History Professor Breaks Down Band of Brothers Ep. 8 "The Last Patrol" / Reel History

Reel History delves into historical films to separate fact from fiction. These engaging episodes explore, contextualize, and clarify stories related to the most famous historical movies. In contrast to the more prevalent "reaction" videos, these installments seek not only to entertain but to educate and inform.
For host Jared Frederick and video editor Andrew Collins, these Reel History episodes are a labor of love and a means of expressing passion for the past as well as cinema. Courteous viewer feedback is always welcomed. Contact information for the hosts is available on the homepage.
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HBO's 2001 series Band of Brothers brought television to a whole new level. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, it brought cinema quality story telling and production to the small screen and has become a classic historical mini series for many.
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners.

[@armynurse1510]

A few year's back, I was SFC Malarkey's nurse.....and although it felt weird to do so, I couldn't help but ask for his autograph at his bedside. .....told him how incredibly honored I was as a CPT (at the time) to take care of him. He was so gracious and obliged while appreciative.

[@Rensune]

Outstanding

[@rammingspeed5217]

Malarkey?.. Thats slang for bullshlt right?

[@darthmong7196]

Decades before mental health and PTSD were talked about, Malarkey perhaps more than anyone struggled after the war. That's very clear from his interviews. I met him once at a signing and just wanted to give him a big hug. Hope he was comfortable and well-looked after at the end.

[@rammingspeed5217]

@@darthmong7196 Malarkey.. That means bullshit right?

[@darthmong7196]

@Ramming Speed you keep saying it. We get it. It's neither funny or appropriate in this context.

[@TwistedThor187]

Nixon's laugh at the date of Jones graduation. Perfect

[@mikloowl4899]

Or Malarkey giving him the unimpressed nod when Jones says they dodges mortars coming in.

[@LordBloodraven]

@@mikloowl4899 It was like he was hearing a traffic report for the morning commute.

[@lawrencemay8671]

Jones was killed like 2 years later in an Auto accident in Germany

[@booey6190]

Ron Livingston was absolutely perfect in this series

[@kenbrovost9653]

Don't get hurt I almost feel like he was talking about easy company was going to hurt him

[@stellashepherd3229]

David Kenyon Webster went to school with my stepfather. My stepfather also fought in WW2 as a a fighter/bomber pilot over France and Germany. I had the honor of watching Band of Brothers with him. We both cried.

[@ReelHistory]

Very neat!

[@stellashepherd3229]

@@ReelHistory Yes. It was profound to watch this with someone who had fought in this war and knew someone portrayed there. It was also profound because I was able to cry with him.

[@txspyrate4446]

He was not cleaning his rifle, he was blackening the front sight, while others are covering up any part of their equipment that could reflect light or rattle. They were making proper and necessary preparations for night operations.

[@ericharmon7163]

In the full scene, there are some cleaning their rifles. I'm pretty sure Mclung or Hefron are. He is talking of the whole scene not just that short clip.

[@JonathanRossRogers]

I was wondering why one would apply flame to the front site. Adding soot makes sense.

[@majorhicksusmc]

The only purpose for blackening your sights for a night patrol would be to reduce any chance of reflection from any ambient light, and not for sight picture or sight alignment. The reason being is when you look through your rear sight aperture in the dark, you can’t align it with the tip of the front sight blade. Everything looks fuzzy because of the lack of sufficient light. The technique for combat shooting at night is to put your rifle into your shoulder, but instead of looking through the rear sight aperture, you look over the top of the rear sight. At night you want to drop your rear sight aperture several clicks to compensate for the fact that you are using the top of the sight for alignment with the front sight blade and not the rear sight aperture. And always, both eyes open. This has been taught for decades to both Army and Marine Infantry. The preparation of their gear is accurate: clean your weapon, tie down any equipment that will make noise, blacken any of your equipment that may be reflective, insure all canteens are full to the top so they don’t make a sloshing sound as you move, or empty them (there is no need for water in this situation), and none of your equipment squeaks as you move (which usually means sling swivels and lose slings. Either take them off and tape the sling swivels or tighten the slings). Silence is safety as sound travels far at night.

[@tenormdness]

@@majorhicksusmc Well said, sir! That just took me back a few decades.

[@CrossOfBayonne]

It was done so the Krauts can't see the glare of the gun during night missions, They also brought rifle grenades with them.

[@ncwoodworker]

Thanks for disclosing that Easter egg. I doubt I would have ever found that one.

[@cuateron9595]

That’s so funny, I’ve never noticed Cobb in the back of the Jeep!

[@gravitypronepart2201]

Same. I had heard it, but always forgot about it. Thanks for freezing it. Bet I never miss it again.

