The six-person team became five. They buried Burkes with their own hands. Parks discarded the German 98K and switched to Burkes' m1 garand rifle; if he found the Battalion HQ or company headquarters, supplies would no longer be an issue. And it was indeed easier to use than the 98K. Minutes after they left, a huge explosion echoed from the farmhouse. It was the explosives Gu Si had set, destroying the German machine gun.
Few people spoke along the way. It was the first time a brother had died in front of them, and everyone was in low spirits.
"Gordon, you and Gu Si lead the way!" Parks ordered. "Eubanks will guard the rear." Parks knew they would see more of such things along the way.
"How much farther do we have now?" Eubanks muttered softly from behind.
Parks looked ahead. Some areas were ablaze, and in more distant places, anti-aircraft machine guns drew fiery snakes across the sky, emitting dull thuds. About a mile ahead, a building was on fire.
"That's the Church of Sainte-Mère-Église ahead, that burning building! I think our position is about 11 miles from the rendezvous point, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont," Parks said. "It's past 3 AM now, so I think we have about 3 more hours. If we wait until daylight, it will be even more difficult!"
"The German will be awake by then!" Christenson interjected with a laugh.
Evidently, this remark lightened the grim atmosphere somewhat, and they all couldn't help but smile knowingly. Parks didn't know what else they would encounter on their journey, or if Lieutenant Mihan's plane hadn't been hit, or if Winters should be nearby. Anyway, many thoughts crossed his mind, but he had no idea how things would unfold, so he could only take it one step at a time.
"I hope the German can sleep in today, that would be even better!" Gordon, who was ahead, added, then grinned widely.
Suddenly, Gu Si stopped, then raised his hand, forming a fist, and quickly crouched down. Everyone saw the signal, quickly scattered, and then crouched down.
"Maybe it's the wind!" Christenson whispered.
Parks quickly moved forward, listened intently, then identified the direction and approximate location—it was in a small thicket ahead. He gestured to the others to gather around. Parks whispered, "Gordon, Eubanks, flank from the left; Christenson, Gu Si, follow me and act on my command! Move!" Parks assigned the tasks decisively.
There was no questioning, no hesitation; everyone quickly moved to their positions. This was the result of over two years of their training: excellent reactions.
Two figures ahead were crouching, creeping towards Parks.
"Damn it, now I've lost everything but my gun!" One of them kept muttering complaints.
"I think we're lost. Do you know where that fire ahead is?" The other straightened up and looked around. "I hope we can still meet up with other brothers, otherwise, it'll just be the two of us to hold all of Normandy."
"You mean the two of us?" The other heard this and let out an uncontrollable laugh. "Or the two of us could launch an invasion. Tell General Eisenhower, there's no need to waste so many resources and brothers. The two of us can fight our way to Berlin, Germany, and personally cut off Hitler's head."
"I think the German must love Eisenhower right now," a voice seriously echoed.
"Flash!" At this moment, a low voice came from behind the two of them.
"Thunder!" The two turned around simultaneously and raised their guns.
"It's us!" At this moment, Gordon and Eubanks stood up from the grass. They now saw clearly who these two people were. One was Luz, and the other was Cobb.
Evidently, Luz and Cobb were greatly relieved to see Gordon and Eubanks. Luz was about to step forward to crack a joke when he heard another voice from behind him.
"You're talking too loudly, Luz! And you've gone the wrong way."
The two almost reflexively turned around again and saw Parks. Their tense hearts relaxed once more.
"Looks like we're surrounded, Cobb!" Luz looked at Parks with a grin.
Parks felt it necessary to remind them, saying sternly, "Luz, Cobb, listen, we are in Normandy right now. Don't let your guard down. Just as you said, we are surrounded!"
Luz quickly said, "Alright!"
"Got it, Parks, don't worry!" Cobb nodded. "We were just too nervous earlier, so we wanted to relieve the tension that way."
Parks nodded in agreement. He knew that many brothers would be like them, their nerves stretched taut on their first battlefield experience. Everyone could become jumpy, and if he hadn't had more extensive experience, he would have felt the same. It was perfectly normal.
