Band of Brothers Part 8 The Last Patrol

Easy Company enters the Alsacian town of Haguenau, near the German border.

Easy Company arrives in the Alsacian town of Haguenau near the German border, and is ordered to send a patrol across the river to take enemy prisoners. Lt. Jones (Colin Hanks), fresh from West Point and eager for combat experience, volunteers to lead. While successful, the mission costs another paratrooper's life, prompting Winters (Damian Lewis) to ignore the order to send a second patrol the next night.

This episode is seen from the point of view of David Webster (Eion Bailey, who played Jann Wenner in Almost Famous).

Webster returns to Easy Company after a relatively minor injury kept him inactive for four months. Although Webster fought at Normandy, and with Easy during Operation Market Garden, he missed the ordeal the others faced at Bastogne, and on his return, he quickly realizes that it's not the same company.

Many were killed or wounded at Bastogne, and those that remain resent him for not being there. Liebgott (Ross McCall) is particularly hostile, and complains that while others who were injured found a way to get back to the front, Webster took his time recovering. The company is also joined by Lieutenant Jones (Colin Hanks, executive producer Tom Hanks' son), fresh out of West Point. The war appears to be drawing to a close.

The company is still on the front line, in the French town of Haguenau, and the Germans are stationed across a small river. Both sides are encamped in relative comfort, and neither side seems eager to engage the other. On the orders of the regiment's commander, Winters (Damian Lewis) picks 15 men for a dangerous night patrol across the river to capture German prisoners for interrogation. The exhausted Malarkey (Scott Grimes) is picked to lead the patrol. Webster assesses the situation and convinces the gung-ho Jones to volunteer to take Malarkey's place, and also offers to replace Liebgott as the mission translator. Winters picks Martin (Dexter Fletcher) to replace Malarkey, and allows Jones to go along as an observer.

The raid is considered successful, despite the loss of a man, and Winters is ordered to send his men out on another patrol the following night. Knowing that sending them on another pointless mission would be suicide, Winters tells his men to stand fast and covers for them saying that they did indeed complete their campaign but could gather no new intelligence.