BAND OF BROTHERS Reaction Episode 2 "Day of Days" First Time Watching

We're back with more Band of Brothers, as the intensity steps up quite a bit.
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[@paulhewes7333]

-the German POW who Malarkey was talking with, actually worked ACROSS THE STREET from him in Oregon. It had to be changed because it was so unbelievable (truth stranger than fiction stuff) -the story behind Saving Private Ryan, actually involved a paratrooper in the 501st PIR (Easy Company is in the 506th), Fritz Niland. Niland was very close friends with Malarkey and Muck. -Winters was not one to send men on a mission or task he wouldnt do himself. He went first a lot of the times because he didnt ever consider not going first.

[@ChuckJansenII]

Winters two catch phrases were "Follow me" and "Hang Tough."

[@FrenchieQc]

When Winters and the handful of guys he assembled come up on the dead paratrooper hanging from a tree, there's a big whooshing sound overhead and the subtitles say it's [planes soaring] but in fact, that noise is made by the massive shells fired from the battleships off the coast, projectiles weighing 2700lbs reaching out up to 24 miles away. The battleship USS Texas, a few days after D-Day, even flooded some compartments on one side of the ship to gain a few more degrees of elevation on their guns, in order to reach even further inland! On D-Day, especially concerning the paratroopers, they didn't have the resources yet to handle prisoners in the early phase of the invasion, which is why they typically didn't take any. Lt Speirs actually shot a group of them because they couldn't spare the manpower needed to guard them. Malarkey meeting the German prisoner actually happened, but the man was from Portland, not Eugene (unsure why they felt the need to change that in the show). However, Malarkey and the man actually worked right across the street from each other, they found out as they spoke. The distance between them was changed in the show, because it would have been too unbelievable for the audience otherwise, to be told they worked across the street from each other. There are 2 guys from Easy looking for a Luger, Hoobler seen in the first episode, trying to walk away with the fake German's gun at the airfield, and in this episode here Malarkey, running out into the firefight to check the dead Germans. Speaking of that scene, to simulate the bullet impacts in the ground, there were tiny amounts of explosive buried in the mud, and when he was running back, Scott Grimes, who plays Malarkey, was not meant to slip and fall, this was an accident. But he knew he might be laying right over some of those explosives that could pop out any moment, so the look of fright on his face isn't faked at all. If you watch the assault on the trenches again, keep an eye on Buck Compton. During his jump, he lost his machine gun, and acquired another one after landing, but he didn't test fire it, and unbeknownst to him, the firing pin was broken, leaving him unable to shoot the gun. That's why he keeps messing with it at first, taking the mag out, cycling it, always asking someone else to cover them. When Nixon tells Winters that he "sent the map to division", in fact Nixon ran the map himself, about 3 miles back to Utah beach, because he understood the importance of the information on it - all the German artillery pieces in Normandy. The high command back on the beach was so grateful for this piece of intelligence that, as a manner of thanks, they sent the first two Sherman tanks rolling off the beach to reinforce the 101st. These 2 tanks were used to flush out the remaining Germans at Brecourt Manor. Those are the 2 tanks we see Nixon riding on after the attack on the trenches. About Utah beach: Later in life, a lot of vets wrote books about their experiences of the war, and in some of these books, their accounts of the attack on Brecourt Manor can be found. One of these vets was once contacted by man named Eliot Richardson, who would later become an attorney general in the Nixon administration, but was at the time a medic landing on Utah Beach on D-Day. Upon reading these books, he finally understood the reason why the artillery barrage had suddenly ceased on the beach that day, and reached out to some E-company vets to thank them for most likely saving his life, and so many more.

