Goodreads Reviews: Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For as long as I can remember I had heard of the phenomenal mini-series Band of Brothers. All I really knew about it was that it was a military movie set during WWII. Pretty basic. However, being a history lover, I finally decided to watch the series, but thought it would be in my best interest to read the book it was based on. And I'm glad I did.

First, I know nothing about military hierarchy at all. What's a unit? A regiment? And then the difference between Sergeant and Staff Sergeant, corporal, officer, noncoms. I mean, I at least know who the doctor was, but that was it. So, I was generally confused when these militaristic terms were being thrown around and I was scrambling to figure out the basics.

Spanning exactly 3 years starting in July of 1942 and ending in July of 1945, Band of Brothers is the story of the newly created 506th Regiment by the 101st Airborne of the U.S. Army. The 506th is made up of nine smaller companies; several are Easy, Dog, Fox and Battalion. Of all of these brave and hardworking companies, it was Easy Company that was at the forefront of the siege of Normandy, holding the line in Bastgone, the Battle of the Bulge and D-Day. Their victories and losses eventually led them to the take over of Hitler's Eagle Nest at Berchtesgaden, where they celebrated to excess the fulfillment of their three year journey.

Due to their intense training in Georgia and North Carolina from their unmerciful Company Commander, Herbert Sobel the men of Easy Company could withstand anything. However, they became comrades and true brothers in arms due to the leadership, compassion and wisdom of rising leader, Lt. Richard "Dick" Winters. A quiet, but determined and skilled soldier who was loved and admired by his men.

Band of Brothers is less a novel and more of a collection of the memoirs of the men who were there, the Brothers themselves. Easy Company bore witness to many stories, some already ingrained in popular culture. Such as the heartbreaking account of Fritz Niland and how the loss of his three older brothers in war, which resulted in his immediate return home, inspired Saving Private Ryan. Band of Brothers also relays the capture of Adolf Eichmann by Israeli operatives that was told in Operation Finale (2018).

Despite failed missions, brutal winters, high casualties, incompetent leaders, and the fear of never returning home, Easy Company, led by Dick Winters, did not just witness great military history, they created it.