Band of Brothers Season 1 Episode 3 // First time watching!

[@timothyhedrick5295]

@5:08 Here is a concise summary of structure in the US Army. I'm cut-and-pasting it here to avoid typing it all myself. There is a light variance between services (eg: the Marine Corps) and what they call some of these: "The smallest unit is a squad, which is usually led by a staff sergeant or sergeant and can have 7-14 soldiers. A section is slightly larger, with 10-40 soldiers, but is typically only used in support organizations or headquarters. A platoon is made up of 3-4 squads, or 20-50 soldiers, and is led by a lieutenant. A company is made up of 2-3 platoons, or 100-250 soldiers, and is led by a captain or major. A battalion is usually made up of 3 companies and 300-1,000 soldiers, but can have up to 5 companies." Don't even get me started on the hierarchy of officers' ranks which are sometimes crazy different between different services in the military (eg: Army/Marines vs Navy). "Jerry" was a just a slang term for "The Germans" because it sounded alike. Kind of like "Charlie" (the military phonetic for C) and the "Viet Cong" or just "Cong"or "VC" in the Vietnam War. @35:40 Blithe's death was an error in Winter's book because the 82nd totally lost track of him. He actually recovered from his wounds and later served with distinction in the Korean War (receiving multiple medals). You can Google him. Word of this error did not get tot he producers of this series until it was too late to correct it.

[@notthestatusquo7683]

There is a wrinkle to add though which is in war time people are dying so quickly you often get people of lower ranks commanding units they technically shouldn't be. Over the course of the show we see A 1st Sgt. in charge of a platoon, a 1st Lt. in charge of a company, and a Cpt. in chare of a battalion, to name just a few example.

[@Stefanthenautilus]

That breakdown of the army structure is really helpful and would have been a good thing for the writers to try to include somehow in the first episode, just to educate the audience. Maybe a scene where Winters and Nixon are quizzing each other to pass a field exam during training or something.

[@JimFinley11]

You are a great observer! You understand a lot of things that go over most civilians' heads. You are exactly right about the effects of shrapnel; artillery and mortars kill a lot more people than rifle and machine guns. You were right about Blithe taking the edelweiss being him now seeing himself as a true soldier, but that wasn't about having killed someone; it was about having overcome his fear and having stood and fought, with the encouragement of Lieutenant Winters, who did exactly what Blithe needed in that moment when he was panicking. The Purple Heart is a medal reserved for people who are killed or wounded by enemy action. Actually, you did a very good job of analyzing and explaining how one person using the analogy of a game was a coping strategy; Blithe's hysterical blindness was another involuntary strategy his own nervous system imposed on him; Speirs used the method of thinking of himself as already dead, i.e. nothing to lose; Winters somehow just always thought of the mission and his men before he thought of himself. That is a military ideal a lot of people strive for but few achieve as well as he did. Both Speirs and Winters were very good soldiers, but they approached it in very different mindsets. I read a memoir by a man named Paul Fussell who fought as an Army lieutenant in World War II. He wrote to his parents before his first combat that he was confident that he would not come to harm because he was so well trained. After he saw some heavy fighting, he got a letter from his mother urging him to be careful and stay safe, and at that point he just shook his head and said there was no such thing as being safe or being careful enough not to get killed or wounded - it was often pure luck, being in the wrong spot at the wrong time. He himself ended up being badly wounded and almost killed that way. When one of the men talked about Lieutenant Speirs taking a 105 practically on his own, he was referring to the German artillery piece being a 105mm howitzer, meaning it fired a shell with a diameter of 105 millimeters. That would be classified as a small-to-medium artillery piece. To go smaller, you'd use mortars. I was a mortarman. Depending on unit, we would have either 81mm or 60mm mortars. Unit structure is most easily described as a pyramid with each level made up of three of the next smaller unit. Three fire teams, each led by a corporal or PFC (private first class) make a squad. Three squads, each led by a sergeant or staff sergeant, make a platoon. Three platoons, each led by a lieutenant, make a company. Three companies, each led by a first lieutenant or captain, make a battalion. Three battalions, each led by a major or a lieutenant colonel, make up a regiment. One or more regiments, each led by a colonel, and with support units attached, make a brigade, usually led by a brigadier (1 star) general. Three or more regiments or brigades make a division, usually led by a major (2 star) general. Two or more divisions make up a numbered army, such as Third Army, typically led by a major general or lieutenant general (3 stars.) Multiple armies make an army group, with a 4-star general, just called a general, in charge. It's easier to take in if you draw it than verbally. When the company was pinned down in the ditches, Winters had to get them up and moving because that was a trap. In the ditches they were temporarily safe from the German machine guns, but they weren't moving, and soon the Germans would have been able to hit them in the ditches with mortar or artillery fire (explosive shells dropped from a steep angle.) So he got out in the road himself to set the example and to force them out of the ditches. He took off his helmet so they would be able to see who he was. Being in the middle of the road himself, without his helmet, and with his actions obviously showing that he was a leader, was supremely dangerous for him. He made himself a target for the sake of his men and his mission. In good units, the leaders are always killed or wounded in higher percentages than the troops they're leading, and he is an example of why that is. Leaders are always priority targets. We were always trained to try to kill the leaders first, then the radio operators, then the crews of the machine guns and mortars. When they said, "That's an MG42," they were talking about an especially deadly type of German machine gun. German infantry used MG34 and MG42 machine guns, and both were accurate and had a very high rate of fire. The machine gun the U.S. military adopted later, the M60, was basically modeled on the MG42. Of the tens of millions people who were killed in World War II, more were civilians than military. They were caught in the middle. In the scene where the soldiers burst in on the French family, they might just as easily have thrown a grenade in first, as they had with a different doorway. Then being full of fear and adrenaline and keyed up to see a German and shoot first, then finding themselves facing a family of French civilians, they would have to suppress the instinct to shoot the first person they saw. That hesitation was them mentally recalibrating and realizing these people were not enemies. The man portraying Malarkey in this mini-series is such a great actor - he can express more with a facial expression than most peoplc can with words.

