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The scene where Eugene Ro chews out Lt. Winters and Lt. Welsh always gets to me. Those are officers of a higher rank and he doesn't hesitate for a second to lay into them when a man's life is on the line. They just sit there and take it too. It's a great preview of the kind of respect and trust they have in Doc Ro that we see front and center in Episode 6.
A great example for exemplary leadership. They could have checked him but the best leaders are humble enough to admit fault, especially to a subordinate. There's no way Roe would've gotten away with that with someone like Sobel. Another reason why Winters was held in such high regard.
Well, medics, doctors and nurses always outrank anyone depending on the wound, injury or circumstances in general. Their word matters heavily considering all the training they have in order to treat anyone in combat.
Technically, not even a medic gets to break the chain of command. That being said, your an idiot if you jerk around the medic. The guy could literally have your life in his hands.
Doc knows best, and you sure as shit don't want to anger him with your life on the line. So they usually get away with some pretty rough condescension.
This episode was directed by Tom Hanks and I think he did a fantastic job. Using the typewriter to not only tell the story but using the sound to transition to gunfire. He then uses the sound of the subway later on to transition to Winters PTSD flashbacks as well. This episode was my favourite of all the episodes so far.
Jimmy Fallon is playing Second Lieutenant George C. Rice of the 10th Armored Division in his cameo. Rice is a true blue hero himself. Knowing that Bastogne was going to be surrounded, and knowing that the 101st was going to be really short on ammunition, Rice and two enlisted volunteers made eight separate trips in a jeep that was towing a trailer back and forth from a nearby supply depot to Bastogne in order to bring what ammo he could to the troops digging in against the German advance. They did this on his own volition. Rice's last trip was technically made after the Germans had surrounded the town, so he ordered his two helpers to stay back. He made the last trip alone, and could have been captured or killed at any time. The only reason he didn't make a tenth trip was because he was specifically ordered by his CO to stand down. Rice was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions.
A little trivia: Fallon is a native of NYC, and did not drive often, and had no idea how to work the clutch on a WWII Jeep... when they showed the jeep moving in the shot, they had to be careful not to show the crew members pushing the jeep!
For a bit, I misplaced the disc that had Bastogne and this episode. So these two almost feel like newer episodes to me. The Breaking Point is the best episode of all the them.
Moose was shot by one of his own men, a new replacement. His mistake was that he didn't respond to the challenge with the proper password, and I'm sure, if you're a lone sentry at night in a country at war, hearing something shout "IT'S MOOSE" might very well sound like some german words instead. Until the end of his life, Moose claimed he never remembered what the proper response should have been, that night.
It apparently was not the first time Moose forgot the password but he got lucky the previous times. There was a constant danger of German raiders infiltrating the American lines so the sentry was justified in shooting. The sentry was transferred to another company in case there was any bad blood about the shooting.
In his memoirs, Winters describes standing alone on that hill firing on the huge mass of enemy as being in one of those "flow states" where everyone else is moving super-slowly but you're able to move fast. He could tell everything they were all about to do well before they did it. Rare, but it happens. Also, apparently Liebgott was a lot more bloodthirsty than the show depicts: When Winters ordered him to drop most of his ammo to take the prisoners, Winters had kept his gun at the ready incase Liebgott reacted violently to the order.
this is called push-forward combat. Video games such as the reboot of Doom ((2016), utilize this in such an effective way, that even when playing against unsurmountable odds, you can always achieve victory if you understand the 'flow state' and use it to your advantage.
The red smoke charge is depicted a little different in the show vs the real event. They actually all started charging at the same time but Winters was such an athlete he just beat the rest of Easy Company up the hill.
Came to say this, they had to change to be more believable to the audience. Wasn’t the first time they had to change the real thing because it wouldn’t seem believable to the audiences.
@@midgetwars1 probably a little of both but Damian Lewis has said he was nowhere near the athlete Dick Winters was couldn’t replicate how gifted he was physically. So probably both played into it.
The post action report for this actually had Winters giving all of the credit and bravery to the other men he fought alongside. Shows a great continuation of his character and his modest leadership
36:27 there's an entire section in Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" about the use of sound to accomplish many different things including the art of deception. The use of sound as deception has been a thing since war began.
Alley (The wounded man near the beginning) survived, and tells the story of how he got blown up in We Stand Alone Together. Lesniewski had a German throw a grenade at him, it bounced off his helmet and rolled down into the trench where the men were and landed next to Alley. Lesniewski yelled "GRENADE!" and Alley was able to turn his head before it exploded, which saved his life.
Haven't listened to the discussion yet but some things about Crossroads: The show somewhat plays down Winters' charge, he threw a Grenade at the scout initially but left his tape on the trigger so it didn't arm, then the Scout threw one back at him which also didn't go off for some reason. Winter's unloads 3 clips before the rest of the Platoon arrives. Easy actually chased the German detachment all the way to a ferry crossing on the river some miles away using textbook fire and maneuver tactics, the Germans had gun emplacements on the other side of the river that forced Easy to break off.
And the dude he shot wasn't in that field, he was up on the road. And Winters started running the same time as everybody else, he was just faster. And he actually enjoyed his time in Paris and did a lot of sightseeing, that's not reflected in the episode at all. Hollywood is still Hollywood.
@@buddystewart2020 "Hollywood is still Hollywood." What a dumb statement. You go try to sell a $172 million (adjusted for inflation) miniseries to HBO that covers every "correct" detail, smh. "Yeah, I figure it'll be at least 21,900 hour-long episodes." Ever study screenwriting, storytelling, or the kinds of sacrifices it takes to get even things like this up on screen? You sound like a bitter Boomer that watches Fox News all day waiting for their grandkids to never call.
Dick Winters said that if he could pick just one man from Easy to go into combat with it would have been Floyd "Tab" Talbert. Tab survived the war, but never recovered from the horrors of war and became a recluse.
Apparently that was a mistake in the book. His daughter were very upset about his description in the book. Based on what I have read, his daughter seems correct. She also admits he fell into alcoholism for some time but managed to become sober and all his finances in order. The only reason for this rumor was when he received a terminal diagnosis, he moved to California and lived in the outdoors because he enjoyed them very much.
Ron Singleton as Nixon is one of my favorite characters in this show; very likable, but also clearly shown to be becoming more and more of an alcoholic as the show progresses 😔
Operation Pegasus referred to the fact that they were rescuing the British airborne division. Pegasus is the emblem of the British airborne during WW2.
Most of the British had retreated in earlier actions the Soldiers rescued from this were mainly troops who escaped captured in Arnhem going to ground (with the help of dutch resistance) or Soldiers who escaped Field hospitals after being captured or handed over during the ceasefire (the guy who swam the Rhine was Frosts 2nd in command was one of the escapees) They by that point had been laying low for several weeks by the time a rescue was organised!
@@lamploughd Spot on the British troops by that time had given the Germans a vastly superior force a bloody nose. And had refused to surrender all through the fighting.
@@robintaylor1296 And all because the American 82nd Airborne had failed to take the road bridges at Nijmegen during Market Garden, which would have allowed British XXX Corps armoured and motorised forces to advance and reinforce the British 1st Airborne encircled in Arnhem.
