"Come on." "We're due in court in 20 minutes." " Our biggest case in two months." " Almost our only case." "Come on." "Come on." " What's the matter?" " We're being followed, don't look around." " Great!" " In here..." "Hurry." "Who was it?" " Some amateur." " Maybe a process server." "Or a relative trying to make a touch." "I promised Emma I'm not playing Santa Claus anymore." "Col. Marcus?" "Merry Christmas." "My name is Safir, and my business is private." "Bert Harrison, my law partner." "Mr. Safir, who conducts his private business in Macy's window." "Maj. Safir of the Haganah the underground army of the provisional government in Palestine." "I thought it best not to be seen at your office." " Are you sure you want to talk to me?" " Absolutely." "Please listen." "I represent the world's youngest, worst-trained least-equipped and most outnumbered army." "On May 15, the British will withdraw." "We will announce our independence and..." "Six nations have promised to drive you into the sea." "Yes, I read the newspapers." "Have you read their exact words?" "King Ibn Saud:" ""There are 50 million Arabs." ""What does it matter if we lose 10 million to kill all the Jews?" ""The price is worth it."" "The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem:" ""I declare a holy war." "Murder them." "Murder them all."" "We are going to fight." "There's no other place for us to go." "We won't fight to the last man." "We're prepared to fight to the last child." "Our children don't believe in Santa Claus, not anymore." "We need, immediately, an experienced military adviser." "We've come to you because, frankly, no one else wants the job." "At least you're an honest man but I've just done a war and a half." "I promised the next war to my wife." "I think if I leave home once more, I'll find my pajamas on the front porch." "Would you give up everything you love to fight an insane war for a country that'll get its brains blown out in a few weeks?" "If it were my country." "Maybe it's yours, but it isn't mine." "But you're a Jew." "I'm an American, Major." "That's my religion." "The last time I was in temple, I was 13 years old." "I made a speech and got 42 fountain pens." "I don't have to go again." "I've got enough fountain pens." "Come on." "We're a little late." "Here you are." "Colonel, I'm asking you, as an American." "What do you say in your schools when you salute your flag?" ""Liberty and justice for all"?" "Is it only for all of you?" "Don't give me history lessons!" "Six million of our people have recently been murdered." "Would you like us to try for seven?" "Hi!" "My name's Emma." "What's yours?" "Santa Claus." " Why are you still up?" " I worry better when I'm awake." "Thank you." "What's my other surprise?" "I know I'm breaking a promise to you, but I'm leaving for Palestine next month." "Palestine?" "Yeah." "Military adviser to the underground forces." "But why there and why you?" "I happen to know a great deal about the business of killing and they've been killed by experts." "Somebody's got to help them fight back." "I guess I'm proud of you but I'm so damn tired of being proud of you." "Believe me, Emma, I tried to get out of it but I couldn't turn this one down." "Not these people." "Not now, when they..." "Be honest, darling." "At least be honest." "You've been out of uniform six months." "If they hadn't come looking for you, you'd have started your own war." "You have to admit I found a war in a country that's pretty hard for you to knock." "Wait till I get my hands on whoever's running the world." "I thought it was your mother." "Don't you think I know what's going to happen in Palestine?" "The end of the world, Mickey." "They don't stand a chance." "They'll be dying by the thousands, and..." "And you right with them." "What makes it so terrible is that's what you want." "Not me." "That." "Emma." "Are you crying?" "You never cry." "I'm all right now." "I just had the awful feeling this had all happened before somewhere." "That nightclub in Washington during the war..." "I knew then you were never coming back just as I know it now." "And maybe it's the same "not coming back."" "Maybe it's all one." "Maybe this is the time." "It was a noisy war, that one," "Everyone danced a lot and drank a lot and loved a lot," "Some fellows even loved their own wives, They were the worst kind," "If anything goes wrong, I want you to know it was my own idea." "Nobody said I had to go." "That was their first mistake." "What did it this time, Mickey?" "What really did it this time?" "Did somebody say something about your hiding behind a desk?" "Something like that." "No." "I don't think that's all it is." "It happens too often." "Maybe it's..." "Maybe it's..." "What's that corny old verse?" ""I have a rendezavous with Death" ""At some disputed barricade" ""When Spring..." ""When Spring comes" ""When Spring comes back" ""With rustling shade" ""And apple-blossoms fill the air"" "At school we always said the fellow who wrote that just had hay fever." "What's your sickness, Mickey?" "When do you leave?" "Tomorrow." "It wasn't Gen. Sherman who said, "War is hell."" "It was Mrs. Sherman." "To Mrs. Sherman." "A few days later, there was a note from you:" ""Arrived in England safely, Don't worry,"" "Of course I didn't worry," "I knew they wouldn't dare start D-day without you," "Gen. Randolph, Col. Marcus, sir." "The Pentagon has directed me to request transportation across the channel, sir." "What does Washington think I'm running out here, Marcus?" "A taxicab service to France?" "I agree with you, but I have orders to reach the continent as soon as possible." "We're about to start an invasion." "Who ever issued such idiotic orders?" "The handwriting's not so good, but I think you'll recognizae the signature." "I'll..." "All right, Col. Marcus." "Some day next week when the beachhead is secured I shall inform Maj. Foley at staff headquarters that you are to be given VIP treatment..." " What I had in mind..." "...boat trip to France tour of the boys on the fighting front and all of that." "Thank you, sir." "And, Marcus..." "I remember you from the Tennessee maneuvers." "Don't try to capture the opposing general." "This one's name is Rommel." "I don't think he'll make the same mistake I did and he isn't using blanks." "All right, men." "Here we go." "Stand up." "Hook up." "Stand in the door." "Okay, let's go." "What's wrong, soldier?" "Haven't you ever jumped?" "No!" "We're the first Allied soldiers they've seen." "Pass the word:" "Keep smiling and waving, or they'll think the Nazais are back." "Welcome to our country." "What took you so long?" "Stop the jeep." "Stop it." "Back up." "Back it up." "Back up." "Welcome, General." "Thank you, Col. Marcus, for the bouquet." " What are you doing here?" " You saw my orders." "I certainly did, and I checked on them." "You were due back at your desk a week ago." "I have four top-priority messages from the Pentagon to ship you home on the first available transportation." " How did you get into France?" " I jumped, sir, badly." "I'll bet." "Who gave you authority to fly a combat mission?" "I merely repeated your instructions, sir, that I was to be given the VIP treatment." "Col. Marcus, would you mind explaining to me how you arrived in this particular area before the whole U. S. Army?" "Yes, sir." "We missed our drop zaone." "We were up in the hills when the Nazais pulled out." "We saw lots of guys die in the last week." "I thought there might be something to drink in this town." " Got your bellyful?" " No, sir." "We've been knocking off guys who were making soap out of my relatives." "I don't ever want to get behind that desk..." "Get down!" "He's on the clock." "Get him." "Dirty Kraut." "Cut that man down." " Capt. Billings!" " Yes, sir." "Clean out every building on this square." "Yes, sir." "That was close." "Did you find anything to drink around here?" "I don't mean water." "I don't mean water." "You're right." "Thanks." "Arrest this officer, take him to the rear, and put him on the first air transport out." "You must be joking." "If I were running the Pentagon, I'd have you stood up against a wall." "Instead, they'll probably pin a medal on