Miller's Squad vs. Roebuck's Squad

Battle of the Month Award

It's the ultimate American battle of the Second World War as the men of Captain John H. Miller's squad, part of the 2nd Rangers Battalion, who were tasked to drive deep behind enemy lines in the aftermath of D-Day to find and rescue Private James Ryan; take on the men of Sergeant Roebuck's squad, part of the 1st Marine Division, who fought inch by inch across the Pacific theater to force their Japanese foes to ultimate defeat! It's a deadly encounter that will bring rifles, machine guns, and grenades to the forefront, but when the last spent shell casings clatter to the ground, only one squad will be the deadliest warriors!

Miller's Squad

The men of the 2nd Rangers Battalion were part of the spearhead that pushed into the beaches at Normandy during the D-Day invasions on June 6, 1944. Captain John H. Miller and his men fought savagely and secured the beachhead before taking control of the German defenses that sprawled across the limestone cliffs above. However, when the three brothers of Private James Francis Ryan turn up killed in action, orders directly from the top are issued to Miller and his men to probe through the massive Allied army (still in combat), find Ryan, and bring him home. Fighting through the French village of Neuville, his men suffer casualties before they find Ryan defending the town of Ramelle, fortifying the area to protect a strategically important bridge. They successfully delay the German advance long enough for reinforcements to come through, and save Private Ryan.

Captain Miller

“

We're not here to do the decent thing, we're here to follow fucking orders! — Captain Miller

”

Captain John H. Miller was a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania before the outbreak of the Second World War. Once the war started, he saw service in Tunisia, Italy, and finally France, as he participated in the D-Day invasion. When the orders to find Private Ryan were issued, he hand-picked members of his battalion to make up a small squad that would search out their high-value target. Fighting through Neuville, Miller detoured and ordered his men to take out a German machine gun position, where he captured and released (amongst much controversy) a German prisoner.

Miller and his men encountered Private Ryan in Ramelle, where he (along with members of the 101st Airborne Division) held off a massive German attack to prevent them from crossing a strategically vital bridge that spanned the Merderet River. He marshalled his resources long enough to hold back the German advance, but was fatally shot by the German soldier he had previously set free. 

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon
• Other

Thompson M1A1

• 20-round box magazine
• 700 rds/min
• 50 m effective range
• .45 ACP

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

60mm Mortar Shells

• Used as improvised hand grenades
• Fuse caps activated by being slammed on surface before they are thrown

"Sticky Bombs"

• Composition B explosive with makeshift fuse
• Wrapped in a sock coated in axle grease
• Sticks to surfaces

Sergeant Horvath

“

Someday we might look back on this and decide that saving Private Ryan was the one decent thing we were able to pull out of this whole godawful, shitty mess. — Sergeant Horvath

”

Sergeant Mike Horvath had served with Captain Miller in both Africa and Italy, and was an experienced soldier at the time of the D-Day landing in 1944. He helps Miller rally and marshal the troops during and after combat. After a botched attempt on a German machine gun nest that leaves one soldier dead, and after Miller releases a German prisoner, Horvath angrily confronts Private Reiben when he attempts to walk off. However, Miller defuses the situation by revealing his prewar occupation as a teacher.

During the battle of Ramelle, Horvath destroyed a Tiger tank and defeated an enemy soldier who threw a helmet at him. He continues to fight despite being shot in both legs, the back, and the chest, though he bleeds out and dies at the end of the battle.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon
• Other

M1A1 Carbine

• 15-round box magazine
• Semi-automatic
• 270 m effective range
• .30 Carbine

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

M1 Bazooka

• 2.36 in. rocket
• 140 m effective range
• Single-shot

Daniel Jackson

“

... if you was to put me and this here sniper rifle anywhere up to and including one mile of Adolf Hitler with a clear line of sight, sir... pack your bags, fellas, war's over. Amen. — Daniel Jackson

”

Private Daniel Jackson was a sniper from Tennessee who served in Miller's squad. Highly religious and a proficient marksman, Jackson would frequently pray aloud for strength, calmness, and combat efficiency while he fought. He demonstrated his skills when he neutralized an enemy machine gun position on the beaches during the D-Day assault, and killed an enemy sniper in the town of Neuville by shooting him through the scope of his own rifle. 

