Major Wolenski!
The general.
Hurry up! Move that ammo up!
Wolenski, we've been ordered out.
I'll need time to save what I can. Your outfit will have to cover the withdrawal.
- They're coming down the chimney, sir. - Do what you can.
- Yes, sir. - Come on.
I only loaned you this rifle.
- See you later, major. - Yes, sir.
Spread out.
Bring up ammo!
Sister.
Colonel, excuse me.
We are looking for someone who can help.
Be brief.
There are many wounded townspeople in the church cellar.
We need medicine, bandages. Can you spare any?
We have nothing to spare.
If there are captured medical supplies, give them to the nuns.
Yes, sir. Follow me.
He fired with this.
Jean, Jean, Jean!
Don't do anything to him, please.
This is the boy's father.
I beg you. He's just a little boy.
He's my only child.
Don't do anything to him, please.
Release the boy.
Jean.
Shoot the father.
- Papa! Papa! - No!
Colonel.
The senior American officer taken prisoner...
...requests permission to speak with you.
- What does he want? - He'll only discuss it with you.
- Rank? - Major.
- He has two minutes. - Yes, sir.
Conrad.
- What is this food? - It's the best this town has to offer.
I told you, tanks run on petrol and soldiers run on rations.
I must eat as my men do so I know how far they can go. Take it away.
- Conrad. - Yeah?
My Christmas present, it's for your sons.
Your promotion to first sergeant.
My sons thank you.
Go in.
What is it?
Colonel, stragglers you've captured tell me...
...that helpless American prisoners have been massacred.
- Where? - Malmedy.
And as senior officer, I can't control my men unless I have your assurance...
...they'll not be murdered. I want your signed order stating that my men...
...will be accorded the protection...
...guaranteed prisoners of war by the Geneva Convention.
Unless I return with that order, colonel, the prisoners will riot.
Undoubtedly, you'll kill us, but so help me...
...we'll take a hell of a lot of you with us.
There will be no signed order. There will be no riot.
You will not be allowed to return to your men to instigate that riot.
You listen to me, colonel.
There are survivors in all massacres.
I warn you, if any of my men are harmed...
...you will be held responsible. There will be no place on earth that you can hide.
And when you're found, I hope I'm the man that ties the rope around your neck.
Major...
...I have never liked threats.
I do not kill prisoners.
But I will have no compunction at shooting you myself for your last remark.
Then do it.
You are deliberately trying to provoke me.
Yes, colonel, that's right.
If I walk out of here alive, I know my men will be properly treated.
Diepel!
Return this officer to the prisoners' compound, alive.
Come.
Major, I'm relying on you to reassure your men...
...I have no time for troublesome prisoners.
Tiger to Standard O-bay, General Kohler.
Your usual ration, sir.
General Kohler. Hessler.
General, is it true that American prisoners were executed at Malmedy?
There are SS units in the Malmedy sector.
I can't assume responsibility for every soldier on this front.
Do you realize the consequences of this act?
I have lost 17 tanks and a battalion of men leveling Amblève...
...for the sole purpose of reducing the enemy's will to fight.
This massacre will stiffen resistance to us everywhere.
It will turn a demoralized mob into avenging soldiers.
You are being insolent, colonel.
Concern yourself with your mission.
You are to reach Saint-Michel by 1600 tomorrow.
- Be there. - Yes, sir.
They've taken a beating, and they look it.
They're not a rabble.
They're retreating like soldiers.
There's still fight in them.
Where are we gonna stop and put up the fight?
At our last line of defense, the River Meuse.
We'll cross it and dig in on the west bank.
At least we'll get the Germans wet.
Still sore I pulled you out of Amblève?
I was contributing to the war effort there, sir.
Try to keep your feet from freezing while we figure a way to stop them.
They've made mistakes before.
Where have they made one this time?
Well, they got me mad at them.
Shut up. We'll get there.
Come on. Come on.
Keep moving! Keep moving!
- What's holding you up? - I'm out of gas.
I reported low about an hour ago. Where's the fuel truck?
Get off the road and wait for it. Keep moving.
- Pull it over. - Move it!
Come on!
Keep moving.
Keep moving. Move it.
Where are you going? Will you wait a minute?
I need gas.
Oh, get down.
Why, you ugly jerk!
Here, use your big mouth on that.
Hey, come on, let's get with it.
What are you laughing at? Come and move this thing.
- You're all wet, sarge. - Now get it up.
- What are you gonna do with this? - "What are you gonna do with this?"
Siphon with it, idiot. Put it in.
- What are you thinking? - Same thing you are.
Those prisoners you brought had rubber hoses on them.
They've been carrying those to siphon gas?
At the Our River, I saw a German fuel truck...
...drop oil drums in the water, they floated.
- What the hell are you talking about? - Gasoline, sir.
