I've seen so many reactions to this show..."Show" it's hard to call it that and love them all, "they couldn't even buy a beer." It's a 12 hour Saving Private Ryan in quality. In all honesty you have seen me make this comment before because I still feel the same. The first episode is probably my favorite if only for the relative innocence. When Captain Sobel and Army noodles with ketchup were their biggest threats. While knowing what lies ahead for these men...I won't recap every episode but keep it short and sweet. Currahee!
Was so many but Def the episode Buck breaksdown! I saw an interview the actor did explaining how his sons class at school was researching the show which he said he dreaded because of how it brings back all the emotions from back then and how his son had came to him because he wanted to watch that episode with him! So he said they watched it and he was balling almost immediately and how his son had turned to him and said he finally understood what that character meant to him!😢
Cross-roads because it exemplified leadership. The soldiers were definitely uneasy about that charge but by fluke, Winters wound up way out in front of his soldiers and his soldiers charging with everything they had to catch up with their leader who was seemingly charging all alone.
@MikeB128 and @mvubu6823 are right, so far as that goes. There's nothing that depressing about the Band of Brothers' final passing, especially if you believe (as I do, and surely many others with me) that they will find their places with God and His angels. But speaking of Him, @NathanHigger still has a point ... because with their passing, it seems as if the up-and-coming generations have no idea of what truly makes a hero, and are willing to seize on exactly the wrong people with whom to define one *(cough* Trump *cough).* As Tolkien warned us, after every defeat and a respite the Shadow takes a new shape and grows again ...
Its what stands it apart from The Pacific and Masters of the Air. That last few seconds of the last episode where they unveil the narrators was absolutely perfect. It sets BoB apart form anything else.
Same here - watch entire series once a year since i acquire the blueray set. Now maybe 15+ times entire series. And some of the favourite episode (Day of Days/ cross roads / breaking point) would watch many times more...
I shouldn't even be the target audience for this show. I'm 34 now but I was 11 the first time I watched it. I'm a woman from Sweden. I rewatch it all the time and I cry every single time. I even listen to the score sometimes. My favourite tv series of all time.
@@dugenou7366 That's a really good question, and I can see why you're curious about why I don't consider myself the typical target audience. While these types of shows generally appeal more to a male audience due to their focus on military themes, my appreciation for the series goes beyond that. I find myself drawn to the emotional depth, and the deep sense of camaraderie that goes beyond gender boundaries. The portrayal of friendship and stoicism by the soldiers of Easy Company serves as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit in challenging times. It isn't just a war drama. It truly shows the bonds that connect us as humans and the sacrifices made to serve a greater cause. This is why I find the series so compelling, even though I may not fit the typical profile of its target audience.
It is the greatest miniseries I have ever seen. I received the VHS set from my Dad in 2003, and the Series has stuck with me ever since. The story, the bonds, the performances, INCREDIBLE. It is a series that continues to be discovered to this very day. It introduced me and made me lifelong fans of the likes of Damian Lewis, Neal McDonough, and Donnie Wahlberg. Two days from now, we have the 79th anniversary of V.E. Day and the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6th. Let us never forget the sacrifices these men made in order for us to be here today. "CURRAHEE!"
Just found a really cool reenactor group that has made a series called “dusty faces” by paralight worx. For a small production, it’s really well done and they have American skits as well
I will agree it is an incredible show,. I have a complete 10 part show. I watch it regularly. I would recommend it to everyone, errors and omissions not withstanding.
I always remember an interview with a veteran. He said he lived in fear of screwing up. Not of screwing up and getting himself injured or killed, but of screwing up and getting one of his comrades killed. That’s what he was afraid of.
Couldn't agree more. War at the squad level: the ULTIMATE "team sport". The greatest teams all have that mindset. If you are more afraid of being unworthy of your brothers than you are of being afraid of the enemy, then it is very very hard to be defeated. Great comment...
As the son of Dutch parents that were young children when Holland was liberated by these men, the Holland episode always brings me to tears remembering the stories my mother told me about the war...
Bastogne: My father was in the 101st during WWII. He was a combat medic, and participated in all the major battles depicted in the series. Episode 5 really hit home for me. He was like so many veterans who rarely talked about his experience when he came home. After watching the Bastogne episode, I have a better appreciation for what he saw and did as a medic. Unless you were actually there, it is impossible to fully understand and internalize the full horrors of war. Thank you Dad.
Same, but mine wasn't in the 101st, but combat medic... but he ended up in Battle of the Bulge then Brussels after. I've been trying for years to find his exact movements but there was the big fire in the Army storage in the 70s that apparently wiped out 80% of their records. I wonder if they knew each other at all. This episode also made me wonder of about the things he saw. He had zero medical background before the war, but they trained him... he worked at a grocery store.
Im a modern vet but eugenes episode rings true to me. You care and want to help your guys but your never a part of the guys the same way. Your burden is differrent… The grunts are good to us and arent trying to exclude its just differrent. That episode captures that feeling wonderfully.
@@willyboyw.5771 That whole storyline with Doc Roe and Renee likely never happened in real life as there are no recorded accounts of the two ever having interacted with each other.
Crossroads. When Winters sprints ahead of everyone and attacks the enemy position alone, and how that memory keeps him from enjoying his leave in Paris. They don’t show you the brief connection between him and the sleepy lookout, until fatigue and the face of the young Frenchman on the train combine to trigger a flashback. That episode made Winters more than a stoic, heroic leader. He was also a man, affected as much as the rest, by the things he saw and did. His last, direct involvement in the fighting was, in reality, a very personal confrontation with the enemy.
I was a WW2 reenactor doing E/506th both before and after the series aired. I had the honor of meeting Dick Winters, Bill Guarnere, Babe Heffron and a number of of the Easy veterans that were still alive two decades ago. Clearly a number of the actors got to meet there real life counterparts as I can tell you all of them nailed their portals perfectly. It was amazing seeing someone like Damian Lewis or Frank John Hughes say something in the series and it was exactly the same words or tone their real life counterparts had said to me six months to a year prior. Time and age has made me give up doing the living history events, but it is frankly haunting even now years later to watch Band of Brothers. With my 506th veteran friends having moved on this series still moves me like no other ever has. Thanks for this video!
I saw Bill and Babe about 15 years ago in Reading, PA during WW2 Weekend. It was awesome! We were at a picnic area and they walked over to say Hi. I felt like I was in the presence of greatness. ❤
I met Frank John Hughes years ago at a convention. Guy in the crowd told him he's the only actor who's been in the Sopranos (final season as Walden) and Band of Brothers. and he smiled. He said he was just lucky to get both roles.
I think it also speaks to the greatness of the series is that the actors, like the soldiers they played, still have reunions. I can't think of hearing any other series that 25 years later the actors still have get togethers.
@@dardo1201I find it interesting that for LOTR, Tolkein made the character friendships and bonds like the ones he himswlf had in the trenches, and it seems that all the actors in both series got that, it's about the bonds and brotherhood. I also enjoyed listening to the hbo podcast about BoB where they interviewd and actor or writer for each episode and they usually talk a lot about the veterans and the impact they had on them. The one with John Hughes about Gelarnere really illustrates that, and Donny Walberg would talk about going to Lipton to make sure they weren't dramatizing anything (at least too too much).
@@BrainPilot the only downside is how Stephen Ambrose misrepresented Private Albert Blithe's record and Captain Sobel's image. Many viewers hate Sobel yet Ambrose forgot to add that Winters & others of Easy credited Sobel for training them & giving them a chance to survive the war. Ambrose is a good writer but a subpar historian given his previous works.
@@SolidAvenger1290 Ambrose' only fault was not actually checking records to back check the veterans' stories. His book, which the TV series was based on, was completely based on ONLY the interviews he did with the Easy Company survivors decades after they fought so their memories weren't going to be exact. So the mistake about Blithe dying of his WW2 wounds was because the veterans honestly thought that's what had happened and Ambrose took them at their word. Even Spielberg and Hanks never thought to fact check the story. Sobel is portrayed as a jerk, because that's the stories the men told Ambrose. Another mistake in the show is when it shows Easy Company men first discovering that concentration camp in episode 9. In reality, Easy Company was there but they're weren't the first to find it, yet I assume that it would have still been such a traumatic experience to them, that 30+ years later when they were talking about it to Ambrose, they might have honestly felt they were the first there. Even Ambrose himself admitted, he was never trying to create a historical document, just capture the bond between these men that went through so much together, and I think he did that quite well.
Great analysis! I would just add that the character of Dick Winters, as a character and a real person, was captivating. He held Easy Company together with a depth of leadership, courage, wisdom, humility, and true love of his men that was both uncanny and awe inspiring. He wasn't a fictional character, though, and he wasn't a huge superhero tough guy. He was just a normal guy who became a great man who then after the war became a normal guy again. He didn't need to hold onto past glory or forever be a hero. Watching Dick Winters throughout the series was like watching a master course in leadership from a real leader in the face of real danger.
My dad is a WW2 buff, so I was practically raised on movies and series like BoB. I’ve seen BoB maybe 20+ times, no exaggeration. It has had a incredibly profound impact on my life. Not only did it get me into WW2 and history in general, but as I’ve gotten older, it has taught me a lot of important values I’ve implemented in my life. Characters like Winters, Lipton, and Speirs, who were real men, have taught me about responsibility, accountability, discipline, and leadership. This didn’t hit me until a few years ago. I found myself in the position of President of my fraternity, which is something I wasn’t expecting to ever do in my life. It completely changed my life. I could only think about was Lipton and Winters. I looked up to them and their different styles of leading men. While I was leading a group of degenerates whose goal was to throw parties, have fun, and not get off campus, it taught me a lot about leadership and having a heavy responsibility on my shoulders. Something I could’ve never done without BoB. Now I’m heading into law school, joining the Marine reserves, and hopefully OCS. I already miss the camaraderie and brotherhood, which is another aspect of BoB. Bless the greatest generation ever. Whilst I didn’t know my grandfather too well, I knew what kind of man he was and I feel I can live through his experiences in BoB, and especially Masters of the Air considering he was a gunner on a Night-fighter later 1945. Sorry I just had to write out my deep appreciation for this show. It means a lot to me.
