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(WIND HOWLING)
(GUARD ORDERING IN GERMAN)
All right, all right, all right.
(MEN GROANING)
-Hey, Pat. -Yeah.
I had a dream.
Oh, not again. What's the matter with you?
A marvellous dream.
(GROANS)
PAT: Do you think I like it?
(YAWNS) What time did you get in?
About an hour ago.
-How's it going? -Very slowly.
Blisters. Thanks.
-Who's doing orderly today? -Brent and I.
-Oh! -(COUGHS)
I need some more metal skewers, Dick.
-What, the long ones? -Yeah.
(MEN MURMURING)
(CHEF SHOUTING IN GERMAN)
Come and get your acorn juice!
Here we go.
Best I could do.
Well, just a few more hours and I'll be off.
You'll need a drink, then. Brandy, good for the stomach.
Hmm? No thank you.
I'm returning straight to my unit.
I hear we may be going to the North African front.
My sympathies.
(SCOFFS) Sympathies? But good God, it's an honour.
To die?
It's no honour, Anton.
A relief, perhaps.
(DOOR UNLOCKING)
Good morning. My name is Preston. I'm the Senior British Officer.
-Flight Lieutenant Carrington, sir. -How do you do?
I was hoping somebody would come. I'm glad to see you.
I'd have come sooner
but it appears the Germans are being rather hard on you.
How have they treating you?
As little as possible.
They feed me, look at me.
My zoo.
Interesting.
It has been to me.
Where were you picked up?
Hamburg.
You must realise, Carrington, that any scrap of information
about the Germans may be of help to us.
Now, who picked you up?
Who? The Germans.
Police or military?
The police.
I was turned over to the Gestapo. Routine interrogation.
Who helped me? How I lasted for nine weeks?
-That's a good question. -Which one?
How did you last for nine weeks?
Luck.
You're Canadian, are you?
No, I'm an American, from Michigan.
Yeah, when did America join the war?
They didn't. I volunteered.
I was a foreign correspondent in Berlin. I watched the Nazis grow up.
Your first war?
No, sir, I was in the Spanish Civil War since '36.
-I see. -Any more questions?
-No, not at the moment. -Well, I have one.
When am I getting out of here?
In about a week, I'm told.
I'm not talking about solitary, I'm talking about Colditz.
When am I getting out?
Well, it's not as direct as that, Carrington, nor as simple.
What does that mean?
Well, it means there are plans to be made. (SHIVERS)
-I've got plans. -Oh, good.
We'll need to hear them later.
-Who are ''we''? -You'll meet them.
-Well, then I am getting out of here. -You might,
-when your turn comes. -When's that?
Well, that may not be for months.
Months?
Months? I'm not waiting in here for months!
-Carrington! -I'm gonna make...
Now, look, you have no choice.
To escape from a place like this requires careful planning
and good discipline.
So you will, therefore, as everyone else, wait your turn.
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
(DOOR UNLOCKING)
(MAN ANNOUNCING IN GERMAN ON RADIO)
(DOOR CLOSING)
-Morning. -Good morning, Herr Major.
The Adjutant is busy with the Kommandant for a moment.
-I'm Schaeffer, second in command. -Franz Ulmann.
-I've been posted... -I know.
To replace our Anton, poor fellow.
-They're pushing him off to fight. -Oh, it happens.
As you say, it happens.
-Drink? -Not just now, thank you, Herr Major.
Oh, please relax.
We're quite informal here.
Sure you won't have one?
I mean, new surroundings, a bit nerve-wracking?
Thank you, but no.
-You don't drink? -Oh, yes.
A little wine at meal times.
To your new job.
Perhaps I should see if the Adjutant is free now.
Not yet. One moment.
A little morning ritual they have, he and the Kommandant.
-The morning news, marking the map. -Oh.
-Are you regular Wehrmacht? -Army reserve.
In peacetime? What for?
It may sound a little old-fashioned, but I thought it my duty.
A man's duty surely is to support the peace, make it work,
not play at soldiers.
My civilian job was in insurance, Herr Major.
Ah! I see.
Against the day that we should overrun Europe.
The minute is up. If you'll excuse me.
(DOOR CLOSING)
Find Oberleutnant Lehr. Tell him his replacement has arrived.
