The experiences of its members during that war are the subject of the 1992 book Band of Brothers by historian Stephen Ambrose and the 2001 HBO miniseries of the same name.

For some time, Winters (then a 1st lieutenant) had privately held concerns over Sobel's ability to lead the company in combat.

[4] A number of the company's non-commissioned officers (NCOs) decided to give the regimental commander, Colonel Robert Sink, an ultimatum: replace Sobel, or they would surrender their stripes.

[5] Still, Sink realized that something had to be done and decided to transfer Sobel out of Easy Company, giving him command of a new parachute training school at Chilton Foliat.

[6] Shortly after their transfer, Harris and Ranney joined the Pathfinders, which consisted of around 80 volunteers from every unit who would land first and guide the way for the main waves of the invasion.

[5] For Operation Overlord, E Company's mission was to capture the entrances to and clear any obstacles around "Causeway 2", a pre-selected route off Utah Beach for the Allied forces landing from the sea a few hours later.

The company departed from Upottery airbase in Devon, England, and dropped over the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy, France, in the early hours of the morning of 6 June 1944.

[12] The crash was witnessed by Ed Mauser of E Company's 2nd Platoon, who had leaped from plane #69 after it was hit by flak and the pilot turned on the green jump light.

[13] With Meehan missing (it was only discovered later that he had been killed), Richard Winters was the most senior officer in Easy Company and took command.

After assembling on the ground, the men of E Company disabled a battery of four German heavy guns on D-Day that threatened forces coming along Causeway 2.

Technically, Lieutenant Raymond Schmitz, 2nd Platoon Leader, was still with Easy Company but got injured the day before D-Day after demanding Richard Winters wrestle him, and was replaced by Buck Compton.

It was a fast attack, at the end of which Malarkey said that he could hear moans and groans of wounded soldiers and occasional gun shots.

[16] Winters' roster records that of the 139 men of Easy Company who left England on the night of 5 June, just 69 enlisted men and five officers were left: Winters; his three platoon leaders Buck Compton, Harry Welsh, and Warren Roush; and Roush's assistant Francis L.

These events were omitted from the Band of Brothers series, with E having been portrayed as landing in the Netherlands and then marching into Eindhoven to join up with the British Army advancing from the south.

[17] During the days following the link-up, E Company defended the towns of Veghel and Uden until XXX Corps infantry took up the task.

[19] Colonel Sink issued a general order citing the company's 1st Platoon for gallantry in action, calling their attack a "daring act and skillful maneuver against a numerically superior force".

[20] In October, E Company helped rescue more than 100 British troops trapped since September's Battle of Arnhem in German-occupied territory by the Lower Rhine near the village of Renkum.

On the south bank of a Dutch river, Canadian engineers and a patrol of E Company observed the signal and launched their boats, but the British were some 500 to 800 meters upriver of the crossing point.

Upon reaching the north bank, E Company established a small perimeter while its soldiers headed east to locate the British troops.

E Company fought in frigid weather under German artillery fire without winter clothing and with limited rations and ammunition.

With the unit unable to proceed, he was informed by his subordinates that they would get killed if they didn't advance into the town, as they were now unprotected from enemy fire.

[citation needed] Toward the end of the war, E Company was assigned to occupation duty in Berchtesgaden, Germany, home to Adolf Hitler's Eagle's Nest house.