Not exactly "rescuing"... Easy Company provided a patrol under Donald Malarkey to cross over and provide security on the north bank while the ferrying operation was carried out by the Royal Engineers, who provided the boats.
@@davemac1197 Then what the hell was it? It WAS a rescue! You Brits are so quick to steal from others while denying the truth. You thieves also tried to take credit for Bastogne, until Churchill had to step in and remind Monty and Parliament that "Bastogne was an American victory". ALWAYS STEALING FROM OTHERS. And let's not forget when some of your intelligence officers tried to MURDER American intelligence officers who were trying to rescue downed American flymen in Yugoslavia. Goddam murderers and thieves.
Worth pointing out that in the red smoke scene Winters didn't actually tell his men to wait before charging out. They all left at the same time but he was just that much faster than everyone else.
An interesting note: The battle at the crossroads would be the last time that Winters ever fired a weapon at the enemy. Between both his new station and his PTSD over that one kid he never raised a gun in retaliation ever again through the rest of the war.
This is when Tom Hanks takes the reigns and becomes more introspective. Before PTSD was really even understood or considered seriously. "There's a LOT of shit and it's headed this way." It's amazing to me how Easy is never allowed to retreat, while the rest are just allowed to leave. Currahee ♠
30:38 Y'all DID see Moose's mission, when they crossed the Rhine in the boats, reached the Red Devils (British Paratroops), Moose talked to Lt. Colonel Dobie, giving orders, setting up/adjusting covering fire, etc. to successfully ferry the Brits back to 2nd Battalion, where they had that party in the farmhouse. He's even wearing one of the Red Devils' berets at the party.
Gliders were one way operations. Depending on the size of the glider, they may be carrying troops, equipment, artillery pieces, vehicles or even tanks. British troop transport gliders carrying 180 men were used to assault and capture a couple of key bridges inland of the landing beaches. One of those bridges is now known as Pegasus Bridge. This may be a link to Operation Pegasus in the episode, since the rescued men were paratroopers, and the men assaulting the bridges were airborne as well.
The leader of the airborne glider assault was Major John Howard, who led the assault on Pegasus one bridge while his second-in-command took the other. The glider assault was reinforced with paratroopers, including Lt Richard Todd, who met Major Howard on the bridge. Todd became an actor after WW2, and would end up playing Major Howard in the film "The Longest Day". He is also famous for playing Guy Gibson in "The Dambusters".
Men from easy said that the "crossroads" operation was the highlight/best of Easy Companys action and showed how good they were when at full operational capacity.
When Winters removed Liebgott's ammo, there was actually a prisoner among the Germans that actually understood english. All of them were relieved when Winters took away all of his ammo. They were terrified they were actually going to die. Winters explains this is in the book "Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
The incident is also mentioned in the original book. Liebgott supposedly had a rep. There was a German officer among the prisoners who immediately relaxed when Winters intervened.
"Crossroads...Like Bone Thugs 'N Harmony". most random outlandish thing i have ever heard. the sound design of this particular episode, because of the long and open environment of the main combat scenes in the field is immaculate. i love how you can hear all of the gunfire whizzing by and literally feel the impact of the mortar and cannon explosions.
This series up to this point has been damn good. But these next couple will blow your mind. So glad that the whole BW Crew has gotten into this legendary series.
Fun fact the Jeep Driver from 10th Armor did multiple supply runs to that same ammo dump far behind the line the Germans just Broken through whilst under fire to deliver ammo for the paratroopers until his commanding officer commanded him to stop. For his actions that evening he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Also although the Battle of Bastogne is often taught and told from a 101st airborne point of view 10th Armor and their engineers were also in Bastogne and holding the lines with the Paratroopers. Most of their Armor was disabled so they instead were effectively used as stationary anti tank guns but most of the Soldiers like the Paratroopers just dug in.
The single German that Winters shot after cresting the hill was the German Sentry that was SUPPOSED to be watching the field that Winters and Easy Co were running across. He was smiling at Winters because he mistook Winters as one of his comrades. When he realized he was looking at an enemy instead of a friend is when his smile changed to shock.
The Major who was killed that forced Sink to promote Winters to take his place was Major Horton. Remember his name? In the episode “Currahee” Luz impersonated his voice and convinced Sobel to cut the fence which let the cows loose. Major, later Lt. Col Strayer, later told Sobel that Major Horton was on leave in London.
About sound diversions, I can't remember where it was- the Ardennes, Hurtgen, or elsewhere, but I believe it was an American supply column that got their trucks stuck in the mud, on a poor forest road, when they found that a German armor unit was heading their way. They desperately started pulling the trucks out of the mud with recovery vehicles. The Germans heard, in the distance, the revving engines of all those recovery vehicles, and to them it sounded like a large American armor unit getting into position, so they bypassed the area! It may not have been a deliberate diversion, but making all that noise prevented a mostly defenseless supply unit from being wiped out!
Last summer, I visited my aunt and her family and I begged my mom to stop at the Crossroads location because I wanted to see if it was really there. The crossroads look almost the same in real life as it does on-screen, although there is a crosswalk (1:45) and some spots are blocked off (7:23) with barbed wire fencing (it is located near a village, so I guess kids could fall in and hurt themselves). Anyway, the ditch where Easy Company first engaged the Germans is still intact (4:43) and nearby is a small memorial dedicated to Dukeman, the only man killed during the engagement. The memorial also has a plaque, written in both Dutch and English. I took a pic of it and asked my cousin to read out the Dutch inscription, which she read aloud to my uncle and although I could understand about 15% of what she said, my uncle understood the story a lot better (ofc their first language is Dutch but they can understand and speak English very well). Later, he drove us to a local cemetery dedicated to British soldiers and there were a several graves marked for 18-20 year olds (which was difficult for my mom and aunt to look at because I was 22 at the time, now 23). War is absolute hell and it's unfathomable what soldiers my age and sometimes younger had to experience.
This entire series is amazing. maybe the G.O.A.T. I don't know how else to convey this other than if my house were burning down and I had just enough time to grab 1 of my nearly 400 movies in my collection, my Band of Brothers blu-ray box set would be the one. My biggest attraction to it is not the amazing story/script/writing, authenticity, the action, acting, and such a character-rich production. The biggest lure is every character is based on actual real servicemen, with much of the dialogue as well as the tiniest details within each event based on first-hand accounts of interviews of those veterans. It's as real of a production you can give an audience to elevate the rest of us to the greatest appreciation for them and to honoring our veterans for our freedoms we enjoy today that they fought for, and so we may never forget the. We won't, as long as we have productions such as this. That's why it is so amazing. It should be required viewing in every high-school history class. We may never see as amazing generation ever again. God Bless them and their generation.
I find their discussion about operation names hilarious, because the names are supposed to be completely unrelated to the operation itself for the purpose of OpSec. You don't want your enemy to guess the details of your plan if they manage to learn the name.
Not in all cases. As I understand it, Operation Pegasus was named that because the op was to rescue British Airborne. The BA has a Pegasus as their symbol.
The word Tank itself was an act of deception. As the British developed these armored combat vehicles in WWI, they chose the most innocuous name for the project to throw off spies. So they made it look like they were developing water storage tanks.
