The sky was still overcast and there was no snow, but the snow still covered the entire deep forest area.

On 31 December, Eisenhower had established the date for the attack, but the attack could not be carried out because Montgomery, who commanded at the northern end of the salient, was unable to proceed. Company E had to stay in the forest, and they had advanced a long distance from their old positions, with the second platoon remaining on the original line to assist F Company in the defense, while the other two platoons had advanced to the front and could face the German-held villages.

The sound of horses' hooves was particularly monotonous in the forest. Captain Parks and Sergeant Major Tybert were patrolling the line and urging the brothers to dig bunkers when they heard voices coming from the forest.

Parks motioned for Tybert to dodge behind the tree and hide. On horseback was a German officer, who was facing Pax, and then Tybert flashed out and raised his rifle. Parks shouted loudly in German: "Don't move, I'll kill you!" ”

The German officers were clearly frightened by the sudden flash of two American soldiers. He tightened his horse's head and was about to flee as soon as he turned around, when Parks immediately made a planned move towards Tybert, who had already fired.

"Bang, bang" two shots rang out, and the German soldier was planted from his horse like a wooden stake, but his feet were still covered by stirrups and dragged by the galloping horse. It's about to go deep into the forest. Tybert was a little anxious, and fired several shots in a row, but they didn't hit, and couldn't help but curse: "Damn! "Bang!" A shot rang out, and the horse neighed, fell to the ground in despair, and threw the body of the German officer out heavily, snorting twice loudly, and there was no sound.

"You're nervous?" Parks looked at Tybert and smiled, "Don't act like a recruit. ”

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry!" Tybert hurriedly walked towards the German officer. Parks rummaged through the German officer's belongings, and there was nothing of value. It's just that Tybert found a Luger pistol on the body of a German officer. This made him overjoyed, and he couldn't help but pat the face of the German officer's corpse and smiled: "Thank you so much, this is what I dreamed of." As he spoke, he raised Luger's pistol, leveled it, and fired a shot into the woods.

Parks was stunned for a moment, and immediately remembered that this was originally a scene from Hubler, but he let himself encounter it in advance. He couldn't help but laugh dumbly. However, if Hubl didn't capture this Ruger, then it would be impossible for him to kill himself, not to mention that as early as in the Normandy rescue mission, Hubler had already obtained a Luger, and the story has been deviated.

Although Parks is more comfortable with Tybert and he is also a steady guy, he still has to remind him that it is Parks' responsibility not to have the same tragedy as Hubler in his previous life.

"Hey, Taber!" Parks patted his arm and said.

"What?" Tybert was fiddling with the Luger pistol when he heard Parks greet him, and he couldn't help but turn his head to look at it, "Yes, sir, is there something wrong?" ”

"It's not a good idea to make sure you unload your pistol when you're going to put it in your pants pocket or anywhere else on your body!" Parks looked at Tybert with some seriousness as he said this.

"Alright, Chief!" Tybert was obviously a little unimpressed, and he even muttered to himself: Oh, what did you think of me? Recruits? He is a veteran from Takoya, a sergeant major of Company E, how could he make that kind of mistake?

"It's an order!" Captain Parks knew that he was muttering in his heart when he saw Tybert's expression, and then added this sentence, it was clear that in order to get his attention, he had to use the authority of his company commander.

"Yes, sir!" Seeing that Parks was serious again, Tybert had to take this sentence to heart. Of course, this did not prevent him from showing off in front of Hubl and Marachi.

When he was patrolling all the way with Captain Parkes, he didn't put the Luger pistol in his pocket or anything at all, he screwed Luger in his hand, fiddling all the way, which attracted the envious eyes of many people, which made Tybert feel a sense of satisfaction, you know, he had been trying to get a Luger pistol since D Day, and that rescue mission was supposed to be a very good opportunity, but he was sent to stand guard, and instead of participating in the specific actions of the attack headquarters, Hubler got a Luger, And Hubler often used this to show off in front of him, which made Ruger's mind stronger and stronger, and today he finally got his wish.

"Hey, Malachi, look at my Ruger! Do you want to give it a try? Tybert raised his Luger pistol high and shouted at Malaqi, who was digging a bunker.

"No, I don't have time, you should ask Hubler, he's interested in things!" Malaki shoveled up the dirt with a shovel and threw it heavily on top of the pit. Honestly, Parks Cover Defense works very well though! However, it was more strenuous than the usual cover, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Tybert without raising his head.

