Band of Brothers: E. Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle Nest, Book Analysis Essay

Book ReportBand of Brothers E. Company, 506th Regiment, hundred-and-first Airborne From Normandy to Hitlers Eagle Nest by Stephen E. AmbroseBand Of Brothers is the history of Easy Company, 506th ParachuteInfantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, from basic training toD-Day. It follows the jump into Holland, the struggle ofthe Bulge, and finally the occupation of Berchtesgaden and Austria. This is a distinctiveness among military histories, told from the viewpointof the front line soldier, the privates, non-commissi one and only(a)d officers and officers whocarry out the grand strategy of generals. Many keepsdiscuss the inner working of commands at Division and armament levels, but few detail the day to day life of thesoldier. Stephen Ambroses book does that andmore. It explores the how draftee citizen soldiers ofelite outfits like the 101st Airborne did, in area War II, stamp outan enemy like the well adroit German Wehrmacht and S.S. In 1942 the Second Battalion of the 506th was formed and startedbasic training. The recruits volunteered for the thrill, the honor, the extra money, but preceding(prenominal) all the desire to be betterthan the ordinary draftee.A description of the physical effortrequired in basic training explains why a majority of thevolunteers never made it as far as the door of the airplane. Whenthe Company finally made it to Fort Benning for jump school, theywere in such broad physical shape that they outdid the schoolsphysical fitness cadre. After five jumps in December of1942, the community qualified as Parachutists, and nine-months laterthey were on a ship to England to train for the invasion ofHitlers Fortress Europa. Ambrose also details the nine months of training that the companyendured in England in preparation for the invasion. Hetells it from the viewpoint of both officers and men and explainsthe final shift in Easy Company hierarchy just prior to D-Day. Hisdescription of the night jump of the 101st in the early morningho urs of June 6, 1944, with men and officers scattered about thecountryside, and the confusion, heroism and chaos that surroundedthe successful landings at Utah Beach, is masterful. Heexplains how the few outermost roads from the beach are zeroed in byGerman artillery, and that the job of the airborne was to nullifythe artillery and its defending troops. The efforts of Lt.RichardWinters to fulfill that mission are oneof the high points of the book. As the book reports Bythis time, about 0700, E Company consisted of two lightmachine-guns, one bazooka (no ammunition), one 60mm mortar, ninerifleman, and two officers. Lt. Winters was in charge. With less(prenominal)than 100 men assemb guide in the battalion, the commander could onlyafford to send Easy Company to attack and overrun a four gun Germanbattery defended by a fifty-man platoon. As the book puts it, quoting one of the men, Here the training paid off. We fought asa team without standout stars, Lipton said. We were like amachine. We didnt have anyone who leaped up and charged amachine-gun. We knocked it out or made it withdraw bymaneuver and teamwork or mortar fire. We were smartthere werent many flashy heroics. We had learned that heroics wasthe way to get killed without getting the job done, and getting thejob done was more important. Three hours after the attackcommenced, it was completed successfully. Easy Company went on to fight through Normandy until June 29th whenit was pulled out of line and sent to a field camp near UtahBeach. They had jumped into Normandy with an efficaciousstrength of 139 men and officers and ended up with79.Ambroses description of those few days from thenight jump to their last fight at Carentan is magnificent. The book following describes the companys jump into Holland, near theRhine River, where they fought through November of 1944, and thenon to Bastogne, to again become front line troops in the historicBattle of the Bulge. Easy Company was the first Alliedtroops to occupy Hitlers mountain retreat atBerchtesgaden. After occupation duty in Austria, thecompany and battalion were sent back to a small town near Paris,and on November 30, 1945, the 101st was deactivated. As Ambroseputs it, The Company had been born in July 1942 atToccoa. Its reality essentially came to an end almostexactly three courses later. In those three years the men hadseen more, endured more and contributed more than most men tail end see, endure or contribute in a lifetime. Band Of Brothersdescribes those eventful three years in such a way as to represent thereader experience them too. I think Ambrose did very well telling the story of Easy Company because, as stated above, I felt that I was able to experience the three years very well. I am not much of a reader, but enjoyed reading the book very much. I love American history and I have an interest in the military.Having participated in JROTC in high school for 4 years anddoing ROTC my first year in college, I was able to under stand the roles and concepts presented in the book. One theme I saying a lot in the book was the feeling and theme of brotherhood. The title of the book is Band of Brothers and Ambrose did a very good job of conveying the soldiers brotherhood through out the book. Starting at the beginning, when they are training, the soldiers trained together, worked together, and suffered together. As a team, working together is key, and the soldiers of the 101st Airborne identified that concept early on and kept it strong. One phrase I saw quite a few times was follow me. I think Ambrose included that phrase so much because it shows the leadership and brotherhood. They helped each other and led each other to success and improvement. From the American history perspective, I loved this book I have been learning about World War 2 for several years now, including this year in this American memoir class with the great Keith Maljean, but this is the first time I learned from the soldiers perspectiv es. Ambrose did a phenomenal job of interviewing the members of the 101st Airborne and recounting their stories. Reading the book, I felt like I was right there with them on their first jump, landing in France, and at the first mention of the Airborne division.Volunteering for something reinvigorated, not knowing what was going to happen. Literally jumping into an unknown, new division of the Army. I embarked with them on the fight to defeat Germany and bring an end to the Nazis. I feel that I gained a better understanding of the American soldier in the World War 2 era, and it is zero point like the American soldier nowadays. Today, our armed forces are facing things that we have seen before, for the most part. Back in the World War 2 era, the soldiers were facing new ships, vehicles, aircrafts, artillery, rocketry, small arms, and biological, chemical, and atomic weapons. It was a very scary time for the soldiers not knowing what was coming or how bad it is. Through the stories i n Band of Brothers, I was able to understand what the life of the soldier was like and how they adapted to the new weaponry. When I first heard that I was going to have to do a book report for this class, I was completely dreading it due to my lack of joy for reading and writing, but I am glad that I stumbled across this book because I dont know if I would have been able to find a book as good as this. Stephen Ambrose is a smart writer and recounted the stories of the men from the 101st Airborne with great detail. It was entertaining,informative, and all around life changing. This book reinforced the concept of brotherhood and gave me a great perspective of World War 2 from a soldiers point of view. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in American History or just looking for a good read.