"Alright, what do we do now?" Luz looked at Parks.
"Go to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. During this time, if we can't find the battalion headquarters, or even the Battalion HQ and company headquarters, we will fight independently. We are now a combat team. If we encounter German strongpoints at crossroads or German artillery positions along the way, we will eliminate them according to the actual situation. This is what we should do!" Parks' view was very clear: they must have a clear objective, and what their commanders demanded of them was to constantly disrupt and harass the German.
Along the way, they did not encounter any German patrols, nor did they come across any lone American paratroopers or paratrooper combat teams. As they approached the Church of Sainte-Mère-Église, at an intersection, they saw a destroyed car still burning, and several bodies. The dead were several American paratroopers, scattered haphazardly on the ground.
"Heavens!" Cobb suddenly felt his stomach lurch. He saw the body of a paratrooper at his feet; he recognized this person, it was Freetz Leland from D Company. The two had even gone to London together during a leave and had a very intimate conversation. Leland was a very cheerful person, very enthusiastic towards people, especially towards the girls in London.
But now Leland's eyes were bulging, his neck shot through by bullets, and not just one; his head was almost falling off, connected only by a layer of skin, with blood-red muscle fragments splattered on his own face.
"Ugh—" Cobb suddenly ran to the side and dry-heaved. This sight was truly too shocking for him. A brother he knew in everyday life had suddenly become like this.
Perhaps he himself would end up like this one day, Cobb's mind churned with this thought. He truly couldn't imagine his head being smashed to pieces like that; all his life would become a bubble.
"Cobb, are you alright?" Luz, seeing Cobb's unusual state, called out loudly from the side.
Cobb stopped vomiting, as if all his spirit had been drained, looking listless. He nodded, not speaking. He only cursed inwardly, "This damned war!"
"Guys, we need to go!" Parks called out.
The firelight illuminated each person's face. On some faces, there was a blank expression; these were people who had already seen death, yet their hearts were not at peace. Some appeared very tense, death having tightened their nerves even more. Some appeared very desperate, as if they couldn't see the future in this dark night, having completely lost faith in this war.
Cobb walked in the middle of the team, this was Parks' special arrangement. Christenson and Gordon went ahead to lead the way, while Eubanks brought up the rear. The group continued to move forward.
"Cobb, we'll be able to get out when it's light!" Luz seemed to be trying to comfort his heart.
"I don't know!" Cobb shook his head, his face tight. "I don't know when this will end. Right now, I just want to stop, do nothing, think nothing. No dead people, no German, no anti-aircraft guns, no fireworks and explosions. I just want to stop, damn it, I just want to stop!"
Cobb seemed to be talking to himself, his body trembling slightly and continuously. His steps were mechanical, his expression somewhat dazed! But his hand gripped his gun tightly, as if he might jump up at any moment and fire at any possible target.
"Cobb, there's no point in saying these things!" Parks frowned. He knew that everyone in this team was terrified, it was just that some, including himself, were able to control it. In this great war, everyone's life and future were unknown; they could lose their lives at any moment. But if fear became contagious, and they all lost control, then this combat team would completely lose its fighting power and could only be trampled by the German.
"Parks, I know you're excellent, but a German bullet could be for any of us," Cobb replied blankly. "I don't want to end up like Leland, I don't want to die like a dog."
"Shut up!" Parks said sternly. "Cobb, this is not the time to discuss these things."
Cobb said no more; he silently followed the team.
Now everyone was silent, pondering Cobb's words. Once fear penetrates deep into the heart, everything changes.
He had never felt a road stretch so long, as if it would never end.
Using the Church of Sainte-Mère-Église as a reference, Parks determined their direction of advance.
The group moved forward silently, the path ahead shrouded in darkness, with no telling when it would end or turn.
This wasn't the worst part, as many landmines were also buried along this road; a single misstep would send them straight to meet God.
Everyone walked with extreme caution.
They had walked for over an hour but had only advanced three miles.
Increasingly dense slopes and forests appeared on both sides of the road.
