Band of Brothers is the late historian, Stephen E. Ambrose's real story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Paratroopers, who participated in "Operation Overlord," the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, in German occupied France, that marked the beginning of the end of the Nazi reign of terror across Europe during World War II.
Ambrose, a lifelong historian, wrote several books about World War II, and like the others, Band of Brothers leaves the reader with the unmistakable appreciation for the writer's personal admiration for the plight of the individual soldiers who, since the war, have often been referred to as "The Greatest Generation." Unlike traditional war stories that emphasize the particulars and the outcome of important battles while all but ignoring the day-to-day reality of the men in the trenches, Ambrose manages to accomplish both.
Band of Brothers follows the men of the 506th from their initial innocence and their collective goal of earning their jump wings to brutal combat that seemed to age them all several decades in a matter of weeks. Their greatest obstacle in training was the obnoxious Lieutenant Sobel, who might have (unwittingly) helped mold them into a cohesive fighting unit, fiercely loyal to a leader they respected, as much for his differences from Sobel, as for his other admirable qualities.
Richard "Dick" Winters emerges as a principled man of character, very early on, from his insistence on a formal hearing by Court Marshal, to resolve undeserved punishment from a vindictive Sobel (p.52). Winter's humility and strength contrast directly with Sobel's arrogance and ineptitude. Shortly after being dropped miles off course in France, Winter's own heroism and capability under fire begins when he
leads an under-equipped and undermanned maneuver of a dozen men to silence a German artillery battery,...
Later, when interviewed, Winters would remark that had Sobel-- notorious in training for his virtual inability to read maps or to think under fire-- been in charge of that particular operation, he would probably have assaulted the German guns head-on with all his troops, likely losing his own life and those of most of his men in the process (p.85).
As is his style throughout the book, Ambrose manages to capture Winter's heroism without detracting from his humanity, such as was apparent throughout the book, in his private reactions to losing his men in battle, and the humility with which he recounted his actions during the operation for which he earned personal commendation and, eventually, his first of several promotions in rank for his courage and leadership under fire (p.85).
Later, Ambrose vividly describes the horrors of artillery airbursts in the Arden Forests, during the infamous campaign known as the Battle of the Bulge that marked the Nazi's last (failed) attempt at a counteroffensive to prevent the Allied advance into Germany through the forests of Belgium.
Again, Ambrose manages to present a historically accurate picture of one of the most important battles that, ultimately, shortened the war, while capturing, at the same time, the individual experiences of the individual soldier. His description of one man's finding only tattered bits of clothing and fragments of the bodies of his friends dramatically reminds us of the randomness of death in warfare; only minutes earlier, the two dead men had urged their comrade to join them for his own safety in the foxhole that suffered a direct hit, killing them both instantly (p.205).
Almost as if that…
