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 fhrer.
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 fhrer
about the truth.
He did so.
But he also worked out an answer
to the fhrer'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 fhrer 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 Compigne.
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!
Knife! Recover!
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 Fhrer.
No, mein Fhrer,
it will not be a problem.
We shall be in Istanbul
on September the 3rd.
Yes, mein Fhrer.
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, Muez?
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 fhrer.
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.
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 fhrer?
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 Muez'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 fhrer's commands
will be fulfilled.
Speaking of the fhrer'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.
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.
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.
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!