Well, this is when the sh*t gets real. "We're not lost Private...we're in Normandy." This one line displays Winter's ability to instill confidence in his men, even unarmed in the face of all adversity. And this soldier wasn't even a member of Easy Company. Currahee ♠
I went to church with a man who was in G company 2/506 who actually knew Winters personally. When Stephen Ambrose was writing the book that this series is based on, he kept getting phone calls wanting statements for the book but he said he thought it was some kind of scam because they wanted to know too much. About a year later, Winters called him to ask what he said for the book, and he said “hell, I thought they was trying to scam me”. He made the jump into Normandy and Operation Market Garden, but got the back of his head blown off in Holland. He woke up almost 6 months later in an army hospital in the states with a steel plate in his skull. When it was all said and done, he had 5 Purple Hearts, a couple of bronze stars, and a silver star. He had some crazy stories. He was the kind of man I thought was gonna live forever, one way or another. He died in 2018 at 96 years old. RIP Mr. Lauten
That’s insane to hear! It’s amazing you were able to know someone who served during this time personally! We thank Mr. Lauten for his service & may he rest easy🙏🏾💙
DaKidsReact I was born in 1961so most of the men I knew from the town Mayor to my school janitor were decorated WWII veterans. My Dad’s business partner landed in the first wave on Iwo Jima at the age of 18. They ran the local businesses, Church organizations, sports leagues, business and service organizations in the days before cell phones and created the community and social networks that bound people together It’s what I am afraid is lost today. and why mental health of people under 40 seems to be damaged because they don’t have that sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves and are lonely. .
I got to say, I am TOTALLY impressed that you recognized Sgt. Evans in Mehan's plane...I have watched this series multiple times and have read the books (Ambrose and others) and that was the only way I knew who was on the plane. You guys recognized that "he's the one who is always by Sobel" on a first time? Legend.
@@Conn30Mtenor correct, but I for sure didn't catch that on the first time, and I was definitely not paying attention to any of the characters/names on the first episode. The first time I watched this in 2001 I was in college and didn't even know who Mehan was that they kept mentioning. I was just impressed they were recognizing it on a blind reaction.
The German/American soldier joined the German army in 1941 before the US joined the war. On the first days of the invasion, there wasn't any capacity or ability to accommodate prisoners, so the orders were to not take prisoners. Also, that prisoner and Malarkey in real life worked across the street from each other. They changed it to make it more believable to people.
It's still a war crime to shoot prisoners though. They surrendered and were under Allied protection. There was a lot of it that the military covered up. Especially during the Battle of the Bulge after it came out that the SS had been executing POWs in the hundreds. Documented instances of US troops retaliating for it but it being covered up until many years later. This is why to this day nobody from Easy would confirm or deny that Speirs did that.
My grand father was the trigger half of the 30 cal team for Item Company. I have his journal from the war. The first entry in country says “Landed like a sack of shit. Hungry and lost.” He was always a character. Thank you both for keeping his and the rest of the men’s history alive. It means a lot to us.
Appreciate the love and the sharing of your grandfather’s journal! This show is amazing so far and can’t wait to bring you guys more! It’s an honor to hear the stories of heroes.
it's crazy to think you could train for years, then your plane could get hit and you get shot down, you and your buddies tumble out of the sky dying without ever setting foot in Europe to start your mission. it's nice they add the real interviews at the start of the episode, makes all the events feel more real
How bout not even taking off. I read a ww2 book and a couple of guys were killed when a gamma grenade went off before their c-47 could take off for d-day
@@DaKidsReact I'm gonna Patreon u dudes. It's so hard , as I'm plugged into about 900 channels ,but I dig u Bro's . I want to help you explore regions you are too young to find. Like the film "ROCKERS" Shot in 1978 in mostly Kingston , Jamaica . It will blow your hair off your heads !!!!
At the end, when Nixon says he had the maps sent to division, in reality he understood the importance of these maps showing artillery location, and he ran the maps himself, several miles back to the beaches where HQ was getting settled. The higher-ups there were so pleased with this vital piece of information, they showed their gratitude by sending off the first 2 tanks off of Utah beach to reinforce the 101st. Those are the 2 tanks you see Nix riding on back in town. They were then used to flush out the remaining Germans at Brecourt. -- Couple more details, when Compton dropped the second grenade that almost got Joe Toye, he was actually jostled by someone else, barely visible behind him, that's what caused him to drop the grenade. Also, if you go rewatch the combat sequence, keep an eye on Compton. When he landed, he didn't have his gear (lost his bag like most everyone else) so he picked up another Thompson somewhere, but he wasn't aware the firing pin was broken. That's why, when he jumps in the trench, he's unable to finish off that German, and in the subsequent scenes, he keeps trying to fix his gun, taking the mag out, cycling the bolt, etc.. never got to fire his gun the whole time. Later during the assault, when Winters moves around, Compton asks Toye to cover him, because he himself still can't fire off any rounds. -- Also, this little tidbit is pretty interesting, once some surviving vets started writing books about what they did in WWII: "A few months after the book came out, ________ received a letter from Elliot Richardson, who had been President Richard M. Nixon’s secretary of defense. Richardson wrote that he had been a medic with the Fourth Division in the second wave of troops coming ashore on Utah on D-Day and was retrieving a wounded tanker from a minefield on the beach when the incoming artillery abruptly stopped. “Now I know why the artillery fire ended on Utah Beach.”
That’s a LOT of really cool additional info that I absolutely love! A first hand account of the results of silencing those guns as well as the fact Nixon ran miles to the beach to personally deliver the useful intel!
A lot of the soldiers would later admit to making some very rookie mistakes during the Brecourt battle. Compton failed to check if his gun worked, Lipton climbed up the tree which made him a perfect target for the Germans and Malarkey run out for that "Luger". They got lucky while others like Hall did not. :(
@przemekkozlowski7835 also about Malarkey in that Luger scene, the actor slipping down on his way back wasn't intentional. And the look of fright on his face is pretty genuine, because there were tiny amounts of explosive embedded in the ground to simulate bullets hitting all around him and he was worried he was laying down on some. They were mostly harmless but it still scared the living sh*t out of him.
Winters is a legend in the Airborne division and among Army officers in general. Some consider him to be the best example of what a combat leader should be. They aren't wrong.
