Were the Speirs stories true?

Anyone who has watched Band of Brothers will have heard the stories around Lieutenant (later Captain) Speirs behaviour on D-Day. But were the Ronald Speirs stories true?
Brilliantly portrayed in Band of Brothers, we learn that Speirs shot and killed both German prisoners of war and one of his own Sergeants.
World War 2 is full of similar stories, but why would Speirs shoot his own Sergeant?
#shorts #ww2 #bandofbrothers

[@micanopykracker694]

Yes Major winters confirmed this..

[@tornfrayed4977]

And he had it in writing

[@lemmdus2119]

Spiers was a real leader. Instead of ordering one of his men to do it, he did it himself so none of his subordinates would have to live with it. He did the dirty work himself and the younger German soldier he told him to run away.

[@danvan318]

Spiers was actually afraid to attend the premiere showing because he thought people would think he was a criminal for killing those POW’s. IIRC they convinced him he wouldn’t.

[@JoeMun]

He was a criminal, despite being a good soldier. I mean, it’s as clear cut as it can be.

[@ronaldnavas1677]

​@@JoeMunspiers weren't a criminal it was an order to not take POW because it will hindered them

[@JoeMun]

@@ronaldnavas1677 that order is a criminal order?? I mean come on man, cope some more. Anyone who gives an illegal order is a criminal and anyone who carries out an illegal order is also. This is simply Nürnberg trials logic my guy…

Spiers didn't attended the premiere because he didn't have enough cigarettes for everybody.

[@tommyjackowksi5774]

@@JoeMunthey deserved no quarter, it was total war and they where the agitators

[@leegitguyman5180]

The man sitting next to that drunken soldier who raised his rifle at Spiers said he could hear the bottles in his coat crack as he was shot.

[@DakotaofRaptors]

Can only imagine if he deployed in the Pacific

[@texaswunderkind]

Paratroopers were surrounded the moment they landed on the ground. They were grossly outnumbered. They had no resupplies. They had no transportation back to base. They had no rear echelon available to house the prisoners. Every fighting man guarding a prisoner was a fighting man off of the line, and thus the unit was one man weaker.

[@mr31337]

doesn't make murder/war-crimes okay

[@safriedrich1631]

@@mr31337 according to Gen.McArthur, war is man's greatest sin against each other...so in your world, our GI's should've compromised their entire misssion.. and surrender to the enemy because they could'nt guard them ?...got it !

[@EricDaMAJ]

Just remember that when the Waffen-SS massacred those GIs at Malmedy US soldiers refused to take SS soldiers prisoners for months. Our paratroopers got away with it during D-Day because it was never widely known. In most confrontations taking prisoners is the best policy. Entire field armies have been taken prisoner who might've fought to the death if they knew they'd be massacred.

[@Yowzoe]

@@EricDaMAJ Concisely & eloquently nailed it. The larger context is what matters. Thank you.

[@jansix4287]

_lol_ Germany has always been grossly outnumbered and surrounded by enemies. That’s how you learn how to fight. And if you don’t have resupplies, you start a war against the world to conquer them. Easy! 😂

[@FallenUSA]

When you realize you're already dead it's easy.

[@MikeChowda]

glad dude was on our side

[@jerryeffertz4131]

War is hell.

[@richardmason7840]

War is cruelty.... you can not refine it. William T Sherman.

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

sherman was a genocidal maniacal drunkard

[@johkupohkuxd1697]

You can... When you pretend that you can't, you get the Waffen SS and the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces.

[@wedontneedmoneyanymorewene824]

War is a racket by major general smedley butler the highest decorated marine at the time of his death. 👍✌☝️❤👊

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

The Nazis certainly agree with you.

[@wespenn7243]

@@johkupohkuxd1697 Our soldiers have not been allowed to fight like soldiers since WWII because of weak politicians. And the outcomes of those conflicts are reflected.

[@Nyxerubus]

German soldiers no. But the SS were notoriously known to never take prisoners. US Troops took that personal.

