The Tiger (2025) Movie Script
The Tank
SOVIET UNION. DNIEPER FRONT LINE.
FALL 1943
EIGHT MONTHS AFTER STALINGRAD,
THE WEHRMACHT IS IN RETREAT EVERYWHERE.
[man shouts] Go! Come on, move!
Keep going!
Position!
[man 2] Take up your position
behind the bridge!
[man 1] Follow me. Faster!
[man 3] Retreat!
Retreat! Withdraw!
[man 4] Retreat!
[man 1] Oh, no.
Move. Come on!
Come on, come on!
Everyone in the tank!
[man 2] Second unit,
cross the bridge.
[man 1] Go now! Go!
Keep going!
[soldier over walkie-talkie]
Commander!
Our troops have retreated.
Lieutenant,
should we also retreat?
Lieutenant?
- [scanning channels]
- [static]
[soldier] Keilig, are they coming?
[soldier 2 over radio]
Copy. Copy.
What the hell?
Come in. Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
[low rumbling]
T-34! They are there.
600, target set!
Ready and loaded.
Give us the command, Lieutenant.
[soldiers speaking indistinctly]
Philip!
Philip!
Fire!
[yells in German]
Hit, target destroyed!
Loaded.
- Approaching soldiers!
- MG, fire!
[all shouting indistinctly]
To the right, another panzer!
- Target set!
- Fire.
[yells in German]
Target on fire.
- Target destroyed!
- Loaded!
MG, fire. Stay on target!
[soldiers groaning]
We've destroyed the two in front
and the only exit is blocked.
- Let's get out now.
- Fire!
[yells in German]
- Philip, it's time to get out.
- [soldier] Loaded!
- You have to listen!
- Fire!
[yells in German]
[soldier] Loaded!
There are still many more.
They're blowing out the bridge
at midnight.
That's in five minutes.
Enough time to do it.
Fire!
[yells in German]
[soldier] Move forward!
[soldier 2 grunts]
Our time's running out.
Still four and a half minutes.
- Four and a half!
- The bridge is 600 meters long!
[heavy gunfire]
Anti-tank gun! 12 o'clock!
- I'm reloaded.
- Fire!
I'll take over.
- [indistinct shouting]
- [yells in German]
Loaded!
We are alone
and our time's nearly up, Philip.
Give the bloody order!
Give the bloody order, Philip!
Achtung, withdraw.
Hummel, back over the bridge.
[over radio] Jawohl, Commander!
Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!
Come on! We have four minutes left.
Four minutes to get off!
Hummel, give it some gas!
This isn't fast enough.
They are not following anymore.
They are no longer shooting.
They're waiting for us to blow the bridge.
[Gerkens] We can make it.
Ilyushins.
They can't change what will happen.
- [soldier] Commander!
- [soldier 2] Fire!
[Helmut groaning]
- Fire!
- It's coming in!
- It's coming through the hatches!
- We're on fire!
[groaning]
It's burning! I'm on fire!
Drive, Helmut! Faster! Faster!
[all shrieking]
The fire's everywhere!
- Drive, Helmut! Faster!
- There's fire everywhere!
- Go!
- Keep going, Helmut! Put your foot down!
[Gerkens] Just keep going!
I think we'll make it, Philip!
We'll make it!
[soldier] We are alone
and our time's nearly up, Philip.
Give the bloody order!
Ilyushins!
- [Helmut] It's burning! I'm burning!
- [soldier] Fire! There's fire everywhere!
- [soldiers moaning]
- Fire!
[groaning]
[soldier screaming]
[Gerkens] How long till we're there?
SECREHQ XXIV. GUNNER, 21. SEPT. 1943
"Operation Labyrinth."
"Individual order without support."
"Von Hardenburg."
Paul?
[men speaking indistinctly]
[metal clanking]
[man] I've got my glasses.
Boys, that's it!
Turn on the gas.
[man 2] Give it to me. [Exhales]
Lieutenant.
Welcome back.
[Gerkens] Thank you, Christian.
Men!
Lieutenant.
Lieutenant.
Chief.
So what's happened to our Tiger?
Just a little battered and bruised.
But you'll soon be ready.
Good.
And you?
Us also, a couple of scratches,
a few burns.
Nothing serious.
A new mission?
It is, yeah.
And we mobilize this afternoon,
orders from Colonel Richter.
- [Keilig] What about our leave?
- Canceled.
[Weller] Going today?
[Gerkens] Today.
Where?
To the eastern front,
on the end of Psel.
- To the Iwans?
- In between.
No-man's-land.
On this mission,
we have to determine the whereabouts
of Colonel von Hardenburg
and escort him back.
Von Hardenburg?
I heard that he died.
That's what I heard.
But no doubt others think we've fallen.
- Which unit will accompany us?
- We go alone.
The order's for only us to get him.
He's believed to be in one of our bunkers
east of Novyi Yar.
Shit.
It's top secret.
Why send us to rescue him?
Orders are orders.
If we were supposed to know,
they would have told us so.
But is a single Tiger capable of that?
I would say they think
if any unit can make this rescue,
that unit's ours.
Get the Tiger ready to move out.
[Helmut coughs] Let's go, men.
[Keilig] Off we go again.
[Gerkens over radio]
Wolf to Fox Den,
we are heading to the labyrinth
for 48 hours.
Wolf signing off, over.
Helmut! Lighter!
The greatest tank ever built.
However, for the driver,
it's impossible to see fucking shit.
And you arse-lickers get to just
gaze at the sunshine.
When they designed it,
they must have known
how fucking ugly all tank drivers are.
[all laughing]
Von Hardenburg,
he was with the Sixth in Stalingrad
before everybody else was withdrawn.
[over radio] It's a miracle
he survived the last battles.
One of his hands didn't survive
as he chopped it off.
[Weller] I heard the whole story.
He was buried under the rubble
of the tractor factory.
His hand was trapped.
And after five days [exhales]
with his own knife,
somehow cut it off.
To free himself.
I said so.
Helmut,
I still have this lighter of yours.
But now it's mine.
If he survived that,
he must be a Russian spy now.
That's the reason
why they want him back.
Apparently, they said he was able
to crawl out of the rubble
and a young woman took pity on him,
took him in.
And a few weeks later,
disguised as a farmer,
he crossed again to our side.
And they sent his ass back
to the front again, but with one hand.
An unfortunate bastard.
And now they're forcing our asses
over there to the rescue.
I think more and more
that he's a Russian spy.
Staff officers,
all one-handed wreckers there.
[laughs]
What makes him so important for this?
Just 'cause he's got a "von," is it?
According to the mission order, he's been
working on a secret plan of withdrawal.
It contains all our positions,
radio frequencies and weapon stocks.
If it were to fall into
the hands of the Russians,
all doors to the Reich are wide open.
[over radio]
Our mission has the code name
"Operation Labyrinth."
And they didn't presumably
try to reach him by radio?
He hasn't answered since
the bridge over the Dnieper was blown up.
In Stalingrad
They were his orders, weren't they?
He was the commanding officer
at that time, yeah.
[Helmut] Smitch, what are you doing?
No one-handed games in my tank.
What do you mean?
I see everything.
[Gerkens over radio]
5 kilometers to the front line.
Then it's all eyes open.
[Keilig on radio]
Weller, what are they doing?
Probably to confuse the Russkies.
That means we're planning
to retreat even further.
I thought Adolf the Austrian
didn't believe in retreating.
A friend of yours, Weller.
No friend that I've ever had.
You and your Tyrol pig farm.
First, there is no livestock involved.
It's a vineyard, man.
And it's the Wachau,
the most stunning region in the world.
[laughing] "Wachau."
Keilig, is anything going on?
Nothing, just distortion.
That's better.
The Iwan can't hear us communicate.
Hummel, we'll turn left
and get off the road up ahead.
Away from the open field
to take cover tonight.
[confirms in German]
Let's drink up, let the fire go out,
and then we'll take the first watch,
Michel. All right?
Mmm-mmm.
[wings flapping]
Are there partisans here?
You never know.
Better to keep your eyes and ears open.
Bodhana told me once
[all chuckling]
"The woods here are full of ghosts."
Who's Bodhana?
A young peasant girl in Tolokonnoye
that he fancied.
She sold us milk and eggs.
And the clap as well, huh, Smitch?
Helmut
But we didn't sleep together.
But he would have liked to.
[all snickering]
[Helmut]
Listen to Uncle Helmut, Smitch.
The spass is short,
the regret is long.
And she said, in these woods,
there are ghosts here?
Yes, where the
Souls of the dead people
are left to roam.
The Ukrainians all believe it.
At home in Silesia, they also feel it.
Silesia is one hell of a shithole.
How come we didn't burn, Lieutenant?
On the bridge.
We only got off there
because my bloody foot
kept the pedal on the gas
the whole time,
despite it being on fire.
You should buy me a new pair of boots.
You know von Hardenburg well,
Lieutenant?
We did military academy together.
You were friends?
Yes, but that was long ago.