As far as operation names go the more famous a Battle or Operation the less likely the name is to be recycled. For example, there will never be another Operation Overlord, Downfall, Olympic, Market Garden, Torch, Barbarossa, Sea Lion. Desert Shield/Storm won't be used again. Other cool names like Pegasus could easily be used again.
I remember an interview with Winters where he told about the episode. He said the German soldier was just a kid and that he smiled when he saw him and then he shot him. That has to haunt you
On using sound in warfare - there was a Canadian soldier, Leo Major, who took a german occupied Dutch town by himself, by running through the streets firing his gun off and throwing grenades around to create an illusion of a large force. It worked.
You guys should look up "Operation Deadstick" which involved gliders in the first operation on D-Day in the capture of what became known as "Pegasus Bridge". Also, look up "Operation Tonga" in which British paratroopers landed on D-Day to capture the "Merville Gun Battery". The British also dropped decoy puppet parachutists on D-Day called "Ruperts" to fool the Germans into thinking parachutists were landings in areas that they weren't. The Ruperts would set off machine gun noises when they made contact with ground to make the Germans think tgat they were being fired upon.
The ending of this episode always gives me chills. I know what they are walking toward. I think it was Muck that said "It ain't hell, it's to damn cold" at the end of this episode. They will find that hell isn't fire. It's snow.
The guard that shot Moose was a replacement. Hadn’t been in combat. Had only been with the unit a short time. As a result of the shooting he was immediately transferred out.
At the Battle of Lynchburg (VA) during the American Civil War, southern civilians boarded a train downtown and banged on pots and pans to make the Union think there were more soldiers than there were. Another kind of audio warfare.
back then most companies would have had 9 squads(3 platoons of men), which is 90-100 gi's, plus the nco's and officers you're looking at 110-120 guys a company most likely. Today they are a little bigger since they have more specialists. 9 companies A-I form a battalion, 3 battalions form a regiment, 3 regiments a division etc etc - Winters mentions they have a platoon, so yeah 35 guys - plus Peakock is bringing 1'st or 2nd over the radio, can't remember which, so they end up with probably 70-75 guys
Talking about operation names, there is a literal job in the military in each branch where your job is just to come up with operation names. Not something you can do starting off though but usually they don't repeat operational names. Usually there is a correlation between the operational name and operation itself. For example the first Iraq war is referred to as desert storm, literally storming the desert.
Inevitably, soldiers would make use of enemy weapons when they had to, but that could only work as long as they also had captured ammo. German soldiers loved capturing US M1 carbines as they thought very highly of them.
This could be way off, but if I remember correctly, operation names can be retired, like the names of particularly bad hurricanes or blizzards. For instance, there won't be another Operation Overlord. The names of more run of the mill missions can be recycled every so often. Now, I don't know why I think that. It's been almost 30 years since I was active duty, so I can't tell if that's something I learned in the military or something I conjured up. If someone could confirm one way or the other, I'd be grateful.
19:15 well, actually.... Fire may of actually been useful against the tiger when it was hiding under all that hay. The burning wouldn't do any kind of damage to the vehicle itself, but the lack of oxygen (because the fire would be consuming most if not all of it) could've choked out the engine and possibly (but imo, a lot less likely) suffocated the crew. It also would've created plenty of smoke that would obscure the crew's vision, keeping them from firing as accurately. And of course it would raise the temperature inside the crew cabin
These kinds of discussions are moot because the real incident did not involve a Tiger tank (there were no Tiger units in the southern Netherlands) hidden under a haystack and actually involved an unidentified vehicle hidden behind a hedge, probably a half-track armed with a 7.5cm close support gun. The only tank type in the German unit, Panzer-Brigade 107, was the Mark V 'Panther', and the Panther Abteilung included a Jagdpanzer IV/L70 tank destroyer company.
Military glider operations are very different than what you said. Think of a big cargo Box put wings on it, put personnel and/or vehicles inside it and give it a one way ticket inside enemy territory. No gliders were coming back unless they happened to land on an airfield you seized, And could tow back into the air again. You can see how some (most) of them landed poorly in Saving private ryan. This is why we got much better at parachute cargo drops.
Jimmy Fallon is actually a distant relative of the man he plays, Lt. George C. Rice. Also, he couldn't drive stick, and, kept stalling that Jeep, so, in the shot they used, several crew members pushed the Jeep into frame.
There is no evidence to support that Fallon is in any way related to Rice. It is one of those internet rumors that will never die. If you can provide any credible evidence to that claim, please do so. Keep in mind that “I read it on the internet” is not a credible source.
Oh, and 32:27. Not really. Operations on the scale of Pegasus (I) were often coordinated between multiple branches, plus units from other allied countries, i.e. "OverLord," "Market Garden," etc. The trend of code names for OPSEC began in Germany toward the end of WWI. In WWII, it became a whole damn thing for the Allies, where indices were created of approved words to choose from. Winston Churchill, in particular, became a bit obsessed with the naming of operations and insisted for a while, all operation names be brought to him for approval. He didn't want an operation's name to either demoralize the service members, nor sound too boastful (A *_very_* English concern, looking back). After 1989's "Operation Just Cause" in Panama (mocked by many service members as "Just 'Cause" [Just Because]) US Operation nomenclature became more politically motivated toward public perception/PR. After that, you get names like "Operation Provide Comfort" (Turkey), "Operation Uphold Democracy" (Haiti), "Operation Desert Shield" (Kuwait), "Operation Desert Storm" (Iraq), "Operation Iraqi Freedom," in 2003, etc. They're not just recycled.
No, the German ammunition was not compatible with US Army weapons. I think their 9mm rounds might have worked in the US "grease gun" SMG, but that was not a common weapon with the 101st.
The M3 'Grease Gun' was a .45 calibre weapon designed to be a cheaper replacement for the more familiar M1 Thompson. You're correct in saying the Airborne did not use the weapon very much, although I have seen photos of at least one USAAF glider pilot Squadron being issued with them as personal weapons instead of the usual Thompson or M1 Carbine. You might be thinking of the British Sten machine carbine that was also designed as a cheap mass-produced weapon made from stamped sheet steel. Because it was also intended to be a weapon that could be supplied to resistance forces on the continent, it was made in 9mm calibre, so that both the ammunition and the magazines were interchangeable with the German MP40 machine pistol, which would help resistance forces if they captured German ammunition or weapons.
He's lucky he only had piss thrown in his face. I was driving a Humvee one day and took a big swig. Wrong bottle. My buddy Lake was gunning and he laughed his ass off. (Great guy, but you can guess what i told him to go do to himself.)
Airborne troops (British ones for sure) were cross-trained on various weapons on their own side and those used by the enemy. At Arnhem, there were enemy weapons used by both sides, as the Germans overran supply drop zones and received the supplies themselves, and the British picked up weapons and ammunition from German casualties. The British Sten machine-carbine used 9mm ammunition and magazines that were designed to be interchangeable with the German MP40 machine pistol, because the Sten was originally designed to be a weapon that could be dropped to resistance forces in Europe and that interchangeability would give them a number of options. The Germans liked the Sten because the side mounted magazine enabled you to use it from a prone position, and the British liked the MP40 because it's better engineering didn't jam or accidentally discharge like the Sten.
