Chapter 33: The Tragedy of the Exercise
Sobel was finally enraged. He assembled all the brothers of Easy Company, trying to identify the medic who had targeted him, or to get one of the men to tell him who did it. Despite his earth-shaking roars, he was disappointed. Not a single man in Easy Company stepped forward to confess or to point a finger at anyone.
"Dismissed!" After Sobel had stormed off, Winters breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, although he detested Sobel, he absolutely did not want the soldiers in his company to resort to such underhanded tactics. But there was nothing he could do about it.
Captain Sobel was clearly not going to let the matter drop. He complained to Major Horton at the battalion CP and requested to report the incident to Colonel Sink, demanding a full regimental investigation. He wanted to make the person who dared to prank him pay.
"What do you think of this matter?" Horton eventually went to see Lieutenant Colonel Strayer. To be honest, he wanted to help Sobel, but it was obvious that all the soldiers were being tight-lipped about the incident, refusing to say a word. He couldn't exactly call in the MPs, could he? That would be a huge blow to morale, something he didn't want to see.
Strayer did not report the matter to Colonel Sink. He simply said to Horton, "He is the commander of E Company. If he doesn't know how to handle it himself, how much can we really help him? Major Horton, you should stay out of this. I'm confident Captain Sobel can handle it perfectly well. Don't worry."
In the end, the matter was dropped, which left Sobel feeling unwell for many days. However, he still took his revenge by increasing the physical training load for Easy Company. Beyond that, there was nothing else he could do.
***
Subsequently, the 506th Regiment conducted a field training exercise that simulated actual combat. It was the largest-scale exercise to date, involving all units of the 506th. The focus was on rapid troop maneuvers and large-unit operations behind enemy lines.
Rhys already knew the final outcome of this exercise. Captain Sobel's radioman was Private Petty. It was clear that Petty was not happy with his assignment, because Captain Sobel seemed to be a complete moron when it came to direction and couldn't even read a map. He had once complained in private, "I really don't know how Sobel graduated from military school. A company commander who can't even read a map might one day lead the brothers right into a German encirclement."
Of course, complaining was one thing; the exercise still had to proceed according to Sobel's orders. And the most tragic part wasn't just that Sobel couldn't read a map, but also his neurotic behavior during the exercise.
The woods were extremely quiet. As ordered, the brothers of Easy Company were waiting at the designated ambush point for the "enemy" to pass through.
The discipline of Easy Company was the best. Of that, there was no doubt.
Time passed slowly. It was clear that Sobel was losing his patience. He looked at his watch, and the hands seemed to move like a slow-moving camel. A strong sense of unease began to swell in his heart.
"Winters!" Sobel waved him over.
Winters frowned. He didn't know why Captain Sobel was shouting so loudly at a time when they were supposed to be maintaining silence. He crawled over and said in a low voice, "Captain, what is it?"
"Why haven't the enemy forces passed through here yet?" Sobel's voice was sharp with nervousness.
"It's not time yet, sir. We have to wait a little longer," Winters said.
Sobel shook his head. "Why wait? I feel like the time has long passed." He stuck his head out and looked around. The surroundings were still silent; there was no sign of anyone.
"Petty!" Sobel finally couldn't take it anymore. He waved his radioman over. "Quickly, the map!"
"Oh, God," Petty muttered under his breath. As was Sobel's habit, he was probably starting to get confused during the exercise again. He hurried over and took the map from his pack.
"Our position is wrong, Winters!" Sobel said, looking around nervously. "I feel like we've set up the ambush in the wrong place. Otherwise, why haven't the 'enemy' passed through here yet?"
"Sir, we must wait here, quietly, for the 'enemy' to enter our ambush range," Winters whispered. "We can't make any rash moves, or we'll be wiped out."
Sobel shook his head, his voice urgent. "No, they're nearby. They're not going to come this way. We should take the initiative and eliminate them. Winters, on the battlefield, you have to be flexible. Go deploy your troops. We're moving out."
Winters was stunned. He lowered his voice. "Sir, are you sure you want to do this? We could be completely annihilated. Perhaps we should wait and reconsider. We have natural cover here. We can hold this position. There's no need to go searching for the 'enemy'. It would put us at a disadvantage."