[@Short_Round1999]

What Blithe had suffered from was something at the time called “hysterical blindness”. Basically what happened was that he had experienced so much trauma in such a short period of time at such a high adrenaline level that his brain just automatically shut down the vision function of his brain to cope until he is able to calm down enough

[@TheSocratesian]

Blythe wasn't in Meehans plane. No one survived the crash to my knowledge.

[@terryd757]

I can see how she got confused, because the laundry scene was just to emphasize the number of people killed AND wounded who didn't make it through the first month, but since they start with Lt. Meehan she assumed all the rest were killed with him. She's forgetting that these are all real people and events, not a scripted story with artistic twists. Having it turn out that Blythe never made it out of the plane after all would actually be a great twist if this were a made up story, but it isn't. Wait until she gets told that in reality, Blythe's reported death in 1948 was actually a mistake made by Ambrose and not corrected in the miniseries. She's overthinking some of this a bit too much, but at least she's trying to interpret it.

[@Sloppygator9309]

1st reactor I’ve watched where I listen to the whole video and all the commentary. Love your insights 👍 thanks for watching with us. Also, just so you know… Squad > Platoon > Company > Battalion > Regiment > Division > Corps > Army A platoon is typically made up of 16-44 soldiers and usually contains around 4 squads. A company usually has a couple hundred soldiers. 300ish. Ranks are Private > Corporal > Sergeant > Lieutenant > Captain > Major > Lieutenant Colonel > Colonel > General

[@jh1618]

"Tom & Jerry" would actually be pretty fitting, because while the nickname for German was "Jerry", the nickname for the British by the Germans was "Tommies". 😅

[@alundavies1016]

Easy Company had 3 platoons. At this stage Winters was in charge of First Platoon. Each platoon has 3 squads, plus a mortar squad, each squad would have a Sergeant as a leader. Each squad has 12 men. So Easy Company was around 140 men and 7 officers (ideally). There were 9 rifle companies assigned to the 506 at its conception. In total there were 14 companies so about 2000 men to the Regiment in total.

[@paulkauphart9444]

@@alundavies1016 Winters was in charge of 2nd Platoon, and took charge of the company in Meehan's absence. Harry Welsh was leading 1st.

