PATRIOTIC SONG : (Wake up America)
(Listen for reveille)
(Women and men fight for what they believe) [DISTANT EXPLOSIONS]
(Won't you step up to join the war)
(How can you stay when Uncle Sam leads the way)
(He's marching the band for score)
(So you must do what you must do now)
(To help our boys red white and blue now)
(Our cry is we want you now)
(Sing our song, won't be long, hip hip hooray)
[TRUMPETS BLOW]
[INCOMING ARTILLERY] [EXPLOSION]
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Button your tunics.
PVT. HENCHMAN:Sir.
Brass.
He's one of those ritzies.
[MACHINE GUN FIRES]
Patrol's coming in!
Fire!
Cover!
Fire!
SOLDIERS:Covering fire!
Run!
Come on.
Keep moving!
[ENCOURAGING SHOUTS]
Here!
Get this man covered.
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Good morning, Captain.
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Major. General Alexander wants to see you immediately.
What's going on?
I don't know. They're plannin' somethin' big.
[WHISPERINGS]
COLONEL JOHNSON:Ten-hut!
GENERAL ALEXANDER: Gentlemen.
General.
Colonel.
Men.
Three divisions, two American, one French.
We're going to attack along the Argonne Sector.
The 77th Division has orders to go in and clean out the Argonne Forest.
Major Whittlesey.
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Sir.
Your Battalion is going to take and hold Charlevaux Mill.
General Alexander, permission to speak freely, Sir.
Major.
I lost a platoon just probing that area this morning.
We have to live with acceptable losses, Major.
Colonel.
Artillery reports, Sir.
Acceptable losses, General?
It's suicide to attack the Argonne in force when we are unprepared.
Why is it none of my other officers feel this way?
Did you study tactics and the art of war in law school?
General, we need time to resupply.
We are low on food, ammunition, medicines...
And whose fault is that?
I'm well aware of your civilian politics, Major.
It sounds to me like your heart is still in Wilson's too proud to fight.
A movement which ill-prepared our country for this war.
Or is there something else on your mind?
I will lead my Battalion into the Argonne,
but I doubt if you'll see me or my men again.
I guess we'll see what kind of man he really is, our New York lawyer.
[SIGHS]
Captain, check on the replacements.
We'll need every man we've got.
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Yep, you got it.
[SIGHS]
SGT. GAEDEKE:Now most of these birds don't look like they could fly
halfway around the block.
For our gallant young men.
Compliments of the Ladies Audubon Society,Hampshire, England.
We're sendin' you back, buddy.
You look like the runt of the litter, huh?
[LAUGHS]
PVT. RICHARDS:Don't worry, Cher Ami.
You'll be all right.
CAPT. MC MURTRY: Lieutenant Leak?
LT. LEAK:Yes, Sir!
I'm Captain McMurtry.
Welcome to the 308.
Captain, uh, there must be some mistake.
I'm supposed to be in a Texas unit.
Most of these boys are from New York.
I just don't understand a word these city fellers are sayin'.
You don't have to understand them, Lieutenant.
They have to understand you.
Now you call off those names and you get them on that truck.
Ethan... Ethanasikoss.
Ya... Yader.
PVT. YODER: Noder.
Yoder.
Le...
LePa...
Pasta?
LePastee?
PVT. LIPASTI: Lipasti.
LePastee.
Uh, Krodi-shi...
Uh, Krodi...
PVT. KROTOSHINSKY:Krotoshinsky.
PVT. YODER:Hey, how come you guys from New York call everybody Buddy?
PVT. LIPASTI:You're not from the city?
Uh, Big Fork, Montana.
Never heard of it. I didn't know they left apple knockers into this outfit.
What you mean by that?
PVT. KROTOSHINSKY: Hey, save it for the Hineys, huh?
[WHISPERS TO KROTASHINSKY] What did he say?
Well, he thinks, uh, you might want to buy a bridge.
What bridge?
The Brooklyn Bridge! What other bridge is there?
What kind of an army is this? Come all the way to France,
they stick us with boys from Daisyville?
Hey!
Oh, my god.
Gas.
SGT. GAEDEKE:Slow down.
Yo, Rosen! Cepeglia. Get in the back. We're movin' on out.
PVT. ROSEN: Not us, Sarge. These guys are takin' us to the brig.
The Major wants everybody on the line. That includes you two.
Warden?
WARDEN:We caught them sneakin' into a French Whore house and
we just deloused them.
They'll be the prettiest smellin' doughboys in the trenches.
[LAUGHS]
PVT. CEPEGLIA: What's goin' on, Sarge'?
We're gonna march in a parade... in Paris.
So make sure you wear your medals.
SGT. GAEDEKEIAH right,
find yourselves a hole to crib out in, and don't try and do nothin'.