But he's a godparent to your son,
isn't he?
Enough of that. Rest now.
Souls are there.
[Gerkens] Don't let Hummel get to you.
I'm his favorite target.
His own son was killed.
He was only 15.
A bomb and an air raid
on Humboldthain Gardens
destroyed the area completely.
At where he was firing from,
Hummel had to bury an empty box.
Maybe it's his way of showing you
that he actually cares about you.
You go and rest.
I'll be all right on my own.
[disembodied voice] Philip.
[tank whirring]
[radio distortion]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[radio chatter continues]
You hear that, do you?
[man over radio speaking Latin]
[Helmut] What can you hear?
Tell me.
That's Latin.
You listen to it.
[man on radio continues speaking Latin]
"Lamb of God, have mercy on us."
"Lamb of God,
you take away the sins"
[man on radio continues speaking Latin]
"Lamb of God, give us your peace."
[man on radio continues]
That's just mass.
At home, it's always on the radio.
Yes, but they're Orthodox here.
Why would they listen to
a Latin mass here?
[man on radio continues]
[Gerkens] Tank barriers. Keep right.
Iwan is just trying to unsettle us.
Switch off that hocus-pocus.
[man on radio continues]
[radio clicks off]
Why was this built?
It was built by the captured fighters
of Zhukov's army.
[over radio] After we took this land,
we made them build it.
And those that were not
strong enough to do it are under there.
[over radio] Hummel,
there's a gap up ahead. Go through it.
Turn left.
Stop the tank!
- What are we doing?
- Mines!
- Underneath us!
- Shit.
How do we move, then?
Michel, Keilig, you come with me.
We have to search the ground.
Careful.
We only jump down onto our tracks.
[grunts]
[metal clanks]
[grunts]
[Gerkens] Search everywhere.
[object thuds]
[metal clanks]
Shit. Michel!
Come here.
[grunts]
It's too close to the chain.
We must take it out.
You have to help me.
Keilig, search the area
surrounding the tracks
in case we have to back up.
[Keilig confirms in German]
Lieutenant, 9 o'clock, 3,000,
dust on the horizon.
It could be an ambush.
[Gerkens] Keep an eye on it, Christian.
Help me.
[grunts]
Yeah.
[blowing]
Now you carefully clear the earth
from under the mine
so that we can lift it up,
and I'll try to unscrew the detonator
at the same time. Yes?
Careful.
[blows]
Damn it! I can't see anything.
We have to get underneath and lift it.
- [grunts]
- Carefully.
Lieutenant!
What?
Under the mine, I saw something move,
but I managed to hold it.
It feels like a hand grenade.
You're right.
The bastards pulled off the safety pins.
It's a double trap.
If you take away your hands,
you'll be setting off
the grenade trigger of the detonator,
and then we'll both go out together
with the mine.
[breathing heavily]
Michel, you need to calm down now. Michel!
Michel?
Look at me.
- Breathe.
- [breathing rapidly]
Breathe.
[Michel catches breath]
Good.
I've got it.
[Gerkens] Weller, status update.
[Weller] Vehicles seem to be leaving.
[Gerkens] Prepare to reverse.
What's going on?
I'll make sure the Tiger
and the others are safe,
then, I'll return for you. Understood?
[breath trembling]
Understood.
[grunts]
[breathing intensifies]
[Weller] Unknown vehicles at 5 to 6 km.
Moving away.
- [Gerkens] Hummel?
- Where's Michel?
Reverse the Tiger,
but make sure you keep to our old tracks.
Where's Michel?
The priority is the Tiger.
March!
[engine ignites]
[breathing heavily]
[engine whirring]
[gear clanks]
[breathing intensifies]
Slowly.
[over radio] Straight.
- Holy shit. Careful, Smitch.
- [Gerkens on radio] Straight!
Keep it straight!
- Halt!
- [metal clanks]
[breathing heavily]
Throw it here.
You're doing well, Michel.
- Very, very well.
- Holy fucking shit.
I'll get you safely
Back to your home.
Careful.
And now listen to me very carefully,
Michel.
Look me in the eye.
Now, there's no rush. Just take your time.
Little by little, take your hand out
so that the weight of the mine
is always pressing on the grenade instead.
Go on.
Take your time.
Take your time. That's it.
Take your time.
Very good, Michel.
Very good.
[breath trembling]
[Gerkens] That's it.
Slowly, Michel.
Further.
Further if you can.
Further.
Good, Michel.
Very carefully.
[exhales]
Now stand up.
[grunts]
Come on.
- [metal clanks]
- [grunts]
[Gerkens] Everybody, dismount.
Behind the Tiger.
You should do it.
You've got nerves of steel.
We're leaving.
Solid steel.
No big deal, Smitch.
I knew it wouldn't happen.
But you can always hang the picture
of your girlfriend in my compartment.
[Gerkens over radio] Hummel, sharp left.
Halt!
Tank at 12 o'clock!
Reverse! Back! Go!
[engine accelerating]
Sharp left turn!
[over radio] Smoke grenade!
[grenades hissing]
Faster!
[over radio] Hummel, more distance!
Out of the forest.
[shouts] Put your foot down!
[shouts] And halt!
[brakes screech]
That's a heavy caliber.
I think it's an SU-100.
Tank killer. One hit from that caliber,
and we're done.
Hey, Lieutenant?
[Gerkens] There are more coming.
At least three more tanks.
We'll evade them.
We should remain here
and take them on one by one.
There are too many of them,
and we can't jeopardize the mission.
But we're trapped between
the river and the enemy.
We have no option
other than to attack them.
[over radio] We're sitting ducks.
[Gerkens] The river.
It could be our chance.
First reverse,
then head east at 3 o'clock.
[engine accelerating]
[wood cracking]
Halt!
Engine off.
[Weller over radio]
Philip, what's your plan?
Everyone, dismount!
What in the hell?
Listen.
It's time to submerge now.
Huh?
- What?
- It's the reason this Tiger was built.
- We've only done that in training so far.
- Do it!
Not yet in the field.
It seems now is the time
that demands we do it.
But we've been hit.
Several hits that could lead to us
sinking like a stone.
You've already repaired it.
And I trust you.
Come on.
Come on. Let's go, let's go, let's go!
Come on.
[suspenseful music playing]
Perfect.
Come on, get in.
[metal creaks]
Hummel, engine on.
[engine ignites]
[over radio] Come on, let's go.
Let's dive.
OPEN
Beginning of water contact.
[water sloshing]
[metal creaking]
[inhales deeply]
Hummel, now hold.
It's very loud, isn't it?
Couldn't we just stop the motor?
- No.
- No.
If the motor didn't start,
we'd be drown down here.
But they can see our emissions, though.
- Motor off.
- What?
If it doesn't start up again,
then we are fucked here.
Off.
[engine stops]
How is it managing?
It all seems tight.
Here as well.
[Michel] No water to report.
How long can we stay underwater?
[rumbling]
Motor noises.
They're getting closer.
Burning in a panzer is one thing,
and drowning is another.
Weller was right.
We should have faced them in battle.
- [Helmut] Yeah.
- We're stuck in a corner.
Enough.
[motors rumbling]
[rumbling intensifies]
[rumbling fades]
[exhales deeply]
[sighs]
[Gerkens] We'll remain submerged
to be safe.
[somber music playing]
How long do you want to be here for?
Until I'm sure we won't be falling
straight into a trap up there.
Once we do, we're out.
[sighs]
[Gerkens sighs deeply]
Keilig, what's the time on your watch?
Just before 12:00,
but it stopped since the bridge.
Bodhana once said that, in the lakes,
there's a water sprite
who pulls you into the depths
when you're paddling.
She has such a cheerful nature,
your princess.
Enough rubbish.
[Helmut coughing]
That's enough.
[men coughing and gasping]
[somber instrumental music playing]
[tank thuds]
Hey, Lieutenant!
Shit, we're leaking. We're leaking!
We have to surface
if they're there or not.
[breathing heavily] We have to.
We'll cross the river and come out
on the other side.
Cross the river?
In case they're still close to us.
It's safer.
And we'll save fuel,
not looking for a bridge.
Helmut, motor on again.
[engine sputtering]
Shit.
Come on, motor. Come on, motor.
Come on, motor.
- Come!
- [engine sputtering]
Come on, Hummel!
Come on, Hummel.
[engine sputtering]
Come on, Helmut, do it!
Come on, come on, come on, come on!
[engine sputtering]
- [engine starts]
- Yes!
[all laughing]
Helmut, forward march.
[grunts]
If we can't move from here,
underwater, we won't be able
to get the hatch off.
I can't swim.
No, I can't either.
It's meaningless
'Cause we'll die in the same coffin.
And halt. Motor off.
[air hisses]
[breathing heavily]
[all breathing heavily]
The coast is clear.
Everybody, dismount.
[grunts]
[panting]
Let's get the little one ready
for land again.
The petrol should last 20 kilometers.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Shit.
What?
