The Last Frontier (Подольские курсанты)

MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,

THE RUSSIAN CINEMA FUND, RUSSIAN MILITARY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

VOENFILM studio

Vadim Zadorozhny, Andrei Kozitsyn, Igor Ugolnikov

Podolsk Cadets charity fund, Ilyinsky Line non-profit association,

The Ministry of Culture of Moscow Region, Kaluga Region Governor Administration,

Sozidanie nonprofit organization, Transmashholding, Transneft

Vadim Zadorozhny's Vehicle Museum, UMMC's Museum of Military Vehicles,

Padikovo Museum of Russian military history, Military Hangar Museum,

Motors of War Museum, Trophy Vehicles Project

BASED ON REAL EVENTS

IN EARLY OCTOBER 1941,

NAZI FORCES ADVANCED TO WITHIN 200 KM OF MOSCOW

Come on, faster!

- Spread the outriggers! - Ready your weapons!

I have a target!

Reference two, enemy tank!

- Move it, move it! - Armor-piercing!

Where is it?

- Hurry up! - Armor-piercing, here!

Armor-piercing loaded!

Ready!

- Fire! - Firing!

- Load! - Left, twenty!

Tkachenko's hit!

Ready!

- Fire! - Firing!

Am I dead or wounded? If I'm wounded, carry me gently.

If I'm dead, better just leave me where I am.

PODOLSK. TRAINING GROUNDS OF ARTILLERY AND INFANTRY SCHOOLS

Not bad. Straight down the barrel. Who's the gun layer?

- Cadet Lavrov, Comrade Colonel. - Lavrov... Very good. Cut the water!

Cut the water!

- Fold the hoses! - Fold the hoses, affirmative!

- Bring on the third target. - Yes, sir.

Ready!

- Fire! - Firing!

Lavrov, you say?

What are you doing? You want to get us grounded again?

- Well, Lavrov did it again. - Yes. Better than everyone, again.

I thought you used to say Dmitry Shemyakin was best.

No wonder he's been so sulky lately.

What are you talking about? I can't hear you.

Cadet Tkachenko, of course you can't hear us. You're shell-shocked!

Replenish ammunition and get ready for the next exercise.

Yes, sir.

Fall in! Attention! Eyes right!

As you were. Who's the layer on gun number one?

- I am, Comrade Colonel! - Answer properly.

- Junior Sergeant Lavrov. - What am I to make of this, Lavrov?

Forgive me, Comrade Colonel, make of what?

Three shots, three hits, all within the allotted time,

but we accidentally destroyed the linkage on the last target.

Accidentally? So be it. How many targets were destroyed?

- Three, Comrade Colon... - Two! You destroyed two targets, cadet.

And that means the third tank blew your gun to smithereens

and you're all dead now! And it ran you over and carried on to Moscow!

In my book that's bad. Very bad!

- I don't understand... - Who can explain?

Sergeant Shemyakin.

The third shot hit the upper part of the tank's turret,

where the armor is at a low angle to the shell's trajectory.

The shell ricochets off and the target is not destroyed.

Three months from now you will all go to the front line.

You will be giving orders to men older than you.

Your performance will affect the outcome of our war against the Nazis.

Childhood is over, boys.

Now every mistake you make could lead to dozens of deaths.

Remember that!

Please.

- Grub's up, everyone! - Thanks.

Now do you understand that combat is not a circus or a funfair shooting gallery?

And there are no girls to impress.

But there are.

Alex, stay away from Masha. She's a good girl and not some kind of...

Some kind of what?

You mean, she's good and proper like you are, but too good for me?

- That's not what I wanted to say. - Then what?

So, because I grew up in an orphanage, I should "stay away" from good girls?

Our glorious infantry is returning! Greetings, field marshals!

Did you get to shoot your rifles?

We sure did. Got to do an assault drill and some hand-to-hand combat.

- Are you still not allowed to fight? - Can't hear you for all the dust!

Are you still hiding behind your metal toys? Some war gods you are!

Did they expel you all from school or did they just abandon you here?

- We'll show you yet! - No talking in ranks!

Let's make a pact - neither you nor I make any moves.

If she chooses either one of us, so be it.

- Where I come from we fight over girls. - But we aren't going to, are we?

Do we have a deal?

Deal.

PODOLSK ARTILLERY SCHOOL

- Sorry, Comrade Doctor, I fell asleep. - That's fine, it happens.