During the battle of Ramelle, Jackson was ordered to the top of a bell tower, where he provided covering fire and kept Captain Miller updated through the use of military sign language. He killed many German infantrymen in the streets of the town below, but his skill worked against him when he attracted the attention of a German Panzer tank, which fired into the church tower and killed him.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon

M1903 Springfield rifle (scoped)

• 5-round internal magazine (fed by stripper clip)
• 914 m effective range
• Bolt-action
• .30-06 Springfield

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

Stanley Mellish

“

Captain, sir. Sir, Ryan's dead. Captain, I have a sixth sense about these things. I know it in my bones. — Stanley Mellish

”

Private Stanley Mellish was a Jewish-American soldier from New York who served in Miller's squad during the D-Day invasion. He helps secure the beachhead and clear out the bunkers, where he finds a Hitler Youth knife and captures it for his own. After his best friend, Adrian Caparzo, is killed during fighting in Neuville, Mellish is devastated. He takes out his frustration by taunting captured German soldiers, telling them that he is a Jewish soldier. 

During the Battle of Ramelle, he (along with a 101st Airborne soldier) hole up in a house with a blown-out wall, pinning down advancing Germans with a Browning machine gun. After the .30 caliber ammo runs out, three German soldiers rush into the room. Mellish kills two, but his Airborne companion is killed and the last German engages in a vicious hand-to-hand fight with Mellish. Tearing the Hitler Youth knife from his grasp, the German soldier uses Mellish's own captured weapon to kill him, stabbing him in the heart.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon
• Other

Browning M1919

• 250-round belt
• 500 rds/min
• 1400 m maximum effective range
• .30-06 Springfield

M1 Garand

• 8-round en-bloc clip
• Semi-automatic
• 450 m effective range
• .30-06 Springfield

Hitler Youth Knife

• 11-inch blade
• Double-edged
• Stabbing weapon

Richard Reiben

“

What's the saying? "If God's on our side, who the hell could be on theirs?" — Richard Reiben

”

Private Richard Reiben was a soldier from Brooklyn who served under Miller's command during the D-Day invasion. He was forced to discard his BAR at the onset of the battle, as the heavy weight of the weapon nearly drowned him before he could get to the beaches (though he did recover another one off of a fallen soldier's body). He pushed through the beaches and past Neuville without complaint, but angrily retaliated against Captain Miller after an attack on a German machine gun nest left their medic dead and after Miller let a captured German free. The situation escalated as Reiben threatened to abandon the squad and the mission. However, he was calmed into submission when Miller suddenly revealed his prewar profession as a school teacher (as the squad had placed bets on what their captain's job had been).

During the Battle of Ramelle, Reiben helped protect Private Ryan, pushing him out of harm's way when a Tiger tank fired its main gun at them, and fought to delay the German advance. He was one of the few soldiers to survive the battle, and was deeply saddened at his captain's death.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon

Browning Automatic Rifle

• 20-round box magazine
• 500 rds/min
• 1500 m maximum effective range
• .30-06 Springfield

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

Roebuck's Squad

The soldiers of the 1st Marine Division assault the Japanese-controlled Makin Island in August 1942 on a rescue mission. Private C. Miller is rescued and, along with men under the command of Sgt. Sullivan and Cpl. Roebuck, drives the Imperial Japanese forces out of the island. Two years later, in September 1944, and now part of the 1st Marine Division, Roebuck assumes command of the squad after Sullivan is killed by a katana-wielding Japanese officer. Fighting off banzai-charging suicidal infantrymen and treacherous booby traps and ambushes in the swamps and jungles of Peleliu Island, Roebuck's squad secures Japanese anti-aircraft positions, mortar pits, and other vital strategic locations. After taking Peleliu, Roebuck's men take part in the battle of Okinawa in May 1945, where they take Shuri Castle. Here, depending on the player's actions as Miller, Roebuck can be killed by (or saved from) deceptive Japanese soldiers pretending to surrender. 

Sergeant Roebuck

“

The older guys like Miller, Sgt. Sullivan and myself, we're known as the "old breed". "Old"... we're not even out of our twenties. — Roebuck

”

Sergeant Roebuck is actually a corporal at the start of World at War's campaign, when he rescues Private Miller from Makin Island, but after Sgt. Sullivan is killed at Peleliu he is promoted and assumes control of the squad. Under Roebuck's leadership, his men successfully secure the Japanese airfield on Peleliu and advance far enough to capture mortar and anti-aircraft positions, holding off waves of vicious Japanese counterattacks that include light tanks.

