"Stem the Tide"
0730 6 June 1944, Village S of C CO. DZ
"****, I didn't think we'd need to clear this goddamn village twice," spat Bautz.
"Neither did I." The two men tried to shut out the cries of the wounded from the
second assault on the town. Ford and Johnson approached; Ford came from the fields
to the north, while Johnson came from the church. "What do you have for me, boys?"
Ford spoke up. "We found a crashed glider just to the north. Poor bastards were
shot to pieces by the Germans as they exited. Still, we got plenty of ammo from
them. With your permission, sir, I'll have the company take turns grabbing ammo."
Evans nodded, Ford went about his duties, and Johnson reported in.
"Found a ladder in one of the barns. I think we may be able to use it to get into
the church tower."
"Right. Let's take a whack at it."
Johnson motioned toward the church. "Sure thing, sir. Lead the way."
***
"Seems safe, sir," shouted the young private who had been sent up to test the ladder.
"Right, I'm coming up," replied Evans. Upon reaching the top of the bell tower,
Evans raised his binoculars to his eyes. As he looked to the south, he could see
the city of Sainte-Mère-Èglise. "Looks good, boys, I can see the city."
Evans then began scanning the terrain to see if he could tell how to get there.
He saw a large highway running north to south, and then he saw the trucks moving
down that road at high speed. With a sigh, Evans climbed down the ladder.
"Well, I gave you the good news," he said to his assembled lieutenants.
"The bad news is, the Krauts are sending a ****load of guys down the road."
"****ing great," moaned Bautz. "Well, what do we do?"
"Sir!" cried Blaes. "I got the radio working."
"Well," replied Evans, "maybe we'll get our answer here. See if you can reach
battalion. Or maybe the 505th."
Blaes fiddled with the radio for a bit, and then reported, "Sir, I've got 2/505
on the horn."
Evans picked up the radio receiver. "Captain Evans, commanding officer, Company C,
1st Battalion, 508th PIR, whom am I speaking to?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Parkinson, CO of 2/505," came the response.
"What's your position, Captain?"
"I'm holed up in a village north of Sainte-Mère-Èglise. I've got my whole company
on hand, but we've taken some casualties. I take it you all need help down there?"
"Hell yes we do, Captain. Krauts are sending a ****load of infantry down the
highway to the north. See if you can do something about it. My men are holding
the north bridge to the town, but they're badly outnumbered."
"Yes, sir. I'll do what I can. Hope to see you in a couple of hours."
"So do I, Captain. Parkinson out."
Evans assembled his company. "All right, everyone! Listen up! The Krauts are
sending a lot of guys down the highway from the north to Sainte-Mère-Èglise.
We need to help the 505th out and get into the city ourselves. We're going to
ambush the Krauts on the road, try to kill as many as we can, and then link
up with the 505th at the northern bridge to the town."
As the ment set to work preparing to move out and gathering supplies from the
glider, only the officers remained with Evans. "Sounds good, sir," said Spurgin.
"But do you know where we're going to ambush them Jerries?"
Evans smiled. "I saw an excellent spot from the church tower, actually. You'll see."
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Weekend break!
