He's a little late.
We landed a bit early, sir.
You trust this guy, major?
I've never seen him.
U.S. Intelligence says he's a champion.
What you might call a "Good German."
All by his lonesome.
Beautiful.
Look...
we can't let them take him alive.
Let's go.
Twenty-four twenty.
Twenty-four twenty what, captain?
He was trying to tell you something.
You do realize that Captain Ludwig
was on the personal staff of Admiral Canaris
and the pipeline into German naval intelligence?
He was also a close personal friend of my father's before the war.
Oh, maybe you two should have left him on the admiral's staff.
No, we couldn't do that.
His information was too important. We had to try to get him out.
Twenty?
Mean anything to you, Clark? No.
But I've passed it on to British and Free French intelligence.
They may have something for us when we get to London.
Easy, girl, you can't leave without Shorty.
Lieutenant, do you think you could back up and get us out of this?
Now, hold it. Our guy's got a great left hand.
Somebody do something!
Let me go. Typical enlisted men's behaviour.
Getting themselves killed in a bar fight
over the questionable favours of some street whore.
I couldn't agree with you more, sir.
Do I hear you right, major?
You, the champion of the underdog?
Well, you know, a bum and a drunk in uniform is still a bum and a drunk, sir.
Shorty? You okay?
- What are you guys doing? - Champ, give me a hand.
Hold it there.
Hold it there, men.
Break it up. I'll be back in a minute.
I want those men arrested.
You want them arrested?
Yeah. I'll bet a month's salary that they were in the guardhouse this morning.
I just want to make sure they're back in the guardhouse tonight.
You see that big guy?
Got a hell of a right too.
Come in very handy on our next mission.
Forgive me, general, but I think the major's gone on one mission too many.
No, colonel, not yet.
Not just yet.
In the viewpoint of the German High Command,
the Japanese failed to follow up their victory at Pearl Harbour
and are not now considered to be trustworthy allies.
They are also aware that the Allied war effort is now totally dedicated
to crushing Germany before turning to the Japanese.
The High Command feels the war might go on for years
and that Germany could still conceivably lose the war.
Now, those generals were in no rush to share all this with the führer.
Keeping themselves alive, sort of.
Yes.
Ultimately, they swallowed their Junker pride,
and they took the word to this man:
SS General Kurt Richter,
a man whom Hitler has come to trust implicitly.
They convinced Richter that it was his duty
to inform the führer about the truth.
He did so.
But he also worked out an answer to the führer's next question:
"How does Germany ensure a final victory?"
Exactly. With Operation Valkyrie.
The Fourth Reich, gentlemen.
Richter had come up with a list
of a dozen men, all top German geniuses
in government, science, the military, police, education.
All of them under 35
and all of them loyal Nazis.
The existence of this new shadow government
was confirmed by our contacts in the German naval intelligence.
In the past few months
the German army surrounding Stalingrad has surrendered
and the U.S. Navy remains unbeatable in the Pacific.
The führer has made the decision.
These 12 men
are standing by to be summoned to Munich, Germany at a moment's notice.
From there, they will go on by train
along the route of the now suspended Orient Express.
Venice, Trieste, Belgrade, Sofia...
and finally, Istanbul.
And there, they will establish
over 10 years, 20, a century, if necessary
all over the Middle East...
the new Fourth Reich.
You will take 12 general prisoners
convicted and sentenced to death or to long terms of imprisonment.
You will train and qualify the prisoners
and deliver them secretly behind the lines.
You will attack and destroy your assigned target.
Any breach of security,
any failure of discipline,
and the prisoners go right back where they came from
for summary execution of sentence.
I want to speak to Private Stern alone.
That's an order.
You looking for another Dirty Dozen, major?
No, no, no. I'm just biding my time until I become general
and get the war over. Now, what happened?
Got into a fight with an officer in a bar.
Hit him.
Broke his jaw, sent him to the hospital.
Oh, that's very shrewd. Now, what did he say to upset you?
We got into a discussion about race.
I told him he belonged on the other side.
I see. So you wind up in a military prison again
and you're facing another court-martial. Now, look.
You know...
I'll give you a chance to beat this thing and get back to the war.
What do you say? Do you want it or not?
I don't know, major.
You get a lot of men killed.
You kill a lot of good people.
And I don't know anymore whether it's good versus evil with you.
Maybe it's just evil versus evil.
I'll find your keeper.
Let's go!
Take a walk with me, major.
I've got some important information for you.
Yes, sir.
Nice morning, lieutenant.
Yes. Yes, it is.
You work for the general, huh? That's right.
You've been with Major Wright before?
That's right. And I made it back.
War's over for me, lieutenant.
Well, I wouldn't say that the war is altogether over for you, hmm.
Ain't war hell, lieutenant?
And when the Germans surrendered in 1918,
the French brought them down to a railroad car
in the forest of Compiégne.
