Easy Company Assaults the Crossroads in Holland, 1944 - Animated
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ธ.ค. 2021
- Thanks to Kamikoto for sponsoring today's video. Go to kamikoto.com/opsroom to save $50 today
Captain Winters leads the men of Easy Company in an assault against an SS held Crossroads in Holland. Fearing being outflanked, he leads his 35 man assault team forward, but he doesn't realise that two full companies of SS troops are positioned on the other side of the ridge.
My "Group Captain" tier Patreons vote on my next video subject. If you'd like to have your say on my next video, please check out my Patreon at the link below:
/ theoperationsroom
/ the_ops_room
Special thanks to my Patreons: Abusemtex, Alexander K Leach, András Csányi, Andy Kim, Blair Bunke, big mike, Bill Luster, Bryant Miano, Chris Faehl, Christopher Vance, Cody, dan, Dave Lombard, David West, Dean Winger, Dullis, e 141, Ethan Chickering, Eric M, ETB, Flavio Ribeiro, Galen, Harmen, Ian Young, imfromthe808, iulian stef, Jeff Phillips, John Smaha, JONATHAN Vallett, Kole Pulley, libor riska, lokiju, Luke Graham, Michael Choi, Miyama1018, ned hulton, omega21, PS, Richard Bejtlich, Richard Knijnenburg, Richard Selsor, Sami Koivuluoma, Shane Harper, Shay Kneupper, Shomik M, Stephen James, tired swed, wilbs43, Will Coward, Yancey Larochelle-Williams, Yurnero, Zachery Plaice, Aaron, Aaron M Love, Aaron Weisenburger, AgentComet, Alistair Jones, Alex Bell, Alex Pickworth, Andrew Ringquist, Apollo, Arthur Morgan, Axel Essbaum, Ben Harazim, Bodo Nuber, Brandon, Brett VanBuren, Brian Chan, Caleb DeArmas, Casual Observer, Casey Ross, Christopher Cardona, Christopher Pivetz, Colin Stachowski, Connor Kunihiro, CTomic, Damien Dec, Darius Cosby, Dayan, Douglas, Eddy Gurge, Ekstasis, Eric Bolks, Erick Velez, Escipio Sumski, evantown, Fredrik Inzix, Fredrick Wilson Nordby. Gaute, Geir Morten Soerensen, Graeme McEvoy, Grant McFarland, Gunship Sequel, Hanne Kortegaard Støchkel, Harrison A Tamke, Harry, Hunter Thornsberry, Innominate, Jack Baylor, Jack Mermod, Jack Parkin, Jackie Carson, Jason, Jason Wemyss, J Shefsky, Jeffery Barnes, Jerry Xiao, Jessica Tiger, Jingold, Joe Robinson, John Harrison Herndon, John Smith, John Walters, John Hesketh, Jordan Hedges, Joseph Sullivan, Justin Smith, kokosabre, Kurt Fox, Lasse Pedersen, Laudern, Leo Maltoni, Luffylink, Luis Martinez, Luke Graham, LVE, Manfred Breuner, Mark D, Matthew Fessenden, Mathew Baker, Matthew Flint, Michael, Michael J Jacobsen, Mike Thompson, Muj Rahman, Nick, Olufemi Adediwura, piranha45, Rabbit Corn, Reese Spector, Richard Woodard, Rick Y-Bobby, Riley Matthews, Robby Gottesman, Robert Evans, Roderick Russell, Rory Weden, Ryan March, Scalar, Schnitz, Siddharth Ahuwalia, Silver Sk, SONY _USR, Squerdle, Steven Leach, Tactical_Jackal, Tadwinks, The Man They Call Asher, Thomas Burton, Tim Storey, Timothy Bucklin, UnicornStampede, Vral, Walter Kim, Warren Rudkin, Weston Hullander, Will Merrill, William Lydon, zintho9, Aaron Roberts, Alex Mackinnon, Andrew Rodman, bascommander, Chris Roybal, Christopher Guilmette, Dave, Dylan Gilstein, e, Henry Buckley, Jack Lazarus, Jake Castadio, James Rosengrove, Johan West, john boland, Keven Guimaraes, Kristian Klibo, Loyd Enochs, Marcelo Avila, Mark L., Mason, Matt, Matt Gonzales, Matthew Pulitano, Miguel, Neil Meldrum, No Gods No Masters, Nicole Johnson, Peter S., scott carson, Shawn Heidrich, Ryan Bertsche, T. Anthony Moore, The Rainmaker, Theodore Harris, Thomas Evans, Tom Cho, Tom Handal, Tommy Gates, Travis Metzger, Shikhir, SkytechCEO, SWVYX, Wolfgang Seitz, Wyatt Flynn Wilgus, Kelson Ball
Music: www.purple-planet.com
Top down figures courtesy of Grantovich, check him out here: / grantovich
That's not bad for Dukeman.
