 It is well known that Cooney owes his position to the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Clyde Bartlett (Lee Marvin), who has known the Cooney family since he was a 14-year-old clerk in the office of Cooney's father, a politically powerful judge.The judge's influence could be very useful to Bartlett's post-war political ambitions.When the Germans launch the Battle of the Bulge, Bartlett orders Cooney to seize the town of La Nelle.