[GUNFIRES]
Hey, here the turkeys shoot back.
Now listen up.
The Krauts usually do not attack at night.
The most they'll do is send out some probes or a raidin' party.
You let me take care of that.
Just try to get some rest and some hot chow.
I'll teach you a few things tomorrow.
Get out of the way.
PVT. LIPASTI: Well, this ain't so bad, huh?
All you gotta do now is keep your head down.
Right, lucky?
[SIGHS]
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Thank you.
The new boys settled in?
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Yeah. Boys describes them well.
What do you think of General Alexander's plan?
I'm a professional soldier.
I have the luxury of not having to think about that.
I don't want to hear that from you, Captain.
I want you thinking all the time
how we are going to take the Charlevaux Mill without killing all the boys.
I'll check on the replacements.
CAPT. MC MURTRY: Sergeant.
SGT. GAEDEKE:Sir.
PVT. YODER:Lieutenant.
LT. LEAK:Morning, Sir!
MAJOR WHITTLESEY: We don't salute up here, Lieutenant.
I'm sorry, Sir.
My officers and men shave every day.
I'm sorry, Sir.
You're sorry about a lot of things.
Well, we got up here kinda late yesterday, and...
Is that an excuse or an explanation?
I'm not interested in either one.
I want you and your platoon squared away.
Make sure your men have full rations, plenty of ammo.
And wear that uniform properly.
Put on dry socks, if you have them, and straighten your helmet.
Lieutenant Leak, welcome to the 308.
PVT. CEPEGLIA:This is a French cho-cho.
PVT. ROSEN". Sho-sha.
It's a piece of garbage. Don't worry about it.
Leave it to Henchman and Hollingshead.
Don't worry about mortars, tanks and artillery.
We don't have any of that, either.
Basically, we're mud crunchers.
Gravel agitators.
Infantry.
[INCOMING ARTILLARY]
PVT. YODER:God, almighty!
That's just some travelin' salesman throwin' ice cigars.
German artillery.
Which brings me to stuff. There are two kinds of stuff.
Stuff going out. Ours.
Stuff coming in. Theirs.
Mud crunchers must learn to judge different kinds of stuff.
If you hear somethin' that whistles and knocks, that's Heir Wizbang.
Get on the ground.
Sometimes Heir Wizbang brings along his lady friend, Minnie Warfer.
Mienen Werfer.
Minnie Warfer sounds like one of those whining hot core ladies
on Tenth avenue.
Nah, it's more like the BRT comin' out of the tubes.
The thing is, they're real hard to judge.
So just hit the ground any time you hear somethin' like that.
And don't worry if it hits you, 'cause they got a lot of other stuff,
like Jack Johnson's whimperin' Willies.
G.l. cans, airplane bombs, machine guns.
And all sorts of potato masher grenades.
Don't worry about any of it, 'cause it all comes down to that.
When you go face to face with a mud crunchin' Hiney bastard,
with one of these at the end of his rifle, you'd better stick it in him
before he sticks it in you.
That... you gotta worry about.
[SOLDIERS CHATTING]
PVT. YODER:Did he say to duck when the stuff sounds like a train?
Or was that the one that was hard to judge,
and we should get down when it sounds like a tea kettle?
PVT. LIPASTkNobody said nothin' about no tea kettle.
I don't drink tea. What does a tea kettle even sound like?
[WHISTLES]
[SOLDIERS LAUGHING]
PVT. ROSEN: Knock it Off!
CAPT. MCMURTRYNeS, Sh'?
MAJOR WHITTLESEY: Would you check on Lieutenant Leak?
Yeah. I'll see to it.
You should get some sleep, Major.
Not yet.
Captain?
Remember what we talked about earlier.
Good luck tomorrow.
[PERIODIC EXPLOSIONS]
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Lieutenant.
LT. LEAK:Captain.
[INHALES, SIGHS]
The Major lay into you today?
Like a hot brandin' iron.
He West Point?
New York lawyer.
[SNIGGERS]
You never know, do ya.
No, you never do.
Boy, we really lucked out, didn't we?
It would be a hell of a thing to come all the way to France
and not have anything to tell our children or grandchildren about.
Now, tomorrow...
when you go over the top.
You pick a point straight ahead and you walk to it.
Now don't worry about where everybody else is.
These are good men. They'll follow you.
Now you go ten yards, then ten more.
Ten yards?
Ten yards at a time,
and you can make the whole trip that way.
What about the Germans?
The boys know what to do with them.
You'll figure it out pretty damn quick.
Most of my men have never been in combat before.
Yeah, we planned it that way.
You've never been in a fight, have you?
Nothin' like this.
That's why you walk in front of the troops.
See, you'll get there before they do.
That means you'll be the one with the most experience.
