He's dead, Manfred.
I'm catching up, brother.
It's days now since we buried him.
Why is it you can't enjoy the fact that
I've been promoted. I'm your brother.
He was a friend of yours, I know.
But he was a fighter pilot too.
He knew the risks he took.
Every oath soldiers proudly take,
but you are more than a soldier, you are a superior officer!
You have a responsibility towards the men out there!
Towards your country and your people.
You know what our father always said...
"A leader cannot afford to mourn."
You smell nice.
Much better than all the flowers.
You're still a little boy playing silly games.
You haven't changed.
I'm not so sure about that.
A while ago, I wouldn't have let myself got shot down.
Turn over.
So much for "Germany's bravest."
I'm sick of men keeps bringing this report of
our lack of success every damn day.
I'm just trying to fill your seat, sir.
You send out single squadron,
Doering.
They're in no position to battle successfully
against enemy formations.
Captain Doering has his orders.
The 'Officer in Charge of Avaition' arranges us on a time table, sir.
They are a bunch of idiots.
Condemning us to routine burial flights.
We needs to be flexible.
Loose!
Hit the enemy where he actually is.
The British and French moved their airbase
wherever and whenever they like.
Yes!
We hardly ever down their damn planes.
I order you, to ignore OCA orders.
Mademoiselle Otersdorf, what are you doing?
Just following orders, Baron.
You were ordered to come with us?
Yes.
Richthofen, nice to have you back, sir!
Welcome back.
The red ones are the 11th wing.
The yellow 10th.
The Zebras... No: 6.
And the black ones No: 4.
You're looking at the most successful
fighter squadron of the war.
And these men are the best pilots in the skies.
I thought it would never happen.
What?
See you smile.
I thought you're not supposed to fly.
Your nurse is a very good looking girl.
I've got a hole in my head but I'm not blind.
I am already fit enough to punch you in the face.
What are you writing?
A book.
About flying.
What are you reading?
I never see you without a book.
No?
Oscar Wilde!
You ever read one?
No...
I cannot see any British literature in here.
Hmm!
Try this!
There must be
Shakespeare in there somewhere...
My father read his play's once.
'Lear...'
'Comedy of Errors.'
You might find a couple of songs too...
and a lot of playing billards,
hunting, flying, riding...
ahem... how to flirt.
A hole in the head makes reading someone mind
pretty easy, Baron.
So...
Just ask.
Would you...
Would you join me for dinner?
Yes.
So?
Difference...
from what I thought you would be.
Different?
Your write,
it's entertaining.
You thought it would be blunt,
boring...
and deadly serious.
No!
But you write about war.
I thought there would fanaticism... patriotism.
Patriotism... hmm.
"...the virtue of the vicious."
You did read Wilde.
Even a little Dante.
It's helpful right now.
To knows a little about infernos, isn't it?
Dance with me.
No.
Better not... no.
I am an infernally miserable dancer.
Imagined you're flying...
Great!
To have a hole in my head.
Without it I wouldn't be sitting here next to you, would I?
Mentzke...
can you turn the car around?
There are so many hospitals now they have
to give them numbers.
This is No: 76.
There's 500 patients.
Most of these men will die.
Those that don't, will never walk again,
see again,
taste again...
love again!
No, it's not great to have a hole your head.
You're lucky to be still alive.
Being born of nobility, you've advantages these men here do not.
They don't have choices.
It's not a game.
This is the lowest we'll ever get.
It never gets darker.
Come in.
Can you give me something for my head?
Go to the cellar.
Now!
They fly at night?
Get yourself a gas mask.
Do you fly at night?
No, we don't!
Here.
Find a save place.
Lights out!
Everybody turns off the lights.
Give it to me.
It's OCA, sir.
This is Bodenschatz.
Turn off all the lights!
Night bombers!
Good morning captain!
Four already passed
and four more coming.
Just take it all, it could be worse, sir.
It's not as if they just happened to fly past, Doering.
They know about this field and there will be more than eight.
Lots more!
Good morning.
- Good morning. - Morning, sir!
Wolff, you alright?
I can't find my cap!
All machine-gun posts are being manned.
There's nothing more we can do to protect the planes on the ground.
Mentzke, get my gear!
Ready my plane.
You are injured, you cannot fly, Manfred.
I'm not going to be a sitting duck.
