Band of Brothers: Part five

Crossroads

This is the last operation of Easy Company in Holland and place that Lieutenant Winters got his promotion to be a Captain. On October 17, 1944 Schoonderlogt Holland Captain Winters and Captain Nixon has called by the regiment headquarters for asking their report about operation Market Garden and operation at October 5, 1944 and that will be Captain Winters responsibility.

This action happened at October 5, 1944. The night before one soldier the member of Easy Company got hit by the Germans in the crossroads and Captain Winters makes one group to hit back. In the crossroad Captain Winters and his men saw a few of Germans shooting the regiment headquarters. Contact happens and in that action Captain Winters lost one man and calling for help from the headquarters and the reinforcement comes in the morning.

One thing that Captain Winters knows that the crossroads is nearby the ferry crossing and maybe there is a battalion of Germans. Captain Winters has no choice and prepare the plan to make an ambush. Beyond the expectation Captain Winters met two battalion of Nazi specially forces and succeed to pull them back.

After that action Captain Winters got his second promotion to be an Executive Officer of the Second Battalion and choose Lieutenant Moose Heyliger to lead Easy Company. But an accident happen that Lieutenant Moose Heyliger got shot by his own soldier and that situation makes him to stay on the hospital. Once again Easy Company has to change their leader with somebody else and Lieutenant Dike was chosen.

After that, Easy Company move out to Belgium.

Easy Company moved into the woods near Bastogne without any artillery or air support it was short of food, ammunition and lacked winter clothing.

“Farthest from your mind is the thought of falling back. In the fact, it isn’t there at all. And so you dig your hole carefully and deep, and wait.” (‘Currahee’ Scrapbook of the 506^th PIR)

To be continue……….