18:01 Buck played baseball at UCLA (one of his teammates was Jackie Robinson), so that’s why his sim with the grenades were dead on target. He had a cannon of an arm.
Regarding the officer that gun downed the German POWs - The airborne were under strict orders to not take any prisoners due to them not having the logistical capacity to feed and house them. During the invasion it was key to move extremely fast to secure key crossroads and objectives and holding prisoners would have slowed everything down. There are many accounts of German POWs being killed for this reason.
The 101st Division only had one sixth of their men reach their planned destinations. Troops carried approximately 90 - 120 pounds of gear, including their chutes.
My former mailman was the last surviving member of Easy Company. He passed in 2022... Mr. Bradford (Brad) Freeman. Mr. Brad lived on a little farm not far from us and never really spoke about his experiences. He was Great Uncle to some close friends of mine and they didn't know he had been in Easy for years
@DaKidsReact My other mailman was a B-17 pilot and the guy that owned the gas station was a retired colonel and Tuskeegee Airman. This was in a tiny community in Mississippi... And they just recently named the local GA airport after our gas station guy, Lt. Colonel Alva Temple.
Pay attention to each person in the company. They have serious roles unique from each other but they blend to work together. That is the legend of Easy Company. Enjoy watching dudes!
Those planes that carried the paratroops from England to Normandy are C-47s. There were slightly more than 800 of them that went over for the first lift. During the war, there were thousands built. After the war, many were used by civilian companies until they were good only for scrap metal. A few years ago, as one was being prepared to be scrapped, it was discovered to be "That's All Brother". That's All Brother was the actual C-47 that led all of the others to Normandy. Once that was confirmed, the CAF (Commemorative Air Force) purchased it and completely refurbished it back to its configuration on June 6, 1944. That's All Brother can be seen at air shows now. What a remarkable coincidence that it was found almost eighty years after WWII and in time to be restored.
I'm not sure if it happened to Easy Company or another unit, but one got pinned down in a trench, while endless friendly artillery flew overhead. The sound was ear shattering, bone shaking and terrifying. Not the jet-engine like sound you hear in BoB but like heavy thunder continuously rolling overhead, as it was coming down much closer. They were stuck for hours. Some soldiers ended up shell shocked from the experience, it was that bad.
Man you guys are just awesome, this was my favorite show and I watched with the the service members of my family. The thing I love about reactions, especially for historical stuff like this is when people are actually interested and paying attention, and I can tell this isn’t a chore for you guys. You are enjoying it, talking about it, and learning all at the same time and it’s great! Got yourself a sub! Have a great day guys and hope you continue to enjoy the show!
Appreciate the love and it’s a pleasure for us to hear these stories from these heroes! Can’t wait to bring you guys more of this series because we are truly enjoying every bit of it.
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops," Eisenhower wrote. "My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone." -Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander. This was his other speech. D-Day was never a guarantee..
That was what made Eisenhower great. It's always fascinated me that Eisenhower never actually had any real combat experience. He was held back from going to Europe during world war I as he was I guess more valued as a trainer. It's not that he tried to avoid combat it's just that he never could get himself in a position combat command. But that letter he gave his secretary to be read to the press in case the landings were a failure is one of the most courageous things I've ever seen in a politician which he essentially was. Yes he was supreme commander but that involved a lot of politics and that's what he was doing when he wrote that letter. He knew that Churchill and FDR could not go down because that would just be catastrophic. I admire Eisenhower so much for being willing to take the blame like a man and just go on and do the best he could. He knew he'd probably be relieved of duty if D-Day failed. But he knew that what the stakes were when he demanded to be given unfettered command of the operation because he knew that you needed only one man making final decisions. If they made decisions by committee then they would never get anything done. Monty would want to make all the decisions. Other leaders etc. I'm also impressed with Churchill's willingness to go down with Eisenhower. He had chosen him I think a little bit reluctantly to be supreme allied Commander but knew that he was the best but I don't think Churchill like that he was felt compelled to choose Eisenhower. But after Eisenhower and Churchill got to know one another better Churchill was willing to take the blame for the failure right along with Eisenhower. And then Eisenhower seeing the awesome power we could develop for warfare seeing how fast we could mechanize and develop and build weapons gave us a great speech a great farewell speech at the end of his presidency. He warned us against the dangers of the military industrial complex and how that they could literally take over the country politics economy etc. If the American economy relies heavily on the military industrial complex than they have almost total control. Eisenhower fascinates me because he's one of these people that comes along that just seems to be perfect for this situation. He seems to be the one man in the world who could actually pull off this job. The question was he put here for that job or did he somehow just rise to the occasion? He handled the war so intelligently. He handled everything intelligently.
I volunteered at a vets home years back...there was one paratrooper and two Infantry guys who fought on D-Day...I cooked breakfast so I'd sit and listen while they drank coffee and told stories about WWII...very humbling to be in the presence of such badassery...
My dad quit the NFL in 1942 to fight Hitler was wounded during D Day operations, made through America's meet grinder the Hurtgen Forest where US has 85,000 casualties, to be sent on R & R in the Ardennes and ended up in battle of the Bulge, got his second Purple heart, Bronze star, and Silver Star, after the war he went on to be one of the first five coaches inducted into Penn. High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, my dad met so many great football men during the war like Biggie Mun MSU coach of two Rose Bowel Champions one of those teams had two starters on the offensive line from my dads Cresson Pa team, Ben Schwartzwalder who Jim Browns college coach at Syracuse, I meet Ben in1962 while we where camp in upstate New York and the Canada Ben was a captain in the 82 airborne and was in Normandy my dad meet him during the Bulge 5 of my dads players went to Syracuse to play football on full scholarship my dad worked his ass off to guys who could not afford college a scholarship in his 30 plus years of coaching he got 78 player full rides
it's uuunlikely for planes to hit guys, since inherently - planes keep a certain altitude; troops always fall *below* this altitude I mean, that's the general rule anyway - more dangerous is bullets, shrapnel, and enemy on the ground
Thanks for your sincere reactions! See where others explained why paratroopers weren't hit by other planes....dad was a couple weeks behind these guys ....
Something to remember is the average age of most of these guys is early 20s. I believe Winters was 25-26 years old through this whole thing. Insane to think about
It's always good to see you "youngsters" getting a glimpse of the sacrifices made by that generation for the country. They're all gone, now. Who's gonna step up and carry that torch?