Is everything alright?

I thought I heard footsteps in here.

Masha, you really should get some proper sleep.

Put your textbooks away.

But I need to study, to memorize all these Latin names.

Who gave you those flowers?

I don't even know.

Oh girls. I feel so sorry for you.

You fall in love and the next thing you know, he's off to the front line.

They're flying toward Moscow again. How much bombing can it stand...

A draft?

Check the windows and go to sleep.

Lavrov?

What are you thinking? You... How dare you do this, Lavrov?

It wasn't me... It was these flasks...

I thought we had a deal.

Yes we did.

And you broke it.

Dmitry...

- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. - Didn't mean to?

That simple? You "didn't mean to" but you did anyway?

Dmitry...

I know I'm guilty, but I couldn't help it. Forgive me. As a friend.

- Forgive you and that's that? - And that's that.

What are you smiling about?

Can you imagine... She kissed me! Of her own accord!

You shameless bastard.

Hey, stop it! Get back to your bunks!

What's the meaning of this?

Comrade Battery Commander...

Right...

Looking good.

What happened?

I see.

Then I'll tell you what happened.

In his sleep, Dmitry Shemyakin rolled over, fell from his bunk,

and busted his lip on his bedside table.

As for Lavrov, he smacked his brow against the bed post while helping his friend get up.

If that's not what happened, you can't continue your training tomorrow.

- Is that clear? - Yes, sir.

In that case, clean up and go back to your bunks!

Comrade Lieutenant, that's not what happened.

Junior Sergeant Lavrov and I had a fight.

And according to the Regulations we must be disciplined.

Silence!

Well, in that case...

- Five days' arrest, both of you. - Yes, sir.

That's not all.

Junior Sergeant Lavrov,

I'm afraid that your misconduct, including yesterday's at the training grounds,

could cumulatively lead to your expulsion.

WARSAW HIGHWAY

Confirmed. I see a convoy of enemy armored vehicles

moving along the Warsaw Highway outside of Yukhnov.

I can't tell how many. Too many to count.

"MOSCOW 190 KM"

Two days ago, after fierce fighting, the enemy breached two of our front lines.

They immediately sent in several large mechanized units.

Today they captured Yukhnov.

At present, we have no forces in place to stop them reaching Moscow.

We received orders to urgently deploy the Podolsk military schools.

They are the only resource in the area. We must deploy everything we can

to hold back the enemy until High Command sends in reserves. That's five to six days.

But Comrade Lieutenant General, they're future Red Army commanders!

In a month or two they'll finish their training and go on to defend...

Colonel Strelbitsky, who and what are they going to defend in a month or two

if the Germans take Moscow tomorrow?

Trust me, Colonel, it was a very tough decision, but we had no choice.

Your orders are to move out to the Ilyinsky Frontier immediately.

Yes, Comrade Lieutenant General.

The combined detachment will be

under command of Head of the Infantry School Major General Smirnov.

He will meet you on the frontier.

You'll be his second in command.

The task is to set up defenses in the village of Ilyinskoye.

Here's the highway, the river, and the bridge.

We're building 20 artillery pillboxes and 20 machine gun pillboxes.

The Nazis have up to 300 tanks. Only artillery can stop them.

Comrade Lieutenant General,

all of our combat-ready weapons have been sent to the front line.

We have no more than 30 left, of which only 12 are reliable

and the rest will only fire five to six rounds if we're lucky.

We'll send you more weapons. Move out.

Five to six days. We're counting on you. Hold them back. At all costs.

Head of the School. Open the gate!

Greetings from the Infantry School.

- Why are you so serious, Pakhomov? - There's a reason for that. Right, Rayeel?

Rayeel!

There's something I've always wanted to know.

When performing CPR, do you purse your lips like so? Or like so?

It depends. Everyone's lips are different.

Right. Our medical instructor even said,

"Pakhomov, before you pass out you'd better put your lips together

because your mouth doesn't conform to military standards."

Masha!

Alex asked me to tell you he can't come to see you today.

Why? What happened?

He's under arrest. He and Dmitry had a fight.

How come you're so quiet?

You asked me out on a date but now you're all tongue-tied.

- Shishkina... Lucy... - Well? What is it?

Shishkina...

I'm proposing to you.

Will you marry me?

General assembly!

Artillery cadets, assemble!

Infantry cadets, to the school! On the double!