It seems odd to me that a company commander would function as a drill instructor. Was that common in World War 2? I would think that there would be an Airborne drill instructors who would train the troops and then they would go to their unit. Was this just because the Airborne was a new concept and there was no formal school, or was this common in 1942? Or was the series just combining the Sobel role with the DI role to move the storyline?
I cannot imagine the pressure of being a replacement platoon commander for an elite infantry unit that had already been together through three major battles. The slightest error in judgment can lead to the death of yourself and others. Everyone is scrutinizing you. It is a minor miracle that anyone could do that.
That never happened. He shot a group of 4 prisoners on his own and it wasn't at the assembly area like they showed in the series. Those POW's including the German Malarkey was talking to were not shot.
In "A Rumor Of War", Marine Lt Philip Caputo wrote (of Vietnam) that drivers were invariably cheerful and helpful, because surly and uncooperative drivers were likely to be given rifles and sent into the line. It seems Loraine freely chose to fight in combat and accept the higher risk.
I think this is lame to hit on a guy that is not here to explain all the whys or how's of a life in a combat zone. None of them were Gods but none were bums either...
As someone who attended both Culver Military Academy and the University of Illinois, I had no idea about Sobel’s connection to either of those schools. It makes his story even more fascinating to me. As lately, TBS has pretty much turned into the “Friends” network and it’s on so much in our break room at work, it’s prompted a bit of discussion about how good David Schwimmer was in his portrayal of the Sobel character in Band of Brothers. In real life he sounded like a pretty complicated man, but I would agree that a lot of guys made it through the war alive because he was such a hard ass. Thanks so much for putting this series of videos together.
Inaccuracies in books are unavoidable. The personal biases of men are unavoidable as well. I don’t dispute your work or criticize your goal of painting an accurate picture. My feeling is, if Winters trusted Nixon and thought Nixon was a valuable leader, thats good enough for me. Drinking aside, he did his duty under difficult circumstances. He helped win a war against fascist tyranny. He earned his jump stars and Winter’s respect and trust. That makes him a hell of a man, and I’ll drink one to him if I fall off the wagon.
Most of your videos I’d say are well researched and presented, but this one I think you didn’t really look into what a Bn S3 actually does, if you had it probably would explain why Dick Winters gave Nixon high praise for his tactics and “battle sense” Having a “dud” in the 3 shop can handicap the whole battalion, there’s every sign Nixon was far from being that but he was an alcoholic, and the mileage would certainly vary on how dependable he was That he volunteered to go airborne, braved enemy fire over some distance to get that map to those who needed it most, and that he was eventually able to overcome his alcoholism I’d say says a lot about his strength of character
@@IdentitiesWW2, maybe, but Sink kept him at Regt level throughout some of their heaviest fighting and reconstitution phases, so he must’ve had some abilities I’d hazard a guess Nixon was burnt out long before he got demoted down to Bn, and the drinking only made it worse Possibly they were trying to support him, because of all the Bn’s they could send him to, they sent him to the one commanded by his friend
But that's how it is in the military. Not only you're gonna see the war from your point of view, but the leadership as well. What could be considered a good leader for some, could be a bad one for others
It is almost incredible that some never share their experiences with their children or family. Just like in "The Victoria Cross: For Valour", fabulous storytelling by Jeremy Clarkson. (if you love BoB, you will love this docu) "...He never thought to mention it..." Major Cain never told his family he was awarded the Victoria Cross, they only found out after his death.
A lot of officers S1, S2, S3, S4,and S6 are staff sections hovered between HQ and the companies in various functions. They usually were captains who were great to be around and likable. Some were new lieutenant's from OCS who were put in HQ for the clerical exercise as they probably were very good at it. Usually they did not qualify very well with their HQ tank platoon at gunnery but we loved their effort and gave them more 120mm rounds to fire as they were trying to do their best.
Food for thought: Saving Private Ryan, remember corporal Upham and how he was in favour of sparing that German POW who later killed several of his fellow soldiers, he eventually shot him.