Can't imagine the effort put in this video 🤯
Great job as always. Would love to see the 2003 invasion of Iraq. I think it would be very popular!
You got a drink? Of *water.*
Major Horton though
well done!
RIP Edward Shames, last surviving officer of E Company. They're all gone now, but will never be forgotten.
I’m so glad they made the HBO show when they did so that they could have as many actual veterans be interviewed as possible.
@@TXnine7nine truly brought the show to a whole new level for sure.
I would've loved to meet such men of valor
PFC Bradford Freeman is still alive. Edward Shames was the last living officer, not the last member.
@@TXnine7nine I don't think Band of Brothers would work now. The mass majority of TV media today is just utter crap, to be honest I think a lot of media has gone to shit. I think BoB fell right into the golden time. Great cast, great crew, great company. The perfect combination for perfection.
The Operations Room always makes these engagement’s much clearer and easier to comprehend. We’ve read, we’ve watched- now we understand.
This should be the Operations Room motto or something
@@brandonfurr7080 agreed.
Well said
@@brandonfurr7080 Spot on man
agree! I actually didn't understand what happened on the Band of brothers episode, but this just did justice to how it took place.
Winters once again demonstrating the "follow me" leadership style that made him so popular with his men and so successful as a combat officer.
this is what most officers were in antiquity. was literally their job.
A lot of officers did lead with that style, but many of them did not live to tell the tale.
He was a real leader to took it to the fight and beyond.
@@Fuhrerjehova Exactly this, there were a lot of Major Winters about in WW2 on all sides, what makes Winters special is that he survived it. Somehow.
@@Fuhrerjehova especially Lieutenant General Lewis “Chesty” Puller.
I love how Winters and the German sentry both threw grenades that didn't detonate. Must have been a terrifying, yet also comical and prfoundly absurd situation.
interestingly winters said the soldier smirked at him. but ya, crazy.
I don't think it was to comical for the German in the end.
They were playing catch with grenades.
Too bad they didn’t put that in the show.
Right. Like if Spielberg and Hanks added that part in that whole 10 second scene, the feeling of that part from a viewers standpoint completely changes imo.
Always puts a smile on my face when the mini-series lines up with the true events. It truly honored their actions.
I never understood how those short scenes in the series even came to be, this makes it much clearer.
The crossroads episode left out so much detail that the entire engagement just seemed like nonsense fiction. I wish they had bothered to include more of the info contained in this video. Would have saved me many years of frustration trying to make sense of it.
@@chappy0061 like the red smoke? some stuff in the series was never in the book
@@TheCoolCucumber That's kind of the cost of telling a story from the perspective of soldiers on the ground vs the top brass.
the series needed a documentary style narration to overlay the dramatic story telling segments, but that wasn't what the producers wanted to do, but would have been the only way to provide sufficient context to make some sense of things
Wow, Band of Brothers underplayed the importance of the crossroads now that I've seen this. What I really like is the fact you show where the engagement is in the theatre
It showed half the battle. I understand why the series did not mention the full consequences of that fight. Winters might not have known until days later. The only time we get to see the larger consequences of Easy's engagements is the map found after taking out the artillery battery.
@@dirus3142 that is true. The writers did a good job not trying to force the backstory into it. I don't recall the veterans mentioning how important it was during their interviews either.
@@eiennofantasy It wasn't any more important an action than any of their previous ones.
Brecourt Manor was important that it saved X amount of lives on Utah beach by silencing the battery.
The gully fight was important in defending the flanks of the US invasion beaches
Bastogne was important in tying up key German units and slowing down the enemy logistics during their main assault
etc.
I totally agree, of course I think that was simply because the show was so much more focused on the men than the war
@@jacobp1277 yup. 100% thought the same thing. The story was focused on Easy so it's understandable why they didn't state the importance of this engagement.
So Winters stood there and emptied 8 bullets, ACTUALLY RELOADED his gun and emptied another full clip all alone against 100 soldiers before his men got up to him? What a total badass
To be fair, a trained man on an M1 reloads and shoots incredibly fast.
