❤️BIBLE VERSES OF THE DAY❤️ 2 CHRONICLES 20:17 NIV 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”
The Germans caroling reminds us that they were young and scared and freezing cold too, and there were enough of our brothers in Christ among them that Christmas carols gave them the same comfort carols would have given us. Our soldiers couldn't think about that at the time, and the Germans didn't either. That's how terrible war is.
Renee was a real nurse who really did get killed during a German air raid on Christmas Eve. She and the other nurse (Augusta) became known as The Angels of Bastogne
Every episode of Band of Brothers can be considered favorites. But 6 and 7, paired together, are truly great. Heartbreaking and gut wrenching, but great.
Winters said that he continued to shave because one of his mentors had told him, when in these type of tough long standing situations, keeping a daily routine can do a lot for your mental state.
Another reason is they are fighting in Belgium.In WW1 the Germans used poison gas in Belgium.A clean shaven face is necessary to get gas mask to seal better.I was stationed in Germany in 87 and 88.The NBC Sargent (Nuclear Chemical Biological)told us thats why soldiers had to be clean shaven.
In 2016 my daughter's husband was in the Air Force and stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. We went to visit for Christmas that year and my daughter bought tickets to the Band of Brothers reunion in Bastogne. One of the actors I met was the gentleman that played Doc Roe. He is a kind, intelligent, interesting man.
Walter (Smokey) Gordon who was shot through the shoulder into his back leaving him paralysed, later regained all bodily movements after months in hospital. He went back to the woods in later years finding his foxhole and his canteen that he dropped when he was shot.
I was close with my medics in Afghanistan and recall a conversation with one who Doc Roe reminds me of. He said to me that he can't save everyone no matter how hard he tries, that some people when wounded simply cannot make it regardless how much first aid is provided. But that he was going to try anyway. Us Infantrymen have a deep connection with our medics, and you can see exactly why in this episode. Even in the previous episode you can see Doc Roe berating Winters and Welsh while loading Moose into the ambulance. An enlisted man berating an officer is usually unacceptable and a punishable offense, but those two had enough respect for Doc Roe to take the ass-chewing and learn from it because they knew he was right.
I'm too old to be partying all night on New Years eve, so how lovely of you to drop another BoB reaction for us to sit down to, and enjoy with a glass of red. Shout out to Californiablend from across the pond. I wish you a very happy and creative New Year. The same goes to all the good people in the comments. Have a good one, folks. ❤❤❤
My father was Third Army (Patton). He was one of the men who walked 100 miles in two days to relieve Bastogne. He said they lost more men to frostbite and trench foot than they did to the Germans.
A bit random, but I live in a small french town built around this old roman era bridge. It's small and unassuming, but it's still standing today and has cars going over it daily. This bridge has a plaque next to it, stating that Patton's third army crossed this bridge in 44, so there's a decent probability that your father crossed this exact bridge.
@@haaxeu6501 My father told me a story about a bridge. Patton had a habit of out running his supply lines. My father and another soldier were ordered to guard the bridge until the supply trucks crossed. During the night they heard footsteps echoing through the village. It was villagers scavenging. They stayed hidden during the day. Just as the sun was starting to come up they heard the rumble of a mechanized column and hoped it was not German. It was the supply column. My father said that was one of the longest nights of his life. Could be your bridge.
Some food for thought: The men of Easy were in real life somewhat younger than portrayed here. For example, when they jumped: Winters was 26 versus actor ca 30 Malarkey almost 23 vs actor 30 Guarnere 21 vs 34 Nixon 25 vs 34 Buck Compton 22 vs 35 Speirs 24 vs 32 Shifty 21 vs 23 (closest one) And the list goes on. This makes what they did even more impressive, I'd say.
Alot of young guys in the 1st and 2nd world wars Ernst junger was a WW1 German infantryman who's diaries talked about this. Younger guys are able to handle the rigors of warfare.
As a Trauma and Critical Care Nurse with two combat tours in Iraq.. THIS is my favorite episode. God Bless our Navy Corpsman and US Army Combat Medics!
Yes the medics suffer. I had a counselor, that was a Navy corpsman. (A medic for marines) he was on 100% disability for PTSD. He had pictures on his office wall of him fighting to save a life. And then he had 7 portrait pictures behind his desk of the men he could not save. 😢
Rene was a real nurse, she was killed evacuating wounded from the hospital. Hershey bars were standard issue in the GI's rations! The company even developed a candy bar that would resist melting, for troops in the Pacific! My Great uncle who fought in the pacific said that they were pretty good!
At 16:30 you were wondering why the germans were singing but you got to remember that the germans were humans too. Some of them had no choice, at the end of the war germans of 14 years old were recruted by force in the german army. They sing for themselves because some of them were christians and it was chrismas. If you want to discover a "german band of brothers" I advise you to watch : Unsere Mutter, unsere Vater
If you think back, in the last episode Eugene shouted at Winters and Welsh when Moose was shot. It's one of my favorite moments bc it's not easy to get away with yelling at officers 😂 but it came from such a concerned place that he didn't get in any trouble. Can you imagine him feeling safe and comfortable enough with Sobel to raise his voice? Naw. Thanks for your reactions. These are beautiful.
The nurse of African descent is Augusta Marie Chiwy; she survived the war and passed in 2015 at the age of 94. PS - Belgian chocolate & Hershey's chocolate shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence.
@@markjohnson6194 I've heard the opposite that Hershey's chocolate had a more bitter and almost sour taste, but most Americans had probably never tasted chocolate from Europe so they wouldn't know better. Maybe that was just around WW1, cause Hershey bars would get around a lot during both wars, when GIs would give them out to civilians from their rations.
@@markjohnson6194 Hershey's literally tastes like vomit - it shares chemical compounds that cause that taste. It can't legally be sold in the UK as chocolate as it's cocoa content is too low.
Glad you picked up on the blue scarf. It also symbolizes how Eugene needs to compartmentalize the death of the nurse and make use of her scarf. You have to put it behind you in order to function.
Yes I was an Independent Duty Combat Medic for 23 years and had six deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I see every face of every person I couldn't save.... Everyday all day...I see their faces.
The black nurse from the Congo (a Belgian colony at that time) who was helping Renee survived the war and only died in 2015 in Belgium at the age of 94.
Your reactions and insights are always so on point. My grandfather and all my uncles were volunteer firemen (small town) so when I was old enough I got my training and joined the department as an EMT. You have a hard time getting over the folks you couldn’t save. I still remember my first big multi-fatality car accident I responded to, watching all the older firemen who’d been through it before and how it affected them. I was kept busy trying to stabilize the two survivors and get them transported so I was distracted. But they had the hard job recovering six teenage bodies and keeping the people back who were trying to see who’d made it and who hadn’t before the families could be notified.
