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At
a British outpost in Libya during World War II, commandoes train to raid
General Rommel's headquarters in Benghazi and steal the German general's
secret documents. Two officers vie to lead the mission: Maj. David
Brand, a South-African-born British career officer who hopes to win a
promotion if the mission succeeds, and Captain James Leith, a former
archeologist who volunteered to fight in Africa because of his knowledge of
Arabic and familiarity with the land.
Brand’s wife Jane has joined the army to be near
her husband and, when she unexpectedly arrives on the base, he takes her to
the officers' club. When Brand introduces her to Leith, Leith
cryptically mentions falling in love with a woman before the war.
After Brand leaves to confer with General Paterson, the head of the base, Jane
and Leith drop their formality toward each other and she chides him for
leaving her. When Leith replies that he was "afraid to stay with her,"
she calls him a coward and declares that she married Brand because "he did
not run away."
Upon returning to the club, Brand observes Jane
and Leith dancing in an intimate fashion and later jealousy interrogates
Jane about her relationship with Leith.
Soon after, Brand and Leith are summoned to
headquarters, where Brand is assigned to lead the mission to steal German
intelligence documents. Leith is to be second-in-command, and they are
to be accompanied by Mekrane, an Arab friend of Leith who worked with him in
the desert. Paterson explains that Lieutenant Barton will lead a diversionary
attack while Brand and his men raid German headquarters. Once their
mission is completed, they are to rendezvous with Barton at a fortress in
the desert where Sergeant Evans will be waiting with a camel to lead them back
to the base. Upon learning that the two men she loves are being
dispatched on a dangerous mission, Jane experiences concern and confusion.
Arriving in Benghazi disguised as Arabs, Brand
and his men penetrate the German compound. When Brand hesitates
killing a sentry, Leith glares at him in contempt and stabs the German.
After taking the compound by force, they unlock the safe, steal the
documents and flee. Soon after, a group of German soldiers arrives
and, finding their compatriots massacred and their compound in shambles,
drives out into the desert in pursuit of Brand and his men. Upon
reaching the desert, Leith asks Brand why he hesitated killing the sentry
and implies that he is a coward.
As the commandoes near their rendezvous with
Barton’s troops, the Germans appear. In the ensuing battle, two
soldiers are wounded and all the Germans are killed, except for one officer
whom they take prisoner. When Brand orders Leith to stay behind with
the wounded men, Leith wonders if Brand is trying to kill him because he
witnessed the major’s cowardice.
At dawn the next morning, a mortally wounded
German soldier begs Leith to shoot him. After Leith grants the man’s
wish, a wounded British soldier begs for the same fate, but Leith discovers
that he is out of bullets. Hoisting the man onto his shoulders, Leith
trudges into the desert where he comes upon Mekrane. When Mekrane
informs him that the soldier is dead, Leith observes that he kills the
living and saves the dead.
Meanwhile, Barton mercilessly leads his
exhausted, parched troops to the fortress where they are to meet Evans.
Forging ahead, despite the wind, they reach the deserted, ruined fortress
and find Evans and his men dead inside.
Soon after, Mekrane and Leith arrive at the
fortress and Brand chastises Leith for allowing the wounded to die.
After Mekrane locates Evans’ camel, they load the documents and water onto
the animal and continue their trek through the desert. When they come upon
a well, the men fear the water may be poisoned and refuse to drink until
Brand takes the first swallow. The party stops to rest and, when Brand
sees a scorpion crawling though the barren sands, he says nothing.
Soon after, the scorpion crawls up Leith’s leg and bites him. To save
Leith’s life, Mekrane kills the camel and uses its blood as an antidote to
the venom.
That night, Mekrane, certain that Brand tried to
kill his friend Leith, tries to stab the major, but Brand shoots and kills
him first. After Leith’s leg becomes gangrenous Brand declares that he
is leaving Leith behind because his orders state that that he is "not
obliged to save the wounded if it jeopardizes the mission." Horrified,
Barton offers to stay with Leith, but Brand refuses and sends Barton ahead
with the men so that he can have a last word with Leith. After Barton
and the others depart, Brand accuses Leith of goading him into murder.
When Brand asks Leith if he has any last words, Leith removes his ID tags
and hands them to Brand, asking him to give them to Jane, along with his
apologies. Just then, a blinding sandstorm strikes, paralyzing the men
and burying Leith.
Once the storm abates, the men spot a British
truck and jeep in the distance and run to greet them, leaving behind the
German prisoner of war and Leith’s lifeless body. Staring after them
in contempt, the German sets fire to the bag containing the documents, but
Brand manages to extinguish the flames. Back at the base, word comes
that two officers have survived the mission, but have not been identified.
When the troops return, Jane realizes that Leith is not among them and
breaks into tears when Brand gives her Leith’s ID tags. When Paterson
assembles the troops to award Brand the Distinguished Service Medal, Jane
turns her back and walks away. After the general dismisses the men,
they glare at Brand and leave. Now completely alone, Brand pins the
medal on the chest of one of the training targets. |
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