Peleliu is the battle that really set in stone for good the Marines’ reputation as being the most ferocious fighting force on the planet. It was the drastic shift in tactics by the Japanese to defense in depth and fighting battles of attrition and quite literally the bleeding of American forces dry. Peleliu was the first time they encountered this tactic and had to adjust on the fly. The lack of intelligence on the islands defenses made it even worse. Marine Riflemen often had to take on caves and bunkers by fire teams (only 4 to 5 Marines) at a time because the terrain was so rugged and steel doors were keeping artillery pieces concealed inside the caves. It was the perfect island defense system. Every position on the ridges was also mutually supported by other elevated defensive positions making it suicide to go up to the caves to clear them out. But it was the only way it could be done to pry out all 10,000 defenders. 10,900 defenders and only 19 surrendered. Roughly 20,000 men on a dot only 6 miles long and 2 miles wide trying to kill each other and survive the best they could. Burgin said it all when he said “nightmare”. Something had to have been unimaginably horrific for a WWII Grunt Marine to call it a nightmare. Semper Fi legends. 🇺🇸 great reactions!!
The only thing Peleliu accomplished was the bloodletting of probably the finest and best trained infantry division in the Pacific, if not the world, at that time. Mainly because the overall commander of the operation outright refused to replace them with an Army division because of inter-service rivalries, even after the 1st had lost its combat effectiveness due to the outrageous casualties they suffered.
@@philipcoggins9512yup…and MacArthur probably could’ve been charged with a war crime for the decision to go through the operation alone. The slaughter was unjustified and only the top brass “needed” to keep the fight going to the very end. Insanity
It was the WW1 Battle of Belleau Woods that made the name for the US Marine Corps. During WW2 it was all the battles they fought but it was the Battle of Iwo Jima that solidified their reputation the most.
@@Patrick-xv6qv I agree Belleau Wood is the battle that earned us, particularly my unit, 3/6, the nickname Devil Dog, but Peleliu was the most vicious battle that Marines essentially went into blind and still fought the worst aspects of infantry fighting all in one month (landing on a heavily defended beachhead while outnumbered, having to rush across hundreds of yards of open terrain in the open, and then spend the next 27 days in coral ridges where reinforcements were non existent (they only had the same exact Marine units which invaded, from the 1stMarDiv, one slightly less tired than the one coming out of the ridges to merely relieve them from time to time for a short period) against over 500 concealed and mutually supported caves and tunnel systems. The reputation as the most ferocious fighters was for sure solidified on Peleliu. Iwo Jima was a much larger operation with way more manpower and lessons taken from the Battle of Peleliu and applied there. All three battles very fierce and terrible, but the way in which Peleliu had to be fought for and with such poor intel going in along with the way the fighting played out as I mentioned previously really set in stone the reputation as “okay these Marines can for sure do anything they say they will”. Semper Fi!
"As I looked at the stains on the coral, I recalled some of the eloquent phrases of politicians and newsman about how 'gallant' it is for a man to 'shed is blood for his country' and 'to give his life's blood as a sacrifice'... and so on. The words seemed so ridicolous. Only the flies benefited." (Eugene "Sledgehammer" Bondurant Sledge - With The Old Breed)
"If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,- My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori." - Wilfred Owen
Fun fact, the Japanese tank (Type 95 Ha-Go) has a Mitsubishi engine, the entire tank (maybe minus the guns) was probably produced by Mitsubishi as well, as well as other tanks, lots of Japanese planes were also Mitsubishi.
@@hound3000Mitsubishi has been making the JASDF’s F-15Js under license for years. Maybe they’ll have a hand in their F-35s too. They haven’t exactly been out of the Aviation Game all this time.
my wife and i watch all of the war movies and shows you have done you inspired her to watch all of the band of brothers and the pacific witch has been a awesome bonding experience for us with me being a military history buff. from a fan thank you for what you do. cant wait for ep 6. ps you gave me a birthday gift by releasing this today so thanks for that to ❤❤
For The Pacific, Peleliu Airfield battle was filmed behind the YouYang hills south west of Melbourne Australia. I worked as an extra on the set in 2007. When the extras playing the marines at the airfield battle, did not follow instructions, for the next take, the Military advisor on the set, the well known Dale Dye gathered them in a circle and said to them prior to doing the take again - 'Now go back in there and unf**k what you just f**ked up'. On the same set, whilst setting up both sides for the film shot of the battle on the airstrip, Dale Dye walked over to talk to the driver of the M4 Sherman tank (it was actually a real M3 wartime Grant tank, disguised to look like an M4), Dye said, 'I want you to back up there about ten metres' The driver replied - 'I will run over those saplings'. Dye replied - 'Tree hugging, mother f**king, lesbian loving Bull Shit, just back the f**k up'. The driver did as he was told. In this battle, scratch built Japanese Type 95 light tanks were used. Built from sheet metal, not armour plate, engine fitted was a 1970s ford V8 302 CI, auto transmission from a Ford F100, diffs and final drives from War time US made Marmion Harrington light tanks, these items were in new condition still inside their wartime wood crates). Rivets on the hull and turret were made of plastic and glued on. Track was authentic copy - made at a foundry at Goulburn NSW. There were supposed to be three tanks, but one broke down before the shoot, so only two jap tanks in the Peleliu airfield battle. One of the jap tanks is now at what was the Melbourne Tank Museum as is the M4 mock up modified M3 Grant. The Amtrak in the movie is pretty much original and is also now located at the old Melb Tank Museum. The flames eminating from the machine guns in the jap tanks were from modern shorty M16 carbines (M4A1) fired by a dude inside. What looks like tank MGs are actually hollow tubes to allow the barrel of the M4 to be poked through and fire blanks producing flame. Very interesting to watch a film being made.
A nice detail people miss is Runner calling Leckie cobber when he comes back to the unit at the start. Cobber is Australian slang term for mate or friend and shows just how long the Marines spent in Australia, long enough to pick up the local slang which stuck with them.
