(pips of Morse code)
CAPTAIN BRIGGS: Be under no illusion...
..Rommel has brought his forces up to strength.
We must expect an attempt on the perimeter at any time.
Chase...
..your men will bolster Australian defences.
And orders from Churchill,
all positions must be held, there's to be no withdrawal.
Tobruk must hold at all cost.
Sir.
Pal...
your men will lay a tactical minefield
in order to draw in the tanks for artillery to strike.
Sir, if I may?
The enemy is already familiar with the tank trap.
Standard defence formation might be more advisable.
Thank you, Pal.
You will lay a tactical minefield, as per orders.
Sir.
(they mutter)
So, how the bloody hell are we gonna stop a Panzer division?
We're not going to stop them.
We're going to let them in.
The sappers are laying a tactical minefield.
The Australian guns will harass from the left.
Our job is to take out the German infantry.
STAN: What with, sandbags and pop guns?
-And dummy grenades? -Leave it, lads. Leave it.
You see, I missed this. I missed the camaraderie.
Oh, you missed getting your arse burnt by Panzer fire?
We hold the line, at all costs.
Sir?
At all costs, sir?
To the last man, George.
CHARLES: Rommel's goal...
is Cairo.
And...
the Suez Canal.
Now...
..the Suez Canal...
..connects us...
..to the East.
Now, if Rommel manages to take the Suez Canal, he effectively...
..cuts the British Empire in half.
But...
look at his supply lines.
If he wants to take Cairo...
..he must carry men
and fuel and weapons
from here in Tripoli...
..all the way across the desert.
-And Tobruk is here. -Yes.
If he manages to take Tobruk...
..look what happens.
He can bring everything he needs by sea.
Which is why it's imperative that the Allies hold it.
Urgh!
(he groans)
Wait!
(boy runs off)
(man rummages in his bag)
No...
No!
IN FRENCH:
(boy runs off)
THE JEWS ARE UNINVITED GUESTS
JEWS ARE NOT WANTED IN THIS COUNTRY
Come on, come on.
This way.
Good luck.
(crows flutter and squawk)
IN GERMAN:
Oi, stop gawking! Come on!
(gunshot)
Men, stay down!
-STAN: Take cover! -(gunfire)
(gunshot)
STAN: Easy, lads!
Fix bayonets!
AUSTRALIAN ACCENT: Hey! Hey! Hey!
It's the cavalry!
Oh, come on, brother, we didn't scare you, did we?
-What do you think you're doing? -We're shooting the seagulls.
Yeah, the daft buggers, they won't move.
-(gunshot) -I'll give you good odds on it.
You're giving our position away.
Er, yeah, look, I think Jerry knows where we are, mate.
Come on, it's good target practice.
Good for morale.
-Let's off a bit of steam. -(gunshot)
Oh, did you get one?
You got one!
He got it!
Ha-ha! Get in, son!
(footsteps approach)
Sorry to keep you, Miss Tomaszeski.
This woman...
..Irena Lewandowska, you know her?
-No. -She works at the Avro factory. You know it?
It's where they're building the new bomber, the Lancaster.
For now, just watch her, follow her.
Anything suspicious, any signs of activity, report back.
She walks it every day at ten o'clock, then again at five o'clock.
We'll get you a dog for cover.
Oh, Miss Tomaszeski...
Yes?
May I ask, do you know what I mean by a bland smile?
Er, bland? I don't know that word.
Flavourless.
Or...
in the case of smiles, meaningless.
Like this?
Ah...
You yourself know that, erm...
..Robina is the most acute of women.
Keep hold of yourself.
I feel she knows something is afoot.
Oh, I know you're an honest woman
and this sort of thing doesn't sit well with you.
But try to think of it as an essential skill...
..rather than a defect of character.
Mm, very good!
(groaning)
(he winces)
HENRIETTE: Hold still.
I'm trying to fix you.
Thank you.
You have an infected wound and a dislocated shoulder.
And I'm sorry, I don't have any morphine.
I'll be all right.
No, you don't understand.
You mustn't make a sound.
There are ears everywhere.
IN FRENCH:
What's the matter?
I've never done it before myself. I've only ever assisted.
Well, that's marvellous to know.
(bone crunches)
Thank you...
..very much.
The English, you are so polite.
I am most sincerely obliged to you, mademoiselle...
..for the excruciating pain.
(he groans)
Oh...
KASIA: Sit.
What on earth do you think you're doing?
