Colonel Gemint decided to surrender. The US ambush had fierce firepower and extremely high accuracy, causing German soldiers to fall continuously, making him mistakenly believe he was ambushed by a large force. But where did this US force come from? This was no longer important. What was important was that if he didn't surrender, his entire army might be annihilated.
"It seems you were right," Nixon said with a smile to Winters as the German soldiers laid down their weapons and raised white flags. "If we had clashed with them head-on, who knows what the outcome would have been!"
When Winters led two platoons of brothers to appear before the surrendered German soldiers, Colonel Gemint showed immense frustration. It was clear that if he had known there were only two platoons, he would have paved a path forward, even with bodies.
"You are a true officer!" He walked up to Winters, straightening his body. Even in surrender, he wanted to show his last bit of pride. In the German mind, they never believed the US would have outstanding commanders, but this time, Colonel Gemint affirmed Winters, which was very difficult. "Please accept my surrender." As he spoke, he pulled out his luger from his waist, holding it inverted, and handed it to Winters.
Winters smiled slightly, took Colonel Gemint's luger, then shouted behind him: "Staff Sergeant Talbert, take the Third Battalion and the prisoners to battalion headquarters." Then he called out to Peacock, who was cleaning up the battlefield nearby: "Peacock, take the Second Platoon, and we'll go to Veghel."
When Talbert brought a battalion of German soldiers to Colonel Sink, who had rushed up, he was truly surprised. He had not expected such a result—a battalion of Germans encountered two platoons of Easy Company and then surrendered.
Hell Highway was once again in the hands of the 101st Division. Allied material supply was not interrupted. However, this swift battle made the German army very nervous. They withdrew and concentrated from various areas towards Arnhem, tightening their defensive line.
The British 1st Airborne Division finally endured to the last moment. The German army suddenly retreated, abandoning various armored vehicles and tanks along the way, speeding away in trucks. After successfully blocking and inflicting casualties on the British, they sped away, making it impossible for the British 1st Airborne Division, which lacked transportation, to pursue.
"My God, General, the Germans couldn't hold on, they finally couldn't hold on," the Colonel couldn't help but exclaim excitedly.
"Yes, we made it through, but at a great cost!" General Urquhart felt very depressed. His side had clearly won, but their losses were much greater than the German army's. Moreover, he couldn't quickly pursue the German army. This feeling left him without any joy after the victory. He merely ordered his troops to quickly approach the north side of the bridge and link up with Brigadier General John Frost's troops, who were trapped north of the bridge, then capture the north bridge in one fell swoop, finally achieving control of the entire bridge.
Brigadier General John Frost also felt the dawn of victory at the same moment. The German offensive suddenly stopped. They also abandoned heavy weapons such as armored vehicles and tanks, then quickly retreated to the south end of the bridge.
"The Germans are retreating!" Colonel David breathed a sigh of relief. After a fierce German assault, there were fewer than four hundred British paratroopers left defending the bridge, and even fewer capable of fighting. They had no ability to pursue the German army, and could only watch helplessly as the Germans calmly retreated to the south side of the bridge.
"The Poles on the south side of the bridge launched an attack!" Brigadier General John Frost raised his binoculars and looked at the bridge on the opposite bank, saying with some concern, "The Germans are out of ammunition and fuel. They might make a desperate gamble. Perhaps it will prompt them to decide to blow up the bridge."
"Then do we need to do something?" Lieutenant David asked nervously when he heard this. If the Germans blew up the bridge, then the sacrifices made by the British 1st Airborne Division would be worthless.
Brigadier General John Frost couldn't help but look in the direction of Oosterbeek and slowly said, "All we can do is stay here and wait for General Urquhart to arrive. Besides that, we can't do anything."
John Frost's analysis was very reasonable. The Germans had begun a full retreat, and the first thing they would do after retreating was to blow up the bridges, not just the Arnhem Bridge, but also the Nijmegen Bridge, which had not yet been captured by the Allied forces.
The Nijmegen Bridge, which the US 82nd Airborne Division was attacking with full force, was still controlled by the Germans. The British Guards Armoured Division and the 505th Regiment of the US 82nd Airborne Division fought for a day, until midnight, and were finally blocked by the German army 400 meters from the south end of the bridge. Meanwhile, the Third Battalion of the 504th Regiment of the US 82nd Airborne Division ran to a spot a mile beyond the south end of the bridge, attempting to cross the river in rubber boats to threaten the German army on the northern flank of the bridge and cooperate with the frontal attack south of the bridge, but they were ambushed by the German army in the middle of the river, suffering heavy casualties, and had to give up.
The battle for the Nijmegen Bridge fell into a stalemate. This situation had not changed by the fourth day. Clearly, the Allied generals were getting anxious. If the Nijmegen Bridge could not be captured for long, then the British 1st Airborne Division, which had lost contact with the Allied forces at the Arnhem Bridge, would not be able to resist the German attack alone.
But on this day, the situation suddenly changed. The German army began a full retreat, contracting their defensive line, which greatly confused the Allied generals. However, they saw this as a great opportunity and launched a full-scale attack on the German army.
The 505th Parachute Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division and the British Guards Armoured Division launched the largest attack of the day. They intended to capture the Nijmegen Bridge in one fell swoop, but the German resistance was also very strong. The German firepower was extremely fierce, almost pouring all their ammunition onto the attacking Allied forces.
"Damn it, do the Germans want to fire all their ammunition?" Major General Gavin, in front of the Division HQ command post, watched the brutal battle nearby through binoculars, frowning. Then he suddenly thought of the Germans' unusual full retreat and contraction, and couldn't help but exclaim, "This is bad, the Germans are trying to slip away."
"Colonel Take, immediately take your men to reinforce, as fast as possible! We must capture that damned bridge before the Germans blow it up, hurry! Don't let the Germans catch their breath!" Major General Gavin quickly issued the order. "Have the 505th Regiment attack with full force. Something must have happened behind the German lines. Damn it, why can't we contact the British at Arnhem?"
