This was such a sad journey for Blithe Watch up to episode 7 of Band of Brothers Reaction EARLY & UNCUT over on Patreon! www.patreon.com/spartanandpudgey
Blithe didn't die in 48. He recovered from his wound and even took part in the Korean war where he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. He died later in 67. He was still in te army and rose to the rank of master sergeant. From what I recal, everyone who was interviewd for the book the show is based on assumed he died earlier because they never heard back from him.
Seems so strange to me that HBO doesn’t ever update the part at the end regarding Blithe. If they can remove the coffee cup in game of thrones surely they can make a small text update for this.😂
As a sailor, my first duty station assigned me Thurso, Scotland. I did the same thing, holding out my hand full of coins, when I was at a cafeteria in a Glasgow train station. The cashier did the same thing as the laundress did in this episode. Before the U.K. switched to the decimal system on there money, the coins were the penny, a three penny, a sixpence, a shilling, and a crown coin. Twelve pennies made a shilling and 20 shillings equaled a pound. The crown was a half pound or ten shillings. The posted price for the sandwich and tea was displayed as "2/6" (2 and a half shillings or 30 pence). I had no clue. Thus the extended open hand. I spent the next few hours studying coins.
@@MichaelPower212 240 pennies (pence) is a good way to divide up a pound (it divides cleanly so many ways), but I can imagine it would require an good amount of immersion to get the hang of it and be comfortable.
@@MichaelPower212 And then to make matters more complicated, they didn't always use the proper names. Like n this episode, the laundry lady told him the charge was "two bob & tuppence" which was literally two shillings and two pence.
As a bit of clarification, Easy company was never going home after being pulled off the line. Since airborne troops were still new there was no established doctrine on how to use them. The original thought was to have them drop behind enemy line in front of an advance then once they linked up with friendly forces, they would be pulled off the line sent back to reorganize, refit then drop again. However, the chain of command decided to use them as elite infantry and simply kept them on the line and would pull them off the line if they needed to jump again.
Airborne! Highlight of my 29 years in the US Army was serving in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment on the DeMilitarized Zone on Korea in 1997-98. Amazing heritage! Millions of American men volunteered to join this fight for freedom.
@presumed_guilty it's also pre-decimilization British currency, 12 pennies to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound, not exactly an easy conversion for an American used to 100 pennies to the dollar.
Blithe had what used to be called Hysterical Blindness, severe psychological stress and trauma producing functional neurological conditions like blindness and numbness. The kind words from Winters removed some of the anxiety and trauma and the condition went away
The man walking around the bodies in Carentan and praying is the company chaplain. He is administering last rites to the dying. And yes, he is walking through a field of fire to do it. A different kind of courage.
11:51 Tipper here shockingly survived this event and was sent home to recover, he's actually one of the guys talking at the beginning of these 3 first episodes (glasses and a polo shirt) and he was in the final batch of Easy Company men to die in real life the last 4-5 years.
They weren’t going home they were given a break. Rotating in and out of combat was a part of the Army’s strategy for morale purposes and reducing what would eventually come to be known as PTSD
Great reaction like always. They really did Blithe dirty in this. I saw an interview with Winters and he was really angry about how the series depicted Blithe, in later research, after the series was made, they found out that Blythe lived. Blithe went back into the Airborne and jumped behind enemy lines in Korea as a Master Seargent. He earned the bronze star with 2 oak leaf clusters and a silver star. He never left the military. He died in 1967 from complications from a perforated ulcer and was buried in Arlington National Cemetary with full honors. I really wish they had updated BoB to reflect what actually happened to Blithe. By the end of this journey you're going to remember all of their names. Every time I watch this series I get more and more attached to every one of these men. I can't explain it, but it's like they're family. Keep up the good work!
Yeah 1 of many mistakes by Ambrose, dude did a really great job gathering everyone's stories and info on the people that had recently died and their stories, but people like Webster and Blithe he did a very bad job researching those people (one he didn't do any research, and the other he overly researched and made him out to be a primary character in the company when he wasn't, that kind of shocked the vets who read the book that Webster had such a prominent role in the book compared to others).
Winters is an amazing man of history. Him making a point of setting the public record straight on Blithe is just another example of the great man he was.
Payment in the English laundry shop. At this time (and up until about 1972) British money was 12 pennies make a shilling and 20 shillings make a pound which equals 240 pennies in a pound. Goods and services were priced in pounds, shillings and pence, such at £4 9s 6d (d = denarius meaning penny) Coins; there were farthings (a quarter of a penny), half penny, three penny, six penny, a 12 penny coin (shilling) a 2 shilling coin (florin), a 2 shilling and 6 pence coin (half a crown) and a 5 shilling coin (a crown). All these coins had nick names or abbreviations, so yes, a USA soldier used to 100 cents in a dollar would easily be confused.
@@fishsnapz5501 I was living in England in '73 when they switched to the decimal system from the imperial system. Believe it or not, there was mass confusion the other way, too.
I'm English and was just a kid when we switched to decimal which is such a more understandable and simple system, though many older people were confused by the "new" money at the time. I remember my mum dancing about when she got a new half penny in her change. :-)
@PaulDear-jb2bu I was a kid then, too. My parents, aunts, and uncles were very upset about the change over. 10 P equals one shilling. They all seemed to think it was a government conspiracy to steal their money from them very slowly.
From a retired USAF Vet, these guys were not able to return home until the war was over. Once deployed, the logistics did not exist at that time to regularly rotate units out as we do today. My longest deployment was 8 months & usually 3-4. These men went & were gone for years. When Easy Co. was relieved, they went back to England for refit, get replacements, relax a bit...no option to return "home". My great uncles & grandfather left in 1942 & didn't come back til late 45....three years. Just another reason I hold those men in the highest regards. (In this episode you get a glimpse of Eugene "Doc" Roe....the legend)
I don’t believe that is correct. I believe they initially enlisted for X-amount of time of the war, but then when the powers that be realized it was going to go longer than expected (remember, WWI ended barely 18 months after we got involved) and they began ramping up for D-Day, all troops had their re-enlistment made mandatory for the duration of the war plus 6 months. I could be off on this slightly, but I know the enlistment/re-enlistment was a mandatory at duration +6 months from like ‘43 onward.
Many reactors have said something like "He didn't kill them did he?" when Luz saw the family hiding in the building. In an otherwise near perfect series, it is an unfortunate edit as it did not show a clear indication that that did NOT happen. Also, the soldier seriously wounded by the explosion in the cafe was Ed Tipper - he was badly wounded - broken bones, lost an eye - but he made it and just died maybe 10 years ago or so. He is one of the veterans who is occasionally interviewed in the introductions.
Yeah... but I mean, knowing that the Americans are literally there to liberate those people from the Germans is kind of a minimum... and the fact that he didn't want to throw a grenade in the first place, hence why opening the door instead, just shows his feeling (not wanting to hurt the wrong people) was right. I think most reactors are kind of in shock and assuming the worst since "it's war", but there's no real logic to him wanting to hurt them.
@@pscm9447 I've noticed that this scene, which was very obvious when the show aired in 2001, has grown much less so over the last twenty years. Part of that may have to do with several wars against insurgencies during that time. I've noticed, though, that the more the viewer knows about WW2 the less likely they are to make this mistake. Some reactors literally DON'T kknow that 'the Americans are literally there to liberate those people from the Germans'; they have barely any clue where the town is, the context for fighting for it, or whose side the civilians are on.
The man praying for everyone in the middle of the battle was the Chaplain. They are ordained priests that see to the spiritual and mental well-being of the Soldiers. They are forbidden by the Geneva Convention from carrying weapons. The Chaplain’s Assistant is an enlisted person that is supposed to protect them on the battlefield and help them conduct services for the Soldiers.
@@the_eaglefan I agree. This is so stupid. You can be religious if you want, and try to save people souls. However, you don't need to be stupid. If he dies or gets wounded, it needs people to remove him, time, resources and people endangerous because of him.
@@Pete-p4l atheists will always be atheists, this phrase has no sense. Lack of faith doesn't come in dangerous situations. Atheism is not a idea, a faith or group, you just don't believe, it's that simple.
I’ve seen this show at least two times a year, ever since it came out. It never loses its impact. My dad fought in WWII so I have immense respect for the men from that era. I can see my dad in Winters. Not that my dad was the hero that Winters was, just that he had the same mannerisms and demeanor. He was a hero of mine though.
The lady in the laundry wasn't being insensitive, she just didn't know. Civilians in the war were trying to survive as well. These women recognized a need for soldiers to get their uniforms washed and they opened a laundry to provide that service. She had no clue what happened to the men. All she knows is that she provided a service and needed some money for her survival. War is chaotic, she was just looking for some help to get her money due and to return the clothing to the appropriate soldiers. War can seem insensitive in many ways, but survival isn't about being sensitive. Everybody sacrificed, everybody paid a price, on the battlefield, in the towns and villages of Europe, on the island of Great Britain, and back home in the states. Sacrifice is not something we truly understand today. We get upset when someone cuts us off in traffic or when the McDonalds shake machine is down. For the most part we are sedentary, lazy, entitled people, and that will be the downfall of freedom.
I always felt the "Laundry Scene" was more just to show the losses they incurred, since Mehan would have never been there to give her his clothes. More symbolic than an actual thing that happened.
@@Comtoexcel002 Exactly. It's symbolic, tho it's a possible scenario that could have happened to others that was used for dramatic purposes in this show.
@@Comtoexcel002 Yes from a movie perspective that is true. The question on the table is, "Was the woman being insensitive by asking him to take and pay for the dead soldiers laundry." I don't think she was.
It’s not that she didn’t know but to show that people keep dying a lot and to show us that Blythe and many others become casualties, even though Blythe didn’t actually pass. Like an unspoken ans sad understanding. They’ve all gone but we keep going. Life ,the war effort. Everyone doing their duty.
