Before entering the Tokoa training camp, young people obviously knew about becoming paratroopers.

Many people choose to become paratroopers because once they pass the training, they can obtain the silver wing badge, pin the badge on the left pocket of the military uniform, wear a special logo on both the left shoulder and the military cap, and have the right to wear paratrooper boots, and can also put their pants into the boots - this looks very handsome and stylish.

These young people in E Company obviously achieved their wishes. Before that, what they liked to do the most was to show their differences from ordinary army, and then gain envious gazes - or in a tavern, they used their special dress to attract beautiful girls, and then things that were indescribable happened. Well, sometimes when they encountered someone who needed to pay, they were a little sad.

In short, becoming a paratrooper is generally a very majestic thing.

...

On September 5, 1943, the 506th Regiment boarded a troop transport ship modified from a passenger ship - this troop transport ship called "Samaria", designed to carry 1,000 troops. However, this time, it not only carried more than 2,000 people from the 506th Regiment, but also carried another army regiment, carrying a total of 5,000 people.

Zheng Yingqi experienced the wonderful feeling of squeezing trains during the Chinese New Year deep in his memory - the train may be twice overloaded, but the ship is as much as four times overloaded!

When the paratroopers were on board, they still kept the handsomeness and maverick dress of the paratroopers when they said goodbye to the Statue of Liberty, but when they were stuffed into the crowded boat of five thousand men, the smell and fishy smell mixed together. In just half a day, everyone began to break the jar.

Each living room has a floor shop, but it is still not enough for everyone to sleep with it. On average, every two people can have a bed. Some unlucky guys are assigned to a bed. This means they have to take turns to rest. When one person sleeps, the other must go to the deck or the aisle or any place where they can lie down and rest, and have to wear life jackets.

This is not the land, but the vast ocean, the army or humans' survival guarantee here, only this crowded ship, Zheng Yingqi sometimes thinks uneasy:

[It should...it shouldn't be attacked by German submarines, right?]

If it is attacked by a German submarine, then...

Fortunately, what he was worried about had never happened, and the ten-day voyage was safe. Captain Sober made a fuss again during this period. He planned to take the people from Company E to do exercises. He finally took the people outside and pushed them desperately to squeeze out a small area. However, this poor area was not enough for the people from Company E to perform. He had no choice but to dispel this behavior.

This incident became Sober's laughing stock again...and it was one of them.

September 15.

The crowded troop ship finally arrived at Liverpool Port, and the paratroopers on the ground were finally able to breathe free air. The next day, a train heading south pulled them to St. George, then transferred the truck, and then walked with a flashlight when it was dark. The wartime light control finally realized that they had arrived at the war zone and were no longer one training camp after another.

This place is called Alderburn, belonging to Wiltshire, and London, England, is 130 kilometers away from them - unlike the training camps they had been in before, they were stationed in a small village and lived with the conservative British.

"We came to war for them!"

The paratroopers had this idea, but the conservative villagers here did not welcome their arrival. A group of young and strong young people flocked to the village where adult men carried guns and went to the battlefield for a long time. It would be strange if the elderly here welcomed them!

Fortunately, there was a strict officer named Sober in Company E, and many officers and sergeants who abide by discipline. After more than half a week of introduction from the UK, Company E and the people in this village barely gathered together.

...

Sobel is still as unchanged as before, and is still so harsh. He stipulates that people who take leave on Saturday to go out to Swindon to attend the dance party are not allowed to take off their tops. Private Burgess violated this rule and was punished by Sobel for making a big fuss, requiring Burgess to wear a top even when he sleeps in the next week.

As a result, Burgess thought that Sober would not come to check him in the evening, so he did not expect Sober to have a special inspection several times. Sober was driven back by Sober on the next Saturday when Burgess asked for leave to get a pass as usual, and said that in the next month, Burgess would not want to get a pass in front of him - this would be the price of Burgess not obeying his own punishment.

Sober wanted to establish his authority too much, but his methods were too... naive. Although this behavior made the soldiers dare not refute and did not obey his words, it also aroused the soldiers' rebellious mentality.