Their leather boots crunched on the hardened ground, covered in dust and leaves, making a soft "shuffling" sound, like a fragmented nocturne.
"How much longer do we have to walk?" Cobb's nerves had been taut all night; he seemed to be talking to himself, yet also asking a question, speaking cautiously in a low, muffled voice.
"I don't know, we should be halfway there now, maybe another hour, and we'll reach Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, it shouldn't be far, we'll definitely make it before dawn," Luz whispered.
He seemed to be comforting Cobb, and perhaps himself too, "Don't worry, Cobb, you have to stay with me until we get there."
"Maybe, brother!" Cobb's tone improved slightly, but he still sounded somewhat dejected.
At this moment, Gordon and Christenson, who were scouting ahead, suddenly stopped and raised their fists.
Everyone quickly dropped to the ground.
Cobb's heart pounded, and his breathing grew heavy.
Luz was right beside him, reaching out and patting Cobb's back.
Parks crouched low and quickly moved to Gordon's side.
"Sounds like there's something at the intersection ahead!" Gordon pointed forward, and in the dim light, an intersection could be seen, from which a faint engine sound emanated.
German motorized patrol!
Parks listened carefully and immediately made his assessment.
He beckoned backward, and his comrades behind him immediately gathered around.
"Remember, brothers, this is a motorized patrol, it could be motorcycles or cars, about six to seven vehicles, we might be facing more enemies than we have men."
"Let's do it, Parks!" Gu Si gritted his teeth.
Parks said, "Gordon, Gu Si, and Eubanks, move to the left side of the intersection and take the high ground.
The rest of you follow me, form a defensive position on the right, using the slope.
Brothers, act on my command!"
The fire at the Church of Sainte-Mère-Église was quickly extinguished.
A German paratrooper battalion was stationed here, belonging to the 6th Parachute Regiment.
Their commander was Colonel Friedrich von der Hite, who was anxiously pacing inside the church.
He was an experienced soldier, having served in the German U.S. Army since the mid-1920s, and had led troops in battles in Poland, France, Russia, Crete, North Africa, and other places.
As the division commanders were in the Rennes and Seine River areas, Colonel Hite was the highest-ranking commander in the immediate vicinity.
He had deployed one battalion inside and around the Church of Sainte-Mère-Église, one battalion in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, and another battalion in Carentan.
All his platoons were on combat alert, some already sporadically engaging American soldiers.
However, reports of airborne landings seemed to be coming from everywhere, and in such chaotic circumstances, it was impossible to organize a coordinated counterattack.
"Captain Raymond, give me two squads.
I need to go to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and see for myself; we can't make sense of anything from here."
Colonel Hite decided to personally go to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont to check, as he was worried about that location.
At this moment, a tall, thin Captain officer approached, bringing with him two squads, approximately 20 soldiers.
"Colonel, I will personally escort you.
Many Americans have already landed here!" Captain Raymond's face was serious.
Colonel Hite glanced at him, then thought for a moment: "Alright, hand over command here, and give your company to Major Roth; he will be in charge."
"Yes, Colonel!" Raymond stood at attention, then turned and left.
Raymond was a good assault leader, which had already been proven in the 6th Parachute Regiment.
The company he commanded consisted of the regiment's most excellent soldiers.
He trained rigorously and was extremely demanding; only soldiers who had endured numerous difficulties, possessing unyielding will and strength, could remain in his company.
More importantly, this company valued honor above all else.
Soon after, a convoy of three-wheeled motorcycles drove out of the Church of Sainte-Mère-Église, with one leading the way, followed closely by Captain Raymond's vehicle.
Colonel Hite's motorcycle was in the fourth position, with three more following behind.
Raymond adopted the most cautious approach, placing the commanding officer in the middle, so that he would have a chance to escape even if attacked from both ends.
The motorcycles swayed erratically in the night and on the bumpy road, emitting a dull engine sound.
Colonel Hite's thoughts were no longer on the road.
He was eager to know the situation in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and believed that from the vantage point of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont—the church tower, fifty to sixty meters above ground—he could survey the entire situation at Utah Beach.