[@michajarosz8987]

Cobb is also visible behind Webster exchanging farewell nods with Lt Jones

[@queson52]

The amount of troops that died in non-combat motor vehicle accidents is truly astounding.

[@col.hertford9855]

Dexter fletcher was a household name already in the UK, he was also in Guy Richie’s’Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ which was an international success.

[@florentinosantana1407]

The scene of the patrol members preparing for the missions were making sure to darken any bright steel spots on the rifles and taping anything that could make noise.

[@kingmerlin9099]

"A haunted wagon" Made me think back to the second episode with Bill opening fire on that German wagon

[@fanaticduck9946]

The reason the one trooper is using a lighter on his front sight before the patrol was to put soot on it to reduce any glare and create a better sight picture in the darkness. Keep up the great work guys!

[@paulwilliams8555]

Didn't Sergeant York do something similar to his front sights

[@phillydelphia8760]

I had been wondering why that was, ever since it originally aired!

[@johnrohr6400]

The reason is simple to stop glare of the weapons forsight.

[@donaldg.freeman2804]

As soon as I heard the explanation "cleaning their weapons" I scrolled down to see how many people were going to contradict him. The other guy appears to be hiding a shiny buckle with electrical tape.

[@davidalexander8649]

Agreed Sir! Done it a few times on Marksmanship Courses in BAOR. All trained shooters concentrate on the foresight…

[@wattsnottaken1]

Holy shit this is such a good episode. Absolutely love Eion Bailey and Collin Hanks in this episode. Eion Bailey does a great job narrating the episode as Webster

[@GR-bn3xj]

I have read the book by Webster and it's very good. I have wished he had survived after the war longer, as he was an excellent orator and could have given some more insight with these interviews

[@martinwalshe5657]

I knew a man who was at Arnhem and ended up a POW , he was in a movie made after the war with the rest of the Parachute regiment ,called " theirs was the glory " he's name was Sgt Jack Daly from Port law, co Waterford Ireland

[@kfourom]

At 15:21 in, Malarky puts the handset in the holder and then cranks the magneto to "ring off" so the switchboard knows to clear the line and that both stations formerly communicating were ready for more calls. The Phone, btw is an EE-8 field phone, in use with US forces until the mid 60's.

[@clinttheboss2117]

You know way too much about this phone.

[@jjones503]

@@clinttheboss2117 this phone doesn't know anything about you though.

[@tonyguerra1273]

By my starting (but not ending) time, it was the PRC-77 for the RTO ("Rotelo") and the TA-312 for the field telephone. But the comms SOP was still exactly as you describe it.

[@KrissyMeow]

I watched this episode just last night and was curious about that! I assumed it was a hand crank battery type deal, so it would be good for the next call. Awesome to know that little bit of knowledge of what it really was for!

[@michaelw8262]

My grandfather is in that same edition of the West Point yearbook and would have graduated with Lt. Jones. He got married on graduation day, so my grandparents' landmark anniversary celebrations always corresponded with D-Day celebrations.

[@darrellfarley1869]

He was doing what was called “Doping” his front sight. It cuts the glare or haze as You sight your target. We always cleaned our weapons in the field (even at night) you learned how to do it. The old story of doing it blindfolded is often done because you never knew if you had to clear a jam at night.

[@astrirahadiputri3648]

Wow..that yearbook is a treasure!!

[@kenbrovost9653]

More of these guys need to be recognized I think for what they did. Especially Sergeant Martin and Doc Roe, Martin definitely needed to be promoted, he was always there leading the way. Doc too, always there

[@hanksilman4016]

My simple thought is that if you guys stay consistent with this then there is indeed a market. Your bubble will eventually explode with the knowledge you're bringing to the table. It's completely fresh from what I've seen and I go down a lot of these reaction rabbit holes. If you guys keep at it this is one of those channels that could easily pass the 100k mark in my opinion, as the content holds up. You're both doing great!

[@ReelHistory]

Thanks for the inspiration. Crossing the 1000 subscriber mark is really the only hurdle in our way. After that we are able to interact more with polls and community comments, along with the possibility of actually earning something from all these hours of work. Although I will admit, it is fun just to see everyone enjoy it.

[@hanksilman4016]

@@ReelHistory Glad to hear! And glad to be here from the beginning. (I think I was sub #200-and-something) I'm excited to watch you guys and the channel grow on your journey. Good Luck!

[@danballe]

22 k and counting! I do to go often into reaction vids all over YT. Historic channels are among the top interest as well as most fascinating, specially regarding war topics, both fiction, non fiction & mixture (i.e. Herman Wouk's Wind of War, some Leon Uris books)

[@jacobthayer236]

Almost 60k now! Let's get to 100k!

[@veramae4098]

Wish you'd explained "pen pals" that keep being mentioned.

