Saving Private Ryan: Private Stanley Mellish (Adam Goldberg)

I have a question about the radar tower scene, when Wade dies. I thought that squads would not attempt to engage an MG-42 nest head on. I thought the americans new that this could be suicide. I am suprised that Wade was the only one that was shot. If anyone can fill me in, please do.

Thanks so much for your kind words. I know Saving Ryan is only a movie but its based on history - real history - from a Europe reeling in chaos after the Nazi occupation of Poland, Belguim, Holland, France, move into Russia (Operation Barbarossa), etc followed eventually by the allied amphibious invasion (Operation Overlord) at Normandy to open up a second front, thus relieving some of the enourmous pressure on the Soviets fighting in the East. Stalin had been pushing the allies to execute Overlord for many months. But it was a gigantic task; requiring great organisation, training and planning on every scale to make is do-able. Some say "it's just a movie". To me that it akin to spitting on the headstones of the approximately 50 million people who died during WW2 - and also be mindful that 1945 wasn't that long ago. Films and literature such as Saving Ryan are a reminder to everyone, that freedom is not free at all and comes at the highest of costs, of blood and sacrifice. The posts I have written merely attempt to look deeper, and I try to provide an unbiased insight into the military tactics that were or could have been used during the allied defence at the bridge. Saving Ryan is not just a movie, per se. It is also a stark warning to never let the horrors of WW2 repeat themselves.

Not implying that Iran has any ambitions for war or expansion - I would still watch that country closely. I don't know if their leaders have watched Saving Ryan.

Lastly,

If you want to learn more about the Waffen SS (which literally translates to "armed or fighting SS", the elite of the Nazi war machine, but also declared a criminal organisation at the Nuremburg trials, take a look at this video on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6m_pvDV4JI

There are other videos that are available from interviews with SS veterans and the Allied soldiers who fought against them on the right of the main video window. Altogether these are a balanced and very informative set of presentations.

Nash,

I've often wondered myself why Captain Miller organised his men for a three-pronged frontal assault on the machine gun nest at the radar station. There was some cover in terms of shell craters and the like but also a lot of distance to run upright to get within grendade range, and a lot of this ground was free of cover and worse still, uphill. Captain Miller was relying on the delay that the Germans would incur when changing the MG42s barrels but I didn't see/hear this happen. The MG42 was a superb weapon - one of the best of the era - with an extremely high rate of fire. It does seem, looking back, to be somewhat suicidal to take on such a machine gun frontally - especially one dug-in. There are two points I guess. Firstly, Miller's squad would have been better off skirting around the target, through the brush, unnoticed and attacking it either from multiple angles on the flanks, with the Sgt and BAR gunner providing fire support to keep the Germans head down while the others advanced. The second point is: what the hell was Wade doing exposing himself to fire during the advance. He should not have been risking his neck during the assualt - he was far too important an asset to lose. But that's the way they played it out on the screen.

Responding to your post Beavie,

I don't know that Mellish even had a .45 1911; just his M1 Garand rifle (generally the case for his rank), with its much hated, loud, metallic "ping" when auto-ejecting empty ammo clips. The only workable option as I've mentioned is: with ammo out, a fixed bayonet or an entrenching tool (trench shovel) sharpened to a razors edge. Brutal, but tried and true, particularly in the bitter war in the East. Hide within striking reach and nail your opposition before he has time to react. Other options? Mellish didn't really have time to scan his surroundings for other possibilities (e.g. fire poker perhaps). What he had was all he had before the fight began. As a Ninjutsu practicioner we are taught to use our surroundings to our advantage, and that almost any object can become a lethal weapon in the right hands. Well, that's about it on my reply Beavie.

