Episode 5 is perfectly titled because this is a Crossroads in more ways than one.
For CPT Winters as he hands over Easy Company.
For Easy Company as they transition into Bastogne for a long winter campaign.
To be known as a “real Soldier” is a compliment in the highest degree.
They make the decisions, they take the credit, they take the blame.
CPT Winters displayed that throughout the series but especially in this episode during the assault on the German position.
Before he leaves the ditch he tells the men, “follow me.”
Many of us didn’t have indoor plumbing.
Anyway, I’ve told this story on ZBT but I had an encounter with my own piss.
You see, like most I had routines during deployment.
I would eat instant oatmeal every day at 6am.
The lights didn’t come on until 7am because it was a shared living space.
I picked it up and you guessed it, I made my breakfast with own piss.
Colonel Sink
There were two instances of Colonel Sink that stuck out to me this episode.
COL Sink felt like that to CPT Winters I think.
Writing reports are the only way your Soliders will get the awards they deserve.
Awards in the Army are almost exclusively based on the recommendation of the leader up to a certain point.
It is one way to show you appreciate their hard work and in many cases, their bravery.
It’s almost never allowed but sometimes folks turn a blind eye.
Artillery nerd
For those who don’t know, I was an artillery officer.
For lack of a better explanation, artillery is basically firing cannons from far away.
Two instances of artillery in this episode, both small and large.
First you hear the line, “2 rounds, HE quick!”
relayed back to the mortar team.
Later on you hear CPT Winters calling for fire.
Often infantry units will be supported by artillery units.
There are pre-determined coordinates/grids that serve as targets that are known by both the infantry and artillery units.
They will typically have shorthand names that the infantry unit calls back to the guns.
This is called a fire mission.
However, those predetermined targets aren’t always where the enemy is because they move.
So you hear Winters saying “drop 200” or “left 100” on the radio.
In this case, Winters wanted to destroy the German unit they came upon.
Yes, firing artillery is fun as hell.
These are tracer rounds.
I think it’s 5th) round in a magazine is a tracer round.
Sometimes you’ll hear someone say, “I’ll walk you into the target.”
Now, do guys find inventive ways to have it shipped to them?
Overall though, most guys aren’t drinking.
It’s not worth it in my opinion.
I honestly had no desire to have two beers so I gave mine away.
The men clearly would’ve followed Winters into the fires of Hell, and in many ways they did.
Doc threw rank out the window and chewed them out, rightfully so.
When you’re an officer, there is a higher standard in every aspect of combat.
Sure, they probably have better decision making ability, but it doesn’t excuse them from mistakes.
I was 23 years old as a combat leader responsible for 33 men.
Football game
Guarnere talks about a football game against another unit when he returns from the hospital.
That can wreak havoc on your mental state.
Forcing Winters to go to Paris was as much for the unit as it was for him.
He needed to recharge.
We still use them to this day to transport Soldiers during training.
I thought it was okay because who was going to see us?
While doing that, we got shot at.
That doesn’t always go to plan.
We couldn’t end the exercise so we just had to suck it up and boy did it suck.
Being cold is brutal.
I cannot imagine doing that in combat.
These men were built differently.
Sorry for the lengthy recap on this one but there was a lot to unpack.
ICYMI
Episode 1 recap
Episode 2 recap
Episode 3 recap
Episode 4 recap
