1:02:22
- Colonel, good evening!
- Good evening, sir.
1:02:25
- Good evening. Come and sit down.
- Thank you, sir.
1:02:28
- I'm sorry to intrude on you in this way.
- I'm always delighted to see you.
1:02:32
- Will you have a cigar?
- No, thank you.
1:02:35
- Well, I...
- I think you'll find it delicious.
1:02:38
I apologise for not
inviting you to the party,
1:02:41
but I'm afraid that it's a dress affair.
1:02:44
Thank you, sir, but I must confess
that this is not entirely a social visit.
1:02:49
Oh, come, Dax, let's not go
over all that ground again.
1:02:54
But judging by the casualties, the efforts
of your regiment must have been notable.
1:03:00
How can you understand that
and allow these men to be shot?
1:03:04
You're taking a rather simple view of this.
1:03:06
The attack was impossible. The
general staff must have known that.
1:03:12
Colonel Dax, we think we're doing
a good job running the war.
1:03:15
You must be aware that
the general staff is subject
1:03:18
to all kinds of unfair pressures
from newspapers and politicians.
1:03:22
Maybe the attack against
the Ant Hill was impossible.
1:03:24
Perhaps we made an error of judgment.
On the other hand,
1:03:28
if your men had been a little more daring,
they might have taken it. Who knows?
1:03:32
Why should we have to bear any more
criticism for the failure than we have to?
1:03:37
Aside from the fact that many
of your men never left the trenches,
1:03:40
there's the question of the troops' morale.
1:03:43
- The troops' morale?
- Certainly.
1:03:44
These executions will be
a tonic for the division.
1:03:47
Few things are more encouraging and
stimulating than seeing someone else die.
1:03:52
- I never thought of that, sir.
- Troops are like children.
1:03:55
Just as a child wants his father to be firm,
troops crave discipline.
1:03:59
One way to maintain discipline
is to shoot a man now and then.