The Pacific (HBO mini series)

[mg1942]

just watched the premier last night

I expected it to be a bit more like Band of Brothers. Whole first episode of training, etc. They sure got on with the firefights quickly. Their view of the Battle of Savo Island was pretty surreal too.

[Roger Rambo]

"Oh hey, one of them's still alive. Don't worry, we'll get you all patch-"
"BANZAI!"
BLAMMO!
"...ok, new plan. No prisoners"

[mg1942]

It'll be like that until Peleliu and later. Can't be good memories for them.

[cors8]

I hope they do a good job showing the dark side of war and its effects on the soldiers in the later episodes.

I'm actually looking forward to this more than Band of Brothers.

[Master_Yoma]

I cant watch it since I dont have HBO in less its some where online

[cf18]

Ep 1 is available legally on hbo.com. (but of course BT downloads are easy to find.)

Avoid the wiki articles of the main characters if you don't what "spoilers" on who will die.

[Roger Rambo]

I'd like to take a moment to clarify something. Rambo is a fucking pussy.



Hey I'm John Basilone. Roaming the jungles of Guadalcanal. Alternating firing my 23 kilogram machine gun from the hip, to using it as a blunt object to wreak havoc on my enemies.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by mg1942

just watched the premier last night

I expected it to be a bit more like Band of Brothers. Whole first episode of training, etc. They sure got on with the firefights quickly. Their view of the Battle of Savo Island was pretty surreal too.

You mean mowing down soldiers in the middle of the night that seemed to have no other plan then to charge straight forward into muddy water and attempt to overwhelm the Americans with numbers? I've heard that the Japanese had unconventional tactics during WWII but that was definitely one for the books. After hiding in the woods all that time with that many numbers you would think they were ninja and then they come out and bungle it horribly.

Still a pretty accurate depiction of the Tennoheika Banzai tactic.

[Roger Rambo]

As far as I can get, all that time that the Japanese spent fighting Chinese militia and the more rear line colonial troops primarily being used for garrison duty left them unprepared for fighting a motivated, well equipped and trained tip of the spear unit like the Marines. Looking at the Guadalcanal campaign as a whole, it just seems to be a long repeat of the Japanese fighting with fanatical audacity, only to be killed by the Marines very disproportionate numbers without managing to achieve their objectives.

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

I've heard that the Japanese had unconventional tactics during WWII but that was definitely one for the books. After hiding in the woods all that time with that many numbers you would think they were ninja and then they come out and bungle it horribly.

Still a pretty accurate depiction of the Tennoheika Banzai tactic.

The Japanese were not native jungle fighters. Nor was the jungle a feature in the Chinese campaign. Their troops suffered as much and eventually more (as their supply lines collasped) from the jungle than the US. Guadacanal and New Guinea particularly stand out as environments where the jungle was as feared if not moreso than the enemy by both sides.

Spoiler for potential spoilers:

As time went on, as as the Japanese began to starve, these charges were almost suicidal just for suicidal sake. A commander that actually wanted to conserve his troops, even in a careful fight to the last man but take the most enemy with you manner, typically fought an uphill battle during the Japanese defensive phase of the war. There was some formal policy shift when they began not contesting the beaches, but even then there was pressure by individual commanders at all levels as the battle wore on to go out with style.

[Roger Rambo]

It really is interesting to observe the differing adherence to Bushido displayed by the men who militarily unified Japan (Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Tokugawa) and the Imperial Japanese military in WW2. In the cases of the former you get a great sense of them having a great deal of pragmatism in the way they conducted themselves in battle and understanding the impact of their modern weapons, despite coming from a medieval honor based warrior caste. By the time the period of warring states came to an end, the Japanese were fighting battles with weapons and doctrine which were easily comparable to that of their European counter parts who'd they'd never met.

Look at the Imperial Japanese Army on the other hand in the early stages of WW2, and at points it seems like they're oblivious to the fact that they're fighting a modern war. You sort of get a sneaking suspicion after couple of centuries of peace and isolationism, the practical aspects of a societies martial ethos falls to the wayside in favor of the more romantic aspects of it.