@@Comtoexcel002 i always thought that they went back to the same village/area that they were quartered in before D-Day, so it's possible Meehan's laundry was from then... not sure, though. Of course, post D-Day you'd think it would have occurred to the woman why some of the laundry was never picked up, so the symbolism was probably still the most important part. 🤷♀😮️
In the beginning, those were gliders. They were towed in by planes by a line, released over Normandy, and glided in during the night. There were some crashes, hard landings and successes. They often contained supplies and small transport vehicles like jeeps etc.
In fact there was one in Saving Private Ryan - the pilot (Leland Orser) who talks about command welding two jeeps into the plane without him knowing - the crashed glider is where all those POWs and Allied units rallied when the guys start tossing around all the dogtags.
In WW II, soldiers were in the war until the end- unless they were terribly wounded or dead. They did not get sent home after one fight. Some guys were in the war for three years.
12:57 He's a chaplain, so his role is to ease the pain of those who have passed from this world or are on the verge of leaving this plane of existence. As well as tending to the spiritual well being of the living. All through the power of prayer.
The tanks that have rounded turrets are Sherman medium tanks, used by the US, UK, and Commonwealth forces. They're fairly distinctive, so the soldiers would have recognized them.
That scene when the company went back to England was just a break from front line duty. It's essential to rotate people off the line or the unit's combat capability will tank.
Yeah I've always thought how they portrayed their rotation during the French campaign was weird, because my memory from the book might be a bit shotty, but they fought in a more skirmishes till 2/3 of the way through the campaign and then got sent back to England to rest and unknowingly prepare for Market Garden since the invasion was all but finished.
@@GreyMagee74 They were "Specialist" troops who had been on campaign for 30+ days and Easy Company itself had 45-48% casualties of killed and wounded. The Division needed to regroup, refit, rest and absorb replacements for the next mission.
@22:27 I completely get why most reaction channels have this reaction but when they pull back without the other companies/units knowing, it leaves the others still on the line without support on their flank and makes them easier to be surrounded and attacked. Also, often armies would lose more men in retreat, especially disorganised retreats.
The show of course does not include those two companies getting rallied and running back to their defences within a couple of minutes. Possibly cause it makes Easy's stand look even better.
Indeed. Giving up cover to run out in the open from armor is what we like to call poor decision making. But it’s also something scared folks do, just like trying to run away from artillery.
It takes a special person to lead like Winters and Lipton. I was lucky to have good leaders while in Iraq. I also experienced bad leadership before and after my deployment.
13:37 The look is because the Major (I think he was) was asking Winters whether it was safe to cross while Winters was already standing there. His willingness to stand there is an obvious sign that it is indeed safe to cross, otherwise he wouldn't be standing there, would he? The irony, of course is that it's still an ongoing battlefield so it's not 100% safe and Winters ends up taking a stray ricochet to the foot.
27:28 I think Blithe taking the eidelweiss flower represented him identifying himself as a “true soldier” since that what’s the flower supposedly represents based on what Nixon said earlier in the episode.
The Eidelweiss was the symbol of German Mountain troops (Alpenjaeger), not German Parachute troops (Fallschirmjaeger). The 101st respected the German paratroops, and fought them on a couple of occasions, but if a German paratrooper walked into a Beerhall wearing an Eidelweiss, and German Alpenjaeger were present, there'd be a BRAWL.
@@williamjohnson-e4u And I may be wrong, but I don't think there were any mountain troops in that part of France at the time. The exception could be units that were there recuperating and rebuilding, but the overwhelming majority were on the Eastern Front or Italian Front. They probably just used paratroopers instead since it would be an equivalency with the Americans, and edelweiss is pretty well known (if for no other reason, The Sound of Music).
@@kingleech16 Correct. I don't think any Mountain troops were there at the time, until later, in Jan., 1945 or so, when troops were marched out of northern Finland, due to Finland's capitulation, all the way down Norway, to Denmark, and hence to Alsace, France.
What’s crazy is that this was rationalized British currency. When a friend explained English money from (iirc) the 1600s, I replied that the barter system looked a lot more attractive! 🤣
@kingleech16 I'm not sure what you mean by rationalized, but it certainly wasn't decimalized, that didn't happen til the 1970s. 12 pennies to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound and various coins for fractions of a penny/shilling/pound.
Good old Friday safety briefs. “If you’re going where it’s wet, wear a raincoat.” “Don’t be a chump, wrap that stump.” “Pizza belongs on the dinner table, not the road, wear your PPE when biking.” and all sorts of other fun ones.
For plane crash, please note though you don't ever see them in the air being towed the 101st had two regiments, 502nd Parachute infantry and the 327th Glider Infantry. Which are in most such films and shows represented by gliders crashed in fields with the para's getting all the starring roles and the glider boys barely being mentioned. As a BTW the attack over a rise in the ground is correct as are the Mg42's in the cafe but Easy company was not attacking direct into Carentan they were taking a small hamlet to the south. Casualties like for example Lipton from other engagements were moved to this one. He was actually injured by shrapnel from an 88mm shell.
The 101st had four infantry regiments: 501 Parachute Infantry Regiment (diamond on helmet), 502 PIR (heart on helmet), 506 PIR (spade on helmet), and 327 Glider Infantry Regiment (club on helmet). The absolutely outstanding black and white film, "Battleground" showcases the 327th during the Battle of the Bulge. The trooper riding the white horse in this episode is from the 501st, based on his diamond helmet marking. The gliders carrying the 325th GIR ( in the 82nd) the 327th GIR ( in the 101st) and artillery and jeeps and re-supply and such arrived on D+1. Use American-made CG-4A and British-made Horsa gliders. That is a CG-4A glider that Blythe is walking around in the opening scene. I served in the 82nd twice and had the honor of chatting with WWII vets of the 505th and the 325th--the two regiments in which I served. When the 82nd first went into combat in Sicily in 1943, the paratroopers were always bad-mouthing the "glider-riders", as glider soldiers were not volunteers. As well there was the perception that jumping was far more hazardous and required far more guts than simply riding in a glider. Well, the paratroopers changed their minds after seeing the carnage from the crashes during landings by the canvas-skinned gliders. And they changed their minds after seeing the gallantry under fire of the glider-boys. Both parachute and glider troops came to respect each other as brothers-in-arms as combat wore on. Danger? Guys from the 505th PIR (made all four combat jumps) told me, to a man, "Ain't no way in hell you would get me up in one of those glider death-traps!"
@@4325air I should have gone and looked up the units in the 101st from one of the books upstairs rather than looking on Wikipedia. On the use of gliders in films front they did include the Ox and Bucks light infantry attack via Horsa on Pegasus Bridge. More dangerous than parachuting but a unit of men arrived together with weapons in the same spot. Also jeeps, AT-Guns and light howitzers could be dropped in. Light tanks dropped by glider was experimented with by Britain, the Tetrarch at Normandy, but 4 were lost in crashes and they were only light tanks with a 40mm gun so not much use. The M-22 Locust was not any form of improvement. Two lost, two badly damaged out of 8. Thank god for the heavy transport helicopter. In other hazards there is the one where a HQ units glider crashed during Market Garden and the German's captured the operations plans from it. I would say possibly most hazardous use was probably the supply gliders that made one way trips to landing strips cut in the jungle in 1944 to bring supplies to the Chindit's.
It's not insensitive of the lady at the end, she just, probably couldn't comprehend that all those young men had died in such a short space of time. Also Malarkey could count but it's all weird British currency of shillings and farthings.
I think it’s silly that she wouldn’t realize they are at war and men don’t come back from war sometimes. But I agree she wasn’t being insensitive, just definitely not a very thoughtful person to not realize she was listing off a bunch of dead or injured men and wanting Malarkey to pay for their laundry.
@@gwenjackson8583 I think she was just perplexed as to their status, totally unaware of their fates. The Unit would close out all outstanding accounts and debts of deceased servicemen, so there was no danger of not being paid.
It's not spelled out but armor unsupported by infantry is vulnerable to close assault by the defenders. The vision slits of those era tanks were extremely limited, so infantry could sneak close unseen and attack the tank crew with anti-tank weapons. A tank is a huge asset in a battle but not by itself. If the defenders can defeat or stop supporting infantry then the tanks either have to retreat, stay and fight and risk being destroyed or hope the defenders break.
Also they weren’t being sent home from the war, they were just being taken off the line for a break. They were always going to go back and fight, their leave was just cut short.
The truth is Spears told a sergeant in his platoon he was too drunk to go on patrol and the sergeant said he was going anyway. And then Spears shot him. It was Spears talk with Blithe that turned Blithe into a great soldier. Blithe went on to win a medal of valor in WW II and another medal of valor in the Korean War. Blithe passed away in 1967
You are missing out some important details, speirs shot the guy in self defense, the guy was a loose cannon and poined his gun at speirs after disobeying direct orders. Speirs had to shoot him. This was backed up by his unit, it was ruled justified.
As a veteran, it's nice to see you two react to this series. Your genuine empathy is good to see. A lot of younger people have no idea what this stuff is like. They don't respect us. I hope this show helps you appreciate the privilege of living in peace.
Though this series is about actual events, it is based on a book of interviews and memoirs told by the soldiers who were there. The facts may therefore be misremembered or different depending on each man's personal experiences. The scene where the boys are talking about Speirs killing German POWs demonstrates this well, as all tell a version of the story but none actually saw it happen. And neither did we viewers.
