@@aaronrivas7977 In the behind the scenes they were talking about special effects and it turns out the daytime drop with all the parachutes was not real. It was all done on a crap computer. Turned out really well.
mel on I really don’t recall very many at all. There are small ones here and there but that’s how cinema is. All I’m saying is that this is the best we’ve ever gotten in the history department for World War 2 in cinema.
@@beefychief3355 My grandfather was a Screamin Eagle and jumped into Normandy ... I watch this yearly too to honor him. When my mother would complain about being cold in the winter asa kid he’d tell her to be glad she wasn’t in a foxhole in Bastogne and to go put some damn socks on lol. I can only hope that when the uneducated watch this they get some fraction of understanding of what these true heroes did.
@@AreYouKittenMeRtNow it’s a damn shame that so many people today barely know anything about our history. I think it’s an important thing for any American to learn before they consider themselves true Americans. This show I think did a great job but I can only imagine what it was really like in Bastogne back then with no winter clothes, food, or ammo.
@@beefychief3355 I can’t even begin to imagine it. He didn’t speak of Bastogne until he was in his very late 80s. He did say that most of the air drops for supplies totally missed their positions and it was worse to know the supplies were there and they couldn’t get to them. He also said they were at one point told to fire at will when they heard the tanks coming through the trees.
Y’all cut out an important scene. The guy who was chewing out professor X also didn’t serve in Normandy as he was wounded, and Abraham chews him out for it.
Nixon getting that close call gets EVERYONE the first time they see it. I dropped my drink in 2001 when watching the show on HBO live. This was right after Office Space made Ron Livingston a temporary star.
They do tell us who the interviewed men are at the end. But if they did it before then, we would know who survived before the show is over. It's well worth the wait.
A little history on Market Garden. The operation was planned over the course of ONE week in total and the politics of the time pressured Eisenhower to greenlight it. At least 35,000 allied troops American, British, and Polish participated and over 17,000 of them died. Montgomery would later claim it was 90% successful despite not getting a foothold over the Rhine into the Ruhr industrial area of Germany. The Dutch Underground resistance repeatedly gave the allies reports of SS Panzer divisions in Arnhem but the allied command disregarded them. The allies suffered heavily at Eindhoven, Nijmegen, and Arnhem trying to secure the bridges there. Montgomery would later make Polish General Sosabowski the scapegoat of the failed operation despite sending letters respecting the bravery of the Polish Paratroops. In short the success of D-Day let to gross overconfidence on the allied side and the war would drag on til May 1945. To better understand it I recommend watching A Bridge Too Far.
Total casualties where around 17,000 which includes dead from all sources, injured and captured so saying the Allies suffered 17,000 dead is simply not accurate. 41,000 Men of the airborne contingent and a further 3 Divisions (10 Brigades) so total Allies forces involved is likely to be around at least 70,000 The reason it was classed as 90% successful is because it essentially forced the Germans back to the Rhine German forces could not stay in France with both the British 2nd and Canadian Armies able to potentially attack their flank it was also one of the fastest allied advances post D-day. Aerial recon only found 2 tanks in the preparation time both of which where older tanks one was a French Tank from the fall of France in 1940, At least half of the tanks actually came from reserve or straight off the manufacturing line in Germany but without being able to confirm the presence of German armoured formations and finding only training vehicles that's why allied command went ahead with the attack, Similarly the 2 heavily depleted Panzer divisions who where refitting having lost in one case 83% of their armoured strength where never stationed in Arnhem pre Market Garden. A bridge to far is not a particularly good representation of the operation being for American audiences it makes several mistakes and to some extent demonizes the British contributions to the battle, just one example being the plans that a German finds in a British glider where actually found on American forces.
A lot of the Dutch Resistance were NSJ moles. Out of all the countries invaded by Nazi Germany, the Netherlands had the highest levels of cooperation and collaboration with the Germans. That's why they capitulated in less than 3 weeks and why 75-80% of the country's Jewish population was exterminated in the Holocaust. Lots of Dutch volunteers in the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS too.
THe British dismissed the Dutch under ground because the horrible experiences with the French. British recon flights took photographs some of the tanks in the area. They were dismissed as non functional. The irony is that the intel that was out dated helped fuck the 1st Royal Airborne. They dropped eight km west of the their objective, instead of a in a fields substantially closer. Old intel reports said an anti aircraft unit was there. However newer reports confirmed that they were pulled out. If any of the Division commanders holds some blame for the operations failure it's Gavin. He allowed himself to be distracted by a hillside east of his objective. If he stayed focused his would not have had to fight through the town, then assault across a river.
@@dirus3142 1st Airborne division, no such thing as the "Royal Airborne", The drop sites chosen where the closest drop zones available if the RAF decided they could have dropped the British 1st closer they would have done, there was multiple issues including the AA defences for the town and Bridge which where still actually present (though a AA detachment from an Infantry Division was in the town briefly along with a brigade from the same division maybe that's what you mean) there where also issues with the size and soil of the landing zones closer to the river, Perhaps paratroopers might have been ok in a brigade strength force but any gliders would have just flipped over killing there occupants. The commander of 1st Airborne also had no experience with airborne forces which was also probably a mistake on the British part for such a complex operation.
Any moron knows you can't fight up just one road. But Monty wasn't just any moron. He was a special kind of moron. There were three ways into the Netherlands from the south and a competent commander would have used all three. Even Sicily used two separate roads of advance.....
Collaborators reminded me of something I read one time: "In the days before the invasion a tense mood reigned. Everyone knew that the invasion had to come; we just didn't know when and where exactly. The resistance continued to make trouble, cutting electrical wires, shooting up individual vehicles, and so on. On 2 or 3 June, a farmer who was friendly to the Germans gave us two rabbits that he had slaughtered. The day after, we went to pay him a visit and offer our collective tobacco rations in thanks. We found him lying in his clean living room with a crushed-in skull; his wife and children had disappeared. Someone, probably his murderers, had drawn the sign for the resistance in coal on the wall." -Eugene Griesser "The Lions of Carentan" Page 83 War tends to be like that.
A First Sergeant is in charge of all enlisted persons within a Company and works alongside the Company Commander (Officer and usually a Captain) enforce the orders of the Commander and relay them down to the Platoon Sergeants who then in turn relay the order to their Platoon/soldiers.
Nahid KEEPS calling these guys "airborne rangers". The 101st ARE airborne, but as a UNIT they are NOT Rangers by default. Some individual soldiers may have been ranger qualified, but there is a difference between the tab and scroll!
Andrew or Batman ha ha ha ha.....could very well be.....I will admit that my military experience was certainly lack luster, I won’t pretend otherwise. I spent 3.5 years in Army ROTC and my extraordinary NON-shrinking waistline got me kicked out the last day of my senior year. (I had spent a year trying to lose 5 pounds and I had hit a plateau.....)
David Bennett I did 10 years, and I was volun-told to do Airborne school but I was definitely not a Ranger. Worked with a few of them. Hey, at least your heart was in the right place. That’s more than what others have done.
You keep referring to Eindhoven as a village, but it's actually one of the biggest cities in The Netherlands. In a wide shot with Dick & Nix where it's getting bombed from a distance you can see how big it is. It's an honest mistake though, a lot of people think of it as a village because of its layout.
@@golfr-kg9ss The British bombed the city in 42. In September 44, it was the Luftwaffe that was bombing the city. I have seen no mention of any allied bombing of the city in 44.
Chris @28:32 - All of the segregated Black units where sent to fight Germans and Italians in a southern Europe campaign which was separate from Easy Companys campaigns in Normandy, Bastogne, Arden, Germany , etc. Outside of construction workers and mechanics regularly working at bases, the only other time that E Company would have come in contact with Black soldiers would have probably been while they were on temporary leave in the Paris or UK.
Actually, Easy Company was driven to the Battle of the Bulge by African-American soldiers in transportation companies driving deuce-and-a-halves. It's in the series. Blink and you'll miss it, but it's there. The paratroopers joked that the journey to the Ardennes was a "tailgate jump."
Yeah I should have clarified when I said the ones " outside of construction workers and mechanics working bases", What I meant was outside of those African-Americans working in a labor capacity as combat service support ,, ya know - meaning, outside of the engineers, mechanics, salvaging etc and that would include Transport drivers moving personnel and supplies. But I wasn't referring to those guys working as support to the fighting. The post had to do with addressing what Chris and Marketa were talking about in the video, the job involving fighting and heroic stuff. I heard Red Tails and Buffalo Soldiers mentioned so I figured what Chris was specifically complaining about not seeing African-Americans engaging in actual combat in the same capacity as those paratroopers and fighting along side them.
"Isn't Holland near Belgium or Germany?" The Netherlands(Holland is a province of Netherlands) borders to two countries, Belgium and Germany.. I am sad that no one knew.
