The Last Blitzkrieg

Plot

Several American GIs plan an escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp. Among them is a German, Lt. Hans von Kroner, known to them as Sgt. Richardson, who is working undercover, spying on the prisoners and polishing up his American English. Reporting the escape plan to the Camp Commandant, Von Kroner is told he is being removed from the camp as part of a top secret project gathering all fluent English-speaking members of the Wehrmacht for an unstated reason.

Von Kroner is sent to a German castle with others for Operation Greif (called "Operation OK Butch" in the film), where they will dress in American uniforms and spearhead the Ardennes Offensive by committing sabotage, confusing enemy forces, and seizing key objectives for the attacking German forces. Assisting in the training, Von Kroner is assigned a team of three other men with various skills including a Waffen SS Officer, Wilitz, who regales his comrades with stories of his exploits in terrorizing unfortunates whilst a member of the Brown Shirts.

Von Kroner's team's activities and the initial German assault meet with success, but both soon run into unexpected difficulty. Von Kroner's forged orders are countermanded by a decimated American infantry company of the 23rd Infantry that forces them into being replacements, while the bad weather that made the German assault successful ends, enabling American air power to attack the Germans. In their new unit, Von Kroner meets his two fellow American prisoners, Sgt. Ludwig and Cpl. Ennis; they say they were the only survivors of their escape, as the Germans knew about it and ambushed them.

Obtaining plans for an American counterattack against a strategic crossroads, Von Kroner warns the Germans by radio of the American attack but is ordered to stay with the Americans to ensure that the attack fails. Von Kroner's team sabotage a jeep with a bomb, killing the company commander, and attempt to destroy the unit's other vehicle, a weapons carrier, arousing Ludwig's suspicion.

The company attacks a German position with Wilitz using the opportunity to shoot their lieutenant in the back, placing Ludwig in command. Several German prisoners are taken, and Richardson/Von Kroner volunteers to take them to Battalion headquarters. He returns to tell his comrades that the prisoners didn't want to escape; they wanted to surrender to the Americans with Von Kroner taking them in. A furious Wilitz insists that Von Kroner should have shot the lot of them.

With news of German infiltrators behind American lines spreading, Ludwig is further suspicious when Wilitz doesn't know what the American "hot foot" is.

Cast

Van Johnson ... Lt. Hans von Kroner / Sgt. Leonard Richardson
Kerwin Mathews ... Wilitz
Dick York ... Plt. Sgt. Ludwig
Larry Storch ... Cpl. Ennis
Lise Bourdin ... Monique
Han Bentz van den Berg ... Major von Ruppel
Leon Askin ... Sgt. Steiner
Robert Boon ... Kirsch
Ton Van Duinhoven ... Hoffner
Gijsbert Tersteeg ... Colonel Eindorf
Brett Halsey (billed as Montgomery Ford) ... Capt. Levin
Charles Rosenblum ... Schwarz

Production

The film was shot in the Netherlands, in the Cinetone studios in Amsterdam and in the Veluwe forest between Apeldorn and Arhhem.