The Iwan owes me a new pack, you know?
[all laugh]
- [Michel] That was close.
- [Gerkens] Come on.
We have a mission to complete.
[over radio] Have a tank treat.
We have a long night ahead.
And I need you all to stay wide awake.
[Keilig] No,
I'd prefer to keep a clear head.
[heart beating]
And halt.
Motor off.
[engine stops]
What's going on?
[men shouting indistinctly]
They're our own soldiers.
Motor on. Forward march.
[motor ignites]
[indistinct chatter continues]
[women yelling]
[Gerkens] Motor off. Dismount.
[women screaming]
[screaming intensifies]
[dogs barking]
Stop. Hands up! Stay there!
[man] Bring the animals here.
- [horse neighing]
- Bring them here.
[man 2] Heil Hitler.
The panzer units. [Laughs]
[man 3] Come on, move faster!
Quicker, quicker!
Hurry up, will you?
Hurry, men!
The horses, too!
Lieutenant Gerkens,
Heavy Panzer Division 503.
Here to request fuel and supplies.
Senior Assault Unit Leader Krebs.
Are you lost?
What's happened to you, then?
[women screaming]
Secret operation.
You panzer young men,
and more secret operations? Hm.
But I was led to believe
that no more troops would be here.
We're here for our secret operation.
All of the local villages need
to be cleansed of partisan supporters.
You are gathering for labor, then?
[chuckles] The labor camps
have gone from here.
They're herded together
before the fires begin.
Then they are trampled to death
by their own animals.
Saves ammunition.
Our little contribution
to the greater cause.
The Reich has developed
such an appetite for killing.
[man groans]
They can't produce
enough ammunition to shoot.
Good. I see we're almost finished.
[people screaming]
[Krebs] Get ready to leave.
- [people screaming]
- [horse neighing]
[hoofs thumping]
[screaming continues]
[screaming intensifies]
I know you remember all of this fire.
So, my operation has been fulfilled.
Oh, your petrol's there.
Move out!
Let's just leave here right away.
We'll rest tonight on the Tiger.
[angrily] Go! Now!
[tragic cello music]
[Weller] Philip?
[sighs deeply] Enough of that shit.
Michel, give me the good stuff.
[liquid pouring]
More.
[all grunting and sighing]
Nectar of the gods.
I thought you worked as a winemaker.
Even I, as a simple Latin teacher,
know how bad this red piss is.
Baron von Claussen, '37.
Grner Veltliner Smaragd.
The best vintage I ever made.
Delicately fruity, but
It was so carefully balanced
as well, with
Delicate apricot notes.
"Nectar of the Gods"
so was the name of it.
Reichsmarschall Gring was so fond of it
that he bought up half the vintage.
And now all that remains of it is
it is the memory.
[exhales in disgust]
And now I have nothing better
than this piss to drink.
Piss or not [sighs]
it does what it should.
- Lieutenant?
- Mm-mm.
[Keilig] How does
an Austrian farmer like you
learn to make a wine to be
good enough for the Reichsmarschall?
[sighs] The Wachau.
So, wine making is in our blood.
From my father, I learned,
and him from his father.
If you're the wine maker, who is this, uh,
Baron von Claussen?
I was his vintner.
Yes? Then that is your wine.
His land, his grapes.
So his sun, his wind, his rain, then?
For an old Latin teacher
you're sounding very red, Keilig.
I mean, the Romans,
they certainly left us one thing.
Undoubtedly, it has been the biggest
contribution to all human knowledge.
War.
And they waged it eternally
not to subjugate foreigners,
but to control their very own.
Romans fighting for Rome forever,
never stopping to rest.
So the Latin teacher, wine grower,
and the train driver
find themselves just as caught up.
Nothing they can do. "Yes, sir. No, sir."
Orders that have to be followed.
Forget about who you were
and what you might have loved before.
To protect our families
is why we follow the orders given.
Orders are the only things we have.
Without those, it breaks, doesn't it?
The army, society, lives.
In my panzer,
there is no room for politics.
And it's a fact, you're wrong.
The Romans didn't have train drivers.
[all chuckle and then laugh]
Even I know this.
And you don't know about anything.
- [all laughing]
- Hey! Shut it.
To the train drivers,
the saviors of society.
Weller, give it here.
No idea what it is.
I wish I could just forget it.
Forget who we were before.
We will never be like that again.
How can we after
what has happened here?
Who we were before
We'll always be the same.
We have obeyed many orders and just done
everything that we were told.
That's all it is.
When all this is behind us, then
Come and visit Austria
and see my wine making.
And we'll share a drink together.
I'll make sure of it.
[ominous music playing]
[flies buzzing]
[Gerkens] Halt!
[Michel] What is it?
[Gerkens over radio]
This doesn't feel right.
Let's keep our distance.
The bunker is directly behind, and
we can no longer afford to take a detour.
Ready for battle.
Range
A thousand.
Helmut, drive past the mill on the left,
but slowly.
And target set.
Forward march.
It must have been for target practice.
Coming into firing range.
Keilig, to the MG.
Fire at will!
The fucking sunshine.
Everyone's eyes open!
[Gerkens] Halt! Cannon shots at 1 o'clock!
Hummel, reverse as fast as you can!
Go! Go!
Weller, return fire!
[Weller] Jawohl!
[Helmut] That was close!
- Hummel, keep reversing!
- Jawohl!
Keilig, MG, fire!
[machine gun fire]
[over radio]
Hummel, out of the line of fire!
Now, go! Left!
Put your foot down, Hummel!
Halt!
Weller, next to the mill sail,
where it's collapsed.
Mm, 900.
Identified!
- And target set.
- And loaded!
- Fire!
- [Weller] Achtung!
[panting]
No sign of target. Cannot confirm hit.
[engine revving]
[Gerkens] Shit.
- [over radio] An SU-100.
- [Weller] Is that the same SU?
What the f
That can only be the devil.
[Gerkens over radio]
He must have followed us.
[Weller] That's not possible!
Hummel, evasion tactic.
Keilig, you're on for cover.
Move! Now!
[machine gun fire]
- [Gerkens over radio] Fire!
- Achtung!
[Gerkens] It ricocheted!
The armor is far too strong.
[Michel] Loaded!
Hummel, reverse! Move backwards!
We must attack from the side.
[yells]
[over radio] Shit!
That was our exhaust pipe!
Go on, Hummel, further back! Further!
Smoke grenade!
Where are you?
[explosion]
- [men yelling]
- [metal clattering]
[high-pitched ringing, muffled sound]
[panting]
It directly hit us!
[Gerkens over radio] Everyone all right?
- Yeah.
- [Helmut] Yeah, we're all right.
- He's turning around!
- [Helmut] Shit! Shit!
Philip, they're too strong.
[Gerkens]
But it's only a cannon on tracks.
We are faster and more agile.
They have to turn their whole tank
to be able to shoot.
Hummel, keep going slowly forward.
March left turn.
I want to show our broadside to them.
Why expose our flank?
Trust me! Drive!
[Weller and Helmut grunt]
[Gerkens] Cannon at 3 o'clock.
- Now we're staring down their barrel!
- Have to be brave!
- Hey, Lieutenant!
- Have to be brave!
The Russians have us in sight!
[Gerkens] Weller, now!
MG fire! Distract them!
[machine gun fire]
Halt!
Come on, Philip!
[Gerkens] Not yet.
- [Weller] Target set!
- Wait.
I have him clearly enough!
- [Gerkens] Wait.
- [machine gun fire]
MG, stop!
- Fire!
- Achtung!
- [Gerkens] Direct hit. Target destroyed.
- [sighs]
[exhales]
[growls triumphantly]
[panting] That's the problem with
these panzer.
They can't see
what's right in front of them.
[Weller] We should have attacked them
when we saw them in the forest!
That fucking tank
almost made sure we were all dead.
[all panting]
[Michel] Keilig.
Keilig, are you all right?
Keilig? Keilig!
- Keilig!
- [Helmut] Keilig, you bastard!
[Gerkens grunts]
- Hey, Lieutenant!
- Are you injured, Keilig?
A splinter
[exhales] The lungs.
[groans]
Shit!
I'm ready. Take me out into the sun.
[Gerkens]
Let him rest on the side.
- [all grunting]
- [Keilig coughing]
Get his legs.
Carefully.
[Keilig yelps in pain]
[gurgling]
All is good, Keilig. All is good.
[panting]
You and von Hardenburg
It is personal, isn't it?
- There's no need to speak.
- [choking]
[Gerkens shushing]
[choking and spitting]
[sniffles]
[crying]
[Keilig weakly] Write
Write to Luise and the girls.
I promise, trust me.
[gurgling]
I wanted to go back to teaching.
[breathing heavily] In '39
I remember the class I taught.
It was one of the loveliest summers.
Since then, there's only war.
I
Keilig
[growls]
[Helmut panting]
[sighs]
[sniffles]
Come on, let's repair the Tiger.
We can patch it up, but
[Gerkens continues indistinctly]
Lieutenant.