Little lighter short story my grandad told me; he was like 8/9 in the war, so he and his friends used to hide in the ditch of roads, and when a German patrol came by they put fire crackers in a pan and lit them up, causing the Germans to totally flip and lose their shit (my words, not his, lol). German border is like a 20 minute drive from here. Just finished the reaction + discussion, thanks again! Love you guys reacting to these types of shows, with some history in them. Just like Chernobyl which was awesome as well, with Marketa having some inner knowledge even. Awesome!
As a tank enthusiast, im just gonna name all the tanks featured in the episode The American Sherman tanks were the black/navy blue ones that the main body/hull is curved at the front. All the Shermans featured in the show are ones with the 75mm gun. The one with the boxy turret and the one that blew up first was a British Cromwell. Described one of the fastest tanks by the British and was made in attempt to replace the Crusader mk III cruiser tank The one with the camo net is the legendary and feared Tiger 1 tank which holds a 88mm gun which can penetrate and kill almost anything at that time period. Combined with excellent armor and the guns mounted on the Shermans, theres a reason why its a tank crew's worst nightmare. However, encounters with Tigers and Shermans are relatively rare. The last tank which had a angled body/hull is the Jagdpanther which also packs a 88mm gun. It was built of a Panther tank chassis (described as best tank design in ww2 not best tank) and is able to ricochet the shells from the Cromwell and the Shermans with the upper plate. Despite German technical superiority, the Americans manufactured more tanks than the Germans and most of the German big cats have tons of engine failures and transmission/suspension overstress. Also by the end of the war, the Americans already started fitting Shermans with a 76mm gun which can pierce the armor of the Tiger 1 frontally and perhaps the bottom plate of the Jagdpanther and thus busting its transmission and therefore is able to flank it along with the upcoming M26 Pershings and the M24 Chaffees
The Germans called the Sherman Tank "Tommy Cookers". The British called them "Ronson's", like the cigarette lighter advertisment which said "Lights first time".
@@erictull2089 that’s a misconception since most fires happen once anmo storage or engine was hit which has a high burn rate for all tanks including German and Soviet until I think 1942 or 1943 they added better amino storage fixing the burn rate
"Despite German technical superiority" That's a myth and honestly throws your credibility as a "tank enthusiast" into question. More likely you are just a wehraboo.
the thing about Sobel is that he actually did genuinely care about the men. he was such a hardass in training because A) he knew that war was unforgiving and not going to let them have an ounce of comfort B) he wanted to bring the men closer together by bonding against a common enemy, which he portrayed himself as. the real Easy Company men acknowledge as such, that as much as they despised Sobel, he MADE them the company that they were. and while driving by, he was probably genuinely relieved to see all those familiar faces still alive
Another big thing is that when the Allies went into Market Garden, the airborne paratroopers were facing multiple Panzer Divisions(meaning lots of tanks and heavy infantry) that paratroopers just were not equipped to fight. The British lost nearly their entire airborne corps in market garden.
Not to mention that the Germans were probably the best army in the world at this point. Any engagement where the allies and germans were evenly matched almost always ended in a stalemate. If they were able to commit at least half of that they did on the Eastern front against the allies, they would have won.
@@DillsyYourDaddy67 not even close, at this stage of the war, Germany was losing. They were being pushed back on all fronts, the Allies had the advantage in the air, in logistics, in industrial capability and in manpower. The best the Germans could do at this point was delay their defeat. They were nowhere close to being the army that had conquered Europe.
I always loved watching this series. I was an Airborne Artilleryman for the 173rd Brigade. Went to Airborne school in 2013 and left the Army in 2016. Got out with 28 jumps. Half with night jumps. The thing the show got wrong was how they landed with their parachutes. I've gotten over 11 concussions by how hard I've landed, and I jumped with the newer chutes that slowed your falling speed. My most memorable jump was during the 70th anniversary of D-Day. I got to jump the original route these heroes jumped in Normandy. I even met some of the veterans and cried when one called me his hero. However, the government is paying for my college (International Relations & Global Security) and I plan on going back in the Army as an commissioned officer this time. I miss being a paratrooper.
Eindhoven isn‘t a village, it is actually a pretty big city in the Netherlands near the Rhine! The bombardment most likely wasn‘t a product of traitors/collaborators... the German Wehrmacht and SS destroyed significant/important places on their way back into Germany anyways (important cities, infrastructure and bridges) to use the Rhine river as a defensive line! The Rhine runs down from Switzerland in the south into the Northsea by Rotterdam in the Netherlands and was used, like in many wars before, as a natural border and defensive line in late 44 and early 45. Concerning the treatment of collaborators, women, civilians and (german) minorities in other countries like Poland or Czechoslovakia, Marketa is absolutely right there! But that happened more after World War I (1918/19) then II (1944/45/46) when the German Empire had to cede a lot of its territories to neighboring counties like France, Belgium, Denmark and especially Poland and Czechoslovakia... these countries casted out or forced to flee great parts of inhabitants so the majority of the population was from their nationality to strengthen their claim. Concerning the shooting of medics... it pretty sure happened quite often, especially in the late stages of the war, but you have also to consider that the Waffen SS officially that mostly did. such things was no part of the German army, it is the para military corps of the political Nazi Party, so they wouldn‘t really care for things like the Geneva Convention, as wouldn‘t partisans and resistance fighters on both sides And concerning the chocolate... the general population in Europe was much poorer then their US counterpart, a lot of countries were still Kingdoms or young (often failing) democracies with WW I roughly 30 years ago that changed society a lot... they simply couldn‘t afford such „luxury goods“ till the US Marshall Plan after WW II helped to build strong economies in Western Europe and division of work, stable currencies, capitalism and free market allowed people to get economically better and could afford these goods, which also became more affordable then before... in strong comparison to the eastern part of Germany for example that was under Soviet Union control and was much poorer then western Germany till the reunification in 1990
It’s important to remember that in war, everyone is on rations and some parts of the world were actually starving. Some women slept with the soldiers just to get food to feed their kids and families. It had nothing to do with allegiance. Sometimes they slept with a German soldier to get protection for their family from even worse soldiers.
If you count 1939, the war up to that point had been going on for 6 years, so he’s not that far off but a year can certainly make a difference in wartime.
@@demonlordoftheroundtable2456 except at this point in the show its only been 5 years, still 7 years is a failing mark in history class if you wrote that down.
@@Morrison64 If you don't count 1939 itself then yeah it's 5 years. And I never said it wasn't wrong, I did say a whole year could make quite the difference.
The Red tales are a squadron of black pilots. They did some really heroic stuff and only got the fame they deserve at a much later date. Mad respect for them.
This series is only about Easy Company and it is only about their experiences throughout WII. It has a very narrow focus. The American military was segregated back then and since there were no black members of Easy Company this series does not cover any of the black companies that participated in the war.
At this point in the war the Dutch people were starving to death. They were about to go through one of the hardest winters on record. They were forced to resort to eating tulips to survive. To this day the Dutch and Canadian soldiers who died (Canadians liberated the bulk of Holland) have Tulips placed on their tombs every year for memorial day. The child never tasted chocolate (In Holland!) because the Germans took it all for themselves.
You will get to see who's who of the interviewees at the end of the 10th and last episode, and I highly recommend you don't look it up ahead of time. I believe the reveal hits a lot harder if you wait until you've seen the whole show, and also you don't get spoiled on who makes it through the war.
The reason there is no side by side is because the end reveal of who is who and who survives is so special it will bring you to tears. It’s worth the wait. P.s. James Macavoy is not the only celeb reveal. Tons of well known stars today got their start in this series. A lot of them coming up.
So you keep mentioning the targeting of medics and I just want to bring to attention that at the end of the day when you’re a soldier on the front lines in the middle of a fire fight, you’re most likely gonna pull the trigger on any movement in front of you. I know there was a code of honor to not shoot noncombatants but it’s also a hazard of the job of going into the middle of previously said fire fights and trying to save lives. Just trying to point out that just because the medic gets shot doesn’t mean he was singled out and shot because he was a medic, he got shot because he stepped into the line of fire.
@@TheJerbol not saying it wasn’t done intentionally because I know it was and you’re right, it’s a great way to discourage and hamper enemy actions. Just pointing out that medics are not always “targeted” but rather just another casualty of a chaotic battle. Being a medic is a dangerous job *period* because while everyone can focus on the danger in front of them, a medic has to give his focus elsewhere as is his job.
It wasn't in this video but, the officer that was asking Sgt. Martin during the jump preparation to nudge him when the light turned green was actually colorblind. Colorblindness is something that can prevent you from enlisting or joining the military. So that subtle scene indicated that A) he was the officer and the first out of the plane, and B) he wouldn't know if the light turned green unless he asked Sgt. Martin to give him a physical nudge.
The 1/506th was my unit years ago and I appreciate the fact you all are doing reaction videos to this HBO special, because to many others and myself this series hits home more than any other. Keep up the good work.