Empty fuel drums and men carrying siphon hoses add up to one thing.
The Germans are low on gas. They have to forage for it.
That's their weakness.
- Get this off to headquarters. - Sir.
A, what is the fuel consumption of a Tiger tank?
B, the exact distance from the Siegfried Line to the Meuse River.
C, what is the estimate of fuel reserves in the German army?
- That's it. - Yes, sir, right away.
What are you laughing at, you idiot?
What is the situation in Bastogne?
Our forces have completely encircled the Americans.
Their situation is hopeless. They have no recourse but to surrender.
Hey, look what's coming. Lieutenant!
Halt!
The German commander wishes to communicate...
...with the American commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.
He's a little busy right now. What's on your mind?
"From the German commanding general to the commander of American troops...
...fighting in Bastogne.
With the changing fortunes of war...
...the U.S.A. Forces in and around Bastogne...
...have become completely surrounded by superior German armored units.
The only possibility to spare the American troops...
...from total annihilation is their honorable surrender...
...which will also prevent the slaughter of helpless civilians. "
You have one hour of truce to reply.
Blindfold him.
Take him up to the command post.
Repeat, please.
Is that all?
Sir, I have a message from Bastogne.
What is it?
I don't understand it.
"From the American commander of Bastogne to the German commander.
Nuts. "
Nuts.
Hey, over there.
Hey, it's an officer.
Boy, are we glad to see you.
- I haven't eaten in 12 hours. - We got lost.
Hold it. Wait a minute.
Do you think we should surrender, lieutenant?
Surrender?
No.
Just stay loose, all of you. Stay loose.
Now, give me that light.
All right, spread out. Get some rest.
We'll get started when it's light.
General Grey.
Sir, this just came in.
- Move along. - Any of you guys been to Amblève?
Wait a minute. Will you wait a minute?
- Any of you guys been to Amblève? - Come on, Guffy, we'll get in trouble.
I gotta know.
I've been to Amblève.
- You know Amblève inn? - Yeah.
Well, it's okay, isn't it?
There's nothing left of it.
Guffy, come on.
When are they gonna let us fight?
Let's go.
It's here, sir, the information you requested from headquarters.
That's it.
They're running out of gas.
Where's the spearhead of the German advance right now?
We place it four miles past Amblève, moving west.
Where will they be at daybreak?
If they travel all night, they should be nine miles due east of the fuel depot.
We'll be there to meet them.
I'm committing my tanks.
We'll use plan F.
- Get me Blue Code 301. - 301.
All right, mount up. Crank them up. Let's go. Let's go.
Let's go. Crank them up, crank them up.
Look at that fog.
If it stays, we won't find them and we won't fight.
If it lifts, they'll find us.
And that will be the end of our men and our tanks.
And I'm praying that it lifts.
What does that make me, Dan?
A general.
Is that so, general?
It's very interesting.
Thank you, general.
Our column has made the farthest advance.
We have outrun the other panzers. The eyes of Germany are on us.
The Führer himself will decorate me.
We have done it, Conrad. We have done it.
Then I was wrong. We have won the war.
No.
You mean we have lost?
No.
I don't understand. If we have not won and we have not lost...
...then what's happening?
The best thing possible is happening. The war will go on.
- For how long? - Indefinitely.
On and on and on.
- But it must come to an end. - You're a fool, Conrad.
Those of us who understood knew, in 1941, we could never win.
You mean, colonel, for three years, we have been fighting...
...without any hope of victory? - There are many kinds of victory.
For the German army to survive, for us to remain in uniform...
...that is our victory.
Conrad, the world is not going to get rid of us after all.
But when do we go home?
This is our home.
And my sons? When do I see them? What will become of them?
They will become German soldiers, and you will be proud of them.
Conrad.
You still have any of those delicacies left you offered me at Amblève?
Yes, sir.
Prepare them for me, will you? I'm in very good appetite.
- See anything? - Nothing.
It's like they disappeared.
- They been spotted yet? - No, sir.
They must have changed course during the night.
Call our scouts again.
- See anything? - Nothing.
Red River Six. Red River Six.
Scouted designated territory.
No sign of German tanks.
Can't see 20 yards. They're nowhere around, or I'd hear something.
Let's be reasonable, colonel.
You expect me to take you up? Nothing's flying in this fog.
That makes it safe. We won't bump into another plane.
How can we see the panzer column when we have zero visibility?
You'll catch pneumonia if you don't stop arguing. Get behind that stick.
Wait a minute.
Where are the flying orders?
I wanna see them.
I wanna know what lunatic issued them.
There are no orders, Joe. I'm the lunatic.
Well, there's no insanity in my family.
If we don't find that panzer column, there will be no tank battle.
We'll have to stop them with infantry.
A lot of guys are gonna die to keep you safe and cozy.