[@Dpixtion]

Spears looks so much like Clint Eastwood in that scene.

[@lukedowan8608]

Winters asked him years later about it, and Speirs offered to write Winters a letter confirming it to be true. Winters declined - Speirs sent him the letter anyway. While it may seem brutal, men like Speirs win wars. We've become bogged down and complacent, and the public no longer have the stomach to allow our soldiers to do to our enemies what they will do to them. You either go all out, or you go home.

[@rambosperm]

Very well said. People hate the idea of men like Speirs, but they depend on them to enjoy their way of life.

[@jmh1189]

I'd make one correction. If you don't go all out, you DONT go home.

[@lukedowan8608]

@@jmh1189 that is actually very poignant

[@johnc5023]

yep.... Sparky said he greased them.

[@sadjaxx]

You go home in a box

[@concordmilitia3471]

Happened a lot. Mostly by necessity. However one vet told me the ‘Rebels’ (Southerners) would tell officers “Shot while trying to escape, Sir.”

[@robertjohnson9756]

Speir never shot the the replacement soldier who while drunk shot one of his men. He had the mps arrest him

[@lemmdus2119]

However legally he could have. Spiers was more concerned about saving Grant. He did find a German doctor in the middle of the night and forced him by gunpoint to help Grant.

[@user-gm4bn7ql6u]

Not taking prisoners is not the same as not shooting POWs, the first might be morally justifiable the other definitely not

[@jamesdunn9609]

I understand the concept that paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines cannot realistically take prisoners and remain a full fighting force. You cannot argue with such basic logic. But that was literally the exact same reason Joachim Peiper's men executed US POW's at Malmedy during the Battle of the Bulge. Peiper was sentenced to death for that war crime but was paroled. Maybe that is why. I have always questioned why he was spared the noose. But then, it all still caught up to him eventually so...

[@Jgasporrap]

I don't think Spiers was a bad guy or wrong, I choose not to judge him or any other. We know atrocities were committed on both sides, no arguments can change that.

[@Blefiz]

Moral principles cannot be excused by "no arguments can change that" as clear as anyone can say that the atrocious behaviour of SS and imperial japanese was wrong in many situation, spiers was a war criminal and that's a fact.

[@Ozzywozzy]

Unfortunate set of events for one man to shoulder.

[@northernskys]

Prisoners being "shot while attempting to escape" happened on both sides. Read years ago, that shortly after D-Day, a British officer ordered his corporal to escort a wounded senior German officer to the rear for interrogation. The corporal returned a short time later without the German....."shot while trying to escape" was the corporal's excuse for returning to the line.

[@Blefiz]

That was not the case, these POWs didn't try to escape, don't go inventing histories to excuse a war crime.

[@ghosthunter3424]

@@BlefizThat german officer neither did tried to escape, that was the excuse that soldiers used for evading a punishment for killing POWs.

[@The-egg-cult.]

SS didn't wanna take us brits captive around Dunkirk, that group of men who got shot to death in a barn come to mind

[@auscam6666]

it is considered to be an expediant of war In the Geneva Conventions that in certain circumstances enemy POW's can be executed without delay if the security & safety of ones own forces would be minimalised if the POWs were guarded instead of shot. This must be done at once & not drawn out or unneccesary mental anguise were given to those POWs. Mnay Allied forces & also German defenders did this on D Day as they're lines were cut & paras were far behind enemy lines as it already was.

[@theclarksvillepiper9202]

Google the date the Geneva Conventions were signed. They didn't apply here.

[@biggusdickus6134]

@@theclarksvillepiper9202There were still rules for war back then. Killing POWs or civilians was a war crime even during ww1. Usage of flamethrowers was also not permitted

[@Industrialmodels2]

Poor guys....the stress of war.... Each man dealt with it differently..... I don't fault any of the parties involved in this story.

[@-Cheif]

Obviously very few people in the comments actually listened to this clip before commenting.

