After entering the Agno Town Defense Zone, the E Company was assigned to the last side of the 506th Regiment Front - the town spanned the Model River, a tributary of the Rhine River. The E Company's position was surrounded by Model and a ring, which looked like a nail embedded in the German position.

The malicious distribution method, of course, on the other hand, is an approval of E Company.

The intuitive point of view is: I agree with you, I like you, so I leave the most dangerous work to you.

...

The position of the 1st row was left by Spears' defense line, consisting of several houses and trenches. When a squad took over one of the houses, six people replaced the 18 people inside!

Among the eighteen people they replaced, they were equipped with three machine guns. Looking at them, there were only M1 carbines and Browning automatic rifles. The gap during this period made the newcomers realize how miserable the paratroopers were.

Webster, who led the team, noticed the sour taste of the newcomer, calmly said: "The excellent tradition of our paratroopers is to rely on self-restraint rather than on weapons."

Another veteran also said: "Don't compare us with ordinary army - we have one company that is the three of them! Look, in the room where eighteen people squatted, we only need six of them, that's the gap." The veteran actually held back one sentence and said nothing:

Do you know why their casualties are often more serious than us? Eighteen people are huddled in a house. If the railway gun hits one shot, eighteen will be directly damaged by eighteen!

The reason why he resisted and said it was because there was still the second half of this sentence: If we were hit, at most six of us would die...

Given that there are too many newcomers and it is easy to ruin the morale of the army, the veteran resisted his own mouth.

On the other hand, the officers of the 79th Division were introducing the situation in the position to Zheng Yingqi: "It's very peaceful here now. We and the Germans have not attacked each other in the past few days."

After introducing the situation almost perfunctorily, the captain left and walked in a hurry, as if he was chasing after a shell behind him.

"They were beaten away." Hubler couldn't help but comment.

Zheng Yingqi looked around and saw that the front consisting of houses and trenches had been baptized by shells and bullets. The house occupied by Webster and his men had even been lifted off. Obviously, the calmness in the mouth of the captain of the 79th Division just now was only in the past few days. Before, the days here would definitely not be easy.

"Continue to see the situation and figure it out clearly, we have to greet the Germans opposite. We have to tell them, hey German guy, the American paratrooper is here!" Zheng Yingqi skillfully used American humor, and the others couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

This is the habit of E Company. In Zheng Yingqi's words, "We are not German parents, why should we spoil them?"

The river surface located in front of the E Company's position, due to the melting of ice and snow, the river water has overflowed from the river surface in a turbulent manner, resulting in a width ranging from 30 meters to 100 meters. Although grenades can be easily thrown away within a distance of 30 meters, both sides left as close as possible for rifles, machine guns and artillery runs, but they can avoid the distance of grenades.

The soldiers on both sides were like office workers who had their wages and fired guns off work. The only problem was that according to intelligence, the Germans had a railway gun behind the position. Although it was an antique left during World War I, the caliber of 205mm was enough to make this antique a nightmare for paratroopers.

After learning all the information, Zheng Yingqi decided to stop for the time being and first act on behalf of the German parents to get used to the Germans opposite.

[As a qualified officer, you must have various abundant reasons and explanations.]

Zheng Yingqi thought so.

...

On the first day of entering the position, E Company was like Zheng Yingqi said, first representing the German parents, but in some places there was still artillery fire. At the observation post, you can see the scene of various positions being ravaged by railway guns. In the words of Corporal McLeary:

Every time the railgun shells fly over, it is like a train running over your head.

This atmosphere is something that E Company and the entire 2nd Battalion do not like. After all, the buildings on the position will definitely not withstand a shell of railway guns, and no one wants to hang a shell on his head that will be smashed at any time.

At the 2nd Battalion meeting, Winters made a decision: "We must kill that railway gun!"

Staff Nixon, who is now in charge of intelligence at the regiment headquarters, also said leisurely: "I also need some tongue to ask questions."