At the battle of Okinawa, he successfully invades and defeats Japanese troops holed inside their bunkers, employing liberal use of flamethrowers, and clears Wana Ridge. When Roebuck and his men attack Shuri Castle, the Japanese garrison largely surrenders, although the men that Roebuck moved to disarm attempt to attack him. Depending on the player's actions, Roebuck can either be saved or end up killed by his assailants.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon
• Other

Browning Automatic Rifle

• 20-round box magazine
• 500 rds/min
• 1500 m maximum effective range
• .30-06 Springfield

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

Machete

• 18-inch blade
• Single-edged
• Chopping/hacking weapon

C. Miller

“

I've seen things that no training can prepare you for, that I know of. I look at the faces around me, and I know that nobody expected anything like this. — Miller

”

Private C. Miller is the main protagonist of the American portion of the World at War campaign. Initially a prisoner-of-war held by Japanese troops at Makin Island, he was rescued by Sullivan and Roebuck right before he was to be executed. Miller witnesses Sullivan's death and Roebuck's subsequent promotion, and under his new sergeant's leadership goes on to (almost single-handedly) clear out the Japanese defenses surrounding the airfield, employing flamethrowers to flush out the bunker complexes that line the Japanese base. He then fights off a counterattack that includes hostile tanks with a high-caliber anti-aircraft emplacement.

At the battle of Okinawa, Miller forces Japanese troops off of Wana Ridge despite being low on supplies, and clears out the underground tunnel system that fortifies the Japanese in the area. During the attack on Shuri Castle, when the Japanese forces pretend to surrender, Miller can only act fast enough to save Roebuck or Polonsky (not both). He then holds off against one final desperate enemy counterattack before friendly reinforcements arrive and secure the area.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon
• Other

Browning M1919

• 250-round belt
• 500 rds/min
• 1400 m maximum effective range
• .30-06 Springfield

M2 Flamethrower

• Two 2-gallon gasoline tanks (fuel), one nitrogen tank (propellant)
• 1/2 gallon per second
• 20 m effective range, 40 m maximum range

60mm Mortar Shells

• Used as improvised hand grenades
• Fuse caps activated by being slammed on surface before they are thrown

Polonsky

“

I'll tell you boys, the Japanese want this mountain so bad, they can have it. It's just a whole mess of stinkin' jungle and... [kills mosquito] Son of a--! ...Bugs! — Polonsky

”

Private Polonsky was a soldier from New York who served under Roebuck's command in the 1st Marine Division during the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa. He assists Miller in much of the combat during the clearing of the airfields, and expresses outrage and disgust at the Japanese practice of booby trapping American dead soldiers and downed American planes. He vents his frustration later on during the fighting at Okinawa on Wana Ridge, where he accosts a major about the lack of supplies, but continues to fight all the way through to the fighting at Shuri Castle.

After securing the area and accepting the Japanese surrender, Roebuck's men move to disarm their prisoners. However, the Japanese ambush their captors and suddenly fight back. Miller can only act quickly enough to save Polonsky or Roebuck - if Polonsky is saved, then he assists Miller in holding off the huge Japanese counterattack before they are saved by American reinforcements.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon

M1 Garand

• 8-round en-bloc clip
• Semi-automatic
• 450 m effective range
• .30-06 Springfield

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

Sullivan

“

Listen up. I want to get through the rest of this quick and clean! You hear me? Quick, and clean! — Sullivan

”

Sergeant Tom Sullivan led then-Cpl. Roebuck and the rest of his men to rescue Private Miller and the rest of the American prisoners of war held in Makin Island. He successfully ambushed the Japanese captors and freed the Americans before launching a daring counterattack that destroyed much of the Japanese garrison, decimating their forces and blowing up a huge munitions dump in the process. 

Two years later, Sgt. Sullivan leads the forces to Peleliu, where they fight their way off the beachhead through heavy machine gun and mortar fire. As they fight through the complex bunker system within which the Japanese forces make their last stand, he is killed by a Japanese soldier (presumably an officer) wielding a katana. Though his death rattles the squad, Roebuck fills in as a capable and dependable sergeant and goes on to lead his troops to success in Sullivan's honor.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon

Winchester Model 1897 Trench Gun

• 5-round tubular magazine
• Pump-action
• 20 m effective range
• 12-gauge

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

Rooker

“

Relay the message to Major Gordon, the artillery on the Point has been knocked out. — Rooker

”

Private Rooker was the radioman in Roebuck's squad that led the daring raid on Makin Island to rescue Private Miller and the other American prisoners of war held captive there. After securing the newly-freed American troops and pushing on a counterattack through the beach and into the jungle, Rooker and the rest of his squad encounter a group of Japanese bodies lying in a clearing.