you." "Have you ever heard of the word "discipline"?" "A staff officer acting like a kid playing cowboys and Indians is an example that might cost us a few thousand lives." "What are you trying to prove, Marcus?" "I wish to hell I knew, sir." "I wish to hell I knew, sir," "I wish to hell I knew," "I wish to hell I knew," "Mickey." "Mickey." "Why don't we get a divorce?" "What?" "I don't want a divorce, but a girl has to have some pride." "What are you talking about?" "We haven't really had a marriage." "It's been more like the world's longest affair." "So why not be sensible?" "Just cut the whole thing." "We can just go to bed together every time you pass through New York." "That's a great proposition from your own wife!" "Emma." "I told you we're starting the marriage right now." "I'm staying here." "No." "You're going." "I have to send you off to your flea-bitten war." "It gets you more excited than I do, doesn't it?" " That's a hell of a thing to say right now." " It's true." "If I tried to keep you here, our marriage wouldn't have a prayer if it still has one." "I'm not going to lock you in a cage and let the relatives throw you peanuts." "The family hero..." "And have you hate me for keeping you from trying to get yourself killed." "I love you too much." "Someday, you're going to find whatever it is you're looking for." "Then you're really going to come home." "Did you ever notice we don't have any children?" "Only me." "I'd like so much to have your child." "I was the only girl in Brooklyn who didn't get pregnant during the war." "My mother kept the statistics." "What kind of a father would I make now?" " Maybe when everything's right..." " Everything's never going to be right for anybody." "But they still have children and I want yours." "Ours." "Now." "There's a chance, isn't there, I might never have you again?" "You always come barging into the Pentagon asking a question on a life-or-death matter to be answered in exactly two minutes." "I'd just be an adviser." "It's headquarters stuff." "You couldn't advise a taffy pull without slugging somebody." "I know it's touchy." "What's our official policy in the Middle East?" "This afternoon or this morning?" "There's good military reason for remaining friendly with the Arab governments and none for loaning a reserve officer as military adviser to a pipsqueak nation that'll be blown off the map on May 15." "You can't put out all the fires." "Suppose I go as a private citizaen?" "Then don't involve the Army in any way." "Don't use your rank or even your right name." "Is it all right with you if I keep the same sex?" "Colonel, I am not requesting you not to go I am ordering you not to go." "That's the best damn reason I've heard yet for going." "You're going to get yourself killed someday sticking your neck out." "I can hardly wait." "Thank you, General." "You sure this passport's okay?" "It must be." "You're the fourth one to use it." " Mr. Michael Stone?" " Yes, sir." "For what purpose are you entering Palestine?" "Pleasure." "This is hardly a pleasant country just now." "You've chosen an odd time." "Some of us have odd pleasures." "Where will you be staying?" "Tel Aviv with relatives." "Somebody's supposed to be meeting me here." " Indeed?" " Michael!" "Mike, it's so good to see you after so long." "I'm sorry." "I'm very late." "How are you?" "How do I look?" "Tired, like you've been making love to all the girls in America." "It's good to be back." "Welcome to the promised land, Col. Marcus." "Thank you." "If he knew, why didn't he stop me?" "Some of the British are angels, the rest are bastards." "You were lucky." "Probably he's with us." "Is that a bus or a tank?" "A little bit of each." " Shalom, Yaakov." " Shalom, Magda." "By the way, what's your name?" " Magda Simon." " Magda." "You'll live at our apartment." "It's better if the British ask questions." "From now on, I'm your sister." "That's nice." "What's the attitude on incest in this country?" "Very biblical." "Especially since I'm also married." "My husband is an officer in the Palmach but you can try if you wish." "It makes life interesting." " Shalom, Magda." " Shalom, Rona." "Here." "This, there." "What'd she say?" "Never mind." "You wouldn't do it anyway." "Rona!" "Rona!" "She's hit." "Give me a bandage." "I wrote the book on this gun, and I don't like girls fighting my wars for me." "She's not fighting for you." "It isn't your war." "Why do you turn everything into a meeting?" "Look, I'm sorry." "You don't understand a word I'm saying, but I'm sorry." "Go to hell!" " David, why do you people take this?" " What do you mean?" "Send out some men and wipe out that town!" " Battles aren't won from inside a bus." " The British are still in control." "We're not even supposed to have these guns." "It's punishable by death." "Then at least die standing up." "Sometimes we do." "In the Negev, Egyptian tanks, armor and artillery are ready to roll across the border against us." "Number unknown." "In Jerusalem, 4,000 of the Grand Mufti's men already brought the city under fire." "They're trying to close the road that connects it with Tel Aviv." "Our convoys are being ambushed, with terrible losses." "Somewhere in Jordan the Arab Legion:" "British-armed, British-officered." "The best-equipped force in the Middle East apart from my wife's family." "Since the United Nations voted for partition the British are leaving, slowly turning over their fortified positions to all the Arabs in this country who've never loved us." "We're outnumbered 60-to-1..." "Pardon me, 60-to-2, now that you're here." "What would the Pentagon suggest we do, Mr. Stone?" "Teach them to love you, fast." "Wait a minute." "Asher, you've told me everything, except what I want to know:" "The disposition of your own army, the Haganah." "They have a mean disposition, Mr. Stone." "Certainly you must have heard that." "Don't you want to tell me?" "I'm not quite sure what you need that information for." "As I understand it, you're a lawyer in the American army judge advocate's office, behind a desk, unless I'm mistaken." "Asher..." "Is that really your first name?" "Asher?" "Yes, that really is my first name." "Asher, take that chip off your shoulder." "If you know so much about me you may know that I toured this entire area with Gen. Marshall after the last war." "I know the Arab leaders hate each other more than they hate you." "Their soldiers have nothing to die for and don't trust each other." "If you people can pull together, you have a fighting chance." "But it's going to take organizaation and an operational plan of battle." "I happen to serve on the general staff of the largest army in the Western world." "Whatever I learned behind that desk might be useful to you." "Now, do you want me to go or stay?" "I haven't unpacked my bags." "You must be hungry." "It's nearly 3:00 a." "M." "I'm sorry, vegetables and sour cream." "You see most of our people are vegetarians." "They've seen too many slaughterhouses of every kind." " You haven't answered my question." " Yes, I have." "We need all the help we can get." "All right, Asher." "Let's level." "You and your Haganah can't win this fight sitting in a cellar." "I understand your commandos, the Palmach, are already on the attack." "Before they're ready." "Their leaders are too impulsive and their training is a walk after lunch." "Okay, let's take inventory." "You've got no guns." "You've got no uniforms." "You've got no rank and had less maneuvers than our Campfire Girls." "Your Palmach and your Haganah hate each other's guts." "And in three months' time, the roof caves in." "What've you been doing here the last 50 years?" "If you have an army, where is it?" "Asher!" "Asher!" " They've spotted the Ashkelon." " Already?" "British troops are going to the beach to stop the landing." " What's the Ashkelon?" " It's Andre's ship, my husband." "She's full of immigrants looking for a home." "They slipped by the British at night." "We thought they were safe." "Palmahim Beach will be the landing area." "Tell all the girls, get on the phones." "Mr. Stone, if you'll come with me, we'll show you the invisible." "Magda!" "Andre!" " Mr. Stone, my husband Andre." " How do