"I don't know what to say, but it's true, as he says, that is good work. I think we need to learn our lesson! Colonel Zinke walked around the regimental headquarters, and he said this to the officers above the battalion level in front of him, "General Macaulay does not know where we will be deployed, but, there is no doubt that we will be deployed almost everywhere in the Ardennes, because there are everywhere the Germans are breaking through. ”

"The Eighth Army's defense line is too fragile, they are like a broken net!" Colonel Zinke was a little worried, and there were still some officers who were not even in the barracks, and his assistant Deputy Regiment Commander Stryll was still in the UK with a series of reports on Operation Market Garden, "To be sure, we can't avoid this battle, and we must get everyone ready from today!" ”

"But we don't have anything!" At this time, the commander of the first battalion stood up and said to Colonel Zinck, "The brothers have nothing, they don't even have winter coats except those weapons and ammunition that they brought back from Holland privately, and the recruits are even worse, they don't even have rifle ammunition, they are holding no different from a stick!" ”

Colonel Zinke frowned, he knew that this was true, but because Lieutenant Parkes' suggestion did not attract the attention of any high-ranking officers, this situation had occurred, and now only the officers and men of the second battalion were fully supplied. He cast his eyes on Captain Winters, who was sitting there in contemplation.

"Dick!" Colonel Sink said in a consultative tone, "You know the battalions are nervous right now, we don't have any supplies, and now we even have all the ammunition for training, but it's not enough. I know that the second battalion is the most well-supplied, and because of Parks' insistence, he is the most visionary soldier I have ever met, can you take some of it? ”

Winters couldn't help frowning, he looked at Colonel Zink, and then nodded helplessly: "I can even out some of the ammunition, but the rest, we also need it very much, this is the maximum I can do!" ”

Zink nodded, he couldn't help it, this is the tradition of the US military, the supply of that unit can only be decided by the commander of that unit, even if you want to adjust, you must get the consent of the commander of that unit. Colonel Sink could have ordered Captain Winters to divide equally with the other battalions, but he couldn't do that, and he couldn't break with tradition.

The meeting was a source of concern for all the officers. They know what the situation will be like. And war is impossible to escape. But they are worried that they will not be able to get any benefits, so all they have to do is to actively prepare and collect any materials that can be used, including weapons, ammunition, clothing, food, medicine, etc.

The conference did not last long, but was nothing more than a pre-war mobilization. They had to motivate the soldiers when they were desperate, and then give them hope, so that despair could become hopeful.

"Dick!" Colonel Zinke stopped Captain Winters, who was about to leave, he walked up to Winters, and then handed him a silver bar in his hand and said with a calm face, "Say sorry to Lacey, for his punishment, this is over." He's still a captain, and that's what he deserves for his many outstanding performances. ”

Winters looked at Colonel Zink, the expression on his face was sincere, nodded, took the silver bar and said, "I know how to do it." To be honest, I've made the same mistake as you, I always thought that everything he did was over-nervous, a legacy of the Market Garden operation, but now that I think about it, it's ridiculous! ”

"Have a good talk with him, if we are deployed in the Ardennes, we will face a situation where we will not have enough troops, I know that he has created a kind of individual bunker before this, and it should be more applicable to our situation, let him teach the men of the other battalions, we will face an extremely difficult battle."

"Well, I'll tell him!" Captain Winters nodded, and then took his leave of the regimental headquarters, and instead of returning to the battalion headquarters, he went directly to the company headquarters of E Company, where he was to put the silver bar on again for Parks with his own hands. Although Parks was calm after the relegation, Winters knew that he must be having a hard time inside!

Winters' jeep passed through the barracks, and the whole barracks no longer saw the wandering soldiers, who remained in their rooms, and waited anxiously for the moment when the order was given.

"Thank God, the leader has surprised us again!" White sighed again in the barracks, it was clear that they saw the guys from the other battalions and other regiments and even the 82nd Division, who were thinly clothed and unsupplied, and they were about to go to the ice and snow to fight the mighty Germans.

"That's why I believe the company commander can lead us to victory!" Kaber laughed at this time, "He is always so prescient, this is much better than our Eisenhower!" ”

"Hell, Kaber, you were complaining the other day about why you were being asked to dig a big, deep pit, you rudder." White was still not very interested in Caber, though he had apologized to him.