[@Quadrenaro]

28:55 My uncle died two days after after Jackson did, just a few miles away. Like Jackson, it involved a river. I don't know the circumstances of his death, only that he was hit the night before and died the next morning. I've often thought about how close he was to the end. A bit more than two months. Actually, if Easy Company's raid took place after midnight, then my uncle was shot on the same day that Jackson died. Remembering you, Uncle Will, 76 years later.

[@hellletloosegameplay6119]

Good tie-in, man

[@veramae4098]

Give us his full name, so we can say it aloud. My Uncle Bill Lorenz was killed 22 days before Germany surrendered. My Grandparents never really recovered. Please say his name out loud. A machine gunner hidden in a church nearly cut him in two. His body was shipped home. My Grandmother desperately wanted to see her son one last time, but the undertaker took my Grandfather aside and said "We've done the best we could, but you've gotta stop her from opening the casket." My Grandmother was a very stubborn woman and almost always got it her own way, but this time Grandfather stood firm.

[@jeffausbun]

I hated history in high school. In college, a roommate told me that when he has a history class, he puts himself in thier shoes.. I wish I would gotten that tip by my middle school history teacher.

[@leilanz8325]

Really looking forward to episode 9. No matter how many times I watch it (or watch reactions to it), it always makes me cry like a baby.

[@danballe]

those darn onnions :'(

[@KrissyMeow]

Rewatching the series. Getting to episode 9 tonight. It's always a rough one.

[@georgepetty6473]

Lt. Jones being from Erie, PA is a nice coincidence. Erie is the town where the fictional Wonders were from in the movie That Thing You Do, directed by Tom Hanks.

[@neilholmes8200]

When Trumpets fade is an interesting movie, showing the terrible fighting in the Hurtgenwald. Well worth a watch

[@davidkimmel4216]

I really enjoy your comments all so much. Have known several WWII veterans. None of them talked very much. Did talk about the good times. Friends were in both theaters. One of my Uncle’s was McArthers G2 There again no talking at all.

[@tenormdness]

I’m 42 now, but if you were a local Prof., I’d take one of your courses! This has been amazing content. I’ve seen BoB probably 50+ times, every week in the Army when I had staff duty! It’s been great to hear you expand on it. Thanks so much!

[@tonyguerra1273]

Yeah, come on, Doc. I'm sure you're up for some video-based history lesson courses (on Wondrium, even). I have more than enough in the way of university sheepskins at this point. Just give us the "straight skinny," as we used to say. ;-)

[@charliec5449]

Loved the Lipton / Spiers story.

[@DogmaBeoulve]

Oh man, so much more history and backstory in this episode :D I really love that Cobb got his, the guy was a pain ever since Replacements.

[@ReelHistory]

They may have played up his character quite a bit but accounts vary. Also, he may have missed out on D-day but he did participate in Operation Torch in Africa.

[@ThisNewHandleSystemSucks]

Accounts seem to vary as far as his brash nature, and he obviously did get drunk at one point and was court martialed. But I hate how the series portrays him as cowardly. The guy served with Easy through every battle after recovering from the Normandy invasion, and had even served in Africa before joining the paratroopers. Asshole? Possibly. But a warrior like the rest of em.

[@tonyguerra1273]

I think that a lot grunts and troopers (my paternal grandfather, who fought throughout the ETO from D-Day onward as a 'leg infantryman, was one of them) back then looked at a summary up through a general court martial as just something that sometimes happened to you. It was wartime, after all. For example, actor Lee Marvin -- who served in the Pacific Theater as a Marine -- certainly bounced up and down the rank structure, as did a lot of the soldiers and sailors serving in the ETO. One (non-sea, hahaha!) story: During my commissioned service, when I was a Navy Lieutenant I served as one of the recorders and admin overseers for the Chief (E7) selection board. At that time in the military, a lot of the candidates had seen Vietnam service and the Navy was quite a bit more rowdy than it is today. One of the criteria the selection board had been given was that those with two or more special or general courts-martial couldn't make Chief that year. If you had a summary court martial (which was a relatively minor conviction back then that was slightly above a non-judicial punishment and misdemeanor-like in nature)? You were probably going to make Chief. If you had a single conviction at a special or maybe even a general court martial? Depending on how old it was (five years or older), you were also likely to make Chief. It's just the way the military used to operate back in wilder times. Discipline was more freely handed out and negative behavior was more freely engaged in. ;-)

[@guyjperson]

@@ThisNewHandleSystemSucks I dunno. His one "cowardly" moment was saying he wouldn't go back to get Randleman, looking like he was afraid. It was a volunteer mission. He went on that mission, despite being afraid. That's the absolute definition of courage.

[@renatopba]

Glad you cleared what happened with Cobb. He disapears after this episode, now we know why.