He's a stray.
That is a lurcher.
My goodness, Kasia!
Do you honestly think I'm the sort of woman
who would allow a poacher's dog on her property?
You'll take him straight to the pound.
He's for Jan, er, to care for.
To cheer him up.
I wasn't aware that Jan was anything but perfectly cheerful.
He's for me?!
He's mine?!
ROBINA: It stays outside at all times.
Under no circumstances is that creature allowed in my house.
He is not "that creature".
He's...
Wilk.
-My Wilk. -Wilk?!
It's Polish for wolf.
Oh?
(Robina sighs heavily)
Can we walk him now?
Best if I take him today. He needs to settle.
-But he's my dog. -But he knows me, not you.
But he's my dog!
Wilk...
Come on! Come on!
She walks it every day at ten o'clock, then again at five o'clock.
-(Wilk barks) -Jan!
Jan!
(barking)
Er, we can't.
No, really, we can't. Robina is expecting us.
She will have dinner ready for us.
We'll have to see.
Oh...
Are you all right?
I'm sorry to keep you in there for so long.
It's better than being dead.
I got some bones from the butcher.
It's good.
Eat.
(vehicle pulls up outside)
(voices in German)
There are patrols all the time now.
You speak very good English.
I learnt from an American.
A dear friend.
A friend?
Eat.
(small dog yaps)
Kasia!
Kasia, can you look after the baby?
-(Vera wails) -Kasia...!
Shush... Oh, Joyce!
Joyce, can you please look after the baby? I really do need to dress.
-(Vera wails) -Joyce...
Shush, shush, shush. Please...
-Please, Vera. -(baby wails)
Joyce...
(Joyce sniffles)
Whatever's the matter?
(she fights back a sob)
It's my Terry.
Oh, Mrs Chase, I've not had a letter for weeks.
And he always writes.
"My Joy," he says, "I'm fighting fit, you're not to worry."
Oh, would that all men were as thoughtful.
They'd tell, though, wouldn't they...
..if it was the worst?
Yes.
-Yes, of course they would. -(Vera wails)
Oh, shush, shush, shush, shush. Come on, now.
Shush, shush, shush. There...
Oh!
I should like to know...
what I did.
I'm sure I always gave him everything he needed.
He was always such an untidy boy.
My whole life...
..clearing up after his mess.
He'll be all right.
He's been well trained.
They've all been very well trained.
Haven't they?
Yes, they have.
(Vera starts to wail)
It's all right, Vera. It's all right.
MAN: The German military might, led by Field Marshal Rommel,
send their tank divisions
to beat Britain and her Commonwealth allies into submission
in the intense desert heat.
Our brave boys may have suffered heavy losses,
but have vowed to fight Jerry to the last man.
Disperse!
MAN: Take cover!
Morphine.
If you need the toilet, go now.
If you get hit, you stand a better chance if your bowels are empty.
(explosion)
I'm not staying here! I'm not staying here!
George, George, George, George! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Look at me! Hey!
Look at me!
George, what's your job?
George, what is your job?
-Sharpshooter, Sarge. -You're the best we've got.
We need you.
Do your job.
Yes, Sarge.
(rattle of tank tracks)
(explosion)
Come on, come on.
(explosion)
Mines to the left and the right.
The only clear path is the middle.
But we've got the old bush artillery.
We'll concentrate fire to the left, you
take out what you can from the right.
-(George breathes rapidly) -Are you scared, mate?
Hey?
You should be. I bloody am!
Anyone who tells you they're not is an idiot.
-We can take it. -We're not here to take it.
We're here to give it!
So, what are you gonna do, cobber?
-Give it! -Ha-ha-ha!
Whoooo!
Jesus...
(rattle of tank tracks)
Come on.
They're not falling for it.
-Where the hell are artillery? -We're sitting ducks!
Hold, men! Hold the line!
(gunfire and shouting)
HARRY: Aussie gun harassing from the left.
-They're phoning in the coordinates. -(explosion)
(machine-gun fire)
RAJID: British shells falling short.
Come on, you gunners, come on!
(explosion)
(muffled shouting)
RAJID: They've hit the outpost. Demolished it.
They're not getting the coordinates.
Sergeant...
..hold your position.
What the hell...?
(gunfire)
What's he doing? What is he doing?
(rapid gunfire)
HARRY: Right 20, add 30.
On target! On target!
Fire for effect!
Hey, come on, let's go.