You can tell them what to do.
Yeah.
That's right.
Ain't it?
You'll do just fine.
[EXPLODING ARTILLARY]
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
[EXPLOSIONS]
[SOLDIERS BREATHING HEAVILY]
[EXPLOSIONS]
[PERIODIC EXPLOSIONS]
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Fix bayonets!
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Fix bayonets!
LT. LEAK:Fix bayonets!
SOLDIERS:Fix bayonets!
[PIGEONS COOING]
[CONTINUOUS EXPLOSIONS]
[WHISTLES]
SOLDIERS: Charge! [WHISTLES]
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Charge! Here we go!
Stay with me!
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Charge!
CAPT. HOLDERMAN:Move it along!
Come on!
PVT. YODER: God!
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
LT. LEAK:Go! Let's go!
SOLDIERS:(Dying screams)
Let's go everybody! Let's go!
AMERICAN SOLDIER: GO!
Keep going! Don't stop!
GENERAL ALEXANDER:Why aren't your troops moving forward, Colonel?
COLONEL JOHNSON:General, we're in contact with the enemy all along the front.
And most of my commanders need to secure their flanks.
They're encountering heavy resistance.
GENERAL ALEXANDER: YOU! Take this down!
Ground, once captured must under no circumstances be given up
in absence of a direct order from Division Headquarters.
We are not going backward, but forward!
[GUNSHOT]
[BIRDS SHRIEK]
[BIRD CRIES]
[GUNSHOT]
[MACHINE GUN FIRES]
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Captain, I want you
to flank those machine guns and take 'em out!
CAPT. MCMURTRY: YOU got it!
Follow me!
Come on! Go!
[WHISPERING] You two, up!
CAPT. MCMURTRY: Let's go!
PVT. YODER:if I could see someone, I could hit it.
PVT. KROTOSHINSKY:Where's the cowboy goin'?
PVT. LIPASTI:He must know somethin'.
You think so?
He's from Ruralville. He grew up with trees.
You ever been around trees?
They got trees in Union Square.
Those don't count. Come on, let's go.
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
SOLDIERS: (Fighting, Dying screams)
SGT. GAEDEKE:Jesus!
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Now hold this position.
[BREATHING HEAVILY] You!
You run down there. You tell Lieutenant Leak to bring up
the rest of his platoon.
PVT. LIPASTl: Yes, Sir.
GERMAN SOLDIERS:(shouts in German)
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
LT. LEAK:Captain.
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Lieutenant.
Now get ready for a counter-attack.
We have to hold this position.
We will.
What's your name?
[BREATHING HEAVILY] PVT. LIPASTI: Private Lipasti, Sir.
Where'd you learn to run like that?
I used to...
take a shortcut home through a Mick neighborhood.
Had to outrun a lot of your Irish confetti, Sir.
Well, I'm glad one of my cousins didn't bean you with a brick.
Now you come with me. You'll be my runner.
Yes, Sir.
COLONEL JOHNSON: Whittlesey is taking heavy casualties.
He needs to withdraw and regroup.
GENERAL ALEXANDER: Whittlesey, this is General Alexander.
Why aren't you attacking?
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:We're isolated. We have no support at our flanks, General.
That's because the French and our flanks are ahead of you.
You're slowing up the attack, Major.
Get your men moving!
Are you sure they're on our flanks, General?
God dammit, I'm giving you a direct order to achieve your objective,
regardless of losses!
We must take that ground!
Sir, the French aren't ahead of Whittlesey.
They've been stopped at the Gisella Stella line.
We need him to clog up the middle of our offensive
until our flanks can re-adjust.
[EXPLOSION]
[COUGHS AND GROANING]
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Swersky.
SWERSKY:Sir.
Cover those dead soldiers.
Don't ever leave them in the open like that again.
Yes, Sir.
We need more medical supplies, Sir.
[WOUNDED SOLDIER] I'm okay. I'm okay.
Map-
[PIGEONS COOING]
Captain?
CAPT. MC MURTRY:I'm okay.
I've spoken with General Alexander.
He said the French are ahead of us on our left flank.
The rest of our division is somewhere on our right.
We've been ordered to take the Charlevaux Mill.
Sergeant Gaedeke thinks he's found a seam that we may be able
to get through in the German defenses.
Well, it's worth a try.
Private Chinn.
We don't have enough wire to reach our objective.
So I want you to setup a well-concealed radio post.
I'll use runners to communicate with you.
Stay on the line.
Tell them we're advancing.
We need immediate resupply of food, ammo, water and medical for the wounded.
PVT. CHINN:Yes, Sir.
I'll take the first group up.
I'll send word when it's clear.
You got it.
[MACHINE GUN FIRES]
Tell Captain McMurtry to bring up the rest of the men.
