''The Green Devils of Monte Cassino'' (german: Die grünen Teufel von Monte Cassino) is a 1958 French–German

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by

Harald Reinl Harald Reinl (8 July 1908 in Bad Ischl, Austria – 9 October 1986 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) was an Austrian film director. He is known for the films he made based on Edgar Wallace and Karl May books (see Karl May movies and Edgar Walla ...

and starring

Dieter Eppler Dieter Eppler (11 February 1927, in Stuttgart – 12 April 2008, in Stuttgart) was a German television actor and director of radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purel ...

Joachim Fuchsberger Joachim "Blacky" Fuchsberger (pronounced ; 11 March 1927 – 11 September 2014) was a German actor and television host, best known to a wide German-speaking audience as one of the recurring actors in various Edgar Wallace movies (often a Detecti ...

, Antje Geerk and

Ewald Balser Ewald Balser (5 October 1898 – 17 April 1978) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1935 and 1975. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. Partial filmography * ''Jana, the Girl from the ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p. 389 The film is a fictional love story framed by actual historic events surrounding the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

and the evacuation of its stores of art treasures. The title refers to the nickname of the ''

Fallschirmjäger The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander ...

'', the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

Plot summary

Summer, 1943. After long and arduous duty at the Eastern Front, the 1st Fallschirmjägerdivision is dropped off by parachute at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

for recuperation. Several paratroopers are injured during the jump, including Oberjäger Karl Christiansen, a former infantry

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. However, ...

who detests the war and was demoted for refusing to execute a captured enemy soldier. At the hospital he meets Inge, a nurse, and the two fall in love. However, Reiter, an

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

of the division, has taken a fancy on Inge as well. Right after their arrival, the paratroopers and Inge's hospital corps are reassigned to the Italian front. They receive the order to occupy and secure the area of

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

, including the nearby town, but not the monastery at the top of the hill, which is meant to shelter the evacuated townspeople and historical art treasures from the surrounding communities. Soon the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

mount an offensive on their position. Upon learning about the art treasures stored in the abbey,

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedis ...

Julius Schlegel, about to be sent back home to Austria for heart issues, decides on his own initiative to save the priceless artifacts, and after much arguing convinces the abbot to permit their evacuation to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

into the custody of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. However, Allied radio propaganda claims that the Germans are in fact plundering the treasures, and the news quickly spreads among the Cassino townspeople and German high command. Still, despite the threat of a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, Schlegel's division commander officially grants him permission and support for the operation. In the meantime, Karl and Reiter reunite with Inge, of whose presence they have just learned, which sparks jealously in the Oberleutnant. Additionally, partisan activity has increased against the alleged plundering. The final transport is to commence the following night, with Karl assigned as an escort and Inge going along to request medical supplies. For intercepting the convoy, local resistance member Fausto asks his friend Gina to retrieve a submachine gun from its hiding place in her house, which is occupied by Reiter. Reiter catches her in the act, and in order to avoid suspicion, Gina sleeps with him, but then Reiter finds the gun and forces Gina to confess. Then he and the rest of the division arrive to thwart a resistance attack on the convoy, and Fausto is captured. Reiter orders Karl to execute him, but Karl only pretends to do so, letting Fausto go. In return for this gesture, Fausto stops the resistance from conducting further attacks, and the convoy safely delivers its precious cargo to the Vatican. In February the next year, a

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

major Allied attack commences, in whose course the abbey is hit and destroyed by Allied bombs. Most of the civilian survivors - excluding Inge, Gina (forcibly made Reiter's mistress) and several wounded and children - evacuate the ruins, which are then used by the German paratroopers as a fortified position. Gina loses her life in an artillery barrage, and the next night Reiter is killed while on his way to another paratroop battalion. The German defenders are eventually overwhelmed by a

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and later a fourth Allied assault, and Monte Cassino is captured by Allied troops. Karl and Inge both survive the war and, after its conclusion, visit the graves of the fallen at the foot of the fully restored monastery.

Cast

Production

The film was shot at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Fir ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. The film's sets were designed by Arne Flekstad and

Bruno Monden Bruno Monden (1900–1980) was a German art director. He designed the sets for several rubble films in the wake of the Second World War.Shandley p.217 Selected filmography * '' The Stars Shine'' (1938) * '' The Murderers Are Among Us'' (1946) * ...

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Devils of Monte Cassino 1958 films 1958 war films West German films German war films French war films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Harald Reinl German World War II films Italian Campaign of World War II films Battle of Monte Cassino Films shot at Bavaria Studios Constantin Film films Films set in 1943 Films set in 1944 Films set in Lazio Films set in monasteries 1950s French films 1950s German films