My Grandpa was in the US Navy and went to the South Pacific during WWII, he was on aboard a DE Ship (Destroyer Escort). He said to me that they had orders to flow the fleet and head towards for the Invasion of Tarawa Atoll. My Grandpa was a Landing Craft Operator and he was bringing back Wounded US Marines to the Hospital Ships. But when he was getting more wounded Marines he was running towards a live US Marine, but a Japanese Mortar Shell hit between them and my grandpa flew 20 feet. He started to wake up because the US Marine woke him up calling my Grandpa "Boats" because of his patch having Boatswain Mate on the Patch. When my grandpa woke up seeing the Marine right in front of him and said thanks, and when the Marine turned to face him, Grandpa saw a big giant hole on his right side, Blood and guts were coming out of him. The adrenaline was keeping the Marine alive and not feeling any pain, but the Marine knew that he wouldn't be going home so he asked my Grandpa for his Sidearm and to not look back, and continue getting the wounded back to the Hospital ships. My Grandpa gave his Sidearm to the Marine, My grandpa told me the last look he saw on the Marines face was a smile and my grandpa turned and ran about 15 steps until he heard his Sidearm going off. Grandpa never looked back and he continue getting the wounded on his Landing Craft, and sending them to the Hospital ships.
Soldiers were rotated on the front lines to give them rest, physical and mentally, plus get replacements. When ppl were pulled off the line, others would take their place. The airborne were elite units. Their job in Normandy was over. They were pulled off the line, to wait for their next jump.
Remember that Easy Company is one of 3 in a battalion, 3 battalions in a Regiment/Brigade, 3 Regiments/Brigades in a Division, about 3 Divisions in a Corps, about 3 Corps in an Army, about 3 Armies in an Army Group. So following Easy Company is watching a very tiny portion of the whole Allied force in Western Europe. And of course, British/Commonwealth forces had been fighting 5 years, and some American units, like the 1st Division, had been fighting 1 1/2 years, in places like North Africa and Sicily before fighting in Normandy, while this is the very first Easy Company/101st Airborne Division have fought, so they would not be going home- as long as Hitler continued the war. All the fighting and losses were about defeating Germany and that took precedence over everything else.
Nice seeing you point out that Blithe potentially saved someone with that shot. The German soldier was lining someone up. I also like the reaction of Welsh when being told that they were being pulled off the line with what I would say is frustration for exactly what you said, couldn't be 10 minutes earlier. As was mentioned Blithe survived longer than the show says. As it turns out he didn't keep in touch with anyone from Easy Company and showed up at no reunions so they all lost track of him and it became an assumption that he died (not sure why they didn't go back in and correct that text though). For Spears the POW thing was much different in the show than in reality. In reality it was him and two other men who captured 3 Germans as they were making their way to try to meet up with everyone in that insanity at the start and they were following orders of no prisoners (which is sad but makes sense as at that time there is nothing in place to be able to handle taking prisoners). The other thing that was mentioned about him shooting one of his own men was another example of how rumors grow. Apparently he did shoot one of his own but it was in self defense and he was ruled that way. It sounds like it was because of someone refusing to go on patron but the way this drunk soldier refused was drawing his weapon on Spears and Spears shot him in self defense. The scene where they didn't throw a grenade into the house and it ended up being civilians may or may not have happened during this battle as well but definitely happened in a different spot in the war for Easy company which wasn't included in the series. They did a great job of incorporating different things that I read about in many different books about the war and many in very subtle ways. Little things down to how soldiers handled different events. There is one thing I question and it is when it is said that Talbert didn't get a purple heart because he wasn't wounded by the enemy but when the guy with 3 of them was talking he mentions that one was from a boil that needed lanced. Not sure how that would be a wound by the enemy.
Airborne! Highlight of my 29 years in the US Army was serving in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment on the DeMilitarized Zone on Korea in 1997-98 since the Korean war never ended. Amazing heritage! Millions of American men volunteered to join this fight for freedom. You can see this in the movie, We were Soldiers once and young, from the Vietnam War and Lone Survivor, US Navy SEAL team in the war in Afghanistan after 911. Your reactions can be to thank God for such brave men willing to risk their lives and die that we could live free 75 years later.
"He can't see, or he can't count?" Imagine being American, trying to make heads or tails of British currency? "Bobs", 'tanners" "florins" "joeys"?? (or "shillings", "pounds", "tuppence", "threepenny," soverigns", "sixpence", "quid"??) Complete chaos.
The guy blown up at 12:26 was privite Tipper. He was the one who had all the letters Sobel commented on in the beginning. He not only survived the war (did lose his eye though)but had a baby at nearly 70.
In the scene in the hospital where the one guy says to the other with 3 Purple Hearts "have you no shame?' That guy talking (Popeye) is lying on his stomach because he got shot in the ass in the previous episode when they were attacking the artillery guns. Remember he was apologizing for getting shot? Remember that ass shooting aspect 😉
You may already know this, my apologies in advance if you do; the medals in the hospital are "Purple Hearts" One get those if wounded by enemy fire. The guy bayoneted was not wounded by the enemy. The guy getting extra was getting one for him.
Carentan was used as a multiplayer map in CoD 1 and 2 and has been in like 9 other Call of Duty games since, one of the most recognizable video game settings in history at this point.
The story about Spiers is all true. He was under orders by heir commanding general that no prisoners be taken until after the beachhead at Normandy was established, the paratroopers did not have the men or the space to house them. It is unfortunate but was necessary, those first 24 hours there was no room for mercy.
There was a saying among American troops, "The Germans fight for the Fatherland, the Russians fight for the Motherland, the British fight for King and country, and we Americans fight for souvenirs." 😊
In Carentan Easy was being hit by artillery or mortar fire. Being well trained the Germans would have established a preplanned target on their position (standard operating procedure for US too). Then if they have to fall back they can call artillery fire in on the attackers by simply calling for fire on the target number. Fire support is fast and accurate since there is no need to determine and communicate target location or for the fire direction center to calculate firing data to engage a preplanned target. You may have heard a soldier yell "They've got us zeroed" (well done series producers). As a fire platoon leader, which was my job in the Army for a time, provided time and fire support were available I would have called for a smoke mission (artillery or mortars) before entering the village over a constrained point like that bridge. Obscuring the defender's vision with smoke enables you to get in close before you start suffering serious casualties, placing defenders in fixed positions at a serious disadvantage. Of course if indirect fire support is available, and depending on rules of engagement (civilian harm), you might also drop high explosive shells and white phosphorus on them before entering the town, really ruining their day. At the same time, if I were the Germans, I would have preplanned the bridge and area around the bridge as an artillery target so they could have quickly and accurately engaged Easy, smoke or no smoke. Artillery is typically much more lethal than small arms fire. If you have to dig a huge hole better to use a bulldozer than a hand shovel.
The chaplain that was walking around collecting dog tags and reading last rites was played by Doug Cockle, who is the voice of Geralt from the Witcher games.
Blithe's family wasn't too happy with how ue was portrayed in the series. 1st, he died of a stomach ulcer in 1967, not from his wounds in 1948. This is where Stephen Ambrose gets his reputation of being not that good of a historian for taking the memories of 70-year-olds verbatim. Second Blithe was a street tough from Philadelphia. He should sound and act like Guarnere. His timidity was creative license to show the effects of PTSD (which Blithe did have, the hysterical blindness bit is accurate, and his COD was due to excessive drinking to cope), and actor Marc Warren said that a Southern accent is the only American accent he could do (he has a Scouse/Liverpool accent normally, most Americans know his voice as the GEICO gecko).
FYI. The episodes will get more intense once they get to Bastogne. Before I went on my Band of Brothers tour this summer,I watched an interview with a 101 year old D-Day veteran. He said that BoB was the most accurate depiction of fighting in WWII that he has seen.
The priest giving the last rights in the middle of the firefight is none other than Doug Cockle, later the voice of Geralt of Rivia. Also Spiers did shoot that Lt. but he had a reason. When you sign up for the military its a multiple year commitment. When they went back to England they are still active duty combatants. Their unit was just on leave from the Frontlines. They were always hoing back unless the war ended.
He also killed the prisoners. Winters revelead in an interview. They were still outnumbered, without proper facilities, supplies, in middle of the battle, so Speirs shot them. Many prisoners were executed in D Day, some troops had specific orders to not take prisoners.
At the beginning of this episode, many people wonder why Blithe is just standing there, looking up at the sky. He is trying to understand the juxtaposition of what all just happened. Awhile ago, he was in the dark, jumping from an airplane, that was being shot at, explosions and death all around. Now, it's quiet, he's in a field, in warm sunlight, and he's alive.
Albert Blithe did not die in the 40s. He was wounded severely enough that he was sent back to the States, where he stayed in the hospital until he was discharged from the Army in October, 1945. In 1950, he was reactivated to serve in Korea where he was awarded 1 Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars, and, 2 additional Purple Hearts.He then made a career of the Army, reaching the rank of Master Sergeant. He died, in 1967, in an Army hospital in Weisbaden, Germany, of complications of a burst ulcer.
1:44 "Where do we go from here?" Oh, my dear, sweet, Summer child. There is so much in store for you. I imagine some of Easy Company thought the same after surviving the D-Day landings, but they, like you, didn't know what was yet to come. 11:30 There's a special bond between people when someone's willing to check your junk for you to make sure it wasn't just blown off. Every guy watching this knew immediately what was happening in that scene.
I cry like a washwoman when I watch these. My Grandpa was 35 years old when he went from North Africa to Italy, came home, went BACK to Bastogne with the very celebrated Golden Lions division where he was of a very few that survived. Then pushed into Germany where he came across a not well known atrocity, Gardenlagen. When the war was ending, the Germans emptied Nordhausen. The biggest underground factory in the world! All teenage labor. Well, the marched these kids across country to Gardenlagen. And bearded them into a barn and set it on fire. When my grandpa found it, he took pictures, I still have them. Let no one tell you it was faked or the those monsters were good guys. Do NOT!!play with Fascism!!!!!!
Also at 32:00 I very much doubt that anyone in the 101st would have been thinking they were going home with the amount of Europe the German's still held.
I just came back from Sydney for a business trip and now I can't unsee the Tim Tam package in your opening animation. The dark chocolate ones are pure evil.
