On October 28, the 101st Division’s area of responsibility was enlarged. The 506th shifted to the east on the river ban, just opposite Arnhem. Easy was in the line in the vicinity of the village of Driel, which put the company in the easternmost tip of the Allied advance toward Germany. It was replacing a British unit.
As the company moved into its new positions, Sergeant Lipton and battalion X.O. Winters talked with the British commander. He said they could see Germans moving around and digging in along the railroad track to the east. (Easy was still on the right flank of the 506th, at Driel; that put it at the point where the line bent at an acute angle, meaning one platoon faced north, another east, with the third in reserve.)
”Well, when you see them, why don’t you fire on them?” Winters asked.
”Because when we fire on them, they just fire back.”
Winters and Lipton looked at each other in disbelief.
Source:
Ambrose, Stephen Edward. “The Island.” Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004. 160. Print.
Further Reading:
E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division / “Screaming Eagles”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_Company,_506th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)
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