come starboard by a point!
-But sir, we can't see anything, sir.
-Do as I tell you!
Starboard!
Hold there!  Form up in ranks!
-What's going on, Mr. Hornblower?
-I don't know, sir.
Fire!  Reload!
Archie, where are they?
What are you shooting at?
-Hurry!  Come on men, hurry!
-Archie!  Mr. Kennedy, report!
Sir, enemy musket fire across
the river. They...
they took us by surprise.
'Came out of nowhere.
Keep your heads down, men.
Don't give them a target!
-Ready Styles?
-Ready!
-Gun ready!
-Hold your fire!  Hold your fire!
Cease fire!
Any attempt on the bridge?
Uh, no, sir.
Very well.
I suggest your reform your men.
Yes...Aye, aye, sir.
Come on, men, stand to.
They made good time.
But, where's their artillery?
Why attack without it?
At first, we thought it
might be thunder, sir.
No, Mr. Bracegirdle, that is cannon.
What, in Godґs name, is French
artillery doing this far west.
They should be miles over there
to the south of Muzillac!
I feel the general's campaign
is over before it's begun.
General, I've counted at least
30 artillery pieces-
-ranged against us.
-They have made a trap for us-
and we have walked straight into it.
Have we received word
from Mr. Bowles?
No sir, there have been
no further reports.
Then send a squad of men ashore.
They are to reach General Charette
with all speed-
and report back on his situation.
Aye, aye, sir.
If the cannon fire is stopped,
I fear we must assume the worst.
If you would just…
-Send the men ashore, Mr.Bracegirdle.
-Aye, aye, sir.
Archie, no sign of their artillery?
Not yet.
I think I'll go see the Major
at the ford.
Horatio...
When they started shooting...
I panicked. I knew I was doing it,
but I couldn't stop myself.
-It was the suddenness of it,you see.
-I think it was-
the same for all of us.
But an officer, even
an acting lieutenant-
has no business to panic.
Archie, you've nothing to fear
from the enemy.
-They mean to kill us, Horatio!
-Aye, of course they do.
But their powder's no threat to us.
From this distance, they'd be
hard-pressed to hit a barn door.
If you can just stay calm and
keep yourself out of their sights
they cannot possibly touch you.
All right.
-We are finished, Mr. Bowles.
-Not yet, sir.
Save yourself, if you can.
This is not your country, Mr. Bowles.
You should not have to die here.
Careful, Mr. Hornblower.
We have a few wasps here-
-who are anxious to sting.
-So I see, my Lord.
Do you have any indication
of their number?
It's hard to tell.
They alter their position constantly.
-It is the same at the bridge.
-I have little time for an enemy-
that daren't show its face.
What do they hope to gain-
-with such a display?
-Perhaps you should inform-
-Colonel Moncoutant.
-By all means,if you can distract him
from his concerns at the village.
Your own concerns there last night,
I trust they were concluded
satisfactorily.
Why… yes, thank-you, my lord.
I will talk to the colonel.
Mr. Hornblower…
if you should speak to him,
I think a little more diplomacy
wouldn't go amiss.
Yes, my lord.
The shore party have returned, sir.
Well, Mr. Bracegirdle?
They failed to make contact
with General Charette's camp.
It is as we suspected, then.
All men are believed lost, sir.
I stand before you a man
accused, Mr. Bracegirdle.
-Accused, sir? By whom?
-By my own self. I knew…
I believed this campaign was
a forlorn hope-
and yet I held my tongue.
-For what reason, sir?
-I was ordered to remain silent.
Then the responsibility does not
lie with you, sir;
-it is with those who gave the order.
-In principle, perhaps;
but what of conscience,
Mr. Bracegirdle.
And what of my order to remain
here?  Must I also follow that-
for if I do, it is certain
more lives will be lost.
Now that the Republican forces
have defeated Charette,
surely they will turn next
to Muzillac.
Do I disobey my order?
Or do I stay here and wait
for the dead to return?
-The mathematics