Moving the bomb line

During the interminable Great Big Siege of Bologna, the men of Yossarian's squadron were trapped in a state of suspended terror. The mission to bomb the ammunition dumps had been postponed repeatedly by rain, and the men spent their days staring at the bomb line—a scarlet satin ribbon on a map delineating the forwardmost position of the Allied ground forces. The ribbon would not move up to encompass Bologna, and the men, in a complete reversion to primitive superstition, began to hate it, praying for it to shift. Clevinger, the rationalist, declared this behavior a confusion of cause and effect, insisting that he and Yossarian were the only rational ones left. In the middle of the night, Yossarian proved him wrong by tiptoeing out of his tent to move the bomb line up over Bologna himself.

The Act of Sabotage

Yossarian's intervention was a direct, physical act of rebellion against the arbitrary authority that controlled his fate. He knocked on wood, crossed his fingers, and then physically altered the map, a gesture that was both a desperate prayer and a calculated act of sabotage. The next morning, Corporal Kolodny tiptoed into Captain Black's tent to report that Bologna had been captured during the night. Captain Black, after confirming the news with Colonel Korn, announced the mission was canceled. The city had been taken, and the immediate threat was lifted, not by military action, but by a single man's clandestine manipulation of a symbol.

Consequences and Aftermath

The immediate consequence was the cancellation of the mission, a reprieve that filled the squadron with a brief, bewildered relief. However, the act had far-reaching and ironic repercussions. The capture of Bologna was officially recognized, and a medal was awarded—not to Yossarian, but to General Peckem, the only officer with the initiative to ask for it. The deception fooled the Germans not at all, but it did fool Major — de Coverley, who, under the impression that Florence had also fallen, commandeered an airplane and flew there to rent apartments for the men, disappearing in the process. Yossarian later confessed to Clevinger that he had moved the bomb line, an admission that sparked a furious argument about duty, morality, and the right to question orders, an argument that ended with Clevinger's condemnation of Yossarian's attitude as giving comfort to the enemy. The event also contributed to Colonel Cathcart's growing paranoia, as he later added "Bologna (bomb line moved on map during)" to his list of "Black Eyes," a mark against his record that he would forever associate with the name Yossarian.