[@kidlast4154]

Yea yea...self defense...whatever you say Spiers....just don't fucking shoot me🤷

[@MidwestFarmToys]

Please explain to me how you drag prisoners around with you when you're ENCIRCLED BEHIND ENEMY LINES This doesn't violate the Geneva convention at all. Keeping those men certainly fits under the great risk/harm category.

[@kenjf1009]

The original Geneva rules are from the 1920s

[@Scopesdoped]

Ya you can't have guys dropped behind enemy lines taking prisoners. They are literally behind enemy lines and already outnumber greatly. Hence why paratroopers dropped behind lines didn't get in trouble for this. If they tried to take prisoners? The own prisoners would give their positions up basically

[@darthmong7196]

When you haven't even taken your primary objective you can't have POWs in tow. It's just not logistically possible. That's why Sparky did it.

[@user-tx3pw9mk8q]

Ronald spiers .is the real deal The balls of steel

[@bluecollar58]

Without Judgment , this is the same thing the Germans did at the Malmedy massacre during the bulge.

[@richardgawley4274]

But weren't the Germans responsible for the Malmedy massacre brought to account?

[@jesperbecker6412]

Yes, just ask Joachim Piper.

[@stevep5408]

What a shame that 'soldiers' that had taken part in massacres from France to Norway to the steppes of Russia suffered the same fate they dished out? My father landed in southern France. As they marched east the battle of the bulge lead them to retreat on the southern edge of the bulge. The infantry captain and the captain of the armored forces got into a fight over who got to shoot their German pows! Right, wrong? But real!

[@huntclanhunt9697]

One thing the show got wrong is the German kid from Oregon was not part of the massacre.

[@MidwestFarmToys]

Did they get it wrong? It isn't actually shown, the viewer has no idea what exactly was done. We just hear gunshots

[@Tman4321]

I remember years ago seeing a video where Dick winters talked about one of his soldiers who killed a group of pows and Dick confronted the soldier and almost killed him,but I cannot find that video now...am I imagining that he said that?

[@daemonharper3928]

Those first couple of days of D day were the most important in the history of democracy to that point (arguably still)....the allies couldn't afford anything to compromise getting a foothold in France, having elite airborne soldiers stop operations to guard prisoners was clearly unacceptable. Day 3 - maybe start taking prisoners, but days 1 & 2 the mission was win at all costs.

[@evant4739]

if you dont accept their surrender they never become pows and its not a war crime

[@davidchang5265]

I believe if it was of at most importance to keep ALL soldiers in the front lines and there were practically no way of bringing prisoners back thus resulting in the executions of POW's. The Americans should've at least announced "no prisoners will be taken" it seems extremelyyyyyy disingenuous to have the enemy believe they are allowed to surrender just for them to get blasted

[@brianarchersan8820]

We will never see his like again RIP

[@Blefiz]

I sure hope so.

[@spike-4219]

War is Hell

[@diallomahdi8908]

Kevin Pollack kinda looks like Colonel Spiers

[@jimbobmcdougal6983]

“Don’t let them become prisoners.”

[@richardryan2769]

When at War you enter a different world.

[@nickmontalbano9573]

Tertius….damn what a reference

[@AndrewVanBouwman]

5 Pow? I heard 30..

[@andrewhatton1606]

Back when America fought wars like men. 🇺🇸

[@huntclanhunt9697]

German Paratroopers did the same thing when they deployed behind enemy lines as well, and the Allies didn't try their commanders for it because both sides did it.

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

so what..its still a war crime

[@nyekorare]

​@@johnnyllooddte3415war itself is a crime. the only thing that matters is if you win you become hero, if you lose tou become criminal

[@randomguy1928]

​@@nyekorareThe victors rewrite history.

[@LockOnInc]

​@@johnnyllooddte3415No it wasnt cry abt it

[@imxploring]

Just because an enemy, that two minutes earlier, was trying his best to kill you runs out of ammo.... he doesn't get to call time out and game over.

