That is crazy. How ungrateful we have become as Americans. As much of a jackhole of a commander as he seemed no one deserves to be abandoned at the end of their life. 😢
Even watching the series, I thought that Sobel tough training made the men tougher. And making the men hate him oddly enough brought the men closer together. Thank you Sobel.
I thought the same. I don't say this to knock Maj. Winters’ leadership. But Sobels’ toughness likely contributed to Winters’ cohesion with his unit and contributed to his leadership success. Sobel seems like a man of strong principles and conviction that could be unwavering to a fault. I’d say HBO probably displayed Winters’ in an overly favorable light and did some disservice to Sobel.That being said, I have all the respect in the world for all of them.
I am also reminded of the sergeant major in generation kill that was hassling everyone about their mustaches. There was a point in the series where morale was flagging, and he offered to go around and harass everyone about the grooming standard to serve as a common enemy for the men.
His training was indeed tough and ultimately saved lives. Part of what made Easy company such a tight unit was the fact that they banded together with their collective dislike of his treatment. As a former Drill Sergeant, I understand his methods, I don't agree with the extent of some of his methods, but understand them.
Yes I agree, it was not accident that Easy company ended up the crack team that it was, no thanks to Captain Sobel's bastardry. It was this punishing training that prepared them for what was to come, and I believe he had the men's welfare at heart, like when he ordered the pouring out of the canteens. He said to Dick Winters this is Easy company, meaning - this is a special squad and it's mine. He knew they were not headed for a Sunday school picnic. God speed Captain Sobel , because of you they were a bunch of bad asses.
he pushed them too far. it was all stick and never a carrot so he lost their respect. years later the enlisted men who came through the war actually credited him with giving them such good conditioning. supposedly aft BoB aired his sister showed up at a reunion and it fell to Guarniere (sp?) to explain the truth to her about her brother. the officers never got over their contempt for sobel.
Agreed. Civilians don't understand that he knew that all those extra push ups and runs would make them stronger when it was about to matter most. A captain once told my unit that he didn't want to lay in bed at night knowing he could have done more that day, and those words have always carried with me. You can party ot 7p and when the time comes to act, your body will fail you, or you grind these men and women into something better, tougher, more resilient to what they may face one day. The ultimate form of "you'd rather have it and not need it, I stead of needing g it and not having it". He sacrificed his friendships for their futures. Its a good trade all day. Sad how he ended up, as many great men do.
Some of the best military commanders in history understood that fear and resentment can be powerful motivators. sometimes to prepare men for what combat will unleash upon them you need to be brutal. The side in a fight that turns around and runs first will always lose. His training helped those men learn how to hunker down and weather the storm.
There must be more to this story. Going from a loving father to not agreeing with his kids protest of the Vietnam war then dying alone with his wife divorcing him leaves a lot of gapes in the story
Nice tribute. I had read that some of the men of Easy Company, after the war, realized how Sobel’s training helped them survive the war. Several tried to get Sobel to attend post war gatherings of Easy Company but he never went. If he had gone, perhaps some healing could have occurred on all sides.
Thats possible, and well said. Dislike by a training officer is part of the process, train hard fight easy (sort of speak) Bottom line,good or bad, this officer helped make the unit what it became,...a bar and standard that any that serve strive to be. May history hold judgement against this man.. when a nation needed him , he did as he thought best to train the best possible. We can have pity on how his life came to a end. But a nation should not dismiss what he did accomplish.
he had an important job and in many ways he excelled at it. his superiors realized his strengths and made sure to take advantage of them while removing his authority in areas of weakness. that is the definition of an effective chain of command. Sobels biggest weakness was not realizing his own weaknesses but in the end, he loved his country and he probably saved lives and for that he should be honored. 🇺🇲
His training may have helped some original Easy Company members survive, but their survival is also because he wasn't in command of Easy Company during real combat operations. Not a single one of them would have survived if he led them in combat, and Easy's NCO's knew that long before D-Day.
My son always says that what he learned from his DI's at Parris Island saved his life more than once in Iraq and Afghanistan. 18 of those in his company weren't so lucky.
Like many Hollywood actors, he's great when being directed by someone who knows how to direct, and when given a character to play who actually has some degree of depth as an antagonist.
Never remotely a fan of Schwimmer, seen him in plays and such never a fan at all nor liked his work in Bob, thought he was playing his actual self, unlikeable, arrogant
Having read Band of Brothers and Richard Winters book, Beyond Band of Brothers, they did reach out to Sobel after the war, to invite him to the reunions, but he apparently declined. Despite the antagonisms between everyone, they did recognize that Sobel did make easy company.
Yeah but he didn`t want to go to the reunions. Why? I think he couldn`t let the pass behind so i think he was a resentful person. Another question i have is why his family left him is he was such a great man. I think this video tries to sell a better side of him, but i don`t buy it.
@@jackprescott9652 There is absolutely some merit to the idea he was a very hard man. I mean as you stated if he was so great then why did no members of his family attend his funeral? Why did his wife divorce him etc His story is a very sad one but there’s more to this story that just isn’t public.
@@Aviator-Chicken The concept of PTSD was relatively unknown back then. Sobel had trouble coping with it and vented in the worst way, towards his family. Despite all the medical advancements in the past century, we still have no real way to determine how damaged a brain is both physical and psychological.
At the core he was obviously a good man. Did he have his flaws and shortcomings? Absolutely. We all do. But he certainly didn't deserve such a sad, lonely end. I hope he is able to rest peacefully.
@@nicklester6114 Seems like the potential for some very unfortunate tension and resentment, especially as noted with how he and his son later in life drifted due to their views on military and war. No parent can escape causing their children hurt, since none are perfect, but that level of anger/hatred/indifference to allow their parent to waste away lonely is heartbreaking. There seems to be no indication of horrid abuse on his behalf that would make that make sense.
His sad lonely end was his own doing by not discipling his own kids. He may have loved them, buy not enough to train them as they were growing up with discipline and that's why they grew apart from him, which led to his depression. There's more than one way to show love. Discipline is also a form of love, 'cause it trains children to grow straight and not turn them into thugs like there is so much in Chicago today. His kids probably hated him for NOT discipling them. They probably thought that he didn't care enough about them TO discipline them. Kids crave attention from their parents, whether good OR bad attention.. It's why they sometimes get into trouble and when Sobel didn't discipline them when they were young, they read that as hate from their dad. Even the book of Proverbs says that if a parent fails to discipline their child, then they hate their child, (cause, they don't care where their child's soul ends up in the end, 'heaven, or hell').
@@RogerOnTheRight he was recalled to Active Duty for Korea, and after that was National Guard (Reserves). He retired from the Guard at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. (But it is custom to call them Colonel in brevity).
All volunteers anyway the extra money motivated many to join Cant pick the officers just have to endure bad leadership! Nobody in their right mind would want to jump out of aircraft with a parachute Westmoreland mentioned that when He landed in a parachute jump he suffered concussion and when he was in hospital they summoned him To a psychiatrist to find out why he did it Anyway he phoned up a colleague And was released!
The tribe seems to make people ( goyim) hate them , no wonder they have been kicked out of every country they have ever been in, BDS israel free PALESTINE what no PALESTINIAN flag dew tube , the USS Liberty, 911 the dancing Israelis, the federal reserve, blood lible and pizza gate, Epstine and Maxwell Mosssd agents blackmailing their closest allies, it goes on and on pure evil psychopaths.
True, Dick Winters even says in his book that although Sobel was not equiped to lead men in battle, his tough and seemingly unfair treatment and constant physical training of the men led them to become the finest unit of the 101st. Although he is being portraied as a tyrant, he plays a big part in the succes of Easy Company.
I grew up in schools that were very much run like in the military, complete with corporal punishments. Every single school had one peculiar teacher who was the most sadistic and feared by all students. It took several years after graduation for me to realize this was all by design.
When I read the late Major Winters ' autobiography, he did say Sobel wasn't popular with his methods, but he did stick up for the men when higher command wanted to punish.
As a paratrooper i can honestly say, there are plenty of excellent trainers that made horrible leaders. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Nothing to be ashamed of. To his family: my sincere condolences. He did good. I'm sorry if he thought for one second that he wasn't a great officer. Look what he created and tell me he couldn't do the right thing . God bless him and his family
@thebowtiechaplain3399 and others, The reality can be people are kept in a comatose state for years using a feeding tube. It's a dreadful ending either way.