These guys weren't even the first to jump. Ahead of them were the pathfinders. They jumped earlier to mark the drop zones for the paratroopers. The planes didn't all make it to the drop zones because of the flack. One of the reasons so many paratroopers were lost or in the wrong places.
You guys are super sharp on the small details that a lot of people miss, and wonderful commentary, not just in this series, ive got a few im watching in parallel having found you guys tonight and almost nothing gets by you guys, loving it, looking forward to completing this, and seeing what comes next.
We are happy you are enjoying our reactions and your time with us! We had a making time reacting to this series! We learned a lot and definitely enjoyed it ourselves. Thanks for the support👏🏾
Something that not a lot of people might know is Germany's production was mostly focused on tanks planes and other vehicles so a lot of their transportation for supplies was also used by horse and buggy or just on any other vehicles they can find
Despite my own doubts re: the Lt Speirs executing POWs scene, according to the experts, it happened. The amazing Breacourt Manor assault scene is one for the books. Good job guys.
My father and his peers shed their literal blood for our freedom, especially Asia and Europe. It is more than discouraging at the lack of many of today's youth that have no understanding of this. Thank you for recognizing what my father's generation went through!!
18:11 An interesting story here. In this series, Buck's Thompson jammed on him. In reality, he was actually using a German weapon that he scavenged off of a fallen German soldier. The weapon being in poor and dirty condition, it jammed up on Buck when he needed to use it. As seen by Malarky nearing getting himself killed, Allied troops were always looking for relics and souvenirs to bring home. They put their own lives in danger, and even got themselves killed trying to scavenge for souvenirs to send home.
The 101st was supposed to be the ones taking out all the guns firing on Utah and Omaha beaches. That’s why the men landing on those beaches were caught off guard and killed.
There is a really good RUclips channel called History Underground . In one series of his videos, he travels to Normandy and visits Brecourt Manor. He visits the exact place that Easy assaults the German 88s depicted in this episode.
Hearing you guys say “jawn” and “bol” made me laugh lmao. Couple of tough Philly boys in Easy Company. Bill Guarnere was from south Philly, and later on yall will meet Babe Heffron, also from south Philly
Not sure which paratroop groups encountered this, but prior to the invasion the Germans flooded fields where troops might land. Many US paratroops ended up drowning because they couldn't get out of their harness quickly. The British had a better harness that released in essentially one motion, opposed to the US version that took several steps.
I once heard it said that Americans only have one plan in battle and thats to show up and improvise. What happened to the paratroopers is a prime example. They were scattered all over the place often with men who they had never met before but adapted and improvised.
And did an amazing job at doing it. Couldn’t imagine training months on end with your boys and company then when everything actually starts you aren’t with those guys that you trust with your life. I know that was really nerve wracking but it’s part of it all, being able to adopt and push forward no matter what.
The C47 planes (that they jumped out of) fly in a specific formation to prevent the jumpers from getting hit by other aircraft. Not always easy to hold formation under fire, at night, though.
The scene with the German prisoners happened all over the invasion area..the allies simply had no time or resources to deal with prisoners at that early stage. And couldn't risk letting them run free behind their advancing assaults in-land. So orders were given. War is Hell. o7
One of the fun things about this show is how the first episode lulls you in with the training, and then it's nine episodes of full-on fuckin' mayhem and violence.
@11:11 Guarnere didn't follow orders and hold his fire because he was pissed about his brother being killed in Italy (found the letter in the jacket in the first episode). Dumb and could have got people killed but you can still appreciate where his head was at in the moment. Never mind! You all got it a minute later. I love Winters, he is the embodiment of an officer that is an actual leader and not just a superior.
8:46 there are actually a lot of accounts of guys getting killed because of those “clicker” things. Airborne troops were issued those “clickers” as a covert way to try and ID friendly troops. You’d click, and friendlies would click back. But what started happening is our boys would click, and the *click clack* of the German Kar98 rifle bolt chambering a round sounded like the response click, so our boys would stand up thinking they were friendlies, and they’d get shot.
D-Day casualties for the airborne divisions were calculated in August 1944 as 1,240 for the 101st Airborne Division and 1,259 for the 82nd Airborne. Of those, the 101st suffered 182 killed, 557 wounded, and 501 missing. For the 82nd, the total was 156 killed, 347 wounded, and 756 missing.
The planes fly in a formation that assures that they won't hit troops jumping. This based on speed , gap interval, and drop rate. The men will fall below the level of the following planes quicker than the planes can overtake them.
Yeah when you look at it from a physics and logical standpoint it makes sense lol I think we were just so immersed in the chaos that something like that wasn’t too far out to happen.
This wasn't 50 years ago. This was the early morning of June 6th, 1944 when they dropped which will be 80 years ago which is a couple of months from now. Also, they had orders not to take prisoners. They just landed, no place to put them. Brutal but that's war. You guy's are in for one hell of a ride. It gets a whole lot worse than this. After this you two have to do "The Pacific" about our island hopping campaign against the Japanese. Absolutely brutal! Peace ❤
The military organization was a triangular one. Three Regiments each having three battalions. Each battalion had three companies with three platoons in a company. Each platoon was broken down into three squads of about 12-15 soldiers. At full strength a company had about 200-250 soldiers.
Thompson SMGs weighed more than nine pounds. When the 40th anniversary of D-Day rolled around 40 years ago(!), a veteran paratrooper was interviewed on a morning news show. The news man who interviewed him was only familiar with M-16s, and when he held the Thompson SMG, he said, "That's a HEAVY gun!" I think the M1919A4 weighted around 30 pounds.
An excellent reaction to an ourstanding series. A point of history, the 101st were late comers. The 82ed had already been credited with 2 combat jumps. Before that, the 2/509th PIB jumped into N. Africa in 1942. I served with the 2/509th (Abn/Mech) 1971-72. Any flight more then15 or 20 minutes to the DZ invariably I fell asleep.
They couldn’t take prisoners. They were low on numbers and didn’t have a forward operating base established yet. They couldn’t spare any troops to stay back and watch the prisoners so they killed them. Had they just let them go, they would’ve rejoined there units to continue fighting. War is hell
@ltlibby6220 there are videos out there of German POW 's on the beach awaiting transport ba k to England. The beaches quickly became the rear with the gear.
