WW2 Movie Inaccuracies

Speilburg picked a very unique unit that landed on Ohama. Tom Hanks is the surviving officer of the Ranger company that landed on the extreme southern end of Ohama. As Rangers this unit would be used to independent missions, ones requiring extensive map work and, were essentially expendable to the 28th Division as they officially wouldn't have been part of that unit.

There are a number of variants here. Rifle grenades, sniping, a pincer attack pinning to the front and flanking for the kill. Whatever the reason they decided to do it like they did.

In war things don't always make sense. Of course draping it around your neck does leave your hands free to do other things.....

I think Speilburg was trying to get as many ancedotes from WW 2 into the movie as possible. The 60mm mortar bomb thing was done on occasion. They were also used as a substitute load on the standard US rifle grenade launcher for urban fighting.

Probably for photographic reasons. Remember, it is a movie. Actors get paid to be seen.

Depends on how likely they thought another German unit would come along was. We don't know the full back story so it is hard to fault the part we do see.

 

Great movie though.

 

I agree. I watch it over and over... and that's how I started noticing those "little things".

As for the Band of Brothers charging a battalion of SS men bunched up and didn't return an effective fire, that's really what happened as described in the books: book by Stephen Ambrose but also in Dick Winters' Beyond Band of Brothers and Biggest Brother...

Dick Winters reflected on this in his memoirs and still couldn't believe how stupid the Germans were at that particular encounter in Holland.

 

That one is far better than average though I did spot a T-6 posing as a Fw 190, still a pretty good job especially considering the original book had some notable inaccuracies including a Tiger attached to the Alpenjaeger (still remember that 20 years after reading it as it nearly spoiled my fun by breaking the "suspension of disbelief").

 

Because it is fun to tear movies apart.

 

Remember film has a language of its own, so when a car crashes it has to roll over a few times, fly through the air then exploded in a huge fireball. Likewise when a bad guy is shot, even by a small calibre handgun, he must fly back a few yards. When a good guy is shot he must 1/ look down, 2/ told stomach as blood seeps through fingers; 3/utter wise/funny comment.
I remember a story of an Irish actor who went to Hollywood, when he returned he was asked why did he put on a fake - begorrah, tis yourself sur, top o' da mornin - accent that nobody in Ireland uses. He replied that when he spoke in his normal accent he was told it was not the correct Hollywood Orish brogue.
Another limitation is budget - Most productions cannot afford to make all their own stuff so they they equipment/uniforms from a hire shop so German uniforms might only come in 1939 parade ground style regardless of when the movie is set. It they're on a really tight budget they use re-enactors which is acutally better cos at least they try to get it right.

But back to WWII movie gripes, my big one is subtitles. I might only have high school French but when someone says "20km"' why does the subtitler feel the need change it to "20 miles". In the movie Indigenes the poor subtitler seems to be totally confused by the French rank stucture, eg: refering to senior NCOs as officers. Its not a low budget movie, could n't they find a military expert to read over the translations to get it right.

 

One of my favorites is the pump shotgun. Watch movies or shows where someone is using one. They point it at the baddie and threaten them. The bad guy doesn't comply so the good guy with the shotgun racks the thing and points it at him again.....

Not much threat in an empty shotgun......

 

this is a good post, ok heres one. Maybe someone cann dispell it for me.

From Saving Private Ryan. Te scene towards the end where Tom hanks and his men have found Ryan. Ryan refuses to leave his buddies and as the town is about to be assaulted by the Germans Capt Miller (Hanks) organizes the company sized outfit to defend the town.
Remember the American sniper in Millers unit is ordered into the town Bell tower to scout for the oncoming Germans. He hauls up his sniper rifle up to the top of the bell tower along with the squads m1919 machine gun and 1000 belted rounds. He signals to miller he sees 2 tiger tanks, 2 other tanks, and 50 troops on the way into the town. The American unit takes positions.