"I'm not complaining, don't always target me, White, I complain sometimes, but I didn't disgrace E-Company, I also fought with you in a foxhole and a trench forest, we are brothers, we should trust each other, what's wrong with complaining? I'm just venting my sulk, or I'll die on the battlefield sooner or later! ”

White raised his hands and said, "Well, just as I just said nothing!" ”

"It's long overdue!" Kaber chuckled, obviously a little smug at being able to gain the upper hand in front of White for the first time, "But I've also heard that we're going to give a portion of our ammunition to the other two battalions, which isn't a fair thing to do. I guess Captain Winters must have failed to show his tough side, in front of Colonel Zink. ”

"I don't care about that, as long as I can dress warmly and eat well, the Germans must be crazy in such a ghost weather, Hitler is crazy!" Malachi shook his head, "To tell you the truth, I'm tired of being in foxholes and trenches, think of us, we've been living like this since Normandy!" ”

"But we are always better than other companies, because we have a company commander who keeps us alive, and we can do it repeatedly! That's the only reason I can keep myself from crashing yet! Lenny also said that he was now a sergeant, and since the mutiny, he had once again been promoted from private to sergeant.

"You poor guys, I'm not leaving, I'm going to play football at Christmas!" Gordon suddenly laughed at this time. He knew it was impossible, but he still said it like this, as if if he had said this, it was possible for him not to participate in the so-called battle, and then his mind would be much more relaxed.

"Oh, Gordon, you're not sick!" Someone burst into laughter, and Goneri laughed, "Maybe you can give us a rugby game in the snow and see if your big ass can knock down Hitler's short man." Immediately everyone burst into laughter.

But Gordon didn't care at all, he just tried to find a way to relax himself. The shadow of the pre-war period has always been looming, and although E Company is blessed and fully supplied, no one can relax in the face of the ferocious attack of the German army, and the jokes they play with each other here are just a kind of catharsis of nervousness.

At this moment the door was suddenly pushed open, and a gust of cold wind suddenly blew into the barracks, which was the barracks for non-commissioned officers, although they had been making a mess here a moment before. With a hint of a smile on his face, Li Pu looked at his brothers, and then said, "A good news and a bad news, which one do you want to hear first?" Non-commissioned officers! ”

"Oh, don't sell it, Lip, I find you really annoying right now!" Toy yelled at him at this time, "Let's have good news first, this will inspire my courage!" ”

"But bad news can disappoint you right away! Actually......" Kaber smiled, and Toy glared at him, causing him to swallow the rest of the words raw.

Lipp coughed dryly, then nodded, "As you wish, Toy." The good news is that we're still going to call our company commander Captain Parks in the future. Colonel Zinke realizes that he has made a big mistake, he did not pay enough attention to Parks Company Commander's opinion, and now he regrets it, so he wants Parks to be promoted to captain again. ”

"Oh, that's great news!" Everyone shouted loudly.

But is there any better news than this good news? For example, if we don't have to go to the Ardennes, we will be told to stay here and have our rugby matches, and then we will have Christmas dinners, turkeys and sumptuous food, oh, and of course, there will be big parties and events, and we will be free to go to Paris and have a wonderful Christmas with a beautiful woman in our arms? Gordon yelled at Lip. It's clear he's still obsessed with his rugby game and Christmas.

"Stop dreaming, Gordon, we're afraid we're going to have to spend Christmas in the snow, no fireworks, no turkeys, no Christmas parties, no football games and women!" Goneri sighed as he swung the dagger in his hand, slashing at the edge of the wooden bed in front of him. It's a boring way to vent!

"Nothing!" Lip nodded and said, "This Christmas, the only thing we have is the Germans' cannonballs and guns, be careful, guys, let's save our lives for the next Christmas!" ”

"Yes, we will!" Goneri nodded at him and said, "Although I have long known that the bad news will be to fight, I still can't help but ask, what is the bad news, Lipp!" ”

"Congratulations, Goneri, you guessed it, but there is no reward!" Li Pu nodded, "We will be out soon, at the latest in the morning of the day after tomorrow, we will set off, this is the latest estimate, the specific is not necessarily, maybe we will have to leave tomorrow is not good!" Well, guys, lift your spirits a little, we are not afraid of the Germans, we have never suffered defeat in their hands! Lip said and nodded at them, "I'll have to go see the other guys, maybe they're even more depressed than you!" So saying, he walked out and closed the door with his hand.