I liked the series greatly. My Uncle was KIA in WW2 during Pattons counter-offensive at The Battle of The Bulge. I always appreciate Veterans who say those that were killed are the true heroes!
I believe The Pacific was intentionally avoid the “brotherhood” part not to repeat what Bandof brother already did such an excellent job. The pacific focus on what war could do to individuals to their mind and personal life afterward- the pen crafting on a paper in the beginning footage say it
It's really more that the soldiers of the Pacific had an entirely different kind of experience. The Japanese really made every moment of the Pacific campaign the most demoralizing experience they possibly could. Morale was constantly being ground down more and more by constant fighting, mass surprise attacks, expertly emplaced artillery and mortar teams that pre-sighted virtually every landing they made. Terrible weather, strange illnesses, intricate Japanese tunnel systems, night-time raids, animal attacks, constant bug bites, seeing their dead have their bodies degraded and presented as warnings in disgusting ways, and infrequent and often unreliable resupply. (And a bunch of other crazy stuff. It was an extensive list of challenges.) It was so demoralizing and soul destroying that soldiers just naturally weren't getting along all that well a lot of the time. And they were seeing enough horror that they themselves were seeing one another becoming horrific, doing things they never thought they would. Not a recipe for fellowship. In fact a lot of soldiers who fought in the Pacific have been known to have something of a chip on their shoulder about how the European front gets so much attention. And many soldiers in the Pacific theater had great difficulty relating to the experiences of the European theater soldiers. (And vice versa.) People always think that the Pacific is a bit "off" compared to Band of Brothers. But that's by design. They understood that the context surrounding that particular theater was an entirely different. It was a different kind of fight that led to a different kind of outlook and a different type of horror.
@@rakkasaniron1696 Those are excellent points. I lived near a WW2 vet who was in Europe, and I remember him talking about German girls foraging for apples to make him a pie. Point being, the ethnic and cultural ties between the US and Europe were deep, whereas on Iwo Jima the Marines were strangers in a strange land.
I barely remember what I did one week ago…But I can still vividly remember watching episode 2 of band of brothers with my dad on a tiny crt TV in 2001. I was 11 and my mind was absolutely blown by the episode. I think I’ve probably watched it nearly every year since then.
I met James Madio, the actor who played Frank Perconte, in the Orlando airport last summer. I could immediately tell it was him, as he still has the same sad eyes. I approached him and he was extraordinarily kind (his wife got a kick out of me approaching him...I got the idea that this probably happened to Madio frequently). He said it was the role of a lifetime, and that he realized that even when he was filming. A really, really nice guy.
I met Michael Cudlitz at a Walking Dead convention, but we spent some time talking about Band of Brothers. He is a super nice guy but he told me that all the actors were in awe of the men they were playing, most were still alive. When the real Dick Winters showed up on the set, it was always "Sir or Major" no one dared called him Dick or even Mr. Winters. Cudlitz said that Denver Randleman told him that if he did not do a good job playing him, Bull was going to kick his ass. Michael told me "And at 80 years old I believe he could do it."
“Breaking point” episode is the finest piece of war film making I’ve ever seen. So good it can be a movie all on its own and probably win an Oscar. It’s the personification of perfection
Used to be my fav ep but I think I like Crossroads better. I like the back and forth between Winters writing his AAR and the depiction of what happened.
Well mentioned re: the soundtrack. The track "The Mission Begins" is utterly inspirational. And the depiction of the camp in Ep. 9 should be shown in every high school history class. Never forget.
I took an "America at War" social studies class in High School which would have been about 6 years after the Band of Brothers series was released. Our teacher had us watch a few of the episodes in full and segments of the others. Most importantly he showed us the camp segments in ep. 9. Any class with this particular teacher was more of a mixture between a social studies and film appreciation class, but in this particular regard he was spot on to use this episode as an example. In fact, I'm unsure if he would have been able to show actual WWII footage in a High School classroom compared to cinematic violence. Since then, I've thankfully been able to watch the series in full multiple times.
When Tom Hanks was making Saving Private Ryan Steven Ambrose was the historian for the film. Ambrose had written the Band of Brothers book. Hanks read the book & convinced to make the miniseries. I agree with your premise at the level of excellence. Several times a year the shows episodes are being shown back to back on Cable. If I have the time I sit & watch for a time. Recently I ended up just purchasing the Blu Ray.
Band of Brothers is timeless. It makes you care about the characters, before you knew who they were. The fact that the actors now have reunions of their own from the series speaks volumes as they portrayed these heroes. I implore you to see Ron Livingstons (Nix) boot camp journal. It makes you appreciate the series somehow even more. None of the men of Easy are alive today but their memories and legends will never die. CURRAHEE! ♠
Sledgehammer's father from the Pacific summed it up beautifully, "it's not the boys over there had their flesh torn, it's that they hard their souls torn out." That quote always stays with me. You see it with Sledge and Malarkey. 😢
In The Pacific, the scene where his father sits outside his room as he his son has a nightmare, knowing what he went through and that there is so little he can do for him is one of the most impacful scenes I've ever watched.
Tom Brokaw called then "The Greatest Generation." In so many ways, that was true. They just grew up in a different time, with different values of what it meant to be a man, an American. I had a very close friend, that I knew was a WW II vet. He really hated talking about his time overseas. He told me once that he joined up at 16, but had to lie about his age because his parents wouldn't sign the enlistment papers. He told me that he had been in Italy and other places, but he left it at that. We never talked about it again, and I never pressed, even though I would have liked to know more, because I knew he didn't want to talk about it. When he passed away, his funeral service was at the VA cemetery here, and during the ceremony they listed his name, rank, and his decorations. I found out then that he had been awarded the Bronze Star. He was a very kind man, he would have given you the shirt off his back if you needed it, and he raised three fine sons. I'm proud to say that he was my friend, but not for long enough. RIP, Stu.
I agree with you one the first point: the interviews. These interviews before the episodes began gave me chilling sense of realness, how the things that we're about to see on the show were real and showcasing the seriousness of the series production
Agreed, it's the only miniseries I have watched every year for the last 24 years! The opening scene of Day of Days just before the jump, each man not knowing his fate is my favourite episode.
The Pacific presented serious challenges that Band of Brothers was automatically exempt from based on historical facts and events. The most obvious is that because BoB sticks with a single Company through 3 years. One stateside followed by two in Europe so we are able to easily identify 10-15 members of Easy by Episode 5 and 20-25 by Episode 10. Also the European Campaigns are more digestible to non-military history people. Everyone kinda “gets” Normandy, Holland & Bastogne. A far cry (re: story mechanics) is The Pacific. Following three different Marine Divisions across five islands over 3 solid years of combat. When John Basilone’s story kicks off we are on Guadalcanal in August of 1942. Across the Atlantic the US hadn’t even invaded North Africa yet. There’s also difficulty identifying one island from another although Production Design and Locations still did a great job with The Pacific. And I personally did enjoy the stateside stories in The Pacific. I’m currently watching both series in tandem and jumping back n forth based on the historic timeline. For example when Eugene Sledge finds Sydney in The Pacific we are already post-Eindhoven in BoB. When Basilone wins the Medal of Honor on Guadalcanal we are at the very first minute of Episode 1 in BoB. Both series are on Netflix. Both are absolutely mandatory viewing.
I always dislike when folks compare the two. It's like comparing The Hobbit and The Black Company. They just focus on different things and achieve different goals.
Both shows are made from a different angle. BoB shows the comradery and brotherhood that forms in war, while the Pacific highlights the true horrors of war and how it strips you of your humanity. I personally like BoB better for similar reasons, but both shows are amazing in their own right.
I also think that comparisons are a little unfair. Band of Brothers is essentially - and I'm not intending this as criticism - hagiographic. It is a case study of a collection of heroes. What is never fully examined in Band of Brothers is the moral ambiguity of war. The Pacific does that very well and is often uncomfortable viewing for the honesty with which it faces up to the fact that for men to survive warfare they are required to shed or suppress their humanity.
This is one of the few shows where I never thought about the camera while watching it. We were just another one of the people going along with the rest of Easy Company. It's an amazing show that will never be repeated. The best WWII movie/show ever made.
Hi I am French and I have just met again Band Of Brothers, The Pacific and The Master Of The Air since last Monday even 20 later (for the first two) these series are still fantastic, my favorite episodes are Carentan, Bastogne, breaking point and the last patrol, I am 50 years old and have lived through several wars (I spent 15 years in the French army from 1991 to 2006) and certain episodes brought tears to my eyes. we owe the greatest respect to these soldiers as well as to all others soldiers who lost their lives in all these wars
BAND OF BOTHERS was about the bonds built in war the PACIFC was about the brutality men experience in war .... the books used to create the series' show that really well, both shows are master class in story telling .
I also enjoyed how the writers also fixed some of the problems from the book and how serious they were about getting everything right in terms of the vteran's memory if the events
Most def 10 out of 10 stars. I actually watched this series "approx" 15 years after it came out. It is most def a timeless classic. I will say this....I personally feel anything WW1/WW2, or Vietnam related will be timeless for me.
I really want a UK version of this. And Russian. And Chinese. The thing that blew me away was halfway through the series, I realized this was just one company in an army full of them from one country out of an alliance of others. There HAS to be hundreds of thousands of compelling stories from all over that deserve this level of detail in storytelling.