[@andrewscheelar9656]

Actually he does. You have an obligation to protect prisoners. It's called the Geneva convention and the USA signed it.

[@imxploring]

@@andrewscheelar9656 Yeah.... like the US actually plays by the rules! LOL

[@funny3scene]

@@andrewscheelar9656 fuck the Geneva code

[@aidanmcconn2865]

​@@andrewscheelar9656 wasn't put in place for the US until 1949. All it takes is a Google search.

[@echoromeo384]

​@@andrewscheelar9656 I don't give a fuck. Get deployed and tell me what rules you'll follow. You do what you have to to survive. Period. I didn't sign shit.

[@welshpete12]

It was true they were told not to take prisoners but only for the first 48 hours after the invasion after that the it was stopped .

[@chuckjohnson2564]

I know of only one man that took over 138 POW , wiped out two machine gun nest then killed 28 German's . But still Robert Speirs was the man of his day . Right up there with Patton .

[@edlawrence5059]

Are you referring to Audie Murphy?

[@drayp11]

@@edlawrence5059 Sergeant York WW1

[@logicalatheist1065]

@@drayp11 most definitely talking about Sgt. York

[@robtankbuster5215]

I live in Tennessee and back in the seventys, I knew a old man Mr Martin, he would tell us the story of York capturing 100 something POW's. He said Yorks company stumbled into a valley behind the enemy's line and found a bunch old starving German troops, he told us many could not even walk and had to be carried back. At least Sargent Yorks company didn't shoot them!

[@reader3769]

@@robtankbuster5215 he captured over 100 Germans, but they were very healthy and were manning 8 machine gun positions.

[@jamesdouglas6977]

Remember in order to become a POW you have to be taken prisoner first.

[@rocksteel44]

...AUSGEZEICHNET!!!!!!

[@ladsrus3554]

Smoking is a filthy habit…

[@andrewperillo6219]

This actually doesn’t violate the Geneva convention because the Geneva convention was written in 1949

[@sldkkhan6459]

It was actually 1864, but later amended in 1949 and so on with other stipulations

[@biggusdickus6134]

There were 4 Geneva Conventions. Killing POWs was a warcrime even in ww1.

[@davidcarrero7848]

Good , that’s how we treat “Fine people “….

[@nickybluechips7567]

So an American General orders his troops not to take prisoners and later in the the war, the Malmedy Massacre took place and we have uproar over it …

[@simontide6780]

I love how people expect their heroes to be knight in shining armor and being nice all time. Being nice in combat will get you kill. And WWII is all about survival

[@Blefiz]

He is not a hero, he is a war criminal.

[@herbertrivera3638]

when you are compadre of the..... commander !!!

[@angriff69]

and they still trialled the defeated for what all parts did

[@holdenholmgren649]

War, ... war never changes.

[@williamcardina5230]

They're not prisoners if they never have the chance to surrender

[@stuartlamothe9368]

It was war. War itself is a war crime

[@Jgasporrap]

Then let's stop batching about the SS killing Allied soldiers, goes both ways. It all sucks but that's Total War.

[@jasonwhitaker4883]

Winners write the history, Soviets did much worse to civilians and military but we don’t hear about that lol

[@lTha208l]

@@jasonwhitaker4883 Stalin was just as brutal as hitler but had more population under his control over a longer period that’s why his death count is way more. Either way they were both sociopaths

[@nikosvagiakos8510]

Difference between the paratroopers and the SS is that the paratroopers had no capability or resources to capture and sustain prisoners. While the SS had the capability and resources to capture prisoners and sustain them.

[@Jgasporrap]

Not always. I can understand killing a prisoner on both sides, and it's situational for sure. I can't moralizing because it will just end in hypocrisy. Total War means total chaos much of the time.