Little bit before my time, I'm afraid.
And when the French surrendered in 1940,
Hitler ordered that same railroad car from the old Orient Express
brought back to the exact same spot.
Oh, so that the French could feel the bayonet this time?
Exactly. Now, that car was number 2419
and it's in Berlin right now.
Now, the thinking is
that those Germans will blow up that damn thing
before they'd ever surrender in it again.
But how does?
After 2419 comes 2420.
The founding fathers of the new Fourth Reich
will arrive in Istanbul in car number 2420.
Now we know where this car is now? Lt. Campbell's come up
with some new air recon photos that indicates
they may be hidden in a train yard in Munich.
Lieutenant Campbell apparently is a very bright young lady.
Why, she's brilliant.
You know, she grew up in this German aristocracy
because her father was a Foreign Service officer for 30 years.
Hell, Marshal Rommel used to bounce her on his knee.
Before or after she turned 18?
Now, now.
Demchuk, Dravko. Death by hanging.
D'Agostino, Carmine.
Death by hanging.
Collins...
Frederick.
Unsentenced.
Ricketts, Tom.
Unsentenced.
Hamilton, Joseph.
Death by hanging.
Hoffman, Thomas. Fifty years' hard labour.
Wilson, Lonnie. Forty years' hard labour.
Echevarria, Roberto.
Fifty years' hard labour.
Get back in line.
The major said there would be one more.
Well, maybe the major was wrong.
We don't have a dozen, then.
- Hey, Joey. - Hey, Stern.
Pushing your luck, aren't you, Joe?
All right.
Ye of such little faith.
Stern, Joseph.
Unsentenced.
You started off as a train engineer back home, Demchuk.
You know, that talent may come in handy again.
I was good engineer, sir.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, but before you handed the train in at the end of the day,
you started robbing passengers.
I was good train robber too, sir.
You want to rob a train, major? Oh, no, no, no.
I want to stop one and pick off some bad people.
I pick off lots of bad people in my life.
I bet you have, Dravko. I just bet you have.
All right, Holt.
What the hell is going on, sergeant?
I don't know, sir. We usually only get this when there's a hanging.
Hamilton's got a gun, right? That's right.
Knocked out the MPs guarding it and pinned us down.
We may have to kill that boy. Oh, that may take some doing.
He killed a white woman.
He's not getting anywhere.
Now we got that armoured truck back there. We'll blow him apart if he tries to get down.
What are you gonna do? Blow up a prison to kill a prisoner?
Who's been talking to him? Talking to him?
That's right, talking to him.
Now you look, I'm gonna go up there and make a deal.
And I'm also gonna make a promise.
Make sure you don't break it. Do you understand?
You got it.
Hamilton?
Hamilton, this is Major Wright.
You know who I am and I know who you are.
Hamilton?
I wanna talk to you.
I'm better off dying right here and now.
I'll have a lot of company.
Now, what's your rush in dying?
You can't lose anything by talking.
Okay.
Come ahead, then.
All right, I'm gonna lay it on the line with you, Hamilton.
I can still use a man who can break out of a maximum-security cell,
get up there,
and grab a machine gun.
Almost made it all the way.
As far as I know, you haven't killed an MP
and you're gonna hang anyway
for a lot more than just
an attempted escape.
So, what the hell do you want from me?
Why did you kill your wife?
Just mind your own business.
I met her in Paris.
Then the war came.
We made it to London.
So I went back to the U.S. To join the Army.
Man, I broke my butt to get back over here.
Then I went to her apartment.
She was living with an RAF captain.
He pulled a gun and said, "Niggers ain't welcome in Britain."
And then she laughed.
She laughed.
Why don't you put down your gun. Surrender and I promise you...
you'll be training with the men in the morning.
Army ain't gonna let you keep that promise.
Oh, yes, they will. They need me, and I got news for you:
They need you too.
Along with 11 other slobs just like you.
Okay.
Okay, how you wanna work it?
You point that.30 calibre downrange...
and you follow me home.
All right.
Everybody line up and count off.
- One. - Two.
- Three. - Four.
- Five. - Six.
- Seven. - Eight.
- Nine. - Ten.
- Eleven. - Twelve.
All right.
Now, by your presence, you've indicated a strong desire
to volunteer for this mission, which leaves you three ways to go.
You can foul up during training,
in which case you'll be sent back to prison for execution of sentence.
Two, I mean, you can foul up in action...
in which case I will personally blow your brains out.
Or you can do what you're told,
in which case, you may just get by.
Now, if any one of you tries to escape...
you'll all be sent back for execution of sentence.
Therefore, you're all dependent on one another.
And if anybody tries to get smart,
you'll all get it right in the head, right?
Right.
Now, due to the contingency nature of this mission
and the deteriorating relations between Private Hamilton
and the staff and the MPs of Forbes Road Prison...
you've been sent out here into the field
and the nature of your training has been intensified.
