Unveiling the Untold Secrets Behind Band of Brothers: Explore the Enchanting Filming Locations!

The majority of Band of Brothers’ storyline occurs in mainland Europe, but the filming primarily took place elsewhere. This renowned 10-part miniseries is based on Stephen Ambrose’s bestselling non-fiction book of the same name and portrays the journey of Easy Company, the 501st regiment of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division during World War 2. The miniseries tracks Easy Company’s training in Georgia in 1942, leading up to their European campaign which culminates in the capture of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

Filming for the series lasted between eight and 10 months, predominantly in England’s home counties, which encompasses the counties surrounding London. The British government offered significant tax incentives to shoot Band of Brothers in England, as Steven Spielberg, one of the co-producers, had received a similar deal for filming another war project, Saving Private Ryan, in England. As a result, many British actors were included in the Band of Brothers cast. Although the miniseries portrays various European countries and specific locations, the production itself remained within the home counties.

5 Hatfield Aerodrome

Most of the filming for Band of Brothers took place at Hatfield Aerodrome, a former British Aerospace factory in Hertfordshire, England. This location had previously been used by Spielberg and Hanks for parts of Saving Private Ryan. The vast open field at Hatfield Aerodrome was transformed into twelve different European towns, including Bastogne in Belgium, Eindhoven in The Netherlands, and Carentan in France. In order to depict the Battle of The Bulge sequence in the episode "Bastogne," the production team even created a fabricated forest resembling the Ardennes forest.

The Band of Brothers production found the location advantageous due to the availability of disused aircraft hangars. These hangars were utilized to store props and equipment. One hangar housed tanks, jeeps, and ambulances from World War 2, while another was used for wardrobes. Additionally, there was a hangar filled with mannequins representing casualties for the battle scenes. Presently, the former aerodrome is home to the University of Hertfordshire's de Havilland Campus.

4 North Weald Airfield

Ironically, the Hatfield airfield was unable to be used for filming the D-Day airfield take-off scenes that punctuate Band of Brothers’ first episode. Instead, the production chose to utilize North Weald Airfield located in the neighboring county of Essex to capture the initiation of Easy Company’s journey into Normandy. Coincidentally, North Weald had served as an operational tactical location for British planes during World War 2. However, it is worth noting that the planes depicted taking off from the airfield towards the end of the episode were created using CGI technology.

3 Hambleden

Most of the training sequences in episode one of Band of Brothers were filmed at the aerodrome. However, for the scenes set in the village of Aldbourne, a real village called Hambleden was used. Hambleden is located in Buckinghamshire, a county neighboring Hertfordshire. This charming town also appears in the 1968 British film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

2 Home County Forests

Additional scenes of Band of Brothers were filmed in real forests, staying close to Hertfordshire. Two forests in the home counties were chosen for the shoot. Surrey's Bourne Woods provided the backdrop for some of the training exercise scenes in episode one. Bourne Woods is a popular filming location for prestigious movies, such as Gladiator, Children of Men, and another Steven Spielberg project, War Horse.

In episode 2, "Day of Days," Ashdown Forest in East Sussex was used for a sequence where Easy Company confronts 105mm German guns after landing in France. Ashdown Forest, also known as Hundred Acre Wood, served as the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh's home in the original A. A. Milne stories. It has also been utilized as a filming location for two Winnie the Pooh films: Christopher Robin and Goodbye Christopher Robin.

1 Bernese Oberland, Switzerland

The Band of Brothers cast and crew traveled to the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland and stayed at the nearby hotel Giessbach to film the scenes set in Austria and Germany. The Bernese region plays a significant role in the final episode of Band of Brothers, titled "Points." Certain parts of the Bernese Grimsel Pass were chosen as the location for Hitler's Eagle's Nest. The Swiss village of Brienz stands in for the Austrian town of Zell am See, and the main characters' accommodation in episode 10 is actually the hotel Giessbach.