The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

76: Be So Lucky

The invasion of Foy. They'd all known it was coming. Easy had cleared the woods to the east and the west of the town, and been posted on the hill overlooking it for the better part of a month; it had always only been a matter of time before they were sent in.

Today was that day.

Although nerves swirled around in Charlie's stomach, she couldn't say she was sad to be leaving their stretch of woods in the Bois Jacques, or their other stretch of woods in Bastogne, behind. She had no real attachment to the place she'd been calling home for the past month, only resentment and disgust. The sooner they could get out of their foxholes and work to set up a field hospital in town with whatever supplies they had left, the better.

The nurses remained in their foxholes while the men prepared for battle. It had been a while since they'd had to stay behind. Ever since the Island they'd been on the front lines with the men, lucky if they even got to be a ways back, and now they were being separated again, no longer one big company but instead Easy Company and the 23rd Field Hospital on their own, attached but not together.

Charlie tried not to think about the battle and how she wouldn't be able to help pick up the pieces until afterwards. She didn't even dare to hope her favourite soldiers would make it out safe.

Instead, she thought about the letter she'd write to her parents once they were in the town, when she got set up in a house instead of an icy hole and could actually use a pencil and paper.

But she couldn't avoid acknowledging the start of the battle. The noise was too loud for that.

Somewhere close to the treeline Captain Winters was shouting something at the top of his lungs, trying desperately to be heard over gunfire and artillery.

"Sounds like it's goin' well," Mabs muttered under her breath.

Charlie gritted her teeth as she sighed. "Dike should never have been allowed to lead men into combat." For she knew without having to look, without having to be told, that Winters would be shouting about Dike crumbling under the pressure of heavy gunfire, mortars, and artillery. There was no way he would be able to give out competent orders in those conditions, not when he'd been doing his best to avoid the front line the entire time they'd been in Belgium.

The battle went on and on. Suddenly, what had once seemed like a relatively easy manoeuvre was anything but that. No longer was their success guaranteed.

Winters continued shouting, getting louder and louder, until he got so loud Charlie could make out his words. "Speirs, get yourself over here!"

Charlie's eyes flicked to Mabs. She was already looking back at her.

"Get out there and relieve Dike, and take that attack on in!" ordered Winters.

Charlie let out a breath of mixed shock and relief.

"Speirs?" Mabs asked. "As in Dog Company Speirs?"

Charlie nodded. "Must be."

Mabs whistled. "Did not expect that, but I'll take it."

After that it wasn't long before the battle died down. Charlie and Mabs sat crouched in their foxhole, waiting for the all clear, until Henry approached to let them know they were moving in.

"We won?" Mabs asked.

"Yeah," Henry said, giving them both a small, weak smile. "We won."

When they made it into the town of Foy the men were already taking prisoners and cleaning up after the battle. Charlie, Mabs, and Henry, along with Boo and Autumn, headed for where Gene and Spina were gathering the wounded and got to work cleaning them up.