| “ | Colonel Dax: They're not cowards. So, if some of them didn't leave the trenches, it must have been because it was impossible. General Mireau: They were ordered to attack. It was their duty to obey that order. We can't leave it up to the men to decide whether an order is possible or not. If it was impossible, the only proof of that would be their dead bodies lying about in the trenches. They're scum, Colonel. The whole rotten regiment. A pack of sneaking, whining, tail-dragging curs. |
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| ~ Mireau's hate-filled speech to Dax |
Paul Mireau is the main antagonist of the 1957 anti-war film Paths of Glory. He is a corrupt French general in World War I who orders his troops on a suicidal mission in order to secure a promotion, then has three soldiers wrongly executed for cowardice when the attack fails.
He was portrayed by the late George McReady.
What Makes Him Pathetic?[]
- He is responsible of a sheer massacre of his own troops by sending them on a suicidal mission, resulting in tons of casualties. Even Mireau himself is aware of the mission's nature due to the fact that he hesitated at first but accepted when General Broulard offered him a promotion.
- He is an over-patriotic elitist, being offended and angered whenever a soldier shows fear on the battlefield. He even slaps a shell-shocked man and orders to have him transferred out.
- At the soldiers' inability to advance on the battlefield, he furiously orders to open fire at them, calling them cowards. He also threatens to execute the commander for denying his order.
- Decides to have 100 men judged and executed to serve as an example. Thankfully, only 3 were killed, and even then it was completely unfair considering the 3 men were completely innocent.
- Threatens to have Dax demoted if the latter keeps interfering and defending his own men.
- When Broulard demotes him for his treason, he hypocritally calls out the general for stabbing him in the back, despite the fact that Mireau already committed treason by wanting to kill his own men.
What Makes Him a Pinhead?[]
- He is an idiotic zealot, not understanding that a man can be shocked in contact of shells and claming that it's impossible and just an excuse for whinning. He even slaps a shell-shocked man and has him transferred out for "cowardice", which is entierely stupid considering the poor man's state.
- Even tho the operation was already a failure, Mireau certainly didn't do anything useful, only complaining about his troops' inactivity.
- His order of firing on his own men was crazy as it was stupid, since the soldiers didn't advance not out of cowardice but because they were unable to do so. Even the commander denied his order and at first thought it was a misdirection, showing the sheer madness that it is.
- Also, Mireau claims he did that to "save the honor of France", which was more like to save his own reputation. Even then, this doesn't save him at all since it portrays him as a bigoted madman willing to murder his own soldiers at the slightest offense, resulting in his own demotion.
- Instead of laying low, he decides to have men executed to serve as an example, which lead to Dax and Broulard finding out about Mireau's treason, which wouldn't have happened if Mireau had calmed down. To show Mireau's sheer insanity he wanted to have 100 men executed instead of just 3 in the first place, which is completely exagerated and unneccesarily murderous.
- Also, his attempts at manipulating Dax and Broulard failed since it didn't stop his demotion.
External Links[]
- Paul Mireau on the Villains Wiki
- Paul Mireau on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Paul Mireau on the Hate Sink Wiki