"Tell them to speed up!" Hite thought, growing impatient, and urged them on.
But Raymond had his own opinion: "Colonel, we had best maintain this speed.
If we go too fast on such a road, there might be an accident.
My duty is to ensure your safety."
Hite knew he was right, so he said no more.
He simply stared intently ahead.
"Ahead is a 'T' intersection, we're about to turn, Colonel, please wait a moment, I'll go ahead and check the situation first."
Raymond suggested cautiously, then gestured for the convoy behind to stop.
He made this suggestion at every 'T' intersection.
"You'd better be quick!" Although Colonel Hite was anxious, he knew this approach was beneficial.
Raymond nodded, then drove towards the intersection with the motorcycle in front.
He drove very slowly, then signaled the soldiers on both vehicles to shine their flashlights around.
"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and a German soldier who had stood up holding a flashlight fell headfirst to the ground.
Immediately, gunfire erupted, and flashes of fire burst from both sides of the road.
"Ambush!" Raymond knew something was wrong as soon as he heard the gunshot.
He yelled, then rolled off the motorcycle, tumbling several times on the ground.
Just as he left the motorcycle, the vehicle's fuel tank was hit and exploded.
The ground where he had just rolled was kicked up in puffs of dirt by bullets.
The ambushers were precisely Parks' men, who had been lying in wait on both sides of the road.
The German s were smart this time, sending only two vehicles to scout ahead, but he noticed a Captain officer in the scouting vehicles, which further confirmed that a big fish was definitely behind them.
He did not give the order to fire.
He wanted to wait quietly for the big fish behind.
The German s' flashlight beams flickered ahead and to the sides; they were well-hidden and motionless.
The flashlight beams continuously swept through the woods and up the slope.
Cobb was extremely nervous; he clutched his rifle, which was already set up, and then stared intently at the German s on the vehicle.
His heart felt like it was about to burst from his throat.
Suddenly, the flashlight beam paused at a spot opposite him; he knew Gordon and his men were there.
When he saw the flashlight beam stop, a voice inside him screamed: the German s had found them.
Cobb felt all his muscles tighten and stiffen; he almost wanted to jump up and pull the Trigger on those German s, but he felt somewhat powerless.
"Bang!" A shot rang out, and the German, along with his flashlight, fell to the ground like a wooden stake.
Then, the firepower from both sides of the road opened up completely.
The German s tried to stand up but were immediately riddled with bullets.
Cobb saw a German officer; he raised his rifle and fired, but missed.
The German officer was slippery, rolling to the ground and then several more times, but Cobb hit the motorcycle's fuel tank, causing the motorcycle to explode.
Using the explosion's light, the officer got up and ran quickly towards the intersection.
He was only a few steps from the intersection; if he could just turn the corner, he would escape.
"Bang!" Cobb fired several more shots, missing again.
He cursed under his breath, "Shit!" Seeing the officer about to escape, he almost jumped out, but then he heard someone beside him stand up and raise a gun.
"Bang, bang, bang!" Three gunshots.
The German officer fell headfirst at the turn, lying prostrate and motionless.
Then they heard the sound of a motorcycle engine starting.
Parks quickly rushed out; he knew the big fish was getting away.
But at the turn, another three-wheeled motorcycle burst out, spewing a tongue of fire and making a "da da da" sound—a machine gun was firing.
Parks reacted quickly, rolling to the side.
Bullets whizzed past his ear, stinging him.
His comrades, who were just about to rush out after Parks, were immediately pinned down by the machine gun.
"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and the machine gunner suddenly fell.
It turned out Gordon had seized the opportunity and finished him off with one shot.
The other two German s, seeing the unfavorable situation, tried to escape but were shot dead by the comrades on both sides.
Parks got up, spitting out some dirt; he had been caught off guard due to his eagerness, looking a bit disheveled.
By the time he reached the intersection, the three-wheeled motorcycles had already sped far away.
He lowered his head and looked at the German officer lying at the intersection.
