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Episode 4 of Band of Brothers, "Replacements", opens with Easy Company back in England after almost 3 months on campaign in France. Actually they returned to England at the end of Ep. 3, but I didn't mention it in my Ep. 3 blog for thematic reasons. It fits better thematically with Ep. 4, which is about regrouping, resetting, and then returning to battle.
Meehan died on D-Day. His plane was shot down, all soldiers aboard killed. His laundry's been there for 3 months. Malarkey says nothing about Meehan's fate, though. He takes Meehan's package and pays for it.
The shopkeeper has other packages waiting, too. She reads their names, asking if Malarkey can help. Many are for men who've died. Again, though, Malarkey says nothing to the shopkeeper, suffering the reminder in silence about the men who've died. The bundles of clothes unclaimed on the shelf, men's names written on them, are like grave stones in a cemetery.
While this us-versus-them mentality is somewhat understandable— and certainly happens in a lot of organizations, not just militaries— it's also corrosive. It's the start of divisiveness that tears apart team unity. And unity is especially important in the military, where soldiers have to trust the people to their left and their right with their life. At least one of the sergeants is shown putting a stop to it when it goes past good-natured ribbing and becomes divisive.
Parachuting behind the lines again, Easy Company's first mission is to liberate the Dutch city of Eindhoven. Easy soldiers approach carefully, not just to protect themselves but so as not to fire on civilians. It's wise they do, as the first building where they think they see a German sniper preparing to shoot from a 2nd storey window is actually a Dutch woman opening the window to hang an orange banner— a flag of liberation. Soon the streets are full of Dutch citizens celebrating their liberation.
A column of British tanks arrive, the road having been secured for them by Easy Company. Revelers fill the streets; Brits and Americans enjoy a hero's welcome. Captain Winters— he was promoted to captain during the regroup back in England— is already thinking ahead to the next phase of the operation, though. Neunen is the next town his company must secure.
As you might have guessed from my cheeky note above, "Defeat Hitler by Christmas [1944]," if you know anything about WWII history, you already guessed that Operation Market Garden ultimately did not succeed. The Germans basically pulled back from Eindhoven ahead of the Allied push and concentrated their strength in Neunen. Easy Company, the 101st, and the British tanks were dealt a defeat in Neunen and had to retreat. In fact they had to retreat even past Eindhoven. The episode ends with Winters watching from a distance as Eindhoven is bombed by Germany.
This grim scene a turning point in the tone of the story. While D-Day combat was tough, and combat in the weeks following it was certainly no walk in the garden, up 'til now Easy Company was always on the winning side. Here they had to make their first painful retreat. "And now stuff gets really hard" becomes the tone of the next few episodes.
A Different Kind of Memorial Scene
There's a poignant scene right at the end of Ep. 3 worth mentioning in the vein of regrouping. Sgt. Malarkey (yes, that's his real name) goes to a laundry to pick up his cleaned uniforms. Just as he's leaving the shopkeeper stops him to ask if he could take packages to other members of his company. "Lt. Meehan, he's one of yours, isn't he?" she asks.Meehan died on D-Day. His plane was shot down, all soldiers aboard killed. His laundry's been there for 3 months. Malarkey says nothing about Meehan's fate, though. He takes Meehan's package and pays for it.
The shopkeeper has other packages waiting, too. She reads their names, asking if Malarkey can help. Many are for men who've died. Again, though, Malarkey says nothing to the shopkeeper, suffering the reminder in silence about the men who've died. The bundles of clothes unclaimed on the shelf, men's names written on them, are like grave stones in a cemetery.
(Un)Welcoming the Replacements
While the 101st Airborne is back in England their ranks are refilled by new soldiers. Many of the D-Day veterans are somewhat hostile to the newcomers. It's shown through dialogue that the veterans are concerned for everyone's safety. They trust their fellow combat vets to have certain sense in battle of how to stay safe and protect each other. They know that recruits fresh out of training do not have those skills yet.While this us-versus-them mentality is somewhat understandable— and certainly happens in a lot of organizations, not just militaries— it's also corrosive. It's the start of divisiveness that tears apart team unity. And unity is especially important in the military, where soldiers have to trust the people to their left and their right with their life. At least one of the sergeants is shown putting a stop to it when it goes past good-natured ribbing and becomes divisive.
Back to Battle: Eindhoven, Neunen
The 101st redeploys to Holland as part of Operation Market Garden. The design of this real-life joint operation between the US and UK was to open a route through Holland to bring soldiers, tanks, trucks, etc. to Germany. "Defeat Hitler by Christmas [1944]" was the thinking.Parachuting behind the lines again, Easy Company's first mission is to liberate the Dutch city of Eindhoven. Easy soldiers approach carefully, not just to protect themselves but so as not to fire on civilians. It's wise they do, as the first building where they think they see a German sniper preparing to shoot from a 2nd storey window is actually a Dutch woman opening the window to hang an orange banner— a flag of liberation. Soon the streets are full of Dutch citizens celebrating their liberation.
A column of British tanks arrive, the road having been secured for them by Easy Company. Revelers fill the streets; Brits and Americans enjoy a hero's welcome. Captain Winters— he was promoted to captain during the regroup back in England— is already thinking ahead to the next phase of the operation, though. Neunen is the next town his company must secure.
As you might have guessed from my cheeky note above, "Defeat Hitler by Christmas [1944]," if you know anything about WWII history, you already guessed that Operation Market Garden ultimately did not succeed. The Germans basically pulled back from Eindhoven ahead of the Allied push and concentrated their strength in Neunen. Easy Company, the 101st, and the British tanks were dealt a defeat in Neunen and had to retreat. In fact they had to retreat even past Eindhoven. The episode ends with Winters watching from a distance as Eindhoven is bombed by Germany.
This grim scene a turning point in the tone of the story. While D-Day combat was tough, and combat in the weeks following it was certainly no walk in the garden, up 'til now Easy Company was always on the winning side. Here they had to make their first painful retreat. "And now stuff gets really hard" becomes the tone of the next few episodes.