@@SlavicCelery Yeah, but they all started running the same time, ran the same distance, and don't forget the time during the grenade exchange.
EDIT: not trying to talk down your comment or the skill of the men, just emphasising a bit on how far he ran ahead of them
@@sjonnieplayfull5859 Yeah, but it still can be accomplished in 20-40 seconds, with practice. Which isn't as crazy when you think about it. It's not exactly like a 15 minute activity.
@@SlavicCelery the men of Easy company were also trained to run fast. Just try to outrun paratroopers and win with 15 seconds to spare...
@@sjonnieplayfull5859 On top of that, Winters was regarded as the fastest runner in the 506th. His personal best time on Currahee Mountain was 46 minutes.
What a team. They should make a tv show about these guys.
That would be nice. I think Damian Lewis could be great as Winters.
I'd watch that. I'd watch that several times. I'd even keep a pirate copy of it on my computer so I could watch it whenever I feel like it. Donnie Wahlberg might make a pretty good Sergeant Lipton, too.
They should get a real high end production company like HBO to make a series out of it. I'd watch the hell out of it many times.
Band of brothers is a tv show since it has episodes.
@@garretth8224 *sigh*
"We have two baseball teams of casualties!" "....I'm sorry, I don't know what that means" "Shut the hell up or we're gonna have a third"
Probably the most American thing Winters could have said.
As a lifelong definitely-not-a-fan of baseball, I have to ask: Who the hell didn't know the number of players on a team of _America's Pastime?_
@@blindleader42 the only thing i know is that its 9 people on field, but im sure thats not a team size.
Anything to not use the metric system
@@blindleader42 It's possible the radio op was from the UK, this was a combined operation after all. But tbh I couldn't have told you either
@@Thisisnotasign MLB Team has 25 players on the roster
My jaw actually dropped when I saw the title of this video. "Band of Brothers" was an absolute masterpiece... if you know, you know. Can't believe I'm seeing an in depth breakdown of Easy company's engagements after watching them on the show so many years ago.
Edit: Thanks for the heart, Operations Room! Great video.
Edit 2: TIL that editing a comment removes the heart you received. RIP me.
Best show ever
This is the 3rd episode featuring Easy Company on this channel. Feel free to check out the former ones! 😉
Wish I could forget BOB and then watch it.
They have done a couple others on Easy
Editing the comment loses you the heart tho
I remember the Band of Brothers episode that featured this engagement. Dick Winters (played by Damian Lewis) running by himself, encountering a lone German, the pause as they realize what's happening, then the battle. This video is good in that it clearly shows the details of the engagement and where it was altered for the TV episode.
@Dick Izzinya Would’ve loved to have seen that on screen.
@Dick Izzinya This is actually a very common thing in adaptations of real events.
Imagine watching that charge by winters, with the seriousness etc. and then when he crosses to see the germans then comically throw grenades at each other that just don't explode while still holding their guns and not shooting. Many people would not believe it, and it would even bring the scene down in a way making it too comical. Its often that some films have these outrageous elements in them and what seems most like "this is clearly just Hollywood doing their thing" is actually how the real event went down.
Im sure the director of band of brothers decided to keep the feel of this charge intact rather than display this "dud grenade exchange"
@Dick Izzinya Winters was actually ducking back down and getting a bit of cover from that first German sentry. He wasn’t standing up totally exposed while the grenade exchange was going on.
@Dick Izzinya the German soldiers potato masher was a dud and Winters forgot to take the tape off the release catch on his grenade. You can see on screen Winters taping up his grenades before the encounter. Then when it’s over, when Winters asks Nixon for water, he’s sitting down removing the tape from his grenades. Don’t know why that detail was removed but, to me, that’s why the German soldier smiles at Winters
Imagine if they showed the grenade exchange as well
i love how you have the scale of the field actually make sense as you zoom in and out. it's a detail somewhat lost on your ocean videos, but on your field-level videos its really nice.
Just give the number!
I don’t know why but I had absolutely no idea that the night attack and the huge battle happened right after each other. I guess the night/day cycle made me assume it was some time after. That’s crazy.
I had no idea either. I think it’s because the show cuts away from the night attack and we see Winters after the battle at the HQ. So the scenes aren’t in the order of how they actually happened but the show doesn’t really tell you that.
True, they had to space out the action for the episodes
I wish there was a clock in the corner. It happened contiguous but certainly not as fast as the video. Must have taken hours and hours.
Dunno how Winters ran across that field so fast, dragging cahones that big.
cojones (?)
