Chapter 310: Camp ()

Every afternoon... At most of the time, the battalion would have to stop and send people to look for houses in the village, and then they would spend the night there, and the officers and soldiers would raid the houses. 【Reading.com】

"You've only got 5 minutes" Captain Spiel always asked Carson to find the best house for him as the battalion headquarters, and then took the best bedroom for himself. Like a flock of wild beasts breaking into a flock of sheep, they kicked the gate open and informed the inhabitants inside. Then tell these German residents to leave the house in 5 minutes.

An old German woman nagged and didn't want to leave, but the GIs immediately carried her away. Five minutes was enough time for the Germans to roll up their bunks and take some of their belongings. Spiel didn't think he would let them stay for a minute longer, because he felt that if it did, the Germans would empty the house, and Spierr clearly didn't want that. He also had to find something of value in the house and send it home, and he had a pregnant wife who was about to give birth at home in England. If these things were sold, his wife would have enough money to have children, instead of being sad.

Carson was somewhat dismissive of Captain Spiel, but still carried out his orders. Spiel's whereabouts are also erratic, usually two or three hours later. In Carson's opinion, Captain Spiel was a terrible robber. He complained to Maraki in a row: "The thought of having necklaces around and all that makes Spear sleep all night." As soon as he had the chance, he sent what he had grabbed to his wife in England. ”

But Malachi said disapprerovingly: "Man, this is war. Look, who in E Company is not involved in this robbery? It's not time for war. Man, the war is over, and now is the time to enjoy the fruits of it. To be honest, I wasn't in the habit of taking other people's stuff before, but now that I'm used to it, it's not something to be ashamed of. We deserve it. ”

Yes, Maraki was right, not only Company E, but the entire battalion was involved in the robbery. They ranged from collecting valuables from the houses they occupied to robbing the valuable belongings of the soldiers who had surrendered to the Germans. Take as long as you want. Robbery is both profitable and risk-free and is a matter of course.

Major Parks didn't have that habit, he couldn't help but take anything, but he couldn't stop anyone from taking it. Including the Captain of Wales and even Major Winters, as long as it was a trophy that could impress them, they were happy to enjoy it and take it, and Nickerson was one of the few officers who did not dare to take an interest in this one, and like Parks, he was even a little overwhelmed.

"You're a rich boy, man," said Captain Wales, who scavenged some necklaces, rings, and silverware, "and I'll have to rely on this to pay for Betty's wedding, and this is my chance." Conquerors from time immemorial have done so in the lands they have conquered. It's what we won, and I don't think it's any kind of robbery," the Captain of Wales said soundly, but Nickerson and Parks couldn't deny it, because he was telling the truth.

But Major Parks nevertheless gave an order strictly forbidding the looting of German civilians. As for the robbery of the German soldiers, he could not stop it, and they had to go.

The German Army's Ruger guns, Nazi insignia, watches, jewelry, the first edition of Mein Kampf, and the main targets looted by the soldiers of the Wine Capital Battalion. And the soldiers in general were not interested in the German mark.

Hefron and the hygienist Spinas robbed six German soldiers. They broke into a house with 6 German soldiers in it. "Lay down your arms," Hefflang shouted, raising his rifle. The German soldiers also obediently put down their rifles, they had no intention of resisting at all.

"This, man, hurry up" Although the German soldiers could not understand Heflang's words, they still understood, and the two Americans pointed to the watch in their hands, so they quickly took it off, still on the ground.

"What's in your pocket, hurry," Spina pointed to their pockets again, and watched as the German soldiers pulled out bits and pieces from their pockets, not even the rings on their fingers. In Heflang's later words, they barely opened their mouths to see if there were any gold teeth inside.

Soon the six Germans were let go, and they could not even be considered prisoners. And Heflang didn't bother to escort them to the battalion headquarters, which was not cost-effective, and it would delay their search.

"Hey, Heflang, there's a safe here," Spina shouted at Heflang, which made the two of them ecstatic and looking forward to more valuable things inside. They managed to pry open the safe, and then their eyes widened and they were stunned. The whole box of Deutsche marks was neatly stacked.