(gunfire)
That's it, come on.
Go on, get him up. Get him up.
You bloody maniacs!
(they both laugh)
STAN: Hey, what the fucking hell were you thinking?
You've got a kid.
And she needs her dad.
Not a hero.
(she knocks)
(chatter)
(snoring)
What do you think these are made of?
Sir...
Cigarette?
Punkhawallahs good enough to fight for the King!
Enough!
Spoken like a true Englishman.
ROBINA: Ah!
Don't think I don't know what you're doing.
This dog.
He's the perfect excuse, isn't he?
With all the walking and the feeding and the petting,
of course you've no time left for your real duties,
caring for your stepdaughter.
She is my stepdaughter only in name.
I was married to Harry for only a heartbeat.
I barely know Lois.
And I am sorry for her. But I cannot be a mother to Vera.
I will not be a mother to her.
You are a mother of a man who got married to one girl
and got another pregnant.
This is your mess, Robina.
Oh...
I say, Miss Spicer?
Ah, Miss Spicer.
Erm, this thorny question of the baby-sitting. Erm...
What could I say or do that would change your mind?
You see, I am taking Mrs Chase for a picnic lunch on the lawn,
and she's not going to argue,
she's going to put on her very best smile and join me in the garden.
Sir James, we haven't known each other very long,
but I would think that you should know by now
that I'm not one of those silly child women
who can be patronised and appeased with the promise of treats.
A pound.
A pound would be very persuasive.
"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the spider to the fly.
You're quite right.
Unforgivably smooth.
Hm.
I shall ask Jan instead.
You certainly will not!
Jan has homework to do.
ROBINA: Hm!
Now I see it all.
You're a black marketeer.
Ah, yes. I'm afraid the truth is I'm an appalling spiv.
Would you believe me if I said it came from a dowager aunt in Mayfair?
-Not for a minute. -Mm, quite right.
You mustn't trust me.
Not an inch.
You've too much to protect.
Jan, Vera, Kasia.
Goodness, you have been left with quite the load.
Mm. Which I'm more than equal to.
Oh, Lord, Robina, don't you think I know you're capable?
Put your hackles down and your quills.
Just because a donkey can carry a hundredweight of bricks,
it doesn't mean it should.
In one breath, you've compared me to a dog, a porcupine and a donkey.
And yet there's no woman I admire more.
AUSTRALIAN OFFICER: I can't see jack.
From the missus?
We've been married ten years.
The blessing of my life.
I live for her letters.
Of course...
I'm not the first one to read them.
It's like someone else is...
..touching her...
..holding her.
They know her thoughts and feelings before I do.
Are you married?
Nah.
My girl, Gwen, she, er...
..she won't have me.
Can't say I blame her.
Here you are...
It's a pom smoke. It's not bad.
-Navy cut. Where did you get those? -Rations.
I have lost three of my men.
This morning, my sappers moved mines with their bare hands.
We have always believed that the English, with their famous decency,
would reward our loyal service. But...
..our loyal service does not merit a salute.
It does not even merit a decent packet of cigarettes.
Can you make sense of it?
I'm fighting for India...
..by fighting for England.
And I'm losing on all fronts.
(knocking on the door)
Mademoiselle.
HENRIETTE: Can we speak English, please?
Madame.
It's madame.
So, where is your husband?
Germany.
-I don't know where. -Mm.
He was taken prisoner.
He will be treated fairly.
Thank you.
So you're living here alone?
HENRIETTE: It was easier than living in Paris.
-There is more food here. -Mm.
But you shouldn't be here alone.
HENRIETTE: But...
you're patrolling, no?
Surely you're keeping us safe.
IN GERMAN:
(she breathes shakily)
Please...
My husband.
-I love my husband. -Shh, don't cry.
Don't cry.
I'm not going to hurt you.
You don't have to give me an answer now.
Only think on this.
You're alone.
And afraid.
And hungry.
I can make life easier for you.
I can protect you.
If you so choose.
I understand.
(footsteps)
(front door closes)
(she exhales)
I don't believe she is a spy.
I saw nothing. No drop. No signal.
I went to her rooms, I found nothing.
Or she gave you nothing to see, nothing to find.
No, we spoke about home.
She hates the Nazis as much as I do.
Isn't that exactly what a spy would say?
I don't believe any Pole would act against their country.
That's sentiment. Cut that out.
Everything you've done up to this point has been easy.
It's easy to kill Nazis.