The PTSD WAS bad for Eugene after the war. Look up the Band of Brothers reunion from earlier this year - it was in New Orleans I believe and you can find it on RUclips. Great interviews from the actors and family of the actual soldiers
It may sound strange, but it is my Christmas tradition to watch Episode 6 and 7 every year. I’ve been enjoying watching you experience the series for the first time and you have become the first reaction channel I’ve subscribed too!
I don't usually comment on RUclips videos but I saw this series and I've been enjoying it, @Californiablend. My problem is that I have a really hard time watching this particular episode. I was a Combat Medic in the US Army and on my first deployment to the mountains in Afghanistan I dealt with a decent amount of traumatic things, and this episode really brings a lot of tough memories back. The men screaming for a medic, the medics struggling against the cold, the fact that you never have enough supplies, the sheer futility of some of the situations you are pushed in to... And everyone looks at the medic to know what to do when everything goes wrong. It's a lot for a 21 year old to deal with. I spent days in the mountains trying to help at a mass casualty avalanche as the only medic on the ground. Negative temperatures, high altitude, biting wind, and injured Afghan civilians everywhere. We were digging them out of the snow and trying to get them to shelter before they froze to death. After three days of that we admitted that we were not going to have any more success with rescue and we were putting ourselves in too much danger to continue a recovery effort, so we left. I have gone over every decision I made on that deployment more than I'd care to admit. I will probably end up finishing this video, but it's going to take me a while to come back and watch it in parts. Thank you for taking the time to make them.
Eugene Roe was born in a tiny settlement of what used to be Bayou Chene, Louisiana. It no longer exists due to constant flooding of the Atchafalaya River. After the war he got married and moved to my hometown of Baton Rouge where he worked as a construction contractor. Him and his wife, Vera had three children. By all accounts he was a joyful, loving man and the community mourned his death in 1998. So happy Band of Brothers told his heroic story and highlighted a usually forgotten aspect, yet incredibly important aspect of war, medics.
Now, imagine being the only one. Unarmed. In the middle of all of this chaos. Trying to save lives, while everyone else is trying to end them. There's no scale in the World to measure that kind of weight. I dated a hospice nurse, that takes a special kind of soul to endure.
Love to watch you and hear your analysis, and commentary, especially how your emotions run, thank you for watching this series, have watched it with you all along the way, will continue to watch and enjoy, take care..👍👍👍👍👍
Now Bastogne is something I'm interested in, My great uncle was there, He was also in the Battle of the Bulge. He was Patton's jeep driver. I've got maps of the movements as well as his photos. He refused to ever talk about the war. In fact, whenever war movies came on TV, he would immediately get up out of his chair, walk over and turn it off or change the channel. And not say a thing! I guess he saw too many things while over there that soured him on the whole memory of the war. I can only imagine.
A family member, who passed away many years ago, served as a medic with Patton's 3rd Army which, among other things, relieved the forces at Bastogne. He never spoke in any detail about that experience, that I'm aware of, but he was a great guy. Hard working family man and small business owner.
6:29 "Who's singing carols?" Look up the Christmas Truce of WWI. The Germans were still mostly Christians. Singing those carols actually gave away their position but they had faith. In this war there were years where young men didn't have contact their families or friends outside of sporadic handwritten letters. This isolation happened on both sides so enjoying a little bit of home is understandable.
Agusta Chiwy was the african nurse in Bastogne. She was awarded the Order of the crown in Belgium for her heroism in saving so many soldiers during the battle and is a "citizen of honor" in Bastonge.
You know, what a really good hearted sweet lovely young lady you are. All us old vets are no doubt charmed by you. Young men take note, this is a keeper right here. Anyway, thanks so much for a great reaction, for doing BOB, and for those awsome bible verses. Happy new year to you sweetheart.
My grandfather served in the Coast Guard as a Pharmacist First Mate which from my understanding serves in the hospitals and such. He was there on D-Day and landed on the beach after his ship got hit and got hit in the foot (wasn't sure it was a bullet or shrapnel). As far as we know he was stationed in France and assisted in treating the wounded, but he never talked about what he did during the war. From what my grandmother says he had a bit of a tough time with it and it affected him so much he couldn't stand to be in hospitals so he never entered one. The only time he did was when she got really sick once and had to be admitted so he braved it just for her which really meant a lot to her. Thankfully it didn't really affect his relationships with his family (my parents and aunt, uncle), but it was something he carried with him for the rest of his life. Sadly, he passed away when I was a young child so I never really got to know him, so I had felt like I got a bit of connection with him after I saw this episode.
You have a wonderful way of reacting and your description of what you’ve seen and understood is outstanding, your love for cinematography shines through, keep the faith and excitement in your life.
Augusta Marie Chiwy (6 June 1921 - 23 August 2015) was the Belgian nurse who served as a volunteer during the Siege of Bastogne in 1944. Born in Velgin Congo, her Belgin father and Congolese Mom returned to Belgium at age 9. At 19 she was training to be a nurse & like Renée returned home for Christmas just before Bastogne was attacked. She assisted the injured & was in the next room when the shell that cause Renee's death hit. Blown thru the wall, she was unhurt and continued her work until Bastogne was relieved. Long thought killed in the attack and as she didn't speak of that time in her life she was unrecognized until a U.S. reported found her. Telling her story she was honored by Belgium & Chiwy was appointed Knight of the Order of the Crown, on behalf of King Albert II & On 12 December 2011, Chiwy was awarded the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the United States Department of the Army, by the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman.
My uncle Milo fought in this battle outside of St. Vith. On 12/16 the Germans overran American lines and he was trapped in enemy territory, evading in the snow and woods, until 12/25. He reached safety Christmas day but had trenchfoot and frostbite in his feet. He and one other guy were the only ones who made it to safety. Milo was a heavy machine gunner, like Smokey (who gets shot and paralyzed in this episode). This episode always gets me because it really shows how Milo must have felt when the attack came.
Look up the "Christmas Truce" during WWI. Soldiers in opposing trenches exchanged Christmas carols and then took a chance and met each other peacefully in between the trenches. Amazing story.
I appreciate and thank you for watching reacting to this. your so young, you have a beautiful soul you're spreading the sacrifice that our military makes and keeping it alive
Renee was a character implanted in the episode, but was based on many medics who worked in the war. The nurse she worked with, was based on a real person, who helped the soldiers, while bombs went over her head. She was later honored by several entities, including the u.s. military.
I love Band of Brothers, and your reaction to them. This episode prompted me to research who the nurses were in this episode. Dr. John "Jack" Prior was also apart of the make-shift hospital, although not shown in this episode. If you get a chance, look into Agusta Chiwy's story. A true unsung hero who was not recognized until just before she died.