The series did the same to Pvt Blithe. He actually survived his gunshot wound to the neck and went on to do another combat jump into Korea. He ended up earning a Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars with Valor, and 3 Purple Hearts.
I'm rewatching this series ATM. At the end of the episode on Blithe it says he succumbed to his wounds in 1948. I believe this is incorrect. I thought the same as you, he went on to serve in Korea. Not sure where they got their information from.
@@ashpitcher3it's Stephen ambrose who wrote the book I've heard what he wasn't sure about he just made up stories such as blithes outcome saying he died in 48 or 47 he did indeed get a silver star in korea
@@ashpitcher3The members of Easy Company lost touch with him, and assumed he died. It’s only after the premiere of the series that his family reached out to say that the series didn’t get it right. Weird that it hasn’t been digitally changed, now that it’s possible on streaming services
Not really the same thing. Blythe story they just got completely wrong but Sobel was almost entirely accurate. We didn’t see much of him outside of jump and unit training so I don’t see what they could have got wrong.
@@glenturney4750 I advise you to go check out a grunts life. It really goes straight into the details of soldiers, wanting to kill another soldier because they hate them along with just incompetent commanding officers in the field. The story is about 2nd Lieutenant Vinny Murphy who tries to protect his Marines from two enemies, the Taliban and incompetent officers. 🤣🤣🤣 Sobel is the definition of officers that definitely don’t think before the consequences.
When you're going to war--especially against an experienced adversary such as the German Wehrmacht--Herbert Sobel is exactly what you need. A hard charger who doesn't need--or care--to hear about your feelings. May not have been the ideal CO to lead Easy Company into combat, yet he was most certainly the Right individual to prepare them for it.
@@robertparis5680yeah just imagine them doing the jumping out of a plane before D-day, market garden and battle of the bulge. Doubt a lot of them would've survived if not for Sobel (and Winters)
@@robertparis5680In those times i do believe that his method was an important factor in the success of easy company. Luckily we have learned from our past and we can train commanding officers who are tough and demanding without being cruel and unjust. Good CO will tell you what is demanded of you at any given time and what the purpose of your task is. Without purpose and reason many lessons will remain unlearned even when they are completed to perfection. One of the most important things in war is unity and loyalty. CO must be able to achieve these in order to command effective troops and Sobel never achieved this, his next in command did.
This changes my whole opinion of him. He was treated so badly at the end. May he rest in peace and his accomplishment will always be remembered and appreciated.
I feel the same way. I learned about Sobel's fate some 10 years ago. Im sure he suffered from Bipolar disorder or Borderline. Seems textbook definition of BPD. Those disorders were misunderstood back in the day, just written off like "he's an asshole". To this day it's hard to care for and treat through therapy. Poor guy.
I just realized through this video that I have something in common with Sobel. My Father was raised up Baptist. My Mother, Catholic. We had six kids, and we were raised up Catholic. Dad never went to Catholic Mass, and Mom didn't go to the Baptist church, although they both attended their perspective services every Sunday. Dad even became a member of Leadership in his Church, and after retiring from corporate life, volunteered for many years at a local hospital. Dad was always a Loving Father, and when he died from heart failure, He and Mom still were Very Loving towards each other. I had really outstanding parents. Dad died a dozen years ago, but Mom is still with us at 97 and still living an excellent life.
Thanks for sharing. I love true love stories. Sounds like you had a great upbringing. And congrats on still having your mom too! That’s a rarity in itself. I can’t wait to go Home myself to be with the Lord. I’m not particularly happy awakening each day, but seriously can’t even imagine having to live in this place for another 40+yrs. ugh.🤦🏻♀️ I’m 52 and already feel I’ve been here way too long. I’m happy for others tho, whom seem to be grateful for their longevity. I just can not relate is all. I feel guilty for those who mourn a particular life not being here anymore and often wonder why the Lord doesn’t allow some type of soul swapping. Cuz I’d gladly give myself up for someone who much rather remain here ya know? Anyhow, thanks again for sharing…it’s stories like yours that actually keep me going.☺️ 🙏✝️❤️✌️
His discipline and drive for perfection absolutely had a profound effect on the company. Getting through basic with him for sure banded the boys together.
It’s easy to judge from your couch as you watch the series, but this man was indeed responsible for a good training through discipline to his men…. What saved a bunch of them… his last years were not deserved considering the stress hardship and cruelty this man had endured… thank you for this piece..🙏🏻
discipline??? at what price??respect only comes with fair treatment for all, I would died for my 1sr lt. and would have killed my full commander, (same for my 12 yr. E5),ole USN vet
@@jimmyhaley727 yes discipline! We will never know the outcome if this man would not be in place at that time…. The point to me was more that a movie or series is often dramatized and therefor you create an opinion about a character. I also thought he was a d*ck but the outcome how the man lived his last years of his life was not deserved imo
Some are meant to train, others are meant to lead. In my 20 years in the Navy I've worked with both. Some realized it and played to that strength to support and defend. Others not so much and the command suffered because of it.
Couldn’t agree more, having done 5 1/2 in the navy (83-89) I experienced good and bad leadership. Had it not been for the bad, I would have made a career out of it…. It’s too bad because I really enjoyed military life style. Honor and purpose and mission, felt good!
Leading the whole unit min the field might have been out of his league, but on D-Day, Sobel parachuted into Normandy with the rest of the 101st Airborne Division as commander of the 506th's service company. Immediately after landing, Sobel assembled four men and destroyed a German machine gun nest with grenades before joining the rest of the division near Carentan.
All l heard was a story about a guy with a cruel father who tried to overcompensate with his own kids. If l was to speculate I'd guess that his kids eventually got sick of his expectations and demands, like a lot of kids with authoritarian fathers do.
@@truegileadoil8215: Why would I want to Google it? I got better things to do with my time, than hunt up information that's not important to me. And besides, I wasn't whining about it, but it sounds like you are, that I'm NOT Googling what's important to you? LOL! 🤣
@@glenturney4750As you were the One whining about insufficient information,, you need to Google it so your ignorance decreases, not increase as is your obvious habit. Such a silly child your mommy raised you to be.
It is sad how he even cared for the kids in his neighborhood and he loved his wife and kids and they abandoned him. It shows just how selfish and cruel people can be.
All of us veterans have served with guys like this. More rank than brains. You endure their bullsh*t until they're replaced by someone that knows how to be a real soldier, a real leader. God bless the greatest generation.
The Vietnam War caused so much division among friends and families, the whole country. It’s easy to imagine how protesting that war could have felt for many WW2 vets. I wonder how much that played a role in Sobel’s relationships with his sons.
Sobel’s training reminds me of “The Karate Kid”. Daniel hated “wax on, wax off”, etc. until he was shown how all of those tedious tasks were vital to his maturation & skill as a fighter. Thank you for bringing Sobel’s story to life…
Yeah 👍 Except that training is bull 💩 Did nothing more than exploit child labor 😂 You want to know how to be trained well at blocking? Starts by being shown blocking techniques.
He was a toxic leader. The entire company (120 or so men) disliked him. His CO disliked him. His NCO'S were willing to go to jail to get him removed. He was a terrible officer and not a leader at all. Those who serve know at least 1 Sobel during their service
Aaaah, I'm taking my bob dvd's out of storage for the coming 5th of may to re-watch the whole thing. I'm forever gratefull for the world's young men coming to europe's aid and will for ever respect and appreciate their sacrifice in a foreign continent. Love&greets from Amsterdam Holland
Sobel's problem was that he could not lead in the field. You can be a demanding SOB while training your men, but you better have your stuff together under fire. Sobel looked like a lost tourist instead of a company leader. When you think about it, Sobel probably wasn't that different from Gen. Patton. Patton was often cursed by his men. The difference was that Patton was a bold, competent leader who won the men's trust, so they would willingly (sometimes reluctantly) endure hardships for him. Casting Schwimmer to play Sobel in BOB was brilliant.
spoken like someone who knows so little about psychology, military leadership, or motivating teams yet is quick to hop oin the keyboard and speak like a self-imposed expert... ugh
Great story. Even when watching the series years ago on HBO, it’s plain to see his training, although harsh at times, is what kept these men together and saved many lives. The end of his life is heartbreaking.