You sure know how to hit below the belt. That's dirty.
We're not in a pillow fight, Joe. Sorry it hurts.
Get in.
All reports negative, sir.
Well, they must be someplace.
The earth couldn't have just swallowed them up.
- Send out additional patrols. - Yes, sir.
What am I doing up here? It's like flying inside a light bulb.
Just stay on the course I gave you. We'll find them.
- How do you know? - Hessler's looking for gas.
He's gambling on capturing our supply. Get lower.
- We're down to 500 feet. - We just have to pick up a landmark.
Hills are all around. We'll pick up a landmark right in the kisser.
Try it a little lower.
- I can't see a damn thing. - All right, cut your engine.
Glide and listen. We can hear them.
- Are you telling me to glide at 200 feet? - Cut the talk and the engine.
- I'm calling this off. - Sure. Now, let's try it again.
Okay, cut your engine.
If we were 100 feet higher, I'd jump and leave you here.
Quiet.
There's the depot.
There's the river.
The column has to be due south.
That's your course.
Get her down, Joe, where we can see.
- What's our altitude? - Four hundred feet.
All right, cut the engine.
Do you hear that?
Yeah. We're going down for a look.
Hit your engine, let's get out of here.
Red River Six, this is Red River Two. The enemy column sighted.
Present position, map coordinates: 8-7-3, 1-4-4.
Enemy column sighted, sir.
Found them.
Present position, map coordinates: 8-7-3, 1-4-4.
Repeat. Enemy column sighted.
Come in, Red River Two. Come in, Red River Two.
- Contact broken. - Where's that coordinate?
- Right here. - What's the terrain?
Low rolling hills.
Order our tanks to intercept them at that point.
- Yes, sir. - Red River Two.
- That's Kiley. - I know.
There's a plane up there.
He's in trouble.
Medic! Medic!
Schneider.
From Spitzbergen, the weather forecast.
Warm front moving in.
Notify all columns, weather clearing.
Enemy forces are reported crossing the River Meuse.
Send scouts forward. I want their numbers and composition.
Yes, sir.
Conrad. My binoculars.
Conrad?
I was saying I wanted...
What is it, Conrad?
Nothing, sir.
I was saying I wanted my binoculars.
What's wrong?
I would like to be transferred to other duties, sir.
- What is the matter with you? - Don't ask me, sir. Just transfer me.
- For combat duty? - Yes, sir.
You want to fight? Very admirable, but why?
Personal reasons, sir.
Personal reasons.
Personal reasons? What the devil are you trying to say?
It's the right of every German soldier to ask permission...
...for a transfer to other duties.
It is the right of every commanding officer to know the reason...
...for the transfer, and I want the truth. - The truth...
...is that I'm a fool. I believed in you.
But all you believe in is the war.
You have the war. You like the war.
And all I have are my sons, and I don't want to lose them.
- I'm not responsible for your children. - You are. You'd make them soldiers.
- Yes. They will fight. - They will die.
- If necessary. - Necessary for who? For you?
You are not only a fool, you are a traitor.
And you are a murderer.
You would murder my sons. You would murder my country.
You would murder the whole world to stay in that uniform.
It is only the memory of you as a friend...
...that prevents me from having you court-martialed. Get out.
Our scouts have sighted a brigade of medium tanks.
- Light armor at this point? Any artillery? - None.
- And no infantry. - They're committing their reserves.
We destroy them, they have nothing between us and the fuel depot.
- Send all infantry to the rear. - Yes, sir.
Diepel, assign this man to fuel trucks.
Yes, sir.
Sir, enemy advancing on our position.
Good. They've taken the bait.
Pritchard...
...we're going to test that information we got from headquarters.
If it's accurate...
...we'll run them out of gas.
Tiger to all units, close hatches. Forward.
Butcher, swing up and take positions on the ridges.
And watch that damn gully. This is no time to lose a track.
Here they come.
Hold your fire till they're right on us.
Load with hypershot. Make every one count.
- Hold your fire. - How long?
Until I tell you!
Attack in staggered formation.
First, Lion on the assault. Second, Panther.
Remember, hold your fire till they're within effective range.
- How long are we gonna wait? - Until we can hit a soft spot.
Steady.
Hold it. Hold it.
Let them come on in. Let them come in. That's the way.
Now! Let them have it!
Fire one more round, then let's get the hell off this ridge.
There's one coming up over the rise. You see him?
Steady, boy. Ready on.
Fire!
Tiger to Panther, spread out to left. Lion, spread out to right.
We will try to encircle.
Sherman damaged. We'll finish it off.
Fire! It's a hit.
The next, 11 o'clock, 900.
Get in among them.
Mix with them so they can't fire without hitting each other.
Butcher One, this is Butcher Three. There's a Kraut at 1 o'clock...
