REACTING to *1x7 Band of Brothers* THE MOST HEARTBREAKING EPISODE! (First Time Watching) Tv Shows

[@dgpatter]

Fun fact: the story about Muck swimming across the Niagara was added to the script last minute. The actor, not having Muck to talk to, had several conversations with his family. The sister told him about that event and how angry she and their mother were. The actor liked the story so much that he told the writers and they worked it in during filming.

[@mulrich]

The reason they were so happy that Lt Peacock was being sent to the US for a month is because he wasn't a very good officer, as Winters said earlier in the episode, though not for lack of trying. The guys of Easy genuinely liked Peacock, so their joy was two-fold: a nice guy got to go home and they were rid of a bad officer for a month. Regarding Michael Fassbender, it's funny that you only notice him now. He's been there since the very first episode. Christenson, the recruit Sobel chews out for drinking from his canteen, despite being ordered not to. And no, the episode was narrated by neither the author, Stephen Ambrose, nor the actor playing Speirs. It was narrated by Donnie Wahlberg, playing Lipton.

[@przemekkozlowski7835]

Fassbender was really young when filming this and he really does not look like "himself" in the first episode. In this episode he looks older and is unshaven so looks more like the current Fassbender.

[@louispaulter8733]

Nice correction, giving credit where credit is due even though just a honest mistake made. It happens.

[@jean-philippedoyon9904]

Well about Fassbender, he's pretty much only in those 2 episodes...Same with Tom Hardy in the 9 one !

[@mulrich]

@@jean-philippedoyon9904 Fassbender is present in episodes 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

[@Raptchur]

I didn't watch this when it came out. Didn't have HBO. And i'm glad i didn't. A friend of mine let me borrow the dvd box set and i watched one episode a day. Easily could have watched all in one day but each episode deserves some time for thought. Plus i played Call of Duty 3 after watching each time lol. What i'm trying to say is they should watch it faster and watch it twice.

[@christhompson9140]

Carwood Lipton (played by Donnie Wahlburg) was the narrator and the focus of the episode. Bill Guanere was heavily involved with easy company reunions and there are some great interviews, clips, media about him on youtube. He and Babe Heffron also wrote a great book. RIP to them all.

[@sannaolsson9106]

Which they shouldn't watch until after the last episode.

[@FrenchieQc]

Speirs hooked up with "I" company, relayed the orders to their leader, and started to head back. "I" company's leader was immediately mowed down by machine gun fire, but thankfully someone else had been next to them and was able to pass on Speirs' directives around. Also, the buildings in Foy still stand to this day, the one where Shifty fired from, and the one where the german sniper was. It's roughly a 65m/210ft headshot while standing, with iron sights, that Shifty pulled off there. When soldiers from Easy went to check on the sniper, they found Shifty had nailed him right between the eyes.

[@emil87th]

That's... not that impressive tbh. 65 m with a rifle? I think anyone could've hit the target from that distance, maybe not a forehead shot, but hit the sniper? Absolutely. The shortest long range distance we practiced on the firing range during my conscription was 100 m and I routinely shot 5 shots within 10 cm of each other using iron sights at that distance. 65 m is considerably closer than that. I'm not trying to take anything away from Shifty, he saved them and is a hero, and granted I never had someone firing back at me while I did it, but still. I guess I'm just surprised it wasn't further away, I always thought they showed the sniper that close for television show purposes. Some distances are shortened to get as much of the action into frame as possible. For example the advance down to Foy was something like a kilometer of open ground they had to cross. Not the 150-200 m shown.

[@Raptchur]

@@emil87th "granted I never had someone firing back at me while I did it, but still." Should have thought about that a little more before commenting and probably shouldn't have commented at all. You probably weren't in a gun battle for hours before taking any of your shots either...

[@emil87th]

@@Raptchur lol, so angery

[@dernwine]

Dude, 65m with a rifle is not that impressive. Hitting a Figure 12 target, standing unsupported with iron sights at 100m is part of a pass mark for basic training in most armies.

[@dernwine]

@@Raptchur I take it you have then?

[@mattyoung7415]

Just in case nobody's done this already, Spiers' run was actually further than in the show, under heavy fire, and he was apparently even shouting shit to the Germans as he ran past. I heard they played it down in the show as they thought nobody would believe the real thing.

[@malacaimarbas2048]

A very interesting moment they don’t really go in depth into: When Hoobler’s Luger goes off, Lipton and Buck ask Shifty what he sees and he says that it wasn’t a sniper. They asked him because he was a marksman himself (able to identify immediately if it was a rifle or not) and he had previously been able to spot a sniper in the woods. How? He had memorized the trees around him and realized there was something out of place. He was extremely self effacing as shown, and you could just imagine how much better his father was at marksmanship if he was saying his father was better than him.

[@veronicab9253]

Thank you. I always thought they asked him because he had the best eyesight. Which is technically what you said but I didn't know those details! Amazing.

[@paulhewes7333]

I think (i might be mixing war stories) that Shifty knew when a tree was out of place and stopped them from walking into an ambush. It's been a bit since i read the book.

[@ryanhampson673]

Also it’s the sound of the shot. A rifle and pistol have different reports and sound different. Even different weapons have signature sounds so after a while you can tell what rifle is being fired.

[@JoeXTheXJuggalo1]

When they was talking about people being wounded and injured. The guy that got cut by glass on D-Day was Moe Alley. When Moe landed on D-Day he landed on top of a fenced with glass pieces on the top of it. This was know as "glass fences" where people would imbed broken pieces of glass on top of their fences. It was a old fashioned way to prevent and deter people from entering their property by jumping over their fences.

[@SadPeterPan1977]

The obligatory comment that has to be made to any reactor who watches this episode is to point out that the series kinda did Norman Dike a disservice. A mixture of the recollections of the men of Easy Company, who clearly didn't like or respect him as a company leader even decades later, and a bit of creative license from the TV writers, meant that Dike was portrayed in a way that wasn't quite accurate (but perhaps not completely untrue either). His military record has a number of acts of personal bravery for which he received medals and at least one Easy company soldier involved in the attack on Foy said that Dike was wounded during the attack and it was the shock of that that made him halt the attack rather than panic. The series also hints that he was killed in the attack (the German blow up the haystack he's hiding behind) but in reality he made it back to the company lines with a medic and was later transferred to work at Regimental headquarters.and then on to becoming an aide to General Maxwell... which may have been why Easy Company men thought about him as being someone who was just climbing the ladder.