"God, did we rob the banks of Germany?" Spina looked at the bills in surprise and couldn't help but look at Heflang, "Babe, are we rich?" ”

"No, man, it's just a mark, not a dollar. To be honest, I'd rather it be the pound, it's worth more than the mark. The Germans are all finished, what is the use of the Mark? "Heflang was not as optimistic as he was. But they divided the large denomination of the mark between the two equals, and the remaining small bills, after an hour of discussion, decided to divide them among the prayer men in a nearby church.

"We have come on behalf of God for the benefit of those who are pious." Hefflang was warmly flattered by those men, because he had a sense of accomplishment, and he said triumphantly to Spina. Apparently they felt they had done something remarkable, but in fact, they had been involved in a robbery.

The battalion's convoy also encountered the Germans on its way to the southeast, but there was no exchange of fire between the two sides. What they saw was the German army preparing to surrender. From a small group at the beginning, it slowly turned into a large group, black and pressed German troops in gray military uniforms. The battalion's convoy drove onto the Allied high road, which led east to Munich. The Germans walked west along the road to the prisoner camp. The road was full of heavily armed German troops, but no one stopped to accept their surrender.

But not all Germans would surrender, and some die-hard Waffen-SS elements, with their sporadic resistance, would still exist, and they would usually blow up bridges and blow up roads or blow up huge rocks next to them, piling up between them in an attempt to prevent American troops from entering Germany. These measures did not stop the Allies, but they did slow them down.

"I can't believe we've won this war now," said Captain Wales, sitting in the back seat of the jeep, as he looked at the heavily armed German soldiers on the road in the opposite direction.

"Look at them," Major Winters suddenly turned his head and pointed at the group of Germans and said to Nickerson, "this group, even if they are defeated, they still march with pride. ”

Everyone in the jeep turned their heads to look at the faces of the German soldiers. Their faces were filled with frustration and disgrace. But they all straightened up and walked in a neat line. Still marching like a fighting force. There may be despair on their faces, but they can't help but admit that their discipline is indeed the best. This is unmatched by the armies of any country.

"They used to be the best army in the world" Parks quietly looked at the group of German soldiers who were ready to surrender, and suddenly said a sentence, yes, the German army used to be the best in the world, but now they are defeated. They no longer have the courage to fight. And all these changes make people feel a lot of emotion.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone shouting from the truck in front of them. When he looked up, Webster was indeed standing on the truck, shouting at the group of German prisoners, especially the few German officers who were sitting in the carriage with very proud looks, and constantly reprimanding them.

“…… That's right, you stupid German species, say hello to Ford and General Motors, you stupid fascist pigs, look at you, you only have horses, what do you think? Drag us halfway around the world and interfere with our lives, why? You ignorant, despicable scumbags" and Webster sat down as if he had exhausted his strength, and said, "What are we doing here?" As he spoke, he covered his face with his hands.

yes, what are we doing here? From Tacoya's training and Normandy landings, to the Netherlands, Belgium, and so on, all the way to Germany, everywhere they went, they left blood, some brothers remained, or were killed or wounded. The brothers in the company came in one after another, what are they doing here?

The people in the jeep didn't speak, and Major Winters, Captain Nickerson, and Captain Wales were all thinking about Webster's almost crazy words, what would they get after paying a heavy price? Originally, this war had nothing to do with the United States. This is a question that many people are thinking about.

Major Parks just smiled bitterly inwardly. He knows the answer, he knows why they're here. But he didn't say that there was no need to answer this question, that everyone had their own answer in their hearts or that some people couldn't think of the answer, or that some would tell the GIs the answer, but the only answer was in everyone's heart, and they wouldn't realize it until the end of the war, until many years later. What they're here for.

Major Parks again looked out at the surrendering ranks of the Germans, who were like a long snake. At the end of the procession was the sun that had just risen in the morning. The sunlight of spring is not dazzling, and you can even see its entire outline, radiant and radiant.