This all-star WWII epic depicts the Allied defeat at Arnhem, Holland, in September 1944 and concentrates on those assigned to capture the strategically important bridge, despite insurmountable odds... It was planned to airdrop 35,000 U.S. and British paratroopers into Eastern Holland to secure six bridges leading to the German border, while a British ground force sped through Belgium to the bridge at Arnhem on the Rhine River. Converging, the two armies were to smash the already-damaged war-production factories of the Third Reich in the Ruhr section of Germany. But...everything went wrong: weather, bad judgment, panic, pure bad luck. The operation, which lasted nine days and had been code-named 'Market Garden,' was a total disaster... Based on the book by Cornelius Ryan.
I am the grandchild of people who were fighting age in WWII, and for some reason, I still get a distant sense of the drama of that time every time I see a film about WWII, even more than the history. It just brings it to life. It's like going home, although I would never have wanted to be involved in that awful disaster. It's probably the era of films I'm really nostalgic about.
If you were in the White Pages of the phone book, you too, could be listed in the credits.For you younger folks who don't know what is meant by "White Pages," it means...Oh, never mind.
Me and my dad would discuss the war before he died in May 2,000...he was a Marine Aircraft Mechanic during the war and stated they would fly them for about 1,000 hours in the South Pacific and then send the planes back to us in Hawaii to be repaired or rebuilt...new engine or whatever it needed...he kept his locker full of ammo and his rifle ready, just in case...he was not going to get caught with his pants down...after the war in 1945...he stated, we wanted to take on Russia...the common soldiers wanted to stamp out communism...he said, they were down...and we wanted to do it...these were simple soldiers with about an 8th grade education who worked the farms and fields of America...and, they could see better than Ivy League so called educated people..
1:02:40 One thing that always bothered me about this scene: isn’t this guy a little too rotund to be a Wehrmacht trooper? Better lay off the schnitzel there, big boy.
A great classic masterpiece movie ???? of all time . Unbelievable , speechless . Got all those great actors in one movie ???? . One of the best movie ever . So Pragmatic And realistic .
lalo lalo won’t say what he means, a sub-set of bigots, the “coward type” that chuckle out their hate. Hey dude, what is it you want to say about Jews and Distinguished Service Cross recipient 101st Airborne WW2 paratrooper Richard Winters? Let’s hear it.
My grandfather started that war when he was almost 18, in 1941, and came back home in 1952, almost 10 years 'journey'. 4 years of war, 6 months of German working camp as a soviet soldier (escaped) , 4 years of Russian working camp (escaped) because he was in German working camp.
FM Montgomery was regarded by history as pretty much a f---up. They all made mistakes which sadly is unavoidable in war but he was uniquely apparently a fool
Not a single soldier from Middle East, Africa or even India, who were fighting a foreign war for foreign people on foreign land. Guess we forget our heroes sooner then the enemies.
I always liked that this movie features a pretty good speaking part for Cliff Clavin. People have always told me that previous Military Service pretty much guarantees getting a job with the US Post Office. Apparently this was true for ol' Cliffie.
'One of the main reasons for the failure of Operation Market Garden was the fact that many senior officers simply ignored the warnings from the Dutch Resistance. The British and Montgomery had believed that the Germans were all but defeated and that their morale was low.He also believed that the bridges were only lightly defended which was correct, but he did not consider that there were substantial German forces near these bridges. In fact, Von Rundstedt had ordered two SS divisions to the area around Arnhem for rest and to be refitted. The Dutch Resistance had informed the British of this.Furthermore, the British intelligence service had passed on evidence that corroborated the Dutch claims to the Allied high command. They had solid evidence that the Germans had regrouped in the Arnhem area and were a formidable fighting force. In the movie Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, commander of the airborne operation is shown ignoring warnings. Major Fuller, an intelligence officer, shows Browning (Dirk Bogarde) photos of the Panther and Tiger tanks but even this does not stop the Operation. Browning refused to accept that there were German divisions in the target areas. In fact, Browning despite being told by his own intelligence officer that SS panzers were located near Arnhem, did not even order that the paratroopers landing in the area be equipped with any anti-tank weapons. Browning is shown as placing any officers who called for the Operation to be canceled such as the intelligence officer, on sick leave, which is correct. The anger of the Dutch Resistance when their intelligence was ignored is also true. The series of intelligence failures that led to the disaster at Arnhem is portrayed in the movie very accurately.'The movie seems to lay much of the blame for the failure of Operation Market Garden on Browning. In the book upon which the movie is based the ultimate blame for the failure of Market Garden was placed firmly on Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. Most historians would agree with this, but Montgomery is noticeably missing from the movie.'https://dailyhistory.org/How_historically_accurate_is_the_movie_%27A_Bridge_Too_Far%27%3F
While i was stationed in Germany , i got to Do the 100 mile force march thru all those Dutch towns and crossed all those Bridges ! Its a beautiful country and they love us 82nd airborne boys lol !! I met my Dutch girlfriend in Grava !A Beautiful blond hair and deep blue eye's !! God Mandy Litjeski where did you go ?????? Duie one word I'll never forget lol
both WWI and WWIare full of the histroy fo British Institutional arrognce geeting hundreds fo thousands slaughtered...yu know old bean? King and country what? Right...off we go
My Dad was an anti-aircraft artillery platoon commander in the Red Army in WWII. He fought alongside the American sailors as his platoon was shielding the US convoys to the northern port of Murmansk from the German air raids. Came home uninjured, thank God. Passed away in Cleveland OH. Only 3% of Russian men his age came back from that war alive.