[@jakesanchez7235]

There’s a KZbin channel called “the operation rooms” that does a breakdown of some of the easy company missions which includes the battle of carentan. Highly recommend it. 15:01 Winters was only at the age of 25 when leading these men. Just blows my mind how a 25 year old could be such an amazing leader.

[@adamwells9352]

American WWII nickname for Germans is "Jerry." A squad is just a handful of men (up to 12). A platoon is about 3 of those, led by a lieutenant. A company is about 3 platoons, usually led by a captain. Best to think of these as about 10 / 40 / 150 men--all approximations.

[@3User]

One of the greatest shortcomings of this show is that fact that Blithe's death was incorrectly stated as being 1948. Richard Winters himself has commented on this, Blithe survived his wounds and continued to serve, even doing another combat jump during the Korean war.

[@Philliben1991]

There has been studies done that show relatively few people actually gets shot in war. The vast majority, up to 80% of combat casualties come from artillery shrapnel. There was also a study from the Vietnam war that shown 50,000 rounds of rifle ammunition were expended for every confirmed enemy casualty. Shows you just how ineffective aimed gun fire is in a combat situation compared to heavier weapons like mortars, artillery shells and other explosive ordnance. In fact it's reckoned only about 15% of soldiers are actually capable of shooting to kill.

[@Philliben1991]

Note how the other soldiers were taking trophies such as watches and weapons. Blithe's trophy is the edelweiss flower. It has no material value except the human endeavour it took to find it. It's an act that humanises both soldiers and gives them a context outside of war.

[@TheSocratesian]

They are referring to an M4 Sherman tank. It was the main battle tank of the US Army during the war.

[@fluffymcnuttersgaming7288]

11:05 the guy on the building actually survived

[@jeffsherk7056]

@28:50, You are right to notice the injuries that come from bursting artillery ammunition. You may be interested to know that if the pressure wave from an explosion is powerful enough, it can fatally crush a human as it passes by. People have been killed by the concussion of an explosion even if they are not hit by any fragments because their internal organs are destroyed.

[@justsmashing4628]

have tissues handy as the show progresses…

[@jeffreytalayumptewa7238]

You never know how you will react in combat or situations like that until you have been there. And I like how this series shows that

[@ulisesmagana4413]

20:56 that’s why you don’t take enemy clothing or weapons. Talbert had the enemy’s poncho and was wearing it. A soldier being woken up from his nap. All he sees is a silhouette that looks like the enemy in front of him. That’s why he stabbed him.

[@DBPVIDano]

The gentleman in the beginning who said he thought he’d get killed or get through it unharmed was Ed Tipper. He’s the soldier that gets blown up in the building in Carentan and staggers out (with muffled sound) to his friends. He survived, obviously, but lost an eye and had a very badly damaged leg. That was the end of the war for him, but he lived a very, very long life.

[@alanholck7995]

He also fathered a daughter when he was nearly 70. Curahee!

[@steveharveysmustache3988]

Blithe essentially had ptsd and the blindness was caused by a panic attack. When people experience severe emotional trauma and stress sometimes it can manifest in different ways causing people’s brains to kind of just… shut down for a while

[@feudist]

You are correct about splinters and fragments* causing the most INJURIES. Typically belt fed machine guns cause the second most while individual rifle fire is a distant third. Bullets cause death more often than fragments because they are higher velocity and penetrate more. Medics gave first aid and stretcher bearers moved the wounded who couldn't walk to "casualty collection points" close behind the lines, from there jeeps or ambulances would move them to a triage/aid station. Those needing emergency surgery would go to what evolved into MASH(Mobile Army Surgical Headquarters) units that would follow the advance of the force. The very badly wounded would be stabilized and evacuated to rear secure areas, and then to England or even the States. *Pedantic terminology note: "Shrapnel" correctly refers to a type of artillery shell invented by Henry Shrapnel that contained a large number of round balls that were scattered by an explosion. Eventually, any fragments or splinters thrown off by an explosive device came to be referred to as shrapnel. 🙃

[@becketv1]

The eidelweis was the mark of another very elite German unit called the Gebirgjagers. They were mountain troops so hence climbing to get the flower. Its a minor mistake. The shelling of the town was likely higher artillery than mortars probably 88s which had the town marked in coordinates. Hence zeroed in.