@ltlibby6220 The link up happened quickly, around noon, if I remember correctly. And prisoners were indeed being held by the airborne. In fact the 101st had MPs with them for that purpose. My friends dad was one of them. Winters captured some at Brecourt Manner. Some were killed, out of necessity, and some out of anger, but it wasn't SOP.
Dw bout the Waters/Winters detail ;) u are great reactors and catch stuff most ppl dont.. U are in like some 110% focus mode, not joking around n stuff. Keep up the good work, im really digging it. I dont even think the comment section will bother about it, at all, just because of this fact that u are awesome.
We appreciate you & your support💙 we got the names right in the later episodes. We try to catch as much as we can & us making jokes or references is just how we are in real life. We are grateful for you!
The Airborne had orders not to take prisoners. It's ugly but nobody knew if the landings at the beaches were going to be successful. Being behind enemy lines with no supply lines, no facilities to put prisoners in and no spare people to guard those prisoners there was no other choice.
Ha ha...the subtitles might be a bit sketchy...at 12:43 when the shells from the battleships off shore are going overhead, the subtitles say it is "planes soaring".
The older I get the more I realize the terror that ever warrior has ever faced in battle. We know how everything played out- in 1944, the future was a ?, just like it is now. So many men died painfully and young. This world needs Jesus Christ always.
15:00 so actually, that was exactly what the american soldiers during d-day were told to do was take no prisoners because they didn't have the supply lines to keep and manage prisoners.
Regarding Speirs shooting the prisoners is a hard call. They did not have any capacity for holding POW’s where they were at. At least Speirs gave them a last cigarette.
Remember, they are hoping the beach landings are successful, otherwise they are hosed. ☹️ No matter how successful or brave. Welcome to total war. You are right, Sobel would have been completely lost.
Nice reaction men, appreciate that you both are comprehending all the details. I've watched this series at least 50 times and some reactors don't put the work in. Props.
We try our best w/ any series or movie we watch, to catch & understand as much as possible especially when it’s comes to documentaries or historical events. We appreciate you, your support & WELCOME💙
Typical information I post as often as I can on this episode...copied and pasted. Following the action of the battles is sometimes difficult, so I highly recommend the channel Operations Room, which has top down animated videos that cover all the details of most of the battles depicted in the show. There is one about the action to take the guns at Brecourt that is shown in this episode, and whether you do a reaction to it or not it is a really good short video to watch. The videos on that channel become increasingly helpful as the series progresses due to the battles getting much more confusing, but also because it was impossible to recreate some of the future battles on the show exactly as they happened in reality...so the Operations Room's analysis will fill you in on all the variances.
Haha my dad brought back 3 german sidearms but definitely didn't try to get em in middle of a fire fight lol. No Luger.... 2 Walther P38's and a Walther PP. Still fire them yearly
I can say from some experience as a Marine grunt deploying into combat out off an Amtrac into a firefight, the only thing through your mind before the ready light comes on is "Jesus, I Hope I dont look like pussy out there in front of all the other grunts". Not quite this chaotic though.
They lost around 300 men on the jump alone. The planes would be flying at the same altitude. So u would not get hit by a pkane. But they were hit by the flack and machine guns firing from the ground.
The reason they used the code words Flash and Thunder because those are difficult words to say correctly for a German unless they know English good enough
Well, this is when the sh*t gets real. "We're not lost Private...we're in Normandy." This one line displays Winter's ability to instill confidence in his men, even unarmed in the face of all adversity. And this soldier wasn't even a member of Easy Company. Currahee ♠
"We're airborne, sir. We're supposed to be surrounded."
I went to church with a man who was in G company 2/506 who actually knew Winters personally. When Stephen Ambrose was writing the book that this series is based on, he kept getting phone calls wanting statements for the book but he said he thought it was some kind of scam because they wanted to know too much. About a year later, Winters called him to ask what he said for the book, and he said “hell, I thought they was trying to scam me”.
He made the jump into Normandy and Operation Market Garden, but got the back of his head blown off in Holland. He woke up almost 6 months later in an army hospital in the states with a steel plate in his skull. When it was all said and done, he had 5 Purple Hearts, a couple of bronze stars, and a silver star.
He had some crazy stories. He was the kind of man I thought was gonna live forever, one way or another. He died in 2018 at 96 years old. RIP Mr. Lauten
That’s insane to hear! It’s amazing you were able to know someone who served during this time personally! We thank Mr. Lauten for his service & may he rest easy🙏🏾💙
Thats freaking legendary dude...mad props
DaKidsReact I was born in 1961so most of the men I knew from the town Mayor to my school janitor were decorated WWII veterans. My Dad’s business partner landed in the first wave on Iwo Jima at the age of 18. They ran the local businesses, Church organizations, sports leagues, business and service organizations in the days before cell phones and created the community and social networks that bound people together It’s what I am afraid is lost today. and why mental health of people under 40 seems to be damaged because they don’t have that sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves and are lonely. .
I got to say, I am TOTALLY impressed that you recognized Sgt. Evans in Mehan's plane...I have watched this series multiple times and have read the books (Ambrose and others) and that was the only way I knew who was on the plane. You guys recognized that "he's the one who is always by Sobel" on a first time? Legend.
We appreciate you💙
Evans was in the Company HQ so he shared Meehan's fate.
I’m fuckin’ face blind or some shit. Other than the super distinctive characters I always have trouble keeping track.
@@Conn30Mtenor correct, but I for sure didn't catch that on the first time, and I was definitely not paying attention to any of the characters/names on the first episode. The first time I watched this in 2001 I was in college and didn't even know who Mehan was that they kept mentioning. I was just impressed they were recognizing it on a blind reaction.
@RealBelisariusCawl Watched the FULL series dozens of times AND read the book but only saw Evans TODAY thanks to this reaction. Thank you!!
The German/American soldier joined the German army in 1941 before the US joined the war.
On the first days of the invasion, there wasn't any capacity or ability to accommodate prisoners, so the orders were to not take prisoners.
Also, that prisoner and Malarkey in real life worked across the street from each other. They changed it to make it more believable to people.
yep, cheers to Speirs 🍺
It's still a war crime to shoot prisoners though. They surrendered and were under Allied protection. There was a lot of it that the military covered up. Especially during the Battle of the Bulge after it came out that the SS had been executing POWs in the hundreds. Documented instances of US troops retaliating for it but it being covered up until many years later.