Oh yes World War II, another artificial globalist War where are all the major players belong to the same secret societies and companies in America like General Electric and Ford (among many others) sent War material to Nazi Germany.
gs about that. He said that the grenade explosions were to big and the shelling that they endured in the Bois Jaques outside of Bastogne wasn't intense enough. Malarkey was bothered by the inaccurate portrayal of Albert Blithe in the series, saying that Blithe didn't lay around hiding for a day after jumping into Normandy, and he didn't loose his sight. He said Blithe was a good soldier and fought in Korea and Vietnam, and that Easy Company wasn't the only company from the 506th in the woods outside of Bastogne. He expressed that he was just one man amongst many that deserved to be mentioned in the series. He said that Joe Toye was the toughest SOB in Easy Company and Shifty Powers was the best shot in the company, and had incredible eyesight. While in the Bois Jacque during the battle of the bulge, Shifty shot a German sniper out of a tree down in Foy. Malarkey said it was at least a thousand yard shot. Malarkey said that only Shifty had seen him and could have made that shot. Another time Shifty had counted 7 trees down the hill in Foy and Dick Winters came to Shifty's fox hole to have a look for himself. It turned out that the German's had brought in an 88 mm artillery piece and had put branches on it to hide it amongst the other trees. Winters called in an artillery strike and that took care of the new tree in Foy. He said that Sobel made E Company what it was, due to all of the training and discipline under him, but was in agreement that he did not want Sobel leading him into combat. During maneuvers in England, Sobel had gotten the company lost, and George Luz did in fact imitate the voice of Col.Sink while hiding behind some bushes, telling Sobel to cut the fence and get the company moving. E company later had to help round up the cows that had gotten out. Malarkey said that loosing his best friend Muck, and Penkala in the Bois Jacque by a direct hit from an 88 mm round still bothered him, as well as seeing Toye and Guarnere wounded put him into a deep depression that he struggled with every winter after WW2. RIP Sgt. Don Malarkey 7/31/21-9/30/2017 and to all that have served and to those that paid the ultimate price. Thank You.
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Stephen Putnick
Stephen Putnick
8 months ago (edited)
The actor who played Bill Guarnere did such an amazing job. Like I believe that was him as a younger man from these interviews.
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Will Andrews
Will Andrews
2 months ago
This should be required watching at least once in high school. I’d prefer twice.
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Don Layton
Don Layton
4 years ago
Today our heroes are rock stars, sports stars and movie stars. They are nothing. These guys are the real heroes. I salute every single one of them.
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Bob Kline
Bob Kline
2 years ago
156 dislikes? That's fine. That's your opinion. Remember this though: "If not for the these men and the greatest generation you wouldn't be able to voice your opinion." You don't have to like it but I certainly hope that you respect these men.
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moserr11
moserr11
2 years ago
These are some MEN. I live right outside Hershey Pennsylvania. Dick Winters did indeed come back and lived in a quiet little corner of Hershey. He died not that long ago. And we miss him.
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Collin McCullough
Collin McCullough
2 years ago
It's so rare to hear soldiers talk about war. This is treasure.
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Nick Leonarczyk
Nick Leonarczyk
7 months ago
When “Wild Bill” says the true heroes are buried in the cemeteries and he’s says “not us”, I always smile because my grandfather was the same way: tough, humble and didn’t think of himself as a hero. But to me, he was my hero!
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OGSpaceCadet
OGSpaceCadet
1 year ago
Most of these men were hardened before they ever went into the army, they just learned to be soldiers. The Depression had raged in America for over a decade leading up to the war, during their most formative years. Hard times make tough men, they had very likely dealt with things like cold and hunger even as children. If there was any small silver lining to the Depression, maybe it was that it prepared American men for war in a way nothing else could have.