you do?" "This is the fourth ship he's brought through." "It wasn't just me." "There's an engine in the boat." " Andre..." " No one is to leave this beach," "We are not the Gestapo, ladies and gentlemen there are laws of entry to this country which we are under orders to enforce," "Please do not make it necessary for us to use our arms," "But those entering illegally must be sent back to await their permits," "Look over there, sir." "Looks like Wembley Stadium getting out." "If they mix with the others, we'll never sort them out." "Halt!" "You there!" "Civilians moving down to the beach area, stop and go back," "Halt!" "All those landing from the sea are warned to remain separate from the others," "Let's change clothes!" " Change clothes!" " Change clothes!" "Now let them sort us out." "All passengers from the Ashkelon will step forward immediately or I shall be forced to order these men to open fire," "The first volley will be a warning, If you do not move the second volley will follow in exactly 10 seconds," "Prepare to fire!" "Fire!" "One two three four five six seven eight nine ten," "Now's the time to find out if we're bloody Nazais or not." "Such a stubborn people." "All right, men, stand at ease." "Now I suppose they'll start dancing." "You see?" "This is my army." " The camp of the Palmach..." " Your commandos." "...is in these mountains." "Mount Canaan, someplace." " It has been secret even from me." " That is a secret." "Remember, if we are stopped by a British patrol we are off for a weekend in the country." "And you're my sister." "Do you have good sex with your wife?" "What goes on in that pretty head of yours?" "Andre's not very good in bed." "Just close your eyes and tell the doctor everything." "We will rendezavous at Madj El-Kurum, 10 kilometers from here." "Andre has gone ahead so we'll be warned if there is any trouble." "You're a very important man." " And you resent it." " Of course." "Andre is my husband." "He risked his life for a stranger." "I hope you are enjoying your little adventure." "I am." "Andre has done enough." "You know, in this country, it's unfortunately not unusual but he has a number tattooed on his right arm." "He escaped, one of the few." "I met him when I was running from Vienna." "He had no hope." "A dog has more hope." "So I gave him what hope was in me." "It was the least I could do." "I understand." "You couldn't." "You Americans, how can you understand horror?" "To you, horror is having a bathroom outside the house." "You're from a country so rich even your wars are rich wars..." "Big guns, big airplanes." "Clean, clean wars." "Clean, clean wars," "Why this ride?" "Why do you want 500 trucks?" "Because I know you won't give me 500 ambulances." "I don't know how you talked yourself out of the Pentagon again and into Germany, but while you're here, just do your job." "Sir, no one can do my job." "Why the hell not?" "You told me to take a battalion in and help liberate the first camps that we came across." "That's right." "Just give them all the food they need and let them out." "You can't give people food if they've forgotten how to eat." "You can't let them out anywhere when they can't walk." "I've heard all the stories, but I haven't seen anything to convince me..." "General, will you get out of this car for five minutes?" "Is that an order, Colonel?" "No, sir." "It's a prayer." "Attention!" "Those that are alive weigh an average of 85 pounds." "Over there's a building filled with ovens, still warm." "No one ever baked any bread in them." "Here, there are 3,200 corpses, near as we can tell that they didn't have time to bury." " McCreedy!" " Yes, sir?" "Give this insubordinate son of a bitch every truck and blanket in the Third Army." "I don't care who you have to steal them from." "Yes, sir." "Clean, clean wars," "So how could you know?" "How could you believe?" "You couldn't ever understand." "Could you, Mr. Stone?" "You're right." "I couldn't understand." "I never really could." "There's Andre." "Andre!" "How are you?" "I've been worried." "Magda!" "Shalom!" " Everything all right?" " No problem yet." " Hello." " Shalom." "Who are your friends?" "Ram Oren, commanding Yiftach Brigade of the Palmach." " Hello, Ram." " No, that's Yussuf, his driver." "This one is Ram." "This must be the world's only army where you can't tell the officers without a program." "It must have lost something in the translation." "They dance pretty well, for soldiers." "When do they train?" "We leave the training for the Haganah." "We do the fighting." "The Palmach has never lost an engagement, Mr. Stone." "Congratulations." "The party hasn't started yet." "Look, Arabs!" "Those are our boys, dressed like Arabs to infiltrate their lines." "It's a crazay army." "Let's join the army." "Ram!" "Mr. Stone, can I talk to you?" "That's not a bad way to train." "Our men tell me there's an old Bedouin chief in the valley who heard the Americans sent us a great soldier to help us fight in these hills." "General Eisenhower." "I don't quite have the haircut for it, but..." "We have explained, it's another American officer of high rank." " He wants to see you." " Me?" "He's says he's considering fighting on our side." "We've got to see him." "I have no right to ask you to come with me." "He's Arab." "If it is a trick, it could be dangerous." "All the more reason for me to go." "Convincing Arabs is the least of my problems." ""I'm the sheik of Araby" ""Your love belongs to me" ""At night when you're asleep" ""Into your tent I'll creep"" "His Master's Voice," "Why do you lie to me?" "I am not a fool." "You tell me you're an officer of the American army but what proof do you have?" "And you are the commander of the Yiftach Brigade of the Palmach?" "An infant like you?" " I'm second in command." " You lie!" "You are Ram Oren, the commander." "He thought he was too young to impress you." "That shows that he is foolish." "The only thing that impresses a man in my age is youth." "Don't you know who Saman Abou Kader is?" "When you were 3, I was stealing cattle from your father." "There was a man." "A lion!" "He shot me twice and we came to an agreement of gentlemen." "I was a guest in your house." "I held you on my knee." "Twice you wet your pants and mine." "You have no honor." "It was an old Bedouin friend of my father's." " I thought he died long ago." " Hush, I am far from dead." "You can ask that bag of fat who just danced for us." "I have risked my life to ask you here because your father was a man to trust." "I had hopes his son was the same." "And you..." "Why have you come to this country?" " To fight." " With what?" " Have you brought guns from America?" " They will come." "Come back when they get here." "Wait a minute!" "You didn't risk your life to invite us here to dismiss us so quickly." "What's on your mind?" "Coffee." "Why do you want to take our home away?" "Our desert." "We have lived here for 1,000 years and more." "By what right?" "A Bible that is more fairy tale than the Arabian Nights?" "From Damascus, from Amman, from Cairo they send messengers to tell me the Jews will destroy our land and ravish our women." " How can you believe..." "So I should send all my men at once to the Grand Mufti's army." " What answer do you have?" " Your own eyes." "They aren't destroying your land." "Even a blind man can see, for the first time the desert is blooming." "They're not ravishing your women." "They don't even like your women." "That is not much of an answer." "They don't even like their women." "Listen for 50 years you have lived beside us without hate." " Why now, a holy war?" " I'll tell you why:" "The Grand Mufti, King Abdullah, and the Husseinis see the chance to win money, power and land." "They're fighting to see who gets the most." " That's true." " So I'll get some, too." "They won't leave one camel for your people." "You know them better than I." "You'll fight the war for them, but when it's over you'll be worse off than before." "Or you'll be dead." "I have no love for the Husseini family." "I'll support you with all of my men if you can first prove to me that you are strong like your father." "For then you will win." "How can I believe you?" "I need