I have read your record.
It all seems rather remarkable.
Remarkable, Herr Kommandant? In what way?
Look on the map. No, don't move.
-Poland. -Yes?
The German flag. Which town is it sticking out of?
Posen.
Touch your toes.
As I say, remarkable. Sit down, Ulmann.
You see, most of us here are unfit for active duty.
But you? A1 .
And General Schaetzel spared you from his own intelligence staff.
Have you any idea why he should relegate you to this backwater?
-No, Herr Kommandant. -Aren't you curious?
General Schaetzel is to hold a security conference here
in 1 0 days' time, I believe.
The date of my posting is to allow me to learn the job
before the conference. That's all I know, sir.
Very well.
You were Branch Manager of an insurance company before the war.
Yes, sir. Also army reservist. Eighteen years.
-A man of perseverance. -I'm glad someone here approves.
-Who doesn't? -I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that.
Ah! I can guess.
Now, Ulmann, I tolerate no friction between my officers.
It takes two rubbing surfaces to create friction.
-Do I make myself clear? -Quite clear, Herr Kommandant.
-(KNOCKING ON DOOR) -Come.
Lehr, this is Ulmann.
Ah! A pleasure.
Delighted to meet you. Delighted.
Explain to our friend his duties, familiarise him with the castle.
Of course, Herr Kommandant, of course.
Ulmann will relieve you officially tomorrow morning before you leave.
Yes. Right. Right, sir, if you'll come this way?
(CLICKS HEELS)
A horse of a very different colour, hmm?
He'll need to be.
Does he know? Did they brief him?
He's a hard man to read.
Let's find out. Get me General Schaetzel.
Ah! Unterfeldwebel Blatau, this is Hauptmann Ulmann,
the new Security Officer.
-Good morning, sir. -Good morning, Unterfeldwebel.
-Oh, by the way, I'm Anton. -Franz.
Well, my dear Franz, this is where it all happens.
Uh, shall we start right away or would you like some refreshment first?
We'll start now, please.
Max? It's Karl.
(CHUCKLES)
Your new man has just arrived.
Oh, it is too early to say yet but tell me... What?
A signal?
No, not yet.
It's put forward? But why? On whose orders?
Is this to catch us unprepared, do you suppose?
Yes, yes, I'll tell him straightaway. Uh, what does he know?
An indiscreet question, I'm sorry, sir, yes.
Yes, well, we'll have to, won't we? Right, sir.
They've put the conference forward. To when?
-Thursday. -Three days?
-Orders from Reich Security. -Yes, but what are they up to?
Tell Ulmann. Keep it casual. Don't panic him.
Who the hell is that?
That's our new Security Officer.
-That can't be. That fellow's a captain. -So, they've upgraded the job.
-Why would they do that? -You tell me.
But I'll lay you a week's Lagergeld that that's our new Security Officer.
-And this one here? -Bricked up, sir, more than a year ago.
They've all been bricked up, sir.
He went to that manhole cover like a horse to water.
-Why a captain? -If he jumps to things like that
in five minutes, what's he going to do at the end of a week?
I'll have to step up my schedule.
(CHATTERING)
(WIND HOWLING)
(SNORING)
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Well, I think I'll turn in.
I'll see you in my office first thing in the morning.
Yes, sir.
-Gentlemen. -(ALL CLICKING HEELS)
Goodnight, William.
(INCREASES VOLUME)
(DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE)
(PLANE DRONING OVERHEAD)
(RECORD OF MALE SINGER PLAYING)
The bar is now closing, gentlemen.
The bar is now closing, Herr Major.
All right, Erhard. Leave the bottle here.
I'm afraid I must lock the drinks away, Herr Major.
I said leave the bottle here. Put it on my account and leave.
-Last order, sir? -No thank you.
How nice to be a militarist.
Militarists have no need to dull their consciences.
Why don't you ask me why, Erhard? Go on, man, ask me.
I will ask you.
Because they have no consciences. Any more than ants, locusts.
They seek to gain by Blitzkrieg what in the temple they have lost outright.
Good night, Herr Major.
Good night.
Sleep well.
With your little clicking heels and your empty minds,
Germany is marching, the wind is behind us.
All is well.
Why didn't you challenge me?