The edelweiss was a symbol of a different unit called the Gebirgjagers. They were mountain troopers. Both they and the fallschirmjagers(German parachute infantry) were elite forces of the German army.
Padres - or Priests - are there to give people's last rites on the battlefield. Also, being pulled off the front line was a schedule thing, they rotated regiments or divisions on the front lines, people cant be expected to fight on for months in high intensity combat like that, they need a break.
There's a saying that "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face", or something like that. So true. When I was in the US military while planning we always assumed we'd need to adapt to the unexpected, and due to screwups. Good leaders (particularly NCOs), fundamental competence throughout the ranks, well developed standard operating procedures, reliable equipment and good comms are key. You also need physically and mentally tough troops. The soldiers of Easy Company clearly met those standards, and then some.
The guy who was dead and Blithe ran into - the German soldier with the edelweiss - was presumably a Fallschirmjaeger, the German version of American Paratroopers. They were just as elite if not more than the allied paratroopers so if Blithe had known that, which he didn't, he would have been even more scared. The guy taking the dogtags was a chaplain and it's *supposed* to be a war crime to shoot them - same goes for medics. The Geneva Convention that was around before WW2 - circa 1929 - says medics are non-combatants and shooting them is a war crime if you fire at a medic or a chaplain with clear insignia. 32:51 it's British money, he didn't know what was what.
It's normal for soldiers to get what's called *relief in the line* where they're taken well back behind the front for a brief R&R. This relief will serve a number of purposes, most of which to have them recharge themselves. But additionally they will have their ranks refilled with replacement soldiers and for the newbees and vets to get acquainted with each other. Like we saw in the bar with the vet (Garnierre) and newbee (Hefron) finding out they're both from the same area in Philadelphia. Notice they both had the same Philly accent. Out of about the 20+ reactors of BoB I've watched, you guys are the first to pick up on that Lt. Spiers wasn't the one who shot the prisoners in episode 2. Almost all reactors never picked up on that at all. Well done guys. (Veteran of 40 years and 5 Peacekeeping deployments)
Easy company was the assault company of the battalion. That means that they had more heavy weapons and were usually counted on to hold the most valuable or exposed terrain while moving. That was why they were always in exposed positions. That was where the battalion was weakest during a movement or defense. Also, because of their training, they were also the least likely to break in a tough battle. When they were fighting the German tanks and infantry, Easy held their positions while the other companies broke and withdrew to more defensible terrain.
The Fallschirmjäger (German Airborne) would never have worn edelweiss, that was a symbol of the Gebirgsjäger who were the mountaineers for the German Army.
temporary blindness during extreme shell shock is a thing, all though its not common. back in the 40s, Generals thought is was just soldiers trying to get out of war, and Patton was known for slapping soldiers who claimed to be sick.
Ambrose was always known as a 'sloppy historian' bordering on plagiarism. The series pulled from the recollections of a handful of E Co veterans who may not have known certain events completely and relayed their oral histories of course from their personal perspective. Doesn't take away from the gravity or overall excellence of the series but it does invite deeper examination to flesh out the scenes depicted.
I like how they tell the truth. You are going to be scared during combat and it's all about how you handle it so you can function. And Winters has already learned, you don't stop, you don't slow down in the face of fire, you move fast and hard to force action. If you let the enemy control it, you'll lose. You have to keep pressure on your enemy all the time. Yes, at first it is costly but once you force them out of prepared positions or interrupt planned maneuvers, the battle will swing your way. The 101st Airborne Division wasn't going back home. They were only on R&R, re-equipping and integrating replacements. They knew they would go back but as you saw in that scene, they didn't think it would be that soon.
32:40 It's not that he can't count. He's not familiar with that country's currency/coinage. I find your reactions to be genuinely authentic. I'm really enjoying your channel. Reaction: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Selection: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As always, love the reaction! Couple things I want to put here, just for ya’lls sanity. Firstly: I’d ignore most of the comments. The civilians are going crazy for no reason. As someone who’s been in the Army; spent time overseas; had friends die in combat and even more friends who’ve taken their own lives. I for one love seeing that ya’ll are horrified by war, and don’t have a great grasp on everything. It means that we as soldiers have done our job correctly. It means that we’ve kept war away from our shores and allowed the majority of people to be able to live freer, less stressful lives. Never feel sorry about that! Enjoy that privilege! I’ve cross trained with Brits, Aussies, and South Koreans, and love all our partner forces! I’d also like to add some explanations and give ya’ll some context to things that didn’t seem as clear. When they are assaulting Carentan, there’s a soldier walking out in the open; kneeling over soldiers - that you had some questions about. That role in the military is called a Chaplain. Essentially, they operate the same as a medic, meaning they are noncombatants and don’t carry weapons. Their role is to provide spiritual aid much like a medic would provide physical aid. I’m not sure what the Chaplains training was like back during WWII; but these days, the Chaplain has to be able to have conversations about any religion. For example; when I was in Korea I was having a hard time being away from my wife. One night I called the emergency chaplain line, and was able to talk to my battalion chaplain. Even though he was catholic and I was not; he was able to talk about my religious beliefs. He knew some passage of scriptures that my particular religion uses. Which just shows the level of schooling and training they have. Side note: My fellow vets will get this. But the chaplain will come to your company every so often and “lead the troops in pt.” Which is a horrifying event. Every chaplain I’ve met was just decorated out the wazoo. Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger Tabbed; the whole nine yards. And they were able to out PT everyone. Even if you’re not religious; the chaplain is going to make you believe in God while you pt xD The other thing I wanted to point out that ya’ll had questions about - is the way that troops rotate in and out of combat. WWII was the last war that was fought where once you were there, you didn’t come home until you won. So when they got orders to go back to England, it wasn’t because they would be going home, but it to allow a fresh battalion of soldiers to take up the fighting while the troops coming off the line could refit with more supplies and troops; catch their breath, and then swap out with another unit. We’re used to the way that most nations fight wars these days; especially western countries where we aren’t fighting on our own soil. Where you’ll deploy for a year and then come home. But that’s a more modern way of fighting. For soldiers during WWII and back; once you were there, you saw it through to the end.
thanks for explaining all that we appreciate it 🙏🏼 ♥️ especially from someone who served 🫡 A lot of powerful sentiments in what you said and why we are blessed to be so ignorant of the true horror or war. thank you!
12:56 The man praying for the soldiers was a chaplain. You could identify them by the Christian cross on the sides of their helmets. That's why he didn't get shot. Germany was primarily a Christian nation during ww2 and most soldiers would not dare shoot a priest, especially one who was praying for the dead.
One minor thing that's noticeable in this episode is the realism in how men fall when they are shot. You see a number of men get shot while standing or running and they just slump to the ground on the spot. People don't tend to get thrown backwards or jump in the air when they are shot like in action movies. They usually just drop to the ground on the spot, and I liked that the crew paid attention to details like that.
This was such a sad journey for Blithe
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Blithe didn't die in 48. He recovered from his wound and even took part in the Korean war where he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. He died later in 67. He was still in te army and rose to the rank of master sergeant. From what I recal, everyone who was interviewd for the book the show is based on assumed he died earlier because they never heard back from him.
I also read that some of the Easy Company guys went to a funeral of an Albert Blithe in 1948, without realizing it wasn't the same person.
Seems so strange to me that HBO doesn’t ever update the part at the end regarding Blithe. If they can remove the coffee cup in game of thrones surely they can make a small text update for this.😂
He also got quite a lot of medals in Korea.
@@Yora21 He was a really stand up guy in Korea, from what I've read here.
@@robotredford They leave it because it's better for the story that he died.
He could count, he just wasn’t familiar with British currency.
I came to defend my boy, malarkey. Glad someone got here first.
As a sailor, my first duty station assigned me Thurso, Scotland. I did the same thing, holding out my hand full of coins, when I was at a cafeteria in a Glasgow train station. The cashier did the same thing as the laundress did in this episode. Before the U.K. switched to the decimal system on there money, the coins were the penny, a three penny, a sixpence, a shilling, and a crown coin. Twelve pennies made a shilling and 20 shillings equaled a pound. The crown was a half pound or ten shillings. The posted price for the sandwich and tea was displayed as "2/6" (2 and a half shillings or 30 pence). I had no clue. Thus the extended open hand. I spent the next few hours studying coins.
@@MichaelPower212 240 pennies (pence) is a good way to divide up a pound (it divides cleanly so many ways), but I can imagine it would require an good amount of immersion to get the hang of it and be comfortable.
@@MichaelPower212
And then to make matters more complicated, they didn't always use the proper names. Like n this episode, the laundry lady told him the charge was "two bob & tuppence" which was literally two shillings and two pence.
As a bit of clarification, Easy company was never going home after being pulled off the line. Since airborne troops were still new there was no established doctrine on how to use them. The original thought was to have them drop behind enemy line in front of an advance then once they linked up with friendly forces, they would be pulled off the line sent back to reorganize, refit then drop again. However, the chain of command decided to use them as elite infantry and simply kept them on the line and would pull them off the line if they needed to jump again.
Airborne! Highlight of my 29 years in the US Army was serving in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment on the DeMilitarized Zone on Korea in 1997-98. Amazing heritage! Millions of American men volunteered to join this fight for freedom.
It's not that he couldn't count his money, it was foreign British money and he didn't know the denominations
So he couldn't count his money lol
@presumed_guilty it's also pre-decimilization British currency, 12 pennies to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound, not exactly an easy conversion for an American used to 100 pennies to the dollar.
Blithe had what used to be called Hysterical Blindness, severe psychological stress and trauma producing functional neurological conditions like blindness and numbness. The kind words from Winters removed some of the anxiety and trauma and the condition went away
I don't know. It looks he made this up.
@@Pedrogog No, its documented. It has happened since too, the brain is fucking weird and dumb.
@@Pedrogog Its a legitimate psychological reaction to trauma and stress the body can fall into.
Interesting comment I was always confused as to what Blithe was suffering form panic disorder or nervous breakdown where my guesses.