proof, too." "Wait a minute." "Across the border, near the mosque of Mishmar Hayarden the Syrians are gathering supplies for an attack next week." "Eight hundred rifles." "Mortars, two-inch, 21." "Petrol, four tanks of 2,000 liters." "Three cannons of 75 millimeter." "We finish." "Now your proof." " The supplies will be destroyed." " You're committing my men." "I don't care, it must be done." "You want to violate a border without authority?" "What do you want to do?" "Wait for a visa?" "If it's used against you, they can take half the Galilee in a week." "So, Commander?" "It will all be destroyed within 24 hours." "Watch the sky toward Mishmar Hayarden." "Good night." "Pretty smart cookie." "Ram Oren, don't wet your pants again." "Come on." "Keep down." "You should not have come." " I have strict orders." " My orders are to advise and observe." "I'm advising you, it's stupid to attack with a single squad." "You know they have artillery." "You don't have armor." "This dynamite is our artillery, and the night is our armor." "And the Lord is my Shepherd but maybe he's their shepherd, too." " You stay." "If so, there'll be a hell of a lot of confused sheep." "Andre!" "Ammunition has been blown up." "Good!" "They did it!" "We have three dead." "Three dead?" "Who are they?" "Eli, Tov, Andre." "Andre?" "Your husband?" "Magda, are you all right?" "Yes." "Yes, I'm all right." "I didn't come to Tel Aviv to say things are peaches and cream." "You want the truth." "Things are pretty bad." "How bad, in your opinion?" "If the Arabs had a decent campaign plan, and could attack in force tomorrow they have the potential to take Tel Aviv in 10 days." " You had to bring me another expert." " He doesn't only complain..." "Everybody tells me the patient is dying." "The patient has already lived 2,000 years after the doctors gave him up." "He won't live to be 2001 unless he follows directions on the label." "I can write the manuals for you from memory." "Somebody has to convince your officers to read them." "Go back into training." "You write, I'll convince." "You know the biggest weapon you have?" "The guts, the tremendous guts of those kids in torn sweaters and open-toed sneakers." "Why throw away their lives by supplying them with bargain-basement guns or none at all?" "Because your government and the United Nations have embargoed all arms shipments to us while the British can arm our enemies openly." "We're lucky we have a few bargain..." "No one ever won a war on excuses." "They told you that I have a terrible temper?" "I served in Germany under General "blood-and-guts" Patton." "You're a pussycat." "You can't expect a boy to die in somebody else's pants." "The Palmach fight barefoot in the hills while the stores in Allenby Road have sales." "I'm the unofficial minister of defense of an unrecognizaed government." "I have no authority to requisition supplies." "If you can't get supplies, break through the window and take what you want." "Just remember the world doesn't pity the slaughtered." " It only respects those who fight." " We haven't been fighting?" "Not to win." "Look, you're like this:" "The Palmach, Haganah, Irgun, Sterngang, government..." "You're all pulling in every direction." "But if you can unify them under one command then you'll have one army that can move fast and hit hard." " You can help us do this?" " I don't know." "I don't know if anyone can." "There isn't much time." "But if you want to use me, and gamble I know what I'm doing then you must give me a free hand." "Absolute authority to consolidate all your forces immediately." " That's all you want?" " Yes, that's all I want." "You must understand we're very new at this business." "Our Haganah and our Palmach are wonderful, brave, boys and girls." "But, like children of the same family, they're jealous of each other." "What about the other groups?" " The Irgun?" " Yes." "Also very brave." "Listens to no one, conducts its own war against the British." "The Sternists?" "Brave." "And occasionally shoot at us, bravely." "We could have a very nice little war here without the Arabs." "You want me to give you absolute authority over all of them?" "Yes." "If you can find out how to get it, please let me know because if, God forbid, anything went wrong it'd be nice to have an American to blame it on." " I guess the meeting's over." " Look, try to understand." "We're in the importing business." "We import people." "That's the reason we're here." "We only fight because we have to." "We have no quarrel with the Arabs, only with their leaders." "We still hope for an agreement." "The traditional greeting in this country is "Shalom."" "Peace." "Shalom," "The olive branch hasn't worked around here since Noah ran the ark into a mountain." "Col. Marcus, don't think we're ungrateful." "You write those manuals." "Go, inspect." "Go to the Negev." "Go especially with the convoys to Jerusalem for there is our greatest danger." "Make your reports, your recommendations, please." "All right." "I'll try it your way." "I'll advise." "I'll observe." "You need a lot more than advice, or the night of May 15 you'll be wading in the Mediterranean." "Maybe." "Maybe not." "We might be even tougher pussycats than anyone has any idea." "We'll see." "He's been in the Negev desert on an inspection tour." "Next week, he's going in a convoy to Jerusalem." "And he's dictating from memory every army training manual he can remember." "He says they need it more than the Bible." "Did he happen to mention who he's dictating the Song of Solomon to?" "What do you mean by that?" " Why should I repeat gossip?" " Why should you stop now?" "Since you ask..." "A very dear friend of mine got a letter from a dear friend of hers in Palestine." "There's this woman, lost her husband." "He's been seen everyplace with her." "Magda Simon." "I know." "Mickey wrote me about her." "She's been assigned to him by the army." "Instead of paying him?" "A nice army!" "Mother, don't be a mother." "Besides, Mickey and I have..." " What's the matter?" " I don't know." "I don't know." "A terrible pain." "I'll get the bicarbonate." "No, mother." "Call the doctor." " What kind of a pain?" " I... don't argue." "I think I'm losing the baby." " Shalom, Magda." " Shalom." "My family live in Jerusalem." "To them, chickens are better than gold." "Why do you let women go on these convoys?" " Magda volunteered." " She's been through enough." "She lost her husband, she's..." "We need everyone." "Especially since the British search us for weapons." "The British are usually too polite to search a woman thoroughly." "You're lucky you're not occupied by the French." "Get out!" " Can you see Magda?" " No." " Let's stop!" " There's no stopping here." "The worst is over." " Can you see Magda's truck?" " I think she stopped." "Now, hold it." "Hold it." "Magda!" "Come on!" "Come on, Magda!" "Magda!" "Come on!" "Come on, Magda!" "Come on, Magda!" "Cover me." "Move over." "Here, take this." "Magda?" "Help me, Mickey!" "Help me!" "Doctor!" "Can you help her?" "I don't understand Hebrew." "Asher, can you help me out?" "He doesn't seem to understand what I've said..." " Is she wounded?" " She's in shock." "Until the wounded are cared for, we have no time for hysteria." "She needs a sedative, boozae, anything." " You saw what she went through." " I'm sorry." "Listen, Asher, I don't mean to pull rank but I'm here under orders of the Minister of Defense." "Mr. Stone, we have no rank for you to pull." "The Minister of Defense is in Tel Aviv, we're in Jerusalem and this convoy's my responsibility." "Perhaps they handle things differently at West Point, so write me a training manual." "I hear you're good at it." " But you're leaving us." " I just got a letter from my wife." "She never likes to worry me, but she admitted she's in the hospital." "I think it's more serious than she says." "I'm sorry your wife isn't well." "She certainly needs me a lot more than you do." " No, I think our need is greater." " The hell it is." "I got to Jerusalem, and your commander started looking for a vacant cross to nail me to." "I turned in my draft of the training manuals for your infantry a week ago." "It's still in your secretary's