philsfo

Was interested in seeing why this book was chosen for the HBO series. In contrast to most war histories, this book is interesting for focusing on a single company through WWII. Now I see why E "Easy" Company (506th Reg, 101st Airborne Div) was chosen. It took part in many major allied campaigns: Normandy/Overlord, Holland/Market Garden, and Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge. The demanding training regimen of a despised training officer prepared them well for the campaigns, and their excellent fitness, high morale, good preparation and training in infantry tactics, allowed Easy Company to often defeat superior German forces despite being outnumbered, sometimes substantially. This book pays homage to the idea that the most valuable weapon in the military is the soldier himself. Easy Company are representatives of highly trained infantry soldiers in the US Army at that time that did not shy at combat missions. The book gives a good feel for the ebb and flow of being in a major combat sector, to being in the front line in an inactive sector, to being in reserve, to being rotated out of combat. One also gets a good feel for how good men can freeze in combat and the difficulties of leadership under fire while watching half of your company become casualties. Officers were often inferior to the NCOs they commanded, and promotions were not always merit-based. One also gets a sense for some of the senseless ways people were killed- car accidents, accidental firings of German pistols collected as souvenirs, failing to properly identify yourself to friendlies, etc. It is also a bit shocking to hear the open and widespread acceptance of looting of civilian property by the American army, even by officers. There are also anecdotes from eyewitnesses of soldiers participating in war crimes that go unpunished such as murdering surrendered soldiers or civilians. A very good taste of company life in the WW II American Army.

2022-11-14 13:45