It was a Captain.
Then Parks' eyes lit up; he saw the Captain's luger holster, quickly reached out and flipped it open, and a luger handgun appeared before his eyes.
D-Day.
Parks took out the luger and carefully removed the bullets before putting it in his pocket.
He didn't want to be as unlucky as Hubler later on.
But capturing the luger made Parks genuinely happy.
After all, the luger pistol was, and still is, a world-renowned firearm; this fact would not change.
Even the German army at present equipped very few of them; only higher-ranking non-commissioned officers or some high-ranking officers were issued them.
To capture a luger pistol on the battlefield was also an honor.
"You're really lucky!" Luz looked enviously as Parks put away the luger pistol.
It was clear that not only he, but almost everyone, felt envy and jealousy that Parks had captured a luger on his first day of landing.
"Nothing to be envious about, Luz, I'll capture one too later!" Gu Si twisted his mouth.
Parks chuckled, "Yeah, but the luger is really precious! It's the most beautiful treasure in this world!"
He continued to search the German officer's body for a while, finding some German banknotes and a photo.
The photo showed a somewhat beautiful woman with a seven or eight-year-old boy beside her.
They both had smiles on their faces, looking very peaceful.
Parks found his identification and a pocket watch in his other coat pocket.
"German Captain Raymond?" Parks smiled, then put everything away.
"He's a Captain!" Gu Si approached at this moment, "Hey, Parks, can I have a look at the luger?"
Parks smiled, then took out the luger and handed it over: "Have a good look, you'll have a chance later!" Then he waved to Gordon.
Gordon walked over: "What is it, Parks!"
"From now on, when you shoot, listen to my command, even if you are discovered!" Parks said very seriously.
It turned out that Gordon was the one who had fired first just now.
He had been illuminated by a German's flashlight, but he didn't know if he had been discovered, and firing was a completely subconscious reaction.
Gordon's face looked a bit displeased, but he still agreed: "Sorry, I understand!"
"Let's go!" Parks' expression improved slightly as he spoke to Gu Si, who was still squatting on the ground searching the German corpses, "If we don't go now, we won't be able to.
The Germans will be here very soon, and we can't take this road anymore; we need to find another way out."
Luz found a few banknotes on a German soldier, stuffed them haphazardly into his pocket, then got up and followed the team.
Cobb watched him from the side and couldn't help but say something.
"What's the use of German money to you?"
Luz chuckled, "When we parachute into Berlin someday, I can still use it to buy bread!"
Cobb curled his lip, saying nothing.
The group left the main road and walked along a small path beside a river.
The river wasn't wide but was very long.
The few of them walked along this river, as the small path was unsuitable for German vehicles to pursue them, making it a relatively wise choice.
Along this path, they did not encounter any more German soldiers, not even small groups.
The people in the team began to relax.
After a night of tension, everyone's nerves were tightly strung.
Especially Parks and Christenson, who had engaged the Germans three times in one night, were already somewhat tired, not to mention having carefully traveled such a long distance.
The sky gradually brightened; although it was only twilight, the visible distance around them became greater and greater.
Sporadic gunshots could be faintly heard from far away.
"Whoosh—"
A sharp whistling sound pierced the just-breaking dawn, startling the area around the small river into shaking.
A frog jumped from Luz's feet and landed in the pond with a "thump."
Clearly, Luz was startled; he stomped his foot irritably.
"Boom—" With a loud explosion, everyone instinctively dropped to the ground.
The sharp whistling of shells in the sky became dense, like the buzzing of mosquitoes in summer grass, so dense that one could barely hear anything else.
One after another, huge explosions reverberated, their flashes still illuminating the dawn sky of Normandy a fiery red.
The explosion points were still very far from Parks and his group.
They got up and then, by common accord, looked at the sky.
"It's the Navy!" Cobb's voice was somewhat excited, "They're really on time!"
"I hope they can hit the Germans!" Gu Si raised his hand to Parks and said, "Let me be the vanguard, I'll go in front."
Saying that, he quickly moved to the front of the team.