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Major General Gavin was clearly correct in his estimation, but he didn't know that the Germans had lost their ammunition and fuel depots.
Colonel Take led a battalion of soldiers to reinforce the 505th Regiment's attack. The US troops attacking the bridge, supported by British tanks, pushed forward bravely, but every step forward came at a great cost in casualties.
"Damn it, tell them to charge! Don't lie on the bridge, there's no cover on the bridge, they're just waiting to die there!" Colonel Take almost roared. But just then, the British tank leading the charge was suddenly hit by an anti-tank weapon and burst into flames. This sudden change caused all the charging US soldiers to lie down, not daring to move another inch forward.
"God, I don't want to die here!" A US soldier clutched his helmet, pressing himself tightly against the bridge deck. He cried out hoarsely to his equally prone comrade, "Aery, damn it, let's retreat! The German firepower is too fierce, this is a death trap."
He pushed the US soldier next to him, but Aery didn't move.
"Aery!" He pushed again with all his might, and then the soldier named Aery rolled over. His eyeballs protruded, and a thin line of blood hung from the corner of his mouth due to convulsions. He was dead.
"Oh, my God!" He suddenly gasped for breath, then couldn't help but burst into tears. "God, I'm going to die here, I don't want to stay here anymore, I want to go back!" Then he quickly crawled up, turned around, and ran back.
A Lieutenant lying behind him shouted at him, "Damn it, come back quickly, you'll be a target for the Germans!" As he shouted, he lifted his head slightly, then suddenly felt something hit his head, and his head slumped down. He had been hit in the head by the German army. And the soldier hadn't run far before he was caught by German machine gun bullets, riddling him like a beehive.
"Get up! Damn it, hurry, don't stick out your butts, pick up that damned rifle!" Colonel Take couldn't stand it anymore. He quickly rushed up from behind, forcefully kicking the butts of the prone US soldiers.
"soldier, pick up your gun!" Colonel Take grabbed a soldier's collar, lifted him up, and then forcefully pushed him forward. It was hard to imagine where he got such strength.
"Tanks, cover!" He roared loudly at the few tanks driving up behind him. "Soldiers, don't disgrace the US Airborne Division! Follow behind the tanks, and we'll give those damned Germans a good beating!"
The British tanks rejoined the attack, which gave the US troops some courage. Coupled with Colonel Take's frantic urging, they all climbed up from the bridge deck, then cautiously followed behind the tanks, launching an attack on the bridge.
"Boom—" Another British tank was destroyed.
The US attack stopped again. They clearly couldn't withstand the Germans' rain-like assault and retreated again after suffering heavy casualties. They retreated beyond the range of the German attack, and even Colonel Take's urging was useless.
The gunfire from the German side also stopped temporarily. The battle seemed to enter a strange state. It was quiet. If it weren't for the destroyed tanks burning fiercely, the smoke rising from the shelled areas, and groups of dejected soldiers, one would hardly imagine this was a battlefield.
"Damn it!" Major General Gavin held his binoculars, observing the German army on the other side of the bridge. He saw German soldiers behind the bridge packing up their equipment. They showed signs of retreating, which meant the Germans might blow up the bridge.
Major General Gavin didn't care about much else. He grabbed a rifle and ran towards the bridge, shouting to the US and British soldiers along the way, "The Germans are escaping, guys, follow me, follow me, quick, quick!"
Everyone stared at Major General Gavin in astonishment, then suddenly realized what was happening, grabbing their weapons and equipment and following Gavin towards the bridge.
"Colonel Take, quickly get your men up! We can't let the Germans blow up the bridge!" Major General Gavin shouted loudly. Behind and in front of him were the crowds he had stirred up. The British tanks once again moved forward, pushing with full force. Clearly, Gavin intended to use this charge to completely crush the Germans and secure the bridge.
They charged onto the bridge again, with British tanks leading the way. Unexpectedly, the German counterattack was not fierce, or rather, it was only a symbolic counterattack. Then they saw the British tanks quickly drive to the center of the bridge.
"Boom—" Continuous explosions echoed on the bridge. The bricks and stones at the center of the bridge were lifted by the blast, tumbling in mid-air, then falling onto the bridge with a clatter. Then came several more huge explosions, and the bridge deck suddenly collapsed. Four or five British tanks that were on the bridge fell, tumbling through the air, and landed in the river, splashing white foam.
General Urquhart finally led the remaining 4,000-plus troops to rendezvous with Brigadier General John Frost's mere 400 remaining men on the north side of the bridge. The Germans retreated resolutely, without any hesitation.
"General Urquhart, now is the best time for us and the Poles to launch a pincer attack on the German," Brigadier General John Frost said directly after meeting General Urquhart, without even a few words of greeting. "It's clear the German are preparing to abandon the bridge. This is an excellent opportunity for us to pursue the victory."
Pursue the victory? Urquhart couldn't help but smile bitterly. The Germans' last strike had almost made him unable to hold on. If it weren't for the Poles' attack, he might still be blocked by the German on the road and would have paid an even greater price. But opportunities are fleeting, and General Urquhart keenly realized that now was indeed the best chance for pursuit and a pincer attack.
"You're right, we've paid a price, and we need to collect some rewards!" General Urquhart nodded and decisively ordered the combined forces to quickly pursue the German, striking them as much as possible.
At the south end of the bridge, the Polish paratroopers launched their tenth assault on the German. This time, General Sosabowski placed his last bet, as the German resistance was growing weaker and weaker, and he wanted to achieve success in one fell swoop.
"Colonel Remster, you personally lead the charge. We don't have much time left. The Germans are also buying time to blow up this damned bridge; we must crush them before they are ready." General Sosabowski waved his arm and then loudly commanded, "To hell with the damned Germans!"
