Narrator
War began between
Germany and France on August 3, 1914.
Five weeks later,
the German army had smashed its way...
to within 18 miles of Paris.
There, the battered French miraculously
rallied their forces at the Marne River...
and in a series
of unexpected counterattacks —
drove the Germans back.
The front was stabilized...
then shortly afterwards developed
into a continuous line...
of heavily fortified trenches...
zigzagging their way 500 miles...
from the English Channel
to the Swiss frontier.
By 1916, after two grisly years
of trench warfare...
the battle lines had changed very little.
Successful attacks were measured
in hundreds of yards...
and paid for in lives
by hundreds of thousands.
General Mireau
General Broulard, sir.
Hello, George. How are you?
General Broulard
Paul, wonderful seeing you again.
Really wonderful.
Well, this is splendid. It's superb.
It's grand, very grand.
General Mireau
Well, I've tried to create
a pleasant atmosphere in which to work.
General Broulard
Well, you've succeeded marvelously.
I wish I had your taste in carpets —
Oh!
and pictures.
General Mireau
You're much too kind, George.
Much too kind.
Sit down, George.
General Broulard
Thank you.
General Mireau
I really haven't done very much. The place
is much the same as it was when I moved in.
General Broulard
Paul, I've come to see you
about something big.
It's top secret and must go no further
than your chief of staff...
and not to him
unless you can trust his discretion.
General Mireau
Of course.
General Broulard
A group of armies is forming on this front
for an offensive very soon.
Headquarters is determined
to make a complete breakthrough.
Why are you smiling?
General Mireau
I'm really sorry.
I thought for just a moment I knew
what you were going to say. Please go on.
General Broulard
I never knew you were a mind reader.
What did you think I was about to say?
General Mireau
Something about the "Anthill."
General Broulard
You are a mind reader.
General Mireau
Well, it is a key position.
It's in my sector.
To be perfectly honest,
I've heard some talk.
You know, there's nothing really secret
around headquarters.
General Broulard
Well, what do you think?
General Mireau
It's the key to the whole
German position in this sector.
They've held on to it for a year now...
and it looks as though they'll hold on to it
for another year if they want to.
General Broulard
Paul, I have formal orders
to take the Anthill no later than the 10th.
That's the day after tomorrow.
General Mireau
That comes pretty close
to being ridiculous, don't you think?
General Broulard
I don't imagine I'd be here
if I really thought that.
Paul, if there's one man
in this army who can do this for me, it's you.
General Mireau
It's out of the question, George.
Absolutely out of the question.
My division was cut to pieces.
What's left of it is in no position
to even hold the Anthill, let alone take it.
I'm sorry, but that's the truth.
General Broulard
Well, Paul, there was something else
I wanted to tell you.
However, I'm sure that you'll misunderstand
my motives in mentioning it.
General Mireau
What was it?
General Broulard
Oh.
You'd be bound to misunderstand.
However, as your friend,
maybe I should tell you.
General Mireau
What are you trying to say, George?
General Broulard
Paul, talk around headquarters is that you
are being considered for the 12th Corps.
General Mireau
The 12th Corps?
General Broulard
Yes, and with that, another star.
General Mireau
Now, I've pushed it all I can.
The 12th Corps needs a fighting general,
and you're overdue on that star.
General Broulard
Now, we both know
that your record is good enough...
for you to refuse this assignment
on the grounds you've stated.
No one would question your opinion.
They'd simply get someone else
to do thejob.
So you shouldn't let this
influence your opinion, Paul.
General Mireau
Oh, I'm sorry. Have a cognac?
General Broulard
No, thanks, Paul, not before dinner.
General Mireau
George, I'm responsible
for the lives of 8,000 men.
What is my ambition against that?
What is my reputation
in comparison to that?
My men come first of all, George,
and those men know it too.
General Broulard
I know that they do.
General Mireau
You see, George, those men know
that I would never let them down.
General Broulard
That goes without saying.
General Mireau
The life of one ofthose soldiers
means more to me...
than all the stars and decorations
and honors in France.
General Broulard
So...
you think this attack is absolutely beyond
the ability of your men at this time?
General Mireau
I didn't say that, George.
General Broulard
Nothing is beyond those men,
once their fighting spirit is aroused.
General Mireau
Paul, I don't want to push you into it
if you think it's ill-advised.
