Manoeuvre (1979) - full transcript

- [Sergeant] Forward march.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

- Serial number 609135.

- How you doing sir?

Spread your legs please.



Okay sir.

- Can't get on the plane 'til you

take the magazine out of the weapon.

- How you doing?

(jet engines rumbling)

- Herr General we hope the infantry division

on the theater (speaking in foreign language)

- Thank you General Steele.

General Schultzen I hereby pass operational control

of the fifth infantry division elements,

fourth tactical fighter wing elements to you for employment

in the central region autumn forge series exercise.

- Thank you sir.

General Steele, Colonel Rodran I direct



that the fifth infantry division

and the fourth tactical fighter wing

participate in the autumn forge exercises

to be held in the central region.

Fifth infantry division will receive further

instructions from commander central army group.

And fourth tactical fighter wing will be directed

by commander allied air forces central Europe, thank you.

- This autumn forge series is truly

a crucible of collective security.

And therefore it's no wonder that today

it is the focus of a propaganda campaign from the East

which suggests it is indeed provocative.

This charge is incorrect from at least two points of view.

First as we emphasized some four years ago

we have not in the West increased

the level of the overall exercises conducted

in live command Europe formerly under national,

or bilateral, or binational context.

We have rather changed the character

of our overall exercise program

by assisting on greater integration

of those forces who normally exercise here.

But secondly this charge from the East

is species because if we have learned anything

through the flow of history it is

that equivalence and readiness by those nations

threatened by the excess accumulation of military power

is indeed not provocative but is

the very step necessary to preserve and protect the peace.

Weakness and equivocation is provocative.

Equivalence and readiness is protective.

And for you professionals of the fifth division

and the fourth tactical fighter wing

this morning is the end of the beginning.

It's the end of a long and arduous trip

from your peace time garrisons in continental United States

and is the beginning of your participation

in a challenging multilateral series of exercises

which demonstrates unequivocally that autumn forge

is indeed the crucible of collective security.

And I welcome you here and congratulate you.

- [Sergeant] Forward march.

(upbeat music)

♪ Watching the signs along the way ♪

♪ Talking it over just the two of us ♪

♪ Working together day to day ♪

♪ Together ♪

♪ Together ♪

♪ And when the evening comes we smile ♪

♪ So much of life ahead ♪

♪ We'll start out walking and learn to run ♪

♪ And yes we've just begun ♪

(calm music)

- How about you what is it?

Where's your home?

- I'm from Florida.

- Florida?

(big band music)

Where's your home guys?

- [Soldier] Florida sir.

- Another Florida guy.

(big band music)

- Yes sir.

- [Officer] By God you started early didn't you?

- I started at 17.

- Thank you.

- On the 28th of this month.

- This guy'll be driving a big Cadillac car here.

Won't be bad.

- One, two, one two three.

- That's right.

(engines rumbling)

- Come over here don't go up there

with that group, stay back this way.

Newport's gone, Felson?

You're a wheel driver over there.

Tal?

Wheel driver over there.

Callaway?

You're a wheel driver that side.

Calan?

Jordan?

You're a wheel driver.

Stuart Matthews?

- Be safe fellas, that's the only thing.

Be very safe.

Ground guys any time you move a track

don't mess my warehouse up.

Again welcome to Germany.

I'll turn you over to your platoon leaders and NCO's.

And the equipment now really belongs to the Tiger Battalion.

Thank you.

- Okay, Lieutenant Cook call out the people

you want out and send them where you want them.

- [Cook] The writing team, and the marking team

right over there by that door.

(engines rumbling)

- I have not noticed any new racial problems with any

growing amount of minorities in the Army.

- Second question, there's been a lot about

the dropping off of the educational levels

of the recruits, your perspective on that.

- As I said yesterday maybe the education level

is dropping and we're having to change our way of thinking

and maybe get back to the basics again

in training new recruits in the Army.

Again we have to be very flexible

and be able to adapt to that changing situation.

- You think it's a reflection of society as a whole?

- Yes I do.

With the volunteer Army I still feel we're getting

a good cross section of American society.

We may not be getting as many college graduates

as we did with the draft but we're still getting

a good cross section and I think it's very representative.

- Come on come on come on.

Come on give it a push now, give it a push.

- The U.S. Army which takes part

in the maneuvers this year is much different

than the U.S. Army of just a decade ago.

It's a volunteer Army and there's growing concern

that the volunteer system is not working.

Should we do another one?

- Yeah let's try another one out.

I can't open up and split the difference in it.

- [Reporter] Let's just hope there will be

guys behind us and they won't notice.

Let's go, let's try to go quickly.

- Okay.

You ready?

- [Cameraman] We're rolling.

- The U.S. Army which will take part

in the maneuvers this, keep rolling.

The U.S. Army which will take part

in the maneuvers this year is much different

than the U.S. Army of just a decade ago.

It's a volunteer Army and there's growing concern

that the volunteer system is not working.

- [Cameraman] Not bad.

- Okay let's go home.

- We got it.

- I welcome all of you

to this pre-exercise briefing.

I know that you now understand

the overall background of Certain Shield.

You understand the context in which it occurs.

Reforger and Crested Cap, those annual exercises

in which American based Army and Air Forces

rapidly deploy to Europe to reinforce NATO forces

for the defense of Western Europe.

Since you understand all these things

I now would like to share with you my view,

my perspective as Exercise Director

and as the Corp Commander.

To the maximum degree that we can

within all of the respect for human life

and property that we have and within

all of the safety inhibitions of peacetime maneuvers

we are going to seek to reproduce the fog of battle

that is such a real factor on any battlefield.

And in that fog of battle which is almost

as thick on some maneuver fields as on some battlefields,

there will be the pressures and the stresses

that approach those of combat.

Commanders and staffs will have to make decisions

in the field and in practice as they can never do

in a classroom or while reading a book of theory.

And soldiers will learn all of the lessons that they learn

when moving tanks, and armored infantry carriers,

and helicopters, and armored artillery

and engineer equipment, and trucks and jeeps

back and forth in a simulated combat maneuver.

The real payoff comes in the maneuver itself.

I say that we cannot afford not

to put our soldiers into the field.

If what we have within our countries is worth preserving

it is worth paying a price to defend.

And the price of defense is the exercise

of soldiers and units in field maneuvers.

I hope and pray that there is no human life cost here.

But even in those maneuvers where

there are human lives lost one still must step back

and look at the national and the alliance benefits

that derive from the training exercises.

- Okay what's standing here, what I've just

called off comprises the first march unit

for our movement to Babenhausen.

This movement to Babenhausen represents

the unit being called to forward assembly area

as if we were actually going into

combat within a couple of days.

Right now what we've been doing is simulating

the emergency move from the states,

drawing all our equipment and preparing it for combat.

And now we're actually going up there to get into it.

- [Soldier] Take it slow.

- [Soldier] Okay.

- [Soldier] Boy first deployment fucked up a lot of shit.

Go ahead.

They got some non-driving people in first deployment

if they tore all this shit up.

- [Soldier] No shit.

- [Soldier] Okay, go ahead.

Right just a cunt hair, right just a cunt hair, straight.

- [Officer] Take it easy on the sidewalk.

I don't want to take any more pictures, out.

- [Soldier] Little young you know.

- [Soldier] Even the young one looks good.

- [Soldier] Yep, I swear.

- [Soldier] That's using a Volkswagen basic, nice looking.

- [Soldier] Oh yeah?

- [Soldier] All of them are nice looking.

Even the 13 year olds.

Okay you're coming to a close intersection.

- [Soldier] Do what?

- [Soldier] You're coming up there to a close,

well not a close one but I got a truck half way

on that other side, you got it made right where you're at.

Only thing we really messed up is the sidewalk.

That's because of the cars that pulled up

in front of us that we couldn't avoid.

They all wouldn't be out on the street.

That's what you call a greeting coming through town.

That's with an S on it.

In I wish I was one of the soldiers who won World War II.

