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It is December, 1944. Military Intelligence officer and former policeman Lt. Col. Daniel Kiley and his pilot, Joe, are flying a
reconnaissance mission over the Ardennes forest. Spotting a German staff car the plane buzzes the car and photographs the officer.
Alarmed, the chauffeur flees the car, leaving the engine running. "Petrol is blood," rebukes the German officer, marking a theme
of the film, the German shortage of fuel. In a subterranean lair, it is revealed the officer is Col. Martin Hessler, a fictional
Panzer tank commander loosely based on SS-Standartenführer Jochen Peiper. Hessler is briefed by his superior, Gen. Kohler, on a
new German attack, piercing west against the American lines. Kohler points out a clock with a 50-hour countdown, which is the time
allotted for the operation, beyond which Germany has no resources for full-scale attack. At the same time German soldiers disguised
as American troops, led by Lt. Schumacher, are tasked with seizing vital bridges and sowing confusion behind the Allied lines.
Meanwhile, Kiley returns to headquarters where he warns that the Germans are planning one more all-out offensive. His superiors, Gen.
Grey and Col. Pritchard, dismiss it out of hand: all available intelligence points to Germany not having the resources and manpower
to launch another attack. Hessler, having become concerned about the abilities of his tank commanders after his orderly, Conrad, points
out the staggering losses Germany has sustained since the war began, reviews them, discovering they are all young and lacking in
experience. Overhearing his criticism, the commanders break into a chorus of Panzerlied, restoring Hessler's faith.
Hoping to uncover more proof, Kiley visits a US infantry position on the Siegfried Line under command of Maj. Wolenski. A patrol led
by Lt. Weaver and Sgt. Duquesne capture some young and obviously inexperienced German soldiers. Kiley concludes that experienced German
troops have been replaced by these men and withdrawn for an offensive, but Pritchard dismisses this as well, rebuking Kiley for
"crackpot hunches" and determining to relieve him of duty. Hessler launches his attack the next day. Awakened by the noise of German
tanks, Wolenski leads his men into the wooded area of the Schnee Eifel, where they try to fight them off but are overrun. A group of
Allied tanks led by Sgt. Guffy also attempts to slow the Panzers, but their tanks' weak guns and thin armor make them ineffective,
forcing him and his crew to retreat. Lt. Schumacher and his disguised troops capture the only bridge over the Our River capable of
carrying heavy tanks. Hessler continues his spearhead toward Ambleve, while being observed by Kiley, who also discovers that a German
truck is carrying empty fuel drums. Schumacher later takes control of a vital intersection of three roads connecting Ambleve, Malmedy
and the Siegfried Line. He sabotages the road signs, and the rear echelon of Wolenski's troops take the wrong road to Malmedy; almost
the entire unit is captured and massacred. Lt. Weaver manages to escape, but Duquesne is killed. US soldiers become suspicious when
they witness Schumacher's "military police" lay explosives incorrectly on the Our bridge, and his masquerade is revealed, though
too late to stop Hessler.
When Kohler orders Hessler to bypass Ambleve, Hessler replies that the Americans have no concept of defeat, citing that they will
ship things as trivial as a fresh chocolate cake to their front-line troops. He feels he can break their will to fight, and Kohler
gives him the night to do so. Hessler's tanks and infantry storm Ambleve, finally taking the town. Although many Americans, including
Wolenski, are captured, Grey, Pritchard, Kiley and others escape to the River Meuse. American forces regroup and begin to reorganize
for a counterattack. Facing the dangers of a foggy night, Col. Kiley conducts an aerial reconnaissance in an attempt to locate the
main German spearhead. He orders the pilot to shut off the engine and glide in an attempt to listen for enemy tanks. Suddenly,
through a gap in the fog, he spots Hessler's tank column heading toward American lines. Kiley radios in the coordinates, but his
plane is hit by German fire and crashes near an American fuel depot. In Hessler's command vehicle, Conrad finally confronts the
Colonel about his warmongering ways after Hessler boasts about the war going on forever, meaning Conrad's sons will have to become
soldiers and fight. Hessler is unmoved, transferring Conrad to the fuel battalion.
Meanwhile, Gen. Grey's forces, with the Meuse at their back, prepare to fight off Hessler. The outgunned, outarmored American
tanks are systematically destroyed, but at the cost of the Germans burning up much of their fuel. Guffy encounters Weaver, who
has taken command of a small force of wounded men, and the surviving Americans head to the depot, the same one where the wounded
Kiley is recovering. Aware of the German fuel shortages, Hessler leads a detachment toward the depot to capture its stocks, Conrad
watching him go. Weaver and the stragglers arrive first. Weaver recognizes Lt. Schumacher, who is still posing as an American MP
and whose men have taken control of the depot, but Schumacher doesn't recognize him. At Weaver's signal, he and his men open fire
on the disguised Germans, killing them all. As Hessler's column approaches, the US defenders flood the road with gasoline and set
it ablaze. The young German crews abandon their machines in terror, only to be shot by the Americans or consumed by the flames.
Abandoned by his crew, Hessler goes it alone, only for his tank to be destroyed by a burning fuel drum. General Gray arrives in
time to see the Panzers explode. Out of fuel, the remaining Germans give up the attack, marching back to Germany. Conrad, bringing
up the rear, discards his rifle and cartridge belt, and confidently marches on, his personal war over.
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Starring ... |
Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews, Telly Savalas, George Montgomery
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Director: Ken Annakin
Producers: Milton Sperling & Philip Yordan
Released - December 16, 1965
Length - 167 minutes
Music Composer: Benjamin Frankel
Movie Distributed by Warner Brothers
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