"I like him!" White couldn't help but say something at Lip's back.

"Me too!" Toy smiled, "Me too!" But the good news isn't good enough, and the bad news isn't too bad, at least we'll be able to stay here one more day without having to die right away! But I'm a little worried about the brothers in the third platoon, you know, their new platoon leader, Lieutenant Spiel, is a bad one! ”

"Oh, Pankala, be careful!" Malaki worriedly said that he had the best relationship with Mook, Pankara, and Compton, and that's when he began to worry about his friends.

"I heard that he has changed a lot, and he also captured a prisoner of war last time, according to his previous practice, he will definitely kill that guy with one shot without hesitation!" White said to Marachi, "Maybe he's become more cautious." Well, don't think about it, life and death are fate, once we go to the battlefield, this life will be in the care of God! ”

It seems that they can only think like this, Marachi nodded, there is no need to worry about things that do not know the future yet, they just want to live a good day and then go to the battlefield.

The battalion headquarters of the 2nd Battalion, Captains Winters and Nickerson, and Lieutenants Compton, Parks, Welsh, and Officers of Companies D and F were present, and they all looked at a map hanging on the wall—a complete map of the Ardennes area at that time.

"Now our entire division headquarters does not know where we will go out, according to the progress of the German army, they have torn a big hole in our defense line, and the entire American defense line is retreating, there is no doubt that now this gap will be blocked, and the only ones who can block this gap are the Airborne Forces, the 101st Division and the 82nd Division." Winters' analysis is correct.

"We may not be able to quickly concentrate enough C-47 transport planes, and even if there are enough transport planes, we will not be able to accurately airdrop them into the combat area, so it is impossible for us to carry out airborne landing, and our greatest possibility will be to go to the combat area by truck." Captain Nickerson added.

"Talk to the brothers, let the non-commissioned officers of each of your companies calm the emotions of the soldiers, what we have to do now is to maintain high morale before departure, it is our responsibility." Winters gave an order to the company commanders, "If there are those who are timid and retreat, then it will be a shame for us, okay brothers, go and prepare separately!" Winters quickly ended the meeting, and he could do nothing but keep the soldiers motivated.

Parks stood up, and he was about to leave with the officers, but Captain Winters stopped him, "Wait, Lacey, stay and we'll talk!" ”

Parks nodded, and walked over, while Winters walked up to him, then smiled with a silver bar in his hand, "Colonel Sink has repented, he feels that you should not be stripped of your rank of captain, and tells me that you are right." I don't know if this is an indirect apology, but I accepted it on his behalf, and this is for you! ”

Parks looked at the silver bar, couldn't help but feel a little emotional, stretched out his hand and took it, and didn't put it on immediately, but tossed and played with it in his hand, and then smiled: "I can't blame him, the whole upper echelons think I'm crazy, Colonel Sink is just like them." I accept his apologies! As he spoke, he shrugged his shoulders at Winters and smiled, "I don't think I have a choice." ”

Winters smiled, patted Parks' arm and said, "Come here, let's take a look at this map, where will we deploy if we go to the front line?" I want to listen to your judgment, at the meeting, there are things that I am not sure of, I did not say. But my estimate is that it's either St. Veess or Bastone. ”

"Why?" Parks couldn't help but marvel at Winters' judgment, which was obviously based on the battle situation, which surprised him and admired Winters at the same time.

"Because the main offensive in the south of the Mantofir line was the crossing of the Ur by the attacking divisions, this would exert important pressure on the two important junctions of St. Veess and Bastogne. And the Eighth Army was left with no troops available. So we have to choose one of these two locations and give us your opinion, Lacey! "Winters undoubtedly values Parks' opinion.

