-German women", they shaved the women's hair, painted the women's forehead with the word *, and humiliated the poor people who belonged to the scourge of war, but no one sympathized with the plight of these women, and countless people shouted angrily on the sidelines, eager to tear these women apart.

The officers were almost hoarse before they brought the team out of Thorne, and a large number of paratroopers with lipstick marks on their faces reluctantly looked at the town of Thorne behind them, and at the Dutch people who were still eagerly watching them, and they didn't even have the strength to walk.

Winters looked at his reluctant subordinates and couldn't help but shout anxiously: "Hurry up!" There is a bridge 2 km away! We must take there! ”

Only then did the paratroopers realize their task, and reluctantly wiped the lipstick marks off their cheeks, smelled the perfume left by the oil in the crowd just now, and then accelerated forward.

The queue order of the 2nd Battalion was: D Company to take the lead, E Company, Battalion Headquarters and F Company, E Company accelerated, and D Company in front also had to speed up. But when D Company was less than 800 meters from the bridge, they were attacked by a machine gun and an 88 gun, and German fire blocked the road, forcing D Company to deploy on the spot.

E Company accelerated along both sides of the road to the position of D Company.

"There are Germans on the bridge!" The commander of Company D said to Winters.

After observing the binoculars for a while, Winters hurriedly said, "We must take the bridge immediately!" The Germans are preparing to blow up the bridge! ”

However, the attack of D Company did not work in the first place, and the German resistance was very stubborn, and Winters, seeing this, immediately ordered the whole company to press the German position from the left and right sides.

A platoon, led by Welsh, pressed to the German blocking position from the left side, and under Welsh's order, Zheng Yingqi's squad used as a sharp knife to meet the German fire amid the roar of machine guns and mortars.

The German positions were muted, and the Germans in the positions abandoned their positions without waiting for the Americans to pounce on them, and began to retreat along the bridge of less than fifty meters.

Seeing that the Germans were about to run, of course the paratroopers who rushed over were unwilling, they accelerated their speed and tried to leave more Germans, just when they were about to catch up with the bridge deck, Zheng Yingqi saw the things on the bridge pier clearly, and immediately issued a warning:

"Get down!"

Although I don't know why, the paratroopers still lay down, and at the moment they lay down, there was a loud bang, and then the wood and stones fell from the sky like rain, and landed beside the paratroopers at the front.

"Grass, if you die like this, you will die!" The paratroopers at the front looked at these terrible things around them, and said to Zheng Yingqi, who had a heart palpitation, "You saved us." ”

Obviously, the purpose of the German blockade just now was to blow up the bridge.

Zheng Yingqi didn't have time to pay attention to the gratitude of the paratrooper of Company D, but his face was gloomy - if he hadn't delayed in Thorne just now, how could the Germans have time to blow up the bridge!

The officers thought the same way, so the face of the commander of D Company was as black as carbon, but anger and regret were to no avail, and they could only try to find a way to cross the bridge.

Finally, under the deployment of the regiment's engineers, the whole regiment removed wooden materials such as door panels from the town of Saône, and built a simple wooden bridge with bridge piles, but the bridge was very unstrong, and only a few people could pass at a time, and it took several hours for the 506th regiment to cross the river and continue in the direction of Eindhoven.

It is also unfortunate to say that of the five bridges that the 101st Division needed to control, only the bridge in front of the 506th Regiment was resisted and destroyed by the Germans.

This luck ......