[@USAAMERICAFUCKYEAH77]

Laughs in our neighbors to the north im from u.s.a. Ad habitual line crosser says. If you ever hear canada say im about to stop saying sorry you run palatize a shit ton of hockey priceles things mapple syrup shooting a deer and leaving it it for them to skin and prep . Because hopefully that would calm them down An angry canadian is a fucking horrible site i only feel bad for who ever angered the canadian. Very scary d Its because of them where the memes for the marines started Like stop that then we wont be able to do that anymore. In short never and i repeat never anger a canadian if you know whats good for you . Glad their on our side

[@royalalloy3471]

The US did not sign the Geneva convention until 1949, didnt ratify article 3 until 2005. And still in 2023 is not a full signatury.

[@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz]

"The good guys", everyone.

[@MidwestFarmToys]

Yes. The good guys.

[@saadtahir61]

It isn't a war crime if you've won.

[@johnhorse5551]

nothing on what they were doing

[@frankstippel5988]

So he was just a mad killer.

[@NewBeginning509]

The Geneva convention was created in 1948

[@hchwhat]

Geneva convention didn’t convene until 1949..

[@rockyrocamontes8972]

"All is fair in love and war", John Lyly.

[@mikekenyon8483]

That includes the killing of American prisoners by Germans and Japanese right???

[@rockyrocamontes8972]

@@mikekenyon8483 yeah, but if you lose the war you may face retribution.

[@NartOfficial371]

I want to know where all that Nazi silver is.

[@rossjohnson1872]

Japanese had no supply on some islands and ate prisoners. Sometimes men just go "blood simple" and can't stop killing. Many stories of soldiers shooting to death and then stabbing repeatedly. Mongomery is made fun of for commending various units for looking like "real killers," but war is hell. War turns humans into demons, but demands robot obedience as if there were an on/off switch.

[@maxenthoven7011]

When were those pesky Conventions written?

[@Johnwholfyucker3]

That sounds extra or what they call over kill I guess I'm not really sure

[@Briselance]

00:04 - 00:05 Do we? Do we actually know for sure that Speirs' story about that was actually true?

[@Tk3997]

To his credit he never denied it when asked about it and attested in his own writings that it was true.

[@lelouchlamperouge8560]

War is stupid and men will act accordingly.✌️

[@OneBadSSG]

Geneva 'convention'? More like Geneva 'suggestion' 🤣

[@410cultivar]

Sounds like malarkey to me

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

Paratroopers don't take prisoners

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

not taking prisoners and shooting prisoners after they are taken are 2 different things.. one IS A WAR CRIME.

[@bubbatommy82]

Don’t say it was against the Geneva conventions if it wasn’t. The Geneva conventions were agreed upon AFTER the war because of the war.

[@superfuse]

The Geneva Convention was introduced 75 years BEFORE World War 2…. It was however most recently updated after the war in 1949.

[@bubbatommy82]

@@superfuse introduced and ratified are completely different. If it isn’t ratified then it isn’t legally binding or contractual.

[@superfuse]

The Geneva convention had absolutely been ratified by many nations long before World War 2! This is a very common misunderstanding. Here’s a link and an extract to help. “By the time of American entry into World War II, 41 nations had ratified the 1929 Geneva Convention. It is true that these conventions did improve conditions for prisoners of war compared to World War I, but certainly not all of them. Enforcement was very difficult and not every nation signed or ratified it. Most notably, Japan signed but never adopted the Conventions, purposefully mistreating prisoners for the duration of the war.” www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/1929-geneva-convention#:~:text=The%20rules%20regarding%20the%20humane,at%20the%201929%20Geneva%20Convention.

[@bubbatommy82]

@@superfuse no they hadn’t. They weren’t ratified until 1949. Try again

[@superfuse]

I’ve offered you facts with supporting evidence. You’re welcome to believe what you want. All the best.

[@jimmyb4728]

Spears was the ultimate American trooper

[@aodh5966]

Apparently the allies commited zero war crimes. His story is written by the victor.

[@Jgasporrap]

I know. I love America but I have to say I've read many books with candid descriptions of Allied war crimes. It's dirty

[@dudeman5300]

What are u talking about he literally wrote his own story.