During a live ammunition training, he was wearing a pilot's leather jacket. He was obviously the most beautiful guy in the live ammunition training ground. A bullet flew over from his side and almost wiped Sober's body. Sober was so scared that he lay in the pit and didn't dare to raise his head for a long time.

He also had Zheng Yingqi, thinking it was an accident, but in the subsequent training, such a thing happened several times, and bullets often flew over Sober from the side or behind, above his head.

Obviously, everyone, including Sober, already knew that this was not an accident, but a planned attack.

【That's called teasing, maybe it's more appropriate.】

Zheng Yingqi, who was silently watching all this, had an answer in his heart. He saw Burges aiming the gun at Sobel with his own eyes, and the bullet rushed over Sobel's head. Burgess's shooting skills were not bad. Obviously, he did not make up his mind to solve their company commander, but just used this intimidating prank to vent his dissatisfaction.

Zheng Yingqi thought Sobel would react after experiencing so many "accidents", but he didn't say anything and did not investigate it to the end. Instead, he continued to jump around and run around the training ground, or because he was too confident in the soldiers he brought out.

In private, Gordon and others made a bet, betting who would be unable to help but shoot Sobel - that was the first time Zheng Yingqi got angry. He lifted the table set by Gordon and the others in front of the whole row.

"If there is another time, I will solve him in the same way. We will walk onto the battlefield together in this company. If even the people around us cannot trust, how can we survive?"

Faced with Zheng Yingqi's questioning, Gordon and others didn't say anything, but quietly packed the table up again. However, on the live ammunition training ground the next day, a bullet rubbed Zheng Yingqi's head with a sense of intimidation and threat, and rushed over. Zheng Yingqi, who was practicing attack, stopped and looked behind him coldly.

Many people thought Zheng Yingqi was frightened, but only Lieutenant Wilsh knew that Zheng Yingqi was actually staring at him at that moment.

Since Zheng Yingqi turned over the table, such a threat of intimidation never happened again, but the tricks of teasing Sobel have never stopped - Private Lu Zi would imitate other people's voices. During a night march exercise, the barbed wire used by farmers to carry cattle seriously affected the night march. In order to avoid being affected by the barbed wire, Company E often made great noises.

"Captain Sobel, what obstacle did you encounter?" At this time, the voice of Deputy Battalion Commander Horton sounded.

"It's barbed wire." Sober replied.

"Cut the barbed wire and don't let it affect the march!"

"yes!"

Sober did as he did, but the next day, the surrounding farmers complained to the camp - because the barbed wire was cut open, their cattle ran everywhere.

Battalion Commander Strayer came to Company E angrily and asked Sober: "Why do you want to cut off the wire?"

"Sir, it was Major Holden who ordered me to cut it off!" Sobel replied with an innocent look on his face.

"Impossible! Holden went to London the day before yesterday!"

Sober was stunned. He knew that he had been teased again, but no matter how he investigated, no one admitted it, and no one knew who was playing tricks on him that night - E Company was very united, and no one betrayed Luzi.

The repeated teasings made Sobel's authority plummet. He wanted to consolidate his authority, but he could only find reasons to punish the thorns in his eyes. Even Zheng Yingqi couldn't escape the punishment without reason and was punished for a week.

...

The 82nd Airborne Division, who came down from the battlefield, became the neighbor of the E Company. The officers and soldiers of the two divisions often communicated. From the 82nd Airborne Division, they also knew about the various battlefields in North Africa, Sicily and Italy - the pressure before the war inevitably increased.

Sober also felt obvious pressure. Although he had known that the battlefield was very cruel and made great efforts for it, after learning about the various wars from the people who came down from the battlefield, he was under even greater pressure.

His temper became more perverse, and he became more sadistic - he trained E Company in a stricter and more perverted way.

[He felt uneasy and wanted to train the soldiers more combat effectiveness before going to the battlefield to increase the soldiers' survival rate on the battlefield.]

Zheng Yingqi understood Sober's thoughts, but this method actually had a greater impact on a relatively mature army.

But Sober did not feel the excessiveness of this method. While constantly "oppressing" the company, he also made another decision - he planned to severely attack Lieutenant Winters' prestige.