- [Soldier] Really?

I betcha they had it made here in Germany.

God dog.

- [Soldier] Probably got anything they wanted.

- [Soldier] Yep.

- [Soldier] Probably didn't have to ask for it either.

- [Officer] One four to one six.

- [One Four] One four.

- [One Six] Hey this is one six, the tail end

of the column is not clear for--

- [Soldier] Okay stay a little to that side a little bit.

- [One Six] 30 miles an hour as I've had

to do back here to try to keep up

because we've got a bad 88.

Backing down a little bit until everything gets clear over.

- [One Four] Watch out you got a crazy fucker behind you.

He almost just hit you.

- [Soldier] Thank you sir.

- [Soldier] I am going to Berlin.

- [Soldier] Oh yeah can I come too?

- [Soldier] Well we got one guy here picking corn already.

- [Soldier] That's alright get me a detail tonight.

We gonna have us some corn too.

- [Soldier] I heard that.

- [Soldier] He got about three or four ears off there.

Nice looking too.

- [Soldier] Let's go.

- [Soldier] That's all we got.

- [Whiskey 59] Whiskey all this is Whiskey five niner.

We gonna be picking up the speed a little bit but

let's pay close attention to the interval.

- [Soldier] Check this one out on your right babe.

- [Victor 59] This is Victor five nine--

- [Soldier] Oh Lord it's a fraulein.

- [Soldier] Ah she went back in.

- [Soldier] Did you see the fraulein back in the other town?

- [Soldier] It's about time, in the woods yeah.

- [Soldier] Where we fucking belong.

Instead of no more bullshit.

- The detail briefings.

Basically tactical philosophy here

is for the left flank units to go ahead

and get pushed from Vermont gradually

as they can attrit the forces here.

They'll continue until they get to Vermont

into these positions, at that point they'll hold.

Same thing will hold true for the other flank,

the 61st infantry.

They'll move from these positions

and into these more fortified positions at Vermont.

They are to hold.

The first, the fourth, and the center however

will not try to restrain the enemy

as much as the other two flanks.

They'll allow them to penetrate but at the same time

attriting them as they come forward

and quickly get back to positions here

at their first defensive positions.

They will then also move from here

to these positions where they will hold.

Once they get in these positions

if in fact they do penetrate and they recognize

that there might be some weakness here

and concentrate their forces and attempt

to penetrate here we'll allow them to penetrate.

So once this penetration takes hold

they're holding here, they're holding,

and he's holding here.

At that point we'll blow the dams.

This will more or less restrain their movement

in the area because of the wet terrain

and weather permitting we'll have the attack helicopters,

we have 63 of them each with tow missiles.

They then will kill tanks in here

plus the high performance aircraft we can put in here.

And at the same time units from the 377 and 61st

will deploy one team each into the high ground here

to fence off any withdrawal activity by this unit.

Or, and hopefully try to preclude

any reinforcements coming down to help them out.

So in fact what we're doing is holding here,

holding here, here let them penetrate

and kill them in this zone.

Are there any questions?

- Lieutenant Webster, I get to read it when you

get through sir, I didn't get any.

Earls, Parker, Parent, Phil, Phil.

Lieutenant Webster, man he sucks.

Captain Webster.

- [Soldier] He's right over there.

- Where's he at?

Lieutenant, no it's Captain.

Ooh another one.

Sir that's your allocation for the month.

Sergeant Hill, Sergeant Bell, Sergeant Bell.

- James?

- James Earl Ray, nope wrong name.

- James Earl Ray.

Marcum.

James Hallowell, Halloween, or whatever.

Lieutenant Droves.

I believe we got CSE's, there's head quarters company.

Parent, Lieutenant Roberts.

Here's Halloween again.

- [Officer] Could the Third Platoon

get out of the road and get over in the woods or something?

Instead of standing there in a circle jerk, move out.

(upbeat music)

- [Soldier] Hey Sergeant?

- [Sergeant] Yeah.

- [Soldier] You got your mess kit up?

- [Sergeant] No.

- Where you headed son?

- [Soldier] What's up boo?

- Not much man.

- [Soldier] You the one.

- [Soldier] I'll be out of the Army by then.

- [Soldier] Yeah I'll be out next year too.

- [Soldier] I'll be out in three months.

- [Soldier] I'll be out in about 11.

- [Soldier] Oh yeah?

Three more months I get out this Army I'm gonna go home.

Get me a nice job, kick back relax for awhile.

Live a little bit off the income.

Relax a bunch, that's 'bout all I'm gonna do.

I don't know what kind of job I'm gonna get yet though.

I ain't figured it out.

- [Soldier] Yeah I guess I'll go

back to my job when I get out.

- Did you go to Fort Bliss with this unit?

- [Soldier] Nah.

- You didn't, how long you been here?

- [Soldier] I been here a little over a year.

- Over a year?

You didn't go to Fort Bliss?

How come?

- [Soldier] They got back just as I was coming in.

- Has it been a year since we been there?

- [Soldier] Yeah.

- Man time flies.

I went there with them and went

to Panama with them before that.

For 61st, they went to Bliss,

then went to Florida, then we come here.

They want me to extend a month right.

Since I'm already gun blaster qualified.

And they want me to go to jungle school

with the infantry men, sort of let them know

what's going on before they get there right.

But I told them that I wasn't gonna do it because

I'd already been there, I did my time.

Besides it's too rough to be volunteering

for stuff like that, it's a hard school.

- [Soldier] I don't know man I believe

if they was to ask me I believe I'd volunteer.

- You think so?

- [Soldier] Yeah.

- Even after going through it once?

I might.

You think so?

I don't know about that.

I might go with them just to help them out.

That's about it.

I told them though I'm not gonna

do none of the actual training.

'Cause like I said I've done it I've already got

my jungle expert diploma and there just

ain't much sense in doing it.

- All you'd be doing is refreshing your mind and shit.

- I'm just gonna help them out maybe.

I'm gonna teach some classes though on the jungle training

before they go there let them know

what their scores are gonna be.

That's about all I'm gonna do.

I been in three years already you know.

I came in when I was 17, I'm 20 years old now

and I getting no younger.

Oh man.

- [Soldier] Alright let me get this water on down.

- Yeah you go ahead and do that.

Take it easy okay.

Don't work too hard.

You know what time we gonna leave tonight?

- [Soldier] Yeah.

- [Soldier] What time?

- I want you to use listening post.

You gotta wire them in, wire them in.

I want you to use patrol activity, the local area.

I want you to be aware that there's

guerrillas operating in the area,

undue curiosity seekers, anything like that

I want you to use your common sense on those things.

But don't let those people have cameras come up.

If he looks like he's unduly curious may be a guerrilla.

I want to use everything at our hands.

I want to use the attack helicopters.

I want to use mines, I want to use obstacles,

I want to use air, I want to use artillery

to hold them right here.

These are our best positions.

We want to hold there as long as possible.

As long as possible I don't want you...

When a squad pops up I don't want to call me

and tell me you want to pull out.

I want you to keep those positions as long as possible

'cause that's our best positions.

Also if we a big enough target they do have B52's.

They have a ZAT package which is

F4's, Tow Cobras, and some other things.

One team will be contaminated during

the exercise and must withdraw and go through

the decontamination procedures.

Now this is what we been waiting on.

This is what we been waiting on.

We've trained hard for it.

Pull your head out of your asses.

I know everybody's got a cold.

Mike Fisher can't breathe.

I'm using Vick's Inhaler.

Walt's over here looks like he's the tail end of hard times.

XO's sleeping 'til noon.

All this kind of shit.

This is what we want to do.

You all know what we gotta do.

You know, every one of you know

that we went out there last time.

Every time we've been in the field

we've done everything we've talked about.

Let's not start now just 'cause we feel bad.

Some of our troops have got colds.

Everything charge, like we always charged.

Don't hold anything back.

It's like the seventh game of the World Series.

You don't hold anything back.