[@charlize1253]

True, Dike's actions are a bit exaggerated. But this episode is about reputation -- the troops had no confidence in Dike so they were willing to believe the worst about him. Whether true or not, that's a leadership problem in itself. It's the inverse of Spiers: he might not have been as fearsome as his legend, but the men believed the legend because they believed in him

[@khalduras784]

Its still however worth mentioning that Dike's case is more of a case of someone being supposedly good at a specific role but then placed/promoted to a role that they simply couldnt really do.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Dike got the short end of the stick. It is what it is.

[@christinegamache5893]

I'd seen this same comment on many reactors pages, so I looked into it. The truth is, that what was depicted in the show is accurate to Easy Company's experience. He seemed disinterested in his men and leading, he seemed incompetent, he often disappeared for long stretches--this is all accurate. Multiple Easy Company soldiers (including Lipton, Malarky, and Winters) talk about this. Now, I do think he was suffering from PTSD, which was the reason for a lot of his behavior. The series does show this to some extent--yawning, staring off into space, etc are symptoms of PTSD.

[@TheFreakedoutduck]

I'm sure for some of the men he seemed inept because you were going from having Winters leading to Dike. Winters is a hard act to follow.

[@williamkerner3758]

One thing that is hard to grasp from watching a video episode, is what a long continuous grind all this was. These guys did not wash, did not eat hot food, did not sleep indoors, for over a month, all the time living through extreme bloody violence. We can hardly even imagine how hard and mentally taxing that has to be. And to keep going and fight and win under those conditions is truly remarkable.

[@jean-philippedoyon9904]

That moment when Buck just see Garnarey and Toye blow up and he screams medic....What was left of his shattered mind was gone, you can't psychologically survive that !! That was a heavy moment...

[@EvelyntMild]

Buck maintained thereafter that any "madness" the men saw was him being uncontrollably angry that Dike wasn't there to take control of the situation, and never was.

[@SnailHatan]

Except that you can, and it has been survived countless times.

[@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine]

Sad to think by 2045, there won't be a single WWII veteran left.

[@dabegmister]

One hundred and eighteen years is a long time

[@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine]

@@dabegmister Kane Tanaka lived to be almost 120, and I believe the oldest person in Japan is 116. Some folks just live a long ass time. There are still over 100,000 WW2 vets left, I'm sure 1 or 2 will make it past 110, especially with modern day healthcare.

[@dabegmister]

@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine I never said it was impossible I said it was a long time I'm aware of those people

[@KM-yr7xd]

Only children of the WW2 left soon .. But have never known that I'll be for someone woman of the war ..

[@canadian__ninja]

It'll be a lot sooner than '45. The last of them will be leaving now. Everyone from Easy has been gone for at least a few years

[@MrBluntDaily]

IMO, This episode shows just how vital a leader is in combat. Not even a good leader... Just a leader. One guy chooses not to lead, and it takes 3 certified badasses to pick up his slack; Winters, Spiers, and Lipton.

[@brucechmiel7964]

Leugers were notorious for malfunctions. The firing pin had a major design flaw. They were known to Jim misfire and go off on their own. Even holstered brushing up against the wall or leaning against the tree, could set it off. My late 1942. They were already on their way out. Being replaced by a better designs side arm. Joe, there were a great many Luger’s still in circulation by 1945.

[@Karle94]

Irl Hoobler did not have a Luger, but a Belgian .32 ACP pistol that had a reputation for discharging unintentionally, kinda like the Nambu Type 14.

[@Reshtarc]

Speirs fought in WWII, Korea, and Laotian Civil War. Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal (3) Purple Heart (1) Army Commendation Medal

[@reecedignan8365]