office under a package of cheese." "Here are recommendations for consolidating the Palmach and Haganah into one unified striking force." "Don't laugh too loud." "We have a few small problems, too." "The UN is having second thoughts about granting us independence." "A lot of pressure's being brought to bear to have us postponed." "A month, a year, forever." " You're not going to?" " No." "Not if we can be sure the baby will be born with at least one friend in the world." "Mickey..." " lf the United States..." " Politics isn't my racket." "Not anymore." "And I finished my work as a paper soldier and since that's the only work you'll allow me to do I think we'll all be a lot happier if I go home." "I'm sorry to see you go, but shalom," "Peace." "We should both live so long." "So you're really leaving?" "You should be out cold." "Mrs. Martinson said she gave you quite a shot." "I have so many, they don't work." "Please." " You'll go out like a light." " A blessing." "While I was packing, this fell out of a pocket." "It's my good-conduct ribbon." "But still you leave us." "I got this letter from my wife." "Nobody needs me here." "Don't give me ribbons." "I couldn't start the truck because I didn't want to!" "Because I wanted to run away!" "And now you run away, just like me!" " You coward!" " Magda!" "Come on, Magda!" "Come on, Magda." "I'm sorry!" "You have every right to go." "It's not your country." "Poor Andre, it was all the country he had and for him, I couldn't cry." "Don't go." "Stay." "Are you blind, you stupid, married American idiot?" "I am so tired of blood." "I am so tired of shooting." "I am so tired of wanting and not having." "Since you first came here, I..." "No, not now." "It's not fair." "I want..." "Damn you, Mrs. Martinson." "Shalom," "Keep the change." " What's going on?" " Come on inside and find out." "If it isn't Errol Flynn!" "It's a welcome-home party, Mickey." "All the relatives." "Give him a beer, will ya?" "Mickey!" "Emma." "Emma, I thought you were in the hospital." "Mickey, I'm so glad you're back." " Come on, I want to talk to you." " Okay." "Mickey!" "A letter came for you yesterday from the British Embassy in Washington." "It's marked "Personal."" " What's it say?" " They're going to give you a medal for..." "I'm only guessing." "I'm sorry I lost the baby." "I'm sorry, too." "I waited to write to you till I was getting better." " I knew you'd worry." " Of course I'd worry." "It was my baby, too." "Remember?" "I remember." "If you'd written me when it happened I could've come back when it might've done some good." "Are you angry because I'm not desperately sick?" "Of course not." "But you could've answered my cable to say you were fine." " I gave up everything to rush here..." " All right, Mickey." "Part of my sickness was you, that should be obvious." "I wanted you back." "I heard so many stories about you and..." "Did you believe them?" "I don't now." "Now that you're here." "Mickey?" "Why did you come home?" "I was lonesome for your mother." "Don't hate me for loving you so much." "To Col. David Marcus, for his able work in World War II in the fields of combined planning and military government which paved the road for Anglo-American agreement on many complex problems His Majesty is glad to bestow the rank of" "Honorary Officer of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire." "Thank you, sir." "Congratulations, darling." " I think this calls for a drink." " Mr. Ambassador, my wife." " How do you do?" " She drinks, too." "That's a fine tan you have there, Colonel." "Might I inquire where you got it?" " Traveling, Ambassador." " Indeed?" " Any place I'd be interested in?" " You'd be interested in every place." ""The sun never sets on the British Empire."" " Not if we can help it, it doesn't." " Sometimes you can't help it." "But this time Mr. Stone I think your friends would realizae that we're only trying to be helpful." "A British military base in the Middle East is a necessity for the free world." "If they insist on our forces being withdrawn your friends will be at the mercy of terrible, powerful enemies with legitimate claims on their territory and enough arms to overrun them within a few days." "And they will find, possibly to their surprise that they're alone and friendless in the practical political world." "No nation is going to risk being the first to recognizae so weak and controversial a government." "They are as the Bible says "a stiff-necked people."" "Perhaps you could persuade them that it's better to bend a little, if those necks are going to be saved at all." "Excuse me." "What was that all about?" "I got this medal because they don't trust Western Union." "They want me to deliver a message." "Listen, Mike, do you think the United States will ever recognizae the new state, when and if it's declared?" "What the hell for?" "What's in it for us but trouble?" "Your friends may have the Bible in their favor but the Arabs have the oil." "Do you think our state department's going to hesitate choosing up sides?" "I guess you're right." "They're already putting the pressure on your pals to postpone independence." "What's a few years, a few centuries, to those people?" "And I'm glad you finally got some sense and pulled out before it was too late." "Now, listen, Mike, you bigoted, ignorant..." "I'll try to enlighten you, but I doubt I can because you have no idea of what the stakes are over there." "Here's a country surrounded by five Arab nations ready to shove them into the Mediterranean." "No guns, no tanks, no friends, nothing." "People fighting with bare hands for a piece of desert because it's the last place on this whole earth that they can go to and try to live..." " Then why did you come back?" "Wouldn't they let you play captain?" "You know me too damn well." "You don't know me at all." "You don't give any of the rest of us credit for being human beings." "I saw Dachau, too." "Remember?" "And if anybody ever deserved a home on the basis of sheer gallantry it's those poor devils from those camps." "And you have friends too, Mickey although it'll probably upset you to find it out." "They'll ring every doorbell in Washington from the White House down, if it'll help." "And I'll raise such a stink they'll go in and out of the state department with gas masks." "But what about you?" "Are you too big to go back and help your own people unless they bow down and kiss your West Point ring?" "Get off my back." "What happened to that insubordinate SOB that jumped out of one of my planes over Normandy?" "He won the distinguished service medal?" "Are you proud of that medal, and ashamed you might win the star of David?" "Stand up and be counted, Mickey." "And there's a lot of us who'll stand up with you." "I'Chaim," "Maybe you ought to stay off our side, Mike." "Nobody will ever believe it." "I'Chaim," "Stone!" "Hello, Asher." "What's new?" " I never thought I'd see you again." " It's a surprise to both of us." "My apologies for the airport." "The Arab Legion took Lydda two days ago." "I'll bet." "So you're back." "Why?" "Never mind." "We're glad to have you." "I hope you mean that, 'cause I'm staying, even if you don't." "Haven't you heard?" "The Palmach and Haganah have accepted your suggestions for unification." "And the old man has us following your training program." "You and the Palmach sneered at every suggestion I ever made." "Don't you realizae who you're dealing with?" "We have to pretend we know everything because we know so little." "Everything'll be different from now on?" "Of course not." "We'll criticizae every suggestion you make, but that doesn't mean we won't do it." "I'll bet if Moses came down from Mount Sinai again you'd turn down five of the Commandments just so God wouldn't get a swelled head." "Mick?" "Hang on to this." "It may be the only bourbon between here and the next oasis." "I got the pilot in New Jersey, plane in Burbank license in Panama, and the guns in Czaechoslovakia." "It's a new kind of Foreign Legion." "Vince Ramondi, pride of Passaic, Asher Gonen, pride of Tel Aviv." "According to my flight plan, we're in Mexico City, so buenas noches." "Sorry, I might have dented your plane landing." "Glad