I cannot imagine being a veteran of that time period. It must have been a wild experience, getting along with ur brothers, forging new bonds and comradely only to see them die on the battlefield by an enemy u don’t know or understand. At the end it is only u and a handful of fellow soldiers who survived. Must be horrible, lot of respect for the Americans, Canadians, British, Indians, French, Australians and all other countries that participated in freeing my and our countries from the devil’s grip. Our gratitude is eternal, thank u ❤️
Watched them for the first time at the age of 11 nearly 20 years ago when my brother first got the dvd for christmas. My family then ended up going to normandy for our holidays a few years later and visitied alot of the D-day beaches and landing zones of the invasion, this show still now remains probably the best and most emotionally striking show ive ever watched
What shook me most is the scene that begins with "Stürzelberg, Germany". Stürzelberg is a small village that's part of my hometown Dormagen on the left bank of the rhine between Cologne and Düsseldorf. My parents live in Stürzelberg up to this day - Easy company literally liberated my hometown and saved it from the nazi regime. "Why we fight" suddenly had a very personal meaning to me. And yeah, it's the best miniseries ever.
I served as an active duty Ranger and Infantryman for 27 years 84 to 2011. Many deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Even so - I gravitate to these men and their grand sacrifices. WWII veterans were my heroes as a kid and remain so today. I will forever be inspired by these great Americans.
BOB was brilliant. As a Marine, I wanted to love the Pacific but it just seemed like they didn’t put as much effort into the story & casting like they did with BOB. It’s like they felt like they had to slap something together to recognize that part of the war but really done more out of obligation than sharing the story.
I hated Pacific on my first watch but it has grown on me over the years, and now I fondly return to it every other year or so. However, I agree they didn't put half as much effort into it as they did with the Band of Brothers.
It’s because the Pacific was created with 3 different stories instead of 1 single story. The 3 main characters never met each other so the series felt like it lacked focus. Personally when I rewatch the Pacific I skip right to episode 5 where it starts Sledge’s story as that is by far the most interesting to me. I wish the entire series was based off his book.
I find it hard to pick between BoB and The Pacific for my favourite honestly. I think BoB is probably the better miniseries by it's own merits but the insane budget and production value of the pacific, along with it's much darker and gritty tone really works for me. The scale and detail of the sets they made for Pelilu and Okinawa are incredible, so I'd say it's very unfair to say it was slapped together. They also focused a bit more on how the soldiers were affected after they got home which was a nice touch. Totally get why people think BoB is better but I think the Pacific is nearly perfect at doing what it tries to do, just needed to be a bit more focused story-wise. MotA was very good but really fell short in so many areas, don't imagine i'll be rewatching it for several years at least sadly
Television cannot be better than this series. It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime order of events that transpired to make this series possible. Incredible.
I go back and watch this once a year. Usually in the fall. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down with a good meal on an autumn evening and watching an episode or two!
Welp, now you reminded me of my yearly need to rewatch this show. My favorite series of all time by far and I was barely even born when this was released. Cheers from Portugal.
You only need to blaze a trail once if the traffic that follows makes for a paved road. BoB blazed a trail that led many other good, even great shows but remains powerful due to the subject matter, which was fundamentally boosted into a mythology (not just the _myths_ but the narrative dynamism) of America's only "Good War".
Excellent job on the review. You made excellent points on all episodes. I was fortunate enough to have watched the series with my dad, an ETO veteran in the 99th Infantry Division. Although his experiences were somewhat different, other things were common throughout the ETO. The cold was one thing that dad commented on that the show got right. During the Bulge, the weather was as deadly as a German 88. I lost dad in 2004. Much like the veterans of Easy Company, time caught up to them. I will always cherish the time spent watching the series with dad and our discussions afterward. The Bastogne episode is my favorite. Dad was in the north shoulder of the Bulge compared to the 101st being in the south. The depiction of the Belgium nurses helping the Americans is so good. War is equally deadly to soldiers and civilians.
Back in 2006 me and my friends used to celebrate new year with a marathon watching the series. It was the best times in my life and will be remembered for ever.
I watch it every year around June. My grandfather served with Dog Company, 2/506th. Despite my own time in the Army, I still cannot imagine what these men went through.
The fact that when the veterans met the actors playing the parts of the ones that got injured or killed would say "Jesus, i was there When you got hit" shows that they had become their lost brothers.
One of my favourite aspects of the interviews is that I can distinctly remember during my first time through that, as the episodes went on, I began to get an idea of who many of them were, through the fantastic portrayals by the actors. Guarnere, Winters, Lipton, a couple others. You can tell the actors really got to know them
You put into words so much better than I ever could on how and why Band of Brothers is the best. It's so well done. I watch it at least once a year and I'm still blown away how well done it is.
Fun fact: All the guys I saw that were asked about it said Captain Sobal was a hard ass, but gave him credit for making their unit one of the best and also gave him a lot of credit for the number of guys that made it home after the war.
I just watched this show after my father died… he was a paratrooper here in Portugal, he was never in combat but after I found out about that this show was about the airborne in ww2, I knew I had to watch it in my father’s memory. I found myself crying or at least wanting to at the end of each episode. A true work of art
My favorite show of all time, I rewatch it at least once a year. One scene that always stands out for me, is the one where Lieutenant Speirs takes over command of a charge from the inept Dike. The narration, sound design, cinematography, close-ups combined with broad shots of the madness, the music, the incredible acting; it's just perfect. Goosebumps no matter how many times I watch it. Band of Brothers serves as my main inspiration in my current writing of a novel, featuring some military characters. The banter, closeness, shared trauma, and raw honesty of it, it's incredibly inspirational as an aspiring writer.
I can't believe it's been so long, thanks for making me feel even older! Freely admit (24 year Veteran) I really connected with the characters and tears were streaming down my face at the end of the final episode.
My mother introduced me into this series when I first started studying history back in 2020-ish. We would sit in her room and watch it, and its become a series we occasionally re-watch and bond over. Such a phenomenal piece of historical television, and a proper depiction into the horror that turns bright young men into cold killers.
The first time I watched it, I thought it was a great docudrama, the second time; a great historical epic; the third time, an art film broken up into ten parts. I appreciate it more and more as time has gone on.
I saw Band of Brothers about a half a year ago and it still holds. It is still on pair picture quality wise today and looks like it could have been made today. Of the 3 series made, Band of Brothers is the best, Masters of the sky the worst. Masters of the sky is a let down, did not capture me at all.
Some of the actors are in training to make the 80th anniversary jump this June. Two of my old Platoon Leaders from back in the late 90's are making the jump with them out of a C-47 that was used on D-Day.
I was gifted the tin-box collectors' edition, and also never pass it up when various streaming services offer it. I don't have a favorite episode though. It is a complete experience for me. I was hoping The Pacific would be similar, but it fell flat. There are far better single Pacific WWII movies out there than the Series was. It will be hard to reach the quality and experience that Band of Brothers presented to us. And as a former Soldier, it truly spoke to me and brought me back to experiences I have had... if not identical, in spirit and situational. Yes, Saving Private Ryan was similar, and also a classic to be cherished.
The only miniseries that has ever, possibly, exceeded this, in my mind, is Ken Burn's The Civil War. When Hanks/ Spielberg followed up with The Pacific, I had high hopes. And even though The Pacific paints a much wider canvas (it shows the home front both before and after the war, it includes woman, the violence is much more extreme, and therefore more realistic etc), if given the opportunity to watch either of them a total of 10 times, I'd pick BofB 9 times.
Exactly. It's the way that any movie or TV series about any war should be made. Because of all the features described, it reminds me of when I met and spoke to a former Luftwaffe pilot who was shot down over the Mediterranean.
Awesome review on BoB. I am a Cold War veteran than served on tanks during the '80's and '90's. Never been to war,but been to two war torn countries. The bond that is made between those of us has always been a struggle to relay to civies. BoB nails it on the head in spades.
I agree - perfect! Revisit it regularly and it's always still as moving as it was on first viewing. "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war"? Grandpa said "No..............but I served in a company of Hero's".
With regard to the reality in my opinion it was because many of these men were still alive to tell their stories. I feel truly fortunate to have heard both my father in law's stories (USN WWII) as well as my brothers father in law (USMC WWII) first hand. To me they took on a whole new meaning hearing them from family members who were there. We miss you Brownie & Norm. FLY NAVY!!!
I Havnt watched this in at least 10 years but still wow… just the images of seeing these heroes again brings me back to their individual episodes. Like seeing the real Bull and remembering instantly that episode he’s in the barn. Amazing story telling via amazing men
My favorite BoB episodes are: 2 - Day of Days: Because this is when we see a switch turn on in Winters, and he begins to truly exemplify the "Follow Me" mentality, behind enemy lines armed only with a knife. The Assault on Brecourt is totally edge-of-your-seat entertainment too. Then we get the line at the end about his plans after the war that are beautifully bookended with his line at the end of the last episode about finding peace after the war. 7 - The Breaking Point: Donnie Wahlberg does such an amazing job in this episode, and we also get that super badass moment with Speirs running through the German positions. The scene with Buck in the Medical tent is so dark and real, and that scene along with the scene at the end in the church is so important to remind us about the cost of the war and the physical and mental toll it took on the men who fought. 9 - Why We Fight: Maybe the most important, grisly, gut-wrenching, profound, palpable, poignant piece of media to ever be shown on a screen. Every person should be required to watch this episode so that we don't repeat this history ever again. 10 - Points: This episode ties the series up so nicely. The cinematography in the filming locations is just gorgeous, and the baseball game is so wholesome. The final reveal of each of the interviewees in the context of the heroic and real human moments we've just seen in previous episodes makes this series unbeatable. Honorable mentions are Episodes 5 and 6 which are also great in their own ways.
I was telling my wife about the show last night. The way they told the story and each of the stories were unique and made it such a good series. It was perfect.
BoB was a bonding experience for my step-Dad and I when the series came out on TV. I bought him the DVD set when it cost $100 and I was working in a supermarket, it meant a lot to me that he should have it. After watching Masters of the Air I was let down to be honest, with the amount of work and money and time that went in to it, I really thought it would be a winner. After I finished the series, I rewatched BoB and it only made me more certain. You're absolutely right, it is a rare perfect show, a 10/10 for me.