[@crusherjones6809]

With that Philly accent Jared goes after diphthongs like Easy company went after the SS. Nice! Loving these videos, team.

[@jjones503]

1k subs to 9.9k in 4 months. You guys are rocking it. I have to say, history has by far been my most favorite subject to study. Sadly, my desire to study history stems from the lack of history taught in public education. You guys are truely providing a remarkabke service to your community and I am extremely thankfull to have found your channel. Your work is not only informative, but also very entertaining. I'll be ordering your book to support the channel, would love to see some kind of monthly history livestream of some kind. So much history, so little time. Thanks guys!

[@jjones503]

P.s, would you be so kind as to create a list of all the books you mention through out this series? Would be helpful!

[@mikloowl4899]

It's quite interesting watching your "reaction" reviews compared to so many others which are based primarily on emotion or the common "If that was me I would ..." type discussions, not to mention most peoples' loose grasp on history on context. On the topic of historical movies I would find it interesting to see your perspective and comparison of ones such as Catch Me if you Can and the prohibition era Untouchables. How true to historical events are they and the grey notion of the good guys v the bad guys each presents.

[@galeholford1190]

Cobb was a bad mamba jamba. That is never spoken about. The book and Winters’ own Beyond BoB talks about him being tough as nails…that’s how I remember him being described. He had been in the army, I think, 9 years already before volunteering for the Airborne.

[@paulwilliams8555]

My first experience with real history as an army veteran you guys are terrific and your presentation is unique and innovative I subscribed love to see you do something on Siege of Firebase Gloria

[@tonyguerra1273]

I don't know about anything else, but I loved R. Lee Ermey in the film treatment of what went on.

[@caseyang2943]

Wow, i have been rewatching this show for more than 5 6 times and i did not realize that Cobb was on a MP jeep! hahaha, thanks for the sharing. I LOVE this show Band Of Brother. Thanks for your detail sharing on those little bits of history that is unknown to people like me who is non historian. 😀

[@lightyearsfromhome1165]

Although I am a bona-fide self proclaimed ww2 fanatic I find your method of analyzing very effective and entertaining. I learned a few things as well! I'm just surprised you don't have 10k subs yet. Keep with it because I like your style. Thanks!

[@ReelHistory]

Thank you! Keep an eye out, new episode tomorrow morning. 8am EST

[@shadowwolf2524]

I was born in 1964 so I was lucky enough to talk with several men who served during the war, including my grandpa. I'll share his story with you- I believe it will interest you. He was in an Infantry company in France in 1944. He went in just after D-Day. He was involved in several close quarter fire fights. Grandpa told me his whole squad used nothing but M1 Garand, loaded with armor piercing ammo. The German POW's they did capture bitched about that. They said they couldn't hide from that ammo. Grandpa was shot in the head by a sniper one evening. The sniper was quickly taken out with a BAR. The sniper turned out to be a French female civilian. It's not talked about too much, but alot of the French civilians were not happy with the Americans. Our bombing had killed many of them. Grandpa was in a coma for 2 weeks. When he woke up, he asked a nurse what day it was. It was his birthday ! He finished out the war in England, guarding German POW's. He hated Germans the rest of his life. Just seeing one on tv would make him holler and curse! He had to be careful the rest of his life not to hit his head on anything. He did bring back a Luger. He sold it for $35 when he married my grandma.

[@KrissyMeow]

​@shadowwolf2524 I know this comment is a year old but thank you for sharing! And thank you to your grandfather (I imagine he's likely passed) for his service. I'm glad he made it out, and especially after such a devastating injury.

[@neilholmes8200]

30:05 I can never get out of my head that he was also in Press gang and the film Lock stock and two smoking barrels when I see him

[@KOHTAOMURDERSDEATHISLAND]

Thanks for that video professor! Superb. ✅

[@brendanlillie7037]

I would love to see your analysis of Braveheart. Thank you for all your videos. I truly enjoy your lectures 🙂

[@ReelHistory]

Great suggestion! We'll get there soon enough.

[@cannonfodder6654]

I noticed cobb in the jeep watching that today! Never seen it before.

[@michaelhayes9773]

In my mind the interactions between the guys was the most authentic thing about this mini series. Although there was a lot of historical facts in the series, there were many blatant falsehoods that Ambrose should have gotten right but didn't, tells me a lot about Hanks as well. I'm just about to finish watching it for the 10th time as I type this. 20 year retired career soldier here.

[@JOMalone3113]

Greyhound! I would love to see you do a breakdown of the history behind this Hanks movie. It is incredibly thrilling and I love the tactical sea battles they have in the film.

