Character Relationship Map: Attack

Characters

• Joe Costa (played by Jack Palance) — protagonist

  Lieutenant leading a reconnaissance mission to La Nelle. His squad is decimated by German forces, and he goes missing in action before returning to confront Captain Cooney. He is severely wounded when...

• Erskine Cooney (played by Eddie Albert) — supporting

  Captain commanding Fox Company, appointed due to his judge father's political influence. He freezes under combat pressure, ignores reinforcement requests, and orders a premature surrender. He is ultim...

• Clyde Bartlett (played by Lee Marvin) — supporting

  Lieutenant Colonel and battalion commander who manipulates Cooney's position for post-war political gain. He dismisses appeals for relief, threatens Cooney, attempts to bribe Woodruff, and tries to co...

• Tolliver (played by Buddy Ebsen) — supporting

  Platoon Sergeant under Costa who survives the farmhouse ambush. He initially refuses Woodruff's order to arrest Cooney, but ultimately steps forward to shoot the captain alongside the other surviving...

• Bernstein (played by Robert Strauss) — supporting

  Private First Class and a Jewish soldier who breaks his leg under a fallen beam. His vulnerability and the knowledge that advancing SS troops will not honor POW rights make him a central factor in Woo...

• Snowden (played by Richard Jaeckel) — supporting

  Private who survives the initial engagements. He participates in the mutiny against Cooney by shooting the captain alongside the other soldiers, and later returns to report that the town is empty and...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Erskine Cooney → Snowden (Power Company Commander) — Snowden obeys the collective mutiny rather than Cooney's final order.

  Snowden serves among the soldiers ordered to surrender, then joins the other GIs in shooting Cooney.

• Erskine Cooney → Tolliver (Power Company Commander) — Tolliver is formally subordinate but ultimately rejects Cooney's command.

  Cooney orders the surviving soldiers to surrender, while Tolliver refuses Woodruff's instruction to arrest Cooney and later helps shoot him.

• Joe Costa → Snowden (Professional Platoon Leader) — Snowden serves within Costa's platoon and follows its combat leadership.

  Snowden is among the surviving members of Costa's platoon who retreat from the farmhouse and later participate in the mutiny.

• Joe Costa → Bernstein (Professional Platoon Leader) — Bernstein is one of Costa's enlisted subordinates.

  Bernstein is identified as one of the surviving soldiers in Costa's platoon during the retreat and farmhouse refuge.

• Clyde Bartlett → Erskine Cooney (Power Political Patron) — Bartlett protects Cooney for political advantage rather than military competence.

  Bartlett helped Cooney obtain his position because Cooney's politically powerful judge father could benefit Bartlett's post-war ambitions.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Tolliver → Snowden (Alliance Mutiny Partner) — They cooperate in the collective decision to prevent a surrender massacre.

  Tolliver and Snowden are among the surviving soldiers who reject Cooney's surrender and shoot him together.

• Erskine Cooney → Bernstein (Conflict Threatening Commander) — Cooney's decision places Bernstein in immediate mortal danger.

  Cooney orders surrender even though Bernstein is injured and Woodruff warns that the SS would not honor Bernstein's prisoner-of-war rights.

• Joe Costa → Tolliver (Alliance Platoon Leaders) — They function as the platoon's officer and senior enlisted leader.

  Tolliver serves as platoon sergeant under Costa and survives the farmhouse battle with him and the remaining soldiers.

• Joe Costa → Erskine Cooney (Conflict Antagonist) — Costa holds Cooney responsible for the deaths of his men and directly confronts him.

  Cooney fails to provide promised support during Costa's missions, and Costa later returns determined to kill him.

Story Analysis

A failed command exposes how political protection, battlefield cowardice, and moral courage determine the fate of soldiers.

Plot Progression

1. A Captain Under Protection — Fox Company is introduced under Cooney's command near the Belgian front. His failure to support Costa's pillbox mission exposes the danger of protecting an unfit commander.
2. The Road to La Nelle — Bartlett orders the company to seize La Nelle during the German offensive. Costa accepts reconnaissance after receiving promises that reinforcements will arrive if resistance becomes heavy.
3. A Platoon Abandoned — The reconnaissance force encounters German mortars and tanks, then shelters in a farmhouse. Cooney ignores Costa's request for help, forcing a desperate retreat that leaves Costa missing.
4. The Command Breaks — Bartlett orders the position held while Cooney collapses under pressure. Costa returns wounded, attacks the tanks, and reaches the survivors before dying in front of Cooney.
5. Mutiny and Moral Reckoning — Cooney's surrender order threatens the survivors, especially the injured Bernstein. Woodruff and the soldiers kill Cooney, then Woodruff rejects Bartlett's cover-up and reports the truth.