@@genghisgalahad8465 Leckie nicknamed Runner Old Faithful as a joke when they were on Guadalcanal and Runners name for Leckie in reply was Peaches. It wasn't till after their time in Australia that Runner starts calling Lekie cobber, which he does multiple times. A great way of showing how long they were in Australia for without ever having any of the characters discuss it, which to me is what is fantastic about both this and Band of Brothers. The small details.
This series doesn’t get the credit it deserved. It shows just how horrific the fighting in the pacific was. Semper fi to all the marines that have fought then and through to now and in the future. Hero’s 1 and all
The scene with them washing out the barrels came into play in the real story - they didn't do the greatest job cleaning out all the rust and oil, and the barrels ending up being used for drinking water - so as thirsty as they all were, when they finally got water it was undrinkable as it was full of oil and rust particles.
These next few episodes are going to be some of the absolute hardest to get through, but some incredible acting. Eugene's journey is very impactful. Loving your reactions.
Ack Ack Haldane grew up a few streets away from my dad's parents. Basically the same neighborhood my family grew up in. It is about 5mins from my house. Nice home. Sadly there is no marker at the home signifying he grew up there. I think only a town baseball field is named after him.
That tank was a Type 95 Ha-Go. It was a light tank developed by Mitsubishi. It had a 37mm gun and interestingly the turret was not hydraulically activated. The crew member inside the turret had to throw their weight around to get it to turn. Besides Mitsubishi it included parts from other companies such as Niigata Tekkoshō, Dowa Jido Sho, Sagami Arsenal, Kokura Rikugu, Jiohei Sho and Ihesil
The turret was hand-cranked. Not whatever bullshit you said. The gun could be slightly moved by hand independent of the turret rotation, but not much. But it was generally just a horrible fucking tank and was outclassed by even contemporaries of the day. Even standard infantry rifles could penetrate its armor in some places, and it saw the most of its usefulness in Chine, against forced that couldn't counter it unless they had a stolen Japanese tank themselves or the odd anti-tank weapon.
@@Nyx_2142 I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no “hand crank” on the Type 95. The tank had what was known as a loose rotating turret. If you were standing outside of one you could swing the turret around. Its gun could also move independently of the turret. Anyways, the turret was not balanced as it had no bustle on the back. If you were on a slope it would swing over to one side.
The old sergeant doing bayonet drills was a veteran of WWI, where that skill was still used with some frequency. The fact that he was constantly training with it shows his understanding of how gruesome and hard-fought combat is, and how much one's life can depend on every little thing.
No spoilers but I think you're really going to enjoy Snafu's arc. And this is where the intensity of the violence and miserable conditions only keeps ramping up episode by episode. Also that tank might actually be a Mistubishi, they made the famous Zero fighter and some tanks as well.
When Snafu reprimanded Sledge for removing his boots it was for Sledges own good . The island consisted of coral rock formations that would cut a persons feet to ribbons in just a few yards, so if the Japanese attacked Sledge would have had a difficult time retreating or even seeking cover.
My Grandpa fought in the Pacific. He also got an angel over him because he got hit under the arm with a ricochet when he should have been dead. I wish I had gotten to know him.
My grandfather was at Peleliu. He never spoke about it, but after he died, my dad found a box of Japanese letters and photos, along with a Japanese flag with writing on it.
One thing most people don't understand is the significance of how the marines leave the ship on a landing. In the first episode when Lecky and his buddies went over the side of the ship that tells you that they were not the first wave where as Eugene's left from the belly of the ship. This denotes that they were the first wave.
Not really that so much as showing how much our tactics and equipment advanced over the course of the war. Early on we didn't have significant amounts of LST's and amphibious assault vehicles so troops were mainly going ship to shore in Higgins boats. By 1944 we had these in mass so we could more effectively get marines ashore. Hence why Lecky went ashore on a Higgins in 1942 where as Eugene was on a amtrac in 44.
One of the truly tragic things is that the airfield at Peleliu would not play any significant role in the rest of the war. Adm. Bull Halsey wanted to have the entire operation cancelled, but he was overruled by Adm. Nimitz. Roughly 1,300 KIA or died of their wounds and 5,300 wounded, for an island that didn't need to be taken.
I like your pet lion cub. Pacific was a different war than in Europe as you said it. great reaction. that was a rough island to take, japanese were fanatics.
Absolutely! I read his book recently and it was fascinating seeing how well the show did at condensing and telling the story in a cohesive way. While they switched around a few things in order of events at times, and did composite characters at times (necessary for viewer cohesion) it did absolutely stunning. So many times reading it I immediately pictured the scene from the book. Rare that a historical show is that respectful. But Spielberg and Hanks outdid themselves with this and BoB. I haven't seen Masters of the Air so I can't say how it stacks up. But Pacific and BoB are genuine masterpieces.
"its like he has angels surrounding him" In the book written by Eugene Sledge (With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa), he actually describes a moment after his first experiences with war, where he says he heard a voice speak to him saying "You will survive the war" that he claims no one around him heard, and he believed to be the voice of God.
The reason things seem to be changing, is because this series is based on memoires from 2 different marines. you get elements from both throughout, but the first half is primarily centered on one of the books, and the second half is primarily centered on the other book. Episode 5 and episode 6 act as the transition, these two episodes are divided about 50/50 between the 2 books.
8:01: there’s a lot of accuracies throughout this series… but imo, little moments like this are my favorite. In really life, and repeated in many works of fiction, you never have your gun pointed anywhere else than down range on the firing line, especially with whoever is present filling the role that mirrors the Gunnery SGT here(he’s being kind here, in reality, that LT would get a real “talking to”). That LT flagged or had his gun pointed in the direction of everyone that was in that pointed direction(marines on the firing line, marines in hooches, other military and civilian support staff, etc.) with any firearm, thats a dangerous action, but especially with what that LT and a lot of WW2 US Marine officers would carry (M1911A1/ .45 caliber-which is like blasting a deep gashing hole in anything) accidental discharge or misfire, or catastrophic failure (legit factory flaw in gun, act of god, etc.), can be lethal to anyone on the opposite end of the barrel-- and to add insult to injury, it’s a LT who should definitely know better, whose whole job is to NOT be that stupid(although depending LT’s can be just as stupid as anyone else under their command, but I digress).
