Band of Brothers TV Mini-Series

1942. Camp Toccoa, Georgia, USA. Men from all over the United States are here to train as elite paratroopers. For the men of Easy Company, this is no easy task, as their Commander, Captain Sobel, demands much more than other company commanders. He drives the men to peak physical fitness, regularly making them run up a hill known as 'Currahee' (This is were the Company motto originates). He is a mean, nasty piece of work, inventing infringements and cancelling passes whenever he sees fit. But he gets the best from his men. They turn out to be the best. They are able to cope with anything thrown at them. They hate their Captain, but his meanness is his genius. The men of Easy Company will do their very best to be better than he expects, in the hope he will be lenient.
Easy Company also get their first taste of England, and after Captain Sobel is 'called' on one of his petty charges, some of the NCO's stage a rebellion.

In the early hours of June 6th, 1942, Easy Company are flying high over the English Channel, ready to jump into their first taste of battle.
The jump however is chaos and the men are scattered all of the Normandy countryside. Lt. Winters gathers up what men he can find and they end up making an assault on a German Artillery Battery, that is said to be shelling the nearby beaches and the landing that is happening there.
Easy Company come through with minimal losses and maximum respect earned as the assault is text book and even used today as a demonstration.
The legend of Captain Ronald Speirs is also born

Next, Easy Company must take the town of Carentan. Many casualties are taken in the vicious street fighting , but finally they push the Germans out and are ordered to hold the town. When the counter attack comes, it is brutal, involving tanks and artillery, but Easy Company holds on.
One soldier suffers from 'hysterical blindness' but is soon back in the fighting after a encouragement from Lt. Winters.
Soon after, the company is relieved and returned to England

Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne assault in history and probably the biggest risk and biggest failure of World War 2 .
Easy Company were a part of it along with some replacements to shore up their now reduced ranks from the fighting in Normandy.
The replacements are not easily welcomed by some, and are seen as a liability due to their inexperience in combat. They are also a constant reminder of the men that have been lost.
Initially welcomed by the local Dutch, Easy Company then meets strong resistance from the defending German Army, and are forced into retreat, while one of their number is separated from the Company during the fighting

The now Captain Winters leads some of the men on a suspected machine gun nest, which turns out to be several companies of German troops. There are many casualties, but the assault was success, as the limited number of Easy Company overwhelm and all but wipe out the German Companies. Captain Winters is now promoted to 2nd Battalion's Executive Officer, but does not want to leave Easy Company. After helping a group of stranded British Paras, and on the way back to England, all passes are cancelled for Easy Company. Instead they are sent, in the freezing winter, to help defend Bastogne.

It's cold. Very very cold in the forests of Bastogne, in December 1944. Easy Company, no winter clothing, a lack of food, and limited ammunition. This episode centers around Eugene Rowe, the Company medic. He tries all he can to be able to help the men when they need it most, but with a lack of medical supplies and the freezing weather, this is no easy task. He scrounges what he can, when he can, and even has to trade for a pair of scissors. The men also have a strong dislike of their new Commanding Officer. He is never around when needed.
(Note: I was very happy to see an episode such as this included. Often, I think the Medics are the forgotten heroes of any war, and most stories focus on the soldiers fighting. The Medics go into combat unarmed but face the same dangers of the other men. If it was not for them and their actions, many more men would have been lost)

The artillery barrages by the nearby German have taken their toll and produced many casualties. One man loses several close friends and can continue no more. No one thinks badly of him, though, as they know exactly what he has been through.
With the Germans now in retreat, Easy Company is to take part in an assault on the town Foy.
Just into the battle, the CO has to be relieved as he proves ineffective in combat and cannot lead his men. Winters orders Lt. Speirs to take over command, and sends him in to battle to lead Easy Company.
Lt. Speirs adds another part to his already growing legend as a fighting man.

Easy Company are now in Haguenau, in France, just across the Rhine River from Germany.
One Normandy veteran, Pte. webster was injured in Operation Market Garden, and now returns to the Company, but is treated as an outsider because he missed Bastogne.
With Germans occupying the town across the river, the Battalion Commander orders a raid to capture prisoners. With the war coming to an end and the men thinking they might just get through it, they are less than happy that they lose another man. They are even more displeased when another raid is scheduled for the following night. Captain Winters shows the kind a leader he is and why he is so highly thought of by the men, when he finds a way around it.

The German Army are surrendering in droves as Easy Company enters Germany. The men have time to reflect on the war experiences and question what it was all for.
Their question is answered soon enough when some of the men of Easy Company liberate a concentration camp. Some of the soldiers release the prisoners and give them food.
Then comes saddest part of series, when Cpl. Joseph Liebgott, an American Jew who speaks German has to tell the prisoners to stop eating and to go back into the camp, until they can be treated properly with the right food and proper medical attention.
With Hitler now dead, the Company is next ordered to take Bertchesgarden, the Nazi Headquarters known as The Eagle's Nest

Mid 1945 and the German Army has surrendered. To be shipped home the men need to acquire so many 'points'. (These are given for various things, such as medals award, length of service etc. A total of 85 was needed to be granted a ticket home.)
The ones with too few points were left to train, in the expectation of joining the conflict in the Pacific.
There was still some tragic events to happen, even though the war was over.
We also get to hear the speech of a German Commanding Officer, that is translated by Liebgott.
It holds a poignant message for all of Easy Company.

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