Taking On ‘Private Ryan’

Steven Spielberg’s vivid “Saving Private Ryan,” set during the Allied invasion of Europe in World War II, may leave moviegoers feeling the need for a history refresher course.

While the plot of “Ryan,” which raked in $30.6 million at the box office last weekend, centers on the fictional search for the last of four American soldier brothers still alive, the setting is fact, using D-day and the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, as its historical backdrop.

Since much has been made of the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s attempts to replicate “the longest day” in all its gory detail, we consulted three experts in World War II and military history who have seen the film to offer their insights. Ted Ballard is a historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C.; Jerry Dwyer is a professor of military science at UC Berkeley; and Arthur L. Smith, professor emeritus at Cal State L.A., is the author of eight books on World War II.

Overall, the three experts agree “Private Ryan” is thoroughly researched and more accurate than any other war movie. In fact, Spielberg consulted numerous historians and military experts, including historian Stephen E. Ambrose and retired U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Dale Dye in the making of the film. But, in the Hollywood tradition, our panel says minor embellishments remain in the film.

Here are some historical facts as well as inaccuracies to help you put “Saving Private Ryan” in context based on the comments of our experts.

HISTORY

Question: The opening scenes of “Saving Private Ryan” show the gruesome slaughter of U.S. troops as they land at Omaha Beach. Why did the Allies pick Omaha Beach for the D-day landing and why were the Nazi fortifications so strong?

Answer: The Allies actually landed on five beaches on the Normandy coast, but Omaha is often singled out because of the heavy casualties. In selecting the Normandy sites, Dwyer says the Allies needed a short sea crossing from their bases in England to France, an area that would allow maximum air cover, a landing along the route to Germany and a port-friendly location. But the bottom line, Smith says, was that “the Germans expected [the Allies] to go to Calais,” where the English Channel is narrowest.

Ballard adds the Normandy terrain suited the tremendous logistical undertaking. “The beaches were very flat, broad and open, which would allow the British, U.S. and Canadian forces to bring in their heavy equipment,” he says.

Although the Germans expected the Allies to invade Calais, a resistance poem broadcast on the BBC on the morning of June 6 tipped them off that an attack was near. In addition, rough weather conditions forced the Allied air forces to attack further inland than expected. The pounding gave the Germans about 40 minutes to prepare for the amphibious landing. The fierce German resistance resulted in more than 2,000 casualties at Omaha Beach alone. All told, there were 4,900 Allied casualties on June 6, 1944, D-day.

Question: In the film, the sergeant played by Tom Sizemore fills a tin with Normandy soil for his collection from previous tours of duty. Were most of the soldiers in the D-day invasion experienced? Some accounts say many of the troops were, in fact, green.

Answer: Smith notes that some, like Sizemore’s character, had seen action in North Africa and Sicily, but that many who landed at Normandy were inexperienced. Ballard adds that “for those in the 29th Division [of which the interpreter in the movie was part], this would have been their first real battle.”

Question: After the invasion, Tom Hanks and his men go behind enemy lines to rescue Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), a paratrooper caught behind enemy lines. What direction would they have been going? What was the route of the Allied troops?

Answer: It’s difficult to chart Hanks’ journey since the village they defend in the final scenes is fictional. “There was a saying that said the British got the industry, the Americans got the scenery,” Smith says, noting that the Americans generally spun south and east “like the spokes on a wheel” toward Paris.

Question: Damon’s Pvt. Ryan is part of an airborne unit that misses its target. Is it true that many of the paratroopers used in the D-day invasion got lost behind enemy lines?

Answer: Smith says that 8,000 to 10,000 paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines and many got lost due to weather conditions. Units gradually reassembled at specific rendezvous points.

Question: The movie makes reference to the Sullivan brothers, five of whom were killed in one battle. What happened to them and what policy was enacted after their deaths?

Answer: Ballard says the Navy discouraged siblings from serving on the same ship, but granted a request from the five Sullivan brothers and two of their friends to serve together. After the brothers died at the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942 when their ship sank, the armed forces continued the policy of strongly discouraging siblings from serving side by side, “although when the 29th Division landed at Normandy on D-day, there were brothers serving together,” he says.

Question: In the film, several characters die during combat in the French countryside. Were the soldiers who didn’t die at Omaha Beach, but who were killed in the Allied invasion of France, all buried at Normandy?