Gunnery Sergeants are certainly tested on the field. Rising up in ranks and officer commissions can be attained outside of combat or through military school and not necessarily reflect hardened combat, no? Best example is, pardon me, the commissioned officer character played by Colin Hanks in BoB who had no combat experience and graduated on D-Day from West Point. So he was bumped up in rank. Thats my best guess as to the firearm dumbness and lack of awareness of this LT.
Unfortunately Gibson was not ok in the end. He was sent back to the us and hanged ( they left out the part that he had shot 2 other guys who tried to stop him before he tried to kill himself)
I'm dating myself here, but both my grandfathers fought in WW2. One in the Pacific, the other in Europe. When you personally know people who fought in the war it gets under the skin to hear someone refer to the tanks that were trying to kill my relative and his fellow soldiers cute. It does rankle. That "cute" tank was a death machine that resulted in the loss of life of American soldiers.
It's simply the odd apeaeance what with the behemoths we've gotten used to in Fury, BoB, and films set in the European theatre. It didn't seem like the intent was to call it cute, simply It's appearance versus what we have come to know are gritty tanks. But yeah, WWII I keep getting astounded how "vintage" a lot of it is.
Oh, stop it! The Japanese type 95 was a clunky light tank which was designed in the 1930's. It was small and ungainly like a series of cans stacked up. That she said it was "cute" is no sin, so cut the crap outrage. My father and uncles were in WWII, youngster.
My grandfather was in the navy in ww2. His brother was a marine as well. Both served in the pacific. You know what they called that japanese tank? A cute little POS. Get over yourself man. It's just a word.
You commented on the sand in the weapon thing. I got a bunch of sand in the breach mechanism of my tank once and we didn't notice it until we chambered a round. Had a hell of a time getting the breach back open and cleaning all that out. Good times...
18:10 "It's easy for me to sit here and judge him." With that simple phrase, you have already set yourself far above the average TH-cam commenter who is happy to sit in ignorant judgement on nearly everyone and everything. 👍
From Eugene's book: "Everything my life had been before and has been after pales in the light of that awesome moment when my amtrac started in amid a thunderous bombardment toward the flaming, smoke-shrouded beach for the assault on Peleliu". 10:45 The best scene imo because as sledge says, this is the moment he grew up.
It is so interesting, Ames, that you called the Japanese tank 'zippy.' Lots of countries in the early 1930s had tanks built for quick movement with a main gun firing a 37mm to 40mm projectile. As soon as the war started in 1939, nations looked for ways to put bigger main guns on their tanks, and to make the armor thick enough to withstand hits from the original 37mm to 40mm projectiles, the point being that they wanted to be able to hit the enemy with a bigger 'bullet' from a longer range than the enemy would be able to shoot back. The exception was the Japanese, because, from their point of view, the REAL war was the one they had been fighting in China since 1931. (The war against the United States was one the Japanese did not expect to fight, and as such, they saw it as a distraction from their conquest of Chinese territory.) Since the Chinese could not manufacture armored vehicles, the Japanese saw no need to make their tanks any differently from how they had done in the early 1930s. American tanks had 75mm main guns, and with these, they could destroy any Japanese tank they encountered.
Nice point about the lack of armoured force in China. I also think because Japan adopted the "South strategy" - to take Southeast Asia and oil fields in the Dutch East Indies. No point in having a strong tank model without a strong navy to get them there. So priority went to manufacturing ships and aircrafts that were essential to keeping sealines open, especially when the losses in those areas started to pile up after US entered the war.
Apparently, the reason that Japanese tank was so maneuverable because it was designed to be an anti-personnel tank. It had armour strong enough to defend against light weaponry only. When it come to fighting other tanks, it was obviously useless as it got easily destroyed by another tank.
Calling a Ha-Go maneuverable is just kind a hilarious to read. And its armor wasn't as resistant as you state, as the British found that even standard infantry rifles could penetrate the armor around the engine, and heavier machineguns could penetrate even the thickest parts of the armor. They faired far better against the Chinese who had little to nothing in the way of anti-tank weaponry or even tanks, aside from captured Japanese tanks and what little donations they got elsewhere. Even contemporaries like the M2 and M3 Stuart were considered superior in every way, while the Sherman completely outclassed it. Hell, even the M3 Lee/Grant were considered very effective against it long after they were hopelessly obsolete in Europe.
@@Nyx_2142 Good point, but I did say the Japanese tank was useless against the American tank. If I remember correctly, the American tank is a Sherman and it is a medium sized tank with better armour and a cannon while Japanese tank had 2 machine gun (I think).
the worst part about the Battle of Peleliu besides how vicious and deadly it was was the fact the they faought it under the pretense that it was because Gen. McCarthur said he needed that island for his invasion of the Philippines and in the end he never used it at all. Therefore this battle that was a meat grinder for the US Marines and Japanese never had or should have happened. One ego driven general caused this destruction for nothing. So sad
Mentioning Fury the difference with tanks here was that the islands were hard to maneuver big vehicles on so the Japanese used smaller faster tanks to mainly overwhelm infantry and the US tanks were bigger and tougher so it was the opposite type of battle from Europe where Germany could use massive tanks
Yes, Ames buckle up. As horrific as this episode was, it's just a warm-up for the next two episodes. I strongly suggest you watch 6 & 7 back to back in one sitting. ✌️❤️
I just finished reading a book by Phillips about all this. Leckie wrote some good ones on the Pacific Theater (and a good book on the American Revolution), one of which really explains well about that part where Sledge, SNAFU and (IIRC) Leyden were clearing out that Japanese bunker.
when you stop and think about it how arbitrary it is, step right live, left die. It I amazing anyone survived, these me are the true definition of heroes.
Yes the Type 95 Ha-Go Light Tank was in fact built by Mitsubishi, by this point they were ten years old and hopelessly outclassed by M-3 Grant/Lee Medium Tanks, and utterly annhilated by M-4 Shermans as seen in this episode. They were also vulnerable to Mortars and even M-1 Garandes(the rifles) could penetrate the Engine housing. The Actor who plays Sledge was little Timmy in the Original Jurassic Park Movie.
Letters from Iwo Jima is a must watch also :) Has Ken Watanabe from Last Samurai. You get to see the Japanese side. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Phenomenal film.