You let it all hang out, let it all hang out.

Pull all your stops.

Get the people up get them ready to go.

Gentlemen my last word.

Be professional and let hit all hang out.

- Need to see the Commanders here a couple minutes.

- Okay I'm gonna give you an operations order

for the first part of the exercise.

Situation enemy forces of the third

armored division are expected to attack

within two to three days to the south.

They are presently located somewhere up here in the north.

Their exact positions have not been pinpointed yet.

They will attack along the south along two axis.

One main axis of advance is through the center

of our sector and down this high speed avenue of approach.

Another axis of advance, a likely axis of advance

is along this high speed avenue of approach to the south.

They'll be trying to seize key bridges

and key towns to our south.

Also the S2 and G2 know about six special forces teams

which are being employed by the third armored division

and approximately 150 guerrillas

that will be deployed in our rear starting now

and after we move into our defensive position.

In actuality when we get up there we will be the

farthest forward company team position in the division.

So we've got to have our stuff together.

Once we get to the vicinity of that defensive position

up on the hilltop using that trail there

I will get on the ground and show the platoon leaders

where I want the individual platoon positions.

Because the terrain is very tricky up there.

Ideally we would be able to just use our blade tank

and the 88 and cut down what we needed

and get our good positions dug in.

As it is this is a watershed area

we've got to be very careful not to tear it up,

not to spill anything, and not to knock down any trees.

So I want to get on the ground and show

platoon leaders where I want the positions.

I'll come up to your platoon tank and show you

where I want your vehicles, and APC's.

By the way the winds are expected to prevail

out of the southwest which is not favorable

for CBR use by the enemy forces but it is favorable for us.

- [All] I confess to almighty God and to my brothers

and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault

in my thoughts and in my words

and what I have done, what I have failed to do.

And I ask blessed Mary ever virgin,

all the Angels and Saints, and you my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

- [Priest] May the almighty God of mercy now

forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.

First reading from the book if Sirach, Simpson.

- Should a man refuse mercy to his fellows

yet seek pardon for his own sins?

If he who is but flesh cherishes wrath

who will forgive his sins?

Remember your last days, set enmity aside.

Remember death and decay, and cease from sin.

Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor,

of the Most High's covenant, and overlook faults.

This is the word of the Lord.

- [All] Thanks be to God.

Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world.

Have mercy on us.

Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world.

Have mercy on us.

Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world.

Grant us peace.

- This is the lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the world.

Happy are we who are called to his supper.

- [All] Lord I am not worthy to receive you

but only say the word and I shall be healed.

- May the body of Christ keep us to everlasting life.

Body of Christ.

Body of Christ.

Body of Christ.

Body of Christ.

Body of Christ.

Body of Christ.

(engines rumbling)

- [Soldier] If I just come through

it won't tear up the ground.

- [Local] Panzer come in here.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Okay.

Well if I turn them around it's gonna tear up the ground.

Wait.

(vehicle approaching)

We got a population problem up here.

We've got a German national that says

that we can't bring these tanks down this road.

You want to come up here and talk to him?

- [Officer] Not especially.

- [Soldier] It was the one that was

up here digging this ditch.

- [Officer] Yeah I don't know him.

I've seen him around.

I just came back down that road.

I know he's a German but as far as I can see

it's not off limits to travel on.

- [Soldier] Tell him there's a sign at the bottom that says

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Radioman] There's a sign at the bottom that says

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Soldier] Does that mean private property?

- [Soldier] I think it means private road.

- All it says is not, no bivouac,

no refueling and stuff like that.

- Can you talk to him Abe?

- Can I talk to him?

I doubt it.

Where you wanting to go anyway?

- [Soldier] I want get up there to the--

- Next intersection?

- To the base of that hilltop.

And I'm gonna spread out down below him.

I won't even be up here except,

well shouldn't be up here at all.

When we get out of here I'm not gonna use this road.

Don't plan to use this road.

But I just, since it's so slick on the back side

I wanted to use this road to get up in here

to the defensive position that I picked.

- Yeah, let me see what he says.

I don't know if I can do it or not.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Over on the other side is still

messed up from last years maneuvers.

- [Officer] Yeah it's all screwed up.

You know what can I say?

They got maneuver rights on the area

and there's nothing says we can't be up here.

So we'll be careful.

Okay we're gonna move on.

- Okay.

You're going back to where I just came from I think.

- [Officer] We're going through to the top

and the spread back down to the left

and spread over that way.

(engines rumbling)

- We got a range, you see the clump of trees there?

And the clump of trees over here.

You have to pull the tank up about another

foot and a half and you can make out

a good range that covers this whole area.

- Alright.

- Alright.

- You want range covered with azimuth?

- [Officer] Yes everything.

Zero the azimuth indicator on...

You see that white building down there?

Real low white building.

Right, zero it on the base of the left corner.

- [Soldier] And you want any avenue right?

- Right, the road there, see the road there?

And the clearings on the hilltop.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- What would be your tactic?

What do you expect your tactics to be?

- My tanks are situated to get the longest fires right now.

I don't have anything, any other organic

antitank weapons except for my tanks until we get

to close range down to LAW range 250, 300 meters.

Or the new flash rocket system which

is good out to about seven or 800 meters.

So my tanks are situated so that

when I see a target appear we can actually shoot them

when they come across that rise.

Now we're not supposed to fire except at about

2500 meters to get a high probability of kills but

that far out I would have the entire platoon

fire at one vehicle and by firing at one vehicle

that increases my chance of kills.

And the more I can kill at a long range

the better off we'll be.

So I'll designate the targets to my platoon leaders.

I'll call them and tell them the tank on the left

as it appears in sector so and so and I'd give him the grid.

Have all your platoon fire in volley.

They'd go ahead and fire and I'd do

the same thing with my other tank platoon

if they could see the same targets.

Fire them up with tanks as far away as possible.

Have my infantry platoon engage with their 50 calibers

and their LAW's as soon as they could take them under fire.

And then I would start to move out my infantry first.

If I felt that I could not defend this position.

If I kept seeing a horde coming over the rise

I'd want to move out my infantry first

because they have the lighter skinned vehicles.

And I wouldn't them stuck up here to try to defend it.

Then I would send out the platoon of my tanks

which was least engaged, get them out of here first.

And the most heavily engaged platoon would stay here last.

Their survivability goes down because of that

but it allows me time to defend the terrain.

- So would you actually anticipate

being able to stay here until they reached LAW range?

- Not unless-- - Two to 300 yards?

- [Officer] Not unless there was a battalion

or a battalion minus coming across in my sector.

And then I feel that my tank platoons

could knock off a lot of them but a few would get through.

And those few who got through and maybe

came up in a covered route and got up

into my dead space, my infantrymen would just--

- So you'd just lie in wait for them?

- [Officer] That's right.

- And then try to essentially take them all out.

- Yes I'd try to.

Now again it'd have to be an estimate

right here on the ground but if the force

appeared to heavy or I was getting outflanked

I'd call my battalion commander

and tell him that hey I'm gonna have to move.

Is it okay for me to move now to my

next defensive position which is

down here about four K's below me?

Now I've prepared that of course simulated but

what I have done is I've sent back

an engineer vehicle and he's back there now

digging in each tank and each vehicles position

to give us more survivability against

both indirect fire and direct fire.

- [Analyst] And would you use

artillery to cover your patrol?

- Definitely.

That's the first thing I would use.

When I saw my smoke trails out there

initially before I could see the vehicles

I've got artillery plotted all out here in front of me.

I don't have it on this map my FO has it.

But all in front of me I've got artillery plotted.

And I'd start putting smoke and high explosive rounds

on them right away to knock out whatever vehicles I could.

It's a combination of my red eye team

shooting at any aircraft we've got,

my automatic weapons on the tanks

shooting at any aircraft that come against me,

the artillery hitting them at longest range,

my tanks hitting them as they get closer,

and then if it gets that close my 50 calibers

and LAW's from the infantry taking them on there.