@@nahuel9134 Balls of brass.
He put his balls on his M1 when running
@@martthesling large, low hanging, heavy testicles
They were so big that the Germans did not see him behind them...
These videos are getting better and better. Especially two things I love about this one:
5:14 - While I know it was a long sprint from the TV episode, seeing the distance from the overhead view in this video makes you really realize how risky it really was for Winters & Easy Company.
7:13 - I adore the animations you used to show the Winters-Liebgott argument over the escorting the German prisoners. :D
7:13
Winters: _"You're bleeding."_
Liebgott: _"Ah, it's nothing, Captain."_
Winters: _"I want you to take these prisoners back to Battalion CP and get yourself cleaned up."_
Liebgott: _"Yes, sir. Come on, Kraut boys!"_
Winters: _"Joe!"_
Liebgott: _"Yeah?"_
Winters: _"Drop your ammo."_
Liebgott: _"What?"_
Winters: _"Drop your ammo."_
Liegbott: _"You kidding me? What are you doing?"_
Winters: _"Give me your weapon."_
Liebgott: _"Cap--"_
Winters: _"[Takes Liebgott's M1 Garand & unloads it] You have one round. Johnny, how many prisoners do we have?"_
Johnny: _"Got 11 right now, sir."_
Winters: _" Okay... [Loads 1 round into Liebgott's M1] You drop a prisoner, the rest'll jump you. I want _*_all_*_ prisoners back up to Battalion CP _*_alive._*_ [Hands Liebgott back his M1]"_
LIebgott: *_"Yes, sir..."_*
*_(Band of Brothers, Ep. 5 "Crossroads".)_*
@@DarkJak2050 Superb dialogue between Winters and Liebgott. I think you got it all correct.
The little animated Winters shaking his head, gave me a chuckle
The area around here is pretty much the same. One guy with an MG can hold a thousand. No cover apart from under water. Dig a hole and it fills up with water before you get inside. And Winters just sprinted across it all. One German with a K98 could have hit him 20 times in that time, and he just went for it, alone.
Just curious how fast he could have ran if his balls had NOT been the size of a planet...
Agreed.
Winters was the type of officer that you hope to fight under
I had a similar C.O. in Nam, last name Lawrenson.
@@billace90 Thank you for your service Sir and welcome home
@@billace90 thank you and welcome home.
@@billace90 Like the guy above me, and I hope you DID indeed come home...
I can think of others, you can keep Winters 👍😊
Easy company is quite the apt name.
They make defeating overwhelming forces look *easy."
Ok that opening fire from easy company is accurate as heck
Also Rest in Peace Edward Shames, who died last officer of Easy Company 8 days ago, what a brave man he and they all were
PFC Bradford Freeman is the last surviving member. Edward Shames was the last surviving officer.
@@admiralv3538 thanks for correction :)
Watching this while also remembering the Band of Brothers episode takes my understanding of this engagement to a whole other level. Superb animation and explanation, my friend, as always.
Omg just started re watching BOB for the hundredth time and once I came across the episode this happens in I came straight to this video to re watch it, I realised in the end of the episode winters is playing with the safety strap he put on his grenade, even though they didn’t show the part of him throwing it at the German sentry I’m guessing it was a little reference to it very cool if intentionally done. Anyone else notice?
A British man speaking with a monoton voice can bring a tear to my eye. Rather the heroics of Winters and his men did.
Oh golly look at that, it’s time for me to re-watch Band of Brothers again
I started The Pacific yesterday ;)
The baseball reference is a clever tactic. In the most likely case that their comms were being listened to he confirmed 3 baseball teams instead of "clear language" - the most germans wouldn't know the number in a baseball team, thus not revealing their weakness if any. I suppose it's just training, but under such a stressful time, to still have that sense of mind is truly remarkable as a field officer.
Maybe the tactic started here ?? Reminds me of the downed American pilot during Vietnam, using golf course holes to establish his position !
Max Kepler would’ve gotten that reference though
@@jvtagle lol "bring our token baseball expert into my office" - Hitler
@@moosesnWoop"we need to find out who is on first"
My grandfather’s brother was in fox company. Made it through to the end of the war. My grandfather was infantry and fought from North Africa to Austria, he even helped break the siege of Bastogne
I really like these small-scale action reports. Excellent!
Excellent as always. And shows that just because a unit was "SS" it did not mean they were experienced and capable soldiers
Definently most of the experienced SS were either dead at that point, or due to low numbers you werent statistically inclined to face them.