Sullivan orders Rooker to radio in to another squad to ask if they had killed those Japanese, when a flare gun illuminates the night sky, blinding the Americans. The Japanese troops (who were only faking death) rise and ambush the squad, killing Rooker in the process. However, depending on if the player can react quickly enough, it is possible for Rooker to survive.

Weapons

• Primary Weapon
• Secondary Weapon

Thompson M1A1

• 20-round box magazine
• 700 rds/min
• 50 m effective range
• .45 ACP

Colt M1911A1

• 7-round box magazine
• .45 ACP

Weapons (both teams, all men)

• Melee
• Explosive

KA-BAR

• 7-inch blade
• Single-edged
• Stabbing weapon

Mk. II Frag Grenade

• 2 oz TNT
• 5-second fuse
• 1 lb. 5 oz.

X-Factors

• Teamwork
• Leadership
• Combat Experience
•  Tactics
• Logistics
• Stealth

Captain Miller's Squad: 85

Sergeant Roebuck's Squad: 81

Although Miller's squad did have a heated argument over the release of a German prisoner that led to the drawing of weapons, it was only an extreme example of how the stress of war takes its toll. In combat, Captain Miller's men work together cohesively, employing their various strengths to coordinate an active defense and neutralize the most pressing threat in a battle. Sergeant Roebuck's squad certainly sticks together and pushes forward together, but Private Miller tends to do most of the work.

Captain Miller's Squad: 90

Sergeant Roebuck's Squad: 78

Here is where Miller's squad shines. Captain Miller is a great leader to his men - so much so that they willingly follow him into a side mission during the invasion of Normandy that almost guarantees certain death. He has fought with some of his men since the fighting in North Africa two years prior, and the simple revelation that he was a teacher before the war is so important to the group that it defuses conflict between them. Sergeant Roebuck, on the other hand, had big shoes to fill after the death of Sgt. Sullivan, and while he was certainly competent at his job, he never rose to the level of a father figure as did Captain Miller.

Captain Miller's Squad: 83

Sergeant Roebuck's Squad: 89

Sergeant Roebuck's men have all sorts of combat experience, ranging from stealthy night raids to amphibious landings to all-out frontal assaults on heavily fortified enemy positions. They have gone through combat in several major battles in the Pacific theater (most notably the battle of Okinawa), all of them against the near-suicidal and fanatical Japanese soldiers. Captain Miller's men certainly faced hell on earth through their landings at D-Day and the fighting in Ramelle, but their opponents were more willing to surrender and the fighting more intermittent once they got past the beachhead.

Captain Miller's Squad: 76

Sergeant Roebuck's Squad: 78

Roebuck's men take a minor advantage as their wider range of operational experience allowed them to be more flexible with their strategies. They also had to be constantly on-edge to hold off potential Japanese ambushes or booby traps. Miller's men did organize a fantastic defense of Ramelle and held off the German attack there, but also struggled to get off the beaches at D-Day and were pinned down by machine guns and snipers very frequently.

Captain Miller's Squad: 68

Sergeant Roebuck's Squad: 49

Miller's squad was able to resupply after the initial fighting at Omaha Beach was over, but once they were sent out to find Private Ryan, they had to make do with what they had - by the time the climactic battle at Ramelle was in full swing, many of them flat-out ran out of ammo and had to share with their allies from the 101st Airborne. However, Roebuck's men often have to pick up discarded Japanese weapons in order to make do and continue fighting, and Private Polonsky goes so far as to complain directly to a major about their deplorable situation with supplies.

Captain Miller's Squad: 71

Sergeant Roebuck's Squad: 88

Roebuck's men had experience executing stealthy operations (like their night raid on Makin Island), even if it wasn't their primary means of operation. Captain Miller's men did have to keep a low profile while setting up defenses around Ramelle, but for the most part, in pitched battle, they fought head-on against an enemy who knew where they were.

Battle

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The first silver slivers of stringy raindrops streaming down the cracked glass of the old windows of the now-abandoned French cottage filtered the dying afternoon sun gray. The group of soldiers sat around the table in the small kitchen, hunched forward, forearms resting on legs, as they talked quietly and tried to manage down their C-Rations. The food was not warm, but still managed to stave off some weaker remnants of the near-permanent hunger that sets in for front-line troops during war. Captain John H. Miller stood up suddenly, his eyes far away, and slowly walked over to the window, placing his open palm against the glass and staring outside. He was tired - a fatigue that went beyond physical discomfort. He was tired of the war - of that constant strain on the nerves and the mind that makes each waking moment a struggle for sanity and survival. He was tired of bearing the burden of the lives of his men - not to say that he did not take that burden seriously or that he didn't care for the lives of his squad. Captain Miller was simply worn out and stretched to his wits' end.