We'll hold here.
SGT. GAEDEKE:Let's go. Come on.
Lipasti!
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
I was lookin' for you.
You found me.
You got an extra one of those?
I've got a message from the Major.
Forget it. The line's cut.
I sent three guys out, not one of them's come back.
I heard some rifle and grenade fire.
I think the Hineys might be working their way in behind us.
You got that?
Yeah.
What's it like up there?
Piece of cake.
Got ourselves a chop suey band, a couple Flora Dora girls.
You wouldn't know what to do with it.
I'm a quick learner.
You need help takin' this back?
This is my post.
I'll stay here.
Take these, too.
No good for one.
Thanks.
Yeah, you too.
[MANDARIN]
Are you certain that the French are withdrawing?
Some of their units are already back in their trench lines.
Without the French on our flank, we'll have to withdraw.
I'll be in my quarters.
Order all units to pull back to our own lines.
Any contact with Whittlesey?
Lines are cut.
Well, you keep trying.
I want to know where that Battalion is.
Yes, Sir.
Major!
Private Chino's line has been cut.
He's tryin' to repair it.
Private Richards!
How many birds are left?
Four, Sir.
Get that message out.
Not you, Cher Ami.
You stay with me.
But don't worry, Sir. This is a good little English carrier pigeon.
He'll tell 'em where we are.
GERMAN SOLDIERS: [SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
[BELL RINGS]
Easy, fella. You're home now.
General!
Major Whittlesey has made it into the Charlevaux Mill area.
Impossible.
He wants to know where the rest of our division is and,
uh, where the French are.
He intends to hold, as ordered.
It looks like our Whittlesey and his city boys are the only ones to
accomplish their mission today.
And because of that, they're stuck
in the middle of the whole god damn German army.
Not bad for a New York lawyer.
[EXPLOSIONS]
One of our patrols heard the Krauts bringing up a van in the fortnight.
Now they might be tryin' to come up behind us.
We can't let that happen.
Have you been able to make contact with either flank?
No.
Not yet.
Now, we need to resupply.
The men are out of food, water.
They're goin' through the kits of the dead for ammo.
Make sure the dead are covered.
Send some more runners back in case that bird didn't get through.
Three men, different routes.
Chinn? Chinn?
Sorry, Buddy.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Where the hell you guys been?
CAPT. HOLDERMAN:Where in the hell did you come from?
Whittlesey's 308. You guys the reinforcements?
No, we're K-Company, Three hundred and seventh.
We've been tryin' to fight our way out of here all night.
Krauts are closing in behind us.
Don't go that way. There's more over there.
Then where the hell did you come from?
I told you, the 308.
No, I meant what's your location.
Where we're supposed to be.
Not like you guys wonderin' around like a John lookin' for a trick
on 14th Street.
We were told to take the Mill, so the Major took it,
and now we're waitin' for a Kraut attack in the morning.
Well, that is outstanding, Private.
I'm sick and tired of playing hide and seek with these Hiney bastards anyhow.
All right,
you are now point man.
You lead the way.
Major.
Their attack will come fierce and disciplined.
They'll wait for the fog to burn off.
They don't like to move around in that stuff.
At Chateau du Deab, they fed their men while it was still dark,
and they attacked us while we were having our breakfast.
We don't have to worry about that, Sir.
My men are down to hard tacks and iron rations.
No coffee.
You're absolutely right, Lieutenant.
That's a good idea.
Sir?
Start your cookin' fires.
Find some old coffee grounds and burn them.
I want the Germans to think we're having a hot breakfast and we're not ready.
Yes, Sir.
You know, I heard that the Hineys have rest centers in these woods.
You know, with bowling alleys, restaurants and beds with sheets.
That's for officers, not for guys like us.
They don't have guys like us.
You don't know anything, Schmagegie.
Hey, don't Schmagegie me, all right?
Hey, who do you think does all the fightin' when the Hiney officers are bowlin',
lyin' in bed and eatin' in restaurants?
All you Jew boys south of Canal Street have dispositions, Rosen.
In Bushwick, we look on the bright side.
There's no bright side to living in Brooklyn, Cepeglia.
I still say they got apple pie and beer over there.
Beer? You didn't say they had beer.
What kind of beer they got?
What difference does it make what kind of beer they got?
You want egg in it?
Hey, that wouldn't be so bad, huh?
Forget about it.
I'm not sendin' people to your tailor shop, Rosen.
You're gonna spend the rest of your life sewin' on buttons.
Hey, as long as it's a long life.
[DISTANT BIRD SHRIEKS]
You hear that?
[BIRDS SHRIEKS] [SOLEMN MUSIC]
Private Chinn?
Nothing.
[SCREAMS IN AGONY]
PVT. LIPASTI:You Hiney bastards!