"Ekkevarria."
Echevarria, sir.
Pick up my grips and follow me.
All right. Have them sent back to the barracks.
Yes, sir. All right!
Everybody into the barracks.
If you have something to complain about,
the chaplain's hours are between 4 and 5. Let's go.
Hit it!
Echevarria, you're a mystery to me. I went through your files.
You've been through some pretty heavy stuff.
Robbery, a gangland kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon.
I had a very bad childhood, sir.
Well, I figured something like that.
But until you made that night withdrawal from the Bank of England
with a.45 and a little dynamite...
you haven't done any heavy time, have you?
I always express sincere remorse, sir.
Sure you do.
I mean, parole officers, judges...
even cops wanted to give you a break.
Well, man... I mean, major.
I always figure, when you're going for it, go all out.
When you're in the streets, raise hell.
But when they get you, they got you.
Be nice.
Will that be all, major? That will be all.
We won't be here that long.
Well, glad to be of service, sir.
Echevarria...
my trench knife.
I mean, where you going? Second time around, they hang you.
Can't change overnight, major.
Neither can I.
Take off.
Yes, sir.
Knife! Recover!
Stick them, boy!
Hit the kraut!
Recover!
Knife! Recover!
Hit the kraut, baby!
- Yeah! - Recover!
- Good, good. - Knife!
Recover!
Left! Recover!
- Stick them, Shorty! - That's it.
Where did they get your garrison cap, major?
I don't know, Stern.
Evil versus evil, I guess.
Recover! Knife!
Stick him, Shorty!
Stick that kraut again! Come on, Shorty!
His name is Major Wright.
This is the only film we have.
It was found next to a dying newsreel cameraman.
The film was made during an attack on the village of Agrigento
in which the target is believed to have been Benito Mussolini.
Our new contact says that even now, this officer is training another group
drawn from American prisoners sentenced to death
or long terms of imprisonment.
The whole story seems a little incredible, general.
Are you sure you're not wasting money on this, uh, this informant?
It is the opinion of our senior agent in Ireland
that the story is absolutely true.
Well, maybe you're right.
The whole country worships outlaws and gangsters.
Now they've drafted them into the Army, I suppose.
I've made arrangements to receive further reports from this informant.
And we will supply all necessary technical equipment
needed for transmission in the future.
One moment, please.
The Reich's chancellery, general.
General Richter.
Yes, mein FÜhrer.
No, mein FÜhrer, it will not be a problem.
We shall be in Istanbul on September the 3rd.
Yes, mein FÜhrer.
Thank you.
If there is nothing further, gentlemen...
And you honestly believe that this man can take
a bunch of misfits, murderers...
and common thieves
and turn them into a cohesive fighting machine?
Oh, it is not an entirely original concept, gentlemen:
A "legion of the damned."
Ordinarily, I'd be the first man out,
but since this is our maiden voyage,
Sergeant Holt will do the honours.
What's the matter, Muñez? You seem a little tense.
I signed up to kill Germans, not jump out of planes.
Wrong.
You were due to go down one way or another.
Either six foot at the end of a rope, or 6000 feet from an airplane.
Look, you got yourself a good deal.
I'll let you know when I got a good deal, major.
Now, ordinarily, you'd have several days for preparation
and your first jump would have been in the daytime.
But there is no time. Your next jump now
will be at night and into Yugoslavia.
Attach your cables.
Good luck.
Go!
D'Agostino?
What the hell's wrong with you, D'Agostino?
I can't jump, major.
I never been any good at heights. I can't do it.
It's a hell of a time to tell somebody, soldier!
Get up there and jump! No, major.
I can't. I'll get killed, I know it.
You want everybody to know that the hotshot syndicate hit man...
has a yellow streak a mile long?
I can't jump, major!
You're so cool.
You even offered them a last drag from your own cigarette
just before you blew their brains out.
You want a cigarette? Jump, you bum.
I got to go. I'll freeze my leg. Come on! Let's get going!
- Move it or milk it. - Come on.
- Come on, move it. - It's freezing up here.
Come on, let's move! Geronimo!
Gotta be a nicer way to see Europe again, right, Hoffman?
Hey, major, I'm an all-American boy.
My parents just travelled around a lot.
Oh, my God!
Last night...
after Hoffman bounced
I had his body brought back here, along with his parachute.
You think this was more than a routine training accident, major?
I know now, lieutenant, that it was no accident.
The chute line on Hoffman's parachute was cut.
He jumped out of that plane with the jump ring in perfect position
and the chute still didn't open.
I thought the men packed their own chutes.
No, you're talking about paratroopers, lieutenant.
My men are thieves and murderers.
These are prefolded and put on an airplane by jump instructors.
Anybody could have got to Hoffman's parachute,
even helped him on with it.
You said it yourself, major. You've got thieves and murderers.
So one of them found a reason to kill another.