I have no doubt that a lot of them men lived through the war because of this guy. Absolutely horrible that he died alone regardless of situation. He put family first yet was left at the first chance. Pulled my heart a little hearing that god rest your soul sir 🌹
Ah damn , at the end of the day he was a rather good man. Loyal husband , good father and a veteran. He deserved better , what a tragic life he had. May he rest in peace.
What a sad story. After watching B of B many times and reading up on Sobel i realized that E company was as tough as they were due to HIM. Setting aside his bad field tactics i think he understood that war doesn’t wait for u to finish dinner or get some rest after an 8 hr march and he trained his men to be animals in the face of the enemy. How else could they have held off the Germans at the Bulge with so few men against so many attacking? R.I.P Herbert Sobel. U deserved better.
Had a real asshole of an RSM in service. Nothing we did was right. We were never good, fit or clean enough. Always punished, always chased, always yelled at, always berated, humiliated and bullied. And damn did we end up knowing our jobs. To this day, he still haunts me - my boys and I ended up in a survival situation in the mountains. Just as they were giving up I told them "You have 60% more in you" - in exactly the same tone he used. And they, in fact we, did. We got through it. The bastard saved me and my kids in the end. It may not be likeable, it may not be nice, but damn me did cruelty fix a hardened streak in me when it was needed. Cheers, RSM.
The power of the command went to his head. You can be tough, but you can also be a real jerk in doing so. I have known officers this way and they would fear for their life when the ball dropped.
Had an E7 Tanker take over my Medic PLT while we were waiting for our new PSG to be assigned. He was harsh, demanding, but he whipped us into shape and we respected the hell out of that man. Great leader
To say Sobel was a complicated man is a huge understatement. There's little doubt Sobel wanted Easy to be the best. Whether his motivation was for his own self aggrandizement, ambition and ego or for the good of his men can and should be debated. I believe his men felt it was the former.
An excellent training officer to prepare men for the unpredictable horror and harshness of war. A training regiment that probably saved many of their lives but thank God he did not lead them into battle.
We have to remember that he was a very young man in a very important position having to prepare even younger men for the fight of their lives. Obviously, he wasn't qualified for field command and his training methods were less than ideal. But I never got the sense that he was trying to do anything other than the best job he could, as he saw it.
He's a good example of the different roles people can play. It's sad that his family had a falling out, he seem to been a good dad. Perfect? None of us are, but he did have his positive sides. Good video.
Yes but you have to love your kids unconditionally which means no matter what their political views are or whatever you still support them 100%. There is no reason to ever disown disown your child I don't care how good of a father you are in the if you disown them You are nothing but a big old bag of POS.
Captain Herbert Sobel, although not liked by his men, trained them hard, and may have been the reason many succeeded... it was interesting to hear about his background.
Truly a sad ending to a life. But, I can't but think that Sobol's intra-family relationships were not as nice as the video says and/or implies. His wife , on whom he reportedly doted divorced him. His children abandoned him to die alone. I think that he was a deeply troubled person with unresolved issues. Sad.
Captain Sobel made that unit. Winters and the others that trained under him and their families should pay eternal respects and thanks for what Sobel did for each man under his charge in Easy Company. Every unit in training needs a Captain Sobel. He was the reason Easy was so successful, a wonderful loving father, and got nothing in return for his efforts. God Bless you Herbert, rest in peace.
@@gunsforevery1 Have you ever been in the military Sobel was hated the men actually made that unit! A leader that is hated and not respected does nothing for a unit!! The men and ncos joined together out of hate is what made the unit!
@@slayer6936Have you? I was an NCO. I've also read the book "Band of Brothers". In the book Ambrose quotes EVERY MEMBER of Easy Co. as stating that Sobel's strict training regimen is what made them the soldiers that they were.
@@slayer6936 I did serve. What’s next? Going to ask what branch and MOS so you can say that I didn’t really serve? I was a 19k in the U.S. Army. Where did I give any indication that he wasn’t hated? Where did I give any indication that he was respected by his men? I said he hardened them. He made them who they were. How? By his cruel nature. He didn’t let his NCOs lead. Have you even read Dick Winters book? Not “Band of Brothers” by Stephen Ambrose, but Dick Winters “Beyond Band of Brothers”? He constantly said that sobel always found chicken shit things to do to men because he was a cruel person. His cruelty hardened them. His over the top training regimen hardened them. The men bonded and formed a brotherhood over their hatred for him. Their hatred of him, hardened them. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t make them who they turned out to be. Every man in easy company who survived the war credited Sobels training tough treatment as the reason why they survived. He did so much more than you think. Now if he had lead them into Normandy and beyond, he and all the men would be dead because of his shitty leadership.
It is my belief that Sobel’s training prepared the men of Easy Company better than any other training they could have received… for that one fact, they owe him a debt of gratitude
agree that he was a good trainer who does fully deserve credit for making those men as tough as they were, but its seems at the time his skill as a field commander left much to desire and its clear he didn't care about the morale of his men and seems like he tried to undermine Winters because he was sacred of being undermine by him.....that's why Easy company refused to follow him into combat. At least he left his military personality in the military and was a decent father and husband even though it sounds like too many of his family stab him in the back.
@@mr.s2005 General McClellan in the US Civil War was noted as an excellent General when it came to developing the training that shaped raw recruits into good soldiers, but that is where his talent ended. He was a lousy Field General. In that he and Sobel were alike.
@@dunno6066 Well put. Everyone will see these things if you stay in long. I out grew hate of some leaders that deserved it and they matured. I had some undisciplined units hate me when I came from the Paratroopers and could care less and in the first few firefights the whispers were like "he was right all the time." And in between. The best lesson I can share on Leadership is that NO MAN is God. Mistakes and imperfections will be made by all. Your brothers correcting you in a helpful and positive way are what corporate beeces spend millions on signs to hang on the wall and will never understand. Salute.
I’ve read many of the comments and understand that the age range of the people reading this comment spans the generations. Concerning his character though, one telling thing I’ve picked up about Sobel is that even though he did some good things, no one, not even his family, respected him. Respect goes hand-in-hand with love for a man.
Thank you, Capt. Sobel, your choice in Training technique might have been unwarranted at times, and controversial, but the results are undeniable, I like to believe you learned something from Easy Co. and they intern did also, at the end of the day Victory was attained, and that's all that matters. I would also like to thank you for your service in Korea, already being a WW2 veteran you were free to deny service in a combat theater, but you went, because you were a soldier, and you knew where a soldier belonged. Once again THANK YOU & God Bless.
I tried to watch this series as a kid, it was on TV at like 11pm if i remember correctly. Id go to school exhausted but felt like i was learning something important.
This man served his country and commanded a highly distinguished platoon. He is a hero, along with all that serve this great nation. No man is perfect and no man is an island.
They portrayed all that pretty well in the series. But I thought watching the series that it was Sobel's hard training and the men's dislike for him that really made Easy company what it was. A very tough and united outfit. Sobel does deserve at minimum some credit there. Sad how his life ended up. Something happened there to cause an attempted suicide and no contact from his family.
I do not know what motivated sobel to be as he was, but if it was to better the compagnie he deserves credit, but if he did it solely to further his own career he deserves the hatred he got despite how it helped easy, based on the book and movie it was the latter
@@dannyexalto-753 Listening to how he was with his kids made me think it’s the former. I think his portrayal in the book and movies probably came from most in the company. Remember, history is most likely written by the victors.
That method of training to make the subordinates dislike you remind me of Dirty Dozen (I think). In one part of the movie, the officer who trained them explained that to another.
I must say that while listening to the documentary I was hoping that he was going to enjoy a long and peaceful life after his retirement after giving so much to his family. Im saddened to learn this. Despite his professional short commings I dont think he deserved such a terrible end to his life 😢
Having been deployed myself. I hated leaders that where like this, but seeing teams and groups that lack discipline and ability to survive the toughest of conditions typically failing training exercises. You see their leaders and it all makes sense. It takes a very unique person to take on a role like Cap. The point is to increase survival and push your men to ascend their situational awareness beyond their normal capacity. At the moment I hated how we where trained but glad it got us through toughest of situations.
I can feel for Sobel....when you are hard on your soldiers, they never appreciate the basis of the approach. Its for the future. Poorly trained men are easily sacrificed
@@neverpc4404 if he was too soft on the men they wouldn’t have known what was coming next. He was mean, but nothing compared to a battlefield. He disciplined the men. Had he been too soft the men wouldn’t have been mentally prepared
I had an officer in the Marines like him and we nicknamed him Skeleletor because his face look like a skull. But his physical training and mental tough training… I enjoyed because I knew if we were sent to fight a war … we would be ready. The enemy is not nice so I believe in training that builds physical fitness and mental toughness. Sobel I believe got East company ready for the war ahead.