The thing they never mentioned was the Coconut crabs, if you were wounded and couldn't get up they would swarm at night rip you apart and eat you. In fact that's what happened to Amelia Earhart after her plane crashed
Fun Fact: Emily Rossum (Fiona from Shameless) was so impressed by Rami Maleks acting in this series... she convinced her husband Sam Esmail (Creator of Mr. Robot) to cast him as Mr Robot in the show Mr Robot. Mr. Robots critical acclaim is what put Rami into the mainstream A-lister actor teir. That got him his Freddie Mercury role. Which got him his Oscar.
I really appreciate that you are continuing with this series, even knowing that, SPOILER ALERT, the brutality only gets worse from here. The true story of the atrocity and brutality on BOTH sides needs to be brought to attention of people today. War crimes were routinely committed by both sides on the regular. That the men were able to return and, for the most part, reintegrate into society speaks volumes. The title of "The Greatest Generation" somehow pales when you realize what these young men faced in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
That small tank was called a Ha-Go. (Actual Japanese designation) Lightly armored and very light in weight for a tank. There are actual photos of a captured Ha Go strapped to the back of an American Sherman on Tarawa after that bloody battle. The Sherman itself was only a medium tank.
In Sledge's book "With the Old Breed" he goes into depth of the horror of watching Marines go "souvenir hunting" on the Japanese dead bodies. This show will shock you to the core on what people will do to each other.
I read ‘With the Old Breed’ not long after watching this for the first time- The scene with the rocks being thrown into the skull of the Japanese machine gunner, is, indeed, in the book. It wasn’t a gratuitous filming decision, it was straight from the memories of JB Sledge. Just insane. *Edit: whoops, I might be an episode early.
This landing is two years after that first one, and the opposite. Guadalcanal was taken by surprise, but not Peleliu. The Japanese kept reinforcing Guadalcanal, so it took 6 months, the US navy almost lost the war there, defending and reinforcing the initial landing.
You sent me a message.A couple of weeks ago, but I don't know how to do all this technology stuff.So that's why I wasn't able to get in touch with you.I think you're doing a great, don't know How to suggest movies?But the movie the outpost is one of the best war movies i've ever seen
The Japanese tank in question looked like a Mitsubishi Type 95 Ha-Go. It was a light tank with a 3 man crew. It was effective against infantry, but not US tanks. The 37mm main gun could not penetrate US armor.
The guys in Europe went to places like London & Paris, and slept indoors occasionally as a rest from combat. In just one contrast, some Marines were practically stunned to see a woman at all.
what this episode doesnt show is when they get resupplied with water finally, according to eugene sledge in his book the water they were supplied with was contaminated with oil. they even shipped the water in the exact drums that supplied the oil on pavuvu. they never figured out though if it was the same barrels they refused to scrub the oil out of.
That shot of the transport ship opening is one of my favorite shots in the whole series!
That ship was an LST, My dad was a gunners mate on one.
Everyone’s reaction is the same too
“Oh my god I’m looking at hell on earth”
We’ve reached the part where the fighting gets turned up to 11/10 intensity….And then it gets more intense…
The airstrip and the hill...........It's gonna get bad.
Just like the actual War in the Pacific. 😱
Episode 9
And then she stops uploading them....
I think it might have gotten too hard for her finish. The First Marine division had a hard time on Okinawa
Peleliu is the battle that really set in stone for good the Marines’ reputation as being the most ferocious fighting force on the planet. It was the drastic shift in tactics by the Japanese to defense in depth and fighting battles of attrition and quite literally the bleeding of American forces dry. Peleliu was the first time they encountered this tactic and had to adjust on the fly. The lack of intelligence on the islands defenses made it even worse. Marine Riflemen often had to take on caves and bunkers by fire teams (only 4 to 5 Marines) at a time because the terrain was so rugged and steel doors were keeping artillery pieces concealed inside the caves. It was the perfect island defense system. Every position on the ridges was also mutually supported by other elevated defensive positions making it suicide to go up to the caves to clear them out. But it was the only way it could be done to pry out all 10,000 defenders. 10,900 defenders and only 19 surrendered. Roughly 20,000 men on a dot only 6 miles long and 2 miles wide trying to kill each other and survive the best they could. Burgin said it all when he said “nightmare”. Something had to have been unimaginably horrific for a WWII Grunt Marine to call it a nightmare. Semper Fi legends. 🇺🇸 great reactions!!
The only thing Peleliu accomplished was the bloodletting of probably the finest and best trained infantry division in the Pacific, if not the world, at that time. Mainly because the overall commander of the operation outright refused to replace them with an Army division because of inter-service rivalries, even after the 1st had lost its combat effectiveness due to the outrageous casualties they suffered.
@@philipcoggins9512yup…and MacArthur probably could’ve been charged with a war crime for the decision to go through the operation alone. The slaughter was unjustified and only the top brass “needed” to keep the fight going to the very end. Insanity
It was the WW1 Battle of Belleau Woods that made the name for the US Marine Corps. During WW2 it was all the battles they fought but it was the Battle of Iwo Jima that solidified their reputation the most.
@@Patrick-xv6qv I agree Belleau Wood is the battle that earned us, particularly my unit, 3/6, the nickname Devil Dog, but Peleliu was the most vicious battle that Marines essentially went into blind and still fought the worst aspects of infantry fighting all in one month (landing on a heavily defended beachhead while outnumbered, having to rush across hundreds of yards of open terrain in the open, and then spend the next 27 days in coral ridges where reinforcements were non existent (they only had the same exact Marine units which invaded, from the 1stMarDiv, one slightly less tired than the one coming out of the ridges to merely relieve them from time to time for a short period) against over 500 concealed and mutually supported caves and tunnel systems. The reputation as the most ferocious fighters was for sure solidified on Peleliu. Iwo Jima was a much larger operation with way more manpower and lessons taken from the Battle of Peleliu and applied there. All three battles very fierce and terrible, but the way in which Peleliu had to be fought for and with such poor intel going in along with the way the fighting played out as I mentioned previously really set in stone the reputation as “okay these Marines can for sure do anything they say they will”. Semper Fi!