Of course maybe it's just the fact that the Japanese didn't get the benefit fighting a large scale war against an industrialized enemy like most of the other modern powers got to do during WW1. In that war you also saw significant focus on on nonsense like "fighting spirit" being clumsily used to try to overcome doctrinal deficiencies to disastrous results.

[Highman]

Originally Posted by Roger Rambo

I'd like to take a moment to clarify something. Rambo is a fucking pussy.



Hey I'm John Basilone. Roaming the jungles of Guadalcanal. Alternating firing my 23 kilogram machine gun from the hip, to using it as a blunt object to wreak havoc on my enemies.

At least Rambo took down the whole Soviet Union in the 1980's of Afghanistan. Also 1980s were more badass then the 40s and 50s. No let's John and Rambo fight each other to death and let's see true badass of the American Hero.

[Roger Rambo]

So you're saying that actors pretending to be war hero's are more bad-ass than actual war heroes?

[Kaioshin Sama]

In Episode 02 we get to see Basilone doing his thing.

Spoiler:

Those where some nasty looking burns. I assume that was from picking up the gun while it was still hot and moving it to the other positions. Somehow I don't think that was the way it was intended to be used, but if he hadn't then it was looking like the human wave attack might have actually succeeded this time since overall it looked a lot more organized than the attempt to run across a river in episode 01.

[Highman]

Originally Posted by Roger Rambo

So you're saying that actors pretending to be war hero's are more bad-ass than actual war heroes?

I was being sarcastic you know, but I will see The Pacific soon enough, If this Basilone dude is GAR.

[Nappy Hared Azn]

Oh, he's most definitely gar. Basilone and Chesty Puller in the same scene = manliness overload.

[Lost Cause]

Actually, according to something I saw on either the Military Channel or the History Channel, after Japan went through China, and Manchuria, they decided to pick a fight with their old nemisis Russia! And were soundly beaten by Soviet tanks and infantry! They then decided to find a 'weaker' opponent, the U.S.!
Due to the fact that we were supplying weapons, planes, tanks,and ships to their enemies, plus we had an embargo against them as well.

[NinjaYali]

Fuck yeah!!

A thread about the Pacific!! 1000 animus shall never be as great as the Pacific!!

Premiering over here on April 14th, I cannot wait.

Hopefully Hugh Ambrose will come over here so I can get his signature on my book the Pacific and the Pacific OST.

And slightly related...

Spoiler:

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,
"You ain't gonna jump no more!"

(CHORUS)
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die,
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die,
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,
Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,
He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind;
He thought about the medic corps and wondered what they'd find,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,
For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

He hit the ground, the sound was "Splat," his blood went spurting high,
His comrades they were hurt to say: "A helluva way to die!"
He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

(CHORUS)

(slowly, solemnly)
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,
Intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper suit,
He was a mess; they picked him up, and poured him from his boots,
And he ain't gonna jump no more

Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die,
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die,
Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

And blasphemous idea, but imagine if they decided to make a genderbent, moe anime about the USMC?

Actually, according to something I saw on either the Military Channel or the History Channel, after Japan went through China, and Manchuria, they decided to pick a fight with their old nemisis Russia! And were soundly beaten by Soviet tanks and infantry! They then decided to find a 'weaker' opponent, the U.S.!

Battle of Khalkin Gol? They got defeated by Zhukov and now thanks to his efforts in defeating the Japanese, he's been immortalised in Mongolia.

[NorthernFallout]

Watched the first ep last night. Had really no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised it had so much in common with Band of Brothers, and it managed to capture the true BoB spirit even.

Really happy to see that and I can't wait for more.

[NinjaYali]

Originally Posted by AtomicoX

Watched the first ep last night. Had really no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised it had so much in common with Band of Brothers, and it managed to capture the true BoB spirit even.

Really happy to see that and I can't wait for more.

Didn't BOB emphasised brotherhood a lot? From what I've read, Eugene and Sid never met John.

And also, can you clear this up for me. According to TvTropes...

"Ho Yay - Eugene and his best friend Sidney "Sid" Phillips. The homoerotic subtext between these two "best friends" is just too obvious to ignore. "

Although, I'm kinda disappointed that Vernon Micheel who helped sink the Akagi was left out of the show. Midway would have been great to see on screen