Its unfortunate he received such a bad reputation. People have different skill sets, where he failed as a leader in the field he excelled as a trainer. He should be recognized for his great contribution to our country.
We sometimes hate the people that made us the strongest. Hopefully the day comes when we realize that those people we hated were there just to make us hate them and get strong. They were never there to be our friends or buddies, only to make us the best we can be!
That just broke my heart. He had good intentions it's hard to be the leader we dream about being. No soldier, should pass on like that. I hope he found peace and knows now many men lived and excelled after the war in part because of what he did
This is a lesson in how important it is to know yourself, and realize your own shortcomings and either work on them and perhaps improve or just accept oneself and do what you can do best (while avoiding hurting others due to one owns shortcomings). Its sometimes a harsh pill to swallow, but it wont help you refusing the medicine.
Being a veteran ,I believe That Captain Sobel cared so deeply for the men he trained and wanted them to survive so badly that he chose to be hated and lonely in exchange for his men to be the best trained men in the war, I could be wrong ,but I have witnessed men who I personally knew were good hearted train their soldiers and be very harsh and unforgiving of mistakes because they simply cared deeply for those young men and wanted them to have the best chance of survival and thus endured the hatred or maybe a STRONG dislike from those they trained. If you have never served ,you probably wont understand.
"As we train in peace is as we fight in war" He is undoubtedly responsible for so many men getting through at least the first part of the war alive. I agree that the dramatization in HBO's production is perhaps a bit one-sided - and I am sure that several of the men in the EASY company owe him a silent thank you. Glory be to his memory!
A training officers job is not to be loved.... it is to get the troops ready to WIN in battle.... in fact being to close to the troops is a bad thing as an element of fear and respect is needed. RIP Sobel my thanks for your service.
He wasn't just a training officer. He was going to lead the entire company to their deaths in combat due to sheer incompetence as a leader. He couldn't even read a map.
As an ex serving soldier I disagree, maybe in basic training, but at regular units definitely not. As a leader its better to be respected than feared. If Sobel took Easy company into combat he would have got a bullet to the back of the head and be counted as KIA.
An old Russian Army saying goes, "The more you sweat training, the less you bleed fighting". I held grudges over harsh treatment by my commanders in my younger Army years only to realize some of those old grumpy bastards saved my life during the wars I went to.
Winters turned out to be a hero and possibly saved many lives with his leadership. How many great soldiers like Winters were successfully discarded by men like Sobel?
@@mikewood4242 It was Alexander Suvorov, the Russian Field Marshall, long before Patton was born. Suvorov coined more than one, in fact, but this one is one of his best. Actually, he landed in trouble more than once for his sharp tongue and his ability to argue with the Empress Catherine the Great, and more so with her successor Paul, who even dismissed Suvorov only to reinstate him for his military talents.
@@mikewood4242 Patton's war career was way shorter than that of Suvorov, and his military record can only shine with the likes of him in the background. The saying about blood and sweat goes down centuries back, but it was first put in a book of good military practices by Suvorov, the Russian war leader of the 18th century. Suvorov's military career lasted over 50 years!
Don’t know why they put a “viewer discretion” warning up for this video? Silly. What a strange man, but undeniably a hero in my mind, simply for the fact he prepared those paratroopers to perform an unimaginable task. Schwimmer played the part well in the HBO series. I find it a little hard to believe that what was such a almost storybook family life, fell-apart so quickly over his son’s protest of the Vietnam war. I bet there is more to it.
They all agreed he was a great husband and father. The wife he doted on divorced him. No one from his family attended his funeral. Speechless.
That is crazy. How ungrateful we have become as Americans. As much of a jackhole of a commander as he seemed no one deserves to be abandoned at the end of their life. 😢
@@cooper7354 it's not an American thing. But it is sad,I now have respect for this man
Maybe he wasn't that great then.
Maybe there's something we don't know?
He was an asshole as a father as well, but they tried at least not to destroy him totally
Even watching the series, I thought that Sobel tough training made the men tougher. And making the men hate him oddly enough brought the men closer together. Thank you Sobel.
I thought the same. I don't say this to knock Maj. Winters’ leadership. But Sobels’ toughness likely contributed to Winters’ cohesion with his unit and contributed to his leadership success. Sobel seems like a man of strong principles and conviction that could be unwavering to a fault. I’d say HBO probably displayed Winters’ in an overly favorable light and did some disservice to Sobel.That being said, I have all the respect in the world for all of them.
@WPFD451 mayne brought them closer, but Major Winters was a far better tactician and combat leader.
Hamas is funded by bb
I am also reminded of the sergeant major in generation kill that was hassling everyone about their mustaches. There was a point in the series where morale was flagging, and he offered to go around and harass everyone about the grooming standard to serve as a common enemy for the men.
It's not a commander's job to be a friend to his subordinates
His training was indeed tough and ultimately saved lives. Part of what made Easy company such a tight unit was the fact that they banded together with their collective dislike of his treatment.
As a former Drill Sergeant, I understand his methods, I don't agree with the extent of some of his methods, but understand them.
I was the 101st like on your comment lol
Yes I agree, it was not accident that Easy company ended up the crack team that it was, no thanks to Captain Sobel's bastardry. It was this punishing training that prepared them for what was to come, and I believe he had the men's welfare at heart, like when he ordered the pouring out of the canteens.
He said to Dick Winters this is Easy company, meaning - this is a special squad and it's mine. He knew they were not headed for a Sunday school picnic.
God speed Captain Sobel , because of you they were a bunch of bad asses.
he pushed them too far. it was all stick and never a carrot so he lost their respect. years later the enlisted men who came through the war actually credited him with giving them such good conditioning. supposedly aft BoB aired his sister showed up at a reunion and it fell to Guarniere (sp?) to explain the truth to her about her brother. the officers never got over their contempt for sobel.
Agreed. Civilians don't understand that he knew that all those extra push ups and runs would make them stronger when it was about to matter most. A captain once told my unit that he didn't want to lay in bed at night knowing he could have done more that day, and those words have always carried with me. You can party ot 7p and when the time comes to act, your body will fail you, or you grind these men and women into something better, tougher, more resilient to what they may face one day. The ultimate form of "you'd rather have it and not need it, I stead of needing g it and not having it". He sacrificed his friendships for their futures. Its a good trade all day. Sad how he ended up, as many great men do.
Some of the best military commanders in history understood that fear and resentment can be powerful motivators. sometimes to prepare men for what combat will unleash upon them you need to be brutal.
The side in a fight that turns around and runs first will always lose. His training helped those men learn how to hunker down and weather the storm.
There must be more to this story. Going from a loving father to not agreeing with his kids protest of the Vietnam war then dying alone with his wife divorcing him leaves a lot of gapes in the story
Agree completely
It’s hard to not make some assumptions when there’s a doting husband who attempted suicide and was then sent into care and divorced.
Yeah something missing for sure.
@@curtismantleit's very hard not to make assumptions. Although I am finding it difficult to make them about Herbert.
Yeah, there always ARE gaps. Important information that's needed to paint a clearer picture.
Nice tribute. I had read that some of the men of Easy Company, after the war, realized how Sobel’s training helped them survive the war. Several tried to get Sobel to attend post war gatherings of Easy Company but he never went. If he had gone, perhaps some healing could have occurred on all sides.
Thats possible, and well said. Dislike by a training officer is part of the process, train hard fight easy (sort of speak) Bottom line,good or bad, this officer helped make the unit what it became,...a bar and standard that any that serve strive to be. May history hold judgement against this man.. when a nation needed him , he did as he thought best to train the best possible. We can have pity on how his life came to a end. But a nation should not dismiss what he did accomplish.
he had an important job and in many ways he excelled at it. his superiors realized his strengths and made sure to take advantage of them while removing his authority in areas of weakness. that is the definition of an effective chain of command. Sobels biggest weakness was not realizing his own weaknesses but in the end, he loved his country and he probably saved lives and for that he should be honored. 🇺🇲
His training may have helped some original Easy Company members survive, but their survival is also because he wasn't in command of Easy Company during real combat operations. Not a single one of them would have survived if he led them in combat, and Easy's NCO's knew that long before D-Day.
