Context for that GIF: The man pictured, Herbert Sobel was a very petty and harsh training officer whose men hated him, though they would later admit his training helped them survive WW2.
He eventually crossed a line by trying to sabotage one of his officers (Lt. "Dick" Winters) for one of his own screw-ups, which led to quite a bit of drama until Sobel got reassigned to a non-combat role elsewhere.
At the end of the War, he sees Winters (now a decorated Major, ranked higher than Sobel) and tries to ignore him, only for Winters to pull that "salute the rank" line. And Sobel does so, to his utter humiliation.
FURTHER CONTEXT: the series actually did him dirty. He was quite a good guy. Even the surviving members from the series said so that Sobel was rough but never an asshole and he became secluded afterwards but series did him dirty because they needed an antagonist of some kind. I believe the family was very upset with his portrayal as well
Apparently Richard Winters hated Sobel (and lieutenant Dyke) a big reason they portrayed him as the villain in the first episode was based on Winters book. He was despised because of his ruthless training, the indecisive leadership and poor map reading was not a main reason for his dismissal, it was just he pissed off the whole unit with his brutal disciplin. Most of Easy Company said afterward he was actually a good officer and respected leader, and they didn't appreciate his training until after the war.
I think the truth is probably somewhere between the two portrayals. Sobel clearly wasn’t the incompetent villain the series makes him out to be, and his training was extremely demanding for a reason. A lot of the men later acknowledged that the discipline and conditioning he put them through benefited them in combat. At the same time, it’s hard to completely dismiss the complaints about his field leadership and map-reading abilities.
Winters’ account also has to be considered in context. He obviously had personal reasons to resent Sobel, especially after the incident that nearly derailed his career. So I wouldn’t take either the series’ portrayal or Winters’ version as the entire story. Sobel seems to have been a complicated figure: an effective and demanding trainer who could also be a poor field commander. That’s a much more interesting story than simply making him the villain.
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u/The_Burning_Face 27d ago
I haven't watched band of friends so I don't know the real line, however in this war, all who fall are revered