I agree. Band of Brothers is still the greatest show ever to appear on TV. My favorite is episode 8, Last Patrol. The writing and the comradery really came through in that episode. I found the final scene when they were pulling out of Hagenau to be emotional.
i watched it for the first time with my parents around 2 years ago and since then i think i’ve legitimately rewatched it 7 times! it’s a truly amazing show
The INTERVIEWS!!! Those are sooooo missed in the Masters of the Skies!!!! Those interviews gave so much humanity/emotions/feel (I just cannot find proper word) to the whole Band of Brothers series....
The scene in the church, with the choir singing to the members of Easy Company, that slowly highlighted their losses by having the men fade away hits the absolute hardest each time I watch it.
So many great points, nothing can compete with BoB so far, and my fav episode... that's hard, I definitely love Bastogne, The Breaking Point, the very first episode, the landing in Normandy, they are all just so good. So much about this series is just so memorable and makes a huge influence, on me specifically it's about how these men had this strong feeling of service and determination and how they created these great, reliable relationships with the men they fought with.
Band of Brothers was a story about hero’s to start with. Then the actors were cast so great! Then the performance of the actors really meant something to them and it shows all throughout the series
No notes. You are correct. It's perfect. It worked as a gateway for me to deeper history. I was always interested in the war, but when Band came out in 2001 that took it to the next level. A lot of people don't understand just how important this series was.
I grew up watching BoB and I still absolutely adore the series and watch anytime it's on. Having said that as someone who cares about getting history right, I feel it would be disingenuous to not point this out. This is a review by Robert Forcyzk back in 2001 on the book Band of Brothers. Forcyzk is a highly respected military historian on the ETO in WWII, and a former US Army Colonel in the 2nd and 4th Armored. For readers without much background in history in general or the military in particular, Band of Brothers will probably seem like a heroic saga of male-bonding in combat. However, for those readers with knowledge of the subject, this poorly-researched book offers little more than the standard episode of the old TV series COMBAT! Author Stephen Ambrose, who favors oral history over meticulous research, used his interviews with selected Second World War veterans from E Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne as the basis for recounting the tales of an airborne company in combat in 1944-1945. Most of the book focuses on Richard Winters, who commanded the company in Normandy and Holland. Private David Webster, a cynical self-proclaimed intellectual also wrote a book of his experiences in E Company, from which Ambrose has borrowed liberally [...]. Interviews with other members in the unit fill in gaps, but Winters and Webster are two of the primary protagonists in the story. Unfortunately from the viewpoint of historical accuracy, the book is hopelessly riddled with errors, exaggerations and vicious slander. First, let me address the errors, which are mostly due to lack of research on the author's part. Ambrose claims that the troop transport to England "carried 5,000 men from the 506th" and how it was a cramped voyage. Yet Shelby Stanton's authoritative US Army Order of Battle in World War Two, states that the 506th had only 2,029 men. Ambrose has his usual problems with nomenclature and names; Germans used 81mm not "80mm" mortars. A British officer rescued by E Company is identified as "Colonel O. Dobey," when it was actually LTC David Dobie. The German officer who surrendered to the unit at Berchtesgaden in 1945 is described as the 35 year-old "General Theodor Tolsdorf, commander of LXXXII Corps," when it was actually a 36 year-old Colonel Tolsdorf who commanded the 340th VG Division. At Berchtesgaden, Winters supposedly finds a German Major General "Kastner" who committed suicide, but there is no record of such an officer in the Wehrmacht or SS. Nor does Ambrose do much better with unit identifications and he claims that in the Battle of the Bulge, the 101st Airborne Division, "had won its head-to-head battles with a dozen crack German armored and infantry divisions." Actually, the Germans only committed elements of five divisions to the Bastogne fighting and they were hardly crack troops. Ambrose's statement also ignores the fact that the 101st was fighting with considerable help from the US 9th and 10th Armored Divisions in Bastogne. Finally, readers may be shocked to learn that the US 3rd Infantry Division actually beat the 506th PIR in the race to Berchtesgaden by several hours. Readers should check Clay Blair's well-researched Ridgeway's Paratroopers. These errors may seem minor to some, but they demonstrate a lack of research that means the whole narrative is suspect. When it comes to exaggeration, Ambrose pulls out the stops. All enemy tanks are referred to as "Tigers," but only 5.3% of the German tanks in Normandy in June 1944 were Tigers. All enemy troops are referred to as "elite," such as SS or paratroops, even though German records indicate that the 506th mostly fought ordinary Wehrmacht units. According to Winters, E Company was always better than the other companies in the 506th and Ambrose vouches that, "there was no better light infantry company in the Army." How about the Rangers at Point du Hoc? Since Ambrose makes no effort to compare E Company with any other similar unit (e.g. did it kill more Germans than other units?), this assertion is asinine. It gets worse. Ambrose asserts that Winters "is contemptuous of exaggeration," but the following account of E Company in Normandy flatly exposes this as a lie: "So was Winters [outstanding]. He made one right decision after another …he personally killed more Germans and took more risks than anyone else." So Winters killed more Germans than the company machine-gunners? He took more risks than the men on point? Interestingly, Winters was never wounded. The worst aspect of the book is the vicious slander campaign, which is pure Winters. Winters attacks his superiors, starting with MGN Taylor, Commander of the 101st, then COL Sink who was commander of the 506th PIR, then LTC Strayer his battalion commander and CPT Sobel, the first commander of E Company. Taylor, who was one of the best US Army generals of the 20th Century and later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Kennedy, is viciously attacked for being on "Christmas Vacation" during the Battle of the Bulge and for ordering an attack that "had the flavor of an ego trip." Winters tells Ambrose that "I don't want to be fair," about Taylor. Ergo, he doesn't want to be honest. Sink, who commanded the 506th for the entire war is derided as "Bourbon Bob." LTC Strayer is virtually omitted from this account, even though he commanded from Normandy to VE Day. Ambrose misleads the reader when he states that Winters became the battalion commander on 8 March 1945 - in fact the switch was only temporary and Strayer returned. Winters reserves special hatred for CPT Sobel, the man who trained E Company stateside and who is labeled a petty tyrant. Winters recounts a chance encounter with Sobel later in the war, when Winters outranked his former commander, and he proceeded to humiliate him in front of enlisted men from E Company. Classy. The slander campaign is also directed at other officers who succeeded Winters as commander of E Company, most of the lieutenants, staff officers, "Air Force slobs in England," (who were dying by the hundreds over Germany in burning bombers), the British, etc. It's pretty sickening after awhile. The American paratroopers of the Second World War deserve a far more accurate and honest account of their accomplishments, with just recognition of all deserving participants, than a slanted account that distorts the record. Please know, I do not dislike BoB, I absolutely love it. But the truth is more important.
What is your favourite episode of Band of Brothers? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I've seen so many reactions to this show..."Show" it's hard to call it that and love them all, "they couldn't even buy a beer." It's a 12 hour Saving Private Ryan in quality. In all honesty you have seen me make this comment before because I still feel the same. The first episode is probably my favorite if only for the relative innocence. When Captain Sobel and Army noodles with ketchup were their biggest threats. While knowing what lies ahead for these men...I won't recap every episode but keep it short and sweet. Currahee!
Was so many but Def the episode Buck breaksdown! I saw an interview the actor did explaining how his sons class at school was researching the show which he said he dreaded because of how it brings back all the emotions from back then and how his son had came to him because he wanted to watch that episode with him! So he said they watched it and he was balling almost immediately and how his son had turned to him and said he finally understood what that character meant to him!😢
Cross-roads because it exemplified leadership. The soldiers were definitely uneasy about that charge but by fluke, Winters wound up way out in front of his soldiers and his soldiers charging with everything they had to catch up with their leader who was seemingly charging all alone.
Where is Lt Dike? Bad leaders are bad because they did not make decisions. Love that episode a lot
FOY
What's depressing now is that, as of today, all of the original members of Easy Company are gone. RIP to the Band of Brothers of Easy.
And overall theres only a handfull WW2 vets left, theres about 60.000 to 120.000 left for the US alone
How is that depressing? People don't live forever. That was 80 years ago....
Guys lived good lives after the war... nothing is depressing about it.
The depressing part is the lost lives that never made it home,
@MikeB128 and @mvubu6823 are right, so far as that goes. There's nothing that depressing about the Band of Brothers' final passing, especially if you believe (as I do, and surely many others with me) that they will find their places with God and His angels. But speaking of Him, @NathanHigger still has a point ... because with their passing, it seems as if the up-and-coming generations have no idea of what truly makes a hero, and are willing to seize on exactly the wrong people with whom to define one *(cough* Trump *cough).* As Tolkien warned us, after every defeat and a respite the Shadow takes a new shape and grows again ...
Its what stands it apart from The Pacific and Masters of the Air. That last few seconds of the last episode where they unveil the narrators was absolutely perfect. It sets BoB apart form anything else.
I watch it at least once a year. Never gets old.
It's just so good!
I watch it every June
My dad and I watch it every year on June 6th to pay our respects
I watch it every year around winter, watching the Bastogne episodes when it’s snowing outside and it makes me wanna go dig a foxhole in my front yard.
Same here - watch entire series once a year since i acquire the blueray set. Now maybe 15+ times entire series. And some of the favourite episode (Day of Days/ cross roads / breaking point) would watch many times more...
"this video will contain spoilers"
Good thing I've seen the series about a hundred times then
Spoiler: The Allies won.
Only 100? Ameteur
every Veterans Day, i watch it. It's one of those mini series like the Sopranos, where it's an event than a viewing pleasure.
I shouldn't even be the target audience for this show. I'm 34 now but I was 11 the first time I watched it. I'm a woman from Sweden. I rewatch it all the time and I cry every single time. I even listen to the score sometimes. My favourite tv series of all time.