So we sort of try to catch them in phase

as they come closer to us.

Now when the scouts pull back through me,

our scouts are out front now.

When they pull back through me I'll assume control

of their tow section will give me longer range fires.

- What's that about two launchers?

- They've got two tracks with one launcher on each one.

That's the section that I'll assume control of.

- So you get a couple tows.

How many tanks do you have in your platoon?

- I've got two tank platoons here, 11 tanks total.

I've kept my command and control tank

with one of my platoons.

If it became that hot, if we started getting

a lot of artillery here of course

I'd mount that and fight from there.

Normally I'll fight, unless the artillery

gets too heavy from my APC.

- [Analyst] Well if we just take a look.

- Certainly.

- [Analyst] Good.

- [Officer] It's a long steep walk here.

Right now I requested that the engineers

put in a mine field across a trail down here to my front

that the infantry can cover with fire

and also to their left front that can be

covered by that tank platoon.

- So you could start further down the hill?

- No sir we wouldn't want to get down because

farther down the front, backing back up he'd be exposed.

So we need to be up here where it's flatter

where he can shoot, back out of that,

pull over into another and fire again.

- Along the tree lines.

- Yes sir.

- In Korea where they had the prepared positions

in a situation like that they have

a road already dug in and about three or four feet deep

with embankments and about five tank positions

along here all prepared already.

And the tanks would be well prepared for rolling the tanks.

You'd just wheel back up and down it.

- Well the longer--

- The longer you have yeah.

- The longer we stay here the more we prepare the positions.

If we were here for several more days

I'd have my M88 recover vehicle and if I could get

the combat engineer vehicle with their blade

and any other engineer support dig in

several positions and like you said

the covered routes in between.

- What are the tank crews doing now?

- They've prepared their range cards.

So they've got their targets picked out

and they've got their individual sectors which overlap

so that they've got plenty of fire.

And they're now just observing and taking turns

resting and staying on radio watch.

As far as actual training goes

the tank commanders have their soldiers manuals

and they've got vehicle recognition guides

and some other training literature

and they're conducting training periodically

as troops get bored a little bit

they'll conduct their training.

We could walk down to the end if you'd like to.

- Shall we?

- [Officer] Would you like to talk to any of the troops sir?

- [Analyst] Well yeah I'd certainly like to climb on.

- [Officer] Corporal Westman where do you sleep?

- Well we sleep down in tanks about 75% sleep

and one man up at all times.

- But you actually sleep in the tank?

- Exactly.

- It's warmer in there I guess.

- Well if you got the heater going sir it is.

- And now you're just waiting.

- We waiting but then again we know

they ain't far away from us anyway.

- [Analyst] So you're ready?

- Oh we ready.

- Do you like this piece of equipment

that you found over here?

- Oh the tanks nice.

First time I've been on a new arrived tank.

- Any problems that you've found with the equipment?

- I haven't found any major problems but

little bitty nicked things what we can fix ourselves.

- Is it as good as what you left at home?

- Well they are gooder, they are way better.

We do have some rides and some M60's

but these are way better.

We go in to combat I would like to have these.

- [Analyst] You would like to have these?

- I would like to have these.

- Yeah well we'll have to get some more of them.

How are you?

Good.

Well you can see well today.

I hope you can see this clearly the day they come.

- Really this morning I couldn't hardly see anything

except my eyeballs trying to see out cross there, couldn't--

- [Analyst] But then it cleared up.

- [Westman] Cleared up.

- [Analyst] Well thanks a lot, good luck.

If you got attacked by a reasonably sized enemy force

what kind of exchange ratios tanks for tanks

do you think you'll end up getting?

- [Officer] Well five to one.

- [Analyst] Five to one.

- [Officer] From these positions.

- From these positions at least.

- From our prepared positions, not actually here.

- But having the graders and stuff in for a few days.

- [Analyst] When they gut stuck in it'd probably be

even more, it'd be eight or ten to one.

Because they're coming across wide open,

nothing in front of them to stop them.

And they'd have to come across there

with a regiment to get them out of here.

- Can you imagine hitting this

with some A10 support overhead?

- Oh yes wow.

(laughing)

When the A10's come they're here.

When they don't come they're not here.

- You don't count on them.

- Yes sir we've planned on it.

My FO has planned for the air but we--

- How many sorties you'll be likely to get?

- That's hard to say.

About 50 a day for the division.

- [Commander] The Brigade says they can but

in point of fact the Air Force

is like artillery it goes where the need is.

The entire theater an Air Force generates so many flights

and we may not see a single sortie here.

Where the Brits may be getting the shit

kicked out of them and then get 200 sorties.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- I'm gonna have the

artillery officer, the FO come to your positions

and show you where he's got his targets planned.

So you can call targets to me

simply by saying from such and such left

5000 drop 1000, whatever.

- [Soldier] I've already got some worked out sir.

- Okay.

Remember there's six SF teams operating against us

and approximately 150 guerrillas.

We got to be a lot more alert at night than we have been.

Remember also that you guys, when you get tired

that's when you've got to double your efforts

as leaders because the troops are getting tired also

and they don't have that same sense of urgency

and discipline that you do so you've got

to make sure that they stay up.

Also elements of the third armored division

moved through here going north to get there

initial defensive positions, I mean attack positions.

Therefore possibility they may have left

some stay behinds in the area to screw with us.

That'd be very easy to do to put somebody in civilian

clothes or in a fifth infantry division uniform

walking around checking your stuff out.

Problem play and Soviet military liaison mission people

will be out and anytime you see undue curiosity,

people looking at you through field glasses,

adults hanging around you're vehicles or positions

report to me and ask them to leave.

And if they don't leave I'll come down

and get them and escort them out of there.

From what we know of third armored division that

these moves to our flanks and nothing down the center

may be faints of company size elements

and they'll bring the rest of the damn division

right down the middle so again

we'll have to take the brunt of the force probably.

So key your people up for it, continue to get them high.

I was told that we would have

hot water for shaving and hot coffee with the seeds.

Now it didn't show up today, don't count on it.

First light when we have stand to and baron,

when you cease from baron I want people

to start to clean up okay.

I don't want any scraggly faces

after about a half hour past daylight.

I've got emergency rations in case something goes wrong.

I've got enough to feed everybody about four meals.

We'll maintain that four meal freedom

throughout the exercise so if I give you

some rations and tell you they're emergency rations

hang on to them as long as you can.

Chow may not come at regular intervals but we'll get chow.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- Hopefully we're gonna have some demolitions

in by tonight so I can start--

- You mean mines?

You got some you could leave with me I'll put them in.

- I just don't have it.

Right now I got two squads who are

just sitting there doing nothing

'cause I just don't have any materials.

It's a big logistic mess and they just haven't

been getting anything to the front.

I don't know where it's breaking down but

I got everyone in this battalion

and also in my battalion, my own battalion

working on it but for some reason

it's just not coming out right.

- Captain May worked with the desk.

She said that they were great, great to work with,

they like Americans, they even like Germans.

The old guys though, the other day we

got stopped by some old German drunk.

He was telling us about, what you could pick out

of his dirge he was telling us about the war.

'45 where he was and all this other stuff.

You run into that all the time.

(laughing)

- That got better, another got beer.

He said if you buy me beer

I'll take a drink out of the spittoon.

Okay, I bet you won't do it so

he grabbed the spittoon started drinking it.

Stop, stop, and he kept on going, kept going.

He finally set it down and they took his beer

and said why didn't you stop?

You said you was gonna take a drink.

He said I couldn't stop it was all in one drink.

(laughing)

- I can't handle it.

When I was in college guys used to chew into coke bottles.

Spit, you'd be sitting in class

watch that shit roll out down the coke bottle. (gags)

- [Soldier] He don't know Sergeant Pue does he?

Sergeant Pue the whole side of his tank

is covered with tobacco spit.

- [Officer] My track's that way.

When we go to the field my driver has to get up there

and he yells what are you doing?