One of my favourite episodes of BoB and a pleasure each time seeing people react to it; Tho I must also point out some history here that will help contextualise some stuff: 1. Let’s start with the hero of the episode Spiers. Did his run happen? Yes. And it’s only slightly off from what’s shown. I company had been sent in to support Easy during the attack after it had becomes stalled (and if you think Easy had the war bad, I by the attack on Foy had 40 active personnel). Due to the intermingling of US and German troops inside the town as Easy continued to push in, some started to move into areas where I Company was laying down fire as such Spiers seeing the situation made a run into and across the front of the German lines to get to I Companys command and tell them to shift there fire and advance in coordination. He was extremely lucky too as not only did he not get shot making the run, about 3 seconds after leaving a German machine gun burst took out I Companys commander in the same spot Spiers has been standing, tho one of his subordinates did managed to relay Spiers orders. As for the “rumours” both are true but with context. Spiers gunning down the prisoners on D-day was an issued order and something told to all US paratroopers by the 101st before jumping. The reason this was, is due to them being deep in enemy lines and in such small groups (and you have to remember they were expecting these guys to be in platoon sized and company sided formations not as scattered as expected) that due to having no set command posts or areas of security, and not willing to leave isolated squads of US paratroopers scattered across Normandy with a bunch of German prisoners who could easily be captured or isolated by German counter-attacks on the regions (again think of being left in Normandy to guard 6 German prisoners unknowing of even the beach attack would succeed and the large potential of German response forces or beach forces falling on your isolated position while the rest of your company moves on… not going to be considered). So for the first few days prisoners were not to be taken by Paratroopers of the allied armies. Plus the show does give leeway to alot of our Easy Company men too on this as we do have records of several of them committing just this type of thing that night too. The show just doesn’t go portraying them due to time and scale of episode. Did Spiers shoot one of his own Sergeants? Yes. Tho again context does begin to justify why. It was during when his platoon was hunkered down in Normandy (can’t exactly remember where) he was going between his squads when he noted one of his sergeants being extremely drunk. Noting the man being drunk he reprimanded the man and told him to head to the rear to which the sergeant began ignoring him. Telling him again, the sergeant began making threats towards both Spiers and his fellow squad members including with his weapon. During a third and final attempt Spiers demanded the sergeant to put down his weapon and return to the rear at which point either the sergeant began lifting his weapon towards spiers or a fellow soldier that spiers himself drew his pistol and shot the man dead. He didn’t even hide what he done, making sure his men were well and sending a report up command on the situation and his actions. When the report reached the commander of the 101st all he said was “you were to kind, I would have shot him immediately”. 2. Now let’s talk about Norman Dike. As people have said and is quite normal to note on this episode Dikes portrayal is quite poorly done here, tho a lot of this does come from the fact they use Ambrose book as a basis and he used Easy veterans as his which they had a extremely low opinion of Dike which did lead to a large amount of his portrayal here. As for Dike himself he was actually a pretty good platoon leader who’s men he lead in Normandy and Holland very much respected him and liked him. However, for all he was a good platoon leader, it’s clear he wasn’t ready for a company command, however, he kind of befell the same situation Winters did when Winters was given Battalion, he was too good at his job so they gave him a promotion to a higher one. It’s quite notable that Dike wasn’t ready for a Company Command of this size especially a combat one, however with a shortage of experienced combat officers, Dike prior performance lead to his promotion and being taken from his old guys and given over to the command of Easy. And here’s where we can also begin to talk on the other factors that likely effected Dikes command and reputation inside Easy: A. One thing that constantly brought up is Dike’s walks and his consistent disappearance to regiment. Tho there is likely reason behind it. For one Dike was very likely suffering from PTSD and prior wounds suffered in combat and his walks were essentially his way of dealing with them, it also didn’t help that unlike being in his prior platoon where he’d have the respect and companionship of his men, Easy was already bonded with one another and he himself was an outsider (didn’t help that easy also acted this way keeping him on the outside) so him going off alone instead of being with Easy men does make sense as he’s trying to likely deal with PTSD however doesn’t have the same support group as he did prior. In addition his “going to regiment” put in bad context by Easy vets is also quite poor as what he was trying to do several times was actually get help from the regimental medical station, problem is Easy just saw it as him him just buggering off as usual even with them seeing why after sometimes. B. As noted above, Easy themselves are at a good point of fault here too. Unlike several of the men who were spotted to take Easy after Winters, Dike wasn’t “Winters approved”. A lot of the guys slated to take over Easy we’re men Winters approved of to take command however due to officer casualties Dike was slotted in - again this leads to many in Easy taking the idea that it’s just a slot to get up in command vs an actual combat promotion due to prior success in combat and a shortage of officers. Due to this many of the veterans in Easy didn’t make life easy for Dike and didn’t back talk him a lot and make snide comments and undermine his command amongst their own troopers. So yeah, Dike was already an outsider coming into a bit of a hostile company who’s admiration for their prior commander and those not of his pick, kind of left dike at a major disadvantage to begin with. It’s actually likely of Dike has been promoted to command of his old platoons company command, he actually would have had some more success. He’d have the support of his fellow officers and his old sergeants and those secondary platoon sergeants who’d likely respect his reputation inside that company. However, being given Easy meant he lost all that. It also didn’t help Dike that Winters disliked him from the outgoing. And if the units old commander doesn’t like you and makes note of it infront of leading personnel… you can already expect what his men’s opinion of this guys going to be. So yeah Easy does have some blame for the situation as they themselves kept Dike on the outside vs accepting him in, which also lead to him feeling isolated from his command and like above a big reason he probably walked off to be alone alot. This is also a reason many vets also said that the reason Dikes attack on Foy failed was because he broke down and was just a incompetent leader. However, as noted by those in Dike command party and the medical staff after, Dike was wounded and very much suffering from shock part way into the engagement which was very likely the reason for the breakdown in command. - also unlike shown in the show, the company was a lot more spread out in real life so Dike complaining he couldn’t see Foley makes a lot more sense. 3. Shifty and the Sniper is true tho it didn’t happen at the end of the engagement. During the attack on Foy, Lipton was leading leading the men down the road towards the church. However, a sniper in a building on the otherside of the street from it was shooting down towards them - note Easy isn’t at the church but at the other end of a street leading down to the church where the sniper is. Lipton wouldn’t run at the sniper but instead would make the run away from him towards a building on the opposite street side further back - tho it was to draw out the sniper. Shifty as asked by Lipton would note the sniper and take a shot which was a couple hundred yards away and did score a kill through the Germans scope.

[@jp1170]

The strategic importance of holding the line is, regardless if theyre getting peppered by shells, their presence there alone kept the Germans from just driving through the hole in the line

[@tracyfrazier7440]

The hole in the line by this time was filled with American soldiers, pushing the Germans back. There was no possibility of the Germans taking the offensive.

[@explody7836]

I'm sure it's been said, but Dyke was a good soldier who served with distinction before he took over Easy company. Maybe he had hit his own breaking point, maybe he just wasn't suited to command, but either way, he was reportedly hit at the opening of the assault and his freezing up may have been the result of shock. It wasn't in the book, and therefore the show, because the Easy men really didn't know about it (he hadn't done much to endear himself to them, and they were more happy he was gone afterwards than curious about why).

[@tomw324]

Yea Dike is a good example of what a "bad leader" could be in this episode which works for dramatic effect, but it is a real disservice to the actual man who was a brave soldier who was perhaps put in a position out of his element and then in the assault on Foy was wounded and not capable of making proper decisions. The dude won two bronze stars before taking command of Easy Company and went on to a distinguished record in Korea. The series does a serious disservice to him. But good episode otherwise, glad to see the concentration on Lipton and fascinating the portrayal of Spiers.

[@RogCBrand]

The relentless cold has to be so miserable for combat troops, living for days or weeks, never getting warm. But, one good thing is that many soldiers that would have died of blood loss, like Toye losing his leg, survive because the extreme cold slows down blood loss.

[@jcarlovitch]

Lt. Spears was awarded the Bronze star for that battle.