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Come on, boys!
Come on, boys!
Hang in there, let's go!
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
PVT. HOLLINGSHEAD:Eleven o'clock! Fire!
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:First aid for these soldiers!
Maintain your fields of fire!
PVT. YODER:Two on the ridge, Joe!
Come on!
Just like on the range! Pick a target!
Get out! Watch out!
PVT. KROTOSHINSKY:Come on.
What's your name, Private?
Private Krotoshinsky.
Retract the bolt.
Now pull it back.
Insert this clip.
Just like basic training.
Push the bolt forward.
Now you're ready to fire!
Hold your position, Private Yoder!
Krotoshinsky's in control here!
Yes, Major.
Get down! Keep your heads down!
Now pull back your platoon.
We form a defense in front of the medical area.
And don't you let them turn our line.
Sir!
Pull back!
Fall back!
REGROUP!
Chinn, come in!
Come in! Chinn, come in!
Do you hear me?
Sir, they've broken our left.
They're turning to Captain McMurtry's line.
They're gonna over-run us.
Take every third man and reinforce Captain McMurtry.
Go!
Tell Lieutenant Schenk that he must hold!
Get down! Keep your heads down!
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Fall back!
CAPT. HOLDERMAN:Move up the line!
Move it up!
Thank God!
Move it up!
CAPT. MC MURTRY:Go! Let's go!!
Bring up the left!
[SOLDIERS CHARGING YELLS]
Let's go everybody! Let's go!
Let's go!
Forward!
Come on, boys! Come on, boys!
Hang in there, let's go!
Move forward! Now!
Go! Let's go!
PVT. CEPEGLIA:You bloody Hiney bastards!
I'm comin' to get ya. Feel the lower east side!
Way to go, Private.
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING AND GROANING]
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
Captain Nelson Holderman.
Major Charles Whittlesey.
Sir, [CLEARS THROAT]
I hate to say it, Major, but we're not a relief force.
We were tryin' to get back to our lines when the Germans closed in behind us.
Well, your timing couldn't be better, Captain.
So it seems, Sir.
But Sir, I got less than 8O men in my company.
And if you don't mind me saying so,
those Germans don't seem too pleased with you being here.
Well, they'd better get used to it.
Yes, Sir.
[GUNSHOT]
I'll try!
No.
The wounded need water.
They can't wait until night.
Sergeant Gaedeke, post a guard here.
Shoot anyone who tries to go for water before we get that sniper.
Yes, Sir.
Okay, we're here.
It's the German front.
The rest of our division is somewhere on our right flank over that ridge.
General Alexander said the French are on our left flank.
Lieutenant Schenk, I want you to take Sergeant Gaedeke
and a full platoon and try to join up with the French.
Questions?
LT. SCHENKINO, Sir.
Get it done.
How come we have to use this French gun?
We're Americans.
We should have American weapons.
You're not American, Krotoshinsky.
Sure I am.
I took the test.
What test?
The one they give you at Ellis Island.
Didn't you take it?
I didn't have to take a test. I'm good-lookin'.
Besides, that test doesn't make you American.
It makes you a civilian so that they can draft you and then send you here.
Hey.
Hey, I'm here 'cause I'm an American.
You're a Pollack.
Only in America am I a Pollack.
In Poland, I'm a Jew who has to live in a steigle and make boots
for the cavalry officers.
I took the test, Lipasti.
You know what they said?
They said I could be anything I want.
Don't you ever say I'm not an American.
I took the test.
Where's the rest of the platoon?
We got ambushed, Sir.
General Alexander said the French were on our left flank.
They ain't there. They've never been there.
We're surrounded, Major Whittlesey.
And the men know it, Sir.
If we hold on, they'll hold on.
Why do you think the Germans are trying so hard to knock us out of here?
'Cause where we sit, we're a threat to the entire German line.
And that's not acceptable to them, is it?
No.
No, Sir.
Then it's resolved.
Our orders are to hold.
We stay here.
Colonel Johnson, about this...
Lost Battalion?
Major Whittlesey isn't lost.
We have an idea where he is.
We just can't get to him.
- Whose fault is it? - It's nobody's fault.
It's the way war is.
[BELL RINGS]
It always has been, always will be.
We have a message from Major Whittlesey!
They've repelled several German attacks,
and expect another one in the morning.
He's surrounded, but says he intends to hold until relieved.
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERS] All right! All right!
You know, I got a pretty good idea where that sniper is.
PVT. Ll PASTI :You do?
If he would just put up his head,
I think I could get him.
What's gonna make him put up his head?
Some kind of target.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Men?
Major.
We can't get that sniper. He's really good.
But we got us a plan.
We gotta get water for the wounded.
[PANTING]
That's it.
