Hold the Bridge by Eric Meyer

Author:Eric Meyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Swordworks Books

Chapter Four

He was still looking up at the sky when he saw the dark shape descending the steep angle, yet in total silence. A Waco glider that must’ve been released from its tow plane early, and wherever it was going, it was way off course. He shouted to the platoon to alert them to the arrival of fresh troops, but they didn’t hear. In desperation, he pointed his Garand in the air and squeezed the trigger three times. It was enough, and he saw the Sarge staring at him. He pointed toward the glider, descending fast and about to land. Logan waved an acknowledgment.

The Germans were too preoccupied with their flanking attack to notice the Waco glider until it hit the ground. They had to be American troops from the First Allied Airborne Army, probably the 508th, one of the three regiments of the 82nd. The pilot of the flimsy wood and fabric machine made a perfect belly landing in the field, and the nose tilted upward to allow the troops to emerge. A dozen soldiers spilled out, close enough for Logan to shout a warning.

The Germans opened fire, and they hit the deck, lying on the grass as bullets hit around them. But these glider-borne troops were better armed than their paratrooper cousins, including a Browning M1919, and they were fresh and eager to do battle. Inside of a minute they had the machine gun in action, and now it was the Germans’ turn to dive for cover. They’d been shocked by the abrupt arrival of the troopers from the glider, but they could still have overwhelmed the outnumbered Americans. Instead, they cut their losses and ran back to the emplacement, and now it was to the four troopers waiting on top of the dike.

“Harry, we’ll hit them as they come back. Make sure that machine gun is ready.”

“I loaded a fresh belt while we were waiting, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. They lost two or three men, but there’s still almost thirty, against four of us. I don’t call those good odds.”

“We also have our platoon and those new men, and they’re not about to give them a free ride. We have them squeezed, and we’re gonna kill the bastards.”

Right then, they heard Logan bellow an order for the men to heap more misery on the fleeing Germans. Most of the glider troops dropped to a kneeling position and joined in the fun, blazing away at the confused Germans. Still, the enemy may have stood a chance, except for the four soldiers waiting on top of the dike. Cassidy waited until they were inside one hundred yards and shouted, “Let them have it!”

The gunfight was devastating, the chatter of Harry’s machine gun, and the three Garands squirting out bullets as fast as they could pull triggers. Inside the first few seconds at least ten soldiers went down, dead or dying. The rest milled around in indecision as more bullets packed into them, but they were Panzergrenadiers, elite troops, and they didn’t hesitate for long.

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