Tybert apparently didn't get the desired effect, and was a little scornful. This made Captain Parks very amused. He nodded at Malachi, then crouched down, looked at Malaki, who was digging in the big pit, and said, "It's better to set up the bunkers before tonight, we have to prevent German shelling." ”

"Got it, boss!" Malaki nodded.

"Alright, Taber, let's go somewhere else, and by the way, after tonight, we'll be New Year's. I think neither the Germans nor we want each other to have a happy Chinese New Year's Eve. Let's see who's better. We now have supplies, but the Germans are no worse, eliminating patrols at night to prevent German infiltration. ”

"Yes, sir!" Tybert agreed, and he looked around, and some of the brothers' bunkers were already intact, except for the last log to cover the roof, and Luz and Mook and Pankara were chatting together. They saw Parks and Tybert coming over.

"Hey, Tybert, you captured Ruger?" Lutz's eyes were very thief, he saw the Luger pistol in Tybert's hand, he couldn't help but exclaim, and then stretched out his hand and said, "Show me!" ”

Tybert finally found a balance here in Lutz, and Mook and Pankara had never captured the Luger pistol, and the three of them passed it to each other, and Tybert boasted about how he had killed the German officer today, and then Mook said enviously: "I really envy you!" That German officer is here to see you off Ruger, he made a special trip! ”

"Then I really have to thank him!" Tybert laughed a little spiritedly.

Watching Tybert and Captain Parks leave, Mook couldn't help but snap his mouth: "If I can patrol there, I can capture a handful of Ruger's." ”

"Do you have a marksmanship like Taber?" Lutz smiled, "He's not as good as Captain Parks and Sifodi, but he's also a good player, I've seen him make a bet with Dukeman, and beat him, do you know Dukeman?" That unlucky guy, he was seriously injured and went home, but his marksmanship should arguably be in the top five in E Company. Taber beat him, you know. ”

"Well, when I didn't say anything!" Mook shrugged his shoulders, a little smuggling.

The brothers dug bunkers in the line and were basically ready after dark. And every brother felt that it was not so long, and in the early hours of the morning, the excited Tybert took the place of Sergeant Lipp and went to patrol the line again, and he showed his Luger everywhere he went, and sent a blessing to the brothers: "Happy New Year!" ”

"Happy New Year!" This sentence made the brothers suddenly feel that it was already 1945 from today, and they all felt incredible, as if they had spent a long few years.

The German artillery fire was like New Year's fireworks, and at two o'clock in the morning, they launched a fierce artillery bombardment of the positions of Company E, branches flew sideways, shells whistled sharply, and the fire of the explosion reflected the sky red.

"Fireworks set off by the Germans for us!" The Welsh lieutenant looked at the flickering fire in the sky, and muttered to the observation mouth, "Happy New Year, German!" ”

"Don't worry, Harry, we'll have gifts for them too!" Parks smiled as he had sent out a patrol earlier, confirmed the German lines, and reported the coordinates to the artillery regiment.

Sure enough, before the German shelling stopped, the American artillery opened fire. The 105 mm and 150 mm heavy guns, as well as various types of mortars, began to let out their roars, overwhelmingly rushing towards the Germans, and the explosions were undulating, much more fierce than the German artillery bombardment.

"New Year's gift, German!" The Welsh lieutenant began to shout again at this point.

Parks smiled slightly, he approached the observation port, looked at the fire on the German defensive line, he was a little distracted, and then patted Wales on the shoulder and said: "Harry, we are going to prepare for a counterattack, in front of us is Foy, I think this is our goal, we have surrounded it on three sides, but if the guess is correct, we will be the main attack!" ”

"Shit, why are we either at the front or on a charge mission?" Wales couldn't help but curse.

"I don't want to complain, let's think about how to attack Foy, we have to plan well, tomorrow I want to lead a patrol, take a look around, maybe we'll find some way." Parks narrowed his eyes and stared at the German line ahead, behind which was the town of Foy, which was what they were going to capture, and before that, they had to clear the German lines around Foy.

Tomorrow, January 1, 1945, is the first day of the new year, and the two armies face each other, but they are facing the final stage of the contest. Some people will die, some people will live, and then continue to fight!

(To be continued)