What?
[sighing and sniffling]
[Weller] Shit.
Bodies don't burn as quick as that.
That's it.
We'll return to camp and report that
finding von Hardenburg couldn't happen.
It's not normal here.
It's only another 20 kilometers.
Our exhaust pipe is broken.
Then we'll have to repair it
using parts from the SU.
The tank will only go
another 30 kilometers.
Not enough to get back.
In the bunker,
they will have supplies there.
I hope your von Hardenburg
deserves all of this.
But if he's a spy, though
Then I'll personally
take care of him with a bullet.
Go on, then.
Go on.
[Krebs] I know you remember
all of this fire.
Herr Lieutenant.
[ominous music playing]
Kei...
Michel, turn the radio on.
[radio tuning]
[man on radio speaking Latin]
Uh, Lieutenant.
[man continues speaking Latin]
Shut it up. Damn it!
[Weller] How much longer?
For how long must we carry on driving?
Up until he's found
and taken safely back home.
Oh, yes.
It doesn't exist, though.
Home.
It's just our own fucking lines.
What we can before retreating
as the next wave's coming.
And then back again. And back again.
Why is this von Hardenburg so special?
They must be worried about him.
Worried he'll defect.
Maybe Keilig was right.
And perhaps he has, and we are
Heading for a fall.
Or does this only concern you two?
Hm?
[chuckles] Keilig was right.
He said that it was personal
between you and von Hardenburg.
Why must all of us be involved? Hm?
- It's you!
- They're my orders.
If the Russians manage
to locate him before we do,
they could lock onto
our radio frequencies, tactics...
I know. "All doors to the Reich
are wide open." Philip, you've said!
But all our doors are already off.
The Russians already know that we're here.
Philip!
You do understand that?
Please wake up!
I believe you're taking risks
that are unnecessary.
And you've been compromised.
I'm voting, therefore, to relieve you
of your command until we return.
In that case
Choose, all of you.
Yes?
Michel?
I'm with the lieutenant.
Helmut?
You've been our driver.
It's your panzer.
[over radio]
You've been with us since Barbarossa.
Yeah, I know.
I mean
- Keilig is dead.
- Shouldn't be.
And
And over the bridge, the time underwater,
didn't you also risk everything?
And, so, I'm sorry.
Weller,
I'm backing my commander.
We will not mention
that this ever happened.
[sighs]
According to the map,
there should be around here somewhere,
an old path into the wooded area
where the bunker is.
Slightly to the left, Hummel.
[somber cello music playing]
[Keilig] Philip
Panzer, and halt!
- [metal clanking]
- [Helmut grunts]
- What?
- [Gerkens over radio] Footprints.
- Everybody, dismount.
- [engine stops]
Bring your weapons!
[clattering]
[grunts]
They're fresh prints.
And they are German-made.
- Ready your guns.
- [guns cocking]
Michel, halt!
It's trip wire.
It's also German-made.
The bunker must be very near to here now.
Ready your weapons.
[guns cocking]
What the bloody hell?
[Gerkens] Paratroopers.
I would say they probably sent for us
as they didn't rescue.
Let's go.
[ominous music playing]
[metallic squeaking]
[indistinct noise in distance]
[music and laughter]
Come in. Come in!
Herr Lieutenant.
We're looking for Colonel von Hardenburg.
As I'm aware.
He's in the command bunker
and he's awaiting your presence.
I'll lead you to him.
But if you'd like
to stay here a bit longer, perhaps
I'm pretty sure we can keep you
very well entertained. [Chuckles]
Maria, bring in the wine
and what we were eating.
- Go on.
- [Maria giggles]
[man] You look as if you've had
a long journey to get here.
[clears throat]
To good times.
Good. And now you bring me
to Colonel von Hardenburg.
Of course, Lieutenant.
Well, then, follow me.
But only you.
[cheerful chatter and laughter resumes]
[man] Come on.
It's all right.
Herr Lieutenant.
[Keilig] New order just in.
Consider the withdrawal of the last troops
on the Dnieper Bridge
before the midnight explosion.
[man whistling]
Quite a labyrinth.
[exhales]
Your move.
Take courage.
[sighs contentedly]
[metallic squeaking and clank]
[footsteps approaching]
Paul.
So the stories are true so far.
Deutschland suffered in Stalingrad
many casualties.
I suffered little in losing a hand.
Come with me to the fire.
Uh, the corporal said there was
someone you were waiting for.
No, it wasn't for "someone" I was waiting.
It was for you.
And no doubt you know that I've made
my way here to get you back.
Naturally.
You had to make this journey.
I was your best friend.
Do you remember that summer
in the academy in Hanover?
Do you? A warm August evening, yes?
I introduced you to Marion.
The next day, we went swimming
over to the little forested island
in the middle of the lake.
It was a magical summer.
The best of every summer I've had.
And then this war was here.
We must go.
[laughs maniacally]
I imagine it was in the belly of
your Tiger that you arrived.
Yes.
Tight, though, wasn't it?
Intriguing that you all came
on this journey
to collect us a debt, though,
do you not think so?
I'm in no doubt
there are reasons why it happened.
What if I'm difficult, huh?
I'm here to avoid that outcome.
But what if that outcome prevails?
Then I would say they meant to send you.
Wouldn't you agree?
Because orders have to be followed.
Ha! [Laughs malevolently]
Come, Philip, eat with me.
A last supper, so to speak.
We don't have time for that.
- We must go.
- No time for an old friend?
I'm godfather to your son.
You have to thank me for everything.
Sit now.
Lying buried under a pile of rubble
for five days,
you soon become impossibly thirsty,
of course.
But your mind is hungry as well.
You see all sorts of things
in the shadows.
I'm surprised you were fairly unhurt.
I heard about your rescue. Remarkable.
What was it in Stalingrad
that happened, Philip?
I Enough of these games, Paul.
What happened in Stalingrad?
[gunfire and explosions in distance]
Paul, orders have been given.
They come directly from the division.
[soldier] Major, the other commanders
are getting nervous.
Some are reporting
that the enemy is closing in.
They want to know what to do.
The reports say there are also women
and children who are sheltering there.
It's also reported
that it's full of Russian forces.
They control the tractor factory,
which means also this area of the city.
Our advance will fail if we don't act now.
- Can you hear anything?
- No.
[Gerkens] Paul.
Orders have been given.
This is not our decision.
Is that so?
[soldier] Major,
the other commanders are waiting.
Paul!
[whistles] Go! Get on! Ready for battle!
Give them the order.
All other tanks, fire at will.
[soldier over radio]
All tanks, fire at will.
Fire!
[glass shattering]
[women and children screaming]
[screams continue]
[gasps]
It wasn't our decision.
We had no choice. We had our orders.
Yes, that might be true.
But the responsibility fell on us.
It's midnight.
You must return back to the Dnieper.
It's because of you we're here.
We're all here because of you.
Can't you see that?
I'm here for Operation Labyrinth.
Operation Labyrinth?
- That operation's you.
- [Weller] Philip!
- And I need to get you out of here.
- I came here after
After Colonel Richter sent me to you.
By whom were you sent?
Colonel Richter?
Did he ever really exist?
Yes, the clues.
They were there all along.
[man on radio speaking Latin]
Keilig, what's the time on your watch?
Just before 12:00,
but it's stopped since the bridge.
Bodies don't burn as quick as that.
It's not normal here.
I know you remember all of this fire.
How come we didn't burn on the bridge?
[Weller] Please wake up!
[breathing heavily]
But uh, Krebs
- He...
- Just another version of you.
As are we all!
[Weller] Philip!
It's midnight.
You must return back to the Dnieper.
[Weller] Philip, give the bloody order!
What was it that made you delay
giving the order?
That's so unlike you.
To put yourself
and others around you in danger.
Yes.
Herr Lieutenant.
[Von Hardenburg]
Yes, it's been there the whole time.
The telegram that informed you
that Marion and your son Fritz
died in Hamburg.
When the air raids began on 24th July,
they sought shelter
in Saint Nicholas' Church.
When the bombs fell,
they were burned to death
in the firestorm.
[breathing heavily]
Fire!
Fire!
I've been fighting this war
to protect everyone.
We reap what we sow.
You lead me here.
Where is here?
[distant screams of women and children]
What's happening here?
Wha... what is happening here?
[yells] What's happening here?
This is the moment your journey is ending.
Mine was over way back then.
The tractor factory,
I never left it.
Come, old friend.
It is time.
I have to go to my men, Paul.
They won't survive without me.
- [Weller] Fire!
- [Michel] Fire!
- [groaning] It's coming in!
- [screaming] Fire!
- [Helmut] We're on fire!
- [Keilig] It's coming through the hatches!
[Weller] Just keep going!
[Helmut] It's burning! I'm on fire!
[Weller] Drive, Helmut!
Faster! Faster!
[Keilig] Go! Go!
[Gerkens] Where am I, Paul?
Where am I?