Yep, psychological issues can manifest themselves physically. Adolf Hitler suffered from hysterical blindness as a corporal in WWI
The man walking around the bodies in Carentan and praying is the company chaplain. He is administering last rites to the dying. And yes, he is walking through a field of fire to do it.
A different kind of courage.
The soldier calls him an Irishman, because he was the Catholic chaplain and of Irish descent.
Probably a battalion or regimental chaplain, companies are too small to get their own chaplains.
@@kingleech16 Regimental Chaplain John Mahoney.
@@williamjohnson-e4u Thank you!
Oops! I meant Maloney. My Bad
11:51 Tipper here shockingly survived this event and was sent home to recover, he's actually one of the guys talking at the beginning of these 3 first episodes (glasses and a polo shirt) and he was in the final batch of Easy Company men to die in real life the last 4-5 years.
He also fathered a daughter when he was nearly 70. Curahee!
Glad you pointed this out! A lot of people seem to think Tipper died here
Ok, but don't say who's at the start of the episodes outside of Tipper. That always hits people hard
They weren’t going home they were given a break. Rotating in and out of combat was a part of the Army’s strategy for morale purposes and reducing what would eventually come to be known as PTSD
Great reaction like always. They really did Blithe dirty in this. I saw an interview with Winters and he was really angry about how the series depicted Blithe, in later research, after the series was made, they found out that Blythe lived. Blithe went back into the Airborne and jumped behind enemy lines in Korea as a Master Seargent. He earned the bronze star with 2 oak leaf clusters and a silver star. He never left the military.
He died in 1967 from complications from a perforated ulcer and was buried in Arlington National Cemetary with full honors. I really wish they had updated BoB to reflect what actually happened to Blithe. By the end of this journey you're going to remember all of their names. Every time I watch this series I get more and more attached to every one of these men. I can't explain it, but it's like they're family. Keep up the good work!
Yeah 1 of many mistakes by Ambrose, dude did a really great job gathering everyone's stories and info on the people that had recently died and their stories, but people like Webster and Blithe he did a very bad job researching those people (one he didn't do any research, and the other he overly researched and made him out to be a primary character in the company when he wasn't, that kind of shocked the vets who read the book that Webster had such a prominent role in the book compared to others).
Winters is an amazing man of history. Him making a point of setting the public record straight on Blithe is just another example of the great man he was.
The flower is the mark of a true soldier. Blithe taking the flower symbolizes his transition conquering his fear and becoming a true soldier.
Payment in the English laundry shop.
At this time (and up until about 1972) British money was 12 pennies make a shilling and 20 shillings make a pound which equals 240 pennies in a pound.
Goods and services were priced in pounds, shillings and pence, such at £4 9s 6d (d = denarius meaning penny)
Coins; there were farthings (a quarter of a penny), half penny, three penny, six penny,
a 12 penny coin (shilling) a 2 shilling coin (florin), a 2 shilling and 6 pence coin (half a crown) and a 5 shilling coin (a crown).
All these coins had nick names or abbreviations, so yes, a USA soldier used to 100 cents in a dollar would easily be confused.
You forgot a guinea.
Now I feel like I know how people used to the metric system feel when they encounter the Imperial system... Jesus.
@@fishsnapz5501 I was living in England in '73 when they switched to the decimal system from the imperial system. Believe it or not, there was mass confusion the other way, too.
I'm English and was just a kid when we switched to decimal which is such a more understandable and simple system, though many older people were confused by the "new" money at the time. I remember my mum dancing about when she got a new half penny in her change. :-)
@PaulDear-jb2bu I was a kid then, too. My parents, aunts, and uncles were very upset about the change over. 10 P equals one shilling. They all seemed to think it was a government conspiracy to steal their money from them very slowly.
From a retired USAF Vet, these guys were not able to return home until the war was over. Once deployed, the logistics did not exist at that time to regularly rotate units out as we do today. My longest deployment was 8 months & usually 3-4. These men went & were gone for years. When Easy Co. was relieved, they went back to England for refit, get replacements, relax a bit...no option to return "home". My great uncles & grandfather left in 1942 & didn't come back til late 45....three years. Just another reason I hold those men in the highest regards. (In this episode you get a glimpse of Eugene "Doc" Roe....the legend)
I don’t believe that is correct. I believe they initially enlisted for X-amount of time of the war, but then when the powers that be realized it was going to go longer than expected (remember, WWI ended barely 18 months after we got involved) and they began ramping up for D-Day, all troops had their re-enlistment made mandatory for the duration of the war plus 6 months.
I could be off on this slightly, but I know the enlistment/re-enlistment was a mandatory at duration +6 months from like ‘43 onward.
Many reactors have said something like "He didn't kill them did he?" when Luz saw the family hiding in the building. In an otherwise near perfect series, it is an unfortunate edit as it did not show a clear indication that that did NOT happen. Also, the soldier seriously wounded by the explosion in the cafe was Ed Tipper - he was badly wounded - broken bones, lost an eye - but he made it and just died maybe 10 years ago or so. He is one of the veterans who is occasionally interviewed in the introductions.
Yeah... but I mean, knowing that the Americans are literally there to liberate those people from the Germans is kind of a minimum... and the fact that he didn't want to throw a grenade in the first place, hence why opening the door instead, just shows his feeling (not wanting to hurt the wrong people) was right. I think most reactors are kind of in shock and assuming the worst since "it's war", but there's no real logic to him wanting to hurt them.
@@pscm9447 I've noticed that this scene, which was very obvious when the show aired in 2001, has grown much less so over the last twenty years. Part of that may have to do with several wars against insurgencies during that time. I've noticed, though, that the more the viewer knows about WW2 the less likely they are to make this mistake. Some reactors literally DON'T kknow that 'the Americans are literally there to liberate those people from the Germans'; they have barely any clue where the town is, the context for fighting for it, or whose side the civilians are on.
The man praying for everyone in the middle of the battle was the Chaplain. They are ordained priests that see to the spiritual and mental well-being of the Soldiers. They are forbidden by the Geneva Convention from carrying weapons. The Chaplain’s Assistant is an enlisted person that is supposed to protect them on the battlefield and help them conduct services for the Soldiers.
No place for mythology on the battlefield. It's putting people at risk for no reason.
@@the_eaglefan Disagree...as the old adage says "there's no atheists in a foxhole".
@@Pete-p4l that means nothing
@@the_eaglefan I agree. This is so stupid. You can be religious if you want, and try to save people souls. However, you don't need to be stupid. If he dies or gets wounded, it needs people to remove him, time, resources and people endangerous because of him.
@@Pete-p4l atheists will always be atheists, this phrase has no sense. Lack of faith doesn't come in dangerous situations. Atheism is not a idea, a faith or group, you just don't believe, it's that simple.
I’ve seen this show at least two times a year, ever since it came out. It never loses its impact. My dad fought in WWII so I have immense respect for the men from that era. I can see my dad in Winters. Not that my dad was the hero that Winters was, just that he had the same mannerisms and demeanor. He was a hero of mine though.
The lady in the laundry wasn't being insensitive, she just didn't know. Civilians in the war were trying to survive as well. These women recognized a need for soldiers to get their uniforms washed and they opened a laundry to provide that service. She had no clue what happened to the men. All she knows is that she provided a service and needed some money for her survival. War is chaotic, she was just looking for some help to get her money due and to return the clothing to the appropriate soldiers. War can seem insensitive in many ways, but survival isn't about being sensitive. Everybody sacrificed, everybody paid a price, on the battlefield, in the towns and villages of Europe, on the island of Great Britain, and back home in the states. Sacrifice is not something we truly understand today. We get upset when someone cuts us off in traffic or when the McDonalds shake machine is down. For the most part we are sedentary, lazy, entitled people, and that will be the downfall of freedom.
I always felt the "Laundry Scene" was more just to show the losses they incurred, since Mehan would have never been there to give her his clothes. More symbolic than an actual thing that happened.
@@Comtoexcel002 Exactly. It's symbolic, tho it's a possible scenario that could have happened to others that was used for dramatic purposes in this show.
@@Comtoexcel002 Yes from a movie perspective that is true. The question on the table is, "Was the woman being insensitive by asking him to take and pay for the dead soldiers laundry." I don't think she was.
It’s not that she didn’t know but to show that people keep dying a lot and to show us that Blythe and many others become casualties, even though Blythe didn’t actually pass. Like an unspoken ans sad understanding. They’ve all gone but we keep going. Life ,the war effort. Everyone doing their duty.
@@Comtoexcel002 i always thought that they went back to the same village/area that they were quartered in before D-Day, so it's possible Meehan's laundry was from then... not sure, though. Of course, post D-Day you'd think it would have occurred to the woman why some of the laundry was never picked up, so the symbolism was probably still the most important part. 🤷♀😮️
In the beginning, those were gliders. They were towed in by planes by a line, released over Normandy, and glided in during the night. There were some crashes, hard landings and successes. They often contained supplies and small transport vehicles like jeeps etc.
In fact there was one in Saving Private Ryan - the pilot (Leland Orser) who talks about command welding two jeeps into the plane without him knowing - the crashed glider is where all those POWs and Allied units rallied when the guys start tossing around all the dogtags.
Blythe lived. He went on to fight in Korea. He became a decorated master sergeant, even though band of Brothers said he died of his wounds.
In WW II, soldiers were in the war until the end- unless they were terribly wounded or dead. They did not get sent home after one fight. Some guys were in the war for three years.
12:57 He's a chaplain, so his role is to ease the pain of those who have passed from this world or are on the verge of leaving this plane of existence. As well as tending to the spiritual well being of the living. All through the power of prayer.
Catholics believe Last Rites are necessary to ask forgiveness of your sins before facing your God.
@@janeathome6643Not quite true. Catholics do not believe Last Rites are necessary.
Also Chaplains were, and remain today, from all faiths.