I've got wings.
You flew right in between them, are you out of your mind?
Take me to her...
You've to lay still.
Go and find her.
I just need to know if she's not hurt.
It looks plainer.
Fokker built this great new plane,
as maneuverable as the devil.
They climb like monkeys.
I know you are angry with me.
I've been ordered back to the hospital.
I know.
I'm sorry about Kurt Wolff.
He was a charming young man.
He forgot his night cap, you know.
His lucky night cap.
Baron...
Yes?
Take me to dinner again with you sometime.
And promise to always wear this lucky jacket of yours.
We are not late, are we?
No, we aren't.
Lavatory?
Down the stairs to the right, sir.
Back in a minute.
Attention!
Everything goes according to plan.
- Yes! - Very satisfactory, yes.
Oh.
Our famous flying ace
visiting our frontlines!
Thank you for answering my invitation.
Quite a dornier sight from down here, isn't it...
... Richthofen.
Your Majesty...
Your Majesty!
Aha... the little brother.
You're looking desposed, my dear Baron.
Yes, your Majesty.
I'm fine.
I always am.
Sometimes even irritated, sir.
How can you be "irritably fine"?!
It happens out here.
We kill a couple of men.
And while they fall down in flames, we feel just fine.
I find this irritating.
My soldiers, do not...
kill people.
They simply destroyed the enemy.
Well,
the effects seems to be the same.
Yes, Mentzke?
You have a visitor, sir.
I thought you might want to celebrate.
They published your book!
The whole of Europe is reading it.
So...
how about dinner
and then a dance?
They shut down the "Metropole."
Yes, I know.
A British bomb hit the kitchen.
Damn those English!
They won't be happy till all of Europe foods
is as horrible as theirs.
They don't want me to fly anymore.
They're doing everything they can to make me stay back on the ground.
Really?
They want me to command the entire airforce,
the emperor himself.
That's so wonderful!
So many times I woke up in the middle of the night,
and read...
the lists of missing pilots.
It is so good to have you down here.
Safe!
Good!
Your dancing has improved.
I have a lot of times to do this anyway.
- Good evening men. - Good evening sir.
- Bloody freezing, huh? - So true, sir.
A brand new Bentley.
Where did you get it?
Bentleys don't fall out of the sky.
Trust me, I've to argue a little with the chap.
You always wanted to be first of the Aces.
Now they offer it to you and you hesistate.
Yes...
I always wanted to be like him.
Werner...
Could you ever give up flying?
I don't think so.
But if you ask my advice...
you should grabbed your chance.
You only want me to stop,
so you can be first.
I'll let you find out.
Alright... alright.
- I'll stopped... - Good.
if you stop first.
I don't think so.
I am married to my plane.
This is how I spend my spare time.
These are fine planes you're building us, Fokker.
- The best. - Yes, thank you.
And yet somehow our own pilots seem to think they can do better.
Oh well...
we sometimes modified the plane a little.
- Here and there. - Modifications is one thing,
...but replacing our engines with those from enemy planes...
- How did you hear of this? - Early this morning
we received a report of the recovery
of a new triplane.
Well...
The Brits were less than amused to find
one of their own Bentley engine's in a Fokker, they shot down.
- I need to see it. - Of course.
I need to see it at once.
Get me the damn report, now!
Just three more weeks, Manfred.
I already had my marching orders.
I'm going to join your combat wing.
What's become of him?
Fallen in combat.
And him,
his name is Voss, right?
They are all dead.
I will fight with you and Lothar!
Our big offensive is in full preparation.
They called it "Operation Michael."
We will win this war, won't we?
Wolfram, please...
It's alright, father.
Of course we'll win.
The Allies don't have a clue about what's coming at them.
For weeks we've been flying out,
and decepting their reconnaissances.
Keeping them from finding out where we'll breakthrough.
And we did a bloody good job.
This offensive is going to push them back into the channel.
Sir!
Morning, sir!
Please...
follow us, sir.
Take cover!
What an unexpected surprise!
You came to visit another British defeat, captain.
Lieutenant,
go and see if you could find somebody with a camera.
It's excellent propaganda and makes a very good picture.
We have our flying ace down here with us,
on this victorious day.
Your excellency,
we need to talk.
You don't want me down here.
If you give me the power to make strategic decisions,
you won't have like them.
