Jumping in rainy and foggy weather undoubtedly made the skydive much more difficult, but Parks made sure that the order was given after he did a lot of research on the skydiving area before the skydive and made sure that the danger was minimized.

The next day, the officers and men of Company E took a truck to the only nearby airfield that could take off and land C-47 transport planes. As the GIs of Company E boarded the trucks in full gear, someone shouted at them, "Hey, guys, are you going to parachute into Berlin?" Oh, I hope you can catch Hitler, then we won't have to go to Germany again! ”

Stenson looked at the group of soldiers from the other companies who were smiling at them in the back of the truck, and couldn't help but look at Winnie in confusion and said, "Is this really the right decision?" I've never tried skydiving from rainy and foggy weather. The only time I trained in fog was that I hung on a branch of a big tree. ”

"Don't talk nonsense, if you have any doubts about this operation, then you can quit E-Company!" It was Gernelly who spoke, he sat diagonally opposite Stensen, stared at Stenson coldly, and pouted, "As a rookie paratrooper, all you have to do is learn and shut up, as well as unconditional obedience. Complaining is not what you should do! ”

"Yes, sir!" Stenson shrugged his shoulders, since that incident, he had known that the veterans were actually real talents, and they were qualified to order themselves to do this and that, which was the capital they had gained through countless bloody battles. Therefore, he showed obedience to Gunairi's words, and his eyes were evasive, and he was always unwilling to look at Gurnelly, which was actually a compromise.

As Gurnei said, although many people in E-Company were full of doubts about this training, out of trust in Parkes, they did not have any other grievances in them except for one or two complaints, and they showed good obedience to Parkes's orders. Especially the GIs who had fought with Parks the Followers.

"I think the boss is preparing for us to be airborne in Berlin. Maybe we can take Berlin before everybody! White looked at Malach beside him and couldn't help but say, "If that's the case, I can say to my grandson when I'm old, 'Hey, boy, you have to remember, your grandfather caught Hitler in Berlin.'" ”

"I'm looking forward to it!" Malaki nodded, "Actually, I don't really care about this, what I care about is when this war will end, and that's the most important thing." I want to go back, I haven't even been officially in a relationship, I don't have an official girlfriend, of course, if there is, I will marry her as quickly as I can when I get home, and then have a large group of children. Life is the most wonderful time. White, I think I need women very much right now, and when you're in Paris, when these women cover your face with their big, you feel like your life is there. ”

White was stunned, he didn't expect Malachi to have such a strange statement, he couldn't help but look at him, and then turned to Lutz, who was sitting on the other side, and said, "Is there anything wrong with this guy?" ”

Lutz laughed and said, "This guy is suffocating, if he can't get a pass to Paris again, I guess when he gets his hands yin, he will scream 'God, give me a big woman, I need her big!'" ’。 ”

Huai Ting nodded, "That's true!" Then the two of them laughed together.

It is clear that the brothers of Company E have fought many battles, especially the veterans from Takoya, who have participated in almost all the battles of Company E in Europe, and after each battle, their state of mind will be different, and they will gradually have other ideas from timidity, cowardice or fanatical and fearlessness at the beginning, and they will be more interested in planning what life will be like after the war, rather than how to kill the Germans in battle or capture the various belongings of the Germans as trophies.

The plane passed through the clouds, Parks sat behind the pilot, quietly looking at the sky outside the window, out of the clouds, he couldn't see anything, but because of this, he could insist more on everything he did, the future E Company, it will be possible to carry out such a parachute, and such a parachute, if it can ensure that the team is not scattered, then the battle is half the battle.