Pegasus was an operation to ferry 138 escapers and evaders, mostly British Airborne troops and some British and American aircrews and a few resistance people, that had been trapped on the north side of the Rijn after the Division had evacuated the previous month. It was organised by MI9, the British Intelligence agency that ran the escape lines in cooperation with the resistance forces in German occupied countries, and most of the arrangements had been made by two officers from the British 1st Airborne Division - Lt Col David Dobie, CO of the 1st Parachute Battalion, who crossed the Rijn a week earlier to make the final arrangements, and Major Allison Digby Tatum-Warter, the CO of 'A' Company 2nd Parachute Battalion, who remained on the north side to organise the evaders. The most senior officer escaping was Brigadier Gerald Lathbury, CO of 1st Parachute Brigade, who was still recovering from the wound that laid him low while in hiding with General Urquhart in Arnhem, and also his Brigade Major, Tony Hibbert. Hibbert and Tathum-Warter had both been at the Arnhem bridge siege and walked out of hospital when they recovered from their wounds. The man in charge from MI9 was Airey Neave, who had famously escaped from Colditz castle in 1942 as a POW himself by walking out of the castle disguised as a German officer in a homemade uniform along with a Dutch officer, and then recruited by the MI9 organisation in London. After the war he became a Conservative politician, serving as Margaret Thatcher's shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and about to attain the office itself as the Conservatives won the 1979 election, when he was murdered by an IRA bomb placed under his car that was detonated by a tilt-switch as he drove out of the underground House of Commons car park. The assault boats were provided and crewed by Royal Engineers and a patrol from Easy Company under Sgt Donald Malarkey crossed with them to provide security on the north bank. This was because the crossing point chosen for the boats was in the Easy Company sector of the front at Randwijk. More Easy Company troopers under Lt Frederick 'Moose' Heyliger provided cover from the south bank. An account of the operation by Don Malarkey describes how he found a large drainage ditch on the south side under some trees that formed a natural harbour, and the assault boats were pre-positioned there the night before the operation. The operation itself went without a hitch, but when they returned again the following night to pick up the boats, the Germans had mortared the area in retaliation and all the boats were badly damaged and sunk in the ditch. Always a lot more drama than they can pack into a TV episode.
35:19 - Market Garden was NOT compromised by a glider crash, that's one of the many myths created by the Hollywood film, A Bridge Too Far, which was made for an American audience. A glider did crash near the headquarters of General Kurt Student's 1.Fallschirm-armee at Vught, and was an American WACO glider (not a British Horsa as shown in the film) carrying the 101st Airborne Division's liaison officer to Browning's Corps headquarters at Groesbeek. The Captain and his entire comms team were killed, and their failure to arrive was the reason Browning had no communication with the 101st during the operation. Documents found on the officer were not the complete set of detailed maps and plans for the whole operation, as shown in the film - they used the same ridiculously simplified props already used by Dirk Bogarde in the earlier briefing scene. The documents he carried did contain a resupply schedule for the 101st Division, and because Student was the pioneer of the German airborne forces at the start of the war, he realised the significance of the translated schedule and could extrapolate the airlift schedule for all three divisions from it. Generalfeldmarshal Model was famously not convinced (the film got that bit right), so Student used his own Luftwaffe chain of command to arrange for fighter aircraft to be over the drop zones at the scheduled times. Fortunately, after the first day, all the subsequent airlifts were delayed by weather in England and the German fighters were back at their bases in Germany being refuelled when the transports finally arrived. So, far from being compromised, the operation benefitted from this information falling into German hands by the ineffective interventions from the Luftwaffe. Many things did go wrong in Market Garden, as they do in all military operations, but the one fatal compromise was the failure of the 508th PIR to move on the undefended Nijmegen bridge in the first afternoon of the operation, allowing the Germans to reinforce it with SS-Panzer troops that evening. The blunder was a command issue within the regiment that was contrary to the specific instructions given by 82nd Airborne Division commander James Gavin, and there were similar issues in the regiment's first combat operation in Normandy only partly addressed by the division commander in Normandy, Matthew Ridgway.
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"We're paratroopers, lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded."
balls of solid steel
Probably my favourite line from the whole show
Gives me goosebumps every time. Lt. Winters was a different level of badass.
The scene where Eugene Ro chews out Lt. Winters and Lt. Welsh always gets to me. Those are officers of a higher rank and he doesn't hesitate for a second to lay into them when a man's life is on the line. They just sit there and take it too. It's a great preview of the kind of respect and trust they have in Doc Ro that we see front and center in Episode 6.
A great example for exemplary leadership. They could have checked him but the best leaders are humble enough to admit fault, especially to a subordinate.
There's no way Roe would've gotten away with that with someone like Sobel. Another reason why Winters was held in such high regard.
Well, medics, doctors and nurses always outrank anyone depending on the wound, injury or circumstances in general.
Their word matters heavily considering all the training they have in order to treat anyone in combat.
Technically, not even a medic gets to break the chain of command. That being said, your an idiot if you jerk around the medic. The guy could literally have your life in his hands.
Winters was a captain by this point, wasn't he?
@@Iymarra yep, so technically, Doc Roe was being insubordinate by scolding Capt. Winters and Lt. Welsh.
Winter's never forgot the look on the kids face, it haunted him for the rest of his life.
i love the acting from the guy playing the medic, you are officers, you are grown ups you ought to know!
the only man allowed to shout at Officers; the Medic
Doc knows best, and you sure as shit don't want to anger him with your life on the line. So they usually get away with some pretty rough condescension.
Eugene Ro proves why he’s such a good medic in one scene, glad he got an episode after that.
This episode was directed by Tom Hanks and I think he did a fantastic job. Using the typewriter to not only tell the story but using the sound to transition to gunfire. He then uses the sound of the subway later on to transition to Winters PTSD flashbacks as well. This episode was my favourite of all the episodes so far.
I think this is my favorite episode, certainly in regard to direction. Very artful, lots of clever creative decisions.
Doesn't he collect typewriters lol
Jimmy Fallon is playing Second Lieutenant George C. Rice of the 10th Armored Division in his cameo. Rice is a true blue hero himself. Knowing that Bastogne was going to be surrounded, and knowing that the 101st was going to be really short on ammunition, Rice and two enlisted volunteers made eight separate trips in a jeep that was towing a trailer back and forth from a nearby supply depot to Bastogne in order to bring what ammo he could to the troops digging in against the German advance. They did this on his own volition. Rice's last trip was technically made after the Germans had surrounded the town, so he ordered his two helpers to stay back. He made the last trip alone, and could have been captured or killed at any time. The only reason he didn't make a tenth trip was because he was specifically ordered by his CO to stand down. Rice was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions.
A little trivia: Fallon is a native of NYC, and did not drive often, and had no idea how to work the clutch on a WWII Jeep... when they showed the jeep moving in the shot, they had to be careful not to show the crew members pushing the jeep!
Jimmy Fallon is also a relative to Rice he played in this episode and was the reason he wanted to be in Band of Brothers
@@TheApilas One of my fav trivia facts from this show
@@TheApilas False. Fallon is not related to Rice.