Why wouldn't we?
We very much trust your abilities, Baron.
I suggest we surrender!
Huh... what arrogances...
What a pompous child you are!
I was victor...
in 63 aerial battles.
You know how I did it?
When I faced a battle I couldn't win,
I flew away.
What makes you think we cannot win this war?
What about our boys?
Our holy cause...
Our soldiers out in the field...
You want to give all our efforts to the enemy...
... von Richthofen!
French...
great cigarettes.
What makes us think
our causes is better than the French,
or the British and the Americans?
It isn't!
It's not even difference from theirs.
We just need an excuse for what we do because
without it
we would see who we really are.
Put this fool back into his aeroplane,
and give him a parachute.
I can't afford to lose another idealistic hero.
Operation Michael...
Our ground forces attack on both side of
Socome town from here and from here.
That's a 70 kilometers battleline.
Right!
Three armies...
The 2nd army and 17th army
are launching the offensive from here.
The 18th army will attack from here.
Our task is to gain control of the entire
airspace and keeps it, my friends.
Shouldn't be a problem should it, Bodenschatz?
Our planes are outnumber 4 to 1, Udet.
We've lived with that for months and weeks.
It will be worse than ever.
They'll send everything they've got against us.
Fucking cold.
What the hell are you doing?
Sorry if I have bother you, sir.
What're you doing with my brother's picture?
He ordered me to take them down.
All of them.
Sir!
Move out!
May God be with us.
Gentlemen...
Let's go!
Contact!
He's really back, isn't he?
His 'Flying Circus' swept the British from the skies!
I saw him fly past,
waving at us.
Sir!
Gentlemen!
High Command of the Northern sector thanks us for our accomplishments.
I want to add my thanks.
You've show me some splendid flying.
Thank you.
Bravo! Hear! Hear!
Thank you captain!
This isn't how you imagine your famous cousin to be, is it?
The glorious captain that you often saw photograph.
Fatherland greatest hero.
The first of all the aces who shot down 80.
Nobody ever down that many.
I am really proud to be his brother.
You can't beat family, Udet.
Peace? Peace!
Is that one of yours?
I can't tell anymore.
You're flying again, ain't you?
Why didn't you tell me?
Why did you lie to me again?
I didn't want to scare you.
I wanted you to be happy.
Kate, I just cannot do what they asked me.
They offered you safety,
your life.
When I was a little boy...
I could hit all the targets with my father's rifle.
Targets so faraway the others couldn't even see them.
I dreamed of seeing everything.
Trying to think like a bird.
Hawk eyes!
"Eagle eyes" I was called.
When I became a pilot,
I truly thought I had see everything from up there.
I saw nothing.
I was blind before I met you.
You opened my eyes.
You thought me to see what I didn't want to see.
We all choose to fly.
Voss, Sternberg...
Lehmann, Wolff...
Hawker.
On whatever side we fought, we all knew the risks we took.
I wanted to be the best,
I wanted to win and I thought I won.
But I can see now, Kate... I have seen.
That we have turn the world into a damn slaughter house.
And I'm already too big a part of it.
They're using my photograph, to give hope
where there is none.
They used my name to feign immortality,
where else in reality
there is annihilation.
You said it yourself,
"The men dying out there, they have no choice"
I have!
I cannot order them into battle.
I can perhaps leads them.
Help them!
Die with them,
but I will not betrayed them nor keep the truth from them
by remaining the immortal God's Berlin wants me to be.
You...
... are my greatest victory.
Sir?
Excuse me, sir.
Sir...
Sir... British aeroplanes are approaching the front, sir.
Thank you.
Sir.
Yes, thank you!
They were last reported at Lagnycourt.
So...
They are coming in from the Northwest.
Thank you.
Brother.
You don't mind if I lead No:11 and you fly on my right?
Be my guest.
Wolfram...
Stayed clear of any involvement.
Keep close to Lothar.
If you are attacked, break off and fly home!
Fast!
It's a thin line between cowardice and cleverness.
A great day to fly.
You are a brave man, Baron.
A very brave man...
Thank you!
Contact!
Thank you.
You are welcome.
Miss...
I could not come sooner.
It's not so easy to cross the line into British territory.
Finally a friend of ours help me.
He asked me why it was important for me to come here?
I told him I love you.
Did I ever tell you?