BAND OF BROTHERS: BASTOGNE {EPISODE 6} (TV)

Summary

Part six in this ten-part miniseries based on the experiences of Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, United States Army 101st Airborne Division, during World War II, and featuring commentary from Easy Company veterans preceding each episode. This episode begins with medic Eugene Roe trekking through the snow alone surveying the carnage of battle. Later, he and Winters hear some sounds and locate a German soldier through the dense fog, taking him prisoner. Then, General Anthony McAuliffe comes to get the latest report from Easy Company's men, now dug into snowy foxholes around the Belgian town of Bastogne. Winters reveals that the American line is thin, under-manned, and under-supplied. Later, Roe tells Winters that he is lacking in medical needs. Thus, Roe sets off to meet up with another unit to swap some provisions, still looking for scissors and some valuable morphine. Roe is finally able to scrounge a little morphine from his men's aid kits after a German attack.

Meanwhile, Edward "Babe" Heffron heads out to look for further supplies. That night, Roe tries to treat the ailing men around him, but struggles. He even finds Joseph Toye lacking a pair of boots. The next day, Roe needs to escort a wounded man to the aid station in Bastogne. There, he meets Belgian nurse Renee Lemaire, who is ministering to wounded American soldiers. They have a brief flirtation before Roe heads back to the line with some supplies and a gift of chocolate from Renee. Then, when the rest of the company goes on a combat patrol, Roe is forced to stay back so as to not get injured. On the patrol, John Julian gets hit and starts bleeding from the mouth. The Americans are soon forced to pull back. Upon the troops' return, Roe immediately tends to the wounded soldiers. Meanwhile, Julian has yet to be retrieved from the field and Nixon isn't so sure that his men can safely get to him. Later, the men report to Winters that Julian could not be rescued. That night, Roe finds Toye still struggling with his case of trench foot, thinking it could turn gangrenous. Roe goes searching for Heffron, finally locating him and fellow medic Ralph Spina. He then shares his chocolate with the men, both of whom are still shook up over Julian's death. Later, the Louisiana-born Roe talks about how his grandmother was a Cajun healer, a traiteur. Spina discusses his surprise about having been picked to be a medic.

The next morning, Roe crawls out of his foxhole just in time to hear American C-47s pass over them, making a drop of supplies. Roe returns to Bastogne to assist Renee in treating severely wounded men at the aid station. After one soldier dies, Roe and Renee go outside to have a talk. Renee discusses never wanting to treat a wounded man again, though Roe says her nursing skills are a gift from God. That night, Compton discusses how sitting in a freezing foxhole has given him insight as to how the Roman legionnaires must have felt when watching the Huns and Visigoths en route to Italy. The next morning, during another battle, a stunned Roe has trouble springing into action but finally does, tending to Walter "Smokey" Gordon, who has become paralyzed after getting shot. Returning to the aid station, Roe finds it now overflowing with wounded and dying men. Later, Sink arrives to offer some Christmas wishes and commends the men for having kept the line strong. He also states that, when asked by Germany to surrender, American forces gave a one-word reply: "Nuts!" That evening, the miserable men try to enjoy Christmas in a foxhole as best they can, hearing the caroling of Germans across the line.

Compton shows Guarnere a picture of his girlfriend and says that she's "done" with him, "just in time for Christmas." Then, the Germans begin an all-out bombing of Bastogne and Welsh is among those hit. Winters sends Roe into town to get a hot meal. Once there, Roe finds the aid station bombed and, amidst the rubble, the body of Renee. He tearfully takes her head scarf off and pockets it. When later finding Heffron's hand with a deep gash, Roe hesitates, then uses Renee's scarf to stop the bleeding. Graphics reveal that General George Patton and the Third Army broke through German lines and got supplies to the 101st in "The Battle of the Bulge," though the 101st never felt that it needed to be "rescued."

This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.

Details

• NETWORK: HBO
• DATE: October 7, 2001 Sunday 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:07:10
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:67909
• GENRE: Drama, historical
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; World War II; Bulge, Battle of the, 1944; Christmas
• SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2001
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Tom Hanks … Executive Producer
• Steven Spielberg … Executive Producer
• Gary Goetzman … Co-Executive Producer
• Tony To … Co-Executive Producer
• Stephen E. Ambrose … Co-Executive Producer, Based on the book by
• Erik Jendresen … Supervising Producer
• Erik Bork … Supervising Producer
• Mary Richards … Producer
• Gene Kelly … Co-Producer
• Billy Fox … Co-Producer
• Ivan Schwarz … Co-Producer
• Bruce Everett … Co-Producer
• Terri DePaolo … Associate Producer
• Claire McGrane … Digital Lab Producer
• James Brett … Music Co-Producer
• Michael Price … Music Co-Producer
• Tim Field … VFX Producer
• Catherine Duncan … VFX Producer
• David Leland … Director
• Bruce C. McKenna … Writer
• Michael Kamen … Music by
• Kirk Acevedo … Cast, Joseph D. Toye
• Doug Allen … Cast, Alton M. More
• Bill Armstrong … Cast, General Anthony McAuliffe
• Philip Barrantini … Cast, Wayne A. (Skinny) Sisk
• George Calil … Cast, James H. (Mo) Alley, Jr.
• Ben Caplan … Cast, Walter S. (Smokey) Gordon, Jr.
• Doug Cockle … Cast, Father John Maloney
• Michael Cudlitz … Cast, Denver (Bull) Randleman
• Tim Davenport … Cast, Wounded Soldier
• Marcos D'Cruze … Cast, Joseph P. Domingus
• Tony Devlin … Cast, Ralph F. (Doc) Spina
• Dale Dye … Cast, Colonel Robert F. Sink
• Freddie Joe Farnsworth … Cast, Medic
• Michael Fassbender … Cast, Burton P. (Pat) Christenson
• Dexter Fletcher … Cast, John W. Martin
• Iain Fletcher … Cast, Doc Bernard J. Ryan
• Rick Gomez … Cast, George Luz
• Scott Grimes … Cast, Donald G. Malarkey
• Frank John Hughes … Cast, William J. Guarnere
• Lucie Jeanne … Cast, Renee Lemaire
• Marc Jordan … Cast, John T. Julian
• Robin Laing … Cast, Edward J. (Babe) Heffron
• Bill Laurence … Cast, German in Woods
• Damian Lewis … Cast, Richard D. Winters
• Ron Livingston … Cast, Lewis Nixon
• Laird Macintosh … Cast, Jeep Driver
• James Madio … Cast, Frank J. Perconte
• Rocky Marshall … Cast , Earl J. McClung
• Tim Matthews … Cast, Alex M. Penkala, Jr.
• Peter McCabe … Cast, Donald B. Hoobler
• Ross McCall … Cast, Joseph D. Liebgott
• Neal McDonough … Cast, Lynn D. (Buck) Compton
• Phil McKee … Cast, Major Robert L. Strayer
• David Nicolle … Cast, Thomas A. Peacock
• Rebecca Okot … Cast, Anna the Nurse
• Peter O'Meara … Cast, Norman S. Dike, Jr.
• Oscar Perace … Cast, Richard M. Hughes
• Ross Bryant, Toby … Cast, Medic Paul Jones
• Richard Speight … Cast, Warren H. (Skip) Muck
• Shane Taylor … Cast, Eugene G. Roe
• Donnie Wahlberg … Cast, C. Carwood Lipton
• Rick Warden … Cast, Harry F. Welsh
• Youngblood Hills, Peter … Cast, Darrell C. (Shifty) Powers
• George Patton