General Broulard
Don't worry, George.
You couldn't do that if you tried.
Of course, artillery would make
an enormous difference.
What artillery support can you give me?
General Mireau
Well, I'll see.
General Broulard
What about replacements?
General Mireau
We'll see what we can do, but I feel sure
that you can get along with what you have.
General Broulard
Might just do it.
General Mireau
Oh, Paul.
I knew that I was right to come to you.
You are the man to take the Anthill.
Now, as far as that star is concerned —
General Broulard
That had nothing to do with my decision.
If anything, it would sway me the other way.
General Mireau
I realize that perfectly, Paul.
General Broulard
Now, when do you say
you see this coming off?
General Mireau
No later than the day after tomorrow.
General Broulard
We just might do it.
General Mireau
Yes, Colonel?
Colonel Dax
You wanted to see me, sir.
General Broulard
Oh, yes, yes.
Come in, Colonel. Come in and sit down.
Oh, Colonel Dax,
your men died very well.
Would you like some coffee, Colonel?
Colonel Dax
No, thank you, sir.
General Broulard
Oh, by the way, Paul,
it's been brought to my attention...
that you ordered your artillery
to fire on your own men
during the attack on the Anthill.
General Mireau
I did what?
Who told you that?
General Broulard
Colonel Dax came to me last night
with the story.
General Mireau
Colonel Dax, I've always known
that you were a disloyal officer...
but I never dreamed that you would
stoop to anything so low as this.
Colonel Dax
General, I have sworn statements
from Captain Nichols, your artillery spotter...
Captain Rousseau, the battery commander
who refused your order.
General Mireau
I think it's infamous,
absolutely infamous.
General Broulard
Then there's no truth at all
to the charge made by Colonel Dax?
General Mireau
I don't see how you could
even ask me that.
General Broulard
You cannot imagine how glad I am
to hear that, Paul.
I'm certain that
you'll come through it all right.
General Mireau
I'll come through what?
General Broulard
There will have to be an inquiry.
General Mireau
An inquiry?
General Broulard
But it won't amount to much.
Those things never do. The public forgets.
General Mireau
"Public"?
General Broulard
You've got to have the right
to clear your name.
You cannot allow such vile insinuations
against your character to go undenied.
General Mireau
So that's it.
You're making me the goat —
the only completely innocent man
in this whole affair.
I have only one last thing
to say to you, George.
The man you stabbed in the back
is a soldier.
General Broulard
Well...
had to be done.
France cannot afford to have fools
guiding her military destiny.
I'm grateful to you, Dax, for having
brought this matter to my attention.
Colonel Dax, how would you like
General Mireau's job?
Colonel Dax
His what, sir?
General Broulard
His job.
Colonel Dax
Let me get this straight, sir.
You're offering me
General Mireau's command?
General Broulard
Come, come, Colonel Dax.
Don't overdo the surprise.
You've been after the job from the start.
We all know that, my boy.
Colonel Dax
I may be many things, sir,
but I'm not your boy.
General Broulard
Well, I certainly didn't mean to imply
any biological relationship.
Colonel Dax
I'm not your boy in any sense.
General Broulard
You trying to provoke me, Colonel?
Colonel Dax
Why should I want to do that, sir?
General Broulard
Exactly.
It would be a pity to lose your promotion
before you get it...
a promotion you have
so very carefully planned for.
Colonel Dax
Sir, would you like me to suggest
what you can do with that promotion?
General Broulard
Colonel Dax! You will apologize at once,
or I shall have you placed under arrest!
Colonel Dax
I apologize for not being
entirely honest with you.
I apologize for not revealing
my true feelings.
I apologize, sir,
for not telling you sooner...
that you're a degenerate,
sadistic old man...
and you can go to hell before I apologize
to you now or ever again!
General Broulard
Colonel Dax, you're a disappointment to me.
You've spoiled the keenness of your mind
by wallowing in sentimentality.
You really did want to save those men...
and you were not angling
for Mireau's command.
You're an idealist, and I pity you
as I would the village idiot.
We're fighting a war, Dax,
a war that we've got to win.
Those men didn't fight,
so they were shot.
You bring charges against General Mireau,
so I insist that he answer them.
Wherein have I done wrong?
Colonel Dax
Because you don't know
the answer to that question...
I pity you.