[@gliblyaware]

Hoobler was actually shot by his own rifle while crawling through some barbed wire. The wire caught his trigger and he consequently shot himself in the leg. I imagine they added the Luger story for added drama...

[@ronweber1402]

Probably to also illustrate how notoriously touchy Lugers were. They could go off for any, or no, reason at all. Never keep a round in the chamber of a Luger unless you are firing it.

[@TheWindcrow]

I am so glad you guys are going through these. Very cool to see all generations interested in the greatest generation.

[@SovermanandVioboy]

Lugers have a light and short trigger and an external sear bar. They were notorious for getting off unintentionally. Also, from some german records you can tell that, despite Lugers were seen as a trophy gun from the allied forces, the german officers rather used other pistols, like Walther P38, bcs they were seen as more reliable.

[@kenle2]

The Luger was considered a superior trophy by Allied forces because it had been the original German sidearm before and during World War I, so most soldiers were familiar with it. And because, whatever its flaws, it is undeniably an esthetically beautiful piece of equipment.

[@Karle94]

Should also mention that Hoobler did not have a Luger, but a Belgian pistol, with the same reputation of unintential discharge.

[@dewdropxpiano]

I find it so amazing that they filmed all this INSIDE a studio! This series never ceases to wow me. No matter how many times I've seen it.

[@christopherroberts6089]

I have the DVD set and in the special features they go into great detail on how they made this episode, crazy amount of work went into this and it turned out fantastic

[@mermaidariel1316]

The series takes some liberties for TV effects and all, of course, but they did a hell of job in showcasing what Easy went through and who they lost along the way. The heaviness, drama, and also trauma is why I love this series so much. This episode specifically, echoed a lot of what I heard from my grandfather, who served with the Belgian troops in WWII and was a POW as well. During a night raid, his CO was shot in front of him, and he immediately ordered the others behind him to surrender iso engaging. Nobody else was killed. When he got back from Germany after escaping and hooking up with Americans (he'd been put on transport because Nazis thought he was Jewish as his middle name was Abraham), some of his men were already at home, and they came to thank him personally for saving them that night. Two of them survived him and came to his funeral, paying him a military salute as well.

[@farnell11]

"Most heartbreaking episode" Ohhhh boys, just wait for episode 9!

[@mercb3ast]

Few things to be aware of regarding Band of Brothers. It's an anecdotal second hand telling of events. Ambrose (the author), or the producers and directors took some wild liberties with some of the things that happened. Dike at Foy is one of them. Sobel is another, and so is Blythe. Dike didn't actually panic on the assault of Foy. He was badly wounded. He was decorated during Market Garden(bronze staR), and he went on to receive a 2nd Bronze Star during Bastogne, where he personally evacuated 3 wounded men, while under enemy fire, and then later served with distinction in Korea. Band of Brothers, is basically the memoirs of a small clique within Easy Company, written by an unapologetic fanboy. Dikes main crime, it seems, was that he wasn't Winters. Sobel received a similar treatment, and Blythe's story is just way off. It's that cliques history, as they experienced it, with all their biases and dislikes, that's probably the biggest bummer about what is otherwise an exceptional series. The petty character assassination of several people because that small group of guys didn't like them.

[@mark-be9mq]

To be fair the men's experience is the the story is the series. Easy Co recollections of Lt Dike are nearly unanimous. It was suggested after his earlier actions he had his own breaking point & not yet "ready" for battle like Buck & coupled w/ his emotional distance from the tight Co he was thrown into made the negative impressions. After his injury Blithe was sent home & remained hospitalized for over a yr never returning to EU theater. As they never saw him again & was assumed had died uniformly. Though he recovered & served w/great distinction & decoration in Korea. I think it may have made it easy to use his appearance as a tool to show the sudden striking way a fellow soldier your fighting w/can be there & a couple weeks later be gone forever. The psychological impact of many such has to be impactful & maybe easy to not want to revisit. The fog of war esp w/ each person's unique view of events & time makes many events unclear.But it's either missed/poor research and/or storytelling licence for sure. But having read Ambrose, Winters, Mularkey and another Easy Co books I didn't get the feel Abrose was unobjective or the men tribal. Just fog, limited info & time. But who knows. Cheers

[@mercb3ast]

@@mark-be9mq Ambrose is a known falsifier of history, and he uncritically took everything these guys said to him as gospel. We need to understand that Ambrose is basically the creator of the term "Greatest Generation". He was an enormous fanboy. As a kid, he followed WW2 vets around like a lost puppy. Worshipped the ground they walked on. So, when he wrote Band of Brothers, he didn't really even think to fact check or check any of their stories. So, what we got wasn't objective truth, it was personal truth. Sobel was likely the victim of anti-Semitism. Liebgott was not a Jew too, he was Roman Catholic. The history of Blythe was well known by the time the series was produced, but they didn't change it to reflect reality. Dike received a Bronze Star in Holland, where he rallied scattered paratroops to defend a road junction, he was also wounded there. He then did the personally evacuating 3 wounded guys at Bastogne while under enemy fire where he got a 2nd Bronze Star. The attack on Foy, according to a soldier who was there, he was shot through the shoulder and incapacitated. Not that he froze up. Malarkey talks about it in his book, but he wasn't there and didn't witness it. It seems that Dike was actually a fine and capable combat leader, judging by his two commendations. His crime, was that he was not Winters. As in, he had a different way of doing things than Winters, and he was an outsider. He went on to finish his career in the army reserve serving with distinction in Korea, as a Lt Colonel I think it was. The line where he supposedly said "First Sgt Lipton! You organize things here, I'll go for...'elp!" is during the same action, on the same day, that he was awarded a bronze star for saving the three wounded men. Easy Company alum who wrote about Dike in their memoires all claim "He wasn't a combat leader, and he had no combat experience". Yet, he won a bronze star as a 506 intelligence officer during Market Garden organizing a defense to hold an important road junction. Maybe that's why they all thought he had no combat experience. He came from regiment, not one of the companies. So yes, that is the problem of a show like this, where people take it as though it is THE truth, and it is never explained that this is just those guys' truth, and it's fallible, prone to bias, or just being wrong. Winters was great, Dike wasn't, he could just be good, or ok, but that doesn't mean he was deserving of this absolute character assassination. Don't get me wrong. I love the series. I've watched it so many times that at a time maybe 10-15 years ago, I pretty much knew every single line of dialogue by memory :)