[gunfire and explosions]
[screaming]
[solemn music playing]
SOVIET UNION. DNIEPER FRONT LINE.
FALL 1943
EIGHT MONTHS AFTER STALINGRAD,
THE WEHRMACHT IS IN RETREAT EVERYWHERE.
[man shouts] Go! Come on, move!
Keep going!
Position!
[man 2] Take up your position
behind the bridge!
[man 1] Follow me. Faster!
[man 3] Retreat!
Retreat! Withdraw!
[man 4] Retreat!
[man 1] Oh, no.
Move. Come on!
Come on, come on!
Everyone in the tank!
[man 2] Second unit,
cross the bridge.
[man 1] Go now! Go!
Keep going!
[soldier over walkie-talkie]
Commander!
Our troops have retreated.
Lieutenant,
should we also retreat?
Lieutenant?
- [scanning channels]
- [static]
[soldier] Keilig, are they coming?
[soldier 2 over radio]
Copy. Copy.
What the hell?
Come in. Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
[low rumbling]
T-34! They are there.
600, target set!
Ready and loaded.
Give us the command, Lieutenant.
[soldiers speaking indistinctly]
Philip!
Philip!
Fire!
[yells in German]
Hit, target destroyed!
Loaded.
- Approaching soldiers!
- MG, fire!
[all shouting indistinctly]
To the right, another panzer!
- Target set!
- Fire.
[yells in German]
Target on fire.
- Target destroyed!
- Loaded!
MG, fire. Stay on target!
[soldiers groaning]
We've destroyed the two in front
and the only exit is blocked.
- Let's get out now.
- Fire!
[yells in German]
- Philip, it's time to get out.
- [soldier] Loaded!
- You have to listen!
- Fire!
[yells in German]
[soldier] Loaded!
There are still many more.
They're blowing out the bridge
at midnight.
That's in five minutes.
Enough time to do it.
Fire!
[yells in German]
[soldier] Move forward!
[soldier 2 grunts]
Our time's running out.
Still four and a half minutes.
- Four and a half!
- The bridge is 600 meters long!
[heavy gunfire]
Anti-tank gun! 12 o'clock!
- I'm reloaded.
- Fire!
I'll take over.
- [indistinct shouting]
- [yells in German]
Loaded!
We are alone
and our time's nearly up, Philip.
Give the bloody order!
Give the bloody order, Philip!
Achtung, withdraw.
Hummel, back over the bridge.
[over radio] Jawohl, Commander!
Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!
Come on! We have four minutes left.
Four minutes to get off!
Hummel, give it some gas!
This isn't fast enough.
They are not following anymore.
They are no longer shooting.
They're waiting for us to blow the bridge.
[Gerkens] We can make it.
Ilyushins.
They can't change what will happen.
- [soldier] Commander!
- [soldier 2] Fire!
[Helmut groaning]
- Fire!
- It's coming in!
- It's coming through the hatches!
- We're on fire!
[groaning]
It's burning! I'm on fire!
Drive, Helmut! Faster! Faster!
[all shrieking]
The fire's everywhere!
- Drive, Helmut! Faster!
- There's fire everywhere!
- Go!
- Keep going, Helmut! Put your foot down!
[Gerkens] Just keep going!
I think we'll make it, Philip!
We'll make it!
[soldier] We are alone
and our time's nearly up, Philip.
Give the bloody order!
Ilyushins!
- [Helmut] It's burning! I'm burning!
- [soldier] Fire! There's fire everywhere!
- [soldiers moaning]
- Fire!
[groaning]
[soldier screaming]
[Gerkens] How long till we're there?
SECREHQ XXIV. GUNNER, 21. SEPT. 1943
"Operation Labyrinth."
"Individual order without support."
"Von Hardenburg."
Paul?
[men speaking indistinctly]
[metal clanking]
[man] I've got my glasses.
Boys, that's it!
Turn on the gas.
[man 2] Give it to me. [Exhales]
Lieutenant.
Welcome back.
[Gerkens] Thank you, Christian.
Men!
Lieutenant.
Lieutenant.
Chief.
So what's happened to our Tiger?
Just a little battered and bruised.
But you'll soon be ready.
Good.
And you?
Us also, a couple of scratches,
a few burns.
Nothing serious.
A new mission?
It is, yeah.
And we mobilize this afternoon,
orders from Colonel Richter.
- [Keilig] What about our leave?
- Canceled.
[Weller] Going today?
[Gerkens] Today.
Where?
To the eastern front,
on the end of Psel.
- To the Iwans?
- In between.
No-man's-land.
On this mission,
we have to determine the whereabouts
of Colonel von Hardenburg
and escort him back.
Von Hardenburg?
I heard that he died.
That's what I heard.
But no doubt others think we've fallen.
- Which unit will accompany us?
- We go alone.
The order's for only us to get him.
He's believed to be in one of our bunkers
east of Novyi Yar.
Shit.
It's top secret.
Why send us to rescue him?
Orders are orders.
If we were supposed to know,
they would have told us so.
But is a single Tiger capable of that?
I would say they think
if any unit can make this rescue,
that unit's ours.
Get the Tiger ready to move out.
[Helmut coughs] Let's go, men.
[Keilig] Off we go again.
[Gerkens over radio]
Wolf to Fox Den,
we are heading to the labyrinth
for 48 hours.
Wolf signing off, over.
Helmut! Lighter!
The greatest tank ever built.
However, for the driver,
it's impossible to see fucking shit.
And you arse-lickers get to just
gaze at the sunshine.
When they designed it,
they must have known
how fucking ugly all tank drivers are.
[all laughing]
Von Hardenburg,
he was with the Sixth in Stalingrad
before everybody else was withdrawn.
[over radio] It's a miracle
he survived the last battles.
One of his hands didn't survive
as he chopped it off.
[Weller] I heard the whole story.
He was buried under the rubble
of the tractor factory.
His hand was trapped.
And after five days [exhales]
with his own knife,
somehow cut it off.
To free himself.
I said so.
Helmut,
I still have this lighter of yours.
But now it's mine.
If he survived that,
he must be a Russian spy now.
That's the reason
why they want him back.
Apparently, they said he was able
to crawl out of the rubble
and a young woman took pity on him,
took him in.
And a few weeks later,
disguised as a farmer,
he crossed again to our side.
And they sent his ass back
to the front again, but with one hand.
An unfortunate bastard.
And now they're forcing our asses
over there to the rescue.
I think more and more
that he's a Russian spy.
Staff officers,
all one-handed wreckers there.
[laughs]
What makes him so important for this?
Just 'cause he's got a "von," is it?
According to the mission order, he's been
working on a secret plan of withdrawal.
It contains all our positions,
radio frequencies and weapon stocks.
If it were to fall into
the hands of the Russians,
all doors to the Reich are wide open.
[over radio]
Our mission has the code name
"Operation Labyrinth."
And they didn't presumably
try to reach him by radio?
He hasn't answered since
the bridge over the Dnieper was blown up.
In Stalingrad
They were his orders, weren't they?
He was the commanding officer
at that time, yeah.
[Helmut] Smitch, what are you doing?
No one-handed games in my tank.
What do you mean?
I see everything.
[Gerkens over radio]
5 kilometers to the front line.
Then it's all eyes open.
[Keilig on radio]
Weller, what are they doing?
Probably to confuse the Russkies.
That means we're planning
to retreat even further.
I thought Adolf the Austrian
didn't believe in retreating.
A friend of yours, Weller.
No friend that I've ever had.
You and your Tyrol pig farm.
First, there is no livestock involved.
It's a vineyard, man.
And it's the Wachau,
the most stunning region in the world.
[laughing] "Wachau."
Keilig, is anything going on?
Nothing, just distortion.
That's better.
The Iwan can't hear us communicate.
Hummel, we'll turn left
and get off the road up ahead.
Away from the open field
to take cover tonight.
[confirms in German]
Let's drink up, let the fire go out,
and then we'll take the first watch,
Michel. All right?
Mmm-mmm.
[wings flapping]
Are there partisans here?
You never know.
Better to keep your eyes and ears open.
Bodhana told me once
[all chuckling]
"The woods here are full of ghosts."
Who's Bodhana?
A young peasant girl in Tolokonnoye
that he fancied.
She sold us milk and eggs.
And the clap as well, huh, Smitch?
Helmut
But we didn't sleep together.
But he would have liked to.
[all snickering]
[Helmut]
Listen to Uncle Helmut, Smitch.
The spass is short,
the regret is long.
And she said, in these woods,
there are ghosts here?
Yes, where the
Souls of the dead people
are left to roam.
The Ukrainians all believe it.
At home in Silesia, they also feel it.
Silesia is one hell of a shithole.
How come we didn't burn, Lieutenant?
On the bridge.
We only got off there
because my bloody foot
kept the pedal on the gas
the whole time,
despite it being on fire.
You should buy me a new pair of boots.
You know von Hardenburg well,
Lieutenant?
We did military academy together.
You were friends?
Yes, but that was long ago.