Guys, guys. The Marine Corps put itself on the map with the Battle of Derna, let's be real here.
"As I looked at the stains on the coral, I recalled some of the eloquent phrases of politicians and newsman about how 'gallant' it is for a man to 'shed is blood for his country' and 'to give his life's blood as a sacrifice'... and so on.
The words seemed so ridicolous. Only the flies benefited." (Eugene "Sledgehammer" Bondurant Sledge - With The Old Breed)
They have completed the series, thankfully! So no spoilers!
That book should be required reading for all American high school students. It paints an unflinching picture of the reality of war.
"If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori." - Wilfred Owen
Best combat memoir I’ve ever read
"...only the flies profited."
Fun fact, the Japanese tank (Type 95 Ha-Go) has a Mitsubishi engine, the entire tank (maybe minus the guns) was probably produced by Mitsubishi as well, as well as other tanks, lots of Japanese planes were also Mitsubishi.
And decades later Chrysler engines and Mitsubishi engines would be made side by side in the same factory
Nakajima that built planes for the empire of Japan turned into the car company Subaru after the war.
And I'm not surprised that Mitsubishi is trying to come back to the aviation industry after stopping production for so many years.
@@hound3000Mitsubishi has been making the JASDF’s F-15Js under license for years. Maybe they’ll have a hand in their F-35s too. They haven’t exactly been out of the Aviation Game all this time.
@@Ryan_Christopher I stand corrected.
The actor playing Sledge, played the boy in the original Jurassic Park, and played Decon with Remi in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Decon...and Deacon was Eugene Sledge's dog's name. No cap.
Leckie was actually a devout Catholic all through his life, this miniseries didn't quite deal with that accurately.
Yeah, in his book (been forever since I read it) he talks about how the war actually strengthened his faith and brought him closer to Jesus.
my wife and i watch all of the war movies and shows you have done you inspired her to watch all of the band of brothers and the pacific witch has been a awesome bonding experience for us with me being a military history buff. from a fan thank you for what you do. cant wait for ep 6. ps you gave me a birthday gift by releasing this today so thanks for that to ❤❤
HBD!
Honestly these shows changed my life! Glad she’s watching them with you!
@@holddowna thank you so much. sending love from a fellow Canadian
For The Pacific, Peleliu Airfield battle was filmed behind the YouYang hills south west of Melbourne Australia. I worked as an extra on the set in 2007. When the extras playing the marines at the airfield battle, did not follow instructions, for the next take, the Military advisor on the set, the well known Dale Dye gathered them in a circle and said to them prior to doing the take again - 'Now go back in there and unf**k what you just f**ked up'.
On the same set, whilst setting up both sides for the film shot of the battle on the airstrip, Dale Dye walked over to talk to the driver of the M4 Sherman tank (it was actually a real M3 wartime Grant tank, disguised to look like an M4), Dye said, 'I want you to back up there about ten metres' The driver replied - 'I will run over those saplings'. Dye replied - 'Tree hugging, mother f**king, lesbian loving Bull Shit, just back the f**k up'. The driver did as he was told.
In this battle, scratch built Japanese Type 95 light tanks were used. Built from sheet metal, not armour plate, engine fitted was a 1970s ford V8 302 CI, auto transmission from a Ford F100, diffs and final drives from War time US made Marmion Harrington light tanks, these items were in new condition still inside their wartime wood crates). Rivets on the hull and turret were made of plastic and glued on. Track was authentic copy - made at a foundry at Goulburn NSW. There were supposed to be three tanks, but one broke down before the shoot, so only two jap tanks in the Peleliu airfield battle. One of the jap tanks is now at what was the Melbourne Tank Museum as is the M4 mock up modified M3 Grant. The Amtrak in the movie is pretty much original and is also now located at the old Melb Tank Museum.
The flames eminating from the machine guns in the jap tanks were from modern shorty M16 carbines (M4A1) fired by a dude inside. What looks like tank MGs are actually hollow tubes to allow the barrel of the M4 to be poked through and fire blanks producing flame.
Very interesting to watch a film being made.
Thank you girl been waiting for this one
A nice detail people miss is Runner calling Leckie cobber when he comes back to the unit at the start. Cobber is Australian slang term for mate or friend and shows just how long the Marines spent in Australia, long enough to pick up the local slang which stuck with them.
I thought Cobbler was for the peaches.
@@genghisgalahad8465 Leckie nicknamed Runner Old Faithful as a joke when they were on Guadalcanal and Runners name for Leckie in reply was Peaches. It wasn't till after their time in Australia that Runner starts calling Lekie cobber, which he does multiple times. A great way of showing how long they were in Australia for without ever having any of the characters discuss it, which to me is what is fantastic about both this and Band of Brothers. The small details.
Yup!! A lot of people don’t realize the 1stMarDiv stayed there for 9 months before taking off again.
This series doesn’t get the credit it deserved. It shows just how horrific the fighting in the pacific was. Semper fi to all the marines that have fought then and through to now and in the future. Hero’s 1 and all
The scene with them washing out the barrels came into play in the real story - they didn't do the greatest job cleaning out all the rust and oil, and the barrels ending up being used for drinking water - so as thirsty as they all were, when they finally got water it was undrinkable as it was full of oil and rust particles.
They incorporate the real life story subtlety as an answer to an earlier scene when Leckie said the water tasted funny/bad earlier in the episode.
These next few episodes are going to be some of the absolute hardest to get through, but some incredible acting. Eugene's journey is very impactful. Loving your reactions.
Thanks for watching with me and the crew here!!
Glad to see you back at this series
The scene coming out of the troop ship and into the light and water is one of the coolest scenes I've ever seen. That entire sequence is amazing.
I’ve seen every war movie 10 times. The Pacific is one of the best series I’ve ever seen.
Ack Ack Haldane grew up a few streets away from my dad's parents. Basically the same neighborhood my family grew up in. It is about 5mins from my house. Nice home. Sadly there is no marker at the home signifying he grew up there. I think only a town baseball field is named after him.