That was the front. The Shermans were great, but the Germans just had heavier weaponry on theirs. That tank covered by the hay is a Tiger H-1. It’s main gun was a German 88. It’s normally towed on a trailer for anti-tank, artillery or anti-aircraft but they were able to put it on a tank
The American military, at that time, was very segregated. Most Americans today don't know that the most decorated combat unit of WWII was a segregated unit made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry, the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team. The Regiment size was initially 4,000 men, but because of a high casualty count, the unit had gone through more than 10,000 replacements. In less than two years the members of the 100/442 RCT earned more than 18,000 awards, to include 8 Presidential Unit Citations, 21 Medals of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Cross, 560 Silver Stars (28 with Oak Leaf Clusters), 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 15 Soldier's Medals, 4,000 Bronze Stars (1,200 with Oak Leaf Clusters), and more than 4,000 Purple Hearts. I wish someone would make a big budget movie about these guys and tell their story.
14:51 that’s a tank destroyer aka the jagdpanzer 38(t) w/ a 75mm anti tank gun. That’s why it’s tearing up the allied medium tanks. The first sighted German tank was the tiger heavy tank with a 88mm cannon that can easily one shot KO a Sherman tank
Its actually a Jagdpanther which is still a tank destroyer but used the hull of the panther tank meaning it was more mobile and offered better protection and was equipped with a 88mm pak 43 anti tank gun, a gun which was better at penetrating the armour of allied vehicles and the likes of which was similar to that of the 88mm kwk 43 mounted on the tiger 2
U guys keep commenting on how its brutal to shave their heads also, but u seem to not mention the men getting shot? Put urselfs in their position where u have been invaded for 5 years and ur fellow people collaborate with the enemy. Honestly, they got off easy
Tuskegee Airmen are my heroes. I had the honor to spend the weekend with several Tuskegee veterans and of a Sunday morning over breakfast, I worked up the nerve to ask what it was like to serve, see your countrymen die, and come back to the US and face segregation. WWII vets of all sorts tend not to tell the 'hard' stories except in the company of each other. Man, these men had some stories. The film 'Red Tails' is like a comic book, the better film is Tuskegee Airmen with Malcolm Jamal Warner (et. al.). Also read up on the Red Ball Express ... One of the VERY FEW integrated units during the war.
I know Chris wants to see the African American units, but Easy company didn't really run into them much. Fact is, why there were many "Colored" units, most of them didn't see combat. Most were used behind the front lines for support or garrison. There were combat units like the 92nd Infantry Division (Buffalo Soldiers) who fought in Italy, the 93rd Infantry Division fought in New Guinea in the Pacific, the 761st Tank battalion was part of Patton's spearhead tat fought in France, Belgium and Germany. There was an all black paratroop unit (555th) that almost joined up with Easy company late in the war when casualties were too high, but their training wasn't completed in time and they were instead earmarked for the invasion of Japan. Surprisingly, there was a large number of African American artillery and Anti Aircraft units (no idea why those areas weren't closed off) many of which saw a lot of action. But overall, less than 1,000 African Americans were KIA in WWII. Yes, this was largely due to racism, but at least they weren't used as cannon fodder like some of the "colonial" troops by the French and English.
In WWII the black airborne unit was the 555th or the "Triple Nickle." They were kept in California where they defended against a Japanese invasion fought the forest fires started by the Japanese Balloon bombs. Also medics were regularly targeted in the war but hospitals were generally not because soldiers from your own side could be there.
14:51 when discussing the German vs American tanks, the only reason we were able to win with our tanks was because of mass production, we had about 50,000+ Sherman’s and the Germans only had about 1,470 tigers or around that area, there were also multiple reports that tiger tank crews would often run out of ammo before finally being taken down or surrendering, that’s how superior their tanks were compared to ours, 1 tiger tank can take out about 10-20 Sherman’s if well placed and managed, which is why when our troops and tanks come upon a tiger they immediately retreat before they get mowed down by the tiger
Panzer is just the German word for "tank". What you saw in that scene was a "Tiger" or Panzer VI (6) and a Jagdpanther ("Hunting Panther"). A Jadgpanther is a tank hunter with a larger gun in a turretless mount, the chassis is the same as a Panther tank, the Panzer V (5). Thats the vehicle that shows up at 14:20. By the way, there is an old movie from 1977 called "A Bridge too Far" that is entirely based on Operation Market Garden. The movie shows this battle from all sides including the British and the Germans.
You guys might enjoy watching Glory (or like me, you might have had to watch it in school). It's the movie about the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War.
I would highly recommend if you are curious about Market Garden (especially how the British lost 8,000 men at Arnhem) watching A Bridge Too Far. It's on Amazon Prime and stars Sean Connery, James Caan, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, etc.
@@dirus3142 Or ideally do both. But this is a channel where they watch movies and TV. My favorite book about Market Garden is The Battle of Arnhem by Antony Beevor.
Professor X, Abraham, Damian Dhark, Fringe agent Charlie Francis and a new kid on the block...all in the same platoon...the nazi’s didn’t stand a chance!
Interesting fact about replacements in the US army during WWII. Replacements during the war had an incredibly high mortality rate. This is due to replacements often having less experience than veterans. Most would expect the veterans to teach the replacements but the veterans often refused to have much association with the replacements. This is because the veterans often resented having the places their severely wounded/deceased friends held filled.
that tank was Tiger, ( or a panzer 6) the one with the fixed gun was a jagdpanther ( a panther/panzer5 chassis with an upgunned casemate) for the British perspective you should see "a bridge too far" its pretty good. Eindhoven is fine, i sometimes shop there. Rotterdam is the real fucked up city but it got bombed in 1940. and then eventually they rebuilt it but now it isn't built organically so it feels off, they tried to change it a big again, make it better.
Glad to see you include the Sergeant Major of the Army. Now to have the discussion about Warrant Officers. Junior Commissioned Officer or senior Non Commissioned Officer (NCO)?
I'm glad you guys are continuing with the series. It's so good. Hope you guys check out The Pacific next. Though I always felt it was tonally a little different but not much.
A mistake Nahid made before and then again this episode. Thought he might catch it after last time but he keeps calling them Airborne Rangers when they are paratroopers. I believe they did have rangers in WW2 but they were a complete different unit. I also get that Chris would like to see some of the African American soldiers in the show since they were a part a the war. This just isn't their story unfortunately. Everything was segregated back then and it would be awhile before that changed. If the show was more of a anthology it would make more sense to show them but this sticks to one unit to build the personal attachment to the characters.
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Blithe didn’t actually die of his wounds in 1948. The producers made a mistake when researching that caption. “On December 10, 1967, while on active duty in Germany, Blithe felt nauseated when he returned from a weekend at Bastogne, Belgium, where he had taken part in the ceremonies commemorating the Battle of the Bulge. On December 11, 1967, Blithe was taken to the emergency room at Wiesbaden Hospital, Germany, where he was admitted with a diagnosis of a perforated ulcer. He died in the intensive care unit on December 17 after surgery...”
Collaboration and survival are related, especially if you’re threatened with torture, death or hurting your friends or family if you don’t collaborate. Germans could also offer food or amenities that weren’t available because of wartime shortages.
Ending foot notes failed to mention the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade. They were attached to the British 1st Royal Airborne Division. They dropped on day 3, right in the middle of a fire fight. Most of them did not make it back across the Rhine.
United States Military units were racially segregated during WW2 The 442 was a all Japanese American unit made famous for the honors the servicemen received during the war for example
Nazi Germany, the Soviet union and Japan at that point never signed the Geneva treaty. Whitch made gas and specifically targeting medics a war crime among other things. Witch is one reason the eastern front was so brutal.
If you like this series and want more after episode 10 check out The Pacific for the Marines part of the war. It actually starts earlier in the war and you see them carrying around antique water cooled machine guns.
surij. thats EXACTLY what happens on social media. while i dont agree with nahid, its a war mind set. and i get it. i also agree with marketta. it very well could be survival.
My great grandfather was in the Netherlands. He said the Americans threw people out of their homes to sleep in and generally treated Europeans as less than anglo saxons. He said that the British, Europeans an even the Germans were more alike comoared to the yanks
@The Normies The scene in which Guarnere is sitting with the Replacements and joking about the "Dear Babe letter" he mentions how Patton overran their drop zone, resulting in the mission being canceled. That mission was what they were preparing to embark on at the end of episode 3. In real life, Patton overran their drop zone numerous times, resulting in repeated instances of the paratroopers loading up for a drop and boarding the planes only for Patton to just yeet the target area into an all-clear. It's also why Nixon makes a point of saying during the briefing that the operation isn't likely to be called off like the ones in France were. Also anything between (not including) corporal and lieutenant can be considered an NCO, including basic sergeants. Also the third tank destroyed was hit in the front, not the rear. It was backing up.
