Serra befriends some members of his platoon, Private Spagna (Luciano Scarpa), Corporal De Vita (Thomas Trabacchi), mortar-man Tarozzi (Piero Maggiò) and especially Sergeant Rizzo (Pierfrancesco Favino), his squad commander, a Venetian veteran who has been in Africa for two years; they tell him that each soldier has three "miracles" to spend, before dying.

The time at the front line passes among many hardships: the heat is unbearable, dysentery is rampant, the food is scarce, the little water available tastes like fuel oil; British artillery shells the Italian positions by day, only giving some rest at night, and vipers and scorpions add to the danger represented by the enemy.

On the following night, a British vehicle blows up a mine in the no man's land, and Serra, Rizzo, De Vita and Spagna loot the corpses to retrieve some food.

Two trucks, having lost their way, reach the platoon; Lt. Fiore inspects them and finds out that their cargo consists of boxes of shoe polish and Mussolini's horse, in preparation for "the parade in Alexandria".

The truck driver ironically remarks that they should be given grappa instead, joking that this is what led to the Italian victory on the Piave river during World War I.

On the way back to the frontline, Serra and the others take a detour, and they reach the coast, where they take a bath in the sea and then rest on the beach, before being discovered by sentries who tell them that they have run through a minefield.

A British artillery bombardment kills or wounds over twenty members of the platoon; De Vita survives unscathed a shell that lands near him, but afterwards he starts behaving strangely, slowly losing his mind.

When the battle begins, Lt. Fiore's platoon is ordered to take position along the defense line, at "Height 105" (as a reinforcement to the Ruspoli Group of the 185th Infantry Division "Folgore"), placing themselves in holes dug in the ground, with mortars and machine guns.

The Italians respond with mortars, rifles and machine guns, and both sides suffer heavy casualties; Tarozzi is wounded in an eye, and De Vita, who occupies the same hole as Serra, snaps and climbs out of the hole, starting to walk apathetically; despite Serra's calls for him to come back, he keeps walking until he disappears amid clouds of sand.

The platoon reaches Qaret el Khadim, but only finds a field hospital; a medical officer (Giuseppe Cederna) informs them that the new orders are to retreat to Fuka and says that he will wait for the Allies to come, because they will have better means to care for the wounded.

They encounter a bersagliere on a motorcycle, who tells them that the British forces have already occupied Fuka, and the order is now to retreat to Marsa Matruh – 100 more kilometres on foot through the desert.

During the following night, however, some Bren carriers find them, and capture all the survivors except for Fiore, Rizzo, and Serra, who have placed themselves farther away, and are not noticed.