"Toot toot toot!" Colonel Remster blew the attack whistle. He then grabbed a rifle and shouted to the Polish soldiers, "Warriors, it's time to settle accounts with the Germans! Follow me, and send the Germans to hell!" With that, he took the lead, leaping out of cover first, followed by a large group of Polish paratroopers.
"Boom!" Explosions continuously rocked the German positions. General Sosabowski also went all out, ordering all shells to be fired, and all of the Poles' light and heavy machine guns fired mercilessly at the German positions.
Sandra followed closely by Colonel Remster's side. Because he was running so fast, he was gasping for air with his mouth open, then pulled the Trigger at the German positions. He didn't know who he hit, only that he kept running forward. He had only one thought: charge the German positions and kill all those bastards.
Although the German were suppressed by the Polish shells, they also began sporadic counterattacks. Bullets hit the ground at Sandra's feet, kicking up dirt and making "whooshing" sounds.
Closer!
Closer!
Sandra could even see the Germans' blank stares and their mechanical movements of raising their rifles. "Bang!" He raised his gun and shot a German who poked his head out. Because the distance was too close, crimson blood splattered out, sticking to his face, a little warm. Two more German raised their guns at him. He hesitated slightly and was too late to react. A fear of death instantly filled his brain, almost making him unable to think.
"Bang bang!" Two gunshots rang out. His body trembled, but he didn't feel hit. He instinctively touched his body, completely unharmed.
Those two German had already fallen to the ground, twitching.
"Don't just stand there, kid, charge! Give them hell!" A voice beside him shouted loudly at him, and then a figure flashed past him. Then more Polish soldiers charged the German positions. They shot and killed the German who could no longer resist and were beginning to rout, without any restraint.
It was Colonel Remster who saved him. Sandra stuck out his tongue and licked his chapped lips, also without time to think, and charged forward. They succeeded this time, successfully driving the German out of their positions. The German began to flee towards the bridge, abandoning their weapons and various equipment, running like mad towards the south end of the bridge. There, German trucks were loaded with waves of panicked, fleeing soldiers climbing aboard, then drove towards the rear, with shells constantly exploding around the trucks.
Sandra raised his rifle and fired without hesitation. He watched with his own eyes as a German who was about to climb onto a truck was hit by him, fell off, and was then crushed under the wheels of the following truck, splattering a burst of flesh and blood.
While the Poles and the Germans were fighting fiercely, the Germans had already organized a team, moving under the bridge piers, and began to place explosives on the bridge. A First Platoon of Poles tried to stop them, and the two teams had already engaged in a firefight.
The Polish attack attracted the attention of the German bridge-demolition team, which was exactly the effect Parks wanted. He led his brothers to quietly approach the Germans, then quietly lay in ambush in the grass by the riverbank.
"Boss, the Germans are placing explosives, let's make our move!" Hubler quietly crawled over and whispered to Parks.
"Let's wait a little longer!" Parks shook his head. The Germans and the Netherlands were fighting desperately; there was no need to sacrifice his brothers. And while the Germans and the Netherlands were fighting fiercely, several German engineers were suspended by ropes, trying to place explosives in the middle of the bridge pillars.
"Harry! You lead the brothers to help the Poles. Strike quickly and defeat them." Parks said to Welsh, then waved to the back, "Shifty, Hubler, and Patrick Christenson follow me!"
"What are we doing? They're all going to fight the Germans!" Hubler looked at Welsh, then asked Parks with some confusion, "Don't we need to go together?"
"No, Hubler!" Parks chuckled, "We're going hunting."
A squad of German soldiers covering the bridge-demolition engineers were fighting desperately with the Netherlands, but they didn't expect that there was also a unit hidden on their flank. So when Welsh led the First Platoon of brothers to rush out and fire fiercely at them, the situation quickly reversed. The Germans were stunned by this sudden attack. After suffering dozens of casualties, they chose to surrender.
And at this moment, Parks led several brothers with good marksmanship to shoot at the German engineers who were placing explosives on the bridge pillars under the bridge. As Hubler said, it was like shooting wild ducks, very exciting. Then they watched the German engineers scream and fall from the bridge pillars into the Rhine River.
Ultimately, the German had to abandon the idea of blowing up the bridge. They were already in retreat and simply had no way to send heavily armed troops to cover those engineers. Lieutenant General Bittrich issued a general retreat order. The order to abandon blowing up the bridge was issued by Marshal Model. After all, the Nijmegen Bridge had been successfully blown up, and whether this bridge was blown up or not didn't matter much. In his mind, once he received reinforcements from Germany, this bridge would be the starting point for his counterattack against the Allied.
Lieutenant General Bittrich stood on top of a clock tower four or five miles from the bridge, looking at the bridge through binoculars. It still stood on the Rhine River. He seemed to see a scene of British revelry before his eyes, and could even hear the cheers of the British and the Netherlands. But in reality, he knew it was all an illusion.
In this battle, his two SS Panzer Divisions were almost completely depleted. They had done their best. If it weren't for those damned British who raided his oil and ammunition depots, perhaps they would have annihilated the British and the Netherlands at both the north and south ends of the bridge, thereby adding more glory to his military achievements, or even earning an Iron Cross.
"General, Marshal Model's order!" At this moment, a major walked over, saluted him, and handed him a paper order. The order was signed by Marshal Model. He ordered Lieutenant General Bittrich to withdraw his troops, rest in a small Town called Dessau on the German-Netherlands border, and then wait for armored reinforcements and supply troops coming from the Ruhr region of Germany. He was to wait for the opportunity to launch another counterattack against the British, to exact revenge.
Lieutenant General Bittrich looked at the order, then a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he said to the major, "Is that bridge beautiful?"
"Extremely beautiful, General!" the major replied respectfully.