The tigers are actually not bad replicas (they were actually old T-34's with some body work!). Millers unit knocks them out with their sticky bombs they have made, the tigers are not destroyed but they have thrown tracks and cant move but can still shoot.

Anyway here is the part thats an error although only a war nut or WW2 vet would notice...the other two "tanks" actually appear to be self propelled guns similar to this type



These tanks come into the town after the tigers and most of the German infantry have been wipe out, thanks largely to the sniper and his m1919 in the bell tower. Heres the implausible part, the German tank appears to be about 100 yards away or less yet elevates its gun high enough to blow apart the sniper at the top of the bell tower. I know this is splitting hairs but being a war freak that is the first thing that occured to me when i saw this scene - how could it elevate its gun that high an angle, at that distance, to take out the guy in this 100 foot tall tower?

 

It could be another self-propelled gun farther out, not the same one below the tower.

But how many rounds did Jackson have in his 1903? I thought he went over the 5 round capacity in one uninterrupted scene. Got to double-check...

 

Interesting.

 

Some inaccuracies from SPR:

There are no Tiger tanks in Normandy when SPR is supposed to take place. The 503rd S. Pz Abt. arrives days afterwards in the British sector. These are the first Tigers in Normandy.

The fighters that come at the end of the battle and strafe are P-51's. One at least is clearly black and white checkerboarded from the 78th FG an 8th AF outfit. 9th TAF would have been providing the air support and it had few, if any P-51 in June 1944. Most of the 9th's fighters were P-47 or P-38.

The radar station in the movie is a Mammut. This particular type of radar doesn't exist in the area where the movie is supposed to take place.

In the wheatfield scene why was the Sdkfz 251 operating alone? This is not normal for the Germans. A complete platoon or company should have been present.

 

That got me as well, there is no way that vehicle would be alone. Perhaps if its platoon got killed but wouldn't it have been destroyed as well?

Also, being so close to an Allied occupied area; what was it doing creeping along at such a slow speed, and a wheat field with a tree line? Not a chance the driver would be so stupid.

 

Didn't see one but Canadian engineers were mentioned in BOB....about good as it gets I guess.

 

marc980;
I'm sure the "tank" that get's molotovs thrown at it was a Marder III, am I right?
Not sure, I havent seen the film in a long time.

 

Wasn't there a British armored unit in one the "Band of Brothers" episodes, when they were in The Netherlands? The US paratroops had spotted some German tanks that were hidden in a village and warned the Brits about them, but they had their rules of engagement to follow, and I think the lead tank got hit? It wasn't an expanded scene, but at least the Brits were represented in the show, even if it was a small segment.

 

You would pick that one...I would have picked the anti air craft guys on the departure airfields in UK....but no you go and pick the armour one that riles and ranks with most of us over here....The typical British tankman of ww2 apparantly....ooohhhh errrr....sorry cant go there...I have my orders...more tea vicar? The only thing they didnt show there was the tankman saying see you in Berlin Yank...

They did do the episode where they helped get some of 1st airborne back across the river though. That was pretty good, I cant remember the name of the initial Brit officer in the scene before, giving the o group..but was name of serving officer in the airborne div at the time.

 

And the one when after the end of Market Garden, when the British paras were with the Yanks, drinking beer and hollering "Currahee." How about that one then? Better now? I forgot about the AA crews at the airfield. And there was the British soldier dressed up like a German on the airfield that loaned his lugar to the American, and when he started to run off with it, the German dressed Brit called him down on it....That's about all I can remember now.

 

I'll say something in favour of Battle of Britain, at least because our friend Martin doesn't need to be hit on such a soft nerve... How many other WWII films have actually used the combat scenes of BoB? I can think of at least two: Dark Blue World and The Tuskeege Air Men, both of the 90s, when visual effects were more advanced...

 

Too true...I'll hear no critisism of Battle of Britain....especially the scene where they bombed the pensioners pub...That must have happened to many....No wonder we didnt want peace..you just dont bomb folks pubs....