Sobel suddenly began to hiss in a low roar, "Lieutenant, when I tell you to deploy the troops, you deploy the troops! Cut the chatter! Are you the company commander, or am I?"
Winters sighed inwardly. He turned his head and saw that all the brothers were looking at him. He had no choice but to give the hand signal. "Second Platoon, advance in a tactical column."
"What?" Many of the men were unsure of the order, but Winters's hand signal was unmistakable. It was time to leave the foxholes and fight. Despite their doubts, they obeyed the command, their faces etched with disbelief. To give up such a perfect ambush position to go looking for an enemy encirclement was simply incomprehensible.
"Sir," Rhys said, quietly catching up to Winters and speaking in a low voice. "I request permission to lead a squad as the rear guard. Leave Christenson's machine gun with me as well, just in case."
Winters nodded. "Alright, First Sergeant. That's a good idea."
Rhys knew he couldn't change Captain Sobel's order, and he couldn't change the final outcome of this exercise. But at the very least, they didn't have to be completely wiped out, and he didn't want to be "killed in action" again during an exercise.
Easy Company's Second Platoon led the way. Rhys stayed at the very back, intentionally maintaining a significant—and optimal—combat distance from the main force, which would allow his squad to retreat or set up a defense in an emergency.
"Parks," Christenson whispered from beside him. "Looks like Sobel's gone neurotic again. Good thing we stayed behind as the rear guard. You've always got the right idea. Maybe this time we won't get 'killed'."
Luz and White echoed their agreement.
"Shh—" Rhys suddenly stopped and looked at the surrounding woods. "Get the machine gun ready," he said quickly to Christenson. "This terrain is perfect for an ambush. We need to stay here and provide support for the brothers up front."
Christenson quickly lay prone and set up the machine gun. At that very moment, a line of camouflaged "enemy" soldiers appeared from the front, their dark muzzles aimed at the company. Under Sobel's leadership, Easy Company had walked right into their ambush.
Just then, a field umpire walked out. "Captain," he said to Sobel, "you and over 55% of your company have just been killed in action." He then walked up to Sobel. "Your unit designation?"
"E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th," Sobel said, his face a mask of frustration. He then added stubbornly, "Can we continue to fight? We still have 45% of our soldiers, don't we?"
The umpire shook his head. "No, Captain. If you hadn't left a machine gun squad as a rear guard, your casualty count would be 95%. In other words, you would have been annihilated. In an exercise, a unit that loses 55% of its soldiers is considered combat ineffective. You are left with three wounded soldiers. You are out of the game. Report to the assembly area." Without a trace of sympathy, the umpire kicked Easy Company out of the exercise.
"Damn it," many of the men cursed in their hearts.
Captain Sobel looked behind him, then shouted, "Parks, Luz, Christenson, the three of you stay here." He then muttered under his breath, "Damn it."
"Oh, for God's sake, why us three?" Christenson couldn't help but complain in a low voice. "According to the umpire's report just now, we saved 40% of the company. Why are we being left behind as casualties? I don't want to be a prisoner. I've never been a prisoner in this squad, not even in an exercise. I don't want to be one now."
"Quit complaining," Luz chuckled. "We should be glad we were with Parks and didn't get 'killed.' Do you know why Sobel is leaving us behind? Because we're some of the few who 'weren't' hit."
Rhys said nothing and stayed behind. He knew that the outcome of this exercise would push the brothers' distrust of Captain Sobel's battlefield competence to its absolute limit. It would also be the final spark that ignited the NCOs' mutiny.
"Parks," Winters said, about to leave. He suddenly waved Rhys over.
Rhys quickly went to him. "Sir?"
Winters nodded at him. "You did very well, Parks. A small suggestion that saved the lives of so many men. There is nothing more valuable than that. Remember, keep it up." Winters was clearly very impressed by Rhys's impromptu suggestion. And his words were not just to express thanks, but to encourage him.
"I know, Lieutenant," Rhys said, nodding solemnly.
*****
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