[@darkhobo]

Eh. The Geneva conventions are about wars between people. WWII was Humanity against Fascists. Only one side had human beings fighting for them.

[@Zevy69]

​@@darkhobo both side had human beings being forced to fight, no soldier have a say in going to war

[@andrewfalkingham4206]

a war crime is a war crime! period!

[@Bluefalconspiracies]

@@bubbatommy82 it was. It literally says that in the vid as well 😂

[@Aviator-Chicken]

I would like to know what you would’ve done in those impossible situations

[@akashsavangade518]

Feeling bad for German soldiers

[@mikehawkhovers9872]

Germans killed American POW too so idk what y y feeling bad about...?

[@derin111]

By definition, whether you like it or, a war crime. Simple. And he never faced prosecution or punishment. Instead, HE ended up being the Governor and Gaoler of the war criminals in Spandau prison! And people refuse to see the irony of that because they think Band of Brothers is a documentary film.

[@ralphalvarez5465]

That goes to show that you never surrender or point a weapon at something that you are not willing to destroy. Besides, you should ask the survivors of Belsen or Auschwitz if they have problems with the actions of Lt. Ronald Speirs during WWII. As far as Spandau Prison goes, could have been worse like what the Soviets did to the Germans that surrendered at Stalingrad. AATW!!

[@aaronmorrison7716]

The main objective was to win the war.

[@MidwestFarmToys]

Not a war crime. No way to keep prisoners behind enemy lines. You are allowed to take measures if the alternative of letting them go drives great risk to the captors. In this case, it certainly does since They're trapped behind enemy lines. Their location could easily be given away by letting the prisoners go free and they'd have no where to retreat to

[@robertnimmo4220]

Good job, well done.

[@robsonborba6273]

What is a war crime for the US, which is founded on war crimes?

[@TagW110]

But when the SS (or whoever) did it... war crime? The pathetic part is how they actually tried to gloss it over in the series. Historical docu-drama becomes propaganda tool.

[@chuckmercer8950]

Not much else you can do with violent drunks and nazis

[@unamium495]

Never surrender.

[@phaking2409]

The mission comes first! Behind front lines, if your caught, you're dead like a Spy, saboteur.

[@burner5673]

Just make sure it isn’t you begging for your life one day!

[@phaking2409]

@@burner5673 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWa8oYipedh7o80&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

[@phaking2409]

@bur ner I'm a Marine and what captain spears said is my exact feeling

[@phillipgonzales4617]

As a Paratrooper we are given orders never give quater or take quater it means Never Surender Never Take Prisoners

[@010Jordi]

This is why i dont care about what some Germans did to allied pow's both sides did it

[@packersamurai]

It was dangerous and impossible to take prisoners with no beachhead established. Standing orders were to take NO prisoners for 48 hours after the landings. This was sad but necessary.

[@christopherpeery7436]

Its soldiers like speirs that win wars

[@juzzi137]

If this was done by the Germans, everyone would be crying about war crimes, but when it's done by the allied side, not a war crime.

[@bobrice5159]

Nah. It depends on the circumstances in all cases for me.

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

it IS a WAR CRIME

[@juzzi137]

@Bob Rice So you don't think the holocaust was an genocide committed by the nazis? I mean you did say it's all about circumstances for you.

[@joshschneider9766]

Because he was a soldier who valued his people over and above the lives of the enemy or those that don't heed warnings and point rifles where they shouldn't.

[@LawrenceKennard]

He was my hero

[@dustjunky2000]

'Here's why war crimes are okay when we do it.'

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

War isn't as simple as good and bad. Its amazing these men came home and went on to live productive and gentle lives

[@dustjunky2000]

No doubt. But if that's true for them, why is it not true for their enemies?

[@MrKnaives]

@@dustjunky2000 Yea sure, but where were they going to put those prisoner if they are behind enemy lines? if they let them go they would just come back fight. right or wrong sometimes you just got to do what you got to do. Plus they were the SS the worst of the worst.