[@charlize1253]

Some comments will point out that Dike might not have been as bad as this episode makes him seem. But this episode is about reputation -- the troops had no confidence in Dike so they were willing to believe the worst about him. Whether true or not, that's a leadership problem in itself. It's the inverse of Spiers: he might not have been as fearsome as his legend, but the men believed the legend because they believed in him

[@4crashbantit]

Speirs and Doc Roe are my fav characters

[@dernwine]

"Whether true or not" yeah no this is a bit of a bullshit argument. Look at the end of the day the series presents itself as accurate and (much like with the British Tankers at Market Garden) when it takes liberties the vast majority of audiences never bother to look into it. Rubbishing a man in front of millions (including presumably his own family) is frankly a scumbag move and I loose a lot of respect for Band of Brothers for it.

[@SnailHatan]

@@dernwineThe bullshit argument is you making up an imaginary argument to dispute. BoB presents itself as based on a historical book written by one of the biggest 20th century historian authors. That’s it. It follows a book that was supposed to have been written by someone who knows what they’re talking about. It isn’t a documentary, and it never was supposed to be.

[@esr197]

FUN FACT Donnie Wahlberg (Lipton) was in a boy band back in the late 80’s early 90’s called “New Kids On The Block”. He has transitioned into an amazing actor!

[@JeffKelly03]

And, in case they're not aware, his little brother is Marky Mark Wahlberg.

[@krisfrederick5001]

"The Breaking Point." Well, it's not just a clever name. When Winters tries to go in against orders and then sends LT. Speirs in, Spiers more than put his money where his mouth is for the entire company, (Not even Easy) one of my favorite moments of the series. When he goes into relieve Dike of command, that scene is stunning every single time. And when Buck's helmet hits the ground, it's as Earth shattering as the German artillery. Currahee ♠

[@dernwine]

One of the things I don't like is the show often doesn't make it clear when people are just saying things or are just wrong. Nix tells Lip that if you cut the Femoral Artery "That's, that's it." No it isn't. A Femoral bleed is controllable with a tourniquet, something they'd have even in WW2. Nixon is probably just telling Lip that to give him emotional support but I mean, no. And to be honest, Lipton having been through two operations and well into his third should know that a cut femoral artery is a treatable injury that you can recover from.

[@andreww1225]

Lugers were known to accidentally go off.

[@WraithWTF]

I always laugh at the line "don't miss, Shifty"....Lipton may as well have said "hey water, don't forget to make things wet." Or as another Easy Co member famously said, "It don't pay to be shooting at Shifty when he's got a rifle in his hands."

[@kenle2]

Since he was about to put his life in Shifty's hands, Lipton could be forgiven for seeking little reassurance.

[@CosmosesJones]

Lt Dyke actually got done dirty by the show. He didnt get that rank for nothing and has proven to be a capable leader during his time in the Netherlands. The reason he shut down during the assault is due to getting shot (uncertain where) and shocked

[@jean-philippedoyon9904]

The way Speirs take complete control of the troops and fix the situations...That is leadership ! You need 10 like him, whatever the rumors are !! Like they said at the end...they lose one bad officer, but gain 2 good one ! Lipton as been building up to be a leader since day 1 when he was giving order and bad news but keeping them together !

[@Gort-Marvin0Martian]

I read the Speirs biography. Everything is true. But, the show didn't give reasons behind what had been heard. When you are paratroops you drop in right in the middle of the enemy. You can't keep prisoners. They will give you away at the first chance. When one of your men is so drunk he threatens to give away the position of your men... well Speirs ordered the drunk to go back to the CO. He spun around to shoot Speirs and Speirs had to defend himself. The hierarchy above him interviewed his men and backed him up as self defense. Spears went on to serve in Korea and later in southeast Asia. One hell of a soldier. My uncle served in the Navy in the Pacific in WW2 and later in the Army went to Korea where he was a POW for about a day. He was wounded in the war effort. I have his Purple Heart and his burial flag from that action. As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.

[@asian123205]

Love Speirs so epic and legendary!

[@dernwine]

"You can't keep prisoners" then you let them go. The text of the Geneva Convention is completely unambiguous in this case, and the people who ignored it like Speirs are no better than the Waffen SS. He's a war criminal and orders to execute prisoners are not suddenly made legal because you put yourself in a bad position. Speirs, if he killed those prisoners, (and the only reason he got away with it is because it could never be proven) is a murderer and should have ended his life behind bars. One hell of a war criminal and a cunt.

[@Yamato-tp2kf]

And also became Lt Colonel and the director of the Spandau prison in the end of 1950's, the following description is from wikipedia: "Speirs attended a Russian language course in 1956 and was assigned as a liaison officer to the Red Army in Potsdam, East Germany. In 1958, he became the American governor of the Spandau Prison in Berlin, where prominent Nazis such as Rudolf Hess were imprisoned. Prisoner Albert Speer mentions in his book, Spandau: The Secret Diaries, a "hard-nosed, irritating American Commandant"; that man was later identified as Speirs."

[@leowakefield5942]

I always feel so vindicated when people notice Fassbender this late in the show lol I didn't know it was him until this episode either and when I rewatched it for the first time I was kicking myself over how many shots there were where I was looking directly at him and just didn't recognize one of my favourite actors

[@jamesthompson3674]

Guys you need to be aware of something here, and I posted this in a previous reaction. When Capt Winters is talking to Lt Dike and Dike yawns, it is not because he is not listening or that he is not interested, in fact he is scared. In my day it was called the “Combat Yawn”. Yawning can be a response to high levels of both anxiety and stress. When we are in a heightened state of tension, our body's natural response is to take deep breaths and increase oxygen intake. Yawning helps regulate breathing patterns and can serve as a subconscious mechanism to alleviate stress. This is what the program has captured here, yet another attention to detail point among so many.