...with a pennant on his antenna.
This one belongs to me. He's mine.
There he is.
All right, kick her left, kid. Left. Now, hard right! Hard right!
Stay with them! Range, 9-0-0. Up two.
Fire!
Good shot! We got him!
Load again. Nothing has happened.
Hey, watch it. They see us. Hey, let's get out of here.
Aim just ahead as he runs.
Fire!
Butcher One, this is Butcher Three.
Come in, Butcher Three. Report damage. Over.
I've got one dead and two wounded, but we can still fight.
You lost your gun. Pull out. Try to make it back to the assembly area.
We don't need a gun! We can ram them.
Guffy, you're all busted up.
Get out of there and make it back to the assembly area. That's an order. Out.
Get her over the hill.
Driver, halt.
Let's try to pick them off.
Ten o'clock. Sherman, 800. Fire!
Baker Battalion reporting in.
Two tanks destroyed, one damaged, out of action.
Phantom Battalion reports six tanks destroyed, nine out of action.
Butcher Battalion reports 11 tanks destroyed, eight on fire.
Keep burning up their gas.
Commander to base, I am returning to refuel.
We are cutting them to pieces.
And they are emptying our tanks.
They are deliberately sacrificing their armor to bleed us dry.
- What is the distance to the fuel depot? - Twelve kilometers.
You will continue the battle here.
Let them believe their strategy is succeeding.
I want 15 tanks and all the empty trucks.
- I'm going on to the depot. - Yes, sir, 15 tanks and fuel trucks.
Forward.
Hey, come on, soldier. You can make it.
Pull it off the road!
- Wait! - Come on! Come on!
Pull it off the road! Pull it off!
Get off the tank.
- Stay off the tank! - You've got plenty of room.
- You can carry these guys. - This tank ain't going no place.
Get off the tank!
Wherever you're going, you better walk.
- What are you waiting here for? - For the Germans.
They gotta come by here.
And I still got a machine gun.
There's not much you can do with that.
- How much ammo do you have left? - Two belts.
That will take care of some of them.
You got a wounded man. You think you ought to get him to the medics?
Oh, he's not too bad. He can still fight.
Get on, fellas.
Pull this tank back. Head it west towards the River Meuse.
I'm warning you, lieutenant, stay off my tank.
Either put up that gun or fire it, sergeant.
It's okay, sarge. It's okay.
General, another panzer column has been spotted four miles...
...from the River Meuse. - Where did they come from?
Get me the officer in charge of the fuel depot.
Get Silver Cloud 201. Quickly.
It's not a new column.
It's Hessler.
- He slipped away from the battle. - The fuel depot, sir.
General Grey speaking. I'm giving you this order personally.
Destroy the fuel depot at once. I repeat.
Destroy the fuel depot at once.
Yes, sir. I'll destroy the depot immediately, sir. Set it on fire.
No, sir, not a drop. I'll make sure of that, sir. They won't get a drop.
All right, let's get these bodies out of here. Let's go. Move!
Elke and Eisner report fuel exhausted, sir.
What's Hessler's present position?
He reports being three kilometers from the American fuel depot.
We must get there.
He will do it. Hessler will do it.
No shooting. I'll do the talking.
Get back to your post.
- Hold it up there, sergeant. - Stop it.
- What can I do for you boys? - We just made it. Could you fill her up?
Sure. Give you a hand, soldier. Sure.
Corporal, bring some of those cans over here.
A couple of you boys help out.
Sergeant, we'll have you gassed up and on your way in no time.
Get on your machine gun.
- Hey, lieutenant. - Yeah?
Weren't you directing traffic at the Our River Bridge?
Does the road to Amblève still lead to Malmedy?
Stop.
This fuel dump must be taken intact.
No shooting.
- Look. Let's get out of here. - Hold it. They'll capture the gas.
We can't just leave it.
- What are you waiting for? Let's go. - Hold it! They're after the gas.
- We ought to blow it up. - We can't set a match to all that.
- We got no orders, lieutenant. - Yeah? Well, I'm giving the orders.
Hey, lieutenant, one of them is still alive.
Hold it! Hold it! He's one of ours.
- I got you, colonel. - Burn it.
- Take it easy. I know what to do. - Burn it.
- Give him a hand, if you can. - Burn it.
Come on, I'm waiting for you! Come on!
Get those barrels off the end of that ramp. Hold your fire, Guffy.
Move your tank behind that pile until I tell you to shove.
You, get me some hand grenades off the tank. Come on.
Come on.
You, get to that gas truck and open all the valves.
Then get the hell away from it.
All right, roll them down.
Get off the road.
Give me a hand grenade.
He's getting away.
Okay, shove.
Don't stop! Keep going! Don't stop!
Get this message to headquarters:
They've abandoned their tanks, and they're walking back to Germany.
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