"Lieutenant, are you sure you're going to fall like this?" "I have to warn you that even planes don't want to fly out in this weather, because it means we'll fly lower, and it's easier to find artillery fire, and even take us down with a machine gun." ”

"What do you see?" Parks smiled at the pilot and said, "We didn't fly to this altitude to talk. As a paratrooper, sooner or later we will encounter such a situation. Jumping down from the sky, who else wants to do such a thing, except for fools and paratroopers? We have to plan for every eventuality! That way we have fewer chances to be fools. ”

The pilot shrugged his shoulders and said he had nothing to say. Obviously, he was not optimistic about this parachute landing either, and he believed that it was completely unnecessary, and that it was impossible for the Allies to carry out the parachute in such bad weather. But Parks knew that after the German battle of the Ardennes began, their paratroopers would parachute in even worse weather than this, and if the butterfly's wings changed some links, the threat to the American troops after the successful parachute would be extremely great.

The wind at the door of the cabin mixed with the drizzle poured into the cabin. Stenson couldn't help but shudder, and he glanced at Pooh beside him, who was cowering down, and it was clear that he felt more cold than Stenson. At this time, I saw Lieutenant Sham, who was sitting at the door of the cabin, stand up, and the green light next to him turned on.

"Stand up!" Lieutenant Shams shouted loudly and gestured to his brothers in the cabin, "Take the bait, check the equipment!" "Lieutenant Schamus was undoubtedly a qualified officer for basic work, though his incompetence stemmed from his irascible temper and lack of direction, and a little cowardice.

Lieutenant Shams was the first to step out of the cabin and jumped down, his eyes were a vast cloud, although he knew that there was no thunderstorm at this time, but he was still a little flustered, if it was in the usual training, he would have turned this panic into a roar of rage at the soldiers, but now he was floating alone in the air, and looking down, he could hardly find any reference except fog.

"God forbid!" Pooh drew a cross on his chest. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder behind him, and behind him was Stensson.

"Don't worry, it's just a regular skydive, although it's a little bit more difficult, believe in yourself!" Stenson comforted his companion as he spoke to Capasser behind him.

Behind Capasser, Grace heard Stenson's words, and couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth. Obviously, he still admires this guy, except for a little short temper, the others are quite their own appetite.

"Whew!" With a bang, the parachute opened in the air, and Stenson felt what it was like to parachute in the rainy and foggy weather. There is no sense of direction at all, everything is just based on my own intuition, trying to control the parachute as much as possible so that it does not drift to a completely unfamiliar place or far from the landing site.

"God!" When Stenson finally saw where he was about to land, he couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, at that time, a forest, if not handled well, he could be hung on a tree, in a dilemma, of course, there is a worst-case scenario, that is, he is injured by those branches and trunks and even lost his life. But he didn't have time to adjust!

As a result of fate, Stenson ended up hanging from a tree, a distance of twelve or thirteen meters from the ground, a large tree, tall enough for him to fall directly to the ground and die. He looked around, hoping to find one of his companions, but he was disappointed, and the parachute in the fog scattered his brothers and did not know where they had gone.

"Anyone?" He shouted loudly into the woods, but there was silence all around, and there was no movement. He's been hanging on it for an hour. He didn't know what to do, and let out a few loud shouts from time to time. If no one found out, would they hang here until they died? Suddenly, such a thought popped into his head. After two hours, he finally couldn't bear his surname anymore, and instead of being hanged here like that, it was better to cut the rope and fall down, and maybe pick up a surname.

"Damn it!" He cursed to himself, then tried to pull out his knife and cut the umbrella belt on his body.

"You'd better not do that!" At that moment, a voice appeared below him. Listening to the voice, Stenson was very familiar, and he was the person he was most reluctant to see in such a situation--Sergeant Goneri.

Stenson stopped, then looked down a little helplessly, spread his hands and said, "I'm hanging." This damn rain and fog has made me lose my bearings, and my luck is not so good! ”

"I saw it!" Goneri chuckled.

"I knew it was like this!" Stenson couldn't help but feel a little depressed, especially when he heard Gunessey's laughter, and muttered to himself, "Looks like I've become his laughing stock again, damn it!" ”

"Need my help? Rookie! Gonery's words were full of ridicule, and he looked at Stenson who fell on it, and his heart was filled with joy. If you are a veteran, then there will definitely be no such situation, at least when you judge the direction, you will make the right choice on the spot, instead of hanging on this high branch, as helpless as a bag of potatoes for sale.