[@cincin0722]

Luger's are notorious for going off like that

[@ronweber1402]

Ya never keep a round in the chamber of a Luger unless you are going to fire it right away.

[@cincin0722]

@@ronweber1402 💯

[@Dej24601]

The narrator is Carwood Lipton.

[@76JStucki]

Every time I see this I just wanna give Don Malarkey a big hug

[@sandraback7809]

You are right about Lipton discouraging dissent against Dike. They did have to work with what they had.. to be honest Dike ran out there and started the attack. They were all brave and I think perhaps that was his breaking point?🤷‍♀️

[@thetankgarage]

Lots of leg injuries in this one. Want to hear a more modern take on it? How loosing a leg and getting the main artery severed felt like. Surviving and then somehow being able to pass Green Beret standards after the fact. Look up Nick Lavery.

[@sreggird60]

I had an uncle on both sides of the family who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. One was a gliderman in the 17th Airborne division and yes there was a 17th Airborne division. The other was a tank crewman in the 3rd Armored division.

[@DisGruntled311]

Great job guys. This is my favorite episode of the series. I was a senior NCO so I’m biased. It focused on the importance of the NCO Corps especially at the Company level. Platoon leaders and Company Commanders come and go, but NCOs are there to hold it all together. The NCO Corps is truly the backbone of the Army. Most movies and series do not focus on that. The US MIlitary as a whole works so well because of these hardworking leaders getting the mission done and taking care of their people.

[@mark-be9mq]

Much appreciated.

[@kentbarnes1955]

You'll get lot's of comments about "prepare yourself for Ep 9". And it IS hard, I used to think it was the hardest. I've since decided that THIS episode (#7) is the hardest...because the deaths and injuries are happening to the guys we've been following (and becoming emotionally attached too) for 6 episodes. The Battle of the Bulge was horrific. Thanks as always for a respectful and thoughtful review.

[@prettyokandy230]

the person narrating was neither speirs nor luz, it was lipton!

[@MWSin1]

Notice how that Tiger tank just started running away when they saw Spiers coming for them? That's the correct response.

[@johngage856]

There’s an interview on KZbin that winters did in the late 80s maybe, maybe early 90s. He was talking about the book’s publishing company’s lawyers being real nervous about the “allegations “ of Spiers killing POWs. They were worried they’d be sued. Winters called Spiers (he calls him sparky) and explained the situation. Spiers’ response was to send the publishing company a signed and notarized letter detailing how he was absolutely fine with it being in the book. Full stop. No fucks given.

[@alanmacification]

The terrifying thing about the German 88mm gun was that its shells were supersonic and flat trajectory. Unlike the 105 howitzer which you could hear coming, the 88 arrived ahead of its sound. There was the explosion, then the whistle of the shell.

[@isaiahpavia-cruz678]

Dunno how Capt Spiers didn’t struggle running that distance while dragging those massive balls along

[@whitenoisereacts]

😂😂

[@KM-yr7xd]

Run Forrest Run 😊😊😊

[@Danishlikeapotato]

Hey James, just commenting to let you know that the third play of the Hatchetfield series from Starkid is out on KZbin. I know you stopped doing Starkid shows, but since you reacted to the first 2 plays, I'm hoping you'll do this one as well. If not, it's completely understandable - but my hopes are up for now😅 either way, I love your guys' reations - you always have great commentary!

[@justinzadorsky7644]

Me reading title: oh. Oh just you wait.

[@captainz9]

The rocks and wood splinters, etc , were a big reason for the helmets - during WW1 when the war started mostly the troops had cloth hats, and casualties were very high just from rocks and such tossed up hitting people in the head, so after about 18 months they started introducing stamped steel helmets to prevent head trauma - which carried forward into WW2. Those helmets wouldn't stop a direct bullet hit, but they might protect you from a glancing shit or falling debris from a mortar/shell hit nearby. Modern ballistic helmets that might actually stop a bullet were decades away.

[@1mf.javier]

20:05 its probably been said a lot by now but... it is not somewhat based on real events... it is fucking accurate af... to the point they had to reshoot scenes because one character appears on scene and he wasnt at that moment irl

[@TreyM1609]

You guys are so close to the most important part of not only this series but the most important part of the last 100 years

[@GrumpyOldGuyPlaysGames]

Dike being wounded and falling apart due to blood loss has been disputed, but his medical records are clear. He was shot in the shoulder and went into shot. Thing is, this show is based on a book that itself was based on memories of people living 40 years after the fact. Winters, Guarnere, Compton and Lipton all hated him, and their memories reflect that hatred.

[@mercb3ast]

It's going to talk about operation Bagration?

[@gtaclevelandcity]

Get shot in the upper leg is as deadly as getting shot in the chest, It just takes a little longer but there is mostly nothing you could do. They'll have that moment of realization before they die as opposed to a heart or head shot where they're dead before they hit the ground.

[@caras2004]

There are two versions of what happened to Hoobler. One is that his rifle caught on a piece of barbed wire and discharged. But the one that appears to come straight from BOB survivors is that Hoobler had a Browning .32 cal pistol that he kept in his pocket. And that it accidentally discharged. No word on what became of it.

[@camward9293]

They really did Lt. Dike dirty in this show. He wasn't that bad of an officer in real life.

[@andreww1225]

Probably depends on who you ask.

[@khalduras784]

He was a decent platoon leader supposedly but the accounts for his time as captain for Easy Company, what they describe here and in the book is more or less true. The only thing they failed at is mentioning his achievements prior instead of simply sticking with the rumor that someone in the upper brass supposedly looking out for him.

[@gravitypronepart2201]

Yes, he was awarded for his actions earlier, but I think he was broken. Add that to the new guy effect, and you have trouble. In my view, he should have takin himself out of the position, but I don't know.

[@Squatcho]

The fact that you guys are using "we" and "our" so often in your commentary is a testament to how involving the story truly is.

[@Ausl0vich]

To be fair they always do that haha

[@SnailHatan]

They do that in every single reaction ever.

[@LogicalCitizen-n9x]

yeah, the scene where Buck dropped his weapon and his helmet was his personal 'breaking point'.