Band of Brothers was based on “Easy” Company, 101st Airborne. It was an all-white unit. Segregation and believing that blacks weren’t intelligent enough for combat roles were still very strong (sadly). Fortunately, some people ignored the stereotypes and gave them a chance. So Spielberg did a great job of keep it accurate. African American Soilders participated in non combat roles and only few went overseas.
It is worth mentioning though that while the American's didn't like black soldiers, the French did use a lot of troops from the colonies in the south of France in particular
They made up the majority of the truck drivers who were responsible for getting fuel from the beaches up to the front to keep the tanks running as part of "The Red Ball Express"
@@samfromthorne to be honest he sounds like he brain dumped most his Army knowledge or he really didn't retain any of it. With how boot he sounds sometimes, I'm not even sure if he even deployed.
English casualties: According to the English national archives 66 375 Civilians were killed by axis bombings 1939-1945 During the same time period German civilian casualties from Allied bombings are in the estimates of +400 000 according to University of Exeter.
I could be wrong about this but if that was a G.I. issue D-Ration chocolate bar it was made to be very bitter and only to be used as an "emergency" ration. It could have been more commercially available chocolate but i doubt it. Info on the D-Ration can be found on Wiki if you are interested.
So in this scene the guy from E Company (a smart guy who went to Harvard) is probably thinking " Wow this kid must be starving that he thinks this D-Ration tastes good " and in fact there was a lot of starvation in Holland under the occupation. I think we know a lot about generational malnutrition from what pregnant women went through there during this time. When this farmer gives that food to the soldiers it is a real sacrifice to his family and they may have been hiding and holding onto that food for a long time. Check out the "Hongerwinter" or the Dutch Famine of 44-45 for more info on that as well.
With the tanks, the best way for the Americans to take out a Sherman tank, was ro have 12 or the American tanks swarm the Sherman, if I remember correctly, from military history
That was a Tiger one and a Jagdpanther tank destroyer both armed with 88mm guns, all of the tanks on the allied side of that battle had zero guns that could penetrate the front armour of either the tiger or the jadgpanther.
They are not "Airborne Rangers"...they are just "Airborne". The Rangers are a slightly different special unit with parachute training, but also with other special training. Back in World War 2, the Rangers were not necessarily trained to jump from planes, as they had a somewhat different function during that war. A soldier can be Airborne, or a soldier can be a Ranger. And these days, the most highly trained troops in the Army are Delta Force.
3 notes: 1). Medics were targeted often on the battlefield because they were medics and because sometimes a medic would treat someone who could live to fight another day and as an enemy soldier you wouldn't want that. They were called combat medics for a reason because being a medic on the battlefield carries big risks. 2). I'm sorry to say Chris, but Easy company in particular of the 101st did not have any integration in the infantry during the European theater and the series follows Easy company specifically because of what they went through from D-Day till the end of the war in Europe. They do not go from company to company showing many different perspectives just the perspective of Easy. Also I do not know if their were any African American soldiers in the 101st that was not Easy so I can't say for sure. 3). Although you can debate whether it is or is not justified about how the women who slept with the Nazi soldiers were treated after their town was liberated by a joint Allied operation, and I throw my hat in with what Marketa(sorry if I butchered your name) had to say about it all, but if you cant see any similarities between what they did and what's been happening in our country for the past several months with the protests and riots...well... the people of the Netherlands were angry and they needed something to take their anger out on and those women just happened to be their targets much like storefronts and people have been here. The people of the Netherlands had their freedom taken away from them by an occupying force and after several years of that treatment blew off some steam, right or wrong. That being said I don't think its fair to judge the people of that town to harshly given the similar response between their citizens then and our citizens now and I don't know where The Normies lean in terms of what's happened the past several months here(and I am not trying to find out where you lean on the issue, though I could take an educated guess) but if you condemn the people of this town doing what they are doing yet support some of the more controversial aspects of what's been happening in our country you could be seen as hypocrites. Now let me make myself as clear as can be, I am NOT, I repeat, I am NOT trying to make this Political in any way nor am I trying to offend anyone I am merely making an observation given the similarities of the liberated countries and communities went through in that time period and what's going on in our country and communities today. Really hope I don't get decimated by people replying to my comment. Fingers crossed.
You can't judge a woman who is doing what she feels she needs to do to survive. It's easy to say you wouldn't sleep with the enemy, but if you were starving or had children to feed and you held no power, who's to say what's right and what's wrong? They could have slept with the invading Nazis because they were actual collaborators, or maybe it was a survival mechanism. Or maybe they had no choice. This still happens today.
Or maybe they didn't think about it so hard... they maybe could still hate the germans as a whole but after years of occupation still be charmed by a charming Individual soildier
Sure you can. Especially when that woman was selling out her neighbors to the Nazis. neighbors that would then be executed, or sent to prison camps. Keep in mind many of these woman might have been selling out people they didn't like. Similar to how a spiteful woman accused a young girl of being a witch. Of course there were the girls that had an honest friendship with a German soldier, or maybe an SS soldier. Still a betrayal of your family, friends, community, and people. Because that soldier is occupying your nation, and town.
@@dirus3142 For sure that was the case sometimes. As I said in my comment above, some were true collaborators, no question. However, there were many women who were unwilling participants in their "relationships" with the occupying enemy forces. My own family has dealt with this.
Normies, watch videos from The Chieftain (covers tanks in detail so long videos) or Spookston (much shorter videos but still good and tank memes) for accurate info about WW2 tanks. Every time ya'll be making blanket statements about Allied and Axis armor that's based on inaccurate info or apples to oranges comparisons. For videos about US armor here's 2 links. Spookston vid: ua-cam.com/video/yIyje46TX2g/v-deo.html Chieftain vid: ua-cam.com/video/bNjp_4jY8pY/v-deo.html
The parachuting in daylight scene was done with a Windows 95 computer and MS paint. That person did a hell of a job.
Wait what?
@@aaronrivas7977 In the behind the scenes they were talking about special effects and it turns out the daytime drop with all the parachutes was not real. It was all done on a crap computer. Turned out really well.
@@DisgruntledHippo that's fucking crazy
*WHAT*
bruh.
Achieved with CryEngine 3... Wait.
Windows Paint.
You can’t know who they are in the beginning interviews. Then you would know who lives.
The last episode shows them side by side.
I’m a total history nerd and I’ve watched this show at least once a year for 10 years. That’s how good and accurate it is.
There are alot of inaccuracies though.
mel on I really don’t recall very many at all. There are small ones here and there but that’s how cinema is. All I’m saying is that this is the best we’ve ever gotten in the history department for World War 2 in cinema.
@@beefychief3355 My grandfather was a Screamin Eagle and jumped into Normandy ... I watch this yearly too to honor him. When my mother would complain about being cold in the winter asa kid he’d tell her to be glad she wasn’t in a foxhole in Bastogne and to go put some damn socks on lol. I can only hope that when the uneducated watch this they get some fraction of understanding of what these true heroes did.
@@AreYouKittenMeRtNow it’s a damn shame that so many people today barely know anything about our history. I think it’s an important thing for any American to learn before they consider themselves true Americans. This show I think did a great job but I can only imagine what it was really like in Bastogne back then with no winter clothes, food, or ammo.
@@beefychief3355 I can’t even begin to imagine it. He didn’t speak of Bastogne until he was in his very late 80s. He did say that most of the air drops for supplies totally missed their positions and it was worse to know the supplies were there and they couldn’t get to them. He also said they were at one point told to fire at will when they heard the tanks coming through the trees.
Y’all cut out an important scene. The guy who was chewing out professor X also didn’t serve in Normandy as he was wounded, and Abraham chews him out for it.
"Shit, Cobb, you didn't fight in Normandy neither"
"I was hit in the plane before I got a chance to jump"
That’s what patreon is for?
@JohnnyGotHisGun hes obviously seen it...
@@Zenapprentice no
Did you guys miss Michael Fassbender in the beginning episodes too? That is where James McAvoy and Fassbender met and became friends.
I believe that they noticed him early on. Earlier than I had, at least.
X-Men Forever!!!
Nixon getting that close call gets EVERYONE the first time they see it. I dropped my drink in 2001 when watching the show on HBO live. This was right after Office Space made Ron Livingston a temporary star.
They do tell us who the interviewed men are at the end. But if they did it before then, we would know who survived before the show is over. It's well worth the wait.
A little history on Market Garden.
The operation was planned over the course of ONE week in total and the politics of the time pressured Eisenhower to greenlight it. At least 35,000 allied troops American, British, and Polish participated and over 17,000 of them died. Montgomery would later claim it was 90% successful despite not getting a foothold over the Rhine into the Ruhr industrial area of Germany. The Dutch Underground resistance repeatedly gave the allies reports of SS Panzer divisions in Arnhem but the allied command disregarded them. The allies suffered heavily at Eindhoven, Nijmegen, and Arnhem trying to secure the bridges there. Montgomery would later make Polish General Sosabowski the scapegoat of the failed operation despite sending letters respecting the bravery of the Polish Paratroops. In short the success of D-Day let to gross overconfidence on the allied side and the war would drag on til May 1945.