But he's a godparent to your son,
isn't he?
Enough of that. Rest now.
Souls are there.
[Gerkens] Don't let Hummel get to you.
I'm his favorite target.
His own son was killed.
He was only 15.
A bomb and an air raid
on Humboldthain Gardens
destroyed the area completely.
At where he was firing from,
Hummel had to bury an empty box.
Maybe it's his way of showing you
that he actually cares about you.
You go and rest.
I'll be all right on my own.
[disembodied voice] Philip.
[tank whirring]
[radio distortion]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[radio chatter continues]
You hear that, do you?
[man over radio speaking Latin]
[Helmut] What can you hear?
Tell me.
That's Latin.
You listen to it.
[man on radio continues speaking Latin]
"Lamb of God, have mercy on us."
"Lamb of God,
you take away the sins"
[man on radio continues speaking Latin]
"Lamb of God, give us your peace."
[man on radio continues]
That's just mass.
At home, it's always on the radio.
Yes, but they're Orthodox here.
Why would they listen to
a Latin mass here?
[man on radio continues]
[Gerkens] Tank barriers. Keep right.
Iwan is just trying to unsettle us.
Switch off that hocus-pocus.
[man on radio continues]
[radio clicks off]
Why was this built?
It was built by the captured fighters
of Zhukov's army.
[over radio] After we took this land,
we made them build it.
And those that were not
strong enough to do it are under there.
[over radio] Hummel,
there's a gap up ahead. Go through it.
Turn left.
Stop the tank!
- What are we doing?
- Mines!
- Underneath us!
- Shit.
How do we move, then?
Michel, Keilig, you come with me.
We have to search the ground.
Careful.
We only jump down onto our tracks.
[grunts]
[metal clanks]
[grunts]
[Gerkens] Search everywhere.
[object thuds]
[metal clanks]
Shit. Michel!
Come here.
[grunts]
It's too close to the chain.
We must take it out.
You have to help me.
Keilig, search the area
surrounding the tracks
in case we have to back up.
[Keilig confirms in German]
Lieutenant, 9 o'clock, 3,000,
dust on the horizon.
It could be an ambush.
[Gerkens] Keep an eye on it, Christian.
Help me.
[grunts]
Yeah.
[blowing]
Now you carefully clear the earth
from under the mine
so that we can lift it up,
and I'll try to unscrew the detonator
at the same time. Yes?
Careful.
[blows]
Damn it! I can't see anything.
We have to get underneath and lift it.
- [grunts]
- Carefully.
Lieutenant!
What?
Under the mine, I saw something move,
but I managed to hold it.
It feels like a hand grenade.
You're right.
The bastards pulled off the safety pins.
It's a double trap.
If you take away your hands,
you'll be setting off
the grenade trigger of the detonator,
and then we'll both go out together
with the mine.
[breathing heavily]
Michel, you need to calm down now. Michel!
Michel?
Look at me.
- Breathe.
- [breathing rapidly]
Breathe.
[Michel catches breath]
Good.
I've got it.
[Gerkens] Weller, status update.
[Weller] Vehicles seem to be leaving.
[Gerkens] Prepare to reverse.
What's going on?
I'll make sure the Tiger
and the others are safe,
then, I'll return for you. Understood?
[breath trembling]
Understood.
[grunts]
[breathing intensifies]
[Weller] Unknown vehicles at 5 to 6 km.
Moving away.
- [Gerkens] Hummel?
- Where's Michel?
Reverse the Tiger,
but make sure you keep to our old tracks.
Where's Michel?
The priority is the Tiger.
March!
[engine ignites]
[breathing heavily]
[engine whirring]
[gear clanks]
[breathing intensifies]
Slowly.
[over radio] Straight.
- Holy shit. Careful, Smitch.
- [Gerkens on radio] Straight!
Keep it straight!
- Halt!
- [metal clanks]
[breathing heavily]
Throw it here.
You're doing well, Michel.
- Very, very well.
- Holy fucking shit.
I'll get you safely
Back to your home.
Careful.
And now listen to me very carefully,
Michel.
Look me in the eye.
Now, there's no rush. Just take your time.
Little by little, take your hand out
so that the weight of the mine
is always pressing on the grenade instead.
Go on.
Take your time.
Take your time. That's it.
Take your time.
Very good, Michel.
Very good.
[breath trembling]
[Gerkens] That's it.
Slowly, Michel.
Further.
Further if you can.
Further.
Good, Michel.
Very carefully.
[exhales]
Now stand up.
[grunts]
Come on.
- [metal clanks]
- [grunts]
[Gerkens] Everybody, dismount.
Behind the Tiger.
You should do it.
You've got nerves of steel.
We're leaving.
Solid steel.
No big deal, Smitch.
I knew it wouldn't happen.
But you can always hang the picture
of your girlfriend in my compartment.
[Gerkens over radio] Hummel, sharp left.
Halt!
Tank at 12 o'clock!
Reverse! Back! Go!
[engine accelerating]
Sharp left turn!
[over radio] Smoke grenade!
[grenades hissing]
Faster!
[over radio] Hummel, more distance!
Out of the forest.
[shouts] Put your foot down!
[shouts] And halt!
[brakes screech]
That's a heavy caliber.
I think it's an SU-100.
Tank killer. One hit from that caliber,
and we're done.
Hey, Lieutenant?
[Gerkens] There are more coming.
At least three more tanks.
We'll evade them.
We should remain here
and take them on one by one.
There are too many of them,
and we can't jeopardize the mission.
But we're trapped between
the river and the enemy.
We have no option
other than to attack them.
[over radio] We're sitting ducks.
[Gerkens] The river.
It could be our chance.
First reverse,
then head east at 3 o'clock.
[engine accelerating]
[wood cracking]
Halt!
Engine off.
[Weller over radio]
Philip, what's your plan?
Everyone, dismount!
What in the hell?
Listen.
It's time to submerge now.
Huh?
- What?
- It's the reason this Tiger was built.
- We've only done that in training so far.
- Do it!
Not yet in the field.
It seems now is the time
that demands we do it.
But we've been hit.
Several hits that could lead to us
sinking like a stone.
You've already repaired it.
And I trust you.
Come on.
Come on. Let's go, let's go, let's go!
Come on.
[suspenseful music playing]
Perfect.
Come on, get in.
[metal creaks]
Hummel, engine on.
[engine ignites]
[over radio] Come on, let's go.
Let's dive.
OPEN
Beginning of water contact.
[water sloshing]
[metal creaking]
[inhales deeply]
Hummel, now hold.
It's very loud, isn't it?
Couldn't we just stop the motor?
- No.
- No.
If the motor didn't start,
we'd be drown down here.
But they can see our emissions, though.
- Motor off.
- What?
If it doesn't start up again,
then we are fucked here.
Off.
[engine stops]
How is it managing?
It all seems tight.
Here as well.
[Michel] No water to report.
How long can we stay underwater?
[rumbling]
Motor noises.
They're getting closer.
Burning in a panzer is one thing,
and drowning is another.
Weller was right.
We should have faced them in battle.
- [Helmut] Yeah.
- We're stuck in a corner.
Enough.
[motors rumbling]
[rumbling intensifies]
[rumbling fades]
[exhales deeply]
[sighs]
[Gerkens] We'll remain submerged
to be safe.
[somber music playing]
How long do you want to be here for?
Until I'm sure we won't be falling
straight into a trap up there.
Once we do, we're out.
[sighs]
[Gerkens sighs deeply]
Keilig, what's the time on your watch?
Just before 12:00,
but it stopped since the bridge.
Bodhana once said that, in the lakes,
there's a water sprite
who pulls you into the depths
when you're paddling.
She has such a cheerful nature,
your princess.
Enough rubbish.
[Helmut coughing]
That's enough.
[men coughing and gasping]
[somber instrumental music playing]
[tank thuds]
Hey, Lieutenant!
Shit, we're leaking. We're leaking!
We have to surface
if they're there or not.
[breathing heavily] We have to.
We'll cross the river and come out
on the other side.
Cross the river?
In case they're still close to us.
It's safer.
And we'll save fuel,
not looking for a bridge.
Helmut, motor on again.
[engine sputtering]
Shit.
Come on, motor. Come on, motor.
Come on, motor.
- Come!
- [engine sputtering]
Come on, Hummel!
Come on, Hummel.
[engine sputtering]
Come on, Helmut, do it!
Come on, come on, come on, come on!
[engine sputtering]
- [engine starts]
- Yes!
[all laughing]
Helmut, forward march.
[grunts]
If we can't move from here,
underwater, we won't be able
to get the hatch off.
I can't swim.
No, I can't either.
It's meaningless
'Cause we'll die in the same coffin.
And halt. Motor off.
[air hisses]
[breathing heavily]
[all breathing heavily]
The coast is clear.
Everybody, dismount.
[grunts]
[panting]
Let's get the little one ready
for land again.
The petrol should last 20 kilometers.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Shit.
What?
The Iwan owes me a new pack, you know?