[@4nthr4x]

top tier quality comment

[@GrumpyOldGuyPlaysGames]

During D-Day operations, American soldiers were under orders to not take prisoners, as Army Command knew that the situation would be chaotic, and that no one would have the resources or manpower to guard and care for prisoners. In addition, orders were made to eliminate any prisoners that were taken (because Command knew that there would be despite orders to not take them, as its a natural instinct to not shoot surrenfdering enemies). After the war, Dwight Eisenhower would say that it was unfortunate, and a tragedy, but a strategic necessity that such acts were committed. Once the allies had a solid beachhead, and things were more organized, the orders were rescinded and killing prisoners once again became a war crime. Well... it was always a war crime, but you know what i mean. The show hinted at but did not truly make clear what Winters and his men accomplished here. Winters and 17 men assaulted a fixed artillery manned by close to 60 German soldiers with the mission of destroying the artillery pieces. They succeeded in doing just that, inflicting close to 35 casualties at the lost of only two of their own (one killed -- John "Cowboy" Halls -- and one injured -- Robert "Popeye" Wynn). Warrant Officer Andrew Hill (the officer who asked Lipton where Battalion headquarters was and got shot in the head for his trouble), was not a part of Easy Company and was counted a victim of circumstance and not an Easy Company casualty. Doctrine at the time held that a fixed defensive position like the one at Becourt Manor should have been assaulted with a force three times the size of the defending force. Winters, using superior tactical ability, took a force a little over a quarter the size of the defender's numbers and succeeded at his mission. Those medals were earned. The Distinguished Service Cross, by the way, is the second highest award for valor in the US military, after the Medal of Honor itself. And I can personally confirm the final card. I was taught about this battle while training to become a young Army officer at West Point in the mid-1980s.

[@ChuckJansenII]

The reason Winters was such a good leader is in how he prepared himself beyond training. When Captain Sobel is punishing Lieutenant Winters he says, "Take the punishment. You spend your weekends on the base anyways." This is true. Winter used his own time to study every army manual he could get his hands on. That's why he could size up any situation and plan out the course of action his men would take. Airborne unites were given elite training. The washout rate in training was 80%. Only the best made it to become paratroopers. Those who washed out would be sent to other units. Easy Company 2nd Battalion 506th PIR 101st Airborne may have been the elite of elites.

[@dgpatter]

The guy shot through the helmet was not part of the assault. He randomly found Sgt Lipton in the field and asked for directions. Winters lost one man (Hall) ((played by Andrew Scott , played Moriarty in Sherlock)). Other men from Dog Company died in the assault on the fourth gun, but they were not Winters’ men.

[@TowGunner]

As Buck Compton was about to throw his grenade, he was pushed from behind accidentally dropping it.

[@reneepope-munro8115]

This bugs me in every single reaction haha. I’m like it’s not buck’s fault? Man was pinpoint accurate with a round object

[@vinniemoran7362]

Yeah, since the guy passing behind Buck is seen at the extreme right edge of the frame, a lot of first-time viewers miss it.

[@jeffcorbin1486]

Hi Guys, thank you for the respect you’re showing for this mini series. Six of my seven uncles plus my dad fought in World War II in Europe. One of my uncles was in the 82nd airborne and jumped in along with the 101st airborne easy company. I’ve watched over 100 reactions to this miniseries in the last few years. I was born in 1960 and my dad who has now passed was born in 1921. As a little boy I remember listening to my uncle stock about how they narrowly escape death , they all laughed about it. My dad fought in Pattons army. He was a radio man. I had one uncle on a Navy battleship. He was the most heart hearing because he loaded 16 inch guns with powder and shells along with his fire team. I have two sons one is in the 19th special special forces group as a green bay and the other is a military police officer. Both of them are currently deployed one in Iraq and the other one at Guantánamo Bay. Cuba. I didn’t serve in the military. I was just a cop For 23 years. I spent 19 of it as a SWAT operator and a hostage negotiator. Thanks again from your friend in Utah.

[@randallshuck2976]

Some German Americans fought on the side of the Germans. The war began for Europe long before America got into it. American pilots flew in the RAF and also flew in China against the Japanese. Some Americans went to England or Australia to fight long before we got into the war.

[@MikeS309]

American merchant sailors were also getting torpedoed by German U-Boats before America entered the war.

[@johannesvalterdivizzini1523]

My father volunteered for the Army Air Corps in August 1940, a year and a half before the Pearl Harbor attack. He was an Aviation Cadet and some of his pals went north to Canada to join the RCAF and got into the fight while the US was still neutral. He stayed on in the US and became a Senior Navigational Instructor when the need for a larger Air Force arose with the declaration of war.