[@kyleshockley1573]

Blithe is one of the more relatable characters. Out of all the times I've seen this series I never made the connection between him and Lt. Meehan's plane from the laundry scene. You caught it right away, including the one guy who made it out and why Blithe was so out of it. So, say what you will about articulating or being word perfect or whatever. The actual realization and thought is what counts in the end.

[@williamberry9013]

No spoilers, but have a blanket in studio. One episode can make the suggestable feel cold. Won't say which episode. And you probably over estimate tanks. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpKrd4iBgLCggK8si=88KitHMIrDHfliKn 13:24 training film on facing tanks.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Yes, Blithe survives. One of the few mistakes Band of Brothers makes. Then went on to serve, with distinction in the Korean War. "The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it.” - Captain Ronald Speirs. He's more than a man of his word and will soon prove it for the entire company. Currahee ♠

[@mikecarson9528]

There was a Crucifix beside the picture of the little girl and the hairdresser that they knocked down when they opened the window.

[@JoshDeCoster]

Spiers in later life confirmed both him executing the prisoners, as well as killing his own man. The sergeant was drunk and aimed a gun at Spiers, forcing Spiers to shoot him. Also with the prisoners, allied paratroopers couldn’t take any, as they didn’t have a place to send them in the first 7 days of Normandy invasion. So they typically shot them in some cases, and left that duty to the officers so their men wouldn’t see.

[@kevinmacnamara7000]

Jerry was a slang term for Germans, originally used by the British in WW1. No one is entirely sure why, but it could have simply derived from the 'Ger' at the start of the word 'German'.

[@buddystewart2020]

Ahhhh, yeah, Blythe was not in the same aircraft as Lt. Meehan. The lady reading off the names of laundry that hasn't been picked up yet was just a way of conveying the loss of men from Easy Company.

[@craigmorris4083]

It was actually Germany that pioneered the use or airborne troops in their invasion of both Norway and the Low Countries. Crete was what can go wrong.

[@guymelton1094]

Every Conflict through History, there is always civilian casualties, unavoidable, terrible War is, enjoyed the reactions,thanks for sharing 😊👍✌️🇺🇸

[@craignickum6551]

Blithe didn't die in 1948. The show mixed him up with another soldier. He lived and went on to serve in Korea.

[@jimmysmith5418]

30:33 ✨✨✨😔😢

[@kevinotoole2285]

Respectfully Blythe caused PTSD in Korea🦅🦅

[@jeffsherk7056]

Blithe did not die of his injuries in 1948. The HBO folks made a mistake. Blithe stayed in the army and went on to fight in the Korean War (1950-1953), and he died in 1967 while still in the army stationed in Germany.

[@georgemartin1436]

Blithe did survive and served with distinction in Korea. They didn't have great internet when the series was made and thought he died in 1948.

[@randylahey1822]

Lt Speirs ain't dark with some doomer attitude , he's just right. War is a nasty business

[@sandraback7809]

You articulate beautifully. Excellent reaction. Subscribed 😁

[@rodlepine233]

A rifle platoon had: a platoon headquarters with 10 people; and 3 rifle squads with 12 people in each squad, total of 36. 10 + 36 = 46. In 1944 the rifle platoon headquarters was cut to 5 people. The rifle squads were unchanged, so the platoon had 41 people

[@dedcowbowee]

105 refers to the guns they destroyed. Speers got one almost by himself.

[@drew2ist]

A company should be led by a captain, but since CPT Sobel was relieved/transfered, 1LT Mears was the company commander as a lieutenant. Jerry is what they called Germans.

[@markiesmiles6777]

Where did you go? Best wishes 🇸🇪❤️

[@Hebrew_Israelite_Young_jedi]

This was a great reaction ✌🏽 I’m a huge ww2 history fan. My favorite history is the German fallchirmjagars actually you got it wrong saying American paratroopers did it first actually Germany was the first country to use paratroopers. 🇩🇪❤️ I love ww2 German uniforms and weapons 💯🔥

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

Strong group cohesion is by far the best way to handle fear. If you can identify with the people around you, then you're able to step outside your own head and treat fear more objectively. Worrying for each other leaves less time to worry about yourself. Hence the title (which is based on a line from Shakespeare) and theme of this show. An army of inseparable mediocrities would easily defeat an army of tactically elite egotists, and these guys were both elite and inseparable.