To better understand it I recommend watching A Bridge Too Far.
Total casualties where around 17,000 which includes dead from all sources, injured and captured so saying the Allies suffered 17,000 dead is simply not accurate.
41,000 Men of the airborne contingent and a further 3 Divisions (10 Brigades) so total Allies forces involved is likely to be around at least 70,000
The reason it was classed as 90% successful is because it essentially forced the Germans back to the Rhine German forces could not stay in France with both the British 2nd and Canadian Armies able to potentially attack their flank it was also one of the fastest allied advances post D-day.
Aerial recon only found 2 tanks in the preparation time both of which where older tanks one was a French Tank from the fall of France in 1940, At least half of the tanks actually came from reserve or straight off the manufacturing line in Germany but without being able to confirm the presence of German armoured formations and finding only training vehicles that's why allied command went ahead with the attack, Similarly the 2 heavily depleted Panzer divisions who where refitting having lost in one case 83% of their armoured strength where never stationed in Arnhem pre Market Garden.
A bridge to far is not a particularly good representation of the operation being for American audiences it makes several mistakes and to some extent demonizes the British contributions to the battle, just one example being the plans that a German finds in a British glider where actually found on American forces.
A lot of the Dutch Resistance were NSJ moles. Out of all the countries invaded by Nazi Germany, the Netherlands had the highest levels of cooperation and collaboration with the Germans. That's why they capitulated in less than 3 weeks and why 75-80% of the country's Jewish population was exterminated in the Holocaust. Lots of Dutch volunteers in the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS too.
THe British dismissed the Dutch under ground because the horrible experiences with the French. British recon flights took photographs some of the tanks in the area. They were dismissed as non functional. The irony is that the intel that was out dated helped fuck the 1st Royal Airborne. They dropped eight km west of the their objective, instead of a in a fields substantially closer. Old intel reports said an anti aircraft unit was there. However newer reports confirmed that they were pulled out.
If any of the Division commanders holds some blame for the operations failure it's Gavin. He allowed himself to be distracted by a hillside east of his objective. If he stayed focused his would not have had to fight through the town, then assault across a river.
@@dirus3142 1st Airborne division, no such thing as the "Royal Airborne", The drop sites chosen where the closest drop zones available if the RAF decided they could have dropped the British 1st closer they would have done, there was multiple issues including the AA defences for the town and Bridge which where still actually present (though a AA detachment from an Infantry Division was in the town briefly along with a brigade from the same division maybe that's what you mean) there where also issues with the size and soil of the landing zones closer to the river, Perhaps paratroopers might have been ok in a brigade strength force but any gliders would have just flipped over killing there occupants.
The commander of 1st Airborne also had no experience with airborne forces which was also probably a mistake on the British part for such a complex operation.
Any moron knows you can't fight up just one road. But Monty wasn't just any moron. He was a special kind of moron. There were three ways into the Netherlands from the south and a competent commander would have used all three. Even Sicily used two separate roads of advance.....
Collaborators reminded me of something I read one time:
"In the days before the invasion a tense mood reigned. Everyone knew that the invasion had to come; we just didn't know when and where exactly. The resistance continued to make trouble, cutting electrical wires, shooting up individual vehicles, and so on.
On 2 or 3 June, a farmer who was friendly to the Germans gave us two rabbits that he had slaughtered. The day after, we went to pay him a visit and offer our collective tobacco rations in thanks. We found him lying in his clean living room with a crushed-in skull; his wife and children had disappeared. Someone, probably his murderers, had drawn the sign for the resistance in coal on the wall."
-Eugene Griesser
"The Lions of Carentan" Page 83
War tends to be like that.
Fuck. It really was survival first. Human nature man
The Germans would through various methods to obtain intel from the collaborators about the Resistance.
A First Sergeant is in charge of all enlisted persons within a Company and works alongside the Company Commander (Officer and usually a Captain) enforce the orders of the Commander and relay them down to the Platoon Sergeants who then in turn relay the order to their Platoon/soldiers.
Winters to his dying day would always regard “Bull” Randleman as the finest NCO in all of Easy Company. Many in Easy Co. would second that.
The black division was invading from the south of Italy. They will not be in the series as its focusing on Easy Company.
Nahid KEEPS calling these guys "airborne rangers". The 101st ARE airborne, but as a UNIT they are NOT Rangers by default. Some individual soldiers may have been ranger qualified, but there is a difference between the tab and scroll!
David Bennett Thank you! I’ve been trying to point that out too!
Andrew or Batman his “explanation” of NCOs was not the best either.....
David Bennett maybe he got out as part of the E-4 mafia
Andrew or Batman ha ha ha ha.....could very well be.....I will admit that my military experience was certainly lack luster, I won’t pretend otherwise. I spent 3.5 years in Army ROTC and my extraordinary NON-shrinking waistline got me kicked out the last day of my senior year. (I had spent a year trying to lose 5 pounds and I had hit a plateau.....)
David Bennett I did 10 years, and I was volun-told to do Airborne school but I was definitely not a Ranger. Worked with a few of them.
Hey, at least your heart was in the right place. That’s more than what others have done.
You keep referring to Eindhoven as a village, but it's actually one of the biggest cities in The Netherlands. In a wide shot with Dick & Nix where it's getting bombed from a distance you can see how big it is. It's an honest mistake though, a lot of people think of it as a village because of its layout.
well a city with 100,000 inhabitants isn't considered a city by Americans i would think.
Also as an FYI it's the allies not the Germans that are bombing Eindhoven as the Germans have recaptured it.
@@lionhead123 It is considered a city, just not a large one.
@@golfr-kg9ss The British bombed the city in 42. In September 44, it was the Luftwaffe that was bombing the city. I have seen no mention of any allied bombing of the city in 44.
nah these guys just have 0 history knowledge so don't feel bad
Chris @28:32 - All of the segregated Black units where sent to fight Germans and Italians in a southern Europe campaign which was separate from Easy Companys campaigns in Normandy, Bastogne, Arden, Germany , etc. Outside of construction workers and mechanics regularly working at bases, the only other time that E Company would have come in contact with Black soldiers would have probably been while they were on temporary leave in the Paris or UK.
Actually, Easy Company was driven to the Battle of the Bulge by African-American soldiers in transportation companies driving deuce-and-a-halves. It's in the series. Blink and you'll miss it, but it's there. The paratroopers joked that the journey to the Ardennes was a "tailgate jump."
Yeah I should have clarified when I said the ones " outside of construction workers and mechanics working bases", What I meant was outside of those African-Americans working in a labor capacity as combat service support ,, ya know - meaning, outside of the engineers, mechanics, salvaging etc and that would include Transport drivers moving personnel and supplies. But I wasn't referring to those guys working as support to the fighting. The post had to do with addressing what Chris and Marketa were talking about in the video, the job involving fighting and heroic stuff. I heard Red Tails and Buffalo Soldiers mentioned so I figured what Chris was specifically complaining about not seeing African-Americans engaging in actual combat in the same capacity as those paratroopers and fighting along side them.
"Isn't Holland near Belgium or Germany?"
The Netherlands(Holland is a province of Netherlands) borders to two countries, Belgium and Germany..
I am sad that no one knew.
To a lot of people Holland = The Netherlands
@@Brams2777 Well Holland = The Netherlands. I know it's not accurate geographically, but historically it's always Holland = Netherlands
@@Brams2777 Lmao even as a germ its the same to me.
Im so glad you guys kept watching this, great reaction. Greetings from The Netherlands!
Little lighter short story my grandad told me; he was like 8/9 in the war, so he and his friends used to hide in the ditch of roads, and when a German patrol came by they put fire crackers in a pan and lit them up, causing the Germans to totally flip and lose their shit (my words, not his, lol). German border is like a 20 minute drive from here.
Just finished the reaction + discussion, thanks again! Love you guys reacting to these types of shows, with some history in them. Just like Chernobyl which was awesome as well, with Marketa having some inner knowledge even. Awesome!
As a tank enthusiast, im just gonna name all the tanks featured in the episode
The American Sherman tanks were the black/navy blue ones that the main body/hull is curved at the front. All the Shermans featured in the show are ones with the 75mm gun.
The one with the boxy turret and the one that blew up first was a British Cromwell. Described one of the fastest tanks by the British and was made in attempt to replace the Crusader mk III cruiser tank
The one with the camo net is the legendary and feared Tiger 1 tank which holds a 88mm gun which can penetrate and kill almost anything at that time period. Combined with excellent armor and the guns mounted on the Shermans, theres a reason why its a tank crew's worst nightmare. However, encounters with Tigers and Shermans are relatively rare.