This is why to this day nobody from Easy would confirm or deny that Speirs did that.
My grand father was the trigger half of the 30 cal team for Item Company. I have his journal from the war. The first entry in country says “Landed like a sack of shit. Hungry and lost.” He was always a character. Thank you both for keeping his and the rest of the men’s history alive. It means a lot to us.
Appreciate the love and the sharing of your grandfather’s journal! This show is amazing so far and can’t wait to bring you guys more! It’s an honor to hear the stories of heroes.
This is what I meant when I said these dudes are legendary. The boys WROTE THE DAMN BOOK on so many aspects of modern warfare.
it's crazy to think you could train for years, then your plane could get hit and you get shot down, you and your buddies tumble out of the sky dying without ever setting foot in Europe to start your mission.
it's nice they add the real interviews at the start of the episode, makes all the events feel more real
How bout not even taking off. I read a ww2 book and a couple of guys were killed when a gamma grenade went off before their c-47 could take off for d-day
You dudes are gonna love this series big time . By the end , you'll know every dude and feel connected .
Ya if they understand it.. so many people react to this and have no clue whats going on in way way to many situations..
We understand what’s going on lol
@@DaKidsReact I picked up on that . Realize youve already seen all 10 ep's on ur Patreon . This series is like Private Ryan on roids !
We are watching Ep 7 this weekend.
@@DaKidsReact I'm gonna Patreon u dudes. It's so hard , as I'm plugged into about 900 channels ,but I dig u Bro's . I want to help you explore regions you are too young to find. Like the film "ROCKERS" Shot in 1978 in mostly Kingston , Jamaica . It will blow your hair off your heads !!!!
At the end, when Nixon says he had the maps sent to division, in reality he understood the importance of these maps showing artillery location, and he ran the maps himself, several miles back to the beaches where HQ was getting settled.
The higher-ups there were so pleased with this vital piece of information, they showed their gratitude by sending off the first 2 tanks off of Utah beach to reinforce the 101st. Those are the 2 tanks you see Nix riding on back in town. They were then used to flush out the remaining Germans at Brecourt.
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Couple more details, when Compton dropped the second grenade that almost got Joe Toye, he was actually jostled by someone else, barely visible behind him, that's what caused him to drop the grenade.
Also, if you go rewatch the combat sequence, keep an eye on Compton. When he landed, he didn't have his gear (lost his bag like most everyone else) so he picked up another Thompson somewhere, but he wasn't aware the firing pin was broken. That's why, when he jumps in the trench, he's unable to finish off that German, and in the subsequent scenes, he keeps trying to fix his gun, taking the mag out, cycling the bolt, etc.. never got to fire his gun the whole time. Later during the assault, when Winters moves around, Compton asks Toye to cover him, because he himself still can't fire off any rounds.
--
Also, this little tidbit is pretty interesting, once some surviving vets started writing books about what they did in WWII:
"A few months after the book came out, ________ received a letter from Elliot Richardson, who had been President Richard M. Nixon’s secretary of defense. Richardson wrote that he had been a medic with the Fourth Division in the second wave of troops coming ashore on Utah on D-Day and was retrieving a wounded tanker from a minefield on the beach when the incoming artillery abruptly stopped. “Now I know why the artillery fire ended on Utah Beach.”
That’s a LOT of really cool additional info that I absolutely love! A first hand account of the results of silencing those guns as well as the fact Nixon ran miles to the beach to personally deliver the useful intel!
A lot of the soldiers would later admit to making some very rookie mistakes during the Brecourt battle. Compton failed to check if his gun worked, Lipton climbed up the tree which made him a perfect target for the Germans and Malarkey run out for that "Luger". They got lucky while others like Hall did not. :(
Awesome comment! I guess this is why Nixon never fired his weapon on d day/combat. But in doing so he saved potentially thousands of lifes
Oh man thanks so much, I never heard of this!
@przemekkozlowski7835 also about Malarkey in that Luger scene, the actor slipping down on his way back wasn't intentional. And the look of fright on his face is pretty genuine, because there were tiny amounts of explosive embedded in the ground to simulate bullets hitting all around him and he was worried he was laying down on some. They were mostly harmless but it still scared the living sh*t out of him.
You guys are great. Attentive and observant. This is an amazing show. Can't say much more than that. Keep rolling.
We appreciate you & thank you for the support💙 it’s only the beginning too🔥
@@DaKidsReactlove the LED Zeppelin shirt, and love your reactions. Great job, love your empathy and thirst for knowledge!
Winters is a legend in the Airborne division and among Army officers in general. Some consider him to be the best example of what a combat leader should be. They aren't wrong.
18:01 Buck played baseball at UCLA (one of his teammates was Jackie Robinson), so that’s why his sim with the grenades were dead on target. He had a cannon of an arm.
Regarding the officer that gun downed the German POWs - The airborne were under strict orders to not take any prisoners due to them not having the logistical capacity to feed and house them. During the invasion it was key to move extremely fast to secure key crossroads and objectives and holding prisoners would have slowed everything down. There are many accounts of German POWs being killed for this reason.
miles behind enemy lines
There was no such order ever given. It's a myth. Didn't happen.
It is sad but true, and was necessary for the operation to work. As Harry Welsh says "War is hell".
No this isn't true. No such order was given, and many prisoners were taken by the Airborne on D-Day.
@Yvolve not true. No order like that was given, and Airborne troops took plenty of prisoners on D-Day
The 101st Division only had one sixth of their men reach their planned destinations. Troops carried approximately 90 - 120 pounds of gear, including their chutes.
My former mailman was the last surviving member of Easy Company.
He passed in 2022...
Mr. Bradford (Brad) Freeman.
Mr. Brad lived on a little farm not far from us and never really spoke about his experiences. He was Great Uncle to some close friends of mine and they didn't know he had been in Easy for years
Wow that’s actually insane you knew of someone that was in Easy! RIP Mr. Bradford & thank you for your service💙
@DaKidsReact
My other mailman was a B-17 pilot and the guy that owned the gas station was a retired colonel and Tuskeegee Airman.
This was in a tiny community in Mississippi...