[@johncarr7452]

The MG 42 was a standard German machinegun. Buck's 1-4-2-2-5 told Malarkey and Guarnere that there was one MG42 twenty-five yards away and to throw their grenades accordingly.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Well, this is when the sh*t gets real. "We're not lost Private...we're in Normandy." This one line displays Winter's ability to instill confidence in his men, even unarmed in the face of all adversity. And this soldier wasn't even a member of Easy Company. Currahee ♠

[@brianmartin8700]

Something important to remember is that not all of the German soldiers were nazis, most of them were just men who were conscripted into the army. The upper echelons of the armed forces and the SS were nazis, but most common soldiers were just regular people. This is not to excuse anything the nazis did, but just to point out that not every rank and file soldier/sailor/pilot was a nazi.

[@LolGamer5]

Very important! Thanks for the comment, spread the historical truth not some "Nah but german = nazi" bs I read way too much

[@iKvetch558]

Post Prohibition in the USA, almost all the states had a drinking age of 21...although some number of them did allow beer and wine for those over 18 years of age, but still limited sales of hard liquor to those over 21. If you want more info, there is an article you can find that covers the history of alcohol minimum purchase age by state for the USA...there you can see that it was in the 1970s that many drinking ages around the country were taken down as low as 18.

[@KaoretheHalfDemon]

That map that Winters found was taken all the way to Utah beach which was a few mikes away by Nixon, the guy on the tank. Command was so happy for the intel they sent the first tanks that came ashore to back up Easy company.

[@manueldeabreu1980]

You will find a LOT of the stories are true in this show, such as surviving the two grenades. Some stories are so unbelievable they had to dumb them down for the audience because no one would believe them. The Malarkey talking to the POW. They actually worked across the street from each other but they spread it out because it was too unbelievable.

[@iKvetch558]

Following the action of the battles is sometimes difficult, so I highly recommend the channel Operations Room, which has top down animated videos that cover all the details of most of the battles depicted in the show. There is one about the action to take the guns at Brecourt that is shown in this episode, and whether you do a reaction to it or not it is a really good short video to watch. The videos on that channel become increasingly helpful as the series progresses due to the battles getting much more confusing, but also because it was impossible to recreate some of the future battles on the show exactly as they happened in reality...so the Operations Room's analysis will fill you in on all the variances.

[@johnstrickler2238]

Just found the channel because of Band of Brothers. I wanted to say thank you for watching this series. As a vet, it always means a lot to make sure that we don't forget those who did so much.

[@johnstrickler2238]

As far as the helmets go, they were designed to help protect against ricochet's and fragments of artillery rounds.

[@dgpatter]

Notes on Lt. Buck Compton. He was an All American baseball player even having been recruited by a Professional Baseball League farm team. That is why he threw grenades the way he did. If you notice, he throws them like they’re on a rope rather than lobbing. The one they show going off as it hit the German in the back is sanitized for TV; it actually hit him in the back of the head. Finally, the reason his gun jammed as he confronted the German who survived the grenade attack is a bent firing pin. He had lost his gun in the jump and had a gun scavenged from a dead GI. He didn’t know until firing that it was out of commission.

[@shoehead65]

He also played with Jackie Robinson on the UCLA team

[@krisfrederick5001]

"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops," Eisenhower wrote. "My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone." -Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander. This was his other speech. D-Day was never a guarantee..

[@EastPeakSlim]

Thank you for your reaction. This was their first time in combat. Some took foolish chances that they never would again like Lipton firing from the tree and Malarkey going after a Luger in the open. They learned.

[@eveliendorien]

Fun fact: the Purple hearts being handed out today are still from the supply the US armed forced had ordered for the expected D-day casualties. The casualties were so far below expectations that the supply lasted throughout WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the wars in thecmiddle east, until even now. So everyone being handed out a purple heart today, is getting a medal that was ordered for usage in 1944

[@matth.2006]

Enjoying the reaction! Please take note for future reference that the vast majority of German soldiers were NOT NAZI's.