It's amazing that it evokes those emotions!
Why do you think you shouldn't even be the target audience for this show?
@@dugenou7366Pre-teen girls usually don’t score high for WW2 docu-dramas. If this show was pitched as such it would not have been made.
@@dugenou7366 The show is called Band of brothers...
@@dugenou7366 That's a really good question, and I can see why you're curious about why I don't consider myself the typical target audience. While these types of shows generally appeal more to a male audience due to their focus on military themes, my appreciation for the series goes beyond that. I find myself drawn to the emotional depth, and the deep sense of camaraderie that goes beyond gender boundaries. The portrayal of friendship and stoicism by the soldiers of Easy Company serves as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit in challenging times. It isn't just a war drama. It truly shows the bonds that connect us as humans and the sacrifices made to serve a greater cause. This is why I find the series so compelling, even though I may not fit the typical profile of its target audience.
It is the greatest miniseries I have ever seen. I received the VHS set from my Dad in 2003, and the Series has stuck with me ever since. The story, the bonds, the performances, INCREDIBLE. It is a series that continues to be discovered to this very day. It introduced me and made me lifelong fans of the likes of Damian Lewis, Neal McDonough, and Donnie Wahlberg. Two days from now, we have the 79th anniversary of V.E. Day and the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6th. Let us never forget the sacrifices these men made in order for us to be here today. "CURRAHEE!"
Just found a really cool reenactor group that has made a series called “dusty faces” by paralight worx.
For a small production, it’s really well done and they have American skits as well
I will agree it is an incredible show,. I have a complete 10 part show. I watch it regularly. I would recommend it to everyone, errors and omissions not withstanding.
This and The Pacific are tied for first in my opinion.
Bob was never released on vhs
Pretty sure BoB was never released on VHS. The OG retail copy was a dvd box set in a tin box with a ton of cool shit. I still have it lol
I always remember an interview with a veteran. He said he lived in fear of screwing up. Not of screwing up and getting himself injured or killed, but of screwing up and getting one of his comrades killed. That’s what he was afraid of.
Couldn't agree more. War at the squad level: the ULTIMATE "team sport". The greatest teams all have that mindset. If you are more afraid of being unworthy of your brothers than you are of being afraid of the enemy, then it is very very hard to be defeated.
Great comment...
As the son of Dutch parents that were young children when Holland was liberated by these men, the Holland episode always brings me to tears remembering the stories my mother told me about the war...
You dont have to be Dutch... Its enough to be a parent of young boy... That scene dig deep into you....
Bastogne: My father was in the 101st during WWII. He was a combat medic, and participated in all the major battles depicted in the series. Episode 5 really hit home for me. He was like so many veterans who rarely talked about his experience when he came home. After watching the Bastogne episode, I have a better appreciation for what he saw and did as a medic. Unless you were actually there, it is impossible to fully understand and internalize the full horrors of war. Thank you Dad.
Same, but mine wasn't in the 101st, but combat medic... but he ended up in Battle of the Bulge then Brussels after. I've been trying for years to find his exact movements but there was the big fire in the Army storage in the 70s that apparently wiped out 80% of their records. I wonder if they knew each other at all. This episode also made me wonder of about the things he saw. He had zero medical background before the war, but they trained him... he worked at a grocery store.
Another vid says local people check the fox holes. If they start to fill up, they're dug out again.
Any other time other than WW2, Doc and Renee would have gotten Married.
Im a modern vet but eugenes episode rings true to me. You care and want to help your guys but your never a part of the guys the same way.
Your burden is differrent…
The grunts are good to us and arent trying to exclude its just differrent. That episode captures that feeling wonderfully.
@@willyboyw.5771 That whole storyline with Doc Roe and Renee likely never happened in real life as there are no recorded accounts of the two ever having interacted with each other.
Crossroads. When Winters sprints ahead of everyone and attacks the enemy position alone, and how that memory keeps him from enjoying his leave in Paris. They don’t show you the brief connection between him and the sleepy lookout, until fatigue and the face of the young Frenchman on the train combine to trigger a flashback. That episode made Winters more than a stoic, heroic leader. He was also a man, affected as much as the rest, by the things he saw and did. His last, direct involvement in the fighting was, in reality, a very personal confrontation with the enemy.
When you read the story all he says about it is that he got on the tram, and then road it the entire day. That's how mentally exhausted he was
That must be the most powerful scene i've ever experienced in a show. Locking eyes with a child that you have to kill a moment later.
I was a WW2 reenactor doing E/506th both before and after the series aired. I had the honor of meeting Dick Winters, Bill Guarnere, Babe Heffron and a number of of the Easy veterans that were still alive two decades ago. Clearly a number of the actors got to meet there real life counterparts as I can tell you all of them nailed their portals perfectly. It was amazing seeing someone like Damian Lewis or Frank John Hughes say something in the series and it was exactly the same words or tone their real life counterparts had said to me six months to a year prior. Time and age has made me give up doing the living history events, but it is frankly haunting even now years later to watch Band of Brothers. With my 506th veteran friends having moved on this series still moves me like no other ever has. Thanks for this video!
I saw Bill and Babe about 15 years ago in Reading, PA during WW2 Weekend. It was awesome! We were at a picnic area and they walked over to say Hi. I felt like I was in the presence of greatness. ❤
You were 🙏@@trishcrowe5474
I met Frank John Hughes years ago at a convention. Guy in the crowd told him he's the only actor who's been in the Sopranos (final season as Walden) and Band of Brothers. and he smiled. He said he was just lucky to get both roles.
I think it also speaks to the greatness of the series is that the actors, like the soldiers they played, still have reunions. I can't think of hearing any other series that 25 years later the actors still have get togethers.
So true!
Same for LotR, also one of the few movies where the cast continuously keeps getting back together.
@@dardo1201I find it interesting that for LOTR, Tolkein made the character friendships and bonds like the ones he himswlf had in the trenches, and it seems that all the actors in both series got that, it's about the bonds and brotherhood. I also enjoyed listening to the hbo podcast about BoB where they interviewd and actor or writer for each episode and they usually talk a lot about the veterans and the impact they had on them. The one with John Hughes about Gelarnere really illustrates that, and Donny Walberg would talk about going to Lipton to make sure they weren't dramatizing anything (at least too too much).
what even makes it great is they were able to interview these heroes before they die...Band of Brothers is a masterpiece ❤️
Yeah it really does add to it!
Stephen E Ambrose wrote a number of books, one was Citizen Soldiers and it was full of quirky, happy and sad accounts from the battlefields.
@@BrainPilot the only downside is how Stephen Ambrose misrepresented Private Albert Blithe's record and Captain Sobel's image.
Many viewers hate Sobel yet Ambrose forgot to add that Winters & others of Easy credited Sobel for training them & giving them a chance to survive the war. Ambrose is a good writer but a subpar historian given his previous works.
@@SolidAvenger1290 Ambrose' only fault was not actually checking records to back check the veterans' stories. His book, which the TV series was based on, was completely based on ONLY the interviews he did with the Easy Company survivors decades after they fought so their memories weren't going to be exact. So the mistake about Blithe dying of his WW2 wounds was because the veterans honestly thought that's what had happened and Ambrose took them at their word. Even Spielberg and Hanks never thought to fact check the story. Sobel is portrayed as a jerk, because that's the stories the men told Ambrose. Another mistake in the show is when it shows Easy Company men first discovering that concentration camp in episode 9. In reality, Easy Company was there but they're weren't the first to find it, yet I assume that it would have still been such a traumatic experience to them, that 30+ years later when they were talking about it to Ambrose, they might have honestly felt they were the first there. Even Ambrose himself admitted, he was never trying to create a historical document, just capture the bond between these men that went through so much together, and I think he did that quite well.
Great analysis! I would just add that the character of Dick Winters, as a character and a real person, was captivating. He held Easy Company together with a depth of leadership, courage, wisdom, humility, and true love of his men that was both uncanny and awe inspiring. He wasn't a fictional character, though, and he wasn't a huge superhero tough guy. He was just a normal guy who became a great man who then after the war became a normal guy again. He didn't need to hold onto past glory or forever be a hero. Watching Dick Winters throughout the series was like watching a master course in leadership from a real leader in the face of real danger.
My dad is a WW2 buff, so I was practically raised on movies and series like BoB. I’ve seen BoB maybe 20+ times, no exaggeration. It has had a incredibly profound impact on my life. Not only did it get me into WW2 and history in general, but as I’ve gotten older, it has taught me a lot of important values I’ve implemented in my life. Characters like Winters, Lipton, and Speirs, who were real men, have taught me about responsibility, accountability, discipline, and leadership.
This didn’t hit me until a few years ago. I found myself in the position of President of my fraternity, which is something I wasn’t expecting to ever do in my life. It completely changed my life. I could only think about was Lipton and Winters. I looked up to them and their different styles of leading men. While I was leading a group of degenerates whose goal was to throw parties, have fun, and not get off campus, it taught me a lot about leadership and having a heavy responsibility on my shoulders. Something I could’ve never done without BoB.
Now I’m heading into law school, joining the Marine reserves, and hopefully OCS. I already miss the camaraderie and brotherhood, which is another aspect of BoB. Bless the greatest generation ever. Whilst I didn’t know my grandfather too well, I knew what kind of man he was and I feel I can live through his experiences in BoB, and especially Masters of the Air considering he was a gunner on a Night-fighter later 1945. Sorry I just had to write out my deep appreciation for this show. It means a lot to me.
yeah the camraderie is such a huge part of why I love this show because its something I never got to experience myself
I liked the series greatly. My Uncle was KIA in WW2 during Pattons counter-offensive at The Battle of The Bulge. I always appreciate Veterans who say those that were killed are the true heroes!