[@roboct6]

Did you stop reacting to this show?

[@DBPVIDano]

Blythe was NOT in Lt. Meehan’s plane. Everyone in Meehan’s plane died. Blythe was in a different plane.

[@IndianaCones]

By the end of this I think your favorite guy in this series would be Spears. Let’s bet

[@jrpearcey9352]

Please stop with the spoilers

[@IndianaCones]

@@jrpearcey9352 the show is more than 20 years old now. And I didn’t spoil anything. Idk what you’re talking about 🤷‍♂️

[@jrpearcey9352]

@@IndianaCones It matters not how old the show is. What matters for a reactor is viewing it for the first time and not know the storylines of the show. Your comment is a spoiler because it alerts the reactor that Spiers stays around long enough to, in your view, possible become the reactor's "favorite guy in this series."

[@bernardsalvatore1929]

I just did a quick Google search and as far as I can see everybody on Lieutenant Meehan's plane was killed!! Blythe was not on that aircraft!! I'm going to have to re-watch that episode myself to see if I can see where you heard that that was the case!!! But as far as I can see he was NOT aboard that plane and everyone that was on Lieutenant Meehan's plane was killed!!😢😢

[@daddynitro199]

When someone mispronounces a word, I assume that they either learned the word by reading, or they speak multiple languages. I’m not going to criticize. Your curiosity about the medics will likely be satisfied in a future episode.

[@Mustardonmyjeans]

Soz… glad you felt the impact but you got the wrong end of the stick. Also, Blithe actually survived in real life and returned to serve in Korea

[@williamberry9013]

Quick rank fo US ARMY only: Private (regular guy), corporal, sargeant, big space to officers Second lieutenant , Lieutenant, Captain, Colonel (pronounced "kernal"), General. This is not detailed or complete - you don't need info on Lieutenant Colonels, but it is good enough. Units, there are (I think in 1944) five or 6 guys to a squad. There are 3 squads in a platoon. 3 platoons in a company. 6 companies in a regiment. Again, 1944, I might be wrong on the numbers. There are more, several regiments in a division, etc. but I don't think you need that for this series.

[@dedcowbowee]

"Gerry" as in German👍

[@adamwells9352]

I think this episode is in some ways the most important. In real war, not everyone is a hero. Not everyone lives up to being the man he'd like to be; not everyone even survives.

[@williambranch4283]

My favorite episode.

[@Randomizer939]

Speirs is the best.

[@BruceJohnson-om5kl]

Hey Jan👋🏿 don't forget your Wire following.

[@ghostofyourmom]

Lol. Her Wire reactions are SO good, but at this rate, she'll get to the series finale episode in like 2029. She's averaging only about 5 or 6 episodes per YEAR. I hope you're patient.

[@BruceJohnson-om5kl]

Hello Jan 👋🏿

[@BruceJohnson-om5kl]

Hey 👋🏿

[@rodlepine233]

Jerry means German

[@walterlv4093]

is it game disc behind you?

[@isaacsAWW2nerd]

love ur vids

[@adamc.sieracki4145]

Spiers gets interesting in a few episodes...

[@ssikc25]

Nice intro

[@justsmashing4628]

So…no more BoB…unsubbed

[@williamberry9013]

If no one points it out, their big screw up is Blythe lived, recovered fought in Korea, etc.

[@Straydogger]

Yes. It was another Blithe that didn't make it. His name was spelled differently. They got those two mixed up.

[@PatrickRonan-d6r]

Squad platoon company battalion brigade division

[@SIickTurtIe]

Erm next episode.. 🧐

[@isaacsAWW2nerd]

sec

[@stemid85]

I've seen this show a few times but I never realized Blithe was from Meehan's plane.😮

[@daddynitro199]

@@stemid85 he wasn’t. Nobody in Meehan’s plane survived, sorry to say.

[@JoshDeCoster]

The whole battalion HQ went down in meehans plane, it was carrying intelligence, high rank officers, and master sergeants. No privates were on that plane to my knowledge.

[@louislynge]

I believe the world you are struggling to pronounce is said like this "compart-mental-ised" I know you know what the word is but sometimes it is difficult to wrap your tongue around it.