Almost inaudibly, quiet enough that the still-nascent rainfall drowned out the sound, Captain Miller let his wife's name play across his lips. He felt a shiver of warmth course through his spine and caress his body like one of her hugs that he wasn't quite sure he still remembered. He felt ready to smile and ready to cry at the same time, but did neither.

"Hey, Captain!" 

Turning, Miller let his raised and extended hand fall away from the window. His handprint lingered on the glass a moment longer, before it was swallowed up by raindrops trickling through a small but noticeable leak in the pane. They splashed to the old wooden floor below and puddled in the corner.

"Private Reiben?" Miller's response was formal but friendly, as he let a knowing smile spread across his weary face. He knew the New Yorker well enough to anticipate some wisecrack or other smart-ass remark.

"Well... y'see, sir, this is just my thinking," Reiben began, a grin playing across his face in spite of himself. Noticing this, the rest of the squad loosened up, raising their heads and stifling smiles, biting their lips as they waited for Reiben to pose his query. "It's cold, it's raining, the goddamned roof is leaking. I'm not sure if we're at war with the Jerries or with the weather, here, sir."

"Go on," Miller said with mock patience, giving a slow, deliberate nod of his head as he played along.

"Well, sir, Captain Miller sir, I was just wondering... maybe if the war's against the weather after all, maybe we would have to hold our position here and show the rain that it can't just drive us out of our shelter as it pleases," Reiben continued. Mellish snorted next to him. Reiben smacked him with an offhanded flick of his wrist. "Mission for Ryan be damned, sir. I think we've found our new one."

Captain Miller let the smile take over his face. "I wouldn't go so far as to say 'mission for Ryan be damned,' now, Reiben," he replied dryly. "After all, those orders come directly from the top. But I think you do have a point - we can't just let the weather win this skirmish, can we?"

"I don't think I could rightfully say that, myself, Captain Miller, sir," chimed in Jackson with his thick Tennessee drawl.

"All right, all right. Hold position for the night, men," Captain Miller said. "We'll move out again in the morning."

***

The rain thrashed wildly against the small cottage all throughout the night, while the ferocious winds that accompanied the torrential downpour howled their might against the windows and throttled the lone poplar that stood brave against the onslaught. Flashes of light periodically punctured the darkness - lightning strikes jagged and sharp, artillery strikes dull and booming. By morning the storm had subsided and only the damp chill of the cold air was left as a reminder of the turbulent display of the night before. 

At the bottom of the hill upon which the cottage sat, low and unassuming, trooped along five American soldiers with one German prisoner. Sergeant Tom Sullivan kept the barrel of his trench gun pressed firmly into the small of the German's back, prodding harder every so often and scowling the whole while. Privates Miller and Polonsky headed the patrol up front, while Corporal Roebuck shouldered his BAR for better comfort and let his thoughts wander.

No matter how hard we work - the orders keep coming in. They're almost as relentless as the increasingly desperate enemies we encounter on our drive away from the coast. With each inch of land we manage to take from them, they dig one inch deeper into the ground they still hold. The guile of the Germans is unlike anything I've seen. It's worlds apart from the half-starved, rag-swaddled filthy Japanese soldiers we're used to fighting. Without guys like Miller and without the leadership of Sergeant Sullivan, I'm not sure how we'd have made it this far. But no amount of rain and no amount of blood and lives lost will turn us back now. Not now. We're in the home stretch. 

"Why the hell don't we just off this bastard, anyway?" complained Polonsky at the front of the group. "Just getting to him was more trouble than it was worth. And anyway, we lost - "

"That's enough," Roebuck snapped, giving a sideways glance at Sullivan, who maintained his impassive glare. "You know perfectly well that we need this commander for questioning."

"Then why are we going closer to the front lines?" demanded Polonsky, gesturing wildly at the open country before them. "The Americans are back behind us!"

"There are mobile HQ sites scattered all along this damn front," Roebuck said, grinning at the hysterical private. "Just because we have a mission doesn't mean we have to stop fighting the war." Polonsky sighed, frustrated, but held his tongue. "Why can't you be more like Miller?" Roebuck asked, teasing. "He never says much and always does what he's told."