I believe The Pacific was intentionally avoid the “brotherhood” part not to repeat what Bandof brother already did such an excellent job. The pacific focus on what war could do to individuals to their mind and personal life afterward- the pen crafting on a paper in the beginning footage say it
It's really more that the soldiers of the Pacific had an entirely different kind of experience. The Japanese really made every moment of the Pacific campaign the most demoralizing experience they possibly could.
Morale was constantly being ground down more and more by constant fighting, mass surprise attacks, expertly emplaced artillery and mortar teams that pre-sighted virtually every landing they made. Terrible weather, strange illnesses, intricate Japanese tunnel systems, night-time raids, animal attacks, constant bug bites, seeing their dead have their bodies degraded and presented as warnings in disgusting ways, and infrequent and often unreliable resupply. (And a bunch of other crazy stuff. It was an extensive list of challenges.)
It was so demoralizing and soul destroying that soldiers just naturally weren't getting along all that well a lot of the time. And they were seeing enough horror that they themselves were seeing one another becoming horrific, doing things they never thought they would. Not a recipe for fellowship.
In fact a lot of soldiers who fought in the Pacific have been known to have something of a chip on their shoulder about how the European front gets so much attention. And many soldiers in the Pacific theater had great difficulty relating to the experiences of the European theater soldiers. (And vice versa.)
People always think that the Pacific is a bit "off" compared to Band of Brothers. But that's by design. They understood that the context surrounding that particular theater was an entirely different. It was a different kind of fight that led to a different kind of outlook and a different type of horror.
@@rakkasaniron1696 Those are excellent points. I lived near a WW2 vet who was in Europe, and I remember him talking about German girls foraging for apples to make him a pie. Point being, the ethnic and cultural ties between the US and Europe were deep, whereas on Iwo Jima the Marines were strangers in a strange land.
@@rakkasaniron1696So how did you like “Masters of the Air”?
@@RustyX2010 Haven't seen it yet. I'll definitely get around to it soon though.
@@rakkasaniron1696 Be warned!! The actor Austin Butler is in EVERY scene!!! LOL I couldn't even get past the 3rd episode! lol
I barely remember what I did one week ago…But I can still vividly remember watching episode 2 of band of brothers with my dad on a tiny crt TV in 2001. I was 11 and my mind was absolutely blown by the episode.
I think I’ve probably watched it nearly every year since then.
Yeah the show is just remarkable!
I met James Madio, the actor who played Frank Perconte, in the Orlando airport last summer. I could immediately tell it was him, as he still has the same sad eyes. I approached him and he was extraordinarily kind (his wife got a kick out of me approaching him...I got the idea that this probably happened to Madio frequently). He said it was the role of a lifetime, and that he realized that even when he was filming. A really, really nice guy.
I met Michael Cudlitz at a Walking Dead convention, but we spent some time talking about Band of Brothers. He is a super nice guy but he told me that all the actors were in awe of the men they were playing, most were still alive. When the real Dick Winters showed up on the set, it was always "Sir or Major" no one dared called him Dick or even Mr. Winters. Cudlitz said that Denver Randleman told him that if he did not do a good job playing him, Bull was going to kick his ass. Michael told me "And at 80 years old I believe he could do it."
Played a lost boy in hook too.
“Breaking point” episode is the finest piece of war film making I’ve ever seen. So good it can be a movie all on its own and probably win an Oscar. It’s the personification of perfection
Definitely agreed in my opinion it’s the best episode of the series
@@They2awsomebusiness it has everything that the series is great at in one episode.
Used to be my fav ep but I think I like Crossroads better. I like the back and forth between Winters writing his AAR and the depiction of what happened.
Well mentioned re: the soundtrack. The track "The Mission Begins" is utterly inspirational.
And the depiction of the camp in Ep. 9 should be shown in every high school history class.
Never forget.
I took an "America at War" social studies class in High School which would have been about 6 years after the Band of Brothers series was released. Our teacher had us watch a few of the episodes in full and segments of the others. Most importantly he showed us the camp segments in ep. 9. Any class with this particular teacher was more of a mixture between a social studies and film appreciation class, but in this particular regard he was spot on to use this episode as an example. In fact, I'm unsure if he would have been able to show actual WWII footage in a High School classroom compared to cinematic violence. Since then, I've thankfully been able to watch the series in full multiple times.
When Tom Hanks was making Saving Private Ryan Steven Ambrose was the historian for the film. Ambrose had written the Band of Brothers book. Hanks read the book & convinced to make the miniseries.
I agree with your premise at the level of excellence. Several times a year the shows episodes are being shown back to back on Cable. If I have the time I sit & watch for a time. Recently I ended up just purchasing the Blu Ray.
Yeah they're always worth a watch!
Band of Brothers is timeless. It makes you care about the characters, before you knew who they were. The fact that the actors now have reunions of their own from the series speaks volumes as they portrayed these heroes. I implore you to see Ron Livingstons (Nix) boot camp journal. It makes you appreciate the series somehow even more. None of the men of Easy are alive today but their memories and legends will never die. CURRAHEE! ♠
Sledgehammer's father from the Pacific summed it up beautifully, "it's not the boys over there had their flesh torn, it's that they hard their souls torn out."
That quote always stays with me. You see it with Sledge and Malarkey. 😢
In The Pacific, the scene where his father sits outside his room as he his son has a nightmare, knowing what he went through and that there is so little he can do for him is one of the most impacful scenes I've ever watched.
@@danh6720 I tear up every time at the hunting scene.
Tom Brokaw called then "The Greatest Generation." In so many ways, that was true. They just grew up in a different time, with different values of what it meant to be a man, an American. I had a very close friend, that I knew was a WW II vet. He really hated talking about his time overseas. He told me once that he joined up at 16, but had to lie about his age because his parents wouldn't sign the enlistment papers. He told me that he had been in Italy and other places, but he left it at that. We never talked about it again, and I never pressed, even though I would have liked to know more, because I knew he didn't want to talk about it. When he passed away, his funeral service was at the VA cemetery here, and during the ceremony they listed his name, rank, and his decorations. I found out then that he had been awarded the Bronze Star. He was a very kind man, he would have given you the shirt off his back if you needed it, and he raised three fine sons. I'm proud to say that he was my friend, but not for long enough. RIP, Stu.
God damn, RIP Stu indeed. Sounds like a wonderful man and friend.
I agree with you one the first point: the interviews. These interviews before the episodes began gave me chilling sense of realness, how the things that we're about to see on the show were real and showcasing the seriousness of the series production
Agreed, it's the only miniseries I have watched every year for the last 24 years! The opening scene of Day of Days just before the jump, each man not knowing his fate is my favourite episode.
I keep coming back to this show, it just never gets old.
It never does!
The Pacific presented serious challenges that Band of Brothers was automatically exempt from based on historical facts and events. The most obvious is that because BoB sticks with a single Company through 3 years. One stateside followed by two in Europe so we are able to easily identify 10-15 members of Easy by Episode 5 and 20-25 by Episode 10. Also the European Campaigns are more digestible to non-military history people. Everyone kinda “gets” Normandy, Holland & Bastogne.
A far cry (re: story mechanics) is The Pacific. Following three different Marine Divisions across five islands over 3 solid years of combat. When John Basilone’s story kicks off we are on Guadalcanal in August of 1942. Across the Atlantic the US hadn’t even invaded North Africa yet. There’s also difficulty identifying one island from another although Production Design and Locations still did a great job with The Pacific. And I personally did enjoy the stateside stories in The Pacific. I’m currently watching both series in tandem and jumping back n forth based on the historic timeline. For example when Eugene Sledge finds Sydney in The Pacific we are already post-Eindhoven in BoB. When Basilone wins the Medal of Honor on Guadalcanal we are at the very first minute of Episode 1 in BoB.
Both series are on Netflix. Both are absolutely mandatory viewing.
I always dislike when folks compare the two. It's like comparing The Hobbit and The Black Company. They just focus on different things and achieve different goals.
Both shows are made from a different angle. BoB shows the comradery and brotherhood that forms in war, while the Pacific highlights the true horrors of war and how it strips you of your humanity. I personally like BoB better for similar reasons, but both shows are amazing in their own right.
I also think that comparisons are a little unfair. Band of Brothers is essentially - and I'm not intending this as criticism - hagiographic. It is a case study of a collection of heroes. What is never fully examined in Band of Brothers is the moral ambiguity of war. The Pacific does that very well and is often uncomfortable viewing for the honesty with which it faces up to the fact that for men to survive warfare they are required to shed or suppress their humanity.
There has never been anything like Band of Brothers. Not before or since. The screams are real. The tears are real.
This is one of the few shows where I never thought about the camera while watching it. We were just another one of the people going along with the rest of Easy Company. It's an amazing show that will never be repeated. The best WWII movie/show ever made.
Hi
I am French and I have just met again
Band Of Brothers, The Pacific and The Master Of The Air since last Monday
even 20 later (for the first two) these series are still fantastic, my favorite episodes are Carentan, Bastogne, breaking point and the last patrol,
I am 50 years old and have lived through several wars (I spent 15 years in the French army from 1991 to 2006)
and certain episodes brought tears to my eyes.
we owe the greatest respect to these soldiers as well as to all others soldiers who lost their lives in all these wars
I love how you’re back to talking about this show when I just finished rewatching it for the 10th time
BAND OF BOTHERS was about the bonds built in war the PACIFC was about the brutality men experience in war .... the books used to create the series' show that really well, both shows are master class in story telling .
I also enjoyed how the writers also fixed some of the problems from the book and how serious they were about getting everything right in terms of the vteran's memory if the events
id say the pacific was far more realistic, the show showed the soldiers losing their minds and humanity slowly, fecking brutal
Most def 10 out of 10 stars. I actually watched this series "approx" 15 years after it came out. It is most def a timeless classic. I will say this....I personally feel anything WW1/WW2, or Vietnam related will be timeless for me.
I really want a UK version of this. And Russian. And Chinese.