Nothing like spending the new years eve watching some Band of Brothers. Fun fact: despite how it looks, this and the next episode were the warmest episodes to shoot since this is actually an indoor set.
When I was in Jr. High way back in the 70's I was fortunate to have a teacher Who was a Veteran of the 101st Airborne. He had fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
I enjoy your reactions. I'm glad that you have the time to be able to do these episodes so close together. Others space them out. I think doing them close together allows you to get more familiar with the people and it's more of an emotional experience.
Fair warning Ep 7 gets very brutal. Ep 9 will hit your soul and heart hard. When you're done with the series I highly recommend watching the special edition episode We Stand Alone Together. It's the interview episode with the actual E Company guys.
so to help explain about why they were short on medical supplies - The 326th Airborne Medical Company is overrun on Dec. 19th 1944 The 326th set up their field hospital nearly ten miles west of Bastogne in the village of Saint-Ode. It was expected that this would be far enough behind the front that it would be a safe area to establish the field hospital for the division. During the 19th however, the German forces overran the 326th Airborne Medical Company, and with the field hospital taken, this effectively solidified the Germans surrounding Bastogne creating the siege. On top of this, it effectively dealt a massive blow to the whole division medically. In the following days and weeks, combat medical personnel would be put to the test with limited supplies and mounting combat wounds as well as cold weather casualties, however the brave medics would fight hard and provide desperately needed medical help. 9:41 mark Also on Julian it wasn't till about 2 weeks after he was killed that his body was recovered so the date of his death is wrong on his grave, E co vet XXXX never forgot about him and every time he talked about him he would cry.
My Father was in Patton's 3rd DIV. He never did say much about the actual combat, that is, until I joined the Marine Corp. He mentioned that they were fighting in the Ruhr. When the Germans attacked through the Ardennes, creating the "Bulge", His division was yanked from combat there, loaded up on any vehicle they could find, did a 90 degree turn North, and advanced on Bastogne. He said it was the coldest damn drive he ever experienced. The rest of his life, he hated the cold. That's quite a statement coming from a guy born and raised in Michigan's Upper Peninsula- Manistique to be exact.
The nurse in Bastogne was a real person. Her name was Renee Lapiere and was named The Angel of Bastogne. Her grave is in Bastogne with also a monument dedicated to the nurses and medical people who served during WW2.
Bastogne is in Belgium, and in Belgium they make some of the best chocolate on earth. Renee might have had Belgian chocolate. Milton Hershey started his company in 1905 in Pennsylvania. When I was a little kid, I toured the old, original Hershey factory.
every year the Vets and troopers of E/506th would toast to "Hinkel !!!, were ever you are, we hope you made it home" and this is continued by E/506th (reenacted) 12:18 mark so for the supply drops to be made a small group of 101st Pathfinders lead by Jake "Nasty" McNiece & Jack Agnew formerly members of the 506th Demolitions Section known as "The Filthy 13" made the only combat jump during this Battle and they set up and marked the DZ for the aerial resupply. the movie "The Dirty Dozen" was inspired by them as they spent more time in the brig when not in combat and prior to D-Day they didn't bath or wash and were filmed before the Jump for Normandy shaving there heads and putting on indian war paint. Jack Agnew attend a few events back in the 90's with a bunch of the Easy vets great guy had lots of crazy stories
"They could get sick." I think WWII was the first war inn which more US soldiers died of combat wounds than died of disease. Before that, more soldiers died from getting sick than died from combat.
Bastogne and The Breaking Point in succession are great, yet hard to watch at the same time. I'm jealous, wishing I could experience these episodes again for the first time. I remember waiting the week between them when it premiered and I couldn't wait, the anticipation was killing me. However, the replay value of this work is still great and I'm glad that I have this on disc for when I feel the need.
I think that besides the soldiers in the war, we should remember the civilians who served. The nurses are this episode were Belgian nurses who volunteered to help the American Army. The white nurse was name Renee Lemaire and has been called “The Angel of Bastogne.” The black nurse that was only referred to as Anna in the series was Augusta Chiwy who lived well into her old age.
"He's got no shoes?" It's rarely shown on screen but one of the biggest dangers in war, historically, was from the elements or disease spreading through camp. In WW1 they had Trench Foot and Trench Mouth. From living in cold wet unsanitary muddy conditions for months.
The nurse, Renee, was only in Bastogne because she was visiting her family for Christmas when the Germans started their attack and as she was a nurse, she volunteered to help the allies at the makeshift hospital.
Eugene is one of my favourite characters from this miniseries. His hair is too dark (because he's so pale) Thus episode is where it really starts to hurt.
There is an incredible documentary about the black nurse in Bastogne called Searching For Augusta that you should watch. Gives a whole other perspective on the hospital and what they went through
The Congolese nurse was known ever after as The Angel of Bastogne, Augusta Chiwy. She died in 2015. Very perceptive about the different effects of PTSD. Worse than the killing, the terror and the pointlessness is Survivor's Guilt. "Why me, why did I survive when men as good or better died? This was touched on in Saving Private Ryan. There is a military history channel called The Operations Room that is doing a multipart animated series of episodes on The Battle of the Bulge, of which Bastogne was a part.
The most impressive about this episode is that it was filmed inside a giant hangar, but they managed to make it convincingly appear freezing. I think they used shredded paper to simulate the snow.
I was amazed when I saw how everything was filmed. Everything was mostly filmed on a massive studio in England (where they literally built towns like Carentan, Nijmegen, Eindhoven.) And yes actually filmed it in a hanger to simulate the darkness and used like shredded paper or potato skins. Those actors really sell it that they are freezing though! In classic Dale Dye fashion (who played Colonel Sink) he made all the actors go through one week of bootcamp and combat training.
The part about size 9 boots "just like everybody else" reminds me of something funny from the Vietnam War. In an attempt to conceal the movement of American troops who wore G.I. jungle boots that left a very recognizable footprint, there was an experiment using jungle boots that had the shape of a human foot molded onto to sole so they would theoretically make footprints that looked like the footprints made by the Vietnamese locals who mostly went around barefoot or in sandals. However, the average American foot size was 9, and the average Vietnamese foot size was like 7, so you had a relatively big boot with a much shorter, narrower rubber foot sticking out of the bottom of the sole. The result was a boot that was very unstable to walk in, and, because the boots tended to sink deeply into the soft ground, the footprints they left had the imprint of a human foot in the center with a perfect outline of a G.I. boot around it. What ended up being more effective (and cheaper and simpler) was dropping free G.I. boots all over the area. The locals picked them up and wore them because, even if they were too big, they gave their feet better protection than sandals or going barefoot. As a result, everybody in the area was walking around in G.I. boots and leaving footprints that all looked the same.
