Fortune favours the bold

In late March 1945, the weather was excellent, with high visibility.

Approaching evening, the battle between the attacking and defending forces continued.

Whenever the Allied forces advanced up the slopes of the trenches, they would immediately be pushed back by the German forces with even fiercer firepower.

Both sides were deadlocked as night approached, and the mutual offensive and defensive actions came to a pause. Apart from occasional ambushes or artillery bombardments, there were no large-scale assaults from either side.

The German forces were also enduring, hoping for reinforcements to arrive.

Tank "Fury" calmly rolled back to its own position, and the nerves of the crew began to relax.

They climbed out of the tank, and "Wardaddy" eagerly took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket and distributed them to his comrades.

Using a silver-metallic kerosene lighter he confiscated from a German soldier during a previous battle, he lit the cigarettes for the crew.

A faint plume of smoke rose, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.

In the temporary camp, soldiers from different countries passed by in small groups, chatting with each other. Even though there were many wounded soldiers nearby receiving treatment, some might suffer and die from infected wounds in the next moment, nobody showed any pity. Their faces remained calm or carried smiles, grateful to have survived yet another battle unscathed.

After a brief rest for the night, as day broke, the Allied forces launched another offensive.

The land was once again bombarded, and infantry and tanks coordinated their operations, maintaining their usual swift pace, but they encountered resistance at the same high slope as the day before.

However, today was slightly different from yesterday as the German forces had prepared some means to counter the tanks.

The tracks of "Fury" were also damaged, surrounded by a dozen iron fists attacking it.

While ordering "Bible" and "Coon-Ass" to stay inside the tank, "Wardaddy", together with a watcher and "Gordo", charged toward the rear of the fortress blocking their firepower.

Beside them, many Allied comrades were being injured by bullets fired from above, and without "Wardaddy" giving orders, a medical team accompanying them was already trying to assist the wounded.

However, in such a crude environment and with various serious injuries, all they could do was administer morphine injections to the wounded. Whether they would survive or not depended on fate.

"Wardaddy" took cover behind the slope, intending to request support, but when he picked up the communicator, he found that it had gone silent along with its owner.

With no other options, "Wardaddy" could only lead his team in the battle.

They extended the bazooka into the enemy's position.

Then, accompanied by a warning of "careful, bomb!" they finally breached the first line of defense.

However, the battle was far from over, as the German forces had set up a second line of defense and were still pouring a hail of bullets towards them.

The leaders of several Allied teams were discussing countermeasures when "Wardaddy" quickly looked up and found that the five MG42 general-purpose machine guns hidden behind sandbags were the biggest threat. The firepower network formed by them was difficult to overcome without first eliminating them.

But bombardments were too imprecise, which was why, despite repeated shelling, the German fortifications remained unbroken.

So, following their discussions, dozens of soldiers quickly half-exposed themselves, diverting the enemy's attention, while the team's snipers took advantage of the distraction to move toward the blind spots of the enemy's firepower.

"Bible" also went along; he was the best marksman in the Fury team.

This group of soldiers fulfilled their mission, successfully creating opportunities for the snipers to reach their designated positions.

With "Bible" praying in his heart, his sniper rifle aimed at the enemy behind the sandbags.

As "Bible" pulled the trigger, gradually, the MG42s fell silent.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the larger force behind the slope launched a large-scale charge.

Later, they swept the German positions behind the slope. Just like the Germans, the Allied soldiers showed no mercy towards their enemies.

But after the battle, "Wardaddy"'s right hand, holding the gun, trembled slightly. During the charge, their team's sniper fell under a stray bullet.

The commanders achieved their strategic intent, and another section of the battlefield fell under the control of the Allied forces.

The remaining resistance of the German forces would only become weaker. Although they paid a heavy price, everything was worth it, wasn't it?

Perhaps.

The question of whether it was worth it or not was unimportant to "Wardaddy". Even though thousands of soldiers died in this operation, even though they all had their families, waiting anxiously for them to return, what saddened him the most was the sacrifice of his team's sniper.

When cleaning up the battlefield, he held the sniper's identification tag and the farewell letter he had prepared, pondering how to send them back.

Standing in the center of the battlefield, "Wardaddy" silently smoked a cigarette, and then the camera began to pan out and gradually rise.

His figure became smaller and smaller, and the audience could see the brutal nature of the entire battlefield, the fierce attacks and defenses.