[@crossfire1453]

"Fun fact" Yes Spears actually made that run, but it was much longer than depicted. Some things were actually toned down because it was felt they would not be believed by movie goers.

[@LogicalNiko]

At least one of my friends has developed a strong aversion to being around people missing limbs because of his time in combat. He was blown up in the second desert storm and suffered serious injuries, he spent a long time recovering in various army hospitals before he was redeployed to Afghanistan on his second tour. And he seemed to indicate it that even now it was not so much the events or injuries, it was the hospitals that drilled deep dread into his soul. In the field you are with people you trust with your life. Outcomes are in your hands and are clear. In recovery people just seem to come and go, just a bunch of different faces, no certainty or control over anything; and then just random people around you who die or are in severe distress that you can do nothing about. I can see how that changes perspective.

[@jp1170]

Lipton was the narrator of the episode boys, come on lol. This isnt hard

[@LEWTSPEC]

Can't wait for Pacific! Forewarning: it's ten times more brutal than this series. the war in the pacific was so incredibly gnarly, the only way you will understand is if they make a series about them as unbearably bleak as possible... which they did. You will feel like the campaign in Europe was fun times, talking to local French and German townsfolk, fighting an enemy who relies on technology much like the Americans, a familiar opponent.. The Imperial Japanese army fought with blades and tunnels, defending an island made of volcanic rock and sand, in a tropical environment where the elements are nearly as dangerous as the bayonets. Surrender is not an option, fight to the very last breath, and sometimes from the grave...

[@mariewagner5283]

@whitenoisereacts Think ten episodes of Hacksaw Ridge but more

[@michaelstach5744]

@@mariewagner5283I compare it to watching episodes 7&9 of BoB over and over.

[@ryanhampson673]

When Stephen Ambrose was writing Band of Brothers he came to the problem of Spiers’s story. He had heard from the other members of East company about the rumors of shooting the prisoners on D day. Ambrose was afraid of writing about it and then being sued for libel. As a favor Winters called up Spiers and just asked him and told him Ambrose’s worries. Spiers said “why would I sue him over something that was true.” In the show it’s hinted that Spiers didn’t shoot the prisoners and was taking advantage of the rumor mill. In reality yes he shot the POW’s on D day and admitted it.

[@thesnazzycomet]

Another amazing watch 🙌

[@lucentaunisage]

Love the comradery of Easy, they are hilarious even under such dire conditions especially shown in this low points!

[@lc8155]

Great reaction. Thanks! No

[@JaiOfficial2795]

It's always interesting to know these people are hardened soldiers in a horrific war, yet as soon as they make one mistake civilians go straight to calling them an "idiot" lmao

[@politicalorphan]

The narrator was Donny Wahlberg's character, Sgt. Lipton

[@NestorCaster]

49:55 the narrator was Sgt. Lipton… then made 2nd LT. Lipton

[@jeremyphillips6373]

The reason 1SG Lipton told Luz not to repeat what LT. Dike told him was less to do with chin of command and more about keeping up the moral of the company. Not to say respect for the Chain of Command didnt play a part but i dont believe that was his main reason.

[@JoeXTheXJuggalo1]

See the thing Easy Company didn't like Norman Dike. Which was shown this way due to books, memoirs, and interviews of the men of Easy Company. So this is why he was portrayed this way in Band of Brothers. He actually was a good person and leader. During Market Garden he actually set up a defence of a certain route on the roads a supply line. During the attack of Foy and nobody knew about it because of the layers of others he was wearing. He was panicking and shock. That's why he was making such bad decisions at that moment.

[@sannaolsson9106]

This is one of my favorite episodes ❤

[@KERRYPIKE]

Wonderfull episode of the band of brothers.

[@Vlad.Larionov]

Great! It is very interesting to see your joint reaction to the films Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts and Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem. These are cool movies 👍👍👍

[@campbell91988]

For the "stories" around Speirs...it's pretty likely that least some of them were true. At least Winters, and I think some other members of Easy, have made comments or have references in their recollections to the idea that in different times (I think Winters specifically mentioned times that didn't require aggressive field officers) Speirs likely would have been discharged or even tried for some of his actions. I don't remember if anything was really that specific, but it did all feel very "this guy did some really bad shit" by implication.

[@roguechevelle]

Hopefully you guys have finished filming this series cuz people are spoiling stuff left and right in the comments lol. I think it's always good to go into the show blind so to speak and then learn all you can about the real men after watching the show. This is my favorite episode, it's very heavy but it showed how much the guys endured & I could feel how close these guys are. You go thru something like this that only those that were there can relate to, I can see why these guys had a strong bond. I also just think the set with the trees and explosions was impressive, and I literally felt cold watching them be freezing with snow and a ground so frozen it was super difficult to dig trenches or foxholes with just a hand shovel.

[@EChacon]

Hopefully following your _Band of Brothers_ you react to _Loki_ Season 2 as you reacted to the first Season, along with having a group reaction of Netflix’s _One Piece_ and _Percy Jackson_ TV series with Hailey & Stella as the girls haven’t done any TV show reactions for 7-8 months following their reactions on _Wednesday_ and _The Last of Us_ respectively.

[@whitenoisereacts]

I’ll keep that in mind

[@EChacon]

@@rogercase9982 No one asks your opinion I just want them to react to those series. So if you’re going to act like a pompous hypocrite then don’t watch the reactions.

[@EChacon]

@@whitenoisereacts Thank you for taking the series into consideration.

[@mark-be9mq]

​@@whitenoisereactsBut be sure to watch "We Stand Alone Together", their documentary & '11th' episode, from which all the opening veterans interviews are culled from, includes reunion footage & a few very telling reflections of their children.

[@EChacon]

@@rogercase9982 Seriously and this is your response 4 weeks later?

[@krisfrederick5001]

Dike is the Sobel that had made it to combat. Imagine that. It is Hell that never should be felt in the first place.

[@michaelstach5744]

Two very different types of bad leadership. This contrasts with Winters and Spiers as types of good leadership

[@heathen-heart]

"THE MOST HEARTBREAKING EPISODE!" hahaha haha haha..now that is some funny shit right there. Hold by beer.