@@superstraighthhwhitemale8880 correct. see my comment above.
My son always says that what he learned from his DI's at Parris Island saved his life more than once in Iraq and Afghanistan. 18 of those in his company weren't so lucky.
This was the Role that opened my eyes to how GOOD of an actor David Schwimmer really is........
A regular duffic
Pivot!!!!!
Like many Hollywood actors, he's great when being directed by someone who knows how to direct, and when given a character to play who actually has some degree of depth as an antagonist.
No kidding.
Never remotely a fan of Schwimmer, seen him in plays and such never a fan at all nor liked his work in Bob, thought he was playing his actual self, unlikeable, arrogant
Having read Band of Brothers and Richard Winters book, Beyond Band of Brothers, they did reach out to Sobel after the war, to invite him to the reunions, but he apparently declined. Despite the antagonisms between everyone, they did recognize that Sobel did make easy company.
Yeah but he didn`t want to go to the reunions. Why? I think he couldn`t let the pass behind so i think he was a resentful person. Another question i have is why his family left him is he was such a great man. I think this video tries to sell a better side of him, but i don`t buy it.
@@jackprescott9652
There is absolutely some merit to the idea he was a very hard man. I mean as you stated if he was so great then why did no members of his family attend his funeral? Why did his wife divorce him etc
His story is a very sad one but there’s more to this story that just isn’t public.
@@jackprescott9652maybe he felt akward to meet them because all guy from easy company doing well without him while
just respect someone has passaway
@@Aviator-Chicken The concept of PTSD was relatively unknown back then. Sobel had trouble coping with it and vented in the worst way, towards his family. Despite all the medical advancements in the past century, we still have no real way to determine how damaged a brain is both physical and psychological.
At the core he was obviously a good man. Did he have his flaws and shortcomings? Absolutely. We all do. But he certainly didn't deserve such a sad, lonely end. I hope he is able to rest peacefully.
To be left alone to starve to death by the children you bought up so lovingly, jee wiz, what the hell happened there,thoughts?
Well said Michael. A perfect response.
@@nicklester6114 Seems like the potential for some very unfortunate tension and resentment, especially as noted with how he and his son later in life drifted due to their views on military and war. No parent can escape causing their children hurt, since none are perfect, but that level of anger/hatred/indifference to allow their parent to waste away lonely is heartbreaking. There seems to be no indication of horrid abuse on his behalf that would make that make sense.
@Michael Wilts yes I agree, all very sad
His sad lonely end was his own doing by not discipling his own kids. He may have loved them, buy not enough to train them as they were growing up with discipline and that's why they grew apart from him, which led to his depression. There's more than one way to show love. Discipline is also a form of love, 'cause it trains children to grow straight and not turn them into thugs like there is so much in Chicago today. His kids probably hated him for NOT discipling them. They probably thought that he didn't care enough about them TO discipline them. Kids crave attention from their parents, whether good OR bad attention.. It's why they sometimes get into trouble and when Sobel didn't discipline them when they were young, they read that as hate from their dad. Even the book of Proverbs says that if a parent fails to discipline their child, then they hate their child, (cause, they don't care where their child's soul ends up in the end, 'heaven, or hell').
Now for once this was a truly sad and undeserved ending and not just clickbait. RIP Col. Sobel.
How did he become a colonel, if he left the army at the end of the war as a captain? Something missing here.
@@RogerOnTheRight he was recalled to Active Duty for Korea, and after that was National Guard (Reserves). He retired from the Guard at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. (But it is custom to call them Colonel in brevity).
Yeah, it kind of was click bate. The series paints him out to be a terrible person, yet this video showed he was actually a really decent guy
@@stephenb2276He was a terrible person to his troops.
@@stephenb2276 treated his soldiers like shit and his family disliked him so much he died alone? Yeah sounds like a great guy
Some of the Easy Company guys said that it was their hatred of Sobel that kept them united and motivated to not give up.
....so in that sense, he did a great job! 😂
All volunteers anyway the extra money motivated many to join
Cant pick the officers just have to endure bad leadership!
Nobody in their right mind would want to jump out of aircraft with a parachute
Westmoreland mentioned that when
He landed in a parachute jump he suffered concussion and when he was in hospital they summoned him
To a psychiatrist to find out why he did it
Anyway he phoned up a colleague
And was released!
The tribe seems to make people ( goyim) hate them , no wonder they have been kicked out of every country they have ever been in, BDS israel free PALESTINE what no PALESTINIAN flag dew tube , the USS Liberty, 911 the dancing Israelis, the federal reserve, blood lible and pizza gate, Epstine and Maxwell Mosssd agents blackmailing their closest allies, it goes on and on pure evil psychopaths.
True, Dick Winters even says in his book that although Sobel was not equiped to lead men in battle, his tough and seemingly unfair treatment and constant physical training of the men led them to become the finest unit of the 101st. Although he is being portraied as a tyrant, he plays a big part in the succes of Easy Company.
I grew up in schools that were very much run like in the military, complete with corporal punishments. Every single school had one peculiar teacher who was the most sadistic and feared by all students. It took several years after graduation for me to realize this was all by design.
When I read the late Major Winters ' autobiography, he did say Sobel wasn't popular with his methods, but he did stick up for the men when higher command wanted to punish.
As a paratrooper i can honestly say, there are plenty of excellent trainers that made horrible leaders. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Nothing to be ashamed of. To his family: my sincere condolences. He did good. I'm sorry if he thought for one second that he wasn't a great officer. Look what he created and tell me he couldn't do the right thing . God bless him and his family
All the way, Airborne
Sobel was, probably, Schwimmer's finest role.
Certainlyh Was
@@jamesbarker2567*Certainly and not Certainlyh.
@@hellomoto2084 Yes Captain
I agree. as a veteran I felt sorry for him because of Schwimmer's portrayal.
No probably, he suited the role amazingly.
This story breaks my heart...how can a veteran died of malnutrition in a nursing home.
He tried to commit suicide before ... dit it occur to you that he might have deliberately refused food?
@@TheOBOM Show some respect troll.
@@TheOBOM still shouldn't have happened in a supervised nursing home
@thebowtiechaplain3399 and others, The reality can be people are kept in a comatose state for years using a feeding tube. It's a dreadful ending either way.
@@fuckhandles1233 I tend to totaly agree with you there, however: I have no knowledge about the situation in US regarding staffing in nursing homes.
The series did the same to Pvt Blithe. He actually survived his gunshot wound to the neck and went on to do another combat jump into Korea. He ended up earning a Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars with Valor, and 3 Purple Hearts.
I'm rewatching this series ATM. At the end of the episode on Blithe it says he succumbed to his wounds in 1948. I believe this is incorrect.
I thought the same as you, he went on to serve in Korea.
Not sure where they got their information from.
@@ashpitcher3it's Stephen ambrose who wrote the book I've heard what he wasn't sure about he just made up stories such as blithes outcome saying he died in 48 or 47 he did indeed get a silver star in korea
@@ashpitcher3The members of Easy Company lost touch with him, and assumed he died. It’s only after the premiere of the series that his family reached out to say that the series didn’t get it right. Weird that it hasn’t been digitally changed, now that it’s possible on streaming services
Not really the same thing. Blythe story they just got completely wrong but Sobel was almost entirely accurate. We didn’t see much of him outside of jump and unit training so I don’t see what they could have got wrong.
Hollywood movies are pure propaganda...All the description at the end of the movie U-571 turned out to be lies.
What a heart breaking end. The part where he made pancakes for the neighborhood kids broke my heart. RIP Captain.
@@glenturney4750 Awwww looky here folks, another example of a whiny little loser in life. Typical from this sort.
@@glenturney4750 I advise you to go check out a grunts life. It really goes straight into the details of soldiers, wanting to kill another soldier because they hate them along with just incompetent commanding officers in the field. The story is about 2nd Lieutenant Vinny Murphy who tries to protect his Marines from two enemies, the Taliban and incompetent officers. 🤣🤣🤣 Sobel is the definition of officers that definitely don’t think before the consequences.
Which captain? He wasn’t a captain at the end of his career
@@azb3728 Ah you're right Lieutenant Colonel
Why are the replies so cringe?