"Then we'll take it back! It won't take many days, we can do it, Major!" Lieutenant General Bittrich turned around and walked forward without looking back.
The major was stunned, not understanding what the General meant. Obviously, they were retreating now, so how could they retake the bridge? He looked at the distant bridge, then at Lieutenant General Bittrich, shrugged his shoulders, feeling incomprehensible, then quickly chased after the General.
The Arnhem Bridge was ultimately preserved intact. It still stood on the Rhine River, looking so enchanting. At this moment, the sunlight slanted across the bridge's body, like a layer of golden light.
The British and the Netherlands met triumphantly on the bridge. They let out huge cheers. Regardless of whether they knew each other, as long as they were in front of them, they rushed forward without hesitation, embraced, and then kissed each other's faces. Some also threw their hats high into the air, shouting loudly at the Rhine River.
Sandra sat quietly alone on the abandoned German fortress at the south end of the bridge, watching all of this, and let out a loud laugh. Then gradually he couldn't control his tears, and his laughter slowly turned into suppressed sobs.
Here, his three friends were all killed by the Germans. They didn't even reach the German positions before their lives were mercilessly taken, and now they couldn't see any of this, never again.
"Why don't you join their revelry?" Parks saw that his surrounding brothers were uncharacteristically not shouting and screaming and celebrating with the British and the Netherlands, and asked in surprise.
"They're a bunch of lunatics. I don't want to join that crowd." Guarnere shrugged, sat down to the side, then lit a cigarette, looking at this former battlefield of two armies.
"Don't look at me, I completely agree with what Mr. Gonorrhea said!" Welsh laughed at Parks who looked over, "But this time they really have to thank us. You need to think carefully about what kind of reward you should ask from them; it can't be low!"
Parks shook his head and chuckled. This was truly a strange scene. A group of American soldiers sat by and watched a group of British and Poles celebrating wildly, completely unmoved.
"Lieutenant Parks?" At this moment, a British Lieutenant Colonel walked over. He smiled at Parks from a distance and greeted him, "I am Colonel David of the British First Airborne Division's First Brigade. Do you have time now? Our General wants to see you."
Everything seemed so dramatic. Parks never expected that a battle for the bridge would turn out like this.
A night raid on the ammunition depot and fuel depot meant the German forces were likely doomed to fail. However, the German forces performed unexpectedly well in a series of battles in Arnhem.
Despite losing their support, they launched a full-scale attack on the encircled British 1st Airborne Division, causing heavy casualties, then decisively retreated, making it impossible for the British and Polish forces to pursue, thus escaping freely.
It was precisely because of Parks's successful surprise attack that the German forces contracted their defensive lines on various battlefields.
They adopted the same tactics as in Arnhem, preparing for retreat while launching a desperate attack.
It also prompted Field Marshal Model, who was initially reluctant to blow up the Nijmegen Bridge and the Arnhem Bridge, to order their destruction in advance.
As a result, the Nijmegen Bridge, which had not been blown up, was severely damaged, while the Arnhem Bridge, which had been under German control, was not successfully blown up and was successfully occupied by the British and Polish forces.
The German forces could only retreat from the Arnhem Bridge in gloom.
Furthermore, in the battle for the Nijmegen Bridge, the American forces, which had been severely battered in a place dubbed "Little Omaha," suffered even heavier casualties, with losses exceeding the original historical figures, and the number of casualties almost reaching that of the actual Omaha Beach landing.
Parks only learned of these situations after he retreated.
Now the entire Allied forces have stopped; they cannot cross the Nijmegen Bridge.
If they build a pontoon bridge there, many pieces of equipment will not be successfully transported across.
Moreover, they don't know what happened in Arnhem; Allied Command lost contact with the British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Airborne Brigade.
Easy Company successfully captured a battalion of German remnants who attacked Veghel and then attempted to retreat to Veghel.
Colonel Sink met Lieutenant Peacock, who was delivering prisoners on the road, half an hour after the battle ended.
Looking at the long line of German prisoners escorted by Easy Company soldiers, Sink was clearly surprised by the achievements of Winters.
"Where is Captain Winters now?" Colonel Sink asked him after Lieutenant Peacock reported the entire battle process, as there was only Lieutenant Peacock's platoon here.
"The Captain went to Veghel; we still have a new recruit platoon there. He was afraid the German forces would launch another attack on Veghel, so he already led the Third Platoon to Veghel to hold the position!" Lieutenant Peacock replied.
To be honest, the results of this battle truly astonished him; before this, they had been constantly suppressed by the German forces, as if they had no chance to stand out.
The change was simply too great.
"Very good!" Colonel Sink nodded at him and then said, "Continue your work, Lieutenant! Escort them to Veghel; we have a German prisoner-of-war camp there."
Saying that, he walked a little behind the team and waved to Lieutenant Colonel Strehl.
"It seems you have found a very good commander!" Lieutenant Colonel Strehl smiled at him and said, "Captain Winters is an excellent officer; this was evident from when he enlisted.
Now it has also been proven that this foresight was very accurate."
Sink nodded, then smiled at Colonel Strehl: "I know what you're going to say.
Major Horton was attacked by German forces in Veghel, resulting in a shortage of officers in the Second Battalion.
Who do you think I should assign to the Second Battalion as Lieutenant Colonel Chase's assistant? Captain Winters? His rank is sufficient, and he has enough combat experience; he's a very good choice."
Colonel Strehl nodded and smiled: "I knew you were planning that."
Colonel Sink smiled slightly and then said, "Can you recommend a good officer to be the company commander of Easy Company?"
"Lieutenant Reese Parks!" Colonel Strehl immediately blurted out that name. "I can't think of anyone more qualified for this position.
He is an outstanding tactician, a Model among officers!"
Colonel Sink couldn't help but laugh: "Colonel Strehl, I didn't expect your evaluation of him to be so high.
