Attack (1956) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Captain Cooney promised covering fire for Lieutenant Costa's squad during the pillbox assault, but when the critical moment came, he froze and failed to provide the promised support. This decision resulted in the slaughter of Costa's squad and set the central conflict in motion, Costa's growing determination to hold Cooney accountable for his cowardice and incompetence.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Cooney as a paper-pusher more comfortable with red tape than combat leadership, hinting at his inability to perform under fire.

• captain cooney
• pillbox mission
• cowardice
• fox company
• failed assault

Bartlett refused to reassign Cooney because he harbored political ambitions beyond the war. Cooney's family connections, particularly to a judge who once ran Bartlett's father's office, represented potential leverage for Bartlett's postwar political career. Rather than prioritize the safety of the troops, Bartlett chose to protect his future political prospects.

Foreshadowing: Bartlett's character is introduced as a career officer more concerned with advancement than the wellbeing of his men.

• lieutenant colonel bartlett
• captain cooney
• political cover-up
• command failure
• postwar ambitions

When Ricks was shot and badly wounded during the retreat from La Nelle, Costa refused to abandon him despite the incoming tank bombardment. He attempted to carry Ricks to safety, but Ricks died in his arms. This act of loyalty and refusal to leave a man behind defined Costa's character and intensified his vendetta against Cooney, who had refused to send reinforcements.

Foreshadowing: Costa's earlier frustration with Cooney's failure to support his squad establishes his deep sense of responsibility toward his men.

• lieutenant costa
• ricks
• abandoned
• sacrifice
• loyalty
• retreat from la nelle

Costa was gravely wounded while fighting German tanks, he managed to disable one with a bazooka, but another tank ran over his arm, crushing it. He crawled to the basement shelter with the surviving members of Fox Company. In his final moments, he implored his fellow soldiers to kill Captain Cooney, then died after kicking Cooney's pistol away in a final act of defiance.

Foreshadowing: Costa's determined return from the La Nelle disaster, wounded but alive, foreshadows his fatal confrontation with Cooney.

• lieutenant costa death
• bazooka
• tank
• wounded
• final confrontation
• la nelle

When Cooney ordered surrender while trapped in the basement with the wounded survivors, Woodruff realized that if they surrendered, Cooney would likely blame all of them for the disaster to save himself. To prevent Cooney from shifting accountability and to protect his men, Woodruff shot Cooney dead. The other soldiers then briefly fired at Cooney's body to make it appear they had all participated, shielding Woodruff from consequences.

Foreshadowing: The earlier power struggle between Woodruff and Cooney, combined with Bartlett's attempts at a cover-up, establishes the political stakes of the final confrontation.

• lieutenant woodruff
• captain cooney
• shooting
• surrender
• blame
• cover-up
• basement

Bartlett attempted to offer Woodruff a field promotion to captain in exchange for his silence, while also promising to award Costa a posthumous medal. His goal was to bury the truth about Cooney's failures and his own complicity in the chain of command. Bartlett had leveraged his influence to keep Cooney in power and wanted to prevent the scandal from damaging his postwar political aspirations.

Foreshadowing: Bartlett's earlier refusal to remove Cooney despite Woodruff's protests planted the seeds for this attempted cover-up.

• lieutenant colonel bartlett
• cover-up
• promotion
• la nelle
• political scandal
• postwar career

The conflict began when Cooney froze during the pillbox mission, refusing to provide the promised covering fire that resulted in the deaths of Costa's squad members, including Lieutenant Lathrop. Costa witnessed Cooney's cowardice firsthand and spent the rest of the film demanding accountability, culminating in his determined pursuit of justice and his violent confrontation with Cooney after the La Nelle disaster.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene with the failed pillbox mission directly establishes the personal vendetta that drives Costa throughout the film.

• costa vs cooney
• conflict
• accountability
• cowardice
• leadership
• pillbox mission failure

Fox Company grew to despise Cooney after he repeatedly put their lives at risk through incompetent leadership. His failure to provide covering fire during the pillbox mission, his refusal to send reinforcements during the La Nelle assault, and his drinking during critical moments made him a symbol of useless command. When the survivors returned from La Nelle, their audible contempt for Cooney became a turning point that emboldened Woodruff to confront Bartlett and ultimately led to Cooney's death.

Foreshadowing: The buildup of resentment from failed missions and lost soldiers creates the tension that explodes in the final basement scene.

• fox company
• mutiny
• contempt
• captain cooney
• soldiers
• leadership failure
• la nelle

Bartlett admitted to Woodruff that he had helped advance Cooney's career because Cooney's father had been a judge who once ran Bartlett's father's office. This political debt, combined with Bartlett's desire to collect future favors, motivated him to protect Cooney even when it endangered the lives of the soldiers under Cooney's command.

Foreshadowing: This connection explains Bartlett's otherwise inexplicable loyalty to an incompetent officer.

• bartlett
• cooney family
• political connection
• judge
• career advancement
• debt

When Costa requested reinforcements during the La Nelle assault, Cooney ignored the plea and instead retreated to drink. Despite Costa's condition that reinforcements would be sent if heavy resistance was met, Cooney chose not to send help. This abandonment directly caused the devastating casualties and forced Costa's squad to take refuge in the farmhouse.

Foreshadowing: The mission briefing established that reinforcements would only come if Costa encountered heavy resistance, conditions that were clearly met.

• reinforcements
• la nelle
• denied
• cooney
• drinking
• failure to support
• casualties

Woodruff threatened to reveal the entire scheme to General Parsons, the commanding general, if Cooney was not held accountable for his failures. This ultimatum came after Bartlett refused to reassign Cooney and attempted to downplay the La Nelle disaster. Woodruff's threat represented a desperate attempt to use military hierarchy to override Bartlett's political maneuvering.

Foreshadowing: Woodruff's earlier attempts to work through proper channels with Bartlett had failed, leaving him no choice but to escalate.

• woodruff
• bartlett
• general parsons
• threat
• report
• accountability
• escalation

In the final scene, Private Snowden, who had remained detached throughout the crisis, reported that the town was empty and that German troops were retreating. Reinforcements arrived just as the survivors emerged from the basement. This retreat marked the end of the immediate combat threat, though it came too late to save Costa or prevent the tragedy.

Foreshadowing: The timing of the German retreat, arriving just after Cooney's death and the survivors' darkest moment, adds bitter irony to the resolution.

• german troops
• retreat
• snowden
• reinforcements
• town empty
• end of battle