When you're going to war--especially against an experienced adversary such as the German Wehrmacht--Herbert Sobel is exactly what you need. A hard charger who doesn't need--or care--to hear about your feelings. May not have been the ideal CO to lead Easy Company into combat, yet he was most certainly the Right individual to prepare them for it.
No it’s not.
Sobel's training is needed. But him leading the company? Yeah... its... just not.
@@Shushus-cz9lkoh I guess they need to be soft. And hope the battle hardened germans take it easy on them.
@@robertparis5680yeah just imagine them doing the jumping out of a plane before D-day, market garden and battle of the bulge. Doubt a lot of them would've survived if not for Sobel (and Winters)
@@robertparis5680In those times i do believe that his method was an important factor in the success of easy company.
Luckily we have learned from our past and we can train commanding officers who are tough and demanding without being cruel and unjust.
Good CO will tell you what is demanded of you at any given time and what the purpose of your task is. Without purpose and reason many lessons will remain unlearned even when they are completed to perfection.
One of the most important things in war is unity and loyalty. CO must be able to achieve these in order to command effective troops and Sobel never achieved this, his next in command did.
This changes my whole opinion of him. He was treated so badly at the end. May he rest in peace and his accomplishment will always be remembered and appreciated.
I feel the same way. I learned about Sobel's fate some 10 years ago. Im sure he suffered from Bipolar disorder or Borderline. Seems textbook definition of BPD. Those disorders were misunderstood back in the day, just written off like "he's an asshole". To this day it's hard to care for and treat through therapy. Poor guy.
I just realized through this video that I have something in common with Sobel. My Father was raised up Baptist. My Mother, Catholic. We had six kids, and we were raised up Catholic. Dad never went to Catholic Mass, and Mom
didn't go to the Baptist church, although they both attended their perspective services every Sunday. Dad even
became a member of Leadership in his Church, and after retiring from corporate life, volunteered for many years
at a local hospital. Dad was always a Loving Father, and when he died from heart failure, He and Mom still were
Very Loving towards each other. I had really outstanding parents. Dad died a dozen years ago, but Mom is still
with us at 97 and still living an excellent life.
Thanks for sharing.
I love true love stories.
Sounds like you had a great upbringing.
And congrats on still having your mom too! That’s a rarity in itself.
I can’t wait to go Home myself to be with the Lord.
I’m not particularly happy awakening each day, but seriously can’t even imagine having to live in this place for another 40+yrs.
ugh.🤦🏻♀️
I’m 52 and already feel I’ve been here way too long.
I’m happy for others tho, whom seem to be grateful for their longevity.
I just can not relate is all.
I feel guilty for those who mourn a particular life not being here anymore and often wonder why the Lord doesn’t allow some type of soul swapping.
Cuz I’d gladly give myself up for someone who much rather remain here ya know?
Anyhow, thanks again for sharing…it’s stories like yours that actually keep me going.☺️
🙏✝️❤️✌️
His discipline and drive for perfection absolutely had a profound effect on the company. Getting through basic with him for sure banded the boys together.
They had all been through basic before arriving at E company. They were all infantryman who signed up to be part of an airborne unit.
He lied about a subordinate officer out of jealousy
It’s easy to judge from your couch as you watch the series, but this man was indeed responsible for a good training through discipline to his men…. What saved a bunch of them… his last years were not deserved considering the stress hardship and cruelty this man had endured… thank you for this piece..🙏🏻
discipline??? at what price??respect only comes with fair treatment for all, I would died for my 1sr lt. and would have killed my full commander, (same for my 12 yr. E5),ole USN vet
@@jimmyhaley727 yes discipline! We will never know the outcome if this man would not be in place at that time…. The point to me was more that a movie or series is often dramatized and therefor you create an opinion about a character. I also thought he was a d*ck but the outcome how the man lived his last years of his life was not deserved imo
Dude they hated him. @@Mark-vf8op
Some are meant to train, others are meant to lead. In my 20 years in the Navy I've worked with both. Some realized it and played to that strength to support and defend. Others not so much and the command suffered because of it.
Couldn’t agree more, having done 5 1/2 in the navy (83-89) I experienced good and bad leadership. Had it not been for the bad, I would have made a career out of it…. It’s too bad because I really enjoyed military life style. Honor and purpose and mission, felt good!
Leading the whole unit min the field might have been out of his league, but on D-Day, Sobel parachuted into Normandy with the rest of the 101st Airborne Division as commander of the 506th's service company. Immediately after landing, Sobel assembled four men and destroyed a German machine gun nest with grenades before joining the rest of the division near Carentan.
@@bassuverkropp1525THAT is leadership!
Something awfully strange went on about the time his kids left the house. There is, as they say, much more to this story.
Exactly what I'm thinking.
All l heard was a story about a guy with a cruel father who tried to overcompensate with his own kids. If l was to speculate I'd guess that his kids eventually got sick of his expectations and demands, like a lot of kids with authoritarian fathers do.
There always is
Good to hear the entire story of his life. Rest in peace
This WASN'T the entire story. This was the Reader's Digest version. Lots of gaps and unanswered questions.
@@glenturney4750 well just Google it, and stop your whining.
@@truegileadoil8215: Why would I want to Google it? I got better things to do with my time, than hunt up information that's not important to me. And besides, I wasn't whining about it, but it sounds like you are, that I'm NOT Googling what's important to you? LOL! 🤣
@@glenturney4750As you were the One whining about insufficient information,, you need to Google it so your ignorance decreases, not increase as is your obvious habit. Such a silly child your mommy raised you to be.
@@glenturney4750 cry more
It is sad how he even cared for the kids in his neighborhood and he loved his wife and kids and they abandoned him. It shows just how selfish and cruel people can be.
Some people ride their life in a pain we or their loved ones never knew.
I guess
Unless there's something behind the scenes we weren't told then yeah that's pretty heartless.
Or maybe it shows just how unbearable he was. If he was truly a good man ppl would've showed up for him.
guarantee sobel and his family regularly freaked out about sobel’s goy wife and kids
They couldn't stand dealing with him.
All of us veterans have served with guys like this. More rank than brains. You endure their bullsh*t until they're replaced by someone that knows how to be a real soldier, a real leader. God bless the greatest generation.
What doesn't kill you, will make you stronger. Captain Sobel knew that when he trained the Easy Company.
Such a sad end for an essentially decent man. No-one in care should die of malnutrition. No-one with family should die alone and abandoned.
It’s one of the most heartbreaking stories I’ve ever heard.
Doesn't matter how and what Sobel was. He instilled discipline in Easy company and thats what kept them alive!
The Vietnam War caused so much division among friends and families, the whole country. It’s easy to imagine how protesting that war could have felt for many WW2 vets. I wonder how much that played a role in Sobel’s relationships with his sons.
Sobel’s training reminds me of “The Karate Kid”. Daniel hated “wax on, wax off”, etc. until he was shown how all of those tedious tasks were vital to his maturation & skill as a fighter.
Thank you for bringing Sobel’s story to life…
Maturation...
Perhaps Sobel should've EXPLAINED his reasons to his men, but instead he just kept belittling them and being cruel.
Yeah 👍
Except that training is bull 💩
Did nothing more than exploit child labor 😂
You want to know how to be trained well at blocking?
Starts by being shown blocking techniques.
He was a toxic leader. The entire company (120 or so men) disliked him. His CO disliked him. His NCO'S were willing to go to jail to get him removed. He was a terrible officer and not a leader at all. Those who serve know at least 1 Sobel during their service
@@glenturney4750you're soft
Thanks for a decent tribute to one who had a truly sad ending.
Aaaah,
I'm taking my bob dvd's out of storage for the coming 5th of may to re-watch the whole thing.
I'm forever gratefull for the world's young men coming to europe's aid and will for ever respect and appreciate their sacrifice in a foreign continent.
Love&greets from Amsterdam Holland
I remember reading about his life years ago. Being a good family man is tough sometimes, but when you do it right it shows true character.
He was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.
No, guaranteed he was not.
@@alexlarsson2163 you don't think.
Sobel's problem was that he could not lead in the field. You can be a demanding SOB while training your men, but you better have your stuff together under fire. Sobel looked like a lost tourist instead of a company leader. When you think about it, Sobel probably wasn't that different from Gen. Patton. Patton was often cursed by his men. The difference was that Patton was a bold, competent leader who won the men's trust, so they would willingly (sometimes reluctantly) endure hardships for him. Casting Schwimmer to play Sobel in BOB was brilliant.
