Synopsis
The Balkans, September 1918. Mount Sokol falls in the last great battle of the war, precipitating the surrender of Bulgaria and providing the army on the Eastern front, under the command of FRANCHET D'ESPEREY, its first decisive victory...At the head of fifty heroic soldiers, most released from military prisons, Conan (Philippe TORRETON) fights like a Sioux warrior, striking fear in the hearts of the enemy.
Conan shows nothing but contempt for the regular army and its enlisted officers, calling them "soldiers"; he considers himself a "warrior". Scve (Bernard LE COQ) is the only one Conan respects. Of noble descent, Scve turned his back on the privileges of his dass to join the infantry. Conan also befriends Lieutenant Norbert (Samuel LE BIHAN), a young literature student, admiring his strong sense of morality.
The French armistice is signed in France, but the Eastern army remains mobilized. It continues to fight. Posted to Bucharest, an allied country, the soldiers left behind turmoil, pillaging and murdering civilians.
Norbert, named judge in this affair, remains faithful to his convictions. His sensitive mission is to stop and sentence those guilty of the more abominable crimes. Conan's men are naturally the first suspects. Despite Conan's wrath and his determination to defend them to the end, Norbert carries out his duty. The two friends are at odds, are driven apart and come together again, finding each other in the most unexpected manner.
Based on the novel by Roger Vercel and set in the Balkans in 1918, the story reveals a forgotten chapter of Gallic military history. Conan is a headstrong creature of war who operates by his own outlaw moral code and fights like a Sioux warrior, striking fear into the hearts of his enemy along with his renegade band of 50 soldiers, most of whom have been released from military prisons. He is contemptuous of the regular army officers, calling them "soldiers" while considering himself a "warrior". De Sceve, a man of noble descent who has joined the infantry, is one of the two men he respects; Norbert, a literature student with a strong sense of morality, is the other. The French armistice is signed but the Eastern army faction remains mobilised ans, posted to Bucharest, Conan´s soldiers continue their military activities while waiting for orders. When Norbert is appointed a military legal representative to investigate this and other warcrime infringements, the two friends find themselves on opposite sides ad are driven apart.