Years of fighting against mostly superior foes especially on Eastern Front had its tool on german army combat strength. For example I was watching a video from World War Two channel explaining how germans had to stop a Red Army attack 7 times stronger ,which although successful but at high price. The result was by late 1944 germany nearly its combat fit and experienced manpower ,so at this stage of the war many german combat formations were made up of raw recruits with inadequate training
Winters is a damn good commander and leader. One of the greats in military leadership.
Excellent talker too.
Man can actually do it all.
How that man (Winters) could run at all with such giant brass balls deserves its own documentary.
I love the narration, and the music is on point, but I feel that the animator(s) are punching way above what you'd expect from a history/documentary youtube channel. The whole package is of comparable, if not superior, quality to what the classic documentary films I grew up watching on TV, back when the programming put out by BBC and the History channel was actually about real history.
@@AaronRMG I’m redownloading that game right now because of you
Yeah, but I want to know about the bit the Kardashians played in this.
Even in Belgium we touch on this subject in military school. Goes to show how flawlessly this was executed.
Really? I suppose you include German corroboration of events? Or just accept what Americans say?
I still can't wrap my head around how the commander of that SS battalion was so careless to not assign even a damn platoon in case someone attacks them and got their asses handed to them.I mean, it's just a blody common sense.
At that point I'm pretty sure the Germans were running short of experienced officers.
Volksgrenadiers were mostly poorly-trained conscripts, REMFs and old men - it's likely that none of them had any idea what they were doing.
the Nazis sent their best men east to genocide Jews and Slavs, which is why they were short of competent men before the Battle of the Bulge
@@glennheth3472 You don't really need a experienced officer to know damn well that you don't relax while the enemy is already in firing distance from you.
It’s SS. Chosen primarily based on fanaticism to the Nazi cause, not capacity for tactical or strategic thought.
When I was a kid I was mesmerised by US paratroopers wearing their combat knife strapped to their lower leg. When I became a paratrooper and latched my M3 knife to my calf, I realised when walking any distance this was only good for photo opportunities, and my knife went back to my normal belt for good.
Having read a description of this battle with maps, this is still better. It shows just how skilled of a leader he was. But mostly it shows how skilled all the other guys were.
My grandfather once told me the story of how SS soldiers came into his classroom. They closed the door behind them and told everyone they would now enlist all of the boys. In essence, no one would get out of that room until they accepted being enrolled into the SS. Luckily my grandfather already was reserved for the Luftwaffe because he was in the local "flying club" (Basically they learned how to fly gliders as a hobby). When he told the SS officer about this and showed him his draft notice the officer became furious and slapped him in the face, telling him to get the fuck out of this room. But basically every other boy that day was enlisted to the SS.
That were the man fighting against easy company. Young boys. It makes me sick everytime I think of it. A once proud and powerful nation and its people were devastated only because of the megalomania of one individual and his (nearly religious) followers...
(Also, if you spot any grammatical errors or phrases that just dont make sense - please do not hesitate to tell me! I am always eager to improve my english skills!)
Your English is excellent. But when you wrote "that were the man" it should be "those were the men" - your missing the plural forms of the words, i.e. that/those, man/men.
And on your point about the SS, I think it's important for people to understand that the Waffen SS in 1944 is a very different organization than the exclusive Nazi fanatics of the prewar SS. The army didn't allow them to induct many conscripts from German citizens, so they either had to attract 'volunteers', or force ethnic Germans from occupied territories to fight for them to both replace their casualties and expand their forces. It is VERY plausible that an SS battalion in 1944 was made up largely of Poles or Balts/Russians with German heritage who weren't exactly eager to fight for Hitler (though some may have been - you can't generalize), actually by this time a majority of SS soldiers were not volunteers. I have read about the 12th SS Panzer Division 'Hitlerjugend', and it is true that the recruitment methods at this stage of the war were very aggressive and coercive - even when the parents objected there were terroristic methods to use against people who didn't cooperate.
I wish people understood more that many of these supposedly German soldiers were victims too. Sometimes they are literally POWs who have the option to starve to death in a camp, or enlist - I am glad I have not been made to make such choices.
@@onylra6265 Generalising sadly is a common thing. Thanks for your post
Thank you for your story and it being told in such an eloquent way, even when English is not your first language. Bravo.
