Gabriel and Florence are starving and looking for their car. Florence is furious and lashes out at Gabriel. They are warned that the Germans will be here any minute and are in a state of absolute despair. French soldiers give Florence some cabbage soup and bread, which she shares with Gabriel. When the Germans turn up and open fire between them and the French commences, Gabriel and Florence manage to find their car. He continues to feel that his identity as a writer sets him head and shoulders above the rest.

Hubert is one of many young boys who, by June 17, have run off to join the troops. There is little for him to do on the road with the army, and he experiences boredom. When the fighting begins, he has no weapon, and seeing how ill-equipped the French side is, he despairs of dying and never seeing his mother again. Running away, fearful of encountering Germans, he finds shelter in Moulins. There he encounters Arlette Corail, who has left Corbin. She flirts with Hubert and then finds him a bed in the hotel.