- A rebuilt E Company ships off to France. Initially it's a welcome break, but it soon brings another impossible mission. Sparks receive high honors.
- 157th is pulled out of Italy and assigned to the 6th Army for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France. Normandy was 2 months ago. Predicted casualties are 20%. Felix has been promoted to Major and is now in charge of 3 companies, over 1000 men. Most of them have never seen combat and were in training only a few weeks ago back in the states.
The invasion force lands in St. Maxime. The beaches are deserted as the Germans left the night before.
The new men include Junior Bullock (Sam Gittins), Pop Bullock (Michael Shaeffer), Private Calhoun (Piotr Bondyra), Private Rodriguez (Óscar Casas), Private Beau Breed (Marcin Walkowski), Michigan (Finney Cassidy), Private Vacarro (Billy Breed), Private Otaktay (Tatanka Means).
The German are surrendering in huge numbers and Felix is making rapid progress inland. Every town they visit, they are greeted as Liberators and are treated to champagne. The men call it the "Champagne Campaign". Felix has the feeling that the Germans are leading them to a particular location which is their stronghold.
The Germans have fortified Neustadt, Germany. Lt. Johan Voss (Vinzenz Kiefer) is in charge of defending the town. Felix meets Major General Robert Frederick (David Elliot). Frederick awards Felix the Presidential Unit Citation for holding the via Anziate at Anzio.
Felix is ordered to hold a ridge with 2 battalions running at 50% capacity and no reserves. The only access road to the ridge is not fit to be driven on in snow. Frederick says that all reserves are tied up at Ardennes and Felix will have to find a way to get to the ridge. The ridge is on top of the Vosges mountains.
Captain Bill Lauder (Leo Suter), is in charge of the ridge, while Felix sets up his base in a abandoned villa further down the road. The Germans start artillery fire on the ridge. They plant land mines on the only road linking the ridge to the villa. Felix attempts to send a truck full of supplies to the ridge. The Germans led by Voss, ambush the truck and the men protecting it. Their communication unit is busted, and they are not able to call Felix for aid. A sniper pins the survivors down on the road and they cannot go back either.
Felix realizes that they have been flanked and asks for tanks and M8's to be sent to their position. The HQ sends up 2 armored personnel carriers as their tanks are held up. Felix orders the carriers to push through the roadblocks on the way to the ridge. Both carriers have no infantry support and are easily taken out by the Germans flanking the road.
Meanwhile the Germans attack the ridge and only artillery fire from the US holds them back. Gomez realizes that they are SS Troops. As night descends, the men on the ridge are freezing without any supplies to keep them warm.
Junior Bullock decides to run back for help and the plan is for Pop Bullock to distract the sniper with cover fire, to allow Junior to make it through the German hold on the road. The plan works and Junior makes it through. Junior reports to Felix that the truck and the carriers are by a bridge on the road pinned down by 1 sniper and 2 machine guns on the German side.
The tank finally reaches Felix, and he orders it up the road, and goes with the tank himself. Felix does not attack with the tank and only rescues his stranded men and Voss allows him to. Voss is still hidden from Felix but orders his men not to fire. The tank retreats after taking the survivors.
Major Muller (Stefan Boehm) is on charge of the offensive on the ridge. Muller asks for a 10-minute ceasefire to discuss the situation with Lauder. Muller explains that Lauder and his men are surrounded and asks them to surrender. Lauder calls Felix on the radio and asks for orders. Felix asks the men to decide if they want to surrender or not. Lauder decides to surrender, but Gomez and a few others decide to run back to their lines. Gomez succeeds in reaching Felix.
Felix is livid at Frederick as 7 company commanders, 35 platoon leaders and 500 men have been killed, wounded or captured on the mission to hold the ridge. Frederick says that he knew that the situation was hopeless but those were his orders, and he gave those orders to Felix as he was the best qualified to carry them out. Felix breaks down. Felix is ordered to pull back from the ridge location and Voss watches the entire withdrawal with a sense of satisfaction.
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