[PANTING]
Shoot, Yoder!
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
We've taken the bandages off the dead so they can be used
on the wounded, Sir.
Well, this one's good. It's only been used on the one side.
See if you can find yourself a smoke, Sergeant.
I'd like a smoke. I'd love a smoke, Sir.
But I'm not gonna go through some dead man's kit just to find one.
I can't see how any of this is worthwhile, Sir.
I don't want to have this conversation, Sergeant.
Sir, I was with Blackjack Pershing when we chased Pancho Villa
all the way back to Peral.
You're a good officer, Major, but you're different.
In some ways, you're just like these men.
This ain't your life. You've got something to go back to.
You've always been honest with us, Major.
And you really believe holding out here is worth all this?
For men like General Alexander, this is a way of life.
They don't realize that the world as we know it has been ripped
apart out here, and is waiting to be buried.
You think our boys are going back
to their push carts and their sweatshops after this?
If we can hold on, we might be able to end this war.
I'd better go check on the men, Sir.
Looks like we're gonna be here for a while.
The General wants all batteries
to fire at these coordinates in support of Major Whittlesey.
- Did you confirm the firing grids? - SOLDIER:Twice.
Gunners!
Brace, fire!
Go!
Button up.
Lieutenant, how about I go and see if those dead Hineys
have any water or food on 'em?
Hold your position.
I'll send out to the Ritz for steak and potatoes.
Don't forget the bill, Lieutenant.
I'll tell 'em to put it in a coal bucket just for you.
(SHELLS WHISTLE OVERHEAD)
PVT. ROSEN: That's our stuff!
It's comin' from behind! [EXPLOSION]
[SOLDIERS CHEER]
PVT. KROTOSHINSKY:That's our boys! That's our boys!
PVT. YODER:Yeah, come on!
It's comin' in from behind!
SOLDIERSIAII right!
[TRIUMPHANT MUSIC]
I love those traveling salesmen!
I love 'em!
[PVT. KROTOSHINSKY CHEERS]
SOLDIERS:Atta boy!
Yout Hiney bastards! Yeah!
Our guys are bombin' us! Take cover!
The bastards!
[SHELLS WHSTLE OVERHEAD]
Get under cover!
CAPT. HOLDERMAN: Medic!
We need to go down to the medical center.
Get the wounded all under cover.
Go right now!
PVT. HENCHMAN: Get down!
[CHANGES TO SOMBER MUSIC]
What the hell are you doing? Get down!
[SOLDIERS SCREAMING IN PAIN]
Private Richards!
PVT. RICHARDS:Here, Sir!
Sir!
PVT. RICHARDS: Oh, dammit!
I'm sorry, Sir.
Get that message out.
You must tell them to stop this, Cher Ami.
You can do it.
[SHOUTING IN GERMAN]
[CHER AMI SHRIEKS]
All right, hold your positions, men.
Stay alert. Stay alert or those bastards will try to move in behind us.
Lieutenant, come with me!
[BELL RINGS]
PRIVATE:Hey, what's happened to you, little buddy?
Colonel, a message!
COLONEL JOHNSON:Read it.
Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us.
For heaven sakes, stop it.
- Whittlesey. - Whittlesey?
Cease fire!
Cease firing and get me the artillery!
Cease fire! That is...
That is an order! Cease fire!
SOLDIER:We're hitting our own men!
Cease fire!
Stop firing!
[TENSE MUSIC]
Fire!
Come on, move it!
Let's get these bastards!
Hold the line!
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
[SIGHS DEEPLY]
Well, George, that is quite impressive.
CAPT. MC MURTRY: [Groans]
Well, I guess they could take it out, but...
you won't want to move around too much without it opening up again.
Hell,
leave it in.
My mother always said I should find somewhere to hang my hat.
[LAUGHS]
DYING SOLDIER: Major
Would you read from my Bible.
Please?
In You, oh Lord, do I put my trust.
Let me never be put to confusion.
Deliver me in Thy righteousness, and cause me to escape.
Incline Thine ear unto me and save me,
for Thou art my rock, and my fortress.
Deliver me...
[DYING GASPS] out of the hand of the wicked.
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel men.
For Thou art my hope, Lord God.
Thou art my trust for my youth...
CAPT. HOLDERMAN: Sir? Sir? Sir, you want to sit down?
How is it?
Ah, it's just a scratch.
I got some hot water brewing.
[GRUNTS] Here.
Thank you.
Sure.
Captain Mc Murtry was tellin' me,
uh, you used to be a lawyer before the war.
Yes, I was.
[GUNSHOTS]
L, uh, dealt with contracts and regulations.
You know, Major, uh...
people like me and Mc Murtry,
we're professional soldiers.
You know, if we weren't here, we'd be someplace else.