That tank was a Type 95 Ha-Go. It was a light tank developed by Mitsubishi. It had a 37mm gun and interestingly the turret was not hydraulically activated. The crew member inside the turret had to throw their weight around to get it to turn. Besides Mitsubishi it included parts from other companies such as Niigata Tekkoshō, Dowa Jido Sho, Sagami Arsenal, Kokura Rikugu, Jiohei Sho and Ihesil
The turret was hand-cranked. Not whatever bullshit you said. The gun could be slightly moved by hand independent of the turret rotation, but not much. But it was generally just a horrible fucking tank and was outclassed by even contemporaries of the day. Even standard infantry rifles could penetrate its armor in some places, and it saw the most of its usefulness in Chine, against forced that couldn't counter it unless they had a stolen Japanese tank themselves or the odd anti-tank weapon.
@@Nyx_2142 I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no “hand crank” on the Type 95. The tank had what was known as a loose rotating turret. If you were standing outside of one you could swing the turret around. Its gun could also move independently of the turret. Anyways, the turret was not balanced as it had no bustle on the back. If you were on a slope it would swing over to one side.
The old sergeant doing bayonet drills was a veteran of WWI, where that skill was still used with some frequency. The fact that he was constantly training with it shows his understanding of how gruesome and hard-fought combat is, and how much one's life can depend on every little thing.
He never was in combat during WWI, and did fleet duty.
He served in the Banana Wars in the Caribbean and Central America prior to WWII. So he had experience in the jungle.
played by Australian actor Gary Sweet
No spoilers but I think you're really going to enjoy Snafu's arc. And this is where the intensity of the violence and miserable conditions only keeps ramping up episode by episode. Also that tank might actually be a Mistubishi, they made the famous Zero fighter and some tanks as well.
I love this series and your reactions are the best! Can't wait to see more!
When Snafu reprimanded Sledge for removing his boots it was for Sledges own good . The island consisted of coral rock formations that would cut a persons feet to ribbons in just a few yards, so if the Japanese attacked Sledge would have had a difficult time retreating or even seeking cover.
Good detail. “What ya gunna do in your stocking feet when the Japs bust thru the line ?”
Need this more frequently
My Grandpa fought in the Pacific. He also got an angel over him because he got hit under the arm with a ricochet when he should have been dead. I wish I had gotten to know him.
My grandfather was at Peleliu. He never spoke about it, but after he died, my dad found a box of Japanese letters and photos, along with a Japanese flag with writing on it.
Glad to see you back with another episode of The Pacific! I loved your reaction vids on Band Of Brothers series. Keep up the Awesome work!!
One thing most people don't understand is the significance of how the marines leave the ship on a landing. In the first episode when Lecky and his buddies went over the side of the ship that tells you that they were not the first wave where as Eugene's left from the belly of the ship. This denotes that they were the first wave.
Not really that so much as showing how much our tactics and equipment advanced over the course of the war. Early on we didn't have significant amounts of LST's and amphibious assault vehicles so troops were mainly going ship to shore in Higgins boats. By 1944 we had these in mass so we could more effectively get marines ashore. Hence why Lecky went ashore on a Higgins in 1942 where as Eugene was on a amtrac in 44.
One of the truly tragic things is that the airfield at Peleliu would not play any significant role in the rest of the war. Adm. Bull Halsey wanted to have the entire operation cancelled, but he was overruled by Adm. Nimitz. Roughly 1,300 KIA or died of their wounds and 5,300 wounded, for an island that didn't need to be taken.
I like your pet lion cub. Pacific was a different war than in Europe as you said it. great reaction. that was a rough island to take, japanese were fanatics.
Thank you for getting back to the series. I appreciate your commentary and reaction…😊👍🏼
You’re growing battle hardened? Perhaps. A great series. Love watching it along with you. Many thanks!!!
Yes finally you continue!
If you read Sledges book you'll recognize a lot of the scenes and get a better insight into what was going on in his head
Absolutely! I read his book recently and it was fascinating seeing how well the show did at condensing and telling the story in a cohesive way. While they switched around a few things in order of events at times, and did composite characters at times (necessary for viewer cohesion) it did absolutely stunning. So many times reading it I immediately pictured the scene from the book. Rare that a historical show is that respectful. But Spielberg and Hanks outdid themselves with this and BoB. I haven't seen Masters of the Air so I can't say how it stacks up. But Pacific and BoB are genuine masterpieces.
@geekybrian I actually read his book way back in the 90s so I was really impressed when I saw the series
At this point, they have completed the series.
"its like he has angels surrounding him"
In the book written by Eugene Sledge (With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa), he actually describes a moment after his first experiences with war, where he says he heard a voice speak to him saying "You will survive the war" that he claims no one around him heard, and he believed to be the voice of God.
The reason things seem to be changing, is because this series is based on memoires from 2 different marines. you get elements from both throughout, but the first half is primarily centered on one of the books, and the second half is primarily centered on the other book. Episode 5 and episode 6 act as the transition, these two episodes are divided about 50/50 between the 2 books.
My grandfather did three beach landings like that in WWII in the Pacific, but in the Philippines.
8:01: there’s a lot of accuracies throughout this series… but imo, little moments like this are my favorite. In really life, and repeated in many works of fiction, you never have your gun pointed anywhere else than down range on the firing line, especially with whoever is present filling the role that mirrors the Gunnery SGT here(he’s being kind here, in reality, that LT would get a real “talking to”). That LT flagged or had his gun pointed in the direction of everyone that was in that pointed direction(marines on the firing line, marines in hooches, other military and civilian support staff, etc.) with any firearm, thats a dangerous action, but especially with what that LT and a lot of WW2 US Marine officers would carry (M1911A1/ .45 caliber-which is like blasting a deep gashing hole in anything) accidental discharge or misfire, or catastrophic failure (legit factory flaw in gun, act of god, etc.), can be lethal to anyone on the opposite end of the barrel-- and to add insult to injury, it’s a LT who should definitely know better, whose whole job is to NOT be that stupid(although depending LT’s can be just as stupid as anyone else under their command, but I digress).
Gunnery Sergeants are certainly tested on the field. Rising up in ranks and officer commissions can be attained outside of combat or through military school and not necessarily reflect hardened combat, no? Best example is, pardon me, the commissioned officer character played by Colin Hanks in BoB who had no combat experience and graduated on D-Day from West Point. So he was bumped up in rank. Thats my best guess as to the firearm dumbness and lack of awareness of this LT.