@@janeathome6643 Same as Orthodox, the Greek army has Priests too even to this day.
@32:38 Seriously? They think he can't count? He's confused because he's using British currency and he's an American.
The tanks that have rounded turrets are Sherman medium tanks, used by the US, UK, and Commonwealth forces. They're fairly distinctive, so the soldiers would have recognized them.
That scene when the company went back to England was just a break from front line duty. It's essential to rotate people off the line or the unit's combat capability will tank.
Yeah I've always thought how they portrayed their rotation during the French campaign was weird, because my memory from the book might be a bit shotty, but they fought in a more skirmishes till 2/3 of the way through the campaign and then got sent back to England to rest and unknowingly prepare for Market Garden since the invasion was all but finished.
@@GreyMagee74 They were "Specialist" troops who had been on campaign for 30+ days and Easy Company itself had 45-48% casualties of killed and wounded. The Division needed to regroup, refit, rest and absorb replacements for the next mission.
@22:27 I completely get why most reaction channels have this reaction but when they pull back without the other companies/units knowing, it leaves the others still on the line without support on their flank and makes them easier to be surrounded and attacked. Also, often armies would lose more men in retreat, especially disorganised retreats.
The show of course does not include those two companies getting rallied and running back to their defences within a couple of minutes. Possibly cause it makes Easy's stand look even better.
@@666johnco I assume that is why too.
Indeed. Giving up cover to run out in the open from armor is what we like to call poor decision making. But it’s also something scared folks do, just like trying to run away from artillery.
It takes a special person to lead like Winters and Lipton. I was lucky to have good leaders while in Iraq. I also experienced bad leadership before and after my deployment.
13:37 The look is because the Major (I think he was) was asking Winters whether it was safe to cross while Winters was already standing there. His willingness to stand there is an obvious sign that it is indeed safe to cross, otherwise he wouldn't be standing there, would he? The irony, of course is that it's still an ongoing battlefield so it's not 100% safe and Winters ends up taking a stray ricochet to the foot.
27:28 I think Blithe taking the eidelweiss flower represented him identifying himself as a “true soldier” since that what’s the flower supposedly represents based on what Nixon said earlier in the episode.
The Eidelweiss was the symbol of German Mountain troops (Alpenjaeger), not German Parachute troops (Fallschirmjaeger). The 101st respected the German paratroops, and fought them on a couple of occasions, but if a German paratrooper walked into a Beerhall wearing an Eidelweiss, and German Alpenjaeger were present, there'd be a BRAWL.
Sorry, "Gebirgsjaeger."
@@williamjohnson-e4u And I may be wrong, but I don't think there were any mountain troops in that part of France at the time. The exception could be units that were there recuperating and rebuilding, but the overwhelming majority were on the Eastern Front or Italian Front. They probably just used paratroopers instead since it would be an equivalency with the Americans, and edelweiss is pretty well known (if for no other reason, The Sound of Music).
@@kingleech16 Correct. I don't think any Mountain troops were there at the time, until later, in Jan., 1945 or so, when troops were marched out of northern Finland, due to Finland's capitulation, all the way down Norway, to Denmark, and hence to Alsace, France.
@@williamjohnson-e4u Now THAT is a helluva walk! I understand that Finland can get a mite nippy! 😁
The flower only grows on the Alps mountains not a tree 😅
They need to see The Sound of Music!
@@janeathome6643 The "Eidelweiss" song, which sounds like an old Austrian folk tune, was created for "The Sound of Music."
Malarkey knew how to count. He was an American unfamiliar with British coins.
What’s crazy is that this was rationalized British currency. When a friend explained English money from (iirc) the 1600s, I replied that the barter system looked a lot more attractive! 🤣
@kingleech16 I'm not sure what you mean by rationalized, but it certainly wasn't decimalized, that didn't happen til the 1970s. 12 pennies to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound and various coins for fractions of a penny/shilling/pound.
@@LordCandyDish I was referring to medieval/renaissance currencies which could be even harder to get for foreigners, with things like groats.
Winters really was the F’ing man. He was a coach too and he really coach him there. “Pour it on em Blythe” always gets me 🫡💪🏼
Remember guys, flies spread disease. Keep yours closed. 😂😂
They missed the sexual joke Luz was making! A "trouser" fly...keep THAT closed, so no STD's.
Good old Friday safety briefs. “If you’re going where it’s wet, wear a raincoat.” “Don’t be a chump, wrap that stump.” “Pizza belongs on the dinner table, not the road, wear your PPE when biking.” and all sorts of other fun ones.
For plane crash, please note though you don't ever see them in the air being towed the 101st had two regiments, 502nd Parachute infantry and the 327th Glider Infantry. Which are in most such films and shows represented by gliders crashed in fields with the para's getting all the starring roles and the glider boys barely being mentioned.
As a BTW the attack over a rise in the ground is correct as are the Mg42's in the cafe but Easy company was not attacking direct into Carentan they were taking a small hamlet to the south. Casualties like for example Lipton from other engagements were moved to this one. He was actually injured by shrapnel from an 88mm shell.
The 101st had four infantry regiments: 501 Parachute Infantry Regiment (diamond on helmet), 502 PIR (heart on helmet), 506 PIR (spade on helmet), and 327 Glider Infantry Regiment (club on helmet). The absolutely outstanding black and white film, "Battleground" showcases the 327th during the Battle of the Bulge. The trooper riding the white horse in this episode is from the 501st, based on his diamond helmet marking. The gliders carrying the 325th GIR ( in the 82nd) the 327th GIR ( in the 101st) and artillery and jeeps and re-supply and such arrived on D+1. Use American-made CG-4A and British-made Horsa gliders. That is a CG-4A glider that Blythe is walking around in the opening scene.
I served in the 82nd twice and had the honor of chatting with WWII vets of the 505th and the 325th--the two regiments in which I served. When the 82nd first went into combat in Sicily in 1943, the paratroopers were always bad-mouthing the "glider-riders", as glider soldiers were not volunteers. As well there was the perception that jumping was far more hazardous and required far more guts than simply riding in a glider. Well, the paratroopers changed their minds after seeing the carnage from the crashes during landings by the canvas-skinned gliders. And they changed their minds after seeing the gallantry under fire of the glider-boys. Both parachute and glider troops came to respect each other as brothers-in-arms as combat wore on. Danger? Guys from the 505th PIR (made all four combat jumps) told me, to a man, "Ain't no way in hell you would get me up in one of those glider death-traps!"
@@4325air I should have gone and looked up the units in the 101st from one of the books upstairs rather than looking on Wikipedia. On the use of gliders in films front they did include the Ox and Bucks light infantry attack via Horsa on Pegasus Bridge. More dangerous than parachuting but a unit of men arrived together with weapons in the same spot. Also jeeps, AT-Guns and light howitzers could be dropped in. Light tanks dropped by glider was experimented with by Britain, the Tetrarch at Normandy, but 4 were lost in crashes and they were only light tanks with a 40mm gun so not much use. The M-22 Locust was not any form of improvement. Two lost, two badly damaged out of 8. Thank god for the heavy transport helicopter. In other hazards there is the one where a HQ units glider crashed during Market Garden and the German's captured the operations plans from it. I would say possibly most hazardous use was probably the supply gliders that made one way trips to landing strips cut in the jungle in 1944 to bring supplies to the Chindit's.
@@4325air Yeah, "Battleground" (1949) is STILL a great movie! Directed by the superb William Wellman, a WWI veteran.
@@4325air And the Pep Talk (Sermon) by the Chaplain. in the movie, is still relevant today.
It's not insensitive of the lady at the end, she just, probably couldn't comprehend that all those young men had died in such a short space of time. Also Malarkey could count but it's all weird British currency of shillings and farthings.
I think it’s silly that she wouldn’t realize they are at war and men don’t come back from war sometimes. But I agree she wasn’t being insensitive, just definitely not a very thoughtful person to not realize she was listing off a bunch of dead or injured men and wanting Malarkey to pay for their laundry.
@@gwenjackson8583 I think she was just perplexed as to their status, totally unaware of their fates. The Unit would close out all outstanding accounts and debts of deceased servicemen, so there was no danger of not being paid.
It's not spelled out but armor unsupported by infantry is vulnerable to close assault by the defenders. The vision slits of those era tanks were extremely limited, so infantry could sneak close unseen and attack the tank crew with anti-tank weapons. A tank is a huge asset in a battle but not by itself. If the defenders can defeat or stop supporting infantry then the tanks either have to retreat, stay and fight and risk being destroyed or hope the defenders break.
Also they weren’t being sent home from the war, they were just being taken off the line for a break. They were always going to go back and fight, their leave was just cut short.
The truth is Spears told a sergeant in his platoon he was too drunk to go on patrol and the sergeant said he was going anyway. And then Spears shot him. It was Spears talk with Blithe that turned Blithe into a great soldier. Blithe went on to win a medal of valor in WW II and another medal of valor in the Korean War. Blithe passed away in 1967
You are missing out some important details, speirs shot the guy in self defense, the guy was a loose cannon and poined his gun at speirs after disobeying direct orders. Speirs had to shoot him. This was backed up by his unit, it was ruled justified.
As a veteran, it's nice to see you two react to this series. Your genuine empathy is good to see. A lot of younger people have no idea what this stuff is like. They don't respect us. I hope this show helps you appreciate the privilege of living in peace.
Blithe is buried in Arlington Cemetery along with 4 other Band of Brothers. (He died in the 1960's or later I believe)
The. Man at 12:52 that is praying for the soldiers was Chaplain John Maloney.
Though this series is about actual events, it is based on a book of interviews and memoirs told by the soldiers who were there. The facts may therefore be misremembered or different depending on each man's personal experiences. The scene where the boys are talking about Speirs killing German POWs demonstrates this well, as all tell a version of the story but none actually saw it happen. And neither did we viewers.