[@kentan00]

I love the format of your videos, I have watched Band of Brothers multiple times yet your reviews/breakdowns, give us so much more context than about the individual solider and events. Additionally you honor the names and deeds of soldiers that where not featured as a character on the show which is really great. I hope you guys do more videos on different historical movies and shows. i would love to see your take on movies like We were soldiers, Letters from Iwo Jima and other great war movies

[@ReelHistory]

Oh boy do we have big plans. We're not stopping anytime soon. Stay tuned and hang tough!

[@captainboots]

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate your GENTLY setting the record straight on things the miniseries chose (or had to) portray differently. In particular, it's bothered me how they portray Webster is treated on returning. Your videos about this series are interesting and well worth watching on their own for more information, no matter what level of information the audience member might have.

[@ZBLDS]

As an Eighth Air Force buff, I would be remissed if I didn't suggest Memphis Belle. Although it being a fictionalized account has often made it a target for scrutiny, I've found my own appreciation of the film only growing over time as my own research and knowledge on the topic has expanded. There are so many instances of attention to detail that demonstrate just how much effort was put into the film and respect there was for capturing the experiences of bomber crews during that period. In fact, because the plot of movie is fictional, it would make it an even more interesting candidate to compare and contrast the real history and people against what was changed for the dramatization. Lastly, it really marks the end of an era in filmmaking, at least for aerial war films, where scenes were shot either completely for real with actual aircraft or with the use of detailed scale modelling, something that just isn't nearly as feasible today. Fingers crossed for Masters of the Air miniseries.

[@craemac]

Great analysis and explanations. While no movie was ever made, Janice Holt Giles' book, 'The Damned Engineers', would make a great discussion series.

[@kennethsilverwind7575]

As a paramedic, myself. And a lover of war history, I would love to see y’all do hacksaw ridge. One of my favorite stories to know and hear about!

[@brackpin]

Would love a in depth video on the movie "when trumpets fade", keep up the great work.

[@manxhu6610]

Thank you for this.

[@darrinhorowitz113]

I enjoyed your insights on all these episodes.

[@Droodog127]

Dexter Fletcher was in Bugsy Malone (for the older crowd to remember) Websters German speaking skills were sadly portrayed in the series

[@ericsanger4408]

lol, 1k subscribers. Nice job Jared. Appreciate you.

[@ReelHistory]

Thanks! We have grown a wee bit but hope to grow more!

[@richardlouro5603]

excellent program and history lesson. All your videos I am now watching are so very interesting and informative. Thank you.

[@jimadams3631]

Great job as usual, seen this series many times, the Cobb Easter egg, I have never seen, thanks

[@mattparanormalresearcherre1360]

I love this channel!! I'm a WW2 historian, as well. I can't say enough how awesome these videos are. Thank you. I was wondering if you could do one on Andersonville the TV movie series. Thank you.

[@kennethlewis3870]

I think an analysis of "The Thin Red Line" would be compelling. Guadalcanal was a fascinating campaign. Most think the battle was essentially over after the Marine's secured the airfield but that was far from the case. The Army divisions that followed up saw vicious combat .

[@rickycalais3356]

Brilliant commentary on a great series.

[@ReelHistory]

Thank you!

[@BangBangSticks]

I've watched Band of Brothers countless times, I own 3 copies of it and never seen that Cob in the back of the MP jeep!

[@davemac1197]

Hi Jared and Andrew, thanks for more great insight into Easy Company, and one of my favourite episodes of this series. My historical film question for you is about the film version of Cornelius Ryan's book A Bridge Too Far. Question: was this American produced and scripted film a deliberate whitewash of the US 82nd Airborne Division's failure to secure the Nijmegen bridges on the first day of the operation, and promoting instead the idea that Market Garden was ill conceived, badly planned, and based on faulty intelligence? Swedish Historian Christer Bergström's book, Arnhem 1944: An Epic Battle Revisited, refers. Thank you,

[@gravitypronepart2201]

I'll answer. No.

[@jonmilford4751]

Would love to see your take on Saving Private Ryan. Another great movie.

[@TheEvertw]

Thank for explaining that they crossed the Moder, I lived under the impression that it was the Rhine (just 5km away from Haguenau). The Moder is just a small stream, easy to cross by anyone who doesn't mind getting a bit wet.

[@lazuruslong63]

I discovered your channel today and have been pleasantly surprised! I did subscribe and would love to see a review of Patton. Keep up the good work!

[@ReelHistory]

Welcome aboard! Patton is on our long list so stay tuned!