It's easy to kill an enemy when they wear a swastika and speak German.
But your enemy now looks like your friend.
It's murky and it stinks, but this is the fight now.
-It's not easy to kill. -All right.
But you need to kill this last bit of yourself
if you're to be of any use to us.
Are you all right?
Yes, yes. I couldn't get rid of him.
(he groans)
-I'm sorry. -Oh...
You were very quiet.
I'll get you some morphine, if I can.
But we will have to leave tonight, as soon as it's dark.
You go.
Leave me, I'll be all right.
-I'm not leaving you. -I'm wrecked.
I'll be too slow.
-I'm not leaving you. -But you don't even know me.
You haven't been in France long enough.
A few more days, and you will think as we do.
That you are for me, and I am for you.
(she blows kisses)
(dog yaps)
Billy! Billy!
(wooden clunk)
CAPTAIN BRIGGS: Pal, your minefield was a damp squib.
The minefield will be relayed in standard defence formation.
Sir.
Sir!
That'll be all, Pal.
BRIGGS: At ease, men.
At ease, men.
At ease! That's an order!
You will obey your superior officer!
Lieutenant, you will discipline your men.
You will discipline your men, or you will all face the consequences!
Sir...
..you have neglected to salute me on three occasions now.
I'm sure that, if you were to salute me, as is proper,
my men would gladly obey.
I don't have to tell you, sir,
that respect for rank is the foundation of military discipline.
And we lead by example.
The minefield will be relayed in standard defence formation!
It will be done immediately!
The chain of command stops with me.
I'll do it.
British navy cut.
KASIA: I thought she was my friend.
She was kind to me and...
You know what you found. You know what you saw.
You did your duty.
You have other better friends.
Yes, I...
I owe Robina an apology. I...
Everything she did for Jan.
Come on, now.
Gather yourself, now.
Before Mrs Chase comes back.
Yes?
(footsteps recede)
(clink of bottles)
(engine starts)
Merci.
Merci, monsieur.
Right, lads, we're moving out, we're packing up. Come on.
The Royal Highlanders are relieving us. We're moving out back to base.
In two weeks, we'll be back out here.
If we keep snapping at the Germans, we might just hold Tobruk.
I'm very touched...
..by your concern.
Piss off.
It's stupid, playing the hero.
For what?
To show you've got the balls of some bushwhack digger
-from the back of beyond? -I don't know. I, erm...
Yes.
It was that hospital.
Lying there...
..with all the wounded and...
..the men who'd lost their eyes, the men who'll never walk again.
I've never felt so ridiculous.
The bloody thinking...
..of Kasia and...
..Lois...
..and Vera...
..and the whole sordid mess of it.
And then I saw her.
What?
Lois.
You saw her?
Yeah, at the hospital. She's in Egypt.
-She's left the baby. -Done a flit?
Oh, you don't half pick 'em!
(he sighs heavily)
Who's looking after the kid?
God help her, my mother.
In that case, there's all the more reason to stay alive, sir.
ROBINA: Ah...
If you wish to invite a friend for tea, Kasia,
of course, you're welcome to.
But I would have thought you'd have had the decency
to inform me of your plans first.
I am hoping to have tea with a friend, yes.
She's made you a cake.
It's a poppy seed cake.
It's a Polish recipe.
But I couldn't find any poppy seeds, so it's just a cake.
And then I had to use powdered eggs, so it came out very flat.
And then I covered it...
in jam.
But...
I hope it will still serve as an apology for what I said.
Oh, you're inviting me for tea?
Yes, please.
Ah. Just me, or...
is Mr Danemere to join us, too?
I don't know. I think he's gone out.
Good. Then we can speak...
frankly.
Jan, go and play.
Er, what is the matter?
I saw you together earlier.
You and Mr Danemere.
Might I remind you, Kasia, that you are not free?
You are married to my son.
It was nothing like that.
Oh, well, what was it like?
You were in intimate conversation.
I can't explain it.
Ah.
Huh.
Hm.
It's an awkward situation, hm?
He's in love with you. He's declared himself.
You perhaps are unsure.
-Hm? Something like that? -No!
It's inevitable he should fall for the younger woman.
However, I will not tolerate adultery.
My son may have two hearts,
but you, Kasia, are a woman, and I expect better from you.
You don't have to worry about anything like that.
(Vera starts to wail)
I'll see to her.
Do you love him, then?
James?
(approaching aircraft)
(aircraft roars overhead)