Five Cartridges

During the Spanish Civil War, the battalion is cut off without water or ammunition as Nationalist forces press in. Major Bolaños asks his commissar, Witting, to select volunteers who will stay behind to defend the trenches while the rest retreat across the Ebro River. The arrangement sets up a desperate, high-stakes stand that will test loyalty and courage.

Witting chooses Pierre, Willi, Oleg, José, and Dimitri to remain behind and hold the line. He also designates Vasia, the Soviet radio operator, to stay behind to handle communications. The volunteers accept the risky assignment and prepare to dig in as the battalion pulls back.

The volunteers dig in and fend off attacks for several hours, stalling the Nationalists long enough for the rest of the battalion to retreat. Vasia remains behind to manage communications, keeping a slim link to the wider fight. The stand tests their nerves as the enemy presses closer.

Witting is spotted and shot by the enemy. As he dies, he tears a page into five pieces and hides them in spent cartridges, giving one to each volunteer. He instructs them that the fragments are a message that can only be deciphered if all pieces reach their destination.

The volunteers slip away with the five cartridges and set out to reach the battalion. They must survive the return journey themselves, not just deliver a message. The mission becomes a test of endurance as they move under threat and fatigue.

Following the breakout, Vasia vanishes in the confusion of the escape. The others continue moving toward safety while searching for him, aware that every search could reveal their own location to the enemy. His absence adds pressure to an already perilous journey.

The group traverses the Sierra under scorching heat, plus the burden of dwindling supplies. They push onward in the blistering sun, driven by the hope of rejoining the battalion. The demanding terrain magnifies the strain on body and morale.

All wells in the area are guarded by Nationalists, making water a precious and contested resource. Despair and irritability rise as thirst gnaws at their strength. The group fights not just men, but the brutal heat and the lack of drinkable water.

Vasia wanders into a village seeking water and is captured by the Guardia Civil. The others stage a dangerous rescue to pull him back before he is executed. His survival reinforces the fragile thread of their mission.

Vasia volunteers to hold off the pursuing Falangists. He pretends to surrender and approaches the enemy with a grenade, dying when it detonates. His sacrifice buys precious time for his comrades to keep moving.

Pierre steps from cover to drink from a well and is shot dead by guards. The death underscores the deadly risks of thirst and the brutal conditions they endure. The remaining volunteers press forward, driven by the need to reach safety.

Exhausted but determined, the last of the volunteers reach the battalion across the Ebro and rejoin their comrades. Their bodies are spent, yet their unity keeps them moving toward safety. The pull of the larger unit renews their resolve to endure until the end.

Back with the battalion, the five cartridges are opened and the hidden message is read. Witting’s note states simply to stay together, so they will survive. The revelation reframes the mission as a testament to unity rather than individual survival.

Despite extreme danger and successive losses, the volunteers’ decision to stay together allows them to endure. The deciphered message confirms that unity was the key to their survival. The ordeal ends with a sobering reminder of how solidarity can outlast the harshest tests.