to have you and the plane in any condition." "It's not much of a bargain." "It's leaking a lot of oil." " And I'd fly for anybody who pays me." " It doesn't matter." " To us, you're a hero." " Maybe that's why we're all here." "And furthermore we've been told that if we go through with our plan the city of Tel Aviv will be bombed tonight by an enemy air force." "They may come over in great strength and as yet we are not equipped to meet such an attack." "We've also received word that the United Nations would like to revise its decision of November 29 granting us independence." "We have informed all nations concerned that we consider the original decision to be irrevocable!" "Therefore, we members of the people's council assembled here on the day of the termination of the British mandate by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly do hereby declare the establishment of the State of Israel!" ""The United States of America..." ""...is proud to be the first nation to recognizae the new State of Israel..." ""...and welcomes you."" "Did you just hear that?" "What's happened to our state department?" "Somebody must have given the White House their phone number." "And now, God help them 'cause that's all the help they'll get from us." "Stop!" "How about some wine?" "Here you are." "Come and get it!" "Wait a minute." "I'm getting off here to see a friend." "Don't leave me here!" "I'm anti-Semitic!" "Propaganda!" "Okay, let me out." "Magda!" "Over here!" "Mickey!" "I heard you were here, but you're so important now you have only time for cabinet ministers." "Maybe if I get elected..." "What are you crying about now?" "You came back." "It's only supposed to make the Arabs unhappy." "I thought all us cowards would stick together." "You hate me." "I was so stupid." "Magda, tonight I love the whole world." "Mickey, I waited so long." "I hoped..." "I didn't know..." "Now, the Egyptian army's pouring tanks across the desert." "The armies of five other Arab nations have crossed our borders from four different directions." "We have no tanks, no artillery and almost no air force to stop them." "We're getting arms soon." "Somehow, for one week, you must hold them." "Hold them?" "What are you talking about?" "You've all got to stop thinking like losers." "Attack!" "Surprise and bluff are your major weapons." "Attack tanks with what?" "Noodle soup?" "I've been working over that new shipment of jeeps that came in and I've..." " Jeeps with no antitank weapons." " We'll improvise!" "We'll fix them up with machine guns, armor plate and there are four antiaircraft guns nobody knows we have." "But how would you use them?" "We're mounting them on half-tracks so they can fire straight ahead." "In Jerusalem?" "Jerusalem?" "The city is almost isolated." "You can't hold it." "We should evacuate everyone." "It'll cost us 10 times as much to hold the city as it's worth." "How much is Jerusalem worth, Asher?" "What did it close at on Wall street today?" "What's the market price of a 100-foot frontage on Solomon's temple?" "Not much, with the desert full of tanks while you waste your arms defending the impossible." "There will be arms for the desert and arms for Jerusalem!" " If you believe in miracles." " You came back, didn't you?" "You and Stone take the jeeps into the Negev and see what can be done at night to stop the Egyptian tanks." "You and Ram will move your best units to the road to Jerusalem." "Find out what it'll take to break through to the city." "You'll all report to me on what we have to do and Asher will explain to us why it cannot be done and then we will do it." "We'll make camp." "We'll sleep here during daylight and move on after dark." "David!" "What's up?" "They've picked up Egyptian tank radio." "They don't know, so they're talking freely." " Well?" " They've moved fast." "A column is heading north to knock out the Har Safid Kibbutza." "What do they have at Har Safid?" "Your old friend Yussuf with 20 men of the Palmach." " What else?" " Wire, slit trenches, Molotov cocktails children." " Radio?" " No communications at all." " They made a hit without warning." " How long will it take us to reach them?" "Too long." "It'll be broad daylight." "The plan was only for night assault." "I'm just an adviser." "Then advise." "You've got no choice." "Hit those tanks with everything." " Risk the entire force?" " They don't know that." "Go for broke." "This has gotta be the biggest bluff since the invention of falsies." "If we're wiped out, they'll be in Tel Aviv by Saturday." "If you don't, they'll be there for Friday supper." "This is the only mobile force in the entire Negev." "There's a mountain over there called "Masada"?" "Masada." "It was the last stronghold of our revolt against the Romans." "I know." "And they had an adviser, too." "After they held out for three years he advised them to give up." "They didn't have a chance, so 960 of them committed suicide on top of that mountain." "That's right." " And you guys are proud of it?" " Of course!" "What do you want?" "An eloquent philosophical speech and then you all go and cut your throats?" "David, attack!" "There have been enough Masadas in this country." " The whole air force is at Jerusalem." " All three planes?" "Yes, all they can spare is one Piper Cub." "No pilot, no bomb racks, no bombs." "Tell them to drop anything they can find." "Anything that makes a noise." "Vince told me of a run he made over New Guinea with half-empty pop bottles." " What?" " Yeah!" "They burst on impact." "Make a hell of an explosion." "Now, don't tell me they don't have seltzaer in Tel Aviv?" " They think we're crazay." " Good." "Right, now we're going to split into two columns and attack from opposite directions." "I have orders not to allow you into combat but will you advise one column?" "I was afraid you weren't going to ask." "Mickey." "I've never faced tanks before." "Neither have my men." "David, that's all right." "The Egyptians have never faced seltzaer." "You!" "Change partners!" "There's a war on!" "Come on!" "Come on." "What's this for?" "A trick we learned from the Stukas in the other war." "It's like a whistle." "It screams on the way down." "That's great." "That'll make two of us." "Put that on the seat there, son." "Where can I get a bet down on the other side?" "Let's run for it." "Get those tanks to chase us." "They're coming along." "I called you back from the desert because things are not going well." "The Egyptian tanks have been stopped." "You've got Jaffa, Haifa, Acre." "Don't worry." "Things aren't so bad." "Mickey, there's been a disaster." "Terrible disaster." "The Arab Legion has moved into the fortress of Latrun and cut the only supply road to Jerusalem." "The Arab Legion?" "Our boys tried to break through yesterday and were slaughtered like cattle." "The wheat fields are irrigated with their blood." "That's a real defense minister speech." "Now, what happened?" "Hardly any artillery, not enough men but most important, no centralizaed leadership." "You're right." "We have no high command." "We have a committee." "You know about the cease-fire?" "The United Nations requested a general truce effective the morning of June 11." "Did you accept it?" "We don't want to see any more bloodshed on either side." "I bet the Arabs have accepted." "They know you can't break through to Jerusalem in that time." "When the cease-fire comes, the lines will be frozaen." "The city will have to surrender or be starved to death." "We have two weeks." " Less." " But we've been over all this." "What the hell's so important about Jerusalem, militarily?" "Half the city's already fallen." "It doesn't make sense to risk everything you've got to save the other half." "Did it make sense for a fellow with a job building pyramids to march his friends into the Red Sea?" "Mickey, Jerusalem is starving." "Three pieces of bread a week for the children, almost no water." "Jerusalem was destroyed once by Nebuchadnezazaar a second time by Titus of Rome." "Not again, Mickey." "Not again!" "Without Jerusalem, there is no Israel." "The defense minister has made another speech." "I'd be interested in knowing how you intend to save it." "In the Bible