Coup de Grâce

In 1919 Latvia, a detachment of German Freikorps is stationed at the Kratovice chateau near Riga to fight Bolshevik guerrillas. The mansion's inhabitants welcome them as guests, and the soldiers settle into a tense routine as food and supplies dwindle. The estate becomes a small world of hospitality amid a widening war.

An elderly veteran who has joined the Bolsheviks is captured, interrogated, and summarily executed by firing squad. The brutality of the act reveals the harsh climate of loyalties and punishment in the war. The incident unsettles the German soldiers at Kratovice and foreshadows harsher measures to come.

Sophie von Reval and her aunt Praskovia host dinners and entertain the officers to maintain appearances despite dwindling supplies. They try to preserve a sense of normalcy and civility within the collapsing war environment. The chateau becomes a fragile stage for social rituals amid growing tension.

Sophie attempts to attract Erich, hoping to draw him into a closer relationship, but he remains emotionally distant and rebuffs her advances. He scolds her for smoking and maintains a rigid professional boundary. The dynamic highlights the conflict between duty and desire under wartime strain.

Frustrated by Erich's distance, Sophie has intimate encounters with other men in the unit. Erich is aware of her liaisons, which strains their fragile relationship and underscores how the war corrodes personal loyalties. The tensions within the group heighten as casualties mount.

Over time, some of Sophie’s former lovers die in battles or on the road to Riga. Each loss deepens the sense of danger and the fragility of life within the fortress of Kratovice. The war’s reach touches personal bonds and highlights the cost of the conflict.

It becomes clear that no reinforcements are coming and all German troops are expected to withdraw by the New Year. The uneasy anti-Bolshevik coalition is fracturing, forcing a hurried retreat. The looming withdrawal frames the impending end of the unit’s mission.

Erich commands an offensive intended to slow the Bolshevik advance, but the operation results in the loss of the unit's medic. The death underscores the high human price of desperate tactical moves. The setback foreshadows further disintegration as retreat becomes inevitable.

Erich's childhood friend tells Sophie that Erich is attracted to Konrad, implying a deeper triangle between the trio. The revelation adds emotional stakes to an already-tense situation. Sophie absorbs the news as the retreat nears and loyalties fray.

Feeling cornered by the love triangle and the war's pressure, Sophie decides to join the Bolsheviks, confronting Erich about his secret as she departs. The defection fractures the Freikorps’ leadership and sets the stage for the retreat’s turmoil. The chateau’s inner circle is torn apart by personal and political shifts.

As the German withdrawal gathers pace, Konrad von Reval is killed in the fighting. His death deepens the tragedy of the retreat and underscores the cost of maintaining personal ties amid a collapsing campaign. The family-turned-unit is suddenly and irreversibly fracturing.

During a retreat ambush, Grigori Loew is killed and Sophie is captured. The capture marks a stark end to her defection and redefines the power dynamics among the remaining characters. The ambush intensifies the sense that the retreat will end in tragedy for all involved.

In the immediate aftermath of the ambush, Erich offers to escort Sophie to Germany, attempting to navigate the tangled loyalties between them. She rejects or undermines the gesture by stealing his cigarettes, signaling lingering resentment and survival instincts. The moment crystallizes the personal cost of their relationship.

The train to Germany is delayed by an attack, leaving everyone with the rest of the night to steel themselves for what comes next. The pause heightens the tension and the sense of an inevitable, grim fate. Soldiers brace themselves for the morning’s events.

In the morning, Sophie is executed by Erich after she asks to be shot. He carries out the act and then the men pose for a group photo before boarding the troop train. The scene provides a stark, somber closure to a story of duty, passion, and tragedy.