The thing that blew me away was halfway through the series, I realized this was just one company in an army full of them from one country out of an alliance of others. There HAS to be hundreds of thousands of compelling stories from all over that deserve this level of detail in storytelling.
I cannot imagine being a veteran of that time period.
It must have been a wild experience, getting along with ur brothers, forging new bonds and comradely only to see them die on the battlefield by an enemy u don’t know or understand.
At the end it is only u and a handful of fellow soldiers who survived.
Must be horrible, lot of respect for the Americans, Canadians, British, Indians, French, Australians and all other countries that participated in freeing my and our countries from the devil’s grip.
Our gratitude is eternal, thank u ❤️
Watched them for the first time at the age of 11 nearly 20 years ago when my brother first got the dvd for christmas. My family then ended up going to normandy for our holidays a few years later and visitied alot of the D-day beaches and landing zones of the invasion, this show still now remains probably the best and most emotionally striking show ive ever watched
What shook me most is the scene that begins with "Stürzelberg, Germany". Stürzelberg is a small village that's part of my hometown Dormagen on the left bank of the rhine between Cologne and Düsseldorf. My parents live in Stürzelberg up to this day - Easy company literally liberated my hometown and saved it from the nazi regime. "Why we fight" suddenly had a very personal meaning to me. And yeah, it's the best miniseries ever.
I served as an active duty Ranger and Infantryman for 27 years 84 to 2011. Many deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Even so - I gravitate to these men and their grand sacrifices. WWII veterans were my heroes as a kid and remain so today. I will forever be inspired by these great Americans.
BOB was brilliant. As a Marine, I wanted to love the Pacific but it just seemed like they didn’t put as much effort into the story & casting like they did with BOB. It’s like they felt like they had to slap something together to recognize that part of the war but really done more out of obligation than sharing the story.
I hated Pacific on my first watch but it has grown on me over the years, and now I fondly return to it every other year or so. However, I agree they didn't put half as much effort into it as they did with the Band of Brothers.
It’s because the Pacific was created with 3 different stories instead of 1 single story. The 3 main characters never met each other so the series felt like it lacked focus. Personally when I rewatch the Pacific I skip right to episode 5 where it starts Sledge’s story as that is by far the most interesting to me. I wish the entire series was based off his book.
It was and is still better than the Masters of the Air.
@@thediner8929 true, true
I find it hard to pick between BoB and The Pacific for my favourite honestly. I think BoB is probably the better miniseries by it's own merits but the insane budget and production value of the pacific, along with it's much darker and gritty tone really works for me. The scale and detail of the sets they made for Pelilu and Okinawa are incredible, so I'd say it's very unfair to say it was slapped together. They also focused a bit more on how the soldiers were affected after they got home which was a nice touch. Totally get why people think BoB is better but I think the Pacific is nearly perfect at doing what it tries to do, just needed to be a bit more focused story-wise. MotA was very good but really fell short in so many areas, don't imagine i'll be rewatching it for several years at least sadly
Television cannot be better than this series. It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime order of events that transpired to make this series possible. Incredible.
Yeah this show is phenomenal!
In a few weeks it will be the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It's time to refresh the series.
From start to finish, there is not a single dull moment in this show
Not at all!
I go back and watch this once a year. Usually in the fall.
There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down with a good meal on an autumn evening and watching an episode or two!
Yeah it's an incredible show
Welp, now you reminded me of my yearly need to rewatch this show. My favorite series of all time by far and I was barely even born when this was released. Cheers from Portugal.
I think I’ve watched Band of brother at least 20 times! Makes sense thinking about it I watch it once a year! The best series ever made by far
0:01: seconds in, to your 'bold statement'. Had to pause to comment here: Agreed!
You only need to blaze a trail once if the traffic that follows makes for a paved road. BoB blazed a trail that led many other good, even great shows but remains powerful due to the subject matter, which was fundamentally boosted into a mythology (not just the _myths_ but the narrative dynamism) of America's only "Good War".
Excellent job on the review. You made excellent points on all episodes.
I was fortunate enough to have watched the series with my dad, an ETO veteran in the 99th Infantry Division. Although his experiences were somewhat different, other things were common throughout the ETO. The cold was one thing that dad commented on that the show got right. During the Bulge, the weather was as deadly as a German 88.
I lost dad in 2004. Much like the veterans of Easy Company, time caught up to them. I will always cherish the time spent watching the series with dad and our discussions afterward.
The Bastogne episode is my favorite. Dad was in the north shoulder of the Bulge compared to the 101st being in the south. The depiction of the Belgium nurses helping the Americans is so good. War is equally deadly to soldiers and civilians.
It's a masterpiece. I've never seen anything better before or since. I'm going to go and watch it.
I just started rewatching the show 2 hours ago because I miss my grandpa, we used to watch it together when i was 12, and this gets recommended.
Back in 2006 me and my friends used to celebrate new year with a marathon watching the series. It was the best times in my life and will be remembered for ever.
I watch it every year around June. My grandfather served with Dog Company, 2/506th. Despite my own time in the Army, I still cannot imagine what these men went through.
The fact that when the veterans met the actors playing the parts of the ones that got injured or killed would say "Jesus, i was there When you got hit" shows that they had become their lost brothers.
One of my favourite aspects of the interviews is that I can distinctly remember during my first time through that, as the episodes went on, I began to get an idea of who many of them were, through the fantastic portrayals by the actors. Guarnere, Winters, Lipton, a couple others. You can tell the actors really got to know them
You put into words so much better than I ever could on how and why Band of Brothers is the best. It's so well done. I watch it at least once a year and I'm still blown away how well done it is.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Band of Brothers is an absolute masterpiece, best cinematography I've ever seen and will see I'm sure.
Yeah it's one of the best shows ever made
As someone from Eindhoven, I was shocked when you pronounced my hometown perfectly❤ very good vid on this insanely good show!!
That's good to hear! Glad you also enjoyed the video!
Fun fact: All the guys I saw that were asked about it said Captain Sobal was a hard ass, but gave him credit for making their unit one of the best and also gave him a lot of credit for the number of guys that made it home after the war.
I just watched this show after my father died… he was a paratrooper here in Portugal, he was never in combat but after I found out about that this show was about the airborne in ww2, I knew I had to watch it in my father’s memory. I found myself crying or at least wanting to at the end of each episode. A true work of art
My favorite show of all time, I rewatch it at least once a year. One scene that always stands out for me, is the one where Lieutenant Speirs takes over command of a charge from the inept Dike. The narration, sound design, cinematography, close-ups combined with broad shots of the madness, the music, the incredible acting; it's just perfect. Goosebumps no matter how many times I watch it. Band of Brothers serves as my main inspiration in my current writing of a novel, featuring some military characters. The banter, closeness, shared trauma, and raw honesty of it, it's incredibly inspirational as an aspiring writer.
Been watching tv since the early fifties. This is absolutely the best!
I can't believe it's been so long, thanks for making me feel even older! Freely admit (24 year Veteran) I really connected with the characters and tears were streaming down my face at the end of the final episode.
My mother introduced me into this series when I first started studying history back in 2020-ish. We would sit in her room and watch it, and its become a series we occasionally re-watch and bond over. Such a phenomenal piece of historical television, and a proper depiction into the horror that turns bright young men into cold killers.
The first time I watched it, I thought it was a great docudrama, the second time; a great historical epic; the third time, an art film broken up into ten parts. I appreciate it more and more as time has gone on.
I just finished my annual rewatch of the BoB today, a couple of hours ago. Timeless cinematography and storytelling.
It's always worth a regular rewatch!
I watched this series all the way through at least 7-8 times, and it never gets olds. I always notice something new in every single episode.
Rewatched it recently, and it still gets you right in the feels like The Pacific and Masters of the Air never could.
Yeah BoB is really something special!
I saw Band of Brothers about a half a year ago and it still holds. It is still on pair picture quality wise today and looks like it could have been made today. Of the 3 series made, Band of Brothers is the best, Masters of the sky the worst. Masters of the sky is a let down, did not capture me at all.
Some of the actors are in training to make the 80th anniversary jump this June. Two of my old Platoon Leaders from back in the late 90's are making the jump with them out of a C-47 that was used on D-Day.
That’s awesome!
What a way to pay homage.
I was gifted the tin-box collectors' edition, and also never pass it up when various streaming services offer it. I don't have a favorite episode though. It is a complete experience for me. I was hoping The Pacific would be similar, but it fell flat. There are far better single Pacific WWII movies out there than the Series was. It will be hard to reach the quality and experience that Band of Brothers presented to us. And as a former Soldier, it truly spoke to me and brought me back to experiences I have had... if not identical, in spirit and situational. Yes, Saving Private Ryan was similar, and also a classic to be cherished.
The only miniseries that has ever, possibly, exceeded this, in my mind, is Ken Burn's The Civil War.
When Hanks/ Spielberg followed up with The Pacific, I had high hopes. And even though The Pacific paints a much wider canvas (it shows the home front both before and after the war, it includes woman, the violence is much more extreme, and therefore more realistic etc), if given the opportunity to watch either of them a total of 10 times, I'd pick BofB 9 times.
Exactly. It's the way that any movie or TV series about any war should be made.
Because of all the features described, it reminds me of when I met and spoke to a former Luftwaffe pilot who was shot down over the Mediterranean.
Band of brothers gives me so much nostalgia every time i watch it
Yeah it's an incredible show!
Agree completely. Best war film/miniseries ever made. The interviews with the real men make the experience so real and heartfelt.
Awesome review on BoB.
I am a Cold War veteran than served on tanks during the '80's and '90's. Never been to war,but been to two war torn countries. The bond that is made between those of us has always been a struggle to relay to civies. BoB nails it on the head in spades.
I agree - perfect! Revisit it regularly and it's always still as moving as it was on first viewing. "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war"? Grandpa said "No..............but I served in a company of Hero's".
