On the morning of September 19, on the outskirts of Eindhoven.

"Brother E-Company, assemble!" Lipp shouted loudly.

"Assemble in a row, let's go!" Lieutenant Halig shouted loudly, "The brothers in the back follow. We continue east, to Helmond, and the picnic is over! ”

The brothers of Company E picked up their equipment and began to move forward. Early in the morning, Winters received orders from Colonel Zinke to march east to Helmond, with the aim of widening the part of the "corridor" at Eindhoven and making direct contact with the enemy. They were accompanied by an armored company of British hussars, who were to fight alongside Company E in Cromwell cruiser tanks.

"Want a ride?" A British lieutenant poked his head out of the tank and said to Winters, "A direct train from Eindhoven to Helmond, free!" ”

Winters looked at the British lieutenant and smiled, "No, thank you, it would make more sense to me if I could walk into Helmond." But you can pick up the rest of our company by the way! ”

The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders and said it didn't matter.

The brothers of Company E had long been impatient, and many of them climbed into the tank and sat on the back of the tank, although they also had to endure the clanging sound of the tank marching more harshly than the brothers on foot. The brethren of Company E marched about 5 kilometres towards Zeudt without encountering any resistance, and on the way to Zeudet they again met the jubilant Dutchman, who offered the brethren water and food. This made the brothers very happy.

"It would be nice if the whole process was like this!" Wait for James? Ellie's arms were full, and he nibbled on the fruit in his hand, with a little smugness. Obviously, he enjoyed the process.

"You're taking too much, it's better to give a little to someone else!" Tybert shook his head and said to him, "Maybe we'll meet the Germans, and these things in your arms will be a burden to you, and even kill you!" ”

Avery was about to say something, when he suddenly heard a whistle from Nixon next to him, "Wow, this is Vincent?" William? Van Gogh's birthplace, you can finally see his former house up close. It's wonderful! ”

"Captain, what does that guy do?" Private Red asked.

"Self, freewheeling, sad!" Nickerson laughed, "That's his style, a painter!" ”

Winters added with a smile next to him: "Impressionism! ”

"Oh, that's a surname!" Red muttered, "If I could do what I wanted, my mom would definitely beat me up first, and then starve me for a few days." ”

Winters and Nickerson looked at each other, smiled, and didn't speak. They made their way through the cheering crowd and then continued their advance. Van Gogh's homeland was not ravaged by the Germans, thanks entirely to Van Gogh's German influence.

After Zandert, the brothers continued to move forward as planned, but everyone became cautious, for the closer they got to their destination, the more likely they were to meet the Germans.

"Tanks! Tanks of the Germans! "Waiting for Jack? Matthews suddenly pointed ahead and shouted frantically.

"Oh God!" Avery exclaimed, he was sitting on the back of the Cromwell cruiser, and then he heard an exclamation, and a German tank in motion 500 meters ahead. He and the other brothers jumped out of the tank and into the ditch by the side of the road. Then he opened his mouth wide again.

Then the other German tanks seemed to come out of the bushes, and they lined up, about a dozen of them, and it was clear that these were German reinforcement tanks, and they drove towards Zandert with a deafening sound.

"Posture down, posture down!" Eri kept reminding himself that he was next to the recruit Sergei, who was staring nervously ahead, and then at Ellie, his rifle clutched in both hands, his hands covered in sweat.

"Damn, what are we going to do?" Barry was behind Sergei, constantly complaining.

Sergeant Muck spotted a German tank hiding behind a fence about 100 meters away. A British tank was heading in that direction. Martin ran to the British tank, climbed onto it, and shouted to the commander: "There is an enemy tank on the right below, behind that fence!" ”

The commander looked through the binoculars, but only saw a fence and no tanks, and said to Mook: "Sergeant, I believe you are telling the truth, but I didn't see it, so I can't beat it, and I must keep going!" ”

"Damn, you keep going, you'll see!" "But the German tanks will surely find you, and they will destroy you." With that, Muk jumped down and hid to the side. These Brits have been warned anyway.

The Cromwell cruiser tank continued in its original direction. It was clear that Mook's warning was correct, and the German tanks spotted them, and then adjusted the muzzles, as if waiting for a grand banquet, the car shook violently, and the muzzles flashed with fire.

With a "boom-" sound, the shell penetrated the armor of the British tank. The tank burst into flames.

A second British tank arrived, and in a hurry it fired at the German tank, but it didn't hit, and then blasted the branches of the fence into the sky. Then the tanks of the Germans reacted, and the muzzles were already turned.