"What do you say, sir!" Stenson was a little aggrieved.

In fact, I don't care about the process, anyway, when Stenson landed on the ground, he still fell all the time, but this is already the best result, and he won't break his leg or hand or anything.

"It was the most memorable skydive I've ever made." Stenson rubbed his legs and complained, and he even wanted to complain about Lieutenant Parkes, who organized the jump, but he kept his mouth shut, because he had already been taught a lesson by Gunnery. Parks is almost an absolute authority in the minds of these people.

"It's not going to be the most impressive you'll ever have, it's not the deepest, it's just more impressive! Wait and see, rookie! Goneri shook his head and said with a smile, "Our people are scattered around now, we have to find the meeting point, and hopefully there won't be a fool like you hanging on the top of a tree this time!" You need more training like this, Stenson, there's no doubt about it. Otherwise, just wait and be killed by the Germans on the battlefield! ”

Although Gnerey said it was very unpleasant, Stenson did not feel rebellious, and it was true that he was not good enough. So he could only follow him silently to the meeting point.

Along the way, they met other members of Company E, most of whom were veterans, and the recruits were still scattered somewhere, and they might not be able to feel the meeting point in time.

Gnelley is right, rookies do need more training in skydiving in such complex situations. Because they met a few rookie recruits along the way, they were injured to varying degrees, Pooh's foot was broken, and Cabaster was hung on a tree trunk like Stenson, knowing that Goneri and the others had found him, and then rescued him.

And this time, the recruits have learned a lesson and are paying more and more attention to such training, and the veterans have also integrated the recruits into the company through training. Even Captain Winters didn't know why Parks was doing this training, but he didn't interfere. He knew Parks might have his reasons, as long as he didn't make a big mess in training.

Just when everyone was wondering about Parks, he was preparing for a new training mission - digging positions.

"It's a completely new form of individual bunker!" Winters took a sketch of the position that Parks had designed, and handed it to Captain Nixon. "He really surprised me, and it was clear that such a position was very suitable for consolidating a long line with very few troops. It's a pity that we have now withdrawn from the front line, and maybe we may have the opportunity to give it a try. ”

Captain Nickerson nodded as well, then smiled, "Lacey is always able to surprise us!" But if he can really use it in the future, then he will be of great help. But since we are paratroopers, we really rarely have the opportunity to practice positional warfare in the trenches for two months, as we did in the Netherlands! ”

But Parks didn't care what others said, and even Captain Winters, who was the most supportive of him, only expressed verbal support for some of his initiatives, and did not want to encourage other companies in the battalion to follow suit in actual action. Parks was still doing his own preparations, and in the Ardennes battle, he could not allow his brothers to endure the double torture of ** and spirit under German fire.

Parkes's individual defensive bunker was actually invented by the soldiers on the Lao Son front during the Sino-Vietnamese War, and the entire bunker was in a triangle, with the front of the triangle facing the enemy. Two people are stationed at one such post, and five or six such posts can cover a front of about 3 km. The top is made of thick tree trunks side by side, which can be used as a cover for the hidden part, with a layer of soil and a tree trunk, which is not 105 mm and does not pose any threat. The distance of the post is 80-150 meters, and the maximum distance does not exceed the single coverage of flares.

If the three adjacent bunkers are distributed in a triangular pattern, with two in front and two in the middle and back, the three posts can be monitored with a minimum of people and can monitor a maximum line of sight of 90 degrees without turning their heads, and the observation holes of the posts are slightly higher than the ground by about 20 centimeters. And if one of them falls asleep, there is no danger at all, because there is a person on the other side watching.

Of course, Captain Winters and Captain Nickerson were both professional officers, and it was clear that they had also discovered the usefulness of this one-man bunker, which, if used for defense, would have an unexpected effect on the U.S. military in the future. They presented Parks' sketch to the regimental headquarters along with a detailed instruction manual, and Colonel Zinke was surprised to receive the sample, as the simple but effective defense of individual bunkers would definitely be of great value in future battles.