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LeadCounsel
LeadCounsel
1 year ago
I'm a modern combat vet and served in the modern 101st, and I'm a paratrooper as well. I stand in total AWE of these brave pioneers and men of the WWII airborne paratroopers. Seems my service is so insignificant as to what they endured. The casualty list of E Company is staggering. Simply staggering.
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Benjamin Holmes
Benjamin Holmes
1 month ago
Some of the greatest men who ever walked the Earth. The marvelous aspect of their mortal greatness is how average they were in life. They were not kings or tycoons, they did not hail from the establishment families. They were farmers, laborers, salt of the Earth. Their nation called upon them to save the world, and they accomplished the mission.
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kzelmer
kzelmer
1 year ago
They grew up on the Depression, they fought for his country and for the entire world... truly a great generation,
I am not american, but I would like to thank these men for his sacrifice.
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Mike Chavepeyer
Mike Chavepeyer
3 years ago
1:07:26 "We've never become wealthy in life but we have a lot of wealth that means more than that."
- Donald Malarkey
Today's folk should listen closely to Don's words...
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Benny Costello
Benny Costello
1 year ago (edited)
If you are having trouble understanding just how horrific World War 2, and war in general really was. These men went through battles 50 years before these interviews, and they still are tearing up. My Grandfather was in the Pacific Campaign and when it would thunder he would get really shakey and anxious because it reminded of him of shelling.
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Mike
Mike
1 year ago
I could listen to Shifty speak for ever.
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Alxoholiker
Alxoholiker
7 months ago
"this pistole never had been fired. so there was no blood on it." - i actually started crying about that sweet words.... RIP dear Sir Winters
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Whicker Friesian
Whicker Friesian
3 weeks ago
Even though I am a Marine, I have always held this movie, and every single man who fought in the European Theater, in the highest regard.
"Band of Brothers" does such an outstanding job portraying real life training, combat, and camaraderie, I know of nothing to equal it on film. I wish I could say the same regarding "The Pacific", and mine-own modern historical roots with the Corps. Sadly, that series lacked the excellent writing/production/direction skills 'BoB' had.
All gave some. Some gave all.
Never forget!
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zer0 95
zer0 95
2 years ago
this needs to be played at schools, i remember recommending this to my teacher back in high school, she she told it was too long, i'm 23 and i appreciate the hell out of these men, every single young man needs to watch this documentary(TV show too at least once) and other documentaries about wars, i see it and i feel it that a manhood in people my age is slowly decreasing, they are becoming soft and easy triggered by the simplest things, i'm not saying send every young man to war but every single young man needs a decent 3-6 month army training, to have more respect
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Sim Deck
Sim Deck
1 year ago
I'm an ex British Army Infantryman. I recently had the pleasure of going to the Eagles nest with some good friends of mine. We drank a bottle of wine in honour of these troops as close as we could get to the same spot that they did back in the day. It was one of the most wonderful and deeply moving experiences I have ever felt in my life.
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Night Prowler
Night Prowler
1 year ago
The point at 1:17 tears me up everytime! Hes talking about my Gt. Uncle "Popeye" RIP Uncle Robert
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Kristian Kristensen
Kristian Kristensen
4 years ago
What he say in the end... "grandpa, where you a hero in the war?" - "no, but grandpa served in a company of heroes."
Now THAT is a true man and hero in my heart. All the respect to those people.
- from Denmark.
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John Travolto
John Travolto
1 year ago (edited)
I had the privilege of talking to a ww2 veteran by chance.
His furnace was broken. I stopped over around 11pm and after I fixed it we talked for quite a bit surprisingly. Awesome person he had a bronze star (usually after it's fixed people just pay and kick me out which is fine that's what I want)
It was AMAZING the stories he told me. After our chat I told him dont worry no charge I'll pay my boss. Thanks for making my night and for your service sir.
I sure hope he is still doing ok. This was around December 2015.
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bloodsling
bloodsling
4 weeks ago
23:08 landed behind enemy lines on D-Day with his knife a canteen and 6 candy bars,and lived to talk about it...what a badass.
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In film
Operation Market Garden was the subject of the 1946 film Theirs Is the Glory. This film mixed original footage from the battle with reenactments, shot on location in Arnhem. Many of the actors portraying the paratroopers were soldiers who fought in the battle. Some played themselves, including Kate ter Horst, Frederick Gough, John Frost, and Stanley Maxted, the Canadian journalist who posted gripping reports from the front at Arnhem.[208]
A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 epic war film, based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan. It was adapted by William Goldman, was directed by Richard Attenborough, and had an all-star cast. Unlike the earlier film, it covered the entire operation from all sides: British, American, German, Polish, and Dutch.