[all laugh]
- [Michel] That was close.
- [Gerkens] Come on.
We have a mission to complete.
[over radio] Have a tank treat.
We have a long night ahead.
And I need you all to stay wide awake.
[Keilig] No,
I'd prefer to keep a clear head.
[heart beating]
And halt.
Motor off.
[engine stops]
What's going on?
[men shouting indistinctly]
They're our own soldiers.
Motor on. Forward march.
[motor ignites]
[indistinct chatter continues]
[women yelling]
[Gerkens] Motor off. Dismount.
[women screaming]
[screaming intensifies]
[dogs barking]
Stop. Hands up! Stay there!
[man] Bring the animals here.
- [horse neighing]
- Bring them here.
[man 2] Heil Hitler.
The panzer units. [Laughs]
[man 3] Come on, move faster!
Quicker, quicker!
Hurry up, will you?
Hurry, men!
The horses, too!
Lieutenant Gerkens,
Heavy Panzer Division 503.
Here to request fuel and supplies.
Senior Assault Unit Leader Krebs.
Are you lost?
What's happened to you, then?
[women screaming]
Secret operation.
You panzer young men,
and more secret operations? Hm.
But I was led to believe
that no more troops would be here.
We're here for our secret operation.
All of the local villages need
to be cleansed of partisan supporters.
You are gathering for labor, then?
[chuckles] The labor camps
have gone from here.
They're herded together
before the fires begin.
Then they are trampled to death
by their own animals.
Saves ammunition.
Our little contribution
to the greater cause.
The Reich has developed
such an appetite for killing.
[man groans]
They can't produce
enough ammunition to shoot.
Good. I see we're almost finished.
[people screaming]
[Krebs] Get ready to leave.
- [people screaming]
- [horse neighing]
[hoofs thumping]
[screaming continues]
[screaming intensifies]
I know you remember all of this fire.
So, my operation has been fulfilled.
Oh, your petrol's there.
Move out!
Let's just leave here right away.
We'll rest tonight on the Tiger.
[angrily] Go! Now!
[tragic cello music]
[Weller] Philip?
[sighs deeply] Enough of that shit.
Michel, give me the good stuff.
[liquid pouring]
More.
[all grunting and sighing]
Nectar of the gods.
I thought you worked as a winemaker.
Even I, as a simple Latin teacher,
know how bad this red piss is.
Baron von Claussen, '37.
Grner Veltliner Smaragd.
The best vintage I ever made.
Delicately fruity, but
It was so carefully balanced
as well, with
Delicate apricot notes.
"Nectar of the Gods"
so was the name of it.
Reichsmarschall Gring was so fond of it
that he bought up half the vintage.
And now all that remains of it is
it is the memory.
[exhales in disgust]
And now I have nothing better
than this piss to drink.
Piss or not [sighs]
it does what it should.
- Lieutenant?
- Mm-mm.
[Keilig] How does
an Austrian farmer like you
learn to make a wine to be
good enough for the Reichsmarschall?
[sighs] The Wachau.
So, wine making is in our blood.
From my father, I learned,
and him from his father.
If you're the wine maker, who is this, uh,
Baron von Claussen?
I was his vintner.
Yes? Then that is your wine.
His land, his grapes.
So his sun, his wind, his rain, then?
For an old Latin teacher
you're sounding very red, Keilig.
I mean, the Romans,
they certainly left us one thing.
Undoubtedly, it has been the biggest
contribution to all human knowledge.
War.
And they waged it eternally
not to subjugate foreigners,
but to control their very own.
Romans fighting for Rome forever,
never stopping to rest.
So the Latin teacher, wine grower,
and the train driver
find themselves just as caught up.
Nothing they can do. "Yes, sir. No, sir."
Orders that have to be followed.
Forget about who you were
and what you might have loved before.
To protect our families
is why we follow the orders given.
Orders are the only things we have.
Without those, it breaks, doesn't it?
The army, society, lives.
In my panzer,
there is no room for politics.
And it's a fact, you're wrong.
The Romans didn't have train drivers.
[all chuckle and then laugh]
Even I know this.
And you don't know about anything.
- [all laughing]
- Hey! Shut it.
To the train drivers,
the saviors of society.
Weller, give it here.
No idea what it is.
I wish I could just forget it.
Forget who we were before.
We will never be like that again.
How can we after
what has happened here?
Who we were before
We'll always be the same.
We have obeyed many orders and just done
everything that we were told.
That's all it is.
When all this is behind us, then
Come and visit Austria
and see my wine making.
And we'll share a drink together.
I'll make sure of it.
[ominous music playing]
[flies buzzing]
[Gerkens] Halt!
[Michel] What is it?
[Gerkens over radio]
This doesn't feel right.
Let's keep our distance.
The bunker is directly behind, and
we can no longer afford to take a detour.
Ready for battle.
Range
A thousand.
Helmut, drive past the mill on the left,
but slowly.
And target set.
Forward march.
It must have been for target practice.
Coming into firing range.
Keilig, to the MG.
Fire at will!
The fucking sunshine.
Everyone's eyes open!
[Gerkens] Halt! Cannon shots at 1 o'clock!
Hummel, reverse as fast as you can!
Go! Go!
Weller, return fire!
[Weller] Jawohl!
[Helmut] That was close!
- Hummel, keep reversing!
- Jawohl!
Keilig, MG, fire!
[machine gun fire]
[over radio]
Hummel, out of the line of fire!
Now, go! Left!
Put your foot down, Hummel!
Halt!
Weller, next to the mill sail,
where it's collapsed.
Mm, 900.
Identified!
- And target set.
- And loaded!
- Fire!
- [Weller] Achtung!
[panting]
No sign of target. Cannot confirm hit.
[engine revving]
[Gerkens] Shit.
- [over radio] An SU-100.
- [Weller] Is that the same SU?
What the f
That can only be the devil.
[Gerkens over radio]
He must have followed us.
[Weller] That's not possible!
Hummel, evasion tactic.
Keilig, you're on for cover.
Move! Now!
[machine gun fire]
- [Gerkens over radio] Fire!
- Achtung!
[Gerkens] It ricocheted!
The armor is far too strong.
[Michel] Loaded!
Hummel, reverse! Move backwards!
We must attack from the side.
[yells]
[over radio] Shit!
That was our exhaust pipe!
Go on, Hummel, further back! Further!
Smoke grenade!
Where are you?
[explosion]
- [men yelling]
- [metal clattering]
[high-pitched ringing, muffled sound]
[panting]
It directly hit us!
[Gerkens over radio] Everyone all right?
- Yeah.
- [Helmut] Yeah, we're all right.
- He's turning around!
- [Helmut] Shit! Shit!
Philip, they're too strong.
[Gerkens]
But it's only a cannon on tracks.
We are faster and more agile.
They have to turn their whole tank
to be able to shoot.
Hummel, keep going slowly forward.
March left turn.
I want to show our broadside to them.
Why expose our flank?
Trust me! Drive!
[Weller and Helmut grunt]
[Gerkens] Cannon at 3 o'clock.
- Now we're staring down their barrel!
- Have to be brave!
- Hey, Lieutenant!
- Have to be brave!
The Russians have us in sight!
[Gerkens] Weller, now!
MG fire! Distract them!
[machine gun fire]
Halt!
Come on, Philip!
[Gerkens] Not yet.
- [Weller] Target set!
- Wait.
I have him clearly enough!
- [Gerkens] Wait.
- [machine gun fire]
MG, stop!
- Fire!
- Achtung!
- [Gerkens] Direct hit. Target destroyed.
- [sighs]
[exhales]
[growls triumphantly]
[panting] That's the problem with
these panzer.
They can't see
what's right in front of them.
[Weller] We should have attacked them
when we saw them in the forest!
That fucking tank
almost made sure we were all dead.
[all panting]
[Michel] Keilig.
Keilig, are you all right?
Keilig? Keilig!
- Keilig!
- [Helmut] Keilig, you bastard!
[Gerkens grunts]
- Hey, Lieutenant!
- Are you injured, Keilig?
A splinter
[exhales] The lungs.
[groans]
Shit!
I'm ready. Take me out into the sun.
[Gerkens]
Let him rest on the side.
- [all grunting]
- [Keilig coughing]
Get his legs.
Carefully.
[Keilig yelps in pain]
[gurgling]
All is good, Keilig. All is good.
[panting]
You and von Hardenburg
It is personal, isn't it?
- There's no need to speak.
- [choking]
[Gerkens shushing]
[choking and spitting]
[sniffles]
[crying]
[Keilig weakly] Write
Write to Luise and the girls.
I promise, trust me.
[gurgling]
I wanted to go back to teaching.
[breathing heavily] In '39
I remember the class I taught.
It was one of the loveliest summers.
Since then, there's only war.
I
Keilig
[growls]
[Helmut panting]
[sighs]
[sniffles]
Come on, let's repair the Tiger.
We can patch it up, but
[Gerkens continues indistinctly]
Lieutenant.