I can’t wait for the Bastogne and The Breaking Point reaction, those two episodes have always been my favourites.
Yeah, my most/least favorites all at once :D
Why We Fight.
It's so well done and timed perfectly in the series.
@@lukejohnson2316 All of them are my favourite. It's hard to pick.
For a bit, I misplaced the disc that had Bastogne and this episode. So these two almost feel like newer episodes to me.
The Breaking Point is the best episode of all the them.
Doc Roe underrated man
Moose was shot by one of his own men, a new replacement. His mistake was that he didn't respond to the challenge with the proper password, and I'm sure, if you're a lone sentry at night in a country at war, hearing something shout "IT'S MOOSE" might very well sound like some german words instead. Until the end of his life, Moose claimed he never remembered what the proper response should have been, that night.
It apparently was not the first time Moose forgot the password but he got lucky the previous times. There was a constant danger of German raiders infiltrating the American lines so the sentry was justified in shooting. The sentry was transferred to another company in case there was any bad blood about the shooting.
ist Müs
It wasn't a replacement, it's very clearly stated in the book that it was a veteran, he was later transferred to a different battalion
If you pay attention, Winters calls most of the guys he trained with by their first names unless he is barking orders.
In his memoirs, Winters describes standing alone on that hill firing on the huge mass of enemy as being in one of those "flow states" where everyone else is moving super-slowly but you're able to move fast. He could tell everything they were all about to do well before they did it. Rare, but it happens. Also, apparently Liebgott was a lot more bloodthirsty than the show depicts: When Winters ordered him to drop most of his ammo to take the prisoners, Winters had kept his gun at the ready incase Liebgott reacted violently to the order.
this is called push-forward combat. Video games such as the reboot of Doom ((2016), utilize this in such an effective way, that even when playing against unsurmountable odds, you can always achieve victory if you understand the 'flow state' and use it to your advantage.
Spoiler. *_WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!_* Did you not hear what they said about spoilers? Or are you just an A-hole?
The red smoke charge is depicted a little different in the show vs the real event. They actually all started charging at the same time but Winters was such an athlete he just beat the rest of Easy Company up the hill.
Came to say this, they had to change to be more believable to the audience. Wasn’t the first time they had to change the real thing because it wouldn’t seem believable to the audiences.
@@rocker966627 I wonder if they tried it and it just didn't look believable. Maybe Damian Lewis isn't a sprinter. Fair enough if so
@@midgetwars1 probably a little of both but Damian Lewis has said he was nowhere near the athlete Dick Winters was couldn’t replicate how gifted he was physically. So probably both played into it.
The post action report for this actually had Winters giving all of the credit and bravery to the other men he fought alongside. Shows a great continuation of his character and his modest leadership
36:27 there's an entire section in Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" about the use of sound to accomplish many different things including the art of deception. The use of sound as deception has been a thing since war began.
This episode is the calm before the storm. Some epic episodes upcoming.
"calm"
Jimmy Fallon, being a lifelong New Yorker, had never learned to drive and needed a crash course for this role.
He didn’t actually drive in the scene. Extras pushed the vehicle in neutral, and the jeep sounds were added with editing.
lol
Fallon was playing a relative in that scene
@@IntoTheWhite04 No he was not. False rumor.
Alley (The wounded man near the beginning) survived, and tells the story of how he got blown up in We Stand Alone Together.
Lesniewski had a German throw a grenade at him, it bounced off his helmet and rolled down into the trench where the men were and landed next to Alley. Lesniewski yelled "GRENADE!" and Alley was able to turn his head before it exploded, which saved his life.
Haven't listened to the discussion yet but some things about Crossroads: The show somewhat plays down Winters' charge, he threw a Grenade at the scout initially but left his tape on the trigger so it didn't arm, then the Scout threw one back at him which also didn't go off for some reason. Winter's unloads 3 clips before the rest of the Platoon arrives. Easy actually chased the German detachment all the way to a ferry crossing on the river some miles away using textbook fire and maneuver tactics, the Germans had gun emplacements on the other side of the river that forced Easy to break off.
And the dude he shot wasn't in that field, he was up on the road. And Winters started running the same time as everybody else, he was just faster. And he actually enjoyed his time in Paris and did a lot of sightseeing, that's not reflected in the episode at all. Hollywood is still Hollywood.
@@buddystewart2020 "Hollywood is still Hollywood." What a dumb statement. You go try to sell a $172 million (adjusted for inflation) miniseries to HBO that covers every "correct" detail, smh.
"Yeah, I figure it'll be at least 21,900 hour-long episodes." Ever study screenwriting, storytelling, or the kinds of sacrifices it takes to get even things like this up on screen? You sound like a bitter Boomer that watches Fox News all day waiting for their grandkids to never call.
Dick Winters said that if he could pick just one man from Easy to go into combat with it would have been Floyd "Tab" Talbert. Tab survived the war, but never recovered from the horrors of war and became a recluse.
Apparently that was a mistake in the book. His daughter were very upset about his description in the book. Based on what I have read, his daughter seems correct. She also admits he fell into alcoholism for some time but managed to become sober and all his finances in order. The only reason for this rumor was when he received a terminal diagnosis, he moved to California and lived in the outdoors because he enjoyed them very much.
These next couple of episodes are my favorites. Bastogne and The Breaking Point are an emotional roller coaster but they’re easily my 2 favorite.
Ron Singleton as Nixon is one of my favorite characters in this show; very likable, but also clearly shown to be becoming more and more of an alcoholic as the show progresses 😔
Ron *Livingston
Operation Pegasus referred to the fact that they were rescuing the British airborne division. Pegasus is the emblem of the British airborne during WW2.
Most of the British had retreated in earlier actions the Soldiers rescued from this were mainly troops who escaped captured in Arnhem going to ground (with the help of dutch resistance) or Soldiers who escaped Field hospitals after being captured or handed over during the ceasefire (the guy who swam the Rhine was Frosts 2nd in command was one of the escapees) They by that point had been laying low for several weeks by the time a rescue was organised!
@@lamploughd Spot on the British troops by that time had given the Germans a vastly superior force a bloody nose. And had refused to surrender all through the fighting.
@@robintaylor1296 And all because the American 82nd Airborne had failed to take the road bridges at Nijmegen during Market Garden, which would have allowed British XXX Corps armoured and motorised forces to advance and reinforce the British 1st Airborne encircled in Arnhem.
Not exactly "rescuing"... Easy Company provided a patrol under Donald Malarkey to cross over and provide security on the north bank while the ferrying operation was carried out by the Royal Engineers, who provided the boats.
@@davemac1197 Then what the hell was it? It WAS a rescue! You Brits are so quick to steal from others while denying the truth. You thieves also tried to take credit for Bastogne, until Churchill had to step in and remind Monty and Parliament that "Bastogne was an American victory". ALWAYS STEALING FROM OTHERS. And let's not forget when some of your intelligence officers tried to MURDER American intelligence officers who were trying to rescue downed American flymen in Yugoslavia. Goddam murderers and thieves.
Worth pointing out that in the red smoke scene Winters didn't actually tell his men to wait before charging out. They all left at the same time but he was just that much faster than everyone else.
