Character Relationship Map: The Vultures

Characters

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur (played by Jean-Paul Belmondo) — protagonist

  A French Foreign Legion sergeant who survives a German ambush. He becomes a central figure in a struggle for the stolen gold, clashing with his comrades and a German lieutenant. Ultimately, he outmane...

• Adjutant Edouard Mahuzard (played by Michel Constantin) — protagonist

  A disciplined Adjutant determined to uphold his military duty and deliver the gold. After being overthrown by Augagneur, he stages a counter-coup, locks his rivals in a vault, and prepares to depart w...

• Brigadier Béral (played by Jacques Villeret) — supporting

  A cowardly artilleryman who survives his unit's annihilation. He plays a minor role in the power struggle, briefly helping Mahuzard regain control before being trapped in the armored car, which is sub...

• Legionnaire Boissier (played by Michel Creton) — supporting

  A legionnaire who survives the initial ambush and participates in the early attempts to secure weapons and divide the gold. He is imprisoned in the bank vault alongside his captors, later released to...

• Mrs. Chanterelle (played by Caroline Silhol) — supporting
• François Laroche-Fréon, director of the bank (played by François Perrot) — supporting

  The local bank manager who returns to the occupied town. His role is brief and comedic, ending in a bizarre accidental death when he electrocutes himself while urinating on an exposed wire.

• Karl Brenner (played by Matthias Habich) — supporting

  A German lieutenant who occupies the town and develops a rapport with Hélène. After being captured and imprisoned, he is freed to help retake the gold using a tank. He ultimately turns on his former c...

• Soldier Borzik (played by Maurice Auzel) — minor

  A legionnaire who survives the initial ambush. He accompanies Adjutant Mahuzard on a nighttime mission to retrieve weapons and ammunition, but is killed during the sortie.

Story Dynamics

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

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur → Soldier Borzik (Alliance Comrades) — Their connection is established through their shared unit and survival of the ambush.

  Both are among the legionnaires who survive the initial ambush. The plot identifies them as members of the same surviving contingent.

• Adjutant Edouard Mahuzard → Soldier Borzik (Alliance Comrades) — They cooperate on a dangerous mission before Borzik's death.

  Mahuzard and Borzik head out together at night to recover arms and ammunition. Borzik is killed during the sortie.

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur → Mrs. Chanterelle (Social Public Admirer) — She takes notice of him after his public patriotic performance.

  After Augagneur pretends to have rescued the gold, he earns military honors and the attention of Mrs. Chanterelle.

• Karl Brenner → François Laroche-Fréon, director of the bank (Conflict Occupier And Civilian) — They occupy opposing roles in the occupied town, though no direct encounter is specified.

  Karl is a German lieutenant arriving in a tank during the occupation, while François is identified as the local bank manager who returns to town.

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur → François Laroche-Fréon, director of the bank (Social Uneasy Associates) — Their connection is limited to the bank and the contested treasure.

  François arrives as the bank's manager while Augagneur is involved in the struggle over the gold. The plot does not describe a direct partnership betw...

• Karl Brenner → Brigadier Béral (Conflict Enemies) — Karl's action directly causes Béral's death.

  Karl fires the tank and destroys the armored van, killing Mahuzard and Béral.

• Adjutant Edouard Mahuzard → Karl Brenner (Conflict Captors And Prisoners) — Their conflict shifts when Karl escapes captivity and intervenes in the gold dispute.

  Mahuzard captures Karl and locks him in the bank vault with Augagneur and Boissier. After being released, Karl returns with the tank and surprises Mah...

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur → Karl Brenner (Alliance Uneasy Partners) — Their cooperation is driven by the gold and remains distrustful and coercive.

  Augagneur captures Karl, but after Karl destroys the armored van, the two former enemies load most of the remaining gold onto a truck and head south t...

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur → Brigadier Béral (Alliance Comrades) — They cooperate in an attack that helps the survivors overcome the German force.

  Augagneur and Béral put on German uniforms, sneak out, and use a howitzer against the German platoon.

• Adjutant Edouard Mahuzard → Brigadier Béral (Alliance Temporary Ally) — Béral helps Mahuzard regain control and attempt to depart with the gold.

  Mahuzard convinces Béral to release him from the vault. The two then load the gold into an armored car and prepare to leave.

• Adjutant Edouard Mahuzard → Legionnaire Boissier (Alliance Comrades) — Their military association turns into lethal conflict over the gold.

  Boissier is one of the surviving legionnaires under Mahuzard's authority. During the final struggle, Mahuzard shoots Boissier as he attempts to seize...

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur → Legionnaire Boissier (Alliance Comrades) — They initially cooperate in pursuing the treasure.

  After surviving the ambush, Augagneur and Boissier want to steal the gold for themselves. Augagneur later sends Boissier to seize the van, where Mahuz...

• Sergeant Pierre Augagneur → Adjutant Edouard Mahuzard (Conflict Rivals) — Their competing claims over the gold drive the central struggle.

  Augagneur wants to take the gold, while Mahuzard insists on continuing the original mission. They fight, and Augagneur arrests Mahuzard; later Mahuzar...

Story Analysis

A gold-recovery mission becomes a shifting struggle for wealth, survival, and self-preservation among soldiers in wartime Tunisia.

Plot Progression

1. Ambush in the Ruined Town — The Foreign Legion convoy enters El Ksour to recover the bank's gold and is ambushed by German troops. A small group survives, takes shelter, and loses Borzik during a nighttime arms sortie.
2. The Gold Divides the Survivors — The survivors defeat German soldiers, and Augagneur and Béral use a howitzer against the occupying force. Augagneur and Mahuzard then clash over whether to take the gold or fulfill the original missio...
3. Captivity and Counter-Coup — Karl arrives in a tank and is captured, while Mahuzard regains control and locks his rivals in the bank vault. The prisoners are released, and they return to confront Mahuzard and Béral as the gold is...
4. The Van Is Destroyed — François dies accidentally, and Augagneur kills the observing Dieterle with the tank. Mahuzard kills Boissier, but Karl destroys the armored van, killing Mahuzard and Béral.
5. A Fortune Lost and Reclaimed — Augagneur and Karl take most of the remaining gold south, but their partnership breaks down after refueling. Augagneur reaches Turner, only to be surrounded by Allied forces; he trades the prospect of...