He has to get out there and he wipes off the deck.

I stand up there at the top left off that thing.

He cleans that deck off about once a day.

- [Soldier] Camouflages his fatigues see.

- That's right.

Ain't nothing better than a good chew out in the field.

(engines rumbling)

- Apparently I don't speak plain English

so I'm gonna tell in plain fucking English again.

I want fucking CEOI's tied on your fucking body.

And I expect you to look and ensure that they are there.

I'm not going out looking for anything else.

I've talked about the fucking lanyards

'til I'm blue in the face.

I'm gonna start taking fucking money.

Now that's all there is to it.

Rank or money, I don't give a damn which.

I'm getting tired of going around and seeing

the same crap that I'm beating my gums up here daily

and I'm seeing it over and over and over again.

Bunny hats, no steel helmets.

Now guys do I speak English or not?

Do you understand what I want?

Or don't you understand what I want?

If you don't understand I can find fucking replacements.

I'm getting tired of going up and getting my ass reamed

every single day on different things.

And after I sit here and I think I made myself clear.

Convey procedure.

I talked about it.

I talked about convey procedure last night.

I talked about speed, I talked about safety.

Six fucking hours later we turn over a POL tanker.

Now pull your heads out of your fucking ass

and get with the program.

If you can't get with the program then turn in your bars

and go play tiddly winks some place else.

I want tight control on the weapons.

I want tight control on the CEOI's.

I want tight control on the vehicles.

Now by God either you do it or hold up your hand

and I'll find a job for you

in the tiddly wink factory someplace.

I want this passage of lines to go right.

I want fucking communications.

I want to know what's going on.

I want your troops to make sure that they're involved.

Are the troops being actively employed

so they feel that they're part of the thing?

And Walt's got them out using flags and

he's got one team watching the other team out there.

And I think that's, they feel that they're

doing something constructive besides sitting in the tank.

'Cause if they sit in the tank what happens?

The same thing with the PC's right.

They feel that wars passed them by and they're pawns

and all they're doing is sitting there.

So let's get them out of the PC's.

Let's get them out of the tanks.

And let's get them occupied.

If it's getting cold out there

they're feeling sorry for themselves.

When the battle's joined tomorrow

I want aggressive action.

I want artillery, I want air strikes,

I want tow cobras when you can use them.

I want to throw everything that we've got.

I don't want to hold anything for tomorrow.

We want to keep this battle position.

It's the best battle position we've got.

When we get kicked off this guys it's gonna be

a long dry spell before we can get anyplace else.

We've got to maximize what we've got here.

And if we don't, pack up our kit bags and let's go home.

Y'all been in bed with your umpire.

He knows your tactical plan.

Any questions, any problem areas or anything?

Guys I hope I've made myself clear.

I ain't talking to hear my head rattle.

I've given you a list of things

and I better see some action on them.

I'm getting tired of answering to the boss

for things that I think that we've already covered

in sufficient detail that we can get the job done.

If you can't do it then I'll find somebody than can do it.

Anybody have any questions on that?

Have I made myself perfectly clear?

Do I speak English plain enough?

Okay.

That's it.

(all talking at once)

(jet engine roaring)

- [Radio] This is Charlie eight two over.

- Lima seven four roger.

I've got tanks starting at the following coordinates.

No idea on numbers and direction of travel.

One one zero niner seven six.

I think that's important for you to monitor

and continue watch for smoke pillars

or any sign of movement in any direction.

- [Radio] My unit ID is orange zero five over.

- Roger go ahead and send me your present grid

and I can make a determination if you're

gonna be opposing me or if you're farther east or west.

- Tell him I need him down here ready to shoot.

- You've got to the right, that ridge line to the right.

Got the wood line to the left of it.

And they gave me as a registration point

just to the right there's some kind of building.

And looks like five's got it now.

- [Officer] Not that red topped barn?

- No sir.

- [Officer] You can't see it though.

Do you need to fire a registration round?

- No sir I can just go I can just give them a grid.

Won't be quite exact at first.

But we can go on it from there.

- [Officer] How many you think we can get?

How many rounds?

- We have priority of fire sir.

We can get as much as we want.

- [Officer] Outstanding, okay.

- If I can get anybody.

They still say omega has not crossed the phase line yet.

I cannot have any fires but mortars.

- If you can get the mortars ready to fire.

Then I'll think we'll have something

hanging in the tubes when they show.

What west part or corner of the town?

- Well where we seen them initially.

If hey had determined it wasn't ours

we could have hit them then but

if they go right behind that hill

and come right round there.

Be a perfect avenue of approach.

- It's all high speed too.

Two civilians with binoculars and cameras.

One four niner, niner zero niner over.

(static blaring over radio)

- [Soldier] That's the orange fourth sir.

- [Soldier] Yeah they're camouflaged.

- That's the orange fourth.

- [Soldier] Shoot them up, shoot them up.

- Tanks have got camouflage also.

Got a big orange disk on his flank.

- [Soldier] That's fucking orange forces.

- God damn I don't want them for breakfast shoot them up.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- Zero eight six seven four prepare to copy message.

Company tank column, type unknown.

One

two zero

eight niner three.

Preparing to take under direct fire

once they expose themselves.

Roger out.

- Okay sir I just got through talking to Abe.

He said that they're about to resolve

whatever problem they got down here as part of that obstacle

then he's gonna try to get over to there.

Go ahead and have them engage them

and tell them to try to get the disc number.

'Cause they're looking through there.

If they can get the disc numbers

then we can make some coordination.

I got a feeling though it's over in task force delta

and probably who they're coordinating with

the controllers 'cause it's over there

on that red ball which is out of our sector.

- Okay.

- So that's who probably they're gonna

do all their losses and stuff through him.

(jet engine roaring)

(tanks firing)

- Red top barn his ass is sticking out.

Blow him up.

- See they hot happy they shot it.

I think they shot after we came between y'all.

- Sure as fuck is.

- Yeah his ass of the tank was taken out.

- [Soldier] Not well.

- No he isn't.

Of course they don't know where we're at

so they don't know which way to hide from.

I bet the whole platoon's back there hiding.

Sir is that house a registration point?

Just blow it up there's a tank sitting behind it.

- [Soldier] Stop, they're all dead.

We're going to go home now.

- They're all dead?

Good war's over.

(engines rumbling)

- Lima seven four please relay the seven four at

one five seven niner zero niner.

I shot and killed six M60-A1's

and two one one three's with two quarter tons.

They're all dead and their sitting in

a holding area near that location over.

This is Lima seven four roger.

I lost one MM13 with crew to indirect fire over.

- [Radio] Roger, five seven did you monitor over.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- Make sure

the German driving his Mercedes or BMW down this road

at 82 miles an hour is not gonna slide off kill himself

because we made him do it.

But remember that he's still coming down that road

that fast while you're out there with your shovel.

And we're gonna have jeeps on either end,

men with flashlights to slow people down

and there are signs down there.

But you guys gotta keep your heads up

and just like driving defensively

you've got to work defensively.

That guy may not see you.

So if you're shoveling the mud off

if you see somebody barreling down on you

get your butt off the road 'cause I don't want anybody hurt.

The most important thing out here is safety.

As soon as I drop the convey off I'll be back down here

and I want to make sure nobody gets hurt

including the Germans okay.

(engines rumbling)

(shovels scraping road)

- [Soldier] I lost my fucking map.

- [Radio] Lead us on in because the route

that you know is clear over here.

- [Officer] This is three niner roger on the way over.

- [Radio] Due South from here to the next road

you'll have to turn right on it to get to

the intersection you need to go to I believe over.

- [Officer] This is three niner roger

I'll be at the top of the hill shortly.

- [Soldier] Hang on mate.

I can't see down here.

- [Soldier] No I know where I'm going.

I don't need it right now.

(garbled babbling from radio)

- [Radio] Three niner we need to see

where the columns closed up or not.

Give me a call.

- [Officer] Okay hang on.

