On the morning of September 20, 1944, the air in the sky was still stained with the smell of grass, which was very refreshing. On the eastern outskirts of Eindhoven, the brothers of Company E had witnessed the German air raid on the city the previous night, and early in the morning the smoke could still be seen drifting out of the city, and the British had suffered heavy losses in the city.

Colonel Zinke received word that a German armored unit was heading towards Huden on the Hell Highway, and that they would capture Yuden and cut off the Allied supply line. The entire 506th Regiment will set off and march towards Yudeng. This is where they will take on the Germans, defend the town from German occupation, and keep the lines open. The 2nd Battalion was led by Major Horton personally in F and E Companies, accompanied by three British tanks.

"E-company brothers, hurry up. Let's take the car to Yudeng! "After the deputy platoon commander, Lieutenant Brewer, and the platoon commander, Compton, were wounded, the third platoon was temporarily commanded by Sergeant Tybert. He greeted his brothers loudly.

"Why do we start every time?" Avery couldn't help but complain to Tybert, "There are so many companies in the 506th Regiment, why do we always charge ahead?" ”

"I think it's probably because Captain Winters didn't complain to Colonel Zink!" Tybert couldn't help but laugh and said, "Okay, stop talking nonsense, hurry up and get in the car, we're leaving!" As he spoke, he climbed into the truck. Then, with the trembling of the body, he drove forward. But each of them knew that since this operation, every battle has been a bitter battle, and it is clear that the brothers have lost the optimism before the beginning of the operation, and they don't care about the victory or defeat of the battle, they just want to know when they can stop this battle.

The truck passes through Wigherr and enters Jüden. No resistance was met on the way. They began to set up barricades on the road to Yuden, and then all the brothers began to dig foxholes on the outskirts of Yuden and set up defensive positions. Company F, led by Major Horton, was stationed in Wigherr, thinking that it was a backup for Edendon's Company E.

"Winters, we need to find an observation point!" After settling his brothers, Nickerson suggested to Winters, "We need to know what the Germans are doing, or we'll lose a lot." ”

"That's a good observation post!" Winters smiled slightly, then pointed to the spire of a church in Üden Town, "The bell tower in that place, we can see all around." The Germans can't escape our eyes. Let's go, Nick, let's take a look! You might be able to find out something. With that, he took Nickerson and walked towards the bell tower of the church.

"Oh, oh no!" Winters watched with his telescope for a moment, then shouted, "The Germans' tanks are cutting the road between Huden and Wigherr, and we will lose contact with Major Horton." ”

"It's terrible. We are surrounded by Germans! Nickerson also raised his binoculars to observe for a moment, then put it down, smiled helplessly at Winters, "I'm going to start fighting alone again." ”

Winters smiled at him and said, "Paratroopers are born surrounded. Nick, there's nothing to complain about. With that, he raised his binoculars again, and then shouted at Nickson, "Nick, the Germans are coming, they have a patrol, about fifty people. Let's go down and gather our men. ”

Winters hurried down the bell tower, and saw a soldier in front of him, and he shouted loudly: "Mook, go find Tybert and Lieutenant Pickak and Lieutenant Haliger, and let them gather men and set up a position outside the town." We're going to give the German patrols a head-on blow. Hurry up. Then he turned his head and said, "Nick, let's go to the position outside the town." ”

A group of Germans, in a straggler formation, approached Yudeng, and they appeared cautious, with a few sharp men in front. They cautiously advanced towards the position of the e-armament.

"Listen to me." Winters walked through the position, constantly whispering orders from platoon to platoon, "Take aim, let's fire fiercely, don't let the Germans gasp." ”

"Aim, brothers, focus and hit on point!"

"Wait for them to go a little further, steady!"

"Listen to my gunshots!"

Winters also crouched down, then raised his rifle and aimed at one of the German soldiers who was walking in the front. The German soldier with his rifle in his hand followed suit, constantly patrolling around. Winters felt like he had taken aim at the German, and that he was close enough. Winters took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang-" A gunshot rang out. The German soldier was shot in the chest, and a former servant, fell.

Fierce gunfire rang out from the defensive positions of Company E, and they struck the Germans fiercely, as Winters had said. There was a gunshot-like sound like popping beans in my ears, and then there was the "ding" sound of the magazine popping up after the frequent bullets were fired. The brothers, as a whole, did not let the Germans breathe, nor did they allow themselves to breathe.

The Germans who were walking in front were suddenly hit by this fierce torrential rain, killing more than a dozen, and the others turned around and ran when they saw that the situation was not good, and they did not even have time to fight back.

