Band of Brothers

[Eric Mc]

That's the problem with scan reading. There is a post on it in here somewhere.

If it's half as good as Band of Brothers, it'll be worth looking at.

[MX-Si]

JCB123 said:

I'll vote excellent....just great in everyway!

I've scan read the last 5 pages and not seen anyone mention the new series 'The Pacific'....I think this is about ready for airing?!?!?


Edit: http://www.pacificfans.com/

Edited by JCB123 on Tuesday 11th November 13:19

I posted about 'The Pacific on page 3', if it's half as good as BoB I'll be a happy chappy!

[imp123]

Ambrose is not exactly an honest writer having made up/exagerated stuff as well as stealing bits from other authors. Apparently someone who died in his account was still attending reunions for the company in the 1960's!

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Always got the impression Ambrose was more than a little anti-british.

Still BoB is a good dramtisation of the events.

[Civpilot]

imp123 said:

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Funny, as the actual surviving members of easy say totally the opposite. About both comments.
Winters is still to this day very highly regarded by all who actually served with him to the point of them even welling up when talking about how special he is to each and every one of them (there are quite a few interviews out there beyond the basic BOB stuff).

Sobel (Schwimmer) was regarded by all as a total arse, but an arse who unified everyone in their hatred so much that they became the "Band of Brothers" they are. Winters goes into more detail in the book "Biggest Brother"

[obstreperous]

Badgerboy said:

Just ordered the BlueRay boxset to compliment my new player. I did have the tin DVD set, but it got lent to a friend and seems to have disappeared.

Is that you Joe ??? Didn't know you ventured on here .

[imp123]

Civpilot said:

imp123 said:

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Funny, as the actual surviving members of easy say totally the opposite. About both comments.
Winters is still to this day very highly regarded by all who actually served with him to the point of them even welling up when talking about how special he is to each and every one of them (there are quite a few interviews out there beyond the basic BOB stuff).

Sobel (Schwimmer) was regarded by all as a total arse, but an arse who unified everyone in their hatred so much that they became the "Band of Brothers" they are. Winters goes into more detail in the book "Biggest Brother"

Not exactly an unbiased view from either his men or himself then.....

[Civpilot]

imp123 said:

Civpilot said:

imp123 said:

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Funny, as the actual surviving members of easy say totally the opposite. About both comments.
Winters is still to this day very highly regarded by all who actually served with him to the point of them even welling up when talking about how special he is to each and every one of them (there are quite a few interviews out there beyond the basic BOB stuff).

Sobel (Schwimmer) was regarded by all as a total arse, but an arse who unified everyone in their hatred so much that they became the "Band of Brothers" they are. Winters goes into more detail in the book "Biggest Brother"

Not exactly an unbiased view from either his men or himself then.....

FFS

So what your saying is that you "heard" he wasn't a nice guy, but even those his men look up to him with great admiration and love, they must be biased? Seriously?

Those men lived under his command through hell, and they don't seem that slow to mention people like sobel with utter distain, yet they are lying and being biased when they talk about how great a leader and a man Winters really was?

Who are your sources? (Who apparently know more than Winter's own men)

[Jimbeaux]

imp123 said:

Ambrose is not exactly an honest writer having made up/exagerated stuff as well as stealing bits from other authors. Apparently someone who died in his account was still attending reunions for the company in the 1960's!

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Always got the impression Ambrose was more than a little anti-british.

Still BoB is a good dramtisation of the events.

Ambrose spoke well of the British in a lecture he gave at UNO (University of New Oeleans). I regret not meeting him ono on one before his death. He worked 45 minutes from me and was very accessible; totally my loss there.

[Jimbeaux]

Civpilot said:

imp123 said:

Civpilot said:

imp123 said:

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Funny, as the actual surviving members of easy say totally the opposite. About both comments.
Winters is still to this day very highly regarded by all who actually served with him to the point of them even welling up when talking about how special he is to each and every one of them (there are quite a few interviews out there beyond the basic BOB stuff).

Sobel (Schwimmer) was regarded by all as a total arse, but an arse who unified everyone in their hatred so much that they became the "Band of Brothers" they are. Winters goes into more detail in the book "Biggest Brother"

Not exactly an unbiased view from either his men or himself then.....

FFS

So what your saying is that you "heard" he wasn't a nice guy, but even those his men look up to him with great admiration and love, they must be biased? Seriously?

Those men lived under his command through hell, and they don't seem that slow to mention people like sobel with utter distain, yet they are lying and being biased when they talk about how great a leader and a man Winters really was?

Who are your sources? (Who apparently know more than Winter's own men)

Well put.

[imp123]

Civpilot said:

imp123 said:

Civpilot said:

imp123 said:

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Funny, as the actual surviving members of easy say totally the opposite. About both comments.
Winters is still to this day very highly regarded by all who actually served with him to the point of them even welling up when talking about how special he is to each and every one of them (there are quite a few interviews out there beyond the basic BOB stuff).

Sobel (Schwimmer) was regarded by all as a total arse, but an arse who unified everyone in their hatred so much that they became the "Band of Brothers" they are. Winters goes into more detail in the book "Biggest Brother"

Not exactly an unbiased view from either his men or himself then.....