is a Hebrew word I've never seen anywhere else." "The word is "Aluf,"" "It means commander." "More than that, it means leader." "I'm placing the unified command of all forces in the Jerusalem front in the hands of Aluf Michael Stone." "Now, wait a minute!" "When I first asked for command there was time to organizae, train, and prepare." "It's like giving a kid a balloon when the party's over." " I don't believe in miracles." " About miracles, I wouldn't know but the last Aluf mentioned in the Bible was Joshua of Jericho." "I've written a note to all brigade commanders announcing your appointment." "Well?" "Don't you want to be the first general of the army of Israel in 2,000 years?" "Aluf?" "How long has this convoy been hung up here?" "Two days." "There is hope?" "Tell them not to keep their motors running." "And I?" "You never turn yours off." "That means, "I love you," Aluf Stone." "A general should learn that much of the language." "Nobody's going to love me when this fighting's over." "Nobody who's alive." "Then I'll be dead." ""Do not die, for I shall hate All women so, when thou art gone."" "What a time to think of that one." "The air smells of cow manure and blood." "Asher." " Mickey." " Hello, Ram." "I got something from the old man." " It's about time." " You gave in too easily." "You must be in worse trouble than I thought." "We are." "We lost 600 men in the first assault." "600?" "We are forced to send immigrants from the detention camps directly from the boats to the front lines." "Where do they get their basic training?" "On the bus?" "If they are lucky." "Most of the men have given up hope." "With the Legion controlling the heights, I can't blame them." "Asher, your mission's to take Latrun." "If you can't do it, I'll get somebody who can." "Yes, Aluf Stone." "We'll have a staff meeting in half an hour." "I want to clean up." " Where's the Waldorf-Astoria?" " This way." "And this is the police fortress of Latrun, now occupied by the Arab Legion." "This is the road to Jerusalem." "And here behind these trees, the Legion has installed its heavy artillery." "Is there any way to bypass that road and get the trucks through to Jerusalem?" "No." "Nothing that is not in full view of those big guns there." "The only way is here, through the Bab El Wad." "That's where we were ambushed in the convoy last month." "The rest is high cliffs, wild terrain, impossible to pass." "Our plan is for an armored attack against the fort from this direction a frontal assault through the wheat field here and a raid to knock out their gun emplacements here." " Tonight?" " Not a chance." "Tomorrow?" " Maybe." " You can lose a war on "maybe."" "All right, we could try." "But the plan itself?" "Very professional." " You'd all get an "A" At West Point." " Thank you." "I've just one suggestion:" "I'd like an infantry unit to outflank the entire position then smash through this village behind the fort." "They'd find themselves threatened with being cut off and they'd be forced to withdraw." "Maybe." "What do you mean?" "You're speaking of coordinating four different actions simultaneously." "You're not just playing in a sandbox." "This is for keeps." "The only chance against that firepower is to complete the action before daylight." " The whole action?" " What do you think?" "It'll take split-second timing." "You might as well all start getting used to it right now." "Synchronizae to mine." "When I say "hack," It'll be exactly 11:05." "Ready?" "Three, two, one, hack." "Aluf Stone you'll have to excuse us." "We don't have a watch." "The buses were held up by mechanical difficulties, but now we're ready." "So is the Legion." "In half an hour, it'll be light enough to read your obituary." " You've got no choice." " We must attack." "Kadima!" "Any word from Petach battalion?" "We're going to try?" "Our only chance is if that infantry unit can outflank the fort." "They've almost reached Imwas, behind the enemy positions." " No one has spotted them yet." " Good." "Thanks." "What's this?" "What?" "Ram got into a big argument with some of the men who wouldn't believe he was a commander." "So we sent for some ribbon for all the officers." " What about the general?" " We're out of ribbon." "The story of my life." "Ram." "Wait a minute." "Now that you've got that piece of ribbon I should order you to stay behind with us at headquarters." "You never obeyed my orders." "Okay." "Aluf Stone!" "Aluf Stone, remember me?" " I'm not sure I..." " The bus from Lydda airport." "I told you to go to hell." "Now I remember." "I'm glad you didn't." "Where do they come from?" "Belsen, Auschwitza, Buchenwald by way of Cyprus." "What are they singing?" "The same song they used to sing on the way to the gas chambers." "And as most of our songs it begins, "Next year in Jerusalem."" ""Next year in Jerusalem."" "Gafna Blue, this is Petach Red." "Do you read me?" "Over." " Where are you?" " Did they contact the Legion?" " We're in the wheat field," " Did you make contact with the Legion?" "The Legion is on the roof of the fort, We can see them," "Our flamethrowers are a surprise." " They made them for us, and they work," " How about the dynamite?" "Our boys are placing the dynamite." "We're inside." "Inside the wall!" "Three of us." "No, four!" " Four cars!" " They've made it!" "Excuse the expression, but where the hell is the Palmach?" "The infantry were supposed to be attacking the rear." "Do they want us to be fried?" "Magda, do you read me?" "Gafna Blue, this is Petach Red," "What'd she say?" "The second hit a minefield and the artillery has found the range." "Where's the infantry battalion?" "Everything depends on them." "They should've captured the town and be coming from the rear." " They've decided to withdraw." " What?" "Withdraw?" "How the hell..." "All right." "What went wrong?" "How many casualties?" "Two." "Two dead." " Two?" " Try to understand." "They're all from the same neighborhood." "18 families lost sons in the last attack." "And now two more." "Two from a family that already lost two." "They're withdrawing." "That does it." "Our car has been set on fire." "We need mortars!" "Mortars!" "We need more than mortars." "We need God." "Do you read me, God?" "This is Rona." "Rona." "Do you hear me, Rona?" "Rona!" "They don't need generals now." "Ram!" "Ram!" "I'm sorry." "The 7th Brigade lost 200 men." "The 3rd, over 300." "The immigrants were hit the hardest." "We gave orders in seven languages, and still many couldn't understand." "But they advanced." "We found their bodies in the wheat, safety catches still on their guns." "They didn't even know how to release them." " But they still advanced." " But they were all facing toward Latrun." ""Next year in Jerusalem."" "What do you want me to do, cry?" "It means your training is poor and you need interpreters." "It means you're wasting manpower." "These kids want to fight." "You know how important that is?" "We've got to attack again." "They wanted to fight." "It's a little different now." "The Arab Legion won't move out." "They're just playing for time till the truce." "Now you've got to regroup, reorganize and attack." "I must think of my men." "You saw yourself, our boys are worn out." "We're all worn out, but we'll do it." "We made it across the Red Sea, didn't we?" "It's the first time I ever heard you say "we."" "Yeah." "You people..." "Pipsqueak nation..." "Tin-can army that fights with seltzaer bottles." ""We."" "All my life, I've been looking for where I belong." "Turns out it's here." "The Catskill Mountains with Arabs." "I've been so angry at the world ever since I was circumcised without my permission." "All of a sudden, I find out I'm not so special after all." "Everybody here is in the same boat and nobody's bellyaching." "Okay." ""Stand up and be counted," the man said." ""Grow up," is more like it." "I'm not fighting anymore because I'm ashamed of being a Jew." "I'm fighting because I'm stiff-necked and proud of it." "Next week, Asher." "Next week in Jerusalem." "Aluf Stone." "Aluf Stone, an old friend wants to see you." "Salaam aleikum," " Shalom," " I bring a gift." "What's this?" "Camels." "We have been told of your road on which your trucks