Dramatizations of the actions of the 101st Airborne Division, 506th PIR during the battle (with cameo scenes also of XXX Corps, British paratroopers and Canadian engineers) formed part of the HBO television miniseries Band of Brothers.
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The Eastern Front
Dive into the bitterly contested, racial, furious battles of the Eastern Front, where more combatants were killed than in all other theaters combined.
Primary image: map showing the advance of the Allied armies from both the east and west at the end of World War II. (Image: The National WWII Museum.)
The US involvement in the European theater of operations was mainly confined to western Europe and Italy, but some of the war’s most savage fighting occurred on the Eastern Front, where the Axis powers had set out to conquer the Balkan Peninsula and the immense reaches of the Soviet Union. More combatants were killed on the Eastern Front than in all other theaters of World War II combined. These bitterly contested, racial battles (Adolf Hitler had vowed to exterminate the eastern Slavs) prevented Germany from mounting a more resolute defense against Allied armies in Normandy, and later, on the Reich’s western borders.
As early as 1923, when Hitler authored Mein Kampf, he believed Germany’s destiny lay in defeating its historic enemy, France, and pushing eastward into the Soviet Union, exterminating both communism and the Slavic peoples. But he didn’t want to fight both countries at the same time, especially if Great Britain came to the defense of France.
Accordingly, in August 1939, Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union. The treaty also included a secret agreement to divide Poland, the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania), Finland, and Romania into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Neither country fully trusted the other, but the agreement achieved short-term goals for both parties. Germany was free to attack Poland and France without worrying about a Soviet invasion, and the Soviets could take control over parts of eastern Europe without fear of German retaliation.
After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Soviet troops moved into parts of eastern Europe, occupying 286,000 square miles of territory containing 20 million people. This action was permitted under the terms of the nonaggression pact, but it endangered Hitler’s plans for expansion eastward. “The sooner Russia is smashed the better,” he told his generals.
On June 22, 1941, Hitler took his greatest gamble, unleashing Operation Barbarossa, a three million-man invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion was spectacularly effective in its early stages. By September, the Red Army had sustained some 2.5 million casualties. But it turned out to be a fatal mistake. The Soviet Union was one of only two countries (the other was the United States) Germany could not defeat. The Red Army was the largest in the world, comprising over 250 divisions, and the Soviet Union was the world’s largest country by area, with vast natural resources. Undaunted, Hitler was confident the Soviet Union would fall to his armies in a matter of months. Its military equipment was outmoded, its generals were inept, and it had great difficulty defeating tiny Finland the previous year. There was also strong opposition to Joseph Stalin’s repressive regime in the Ukraine and other Soviet provinces. “We have only to kick in the door,” Hitler said, “and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down.”
The United States and Great Britain were barely on speaking terms with Stalin’s communist regime but both eventually joined forces with the “Reds” because they shared a common enemy. “Any man or state who fights on against Nazism will have our aid,” Winston Churchill told the British people in a radio address.
The fighting on the Eastern Front was terrible and incessant, brutal beyond belief. Both sides fought with demonic fury—the Germans to crush the hated Slavs, and the Soviets to defend the sacred soil of Mother Russia. Atrocities including beheadings and mass rapes occurred daily. Millions of captured soldiers died of exposure and maltreatment. The Germans besieged Leningrad and tried to subdue it by starving its entrapped people.
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At Stalingrad, the pivotal battle of World War II, Hitler had ordered that the entire male population of the city of one million be killed and that all females be deported. No battle in history was more ferociously waged. In house-to-house, factory-to-factory fighting, snipers were used to great effect by both sides, and the butcher’s bill ran high. The Axis forces suffered 850,000 casualties and the Soviets 750,000. Stalin considered his losses necessary. The surrender of the city would have been an irreversible victory for the Nazis.
Millions of victims of the German invasion were noncombatants. Jews and Slavic peasants were killed by the German army—the Jews by rifle squads that followed the army. Hitler’s racial crusade against the Slavs would backfire, however, driving potential Nazi collaborators back into the arms of the tyrannical dictator Stalin.
After the Red Army prevented the Wehrmacht from taking Moscow in 1941 and prevailed at Stalingrad—one of the most decisive battles in history—it began a counteroffensive that drove the enemy all the way back to Berlin in 1945. In one of the final stages of the Red offensive, Soviet advances in the summer of 1944 drew away German forces that could have blunted the Allied offensive in Normandy.
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