Saints and Soldiers: The Void

Bart Johnson,Blake Webb

1944 and 1945 see a series of allied invasions including D-Day, Market Garden and so on to liberate Nazi occupied territories in Europe. In the fight, American Sherman tanks are pitted head on against the superior German Panzers. In April 1945, Hitler commits suicide at his bunker. The US forces continue their onslaught deep into Nazi Germany and are followed closely by support and supply convoys. But as the war reaches its final stages, the gap between the front-line troops and supply convoys increases. This gap, which only has the dead enemy troops and battle debris, is nicknamed "The Void". The Void is an expanse spanning 100 miles in Germany.In May 1945, remnants of the German Army continue to fight in the Harz mountains, nicknamed "The Void" by American troops. An American M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, "The Avenging Angel" (manned by Mitchell, John Atwood and Carey Simms), fires on a German prison and liberates the Allied prisoners held there, including Lieutenant Goss (Ben Urie).The next day the prisoners are to be transported to the rear by Sergeant Jesse Owens (K. Danor Gerald), formerly 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and Private Perry (Alex Boye). Owens is not respected by some of the white soldiers because he is African American. Owens' and Perry load the rescued soldiers into their trucks and their mission is to deliver them back to HQ for medical attention and R&R. Their normal route back to the HQ is blocked due to a damaged bridge and hence the trucks are routes through a different town, which has a Bailey bridge installed.Captain Briton McConkie (Jeff Birk) orders Sergeant John Atwood (Timothy S. Shoemaker), commander of the Angel, and Sergeant Max Whitaker (Joel Bishop), to take their respective tanks to clear the town of a German resistance pocket, which is refusing to surrender.The two tanks travel along the roads, with some tension arising between Private Daniel Barlow (Matt Meese) and Rodney Mitchell (Michael Todd Behrens). The argument started with Barlow was smoking next to the ammunition and Mitchell admonished him. Corporal Carey Simms (Adam Gregory) stops the arguments.The truck convoy comes across a fake body in the road, where a hidden German Panzer III tank fires, destroying Perry's truck, killing everyone inside. The Germans open fire at Owens's truck, and he and Goss manage to escape. Owens and Goss manage to evade German patrols while trying to get back to their unit.The US tanks follow the same route as the trucks, since the bridge is damaged, and they also need to cross the river. The tanks come across a broken-down car with German occupants Frederick Kardoff (Philip Malzl), wife Gerta Kardoff (Becca Ingram) and daughter Aunna Kardoff (Aunna Abel), who claim to be on their way to a family farm. Atwood asks Mitchell to fix the car and provides some military rations to the family.Goss and Owens hear the US tanks coming down the road and intercept them before they run into the German tank ambush further up the road. Atwood and Goss look at the hidden German tanks and Atwood finds that the German tanks are commandeered by Lt. Klaus Shonbeck (David Morgan), who is also an instructor at the German Tank school.Back at the tank, Barlow insults Owens by saying that African American soldiers are lazy, undisciplined and substandard with low IQ.Atwood reports to Max about the Panzer's position. Max wants to wait for backup, but Atwood convinces Max to take out the Panzer as the tanks are unable to contact their base on radio. The plan is to Atwood to play decoy and lure the Panzer, and for Max to take it out. Mitchell asks Ownes to ride in his tank as he was a gun commander on a tank previously.Atwood is proven wrong when 2 more Panzers come out of the flanks and Max's tank takes a direct hit, after hitting one of the Panzers. Goss rescues Max, but Atwood is killed by machine gun fire, leaving Simms in charge of Atwood's tank. Goss links up with Simms' tank and lets them know that Max was the only one to survive from the other tank. Simms wants to sabotage the M18 and return to base on foot. Owens and Mitchell refuse to abandon the M18 for the Germans. Owens argues that every American vehicle will be using that road, till the damaged bridge is repaired. He calls it their military duty to destroy the Panzers and to secure the road.As the Panzers locate the M18, Owens locates some radio wire inside an abandoned mill and builds a makeshift antenna. Simms is then able to report his position to base, along with requesting support against 2 German Panzers. Owens then decides to use an abandoned artillery gun he had seen earlier, to defend against the Panzers. Meanwhile, the Germans fix the 3rd Panzer and head to the abandoned mill to hunt the remaining M18.As Owens and Simms use the artillery to attack a Panzer, the tank is distracted, giving Mitchell the opportunity to score a direct hit on it. Goss sneaks up on a 2nd Panzer crew and kills it with a machine gun, while they are inside the tank. The last surviving Panzer is commanded by Shonbeck himself.The Panzer follows the M18 back to the mill. Owens and Simms are already there. While waiting, Owens had told Simms the story of how his commanding officer at the 827 ordered him to take his crew on a night patrol when they were drunk, as punishment. The entire crew was slaughtered by Germans and Owens survived, which is why he attacked his CO. Owens was demoted to truck detail.Owens plans to use a tank grenade against the Panzer, but that is effective only at short range. Goss is captured by the German troops, but their commanding officer kills one of their own soldiers when he is taken hostage by Goss. As a result, the Germans shoot their own Commanding Officer and surrender to Goss. The group works as a team. Simms holds back the German infantry; Mitchell lures the Panzer and Owens gets in close enough to shoot his tank grenade and destroys the Panzer.Owens is awarded a Silver Star for his bravery and courage under enemy fire.