The last tank which had a angled body/hull is the Jagdpanther which also packs a 88mm gun. It was built of a Panther tank chassis (described as best tank design in ww2 not best tank) and is able to ricochet the shells from the Cromwell and the Shermans with the upper plate.
Despite German technical superiority, the Americans manufactured more tanks than the Germans and most of the German big cats have tons of engine failures and transmission/suspension overstress. Also by the end of the war, the Americans already started fitting Shermans with a 76mm gun which can pierce the armor of the Tiger 1 frontally and perhaps the bottom plate of the Jagdpanther and thus busting its transmission and therefore is able to flank it along with the upcoming M26 Pershings and the M24 Chaffees
The Germans called the Sherman Tank "Tommy Cookers". The British called them "Ronson's", like the cigarette lighter advertisment which said "Lights first time".
@@erictull2089 that’s a misconception since most fires happen once anmo storage or engine was hit which has a high burn rate for all tanks including German and Soviet until I think 1942 or 1943 they added better amino storage fixing the burn rate
"Despite German technical superiority"
That's a myth and honestly throws your credibility as a "tank enthusiast" into question. More likely you are just a wehraboo.
my grandmother (belgium) had a canadian boyfriend when they were stationed in her village.
they still wrote eachother for some time after the war.
the thing about Sobel is that he actually did genuinely care about the men. he was such a hardass in training because A) he knew that war was unforgiving and not going to let them have an ounce of comfort B) he wanted to bring the men closer together by bonding against a common enemy, which he portrayed himself as.
the real Easy Company men acknowledge as such, that as much as they despised Sobel, he MADE them the company that they were. and while driving by, he was probably genuinely relieved to see all those familiar faces still alive
Another big thing is that when the Allies went into Market Garden, the airborne paratroopers were facing multiple Panzer Divisions(meaning lots of tanks and heavy infantry) that paratroopers just were not equipped to fight.
The British lost nearly their entire airborne corps in market garden.
Not to mention that the Germans were probably the best army in the world at this point. Any engagement where the allies and germans were evenly matched almost always ended in a stalemate.
If they were able to commit at least half of that they did on the Eastern front against the allies, they would have won.
@@DillsyYourDaddy67 not even close, at this stage of the war, Germany was losing. They were being pushed back on all fronts, the Allies had the advantage in the air, in logistics, in industrial capability and in manpower. The best the Germans could do at this point was delay their defeat. They were nowhere close to being the army that had conquered Europe.
GoT still hurts Nahid, I'm with you.
I always loved watching this series. I was an Airborne Artilleryman for the 173rd Brigade. Went to Airborne school in 2013 and left the Army in 2016.
Got out with 28 jumps. Half with night jumps. The thing the show got wrong was how they landed with their parachutes. I've gotten over 11 concussions by how hard I've landed, and I jumped with the newer chutes that slowed your falling speed.
My most memorable jump was during the 70th anniversary of D-Day. I got to jump the original route these heroes jumped in Normandy. I even met some of the veterans and cried when one called me his hero.
However, the government is paying for my college (International Relations & Global Security) and I plan on going back in the Army as an commissioned officer this time. I miss being a paratrooper.
Good for you, mate. Keep your head down.
Eindhoven isn‘t a village, it is actually a pretty big city in the Netherlands near the Rhine! The bombardment most likely wasn‘t a product of traitors/collaborators... the German Wehrmacht and SS destroyed significant/important places on their way back into Germany anyways (important cities, infrastructure and bridges) to use the Rhine river as a defensive line! The Rhine runs down from Switzerland in the south into the Northsea by Rotterdam in the Netherlands and was used, like in many wars before, as a natural border and defensive line in late 44 and early 45.
Concerning the treatment of collaborators, women, civilians and (german) minorities in other countries like Poland or Czechoslovakia, Marketa is absolutely right there!
But that happened more after World War I (1918/19) then II (1944/45/46) when the German Empire had to cede a lot of its territories to neighboring counties like France, Belgium, Denmark and especially Poland and Czechoslovakia... these countries casted out or forced to flee great parts of inhabitants so the majority of the population was from their nationality to strengthen their claim.
Concerning the shooting of medics... it pretty sure happened quite often, especially in the late stages of the war, but you have also to consider that the Waffen SS officially that mostly did. such things was no part of the German army, it is the para military corps of the political Nazi Party, so they wouldn‘t really care for things like the Geneva Convention, as wouldn‘t partisans and resistance fighters on both sides
And concerning the chocolate... the general population in Europe was much poorer then their US counterpart, a lot of countries were still Kingdoms or young (often failing) democracies with WW I roughly 30 years ago that changed society a lot... they simply couldn‘t afford such „luxury goods“ till the US Marshall Plan after WW II helped to build strong economies in Western Europe and division of work, stable currencies, capitalism and free market allowed people to get economically better and could afford these goods, which also became more affordable then before... in strong comparison to the eastern part of Germany for example that was under Soviet Union control and was much poorer then western Germany till the reunification in 1990
It’s important to remember that in war, everyone is on rations and some parts of the world were actually starving. Some women slept with the soldiers just to get food to feed their kids and families. It had nothing to do with allegiance. Sometimes they slept with a German soldier to get protection for their family from even worse soldiers.
12:30 Damn Suraj, read a book or watch a YT documentary of something...
If you count 1939, the war up to that point had been going on for 6 years, so he’s not that far off but a year can certainly make a difference in wartime.
@@demonlordoftheroundtable2456 except at this point in the show its only been 5 years, still 7 years is a failing mark in history class if you wrote that down.
@@Morrison64 If you don't count 1939 itself then yeah it's 5 years. And I never said it wasn't wrong, I did say a whole year could make quite the difference.
Let me say again that I am SO GLAD y'all are watching this show and noticing the impressive filmmaking and storytelling.
As soon as they saw Macavoy, I was like “Wait till they see Hardy and Fassbender”
The Red tales are a squadron of black pilots. They did some really heroic stuff and only got the fame they deserve at a much later date. Mad respect for them.
This series is only about Easy Company and it is only about their experiences throughout WII. It has a very narrow focus. The American military was segregated back then and since there were no black members of Easy Company this series does not cover any of the black companies that participated in the war.
Fun fact: one of the elderly citizens that was sitting down during celebration was Babe Heffron of Easy Company making a cameo in the scene
At this point in the war the Dutch people were starving to death. They were about to go through one of the hardest winters on record. They were forced to resort to eating tulips to survive. To this day the Dutch and Canadian soldiers who died (Canadians liberated the bulk of Holland) have Tulips placed on their tombs every year for memorial day. The child never tasted chocolate (In Holland!) because the Germans took it all for themselves.
You will get to see who's who of the interviewees at the end of the 10th and last episode, and I highly recommend you don't look it up ahead of time. I believe the reveal hits a lot harder if you wait until you've seen the whole show, and also you don't get spoiled on who makes it through the war.
They didnt think they were going home, they just were enjoying time away from the front.
The reason there is no side by side is because the end reveal of who is who and who survives is so special it will bring you to tears. It’s worth the wait.
P.s. James Macavoy is not the only celeb reveal. Tons of well known stars today got their start in this series. A lot of them coming up.
So you keep mentioning the targeting of medics and I just want to bring to attention that at the end of the day when you’re a soldier on the front lines in the middle of a fire fight, you’re most likely gonna pull the trigger on any movement in front of you. I know there was a code of honor to not shoot noncombatants but it’s also a hazard of the job of going into the middle of previously said fire fights and trying to save lives. Just trying to point out that just because the medic gets shot doesn’t mean he was singled out and shot because he was a medic, he got shot because he stepped into the line of fire.
The easiest way to get shot is down range of a MG-42 in an open field.
It depends on the stakes of a battle, in the WW's only I would have totally targeted a medic intentionally
@@TheJerbol not saying it wasn’t done intentionally because I know it was and you’re right, it’s a great way to discourage and hamper enemy actions. Just pointing out that medics are not always “targeted” but rather just another casualty of a chaotic battle. Being a medic is a dangerous job *period* because while everyone can focus on the danger in front of them, a medic has to give his focus elsewhere as is his job.
It wasn't in this video but, the officer that was asking Sgt. Martin during the jump preparation to nudge him when the light turned green was actually colorblind. Colorblindness is something that can prevent you from enlisting or joining the military. So that subtle scene indicated that A) he was the officer and the first out of the plane, and B) he wouldn't know if the light turned green unless he asked Sgt. Martin to give him a physical nudge.
The 1/506th was my unit years ago and I appreciate the fact you all are doing reaction videos to this HBO special, because to many others and myself this series hits home more than any other. Keep up the good work.
Bull Randleman lived and became a lawyer later in life.
That was the front. The Shermans were great, but the Germans just had heavier weaponry on theirs. That tank covered by the hay is a Tiger H-1. It’s main gun was a German 88. It’s normally towed on a trailer for anti-tank, artillery or anti-aircraft but they were able to put it on a tank
Nixon getting that ricochet across his helmet looked like it gave you all heart palpitations.