"So, not only do we have to cross the river to investigate, but we also need to capture some tongues?" Spears's face looked a little unpleasant.

"Yes, I plan to send two squads across the river, one of which is responsible for the task of reconnaissance and capture of tongues, and the other squad takes the opportunity to go deep into the rear of the German positions and deal with the railway cannon that scares us. I have reported to the regiment headquarters that when we operate, we will get the support of an artillery battalion. As long as we find the exact location of the railway cannon, we can handle it!" Winters said.

The most desperate thing about the railway gun is that it can run. The US military organized three air raids, but none of them could find the location of the railway gun. Instead, the Germans took the opportunity to use air defense firepower to launch four aircraft. The air force (the US Air Force was established independently in 1947. Before that, they were pitiful subordinate troops) were no longer willing to take risks. They claimed that only by mastering the exact location of the railway gun could we be willing to sacrifice.

Winters' words made the company commander of Company D and Company F look bad. Before that, they thought that the role of the squad was Company E, but how could they think that the battalion commander needed two squads?

Spears's face improved, and he silently glanced at his two colleagues, regardless of whether the company commander D was his old superior before, he rushed to say, "Sir, our company E is willing to take it down and investigate and grab the tongue."

grass!

The two company commanders who were hesitating just now couldn't help but curse. The reaction was slower and slower. They just thought about how to shirk away. They didn't think that they would rob the task that was slightly easier, and were snatched away by Company E!

For the company commander of D and F, the bye is the most critical, so that a fatal and difficult task can be avoided, but what about Company E? All kinds of "beautiful and bad" have never been stopped. Since you can't avoid it, it's easier to grab one!

Winters agreed to Spears' choice and looked at the other two company commanders. After the deadly silence, Winters simply pointed at the company commander D and said, "Your people are responsible for killing the railway cannon tonight!"

Company Commander F suppressed his joy, but unexpectedly, Winters' next words hit his forehead: "Operation at two o'clock in the evening! After Company E crossed the river, Company F launched a feint attack on the German positions. Note that once the operational forces of Company D and Company E are blocked, Company F, which is feinted, will become a strong attack at any time!"

Company Commander F’s heart was filled with a group of divine beasts, I’m so mad…

"I understand?"

"yes!"

After receiving the order, the three company commanders left with bitter faces. After the three of them parted ways, Spears smiled strangely. Humph, he always wanted to make Company E suffer. Didn't he expect this time?

...

There is no doubt that this time, Zheng Yingqi was led by the E Company team again. Because he was sneaking into the enemy position, Spears did not let a row of people be responsible for the squad alone, but instead drew a total of twenty people from the three squads, and the commander of Zheng Yingqi's tenacious squad was the commander of Zheng Yingqi's tenacious squad.

Spears will sneak into the squad and bring it to Agno to familiarize himself with the use of the crossing tools. He said: "You will be crossing the river in a rubber boat. It is four o'clock in the afternoon, and there are still ten hours before the operation. You only have ten hours to familiarize yourself with these rubber boats."

Time is a little tight!

Zheng Yingqi muttered silently in his heart, and then, together with the 19 team members, began to become familiar with the use of rubber boats under the guidance of the regiment headquarters. Although there were similar subjects at the Paratrooper School, it was just a simple training because the non-commissioned officers responsible for formulating the training outline did not think that paratroopers would use rubber boats like Marines.

Although the members of the team came from three platoons, Spears fully respected Zheng Yingqi's opinion when selecting. As a result, the veterans in it accounted for 13 people, and the remaining seven were all young people who performed well in a brief contact - in the words of Hubler's complaints:

"The official in the rear will only send young people to the front line!"

He completely forgot that all the non-commissioned officers in E Company, including him, have an average age of not over 23 years old. It’s just that the war has made them age very quickly. Even Zheng Yingqi himself sometimes feels like an old man who is living his life, and he just lives by every day.

Young people are always easy to accept new things. By about 8 o'clock in the evening, the team was able to use four rubber boats skillfully, and even had a game with the D Company Rubber Boat Team trained next door. Although two unlucky guys fell into the water because they won, in general, they could use this thing "skillfully".