And they just recently named the local GA airport after our gas station guy, Lt. Colonel Alva Temple.
Pay attention to each person in the company. They have serious roles unique from each other but they blend to work together. That is the legend of Easy Company. Enjoy watching dudes!
We try our best to do that, you’ll see as the reactions drop!
Those planes that carried the paratroops from England to Normandy are C-47s. There were slightly more than 800 of them that went over for the first lift. During the war, there were thousands built. After the war, many were used by civilian companies until they were good only for scrap metal. A few years ago, as one was being prepared to be scrapped, it was discovered to be "That's All Brother". That's All Brother was the actual C-47 that led all of the others to Normandy. Once that was confirmed, the CAF (Commemorative Air Force) purchased it and completely refurbished it back to its configuration on June 6, 1944. That's All Brother can be seen at air shows now. What a remarkable coincidence that it was found almost eighty years after WWII and in time to be restored.
My thanks to Da Kids for not only reacting to this series, but to their reading and acknowledging our replies.
80 years but I am sure they did relive this night time and it time again.
The burning plane that went down was the company commanders (Lt. Meehan). The majority of the Company HQ section was on that plane.
When the landings started the caption said planes overhead. The sound was the shells from the Navy's 16 inch guns.
I'm not sure if it happened to Easy Company or another unit, but one got pinned down in a trench, while endless friendly artillery flew overhead. The sound was ear shattering, bone shaking and terrifying. Not the jet-engine like sound you hear in BoB but like heavy thunder continuously rolling overhead, as it was coming down much closer.
They were stuck for hours. Some soldiers ended up shell shocked from the experience, it was that bad.
Man you guys are just awesome, this was my favorite show and I watched with the the service members of my family.
The thing I love about reactions, especially for historical stuff like this is when people are actually interested and paying attention, and I can tell this isn’t a chore for you guys. You are enjoying it, talking about it, and learning all at the same time and it’s great!
Got yourself a sub! Have a great day guys and hope you continue to enjoy the show!
Appreciate the love and it’s a pleasure for us to hear these stories from these heroes! Can’t wait to bring you guys more of this series because we are truly enjoying every bit of it.
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops," Eisenhower wrote. "My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander. This was his other speech. D-Day was never a guarantee..
That was what made Eisenhower great. It's always fascinated me that Eisenhower never actually had any real combat experience. He was held back from going to Europe during world war I as he was I guess more valued as a trainer. It's not that he tried to avoid combat it's just that he never could get himself in a position combat command.
But that letter he gave his secretary to be read to the press in case the landings were a failure is one of the most courageous things I've ever seen in a politician which he essentially was. Yes he was supreme commander but that involved a lot of politics and that's what he was doing when he wrote that letter. He knew that Churchill and FDR could not go down because that would just be catastrophic. I admire Eisenhower so much for being willing to take the blame like a man and just go on and do the best he could. He knew he'd probably be relieved of duty if D-Day failed. But he knew that what the stakes were when he demanded to be given unfettered command of the operation because he knew that you needed only one man making final decisions. If they made decisions by committee then they would never get anything done. Monty would want to make all the decisions. Other leaders etc. I'm also impressed with Churchill's willingness to go down with Eisenhower. He had chosen him I think a little bit reluctantly to be supreme allied Commander but knew that he was the best but I don't think Churchill like that he was felt compelled to choose Eisenhower. But after Eisenhower and Churchill got to know one another better Churchill was willing to take the blame for the failure right along with Eisenhower.
And then Eisenhower seeing the awesome power we could develop for warfare seeing how fast we could mechanize and develop and build weapons gave us a great speech a great farewell speech at the end of his presidency. He warned us against the dangers of the military industrial complex and how that they could literally take over the country politics economy etc. If the American economy relies heavily on the military industrial complex than they have almost total control. Eisenhower fascinates me because he's one of these people that comes along that just seems to be perfect for this situation. He seems to be the one man in the world who could actually pull off this job. The question was he put here for that job or did he somehow just rise to the occasion? He handled the war so intelligently. He handled everything intelligently.
"His brother got it at Cassino."
My uncle was at Cassino. Bronze Star and Purple Heart. I miss him.
Your Uncle was a hero💜
I volunteered at a vets home years back...there was one paratrooper and two Infantry guys who fought on D-Day...I cooked breakfast so I'd sit and listen while they drank coffee and told stories about WWII...very humbling to be in the presence of such badassery...
My dad quit the NFL in 1942 to fight Hitler was wounded during D Day operations, made through America's meet grinder the Hurtgen Forest where US has 85,000 casualties, to be sent on R & R in the Ardennes and ended up in battle of the Bulge, got his second Purple heart, Bronze star, and Silver Star, after the war he went on to be one of the first five coaches inducted into Penn. High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, my dad met so many great football men during the war like Biggie Mun MSU coach of two Rose Bowel Champions one of those teams had two starters on the offensive line from my dads Cresson Pa team, Ben Schwartzwalder who Jim Browns college coach at Syracuse, I meet Ben in1962 while we where camp in upstate New York and the Canada Ben was a captain in the 82 airborne and was in Normandy my dad meet him during the Bulge 5 of my dads players went to Syracuse to play football on full scholarship my dad worked his ass off to guys who could not afford college a scholarship in his 30 plus years of coaching he got 78 player full rides
it's uuunlikely for planes to hit guys, since inherently - planes keep a certain altitude; troops always fall *below* this altitude
I mean, that's the general rule anyway - more dangerous is bullets, shrapnel, and enemy on the ground
The thought of jumping out a plane and if you live to land and then you are completely surrounded by the enemy would be terrifying.
One of the most genuine reaction videos to this series I have seen. Keep up the excellent work.
We appreciate this & thank you! Much love💙
Just found this channel. So hyped for you guys to go on this journey of watching one of the greatest written television shows in history.
Just watched Ep7 for Patreon yesterday & WE CAN SEE WHY!
Thanks for your sincere reactions! See where others explained why paratroopers weren't hit by other planes....dad was a couple weeks behind these guys ....
Fact: The pilots that flew Winters' C-47 actually lived. They were wounded.
Something to remember is the average age of most of these guys is early 20s. I believe Winters was 25-26 years old through this whole thing. Insane to think about
Really insane to think about. You would think he was in his mid 30s the way he carried himself.