(STUTTERING) You just came through the main gate, sir,
-past the guard. -How do you know that I did?
You're a German officer, sir.
Do you know me?
-No, but the uniform... -Never mind the uniform.
You're to challenge everyone that comes through this yard, understood?
Yes, sir.
My identification.
Pass, Herr Hauptman.
(CONVERSING IN FRENCH)
(CHATTERING)
(SHOUTING ORDERS IN GERMAN)
That's not a Schmeiser.
-Who are you going to kill, Hans? -Those things are for soldiers.
He does look rather smart, though, you must admit.
Like the dog's dinner. What is it, Hitler's birthday?
Seriously, Hans, what's going on?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(ALL SHIVERING)
-MAN: There you go! -Nice and hot! Come and get it!
-Hey, careful. -What? No marg?
-No chief cook, either. -What happened?
Maybe he sampled his own cooking. (CHUCKLES)
The cook's been drafted to the Kommandantur for the day.
-He's scrubbed out the kitchens as well. -What do you think they're up to?
I reckon they're laying on some kind of a do for some German brass.
PAT: Wehrmacht?
I don't know. Something about a conference.
Hey, your move.
Hey, this coffee's not very hot.
Get out of that.
No, try it again. Try it again.
Yes.
Leave the liqueur glasses. Holtz, you follow, topping them up.
ERHARD: There will be crumbs, Herr Ulmann.
Manfried, you follow with the brush and pan.
-Excuse me, sir. -That's right.
What are you doing?
For an officer, sir.
Thank you, Hans.
I don't know whether I will ever see out this winter.
(DOOR OPENING)
Ulmann, what do you want?
Herr Major, with respect, I would remind you that in less than three hours...
For God's sake, man, don't you ever relax?
Look, I have been on the go since dawn.
If you have come here to respectfully suggest that I...
I more than suggest it, for the sake of the whole unit.
Out.
That is an order! I said out!
-A word please, Herr Kommandant. -What is it, Ulmann?
Sir, I feel you should know
the second-in-command is getting himself drunk.
Oh! Thank you. I'll see to it.
I suggest the doctor be warned to put him in sick bay until...
Thank you, Ulmann, I said I'd deal with it.
Your permission to notify the doctor, please, sir?
Did you hear what I said?
I'd like to tidy it up now, sir, if I may.
Ulmann, I warned you when you first arrived here, didn't I,
about personal friction between my officers?
-Sir... -I am quite aware
that my second-in-command puts backs up.
But we must make allowances. He's not well.
Contrary to what you may think, he's a good German,
simply his ideals are not ours.
-Sir, I am simply concerned... -Now, let me finish!
...that he'll be a risk today.
Talk out of turn, you mean?
Discredit himself before our guests?
Discredit me as head of security.
You? In what way?
Sir, this new job is like a blowtorch turned in my direction.
I am not going to get myself pushed into it by a liberal
with too much drink inside him.
Are you always so direct?
To fail would go against my record.
The SS are sending two representatives today.
I know them, sir.
And I know that if any of us betrays in any way
that we are not a highly efficient, cohesive unit,
politically secure to the last man, they'll be in here.
Ah.
They'll post their own security officer to the camp and I'll be out.
That'll be only the thin end of the wedge.
Gradually, they'll take over the whole command.
I'm quite aware of all this, Ulmann.
I simply misunderstood your motives.
I have nothing against the SS, of course.
Of course.
But as a Wehrmacht officer...
You take pride in doing your job well.
You are quite right in sticking to your guns.
The point you make is absolutely valid.
So, may I speak to the doctor now, sir?
No. No, I'll see to it.
(ULMANN CLICKING HEELS)
-How's it going? -I am on page 38, sir.
-Well, hurry it up. -Yes, sir.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come.
You wanted to see me, Karl?
I was about to inspect the latrines.
Yes, yes, come in, Willie.
Um... Sit down.
Willie, we have a problem.
Ulmann! I thought he would run straight to you.
Oh, you're going to have trouble with that man.
Well, he's concerned for his job.
So you put him in his place. Good, Karl, good.
No, Willie, it's you I'm concerned about.
Me?
Now, we've known each other for a long time, haven't we?
Perhaps I was a bit short with him.
Now, don't slide away, Willie.
