The 12th Man

During the Second World War, the ruthless Nazis attacked Norway and took control of it. In the process, they killed hundreds of civilians, obliterated the cities, and committed other inhumane war crimes. They also looted the country of its valuable resources, making themselves even stronger.

Hence, with each passing day, the Allies came under immense pressure, knowing that they could be next. Following this, we are taken to the year 1943. In Scotland, a bunch of Norwegian men are being trained by the Royal British Army.

The plan is to form a special group, which can sneak inside occupied Norway and destroy German strongholds like military bases and airports. After weeks of rigorous training, 12 men are finally selected. They are sent off via a ship, with all the necessary arrangements.

However, at the end of the mission, only one returns. All his friends have been killed brutally. The scene then cuts to 3 months earlier, when the 12 men have come under attack. The Germans spotted them from afar and destroyed their ship.

11 of them are immediately apprehended, but the final one, Jan Baalsrud, manages to hide. Shortly after, he makes a run for it, and the Germans finally notice him. They fire several bullets at him, until one of them strikes Jan in his toe. Soon, there is blood everywhere, and the Germans follow it to track the fugitive.

However, Jan still manages to get away. After hours of running, he arrives near a lake at night. The temperature is freezing, and Jan very well knows that he can die of a cardiac arrest, but since the Germans are approaching, he decides to take the risk.

Jan slowly gets inside the freezing cold water and swims away. Seconds later, the Germans arrive with flare guns and torches. They search the entire area but find no signs of the fugitive.

Hence, the general deduces that Jan has already died inside the lake, and leaves with his men. Later, a superior Nazi officer; Kurt Stage, arrives to inspect the 12 Norwegian soldiers.

When he finds only 11, he asks the general about it, and the latter asserts that the 12th one died inside a lake. However, Kurt is not going to believe it until and unless he finds a body. So, he orders his men to search the entire area and find the 12th man.

Elsewhere, Jan emerges from the lake, but his condition has become very critical. His face and other body parts have been covered in ice. Despite this, Jan continues moving forward, until he comes across a couple of locals.

Luckily, the two turn out to be good people, and they immediately escort Jan to their home. There, they provide him with food and warm clothes, and also treat his wounds. Jan is really lucky to be alive, because if he had stayed a few more hours in the snow, he would have died of hypothermia.

On the other hand, Kurt interrogates the 11 men for information about their plans, but no one speaks a word. As a result, he punishes them severely and even executes some of them. Kurt is also adamant on finding the 12th man, but he firstly wants to check if it is even possible to cross the freezing lake.

Kurt himself volunteers and immerses himself inside the insanely cold lake. He stays there for 20 long minutes, and finally comes to the conclusion that one can definitely survive this lake. Meanwhile, after Jan gets better, he sets out to help his friends.

A kind local rows him across the lake, and gives him some supplies. Jan, who has no idea where he is, stumbles across a cottage, where an old lady lives. The two chat for a while, and become fast friends.

The old lady even treats his feet, and gives him the address of someone who can help him. After a while, Jan thanks her and departs. He is once again back in the cold wilderness, where nothing but snow is visible for as far as the eyes can see.

However, with the hopes of seeing his friends again, Jan continues walking. That evening, he finally arrives at the address the old lady gave him. The inhabitants of the house are a couple and their loving daughter. After Jan explains his story, the three immediately welcome him home and provide him with good food.

One day, the wife approaches Jan with some bad news. She mentions that one of her friends is a nurse, who works at the local hospital. In the same hospital, several of Jan’s friends have been kept.

They have been mistreated and beaten up to the point that some have gone insane while some have already died. Hearing this, Jan breaks down in tears and decides to abandon his plan of rescuing his friends.

Instead, he wants to go to neutral Sweden, as there, the Germans can’t harm him. Elsewhere, when Kurt fails to extract any information out of the Norwegians, he shoots all of them dead.

Later, one of the officers approaches him and explains that they have searched all the houses in the area, but couldn’t find the 12th man. He then requests to call off the search operations, and make a report that they killed all 12 Norwegian soldiers.

However, Kurt refuses, saying he doesn’t want to lie to Hitler. Elsewhere, Jan has arrived at a fisherman’s house, as per the earlier family’s instructions. On his boat, the fisherman gives him a ride as far as he can. On the way, they have a good conversation about the current affairs of the country.

The fisherman then whips out a newspaper and showcases an article highlighting Kurt Stage. It turns out Kurt is one of the fiercest Nazi Generals, who has won numerous medals for his gallantry.

He has a record of tracking down and apprehending all the prisoners he has gone after. Now, Kurt is on the hunt for Jan, and he is taking the matter very seriously. In the next scene, the boat finally arrives at the shore.

The fisherman hands Jan some food, water, and even a pair of skis before departing. Following this, Jan puts on the skis and continues his journey. He goes through dense forests and high hills, until he comes across a small village.

Unfortunately, there are a few Germans in the area, and Kurt is one of them. As Jan tries going past them, he suddenly trips and falls. Soon, Kurt approaches him and stares into his eyes menacingly.

It appears as if the Norwegian is going to be apprehended, but Kurt simply makes fun of his skiing abilities and lets him go. However, after a few minutes, it finally dawns on Kurt that the skier might be the fugitive they are looking for.

Hence, without wasting any time, he orders his men to call for backup. Shortly after, a Luftwaffe aircraft is dispatched, and it immediately tracks Jan. The aircraft then fires several rounds of bullets, but none of them hit their target.