Is that a reason for getting me out here in the middle of the night?
No. My reason is Hoffman was one of my men.
And he was very important.
He spoke German.
He travelled in Europe for years and he was familiar with Yugoslavia,
which would have been a great help to me.
So you're saying you need time to find a replacement?
There is no time, colonel. The Nazis are gonna move those people.
Major, you say that Hoffman spent years in Europe,
picking up languages, he knew the Balkans.
I grew up in Europe. I speak many European languages
and I spent six summers in the Balkans and Yugoslavia.
Apparently, for whatever reason, lieutenant, you want to go on this mission.
Let me point something out to you.
Now, for the rest of the training and behind enemy lines,
your life will totally depend on men who've committed every crime in the book,
including rape and murder. Now, do you still want to go?
Hey, sarge, who's in the movies tonight?
Betty Grable, right?
Yeah, singing and dancing her way into your heart.
Come on, let's get out of the cold.
How come the major took off with Hoffman's chute after he bounced?
The way I get along with the major
is whenever I have a big, fat question for him...
I forget all about it.
Hey, look, there's a dame in here!
- All right, knock it off! - Knock it off.
Find yourselves a seat and sit on it.
- We've met, haven't we? - She's beautiful.
This is Lieutenant Campbell.
She'll be with us for the rest of the training
and she'll also jump with us into Europe.
All right, keep in mind...
that she's an officer
and any order she gives
will be obeyed immediately. Is that clear?
Yes, sir!
Even if she wants to take advantage of us, sir?
All right, sergeant, hit the switch.
Yes, sir.
Name? Kranz, Wolfgang.
Importance to the party? Social planner and administrator.
Created the camps at Dachau and Belsen.
Very good, Stern.
Name? Ulrich Brunner. Lieutenant.
Importance to the party?
Some kind of banker, isn't he?
Yes, a principled young financial adviser
to the Reichminister, Albert Speer.
Steel, Helmut...
physical culture prophet.
Directs a sexual revolutionary program
supposedly aimed at impregnating all young women
throughout the Greater Reich.
Yeah? How do you like this guy, lieutenant?
I think we'll have to cut his career short.
Now, remember those faces.
They won't always be wearing dress uniforms and swastika armbands.
They may be in civilian clothes, or dressed as medical workers
or orthodox priests.
Hey, major, how come it has to be 12? Suppose we only get you 10 or 11?
- Yeah, why not? - No good.
That one that's left on that train
may be the heir apparent to Adolf Hitler, the next führer.
Hit the switch, sergeant.
The next is a captured German film on the occupation of Yugoslavia.
You'll notice that all the...
I ain't never seen no garrison like this.
Me neither.
Whoa.
Now who the hell smuggled a blue film into a maximum-security prison?
Echevarria?
Major, I had nothing to do with this.
It's a bum rap. No, of course not.
I believe I've already had this course in training.
I'll be outside if you need me.
You're gonna miss the best part.
Shall I let it continue, sir? Yeah...
might as well see how the other half lives.
I like that, I like that.
I got this out of the mess hall.
The guards have got.45s and machine guns.
Did you forget about that? We'll get the major first.
He's got a.45 carbine, lots of ammo.
Then we get the guard at the barracks and we get his BAR.
We grab one of the trucks and we disable all the others.
Where do we go from here? West coast. Ireland's neutral.
We grab a boat, we get to Ireland, we pull a few jobs, get a stake.
Hey, that's a great idea. Are you crazy?
You're right. It's a lousy idea.
Who sticks the major?
I thought you'd do that, D'Agostino.
He kicked you out of the plane.
Give me the knife.
Are you nuts? You'll get all three of us killed
and then crucify the others too. What did you come out here for, then?
Because you asked us.
And we wanted to see how many other men were crazy.
Yeah, that's right. We ain't that crazy.
Easy. Easy, Shorty. Easy!
Easy. Hey, easy.
You okay? Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm all right.
Hey, these guys ain't nice.
Hey. Now, go on back to your bunks...
and don't get any more bright ideas.
Good night, major.
Way to go, champ.
Way to go, buddy. All right.
Now, just remember, if this was the real thing
and you move too soon, you'd be spotted by the engineers...
or the German passengers inside the cars.
They'd stop the train and just scoop us up
and we'd never get near anybody we want to get on it.
Take positions.
By the numbers. One...
two, three, four...
five, six...
seven...
eight, nine, 10, 11, 12.
- All right. - Moving back.
Who's in charge here? All right, fall out.
Where the hell's the truck?
Look, here comes the major.
All right, you did a good job.
And I'm reasonably happy with your work.
This truck here, it's half full of booze.
Fall out.
All right. Collins, Echevarria...
drop the tailgate.
And careful with the cargo.
Hey, that's it, baby.
I assume you can handle all of that.
Now, girls, your prime minister is looking forward
to decorating each and every one of you individually.