The American military, at that time, was very segregated. Most Americans today don't know that the most decorated combat unit of WWII was a segregated unit made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry, the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team. The Regiment size was initially 4,000 men, but because of a high casualty count, the unit had gone through more than 10,000 replacements. In less than two years the members of the 100/442 RCT earned more than 18,000 awards, to include 8 Presidential Unit Citations, 21 Medals of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Cross, 560 Silver Stars (28 with Oak Leaf Clusters), 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 15 Soldier's Medals, 4,000 Bronze Stars (1,200 with Oak Leaf Clusters), and more than 4,000 Purple Hearts. I wish someone would make a big budget movie about these guys and tell their story.
Chris hasn’t seen Blue Bloods. Donny Wahlberg is a decent actor!
Not all officers go to to college or are in ROTC. OCS or direct commissions are options many take too. And NCOs get degrees too.
I watch this series every year, it's one of the top series ever done.
14:51 that’s a tank destroyer aka the jagdpanzer 38(t) w/ a 75mm anti tank gun. That’s why it’s tearing up the allied medium tanks.
The first sighted German tank was the tiger heavy tank with a 88mm cannon that can easily one shot KO a Sherman tank
Its actually a Jagdpanther which is still a tank destroyer but used the hull of the panther tank meaning it was more mobile and offered better protection and was equipped with a 88mm pak 43 anti tank gun, a gun which was better at penetrating the armour of allied vehicles and the likes of which was similar to that of the 88mm kwk 43 mounted on the tiger 2
U guys keep commenting on how its brutal to shave their heads also, but u seem to not mention the men getting shot? Put urselfs in their position where u have been invaded for 5 years and ur fellow people collaborate with the enemy. Honestly, they got off easy
Tuskegee Airmen are my heroes. I had the honor to spend the weekend with several Tuskegee veterans and of a Sunday morning over breakfast, I worked up the nerve to ask what it was like to serve, see your countrymen die, and come back to the US and face segregation. WWII vets of all sorts tend not to tell the 'hard' stories except in the company of each other. Man, these men had some stories. The film 'Red Tails' is like a comic book, the better film is Tuskegee Airmen with Malcolm Jamal Warner (et. al.). Also read up on the Red Ball Express ... One of the VERY FEW integrated units during the war.
The admirable failure of a movie, A Bridge Too Far, is an all star war epic about Operation Market Garden.
shows the british airborne commandos and what they went though trying to hold the bridges they were tasked with taking.
I know Chris wants to see the African American units, but Easy company didn't really run into them much. Fact is, why there were many "Colored" units, most of them didn't see combat. Most were used behind the front lines for support or garrison. There were combat units like the 92nd Infantry Division (Buffalo Soldiers) who fought in Italy, the 93rd Infantry Division fought in New Guinea in the Pacific, the 761st Tank battalion was part of Patton's spearhead tat fought in France, Belgium and Germany. There was an all black paratroop unit (555th) that almost joined up with Easy company late in the war when casualties were too high, but their training wasn't completed in time and they were instead earmarked for the invasion of Japan.
Surprisingly, there was a large number of African American artillery and Anti Aircraft units (no idea why those areas weren't closed off) many of which saw a lot of action. But overall, less than 1,000 African Americans were KIA in WWII. Yes, this was largely due to racism, but at least they weren't used as cannon fodder like some of the "colonial" troops by the French and English.
British Indian divisions were tough though.
Mauther There was also the Tuskegee Airmen, all black pilots who flew bombing raids over Germany.
Love Suraj's wake up call. Alright enough GoT. World War 2 is happening
In WWII the black airborne unit was the 555th or the "Triple Nickle." They were kept in California where they defended against a Japanese invasion fought the forest fires started by the Japanese Balloon bombs. Also medics were regularly targeted in the war but hospitals were generally not because soldiers from your own side could be there.
14:51 when discussing the German vs American tanks, the only reason we were able to win with our tanks was because of mass production, we had about 50,000+ Sherman’s and the Germans only had about 1,470 tigers or around that area, there were also multiple reports that tiger tank crews would often run out of ammo before finally being taken down or surrendering, that’s how superior their tanks were compared to ours, 1 tiger tank can take out about 10-20 Sherman’s if well placed and managed, which is why when our troops and tanks come upon a tiger they immediately retreat before they get mowed down by the tiger
Panzer is just the German word for "tank". What you saw in that scene was a "Tiger" or Panzer VI (6) and a Jagdpanther ("Hunting Panther"). A Jadgpanther is a tank hunter with a larger gun in a turretless mount, the chassis is the same as a Panther tank, the Panzer V (5). Thats the vehicle that shows up at 14:20. By the way, there is an old movie from 1977 called "A Bridge too Far" that is entirely based on Operation Market Garden. The movie shows this battle from all sides including the British and the Germans.
You guys might enjoy watching Glory (or like me, you might have had to watch it in school). It's the movie about the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War.
I would highly recommend if you are curious about Market Garden (especially how the British lost 8,000 men at Arnhem) watching A Bridge Too Far. It's on Amazon Prime and stars Sean Connery, James Caan, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, etc.
Or read the book A Bridge To Far by Cornelius Ryan.
@@dirus3142 Or ideally do both. But this is a channel where they watch movies and TV. My favorite book about Market Garden is The Battle of Arnhem by Antony Beevor.
Professor X, Abraham, Damian Dhark, Fringe agent Charlie Francis and a new kid on the block...all in the same platoon...the nazi’s didn’t stand a chance!
Interesting fact about replacements in the US army during WWII. Replacements during the war had an incredibly high mortality rate. This is due to replacements often having less experience than veterans. Most would expect the veterans to teach the replacements but the veterans often refused to have much association with the replacements. This is because the veterans often resented having the places their severely wounded/deceased friends held filled.
Also, the veterans didn’t want to get close to the replacements because they died so fast. It made it even harder emotionally.
that tank was Tiger, ( or a panzer 6) the one with the fixed gun was a jagdpanther ( a panther/panzer5 chassis with an upgunned casemate)
for the British perspective you should see "a bridge too far" its pretty good.
Eindhoven is fine, i sometimes shop there. Rotterdam is the real fucked up city but it got bombed in 1940. and then eventually they rebuilt it but now it isn't built organically so it feels off, they tried to change it a big again, make it better.
I learned the 2003 clone wars was modeled after this. When this came out my history just put this on. Lol watched the whole thing.
One of my all time favorite shows.
I really hope they’ll watch The Pacific:(
Maybe they will. I'm watching both in my spare time.
Glad to see you include the Sergeant Major of the Army. Now to have the discussion about Warrant Officers. Junior Commissioned Officer or senior Non Commissioned Officer (NCO)?
I'm glad you guys are continuing with the series. It's so good. Hope you guys check out The Pacific next. Though I always felt it was tonally a little different but not much.
A mistake Nahid made before and then again this episode. Thought he might catch it after last time but he keeps calling them Airborne Rangers when they are paratroopers. I believe they did have rangers in WW2 but they were a complete different unit. I also get that Chris would like to see some of the African American soldiers in the show since they were a part a the war. This just isn't their story unfortunately. Everything was segregated back then and it would be awhile before that changed. If the show was more of a anthology it would make more sense to show them but this sticks to one unit to build the personal attachment to the characters.
i think he was talking about the current Rangers, not that these airborne were called rangers.
@@lionhead123 no he's called them rangers during the d day episode too. Just knit picky really.
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Blithe didn’t actually die of his wounds in 1948. The producers made a mistake when researching that caption.
“On December 10, 1967, while on active duty in Germany, Blithe felt nauseated when he returned from a weekend at Bastogne, Belgium, where he had taken part in the ceremonies commemorating the Battle of the Bulge. On December 11, 1967, Blithe was taken to the emergency room at Wiesbaden Hospital, Germany, where he was admitted with a diagnosis of a perforated ulcer. He died in the intensive care unit on December 17 after surgery...”
Collaboration and survival are related, especially if you’re threatened with torture, death or hurting your friends or family if you don’t collaborate.
Germans could also offer food or amenities that weren’t available because of wartime shortages.
Ending foot notes failed to mention the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade. They were attached to the British 1st Royal Airborne Division. They dropped on day 3, right in the middle of a fire fight. Most of them did not make it back across the Rhine.
they were part of the 1st airborne, so they were mentioned.
German tankers often joked that "one German tank is better than ten American tanks. But the Americans always have eleven!"
United States Military units were racially segregated during WW2
The 442 was a all Japanese American unit made famous for the honors the servicemen received during the war for example
Nazi Germany, the Soviet union and Japan at that point never signed the Geneva treaty. Whitch made gas and specifically targeting medics a war crime among other things. Witch is one reason the eastern front was so brutal.