As your second-in-command,
-I couldn't allow him to presume... -Willie! Look at me.
How many drinks have you had this morning?
(SLURRING) Well, just... Nothing.
Two? Three?
When you know the SS are coming today?
And how you're inclined to talk when you've had a few drinks?
If you go to that conference, you will deliberately...
No, Karl, don't say it.
I thought I could trust you.
You can.
There are too many important issues at stake.
Think what you're doing to me.
I have been a burden to you. I know that.
It's a hell of a way to repay you, after all you have done for me.
You got me posted to this unit
because you knew that I wouldn't last five minutes with any other unit.
I applied for you because I thought you were the man for the job.
I know where I stand.
But I have tried.
For your sake.
-Oh, please... -No, let me finish.
If you bar me from the conference today,
it will be because you made a bad choice of second-in-command.
It will reflect on you.
I don't want that.
No, no, no.
It will just mean that you have a touch of flu.
No one will notice anything.
The SS are anxious to purge the army of you and your like.
Their knives are drawn.
You are handing them the opportunity they are waiting for.
I couldn't live with that.
Do you understand what I am saying?
Willie, you need a rest. I'll bring your leave forward.
No, no.
I have been thinking about this for some time.
Your faith in me is the only thing that has kept me going.
Without it, there is nothing left for me in this godforsaken war.
So, will you trust me, Karl?
Please, I am begging you.
Do not write off your old friend.
(SIGHING)
Will you swear to me, on your oath,
that you will not touch one more drop of liquor until after they have gone?
I can't.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
You can. Swear it.
On my oath, I swear it.
All right, Willie.
Come.
Herr Komm... Oh, excuse me, sir.
-What is it, Lehr? -I'm going now, sir.
Oh, yes. Yes, of course.
Well, good luck, Lehr, and thank you for all the good work you have done here.
Thank you, sir.
Goodbye, Herr Major, look after yourself.
Goodbye, Anton, brave soldier, defender of the Fatherland.
Thank you, sir.
Heil Hitler!
Oh, God!
There will be schnapps, wine at luncheon,
brandy, Nazi tongues yapping...
Already I feel a sick thirst in my throat.
You gave me your word.
(GRUNTING)
Never trust an alcoholic, Karl.
They lie like stormtroopers.
But thank you anyway for not making it an order.
Willie...
Where are you going?
To report a case of flu.
Of course, any conference the Germans have must concern us
but I don't see what we can do about it.
Well, suppose we could eavesdrop, sir?
(SIGHING) Through nine feet of brick wall?
If the priority is high enough, it could be worked.
It could be vital to our future here.
I agree with that but I still don't see what we could do about it.
-Pat, you ready? -Yeah.
-Watch the door, jim. -All right.
(COUGHING)
Map of the castle, sir.
Here we are.
Now, the Kommandantur mess is somewhere here.
The drain system is here.
The one I've been working on runs this way under the hospital.
But on this side, it angles this way.
PRESTON: How's that going to help you?
Well, there must be an access point to the system
somewhere in the Kommandantur building.
Yes, but won't the system be blocked up?
Yes, I'll have to break through it with a crowbar.
The Poles have got them.
How are you going to get down that manhole there in daylight?
The rest of us will create some kind of diversion.
What do you say, sir?
Well, I'm sorry. I think it's too dangerous.
Well, we simply can't afford not to try.
Right, supposing, just supposing you do get into that area
and you manage to overhear,
what good is that? You don't speak German.
I do, sir.
Two of you?
I think it's a bit mad,
but if the pair of you are willing to take the risk
I won't stop you.
But it is going to need a damn good diversion
to get you down that manhole.
Any suggestions, anybody?
Well, how about a rugger match and a scrum over the manhole?
-(ALL DISAGREEING) No. -We could stage a fight.
Why go to all that trouble?
All you need is cockroaches.
Here we are at Colditz Park,
ready for the first race of the afternoon.
It's the 3:00, the Nasty Person's Handicap.
And we all know what that is.
Two runners, they're both at the starting line.
Almost under orders. Gather round now.
(ALL CHATTERING)
1 0-to-1 on Goering. 6-to-4, Himmler.
(ALL CHATTERING)
Coming up to the tapes now, on the left is Goering
ridden by Hitler.
On the right is Himmler ridden by Mussolini.