Colonel Hite also arrived at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont at this time.
He had deployed a First Battalion of troops here, and the Battalion HQ was set up in a church.
Although he had been ambushed by Parks' group, he shrewdly judged that the Americans who ambushed them were not many, so after taking a platoon of German soldiers, he still proceeded along the original route.
This time, he went very smoothly.
However, on the road where he was ambushed, Colonel Hite saw Captain Raymond, who was already dead.
He left two soldiers to deal with the bodies of the fallen soldiers and did not linger.
"Major Hoffman, accompany me to the tower to take a look!" When Colonel Hite arrived at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont church, he directly ordered Major Hoffman, who had come to greet him.
"Yes, Colonel!" Major Hoffman was a very rigid person; his gaunt face showed no smile, but he would resolutely execute every order from the Colonel.
His firm will could be seen from his cold, eagle-like gaze.
The church tower was fifty to sixty meters high from the ground.
After Hite climbed up, he raised his binoculars and looked towards Utah Beach, then remained speechless for a long time.
Yes, it was his first time seeing a fleet of such a scale.
Looking out at the beach, it was full of landing craft, hundreds of them, and the beach was densely covered with fully armed soldiers who had already landed.
Behind them were countless massive warships.
The cannons on the warships were firing fiercely; he could even see the flashes of fire when the shells flew out, like countless stars twinkling in the sky, but even brighter than starlight.
Hite controlled the shock in his heart, slowly lowered his binoculars, and remained silent for a long time, deep in thought.
Then he looked at Major Hoffman beside him, his gaze gradually becoming serious.
"Sir, do you have any orders?" Major Hoffman felt he should ask directly.
"Listen!" Hite simply said, then frowned.
"It's the sound of the enemy's cannons, sir!" Major Hoffman answered honestly.
Colonel Hite shook his head: "It's already daylight, but the enemy's paratroopers landed here last night, and there's been no conflict since then.
Isn't that strange?
Also, the enemy's cannons are roaring, but where are our cannons?"
Major Hoffman couldn't answer, but he already felt that their side's cannons weren't participating much in the counterattack; at the very least, compared to the enemy's, the difference was too great.
Colonel Hite pointed to a spot about a mile north and said, "That's Brecourt Manor.
We've deployed four cannons there, but why have these cannons been silent until now?
A battery was deployed there.
But now, not a single cannon has fired even one shell.
Why is that, Major?"
"I know! Colonel!" Major Hoffman replied without hesitation, "Clearly, those artillerymen have abandoned their positions."
Colonel Hite was a bit exasperated, almost shouting: "Yes, immediately send someone to Carentan, order the First Battalion to attack that manor, and gather those scattered artillerymen.
Unleash the power of those 105mm howitzers; show those arrogant enemy forces a thing or two, quickly!"
Major Hoffman dared not delay; he immediately called for a messenger and issued the orders.
It was then that Hite finally exhaled.
As he walked down from the tower, he knew in his heart that the Allied forces were now formidable, and the German forces deployed in Normandy were too weak.
A breakthrough was only a matter of time; he was merely fulfilling his duty as a soldier.
Major Hoffman accompanied Colonel Hite, but he clearly still had some questions: "Colonel, why don't we let our Battalion attack Brecourt Manor? Our actions would be quicker."
"Your duty is to defend Sainte-Marie-du-Mont well." The Colonel only said that, and then stopped explaining, making Major Hoffman swallow his remaining words.
"Splash!" The water gently rippled as a pair of leather boots waded forward in a shallow ditch.
Parks and his group were almost at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont; they could see a village in the distance.
Parks took out his pocket watch and checked the time; it was already 7:15.
He then pulled out his map, gestured on it, and confirmed the village's location; it was only two miles from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
"Grand-Hamon?" Parks murmured to himself.
Luz leaned closer and glanced at the map: "Is that the name of this village? Sounds pretty good!"
"You're very optimistic, Luz; if there are Germans in the village ahead, I don't think you'd say that!" Gordon joked, "Or you could yell at the Germans 'Hey, this village has a great name, would you mind not shooting me?'"