It's rare for you to praise a subordinate officer like that."
"It's true, Sink!" Lieutenant Colonel Strehl smiled at him, "Don't you agree?"
Sink nodded, he looked up at Veghel, then slowly said to Colonel Strehl: "Lieutenant Reese Parks would also be my first choice, but the only question now is, where is he?
Is he still alive?"
Apparently, this question not only bothered Captain Winters but also Colonel Sink, the highest commander of the 506th Regiment.
After all, Parks was an officer he greatly admired, and after all, Parks was leading a platoon of soldiers.
If they were all killed, it would be a very significant loss for the 506th Regiment.
Winters led the Third Platoon back to Veghel.
They met up with Lieutenant Heliger's new recruit platoon, who had been enduring the days in Veghel like years.
Nixon told the brothers of the First Platoon the news of this victory, and they immediately cheered.
Nixon understood them very well.
Without victory, they would face a furious German attack, and with their limited manpower, it was clear they couldn't hold Veghel.
Winters smiled and greeted Lieutenant Heliger, patting him on the shoulder, and said, "The coming days might be a bit easier for us; a German regiment has been annihilated.
All we need to do is remain vigilant.
The chances of a battle are very small now."
Then he saw Heliger's hesitant expression and couldn't help but say, "Heliger, is there anything else you want to say?"
"Captain Winters, is there any news of Lieutenant Parks?" Heliger thought for a moment and finally looked up at Winters, "You know, the brothers are very concerned about this."
Winters immediately fell silent; he subconsciously glanced in the direction of Arnhem, then looked at Lieutenant Heliger, shook his head, and said, "To be honest, we've completely lost contact.
Even the battalion headquarters and the entire Allied forces have lost contact with the British and Polish forces in the Arnhem area."
Heliger took off his helmet, then continuously rotated his hands on the helmet, remained silent for a while, lowered his head, and turned to leave.
"Hey, Heliger!" Winters called out to him.
"What is it?" Heliger turned slightly and looked at Winters.
Winters walked over and patted his arm: "Have a good talk with the brothers."
Heliger nodded.
Then he left.
In fact, right behind him, all the brothers of the First Platoon were observing their every move, and judging by Heliger's expression, they were clearly very disappointed.
"That's it?" Nixon and Winters walked side by side, glancing at Heliger and the brothers of the First Platoon, "I mean, what will the brothers of the First Platoon think?"
Winters smiled wryly: "Nick, what else can we do now?"
Yes, what else can be done now?
Nixon himself knew he couldn't say anything.
He had lost two good friends, Parks and Welsh, in Arnhem.
This was a bond forged on a battlefield tested by blood and fire; once lost, there was indeed an ineffable sense of despondency, making one feel suffocated and heavy.
While many in the 506th Regiment were concerned about Parks, he was in the temporary command post at the southern end of the Arnhem Bridge, meeting General Urquhart, General Sosabowski, and Brigadier General John Frost.
There were also several field-grade officers in the command post.
They were busy, gesturing on maps or fiddling with communication equipment.
"Damn it, this cursed thing!" As Parks entered, he saw a British general cursing wildly, which was clearly General Urquhart.
Parks looked at him and then speculated.
At this moment, Colonel David walked over and said to General Urquhart, "General, the Lieutenant is here!"
Colonel David's words attracted the attention of everyone in the command post.
They all stopped and looked at the American Lieutenant walking in through the door, their eyes showing various emotions: surprise, suspicion, and even jealousy.
It was clear that this battle had been rewritten because of this man.
General Urquhart strode towards Parks, laughing and giving Parks a big hug.
His arms were strong, as if he wanted to release all his strength.
Parks felt that he genuinely wanted to thank him.
"What can I say?" General Urquhart laughed, then released him, "I don't think anything I say can express my gratitude.
To be honest, I've never been so grateful to Americans before.
Not even when they joined our Allied forces.
Lieutenant, this time is different."
"Hmm, I can't say anything either.
General Urquhart has already expressed his gratitude, and I feel the same way as him."
General Sosabowski, who was nearby, also walked over, looked at Parks, and smiled, "But I still have to say, thank you, young man!"
"Me too!" Brigadier General John Frost also raised his hand and smiled, "Well done, young man, you saved us and held the Arnhem Bridge.
That's the most important thing."
General Sosabowski had already told General Urquhart about Parks's entire sortie.
Both were very surprised by Parks's tactics and bold approach.
To be honest, no unit or general in the Allied forces had ever dared to carry out such a surprise attack.
Even Parks's previous rescue missions, in their view, had a very large element of coincidence and could not be included in military textbooks or be considered sophisticated.
But now they had to look at this issue with new eyes.
"To be honest, your tactics are astonishing!" General Urquhart said to Parks, "But very effective."
"Thank you, General!" Parks smiled and nodded, "But it's also very worrying, isn't it?"
"Worrying?" Brigadier General John Frost suddenly laughed, "Yes, now the entire Allied forces are worried about us."
Then he looked at the soldiers busy trying to repair the communication equipment and smiled wryly, "Allied Command told us to hold for two days, and now we've held for four days, but where is the 30th Corps?"
"It seems they ran into trouble when capturing the bridge!" General Urquhart nodded and said, "We might have become an isolated force now.
The German forces were repelled by us, and we successfully captured the bridge, but the German forces can get supplies directly from Germany.
They will soon make up for the losses they suffered this time.
Our situation is not good, fellows!"
"Are we to retreat?" General Sosabowski was clearly somewhat unwilling; a bridge that had been so hard-won, after suffering huge losses, was now to be handed over to the German forces.
It was really difficult to make such a decision.
Seeing that they had begun discussing military affairs, Parks was unsure if he should continue to stay there, so he hesitated for a moment and said, "Um, perhaps I should take my leave now, General!"
He said to General Urquhart, "Perhaps I can come back later."