"Mortar!" Winters yelled, "Piper, kill them with mortars!" ”

"Whew!" The sharp whistling of shells, which sounded in the sky, and then hit the ground with a loud explosion. Several German troops who ran in front were killed by the first shot. Then a succession of shells fell in the middle of the Germans.

"Machine guns, machine gun fire, don't let the Germans run away!" Winters kept commanding, shouting loudly.

The remaining Germans threw away their weapons and ran lifelessly after them, but soon mortar shells and machine-gun bullets caught up with them, devouring their lives, screaming and crying for help.

The fifty-man patrol of the Germans left thirty-four bodies behind and fled. The brothers of Company E let out a loud cheer. This time they fought very hard, and the Germans had little room to fight back. The British tanks who accompanied them did not participate in this battle, and they looked a little embarrassed, and one of the majors came over and smiled at Winters: "It seems that you guys are doing a good job!" ”

"Yes, Major!" Winters smiled politely at him, he knew what the Englishman was trying to say, "It's just a small group of German troops, maybe they will suffer, and there will be a large group of men and horses and maybe armored vehicles soon." We can't hold this place without your tanks. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys do! Major! ”

Obviously, Winters's words were somewhat useful to the British, and he gave up the idea of looking for trouble, and then nodded and said, "Well, Captain, it's a bit overkill to deal with these patrol squads!" He shrugged his shoulders and left.

"This guy likes to take credit, God, it seems that all British [***] officials have such a problem!" When the British major was gone, Nickerson shook his head and walked over to Winters.

"And General Montgomery?" Winters smiled at Nexon, "In that case, you'd better not say it in front of the British." Not only do they have such problems, they also have small bellies! Hey, Nick, I bet if the Germans attacked again, he would have rushed out with his tank. ”

"I agree!" Nickson raised his hand and smiled.

"Well, the Germans have suffered a loss, and they will definitely not give up, let's go and observe, come on, Nick, let's go to the bell tower and have a look!" Winters said as he walked towards the bell tower.

But Winters was wrong, and the Germans never sent anyone to attack Huden again. But he saw through the telescope that the Germans in the brigade still had tanks, and several of them were German King Tiger tanks, which were heading towards Wigherr. The Germans had suffered a loss in Hudden, and they must have thought that there was a heavy garrison here, so they turned their attack on Wigherr.

Nickerson also saw this situation, and couldn't help but smile bitterly at the corner of his mouth: "I really don't know whether to be happy or worried!" He said to Winters, "The Germans have abandoned us, but they have gone to trouble Major Horton." It is estimated that the Germans had a regiment, and it seems that they went menacing. ”

"If the Germans had known that we only had one company and three tanks here, they would have been able to flatten this place." Nickerson couldn't help but nod and said, "God bless Major Horton!" ”

The Germans, as Winters had expected, were misled by the ferocious attack of Company E at the beginning, and they confirmed that it was heavily guarded by American troops. They turned their main attack to Wigherr. Major Horton, on the other hand, had only one company in Wigher, Company F. And there are also no tanks and anti-tank weapons. They were meant to be a backup unit for Company E.

"Boom-" The masonry and dirt flew through the air. The 88mm gun on the German King Tiger tank was constantly spewing flames. Everywhere in Wigherr became a place where they wreaked havoc.

"Damn, call the regimental headquarters immediately and ask for reinforcements, we can't withstand the German attack!" Major Horton's command was under shelling and looked shaky.

"Major, the regimental headquarters is connected!" A communications soldier handing the walkie-talkie to Horton.

"What, two more hours to wait?" Horton was on the phone with Colonel Zink, and he got a piece of news that left him dismayed. The main force led by Colonel Zinke and the British tank battalion could only arrive in two hours at the earliest.

"God!" Major Horton shook his head in distress, "Continue to keep in touch with the regimental headquarters, and notify me as soon as there is any new news!" That's all he can do. The Germans were attacking fiercely, and in two hours they would fly F-Company with the consequences of a catastrophe. He grabbed a rifle and rushed out with several staff officers from the battalion headquarters.

He rushed to the city, but could not contact even a class. Company F was scattered by the Germans, and they had lost contact with their respective squads and platoons, and began to fight on their own.

"Tanks of the Germans!" Suddenly, not far from him, a staff lieutenant pointed behind him, and shouted, "Major, hide!" ”

Major Horton subconsciously turned around, and then he saw a German King Tiger tank, its huge body shook, and the 88mm gun spewed flames at him.

"Boom-" Major Horton was directly hit by a shell, and then in the sound of explosions, he was torn apart. A steel helmet rolled on the ground with a clanging sound.

(To be continued)