The Best of Enemies

Major Richardson is taken prisoner by a mobile Italian detachment during a desert march in Italian East Africa. An accompanying reconnaissance plane piloted by Wilding crashes, creating chaos and a window for the capture. Blasi interrogates Richardson, but the prisoner offers only his name, rank, and serial number.

The British night attack is repulsed and Italian Major Fornari is killed, leaving Blasi in charge. The loss strengthens Blasi's resolve and sets the stage for a new approach to the standoff. The strategic mood shifts as Blasi consolidates control.

Blasi, urged by his ally Bernasconi, decides to let two British prisoners escape to tell their superiors about how weak his force appears. The move is meant to deter pursuit and buy time for retreat. It reveals Blasi's willingness to gamble with consequences.

Richardson receives orders to advance with his motorized squadron and capture Blasi's force. The pursuit tightens the radiating tension between the opposing sides. Captain Rootes warns against the risky chase, but the order stands.

Blasi and his men reach a fort, hoping their line will rally, only to find abandoned equipment. Richardson's armored cars close in, pressing for surrender. Blasi resists Richardson's terms, but, under pressure, reluctantly agrees to surrender while ordering most African soldiers to stay and surrender later at a set deadline.

Furious at being duped, Richardson pursues Blasi into rugged, hilly terrain against Captain Rootes’ advice. The pursuit tests endurance and judgment as the landscape becomes part of the struggle. The two leaders push their men to the brink in difficult country.

Blasi orders four African warriors dismissed who then slip behind British lines and set a forest ablaze, destroying armored cars and supplies. The flames force a retreat, and both sides seek safety on a nearby lake island. The escape plan collapses into a new kind of stalemate.

After the fire dies down, the Italians march across the desert as prisoners of war, outnumbered and short on supplies. Tension and fatigue grow as they drift into an uneven struggle for survival. The dynamic shifts as Native dynamics mingle with the prisoner sequence.

The group arrives at a native village where the headman pledges Allied support but demands the Italians' weapons and captives. Richardson refuses to part with either. A sick British officer is found in the village, unable to be moved, intensifying the precarious situation.

They stop in an abandoned village where a sick British officer lingers, and hostile natives gather under the same headman. Tensions rise as the two commanders weigh their options under local pressure. The stalemate grows more dangerous before any rescue or retreat.

Richardson decides to arm the Italians but discovers the ammunition has been left behind. He orders a six-at-a-time escape down a gully, hoping to slip away, but the plan is foiled as natives close in and seize weapons and boots. The group is forced to retreat, marking another setback in the journey.

The survivors reach a road and are thrilled to see a sign claiming they are 150 miles behind Italian lines. Blasi senses a glimmer of safety, even if temporary. The tale culminates in a final clash when the two units meet again at a railway station, and Richardson commands present arms to show respect.