17:52 Operation Bodenplatte Jan 1st 1945. Germany mustard almost their entire air force for one last Hurrah, when the fog cleared, their offensive wasn't going as planned. They gathered as many aircraft as they could to launch a full scale attack on American positions, and primarily forward airfields. Trying to salvage the offensive which was at this point floundering. Hundreds of American aircraft were destroyed on the ground, the single biggest day lose of American aircraft of the entire war. I think they estimated almost 300 destroyed and just under two hundred American aircraft damaged. In a single day. Despite catching the USAAF with it's pants down, the German Air Force the Luftwaffe also suffered high loses. Though they lost fewer than 200 aircraft they lost well over 100 irreplaceable pilots. Where as most American aircraft were destroyed on the ground, the pilots were okay as a result. Because of this Operation Bodenplatte is often called the "Death Ride of the Luftwaffe." In spite of that, it's an operation that kind of had to happen. They knew if they didn't, their forces on the ground would be pray to allied air power. American fighters, and twin engine aircraft being their primary target, forward airfields used by front line fighters, and fighter bombers.
I have never heard a millennial, white, black,purple or blond, empathize with these kids from a different time so genuinely. You'd make an awesome Paratrooper.
Yes, the medics did have PTSD. Back then they also had dedicated stretcher bearers in many units. I had a cousin who was one of those in North Africa and Italy. For many years after he came home he couldn't eat anything with tomato sauce, and had other issues.
Thank you for pointing out the whole other layers trauma and stress that the combat medic and corpsman go through. In an age when the word hero is thrown around too freely in truly applies to those individuals.
I went to Bastogne in 2007. The fox holes are still there. It was incredible to be there and sit in those fox holes and know what the people who dug them went through.
FYI, the siege of Bastogne was part of a larger battle referred to as the Battle of the Bulge, involving over a million soldiers. The 101st Airborne Division (of which this "Easy" Company was a part) made up only half the defenders of the city. It just so happened the city was full of journalists (war correspondents) wanting to live comfortably in the relatively big city when the battle started - which is why this "elite" unit got so much publicity. Meanwhile, a few miles away, 22 soldiers from the 99th Infantry Division held up a battalion of German paratroopers, creating a bottleneck that put the entire 6th Panzer Army a day behind schedule for the assault on Antwerp which never happened. There were no journalists present for that one - and they weren't an elite unit. One famous historian wrote "the action of the 2nd and 99th Divisions on the northern shoulder could be considered the most decisive of the Ardennes campaign." General McAuliffe (who commanded the 101st at the time) later wrote "It’s always seemed regrettable to me, that Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division didn’t get the credit it deserved in the battle of Bastogne. All of the newspaper and radio talk was about the paratroopers. Actually, the 10th Armored Division was in there December 18th, a day before we were, and had some very hard fighting before we ever got into it, and I sincerely believe that we would never have been able to get into Bastogne if it had not been for the defensive fighting of the three elements of the 10th Armored Division who were first into Bastogne and protected the town from invasion by the Germans.” So now you're one of the few who know the 101st Airborne Division didn't win the war, or even the Battle of the Bulge, or even the siege of Bastogne, all by themselves.
I’m waiting patiently for you to get to the next episode. I cant wait to watch the transition on your face when we will be able to visibly see the moment you become a LT Speirs fan. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
23:20 For the record, "Bastogne" is a French name (since it's a city in the French-speaking part of Belgium) and it's pronouced "Bastonyuh", with the "-uh" almost silent, and the "y" used as a consonant. The "o" is the same that in "whole". It's not the same that "Gaston", since without a final "e", the "-on" of "Gaston" is nasalised, a kind of sound that does not exist in English.
The Germans sang during Christmas Eve during the First World War as well ( Christmas Eve truce ) its amazing that even in wartime people can be decent to eachother
They're pulling shards of a tree trunk out of his leg, and he tells the Doc to save the morphine for someone who's hurt worse than he is. How can you not be in awe of these men?
This episode and the next are my favorites, but I love them all. Love Doc Roe and Lipton. It feels kind of weird picking favorite characters since they were real men, but Roe and Lipton are my favorite "characters". You'll see more of Lipton soon. I'm enjoying your reactions to this fantastic series. Looking forward to the rest.
" The Battle of the Bulge ". Hi, I've called the town " Bas- tog-ne " too. There was a movie made of this time too, that was called: " Battleground(1950) ". It may be worth watching.
❤️BIBLE VERSES OF THE DAY❤️
2 CHRONICLES 20:17 NIV
17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”
U don't need to censore kraut
Amen 🙏
Happy new year to you, Gabrielle, and to every one.
Happy New Year
The Germans caroling reminds us that they were young and scared and freezing cold too, and there were enough of our brothers in Christ among them that Christmas carols gave them the same comfort carols would have given us. Our soldiers couldn't think about that at the time, and the Germans didn't either. That's how terrible war is.
Renee was a real nurse who really did get killed during a German air raid on Christmas Eve. She and the other nurse (Augusta) became known as The Angels of Bastogne
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9e_Lemaire
Thanks for the details.
I was hoping someone would share about The Angels of Bastogne. Thank you.
Yes she is real, but it's very unlikely Doc Roe ever met her or even had some kind of friendship with her.
It's not that unlikely they met. Working in medicine in the same town in medicine. But of they did it was just a nod and 'bonjour'.
Every episode of Band of Brothers can be considered favorites. But 6 and 7, paired together, are truly great. Heartbreaking and gut wrenching, but great.
Episode 7.)
Has it all..
Well said. Agreed. Currahee ♠
Episodes 6 and 7 are by far my favourite pair of back to back episodes. 3&4 come closest.
Winters said that he continued to shave because one of his mentors had told him, when in these type of tough long standing situations, keeping a daily routine can do a lot for your mental state.
Gotta maintain the grooming standards 💯
@@generic_sauce Is that you Sgt. Maj. Sixta? 😆
Another reason is they are fighting in Belgium.In WW1 the Germans used poison gas in Belgium.A clean shaven face is necessary to get gas mask to seal better.I was stationed in Germany in 87 and 88.The NBC Sargent (Nuclear Chemical Biological)told us thats why soldiers had to be clean shaven.
@@griechland Poleece that Moostache
Also, seeing the CO keep it together is a big boost for the troops' morale as long as they also see that they care.
In 2016 my daughter's husband was in the Air Force and stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. We went to visit for Christmas that year and my daughter bought tickets to the Band of Brothers reunion in Bastogne. One of the actors I met was the gentleman that played Doc Roe. He is a kind, intelligent, interesting man.