"Oops!" Winters yelled and shouted to his brothers around him, "Hide yourself and keep your posture low!" “

"Boom-" and the British tank was also blown up. At this time, the Germans came out of nowhere, and under the cover of the infantry, they set up 88-mm anti-tank guns and opened fire on the British tanks. The fierce artillery fire made Winters unable to raise their heads, and many brothers lay in the ditch, not daring to move.

Suddenly a loud explosion sounded from the side, and when Winters looked up, a British tank was hit by an 88mm anti-tank gun, which caught fire and detonated the shells in the tank, blowing the tank into the sky.

"Nick, we're in trouble!" Winters frowned at Nick and said, "The British have no power to fight back, it seems that we can't stay here anymore, we must retreat." ”

"Boom-" There was another sound, and one of the British tanks was hit, and the remaining two tanks, seeing that the situation was not good, turned around and drove towards Zandt. Winters bent down at this time and shouted to the GIs in the ditch, "Retreat, retreat, hurry, hurry, we will retreat behind the tanks." Everybody, get out! Hurry up, get out of this damn place! ”

As soon as Winters's words fell, Rogers couldn't wait to get up and run back, but the Germans were clearly eyeing them, and tank shells, machine gun bullets, and sniper rifles were all fired at them.

"Whoosh!" With a thud, Rogers seemed to hear the sound of bullets whizzing, and then a numb shoulder, he was shot, and blood gushed out. He couldn't help but let out a terrible shout: "Medic, medics, damn it, come here quickly, I'm injured!" ”

Doctor Luo ran over quickly, because he was running in the front, so he had to run in the opposite direction, and shouted loudly to the panicked retreating brothers as he ran: "Let me go, let me pass!" ”

"God, they hit me. Damn, bitch-raised Germans. I should have stabbed them in the asshole. These bastards, they hit me, these bastards, nasty embryos. He cursed incessantly, as if he wanted to vent all his anger and horror after being hit, and gritted his teeth.

"They've colored you, Rogers!" Lip rushed over, and then looked at him, not in the way, so he called out loudly, "Matthews, come here, hold the sergeant, we retreat!" ”

The German artillery fire was very fierce, the shells kept falling on the brothers' side, and the machine gun and rifle bullets were flying "whizzing" overhead, so that the brothers of E Company did not dare to straighten their waists, they bowed and retreated.

"Guys, hurry up, don't let the Germans catch up! Hurry up, hurry up, they're going to slaughter us, damn it, don't straighten your waist, Fritsch, get down, get down, do you want to die? Compton shouted loudly as he evacuated the retreating brother, and when he saw Private Fritchy trying to straighten up, he rushed up and kicked him. The kick knocked him to his stomach.

But Compton himself fell headlong. He felt a pain in his buttocks, then reached out and touched it, feeling a hand of blood.

"Damn, I got shot!" Compton couldn't help but scream, and then Mook sprang over from the side, and he saw Compton being hit by a bullet and falling.

"The bullet went through your ass. Lieutenant! Mook chuckled, "You're lucky!" But your big ass is a bit of a way, and I can't move you. Then he shouted at Private Fritsch, who had just been kicked down by Compton, "Man, come over here to help, the lieutenant is injured!" ”

"Yes, I'm here!" Fritch stammered in reply, but the strength of the two of them was obviously a little small, Compton was an athlete and he was really heavy. Two more brothers came running, trying to move Compton, but it was clear that it was a struggle, and it was extremely slow. will be caught up by the Germans.

Compton looked at the four brothers gathered around him, and suddenly ordered, "Go away, let the Germans take care of me." ”

"Lieutenant, you must be confused!" As he spoke, Mook saw a nearby farm and said to Fritsch, "Go and get the farm door panel down, we'll drag the lieutenant." ”

Compton was eventually dragged to a retreating British tank and placed face down on the rear of the tank. The bullet that hit Compton went in his right butt, came out and into his left butt, and then came out again.

"Four holes in one shot, I've opened my eyes!" Mook examined Compton's wound once more, then laughed.

"Oh, that's not funny, Mook!" "I've had four holes by the Germans, and you're still laughing at me here, and this is the most unfortunate day I've ever had, not even in Normandy." ”

"Boom-" Another shell exploded among the brothers, and it was clear that this shell caused heavy casualties to the brothers, and the recruit Barry was hit in the chest by shrapnel and died instantly. Two more had their legs blown off.

"God!" Watching the death of his brother, who was still laughing with him just now, Sergei climbed into the tank and retreated, still trembling all over.

(To be continued)