Sullivan spoke up from the back. "Hold up, Corporal," he said. "Polonsky does have a point. I think we might be a bit off course." The men halted, Sullivan handing the prisoner over to Miller, who planted the barrel of his Browning machine gun right into the German's chest. The prisoner froze in place, his eyes darting wildly back to Sullivan. Pointing up to the cottage at the top of the hill, Sullivan muttered, "We'll take residence up there and I can get a better look at the maps then. No point in moving along when we have no real idea where the enemy is and where our own guys are."

***

Back in the cottage, Captain Miller's men were eating breakfast and enjoying a rare moment of quiet and peace. Private Jackson was sitting next to an opened window, taking watch through the detached scope of his sniper rifle. He spotted Roebuck's squad almost instantly. "Captain Miller!" he called. "We've got five foot mobiles approaching our position. Americans. Looks like they've got a Kraut with 'em, too." Captain Miller stood up and walked lazily over to the door. "Well, let's go meet 'em, then, private."

Captain Miller's Squad:

Sergeant Roebuck's Squad:

Just as Sullivan had reached the front of the cottage and was about to force the door open, Captain Miller swung it open, startling him. "Woah, woah there, buddy," the captain said calmly, lowering the barrel of the trench gun pointed at him. "We're all friends here, sergeant. What can we help you with?"

Sullivan glared distrustfully past Captain Miller and into the cottage, where the rest of the men of the 2nd Rangers Battalion had gathered behind their captain curiously. "We need this building to check up on our location," he growled.

"We'd be happy to share, now, wouldn't we, boys?" Captain Miller looked back at his men right as Sergeant Sullivan attempted to push past him into the building. Captain Miller held firm. "Hold on, now, sergeant," he said, annoyed, putting extra emphasis on the rank. "Who's this German you've got with you here?"

"You sure like to ask a lot of questions," Polonsky piped up from behind Sullivan.

"Hey! You watch your tongue, you piece of shit!" Sergeant Horvath shouted angrily. "That's your captain you're talking to! Show some respect!"

"Horvath," Captain Miller said firmly. "Look, sergeant, we'll be out of your way in just a moment. We were just taking shelter from that storm last night is all, and we're already on a --" He was cut off mid-sentence as again the sergeant attempted to push past him. Sergeant Horvath, filled with rage, pulled out his Colt M1911 and emptied the magazine into Sergeant Sullivan, also hitting and killing the German prisoner in the process. The sergeant dropped his shotgun and fell at the now-acting-Sergeant Roebuck's feet. The men of Captain Miller's squad scattered instantly, all semblance of cooperation gone, as Roebuck's squad stood stunned for the briefest of moments.

Pouring out the back door of the cottage, Captain Miller barking orders to spread out near a church at the bocage that lay at the base of the hill, the Rangers sped down the hill as bullets from Roebuck's squad chased them. Forming a makeshift line at the top of the hill, with Polonsky taking cover behind the house, the Marines continued to shoot at their foes. Private Miller bent down and set up his deployable Browning machine gun, sending rounds flying as Captain Miller's men scrambled for cover. Jackson managed to duck behind a small cluster of trees unnoticed, but as Reiben was running a hail of bullets stitched him from his hip up across his chest, dropping him.

"Rooker! Radio in for backup! Report these fuckers!" screamed Roebuck in rage as he emptied his BAR, fumbling to fit in a new magazine.

Captain Miller's men had reached the cover of the church and poured inside the old structure. "We need to extricate ourselves from this situation ASAP!" shouted the captain. "Where's Reiben and Jackson?"

"Reiben's dead, sir," said Mellish. "I'm not sure where Jackson went."

"Mellish, set up the Browning and return fire. Horvath, get up in the tower and use your Bazooka. I'll draw their fire around the corner of the building."

Scrambling up the steps of the church tower, Horvath popped up and frantically emptied his M1 clip in the general direction of Roebuck's men. Ducking back down for cover, he loaded in a fresh magazine before he took his bazooka off its straps on his back and loaded the weapon. Just as Captain Miller turned the corner of the church outside, ducking back barely in time to avoid Private Miller's barking Browning, Mellish's machine gun came to life, sending tracer rounds chewing their way back up the hill. 

"Miller!" yelled Roebuck as he stumbled back in the doorway to avoid Mellish's shots. "Get down to those trees and flank 'em! Polonsky, on me!"