One of my favorite episodes. Winters was a badass.
An interesting note: The battle at the crossroads would be the last time that Winters ever fired a weapon at the enemy. Between both his new station and his PTSD over that one kid he never raised a gun in retaliation ever again through the rest of the war.
This is when Tom Hanks takes the reigns and becomes more introspective. Before PTSD was really even understood or considered seriously. "There's a LOT of shit and it's headed this way." It's amazing to me how Easy is never allowed to retreat, while the rest are just allowed to leave. Currahee ♠
30:38 Y'all DID see Moose's mission, when they crossed the Rhine in the boats, reached the Red Devils (British Paratroops), Moose talked to Lt. Colonel Dobie, giving orders, setting up/adjusting covering fire, etc. to successfully ferry the Brits back to 2nd Battalion, where they had that party in the farmhouse. He's even wearing one of the Red Devils' berets at the party.
Gliders were one way operations.
Depending on the size of the glider, they may be carrying troops, equipment, artillery pieces, vehicles or even tanks.
British troop transport gliders carrying 180 men were used to assault and capture a couple of key bridges inland of the landing beaches.
One of those bridges is now known as Pegasus Bridge.
This may be a link to Operation Pegasus in the episode, since the rescued men were paratroopers, and the men assaulting the bridges were airborne as well.
The leader of the airborne glider assault was Major John Howard, who led the assault on Pegasus one bridge while his second-in-command took the other.
The glider assault was reinforced with paratroopers, including Lt Richard Todd, who met Major Howard on the bridge.
Todd became an actor after WW2, and would end up playing Major Howard in the film "The Longest Day". He is also famous for playing Guy Gibson in "The Dambusters".
Men from easy said that the "crossroads" operation was the highlight/best of Easy Companys action and showed how good they were when at full operational capacity.
When Winters removed Liebgott's ammo, there was actually a prisoner among the Germans that actually understood english. All of them were relieved when Winters took away all of his ammo. They were terrified they were actually going to die.
Winters explains this is in the book "Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
The incident is also mentioned in the original book. Liebgott supposedly had a rep. There was a German officer among the prisoners who immediately relaxed when Winters intervened.
as someone who grew up in western new york state, that “well Don, i was at home in tonawanda” line always cracks me up 💜
"Crossroads...Like Bone Thugs 'N Harmony". most random outlandish thing i have ever heard.
the sound design of this particular episode, because of the long and open environment of the main combat scenes in the field is immaculate. i love how you can hear all of the gunfire whizzing by and literally feel the impact of the mortar and cannon explosions.
This series up to this point has been damn good. But these next couple will blow your mind. So glad that the whole BW Crew has gotten into this legendary series.
I just noticed that Eugene called Lt. Welsh by his first name when he comes to aid Heyliger
Fun fact the Jeep Driver from 10th Armor did multiple supply runs to that same ammo dump far behind the line the Germans just Broken through whilst under fire to deliver ammo for the paratroopers until his commanding officer commanded him to stop. For his actions that evening he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Also although the Battle of Bastogne is often taught and told from a 101st airborne point of view 10th Armor and their engineers were also in Bastogne and holding the lines with the Paratroopers. Most of their Armor was disabled so they instead were effectively used as stationary anti tank guns but most of the Soldiers like the Paratroopers just dug in.
The single German that Winters shot after cresting the hill was the German Sentry that was SUPPOSED to be watching the field that Winters and Easy Co were running across. He was smiling at Winters because he mistook Winters as one of his comrades. When he realized he was looking at an enemy instead of a friend is when his smile changed to shock.
The Major who was killed that forced Sink to promote Winters to take his place was Major Horton. Remember his name? In the episode “Currahee” Luz impersonated his voice and convinced Sobel to cut the fence which let the cows loose. Major, later Lt. Col Strayer, later told Sobel that Major Horton was on leave in London.
Great episoe with such great transitions. Well directed by Tom Hanks. Great editing too
About sound diversions, I can't remember where it was- the Ardennes, Hurtgen, or elsewhere, but I believe it was an American supply column that got their trucks stuck in the mud, on a poor forest road, when they found that a German armor unit was heading their way. They desperately started pulling the trucks out of the mud with recovery vehicles. The Germans heard, in the distance, the revving engines of all those recovery vehicles, and to them it sounded like a large American armor unit getting into position, so they bypassed the area! It may not have been a deliberate diversion, but making all that noise prevented a mostly defenseless supply unit from being wiped out!
"I don't know how he survived... but he did."
08:35 its cool seeing them Call for Fire in a show and its done correctly. such an amazing series
Last summer, I visited my aunt and her family and I begged my mom to stop at the Crossroads location because I wanted to see if it was really there. The crossroads look almost the same in real life as it does on-screen, although there is a crosswalk (1:45) and some spots are blocked off (7:23) with barbed wire fencing (it is located near a village, so I guess kids could fall in and hurt themselves). Anyway, the ditch where Easy Company first engaged the Germans is still intact (4:43) and nearby is a small memorial dedicated to Dukeman, the only man killed during the engagement. The memorial also has a plaque, written in both Dutch and English. I took a pic of it and asked my cousin to read out the Dutch inscription, which she read aloud to my uncle and although I could understand about 15% of what she said, my uncle understood the story a lot better (ofc their first language is Dutch but they can understand and speak English very well). Later, he drove us to a local cemetery dedicated to British soldiers and there were a several graves marked for 18-20 year olds (which was difficult for my mom and aunt to look at because I was 22 at the time, now 23). War is absolute hell and it's unfathomable what soldiers my age and sometimes younger had to experience.
The bromance between Winters and and Nixon is crazy
They had to play down the actual charge that Winters did to make it seem like they weren't making things up 😅
So instead, they made things up..
@@superpotroast It's called "drama"
@@davewhitmore1958 Yep, it is.
@@superpotroast and it's what they're watching, not a documentary ;)
@@davewhitmore1958 Yep totally agree, I was trying to be humorous, which is usually a mistake on the internet but I do it anyways..
I like how Eric still thinks it's Sobel's story and he has got an arc or something
This entire series is amazing. maybe the G.O.A.T. I don't know how else to convey this other than if my house were burning down and I had just enough time to grab 1 of my nearly 400 movies in my collection, my Band of Brothers blu-ray box set would be the one. My biggest attraction to it is not the amazing story/script/writing, authenticity, the action, acting, and such a character-rich production. The biggest lure is every character is based on actual real servicemen, with much of the dialogue as well as the tiniest details within each event based on first-hand accounts of interviews of those veterans. It's as real of a production you can give an audience to elevate the rest of us to the greatest appreciation for them and to honoring our veterans for our freedoms we enjoy today that they fought for, and so we may never forget the. We won't, as long as we have productions such as this. That's why it is so amazing. It should be required viewing in every high-school history class. We may never see as amazing generation ever again. God Bless them and their generation.
Winters walking into the darkness with his fellow men at the end of the episode is the epitome of what this show is all about.
Troops often used each other's weapons. With enemy weapons laying by fallen soldiers and your out of rounds you pick up whatever is close.
They learned about german weapons. They explain about it on the documentary.