Walter (Smokey) Gordon who was shot through the shoulder into his back leaving him paralysed, later regained all bodily movements after months in hospital. He went back to the woods in later years finding his foxhole and his canteen that he dropped when he was shot.
I was close with my medics in Afghanistan and recall a conversation with one who Doc Roe reminds me of. He said to me that he can't save everyone no matter how hard he tries, that some people when wounded simply cannot make it regardless how much first aid is provided. But that he was going to try anyway. Us Infantrymen have a deep connection with our medics, and you can see exactly why in this episode. Even in the previous episode you can see Doc Roe berating Winters and Welsh while loading Moose into the ambulance. An enlisted man berating an officer is usually unacceptable and a punishable offense, but those two had enough respect for Doc Roe to take the ass-chewing and learn from it because they knew he was right.
You infantry guys were the reason I always had a damned aneurysm, I'd hate y'all if I didn't love y'all so much ;)
This episode is heart breaking when Eugene sees the destroyed hospital. But wait for the next episode - it's turned up to 11!
I'm too old to be partying all night on New Years eve, so how lovely of you to drop another BoB reaction for us to sit down to, and enjoy with a glass of red. Shout out to Californiablend from across the pond. I wish you a very happy and creative New Year. The same goes to all the good people in the comments. Have a good one, folks. ❤❤❤
Thank you my man. May the New Year bring better for all.
@Munin, same to you from your American friend.
My father was Third Army (Patton). He was one of the men who walked 100 miles in two days to relieve Bastogne. He said they lost more men to frostbite and trench foot than they did to the Germans.
At least he didn’t spend the war shoveling sh*t in Louisiana. 😎
A bit random, but I live in a small french town built around this old roman era bridge. It's small and unassuming, but it's still standing today and has cars going over it daily. This bridge has a plaque next to it, stating that Patton's third army crossed this bridge in 44, so there's a decent probability that your father crossed this exact bridge.
We live in a free world because of men like your father, i am eternally grateful.
My grandfather was also Third Army. He was wounded and also had trenchfoot. His feet looked like alligator hide from all of the damage and scarring.
@@haaxeu6501 My father told me a story about a bridge. Patton had a habit of out running his supply lines. My father and another soldier were ordered to guard the bridge until the supply trucks crossed. During the night they heard footsteps echoing through the village. It was villagers scavenging. They stayed hidden during the day. Just as the sun was starting to come up they heard the rumble of a mechanized column and hoped it was not German. It was the supply column. My father said that was one of the longest nights of his life. Could be your bridge.
Some food for thought: The men of Easy were in real life somewhat younger than portrayed here.
For example, when they jumped:
Winters was 26 versus actor ca 30
Malarkey almost 23 vs actor 30
Guarnere 21 vs 34
Nixon 25 vs 34
Buck Compton 22 vs 35
Speirs 24 vs 32
Shifty 21 vs 23 (closest one)
And the list goes on. This makes what they did even more impressive, I'd say.
Alot of young guys in the 1st and 2nd world wars
Ernst junger was a WW1 German infantryman who's diaries talked about this.
Younger guys are able to handle the rigors of warfare.
Amen
I think I remember reading that the average age of the airborne enlisted was 19 and officers was 24.
As a Trauma and Critical Care Nurse with two combat tours in Iraq.. THIS is my favorite episode. God Bless our Navy Corpsman and US Army Combat Medics!
Yes the medics suffer. I had a counselor, that was a Navy corpsman. (A medic for marines) he was on 100% disability for PTSD. He had pictures on his office wall of him fighting to save a life. And then he had 7 portrait pictures behind his desk of the men he could not save. 😢
Its hard enough to be an EMT or work in an ER. How much worse is it when the people you work on are your friends you live with 24/7.
Rene was a real nurse, she was killed evacuating wounded from the hospital. Hershey bars were standard issue in the GI's rations! The company even developed a candy bar that would resist melting, for troops in the Pacific! My Great uncle who fought in the pacific said that they were pretty good!
At 16:30 you were wondering why the germans were singing but you got to remember that the germans were humans too. Some of them had no choice, at the end of the war germans of 14 years old were recruted by force in the german army. They sing for themselves because some of them were christians and it was chrismas. If you want to discover a "german band of brothers" I advise you to watch : Unsere Mutter, unsere Vater
Probably my favorite episode, and one I always watch around this time of year. The Germans singing Christmas Carols always gets to me. So humanizing.
If you think back, in the last episode Eugene shouted at Winters and Welsh when Moose was shot. It's one of my favorite moments bc it's not easy to get away with yelling at officers 😂 but it came from such a concerned place that he didn't get in any trouble. Can you imagine him feeling safe and comfortable enough with Sobel to raise his voice? Naw. Thanks for your reactions. These are beautiful.
Medics that really care and take care of the troops can get away with a lot. Soldiers and the command take great care of good medics.
The nurse of African descent is Augusta Marie Chiwy; she survived the war and passed in 2015 at the age of 94.
PS - Belgian chocolate & Hershey's chocolate shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence.
Thanks for the details.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta_Chiwy
yeah, Hershey's is sweet and doesn't have the taint of European arrogance
@@markjohnson6194 lol well said. Apparently even their turds are better 🙄
@@markjohnson6194 I've heard the opposite that Hershey's chocolate had a more bitter and almost sour taste, but most Americans had probably never tasted chocolate from Europe so they wouldn't know better.
Maybe that was just around WW1, cause Hershey bars would get around a lot during both wars, when GIs would give them out to civilians from their rations.
@@markjohnson6194 Hershey's literally tastes like vomit - it shares chemical compounds that cause that taste.
It can't legally be sold in the UK as chocolate as it's cocoa content is too low.
Glad you picked up on the blue scarf. It also symbolizes how Eugene needs to compartmentalize the death of the nurse and make use of her scarf. You have to put it behind you in order to function.
It was Renée's very last act of healing from beyond.
@mathieu robillard exactly. That really gets to me.
Yes I was an Independent Duty Combat Medic for 23 years and had six deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I see every face of every person I couldn't save.... Everyday all day...I see their faces.
The black nurse from the Congo (a Belgian colony at that time) who was helping Renee survived the war and only died in 2015 in Belgium at the age of 94.
Your reactions and insights are always so on point. My grandfather and all my uncles were volunteer firemen (small town) so when I was old enough I got my training and joined the department as an EMT. You have a hard time getting over the folks you couldn’t save. I still remember my first big multi-fatality car accident I responded to, watching all the older firemen who’d been through it before and how it affected them. I was kept busy trying to stabilize the two survivors and get them transported so I was distracted. But they had the hard job recovering six teenage bodies and keeping the people back who were trying to see who’d made it and who hadn’t before the families could be notified.