It's always good to see you "youngsters" getting a glimpse of the sacrifices made by that generation for the country. They're all gone, now. Who's gonna step up and carry that torch?
Whats interesting about Steven Spielberg war movies is there usually no last words when some gets shot, they just die.
These guys weren't even the first to jump. Ahead of them were the pathfinders. They jumped earlier to mark the drop zones for the paratroopers. The planes didn't all make it to the drop zones because of the flack. One of the reasons so many paratroopers were lost or in the wrong places.
You guys are super sharp on the small details that a lot of people miss, and wonderful commentary, not just in this series, ive got a few im watching in parallel having found you guys tonight and almost nothing gets by you guys, loving it, looking forward to completing this, and seeing what comes next.
We are happy you are enjoying our reactions and your time with us! We had a making time reacting to this series! We learned a lot and definitely enjoyed it ourselves. Thanks for the support👏🏾
Something that not a lot of people might know is Germany's production was mostly focused on tanks planes and other vehicles so a lot of their transportation for supplies was also used by horse and buggy or just on any other vehicles they can find
Despite my own doubts re: the Lt Speirs executing POWs scene, according to the experts, it happened. The amazing Breacourt Manor assault scene is one for the books. Good job guys.
My father and his peers shed their literal blood for our freedom, especially Asia and Europe. It is more than discouraging at the lack of many of today's youth that have no understanding of this. Thank you for recognizing what my father's generation went through!!
"Ain't nothing light about a light machine gun" so well said
Learned that playing Call of Duty’s back in the day
18:11 An interesting story here. In this series, Buck's Thompson jammed on him. In reality, he was actually using a German weapon that he scavenged off of a fallen German soldier. The weapon being in poor and dirty condition, it jammed up on Buck when he needed to use it.
As seen by Malarky nearing getting himself killed, Allied troops were always looking for relics and souvenirs to bring home. They put their own lives in danger, and even got themselves killed trying to scavenge for souvenirs to send home.
The 101st was supposed to be the ones taking out all the guns firing on Utah and Omaha beaches. That’s why the men landing on those beaches were caught off guard and killed.
There is a really good RUclips channel called History Underground . In one series of his videos, he travels to Normandy and visits Brecourt Manor. He visits the exact place that Easy assaults the German 88s depicted in this episode.
they were in that plane for 2-3 hours before jumping as well.. must be torture just sitting there waiting to jump into hell
Hearing you guys say “jawn” and “bol” made me laugh lmao. Couple of tough Philly boys in Easy Company. Bill Guarnere was from south Philly, and later on yall will meet Babe Heffron, also from south Philly
Not sure which paratroop groups encountered this, but prior to the invasion the Germans flooded fields where troops might land. Many US paratroops ended up drowning because they couldn't get out of their harness quickly. The British had a better harness that released in essentially one motion, opposed to the US version that took several steps.
I once heard it said that Americans only have one plan in battle and thats to show up and improvise. What happened to the paratroopers is a prime example. They were scattered all over the place often with men who they had never met before but adapted and improvised.
And did an amazing job at doing it. Couldn’t imagine training months on end with your boys and company then when everything actually starts you aren’t with those guys that you trust with your life. I know that was really nerve wracking but it’s part of it all, being able to adopt and push forward no matter what.
The C47 planes (that they jumped out of) fly in a specific formation to prevent the jumpers from getting hit by other aircraft. Not always easy to hold formation under fire, at night, though.
The fact u guys got the little details is dope! subbed👍
We appreciate you & WELCOME💙
The scene with the German prisoners happened all over the invasion area..the allies simply had no time or resources to deal with prisoners at that early stage. And couldn't risk letting them run free behind their advancing assaults in-land. So orders were given. War is Hell. o7
One of the fun things about this show is how the first episode lulls you in with the training, and then it's nine episodes of full-on fuckin' mayhem and violence.
Literally!
@11:11 Guarnere didn't follow orders and hold his fire because he was pissed about his brother being killed in Italy (found the letter in the jacket in the first episode). Dumb and could have got people killed but you can still appreciate where his head was at in the moment. Never mind! You all got it a minute later. I love Winters, he is the embodiment of an officer that is an actual leader and not just a superior.
8:46 there are actually a lot of accounts of guys getting killed because of those “clicker” things. Airborne troops were issued those “clickers” as a covert way to try and ID friendly troops. You’d click, and friendlies would click back. But what started happening is our boys would click, and the *click clack* of the German Kar98 rifle bolt chambering a round sounded like the response click, so our boys would stand up thinking they were friendlies, and they’d get shot.
Thanks for sharing, had a blast with you guys at lunch. Looking forward to watching "Nope" when I get home.
D-Day casualties for the airborne divisions were calculated in August 1944 as 1,240 for the 101st Airborne Division and 1,259 for the 82nd Airborne. Of those, the 101st suffered 182 killed, 557 wounded, and 501 missing. For the 82nd, the total was 156 killed, 347 wounded, and 756 missing.
The planes fly in a formation that assures that they won't hit troops jumping. This based on speed , gap interval, and drop rate. The men will fall below the level of the following planes quicker than the planes can overtake them.
Yeah when you look at it from a physics and logical standpoint it makes sense lol I think we were just so immersed in the chaos that something like that wasn’t too far out to happen.
This wasn't 50 years ago. This was the early morning of June 6th, 1944 when they dropped which will be 80 years ago which is a couple of months from now.
Also, they had orders not to take prisoners. They just landed, no place to put them.
Brutal but that's war. You guy's are in for one hell of a ride.
It gets a whole lot worse than this.
After this you two have to do "The Pacific" about our island hopping campaign against the Japanese.
Absolutely brutal!
Peace ❤
The military organization was a triangular one. Three Regiments each having three battalions. Each battalion had three companies with three platoons in a company. Each platoon was broken down into three squads of about 12-15 soldiers. At full strength a company had about 200-250 soldiers.
Thompson SMGs weighed more than nine pounds. When the 40th anniversary of D-Day rolled around 40 years ago(!), a veteran paratrooper was interviewed on a morning news show. The news man who interviewed him was only familiar with M-16s, and when he held the Thompson SMG, he said, "That's a HEAVY gun!" I think the M1919A4 weighted around 30 pounds.