Eric with the bone thugs reference cultured man
I find their discussion about operation names hilarious, because the names are supposed to be completely unrelated to the operation itself for the purpose of OpSec. You don't want your enemy to guess the details of your plan if they manage to learn the name.
There are lists of pre-selected code names for operations and you simply take the next available name from the list.
Not in all cases. As I understand it, Operation Pegasus was named that because the op was to rescue British Airborne. The BA has a Pegasus as their symbol.
The word Tank itself was an act of deception. As the British developed these armored combat vehicles in WWI, they chose the most innocuous name for the project to throw off spies. So they made it look like they were developing water storage tanks.
As far as operation names go the more famous a Battle or Operation the less likely the name is to be recycled. For example, there will never be another Operation Overlord, Downfall, Olympic, Market Garden, Torch, Barbarossa, Sea Lion. Desert Shield/Storm won't be used again. Other cool names like Pegasus could easily be used again.
I remember an interview with Winters where he told about the episode. He said the German soldier was just a kid and that he smiled when he saw him and then he shot him. That has to haunt you
On using sound in warfare - there was a Canadian soldier, Leo Major, who took a german occupied Dutch town by himself, by running through the streets firing his gun off and throwing grenades around to create an illusion of a large force. It worked.
Another amazing episode & reaction Wave Crew! The drama & intensity in this one is top-notch! Looking forward to the remaining episodes!
You guys should look up "Operation Deadstick" which involved gliders in the first operation on D-Day in the capture of what became known as "Pegasus Bridge". Also, look up "Operation Tonga" in which British paratroopers landed on D-Day to capture the "Merville Gun Battery". The British also dropped decoy puppet parachutists on D-Day called "Ruperts" to fool the Germans into thinking parachutists were landings in areas that they weren't. The Ruperts would set off machine gun noises when they made contact with ground to make the Germans think tgat they were being fired upon.
In the scen where the British colonel is having a speech hom hanks is in the background with a red beret.
The ending of this episode always gives me chills. I know what they are walking toward.
I think it was Muck that said "It ain't hell, it's to damn cold" at the end of this episode.
They will find that hell isn't fire. It's snow.
The guard that shot Moose was a replacement. Hadn’t been in combat. Had only been with the unit a short time. As a result of the shooting he was immediately transferred out.
the next episode is my favorite of the series, can't wait!! ♥
Episodes 6 and 7 are my personal favorite of the series. Loving the reactions!
I don't think your realized that the men had soo much respect for Captain Winters that they never hesitated to follow him anywhere and everywhere.
This episode was great but the next two are gonna be incredible. Cannot wait to see your reaction,it's gonna be a ride.
At the Battle of Lynchburg (VA) during the American Civil War, southern civilians boarded a train downtown and banged on pots and pans to make the Union think there were more soldiers than there were. Another kind of audio warfare.
I still don't know who that Medic is played by but he's been my favourite character in this show for like 20 years.
I am enjoying these reaction videos. Thanks
Nice to recognize the future Tonight Show host in Jimmy Fallon in this episode.
I love how Jimmy Fallon got to guest appear as the driver in the end
I believe that he was actually playing the part of his Grandfather.
Oh man, the next couple of episodes are roughhhh. Some of the best, but man those poor men and what they had to go through in that forest…..
I can't wait for them to watch Why We Fight
Cant wait for next episode, its an amazing episode
back then most companies would have had 9 squads(3 platoons of men), which is 90-100 gi's, plus the nco's and officers you're looking at 110-120 guys a company most likely. Today they are a little bigger since they have more specialists. 9 companies A-I form a battalion, 3 battalions form a regiment, 3 regiments a division etc etc - Winters mentions they have a platoon, so yeah 35 guys - plus Peakock is bringing 1'st or 2nd over the radio, can't remember which, so they end up with probably 70-75 guys
Talking about operation names, there is a literal job in the military in each branch where your job is just to come up with operation names. Not something you can do starting off though but usually they don't repeat operational names. Usually there is a correlation between the operational name and operation itself. For example the first Iraq war is referred to as desert storm, literally storming the desert.
Inevitably, soldiers would make use of enemy weapons when they had to, but that could only work as long as they also had captured ammo. German soldiers loved capturing US M1 carbines as they thought very highly of them.
Moose was in Rushmore with Jason Schwartzman
This could be way off, but if I remember correctly, operation names can be retired, like the names of particularly bad hurricanes or blizzards. For instance, there won't be another Operation Overlord. The names of more run of the mill missions can be recycled every so often.
Now, I don't know why I think that. It's been almost 30 years since I was active duty, so I can't tell if that's something I learned in the military or something I conjured up. If someone could confirm one way or the other, I'd be grateful.
19:15 well, actually.... Fire may of actually been useful against the tiger when it was hiding under all that hay. The burning wouldn't do any kind of damage to the vehicle itself, but the lack of oxygen (because the fire would be consuming most if not all of it) could've choked out the engine and possibly (but imo, a lot less likely) suffocated the crew. It also would've created plenty of smoke that would obscure the crew's vision, keeping them from firing as accurately. And of course it would raise the temperature inside the crew cabin
These kinds of discussions are moot because the real incident did not involve a Tiger tank (there were no Tiger units in the southern Netherlands) hidden under a haystack and actually involved an unidentified vehicle hidden behind a hedge, probably a half-track armed with a 7.5cm close support gun. The only tank type in the German unit, Panzer-Brigade 107, was the Mark V 'Panther', and the Panther Abteilung included a Jagdpanzer IV/L70 tank destroyer company.
Military glider operations are very different than what you said. Think of a big cargo Box put wings on it, put personnel and/or vehicles inside it and give it a one way ticket inside enemy territory.
No gliders were coming back unless they happened to land on an airfield you seized, And could tow back into the air again.
You can see how some (most) of them landed poorly in Saving private ryan. This is why we got much better at parachute cargo drops.
There was a glider on display at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford VA when I visited years ago. It was positively tiny.
Jimmy Fallon is actually a distant relative of the man he plays, Lt. George C. Rice. Also, he couldn't drive stick, and, kept stalling that Jeep, so, in the shot they used, several crew members pushed the Jeep into frame.
There is no evidence to support that Fallon is in any way related to Rice. It is one of those internet rumors that will never die. If you can provide any credible evidence to that claim, please do so. Keep in mind that “I read it on the internet” is not a credible source.
No, Fallon is not related to Rice. Stop spreading rumors and lies.
"I miss my Uncle Charles"
Oh, and 32:27. Not really. Operations on the scale of Pegasus (I) were often coordinated between multiple branches, plus units from other allied countries, i.e. "OverLord," "Market Garden," etc. The trend of code names for OPSEC began in Germany toward the end of WWI. In WWII, it became a whole damn thing for the Allies, where indices were created of approved words to choose from. Winston Churchill, in particular, became a bit obsessed with the naming of operations and insisted for a while, all operation names be brought to him for approval. He didn't want an operation's name to either demoralize the service members, nor sound too boastful (A *_very_* English concern, looking back).