Awesome reaction of my favorite episode of The Pacific!!!!!!😊😊😊😊😊😊
"You get to sleep in on saturdays." Is Basilone mugging that recruit off. Boot camp is NOT a breeze lol
Oh wow, another Pacific episode. I honestly forgot you were doing these it's been so long.
Unfortunately Gibson was not ok in the end. He was sent back to the us and hanged ( they left out the part that he had shot 2 other guys who tried to stop him before he tried to kill himself)
I'm dating myself here, but both my grandfathers fought in WW2. One in the Pacific, the other in Europe. When you personally know people who fought in the war it gets under the skin to hear someone refer to the tanks that were trying to kill my relative and his fellow soldiers cute. It does rankle. That "cute" tank was a death machine that resulted in the loss of life of American soldiers.
It's simply the odd apeaeance what with the behemoths we've gotten used to in Fury, BoB, and films set in the European theatre. It didn't seem like the intent was to call it cute, simply It's appearance versus what we have come to know are gritty tanks. But yeah, WWII I keep getting astounded how "vintage" a lot of it is.
My dad was in the 96th Infantry at Leyte and Okinawa. "Cute tank" didn't bother me a bit.
Oh, stop it! The Japanese type 95 was a clunky light tank which was designed in the 1930's. It was small and ungainly like a series of cans stacked up. That she said it was "cute" is no sin, so cut the crap outrage. My father and uncles were in WWII, youngster.
My grandfather was in the navy in ww2. His brother was a marine as well. Both served in the pacific. You know what they called that japanese tank? A cute little POS. Get over yourself man. It's just a word.
You commented on the sand in the weapon thing. I got a bunch of sand in the breach mechanism of my tank once and we didn't notice it until we chambered a round. Had a hell of a time getting the breach back open and cleaning all that out. Good times...
At that point in the war, only in the Pacific was the Sherman the most badass tank in the field. 😁
The Shermans were used to great effect by the Brits in North Africa going against the Afrika Korps
What a beautiful cat. 😸
Everything from here on out in the series really starts to get intense
18:10 "It's easy for me to sit here and judge him."
With that simple phrase, you have already set yourself far above the average TH-cam commenter who is happy to sit in ignorant judgement on nearly everyone and everything. 👍
From Eugene's book:
"Everything my life had been before and has been after pales in the light of that awesome moment when my amtrac started in amid a thunderous bombardment toward the flaming, smoke-shrouded beach for the assault on Peleliu".
10:45 The best scene imo because as sledge says, this is the moment he grew up.
That machine gun on the Japanese tank has the most unusual sound, I bet when those American soldiers heard it their blood would run cold.
It is so interesting, Ames, that you called the Japanese tank 'zippy.' Lots of countries in the early 1930s had tanks built for quick movement with a main gun firing a 37mm to 40mm projectile. As soon as the war started in 1939, nations looked for ways to put bigger main guns on their tanks, and to make the armor thick enough to withstand hits from the original 37mm to 40mm projectiles, the point being that they wanted to be able to hit the enemy with a bigger 'bullet' from a longer range than the enemy would be able to shoot back. The exception was the Japanese, because, from their point of view, the REAL war was the one they had been fighting in China since 1931. (The war against the United States was one the Japanese did not expect to fight, and as such, they saw it as a distraction from their conquest of Chinese territory.) Since the Chinese could not manufacture armored vehicles, the Japanese saw no need to make their tanks any differently from how they had done in the early 1930s. American tanks had 75mm main guns, and with these, they could destroy any Japanese tank they encountered.
Nice point about the lack of armoured force in China. I also think because Japan adopted the "South strategy" - to take Southeast Asia and oil fields in the Dutch East Indies. No point in having a strong tank model without a strong navy to get them there. So priority went to manufacturing ships and aircrafts that were essential to keeping sealines open, especially when the losses in those areas started to pile up after US entered the war.
@@codyandrex152 the smaller tank would also be easier to transport without requiring special ships and equipment.
Apparently, the reason that Japanese tank was so maneuverable because it was designed to be an anti-personnel tank. It had armour strong enough to defend against light weaponry only. When it come to fighting other tanks, it was obviously useless as it got easily destroyed by another tank.
Calling a Ha-Go maneuverable is just kind a hilarious to read. And its armor wasn't as resistant as you state, as the British found that even standard infantry rifles could penetrate the armor around the engine, and heavier machineguns could penetrate even the thickest parts of the armor. They faired far better against the Chinese who had little to nothing in the way of anti-tank weaponry or even tanks, aside from captured Japanese tanks and what little donations they got elsewhere. Even contemporaries like the M2 and M3 Stuart were considered superior in every way, while the Sherman completely outclassed it. Hell, even the M3 Lee/Grant were considered very effective against it long after they were hopelessly obsolete in Europe.
@@Nyx_2142 Good point, but I did say the Japanese tank was useless against the American tank. If I remember correctly, the American tank is a Sherman and it is a medium sized tank with better armour and a cannon while Japanese tank had 2 machine gun (I think).
the worst part about the Battle of Peleliu besides how vicious and deadly it was was the fact the they faought it under the pretense that it was because Gen. McCarthur said he needed that island for his invasion of the Philippines and in the end he never used it at all. Therefore this battle that was a meat grinder for the US Marines and Japanese never had or should have happened. One ego driven general caused this destruction for nothing. So sad
I served in the Army 08-12. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have stopped praying the entire time there. Semper Fi.
Mentioning Fury the difference with tanks here was that the islands were hard to maneuver big vehicles on so the Japanese used smaller faster tanks to mainly overwhelm infantry and the US tanks were bigger and tougher so it was the opposite type of battle from Europe where Germany could use massive tanks
Yes, Ames buckle up.
As horrific as this episode was, it's just a warm-up for the next two episodes.
I strongly suggest you watch 6 & 7 back to back in one sitting.