Okay, so hurry it up.
Good-looking. Good.
- Give me one. - Here you go.
My name's Lonnie.
I know where to take you. Be careful.
Hey, watch it.
You brought stockings in nylon?
- Baby. - Here's another one.
Freddie!
I've found you, love. You look great.
Give us a kiss.
Are you something like our commandos, then?
Tell me about it in the morning, baby, okay?
Baby, I haven't danced since grad night. Come on.
- Yeah, that's it. - I can't believe it!
We haven't been formally introduced yet.
Carmine D'Agostino.
Well, lieutenant, the major appears to have
some kind of unusual night maneuver in progress.
Yes, sir. I believe he referred to it as
"improving relations with our allies."
Indeed.
Colonel. Well, I didn't expect to see you out in the field, so to speak.
I can see that. No, thank you.
You realize this little orgy could get you court-martialled.
These are sentenced prisoners convicted of capital crimes.
They're also ready for battle, colonel. Come on, give them a break.
Major, if you could bear to tear yourself away,
the general is waiting for you down the road.
Oh, did he want to join the party?
Collins.
Get lucky, soldier.
You wanted to see me, major? I've got a problem, sir.
We have several. We have two reports.
One from inside Yugoslavia
indicating suddenly increased security in all the major cities.
Well, you picked Yugoslavia because it's on the main Orient Express route.
That's right. And the partisans are expecting you.
But the second report
is that the Nazis are beginning to learn about you personally and what you do.
Well, I'm not surprised.
What the hell are you talking about?
General, I asked you here because I believe there's a traitor in our group.
Do you know who he is? No, not yet.
But he got to Hoffman's parachute
and he would have been invaluable to me in Yugoslavia.
I went through the folders.
And there's no way that Hoffman could've met any of these men
before coming to the military prison.
No, the Germans ordered the killing.
But how could the Nazis possibly have known who you were going to pick for the mission?
They couldn't. Obviously, our Mr. Somebody,
he got in touch with the Germans after I assigned him to the mission.
You know there was a blue film smuggled into the camp?
And if you can smuggle a blue film in...
you certainly can smuggle a message out.
Then we have to abort the mission.
How do we do that, Clark?
The heirs apparent to the Third Reich leave Munich tonight.
They'll arrive in Istanbul in three days.
That's some party.
Why don't you join us?
If I joined that party, I'm afraid I'd lose my bars.
How long have you been an officer, Lieutenant Campbell?
Five months.
I was given a direct commission
because I have certain skills and education...
over and above what's needed there.
You're just like the rest of the Dirty Dozen.
Yeah. We all got certain skills
and education too.
You know what's ironic?
Those men committed crimes, they were put in prison...
and they got this mission.
I would've been willing to give everything I have.
Maybe my life.
I'm sorry.
No. Don't stop now.
My dad is a Foreign Service officer.
He married a Norwegian woman when he was stationed in Oslo.
When the Nazis hit Norway,
my mother had gone home to get her family out.
She died in the first bombing raid.
I'm sorry.
I'm really sorry.
Now, we can try an air strike at the train in open country,
but we can't be sure they'd get all 12.
And then, we could give this to British intelligence at Alexandria.
Hey, wait a minute. How about my men?
I mean, they've been working damn hard and they're ready to go!
My staff is right. You really do become one of them.
They'd have to go back to prison. Now wait a minute, general.
If you send these men back to do time and die,
you're gonna have a riot on your hands.
And you may be right. I might be fighting on their side.
What the hell do you want, major? You've got a traitor in your group and you don't know who it is.
I don't know who it is, but somewhere down the line
I'll find out who it is and get rid of him.
Besides blowing up the Nazis or die trying.
And that's the name of the game when it comes to the Dirty Dozen.
Besides drinking and whoring...
and falling down.
And one of them is a traitor.
We're approaching the jump area, major.
We'll be turning on the ready light at any moment.
Let's see.
Coordinates 4135-2794, is that right?
Well, of course, sir. Any problem?
No, no, no. No problem. Except we're not gonna jump there.
Yes, I want you to change course 5 degrees south of Skopje
and bypass the jump area by some 20 miles. Have you got that?
This is all very irregular, sir. You're breaking the plan.
Well, my whole group is irregular, gentlemen. That's part of their job.
We'll have to report it to our C.O.
I don't care how many reports you make, captain,
just as long as the new coordinates are 4131-2795. Have you got that?
Hey, what the hell's going on here?
We're changing directions.
Major, if we don't jump where we planned,
how will we link up with the Resistance?
You let me worry about that.
I've got an address in Skopje.
You and I will find it, Demchuk.
They are running late, Vasco.
They'll be here. My sister received...
Something's gone wrong. I have to get back to Skopje.
We have to get out of here in any case.
Whatever happens, I need one prisoner for interrogation.
We'll take those six.
You men, surrender!