My Grandpa was in the US Navy and went to the South Pacific during WWII, he was on aboard a DE Ship (Destroyer Escort). He said to me that they had orders to flow the fleet and head towards for the Invasion of Tarawa Atoll. My Grandpa was a Landing Craft Operator and he was bringing back Wounded US Marines to the Hospital Ships. But when he was getting more wounded Marines he was running towards a live US Marine, but a Japanese Mortar Shell hit between them and my grandpa flew 20 feet. He started to wake up because the US Marine woke him up calling my Grandpa "Boats" because of his patch having Boatswain Mate on the Patch. When my grandpa woke up seeing the Marine right in front of him and said thanks, and when the Marine turned to face him, Grandpa saw a big giant hole on his right side, Blood and guts were coming out of him. The adrenaline was keeping the Marine alive and not feeling any pain, but the Marine knew that he wouldn't be going home so he asked my Grandpa for his Sidearm and to not look back, and continue getting the wounded back to the Hospital ships. My Grandpa gave his Sidearm to the Marine, My grandpa told me the last look he saw on the Marines face was a smile and my grandpa turned and ran about 15 steps until he heard his Sidearm going off. Grandpa never looked back and he continue getting the wounded on his Landing Craft, and sending them to the Hospital ships.
Soldiers were rotated on the front lines to give them rest, physical and mentally, plus get replacements. When ppl were pulled off the line, others would take their place. The airborne were elite units. Their job in Normandy was over. They were pulled off the line, to wait for their next jump.
The parachutes were made of white real silk, which is why it would be good to use to make a nice wedding dress.
Remember that Easy Company is one of 3 in a battalion, 3 battalions in a Regiment/Brigade, 3 Regiments/Brigades in a Division, about 3 Divisions in a Corps, about 3 Corps in an Army, about 3 Armies in an Army Group. So following Easy Company is watching a very tiny portion of the whole Allied force in Western Europe. And of course, British/Commonwealth forces had been fighting 5 years, and some American units, like the 1st Division, had been fighting 1 1/2 years, in places like North Africa and Sicily before fighting in Normandy, while this is the very first Easy Company/101st Airborne Division have fought, so they would not be going home- as long as Hitler continued the war. All the fighting and losses were about defeating Germany and that took precedence over everything else.
This was my maternal grandfather’s unit. He will be wounded twice during episode 6. The second time in the church.
He passed in March 1986.
Nice seeing you point out that Blithe potentially saved someone with that shot. The German soldier was lining someone up. I also like the reaction of Welsh when being told that they were being pulled off the line with what I would say is frustration for exactly what you said, couldn't be 10 minutes earlier. As was mentioned Blithe survived longer than the show says. As it turns out he didn't keep in touch with anyone from Easy Company and showed up at no reunions so they all lost track of him and it became an assumption that he died (not sure why they didn't go back in and correct that text though).
For Spears the POW thing was much different in the show than in reality. In reality it was him and two other men who captured 3 Germans as they were making their way to try to meet up with everyone in that insanity at the start and they were following orders of no prisoners (which is sad but makes sense as at that time there is nothing in place to be able to handle taking prisoners). The other thing that was mentioned about him shooting one of his own men was another example of how rumors grow. Apparently he did shoot one of his own but it was in self defense and he was ruled that way. It sounds like it was because of someone refusing to go on patron but the way this drunk soldier refused was drawing his weapon on Spears and Spears shot him in self defense.
The scene where they didn't throw a grenade into the house and it ended up being civilians may or may not have happened during this battle as well but definitely happened in a different spot in the war for Easy company which wasn't included in the series. They did a great job of incorporating different things that I read about in many different books about the war and many in very subtle ways. Little things down to how soldiers handled different events.
There is one thing I question and it is when it is said that Talbert didn't get a purple heart because he wasn't wounded by the enemy but when the guy with 3 of them was talking he mentions that one was from a boil that needed lanced. Not sure how that would be a wound by the enemy.
Airborne! Highlight of my 29 years in the US Army was serving in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment on the DeMilitarized Zone on Korea in 1997-98 since the Korean war never ended. Amazing heritage! Millions of American men volunteered to join this fight for freedom. You can see this in the movie, We were Soldiers once and young, from the Vietnam War and Lone Survivor, US Navy SEAL team in the war in Afghanistan after 911. Your reactions can be to thank God for such brave men willing to risk their lives and die that we could live free 75 years later.
"He can't see, or he can't count?" Imagine being American, trying to make heads or tails of British currency? "Bobs", 'tanners" "florins" "joeys"?? (or "shillings", "pounds", "tuppence", "threepenny," soverigns", "sixpence", "quid"??) Complete chaos.
The guy blown up at 12:26 was privite Tipper. He was the one who had all the letters Sobel commented on in the beginning.
He not only survived the war (did lose his eye though)but had a baby at nearly 70.
That baby ended up being a politician I believe.
@@jamesellis1972 I looked her up: she's the Deputy City for Denver Colorado
Edelweiss. Cool song.
It doesn't matter how many times I watch this episode it still hits me every time.
In the scene in the hospital where the one guy says to the other with 3 Purple Hearts "have you no shame?' That guy talking (Popeye) is lying on his stomach because he got shot in the ass in the previous episode when they were attacking the artillery guns. Remember he was apologizing for getting shot?
Remember that ass shooting aspect 😉
It’s an Easy Company tradition
@@michaelstach5744 Shhhhh. 😁
You may already know this, my apologies in advance if you do; the medals in the hospital are "Purple Hearts" One get those if wounded by enemy fire. The guy bayoneted was not wounded by the enemy. The guy getting extra was getting one for him.
Carentan was used as a multiplayer map in CoD 1 and 2 and has been in like 9 other Call of Duty games since, one of the most recognizable video game settings in history at this point.
At 5:27 was definitely a cheeky joke
The story about Spiers is all true. He was under orders by heir commanding general that no prisoners be taken until after the beachhead at Normandy was established, the paratroopers did not have the men or the space to house them. It is unfortunate but was necessary, those first 24 hours there was no room for mercy.
There was a saying among American troops, "The Germans fight for the Fatherland, the Russians fight for the Motherland, the British fight for King and country, and we Americans fight for souvenirs." 😊
In Carentan Easy was being hit by artillery or mortar fire. Being well trained the Germans would have established a preplanned target on their position (standard operating procedure for US too). Then if they have to fall back they can call artillery fire in on the attackers by simply calling for fire on the target number. Fire support is fast and accurate since there is no need to determine and communicate target location or for the fire direction center to calculate firing data to engage a preplanned target. You may have heard a soldier yell "They've got us zeroed" (well done series producers).
As a fire platoon leader, which was my job in the Army for a time, provided time and fire support were available I would have called for a smoke mission (artillery or mortars) before entering the village over a constrained point like that bridge. Obscuring the defender's vision with smoke enables you to get in close before you start suffering serious casualties, placing defenders in fixed positions at a serious disadvantage. Of course if indirect fire support is available, and depending on rules of engagement (civilian harm), you might also drop high explosive shells and white phosphorus on them before entering the town, really ruining their day. At the same time, if I were the Germans, I would have preplanned the bridge and area around the bridge as an artillery target so they could have quickly and accurately engaged Easy, smoke or no smoke. Artillery is typically much more lethal than small arms fire. If you have to dig a huge hole better to use a bulldozer than a hand shovel.
The chaplain that was walking around collecting dog tags and reading last rites was played by Doug Cockle, who is the voice of Geralt from the Witcher games.
The reason strayer is so pissed that dog and fox pulled back was that it left easy company alone on the line, and it opened up a flank on their left.
Blithe's family wasn't too happy with how ue was portrayed in the series. 1st, he died of a stomach ulcer in 1967, not from his wounds in 1948. This is where Stephen Ambrose gets his reputation of being not that good of a historian for taking the memories of 70-year-olds verbatim. Second Blithe was a street tough from Philadelphia. He should sound and act like Guarnere. His timidity was creative license to show the effects of PTSD (which Blithe did have, the hysterical blindness bit is accurate, and his COD was due to excessive drinking to cope), and actor Marc Warren said that a Southern accent is the only American accent he could do (he has a Scouse/Liverpool accent normally, most Americans know his voice as the GEICO gecko).
"There's no way the medics are getting up there." Oh just you wait until you meet their Medic. The legend himself Eugene "Doc" Roe. Man is a legend.
When the soldier ripped open Donny Wahlberg's fly and said, "Everything's where it should be," he meant that he still had his "frank and beans." 😅
Your reaction is why everyone needs to see this series if not shown in school at some point
FYI. The episodes will get more intense once they get to Bastogne. Before I went on my Band of Brothers tour this summer,I watched an interview with a 101 year old D-Day veteran. He said that BoB was the most accurate depiction of fighting in WWII that he has seen.
"War is hell" is a rough quote from General William T. Sherman
I think it's "War is Hell...and you can't refine it."
The speech Spears gives to Blithe about thinking yourself as dead is from Sun Tzu's Art of War
The priest giving the last rights in the middle of the firefight is none other than Doug Cockle, later the voice of Geralt of Rivia.
Also Spiers did shoot that Lt. but he had a reason.
When you sign up for the military its a multiple year commitment. When they went back to England they are still active duty combatants. Their unit was just on leave from the Frontlines. They were always hoing back unless the war ended.
That’s Geralt?? No way! I never knew haha
He also killed the prisoners. Winters revelead in an interview. They were still outnumbered, without proper facilities, supplies, in middle of the battle, so Speirs shot them. Many prisoners were executed in D Day, some troops had specific orders to not take prisoners.
The Chaplain that was giving last rights in the middle of the gunfight was played by the guy who voices Geralt in The Witcher games.
At the beginning of this episode, many people wonder why Blithe is just standing there, looking up at the sky. He is trying to understand the juxtaposition of what all just happened. Awhile ago, he was in the dark, jumping from an airplane, that was being shot at, explosions and death all around. Now, it's quiet, he's in a field, in warm sunlight, and he's alive.