General Urquhart was startled when he heard Parks's voice, then quickly understood his meaning and couldn't help but laugh: "No, no, let's discuss it together.
Now we are a unified force, with representatives from the British and Polish armies, and you are the representative of the American forces.
Let's do it together!"
"Why aren't we celebrating with the British?" Cobb looked at the jubilant British and Polish soldiers, couldn't help but curl his lip and say, "Didn't we save them?"
"Shut up, Cobb!" Martin said to him.
"Hey, what did I say wrong?" Cobb spread his hands to the other brothers of First Platoon, saying in a very confused manner, "Do I look like a clown, or an idiot?"
"Alright, Cobb, we don't care about that part of you, you're just a small character." Hubler shook his head from the side, "The British will be grateful to us, and then use their fine wine and big-chested women to greet you, but all of that has to wait until we return to Britain. Who cares about your feelings now?"
"Alright, I need to get some air. Because… oh, I don't need those damn reasons, if I want to go, I'll go, who can stop me?" Cobb said, walking out of the crowd very displeased.
"I bet ten dollars this guy is definitely going to show off in front of the British!" White suddenly raised a hand from the side, "Anyone else want to bet? "Big" Bill Guarnere, do you want to bet?"
"No, no, I don't want to waste my money on this guy, you play by yourself!" "Big" Bill Guarnere shrugged his shoulders at White, looking indifferent.
"Alright, alright, when it comes to Cobb, this game can't be played anymore!" White raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, "But if the British invite the Boss over, will he get a shot of tequila?"
"I don't know, don't ask me, why don't you wait for him to come out and ask yourself?" Landers chuckled, then looked at Miller, who was sitting nearby with a smile, and called out, "Hey, kid, do you feel especially great or especially excited right now? It's your first time on the battlefield, and you're lucky enough to follow the Boss on such a crazy mission."
"Yes... yes, Sergeant Landers!" Miller still seemed a bit reserved, but his heart was quite excited, even joyful, with an emotion wanting to burst forth from his chest.
"Alright, then you must remember this well, and follow us to learn in the future. Perhaps you will have a second or even a third chance!" Landers said, giving a thumbs up to Miller, Heffron, and Huxley, "You performed competently, very good!"
Although the brothers did not participate in the celebration of the British and Poles, they were very satisfied in their hearts, after all, they were the saviors now. And White's guess was very correct, Cobb was now surrounded like a star by many British and Polish paratroopers, excitedly boasting about his abilities, drawing exclamations from the crowd from time to time.
Meanwhile, in the temporary Allied Command, the commanders were discussing the next plan. General Urquhart, Brigadier General John Frost, General Sosabowski, and Lieutenant Parks formed a strange three-party delegation, engaged in intense discussion. On their table was steaming coffee. This was found by the British in the German command post; they had obviously forgotten to take it with them.
"Give up? Give up here? No, no, General Urquhart, this is no joke. We finally occupied this place; at least we should hold out until the 30th Corps arrives." General Sosabowski shook his head vigorously at General Urquhart, "The German have retreated, yes, I know they will come back, but I don't think we can't resist their attack."
General Urquhart frowned and said, "I think something must be wrong with our Allied Command. The order we received was to hold the bridge for two days, but now we have been here for four days, and we have been severely damaged by the German. Their previous intelligence said there were only old people and children here? Oh, God, what kind of bullshit intelligence was that? Damn! Why hasn't the 30th Corps arrived?"
"Perhaps they were delayed on the way!" General Sosabowski couldn't help but frown. Evidently, after communication with Allied Command was cut off, they truly couldn't figure out why the 30th Corps hadn't arrived yet.
"Perhaps we can hold on for another day or two, and then discuss whether to stay here!" Clearly, Brigadier General John Frost wanted to mediate, and although he performed like a tough guy in combat, he seemed a bit hesitant in these arguments.
"Alright, this is the third opinion! Three people!" General Urquhart shrugged, "I really hope a fourth opinion emerges, and then we can go back to square one and argue."
Suddenly, three gazes fixed directly on Parks. Throughout the entire debate, Parks had remained silent. Evidently, with no resolution among the three opinions, the three generals turned their attention to Parks.
Parks shrugged and cleared his throat, saying, "Good ideas, all very good."
This statement was clearly useless. Although Parks participated in the discussion as a representative of the third party, it was evident that the other three had not really sought his opinion throughout the discussion. Parks understood this; he was just a Lieutenant, and any opinions he had would probably only be for reference, or perhaps just for show. The British and Poles were simply trying to save face because of what he had done.
"Alright, alright, why don't we adopt Brigadier General John Frost's opinion and wait a bit; we'll make a decision after one day." General Urquhart wanted to end this rather unpleasant meeting.
"Perhaps, we could listen to Allied Command's views, or inquire from them why the 30th Corps' reinforcements have been delayed, and then reassess the situation!" Parks finally added a remark at the very end, as they were breaking up. Clearly, seeing the way everyone looked at him, he knew he might have made them laugh.
"That's how it is!" To avoid embarrassing the Lieutenant who had saved the lives of the British paratroopers, Brigadier General John Frost decided to explain to him, "Our communication equipment had a problem. We haven't been able to contact General Browning since we first parachuted in, which means everything we've done is based on speculation."
Parks stood up at this point and looked at General Urquhart, saying, "What's so difficult about that? We still have a radio. If your men can use it, I don't think contacting General Browning will be a problem." He then spread his hands and said, "We have maintained radio silence since the war began. I wasn't aware of your predicament, so..." This was actually a small joke from Parks.
"Oh, God!" General Urquhart slapped his forehead.
Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard the Lieutenant who was fiddling with the radio shout loudly: "General, we've made contact! We've made contact with them! God, it's a miracle!"