BoB was a great series, but it inflates the combat experience of the 101st when compared to any infantry division in the ETO. My father's 30th Division had a 184% casualty rate in the eleven months of combat in the ETO. 184%! The various infantry divisions were assaulting German defenses through the entire period, while airborne troops were in combat for only short periods then pulled out into safe areas. A few weeks in Normandy, then England until September/Holland for a few weeks, and then pulled back until December at Bastogne, and then nothing, really, until the war ended. That is the nature of airborne troops. They are/were light infantry unsuited to assaults against heavily fortified areas and their relatively light casualty rates reflect that. While the101st and 82nd sat in the rear through most of the war, infantry and armored divisions were being thrown into one assault after another, against heavily defended German lines manned by skilled troops and leaders. The simple truth is that the press loved the airborne ("these guys jump out of airplanes!"), but the war was won by the infantry and armored divisions that paid the price in casualty rates that far exceed anything the airborne experienced.
My personal opinion the author director of this video is full of crap, I have read multiple books about the 506 and easy written by the actual members if the unit and none have ever said that they didn't feel that he was not a good soldier and like any person they all had their likes and dislikes of people.i simply feel that for what ever reason the author here is just having a burr up his butt..Nixon had many foughts but cowardice and unjustified being called part of Easy is just crazy he did everything that everyone else did it's easy for someone to sit on the side years later and bash him...
Both were exceptional men. I would feel deeply uncomfortable choosing between them. Best to thank them and all who fought for the freedoms we now enjoy.
I see that Sobell attended the U. of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana. I grew up there (father a professor at the U) and I know that demand for perfection means repetition and demands for highest performance. Maybe Sobel had those demands and the soldiers were not willing to let a "Jew" command them in such a style.
Both are exceptional leaders and cannot fault them. But Winters exploits were till the end of the war and he proved to be better. Sadly, Howard could not continue his career further.
Pegasus Bridge was named after the badge of the British Airbourne Corps - Bellerophon riding the winged horse Pegasus, Horsa bridge is named after the Horsa gliders British, American, Canadian and Polish glider-bourne troops used.
As someone who served in an Infantry company i gotta be honest, even though you used words like "This isnt meant to be a bad thing" or "Im not trying to disparage" Thats all it comes off as. I'd love to know if you ever served and that's not meant to be rude or anything I just find that a lot of people who have never served in the military honestly have no idea how the inner workings are, how soldiers are, how soldiers operate in certain areas and situations. What looks to a civilian like negligence or worse (which is wild to even try and decipher 80 years later) is really just a well oiled machine rolling along. I'm seeing so many comments like "Well malarky hated this guy. Well Webster didnt like this guy. Compton hated this guy." It hapened. You're damn sure not gonna like everyone you come in contact with in the military. You definitely will hate some people. There were a lot I completely disliked and infuriated me HOWEVER if in combat I knew they were good at their job and thats all you can ask for. I think a lot of people who make these "Band of Brothers got THIS wrong about THIS person" are just individuals who have no clue how the military works cause they never experienced it. If I'm wrong and you served in the military Thank you for your service
I didn't serve in the military, I have been deaf since day dot. Not much use to them. So, the next best thing was to be a historian. I'm not out to criticize anyone, I'm just trying to set the record straight. I have done so on Blithe, Halls & Lorraine. A lot of people would have no idea how their wrong their portrayal was if I didn't post those videos. If you can find anything I have stated that Isn't true ill be happy to retract it.
It wasn't difficult to find drop zones once they knew where they were. Pathfinders were mostly dropped in the correct place so were aware of their bearings straight away. The problem was troopers being scattered 10-20 kilometers from their DZ's. The surroundings just weren't familiar to them.
@@IdentitiesWW2 i can imagine. And how long did the pathfinders jump before the others would follow? As i guess they might alarm any enemies. And yet they managed to do a great job being scattered. Thanks for the reply.
No, Lieutenant Meehan was CO of Easy before DDAY. He had replaced Sobel. Winter's was 1st platoon and promoted to CO on DDAY when it became clear Meehan had been killed. Here is a video I did on the command structure. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fmAc_LEcQkw.html
@IdentitiesWW2 there is a difference between Executive Officer and commanding officer. When Winters endorsed his reprimand for a court martial, he signed it E.O. Lt. Richard Winters E CO. He was the Executive officer before the jump.