[@prettyokandy230]

it was the saddest episode SO FAR! ;) ;)

[@Huskeybear76]

My grandfather was a sniper in World War One.

[@KaoretheHalfDemon]

The distance Speirs ran to hook up with ‘I’ company and for the shot Shifty took on the sniper was much much greater. I saw were the real shifty took his shot and the window the sniper was in. The window was around the size of a pinky nail.

[@gogyoo]

The most heart-breaking episode, so far - FTFY

[@Matthew_Calmert]

This is the best episode IMO. But the most hearbreaking... it's 9.

[@dernwine]

One of the things I don't like is the show often doesn't make it clear when people are just saying things or are just wrong. Nix tells Lip that if you cut the Femoral Artery "That's, that's it." No it isn't. A Femoral bleed is controllable with a tourniquet, something they'd have even in WW2. Nixon is probably just telling Lip that to give him emotional support but I mean, no. And to be honest, Lipton having been through two operations and well into his third should know that a cut femoral artery is a treatable injury that you can recover from. One of the reasons that some of the guys ran away from the aid station was that the longer you where away from your unit the more likely you where to go to a different unit. Easy company seems to have been quite "cliquey" and I suspect part of the reason guys ran back to easy company was the fear of being moved away from their clique and into another unit (or being ostracized by their friends for not trying to get back).

[@arifeannor9573]

How in the hell did you think Spiers was narrating?

[@FUBAR956]

The narration First Sergeant Lipton.

[@ChuckJansenII]

Lipton narrated the episode.

[@clash5j]

Shames (the one who shouts. lol) was a good soldier. However, he is one of the few members of Easy Company to dispute a lot of the book and miniseries. He said after the war that Winters was anti semitic, that Lewis Nixon was a useless drunk, but couldn't be touched because his family was very wealthy and Winters liked him. He also accused Winters of brown nosing the author of BoB to make himself and the soldiers he personally liked look better and diminished the efforts of soldiers he did not care for Most people consider Shames a crackpot because no other member of Easy Company ever said similar things, but who knows? Regardless, he was a good (albeit very hard-nosed) soldier

[@nihlify]

Well, you could argue that Nixon wasn't much more than a drunk in this series, so not sure how much his criticism is worth.

[@khalduras784]

Shames was always agreed to be a hardass so add in that bit of history of his disagreements with accounts on the events and the extra baggage of the crankiness of age, people should probably take into account when and why he makes those comments. Take his beef with Winters for example. Prior to those insults, his statements were mostly about how he respects Winters but then hes suddenly an anti semite and a cheat? It just seems more like his comments were made due to how Winters became too much a "larger than life" individual after the show and he ended up salty over it. My opinions about shames aside though, it is is objectively a hear say thing. You'll end up with just "who would you prefer to listen to. Winters or Shames's opinions" if you want to try and determine "who is right" which is impossible and id say futile. I will say though, the tv show made Shames more like a meme. The book didnt really do that so much as it was more like it just mentions him being essentially a touch nut.

[@JeffKelly03]

"The most heartbreaking episode" Hold on, let me grab my popcorn and wait for... well, IYKYK...

[@louispaulter8733]

Guys, LT Spears thought of himself as being “dead already” and was able to concentrate on the “here & now to get it done.” This episode had a great amount of “life lessons.” From leadership for staying on mission collectively to individually “getting it done.” By the way keep a eye on how Spears gets it done all the way to the end of series. BTW, I’m the guy who suggested that you all pick a member of Easy Company and see if you make thru WW2. I did. Good reaction / discussions gang, well done. Great guys, but don’t get cocky….😃😎👍

[@cstephen98]

Peacock, whom they sent home, was the one who tried hard but was incompetent

[@canadian__ninja]

In my attempt to relay information that likely won't get a dozen other comments, Buck Compton was probably unsurprisingly not universally appreciated for leaving the line in Foye. Notably, Nixon called him a coward for it at least once. Thankfully Malarkey gave Nix shit for it.

[@ewelinakwasniak6277]

Is my faforites muvie

[@TheSYPHERIA]

Please watch "Generation Kill" an HBO series that's exactly like "Band of Brothers" but more modern-day.

[@simontide6780]

BoB depiction of Dike wasn't fair definitely because he was wounded and seems like he's traumatized scaredy cat like Sobel. Remember, Bastogne was under siege and surrounded by Germans with Panzer units. The situation was grim & darker in real life. But Dike incompetency told by veterans are justified since it was theirs lives they entrusted to this CO. I wouldn't trust my life to this guy no matter who try to convince me he's nice guy. I wouldn't take that chance. Like Lipton said, Lt.Moose would've done a great job but some idiot shot him accidentally that ended with Dike as quick patch like using duct tape. Paratroopers are special forces and Lt like Dike never should be leading it in first place. And Easy company is better trained than other companies which made them elite. So it was recipe for disaster in first place. Also Speirs run was longer & wider in real life. The reason why he didn't shot was he was taking advantage of chaos and panicked retreating enemy. Show runners downplayed his run because they thought people won't believe it really happened because it was unbelievable. lol

[@mercb3ast]

There have been insinuations that the reason Sobel was disliked, was anti-Semitism. Ed Shames, who was Jewish, has said that he believes a lot of the hate Sobel received was due to anti-Semitism, he also had some interesting things to say about Winters regarding this. We gotta remember, this didn't happen in 1999, or 2019, this was the 1940s. Anti-Semitism was pretty much the default position. If you were NOT at least subtly anti-Semitic, you were the exception, not the rule. It was what the world learned AFTER the holocaust that as a culture, we began to crack down on anti-Semitism.

[@LogicalCitizen-n9x]

you are both wrong because the majority of the narration was Donny Wahlburg as the voice of Sgt. C.Carwood Lipton. ...btw, Lt. Dike wasn't liked as a replacement officer and he was a snooty rich guy from Yale but he wasn't a coward, he was actually relieved by Spiers because he'd been wounded and not because he froze up.

[@Liam-hv4de]

Have you ever seen Street of Fear?