BTW if anyone would like to chat more about all this or anything at all military/otherwise, feel free to email me on vitalida@hotmail.com. I'd be happy to correspond - you seem like a really cool bunch of guys.

near the beginning at omaha beach, caparso hands mellish a knife and he crys. im unsure as to why he crys and is upset!! im sure you hardcores will know why!!! thanks

This film is one of my favourites, and like all war films, contains a bit of 'srtistic license' and is less than satisfactory from a tactical and strategig POV. Even so, I have watched it many, many times... always hoping that the cowardly Upham might at last get his inger out and DO something! He never does, and never will I'm afraid, just as King Harold will never win at Hastings...

As someone said, it IS a film. The most spectacular and historically accurate parts are in thr opening scene. All the words said on that beach, in that scene, were really said - including, I'm afraid "don't shoot - let 'em burn!"

The final battle was well done IMO, but does contain some absurdities and anomalies. Overall however, the emotional and 'personal' scenes were well researched and well presented - even the dramatic 'faling down wall' was based on a historical incident I expect - this film was very thoriughly researched, and not overly sentimentalised AFAIK.

Wade's tragic death was based on many incidents that occured (both in WW1 and WW2), where overdoses of morphine were administered with terrible reluctance to ease the passing of those mortally wounded. Wade himself knows, in fact asks to be put out of his misery, as no doubt many did. He cries out for his mother, as dying men have done since we first started fighting battles - no matter how brave, this is the first person we ever see, and the last we call out for.

I have never associated 'stemboat wilhelm' with the charachters at the end, I'm sure this is a mistake? Upham's cowardly esecution of the SS soldier at the end is dur to his shame, nothing more. Upham is intriguing, he is the most sensitive and intelligent character in the film, even the most decent - until the ens. He gets bullied, he isn't able to cope... what happens to him after the war? I'd guess he becomes a bad salesman, estate agent or unsuccessful writer, and drinks himself to death in the arly 1960's...

The only other survivor (save Ryan) is the most hard nosed, cynical and brutal fellow in the company, who no doubt ends up as a gangster and comes to a sticky end. There is an element of 'moralism' in the film, which I'm not quite comfortable with. All who show signs of sensitivity or humanity die soon, the toughest veterans last longest. That's peobably the way it was - I wasn't there thankfully.

I was glad to see that Mellish, a most unpleasant fellow IMO, was the antidite to the usual type of hand wringing Jewidh fellows you see in such films. There was a prototypr Israeli, vengeful, uncompromising and pretty unloveable - my eye did not water at his end, I have to say. It was refreshing to see the SS man 'helping' him to pass from this wotld in a way...

His earlier crackup was the only sign of emotion - I think the Hitler Youth dagger and his comment was to do with 'Strength through Joy' inscribed on it... maybe I am being unsympathetic to the man? Miller's reaction to seeing his men shooting enemies who were trying to surrender, i.e., turning a bind eye, is important and understandable. This happened a lot during this campaign, on both sides. Emotions were high, with good reason.

I must confess, I was a bit unconvinced as the capibility of a greasy suck with respect to blowing wheels off a Tiger would work in practice? And, quite correct whoever it was that pointed out the maximum elevation of the gun which saw off Jackson and Parker...

Jackson intrigues me most of all really. The perfect soldier in so many ways... but why didn't he put a slug down that gaping 75mm barrel? And as for that single 20mm... the 'military' unrealities of the film are plentiful - even I can tell a Tiger chassis from a T34! Yet O still love the film....







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dude come on it is a movie. Yes some of the tactics toward the end were not very good but come on. It is a movie. Jesus. It is historical fiction. It is based on real events but the specifics of the movie never happened. Yeah steven speilsberg sacrificed tactical detail for drama. It is a movie not a documentary. come on man. Just watch the movie. If you want historical accuracy on d-day read the longest day by cornelius ryan or watch the history channel.

The guy that stabs mellish and later shoots Miller is the SAME soldier they let go at the machinegun nest earlier in the movie. That's the whole point of the drama. The guy they let go ends up killing two of their men. Mercy for the guilty condemns the innocent.

Mellish and Miller are both killed by two different men, but only Miller is killed by Steamboat Willie. Mellish's killer is some random guy.

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