This is three niner, say again over.

- [Radio] Three niner we've got an extremely

tight spot up here, we've got nobody to...

♪ He said Delores I live in fear ♪

♪ My love for you's so overpowering ♪

♪ I'm afraid that I will disappear ♪

♪ Slip sliding away ♪

♪ Slip sliding away ♪

♪ You know the nearer your destination ♪

♪ The more you're slip sliding away ♪

♪ And I know a woman ♪

♪ Became a wife ♪

- You come only for this?

- No we're stationed.

- [Soldier] We come from Mannheim.

- Oh you come from Mannheim.

- We're not in the war we just sort of

- [Soldier] Panzer comes from America.

- You some kind of reporter?

- No we're controllers.

- Oh controller.

- [Local] I was 14 months America, '45, '46 in prison.

- My father was--

- [Local] Fort Dix, New Jersey.

- [Soldier] Did you like it there?

- Prima.

- They had to eat enough and here

it was very bad for the people at the end of the war.

There were nothing to eat and

it was very lucky to the soldiers if they were

taken as prisoners of war.

I heard from many soldiers who were prisoners that

there were treat very good and they said

that it was luck for them to be taken as prisoners

'cause at America the first time they had to eat enough.

They could eat as much as they want but

here it was very bad at the end of the war all people.

- [Soldier] Yeah there was no crops or anything.

You had to look for days to find much food at that time.

(overlapping voices)

- [Soldier] Three, five.

(all shouting at once)

(overlapping voices) (upbeat music)

♪ Collect our pay ♪

♪ Believe we're gliding down the highway ♪

♪ When in fact we're slip sliding away ♪

♪ Slip sliding away ♪

♪ Slip sliding away ♪

♪ You know the nearer your destination ♪

♪ The more you're slip sliding away ♪

♪ Slip sliding away ♪

♪ Slip sliding away ♪

(jet engine roaring)

- [Radio] This is Mike seven two roger.

The grid of one niner four from six niner four.

- One four this is X-ray four nine sit rep order.

- Seven four seven.

- [Radio] There appears to be alpha bravo charlie

at coordinates one five six eight five four.

He was going cross country at a high rate of speed.

Suddenly he did a sharp left turn and is currently

out on my side behind a bush at this time over.

- One five six eight five four roger.

X-ray four niner seven four.

Put some 50 cal fire in there and recon by fire.

(overlapping voices)

Seven four roger shoot at him now, fire at him now.

(tank firing)

I've got part of the main element coming at me now.

Papa charlie, they're trying to move

down the road to my east flank over.

I've taken the lead two papa charlies under fire.

BR four niner seven four.

- [Radio] Closing on our right flank rapidly over.

- Alpha alpha kappa seven four

fire at that column now, fire at that column now.

(tanks firing)

- Look at the left side of that little clearing there.

That's where his friends are coming out.

- We engaged the M-60's and papa charlies.

The controller is down there now.

I've got artillery on both positions over.

- [Officer] Roger move now you're about to be cut off.

- [Soldier] Whiskey five seven niner one

did you move yet over?

Roger you need to get out of there in a hurry.

Sheridan's are coming up on your left flank

as you are sitting there.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- Lieutenant Long.

Give me some fires on the route line to the left now.

(helicopter blades whirring)

(tank firing)

- I'm gonna have the infantry move in around you

so you can give them some additional fire power

if they need it on the ground.

- Here's one of the deals now.

The umpire's telling me that I have

absolutely no ground support law.

All I can do is fire in the air.

Now I'll go in with him and I would

if I was in any type of situation.

- I'll square this controller away, we'll get credit.

Just get them ready.

You see that hill to the left

of this big one in front of us?

There's a break in the tree line on the ridge

and then there's another set of woods.

There are three Sheridans in there pointing our direction.

That's where I want you to aim now.

- [Radio] Niner one to six seven over.

- Six seven niner one.

- [Radio] Yes six seven it sounds like a big--

(chattering from a different radio)

coming in from the west over.

- This is niner one roger.

Move as far west there as you can without

getting hurt and give me a call back break.

I'm consolidating on seven nine now.

Also on the column as it moved into the open area

we engaged with two tanks and two tows.

The tanks fired four times a piece break.

We got 60 rounds on that column as it appeared in the open.

- A dual purpose ICM.

- A dual purpose ICM eight inch.

I don't have a artillery controller up here with me over.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- [Soldier] Well what are you gonna do?

Take them out of action?

You can't do that.

- [Controller] I'm not gonna take them out of action.

But they won't get no credit for no kills

they just use up their damn ammo.

- You're not even making any difference.

Captain Abraham is over their dealing.

- I'm telling you what I'm doing from the ADA standpoint.

I don't give a damn what you do.

- I don't see no aircraft flying in the air.

- Well I don't care, I don't care what you see.

You can do what you want.

You do what they tell you to do if you want to

but I'm telling you what I was directed

and what I'm told to do.

Now you do what the hell you want alright.

You just gonna be expending ammo

and ain't gonna get no damn credit.

- [Officer] You gonna kill some tanks.

- [Controller] Okay well go ahead on and do it.

- [Officer] You'll kill tanks.

- [Controller] I'm the one that give you your fucking kills.

If you listen to him you ain't getting shit.

I done told you.

- [Officer] How many tanks you killed today?

You ain't killed the one and I guarantee you

he's gonna kill--

- No fucking Vulcan's don't kill no tank.

- [Officer] What do you mean?

You don't think they'll kill a tank if they hit a tank?

- [Controller] Fuck no.

- No they won't.

- You are full of shit.

They will not kill no tank.

You wanna bet?

- [Officer] A Sheridan is not a tank.

- You wanna bet?

They will not kill it I'm telling you.

You think you know this shit now you don't know shit.

Not this shit, I know this shit.

- [Officer] You do your thing from up there okay.

- You do what he says.

You do the shit what he say and then

don't come to me and report none of this shit

because I'm not giving you no credit for it.

- Okay well then I'm not wasting no ammo then am I?

- Alright then you are wasting fucking ammo.

You engage the shit then you will just be

expending ammo and you will get no kills,

no credit, nothing, I'm telling you.

- [Soldier] I'm gonna get on the horn to his, his...

- [Officer] Well the thing is

he's not giving you any kills anyway.

It doesn't make any difference.

- Bullshit. - He's not deciding.

- Bullshit. - Who are you deciding?

If Captain Abraham goes over there and says

we're engaging you with Vulcans

and they guy says okay you get two extra ATC's

then you're not even in the middle.

- He's not gonna even give him

no credit for no goddamn ATC's.

- [Officer] Are you a fucking mind reader?

- Because I'm a fucking controller

and I know what was taught at the fucking school.

I know what you get credit for killing.

- [Officer] I tell you what.

I bet you he kills an ATC today.

- If that's the way they run the shit

they might give him credit but I tell you what.

You will not get no credit according to

my fucking ADA shit and when it's reported

up the channels you gets no credit buddy.

You gets no credit.

- [Soldier] Okay fine.

- You expending ammo for nothing.

And then you gonna have less ammo.

And like I told you, you can use all you want.

You only got so much and you won't be resupplied.

When you're fucking ammo is gone you are down.

You have none and you can't engage nothing.

- Well you know better than that though.

I can engage ground troops.

Hell I got 45, indirect fire's at 4500 meters

and you know that as well as I do.

- Oh say you're gonna engage?

You telling me that you are gonna, you can engage right?

- [Soldier] I'm saying yeah.

If we had a real war I could engage.

- This is not a real war man.

Why you think you in a real war?

If this was a real war half of this shit

that's going on wouldn't even happen.

When you was on the road coming here you'd be dead now.

- [Soldier] No we wouldn't.

- Those 61, 75 millimeter artillery hit you.

You telling me if you was in a real war you'd be living?

- [Officer] How come all you want is to smear crap?

- Bullshit.

- [Officer] You know better than that Joe.