I wonder how they picked him for that job? It was such a good fit.
That and he thought he was better then his men and didn’t mind fucking people over
You can add McArthur (Dugout Doug) to that list as well.
@@KonaLife who did Doug better. Tommoy Lee jones or Gregory peck?
spoken like someone who knows so little about psychology, military leadership, or motivating teams yet is quick to hop oin the keyboard and speak like a self-imposed expert... ugh
Great story. Even when watching the series years ago on HBO, it’s plain to see his training, although harsh at times, is what kept these men together and saved many lives. The end of his life is heartbreaking.
A man who lived to serve. May he rest in peace.
Being a great dad is the greatest award any man could hope to achieve.
No it’s not being a righteous man is. Your probably an atheist.
Hope to find out one day
Pffft
I have no doubt that a lot of them men lived through the war because of this guy. Absolutely horrible that he died alone regardless of situation.
He put family first yet was left at the first chance.
Pulled my heart a little hearing that god rest your soul sir 🌹
Ah damn , at the end of the day he was a rather good man. Loyal husband , good father and a veteran. He deserved better , what a tragic life he had. May he rest in peace.
What a sad story. After watching B of B many times and reading up on Sobel i realized that E company was as tough as they were due to HIM. Setting aside his bad field tactics i think he understood that war doesn’t wait for u to finish dinner or get some rest after an 8 hr march and he trained his men to be animals in the face of the enemy. How else could they have held off the Germans at the Bulge with so few men against so many attacking? R.I.P Herbert Sobel. U deserved better.
Had a real asshole of an RSM in service.
Nothing we did was right. We were never good, fit or clean enough.
Always punished, always chased, always yelled at, always berated, humiliated and bullied.
And damn did we end up knowing our jobs.
To this day, he still haunts me - my boys and I ended up in a survival situation in the mountains.
Just as they were giving up I told them "You have 60% more in you" - in exactly the same tone he used. And they, in fact we, did. We got through it.
The bastard saved me and my kids in the end.
It may not be likeable, it may not be nice, but damn me did cruelty fix a hardened streak in me when it was needed.
Cheers, RSM.
The power of the command went to his head. You can be tough, but you can also be a real jerk in doing so. I have known officers this way and they would fear for their life when the ball dropped.
RIP
Herbert Sobel
(1912-1987)
This story broke my heart:( RIP Lt. Col. Sobel
Had an E7 Tanker take over my Medic PLT while we were waiting for our new PSG to be assigned. He was harsh, demanding, but he whipped us into shape and we respected the hell out of that man. Great leader
That is very sad, it seems like he was doing good for years and I wonder what really made him go down that dark road.
His son became a democrat. Truly sad. I could only imagine.
@@Kennypowers51 yeah must've broken his heart to have a son protesting a stupid war built on lies that resulted in thousands maimed and killed. F off.
@@Kennypowers51 his son was arrested protesting at the democratic convention and that's where their fallout began you muppet
@@Kennypowers51put some respect on that man’s family, knucklehead. He clearly was a loving and devoted father
To say Sobel was a complicated man is a huge understatement. There's little doubt Sobel wanted Easy to be the best. Whether his motivation was for his own self aggrandizement, ambition and ego or for the good of his men can and should be debated. I believe his men felt it was the former.
He definitely deserves respect for making Easy the toughest ever
We do not all become the man we wished to be.
An excellent training officer to prepare men for the unpredictable horror and harshness of war. A training regiment that probably saved many of their lives but thank God he did not lead them into battle.
Even though he was harsh on Easy company, he prepared them very well and taught them how to survive
We have to remember that he was a very young man in a very important position having to prepare even younger men for the fight of their lives. Obviously, he wasn't qualified for field command and his training methods were less than ideal. But I never got the sense that he was trying to do anything other than the best job he could, as he saw it.
He's a good example of the different roles people can play. It's sad that his family had a falling out, he seem to been a good dad. Perfect? None of us are, but he did have his positive sides. Good video.
Yes but you have to love your kids unconditionally which means no matter what their political views are or whatever you still support them 100%. There is no reason to ever disown disown your child I don't care how good of a father you are in the if you disown them You are nothing but a big old bag of POS.
there is always another side to every story I am glad to see this has been brought out.his treatment at the end of his life is the same as many vets.
I understand this speech very much.
Takes much love to love a devoted military.
The job eats their happines.
Captain Herbert Sobel, although not liked by his men, trained them hard, and may have been the reason many succeeded... it was interesting to hear about his background.
We have the most powerful military in the world, yet as a whole we treat our veterans like second class citizens.
Gotta say.... frigging spot on casting of Sobel on BOB
Truly a sad ending to a life. But, I can't but think that Sobol's intra-family relationships were not as nice as the video says and/or implies. His wife , on whom he reportedly doted divorced him. His children abandoned him to die alone. I think that he was a deeply troubled person with unresolved issues. Sad.
I’m estranged from my narcissistic father. He’s not going to change, and I don’t care to join him in his bubble of non-reality.
Captain Sobel made that unit. Winters and the others that trained under him and their families should pay eternal respects and thanks for what Sobel did for each man under his charge in Easy Company. Every unit in training needs a Captain Sobel. He was the reason Easy was so successful, a wonderful loving father, and got nothing in return for his efforts. God Bless you Herbert, rest in peace.
Have you ever served??? It is the NCOs that makes a unit!!
@SLAYER 69 Sobel hardened the men. He was responsible for all their training and discipline. He didn’t let his NCOs lead.
@@gunsforevery1 Have you ever been in the military Sobel was hated the men actually made that unit! A leader that is hated and not respected does nothing for a unit!! The men and ncos joined together out of hate is what made the unit!
@@slayer6936Have you?
I was an NCO. I've also read the book "Band of Brothers".
In the book Ambrose quotes EVERY MEMBER of Easy Co. as stating that Sobel's strict training regimen is what made them the soldiers that they were.
@@slayer6936 I did serve. What’s next? Going to ask what branch and MOS so you can say that I didn’t really serve? I was a 19k in the U.S. Army.
Where did I give any indication that he wasn’t hated? Where did I give any indication that he was respected by his men?
I said he hardened them. He made them who they were. How? By his cruel nature. He didn’t let his NCOs lead. Have you even read Dick Winters book? Not “Band of Brothers” by Stephen Ambrose, but Dick Winters “Beyond Band of Brothers”?
He constantly said that sobel always found chicken shit things to do to men because he was a cruel person. His cruelty hardened them. His over the top training regimen hardened them. The men bonded and formed a brotherhood over their hatred for him. Their hatred of him, hardened them.
But that doesn’t mean he didn’t make them who they turned out to be. Every man in easy company who survived the war credited Sobels training tough treatment as the reason why they survived. He did so much more than you think.
Now if he had lead them into Normandy and beyond, he and all the men would be dead because of his shitty leadership.
It is my belief that Sobel’s training prepared the men of Easy Company better than any other training they could have received… for that one fact, they owe him a debt of gratitude
agree that he was a good trainer who does fully deserve credit for making those men as tough as they were, but its seems at the time his skill as a field commander left much to desire and its clear he didn't care about the morale of his men and seems like he tried to undermine Winters because he was sacred of being undermine by him.....that's why Easy company refused to follow him into combat.
At least he left his military personality in the military and was a decent father and husband even though it sounds like too many of his family stab him in the back.
@@mr.s2005 General McClellan in the US Civil War was noted as an excellent General when it came to developing the training that shaped raw recruits into good soldiers, but that is where his talent ended. He was a lousy Field General. In that he and Sobel were alike.
Plenty of good men trained men , but very few were hated like him .
LOL, your screen name made blow coffee out my nose Silverback!
@@dunno6066 Well put. Everyone will see these things if you stay in long. I out grew hate of some leaders that deserved it and they matured. I had some undisciplined units hate me when I came from the Paratroopers and could care less and in the first few firefights the whispers were like "he was right all the time." And in between. The best lesson I can share on Leadership is that NO MAN is God. Mistakes and imperfections will be made by all. Your brothers correcting you in a helpful and positive way are what corporate beeces spend millions on signs to hang on the wall and will never understand. Salute.
RIP, Captain Sobel. You were a good soldier.
I’ve read many of the comments and understand that the age range of the people reading this comment spans the generations. Concerning his character though, one telling thing I’ve picked up about Sobel is that even though he did some good things, no one, not even his family, respected him. Respect goes hand-in-hand with love for a man.