I think that putting blame solely on Hitler is a huge mistake and misleading way of looking at Nazi Germany. You have to understand that Hitler was just a mere embodiment of conservative political view in Germany that actually had huge support, especially in times of economic crisis. Of course, Hitler spiced things up with whole antisemitic propaganda and policies which led to horrible and inhuman crimes. However, all these wars would probably happen anyway, with or without Hitler, cause those were plans of conservative political group in Germany way before Hitler. Also, Lebensraum, destruction of Poland were not originally his ideas, and antisemitism was also very spread in Russia and other countries. It wasn't the first time in history that Jews suffered because of their national and religion background. However, it was the most extreme period, which, for sure, we should blame Hitler for. Also, authoritarianism was the thing all over Eastern and Southern Europe, Hitler just joined the club after economic crisis
Unfortunately, it wasn't just the megalomania of a few. Hitler had a mass base. He had many followers and large parts of the conservative establishment decided to side with him. Nazism was popular, many participated in the antisemitic violence, many more were supportive of it and as long as Germany was winning, the war was popular.
The German people largely brought this upin themselves, a true "the demons we summoned" moment in history.
No way guys. Back to back within a week? Thank you, I honestly just got off work and loaded TH-cam for the first time today & was genuinely confused to see a animation ( I haven’t seen the channel yet ) that looks like one of you guys. Scroll slightly down new upload 7 hours ago! So hyped, commented and liked before the video! You guys are truly appreciated. From one human being from New York to wherever you are.
You just fulfilled the dream of this longtime Band of Brothers fan! Every time I watched the episode that included this fight, I always thought it would be great on a series like Battle 360...and now you've gone and done it.
Thank you for putting this together, and doing such a great job with it.
Thank you for covering this assault. Just a small detail regarding Winters's "bayonette charge": Winters ordered his men to start the charge once the red smokes pops up. He jumped out of ditch and ran towards the enemy position. Few moments later, after seeing no german fire, he threw the smoke grenade to signal the charge. But the smoke grenade had some malfunction and it started to smoke after a while. This caused that Winters ran alone for far longer than he anticipated, thus when he arrived on the opposite side of that field he had to hold it alone until his men arrived.
The reason why he started the charge alone was, that he wasn't sure if the germans were waiting for them, so he risked his own life to not risk lifes of his men.
That's what happened in the BoB episode, but I read the book and they didn't mention anything about the smoke grenades. Winters said he got there first because he just ran like a bat out of hell. So I'm not sure if the smoke grenades were actually used or not.
@@stevecarey2030 You are right. I've just checked the book and D.Winters own words in a discussion about this assault.
The red smoke grenade was a signal to MGs that the squads have begun their charge. The leader of the 1st squad (left flank) - Lt. Peacock threw that grenade on Winters hand signal.
Thanks! I finaly understand the reason for this smoke grenade now. This has been bugging me ever since I first watched it.
This is one of the best examples of infantry leadership you'll find. Between this. Bercourt Gardens and the assault on carentan Winters was a phenomenal leader.
1. Just found this channel. It's like an early Christmas present!
2. This is so much more insightful than reading about the engagement AND is better than the already remarkable telling of the battle in Band of Brothers.
3. RIP Maj. Richard Winters, a great man and soldier. And to all those men of Easy company at whom we marvelled.
I visited the site of this battle a few years ago. There is a small roadside marker at the crossroad. I could not believe how similar the site of the actual battle was to the BoB film location. It was surreal to be there in a site that had not changed one bit.
The stories from Easy Company are always great
My (Dutch) grandpa took pics and made sketches of the armored units (tanks and armored infantry) hidden in the forest North of Arnhem and passed them on to the regional resistance commander. Via its network it reached allied headquarters but allegedly Gommy (Montgomery) never took that info serious, possibly resulting in the failure to keep Arnhem and the road bridge under allied control. The failure of Operation Market Garden resulted in the most brutal winter for the occupied Northern and Western part of Holland through 1944-1945, many many citizens died of starvation as the Germans had robbed the country empty of basic necessities like food and heating supplies. I recall stories of my family members digging in the barren frozen ground to look for roots, only source of food they had.
These videos are fantastic. They really help to explain the movements within the battles and get a better understanding of how the fighting unfolded.
Sadly on the 3rd of this year, Edward Shames who was a second lieutenant in his time with easy passed away meaning their are no surviving officers alive who served with easy company. This also now means at the time of this post that Bradford Freeman is the last man standing of easy.
The last member of Easy Company finally rests in peace recently. The old breed are all gone. May they never be forgotten.
The last officer, not member
Last officer. Brad Freeman, the last surviving enlisted man, is still with us.
