INTRO: Band of Brothers is a ten-part video series dramatizing the history of one company of American paratroopers in World War Two—E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, known as “Easy Company.” Although the company’s first experience in real combat did not come until June 1944 ( D-Day), this exemplary group fought in some of the war’s most harrowing battles. Band of Brothers depicts not only the heroism of their exploits but also the extraordinary bond among men formed in the crucible of war.
The second episode focuses on the Normandy invasion and Easy Company’s assignment to take out a German artillery installation. On June 6, 1944, thousands of Allied paratroopers dropped from the sky to begin one of the most audacious military campaigns of the war—and one of the most crucial. However, careful planning notwithstanding, most of the members of Easy Company miss their designated drop zones and had to begin the invasion by dealing with their extreme disorientation (heightened for many by the anti-nausea medication the soldiers were instructed to take). With Richard Winters as the company’s commanding officer, Easy Company successfully executes its first assignment in the field, destroying a German artillery installation firing on Allied infantry trying to come ashore.
The second episode focuses on the Normandy invasion and Easy Company’s assignment to take out a German artillery installation. On June 6, 1944, thousands of Allied paratroopers dropped from the sky to begin one of the most audacious military campaigns of the war—and one of the most crucial. However, careful planning notwithstanding, most of the members of Easy Company miss their designated drop zones and had to begin the invasion by dealing with their extreme disorientation (heightened for many by the anti-nausea medication the soldiers were instructed to take). With Richard Winters as the company’s commanding officer, Easy Company successfully executes its first assignment in the field, destroying a German artillery installation firing on Allied infantry trying to come ashore.
CRITICAL VIEWING QUESTIONS:
- What challenges did the paratroops face in the Normandy invasion? How did they deal with
those challenges? - When soldiers lost weapons and/or supplies during the air drop, how did they respond?
- When Lieutenant Spiers offers cigarettes to German prisoners and then shoots them, why
didn’t any of the G.I.’s say anything? - Why didn’t Winters show much enthusiasm when he learned that the map he had found
contained important information about the location of German gun placement throughout
Normandy? - What were the main themes of this episode?
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