Under the smoke of gunpowder, the craters and torn defenses seemed to bear witness to this battle.

Back at the camp, "Wardaddy" held an envelope containing the sniper's farewell letter and identification tag. After writing the accurate address for delivery, he entrusted someone to mail it.

On the way back, "Wardaddy" saw a group of soldiers escorting prisoners of war. Some of them seemed to be in a bad mood, cursing and occasionally beating the unarmed German prisoners in front of them.

He paid no attention to it and continued back to his team's resting place.

Not long after, someone called his name, and "Wardaddy" turned around to see one of his own commanders.

His purpose in coming was, of course, to report the casualties to "Wardaddy". His team was a well-secured tank unit in the army, and regardless, they had to maintain their numbers as much as possible. So he came to fill in the name of Norman.

"Wardaddy" could tell that Norman was a very new recruit who probably had never held a gun on the battlefield.

He felt somewhat dissatisfied because newcomers were always an unstable factor on the battlefield, and he didn't want his team to bear this burden.

"Wardaddy"'s wish was to end this war quickly and return to his hometown, but the premise was that he had to make it out of the battlefield alive.

He took the commander to a secluded place and refused outright.

But what could the commander do? He also wanted his tank unit to maintain the best combat readiness, but what if there were no men left?

They had penetrated deep into German territory, which seemed great, but there were still many guerrilla enemies inside, and even the supply of materials was often hindered, not to mention bringing in reinforcements from the rear.

The Allied forces were not completely unified; each unit operated independently, passing responsibility to others, and who had time to care about these issues?

"Wardaddy" was persuaded. Since there was no other way, he could only accept the fact that Norman would join his team.

Norman was confused. Originally a clerk, he suddenly found himself on the frontline.

In the evening, everyone sat around each other, chatting.

But Norman didn't know what to say; he was not familiar with the others and awkwardly greeted them.

The other four were seasoned veterans, completely uninterested in dealing with this talkative rookie, so they continued their own conversation.

On the second day, the troops split up and continued to expand their strategic positions from the southeast and northeast directions.

The journey was uneventful, and Norman gradually began to blend in with the Fury squad.

"Wardaddy" taught him how to be a good sniper, instructing him on how to observe directions; these were the responsibilities he would have to bear in the future.

The tank's internal view was limited, requiring an external "eye" to tell them where to fire and advance.

After three days of steady marching, they arrived at a residential area where the fighting was ongoing.

The squad's commander went to inquire and learned that this was an Allied advance unit. When they were tracking the traces of the German forces, they stumbled upon this area and immediately launched an attack.

Since there were enemies blocking their way, they would also help the friendly advance unit capture this area.

A moment before the battle, Norman felt nervous.

"Wardaddy" comforted him, saying it was a small skirmish, nothing to worry about.

In this residential area, tanks were not very effective due to too many hiding spots. After randomly firing a few shots, they found that their firepower was insufficient.

"Wardaddy" decisively ordered two men to continue firing while taking Norman and "Bible" out of the tank.

Norman hid behind cover, listening to the sound of bullets firing, watching his comrades getting injured around him, feeling lost and clueless.

The past teachings and beliefs seemed to turn into ashes at this moment.

In this most real battlefield, he felt like he was lost in a delusion.

Everything around him seemed so unfamiliar.

Not far away, a comrade fell in pain, blood flowing from his wounds, "Help... save me..."

His gaze shifted to Norman, who was crouching behind cover, but he remained unaware and just stared blankly as the comrade closed his eyes.

Norman looked around, and both sides were engaged in the battle. He adjusted the helmet on his head, seemingly finding some sense of security in it.

Why was he here? He thought.

"Take cover!" "Wardaddy" shouted loudly and pulled Norman over.

An artillery shell landed nearby, causing a violent explosion.

"Wardaddy" pulled Norman out of his daze and looked at him, gripping his weapon tightly.

Seeing his condition, "Wardaddy" pushed him to another cover. He had no time to deal with Norman; he had to continue the fight.

Rookies acting foolishly were common, which was why "Wardaddy" didn't like taking them along.

On the battlefield, a moment's distraction could lead to losing one's life.

He didn't want to send another farewell letter for his teammate.

Soon, the German soldiers on the other side were completely wiped out. From the moment they joined the battle, victory was inevitable.

It was indeed a small skirmish...