Saints and Soldiers: The Void

In May 1945 the remnants of the German army fight in the Harz mountains. The opening narration explains that a widening gap—The Void—exists between the forward Allied spearheads and the critical rearguard, turning the landscape into battle debris. This setting establishes the danger and isolation the characters will face.

The American M18 Hellcat nicknamed The Avenging Angel fires on the watchtower of a German POW camp, enabling the escape of the prisoners inside. Among them is a British lieutenant named Goss. The act plants the seeds for the convoy and rescue operations to come.

The freed prisoners are scheduled to be transported to the rear by a convoy the next day. Two of the trucks are driven by Sergeant Jesse Owens and Private Perry, highlighting Owens' uneasy status among white soldiers because he is African-American. The plan sets up the imminent clash with German forces along the road.

Captain Briton McConkie instructs Sgt. John Atwood, commander of The Avenging Angel, and Sgt. Max Whitaker, commanding The Annie, to clear an area still defended by Germans. Atwood’s crew includes Corporal Carey Simms, Private Daniel Barlow, and Rodney Mitchell, with friction noted between Mitchell and Whitaker. The mission intensifies the stakes for the two M18s.

A decoy on the road conceals a hidden German Panzer III that blasts Perry’s truck, killing everyone inside. Owens and Goss survive the attack and manage to flee the killing zone. The convoy’s guide is now severely compromised, heightening the danger for the remaining prisoners.

The two M18s encounter a German family and, despite recognizing the man’s recent service in the German army, they choose to let them go. The parting decision underscores the cat-and-mouse dynamic of civilians caught in the war. The family’s presence also foreshadows more German resistance ahead.

The Angel and Annie encounter Owens and Goss, who have evaded pursuers. They learn there are three German tanks waiting in ambush. In the ensuing battle, the Annie is destroyed and most of Whitaker’s crew are killed, while The Avenging Angel escapes but Atwood is killed.

Owens and Simms set aside their earlier conflict and use an artillery piece found nearby to block the German tanks’ advance. They miss the shot initially, but their effort forces a German tank to move into a position where the Angel can strike. The Angel then destroys the Panzer, and the crew escapes, obtaining a Panzerfaust.

Using an improvised antenna, the Angel’s crew radios the headquarters and learns that Allied vehicles likely to drive into the ambush include a jeep carrying an Allied general. The warning heightens the tension and motivates action to intercept the threat. This glimpse into higher-level planning contrasts with the frontline chaos.

Owens recounts leading a mostly African-American unit in the Ardennes, where a punishment recon mission turned into a suicide mission. Only Owens survived, and he later assaulted an officer, explaining his drive and mistrust of authority. The flashback clarifies his leadership style and the weight of responsibility he bears.

Goss escaped from a German POW camp with two other soldiers; Shoenbeck captured all three, forcing them to play Russian roulette. The two other soldiers died, and Shoenbeck later comes out of retirement to command the very Panzer unit the Americans face. This backstory adds a personal antagonist to Goss’s arc.

On foot, Goss shoots the tank commander, climbs onto the turret, and kills the crew through the hatch. He then takes a German soldier hostage; Shoenbeck tries to kill Goss but is shot in the back by one of his own soldiers, who then surrenders to Goss. This sequence marks a personal triumph within the larger battle.

The Angel lures the last German tank into a cellar, where Owens fires a Panzerfaust at its underside, destroying it. In the aftermath, Barlow and Mitchell reconcile, and Simms and Owens forge a new friendship built on shared danger and trust. The surviving crew ends the engagement with renewed unity.