[@andreraymond6860]

Regarding the Dieppe raid. The British high command has always held that the raid was a 'dress rehearsal' for D-Day. The lessons learned on the morning of 1942 (at the cost of thousands of Canadian lives) were necessary to save even more lives in June of 1944. I hold that most of the mistakes made were unnecessary and just fly in the face of common sense. No preparatory bombardment to soften up the coastal defenses (there were some in the initial plan but they were later scrapped). No scouting of the beaches by frogmen to ascertain that the beaches were conducive to tank maneuvers (they were not). Etc. So basically, these brave men were needlessly slaughtered to political expediency and the Ego of Mountbatten and certain British and Canadian generals. What do you think? And would you consider doing a review of the excellent CBC television miniseries on Dieppe made in 1993?

[@TERoss-jk9ny]

Major Winters said the Brits were “great planners”, but after Market Garden he didn’t want anything to do with Monty.

[@lindanapier-burrows1799]

I so agree with your assessment of Dieppe. In WW1, at Vimy Ridge, the newly anointed Canadian Army, independent of the British command, spent months investigating the terrain and practising the 'rolling barrage'. My uncle aged 17 died in the February 1917 whilst delivering messages in the trenches. I have NO time for Mountbatten or those of his ilk and their recklessness

[@mrquirky3626]

In the last few years, a Canadian historian was speculating that the Dieppe landing wasn't an attempted beachhead, but cover for an intelligence raid planned by future James Bond author Ian Fleming to steal an Engima machine. Sounds like a movie plot but if true it would mean the Brit commanders thought the Canadians were even more expendable than first thought.

[@tonyguerra1273]

I love how higher-headquarters leaders -- when an operation blows up in their faces -- always fall back on the old "It was a rehearsal for future operations" or "But we learned so many lessons" excuses. Explain that to the Gold Star moms and dads, s'il vous plaît.

[@davidk7324]

Dieppe has been revealed as a "Pinch" operation to acquire an Enigma machine. See WW2TV's youTube channel. There are a number of superb Dieppe (Operation Jubilee) videos available. See the 2 part series with David O'Keefe. WW2TV is must viewing for anyone interested in WW2 writ large--ETO/PTO.

[@thomasrossi3061]

My favorite military movie is Battleground but right up there is A Walk in the Sun with Richard Conte and Dana andrews would love for you to give your perspective on these two great movies

[@ericharmon7163]

A Walk in the Sun is a great movie. One of the few on the Korean war.

[@mortalclown3812]

Battleground is my favorite war film; glad you posted this.

[@cg98243]

The DVDs have been on my shelf for years. Time to break them out again! Has someone mentioned you doing Guns of Navarone?

[@cg98243]

(which I know is fictional)

[@ReelHistory]

@@cg98243, some day!

[@mikloowl4899]

One let down of the BOB book by Ambrose was with how he glazed over the discovery of the concentration camp. I felt like it deserved more than what practically amounted to a footnote. Nearing the end of the book it felt like he realized he was on a page limit and began to gloss over fine details.

[@ReelHistory]

Hopefully our next episode makes up for any of the books shortcomings.

[@tonyguerra1273]

@@ReelHistory It did. I saw your explication, and it was outstanding and right on the mark. You also didn't spare the German people from their part in the tragedy. Good job.

[@jamesheffernan1757]

Ironically Easy Company did not discover the concentration camp, a U.S. Armored Unit did, Easy passed through it shortly after that, this may be why Stephen Ambrose did not write much about it but the HBO scriptwriters based a whole episode around its discovery. Stephen Spielberg, also of “Schindler’s List” fame seems particularly focused on the discovery of the concentration camp despite Easy Company being late comers to that discovery.

[@lindsayjohnston7465]

One of my favorite movies The Lost Battalion would love to hear commentary

[@ReelHistory]

That's a good one, I wish there were more time in the day. Hang Tough!

[@GeneH339]

I pray I never have an pneumonia but if I do, Schnapps and streudel it is. Love it.

[@eugenewall6620]

They weren’t cleaning their weapons, they were camouflaging their equipment. Black tape over buckles to quiet and darken them, and carbon from the lighter flame to darken the metal on their rifles.

[@ericharmon7163]

In the scene, either Mclung or Hefron are indeed cleaning their weapon.

[@tonyguerra1273]

We never went out on patrol without taping down all our battle rattle ("Deuce gear," or 782 gear, in my younger years) to silence rattles (I used to secure my pouches and things to my harness and web belt with black zip ties), filling our canteens so they didn't slosh around, and otherwise making sure we didn't shine or make noise, if possible. We always buried any paper wrappers ("Geedunk" candy, etc.) and other trash, if we didn't take it with us, and whatnot. The Easy Company troopers were combat-hardened vets by then and knew to do those things automatically by that point.

[@gravitypronepart2201]

All these episodes are on my top 10. 😏 but seriously, love this one. Winters must have been even more endeared to his men after blowing off the regimental commander.

[@johnmassoud930]

Winters was Battalion Commander. Colonel Sink was the Regimental Commander.