The PTSD WAS bad for Eugene after the war. Look up the Band of Brothers reunion from earlier this year - it was in New Orleans I believe and you can find it on RUclips. Great interviews from the actors and family of the actual soldiers
This is one of the best episodes of any TV show.
It may sound strange, but it is my Christmas tradition to watch Episode 6 and 7 every year. I’ve been enjoying watching you experience the series for the first time and you have become the first reaction channel I’ve subscribed too!
They've got us surrounded, poor bastards.
Then you can attack in any direction!
I don't usually comment on RUclips videos but I saw this series and I've been enjoying it, @Californiablend. My problem is that I have a really hard time watching this particular episode. I was a Combat Medic in the US Army and on my first deployment to the mountains in Afghanistan I dealt with a decent amount of traumatic things, and this episode really brings a lot of tough memories back. The men screaming for a medic, the medics struggling against the cold, the fact that you never have enough supplies, the sheer futility of some of the situations you are pushed in to... And everyone looks at the medic to know what to do when everything goes wrong. It's a lot for a 21 year old to deal with. I spent days in the mountains trying to help at a mass casualty avalanche as the only medic on the ground. Negative temperatures, high altitude, biting wind, and injured Afghan civilians everywhere. We were digging them out of the snow and trying to get them to shelter before they froze to death. After three days of that we admitted that we were not going to have any more success with rescue and we were putting ourselves in too much danger to continue a recovery effort, so we left. I have gone over every decision I made on that deployment more than I'd care to admit.
I will probably end up finishing this video, but it's going to take me a while to come back and watch it in parts. Thank you for taking the time to make them.
Eugene Roe was born in a tiny settlement of what used to be Bayou Chene, Louisiana. It no longer exists due to constant flooding of the Atchafalaya River. After the war he got married and moved to my hometown of Baton Rouge where he worked as a construction contractor. Him and his wife, Vera had three children. By all accounts he was a joyful, loving man and the community mourned his death in 1998. So happy Band of Brothers told his heroic story and highlighted a usually forgotten aspect, yet incredibly important aspect of war, medics.
Now, imagine being the only one. Unarmed. In the middle of all of this chaos. Trying to save lives, while everyone else is trying to end them. There's no scale in the World to measure that kind of weight. I dated a hospice nurse, that takes a special kind of soul to endure.
Love to watch you and hear your analysis, and commentary, especially how your emotions run, thank you for watching this series, have watched it with you all along the way, will continue to watch and enjoy, take care..👍👍👍👍👍
Now Bastogne is something I'm interested in, My great uncle was there, He was also in the Battle of the Bulge. He was Patton's jeep driver. I've got maps of the movements as well as his photos. He refused to ever talk about the war. In fact, whenever war movies came on TV, he would immediately get up out of his chair, walk over and turn it off or change the channel. And not say a thing! I guess he saw too many things while over there that soured him on the whole memory of the war. I can only imagine.
"My first time watching Gabby on New Year's Day."
*Let's go ahead and watch this.*
This girl is so pretty every video it hurts
A family member, who passed away many years ago, served as a medic with Patton's 3rd Army which, among other things, relieved the forces at Bastogne. He never spoke in any detail about that experience, that I'm aware of, but he was a great guy. Hard working family man and small business owner.
6:29 "Who's singing carols?"
Look up the Christmas Truce of WWI. The Germans were still mostly Christians. Singing those carols actually gave away their position but they had faith.
In this war there were years where young men didn't have contact their families or friends outside of sporadic handwritten letters.
This isolation happened on both sides so enjoying a little bit of home is understandable.
Young lady you are a joy to watch with these reactions. You have compassion, sensitivity, and a good heart. Good job! The next episode is even better.
Agusta Chiwy was the african nurse in Bastogne. She was awarded the Order of the crown in Belgium for her heroism in saving so many soldiers during the battle and is a "citizen of honor" in Bastonge.
You know, what a really good hearted sweet lovely young lady you are. All us old vets are no doubt charmed by you. Young men take note, this is a keeper right here. Anyway, thanks so much for a great reaction, for doing BOB, and for those awsome bible verses. Happy new year to you sweetheart.
I can't believe you cut Gen. McCauliffe's reply! "Nuts!"
My grandfather served in the Coast Guard as a Pharmacist First Mate which from my understanding serves in the hospitals and such. He was there on D-Day and landed on the beach after his ship got hit and got hit in the foot (wasn't sure it was a bullet or shrapnel). As far as we know he was stationed in France and assisted in treating the wounded, but he never talked about what he did during the war. From what my grandmother says he had a bit of a tough time with it and it affected him so much he couldn't stand to be in hospitals so he never entered one. The only time he did was when she got really sick once and had to be admitted so he braved it just for her which really meant a lot to her. Thankfully it didn't really affect his relationships with his family (my parents and aunt, uncle), but it was something he carried with him for the rest of his life. Sadly, he passed away when I was a young child so I never really got to know him, so I had felt like I got a bit of connection with him after I saw this episode.
You have a wonderful way of reacting and your description of what you’ve seen and understood is outstanding, your love for cinematography shines through, keep the faith and excitement in your life.
Augusta Marie Chiwy (6 June 1921 - 23 August 2015) was the Belgian nurse who served as a volunteer during the Siege of Bastogne in 1944.
Born in Velgin Congo, her Belgin father and Congolese Mom returned to Belgium at age 9.
At 19 she was training to be a nurse & like Renée returned home for Christmas just before Bastogne was attacked. She assisted the injured & was in the next room when the shell that cause Renee's death hit. Blown thru the wall, she was unhurt and continued her work until Bastogne was relieved.
Long thought killed in the attack and as she didn't speak of that time in her life she was unrecognized until a U.S. reported found her. Telling her story she was honored by Belgium & Chiwy was appointed Knight of the Order of the Crown, on behalf of King Albert II & On 12 December 2011, Chiwy was awarded the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the United States Department of the Army, by the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman.
My uncle Milo fought in this battle outside of St. Vith. On 12/16 the Germans overran American lines and he was trapped in enemy territory, evading in the snow and woods, until 12/25. He reached safety Christmas day but had trenchfoot and frostbite in his feet. He and one other guy were the only ones who made it to safety. Milo was a heavy machine gunner, like Smokey (who gets shot and paralyzed in this episode). This episode always gets me because it really shows how Milo must have felt when the attack came.
Look up the "Christmas Truce" during WWI. Soldiers in opposing trenches exchanged Christmas carols and then took a chance and met each other peacefully in between the trenches. Amazing story.
I appreciate and thank you for watching reacting to this. your so young, you have a beautiful soul you're spreading the sacrifice that our military makes and keeping it alive
Renee was a character implanted in the episode, but was based on many medics who worked in the war. The nurse she worked with, was based on a real person, who helped the soldiers, while bombs went over her head. She was later honored by several entities, including the u.s. military.