But you could be in legal affairs,
Sir, uh, on the General's staff.
I don't think I'd enjoy working for General Alexander.
You don't think we should be here, do you?
No.
Well, given that's the way you feel, why are you here?
Huh.
Life would be a lot simpler if we could choose our duties and our obligations.
But we can't.
We shouldn't.
That's why I'm here.
[GERMAN SHOUTS]
MAJOR PRINZ:Lieutenant.
I'm Major Prinz.
Can I offer you some dinner? We've got a fine stew.
No, thanks. I ate too much for lunch, and uh... I'm stuffed.
Well, have a cup of coffee.
- Smoke? - It's a bad habit.
I lived in your country for seven years.
I must admit that I prefer your tobacco.
We got plenty.
Come back and be my guest for dinner sometime.
So you've got plenty of food and tobacco?
We do rations for two battalions.
We're a little under strength,
but that's still a lot of food for fourteen hundred men.
You Americans, you always have so much of everything.
No matter.
Eventually you have to surrender.
I don't think so.
Are your officers so callous?
You're surrounded.
You have no chance for relief.
Every night you send out patrols, and every night we kill them.
We can hear the cries of your wounded, Lieutenant.
There's no dishonor in surrender.
Maybe for you.
But my guys are different.
What do you mean?
What you're up against, Major,
is a bunch of Mick, Pollack, Dago and Jew boy gangsters from New York city.
They'll never surrender.
Never.
YOUNG OFFICER:We know they're near the Mill somewhere.
We've got to find them.
PILOT:They hit those poor bastards with our own stuff yesterday!
We'll find them!
It's done.
It's not done.
Anyhow, why should I share this with you?
'Cause I killed the guy you took it off.
Minor detail.
I'm not talkin' to you anymore.
Hey, Yoder?
What's life like in Daisyville?
Big Fork.
What do you do on a Saturday night?
There's a lot to do.
Except we don't stay out too late,
'cause we got church Sunday mornin',
and there's usually a meetin' afterwards.
Okay, say Friday night?
Friday night?
What do you do for fun, Yoder?
Hey, how come nobody calls me Bob?
Who's Bob?
He's Bob, you dumb Dago.
Haven't you ever heard of a first name before?
Your first name is Private.
You're gonna be Private all your life, Rosen.
You're never gonna make Corporal.
All I want to make is civilian.
Sometimes we go campin'.
How come every time we get an apple knocker next to a tree, they talk about camping.
Hey, what do you do when you go campin'?
Sleep outside and cook over the fire.
You wear the same clothes every day and get bitten by cooties?
It's part of the fun.
You hear that, Rosen? We're havin' fun.
Oh. Hey, I'm not havin' fun.
There you go with that narrow thinkin' again.
You know you're never gonna amount to anything.
And you'll disappoint your blessed mother.
You got that right.
Hey, Yoder.
Give me your kit.
Come on.
There you go, kid.
Knock yourself out.
Thanks.
Captain?
CAPT. HOLDERMAN:Sir?
Salvage what you can.
Yes, Sir.
Private?
Pass the word.
Just cover them for now and get some rest.
[PLANE FLYING OVERHEAD]
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
PVT. LIPASTI:it's a Brit plane!
It's a Brit plane!
SOLDIERS CHEER:Hey! Right here!
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
[GUNSHOTS]
Get down!
Find a hole and stay in it!
The map.
He's got somethin'.
We got their position!
MAJOR WHITTLESEY: Listen up.
Division is trying to break through to us.
We have to let them know exactly where we are.
And we've sent out runners every night, but they've either got lost or killed.
With this rain, this could be the cover we need.
I'm asking for volunteers.
I'll go.
PVT. LIPASTI:I almost had it made before we got in this war.
I was this close to an indoor aviator job.
Elevator operator.
Practiced my elocution so I could get that job.
Goin' up, car three.
[LAUGHS]
PVT. LIPASTI: Good morning, good evenin'.
I would have been workin' with gentlemen and ladies.
I would've worn a real uniform that had gold trim down the sides.
My hands would be clean, my back wouldn't hurt like every other
push-cart Dago on the block.
What happened?
What do you mean, what happened?
This happened.
Think that job's gonna be waitin' for me when I get back?
I'm gonna be pushin' a cart around New York like every other Wap.
We're never gonna catch-up to those guys back home.
Hey, you come out to Montana after this, and we'll take care of you.
Are you kiddin'? I never rode a horse in my life.
Then we'll get you a horse that's never been rode.
You'd do that for me, cowboy?
[LAUGHS]
I never been in an elevator.
Where does the army find people like you?
I volunteered.
Oh, buddy, you volunteered?
What? What?
Me, too.
You volunteered for this?
Ain't we a couple jerks.