Thank you for this. I grew up watching the cinematic interpretation of this battle, but your breakdown makes me feel like I understand, more than ever, what took place that day. I love your content and please keep the WWII content coming.
There is no youtube channel out there where I can honestly say I have watched every single video produced by the channel. Well that was until your battle of midway video showed up in my feed a year and a half ago. I haven't missed a single video since and back watched everything posted before. Very interesting, informative content. Keep up the amazing work!
I remember me started playing Close Combat series again last time I saw easy company operation analysis on this channel. Man, this is genuine good stuff.
OH YEAAAAAA. Friday night, OP ROOM active!
What a great find this channel is. I clicked this video in my recommended not knowing the content and recalled these scenes from Band of Brothers. Didn't know how critical these moments were or what was going on at the grand scale so it's a great bit of knowledge to now have. Thanks for putting this together.
I know this comment won't reach the actual heroes, but still; thank you forever for your selfless deeds. Your actions helped to free my country from a horrible oppressing force. Great video about insanely courageous men.
Well said!
Outstanding job sir. You give the strategic as well as the tactical view. It great seeing the big and small picture. Keep up the good work.
Amazing video as always. You really make some phenomenal stuff!
Agreed!
th-cam.com/users/shortsBmc9NFfhx74?feature=share
I absolutely love these videos. One suggestion that would improve them for me is adding a clock and dates in a corner. Would make the progression of the battles depicted clearer. Thank you for your work.
Wow, what a great video. One of my favorite episodes and now fully understand how it all went down. Thank you for creating!
Thank you for making this. Ever since first seeing it depicted in the show as a kid I wanted to understand this engagement. Ive read and studied maps but this video did it the best and in a fraction of the time.
Keep up the fantastic work!
6:40: "it's a whole other company!"
"No shit!"
Wow, this gave so much substance to that scene in band of brothers, love the fact you find hidden bits of info from these battles. Great choice for video mate, thanks again.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for these animations. I loved hearing the Easy Company stories in the Band of Brothers videos, but HBO did not go into the details of the actions like I wanted. You have made Easy Company's actions clear and their heroics so much clearer. Thanks again.
Thank you! I have watched Band of Brothers several times and I'm familiar with the scenes of Easy Company's movements and confrontations. Your graphic allowed me to put these scenes in context. Well done!
so glad to see the island I live on getting some attention. So many things happened here, but barely anyone talks about it. thank you!
Love seeing this videos pop up! Keep up the good work OpsRoom
Been waiting for this one since I discovered the channel. Thank you!
What a fantastic video. It really breaks it down to see how these things play out in real life. Incredibly interesting. I’d argue this is one of the most important TH-cam videos I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this. ✌🏻🇺🇸
Colonel Shames, the last surviving member of Easy Company, recently passed away. It's so sad that the last of these great men has met his maker.
God bless them All.
Watching BoB, I assumed the crossroads engagement was in the Eindhoven perimeter. Did not know that Easy had been moved up towards the Rhine. Helpful.
I like how these videos give a better understanding of the battlefield. Now I can rewatch any of those movies/series with a new perspective!
OR, I`ve said it before, but, 2 Para`s engagement at Goose Green would be a perfect topic for your format. A full Battalion assault, possibly the last in recent memory, with plenty of solid sources and references. It would make for an outstanding 2-3 part series.
Nobody wants to see that
@Dick Izzinya I did
@@jayo3074 No you didn't. You spoke for everyone. Speaking for yourself would have looked like "I don't want to see that".
@@Thepancaketoaster I only speak for myself. I don't know the minds of other people
Easy there fellas, Shane does`nt fancy it, that`s ok. I am wondering though why Shane does`nt think it`s worthy of an episode. Too long, too complicated, too dull? What gives chief?
Awesome video! Captain Winters deserves more than a Distinguished Service Cross.
You have no idea how frustrated the Crossroads episode made me because of how little sense it made, especially because there was a significant lack of easy to understand explanations online about how this engagement went down.
Your video has given me peace of mind from something that has confused the hell out of me for nearly 20 years!
The only "go to" channel after long hours of work. Soo relaxing to the mind. Adds more comfort when watching in your comfy clothes lying in your soft bed. Also a lamp light on your side to have a dark feel while watching
Fabulous rundown of a spectacular engagement. Job well done on both counts. If we don’t hear from you before then, Merry Christmas!