- [Soldier] Okay when we get this guy to admit it

we'll bring this shit up about this.

You can't kill, you can't kill that.

But right now just both quit arguing.

- You can do what you want.

I'm telling you what I will assess.

- [Soldier] Alright fine.

- Use up the ammo you get no credit.

You can listen to him if you want to.

He don't know a damn thing about how I compute the ADA.

- He ain't got nothing to do with this.

- [Soldier] I realize what you're saying.

- He's talking about what he's saying

and he's telling you something that's

fucking ground support according to what he thinks.

- [Soldier] You know as well as I do that

that damn Vulcan will eat up an ATC.

And you know as well as is do the troops in--

- But what he's saying on the cards, there on the cards.

- I'm talking about what we're doing for this exercise.

I'm not talking 'bout real life.

- [Soldier] Alright alright alright.

- On the cards you can't kill.

That's what he's trying to say.

- [Soldier] Okay on the cards I know.

I can't engage anything on the ground.

- [Controller] You don't have ground ammo.

- [Soldier] If I hit a guy with a God damn, whatever.

- You are talking about real life.

I'm talking about this field problem.

It's a difference you know.

- [Soldier] Yeah I realize that.

But shooting as far as this goes.

We should be able to have a ground support rule.

We should.

- I'll tell you what I'll do.

I'll call up my higher and while you there

and you can listen to what they say to me alright.

(laughing)

- [Officer] Who cares what he says?

All he's assessing is air class anyway.

He has nothing to do with ATC's are assessed.

(helicopter blades whirring)

(engines rumbling)

- Roger please save your breath.

I'm down here to the south at your most southern position.

We're getting hit pretty heavy.

We took out three of your vehicles in this position

and we assessed four to the other side.

You're infantry up there on the other side

were wiped out by the remainder of that.

They were damaged, they must have

come down the road and pulled out.

- [Officer] I will stop the war on the orange side

and declare them that you are the last--

- [Officer] We are moving back.

- Okay that's alright.

- The Company Commander is pulling the remainder

of his forces on the other side of the hill off this way.

This force will force will come down and go off this way.

(tank fires)

- I say we should fix the time when the war is going on.

- I'd say by 2:30.

- 2:30 okay.

- We should be clear and on back okay.

- Yeah thank you, see you again on the battlefield.

- Right (laughing)

(engines rumbling)

- What's going on here?

- We're fixing to have a shoot out.

May turn out to be the last stand for the

three seven seven or we may win it, we not sure.

Captain Abraham from around here is the controller for

alpha company three seven seven

responsible for the battle station.

What the three seven seven's done is

they've withdrawn the remnants of their

charlie company and alpha company up here.

I'm sorry I didn't even have

a chance to get introduced to you.

- [Vinter] Captain Vinter is my name.

- Captain Vinter?

- Yes I'm the company controller

of one of the tank companies of the

tank battalion five four on the other side.

And my battalion umpire is also here.

It's Lieutenant Colonel Weigard.

He will be back soon sir.

- [Officer] How are you, how are you?

- Good sir how have you been?

- Alright.

Looks like you're about to die here?

Stand and die. (laughing)

- Sir this is Colonel Weigard, the Italian umpire.

So what's about to happen the German battalion

is gonna attack up here and we figure

we got a strength of 13 tanks on the U.S. forces.

He should be down to about, we're just roughly estimating

15 to 16 Leopards and eight to nine Martyrs.

- He's got 13 or the battalion's got 13?

- The U.S. forces have 13 tanks.

- You got 13?

- The German forces have about 15 Leopards

and were estimating eight to nine Martyrs.

You've got three Vulcans also?

- [Officer] I've got two tows and two extra tracks.

- Sir we got, the U.S. forces have Cobras

coming on station however they're not here yet.

- I've got what's left of the battalion

because we sent a company down south

and there was an enemy force moving

up from the south and they got wiped out.

And there was already a company here

that had been attrited pretty far.

And I took what I had left and the rest of his company.

We've consolidated here now facing his battalion.

- Where the British pulled back that's what happened.

The British pulled back and into the...

We're supposed to have a wrecking squadron on each side.

- We saw them this morning sir but

the last eight K's there hasn't been anybody.

Roughly two to one.

- Roughly two to one.

- [Officer] Well if it was 10 and five

it would exactly two to one.

In other words for each one of our losses

you received two losses and that's about what it is.

- And how many?

- How many?

That's a good question.

I don't know.

I don't know.

Let me, hey sir, sir.

Okay what we've got, everything consideration.

We've got a position where it's roughly two to one.

For every one of our losses they're gonna take two.

- Yes.

- Okay, total number of vehicles present

is right here, 15 Leopards, 13 M-60's, nine Martyrs

against well whatever two tows, Vulcans to Vulcans.

Now we just need a little bit of arbitration on

the exact number we want to assess at this point.

We've got it nailed down to it's gonna be two to one.

- The next question is who got the hill?

- And who's got the hill?

- [Officer] Well at two to one we have to talk about that.

Would battalion want to continue to advance at two to one?

For every five minutes--

- Every five minutes I have to continue to assess who kills.

- [Officer] We would take say the first five minutes

you would lose two we would lose one.

Second five minutes two more, so that'd be

a total of four then we have two.

(speaking in foreign language)

- He's attempting to clear the theater.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Yeah I understand.

Okay.

But again now like we're saying

this battle is taking place along the edge of the woods.

Now he would want to continue to advance

and come out across the open and continue to advance?

That's gonna increase our fire power, or kills.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Okay they will pull of the company which is in the town

to get out of the streets here you know.

And they would not starting fighting again

stay aloft and the attack goes on

where the troops are on the hill now.

- Okay we'll figure that one out.

We'll take those losses and then we'll do

the same amount of losses here

to compensate for those losses.

Then we need to know the remainder that are on the hill

and the remainder that are here and we can do it again.

- Yes okay.

- So you're gonna hold it no sweat.

They put a Leopard, two Leopard companies

and a Martyr company came down into

the city and we wiped them out.

That's where you took your loss.

He's got the remainder up on the hill.

There's three, a Leopard company,

a Martyr company plus, and that's it.

Now if they want to come out across the open area

the losses are gonna be three to one.

- If I see the attack coming from one direction

do I need to move any of my forces?

- No you can engage from over there you're good.

- [Officer] You can position anywhere you want.

- Yeah I mean you could move but...

- I'm asking do I need to run the across the highway here

through them ditches and everything to get...

Okay.

- Now.

- Yes sir.

- We'll bring another element in

from the side or something like that.

Start back toward the BT17 by bounce okay.

- Yes sir that makes sense.

- Okay I'll be with you up here

'cause you and I are the only ones left.

We're gonna go down together.

- Yes sir.

- The beetles will pull out of the town.

And we'll get them on this side of the town

and then we'll not move on.

And then the other beetles will go back to the hill.

And well I think then the battle will begin.

- Again maybe.

- Again yes.

- After he decides maybe gets reinforcements or whatever.

- Yeah I think they decide they waiting

for an attack from the two eight 48th.

Two four eight, there's one tank company

on the south and they are moving this way.

And I think well perhaps they are bypassing

your position and go off to the side

and he's waiting for a Cobra until then

they will not move on I think.

Let's see what they'll do again.

(jet engine roaring)

(tanks firing)

- You got tanks pointing that way.

Get them under fire.

- Okay four five get them moving up and down the hills.

Get them moving up and down the hills.

Don't let them have a chance to stay in a static position.

- [Radio] Five six you get somebody

on my God damn net or I'll get rid of both of them break.

- You should have your elements

facing towards the hill you just left.

You don't have them that way now, they're facing east.

You got your gun tubes all flued around.

Now get them straight now.

- Exercise four five roger I'm pulling out all stops.

Any elements I got left I'm bringing them up.

I'm padding this battle position.

Bravo I don't want anybody else to sneak up on me.

I don't care what you gotta do.

If you gotta have all your dead crews

out there waving hand and arm signals over.