✌️❤️
I just finished reading a book by Phillips about all this. Leckie wrote some good ones on the Pacific Theater (and a good book on the American Revolution), one of which really explains well about that part where Sledge, SNAFU and (IIRC) Leyden were clearing out that Japanese bunker.
My mother’s father was stationed on that Island during the war. I never met him because he died two years before I was born.
Great reaction, but taking so long between episodes that I've given up.
when you stop and think about it how arbitrary it is, step right live, left die. It I amazing anyone survived, these me are the true definition of heroes.
Playing for keeps int pretty. Loved the reaction to it all.
The name of our camp in Kuwait was Peleliu before we hit the LOD into Iraq in 2003.
Yes the Type 95 Ha-Go Light Tank was in fact built by Mitsubishi, by this point they were ten years old and hopelessly outclassed by M-3 Grant/Lee Medium Tanks, and utterly annhilated by M-4 Shermans as seen in this episode. They were also vulnerable to Mortars and even M-1 Garandes(the rifles) could penetrate the Engine housing.
The Actor who plays Sledge was little Timmy in the Original Jurassic Park Movie.
Letters from Iwo Jima is a must watch also :) Has Ken Watanabe from Last Samurai. You get to see the Japanese side. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Phenomenal film.
Were you going to post any new episodes?
I hope these come a little quicker. It’s gonna start getting very intense soon.
Try my best!
You are the best review channel ever
God doesn't make us go to war with each other.
Can you believe the Jurassic Park kid grew up to be Sledge lol.
The thing they never mentioned was the Coconut crabs, if you were wounded and couldn't get up they would swarm at night rip you apart and eat you.
In fact that's what happened to Amelia Earhart after her plane crashed
that tank was in fact designed by Mitsubishi u were kinda joking i think lol but nicely done. it's the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, specifically
waiting for the rest >:C
Fun Fact:
Emily Rossum (Fiona from Shameless) was so impressed by Rami Maleks acting in this series... she convinced her husband Sam Esmail (Creator of Mr. Robot) to cast him as Mr Robot in the show Mr Robot.
Mr. Robots critical acclaim is what put Rami into the mainstream A-lister actor teir.
That got him his Freddie Mercury role.
Which got him his Oscar.
Wow, she's actually truly not spoiled on how it ends.. nobody better spoil her on what happens once the Americans "reach" Japan..
Lol! I won’t be spoiled cause I finished the series on patreon! Lol
I really appreciate that you are continuing with this series, even knowing that, SPOILER ALERT, the brutality only gets worse from here. The true story of the atrocity and brutality on BOTH sides needs to be brought to attention of people today. War crimes were routinely committed by both sides on the regular. That the men were able to return and, for the most part, reintegrate into society speaks volumes. The title of "The Greatest Generation" somehow pales when you realize what these young men faced in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
You do a great job reacting to these war movies.
That small tank was called a Ha-Go. (Actual Japanese designation) Lightly armored and very light in weight for a tank. There are actual photos of a captured Ha Go strapped to the back of an American Sherman on Tarawa after that bloody battle. The Sherman itself was only a medium tank.
This is where Sledge starts to lose his humanity and his PTSD takes over.
goodness, spoiler alert :(
Huh! You CAN NOT have PTSD at thé moment...POST's the word!
@@dallesamllhals9161lmao thank you
@@Lonekoka Maybe we'll never know as the uploads of the show seemed to have ceased.
Hearing "that tank looks heavy..." about a ha-go is really ironic lol
In Sledge's book "With the Old Breed" he goes into depth of the horror of watching Marines go "souvenir hunting" on the Japanese dead bodies. This show will shock you to the core on what people will do to each other.
what no i waited so long for this u do one ep this time NOOOOOOOOOOO
My dad had many Japanese teeth I played with them as a kid.
F'ked up. Ghoulish.
“Who makes that tank? Mitsubishi? 😆” Actually, yeah!
Sledges book “With the Old Breed” is a must read. Brutally descriptive and not for the faint of heart.
I read ‘With the Old Breed’ not long after watching this for the first time- The scene with the rocks being thrown into the skull of the Japanese machine gunner, is, indeed, in the book. It wasn’t a gratuitous filming decision, it was straight from the memories of JB Sledge. Just insane.
*Edit: whoops, I might be an episode early.
Anyone who’s had the privilege of watching a gunny roast a boot lieutenant in real life can appreciate the scenery 8:06 lol
That cat is MASSIVE
Are you kidding me? I learned this stuff in grade school in the 60s. My father and uncles went through that war.
How about where she calls the Japanese tank cute? The American marine and army guys who faced those tanks certainly didn't think they were cute.
This landing is two years after that first one, and the opposite. Guadalcanal was taken by surprise, but not Peleliu. The Japanese kept reinforcing Guadalcanal, so it took 6 months, the US navy almost lost the war there, defending and reinforcing the initial landing.
Feels almost like 2 years since the last upload of the Pacific!
Landing on this beach reminded me of the landing in Saving Private Ryan. Welcome to hell.
You sent me a message.A couple of weeks ago, but I don't know how to do all this technology stuff.So that's why I wasn't able to get in touch with you.I think you're doing a great, don't know
How to suggest movies?But the movie the outpost is one of the best war movies i've ever seen
It was prob a spam please don’t respond to those
The Japanese tank in question looked like a Mitsubishi Type 95 Ha-Go. It was a light tank with a 3 man crew. It was effective against infantry, but not US tanks. The 37mm main gun could not penetrate US armor.
The guys in Europe went to places like London & Paris, and slept indoors occasionally as a rest from combat. In just one contrast, some Marines were practically stunned to see a woman at all.
what this episode doesnt show is when they get resupplied with water finally, according to eugene sledge in his book the water they were supplied with was contaminated with oil. they even shipped the water in the exact drums that supplied the oil on pavuvu. they never figured out though if it was the same barrels they refused to scrub the oil out of.
Eugene survived the dinosaurs, he can manage.
When I first watch this. Can't believe it is the same actor that played Sledge is the same guy played the kidd from Jarrasic Park one
It gets real real heavy from here on.
in the pacific the american sherman was like "oh ... so THIS is how it feels to be like a german Tiger tank"
Just curious why such a long time in between airing your responses? ❤
Takes me time to get things edited !
Thank you