I love Band of Brothers, and your reaction to them. This episode prompted me to research who the nurses were in this episode. Dr. John "Jack" Prior was also apart of the make-shift hospital, although not shown in this episode.
If you get a chance, look into Agusta Chiwy's story. A true unsung hero who was not recognized until just before she died.
I myself was a Medic, easily making this one my favorite episode. I was real stoked to see you finally get to this one.
Nothing like spending the new years eve watching some Band of Brothers.
Fun fact: despite how it looks, this and the next episode were the warmest episodes to shoot since this is actually an indoor set.
When I was in Jr. High way back in the 70's I was fortunate to have a teacher Who was a Veteran of the 101st Airborne. He had fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
That dress is 🔥 solid reacts to this series so far. Cheers.
Fun fact: Hersey’s played a huge part in military rations. Making chocolate bars for the soldiers morale.
"chocolate", if you can call Hershey's that
I enjoy your reactions. I'm glad that you have the time to be able to do these episodes so close together. Others space them out. I think doing them close together allows you to get more familiar with the people and it's more of an emotional experience.
Fair warning Ep 7 gets very brutal. Ep 9 will hit your soul and heart hard. When you're done with the series I highly recommend watching the special edition episode We Stand Alone Together. It's the interview episode with the actual E Company guys.
so to help explain about why they were short on medical supplies -
The 326th Airborne Medical Company is overrun on Dec. 19th 1944
The 326th set up their field hospital nearly ten miles west of Bastogne in the village of Saint-Ode. It was expected that this would be far enough behind the front that it would be a safe area to establish the field hospital for the division. During the 19th however, the German forces overran the 326th Airborne Medical Company, and with the field hospital taken, this effectively solidified the Germans surrounding Bastogne creating the siege. On top of this, it effectively dealt a massive blow to the whole division medically. In the following days and weeks, combat medical personnel would be put to the test with limited supplies and mounting combat wounds as well as cold weather casualties, however the brave medics would fight hard and provide desperately needed medical help. 9:41 mark Also on Julian it wasn't till about 2 weeks after he was killed that his body was recovered so the date of his death is wrong on his grave, E co vet XXXX never forgot about him and every time he talked about him he would cry.
You have very quickly become one of my favorite reactors. Hope to see more in the future and have a good new year!
My Father was in Patton's 3rd DIV. He never did say much about the actual combat, that is, until I joined the Marine Corp. He mentioned that they were fighting in the Ruhr. When the Germans attacked through the Ardennes, creating the "Bulge", His division was yanked from combat there, loaded up on any vehicle they could find, did a 90 degree turn North, and advanced on Bastogne. He said it was the coldest damn drive he ever experienced. The rest of his life, he hated the cold. That's quite a statement coming from a guy born and raised in Michigan's Upper Peninsula- Manistique to be exact.
The nurse in Bastogne was a real person. Her name was Renee Lapiere and was named The Angel of Bastogne. Her grave is in Bastogne with also a monument dedicated to the nurses and medical people who served during WW2.
Bastogne is in Belgium, and in Belgium they make some of the best chocolate on earth. Renee might have had Belgian chocolate. Milton Hershey started his company in 1905 in Pennsylvania. When I was a little kid, I toured the old, original Hershey factory.
One thing that's fun is to watch all these again and notice the background characters before they're featured later.
Love that you're wearing our colors .
Glad you're enjoying this show. It gave me deep respect for those who serve in the military.
every year the Vets and troopers of E/506th would toast to "Hinkel !!!, were ever you are, we hope you made it home" and this is continued by E/506th (reenacted)
12:18 mark so for the supply drops to be made a small group of 101st Pathfinders lead by Jake "Nasty" McNiece & Jack Agnew formerly members of the 506th Demolitions Section known as "The Filthy 13" made the only combat jump during this Battle and they set up and marked the DZ for the aerial resupply. the movie "The Dirty Dozen" was inspired by them as they spent more time in the brig when not in combat and prior to D-Day they didn't bath or wash and were filmed before the Jump for Normandy shaving there heads and putting on indian war paint. Jack Agnew attend a few events back in the 90's with a bunch of the Easy vets great guy had lots of crazy stories
"They could get sick." I think WWII was the first war inn which more US soldiers died of combat wounds than died of disease. Before that, more soldiers died from getting sick than died from combat.
Bastogne and The Breaking Point in succession are great, yet hard to watch at the same time.
I'm jealous, wishing I could experience these episodes again for the first time. I remember waiting the week between them when it premiered and I couldn't wait, the anticipation was killing me. However, the replay value of this work is still great and I'm glad that I have this on disc for when I feel the need.
The nurse Eugene met was a real nurse who volunteered for the American aid station
I think that besides the soldiers in the war, we should remember the civilians who served. The nurses are this episode were Belgian nurses who volunteered to help the American Army. The white nurse was name Renee Lemaire and has been called “The Angel of Bastogne.” The black nurse that was only referred to as Anna in the series was Augusta Chiwy who lived well into her old age.
"He's got no shoes?" It's rarely shown on screen but one of the biggest dangers in war, historically, was from the elements or disease spreading through camp. In WW1 they had Trench Foot and Trench Mouth. From living in cold wet unsanitary muddy conditions for months.
The nurse, Renee, was only in Bastogne because she was visiting her family for Christmas when the Germans started their attack and as she was a nurse, she volunteered to help the allies at the makeshift hospital.
I just found your channel a week ago and I absolutely love your reactions and commentary. Don't change a thing! Cheers!
Your reactions are the best girl! Keep em coming. 😘😘
Eugene is one of my favourite characters from this miniseries. His hair is too dark (because he's so pale)
Thus episode is where it really starts to hurt.
There is an incredible documentary about the black nurse in Bastogne called Searching For Augusta that you should watch. Gives a whole other perspective on the hospital and what they went through
The Congolese nurse was known ever after as The Angel of Bastogne, Augusta Chiwy. She died in 2015.
Very perceptive about the different effects of PTSD. Worse than the killing, the terror and the pointlessness is Survivor's Guilt. "Why me, why did I survive when men as good or better died? This was touched on in Saving Private Ryan.
There is a military history channel called The Operations Room that is doing a multipart animated series of episodes on The Battle of the Bulge, of which Bastogne was a part.
The "Nuts" quote actually happened
My grandfather was wounded and in the church when it was bombed. He survived and was evacuated back to the States.
Thanks for watching these. The condensed version is great to save time.
You've gotta check out the Forgotten Angel of Bastogne. It's beautiful.