The end result was General Taylor's decision to promote this new individual bunker in the 101st Airborne Division. Of course, if it is in the offensive, then the effect will be much smaller. Although it was decided to promote it, General Taylor was not going to do it right away. In his opinion, the Allies were now attacking the Germans, and the side that needed to be defended was the Germans. Still, he decided that the officers could distribute the new one-man bunker as a field manual to every soldier under appropriate circumstances.

"I can guarantee that if it were given to soldiers as a field manual, no more than 10 percent of them would have read what was in that manual." When Winters told Parks the news, Parks couldn't help but complain to Winters again. He was now in the stage of relegation, and if it weren't for that, he would even want to argue with Colonel Zinke.

"That's the best outcome! Let's be content, Reis! Winters could only comfort Parks with this, he didn't know what Parks was doing so obsessively and meaninglessly during this time. Or is it the after-effects of being downgraded? Of course, this was only the idea of individual officers, such as Lieutenant Pikak, who complained to Lieutenant Welfare when he was tormented by this kind of training that he thought was meaningless.

While the soldiers of Company E were working hard and conducting unusual training, the officers and men of the other companies were enjoying a leisurely life, and the fights and brawls became more and more serious as they became more and more idle, so that the division headquarters had to cancel many passes to Paris. But the troublemakers were not at all worried, and there was no need to rush to Paris, for the general feeling was that the paratroopers were to stay in the barracks until the good weather came for the next spring. At that time, they were expected to parachute into Germany on the other side of the Rhine. This idea was further corroborated by the fact that General Taylor flew back to the United States to attend a meeting to discuss proposals for changes in the organization and equipment of the American Airborne Division. On December 10, it was confirmed that Taylor's deputy, Gerald? Brigadier General Higgins and five senior officers of the 101st Division flew to England to give a series of lectures on the "Market Garden". The 101st Division was handed over to the 101st Division Artillery Commander Anthony? Brigadier General Macaulay commanded. This made Parks see the crisis again. But his opinion was not heeded.

On the night of 16 December, Martin, Guerneri and others bought a case of champagne and brought it back to the barracks. They weren't used to sparkling wine, but now only champagne was the only one they could try. Later, it was Christen who came up with the idea, he mixed rum and champagne and drank it binge.

"It tastes really good!" Christen smacked his lips and laughed heavily, the non-commissioned officers used their power to collect a lot of rum, and mixed it with champagne, it tasted obviously better, and it was easier to pour glass after glass into the stomach.

"You're such a genius!" Goneri also took a drink, and then couldn't help but praise Christen. This summoned everyone to follow suit, and they poured cup after cup into their stomachs, because the taste was so good that they didn't feel bad at all, even if they were drunk, and they continued to drink cup after cup.

Drunk people are always going to make some mess. The non-commissioned officers made a lot of noise in the barracks, almost tearing off the bed boards in the barracks, and when Sergeant Major Li Pu walked into the barracks, there were already drunks lying all over the ground, and the barracks were in disarray.

Annoyed, Lipp took one look and began to yell, "You bastards are going to be the bosses. A bunch of non-commissioned officers have made such a mess here. He had cold water poured over the guys' faces, "Damn, remember, if this place isn't cleaned up, you don't want to sleep!" Then he walked out of the barracks with a grunt.

That night, Winters and Nixon were the only two battalion-level officers to remain at the battalion headquarters. The other officers took leave and went to Paris. At this time, the phone at the battalion headquarters rang, and Nickerson took the phone, kept jotting down something, and then when he put down the phone, he showed a strange expression to Winters and said, "Dick, we're going to cancel all the out-of-town passes." The Germans broke through our defenses in the Ardennes and I think we are going to face a strong German army! Looks like Parks got it right this time! ”

Winters was stunned for a moment, then frowned, looked at Nexon, and said in a deep voice, "How are we doing now?" Our second battalion has ample supplies, but what about the other battalions? God, we will have to fight the Germans in the snow and ice! He walked to the edge of the map, looked at the place in the Arden on the map, and couldn't help but sigh!

(To be continued)