Band of Brothers
HBO’sBand of Brothersclaims that 65 injured party were suffered in the Battle of Carentan but is this accurate ? The lesser - roll in the hay World War II struggle occurred from June 6 – 13 , 1944 , and was a fundamental constituent of the ally energy to free Europe in the wake of D - mean solar day . The episode in which the conflict is feature is the third of the 10 - part mini - series . Not only did it propose valuable sixth sense into a key World War II minute , but it also helped to further familiarize TV audience with the men of the 101st Airborne Division , aka Easy Company .
The arrival ofBand of Brothersin September 2001 marked a major turning point for historical dramas and telly . Though the series was based on the book of the same name by historian Stephen E. Ambrose , the joint effort of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks contain it to a new level of prestige . The overall impact of the serial publication was so substantial that it could be contend thatBand of Brotherschanged television forever . The idea of a series set in a highly volatile world put in an all - new stratum of kinship between hearing and characters , but for all its positives , a certain amount of originative impropriety had to be permitted . This is evident throughout the series , with the Carentan episode being a prime case .
There Were More Than 65 Allied Casualties In The Real Battle Of Carentan
The Carentan episode render the first magnanimous - exfoliation struggle of the series , focusing on Easy Company ’s seek to take the French townsfolk of Carentan , thereby consolidate U.S. forces into one powerful justificatory line against the German military . However , while the struggle that Easy Company faces is one of the more thrilling moments in the series , pure with a tense subplot involving Pvt . Albert Blithe and his fright of combat , its diachronic accuracy leave a footling to be desired . At the oddment of the instalment , a claim card appears explain that Easy Company lost 65 human race in the battle . This casualty statistic may be exact , but it wrongly leaves viewers to take over that the Battle of Carentan was Easy Company ’s engagement and that it hire the loss of 65 soldier for the subdivision to achieve triumph .
The truth is that the Battle of Carentan was come through thanks to the efforts of several battalion . What ’s more , it consider the better part of a workweek of combat for the critical battle to be win , and when this did , at last , occur , the American war machine hold up 100 of casualty , and at least 400 men were down in activeness . That ’s a considerable difference from whatBand of Brothersoffers viewers , opt to ignore the bulk of the battle in favor of focusing entirely on Easy Company ’s role in the profoundly meaning movement .
Why Band Of Brothers Minimizes The Battle’s Casualties
AsBand of Brothersis the story of Easy Companyand their experiences during the warfare , it ’s to be expect that the centering should remain on them . This is no well-fixed chore , peculiarly considering the terrible profundity of World War II and its seemingly dateless level to be told . The Battle of Carentan was both decisive and orotund - scale , leave much history to be summed up within the confines of a 60 - minute episode . To cut into into other story away from Easy Company ’s in the battle would not only take aside from the main focus ofBand of Brothersbut also create the issue of where to suck the line in term of which stories are or are n’t included .
It ’s ultimately for this reason that the series does n’t consider the huge number of injured party that occurred during the Battle of Carentan . alternatively , audiences get a very specific account mastermind for historical truth but not at the expense of overall amusement value . WhatBand of Brothersshould have done , however , was name the literal casualty numeral at the stopping point of the Carentan episode .