After 1989's "Operation Just Cause" in Panama (mocked by many service members as "Just 'Cause" [Just Because]) US Operation nomenclature became more politically motivated toward public perception/PR. After that, you get names like "Operation Provide Comfort" (Turkey), "Operation Uphold Democracy" (Haiti), "Operation Desert Shield" (Kuwait), "Operation Desert Storm" (Iraq), "Operation Iraqi Freedom," in 2003, etc. They're not just recycled.
Bundle up everyone! It's gonna' be a cold one next week!
The danger of using a captured weapon that you are unfamiliar with will be shown in a future episode.
LOL, my like bumped this video to 3.1K! it was at 3K before I hit the like, then changed to 3.1K!
The Battered Basterds of Bastogne
Bastards.
13:11 shows you a glimpse of why the guys on the ends are better reactors
This episode through to The Breaking Point are the peak of the miniseries in my opinion.
Keep em coming
The British airborne symbol is a Pegasus.
It's Bellerophon riding Pegasus, from Greek mythology. Pegasus is just the winged horse.
No, the German ammunition was not compatible with US Army weapons.
I think their 9mm rounds might have worked in the US "grease gun" SMG, but that was not a common weapon with the 101st.
The M3 'Grease Gun' was a .45 calibre weapon designed to be a cheaper replacement for the more familiar M1 Thompson. You're correct in saying the Airborne did not use the weapon very much, although I have seen photos of at least one USAAF glider pilot Squadron being issued with them as personal weapons instead of the usual Thompson or M1 Carbine.
You might be thinking of the British Sten machine carbine that was also designed as a cheap mass-produced weapon made from stamped sheet steel. Because it was also intended to be a weapon that could be supplied to resistance forces on the continent, it was made in 9mm calibre, so that both the ammunition and the magazines were interchangeable with the German MP40 machine pistol, which would help resistance forces if they captured German ammunition or weapons.
@@davemac1197 Ah, for some reason I was misremembering that the grease gun was 9mm. Thanks for the correction.
A bridge too far is movie about Operation Market garden. Highly recomend it
Just be aware the film has only a 50% historically accurate narrative, and is mostly designed to be entertainment.
Tom Hanks has a cameo in this episode.
Why we fight is a great episode too
gliders landed with the troops don't know if they ever turned back
They talk about night time lighting. Not too much cgi, reason for dark night time lighting is to hide bad cgi
He's lucky he only had piss thrown in his face. I was driving a Humvee one day and took a big swig. Wrong bottle. My buddy Lake was gunning and he laughed his ass off. (Great guy, but you can guess what i told him to go do to himself.)
Airborne troops (British ones for sure) were cross-trained on various weapons on their own side and those used by the enemy. At Arnhem, there were enemy weapons used by both sides, as the Germans overran supply drop zones and received the supplies themselves, and the British picked up weapons and ammunition from German casualties.
The British Sten machine-carbine used 9mm ammunition and magazines that were designed to be interchangeable with the German MP40 machine pistol, because the Sten was originally designed to be a weapon that could be dropped to resistance forces in Europe and that interchangeability would give them a number of options.
The Germans liked the Sten because the side mounted magazine enabled you to use it from a prone position, and the British liked the MP40 because it's better engineering didn't jam or accidentally discharge like the Sten.
Pegasus was an operation to ferry 138 escapers and evaders, mostly British Airborne troops and some British and American aircrews and a few resistance people, that had been trapped on the north side of the Rijn after the Division had evacuated the previous month.
It was organised by MI9, the British Intelligence agency that ran the escape lines in cooperation with the resistance forces in German occupied countries, and most of the arrangements had been made by two officers from the British 1st Airborne Division - Lt Col David Dobie, CO of the 1st Parachute Battalion, who crossed the Rijn a week earlier to make the final arrangements, and Major Allison Digby Tatum-Warter, the CO of 'A' Company 2nd Parachute Battalion, who remained on the north side to organise the evaders. The most senior officer escaping was Brigadier Gerald Lathbury, CO of 1st Parachute Brigade, who was still recovering from the wound that laid him low while in hiding with General Urquhart in Arnhem, and also his Brigade Major, Tony Hibbert. Hibbert and Tathum-Warter had both been at the Arnhem bridge siege and walked out of hospital when they recovered from their wounds.
The man in charge from MI9 was Airey Neave, who had famously escaped from Colditz castle in 1942 as a POW himself by walking out of the castle disguised as a German officer in a homemade uniform along with a Dutch officer, and then recruited by the MI9 organisation in London. After the war he became a Conservative politician, serving as Margaret Thatcher's shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and about to attain the office itself as the Conservatives won the 1979 election, when he was murdered by an IRA bomb placed under his car that was detonated by a tilt-switch as he drove out of the underground House of Commons car park.
The assault boats were provided and crewed by Royal Engineers and a patrol from Easy Company under Sgt Donald Malarkey crossed with them to provide security on the north bank. This was because the crossing point chosen for the boats was in the Easy Company sector of the front at Randwijk. More Easy Company troopers under Lt Frederick 'Moose' Heyliger provided cover from the south bank.
An account of the operation by Don Malarkey describes how he found a large drainage ditch on the south side under some trees that formed a natural harbour, and the assault boats were pre-positioned there the night before the operation. The operation itself went without a hitch, but when they returned again the following night to pick up the boats, the Germans had mortared the area in retaliation and all the boats were badly damaged and sunk in the ditch.
Always a lot more drama than they can pack into a TV episode.
35:19 - Market Garden was NOT compromised by a glider crash, that's one of the many myths created by the Hollywood film, A Bridge Too Far, which was made for an American audience. A glider did crash near the headquarters of General Kurt Student's 1.Fallschirm-armee at Vught, and was an American WACO glider (not a British Horsa as shown in the film) carrying the 101st Airborne Division's liaison officer to Browning's Corps headquarters at Groesbeek. The Captain and his entire comms team were killed, and their failure to arrive was the reason Browning had no communication with the 101st during the operation.
Documents found on the officer were not the complete set of detailed maps and plans for the whole operation, as shown in the film - they used the same ridiculously simplified props already used by Dirk Bogarde in the earlier briefing scene. The documents he carried did contain a resupply schedule for the 101st Division, and because Student was the pioneer of the German airborne forces at the start of the war, he realised the significance of the translated schedule and could extrapolate the airlift schedule for all three divisions from it.
Generalfeldmarshal Model was famously not convinced (the film got that bit right), so Student used his own Luftwaffe chain of command to arrange for fighter aircraft to be over the drop zones at the scheduled times. Fortunately, after the first day, all the subsequent airlifts were delayed by weather in England and the German fighters were back at their bases in Germany being refuelled when the transports finally arrived. So, far from being compromised, the operation benefitted from this information falling into German hands by the ineffective interventions from the Luftwaffe.
Many things did go wrong in Market Garden, as they do in all military operations, but the one fatal compromise was the failure of the 508th PIR to move on the undefended Nijmegen bridge in the first afternoon of the operation, allowing the Germans to reinforce it with SS-Panzer troops that evening. The blunder was a command issue within the regiment that was contrary to the specific instructions given by 82nd Airborne Division commander James Gavin, and there were similar issues in the regiment's first combat operation in Normandy only partly addressed by the division commander in Normandy, Matthew Ridgway.
The cuts to the typewriter didn't really work for me. It felt like narration was missing.