A true story from WW2
The 12th Man tells the dramatic story of Jan Baalsrud’s escape from the Nazis during the Second World War.
In Shetland, 12 Norwegian resistance fighters board a fishing boat with eight tons of TNT and cross the North Sea as part of Operation Martin with a plan to sabotage German military facilities. The mission gets into trouble soon after reaching Norway, where their local contact is long dead and their identity is compromised by a German sympathiser, who informs the Germans about their arrival.
A German warship locates the fishing boat and opens fire. Eleven of the fighters are rounded up by the Germans on the beach. One is shot on the spot and ten are captured. Two die from torture while being interrogated, the other captive fighters are executed on Tromsøya, after the German officers interrogate and torture them about their mission.
The 12th resistance fighter, Jan Baalsrud, manages to escape by hiding and swimming across the fjord, in sub-zero temperatures. He receives assistance from locals who risk their lives to help. (Wikipedia)
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