[@gravitypronepart2201]

@@johnmassoud930 thanks

[@jonesy9900]

Great work alla round, guys. Really good stuff, but not as good as that cure-all Lipton had received. Best remedy for pneumonia I've ever heard of! What kinda schnapps was it??? Definitely interested in trying this.

[@rrs1912]

Excellent work!!! Very interesting insights on our beloved band of brothers!!!!

[@hinterwaldler1122]

15:20 Why does he hang up the receiver of the field telephone and then turn the crank? By turning the crank, a bell sounds at the operator. And then the operator knows that the call is over and it disconnects the call.

[@jannarkiewicz633]

To quote "Better Call Saul" -- it is like a Ken Burns documentary on boredom.

[@ReelHistory]

Our show is boring or the miniseries is boring?

[@jannarkiewicz633]

@@ReelHistory KEN BURNS IS BORING. You mentioned him. And Saul's quote is a great dig at Ken Burns. I'm back in time (2 years) so I am seeing your early shows and growth)

[@ReelHistory]

@@jannarkiewicz633, thanks for not getting bored with us! 😃

[@ronaldtartaglia4459]

Heartbreaking scene.

[@johnbrooks595]

Scnapps-Good stuff

[@williamdegnan4718]

15:17 Why do you "ring off" at the end of a call on a field phone? If you just had just two phones wired together, there's no need. But add a third phone (or more) to the wire or tie it into a switchboard, ringing off signals the other phones on the party line that the wire is available for another call. In the case the phone is served by a switchboard it alerts the operator to take down the connection. Not ringing off increases the workload of the operator and reduces the network's efficiency.

[@bradschaeffer5736]

Have you done The Pacific or considering it? It’s a very different view of a very different theater of operation with a very different enemy. It also shows you the Marines’ return to civilian life and PTSD. (Son of a First Marine Division. Veteran-Korea-asking)

[@ReelHistory]

We will be starting that in a month or 2

[@CrossOfBayonne]

Great I have friends who were 1st Marine Division men.

[@PanhandleFrank]

I wonder if, after both men returned to civilian life, Winters ever fessed up to Sink about that final patrol. I’d have been sorely tempted to tell him ...

[@fxrs1982]

The lighter on the front sight puts soot on the blade to make it black it makes for better sighting. The blade will be more black in the rear apature. The other guy was taping off his gear I assume to eliminate rattles. I did that in the Army in the 80s.

[@boblevieux]

I remember seeing Cobb on that Jeep and wondering for a second, "why didn't the camera follow him ?" "eh who cares".

[@thetruth1862]

My cousin went to West Point, she was an elite cross-country runner, from East Tennessee

[@curtiscox7105]

Not sure if it has already been mentioned, but in this episode, the German wailing in pain was played by Tom Hanks. Heard that on another channel.

[@ReelHistory]

It actually isn't, his one and only cameo was as one of the rescued celebrating Red Devils in Episode 5

[@tbd-1]

@@ReelHistory Two cameos, the other being as a French officer shooting German prisoners while Easy was headed for Eagle's Nest.

[@MrAdamloring1985]

I would like to see you cover PATTON or Frost v Nixon

[@frankmoore2797]

Please review historical accuracy of the 1986 film “The Mission”.

[@mortalclown3812]

Best episode: one person's opinion. Props to C. Hanks.

[@Farbar1955]

Was there any determination of what the "blue lights" were that David Webster saw floating in that field and woods one night in Haguenau? He mentions it in his book and never found out what they could have been and never saw them again.

[@mikkoalberto862]

Wow i did not notice cobb was on military jeep with the MP until you point it out.

[@kimisdaman]

I'm reading Webster's book, and am surprised how much the details of The Last Patrol vary from history. One of the key moments of the entire episode, is when Webster, who readily admitted he did what he was told, but never volunteered for anything, tries to avoid the patrol by pointing out a second interpreter isn't needed, and then watching Liebgott being offered the opportunity to sit-out the patrol. It was good insight into Webster's character, but, in fact, Liebgott did go on the patrol, and Webster did not. Webster devotes 15-20 pages to the patrol, and his account varies quite a bit from the brief coverage in Winters' Beyond BoB.

[@timothy1949]

I got a bit upset that Cobb was removed, and I dont really remember when did I last saw him in band of brothers. did he join any reunion after the war? its interesting for me to find out he was fighting in Africa in 1942 before he joined the 101. I dont understand how they could fake a second mission i found it quite unbelievable because all the guns are supposed to go off when they take back the prisoners.

[@tbd-1]

If they get prisoners...