Urquhart's spirits immediately lifted, and he quickly walked over to the Lieutenant. Parks shrugged at Brigadier General John Frost and General Sosabowski and smiled, saying, "It seems you don't need my radio anymore!"
"It seems so!" General Sosabowski smiled slightly at Parks and said, "What problems do you think Allied will encounter?"
"Why don't we wait and ask General Urquhart?" Parks glanced in General Urquhart's direction, and then saw General Urquhart's face turn ashen, even arguing with someone over there.
"Looks like things are not good!" Brigadier General John Frost looked at the two with a helpless expression.
"This is terrible!" General Urquhart put down the receiver and walked towards the three, "It's unbelievable, they haven't captured the Nijmegen Bridge, God, the entire 30th Corps has stopped and is waiting to build a stronger pontoon bridge, God, we still have to hold out for at least four days, until they ship materials from Britain to build a sufficiently strong pontoon bridge to transport those damn heavy tanks across the river."
"That's their decision?" General Sosabowski was clearly a bit excited, "What do you say?"
"I say, we can't hold on for even a day. My division has suffered heavy losses and simply doesn't have the capability to hold out for another four days." General Urquhart shook his head in frustration, "Of course, those are just angry words!"
"Are we still going to pay for Allied's mistakes? Heavens, the German will be replenished at any time, and their massive army will press down on us. They have contracted their defenses and concentrated all their troops. How many people do we have left now? 5,000 people. I don't think we can last two days against the re-armed German. And this is also the German planes' home turf." Brigadier General John Frost spoke with immense frustration; even in the most difficult times, he had never spoken like this.
"The key is, we are short on food and clothing, have no heavy weapons, no aid, and even lack medical supplies! There are probably less than 4,000 people who can truly pick up a gun and fight the German." Parks' words undoubtedly added fuel to the fire, chilling the hearts of the three. Even a fanatic like General Sosabowski had to consider this point.
The brief discussion among the four suddenly fell silent. None of them spoke, all staring intently at the large map on the table in front of them, from which they could see: Driel to Arnhem Bridge — 20 kilometers.
"So... what do we do?" Parks absolutely did not want to show off at such a general-level, so-called three-party meeting.
"It seems we have to execute the orders! The German will receive reinforcements and will advance here immediately, and they only need two to three hours to arrive here. And it will only take them half a day at most to receive reinforcements from the Ruhr. That is to say, from now on, we have less than a day to prepare." General Urquhart couldn't help but murmur, "God, this is truly insane!"
"Yes, but it's worth a fight, isn't it?" General Sosabowski smiled slightly, then looked at Parks and said, "Lieutenant, what do you think?"
"Perhaps!" Parks nodded, then shook his head, "Who knows?" The situation now was different from the original Operation Market Garden, and it was truly difficult to predict the outcome.
He looked at General Urquhart, then hesitated and said, "General, um, what can our American platoon do to help you?" Clearly, Parks would absolutely not agree to this foolish idea of defending the bridge. So he was determined not to get involved with these guys. When he spoke, he specifically emphasized that he only had one platoon.
General Urquhart looked at him, then shrugged: "Well, I'll have to consider that, but you can rest for now. I'll let you know when you can be of help!"
"Thank you very much!" Parks certainly wouldn't be polite. He nodded to General Urquhart, General Sosabowski, and Brigadier General John Frost, then left!
----
While the entire Allied forces were looking forward to a bright future, the German counterattack came quickly.
They received supplies directly from Germany, and then, under the cover of tank formations, aircraft, and artillery, they advanced towards the bridge.
They were aggressive, clearly intending to recapture the bridge in one swift move, to break the Allied forces' illusions, and possibly even destroy the bridge at all costs.
On the morning of September 21st, Allied aircraft finally air-dropped the first batch of supplies, including ammunition and medical provisions, which were extremely valuable to the British First Division and the Polish First Brigade defending the bridge.
However, what they needed most was manpower.
After four days of bitter fighting, their personnel losses had exceeded half, and with the German forces having regrouped and replenished, the situation was already very grim.
"Supplies!" Malarkey held up a chocolate bar, tore off the wrapper, and said to Martin, "The British only send us this." He then took a big bite.
"I'd rather eat this than K-rations," Martin said, also tearing open a chocolate wrapper.
"It looks like we're in for a tough fight," Malarkey said, looking at Lieutenant Parks, who was sitting at the front of their position, observing the surroundings with binoculars, then turned to Martin and said, "I wonder what the Lieutenant is thinking.
The fighting here has nothing to do with us anymore.
Why don't we just withdraw?
What good can a few of us do?"
"You don't trust the Lieutenant?" Martin looked at Malarkey in surprise.
Malarkey shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "No, it's not that.
I just feel that our mission is already complete.
There's no point in staying here."
"Don't think so much, let's just listen to the Lieutenant!" Martin shook his head, "I don't think the Lieutenant is someone who would casually put us in danger, I'm absolutely sure of that!"
Malarkey also nodded, saying, "Me too!"
While Malarkey and Martin were talking, Webster took out a notebook and a pencil from his bag.
He began to write and draw on the paper; this was his habit.
He wanted to write down these valuable experiences, whether it was cowardice, courage, or other trivial matters.
Sometimes, he even used this time to write letters to his mother about his feelings.
"Hey, college boy, writing to your girlfriend?" Cobb leaned over and grinned at Webster, "Why not let everyone share?
Got any photos?"
"No, no.
Just some random things I'm writing!" Webster quickly said, "Maybe it's for my mother; if I need to write a letter in the future, I might use it."
"Oh, that's a good idea!" Cobb nodded, "If Lieutenant Parks insists on staying with these British and Polish soldiers, then this can serve as a last will and testament to your mother."
"Shut up, Cobb!" Landeman, who was nearby, couldn't help but interject.
Cobb raised his hands and nodded, saying, "I know, Landers, but it's clearly not a good idea to stay here.
