Replacements - S1-E4
Question: When Bull is hiding in the barn after being hit by shrapnel, he takes something from the end of his rifle and bites a big chunk off it and starts chewing. What is this?
Chosen answer: It's chewing tobacco.
The Patrol - S1-E8
Question: Why did Liebgott tell Webster that Malarkey was getting a battlefield commission?
Answer: To mess with him. A lot of the "regular" soldiers didn't respect or even like Webster early on because he was a college boy. That dislike and lack of respect was deepened when Webster took what they perceived to be an extended stay in hospital after being wounded when many of their other comrades - Popeye for example - left hospital early to get back with their friends to fight.
He couldn't leave hospital early because he was in England. The wound in Band of Brothers was perceived a lot less serious than it was, and a lot of easy men were happy to have him back, especially Luz.
If you read the literature around Band of Brothers, you'll find that Kenyon Webster was perceived as a slacker in the sense that, while not precisely a coward, would never volunteer to put himself in harm's way. He only did as told and nothing more. So, regardless of the reasons why he really couldn't go back to Easy, his friends were predisposed to feel he was slacking off at the hospital while they were risking their lives.
Crossroads - S1-E5
Question: How exactly do the M1 Garands work? I noticed that after the clip is emptied a metal type plate comes out the top of the rifle, what is that?
Answer: That actually is the clip. It is loaded into the top of the rifle, and is ejected with the last round. See http://www.wwiitech.net/main/usa/weapons/m1/.
Replacements - S1-E4
Question: When Sgt. Martin is at the airfield before the jump into Holland, a lieutenant tells him him to tap him on the leg, but I can't figure out why and nothing else is explained about it any further. What's this about?
Answer: Because he was colorblind and couldn't tell if the light had jumped from red to green.
Replacements - S1-E4
Question: When members of Easy company spot Captain Sobel again one of the Replacements asks Bull "Who is he sarge?" and Bull replies "It's our first CO." Then the replacement asks "What happened?" and Bull replies with "He got promoted." I never understood that line. What was it about his promotion that made Bull say that? As I understand it Sobel was already a hated man before becoming Captain. So what did Bull mean?
Chosen answer: Col. Sink gave Sobol a promotion after the men came to him and said they wouldn't follow him into battle. It was a promotion that ensured he wouldn't see combat and took him away from the troops, so it was technically a punishment.
Why We Fight - S1-E9
Question: Was the placement of the Opekta poster in the scene intentional? Opekta was the company that Otto Frank owned and it's headquarters on the Prisengracht in Amsterdam was the site of the "Secret Annexe" that housed Anne Frank and the others in hiding.
Answer: I did some Internet research on this. I didn't find anything specific, but considering how carefully historical movies usually are researched and the detailed way in which art directors create a set, it would be nearly impossible for this to have been coincidental. If I find any additional information, I'll update this.
Question: Was Colonel Sink hoping all would turn out well if Captain Sobel was not held accountable (in this case, mutiny)? Mutiny is serious, but what was he hoping would happen if no-one came forward about the situation with Sobel? I am puzzled.
Answer: Sobel was not blamed for the mutiny; it was the NCOs who were rebelling against his command. Sink had to act because the men had done so in writing, but not punish Sobel directly as he technically didn't break any rules himself in his conduct. Hence, Sink demotes Raney, transfers someone else and tells everyone else to 'git' while sending Sobel away from Easy Company to train civvy types to jump, as he is an excellent trainer but horrible commander. Normally a Colonel wouldn't do anything about the situation but as the complaint was formal and in writing, and on the eve of D-Day he had to act quickly before someone took it upon himself to frag Sobel.
Answer: He bit off a piece of a cigar.