[LAUGHS]
Captain.
I want you to check the German dead.
See if you can find some food for our wounded.
Yes, Captain.
INJURED GERMAN:(German)
Hey,hey,hey,hey!
INJURED GERMAN:(Whimpering in German)
Shh-shh-shh! Okay, okay. okay.
Shh-shh. Okay?
Take it easy, all right?
Take it easy. It's yours.
You can have it, all right?
Take it, all right?
Take it easy.
Hench!
I got it!
[GUNSHOTS]
Jesus!
Hench!
Hench?
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
I want you to take a message
for me back to your Commander.
I don't know if I can do that, Sir.
You prefer being a prisoner?
No, Sir.
First I get caught by you guys, and now I'm deliverin' messages?
Don't that make me some kind of a spy?
No.
You and your comrades are very...brave.
I envy your Commander, having men like you.
Just look down.
I want to save lives.
Yes, Sir.
Major?
Hold your fire.
So long, Buddy.
Auf Wiedersehen, comrade.
I got a message from the Krauts, Sir.
How did they treat you?
Fine, Sir.
They bandaged me up and gave me some food.
Have you heard anything about Lieutenant Leak?
They've got him prisoner, Sir, but he's doin' fine.
Good. Get some rest, Private.
Thank you, Sir.
Get a weapon.
It says Private Hollingshead has honored his Fatherland by refusing
to answer any questions of the German intelligence officer.
The suffering of your wounded can be heard in the German lines.
We are appealing to your human sentiments to surrender.
Since it will be quite useless to resist any further,
in view of the present conditions.
Signed, Major Prinz.
You know what?
I think we got 'em licked.
They wouldn't have sent it otherwise.
How should we answer him, Major?
Not acceptable.
- How's that? - Never been better.
Lieutenant Leak, he's a fine officer.
He's from Texas.
We lost over 6O men to our own fire today.
We have less than 200 able troops left.
I don't know how they keep doin' it.
Don't sell them short, Captain.
Two days ago, we had a Chinese working our field phone,
an American Indian for a runner.
They're both dead, but that's not the point.
These Italian, Irish, Jews and Pols, they'd never hire me as an attorney.
We wouldn't be seen at the same events.
But we will never in our lives enjoy the company of
finer soldiers or better men than we do tonight.
Major.
I was with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
And I've never served with a finer officer than you.
Do you know your men would do anything,
go anywhere for you?
Thank you, George.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
[BURNING SOLDIERS SCREAMING]
No!
Forward!
Move it up!
Bring it up on line! Move it up!
PVT. LIPASTI : Bastards! Bastards!
[BURNING SOLDIERS SCREAMING]
You're not gonna hit anything like that!
Get me some ammo!
[GUNSHOTS]
Oh, buddy.
Move it out!
Fall out!
Move it out!
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SCREAMING]
You okay?
PVT. ROSEN: I'm okay!
SOLDIERS SHOUTING
[GERMAN SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Gangsters.
New York Gangsters.
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
Hey.
You dumb Dago, I thought you were really hurt.
This is an opportunity, Rosen.
I'm goin' to a nice hospital with nurses.
Did I ever tell you how charmin' I could be?
You'll figure out a way to screw it up.
You got that right.
Come on. Let's go.
[GASPING]
I'm sorry, buddy.
OFFICERS:Godez, take your men out and cover the right flank.
Hackett, take your position here.
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
[VEHICLE APPROACHING]
Major Whittlesey.
There's going to be promotions and commendations for everyone.
No wonder our airplanes couldn't find this place.
Well, your artillery certainly found it, General.
Where's the rest of your Battalion?
MAJOR WHITTLESEY:Sergeant Gaedeke, we couldn't find enough of to bury.
Lieutenant Schenk's platoon is somewhere out there.
I sent him to link with the French that you said were on our flank, General.
These are acceptable losses.
Not to me, Sir.
I understand your feelings for your men.
You said our flanks were supported, and you ordered my boys to attack.
You said supply would catch up with us, which it did not.
Is that acceptable to you?
Yes, that's acceptable to me.
We were able to break through the German line because you held on here.
Because you held on here, like a thorn in their belly.
Major, you did an incredible job out here.
But you had 600 hundred men to worry about,
and I had 20,000 sent into action.
I have to live with that.
I sent for trucks to bring your men back.
They've been through hell.
You'll never know what they've been through, or what they can or they can't do.
They're better than you, General.
They're better than me. They always are.
Let me take you and your officers back in my staff car.
That's not acceptable, Sir. I'll stay with my men.
I understand.
Men
We're moving out!
PATRIOTIC SONG : (Peace comes at last)
(Blood shed for all)
(Sacrifice and tears)
(Love for our ﬂag)
(And country, dear)
(Love-J