Herbert Sobel

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Sobel commanded Easy Company during its formative basic training at Camp Toccoa, where he was promoted to captain. He became known as a tough, strict, and divisive leader whom the men viewed as a "petty, arbitrary, domineering tyrant." Enlisted soldiers frequently referred to him behind his back as a "fucking Jew," while officers nicknamed him "the Black Swan." Lieutenant Richard Winters, his executive officer, criticized Sobel's "desire to lead by fear rather than example." Despite this animosity, Sobel proved effective in training an excellent company of highly disciplined paratroopers. However, by February 1943 at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, his shortcomings as a field commander became apparent; Winters recalled thinking, "I am going into combat with this man. He'll get us all killed." Sergeant Amos "Buck" Taylor later noted that while Sobel was a good training officer who wanted the best for his men, his judgment in battle could not be trusted.

In Their Own Story

The conflict reached its peak in October 1943 at Aldbourne, Wiltshire, England. Sobel initiated court-martial proceedings against Lieutenant Winters for failing to carry out conflicting latrine inspection orders. This action caused the sentiment against him to boil over: "Sobel had authority over the men [but] Lieutenant Winters had their respect," wrote historian Stephen E. Ambrose. In protest, all but three non-commissioned officers attempted to resign their ranks. Colonel Robert Sink set aside the court-martial and replaced Sobel with Lieutenant Thomas Meehan as company commander. Following this, Sink assigned Sobel to command an airborne school in Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire, for non-combat personnel. By June 1944, Sobel and his staff had trained over 400 men through five practice jumps. On D-Day, Sobel parachuted into Normandy as commander of the service company. Immediately after landing, he assembled four men and destroyed a German machine gun nest with grenades before rejoining the division near Carentan.

Reader's Guide

Herbert Sobel's career illustrates the critical distinction between training effectiveness and combat leadership. Initially commissioned in the Organized Reserve and promoted to first lieutenant by 1937, he was ordered to active duty at Camp Grant in July 1941 before joining Easy Company in 1942. His strict methods built a cohesive unit, yet his lack of spatial awareness and smart decision-making made him untrustworthy for battle. After being relieved of command by Colonel Sink, Sobel continued serving as a staff officer, eventually becoming the regiment's S-4 (logistics officer) on March 8, 1945. Post-war, he worked as a credit manager in Chicago and married Rose, a Catholic nurse, with whom he raised three sons before their divorce. In 1970, Sobel attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head, severing his optic nerves and rendering him blind. He died of malnutrition on September 30, 1987, at a Veterans Administration facility in Waukegan, Illinois.

Did You Know?

• Sobel was the only Jewish family member among four children, yet his wife Rose was Catholic, a fact disapproved of by his family.
• Despite being replaced before D-Day due to field inadequacy, Sobel parachuted into Normandy with the service company and destroyed a German machine gun nest immediately after landing.
• The nickname "the Black Swan" was given to him by officers in Easy Company, while enlisted men often called him a "fucking Jew" when out of earshot.
• In 1970, a suicide attempt left Sobel blind after a bullet severed his optic nerves; he died of malnutrition seventeen years later at a VA facility.
• Sobel trained over 400 men for non-combat jumps by June 1944 before rejoining the division near Carentan on D-Day.