BoB is the best... Watching this video on the eve of the D-day anniversary. Rest in peace to those we and thank you to the to those that still remain.
With regard to the reality in my opinion it was because many of these men were still alive to tell their stories. I feel truly fortunate to have heard both my father in law's stories (USN WWII) as well as my brothers father in law (USMC WWII) first hand. To me they took on a whole new meaning hearing them from family members who were there. We miss you Brownie & Norm. FLY NAVY!!!
I Havnt watched this in at least 10 years but still wow… just the images of seeing these heroes again brings me back to their individual episodes. Like seeing the real Bull and remembering instantly that episode he’s in the barn. Amazing story telling via amazing men
My favorite BoB episodes are:
2 - Day of Days: Because this is when we see a switch turn on in Winters, and he begins to truly exemplify the "Follow Me" mentality, behind enemy lines armed only with a knife. The Assault on Brecourt is totally edge-of-your-seat entertainment too. Then we get the line at the end about his plans after the war that are beautifully bookended with his line at the end of the last episode about finding peace after the war.
7 - The Breaking Point: Donnie Wahlberg does such an amazing job in this episode, and we also get that super badass moment with Speirs running through the German positions. The scene with Buck in the Medical tent is so dark and real, and that scene along with the scene at the end in the church is so important to remind us about the cost of the war and the physical and mental toll it took on the men who fought.
9 - Why We Fight: Maybe the most important, grisly, gut-wrenching, profound, palpable, poignant piece of media to ever be shown on a screen. Every person should be required to watch this episode so that we don't repeat this history ever again.
10 - Points: This episode ties the series up so nicely. The cinematography in the filming locations is just gorgeous, and the baseball game is so wholesome. The final reveal of each of the interviewees in the context of the heroic and real human moments we've just seen in previous episodes makes this series unbeatable.
Honorable mentions are Episodes 5 and 6 which are also great in their own ways.
I was telling my wife about the show last night. The way they told the story and each of the stories were unique and made it such a good series. It was perfect.
BoB was a bonding experience for my step-Dad and I when the series came out on TV. I bought him the DVD set when it cost $100 and I was working in a supermarket, it meant a lot to me that he should have it. After watching Masters of the Air I was let down to be honest, with the amount of work and money and time that went in to it, I really thought it would be a winner. After I finished the series, I rewatched BoB and it only made me more certain. You're absolutely right, it is a rare perfect show, a 10/10 for me.
I agree. Band of Brothers is still the greatest show ever to appear on TV. My favorite is episode 8, Last Patrol. The writing and the comradery really came through in that episode. I found the final scene when they were pulling out of Hagenau to be emotional.
Yeah that's such a powerful moment!
i watched it for the first time with my parents around 2 years ago and since then i think i’ve legitimately rewatched it 7 times! it’s a truly amazing show
Yeah it's amazing isn't it! I've watched it a couple of times this year
The INTERVIEWS!!! Those are sooooo missed in the Masters of the Skies!!!! Those interviews gave so much humanity/emotions/feel (I just cannot find proper word) to the whole Band of Brothers series....
Couldn’t agree more. Best show ever. Huge Lipton fan as well
The scene in the church, with the choir singing to the members of Easy Company, that slowly highlighted their losses by having the men fade away hits the absolute hardest each time I watch it.
So many great points, nothing can compete with BoB so far, and my fav episode... that's hard, I definitely love Bastogne, The Breaking Point, the very first episode, the landing in Normandy, they are all just so good. So much about this series is just so memorable and makes a huge influence, on me specifically it's about how these men had this strong feeling of service and determination and how they created these great, reliable relationships with the men they fought with.
This show came out when I was a teenager. All the boys watched it and made us cry and made us proud. The best war series of all time.
My brother introduced me to this great series in 2004, and I still watch it in its entirety to this day!
It's one of the best and I don't think it will ever get beaten!
Band of Brothers was a story about hero’s to start with. Then the actors were cast so great! Then the performance of the actors really meant something to them and it shows all throughout the series
Fantastic series. What a great story. Dick Winters was a fantastic leader of a brave bunch of men.
No notes. You are correct. It's perfect. It worked as a gateway for me to deeper history. I was always interested in the war, but when Band came out in 2001 that took it to the next level. A lot of people don't understand just how important this series was.
Agreed. That's because it is story about real people, real events and without improvised make-believe drama.
I grew up watching BoB and I still absolutely adore the series and watch anytime it's on.
Having said that as someone who cares about getting history right, I feel it would be disingenuous to not point this out.
This is a review by Robert Forcyzk back in 2001 on the book Band of Brothers. Forcyzk is a highly respected military historian on the ETO in WWII, and a former US Army Colonel in the 2nd and 4th Armored.
For readers without much background in history in general or the military in particular, Band of Brothers will probably seem like a heroic saga of male-bonding in combat. However, for those readers with knowledge of the subject, this poorly-researched book offers little more than the standard episode of the old TV series COMBAT! Author Stephen Ambrose, who favors oral history over meticulous research, used his interviews with selected Second World War veterans from E Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne as the basis for recounting the tales of an airborne company in combat in 1944-1945. Most of the book focuses on Richard Winters, who commanded the company in Normandy and Holland. Private David Webster, a cynical self-proclaimed intellectual also wrote a book of his experiences in E Company, from which Ambrose has borrowed liberally [...]. Interviews with other members in the unit fill in gaps, but Winters and Webster are two of the primary protagonists in the story. Unfortunately from the viewpoint of historical accuracy, the book is hopelessly riddled with errors, exaggerations and vicious slander.
First, let me address the errors, which are mostly due to lack of research on the author's part. Ambrose claims that the troop transport to England "carried 5,000 men from the 506th" and how it was a cramped voyage. Yet Shelby Stanton's authoritative US Army Order of Battle in World War Two, states that the 506th had only 2,029 men. Ambrose has his usual problems with nomenclature and names; Germans used 81mm not "80mm" mortars. A British officer rescued by E Company is identified as "Colonel O. Dobey," when it was actually LTC David Dobie. The German officer who surrendered to the unit at Berchtesgaden in 1945 is described as the 35 year-old "General Theodor Tolsdorf, commander of LXXXII Corps," when it was actually a 36 year-old Colonel Tolsdorf who commanded the 340th VG Division. At Berchtesgaden, Winters supposedly finds a German Major General "Kastner" who committed suicide, but there is no record of such an officer in the Wehrmacht or SS. Nor does Ambrose do much better with unit identifications and he claims that in the Battle of the Bulge, the 101st Airborne Division, "had won its head-to-head battles with a dozen crack German armored and infantry divisions." Actually, the Germans only committed elements of five divisions to the Bastogne fighting and they were hardly crack troops. Ambrose's statement also ignores the fact that the 101st was fighting with considerable help from the US 9th and 10th Armored Divisions in Bastogne. Finally, readers may be shocked to learn that the US 3rd Infantry Division actually beat the 506th PIR in the race to Berchtesgaden by several hours. Readers should check Clay Blair's well-researched Ridgeway's Paratroopers. These errors may seem minor to some, but they demonstrate a lack of research that means the whole narrative is suspect.
When it comes to exaggeration, Ambrose pulls out the stops. All enemy tanks are referred to as "Tigers," but only 5.3% of the German tanks in Normandy in June 1944 were Tigers. All enemy troops are referred to as "elite," such as SS or paratroops, even though German records indicate that the 506th mostly fought ordinary Wehrmacht units. According to Winters, E Company was always better than the other companies in the 506th and Ambrose vouches that, "there was no better light infantry company in the Army." How about the Rangers at Point du Hoc? Since Ambrose makes no effort to compare E Company with any other similar unit (e.g. did it kill more Germans than other units?), this assertion is asinine. It gets worse. Ambrose asserts that Winters "is contemptuous of exaggeration," but the following account of E Company in Normandy flatly exposes this as a lie: "So was Winters [outstanding]. He made one right decision after another …he personally killed more Germans and took more risks than anyone else." So Winters killed more Germans than the company machine-gunners? He took more risks than the men on point? Interestingly, Winters was never wounded.
The worst aspect of the book is the vicious slander campaign, which is pure Winters. Winters attacks his superiors, starting with MGN Taylor, Commander of the 101st, then COL Sink who was commander of the 506th PIR, then LTC Strayer his battalion commander and CPT Sobel, the first commander of E Company. Taylor, who was one of the best US Army generals of the 20th Century and later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Kennedy, is viciously attacked for being on "Christmas Vacation" during the Battle of the Bulge and for ordering an attack that "had the flavor of an ego trip." Winters tells Ambrose that "I don't want to be fair," about Taylor. Ergo, he doesn't want to be honest. Sink, who commanded the 506th for the entire war is derided as "Bourbon Bob." LTC Strayer is virtually omitted from this account, even though he commanded from Normandy to VE Day. Ambrose misleads the reader when he states that Winters became the battalion commander on 8 March 1945 - in fact the switch was only temporary and Strayer returned. Winters reserves special hatred for CPT Sobel, the man who trained E Company stateside and who is labeled a petty tyrant. Winters recounts a chance encounter with Sobel later in the war, when Winters outranked his former commander, and he proceeded to humiliate him in front of enlisted men from E Company. Classy. The slander campaign is also directed at other officers who succeeded Winters as commander of E Company, most of the lieutenants, staff officers, "Air Force slobs in England," (who were dying by the hundreds over Germany in burning bombers), the British, etc. It's pretty sickening after awhile. The American paratroopers of the Second World War deserve a far more accurate and honest account of their accomplishments, with just recognition of all deserving participants, than a slanted account that distorts the record.
Please know, I do not dislike BoB, I absolutely love it. But the truth is more important.
I love this show! I’ve watched it from start to finish many times. My favorite episode is “Why we fight”.
PHENOMENAL SERIES. Will always love this series. Watch every year.
Everyone did a great job honoring the men.
i've seen this show at least 5 times and still cant get enough. That's how great it is !!!