Answer: Dwyer says at the end of the war, there was an effort to relocate the bodies buried at various battleground sites, but many remain buried where they fell.

Question: The movie refers to “Monty’s Army” (a reference to legendary British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery). Where were the British troops during the initial amphibious landing?

Answer: British troops landed at Gold and Sword beaches while Canadian soldiers took Juno Beach, all east of Omaha and Utah beaches where American troops invaded.

DETAILS

Question: In “Private Ryan,” several of the characters carry around letters to their families in case they are killed during the fighting. Was this a common practice?

Answer: All three experts agreed this was conceivable, although they saw it more as a dramatic device for the movie. Smith doubted soldiers would worry about the personal effects of their fallen comrades. “I’m not sure soldiers would really bother to check the pockets [of their friends] during combat,” Smith says. “It seemed to me to be a slight gimmick.”

Question: In one scene, a soldier with fatal gunshot wounds asks for morphine to put him out of his misery. Was morphine used once a medic knew a soldier was dying?

Answer: Dwyer says medics carried a limited number of supplies for the unit, including morphine. “All morphine would do is fill the injured with euphoria, relieve the pain long enough for the medics to get him off the field,” he says. He says it’s possible that a medic would administer an overdose, but it would probably depend on how far he had to stretch supplies before getting more.

Question: In preparing to ambush German troops, Hanks and his men assemble crude bombs that stick to the sides of tanks. Was there really such a thing as a “sticky bomb” such as those used by Hanks’ men?

Answer: Dwyer notes that “sticky bombs” were commonly used and are referred to in the “Ranger Handbook of Field Expedient Devices.” In light of this knowledge, Ballard found it odd that Hanks had to explain to his men what sticky bombs were. “Anyone who had gone through basic [training] would have known what they were,” he says.

Question: When Hanks and his group enter a village, he yells, “Thunder,” as a way to determine if other Allied troops are near. Was there a universal Allied code word to signal friend or foe?

Answer: Ballard notes that while passwords were used to identify fellow Allies, the codes varied from company to company and were changed frequently, even nightly. “How Hanks would have known the passwords [for units] outside his company seems unlikely,” he said.

INCONSISTENCIES

1. All three experts agreed the way Hanks’ crew marched through the French countryside, clustered and talking loudly, would never have happened. “They would have been walking silently in single file with enough space between you and the man next to you--40 meters--so that if a grenade goes off only one man goes down,” Dwyer says.

2. An outburst like the one spouted by Edward Burns, who plays a rebellious and mouthy private, would have been dealt with very harshly. “In the military, good discipline is the order of the day,” Dwyer says. Ballard adds the scene “was demeaning to Hanks as a commanding officer.” A more likely scenario, Smith says, would have had Hanks sending the rebel to the stockades when they reached camp.

3. Ballard notes assigning Hanks to this mission presents some problems since Hanks is precisely identified as a captain of Ranger C Company. The real C Company landed at Omaha, but the 101st Airborne, of which Ryan was supposed to be a part, landed behind Utah Beach. Ballard says the distance would have made Hanks an unlikely candidate to lead such a mission. “It’s not even in his area of operation so this type of mission would be very unusual. But then again, anything’s possible in war.”

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The Invasion of Normandy

The opening scenes of “Saving Private Ryan” depict the bloody battle at Omaha Beach in graphic detail. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, American, British and Canadian troops begin storming the Normandy coast; the Americans were at Omaha and Utah beaches, the British were at Gold and Sword beaches, and the Canadians landed at Juno. By day’s end, 4,900 were killed, wounded or missing, with more than 2,000 of the casualties on Omaha.

In the film, Tom Hanks plays a Ranger captain who survives the intense first wave of the invasion at Omaha and is soon assigned to find Pvt. James Ryan, played by Matt Damon. Ryan, part of the 101st Airborne, would have landed somewhere behind Utah Beach southwest of Omaha. After the landing, American forces headed to Paris and eventually to Berlin.

WHY THE BLOODBATH AT OMAHA?

* All but a few troops land in the wrong places.

* Many boats run aground, forcing troops wearing 70 pounds of equipment to jump into deep water and drown.

* Prior air raids behind the beach alert Germans to the invasion, giving them time to fortify batteries.

* Wind and tide force the landing boats together, allowing Germans to concentrate fire.