I love these kind of infantry-based tactics videos
That stuff about Winters and the German throwing grenades that didn’t go off at eachother reminds me of that scene from the final battle in Saving Private Ryan where Sgt Horvath and a German soldier have both their guns jam so they just throw shit at eachother until they pull out their pistols.
son of a bitch! SON OF A BITCHHH!
Rest in peace Tom Sizemore
I got to attend the Ambrose Band of Brothers tour and remember the Crossroads area. Your discussion of Easy's tactics really made it come alive and was very helpful.
Thank you for these. They are wonderful for the focus on bravery, honor, and expertise. Very enjoyable!!
Excellent summary of one of the Market Garden skirmishes. Hats off to Captain Winters and the Easy Company boys. We owe them our freedom. 🇺🇸🇬🇧
Yeeeesssss. This is the one I wanted to see. Looking forward to watching the rest of easy company’s trip through Europe
Earlier this year I was standing on top of the culvert, and walking up and down the dike to examine the area. Being a big Band of Brothers fan I saw the battle take place in front of me. Band of Brothers and The Operations Room did an outstanding job recreating the battle.
Love these easy company videos. They really help with showing how brave and amazing these men were. Hope to see Bastogne. It's told in the show how spread out and thinly defended the allies were, but it's hard to see it properly on the big screen. Or how absolutely insane Lt. Spears was at the battle of foy 🙂 Great work
This is a deep understanding of element of surprise and how to execute the assault
7:05
Winters: _"You're bleeding."_
Liebgott: _"Ah, it's nothing, Captain."_
Winters: _"I want you to take these prisoners back to Battalion CP and get yourself cleaned up."_
Liebgott: _"Yes, sir. Come on, Kraut boys!"_
Winters: _"Joe!"_
Liebgott: _"Yeah?"_
Winters: _"Drop your ammo."_
Liebgott: _"What?"_
Winters: _"Drop your ammo."_
Liegbott: _"You kidding me? What are you doing?"_
Winters: _"Give me your weapon."_
Liebgott: _"Cap--"_
Winters: _"[Takes Liebgott's M1 Garand & unloads it] You have one round. Johnny, how many prisoners do we have?"_
Johnny: _"Got 11 right now, sir."_
Winters: _" Okay... [Loads 1 round into Liebgott's M1] You drop a prisoner, the rest'll jump you. I want _*_all_*_ prisoners back up to Battalion CP _*_alive._*_ [Hands Liebgott back his M1]"_
LIebgott: *_"Yes, sir..."_*
*_(Band of Brothers, Ep. 5 "Crossroads".)_*
Awesome video! I'd love to see a breakdown of the attack on Foy someday. Keep up the great the work!
Thank you for your amazing work at keeping history and memories.
I love your content! keep up the awesome work!
Dick Winters graduated from my college. To this day I have no idea why they have not erected some sort of memorial or monument to him.
Universities don’t tend to value strong men
I get the feeling Winters was the kind of man to refuse such monuments to vanity.
@@Ducaso Never thought of that but I bet you’re right.
Love these videos. Really puts into perspective the leadership of Winters. Keep em coming!
I really love your summaries of heroic action. Keep up the great work on this channel!
Interesting to watch, but I can’t watch without thinking of the smile on the teenagers face in the opening of this Band of Brothers episode. Before I heard interviews with Major Winters, I knew it had to be a detailed that stayed with him too.
I'm still surprised that Winters could of run all that way across that field, with Balls that big. 😏
RIP Hero and a Legend. ❤️🙏🏻
Excellent detail and presentation, as always, and even your advertisement was interesting. Nicely done.
You do excellent work on these. Thank you for bringing the stories to life.
Glad you like them!
I know it’s cliche, but this really is a “I see, I click” channel! Love the detail - esp as addendum to movie/series events!
Currently active duty in 2-506th Easy Co, 101st Airborne Division. Glad to be part of legendary unit.
I thought it would be Echo Co, now?
@@KJAkk Both 1-506th and 2-506th kept the orginal names for all the companies.
Thanks very much for this video. For all the years I have known of this operation (BoB, Major Winters' book, David Webster's book, etc) I always wished I could see it detailed on a map. You did an outstanding job.
Love it. Great job on the story telling and map visuals etc.
Perfect timing came out right as I started geometry class
5:39 I know I probably shouldn't be saying this, but did anyone else find that exchange funny? Like, with the head turns and then Winters just firing a single round to kill the soldier?
I've always wanted to see this battle in plan view. Much easier to visualise. Excellent video!
7:25 he really animated the enbloc of the m1 garand ejecting. Just fantastic!