“But if he wants to be a soldier, then, by heavens, he's got to be one.”
Por qué es buena
A plain creed delivered with an oath; it leaves no room for half measures.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
If you want to be a coach, then be one.
00:00 / 02:40
00:00 / 02:40
Broulard Visits Dax at the Front, Explained
Paths of Glory · 1957
Capítulo 2 de 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
❝ Monólogo · 12 frases 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.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel2/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“He's got to fight, and he can't do that unless he's where the fighting is.”
Por qué es buena
The unless-clause makes the point airtight: no fighting without being at the front.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
You can't improve unless you practise daily.
“I can't understand these armchair officers...”
Por qué es buena
One compound noun paints the desk officer as useless; the contempt is instant.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I can't understand these armchair fans who never play.
“let him put on a dress and hide under the bed.”
Por qué es buena
Two absurd actions turn cowardice into a picture no insult could match.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
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.”
Por qué es buena
It sums up the gap between a safe view and the real thing, with menace underneath.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
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.”
Por qué es buena
The fly image makes blind herd behaviour sound both fatal and contemptible.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
The tourists swarmed together like a bunch of flies.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ 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.
Siguiente · 03the last refuge of a scoundrelLa escena: Mireau Orders Dax to Take the AnthillIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- 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.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy 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.