The ambush of a German half-track inSaving Private Ryanscores a perfect realism grade from a historian. Hitting theaters in 1998, Steven Spielberg’sWorld War II moviefeatures Tom Hanks as Miller,an Army Captain tasked with leading a team through occupied Franceto retrieve the final surviving brother of the Ryan family.Saving Private Ryanis widely considered one of the best war movies ever made, due in large part to its portrayal of D-Day, but realistic depictions of combat can be found throughout the film, including a scene in which Miller’s team ambushes a lone German half-track.
In a recent video forInsider, World War IIhistorian John McManus analyzesSaving Private Ryan’s half-track ambush, revealing that it features a great deal of historical accuracy. According to the historian, the ambush scene, which occurs around the 16:47 mark in the video below, accurately portrays the terrain of Normandy and the tactics that American soldiers would use in this exact situation. McManus also praises the film’s depiction of the “fog of war” as two American units happen to run into each other, awarding the scene a 10 out of 10 score. Check out McManus' comments below:
“That’s exactly the way a lot of the fields in Normandy would’ve looked at the time. And as an infantryman you absolutely would’ve concealed yourself that way. And in that half-track they would not have seen you.
“Half-tracks give you the mobility of a jeep or a truck, but you’ve got some level of armored protection. And you can mount sometimes some pretty formidable weapons on it, like a machine gun an anti-tank gun or something like that.
“In this scene, they’re using the half-track exactly the way they would’ve been used. The only thing I’d wonder about is perhaps there’d be more than one half-track and that maybe you’d have some dismounted infantry kind of scouting around. It strikes me as very vulnerable out there on its own, but it’s certainly very possible.
“I’ll just get the one thing that I don’t like about it out of the way first. We have some dumb Germans here who just sort of like ninepins come out of the half-track and just get shot down and all that. Yes, okay, that’s Hollywood, but I love this clip. You have this kind of fog of battle in which the two American formations don’t know the other is there. They’re lucky that they don’t have a friendly fire incident. But it’s extremely well done in terms of not knowing who’s where and what’s going on.
“And then, the way Miller’s formation moves toward the half-track, and even one of his men says to him, ‘Hold on, ensure they’re down.’ And I really like that dynamic, too.
“I’m going to give this one a 10 [out of 10] because I just really like how it portrays the exhaustion, the terrain, how infantry would have concealed there, and how you would’ve had this chance meeting, these two different units that are enveloped in the fog of war.”
What Saving Private Ryan’s Perfect Realism Score Means For The Film
Steven Spielberg’s War Epic Was Celebrated For Its Authenticity
In addition to telling a compelling story,Saving Private Ryanhas long been lauded asone of the most important war films ever made.Spielberg’s commitment to historical accuracy and authentically portraying the soldiers' experience is a major reason for this.Saving Private Ryan’s D-Day scene, for example, featured such a realistic depiction of combat that theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs set up a hotlinefor Veterans who experienced bouts of PTSD due to watching the film.
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Realism and authenticity have contributed to impressive scores forSaving Private Ryanin other areas as well. The film, for example, has a 94% critics' score onRotten Tomatoes, and a 95% audience score.This depiction of World War II combat in a way nobody had seen before helped the film succeed, and it ended up grossing $481.8 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $70 million.
Our Take On Saving Private Ryan’s Historical Accuracy
There’s More To Spielberg’s WWII Movie Than A Stunning D-Day Sequence
McManus' perfect score for the half-track ambush scene speaks toSaving Private Ryan’s accuracyand attention to detail beyond the landing at Omaha Beach. While the D-Day landing and the ending battle are the flashiest and most talked-about aspects of the film, the half-track scene is evidently a strong example ofrealistic combat on a smaller scale, which is just as important.
Spielberg sent theSaving Private Ryancast to military boot campto aid in their portrayals of World War II soldiers.
These smaller skirmishes, in many ways, are just as defining a part of the soldier’s experience in World War II as the larger, more destructive battles, and they also help to cement the bond between the members of Miller’s team.Saving Private Ryanlikely wouldn’t have the reputation it does today without these crucial interstitial sequences.
Saving Private Ryan
Cast
Saving Private Ryan: Directed by Steven Spielberg, this World War II drama follows Captain John Miller, portrayed by Tom Hanks, as he leads a group of U.S. soldiers on a mission to rescue Private James Ryan, the sole surviving brother of four, from behind enemy lines in German-occupied France.