Parks nodded, he didn't postpone it, the sooner the location of the defense was clarified, the sooner it would be possible to set it up and plan early. He looked at the map and said: "Judging from our preparations, we should have taken a truck to the defensive area, and the 82nd Division was given the order to be airborne, obviously closer to us when Bastone, and the airborne can only be in the St. Vis area." Moreover, Bastone is a communication artery, the important surname is larger than St. Weis, and the combat strength of the 101st Airborne Division is still in terms of supplies, I am sure that Bastone will fight the Germans again. ”

Although the reasons Parks said were not very sufficient, even Winters and Nickerson couldn't give a good opinion now, so they still nodded, and with Parkes's accurate judgment of things before, they already believed that they were about to go to Baston. It's important to them.

"Thank you, Lacey!" Winters shook Parks' hand and said, "Actually, I still have to apologize to you, because I have doubted your judgment before!" ”

"If I could still drink rum in Baustogog, I wouldn't blame you!" Parks smiled, then shook Nickerson's hand and said, "I hope this promotion will last a little longer, and don't let Colonel Zinke demote me again!" Of course, this is a joke, but it also shows that the relationship between the three is still unbreakable!

"Contentment, I can only drink that kind of wine now, God, this is a torture for me!" Nickerson's tone was a bit exaggerated, but it worked well, and all three laughed at the same time.

"Go and prepare, Lacey!" Winters nodded at Parks and said, "The brothers of E-Company rely on you, lead them well, don't let them despair, and don't let them lose their fighting spirit. ”

"I will!" Parks nodded, and then left the battalion headquarters, judging by history, he knew that the 101st Airborne Division would be sent to the most important place in Bastogne, which would be the most central stronghold of the American defense in the future.

On December 17, the French military camp of Maumian.

The melodious wake-up call rang as usual. The brothers still heard the trumpet as usual, and went to the field to assemble. Sergeant Major Tybert gathered them there and did not issue instructions for training. What he said to his brothers was, "Stay put!" ”

Parks and Wales walked towards them, their faces serious, as if they were about to make some kind of big decision, and it was clear that the soldiers knew what they were going to say.

"We're sure we're going to leave tomorrow morning." That was Parks' first remark, and then he glanced at the GIs standing in front of him, and he saw that their eyes were fixed on him, and some of them even turned pale. Of course, these guys who exude a timid look are those new recruits.

"Later today, we will know where we are going, and what I want to say to you is that although we have been routed on all fronts and the American lines have been torn apart by the Germans, what I want to say is that we can make up the torn lines, and we are the screws that have patched up these lines, and we will not give the Germans a chance!" Parks said all this, of course, this is just a normal morale boost, and it doesn't play a very big role, if it really keeps morale high, it must be achieved through victorious battles.

"There is no training today, the brothers will clean up the barracks, maybe we will be back in a few days, and then we will come back with cheers of victory!" After Parks said this, he stopped talking. He handed it over to Wales, and he had to go to the battalion headquarters to discuss with Winters how to equip the other two battalions.

The Allied transport brigades moved as fast as they could, mobilizing trucks in every possible way from all over France, especially from the area between Havre and Paris. The gendarmes stopped the trucks, the quartermasters emptied them, and the truck drivers – many who had been driving long on the road and were in dire need of a break – were told to rush to the Mormion barracks. As night fell on 17 December, the trucking team began its journey to the Momion barracks.

At nine o'clock in the morning of December 18, the first batch of trucks and trailers drove into the Momion barracks, and they slowly stopped in the open space in the barracks under the watchful eyes of the brothers of the 101st Airborne Division. The expressions on everyone's faces are different, and the despair, faith, persistence, and longing in their hearts slowly settle down at this moment, and then richly express on everyone's faces.

Gernelly stepped into the truck with the company, he stood by the baffle of the truck, stretched out his hand, and pulled one soldier after another onto the truck, and when he held Stenson's hand, he looked at him meaningfully and said, "Man, don't cry when you get to the battlefield!" ”

Stenson smiled slightly, and then followed the hand held by Gunelly, and with a strong effort, he stepped into the truck, and then he looked out of the truck, the entire barracks was densely parked with trucks, and teams of GIs, they waited quietly, and then boarded the truck one by one, no one made any noise, and the whole process was only the sound of orders from the non-commissioned officers echoing over the barracks......

(To be continued)