Now Goering won't get into line.
Coming up towards the tapes, the flag is up.
And...they're off!
(ALL CHATTERING LOUDLY)
(ANNOUNCING PLAY-BY-PLAY)
Himmler carrying Mussolini going fast on the outside.
Going very fast indeed.
He's going over. He's over the line!
(CHEERING CONTINUES)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
It's another win! Another win for Mussolini!
(ALL MUTTERING)
-Here we are. -Hey, that cockroach has been nobbled.
(ALL MUTTERING ANGRILY)
-Bumping and boarding on the bend. -Are you questioning...
Are you questioning the integrity of the course?
(ALL AGREEING LOUDLY)
Quite right, too, we're all villains.
Yeah, what about my money? I had 4-to-8 against.
(MUFFLED MUTTERING CONTINUES OVERHEAD)
(ALL MUTTERING)
The SPO. The brass have arrived.
How are we going to know when to get them out?
Oh, they'll bang on the cover.
We'll take it in turns to stand by.
(ALL CHATTERING)
I always said that man had the luck of the devil.
Remember him in the Somme in the old days?
Wearing those red pyjamas?
Excuse me, Herr Kommandant.
Where's your second-in-command, Schaeffer, today?
Oh, he's not well. Touch of the flu.
Sorry to hear that. I was hoping for a talk.
Oh, it's nothing serious. It's only a mild bout,
so my staff surgeon says.
GENERAL (LAUGHING): He was a great ladies man, Hoffner.
A toast, gentlemen. A toast between friends.
ALL: Toast!
-To the Party! -ALL: To the Party!
(INSTRUMENTAL RECORD PLAYING)
(CLEARING THROAT)
GENERAL: When did you become such a hunter, Hessler?
HESSLER: Oh, there's nothing to it once you've killed your first man.
They're a fine collection, though, aren't they?
Only Himmler could be so imaginative.
What about this one? Most recent.
Was easy to come by,
was in coping with a large number of undesirables.
(ALL LAUGHING)
The Fuhrer said, ""Fraulein. ""
As a matter of fact she was a lady from the highest circles
with red hair and a superb bosom.
He said, ''I am flattered by your suggestion
''but you have the wrong man.
''Take my advice and see Goering.
''He is my Minister for Affairs of the Heart.''
(ALL LAUGHING)
The lady looked at Goering and said,
''Mein Fuhrer, though I might take your advice,
''I could never take the weight.''
(ALL LAUGHING)
Oh. What have we here?
So, it seems suddenly we're in conference, gentlemen.
In here? In the mess? Is there no conference room?
Well, yes, but...
I thought it would save an upheaval, sir.
It's warmer in here.
Well, I have no objection. Is it all right with you gentlemen?
A moment. Schmeling, the door.
Excuse me.
Happy, gentlemen?
Good. Well, first I think we might dispense with these.
Well, you all know why we're here.
To reappraise the security administration
of the castle.
But what you may not all know
is that the role of Colditz has been changed.
So our task now
is to update the security arrangements to cope with this change.
(WHISPERING)
(GASPING)
...and as the camp expands, so of course, we increase staff.
It's laid down, you remember, that guards must always outnumber prisoners.
Laid down in respect of what?
Our establishment, of course.
But that is invalid now, Herr Kommandant.
You are continuing to think in terms of a prisoner-of-war camp.
Colditz is Sonderlager now, remember?
A special camp.
-Yes, of course... -GENERAL: Out with it, Hessler.
What's on your mind?
New buttons never did make a new suit.
Any attempt to expand an existing system
is a waste of time, resources and manpower.
A whole new security structure must be created.
If not, we'll end up with a ponderous machine
that is uneconomical in manpower and everything else.
KOMMANDANT: And you think you are more competent
to design this structure than we are here, despite our experience?
HESSLER: Herr Kommandant, security is our business.
Can you guarantee to make this Sonderlager 1 00 secure?
Yes, I can.
Impossible.
The voice of your own security officer, he admits you can't do it.
We can't do it, nor can you.
The term ''1 00 secure'' is an ideal, gentlemen.
An abstract.
The assessment of security risk is a science.
We don't speak in such inexactitudes.
''We''?
Of the profession. I was in insurance.
I think we can ignore the specialist view.