The most impressive about this episode is that it was filmed inside a giant hangar, but they managed to make it convincingly appear freezing. I think they used shredded paper to simulate the snow.
I was amazed when I saw how everything was filmed. Everything was mostly filmed on a massive studio in England (where they literally built towns like Carentan, Nijmegen, Eindhoven.) And yes actually filmed it in a hanger to simulate the darkness and used like shredded paper or potato skins.
Those actors really sell it that they are freezing though!
In classic Dale Dye fashion (who played Colonel Sink) he made all the actors go through one week of bootcamp and combat training.
The part about size 9 boots "just like everybody else" reminds me of something funny from the Vietnam War. In an attempt to conceal the movement of American troops who wore G.I. jungle boots that left a very recognizable footprint, there was an experiment using jungle boots that had the shape of a human foot molded onto to sole so they would theoretically make footprints that looked like the footprints made by the Vietnamese locals who mostly went around barefoot or in sandals. However, the average American foot size was 9, and the average Vietnamese foot size was like 7, so you had a relatively big boot with a much shorter, narrower rubber foot sticking out of the bottom of the sole. The result was a boot that was very unstable to walk in, and, because the boots tended to sink deeply into the soft ground, the footprints they left had the imprint of a human foot in the center with a perfect outline of a G.I. boot around it. What ended up being more effective (and cheaper and simpler) was dropping free G.I. boots all over the area. The locals picked them up and wore them because, even if they were too big, they gave their feet better protection than sandals or going barefoot. As a result, everybody in the area was walking around in G.I. boots and leaving footprints that all looked the same.
May God rest the souls of the soldiers who died for our freedom.
17:52 Operation Bodenplatte Jan 1st 1945. Germany mustard almost their entire air force for one last Hurrah, when the fog cleared, their offensive wasn't going as planned. They gathered as many aircraft as they could to launch a full scale attack on American positions, and primarily forward airfields. Trying to salvage the offensive which was at this point floundering.
Hundreds of American aircraft were destroyed on the ground, the single biggest day lose of American aircraft of the entire war. I think they estimated almost 300 destroyed and just under two hundred American aircraft damaged. In a single day.
Despite catching the USAAF with it's pants down, the German Air Force the Luftwaffe also suffered high loses. Though they lost fewer than 200 aircraft they lost well over 100 irreplaceable pilots. Where as most American aircraft were destroyed on the ground, the pilots were okay as a result. Because of this Operation Bodenplatte is often called the "Death Ride of the Luftwaffe." In spite of that, it's an operation that kind of had to happen. They knew if they didn't, their forces on the ground would be pray to allied air power. American fighters, and twin engine aircraft being their primary target, forward airfields used by front line fighters, and fighter bombers.
I have never heard a millennial, white, black,purple or blond, empathize with these kids from a different time so genuinely.
You'd make an awesome Paratrooper.
Yes, the medics did have PTSD. Back then they also had dedicated stretcher bearers in many units. I had a cousin who was one of those in North Africa and Italy. For many years after he came home he couldn't eat anything with tomato sauce, and had other issues.
Thank you for pointing out the whole other layers trauma and stress that the combat medic and corpsman go through. In an age when the word hero is thrown around too freely in truly applies to those individuals.
I went to Bastogne in 2007. The fox holes are still there. It was incredible to be there and sit in those fox holes and know what the people who dug them went through.
The Battle of the Bulge (this) exemplifies the strength, courage, determination and never say die attitude that is the US Military.
The last minutes of this series is the best part.
Happy New Year 🥳🎉
Loved your reaction
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved this episode
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Happy New Year 🥳 Thanks for watching!!
FYI, the siege of Bastogne was part of a larger battle referred to as the Battle of the Bulge, involving over a million soldiers. The 101st Airborne Division (of which this "Easy" Company was a part) made up only half the defenders of the city. It just so happened the city was full of journalists (war correspondents) wanting to live comfortably in the relatively big city when the battle started - which is why this "elite" unit got so much publicity.
Meanwhile, a few miles away, 22 soldiers from the 99th Infantry Division held up a battalion of German paratroopers, creating a bottleneck that put the entire 6th Panzer Army a day behind schedule for the assault on Antwerp which never happened. There were no journalists present for that one - and they weren't an elite unit.
One famous historian wrote "the action of the 2nd and 99th Divisions on the northern shoulder could be considered the most decisive of the Ardennes campaign."
General McAuliffe (who commanded the 101st at the time) later wrote "It’s always seemed regrettable to me, that Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division didn’t get the credit it deserved in the battle of Bastogne. All of the newspaper and radio talk was about the paratroopers. Actually, the 10th Armored Division was in there December 18th, a day before we were, and had some very hard fighting before we ever got into it, and I sincerely believe that we would never have been able to get into Bastogne if it had not been for the defensive fighting of the three elements of the 10th Armored Division who were first into Bastogne and protected the town from invasion by the Germans.”
So now you're one of the few who know the 101st Airborne Division didn't win the war, or even the Battle of the Bulge, or even the siege of Bastogne, all by themselves.
I’m waiting patiently for you to get to the next episode. I cant wait to watch the transition on your face when we will be able to visibly see the moment you become a LT Speirs fan. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I think somone has a little crush on winters ...and Eugene!!
I think almost every female viewer falls in love with Winters and/or Doc Roe. 😉
And almost every male viewer wants a CO like Winters.
Speirs too for his savagery
Wonderful. The next episode is mostly from the view of the company first sergeant.
Appreciate all that you do.
23:20 For the record, "Bastogne" is a French name (since it's a city in the French-speaking part of Belgium) and it's pronouced "Bastonyuh", with the "-uh" almost silent, and the "y" used as a consonant. The "o" is the same that in "whole".
It's not the same that "Gaston", since without a final "e", the "-on" of "Gaston" is nasalised, a kind of sound that does not exist in English.
All true, bro, but she got closer than a lot of people do. Way better than bass-tahg-nee. :D
The Germans sang during Christmas Eve during the First World War as well ( Christmas Eve truce ) its amazing that even in wartime people can be decent to eachother
Love your reactions. Hope you continue to enjoy the series
They're pulling shards of a tree trunk out of his leg, and he tells the Doc to save the morphine for someone who's hurt worse than he is. How can you not be in awe of these men?
I just love your commentary. Thanks.
This episode and the next are my favorites, but I love them all. Love Doc Roe and Lipton. It feels kind of weird picking favorite characters since they were real men, but Roe and Lipton are my favorite "characters". You'll see more of Lipton soon. I'm enjoying your reactions to this fantastic series. Looking forward to the rest.
" The Battle of the Bulge ". Hi, I've called the town " Bas- tog-ne " too. There was a movie made of this time too, that was called: " Battleground(1950) ". It may be worth watching.