Hey, did you hear what happened?
The general went up in the line companies. A shell got his jeep.
He's in the C.P. getting patched up.
I had a general like that in the last war. General McNair, remember him?
Got hit in Africa and killed in France.
Top brass is supposed to use their brains.
They got too much responsibility taking chances getting their tails shot off.
When you've been in this outfit a little longer, Buster,
you'll find out it takes more than brains to be a general.
You got to have the guts to lead.
Hello, General. Help yourself.
Hi, General. Hello, Colonel.
What happened to the 16th Infantry?
The line was out, sir. Finally made contact. Colonel Taylor will be here any minute.
What kind of shape is the 18th in? We're under strength, sir.
Morale's high, but the ammo's low.
Twentysixth? We're chewed up too, sir.
Danger Forward.
General Allen, sir.
Yes, sir. This is Danger 6.
Soon as Colonel Taylor gets here, we're in business, sir.
Yes, sir.
They're getting jumpy back at army.
Hello, Taylor. Hello, General.
Got pinned down on the road. Sniper got my driver.
Bad? Dead.
How's the arm, sir? Still on.
All right, we've been ordered to withdraw.
The boys upstairs want the whole division pulled back right away.
What do you think our chances are of ever getting back to this area?
It'll be rough, sir. It means getting across this river.
There's a bridge right there at that point. It's the only exit open.
Then we got to get to that bridge,
cross it and blow it up to give us a breather.
Once we're reinforced, we'll hit 'em like they've never been hit before.
John, how's the enemy picture look? Very strong, General.
If I were the enemy and became aware of your withdrawal from here to there,
I'd start a full-scale attack.
The Reds have got two armoured divisions here,
a field division here and elements of a regiment behind this hill.
Now, once we start moving along this road to the river,
the Reds'll form an iron triangle that'll trap us and smash us in the gut
unless they didn't know we were withdrawing.
Well, in that case...
we'll have to withdraw without the Reds knowing about it.
You should be evacuated, sir. You're liable to lose your arm.
I'm more worried about losing my division.
Now clean it, dress it, tape it and forget it.
Will you hold that, sir?
There's only one way we can pull this off. That's rear-guard action.
We'll have to put up a front and fool them.
We'll have to make them think our rear-guard is not a delaying action
but a forward outpost to this division's bivouac.
General, the spot is there. Now, I looked over this terrain yesterday.
The hills are steep on both sides of this pass
and the road narrows down so that only one tank at a time can get through.
If we move down that road, around that bend
and set up a roadblock right here at Bayonet Pass,
we stand a chance.
I suggest we leave a full regiment to hold the pass
so the enemy won't suspect that we're pulling back the division.
Yes, but what happens to the regiment after the division is across the river?
That might be just as costly for a regiment to try to pull back as a division.
We can do it with a battalion or a company.
It should be a small, specially selected unit of platoon strength.
Forty-eight of our toughest, most experienced combat men.
It would mean sacrificing less men in a gamble
and an easier withdrawal for the group if successful.
In other words, what you're saying is
if we can make a platoon sound and look like a regiment, it'll work.
Yes, sir.
Well, that's it. Order the division to move out right away.
Get me the threes: Dagwood, Decoy and Dextrose.
Chuck? This is Vic. Hold on.
Pete? Hold on. We're waiting for Dagwood.
Carl? Vic. We're pulling out right away.
Dagwood line of departure: 3-9-5-2-3-7.
Yep. They're here now.
Nope, no time. Get them on the road.
Somebody's got to get left behind to get their bayonets wet.
It's tough picking out an outfit, but it's got to be picked.
Colonel Taylor. Sir?
Pick a platoon out of your regiment.
I know there's nothing dirtier than a rear-guard action,
especially at platoon strength.
But in this case, it's 48 men, unlucky men, maybe,
giving 15,000 men a break.
Get going. Yes, sir.
All right, let me know if you need any more ammo.
Cover that gun.
Dig those mines in deep.
Charlie, plant a.50 over there. To your right!
What I don't understand is why we're on a patrol.
I know the enemy is here. I don't need any proof. I ain't from Missouri.
You're from Missouri?
You don't know what's going on half the time.
Right now, I don't know what's going on all the time. Hey, Denno.
Huh? The sarge likes you.
Fix it up for us to go back and help the platoon throw up the roadblock, huh?
We got to use our heads and make these Reds think regiment's behind us.
They won't fall for that kind of mishmash.
Hey, Rock, what if they find out that the regiment ain't sitting behind us?
What if they hit us with a lot of guys? Who'll hold them back, the platoon?
They won't hit us with a lot of guys.
They'll smell us out first, try and find out our strength.
We'll run into some small patrols. Maybe one joker,
maybe two, maybe three.
But whatever happens, we don't want them to find out
we're just a small rear-guard holding a delaying action.
Rearguard? That's us? Yep.
What is this rear-guard?
The object of the rear-guard is to check enemy pursuit and harassment
and thus allow the main body to retire unmolested.
Hey, what did he say? He said rearguard.
That how you got those two stripes, Denno, memorising the book?
All right, you guys, knock it off.
Remember, the man on his belly out here looks like snow.
A man standing up looks like a man.
Easy.
The minute they spot us, they'll hit us and run.
They won't take any chances hanging around.
We gotta make a lot of noise. We gotta sound like a regiment.
Hey, look what I found, dry socks!
I smell more people... real close.
Fix bayonets.
You heard the man. Fix your knife.
Okay, you guys, spread out and dig for money.
If you don't see anything, shoot anyway.
Denno, that'll be your hole. Dig.
'A little to the right. Hold on. Not yet.