Its claimed that Behind Enemy Lines was loosely based on that USAF Captain that was shot down over Bosnia--Capt O'Grady I believe. Harts Was wasnt based on anything as far as I know. Liked both movies and will eventually have both on DVD.
As GFM Evans said-Behind Enemy Lines was loosely based on the exploits of USAF Captain Scott O'Grady.
Hart's War is based on John Katzenbach's novel of the same name. It is available on Amazon com: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/03 16849529/qid=1036942718/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1716188-6955145?v=glance&s=books [ 10. November 2002, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: Crapgame ]
I saw Hart's War, but only bits and pieces of Behind Enemy Lines. Hart's War was a pretty cool movie. It gave a good descripsion of what blacks had to go through in WWII. It also gave a pretty descripsion of German POW camps. I liked the part where there was a P-51 in a dogfight with a German Plane.
Ryan, I think you forund it, I havent reached it yet to see your reply--so I dont know if i'll leave with this face or this one
I saw Hart's War today-not too bad at all. I particularly like the dogfight scene, as well as the Ardennes, with Skorzeny's Commandos-nice historical accuracy. Did anyone else notice that the Kommandant's son had been awarded amongst other decorations, the Nahkampfspange in Gold???
The Skorzeny's Commandos scene was actually rather horrifying-were the Commandos really that proficient in American accents though???
I believe all of Skorenzys men had spent some time in the US. Some even attended American Universities. Their accents had to be practically flawless in order to be considered for this unit.
Great film, indeed. I also love the scene of the Tuskeege Mustang shooting down the 109 and the Mustangs shooting at the train. And I LOVE the German commandos part! I was expecting this detail in Band of Brothers but they did not include it. However, in Hart's war it was pretty cool. I already suspected when they said: 'December 16th 1944'.
My recollection is that Skorzeny's troops all had some knowledge of English; some from having lived in the US, some from pre-war careers as merchant seamen, some from college studies, etc. I believe many were not actually fluent in English and that most would not have been able to pass for Americans if called upon to speak. To offset the the limited number of men who were actually fluent in English, Skorzeny assigned one soldier fluent in English to each jeep party. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_11.htm US Army, Center of Military History Operation Greif During the last days before the great offensive which would send the German armored spearheads plunging west, Hitler belatedly set about replicating the winning combination of rapid and deep armored penetration, paratroop attacks in the enemy rear, and infiltration by disguised ground troops which had functioned so effectively in the western campaign of 1940 and the Greek campaign of 1941. To flesh out this combination, a special operation named Greif (or Condor) was hurriedly organized as an adjunct to the armored operation assigned the 1st SS Panzer Division. The plans for the ground phase of Greif consisted of three parts: the seizure intact of at least two bridges across the Meuse by disguised raiding parties, the prompt reinforcement of any such coup de main by an armored commando formation; and an organized attempt to create confusion in the Allied rear areas through sabotage carried out by jeep parties clad in American uniforms. Later it would be rumored that a feature of Operation Greif was the planned assassination of Allied leaders, notably General Eisenhower, but there is no evidence of such plotting in the plan. The idea for the ground operation was probably Hitler's and the leader, Lt. Col. Otto Skorzeny, was selected personally by Hitler. Skorzeny had achieved a considerable reputation as a daring commando leader, had rescued Mussolini from the Italians, and had seized the Hungarian Regent, Admiral Miklos von Nagybanya Horthy, when the Hungarian regime began to waver in its loyalties. For Operation Greif, Skorzeny formed the special Panzer Brigade 150 (or Brandenburger) numbering about two thousand men, of whom one hundred and fifty could speak English. Captured Allied equipment (particularly tanks and jeeps), uniforms, identification papers, and the like were hastily collected at the front and sent to Skorzeny's headquarters. The disguised jeep parties did go into action with varying degrees of success on 16 December, but the Brandenburger Brigade would be engaged as a unit only in a single and abortive skirmish near Malmedy five days later. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/02summer/ar-brown.htm Parameters, US Army War College Quarterly Trivial Pursuits, Ardennes Style The scene is a familiar one: fog-shrouded darkness pierced by the hiss, “Who goes there?” “Just me, Joe,” comes the reply. Then, instead of the standard challenge and password, the sentry falls back on his store of trivia only a red-blooded American would know, such as “Who won the World Series?” This encounter has played out many times in the movies and spoofs thereof. It has its roots in the panic of the Battle of the Bulge, and the conclusion was sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, but always an impediment to operations. Operation Greif was to be a limited effort headed by the infamous Otto Skorzeny to conduct reconnaissance, disrupt rear-area efforts, and seize bridges over the Meuse River by English-speaking German soldiers wearing American uniforms and driving American vehicles. Fortunately, the Germans were ill-equipped and limited in their knowledge of English. They enjoyed little tactical success, but the Greif commandos sparked a huge spy mania that included shootings of genuine Americans, unfortunate executions of clothing-poor German grenadiers who happened to pick up American field jackets, and countless trivia interrogations. General Omar Bradley recounted: "Three times I was ordered to prove my identity by cautious GIs. The first time by identifying Springfield as the capital of Illinois (my questioner held out for Chicago); the second time by locating the guard between the center and tackle . . . ; the third time by naming the current spouse of . . . Betty Grable. Grable stopped me, but the sentry did not. Pleased at having stumped me, he nevertheless passed me on." [ 17. November 2002, 02:12 AM: Message edited by: Crapgame ]