[@baronimhoof4042]

From 1938 on they had to swear an oath to Hitler. Whatever the party affiliation each soldier had, they were not innocent.

[@Prendah]

I suggest you google "Myth of the clean Wehrmacht"

[@becketv1]

The other big thing about the Airborne divisions is that they were highly trained. They were also highly adaptable because they might end up isolated. The US army doctrine at the time was very reliant on the NCO(Sergeants) corps as well as the individual rifleman. Ramp that up with the airborne folks.

[@tarnvedra9952]

Steel helmets protect against shrapnel, bullets sometimes glance off if you are very very lucky.

[@2003bigt]

Just a point of clarification, the paratroopers were actually the first force and were supposed to help clear the way for the ground invasion on Utah and Omaha, not the other way way, it was not to keep the Germans focused on the beach it was opposite.

[@manueldeabreu1980]

Helmets were designed to protect from shrapnel. A direct hit from any rifle or machine gun round would easily penetrate.

[@Oscarmike247]

yeah, even modern helmet can only really stop pistol rounds. the problem is that even if you can create a helmet to stop rifle rounds, it will still cave in the helmet and can still kill.

[@ssj002]

@5:56 They were probably jumping from around 600 - 800 feet, so they would be in the air for about a minute at most. I've heard people brag that if they were the Germans, they would just shoot all the paratroopers out of the air. It takes tremendous skill or luck to put accurate fire on a midair target (and keep in mind while the chute slows their descent, they will conserve a decent amount of their horizontal speed from the plane and only pull the risers to slow horizontal speed right before landing). Imagine trying to hit thousands at night before they reach ground.

[@williambranch4283]

From D-Day to Breakout 6 week later, a lot of Airborne were lost, then sent back to England for R & R.

[@johncarr7452]

This is not the last time they jumped. The Allies came up with a way for tanks to swim to shore to support the first wave. Almost all those launched made it ashore apart from Omaha beach when only 2 made it. Later waves included LCTs Landing Craft Tanks which could deliver tanks onto the beaches.

[@randyronny7735]

That battle taking out the guns lasted for almost 4 hours. That is a long time for their first battle.

[@blackbirdsr7185]

Most military helmets can't really protect against rifle rounds. My understanding is that the ones in WWII were more to stop shrapnel than bullets. Modern ones can protect against handgun rounds and shrapnel but are not as effective against rifle rounds.

[@edm240b9]

16:52 Compton only dropped the grenade because a paratrooper bumped into him. And speaking of CoD, if you’ve ever played the original ones, you may recognize the next episode as a fan favorite map.

[@rayvanhorn1534]

Thank you guys for the respect shown towards these men of that Greatest Generation. For that alone I’m gonna tag along on this journey. (If it’s possible, would like to see more of the veterans intro & hear your thoughts. Additionally, I’d suggest writing down names as they are mentioned because there are times when you hear a name dropped in a side conversation or during an engagement. It will help you recognize/remember everyone. I appreciate your commentary, keep up the good work.)

[@lucazampollobarros8652]

Aftet you guys finish BoB, you need to see The Pacific too!

[@CJ87317]

Not sure if someone said, but casualties doesn't necessarily mean death, but wounded as well. Usually deaths in battles were around a third of the percentage injured. So 100% casualties expected could be 33% deaths, but all the rest of the guys would get hit (they just wouldn't die).

[@buddystewart2020]

Yeah, as horrible as D-Day was, this was the best plan they could come up with. The man who was shot in the head while laying in the field talking to Lipton was Warrant Officer Andrew Hill, he came upon the battle while searching for the headquarters of the 506th PIR. I think there were a total of four men lost in the action against the guns, including Warrant Officer Hill. It just didn't show all four deaths occur on screen. Yup, just checked, four killed, two wounded: Winters lost one man, Pfc. John D. Halls (of A Company) from an 81 mm mortar platoon. Another, Private Robert "Popeye" Wynn, was wounded during the attack. Another casualty was Warrant Officer Andrew Hill, who was killed when he came upon the battle while searching for the headquarters of the 506th PIR. Also killed were Sgt. Julius "Rusty" Houck from F Company, who was with Speirs, and one soldier from D Company under Speirs' command. Another soldier from D Company was wounded.