I have your prisoner for interrogation, captain.
Keep him alive.
Don't look down, sir.
Look at them as if you hate them
and they will be sure you are Yugoslav.
Yes? Ares is the god of war.
And we are all his children.
Come in.
Stand still. Take their guns.
Now, what the hell is this?
Keep quiet. Peter, check the ammunition.
U.S. Army, standard issue,
.45-calibre ammunition, brand-new.
Who are you looking for? I already gave you the password.
The password could have been tortured out of men who then had their tongues torn out.
Who are you looking for? A partisan leader.
Initials Y.V.
I am Yelena Vascovic.
No one else knew that you had only my initials.
What happened last night?
Hey, look, I can talk a lot better without that cannon pointing at my head.
Please, I'm sorry.
I understand.
I ordered an overflight over the landing area.
I just had a hunch that maybe the Germans were there waiting for us.
No partisan would give you to the Germans.
Hey, I didn't say that.
Okay, we had orders that, for whatever reason we didn't make any contact,
we were to come here. So here we are.
The men that were supposed to meet you did not come back.
We have heard no word all night from them.
It's best to assume they were taken.
One of them was my brother.
If they were lucky, they had a chance to fight.
Look, can we get a message to the British submarine off the coast?
Yes, of course. Tell them we made it.
Eagle Four to Lion One. Eagle Four to Lion One.
Can you read me?
- Yes, this is Lion One. - Go ahead, please.
This is Eagle Four. 7-187-9.
192724.
The visitors have arrived.
Very good. I have a message from Overlord in London.
Can you get out of Skopje at once?
They must be reacting to your decision to overfly the landing site.
Tell me what's wrong.
Nothing's wrong. We're on our way.
Affirmative.
Very good. Cheerio.
Look, I'm sorry your brother came to meet us last night.
My brother, God willing, is dead.
He's lost consciousness again.
Yes, I can see that.
I asked you to find out where Major Wright will attack the train
and after hours of interrogation, you have no results.
Forgive me, general. But would it not be better to hold up the train
or take another route?
What explanation am I supposed to give the führer?
That I cannot save his men from a renegade major
and 12 common criminals?
Where do you want to hit that train?
This is the plan We go through open country...
and we meet the train here, near Nish.
There's an overpass about 20 miles north of the Bulgarian border,
near Pirot.
The train slows down there because of a grade.
And I've trained my men
to jump on these moving cars from the overpass
to take out these Nazi hotshots.
Then I'll explain it to my men. If they have any problems, I'll let you know.
Well, what can I do for you, Stern?
The men are a little confused, major.
Oh, a little scared, maybe?
Well, a lot of things have been happening that don't quite add up.
First, Hoffman jumps out of that plane and bounces.
Hoffman was killed in a training accident.
Only you grabbed the body and the chute and got him out of there.
Yeah, then we don't jump where we're supposed to,
we don't go into Skopje, we wind up in the hills.
If you wanted to jump down with the Germans and walk in Skopje,
you be my guest, Joe.
What the hell's going on, major?
All right. You're entitled to know.
There's a ringer in the Dirty Dozen this time.
That's right, something rotten.
A Judas who's selling us all out.
Couldn't it be one of the Yugoslavians?
No, the Yugoslavs didn't slice Hoffman's chute line.
It's one of us, closer to home.
Yes?
Belgrade, general.
General Richter.
Give me the coordinates.
Notify Oberkommando Berlin immediately.
No, never mind, I will make the call myself.
They attacked here less than an hour ago.
But, sir, our information was that they would go on to Nish.
That's right.
Major Wright did not parachute in where we expected him.
He didn't attack where we expected him.
I doubt very much if he'll attack the train where we expect him.
Get a plane ready to leave in 15 minutes.
File flight information for Sofia.
He's dead, sir. Yes, I can see that, captain.
I thought we were going through open country.
The major keeps changing his mind, I guess.
You know what I been thinking? I got no idea.
I never had a lieutenant before.
You're taking the body to Pirot for burial and returning today?
Was last wish of deceased.
Your papers seem to be in order. Wait a minute.
What village are you from?
Kumanovo, sir. Just few miles from here.
I know where the damn village is.
How many partisans are hiding there, waiting to murder German soldiers?
None, sir, that I know of.
Lying.
Damned Macedonians.
In mourning, are you?
For a dear departed soul, yes.
You could almost be German.
Nordic, hm? Pure.
Pure in this country of swine.
Open the coffin.
I want to see if you're smuggling anything across the border...
besides the dead.
Sir, it was closed after holy service.
In this life, there is... Then I will open it.
Yeah?
All right, there must be a phone in there.
Belgrade is trying to call back. They must have got through.
All right, we'll be out of here in five minutes.
And it'll be dark in a half-hour.
Regular Army all the way, right, sergeant?
Yes, sir.
Look, I got Muñez's dog tags.
If anything should happen to me...