Great reaction, guys. You're going to love this series. It's a life changing experience. CURRAHEE
We appreciate you & definitely loving this so far🔥
An excellent reaction to an ourstanding series. A point of history, the 101st were late comers. The 82ed had already been credited with 2 combat jumps. Before that, the 2/509th PIB jumped into N. Africa in 1942. I served with the 2/509th (Abn/Mech) 1971-72. Any flight more then15 or 20
minutes to the DZ invariably I fell asleep.
18:40. That wasn't Hall, that was Loraine, the "jeep jocky".
Hang tuff Fellas, thanks for sharing 😊👍✌️🇺🇸
We appreciate you & it’s only the beginning!
They couldn’t take prisoners. They were low on numbers and didn’t have a forward operating base established yet. They couldn’t spare any troops to stay back and watch the prisoners so they killed them. Had they just let them go, they would’ve rejoined there units to continue fighting. War is hell
Yup, can't send em to the rear when there is no rear.
Actually, many prisoners were taken on D-Day. Winters took several himself.
@ltlibby6220 there are videos out there of German POW 's on the beach awaiting transport ba k to England. The beaches quickly became the rear with the gear.
@@gravitypronepart2201 right, but the airborne hadn't been relieved, so they had no rear.
@ltlibby6220 The link up happened quickly, around noon, if I remember correctly. And prisoners were indeed being held by the airborne. In fact the 101st had MPs with them for that purpose. My friends dad was one of them. Winters captured some at Brecourt Manner. Some were killed, out of necessity, and some out of anger, but it wasn't SOP.
Dw bout the Waters/Winters detail ;) u are great reactors and catch stuff most ppl dont.. U are in like some 110% focus mode, not joking around n stuff. Keep up the good work, im really digging it. I dont even think the comment section will bother about it, at all, just because of this fact that u are awesome.
We appreciate you & your support💙 we got the names right in the later episodes. We try to catch as much as we can & us making jokes or references is just how we are in real life. We are grateful for you!
The Airborne had orders not to take prisoners. It's ugly but nobody knew if the landings at the beaches were going to be successful. Being behind enemy lines with no supply lines, no facilities to put prisoners in and no spare people to guard those prisoners there was no other choice.
That’s true! It was just sad to see those scenes!
Not true! There was no order given to kill prisoners, and in fact many were taken ont D-Day and the night before.
@@DaKidsReactNo order was given. It's a myth.
This year will make the 80th year anniversary
For every "tracer" bullet that you see, there's another 3-5 bullets than you don't see.
I can't imagine landing on
D-Day with only a knife! 🤯
CRAZY!
Very detailed reaction. Nice job!
We appreciate you💙
I hope you enjoy the series. After this watch The Pacific and then Masters of the Air. You're gonna learn a lot about WW2.
Nice job men. Good reaction.
Ha ha...the subtitles might be a bit sketchy...at 12:43 when the shells from the battleships off shore are going overhead, the subtitles say it is "planes soaring".
War is hell, war is cruel. Pray for humanity not having world war 3 ever happen in the future
If not for that day, our world world be a very different place today.
Great reaction!
Great job guys...
Get into the fight. No fear.
The older I get the more I realize the terror that ever warrior has ever faced in battle. We know how everything played out- in 1944, the future was a ?, just like it is now. So many men died painfully and young. This world needs Jesus Christ always.
15:00 so actually, that was exactly what the american soldiers during d-day were told to do was take no prisoners because they didn't have the supply lines to keep and manage prisoners.
Makes total sense! Had no time to manage and look after those prisoners.
They needed those planes to haul those giant brass balls across the channel
Regarding Speirs shooting the prisoners is a hard call. They did not have any capacity for holding POW’s where they were at. At least Speirs gave them a last cigarette.
Remember, they are hoping the beach landings are successful, otherwise they are hosed. ☹️ No matter how successful or brave. Welcome to total war.
You are right, Sobel would have been completely lost.
Nice reaction men, appreciate that you both are comprehending all the details. I've watched this series at least 50 times and some reactors don't put the work in. Props.
We try our best w/ any series or movie we watch, to catch & understand as much as possible especially when it’s comes to documentaries or historical events. We appreciate you, your support & WELCOME💙
Typical information I post as often as I can on this episode...copied and pasted.
Following the action of the battles is sometimes difficult, so I highly recommend the channel Operations Room, which has top down animated videos that cover all the details of most of the battles depicted in the show. There is one about the action to take the guns at Brecourt that is shown in this episode, and whether you do a reaction to it or not it is a really good short video to watch. The videos on that channel become increasingly helpful as the series progresses due to the battles getting much more confusing, but also because it was impossible to recreate some of the future battles on the show exactly as they happened in reality...so the Operations Room's analysis will fill you in on all the variances.
Haha my dad brought back 3 german sidearms but definitely didn't try to get em in middle of a fire fight lol. No Luger.... 2 Walther P38's and a Walther PP. Still fire them yearly
That’s amazing! A friendly reminder of history every time you look at those sidearms.
Thanks....it is..
a light machine gun is only light compared to other machine guns
To those wondering why you have to kill prisoners (in war): if you don't have a way to hold, keep or transport them...
I can say from some experience as a Marine grunt deploying into combat out off an Amtrac into a firefight, the only thing through your mind before the ready light comes on is "Jesus, I Hope I dont look like pussy out there in front of all the other grunts". Not quite this chaotic though.
We couldn’t imagine, thank you for your service🙏🏾💙
I really want to watch you guys react to the LOTR trilogy only if you’ve never seen them… got to be the extended versions 🎉
That’s the plan after HP🔥💪🏾
They lost around 300 men on the jump alone. The planes would be flying at the same altitude. So u would not get hit by a pkane. But they were hit by the flack and machine guns firing from the ground.
I hope you watch Master of the Air.
Cpt. Winters
Once you jump out you obviously fall quicker and quicker.. the planes dont dive down that low to even hit them..
They dont call him "Wild Bill" Guarner for nothing.
The reason they used the code words Flash and Thunder because those are difficult words to say correctly for a German unless they know English good enough
Wow!! That’s super interesting, thanks for the info!
good job guys
Appreciate the love!
These are forward paratroopers, they are behind enemy lines, and they cannot take prisoners.
over 70 years ago
I need what yall smoking on chill as hell
🤣🤣 we always been like this, don’t smoke or drink