Everyone couldn't help but chuckle, and Parks added: "This is a French name, not German!"
As the group approached the small village, Parks gestured, and they quietly approached the village from two sides.
Then, they saw Soldiers—American paratroopers—on guard around the village.
"Password!" a soldier discovered them.
Parks had already stepped forward, raising his rifle skyward with one hand, as the group converged from both sides.
"Lightning!" Luz shouted first.
"Thunder!" The soldier walked over, waving to Parks and the others.
"I know you!" Luz stepped forward, examining the soldier, and exclaimed as if seeing an old acquaintance, "You're Bob Niland from D Company, Second Battalion, remember? We went to London together once and talked on the way!"
Niland looked at Luz, nodded, and smiled, "It's you, I remember now, you're Luz from Easy Company, George Luz!" He also seemed very happy.
"This is our First Sergeant, Staff Sergeant Parks," Luz said, pointing to Parks, "You'll get to know him; he's a tough guy, especially when dealing with the Germans."
"Hello, soldier Niland." Parks stepped forward and shook his hand, "What units are in the village now? Are there any Easy Company brothers? Or any officers from Easy Company?"
Niland shook his head, "I'm not sure, you'd best go in and see for yourselves.
The highest-ranking officer there is Lieutenant Colonel Strayer; perhaps he will assign you."
Parks nodded and then led the group into the village.
There were still many sentries at the village entrance; Parks explained their identities to them and then reconfirmed that this area was mainly Second Battalion personnel, and the highest-ranking officer should be Lieutenant Colonel Strayer.
As soon as they entered the village, they saw men from Easy Company.
"Hey, Luz!" A man opposite was waving at them and shouting loudly.
Several people looked in the direction of the voice; it was Guarnere, and with him, sitting on a hay bale by the roadside, were Lipton, Malarkey, Compton, Liebgott, Lanny, Poupe, Toy, and White, among others.
"Oh, Easy Company brothers, I finally see you!" Cobb quickly stepped forward and hugged White, who was standing nearby, "You have no idea how much I missed you last night!"
White and Cobb merely bumped shoulders, then White walked towards Parks, a wide smile on his face, and said loudly, "Parks, if you hadn't shown up, I would have put out a missing persons report with the Germans!" Then he hugged Parks tightly, "This night was truly agonizing."
"Me too, White, seeing you now, whole and healthy, able to talk and move, nothing could be better!" Parks chuckled, which drew a round of whistles from those around him.
The brothers quickly reconnected.
After such a night, everyone deeply longed to have their brothers by their side, to fight alongside them, so their hearts wouldn't feel so lonely.
"Hey, do you guys know?" Poupe suddenly lowered his voice, "We were just talking about Lieutenant Speirs from D Company."
"Poupe—" Malarkey looked at Poupe, drawing out the name, and frowned.
Poupe grinned at Malarkey and said, "What does it matter? We're all brothers from our own company; there's no one from D Company here.
Don't worry, no one's stupid enough to tell him."
Malarkey shrugged helplessly.
"What is it?" Luz looked eagerly at Poupe.
Poupe looked mysterious now, beckoning to the newcomers: "Come closer, guys, I'll tell you, this is a huge matter.
It can't be spread around publicly."
Except for Parks, everyone else, looking very interested, leaned in.
Parks knew from Malarkey's expression that Poupe was talking about Lieutenant Speirs; he wasn't interested at all, as he already knew what had happened.
Sure enough, after just a few sentences, Cobb exclaimed with an incredulous look on his face, "That's so cool!"
After the group dispersed, Gu Si mysteriously approached Parks, lowering his voice, "I can't believe Speirs actually dared to do it; a dozen prisoners were just... shot!" As he spoke, he gestured with one hand as if holding a gun, sweeping it in a half-circle.
"You saw it with your own eyes?" Parks couldn't help but smile.
"I just heard Poupe say it!" Gu Si shook his head and smiled, "But I don't believe it."
Parks shook his head: "I won't listen, and I don't believe it, forget it."