I want you to get those tags back, if you can.
Yes, sir.
Now, we're supposed to attack the train on the border.
The real target? East of Sofia.
So my last year in school,
I was either gonna get married or try for the Foreign Service.
Must have been a hell of a tough decision.
Don't laugh. I might have been a very good wife...
and/or a reasonably bright Foreign Service officer.
Might have been? Can't you still be?
I don't think that far ahead in the future, Joe.
Not anymore.
What about you? No postwar plans?
I've been in the war a long time.
No other way to go?
No.
I don't know of one, anyway.
Well, that's not altogether true.
It's just that sometimes...
I want to give every Jew in the world an automatic weapon and say:
"Hold onto this, you're gonna need it just to stay alive in this century."
And other times I think, " My God, there must be some time..."
when I don't have to kill just to stay alive."
- Good morning, gentlemen. - Good morning.
What's the latest, colonel?
We have an underground report from Belgrade.
There was no attack on the train last night
and they crossed into Bulgaria roughly an hour ago.
What about the English Submarine Force out here in the Adriatic?
No word since the last communication from Skopje.
The assumption is the Germans have seized the apartment
and destroyed the communications equipment.
Well, maybe he's just afraid to use it until he finds out who's on his side.
General, that train is one half day's journey from the Turkish border.
The moment it crosses the border
any attack upon it is an act of war on Turkey.
What the hell do you want from me, Clark?
I'm sure Wright will attack
when he sees there's some chance to succeed.
General, I've taken the liberty
of alerting the 12th Fighter Command at Alexandria.
But I thought we ruled out planes
because we couldn't be sure
of hitting 12 men in one railroad car from the air.
You have an estimate?
They could scramble and attack the train at 1200 hours today
whilst it's still in Bulgaria,
with a very good chance of complete success.
And if the 12th Fighter group attacks
the same time that the major and his people do,
we won't have to worry about the Germans killing off all the Dirty Dozen.
We'll blow them up ourselves.
If that happens, it's war and it can't be helped.
You know, Clark, you're a hell of a good officer...
but you are a bastard.
Now, what's the last moment they can go in from Alexandria?
0900 hours, sir. We'll wait.
General, any delay now... I said, we'll wait.
At 0900 hours, if we haven't heard from him...
Major Wright and his command will be considered lost in action.
And we'll go to an alternative solution.
Sergeant Holt seemed surprised that you changed the plans again.
Yes, something different from what the men expected, right?
From the first moment you came to my apartment,
I knew that something was wrong.
My men are dying too.
Isn't it time that you tell me more?
It's time I told you that all the information I give to my men
is transmitted right to the Germans,
probably by a high-powered mini-transmitter.
Well, then you have to find the traitor and kill him.
No, I gotta be very careful.
If I shake up the men too much now, they could turn on each other blindly.
No, he'll make a wrong move and I'll nail him.
God help us.
Your papers?
You've never seen a bridge before, huh?
Oh, sorry, sir. He almost never leaves the farm.
You have any papers, dummy?
He was giving you a bad time?
Well, you could say that.
Move it!
Good morning, gentlemen.
As you know, we are within a few hours of the Turkish border
and within the confines of our esteemed Axis ally, Bulgaria.
Will you be joining us for the rest of the trip, general?
I regret I have one last mission to attend to.
But I shall see you all in Istanbul tonight.
Let me impress upon you the need for continued security.
But I assure you,
the führer's commands will be fulfilled.
Speaking of the führer's commands, General Richter,
I have here a letter delivered to me in Munich,
signed by Adolf Hitler in Berlin three days ago.
The reason I have not mentioned it before
is because I felt we were still in grave danger.
Security is essential.
Gentlemen,
the Thousand-Year Reich is in our hands...
in train car 2420.
"I send my heartfelt good wishes to all those involved"
in this great and needed enterprise.
I salute those who will spread the seeds of greater Germany
throughout the world.
Whatever happens to me,
our final victory remains inevitable.
Accordingly, I now designate as my successor
and as the leader of the Fourth Reich...
Major General of the Waffen S. S...
"Karl Richter."
Signed...
Adolf Hitler.
What the hell is going on?
Peter!
We're coming through, sergeant.
We have met the enemy, sir.
They are gone.
Good job.
Damn good job.
All right, let's see what we got.
Must be almost a full dozen of them there.
What do you think?
You know the mission.
Don't shoot! We surrender.
Hold it. We're taking prisoners.
We may need them later.
Those are the bastards who started all this.
That's an order, Stern.
Throw out your weapons.
You can do it, major.
Don't let us down.
Most of the hotshot high-ranking Nazis are back there, Dravko.
Could be our ticket home.
I don't understand. Where can we go?
Lieutenant Campbell and I, we found a spur line on the map
right down to the Aegean. Cutting through the tip of Greece.
Yelena will contact the British sub in the area.