Although the members of the team thought they had mastered the skill, Zheng Yingqi still muttered: "The rope is more reliable." He finally found the rope, tied the rope to the rubber boat and tried it several times to ensure that in the event of an accident, the rope tied to the shore can be more insured.

After having lunch, the team entered the rest mode and quietly waited for the arrival of the action time. At this time, the situation on the entire front was as follows:

Both sides would raise the flares from time to time, and the tracer bullets dragging the tail flames into flames in the roar of the machine guns from time to time, swinging the whip of the other side's positions. The searchlights of the anti-aircraft artillery troops were still searching for the clouds, just like God's sword playing in the sky bored. Occasionally, high-caliber shells exploded, causing the combustion to light up a area. The machine gunners and mortars on both sides were ready to go at this time, and they would open fire whenever they found something wrong.

In short, the conditions before sneaking in are so bad that it makes people feel cold.

The infiltrating squad is resting, but others cannot. The rest of the platoons, under the organization of officers and non-commissioned officers, began to build various cover positions. Once the infiltrating squad is exposed when infiltrating, they will do all their efforts to cover them. When facing the enemy directly at night, the fixed cover position will become a living target in the eyes of the enemy machine guns and mortars.

Everyone knows this fact, but no one has any doubts about it. In the words of "bubble eyes":

Danger? When it comes to danger, is there a small team dangerous? They are not afraid. What are you afraid of when you hide in the position to cover it?

What Webster said may be closer to the facts. He said: "Look, the flame of war can not only satisfy the visual aid, but also cultivate the friendship of comrades. The friendship of comrades tested by the war is this kind of friendship that I believe in you, you believe in me, I am willing to block bullets for you, and you are willing to die for me!"

Zheng Yingqi, who was sleeping, seemed to have not heard Webster's words, but many things hidden deep in his memory appeared in his mind.

He thought: After this end, should I see them...

It was two o'clock in the night, and the 506th Regiment position seemed quiet. The brewing storm had taken shape. On the E Company's position, the team had boarded four rubber boats tied with ropes. At Spears's signal, they began to row the turbulent and river water, and row towards the other side of the water.

Except for the paddling soldiers, everyone on the rubber boat was nervously looking at the other side and ready to fire at any time. People always felt the most helpless on the water.

"That's why I don't want to be a navy. I feel insecure on the ship!" Hubler whispered.

"Then why are you a paratrooper? We don't feel safe on the plane!"

"Because other troops in the Army are too unreliable, if other troops in the Army are more reliable, I don't want to feel helpless for several hours before every battle." Hublee said again, and the others on the rubber boat laughed heartily when he heard this. Ali patted a newcomer's shoulder and said:

"Young man, look behind us. Our brothers are preparing to cover with weapons, so there is no need to be too nervous."

Zheng Yingqi laughed, saying that he was not nervous before.

I thought this smooth situation would last until they shore, but the Germans wanted to go against them. When they were more than ten meters away from the other side of the river, the Germans raised a flare, and the entire river surface suddenly turned into daylight - four rubber boats on the river surface, instantly becoming the focus of the whole world.

"Open fire!!!"

Spears was anxious, and the sound of giving orders became sharp. The moment his voice fell, gunfire sounds on the E Company's position and countless weapons began to roar, trying to use their best efforts to attract the attention of the opponent.

The Germans were also anxious. While carrying the paratroopers like a storm, several guard posts began to shoot at the rubber boats. The scattered soldiers were desperately trying to speed up, but just ten meters away from the shore, the sound of the MG42 tearing sounded.

The paratroopers on the rubber boat were also fighting back against the rubber boat, but they did not curb the German firepower. A rubber boat less than eight meters away from Zheng Yingqi was swept by a string of bullets. The two paratroopers did not even make a sound and then fell into the turbulent river.

"Accelerate! Cover! Cover!"
Chapter completed!