In E Company, Sobel established his authority in his own way and the soldiers could not accept it, while Winters used his personal charm to establish his image in the hearts of the soldiers. As the platoon leader of the rank, he was respected by the entire company. Everyone, including Sobel, knew that if his orders conflicted with Winters' orders on the battlefield, everyone would choose to execute Winters' orders without hesitation.

Therefore, Sobel intends to severely attack Winters' prestige and consolidate his authority.

...

The opportunity Sobel is looking forward to is here.

That day, the second battalion commander Streyer was going to visit Company E at 11 o'clock. Sobel ordered Winters to check the toilet at 10 o'clock, but a few minutes later, at about 9:30, Streyer asked Winters to check the soldiers' emails to prevent any unfavorable things from happening.

It was obvious that the matter of checking soldiers' emails could not be carried out in the company headquarters, so Winters took the email to his dormitory. At about ten o'clock, Winters rode his bicycle to the barracks and carried out the tasks given to him by the company commander - but at this time Sobel was already cleaning the toilet with a bitter private Melo.

Merlot's beard was not shaved and his hair was messy. When he saw Winters, he gave him a pitiful and bitter smile.

Winters looked at the toilet and cleaned it up, but Sobel seemed to have not seen Winters.

When Strayer came to check that day, he was naturally very satisfied with the situation of the entire E Company. After all, the toilets of E Company were cleaned very clean-but in the afternoon, Sergeant Chief Evans handed over a document to Winters.

The document was printed by Evans, but was issued by Sobel. He asked Winters to explain the whole story of his failure to clean the toilet at 9:45 in the form of a document and tell Winters the way he chose:

Are you willing to accept punishment or be tried in a military court?

Winters went to Sobel directly and asked Sobel to let him speak, saying, "I received the order to check the toilet at 10 o'clock."

“I changed the time to 9:45.”

"No one informed me."

"I called and sent a correspondent." Sober said slowly.

Winters was almost blown up, his office had no phone call, and he did not receive orders from the correspondent.

Finally, he left Sobel's office and chose to be tried in the military court in the document Evans handed him. This matter gradually became a mess. Sobel and Winters kept "confronting" the document, and finally even alarmed the battalion commander Streyer.

Strayer was angry and laughed. Because of such a trivial matter, the two of them were making trouble for the military court. In the end, he cut the mess quickly and beat fifty boards each, but he did not punish him, but criticized Winters - just verbal criticism.

But Sobel did not give up. The next day, he asked Evans to give Winters a document.

This document is a continuation of the last incident and asked Winters to explain two points:

First: Why did Private Merlot not clean the toilet?

Second: Explain why Merlo did not shave.

Seeing this document, Winters felt so heartbroken. He held the document and whispered: "Let's just do it, I'll admit defeat and shoot me!"

So he responded to Sobel's question without an excuse.

[The "struggle" between two soul characters in E is finally placed in front of everyone.]

Zheng Yingqi saw the almost childish confrontation these days and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion - he had already thought of the ending of Winters. Sure enough, after seeing the unsuppressed confrontation, Strayer took the attitude of being responsible for Company E, and decided to transfer Winters from Company E to serve as a food officer in the battalion.

Sober won the final victory of the confrontation.

But... he was defeated!

...

The undercurrents inside E Company are surging.

The sergeants and soldiers were both in agitation. Zheng Yingqi, as sergeants, clearly felt that an "organization" was forming. They were discussing something with their backs - one night, Sergeants Lanny and Harris found Zheng Yingqi and took Zheng Yingqi outside.

"Jacob, we must react to the higher authorities! If we don't replace Sobel, we must hand over the epaulette!" Harris said to Zheng Yingqi seriously.

Although Zheng Yingqi was prepared for a long time, after hearing Harris' words, he still felt a bone-broken chill - this was a mutiny!

"Jacob, what would happen if Sobel brought us to the battlefield? He still can't even understand the map. He will take us to hell!" Lanny also persuaded Zheng Yingqi.

"React with us to the top! This time, it is a collective action of all the soldiers and soldiers in our E Company. We must act together. We cannot have dissenters. Even Evans will also find him and let him act with us!" Harris emphasized.

Evans is the chief of sergeant, the person with the best relationship between Sobel in the entire E Company, and was also dubbed by the soldiers as "collusion".
To be continued...