Just as he was about to sit on the hay bale, he heard White excitedly call out to him, "Parks, I heard you captured a luger? Can I see it?" Then he saw Parks pull a luger from his leg pouch and hand it over.
Immediately, a group of people gathered around.
A pistol began to be passed around and examined among the brothers.
"This is a truly good gun!" Before White could examine it closely, Malarkey took it, "Parks, this is what I admire about you; I can't believe you've already fought the Germans three times, and even killed a Captain."
Parks looked at Christenson; it turned out he was explaining the night's battle to Compton, Guarnere, and others, focusing mainly on the luger.
Actually, he didn't know that Guarnere and the others had also exchanged fire with the Germans.
"I'll get one too!" Malarkey raised the pistol, held it level, and aimed it in the direction ahead.
Then, with some reluctance, he returned the luger to Parks.
Parks took it, tilted his head, and asked Malarkey, "Are all the Easy Company brothers here?"
"Lieutenant Winters is still here." Malarkey looked at a house inside, "He's in there; Lieutenant Colonel Strayer is calling on him.
All the men the Second Battalion could gather are here, about 100 people.
That's less than a sixth of our usual strength.
The highest-ranking officer is Colonel Strehl; he's the commander now."
"What about Easy Company?" Parks was eager to know if things were still on their original track.
"Lieutenant Mihan hasn't shown up, and neither the Executive Officer nor Sergeant Evans have been seen.
The highest-ranking officer here now is Winters; he's the highest commander of Easy Company." Malarkey's mouth twisted, "But I like Winters and I'm willing to fight with him."
"Me too!" Parks sighed, unsure of his feelings; history was proceeding along its original course, and he hadn't changed anything.
Lieutenant Mihan was actually a good leader too, but Winters was a shining example, and many people had a very good impression of him.
Just then, Winters walked out of the house.
He then saw Parks, a smile immediately appearing on his face, and he walked over in a few steps, extending his hand to Parks, who was already approaching him.
They shook hands.
"It's good to see you, Parks!" Winters spoke truthfully; he had always had a very good impression of Parks and valued him highly.
"You too, Lieutenant!" Parks also smiled and nodded, then pointed to Gu Si, Christenson, and the others, "I came with them; we met along the way, but... I couldn't gather more brothers en route."
"That's not your fault; we all got lost last night." Winters patted Parks's shoulder and then said, "Parks, we have a mission; go gather the brothers."
Parks nodded, then walked towards the brothers who were chatting idly: "Guys, we have work to do.
The Lieutenant has a mission for us, let's go!" Parks waved, gathering the brothers.
Now Winters was Easy Company's highest commander, which meant he was Easy Company's highest Sergeant.
At least until Evans returned.
However, the possibility of Captain Mihan and Sergeant Evans returning was already very small.
Winters looked at the Easy Company brothers gathered around him, silently counting them; there were 17 in total.
"This is a German artillery position, 88mm guns.
They are well-concealed, four in total, and are currently firing at Utah Beach, killing our fellow brothers.
It's about a few hundred meters from here, separated by several fences and open ground.
That place is called Brecourt, a typical large French estate." Winters relayed the orders to the brothers in an orderly manner.
The brothers around him all nodded.
"Lieutenant Colonel Strayer wants us to destroy him!" Winters firmly tapped that spot with his finger, then drew a brief diagram on a piece of paper with a pencil, "The Germans are hiding in the trenches leading to the gun emplacements.
We need to establish fire support points, and then two teams will advance quickly under fire cover."
"Lieutenant, I have a question!" Guarnere raised his hand, "How many Germans are we facing?"
"I don't know!" Winters looked at him.
"You don't know? That's just great!" Guarnere frowned, looking helpless.
"Lipton, prepare some explosives; we need to blow up those cannons." Winters tucked his gun under his armpit, "Does anyone else have any questions?
We can still prepare before we set off."
Winters looked at these brothers, then nodded and said, "Alright, let's organize our ammunition.
Don't take anything else with you." When he saw that everyone was ready, he said, "Let's go!" and led the way forward.