What?
[sighing and sniffling]
[Weller] Shit.
Bodies don't burn as quick as that.
That's it.
We'll return to camp and report that
finding von Hardenburg couldn't happen.
It's not normal here.
It's only another 20 kilometers.
Our exhaust pipe is broken.
Then we'll have to repair it
using parts from the SU.
The tank will only go
another 30 kilometers.
Not enough to get back.
In the bunker,
they will have supplies there.
I hope your von Hardenburg
deserves all of this.
But if he's a spy, though
Then I'll personally
take care of him with a bullet.
Go on, then.
Go on.
[Krebs] I know you remember
all of this fire.
Herr Lieutenant.
[ominous music playing]
Kei...
Michel, turn the radio on.
[radio tuning]
[man on radio speaking Latin]
Uh, Lieutenant.
[man continues speaking Latin]
Shut it up. Damn it!
[Weller] How much longer?
For how long must we carry on driving?
Up until he's found
and taken safely back home.
Oh, yes.
It doesn't exist, though.
Home.
It's just our own fucking lines.
What we can before retreating
as the next wave's coming.
And then back again. And back again.
Why is this von Hardenburg so special?
They must be worried about him.
Worried he'll defect.
Maybe Keilig was right.
And perhaps he has, and we are
Heading for a fall.
Or does this only concern you two?
Hm?
[chuckles] Keilig was right.
He said that it was personal
between you and von Hardenburg.
Why must all of us be involved? Hm?
- It's you!
- They're my orders.
If the Russians manage
to locate him before we do,
they could lock onto
our radio frequencies, tactics...
I know. "All doors to the Reich
are wide open." Philip, you've said!
But all our doors are already off.
The Russians already know that we're here.
Philip!
You do understand that?
Please wake up!
I believe you're taking risks
that are unnecessary.
And you've been compromised.
I'm voting, therefore, to relieve you
of your command until we return.
In that case
Choose, all of you.
Yes?
Michel?
I'm with the lieutenant.
Helmut?
You've been our driver.
It's your panzer.
[over radio]
You've been with us since Barbarossa.
Yeah, I know.
I mean
- Keilig is dead.
- Shouldn't be.
And
And over the bridge, the time underwater,
didn't you also risk everything?
And, so, I'm sorry.
Weller,
I'm backing my commander.
We will not mention
that this ever happened.
[sighs]
According to the map,
there should be around here somewhere,
an old path into the wooded area
where the bunker is.
Slightly to the left, Hummel.
[somber cello music playing]
[Keilig] Philip
Panzer, and halt!
- [metal clanking]
- [Helmut grunts]
- What?
- [Gerkens over radio] Footprints.
- Everybody, dismount.
- [engine stops]
Bring your weapons!
[clattering]
[grunts]
They're fresh prints.
And they are German-made.
- Ready your guns.
- [guns cocking]
Michel, halt!
It's trip wire.
It's also German-made.
The bunker must be very near to here now.
Ready your weapons.
[guns cocking]
What the bloody hell?
[Gerkens] Paratroopers.
I would say they probably sent for us
as they didn't rescue.
Let's go.
[ominous music playing]
[metallic squeaking]
[indistinct noise in distance]
[music and laughter]
Come in. Come in!
Herr Lieutenant.
We're looking for Colonel von Hardenburg.
As I'm aware.
He's in the command bunker
and he's awaiting your presence.
I'll lead you to him.
But if you'd like
to stay here a bit longer, perhaps
I'm pretty sure we can keep you
very well entertained. [Chuckles]
Maria, bring in the wine
and what we were eating.
- Go on.
- [Maria giggles]
[man] You look as if you've had
a long journey to get here.
[clears throat]
To good times.
Good. And now you bring me
to Colonel von Hardenburg.
Of course, Lieutenant.
Well, then, follow me.
But only you.
[cheerful chatter and laughter resumes]
[man] Come on.
It's all right.
Herr Lieutenant.
[Keilig] New order just in.
Consider the withdrawal of the last troops
on the Dnieper Bridge
before the midnight explosion.
[man whistling]
Quite a labyrinth.
[exhales]
Your move.
Take courage.
[sighs contentedly]
[metallic squeaking and clank]
[footsteps approaching]
Paul.
So the stories are true so far.
Deutschland suffered in Stalingrad
many casualties.
I suffered little in losing a hand.
Come with me to the fire.
Uh, the corporal said there was
someone you were waiting for.
No, it wasn't for "someone" I was waiting.
It was for you.
And no doubt you know that I've made
my way here to get you back.
Naturally.
You had to make this journey.
I was your best friend.
Do you remember that summer
in the academy in Hanover?
Do you? A warm August evening, yes?
I introduced you to Marion.
The next day, we went swimming
over to the little forested island
in the middle of the lake.
It was a magical summer.
The best of every summer I've had.
And then this war was here.
We must go.
[laughs maniacally]
I imagine it was in the belly of
your Tiger that you arrived.
Yes.
Tight, though, wasn't it?
Intriguing that you all came
on this journey
to collect us a debt, though,
do you not think so?
I'm in no doubt
there are reasons why it happened.
What if I'm difficult, huh?
I'm here to avoid that outcome.
But what if that outcome prevails?
Then I would say they meant to send you.
Wouldn't you agree?
Because orders have to be followed.
Ha! [Laughs malevolently]
Come, Philip, eat with me.
A last supper, so to speak.
We don't have time for that.
- We must go.
- No time for an old friend?
I'm godfather to your son.
You have to thank me for everything.
Sit now.
Lying buried under a pile of rubble
for five days,
you soon become impossibly thirsty,
of course.
But your mind is hungry as well.
You see all sorts of things
in the shadows.
I'm surprised you were fairly unhurt.
I heard about your rescue. Remarkable.
What was it in Stalingrad
that happened, Philip?
I Enough of these games, Paul.
What happened in Stalingrad?
[gunfire and explosions in distance]
Paul, orders have been given.
They come directly from the division.
[soldier] Major, the other commanders
are getting nervous.
Some are reporting
that the enemy is closing in.
They want to know what to do.
The reports say there are also women
and children who are sheltering there.
It's also reported
that it's full of Russian forces.
They control the tractor factory,
which means also this area of the city.
Our advance will fail if we don't act now.
- Can you hear anything?
- No.
[Gerkens] Paul.
Orders have been given.
This is not our decision.
Is that so?
[soldier] Major,
the other commanders are waiting.
Paul!
[whistles] Go! Get on! Ready for battle!
Give them the order.
All other tanks, fire at will.
[soldier over radio]
All tanks, fire at will.
Fire!
[glass shattering]
[women and children screaming]
[screams continue]
[gasps]
It wasn't our decision.
We had no choice. We had our orders.
Yes, that might be true.
But the responsibility fell on us.
It's midnight.
You must return back to the Dnieper.
It's because of you we're here.
We're all here because of you.
Can't you see that?
I'm here for Operation Labyrinth.
Operation Labyrinth?
- That operation's you.
- [Weller] Philip!
- And I need to get you out of here.
- I came here after
After Colonel Richter sent me to you.
By whom were you sent?
Colonel Richter?
Did he ever really exist?
Yes, the clues.
They were there all along.
[man on radio speaking Latin]
Keilig, what's the time on your watch?
Just before 12:00,
but it's stopped since the bridge.
Bodies don't burn as quick as that.
It's not normal here.
I know you remember all of this fire.
How come we didn't burn on the bridge?
[Weller] Please wake up!
[breathing heavily]
But uh, Krebs
- He...
- Just another version of you.
As are we all!
[Weller] Philip!
It's midnight.
You must return back to the Dnieper.
[Weller] Philip, give the bloody order!
What was it that made you delay
giving the order?
That's so unlike you.
To put yourself
and others around you in danger.
Yes.
Herr Lieutenant.
[Von Hardenburg]
Yes, it's been there the whole time.
The telegram that informed you
that Marion and your son Fritz
died in Hamburg.
When the air raids began on 24th July,
they sought shelter
in Saint Nicholas' Church.
When the bombs fell,
they were burned to death
in the firestorm.
[breathing heavily]
Fire!
Fire!
I've been fighting this war
to protect everyone.
We reap what we sow.
You lead me here.
Where is here?
[distant screams of women and children]
What's happening here?
Wha... what is happening here?
[yells] What's happening here?
This is the moment your journey is ending.
Mine was over way back then.
The tractor factory,
I never left it.
Come, old friend.
It is time.
I have to go to my men, Paul.
They won't survive without me.
- [Weller] Fire!
- [Michel] Fire!
- [groaning] It's coming in!
- [screaming] Fire!
- [Helmut] We're on fire!
- [Keilig] It's coming through the hatches!
[Weller] Just keep going!
[Helmut] It's burning! I'm on fire!
[Weller] Drive, Helmut!
Faster! Faster!
[Keilig] Go! Go!
[Gerkens] Where am I, Paul?
Where am I?
[gunfire and explosions]
[screaming]
[solemn music playing]