Down in the trees, Jackson had climbed up tangled in the midst of the branches of an apple tree toward the front of the small grove, granting him decent visibility on the enemy squad. He had spotted Roebuck and Polonsky retreating into the cover of the house and saw Private Miller packing up his Browning to move, but turned his attention to Private Rooker, who was trying in vain to get his voice heard on the radio over the defeaning sound of close-proximity gunfire. As he centered the scope on the radioman's chest, the words of Psalm 25 came from his mouth: "Blessed be the Lord, my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." He pulled the trigger hard, the recoil bouncing into his shoulder, and he reached awkwardly over with his left hand to pull back the bolt on the rifle and chamber the new round in place. When he looked back through the scope, he found his aim had been true.

"Rooker's down!" shouted Polonsky as he leaned out the doorway, partly as a warning to Private Miller who was charging down the hill, partly out of shock and fear from the sudden death of his squadmate. Roebuck grabbed the back of Polonsky's collar and yanked him back in the cottage right before a snap was heard and the crack of a bullet slamming into the wooden frame where Polonsky's head had been moments before. "Watch yourself, kid!" Roebuck said. "Go out the front of the house and try to get a position on the side - get that damned MG out of commission!"

In the top of the church's bell tower at the base of the hill, Sergeant Horvath stood up straight with his M1 Bazooka loaded and ready to fire. Closing one eye, he scanned the horizon for the enemy figures who had retreated into the cottage. Looking to the left some, he spotted Private Miller sprinting toward Jackson's position with his M1919 held at his waist, packed up. Horvath fired the bazooka, flinching as the heat from the rocket burned hot on its way to its target. Private Miller veered sharply to the right before dropping the machine gun and rolling forward down the hill, avoiding the brunt of the blast - though the Browning machine gun was reduced to a twisted heap of scrap metal.

Private Miller reached down at his hip and pulled forward the hose of his M2 flamethrower, letting loose a short burst of the flame as he approached the grove. The fire rapidly attracted Jackson's attention, who lowered his Springfield rifle and instinctively drew his Colt pistol, firing off a shot that struck Private Miller in the upper leg. Doubling over in pain, Private Miller fired a blast of flame at the tops of the trees above Jackson, blinding the sniper with the intensity of the stream and temporarily snatching his breath. Coughing, Jackson scrambled backward furiously on his hands and feet, shooting his pistol wildly. The telltale click of the empty magazine was the last sound he heard before Miller's hellish inferno finally consumed its target, eating up the sniper's body and drowning out his shrieks of agony with the furious crackling whoosh of the combustible material. Private Miller stumbled back, lowering the hose, and clamped a hand firmly over his leg, trying to stem the bleeding.

"Captain Miller, sir! Jackson's down!" shouted Horvath from the top of the tower right as he had finished loading another rocket into the bazooka.

"Mellish, take your M1 and get up that hill!" Captain Miller yelled, leaning out from the side of the church. "I'll cover you! Go! Go!"

Captain Miller stepped out into the open and rattled off a burst of fire from his Thompson, aimed at the top of the hill. Mellish stood up and ran, head tucked in and arms flailing furiously as he went forward, moving up toward the cottage. Horvath fired off a rocket toward the building. The warhead shattered a window and burst apart inside, sending a small but concentrated explosion that blew out the glass on the rest of the windows inside. "If someone was in there, Captain," said Horvath, "they're not there any more."

Roebuck was thrown to the floor from the force of the explosion, but fortunately for him, it had been on the opposite side of the cottage as him. Still, the loud noise left him temporarily deafened, his ears ringing and his head spinning as he pushed himself back to his feet. At that moment, the door flew open and Mellish walked in, pointing his rifle right at Roebuck's face. Raising his hands in surrender, Roebuck waited for the infantryman to approach him and stick the muzzle of the rifle in his face before he swung his arms down, grabbed the barrel of the M1, and pull himself to the side of the gun as Mellish fired it frantically in a panic. Bringing an elbow across the length of the weapon and into his opponent's face, Roebuck proceeded to wrench the firearm from Mellish's grasp and smash the butt of the rifle into his stomach, flooring him. Mellish had time to yell only once before Roebuck followed up with a series of vicious blows to the skull with the hard wooden stock of the rifle. Breathing heavily and staring in horror at the carnage he had inflicted, Roebuck dropped Mellish's weapon, picked up his BAR, and peeked his head back out the window.