Who knows? A hundred miles ahead, and we might make it.
Hey, Demchuk.
Where's the major? He's checking out that car.
I better cover him.
Decide to go to the other side for good, D'Agostino?
What can I say, major? How did you guess?
Nothing to say and nothing to do.
But I'm curious.
When Wilson decided to escape
you pretended to side with him. Why?
He was talking about Ireland.
I was already talking to the German consulate there.
So you would've killed the three of them, brought me their heads.
If it got to be necessary.
I had to deliver the whole group.
Only Collins saved me the trouble.
So the high drama about you being afraid to jump out of the airplane,
it was just to cover up the fact that you sliced Hoffman's chute, right?
Major, I grew up hanging out the window of a 15-floor tenement.
Now, don't tell me you're a native-born fascist, Carmine.
You did it for the money, right?
Hey, major.
Money.
Lots of money.
That's what makes the world go round.
See you in hell.
Right.
- Come on. - Get your back into it!
Move it!
Come on!
That's right.
Stop! Hold on, hold it up.
Hold it up!
Bring it back. We might need that tankful of gas.
You mean, leave it in front of us?
Couple it on and we'll push it all the way to Greece.
All right. All right!
Let's go! Come on, move it!
Begin immediate overflights of the train as it moves south.
But surely they cannot take the train to the Turkish border, sir.
Let's find the train first, captain.
Then we shall decide exactly where it's going.
Make sure that none of the planes fire on the train at this moment.
But how else can they stop them?
I'll stop them.
We don't know how many of our people are still alive.
They have tremendous value to this Major Wright, as hostages.
He will be aware of that.
Eagle Four to Lion One. Come in, please.
We may be too far away. I don't know if they can pick us up anymore.
Eagle Four to Lion One. Come in, please.
- Lion One to Eagle Four. - Are you there?
Yes, we are here. 7-187-9.
192724.
Give them these coordinates first.
Tell them I want a rendezvous on the second set of coordinates at 1030.
We are proceeding south passing at 4123-2179.
Can you arrange a rendezvous with us at 4128-2185?
It will take some doing, but we'll try to have one of our subs there.
What is your ETA?
1030 hours.
Very good. Cheerio.
Good job, Yelena.
You know, with any luck, I'll be able to buy you a drink in London next week.
It would be nice to have a drink in London.
I haven't been there since my honeymoon.
Seems like a thousand years ago. How long ago was it?
Seven years. And your husband?
Killed by the Germans in the first week of the war.
Well, how about the rest of your family?
Some of them are dead.
Some I don't know if they're living or dead.
My brother, well...
You know what must have happened to my brother.
Yes, I know.
Well, look, why don't you come with us.
I mean, they got a Yugoslav government-in-exile in London.
You know, they'll put you to work.
And then you can come back here after the war.
When you say it, major, I believe lt. You better believe it.
Hey, major, most of these guys speak better English than I do.
Yeah? Don't worry. Look what happened to them.
Echevarria? Major.
And how you doing, Joe?
If I had my choice between touring the Balkans with you, major,
or running a nightclub in Paris,
call me "Mr. Show Biz."
Hmm. You'll be all right.
All right, contact the commanding officer of the 12th at Alexandria.
Tell him to execute an immediate attack on that train.
Tell him to take it out completely.
Kill anything in sight.
Very good, sir.
General, as you know, I haven't been a great admirer of Major Wright,
but I'm sure he and his men had a damn good try.
Well, that's damn nice of you, colonel.
- But time is of... - Excuse me, general.
We have just received word from the British submarine Lion One.
Major Wright has attacked the train just outside of Sofia, Bulgaria,
and is on his way to the Aegean.
All right!
You know, major, there may be 12 high-ranking party members
or government officials upon that train.
Yes, general.
If I call for a cease-fire and negotiations,
you will take no further actions until I give the command.
I understand, general.
The prime concern, of course, is to rescue our men.
The second concern is to make sure
that none of these damned Americans leave here alive.
There they are, sergeant.
All right, spread the word.
Get everybody off the train. Go ahead. Move it.
What about the Nazis in 2420?
They wanted the train, we're gonna give it to them.
All right, everybody out and off the train.
Come on, jump down!
Commence firing!
Let's go!
All right, Dravko, let's go.
Wipe them out!
Get to your gun!
I was always telling you to take it easy, Shorty.
All right, sergeant.
The Germans will have reinforcements here in 15 minutes.
Let's get out of here and link up with the sub.
I'm not going with you.
I can't. What are you talking about?
I mean, there's nothing for you back there.
Oh, yes, there is.
Every reason that I gave you to go is also a reason to stay.
My husband, my brother, my whole family.
My comrades.
My life is here, always.
Where would you go? Back to Yugoslavia
to join Tito's Partisans.
You will come back.
Tell me that you will come back.
Damn right.
Let's move it out.
Let's go, soldier!