You Can’t Win ’Em All (1970) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Osman Bey hires the two American mercenaries after capturing them because he recognizes their valuable firepower, particularly their Thompson submachine guns. He needs capable fighters for a covert mission that involves far more than simply escorting his daughters to Mecca, the real objective is protecting a priceless treasure from the Ottoman Empire's enemies as the nation collapses.

Foreshadowing: Osman Bey's quick decision to enlist foreigners rather than execute them hints at his mercantile mind and hidden agenda from the start.

• osman bey
• mercenaries
• thompson submachine guns
• hire
• ottoman governor

During a fierce melee, Aila persuades Josh to desert his own men and flee with her, carrying a suitcase filled with jewels. She manipulates him through her enigmatic presence and wit, using both persuasion and likely romantic chemistry to convince him that betraying Adam is the best path forward. Her true motivation remains ambiguous, whether she genuinely wanted the treasure or was setting up her later reveal as a nationalist spy.

Foreshadowing: Aila's striking presence and shaping of the expedition's fate from early on establishes her as a character whose true loyalties are never certain.

• aila
• betrayal
• josh
• desert
• jewels
• suitcase

Aila is revealed to be a nationalist spy who has been maneuvering behind the scenes throughout the entire expedition. Her role as Osman Bey's ward was a cover for her true allegiance. She orchestrated much of the upheaval, including convincing Josh to desert Adam, ultimately using the chaos to advance the nationalist cause and secure the real prize, an ancient Quran hidden in the suitcase.

Foreshadowing: Aila's ability to persuade Josh to betray his partner and her constant shaping of the expedition's direction hint at deeper manipulation at play.

• aila
• spy
• nationalist
• reveal
• allegiance
• manipulation

The suitcase initially appears to contain jewels, but the true treasure is an ancient Quran hidden within it. This sacred artifact proves far more valuable than any material wealth, which is why the nationalist general is willing to release the mercenaries once Aila reveals the Quran's presence. The twist exposes how greed blinded the Americans to the real stakes of the mission.

Foreshadowing: The constant emphasis on the treasure being priceless and the mounting suspicion around Aila's loyalty foreshadows that the jewels are merely a decoy for something far more significant.

• treasure
• quran
• jewels
• suitcase
• ancient
• sacred artifact

The nationalist general initially offers the mercenaries freedom in exchange for the jewels, but when Aila arrives and reveals herself as a nationalist spy, she convinces him to release them because the real treasure, the ancient Quran, is in the suitcase. The general's willingness to let them go hinges on securing this sacred artifact rather than material wealth.

Foreshadowing: The general's interest in the suitcase from the beginning suggests he knows more about its contents than he initially reveals.

• nationalist general
• release
• freedom
• quran
• jewels
• bargain

British naval blockades complicate Turkish port access, trapping Adam's ship at port. Adam proposes a strategic solution: once the ship is returned to him, they can use it to slip through the lines since an American-flagged vessel isn't bound by the blockade. This plan shifts the mission from a land escort to a sea voyage with potential prizes, though it also increases the stakes and dangers they face.

Foreshadowing: The blockade introduces early complications that drive the plot toward the maritime confrontation in Smyrna.

• british blockade
• ship
• port
• american
• escape
• Smyrna

After Aila convinces Josh to flee with her and the suitcase, Adam and a handful of loyal mercenaries push on to Smyrna port. There, a panicked firefight erupts as Ottoman loyalists board the ship to escape the nationalist advance. The vessel catches fire in the chaos, and Josh and Adam find themselves prisoners of the victorious nationalist forces led by a general.

Foreshadowing: The mounting tensions between Ottoman loyalists and nationalist forces, combined with the group's internal betrayal, sets up the inevitable violent confrontation.

• capture
• nationalists
• fire
• ship
• Smyrna
• prisoners

While Osman Bey presents the mission as escorting his daughters to Mecca, his true objective is to safeguard a priceless treasure from the Ottoman Empire's enemies. He recruits the American mercenaries specifically for their firepower to protect this covert transport through hostile territory as the empire collapses around him.

Foreshadowing: Osman Bey's quick assessment of the Americans' combat capabilities and his calculation in hiring foreigners hints that this is about far more than family protection.

• osman bey
• treasure
• secret mission
• objective
• ottoman
• enemies

Adam Dyer is the surviving heir to a shipping company, and his primary motivation for being in 1922 Turkey is to reclaim a ship that was seized by the Germans during World War I and held in a Turkish port. This personal economic stake contrasts with Josh's simpler pursuit of profit from the chaos, creating tension between the two mercenaries.

Foreshadowing: Adam's persistent focus on the ship throughout the journey establishes it as his personal prize, driving his decisions even when the mission becomes more complicated.

• adam
• ship
• germans
• seized
• shipping company
• heir
• reclaim

Rather than the riches they sought, the mercenaries gain hard-won wisdom. The expedition exposes a web of ambition and deception that exceeds any single treasure. They survive but have their greed exposed and their trust broken, learning that the most priceless possession may be the knowledge gained through danger, and that the line between ally and adversary is never clear.

Foreshadowing: The film's persistent emphasis on shifting loyalties and the mercantile calculations of all characters foreshadows that material gain will not be the ultimate reward.

• ending
• wisdom
• treasure
• knowledge
• greed
• trust
• lesson