Band of Brothers Viewing Guide #7

 

EPISODE 7 -  The Breaking Point

NOT HISTORICAL LICENSE:  Hoobler did shoot a German officer on a horse, took his pistol (but it was not a Luger), and then accidentally shoot himself in the leg, resulting in his death.  However, the pistol went off accidentally when it got caught on some barbed wire. 

NOT HISTORICAL LICENSE:  Muck and Penkala were killed when their foxhole took a direct hit. 

Dike has been maligned by the series, although his actions as commander of Easy Company may reflect the unit’s impression of him.  He had two Bronze Stars.  One was from an incident in Holland where he organized paratroopers in the defense of a crossroads.  His second was at Bastogne where he rescued some wounded men under fire.  His performance at Foy could have been the result of reaching his breaking point.  One paratrooper claimed that Dike had stopped because he was wounded in the shoulder.  He survived the assault and was transferred to regimental headquarters.  He later served in the Korean War.

NOT HISTORICAL LICENSE:   Speirs did run through Foy and back.

In Foy, Shifty Powers does shoot a sniper, but there is no mention of Lipton drawing fire for him.

There was a lot more fighting after the taking of Foy.

battlefield commission -  This is when a noncommissioned soldier, in this case a sergeant, is promoted to a commissioned officer, like a lieutenant.  This is done for extraordinary bravery or leadership.  The concept goes back to the Middle Ages when a nonnoble might be knighted for conspicuous bravery. 

Ronald Speirs -  Speirs was the most controversial of the members.  He was a Scottish immigrant.  He got military training in high school, so when he enlisted he was a 2^nd Lieutenant.  He volunteered for paratroopers and was sent to Toccoa at the same time as Easy Company.  He was in Dog Company.  He jumped in D-Day.  On June 7, his unit was waiting for an artillery barrage to end before attacking.  A drunken sergeant wanted to go and when he refused Speirs’s orders to stand down and reached for his gun, Speirs shot him.  His captain interviewed the eyewitnesses and decided it was justifiable self-defense.  He was chosen to replace Dike simply because he was nearby.  He was one of the biggest looters in the company. He ended the war as Easy Company’s longest serving commander.  He stayed in the army and made a combat jump in Korea.  For a while, he was commandant of Spandau Prison. Albert Speer remembered him as hard-nosed and irritating.  He was a military adviser in Laos in 1962.  He retired as a Lt. Col.