The executive officer, Lt. Harold Woodruff (William Smithers, in his first credited screen role), is the "voice of reason" who tries to keep the peace between Cooney and Costa.

Woodruff approaches battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Clyde Bartlett (Lee Marvin), who is a career officer intent on leveraging Cooney's family ties for political gain when the war ends.

Costa agrees, provided that both Cooney and Woodruff promise to send reinforcements if his squads encounter heavy resistance.

As the platoon approaches La Nelle, the men come under fire – the town, as it turns out, is strongly held by German troops backed up by mortars and tanks.

Bartlett threatens to arrest Cooney if he falls back, as it would leave another company unprotected and the Germans would be able to "roll up the entire front line".

Feeling sorry for him, Woodruff tells him to sleep it off and is about to assume command when Costa suddenly reappears, determined to kill Cooney.

As they argue, they are told by Corporal Jackson (Jon Shepodd) that the town is being overrun and that the surviving members of Costa's squad are cut off.

Woodruff, Tolliver, Bernstein, Jackson and Snowden (Richard Jaeckel) take refuge in a basement, followed shortly afterward by Cooney.

Cooney orders the men to surrender and just as he steps out of the basement to do so he is met by a severely injured Costa, his grievously mangled and bloody arm dangling uselessly.

Each man, except Snowden, steps forward and shoots Cooney to prevent Woodruff from taking the blame.

Outraged, Woodruff accuses Bartlett of orchestrating the whole thing in order to get rid of Cooney and gain favour with his powerful father.

As he leaves Woodruff decides to do the right thing to honour Costa, and calls the commanding general, Gen. Parsons, on the radio to file a full report.

[6] Director Aldrich bought the rights when he failed to obtain those for Irwin Shaw's The Young Lions and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead.

[8] Owing to the nature of the film, which cast some officers as either cowards or Machiavellian manipulators, the US Defense Department refused to grant production assistance.

Critics attacked this attitude, pointing out the heroic and noble behaviour of other officers like Costa and Woodruff who were "more representative of the Army than the cowardly captain, who is clearly an exception.

Eddie Albert, who played the cowardly Cooney, was in reality a decorated hero in the World War II Pacific Theater.

Acclaimed as "a minor landmark" by writer Adam Lee Davies, it was described thusly: "as cutting as piano wire and cynical to the core, Robert Aldrich’s whipsmart drama follows through on the queasy promise of its tagline: ‘Rips open the hot hell behind the glory!’"[12] The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: Attack was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on May 20, 2003 as a Region 1 fullscreen DVD and to Blu-ray on May 2, 2013 by the French company Filmedia (under license from MGM) as a Region 2 Blu-ray DVD.