Just then, a massive avalanche occurs, and despite Jan trying his best to escape, he is caught in the snow and buried. Because of this, the aircraft also leaves. After several hours, Jan comes out of the snow. He is in a very horrible condition;

his face is bleeding profusely because of severe frostbite, his nails have come off, and even his eyes are injured. At first glance, it appears as if a zombie has risen from the snow.

Despite all this, Jan still manages to get up. His body may be bruised and battered, but the willpower inside him is stronger than ever. Hence, he slowly moves through the white wasteland, hoping he can find help.

On the other hand, Kurt learns about the avalanche, but he is still sure that Jan is alive. So, he sends some soldiers to the location. By this time, Jan is long gone, but his belongings have been left behind.

The soldiers find his clothes, a map, and also his pair of skis. When Kurt gets to know of this, he initiates a massive manhunt to find the escaped fugitive. The soldiers go from door to door, and ask all the families in the area if they have seen Jan.

They also threaten to kill those who are found assisting the perpetrator. Meanwhile, a lifeless Jan somehow manages to reach the nearby village, where a brother-sister duo; Marius and Gudrun, immediately assist him.

They patch up his wounds, give him warm clothes, and also manage a place for him to hide, as the Germans are frequently inspecting the area. After a long week, Jan regains some of his strength and is ready to depart.

But since he cannot walk due to severe frostbite, the siblings, and some other locals, put him in a sledge and drop him in a nearby cottage. There, Jan will have to live alone for some days, until someone comes to pick him up. The first few days go by easily, but then, he starts hallucinating.

In most of his nightmares, Jan sees himself being apprehended by the Germans. He also finds himself dancing to a beautiful song. One day, when he checks his feet, he finds most of the fingers infected by gangrene.

Realizing that the disease will spread if not treated soon, Jan decides to carry out a tough decision. He picks up a knife and slices some of his infected fingers, causing him excruciating pain.

However, because of this decision, his life is saved. After 9 long days, Marius finally arrives with his group and wakes Jan up. Together, they load him on a sledge and start pulling him uphill.

Later, they arrive at another checkpoint and hide him under a large rock. Before leaving, Marius promises to Jan that a man will pick him up soon and take him across the border, to Sweden. Unfortunately, even after several hours, no one comes.

Day turns into night, and the temperature drops well below -20 degrees. Jan is shivering profusely, and it appears as if he is finally going to bite the dust. In the next scene, Marius and Gudrun are at home, discussing if Jan has already crossed the border.

Just then, a man approaches them anxiously. He is the same man who was supposed to pick up Jan 4 days ago. When the siblings ask what happened, the man mentions that he searched everywhere around the mountain, but couldn’t find Jan.

This is when Marius realizes that he and his group actually left Jan on the wrong mountain. Wasting no time, he heads to the said location with one of his friends, and digs Jan out of the thick snow. The latter appears to be lifeless, but soon, he starts moving.

Even after being deprived of food and water for several days, Jan has managed to survive whilst being submerged in the thick snow. Marius feeds him some hot soup and requests him to hang on for just a few more hours. In no time, a group of men arrive with sledges and take him away.

They travel for hours along the desolate terrain, but since Jan has become considerably weak, they decide to take shelter inside a cave. Jan is furious with the idea, as he fears the Germans might catch up to them.

He is also scared that he will put the lives of these men in danger. However, the leader of the sledge group assures him that they are safe. Following this, the group starts taking care of Jan.

From time to time, they also cut off the infected parts on his feet, so that the gangrene doesn’t spread. 6 days pass by, and when Jan finally recovers some of his health, the group decides to leave.

This time, they employ the help of thousands of reindeers, because right near the border, there is a German outpost. The plan is to crowd the area so that Jan goes unnoticed After a while, the entire group sets out, and Jan is loaded on a sled, which is pulled by the alpha reindeer of the herd.

In no time, they approach the border, prompting the Germans to be on high alert. They quickly bring out their binoculars and look for Jan, but fail to find him in the crowd.

The plan seems to be working for the group, but just then, the ropes holding Jan’s sledge snaps, resulting in a painful accident. The Germans also notice him and immediately start firing, but using the last of his strength, Jan manages to hide behind a rock.

Now, it is just a matter of time before he is found out. So, with no options left, Jan brings out his gun and prepares to commit the unthinkable. However, right before he can do it, the alpha reindeer approaches him.

This reinvigorates Jan’s purpose to live, so he drops his gun and starts tying the rope around his hands. Then, he fires his gun in the sky, startling the reindeer so badly that it starts running with all its might.

The two go right past the Germans, avoiding all their bullets. Then, a miracle happens. The reindeer manages to take Jan across the border, to Sweden. Jan is over the moon and he starts screaming like a maniac while the Germans are distraught as they have no jurisdiction on the other side.

They immediately call Kurt and inform him about it, and the latter cannot believe that he has failed for the first time in his life. Cut to 3 months later, Jan has returned to Scotland.

He has mostly recovered from his physical injuries, but the mental trauma still persists. One day, during a military function, he slowly limps towards his general and hands him his report.

Jan is considered a hero for escaping the Nazis, and retrieving information, which turned out to be vital in liberating Norway. In 1945, the war ended, and Kurt Stage was executed in 1947 for the atrocities he took part in.

Marius got married and had 5 children, while Gudrun lived with her boyfriend happily. Jan was honored with several bravery awards, but he credits all the brave men, women and even the reindeer who helped him during the 63 hellish days.

Jan lived a long and peaceful life with his family in Norway, until he died in 1988.