[@Dej24601]

Many of the cast were British - English, and several were Irish, several were Scottish. Since filming was done in England, and the commitment for the entire series was about 9 months, some American actors would have decided against such a lengthy period to be overseas. What is remarkable is how perfect their American accents are. I was shocked to learn that Damien Lewis was British, and that he can also do an excellent Irish accent.

[@ChuckJansenII]

The cast did a great job. British actors said it is easier for them to do an American accent than American actors doing British accents. Kevin Costner Robin Hood anyone?

[@dive2drive314]

Good point about the paint on the ammo boxes. Also, there would have been led in the paint at that time, right? Not that it really matters when you have bigger things to worry about. Lol This is my most favorite TV series, by the way. Hope you can enjoy the tough journey and learn something.

[@GamerKatz_1971]

Once they were out the plane it did not take minutes to land. According to Winters he was in the air for maybe 8-10 seconds.

[@Dej24601]

If you can get the DVD (many libraries carry them), there are several excellent bonus features. One includes how the prop & set departments, altered tanks and other vehicles to look appropriate for the time period and nationality. Also, it was explained that during training and planning with parachute schools, there were issues finding correct parachute equipment and methods appropriate for the time period, since parachuting has changed significantly since then.

[@stevenspringer1599]

unsolicited reading recommendation: "D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches" by Stephen E. Ambrose (Band of Brothers author) excellent account of the first 24 hours

[@Dej24601]

Yes, you are right about guys lying about their age. My dad graduated high school and signed up that summer but would not turn 18 until the fall. Hard to understand today, how things were accepted, but my dad said it was common.

[@slt3642]

yes, my dad dropped out of high school and enlisted in the Navy in '43 at 17 - he needed his parents signature, but he convinced my grandmother that if he waited until he was 18 he would be drafted into the army and sent to the front lines; at least this way he could choose to be on a ship!

[@Dej24601]

@@slt3642 yes, my dad also went into the Navy and knew the emphasis would be The Pacific. As awful as the prospect was to fight the Japanese, he may have felt it was risky for him to end up in Germany, as a POW or something, since he was Jewish.

[@JimsScience]

The assault on brecourt manor is on Call of Duty 2.

[@TheRagratus]

You know who is shooting who by the sound and cyclic rate (speed) of the weapon. I can tell the difference between an AR, an AK, an M 249, and an RPK just by the sound.

[@caseygm70]

Not all German soldiers were Nazis. Most of the ones we see in this episode were just regular German soldiers, or Vermacht.

[@RaylandTiburcio]

They also trrained on enemy firearms so they know the sounds of enemy fire.

[@jasondarbe80]

for being well trained but green they did very well.

[@RaylandTiburcio]

If you played Call of Duty 1 & 2, you'll see familiar missions from this series because COD 1&2 based their missions on the 101st Airborne's missions.

[@wwk68tig]

I had never heard of the Germans living in America returning to fight for the Fatherland until I saw BofB (it's true)........another outstanding reaction, fellas. As always.

[@russellward4624]

7:15 Hes not British, hes Irish. Andrew Scott, he was in Sherlock and recently Ripley, a limited series based on The Talented Mr Ripley(which was excellent).

[@catch-uppackets2664]

The thing I was remembering him from that I couldn’t place was 1917.

[@lancewolf2451]

15:50 Winters had to cross that trench to shoot those 2 guys because he's right handed ..I guess switching to your left hand to shoot isn't something that was done..

[@LogicalCitizen-n9x]

yeah, every one of those men was Captain effffing America! ...and most of them were under 20, the officers, like Winters and Nixon and Speirs were mostly between 23 - 26.

[@LogicalCitizen-n9x]

something worth noting is the scene when Buck Compton jumped into the trench after tossing the grenades in and you see him struggling with his Thompson, which actually happened that day when Buck's gun had a broken firing pin.

