March, 1945: The insecure and hesitant reserve lieutenant Felix Bleck receives orders to lead a transport of 40 prisoners to the Western Front, where the men are to be burned up in a punishment battalion. On the way there, Bleck realizes the inhuman futility of his assignment and makes a fateful decision.

In 1939 German U-boat captain Günther Prien receives orders to infiltrate the British Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow and sink British warships.