FFS

So what your saying is that you "heard" he wasn't a nice guy, but even those his men look up to him with great admiration and love, they must be biased? Seriously?

Those men lived under his command through hell, and they don't seem that slow to mention people like sobel with utter distain, yet they are lying and being biased when they talk about how great a leader and a man Winters really was?

Who are your sources? (Who apparently know more than Winter's own men)

Now I make a valid point, saying that their point of view isn't exactly unbaised and you proceed to make a childish remark. Anyway, i have detailed below an extract from this website

http://boards.historychannel.com/topic/World-War-I...


"Captain Sobel does not get the fair shake he deserves. All 18/19 year olds find rebellion in authority. He was a capable training office and to a man the vets of EASY Co credit them with making them the soldiers they were.He ran the jump school Chilton Foliat, preparing staff for the D-Day jump. I have spoken with several men who served under him and they have no problems with him at all.

One thing that is lost in the rush to judge him by the attendance at his funeral. He was Jewish and by the faith he practiced, burial is required very soon after death (24hours?)The quickness of his interment precluded a great deal of people from attending.

His son Michael has attended the Easy Company Reunion and has been welcomed back with open arms. Michael says "he was an excellent father". Bill Guarnere says of Herbert Sobel, "He was a good man" The dramatic license of the mini series and the myopic view of Stephen Ambrose have clouded the man who so successfully sent the 101st one of its finest rifle companies of WW2."

Also

"The scene in BOB, where the NCO's "Mutiny, is different from the reality. Everything was verbal and nothing was signed like the showed in the series. Wild Bill Guarnere tells the story much differently than it is portrayed. "

It always important when reading historical accounts to view them in context rather than being carried away with defending what is quite a good dramtisation of events from a rather poor at times historian.

[michaeljclark]

Sported the cash and went and got BoB on BluRay

The clarity is amazing (from my point of view), thou low light scenes are a tad grainy compared to the standard def version, but hey I guess it all adds to the realism.

Watched two episodes so far and am well impressed, £35 well spent

I shall be giving my old boxset to my grandfather

[Adz The Rat]

I had never heard of this series until Emma bought the boxset a few months ago and we watched it over a few days.
I was very impressed, made so well and showed how the war really affected the people who fought it

[Dunk76]

imp123 said:

Always got the impression Ambrose was more than a little anti-british.

Now I've mentioned before that Ambrose's accuracy regards certain little facts was questionable. In Pegasus Bridge he casts unnecessary aspersions on the SMLE and BREN, basically claiming them to be rubbish.

Although the SMLE was an inferior weapon to the Carbines used by the Americans, in terms of rate of fire, and the BREN was second fiddle to the MG34 and MG42, to say they're rubbish without explaning a) why you think they're rubbish and b) the uniquely British attitude to warfare which characterised their development was, in my opinion, a serious omission when the book is notionally about the British Airborne.

Indeed, I seem to remember actually getting quite angry when reading Pegasus Bridge. Having read a huge amount of Holmes and Keegan, and having just finished the gushing Citizen Soldiers, I was surprised and disappointed by Ambrose's handling of the subject, moreso because I believe his own father was in 6 Para.

Curiously, Ambrose is viewed as some sort of literary untouchable on PH, I presume because of the success of the Band of Brother's TV series.

[Twit]

Civpilot said:

imp123 said:

Apparently the real Winters is not the pleasent and agreeable individual portrayed in BoB. Whereas the Scwhimmer character was hard done by Ambrose.

Funny, as the actual surviving members of easy say totally the opposite. About both comments.
Winters is still to this day very highly regarded by all who actually served with him to the point of them even welling up when talking about how special he is to each and every one of them (there are quite a few interviews out there beyond the basic BOB stuff).

Sobel (Schwimmer) was regarded by all as a total arse, but an arse who unified everyone in their hatred so much that they became the "Band of Brothers" they are. Winters goes into more detail in the book "Biggest Brother"

I can't remember where I have read it, either in one of my books or on the net somewhere but I too have read the Winters was a bit difficult etc... But then I guess thats what made him him! I'll see if I can find it tomorrow.

Brilliant series though, certainly one of the best made that I can recall.

[Eric Mc]

I've enjoyed reading Ambrose's books but I rate Max Hastings and Richard Holmes much higher.

[audidoody]

Check out Amazon. Compton, Malarkey, Webster, and ol' Bill have all written their memoirs. Now, where's that Visa card?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Call-Duty-Before-During-Br...

Edited by audidoody on Wednesday 12th November 00:46

[hornetrider]

bks. There's no series link info on Sky+ and I didn't realise they were doing it nightly, missed the first 20 mins of tonights episode

[tank slapper]

Oddly I had to set tonights episode to record manually on my freeview box as well, though it then picked up the two episodes next week.

[Civpilot]

If you guys have Virgin TV then it is in HD on the "On Demand" service.

[fathomfive]

Civpilot said:

If you guys have Virgin TV then it is in HD on the "On Demand" service.

Excellent, I take it they stuck it back on? I was hacked off when they took it off the other month, I'd only got halfway through it and it disappeared.