If you like this series and want more after episode 10 check out The Pacific for the Marines part of the war. It actually starts earlier in the war and you see them carrying around antique water cooled machine guns.
By this episide, they used more pyrotechnics and explosions than all of the pyro special effects in saving private ryan.
surij. thats EXACTLY what happens on social media. while i dont agree with nahid, its a war mind set. and i get it. i also agree with marketta. it very well could be survival.
My great grandfather was in the Netherlands. He said the Americans threw people out of their homes to sleep in and generally treated Europeans as less than anglo saxons. He said that the British, Europeans an even the Germans were more alike comoared to the yanks
You guys should watch "A Bridge Too Far" which is a film about Operation Market Garden, its well done.
@The Normies The scene in which Guarnere is sitting with the Replacements and joking about the "Dear Babe letter" he mentions how Patton overran their drop zone, resulting in the mission being canceled. That mission was what they were preparing to embark on at the end of episode 3. In real life, Patton overran their drop zone numerous times, resulting in repeated instances of the paratroopers loading up for a drop and boarding the planes only for Patton to just yeet the target area into an all-clear. It's also why Nixon makes a point of saying during the briefing that the operation isn't likely to be called off like the ones in France were.
Also anything between (not including) corporal and lieutenant can be considered an NCO, including basic sergeants.
Also the third tank destroyed was hit in the front, not the rear. It was backing up.
Band of Brothers was based on “Easy” Company, 101st Airborne.
It was an all-white unit.
Segregation and believing that blacks weren’t intelligent enough for combat roles were still very strong (sadly). Fortunately, some people ignored the stereotypes and gave them a chance. So Spielberg did a great job of keep it accurate. African American Soilders participated in non combat roles and only few went overseas.
It is worth mentioning though that while the American's didn't like black soldiers, the French did use a lot of troops from the colonies in the south of France in particular
@@DillsyYourDaddy67 yes many special forces of France consisted of Black Soilders.
They made up the majority of the truck drivers who were responsible for getting fuel from the beaches up to the front to keep the tanks running as part of "The Red Ball Express"
I was stationed in ft Campbell home of the 101st airborne and of the The band of brothers. There are streets named market garden and Bastogne.
"We would've never carved the swastika in their forehead" Meanwhile at Abu Ghraib lmfao
Justice is Justice. It doesn't matter who delivers it!.....As long as it is Just! "Just" meaning: "what is morally right and fair."
A lot of superstars were here: like tom hardy, james mcavoy and etc.
etc is my favourite one.
You guys should check out the movie "A Bridge to Far" it shows operation Market Garden from the British perspective.
I wish we knew more about Nahid’s service in the Army. To be honest, his lack of knowledge on enlisted rank structure is worrisome.
Oh was he in the army? He never mentions it...
@@samfromthorne I've heard that come up a few times of late that Nahid served in the military. I didn't even know either.
@@samfromthorne I can't tell if you're being sarcastic...
Commander Shepard I am being sarcastic. He mentions it every 5 minutes 😂
@@samfromthorne to be honest he sounds like he brain dumped most his Army knowledge or he really didn't retain any of it. With how boot he sounds sometimes, I'm not even sure if he even deployed.
English casualties: According to the English national archives 66 375 Civilians were killed by axis bombings 1939-1945
During the same time period German civilian casualties from Allied bombings are in the estimates of +400 000 according to University of Exeter.
I could be wrong about this but if that was a G.I. issue D-Ration chocolate bar it was made to be very bitter and only to be used as an "emergency" ration. It could have been more commercially available chocolate but i doubt it. Info on the D-Ration can be found on Wiki if you are interested.
So in this scene the guy from E Company (a smart guy who went to Harvard) is probably thinking " Wow this kid must be starving that he thinks this D-Ration tastes good " and in fact there was a lot of starvation in Holland under the occupation. I think we know a lot about generational malnutrition from what pregnant women went through there during this time. When this farmer gives that food to the soldiers it is a real sacrifice to his family and they may have been hiding and holding onto that food for a long time. Check out the "Hongerwinter" or the Dutch Famine of 44-45 for more info on that as well.
lol @ Nahid's war hoe analysis
Raw potatoes Marketa? Luxury! We used to dream of potatoes! (thank you, Monty Python)
10:36 You're thinking of Pyp from Game of Thrones, who didn't even fight the giant, and that's not even him. You couldn't have been more wrong lmao
With the tanks, the best way for the Americans to take out a Sherman tank, was ro have 12 or the American tanks swarm the Sherman, if I remember correctly, from military history
Fun fact. that dude actually was pyp from game of thrones
That was a Tiger one and a Jagdpanther tank destroyer both armed with 88mm guns, all of the tanks on the allied side of that battle had zero guns that could penetrate the front armour of either the tiger or the jadgpanther.
She is 100% right on everything she said. Also you got to speak more, and dont let them talk over you. Us guys don't mean to do it just happens.
I feel like they may kill me unless I give them info on the enemy - collaborating is a form of survival
They are not "Airborne Rangers"...they are just "Airborne". The Rangers are a slightly different special unit with parachute training, but also with other special training. Back in World War 2, the Rangers were not necessarily trained to jump from planes, as they had a somewhat different function during that war. A soldier can be Airborne, or a soldier can be a Ranger. And these days, the most highly trained troops in the Army are Delta Force.
3 notes: 1). Medics were targeted often on the battlefield because they were medics and because sometimes a medic would treat someone who could live to fight another day and as an enemy soldier you wouldn't want that. They were called combat medics for a reason because being a medic on the battlefield carries big risks. 2). I'm sorry to say Chris, but Easy company in particular of the 101st did not have any integration in the infantry during the European theater and the series follows Easy company specifically because of what they went through from D-Day till the end of the war in Europe. They do not go from company to company showing many different perspectives just the perspective of Easy. Also I do not know if their were any African American soldiers in the 101st that was not Easy so I can't say for sure. 3). Although you can debate whether it is or is not justified about how the women who slept with the Nazi soldiers were treated after their town was liberated by a joint Allied operation, and I throw my hat in with what Marketa(sorry if I butchered your name) had to say about it all, but if you cant see any similarities between what they did and what's been happening in our country for the past several months with the protests and riots...well... the people of the Netherlands were angry and they needed something to take their anger out on and those women just happened to be their targets much like storefronts and people have been here. The people of the Netherlands had their freedom taken away from them by an occupying force and after several years of that treatment blew off some steam, right or wrong. That being said I don't think its fair to judge the people of that town to harshly given the similar response between their citizens then and our citizens now and I don't know where The Normies lean in terms of what's happened the past several months here(and I am not trying to find out where you lean on the issue, though I could take an educated guess) but if you condemn the people of this town doing what they are doing yet support some of the more controversial aspects of what's been happening in our country you could be seen as hypocrites. Now let me make myself as clear as can be, I am NOT, I repeat, I am NOT trying to make this Political in any way nor am I trying to offend anyone I am merely making an observation given the similarities of the liberated countries and communities went through in that time period and what's going on in our country and communities today. Really hope I don't get decimated by people replying to my comment. Fingers crossed.
Just to clarify, these guys being depicted aren’t Rangers. “Just” paratroopers.
You can't judge a woman who is doing what she feels she needs to do to survive. It's easy to say you wouldn't sleep with the enemy, but if you were starving or had children to feed and you held no power, who's to say what's right and what's wrong? They could have slept with the invading Nazis because they were actual collaborators, or maybe it was a survival mechanism. Or maybe they had no choice. This still happens today.
Or maybe they didn't think about it so hard... they maybe could still hate the germans as a whole but after years of occupation still be charmed by a charming Individual soildier
Sure you can. Especially when that woman was selling out her neighbors to the Nazis. neighbors that would then be executed, or sent to prison camps. Keep in mind many of these woman might have been selling out people they didn't like. Similar to how a spiteful woman accused a young girl of being a witch.
Of course there were the girls that had an honest friendship with a German soldier, or maybe an SS soldier. Still a betrayal of your family, friends, community, and people. Because that soldier is occupying your nation, and town.
@@dirus3142 For sure that was the case sometimes. As I said in my comment above, some were true collaborators, no question. However, there were many women who were unwilling participants in their "relationships" with the occupying enemy forces. My own family has dealt with this.
Normies, watch videos from The Chieftain (covers tanks in detail so long videos) or Spookston (much shorter videos but still good and tank memes) for accurate info about WW2 tanks. Every time ya'll be making blanket statements about Allied and Axis armor that's based on inaccurate info or apples to oranges comparisons. For videos about US armor here's 2 links. Spookston vid: ua-cam.com/video/yIyje46TX2g/v-deo.html Chieftain vid: ua-cam.com/video/bNjp_4jY8pY/v-deo.html
Another Chieftain vid about the Tiger: ua-cam.com/video/57oRqB_a-SA/v-deo.html