Thank you, Capt. Sobel, your choice in Training technique might have been unwarranted at times, and controversial, but the results are undeniable, I like to believe you learned something from Easy Co. and they intern did also, at the end of the day Victory was attained, and that's all that matters. I would also like to thank you for your service in Korea, already being a WW2 veteran you were free to deny service in a combat theater, but you went, because you were a soldier, and you knew where a soldier belonged.
Once again THANK YOU & God Bless.
Sobel's job was to train men of war. He did it well.
This is great, he deserves the notice, he saved their lifes by doing what he did, good on him,good man, sad he went the way he did.😢
I tried to watch this series as a kid, it was on TV at like 11pm if i remember correctly.
Id go to school exhausted but felt like i was learning something important.
This man served his country and commanded a highly distinguished platoon. He is a hero, along with all that serve this great nation. No man is perfect and no man is an island.
*The Isle of Man has entered the chat*
He’s not a hero. Relax on the nation bootlicking.
They portrayed all that pretty well in the series. But I thought watching the series that it was Sobel's hard training and the men's dislike for him that really made Easy company what it was. A very tough and united outfit. Sobel does deserve at minimum some credit there. Sad how his life ended up. Something happened there to cause an attempted suicide and no contact from his family.
I do not know what motivated sobel to be as he was, but if it was to better the compagnie he deserves credit, but if he did it solely to further his own career he deserves the hatred he got despite how it helped easy, based on the book and movie it was the latter
i mean, he gave his family so much love and they all turned out to be shitbags. id kill myself too
Possibly PTSD after two wars.
@@dannyexalto-753 Listening to how he was with his kids made me think it’s the former. I think his portrayal in the book and movies probably came from most in the company. Remember, history is most likely written by the victors.
That method of training to make the subordinates dislike you remind me of Dirty Dozen (I think). In one part of the movie, the officer who trained them explained that to another.
Great video. It was nice to learn a side of Captain Sobel many of us didn’t know.
This was an interesting video thanks for putting it together
I must say that while listening to the documentary I was hoping that he was going to enjoy a long and peaceful life after his retirement after giving so much to his family. Im saddened to learn this. Despite his professional short commings I dont think he deserved such a terrible end to his life 😢
Having been deployed myself. I hated leaders that where like this, but seeing teams and groups that lack discipline and ability to survive the toughest of conditions typically failing training exercises. You see their leaders and it all makes sense. It takes a very unique person to take on a role like Cap. The point is to increase survival and push your men to ascend their situational awareness beyond their normal capacity. At the moment I hated how we where trained but glad it got us through toughest of situations.
We often judge a man by one single thing he did and ignore the others.
I can feel for Sobel....when you are hard on your soldiers, they never appreciate the basis of the approach. Its for the future. Poorly trained men are easily sacrificed
The man did his job and performed his duty for America. He should always be respected for it.
He was a bully who abused his power and lied about a subordinate because he was inept in the field and jealous of the subordinate.
@@neverpc4404you have no idea what you’re talking about, infant.
@@neverpc4404even if that’s the case, his tactics still saved lives and prepared soldiers for war.
@@shrekxrohankishibe the ends don’t justify the means. The exact same thing was accomplished without being a liar and a bully.
@@neverpc4404 if he was too soft on the men they wouldn’t have known what was coming next. He was mean, but nothing compared to a battlefield. He disciplined the men. Had he been too soft the men wouldn’t have been mentally prepared
Thank you, very nice to see this video. Happy to hear his family life was very different then his military.
I had an officer in the Marines like him and we nicknamed him Skeleletor because his face look like a skull. But his physical training and mental tough training… I enjoyed because I knew if we were sent to fight a war … we would be ready. The enemy is not nice so I believe in training that builds physical fitness and mental toughness. Sobel I believe got East company ready for the war ahead.
Its unfortunate he received such a bad reputation. People have different skill sets, where he failed as a leader in the field he excelled as a trainer. He should be recognized for his great contribution to our country.
Exactly. If you judge a fish by its ability to climb trees…
He earned his reputation, he didn't receive it.
We sometimes hate the people that made us the strongest. Hopefully the day comes when we realize that those people we hated were there just to make us hate them and get strong. They were never there to be our friends or buddies, only to make us the best we can be!
That just broke my heart. He had good intentions it's hard to be the leader we dream about being. No soldier, should pass on like that. I hope he found peace and knows now many men lived and excelled after the war in part because of what he did
This is a lesson in how important it is to know yourself, and realize your own shortcomings and either work on them and perhaps improve or just accept oneself and do what you can do best (while avoiding hurting others due to one owns shortcomings). Its sometimes a harsh pill to swallow, but it wont help you refusing the medicine.
Being a veteran ,I believe That Captain Sobel cared so deeply for the men he trained and wanted them to survive so badly that he chose to be hated and lonely in exchange for his men to be the best trained men in the war, I could be wrong ,but I have witnessed men who I personally knew were good hearted train their soldiers and be very harsh and unforgiving of mistakes because they simply cared deeply for those young men and wanted them to have the best chance of survival and thus endured the hatred or maybe a STRONG dislike from those they trained. If you have never served ,you probably wont understand.
"As we train in peace is as we fight in war"
He is undoubtedly responsible for so many men getting through at least the first part of the war alive. I agree that the dramatization in HBO's production is perhaps a bit one-sided - and I am sure that several of the men in the EASY company owe him a silent thank you. Glory be to his memory!
Had to change my mind, sure he had faults but didn't deserve the ending RIP CAPTAIN
Man, now I have rewatch the Band of Brothers again for the 800th time.
Man this changed my entire perspective on the man. God Speed Sobel. RIP Sir. Till Valhalla
This is so very sad. For whatever shortcomings he had, he didnt deserve such a fate.
Eh…
So I guess you would gladly follow him into battle
A training officers job is not to be loved.... it is to get the troops ready to WIN in battle.... in fact being to close to the troops is a bad thing as an element of fear and respect is needed.
RIP Sobel my thanks for your service.
He wasn't just a training officer. He was going to lead the entire company to their deaths in combat due to sheer incompetence as a leader. He couldn't even read a map.
As an ex serving soldier I disagree, maybe in basic training, but at regular units definitely not. As a leader its better to be respected than feared. If Sobel took Easy company into combat he would have got a bullet to the back of the head and be counted as KIA.
Thank you for doing this. The man saved many lives by his methods in Tocoa.
RIP Capt Sobel. You did prep your man well to face the enemy. It's was the training & discipline that shaped them
An old Russian Army saying goes, "The more you sweat training, the less you bleed fighting". I held grudges over harsh treatment by my commanders in my younger Army years only to realize some of those old grumpy bastards saved my life during the wars I went to.
Winters turned out to be a hero and possibly saved many lives with his leadership. How many great soldiers like Winters were successfully discarded by men like Sobel?
Actually it was Patton who created that saying,not Russian
@@mikewood4242 It was Alexander Suvorov, the Russian Field Marshall, long before Patton was born. Suvorov coined more than one, in fact, but this one is one of his best. Actually, he landed in trouble more than once for his sharp tongue and his ability to argue with the Empress Catherine the Great, and more so with her successor Paul, who even dismissed Suvorov only to reinstate him for his military talents.
@@mikewood4242 Patton's war career was way shorter than that of Suvorov, and his military record can only shine with the likes of him in the background. The saying about blood and sweat goes down centuries back, but it was first put in a book of good military practices by Suvorov, the Russian war leader of the 18th century. Suvorov's military career lasted over 50 years!
Russian Trolls! Shame on you!!! Not 1 country on earth agrees with Russia! You lied btw !
wow. sad story RIP sir - you deserved better.
I don’t care what the man did, he served his country and didn’t deserve that.
The look on Schwimmer's face when he's told they're taking Easy Company 🤣 priceless! "Um, i'm losing Easy Company?"
I have a completely different outlook on this man now. What a loving and caring father and husband. May he rest in peace in the light of God.
Don’t know why they put a “viewer discretion” warning up for this video? Silly. What a strange man, but undeniably a hero in my mind, simply for the fact he prepared those paratroopers to perform an unimaginable task. Schwimmer played the part well in the HBO series. I find it a little hard to believe that what was such a almost storybook family life, fell-apart so quickly over his son’s protest of the Vietnam war. I bet there is more to it.