:11:03
Herd instinct, I suppose.
A lower animal sort of thing.
:11:05
A human sort of thing, it seems to me.
Don't you make a distinction, Major?
:11:09
Yes, very regrettable, of course.
Very. Yes, indeed.
:11:13
Major, would you be kind enough
to ex cuse us for a few minutes?
:11:16
Yes, sir. Of course.
:11:19
Colonel.
:11:25
Well, Colonel, what do you think of it?
:11:28
- What do I think of what, sir?
- The Ant Hill.
:11:31
Colonel, your regiment is going
to take the Ant Hill tomorrow.
:11:35
- You know the condition of my men, sir.
- Men will have to be killed.
:11:39
Possibly a lot of them.
They absorb bullets and shrapnel,
:11:42
making it possible
for others to get through.
:11:45
- What support will we have?
- I have none to give you.
:11:49
What sort of casualties
do you anticipate, sir?
:11:52
Say 5%killed by our own barrage.
That's a very generous allowance.
:11:56
10%more in getting
through no-man's-land,
:11:58
and 20%more getting through the wire.
:12:01
That leaves 65%,
with the worst part of the job over.
:12:04
Let's say another 25%
in actually taking the Ant Hill.
:12:08
We're still left with a force
more than adequate to hold it.
:12:11
You're saying that more than
half my men will be killed.
:12:14
Yes, it's a terrible price to pay, Colonel,
but we will have the Ant Hill.
:12:20
- But will we, sir?
- I'm depending on you, Colonel.
:12:23
All France is depending on you.
:12:29
Am I amusing you, Colonel?
:12:32
I'm not a bull. I don't need a flag
waving to get me to charge.
:12:35
I don't like comparing
our flag to a bullfighter's cape.
:12:38
I meant no disrespect to our flag.
:12:40
Patriotism may be old-fashioned,
but a patriot is an honest man.
:12:43
Samuel Johnson had something else
to say about patriotism.
:12:47
And what was that, may I ask?
:12:50
- Nothing, really.
- What do you mean?
:12:52
- Sir, nothing important.
- When I ask a question, it's important.
:12:56
- Now who was this man?
- Samuel Johnson, sir.
:12:58
What did he have to say about patriotism?