[@manueldeabreu1980]

There is a difference between Wehrmacht and Waffen SS. To be Waffen SS you had to be a member of the party, ergo Nazi. Wehrmacht was regular military. You saw Saving Private Ryan. The troops they killed when they surrendered were Czech conscripts. The Germans used conscripts in their static divisions from other nations to supplement. If you watch the Tom Cruise, Valkyrie, it is about the regular army attempting a take over of the Nazi government. That is based on a true incident. Multiple times there were attempts to assassinate Hitler or usurp the Nazi government.

[@Educated2Extinction]

When I took German in college, the instructor was from Germany. At some point WWII came up, she mentioned that her father fought in the war and some idiot said, "Your father fought for Hitler?" Her response was that he fought for Germany.

[@user-mn2of4ei7p]

Not only a member of the party. You had to prove that your blood line was clean dating at least 400 years back, plus other conditions. Trust me i know. You don't wanna know how well i know or why.

[@kenle2]

@@user-mn2of4ei7p Of course later in the war when Germany was losing whole armies, SS Chief Himmler "loosened" the "racial" requirements to fill out the SS divisions - accepting other Europeans and even some Slavs who were just labeled as being "of German/Aryan" stock in some vague ancestral connection. In reality it just showed how ridiculous the whole "bloodline" concept was.

[@GK-yi4xv]

@@kenle2 There was even a Waffen SS regiment comprising Indians (the 'Free India Legion')

[@GamerKatz_1971]

Not all Americans are Republicans/Democrats. Not all British are Labor Party, and not all Germans were Nazis. Remember the Nazis were a political party. People who joined it were actually given numbers signifying in what order they had joined. The vast majority of the German army were just regular troops. Whether or not they supported the nazis is like asking a regular U.S. soldier if he supports any of the U.S. political parties, some do and some don't. Now the SS were the nazi's 'political army' and you had to be a nazi to join them.

[@LolGamer5]

Ngl my preconcieved notions, made me really not believe that you would be so incredibly reasonable (literally JUST because of the rainbow in your pic). Thank you for real for being a HUMAN BEING and not a radicalized/polarized politcal pawn. You do you!

[@Kidfrankey]

These troopers could discern the difference between American and German made fire arms, which is why you didn’t just pick up the firearms of your enemy cuz you’d end up sounding like them.

[@Kidfrankey]

Also the intital invasion Americans couldn’t take prisoners cuz where would they keep them, nothing but liability.

[@user-de5ng6pt9l]

They are not Nazis they are Germans and other nations, in fact most of those guys were conscripted from other nations they are generally just trying to do the best in their situation, so yes we should feel bad for them too.

[@LolGamer5]

As a german some episodes hit way different imo (at least if you have a brain nd dont hate ALL of germany and its history because of that time period...)

[@sannaolsson9106]

Not every soldier in the German army were nazis and supported Hitler. Many of them were forced to fight and even if they weren't, it doesn't necessarily mean they were nazis. The higher ups, most likely, but not the normal soldiers.

[@johncarr7452]

Adam Scott is Irish.

[@daddynitro199]

Adam Scott is American. Andrew Scott is Irish. Both of them are Scott-ish.

[@johncarr7452]

@@daddynitro199 Mea Culpa

[@TheRagratus]

Dick Winters retired to Pennsylvania near Gettysburg. His personal collection from WWII is at the "Gettysburg Museum of History". It is a fantastic museum that covers The Battle of Gettysburg of course but also covers much, much more, including WWII.

[@catch-uppackets2664]

Please don’t spoil who lives and who dies. This is a pretty big spoiler.

[@DirtnapJack]

@@catch-uppackets2664agreed. That was a dick move

[@as1anam3r1can6]

Gotta stop calling all the germans nazis...

[@heathen-heart]

Just watch who you call a natsi, not all German soldiers or citizens were members of the Natsi party. And on d-day allied soldiers were given orders to NOT take prisoners until they were setup to take and manage prisoners, it takes time to get all the infrastructure setup, so they did what they had to do.

[@LolGamer5]

It'S depressing how too many people don't know or have the common sense to get to that conclusion.