(ALL CHUCKLING)
I thought that was the view you were putting forward.
(MAN CLEARING THROAT)
GENERAL: I must say I'm very reluctant, Hessler,
to have you people in on this.
HESSLER: May I ask why?
Divided commands don't work.
To put it bluntly, with the war escalating,
you have too many important commitments elsewhere
to warrant you sitting on your tails in this backwater.
I think that is for us to decide.
-Not here. -Here, now.
Schmeling, you must tell them.
We have no official release on the information yet.
I'll be responsible. Tell them.
Tell us what? Out with it.
Well, an order has just been received at Reich Security
from the Fuhrer himself.
It decrees that as well as Allied personnel,
all captured Prominente will be imprisoned here.
Politicians, royalty, governors.
And the object?
That they be held as hostages of the Reich,
to be used as and when the Fuhrer sees fit.
They're out of their minds.
-GENERAL: Why wasn't I told of this? -The news has already...
No, it hasn't!
This is why the conference was brought forward, isn't it?
-Come on, man, admit it! -Well, there was a question...
No, there wasn't!
The information was deliberately withheld.
Now, why?
To give the Kommandant and his staff no time to prepare their own proposals.
-My dear Herr... -I tell you,
I have a good mind to adjourn this meeting here and now.
-You can't do that. -There is a time element.
Detailed proposals for the reorganisation here
must be on Herr Himmler's desk within eight days.
Can it be done?
HESSLER: It's all right, gentlemen, no need to panic.
A draft plan has already been prepared.
-By your people. -Of course.
You would like to hear what we are proposing?
Well, principally, SS participation in the running of the camp.
The actual security details are still in the melting pot.
We have to look the camp over.
We have to make an analysis of existing measures.
And with your permission, Herr Kommandant,
we'd like to start on that tomorrow.
What a waste.
Our plan is already complete.
But that is impossible.
Unless you had forehand knowledge about the hostages.
Standartenfuhrer, whom we imprison here is not the point.
-It is how we do it. -(LAUGHING) Really?
Is a safe more secure or less secure because of what it has inside it?
The more valuable its contents, the more effort may be made to open it.
From the outside. But that is not our problem, is it?
Colditz was built to keep people out. What we have to do is keep them in.
If we can keep in enemy officers, we can keep in this Prominente, too.
Hmm. That makes sense.
These plans of yours, are they available, Ulmann?
In front of you, sir.
''Revised allocations of manpower.''
''Searchlights, weapons...''
''Modern locking devices...''
Gentlemen, Colditz Castle.
Existing guard positions, machine guns, floodlights in black.
Revised and proposed positions in red.
If you'd care to follow on the reports in front of you,
I'll take you through each one separately,
explaining its functions, arc of fires, etcetera.
(ALL MUTTERING)
Well, these are my initial proposals, Herr General.
Initial? I see.
Which you claim will afford 1 00 security against escape?
Oh, no. I estimate 98.5,
half a point below what my company reckoned
for strong rooms equipped with electrical warning devices.
Any further comments, gentlemen?
Good.
Well, in view of the time factor,
I think this report should go forward immediately
to Reich Security, Schmeling.
I'll take some copies with me.
For my own part,
I think that the Kommandant and his staff
should be allowed to get on with their own reorganisation
in their own way.
And I shall make a report to that effect.
That's all, gentlemen, meeting closed.
Well, that's about everything. Ulmann's really sewn us up now.
Even the SS approved his plan.
Anyway, we're still under the control of the Wehrmacht.
That's something.
Well, thank you, Player, thank you, Grant.
Look, I've been doing some thinking and these are my conclusions.
That one, we pool every professional resource that we have.
Two, we focus those resources on every single escape attempt.
And three, we attempt to bring the Poles
and the other nationalities along with us.
You mean form an Allied committee?
No, I can only see chaos in committee,
what I want is a coordinator.
One man, with authority, who can sift every plan.
-An escape officer. -Exactly, an escape officer.
You must realise that that man's got to have a great deal of discretion
and a great deal of patience.
And you'll appreciate that as the escape officer,
he won't be able to escape himself.
Now, the man I have in mind for that job is you, Pat.
But sir, the war could last for years.
It's up to you. The decision must be yours.
All right, sir.
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