At that moment, Private Polonsky appeared around the side of the cottage and fired his Garand at Horvath up in the church tower. The first shot went high, whining off the stone masonry surrounding the sergeant. Horvath ducked before he returned fire with his M1. With little cover but an excellent vantage point, Horvath gambled and struggled to make a proper aim while Polonsky nervously emptied his magazine in Horvath's direction. Polonsky turned the corner of the house and took a deep breath, steadying the shaking in his legs before he jammed in a new clip and swung back around to fire. It was too late - Horvath's aim was true and one single round smashed into Polonsky's upper chest, puncturing his lung and sending blood fountaining outward. The private dropped his weapon and fell to a knee before he tumbled forward, collapsing in a heap against the wall of the house.

Captain Miller had started to move forward under Horvath's covering fire, and had by this point reached the cottage wall, pressing himself flat against the building as he edged closer to one of the shattered windows. He couldn't hear anybody inside the house, but he had seen Mellish enter and wasn't sure whether or not his soldier had survived the encounter. Glancing down the hill, he noticed Private Miller sprinting inside the church and disappearing into the doorway within. "Mike!" Captain Miller shouted. "Mike! Watch your -"

With a grunt, Sergeant Roebuck jumped forward through the window and tackled Captain Miller to the ground, his machete drawn and ready to swing downward into his opponent's chest. Captain Miller reached up and caught Roebuck's wrist, holding the blade up high and struggling to keep Roebuck from bringing the blade down. At the same time, he reached his free hand across his chest to his sheath, where he tore out his KA-BAR moments before Roebuck pinned his hand down to the grass with his free hand. The two men wordlessly pushed, eyes narrowing and teeth gritting in exertion, as they desperately tried to overpower the other.

Private Miller had seen Sergeant Horvath at the top of the tower, and had his KA-BAR unsheathed, ready to get the drop on his unsuspecting foe as he clambered up the stairs. As Horvath kept his aim fast on the struggling squad leaders near the cottage, waiting for a chance to take a shot at Roebuck if given the opportunity, Private Miller moved forward, grabbed Horvath's shoulder, and spun him around, plunging the knife deep into his chest. Grunting in pain, Horvath reached out his hands and grabbed Private Miller by the collar, shaking him furiously before slamming him against the wall. As Private Miller tightened his grip on the handle of the knife now embedded into Horvath's body, the sergeant took a step back, still gripping his foe, before losing his balance and teetering over the edge of the railing at the top of the tower. Horvath lowered one hand and yanked out the pin on one of the grenades on his belt. Miller tried to step back and force his enemy to release him, but it was too late. Both men twisted through the air on their way to the ground - Sergeant Horvath landed on Private Miller, and the knife.

A massive explosion ripped through the air as Horvath's grenade blasted Private Miller's flamethrower. Roebuck looked for half a second at the blast. Captain Miller flinched before he bit down on Roebuck's hand, rolled up hard and knocked the machete out of his opponent's hand. Giving Roebuck no chance for a recovery, Miller swung his KA-BAR up and jammed it right into Roebuck's throat. The two men locked eyes, Roebuck's glare blazing with a fury that died with him. He gurgled blood before he went limp, sinking down into the grass. Captain Miller fell back, leaving the knife embedded in Roebuck's neck. His hands were soaked in dirt and blood - his eyes rolled wild like a man unhinged. A dry, choking sob burst from his chest as he crawled, uncomprehendingly, away from Roebuck's body and over to the empty doorway where, just a few short hours before, his men had relaxed and talked quietly as they enjoyed a moment of peace.

Miller pushed himself up against the wooden wall of the cottage and wept. The great, heaving sobs drained him of energy, leaving him only able to moan quietly, curled up and racked with pain. His squad was dead. It was the worst blue-on-blue incident he had heard of yet - and he was a participant. With the horrors of war now permanent residents of his mind and his soul wrenched into a formless, guilt-stricken puddle of pain, the Second World War had claimed another victim.

Most cruelly still, it had left this one alive.

Expert's Opinion

Captain Miller's squad had the deciding advantages of teamwork and leadership, meaning they would work better together than Roebuck's squad would, and that Captain Miller would hold them together better than Sergeant Roebuck could ever hope to. While Private Miller was certainly a one-man army in his own right, and undeniably the single most deadly individual in the fight, the precision brought by Jackson's sniper and the greater operational flexibility of Mellish's and Reiben's loadouts complemented Miller's squad better. These factors all combined together to help take Captain Miller's squad to victory.