We've even been here two days longer than the British; we crashed into the woods in that damn glider before they even started their airborne drop.
Can't we just go back first?"
"I understand!" Guarnere, next to Landers, nodded at Cobb.
"Then why can't you non-commissioned officers suggest it to Lieutenant Parks?" Cobb's eyes lit up.
Guarnere couldn't help but chuckle, "There's something you need to understand.
When I say I understand, it doesn't mean I agree.
It doesn't mean I already understand, and it doesn't mean I'm listening."
"Then why do you say that?"
"Everyone likes to hear it that way; as long as everyone's happy!" Guarnere chuckled, spreading his hands.
Landeman also laughed, "Mr.
Gonorrhea wants to comfort you, so these are the best words to comfort someone!"
"It always gives those depressed and frustrated people a brief spiritual comfort.
Even though they often go crazy when they realize the truth," Webster added, "What do you call that?
A spiritual outlet."
"Oh, what kind of bullshit is that?" Cobb yelled at Webster, "Why is everyone coming at me?
I'm just saying what you guys don't want to say or don't dare to say!" Then he looked at Landers and Guarnere again.
"We never thought that, Cobb!" Landers bit his cigar.
"Don't look at me, I didn't think that either!" Guarnere said.
"Me too!" Webster shook his head.
Cobb slapped his forehead and sighed, "Damn it, I'm a bleeding heart!
It looks like I'm the only one who seems a bit stupid here, or maybe everyone else is smart!"
"I agree with that!" Guarnere raised his hand and said solemnly.
Webster and Landers couldn't help but shake their heads and laugh.
Clearly, no one would care about Cobb's words.
Parks was observing the front; he had already vaguely sensed the thunderous strike the German forces might launch.
To be honest, keeping these two battered units at Arnhem Bridge was an absolutely wrong guiding principle.
"Harry! The German forces plan to finish this quickly, it seems the British and Polish will have a tough time!" Parks put down his binoculars and smiled at Welsh.
"Are we going to stay with them and get hit by German shells?" Welsh spread his hands, "I don't think that's a good idea.
It will kill a lot of our brothers.
If the German forces send bombers to attack the bridge, our chances of holding the bridge are almost negligible.
And once the bridge is blown up.
God, we'll have to swim across the Rhine River!"
"I agree!" Parks nodded with a smile, "I believe the British have also thought of this, but they are too rigid, only blindly following orders, and setting up their command post at the south end of the bridge is an extremely foolish move!"
"Are you going to warn them?" Welsh smiled at Parks.
"No, no, I don't want to show that we are actually smarter than the British in this way." Parks shook his head and smiled, "The British at least have some conscience.
General Urquhart does not intend to put us on the front lines to fight the German forces to the death.
Our men are under my own command!"
Welsh whistled and then laughed loudly, "This is truly good news!
For this alone, General Urquhart is a little bit stronger than other British, almost on par with the Americans!
This is also why he was able to become a General among the British."
Parks smiled slightly and then said to Welsh, "Harry, I have a plan, which might be useful in a crisis."
"Tell me about it, to be honest, I'm very interested in your plans now; they always have surprises." Welsh smiled at Parks, "Honestly, this is the most enriching experience I've had."
Parks nodded, then spread out the map, and took out a pencil, saying, "The German attack will start from Desecker Village, with a journey of 20 kilometers, which will take about two hours to arrive.
Before we attacked the German fuel and ammunition depots, we observed that the situation here was somewhat similar to Normandy; there were fences and bushes everywhere."
Welsh couldn't help but shake his head, "Reese, I know what you mean, you want to set up an ambush on the road.
But the German forces will definitely have tank formations, and we only have one platoon, and the rigid British and Polish will certainly not mobilize their already weak forces to cooperate with your ambush; it's pointless!"
Parks nodded, "I know.
But we're not ambushing German soldiers; we need to do something big.
It doesn't require many people, just a few good shots are enough."
"What do you want to do?" Welsh was startled, "Do you want to snipe the German commanders?"
Parks nodded and said, "That's the idea.
This is the only opportunity we can create.
The resistance of the British and Polish is unreliable.
If the German forces launch continuous attacks, they will only face death.
I don't want to stay here and be buried with the British and Polish!
You said it, we are all smarter than them, aren't we?"
"The chances are slim!" Although this made sense, Welsh still made a rational judgment, "Reese, don't take the risk; you might not come back!"
What Welsh said was correct; if they truly sniped the German commander, the entire area would be turned upside down by the German forces, and the probability of a successful escape would be too small.
Based on Welsh's current assessment, he was absolutely right.
However, snipers in modern warfare are not so easily detected.
Moreover, Parks was a master of sniping in his previous life, so escaping was not impossible.
The chance he gave himself was fifty-fifty.
"Trust me, Harry!" Parks smiled and patted his arm, "What dangers haven't we been through?
Didn't we all come out fine?
This time will be the same."
"Alright, I'll go with you!" Welsh nodded helplessly, "This is my only condition; someone has to look after you, or you'll get lost."
"No, no, you stay here." Parks shook his head at him, "They need you more here, Harry.
If the German forces fall into temporary chaos after losing their commander, then no matter whether the British agree or not, you must retreat quickly.
It doesn't matter if the bridge is blown up; there's a ferry crossing here, you can lead the men across from the crossing."
"Veerdorp Ferry?" Welsh looked at Parks in surprise, "You had this planned all along?"
Parks smiled slightly, "Yes, I had it all planned before we even started the reconnaissance mission; you need to know, this mission seems extremely dangerous, but I will absolutely not let our brothers easily go into danger.
A thorough plan is the most basic guarantee for our brothers, Harry, rest assured."
Welsh shrugged and smiled bitterly, "Alright, you've convinced me.
I will lead the First Platoon brothers and take good care of them.
Don't worry!"