“But if he wants to be a soldier, then, by heavens, he's got to be one.”
Why it's great
A plain creed delivered with an oath; it leaves no room for half measures.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
If you want to be a coach, then be one.
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00:00 / 02:40
Broulard Visits Dax at the Front, Explained
Paths of Glory · 1957
Chapter 2 of 17 · 2'40"
General Broulard tours Colonel Dax's command post and delivers a speech about soldiers who must be where the fighting is, mocking the 'armchair officers' who run the war from a desk. The two examine a position called the Anthill and trade gentle ironies, while the general's confidence sits oddly beside the twenty-nine casualties of last night's relief.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:30–1:06
❝ Monologue · 12 lines Broulard's Speech About Soldiers
36s - 1:06–2:23
The General Eyes the Anthill
77s
Broulard Visits Dax at the Front, explained
What happens
General Broulard arrives to inspect Colonel Dax's front-line post. After polite small talk, the general lectures about soldiers who belong where the fighting is and mocks 'armchair officers' who direct the war from a desk. The two then study a position called the Anthill, which the general calls pregnable, and discuss the casualties from the previous night's relief.
What's really going on
The scene is a study in command at a distance. Broulard has come to the front but talks about war as an idea — who deserves to be a soldier, why cowards should 'put on a dress and hide under the bed,' and how men in the rear should stay out of a fight. His slogan is earnest and self-flattering: 'But if he wants to be a soldier, then, by heavens, he's got to be one.' Dax agrees with perfect courtesy, and the agreement is the joke, because Dax is the one who actually holds the line and counts the dead. The Anthill, their next objective, is described as 'pregnable,' a word the general finds funny, and their exchange over it shows how easily the language of attack floats free of the men it costs. The report of twenty-nine casualties barely interrupts the talk.
Key lines & what they mean
- “But if he wants to be a soldier, then, by heavens, he's got to be one.”
- Broulard's credo: a soldier must accept the real thing, not just the title, which he says with self-satisfied certainty.
- “He's got to fight, and he can't do that unless he's where the fighting is.”
- His follow-up: the only way to soldier is to be at the front, a claim that sounds noble and costs him nothing.
- “I can't understand these armchair officers...”
- The general's complaint about officers who direct battles from a desk, spoken by a man who is himself visiting only briefly.
- “let him put on a dress and hide under the bed.”
- His contemptuous image for a coward — dress up and hide — delivered as a joke but revealing how he ranks men.
- “The Anthill. About as good a view as you can get without actually being there.”
- Dax's dry introduction of the position: the best look at the target is from here, since going there means the attack.
- “All swarmed together like a bunch of flies, just waiting for someone to swat 'em.”
- Broulard's description of the troops under fire — a contemptuous image that Dax quietly turns back on him.
Theme
- Power — Broulard, visiting from the rear, lectures about soldiering and decides who deserves to fight, while Dax merely agrees.
- Duty — The talk of who belongs at the front sits beside Dax's real burden: he is the one counting the dead.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level2/6
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“He's got to fight, and he can't do that unless he's where the fighting is.”
Why it's great
The unless-clause makes the point airtight: no fighting without being at the front.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
You can't improve unless you practise daily.
“I can't understand these armchair officers...”
Why it's great
One compound noun paints the desk officer as useless; the contempt is instant.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I can't understand these armchair fans who never play.
“let him put on a dress and hide under the bed.”
Why it's great
Two absurd actions turn cowardice into a picture no insult could match.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
If he's scared of rain, let him stay home and hide.
“The Anthill. About as good a view as you can get without actually being there.”
Why it's great
It sums up the gap between a safe view and the real thing, with menace underneath.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
This is about as good a view as you can get without climbing it.
“All swarmed together like a bunch of flies, just waiting for someone to swat 'em.”
Why it's great
The fly image makes blind herd behaviour sound both fatal and contemptible.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
The tourists swarmed together like a bunch of flies.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Mireau's creed on soldiers
I can't understand these armchair officers... fellows trying to fight a war from behind a desk... waving papers at the enemy... worrying about whether a mouse is going to run up their pants leg. I don't know, General. If I had the choice between mice and Mausers... I think I'd take the mice every time. You'll never make me believe that, Colonel. Seriously though, if a man's a ninny... let him put on a dress and hide under the bed. But if he wants to be a soldier, then, by heavens, he's got to be one. He's got to fight, and he can't do that unless he's where the fighting is. That's my credo.
It moves from mockery to a creed, each line harder than the last.
Up next · 03the last refuge of a scoundrelThe scene: Mireau Orders Dax to Take the AnthillTakeaways
What you walk away with- Mireau praises the post and mocks the rear in one breath.
- The Anthill looks close only from a safe distance.
- His creed is simple: a soldier must be where the fighting is.
- Even a joke here carries a jab at headquarters.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Broulard visit Dax's command post?
He comes to inspect the front before the coming attack, and uses the trip to restate his views about soldiering and to look at the objective, the Anthill.
What does Broulard mean by 'armchair officers'?
He means officers who direct the war from a desk far from danger. He criticizes them, though he is himself only a brief visitor to the front.
How does Dax respond to the general's speech?
With polite agreement. He says the general argues so convincingly that he must agree, and notes that he has never failed to live up to his credo.
What is the Anthill?
It is the German position the French are expected to attack. Dax shows it from a distance, calling it the best view available without actually being there.
Why does the casualty report matter?
Twenty-nine men were lost in the relief, yet the general treats the losses as stupidity and talks about the troops like swarming flies, which exposes how little the dead weigh in his thinking.