cannot move." "Thank you for your generous gift." "We appreciate what you're doing for us but let me try to show you the problem." "You see, the heavy artillery on that hill commands this entire valley." "There is no way around for trucks or camels." "Don't worry, I did not steal the finest camels in the entire desert to have them butchered by Abdullah..." "Yes, but perhaps you're not familiar with the land here and..." "I am not familiar?" "I was having women in these hills when your father was sucking milk and your mother was..." " Take a look at this." " What is this?" " This is what we call a relief map of Latrun." " Latrun?" " That's the fort." "This is a road..." "Latrun Hulda." " That's right." "Beit Jiza." " Bab El Wad." " Abu Ghosh." " Jerusalem." " Exactly." " What child did this?" " What do you mean?" " This hill doesn't exist." " No, let him." "This hill is over here." "And there is an old wadi through here that cannot be seen from Latrun." "Asher, listen to this:" "Since you have taken the village of Beit Jiza my camels can move through here." "There's another way through these hills to Jerusalem." "The Palmach boys have already found this wadi." "It's barely wide enough for a jeep and it ends against the bottom of a cliff." "And they'll come out here." "The other side of Bab El Wad." "Fifty camels couldn't move enough supplies in a week to feed Jerusalem for half a day." "Who is this idiot?" "Are you sure the wadi's big enough to build a road?" " To take those heavy trucks to Jerusalem?" " Yes." "Build the road in a week?" "The cliffs in that area are over 250 feet high." "Allah Azim!" "If one of my men spoke to me in this way I would draw my knife and make him a eunuch." "Let's see this wadi of yours." "But perhaps in his case, it has already been done." "We can at least take a look." "Stop!" "You see?" "The Jerusalem road is only 1,000 meters the other side of this little bump." "All right, let's get closer." "Let's push." "Okay, all together." "Don't be daft." "You're wasting your time." "Even if you could blast a road for trucks, you'd never make it up this." "You'd have to build a mile of switchback and take over that next hill there." " It would take a year." " Who the hell are you?" "Capt. MacAfee." "He came to us by way of the Scots Guards, but he's our best engineer." "Hopefully, one of your worst prophets." "Mr. MacAfee, during the 14th century Spanish troops carved 200 steps up a cliff in a single night." "Aye, but we don't have any trucks that can climb steps." " Boys, move right back there." " If one of my men..." "Don't tempt me." "Mr. MacAfee, will you come this way, please?" "There's going to be a road up this little bump, see?" "Now, I'll start the job." "You figure out a way to finish it or one of these rocks will have your name on it and tomorrow's date." "To use the colorful local vernacular, what kind of a schnook do you think I am?" "Who's going to build a road up these cliffs in a week?" "The schnooks, Capt. MacAfee." "The army of the schnooks." "If the Arab Legion finds out what's going on here they'll turn those guns around and blast the hell out of them." "Do they know that?" "They know." "Why do they come?" "I'm still trying to figure out why you came." "Okay, keep working, boys." "Get your backs into it." "That's the stuff." "Keep going, lads." "Mac, you've got to get going on that road." "You can't feed Jerusalem on piggyback." "It's a very big bump." "But they're starving to death on the other side of it." "Put out that light, somebody!" "Kill it!" "They're moving up hill 49 half a mile from our road." "It's the first time they've sent out patrols at night," "The Legion is pulling back." "Let's hope they stay back." "Four days." "Then the UN freezaes the lines." "We'll have to risk working days as well as nights." "From your wife?" "I know the handwriting." "My heart freezaes when I see it." "Emma's seen the newspaper stories about the fighting." "She doesn't know where I am or what I'm doing, but she doesn't want me to have any more problems, so she'll give me a divorce." "If you've forgotten, that means "I love you."" "Don't hate me for loving you so much," "Don't hate me for loving you so much," "Welcome." "Sorry I'm late, gentlemen." " How do you like our Burma road?" " What road?" " How many trucks did you get up this cliff?" " I don't know the exact number..." "Under their own power?" " What?" " You heard me." "You certainly get good information." "Yes, we've been hauling them, but last night we finished the last stretch." "I could drive it myself now." "It's a cinch." "Then would you explain that to us?" "I don't like to be skeptic, Col. Stone." "The United Nations has a delicate and difficult task here if it is to retain international respect." "If that road is passable to heavy traffic, the siege of Jerusalem is broken." "That's right." "The question is, is it passable?" "Of course it is." "Excuse me." "Mr. MacAfee!" "They still can't climb steps." "None of the drivers are happy about taking another crack at it, not after that." "They won't budge." " How long to get that truck on the road?" " An hour, maybe two." "Get that bulldozaer and shove it off the cliff." " But look..." " Shove it off!" "Okay!" "Get that bulldozaer up behind the lorry and shove it right over!" "Right over!" "All right, let's get that jeep back." "Come on, let's get the show on the road." "Right, back you go." "That's fine." "Come on, move up in the back there!" "Okay, move!" "Right up here!" "Come on, go!" "What's he playing at?" "There's nothing to it." "It's just a Sunday drive." "Jerusalem." "All right, you understand." "We have no choice." "Come on." "Don't hurt my highway." "You've got plenty of room." "See?" "As long as we don't run into any traffic." "Do you think I learned Hebrew since yesterday?" "Is that the language you use here in a monastery?" "I'm sorry, Aluf Stone." "I didn't recognizae you." "I guess it's foolish." "After all, only a couple of hours till the cease-fire." "Stay alert." "The Arabs might still use it as a trick to launch an attack." "Let 'em try." " What's your name?" " Chaim." "Tell your friends it's official now." "We're marching into Jerusalem in the morning." "Through the back door, sure, but we made it." "And when anyone asks you how we did it, tell them you did it." " That's an order from your commander." " Okay, Mickey." "You're an insubordinate SOB." "You'll go far, Chaim." " Chaim." " Tov." "If you knew the trouble I had to get by the sentries..." "Such an army we have now!" "So West Point!" "Something is wrong." "Magda I've fallen in love." "Your wife, I know." "What has that to do with us?" " You're being very European." " I am very European." "I live with what is, not what I would like it to be." "I can't live that way." "Not anymore." "See, when Emma said I could go I knew it was time to stop running after everything." "Excitement, war..." "I don't want to listen." "I know everything before you say it." "I've heard it before." "Did you know that..." "You never said it to me." "Now." "I'm saying it now, because we're here at the monastery of Abu Ghosh on the road to Jerusalem." "You're standing beneath a rosebush in the moonlight." "But how would you look in Brooklyn plucking a chicken?" "What?" "I'm going home, Magda, for good." "For damn good." "I guess I've been in love with Emma all my life, and I wouldn't admit it." "Now I'm picking a rose for her." "I'll take it to her as if I were the schnook lawyer she always wanted me to be." "Run, Magda." "Run for your life." "The schnooks are taking over the world." "Shalom, Mickey." "You bastard." "Chaim, I don't know what you think I was doing there but I wasn't learning Hebrew." "I don't want to fight anymore." "I wanna go to bed, and then I'm going home." "Mrs, David Marcus, 482 Westminster Road Brooklyn, New York," "Your husband fell last night at his post in the hills of Jerusalem, the last casualty before the truce," "During the too-short time of his being with us as a man, and as a commander, he endeared himself to all who came into personal contact with him," "His name will live forever in the annals of our people," "Emma, he was the best man we had."