after learning that the Soviets have broken through the defenses of the Italian 8th Army, exposing his flanks. In Stalingrad, Wisse is put under Linkmann's command. The tensions between them soar, while the starving German soldiers become demoralized. Wisse is pursued by the Soviets, so he disguises himself as a Russian soldier. He stumbles into a group of Russians being fed; he encounters Katja there. She does not betray him, but directs him back to German lines. Eventually, Linkmann tries to desert, and is shot dead by Wisse. Field Marshal Paulus has been commanded to fight to the last man, but he eventually orders his men to surrender, and Wisse and 90,000 other survivors trudge into captivity. Cast Joachim Hansen as Wisse Wilhelm Borchert as Friedrich Paulus Wolfgang Preiss as Linkmann Carl Lange as General von Seydlitz Karl John as Hermann Hoth Horst Frank - Feldwebel Böse Peter Carsten as Obergefreiter Kraemer Richard Münch as Oberstleutnant Kesselbach Günter Pfitzmann as Wachtmeister Kunowski Sonja Ziemann as Katja Gunnar Möller as Leutnant Fuhrmann Ernst von Klipstein as General Armin Dahlen as Major Stanescu Paul Hoffmann as General Codreanu Alexander Kerst as Kriegspfarrer Busch References External links 1959 films 1959 war films German war films West German films 1950s German-language films Films about the Battle of Stalingrad Films based on military novels Films based on German novels Films directed by Frank Wisbar Films set in 1942 Films set in 1943 Siege films 1950s German films