Seven eight leader four five.

How about giving me the lance or some persistent chemical

in front of my position to give me a little more time over.

XO, how 'bout a B52 strike?

- [XO] Where sir?

- [Officer] In the fucking town.

- We're taking fire from the top

of that hill over yonder sir.

- [Officer] Alright get me some fire on the top of the hill.

Get them down there and get them on those targets.

- [Soldier] They're doing it now sir.

- Hit that son of a bitching place

like they hit they hit that other one

and we'll shoot them out of the sky.

- Did you know about Captain Irish's team sir?

They got hit by their own Cobras.

I passed them coming up here.

- Our right front over here.

We saw some papa charlies coming across the open area.

My right tank platoon fired at them.

The left tank platoon is not seeing any more action

since the firing just a few minutes ago and they fired back.

They've got part of their forces oriented

to the south and part to the north.

Same thing on both sides.

- You got two kills out there on those guys.

But they have got four tows with them.

So they've got the capability of engaging

if we choose to stay here.

- Four five, alpha four five leave now, leave now over.

- He hasn't lost any I'm saying the guy out there lost two.

- Alright okay fine.

- I'll give him, I think it's fair to give him,

since he's got complete surprise on his side

and his guys detected them

well before those guys detected him.

We give him the two kills out there

and give him the option to move.

If he chooses to stay then he'll take some casualties.

The controller out here that's located with these guys

says that they're assessing them four one one three's

and a tow and you guys one tank.

- [Officer] Okay, that's what I said one time and I leave.

Look out, move it Sims.

Let's go.

Four five.

- [Radio] Come in four five are you moving?

(engine revving)

- Now did everybody get my message today

that you were to brief your troops

down the platoons on an outstanding job

they've done on the defense?

I understand that we held off longer than anybody

expected us to hold off on the defensive operation.

And because we did such a good job they

put some more stuff in the game.

So the defensive phase, the active defense

is considered a complete success.

Make sure your troops know that.

Make sure they know what a good job they did.

And I hope you'll gone over where we've been

and what's happening with the troops.

Now tomorrow's the fun day.

You've gone through the hard day.

We're gonna attack.

I want you to use common sense.

I want you to maneuver.

I want to catch the enemy with their pants down.

This is where the war stories are made.

This is where the war stories are made.

Maneuver, think, react, execute violently.

Keep me informed.

We've got a good group together.

We got the cream of the crop from alpha first to 40th.

We're all gonna work together as a team.

And we're gonna bring home the marbles.

Anybody have any questions?

- Sir my first chief tells me that

snakes will not be available for us tomorrow.

- Bullshit.

Let's go have fun.

- Okay right here the unit here

is gonna move off behind the high ground.

- They will move off?

- Yeah. - Okay.

- They're coming back to life but

before we start playing I'm gonna get them

on the other side of the high ground

as they would if it was a new unit coming forward.

- And what strengths do they have now?

- Full strength again.

- The full strength?

Well I have not the full strength.

- You've been hitting a lot of air strikes right?

- Yeah a lot of but no so much casualties as I thought

because there were many casualties at the last neighbor.

- Here?

- Yeah.

Well I've left now, I've lost count.

- Well I don't think we're gonna be engaged.

He's gonna move back down behind the hill this way

as if he was another unit coming up okay.

And then he will travel

up this road down in the valley here,

up here, get up to here, and then he will try to--

- Come from the flank.

- This flank, and this objective here.

At the same time another tank company

will be coming from here up behind this ground

where we were the other night,

try to go across down through there

and come up and attack here.

- Ah yes I see.

- So we will probably not see you there

unless you have other units.

You don't have anybody you know.

- Well I think it's a last time we meet.

Maybe for today.

- No no not for today for the whole battle.

- Why's this?

- I just heard that our battalion

will go away to a room near to Babenhausen

and go back to tank brigade three four.

- So you'll be way over here then?

Okay, well.

- We're just looking for an assembly area.

- Okay, well okay good enough.

It's been very enjoyable, hope to see you again.

- Nice to see you, by and happy war.

(engines rumbling)

- Just one tank away for.

In the initial engagement looks like I lost

four vehicles, two VC's and two tanks.

I can see

about 13 or 14 tanks fine and two or three tows.

And it looks like there's a movement to the west and east.

There may be a battalion minus up there

facing this entire stream over.

(engines rumbling)

- What has happened here is that en-route up here

the route was changed three or four times because

we did not have a chance to recon it.

And brigade wanted us to get over here

and gave us a change of mission about midnight.

And they didn't recon it either

and we didn't have the bridge classification

so there were a couple towns we couldn't go through

and there was a couple enemy sightings to of scout vehicles.

We finally got on the route that would allow us

to go through and offer the least resistance.

We topped this rise.

Since we can't deploy we couldn't actually

send our forces down through the woods

and in that low ground to protect us

to keep from getting shot at so we topped the rise.

We were engaged from the far ridge line.

As I then developed the situation

I told the controller that the first platoon

would have got up here online

and fired a few rounds for recon.

When they drew some fire then I would have

tried to maneuver either to the east or to the west,

probably to east since this ridge line

slopes down to a finger and tried to get around it,

find another crossing sight and called up

the bridges from our trailing tank team.

So he understood that but there was more than

a battalion over, four companies and they're tank heavy.

And they were lined up across the ridge facing our direction

and so they played it strength by the book, kill ratios.

And it was 14 to four.

So we lost 14 vehicles, they lost four tanks.

And all that fight was played just simulated.

We discussed it over the hood of the jeep

because we couldn't go in the woods anywhere

because of the rain last night.

So they finally decided that we were

combat ineffective and had to draw back up here.

We withdrew to this high ground and holding area

and gave our three remaining tanks

to bravo company who now has 19 tanks.

And they're going to try to develop the situation from here.

Now go back and brief your people

that they didn't do anything wrong.

It's just that the book came out that way.

We would have done it correctly.

- Have they said how much we were up against sir?

- [Officer] Four companies to five companies

could fire on us at once.

So that's why it turned out so bad.

So tell you're people that they didn't

do anything wrong it's just the play of the game.

The lead company would have been hurt bad

trying to fight it's way across that stream

because the ridge line over there covered the whole thing.

- [Radio] More whales or Peruvian fruit bats

then Doctor Jesus colleagues in the future

can dip into his frozen clone bank,

manipulate the cells to develop and differentiate

and voila a living white rhino, whale, or fruit bat.

Doctor Jesus only regret is that

no one ever thought to freeze some cells

from a saber tooth tiger two million years ago.

He's always wanted to see one.

(upbeat music)

♪ Charlie Tuna ♪

Well here's something that's no joke.

The American council on life insurance

is reporting that marriage will prolong your life.

The council says a study has found

that once a man is divorced his death rate

is nearly twice that of a married man

when it comes to heart disease, strokes, or cancer.

The divorced man's death rate is said to be

three times higher for hypertension,

five times higher for suicide,

and seven times higher for cirrhosis.

Divorced also reportedly have three times

the mortality rate of married people

when it comes to car accidents.

The insurance council has adapted the slogan

better we'd than dead.

Wait a minute, you mean I have a choice?

(upbeat music)

♪ Charlie Tuna ♪

(calm music)

♪ Now you're asking me if I'm guilty ♪

♪ That's a question that I always dreamed ♪

- Look at that, look at that.

- [Soldier] Sir?

Look at the monkey. (laughing)

- I'm too young for that kind of stuff man.

- There's Sara. - Ooh Sara.

- Whoa Sara. - Sara.

- [Soldier] Good golly.

- [Soldier] There's a guernsey.

(laughing)

- [Soldier] That's good ones.

- [Soldier] Look at them float.

- [Soldier] Damn.

- [Soldier] She couldn't sink if she had to.

♪ The whole damn world to see ♪

♪ Widely now ♪

(sledge hammer banging)

- [Soldier] We need some music fellas.

(machine gun firing)

♪ The crowd don't understand ♪