Albert Blithe did not die in the 40s. He was wounded severely enough that he was sent back to the States, where he stayed in the hospital until he was discharged from the Army in October, 1945. In 1950, he was reactivated to serve in Korea where he was awarded 1 Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars, and, 2 additional Purple Hearts.He then made a career of the Army, reaching the rank of Master Sergeant. He died, in 1967, in an Army hospital in Weisbaden, Germany, of complications of a burst ulcer.
This is the most concise explanation of the Blithe error amongst all the comments. Thanks!
1:44 "Where do we go from here?"
Oh, my dear, sweet, Summer child. There is so much in store for you. I imagine some of Easy Company thought the same after surviving the D-Day landings, but they, like you, didn't know what was yet to come.
11:30 There's a special bond between people when someone's willing to check your junk for you to make sure it wasn't just blown off. Every guy watching this knew immediately what was happening in that scene.
I cry like a washwoman when I watch these. My Grandpa was 35 years old when he went from North Africa to Italy, came home, went BACK to Bastogne with the very celebrated Golden Lions division where he was of a very few that survived. Then pushed into Germany where he came across a not well known atrocity, Gardenlagen. When the war was ending, the Germans emptied Nordhausen. The biggest underground factory in the world! All teenage labor. Well, the marched these kids across country to Gardenlagen. And bearded them into a barn and set it on fire. When my grandpa found it, he took pictures, I still have them. Let no one tell you it was faked or the those monsters were good guys. Do NOT!!play with Fascism!!!!!!
Also at 32:00 I very much doubt that anyone in the 101st would have been thinking they were going home with the amount of Europe the German's still held.
I just came back from Sydney for a business trip and now I can't unsee the Tim Tam package in your opening animation. The dark chocolate ones are pure evil.
4:30 The Pacific says: "Hold my beer".😱
The edelweiss was a symbol of a different unit called the Gebirgjagers. They were mountain troopers. Both they and the fallschirmjagers(German parachute infantry) were elite forces of the German army.
Padres - or Priests - are there to give people's last rites on the battlefield. Also, being pulled off the front line was a schedule thing, they rotated regiments or divisions on the front lines, people cant be expected to fight on for months in high intensity combat like that, they need a break.
The laundry lady didn’t know the soldier were dead but the soldier collecting them did.
My favorite episode for combat. It isn't your life being taken, but the lives you take.
The wreck of an aircraft at the beginning of the episode would have been a glider. The 101 had both paratrooper and glider regiments.
There's a saying that "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face", or something like that. So true. When I was in the US military while planning we always assumed we'd need to adapt to the unexpected, and due to screwups. Good leaders (particularly NCOs), fundamental competence throughout the ranks, well developed standard operating procedures, reliable equipment and good comms are key. You also need physically and mentally tough troops. The soldiers of Easy Company clearly met those standards, and then some.
Wow, didn't even crack a smile at the "fly" joke! Y'all were already on edge right from the beginning haha.
They maybe didn't get it. Maybe we have to explain it.
The guy who was dead and Blithe ran into - the German soldier with the edelweiss - was presumably a Fallschirmjaeger, the German version of American Paratroopers. They were just as elite if not more than the allied paratroopers so if Blithe had known that, which he didn't, he would have been even more scared.
The guy taking the dogtags was a chaplain and it's *supposed* to be a war crime to shoot them - same goes for medics. The Geneva Convention that was around before WW2 - circa 1929 - says medics are non-combatants and shooting them is a war crime if you fire at a medic or a chaplain with clear insignia.
32:51 it's British money, he didn't know what was what.
To be clear, they were NOT going home. Units got regularly rotated off the front lines to rest & refit, and, then they returned to the fight.
It's normal for soldiers to get what's called *relief in the line* where they're taken well back behind the front for a brief R&R. This relief will serve a number of purposes, most of which to have them recharge themselves. But additionally they will have their ranks refilled with replacement soldiers and for the newbees and vets to get acquainted with each other. Like we saw in the bar with the vet (Garnierre) and newbee (Hefron) finding out they're both from the same area in Philadelphia. Notice they both had the same Philly accent.
Out of about the 20+ reactors of BoB I've watched, you guys are the first to pick up on that Lt. Spiers wasn't the one who shot the prisoners in episode 2. Almost all reactors never picked up on that at all. Well done guys.
(Veteran of 40 years and 5 Peacekeeping deployments)
Easy company was the assault company of the battalion. That means that they had more heavy weapons and were usually counted on to hold the most valuable or exposed terrain while moving. That was why they were always in exposed positions. That was where the battalion was weakest during a movement or defense. Also, because of their training, they were also the least likely to break in a tough battle. When they were fighting the German tanks and infantry, Easy held their positions while the other companies broke and withdrew to more defensible terrain.
The Fallschirmjäger (German Airborne) would never have worn edelweiss, that was a symbol of the Gebirgsjäger who were the mountaineers for the German Army.
32:37 he's not familiar with the coins
temporary blindness during extreme shell shock is a thing, all though its not common. back in the 40s, Generals thought is was just soldiers trying to get out of war, and Patton was known for slapping soldiers who claimed to be sick.
Ambrose was always known as a 'sloppy historian' bordering on plagiarism. The series pulled from the recollections of a handful of E Co veterans who may not have known certain events completely and relayed their oral histories of course from their personal perspective. Doesn't take away from the gravity or overall excellence of the series but it does invite deeper examination to flesh out the scenes depicted.
I like how they tell the truth. You are going to be scared during combat and it's all about how you handle it so you can function. And Winters has already learned, you don't stop, you don't slow down in the face of fire, you move fast and hard to force action. If you let the enemy control it, you'll lose. You have to keep pressure on your enemy all the time. Yes, at first it is costly but once you force them out of prepared positions or interrupt planned maneuvers, the battle will swing your way. The 101st Airborne Division wasn't going back home. They were only on R&R, re-equipping and integrating replacements. They knew they would go back but as you saw in that scene, they didn't think it would be that soon.
32:40
It's not that he can't count. He's not familiar with that country's currency/coinage.
I find your reactions to be genuinely authentic. I'm really enjoying your channel.
Reaction: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Selection: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As always, love the reaction! Couple things I want to put here, just for ya’lls sanity.
Firstly: I’d ignore most of the comments. The civilians are going crazy for no reason. As someone who’s been in the Army; spent time overseas; had friends die in combat and even more friends who’ve taken their own lives. I for one love seeing that ya’ll are horrified by war, and don’t have a great grasp on everything. It means that we as soldiers have done our job correctly. It means that we’ve kept war away from our shores and allowed the majority of people to be able to live freer, less stressful lives. Never feel sorry about that! Enjoy that privilege! I’ve cross trained with Brits, Aussies, and South Koreans, and love all our partner forces!
I’d also like to add some explanations and give ya’ll some context to things that didn’t seem as clear.
When they are assaulting Carentan, there’s a soldier walking out in the open; kneeling over soldiers - that you had some questions about. That role in the military is called a Chaplain. Essentially, they operate the same as a medic, meaning they are noncombatants and don’t carry weapons. Their role is to provide spiritual aid much like a medic would provide physical aid. I’m not sure what the Chaplains training was like back during WWII; but these days, the Chaplain has to be able to have conversations about any religion. For example; when I was in Korea I was having a hard time being away from my wife. One night I called the emergency chaplain line, and was able to talk to my battalion chaplain. Even though he was catholic and I was not; he was able to talk about my religious beliefs. He knew some passage of scriptures that my particular religion uses. Which just shows the level of schooling and training they have.
Side note: My fellow vets will get this. But the chaplain will come to your company every so often and “lead the troops in pt.” Which is a horrifying event. Every chaplain I’ve met was just decorated out the wazoo. Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger Tabbed; the whole nine yards. And they were able to out PT everyone. Even if you’re not religious; the chaplain is going to make you believe in God while you pt xD
The other thing I wanted to point out that ya’ll had questions about - is the way that troops rotate in and out of combat. WWII was the last war that was fought where once you were there, you didn’t come home until you won. So when they got orders to go back to England, it wasn’t because they would be going home, but it to allow a fresh battalion of soldiers to take up the fighting while the troops coming off the line could refit with more supplies and troops; catch their breath, and then swap out with another unit.
We’re used to the way that most nations fight wars these days; especially western countries where we aren’t fighting on our own soil. Where you’ll deploy for a year and then come home. But that’s a more modern way of fighting. For soldiers during WWII and back; once you were there, you saw it through to the end.
thanks for explaining all that we appreciate it 🙏🏼 ♥️ especially from someone who served 🫡 A lot of powerful sentiments in what you said and why we are blessed to be so ignorant of the true horror or war. thank you!
12:56 The man praying for the soldiers was a chaplain. You could identify them by the Christian cross on the sides of their helmets. That's why he didn't get shot. Germany was primarily a Christian nation during ww2 and most soldiers would not dare shoot a priest, especially one who was praying for the dead.
Part of the reason Talbot got bayoneted is he was wearing a German raincoat. He did survive and they commemorated the incident by creating a poem.
It WAS a real, neat German poncho!
Boys, girls: I think we're gonna see Pudgey full on cry during two episodes (you know the two). She's already getting maxed out on stress with these
One minor thing that's noticeable in this episode is the realism in how men fall when they are shot. You see a number of men get shot while standing or running and they just slump to the ground on the spot. People don't tend to get thrown backwards or jump in the air when they are shot like in action movies. They usually just drop to the ground on the spot, and I liked that the crew paid attention to details like that.
Just drop like a puppet, with its strings cut all at once.
32:40 It's foreign currency, he doesn't know which coin is what denomination.
For a portrayal of Aussie troops fighting heroically, I highly recommend DANGER CLOSE. It is closely based on a true story from 1966 in Vietnam.
Harrowing Battle...and Good movie