[@danielemlet7885]

You should also do the Pacific

[@bramvanworkum]

so with regard to historical film(s) The battle of Gaugamela from the movie "Alexander"

[@safetyfirstintexas]

Crossing the rhine with dry feet, courtesy of the 9th armored division. HELL ON WHEELS The memory brought to you by the son of the radio operator of the 5th company across the bridge at remagen, who said " thank god they used i beams when building that bridge"

[@TraceVandal]

I'm from a small town called Ketchikan, Alaska and I've always heard that one of the veterans of Easy Company ended up living here at some point, in the documentary We Stand Alone Together you can even hear one of the vets mention moving to Ketchikan but it's not clear who says it. Do you guys know? I've tried to research it myself but I haven't found much.

[@ReelHistory]

We will definitely be using this one!

[@ericharmon7163]

Rod Bain. Malarkey mentions it in the epilogue of his book.

[@mistervacation23]

How about we do a breakdown of the movie The Conspirator? I personally think Mary Surratt was guilty as charged

[@Daeneas.]

Not a movie question, but a history one, was the 9th fren division, known as LeClerck division, or La Nueve, composed solely by tanks or they had infantry too?

[@davemac1197]

Not sure which unit you're referring to, but the Armored Division commanded by Philippe Leclerc during the liberation of France in 1944 was the 2nd Armored Division (France). It was formed from units that earlier fought in North Africa, but for the liberation of Europe was re-organised as a 'light' armored division based on US Army Tables of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) and served under and supplied by Patton's Third Army. If you want a fantastically detailed source for the organisation of an American 'light' Armored Division I can thoroughly recommend Yves Bellanger's book U.S. Army Armored Division 1943-1945: Organizaton, Doctrine, Equipment. There were only two American divisions that retained the original 'heavy' organisation, one of which was the US 2nd Armored (as distinct from the French 2nd AD) known as 'Hell On Wheels', also serving in Europe. So this book relates to every other armored division organised and equipped by the US Army. The basic organisation includes 3 tank battalions, 3 armored infantry battalions and 3 artillery battalions. The Division has 3 'Combat Commands', which in the UK we would call brigade headquarters, named CCA, CCB and a reserve or rest command called CCR. Each CC would have one of each type of battalion, tank, infantry and artillery, rotated periodically back to CCR for rest or refit. CCA and CCB would each have two 'Task Forces' lead by the tank and infantry battalion HQs, and have a mix of tank and infantry companies in each force. There are also support units like a Recon, Tank Destroyer, Anti-Aircraft and Combat Engineer Battalions, that can be broken down into sub-units and attached to each Task Force, and the usual logistics trains to support the whole Division. I hope that answers your question?

[@oolillemyoo4099]

I’d love to suggest videos and ask questions, but first I need to ask: Do you exclusively focus on the period around the two world wars? Or are you also interested in time periods and events from before the 20th century? Don’t get me wrong, there is loads and loads to explore in that timeframe! However, I’m also a geek for e.g. the Victorian and Edwardian era - and if we're going further back, I’m also greatly interested in the Roman and Egyptian empires ;) So, I guess I’m trying to enquire as to what focus you wish to have on the channel - and your focus as a historian :) I hope that made sense, sorry English isn’t my native language and I’m very tired.

[@ReelHistory]

We are branching out after this series is completed. Although if I had to narrow it down, I would have to say mid 19th to mid 20th century is our specialty. But don't expect us to be exclusive to that time period.

[@oolillemyoo4099]

@@ReelHistory Well, that’s a whole century - so that’s plenty of time, with more than plenty of events to look in to ;) History is never boring, and that time period is full of super exciting and world-changing events... yay! :) I’m super tired and stressed out, so I’ll wait with any suggestions until another day. Besides I’m sure you already have 100’s in the queue already >.< I’d love to hear about it, if you’ve seen any of BBC’s “farm documentary series”, where historians live and work on a farm - e.g. there’s one called “Wartime Farm”. But I’m not sure how many British/BBC documentaries you watch as Americans?! Sorry for rambling - I’m just excited to see what you’ll dive in to in the future :)

[@jjones503]

@@oolillemyoo4099 I'm excited these guys are doing such a good job. These videos have been truely refreshing.

[@DMUSA536]

Your English is perfect

[@michaelhayes9773]

I'm not sure how I feel about Cobb being court-martialed. from what I have been able to find out about him he was a pain at times, but after going through WWII and what he endured, anyone should have been given a pass for insubornination. Although I did read that the event was much more serious than depicted in the series. The dang war was all but over anyway. I also read that he had actually served for 9 years prior to going to Easy Company and was always angry for not climbing up the ranks. Not sure if it is true, but the internet said so.

[@lawrencemay8671]

Lt Jones was part of the Occupation Force. He was killed in a car crash on the Autobahn a couple years later. Yes he was transferred to 1/508 PIR. MY 82nd Regiment.