May 1940, the German Blitzkrieg is advancing.
The British Expeditionary Forces are driven back to the North Sea in only 18 days.
300 000 Soldiers were hastily transferred to England.
A handful of Belgians went along with this crossing.
Belgians who will remain in England during the war.
Enlisted in the army in exile.
They are recruits, fishermen, farmers' sons.
But they want to fight.
They want to go back to the mainland to expel the German occupiers.
It is the forgotten story of four of these Belgians that we will tell you today.
Four Belgians on D-day.
We've been there for four years, in England. Four years.
They ignored us, those Englishmen.
We were just the peasants. - The peasants.
- The stupid Belgians. - The peasants.
But then, on D-day, we've shown them otherwise!
Without us, D-day would've turned out totally different.
But they still talk about it today!
About us. - About the farmers.
Yes that's true, they still talk about it today.
But I think there's no need for that.
All those things have been taken out of context.
There's a perfectly logical explanation for all of it.
Or at least reasonably logical.
The whole thing wasn't meant that way.
D-DAY
I had good men in the war. Men unlike any other.
They have all proven themselves. Whatever they say otherwise.
Damn it, those are a lot of Fritz.
- I'll get 5 of them, at least. - I'll get 10 before you even shoot.
You don't even know where the front of the rifle is.
Make sure I'm not the first one to shoot you down.
Allright men, that's a MG42 on the strong point.
We'll flank them and....
Willy please, now is not time! Concentrate!
We'll flank them, but wait on my mark. Allright?
Wait. Wait...
- Hey? What are we doing ? - Catching Hitler.
- Look there, Hitler! Look there ! - Where ?
Gerard! Hilaire! Raf! Come on!
Stop, stay there!
Hey guys, they're only shooting with paint.
I've got 2 buddy, 2-0.
- Forget it, those don't count! - How come they don't count ?
- You were cheating! - Then run a bit faster.
God damn it, that's cheating! Filthy dog!
- Look at that, Raf got one with stripes. - Damn, that's extra points.
Yes Raf, huge patriot that guy.
He absolutely wanted to fight for his country.
He even lied for it on his medical test.
But we didn't know that back then.
Out of hundreds of thousands of soldiers we, little Belgians,
were selected to jump ashore first on the beaches of Normandie.
That was the first chance to catch Hitler!
The first chance! What an honour! The first liberators of the continent!
But, then...
- We had overslept, didn't we? - Well yes, we overslept.
God damn it! Get up, get up everyone! It's 1h30! We need to go in half an hour!
Is there coffee? Without coffee I won't land.
Come on guys. Raf, did you set the alarm? It's set on 2h30!
No? 8h30.
Raf you're holding it upside down.
Oh, then it's 2h30, that's right...
How did you not see that? Can't you read or what?
Uuhm, not so well.
Come on guys, we need to be on that boat in half an hour!
Will you stop it with those annoying sounds?
Damn, I even prepared a speech. Wait a second ...
Friends, comrades in arms .....
Great courage and brotherhood ....
Rather a dead hero than a living coward...
But know that we are not alone in our battle.
After our historic first steps on the continent...
come thousand more comrades.
Friends, behold the proud soldiers of the Allied Army!
- Where is the army now? - They left already ?
No, that can't be. They were leaving at 2 o' clock they said.
- Here, 2 o' clock. - It says a.m ?
- Well yeah, After Midday. - It that After Midday ?
Gerard, a.m and p.m.
After midday and... Pefore Midday.
It says 2 a.m. That's After Midday.
That's it. They're all wrong.
Or... They left early so they can catch Hitler first!
- What !? - Damn it, the bastards!
Let's catch them god damn it !
There is not going to be a d-day without us!
We'll grab a boat and follow them! - Yes !
Willy do you want to stop with those sound stupid idiot!
Okey then. - Why did you do that!?
He could've provided the comic relief during our adventures.
Who will be uncomplicatedly funny now when it becomes boring?
We need nobody else. We're strong enough with the four of us.
- By the way, 2-1. - He doesn't count.
Only Germans count. Otherwise I shoot Raf.
Guys! Only Germans count.
Is that no perseverance?!
Getting behind because the rest was too early!
We got no appreciation for that!
Come on, continue talking in the car, get ready.
The service is at 1 o' clock.
Yes, Raf left us last week.
It's his funeral today in Ostend.
And I don't want to be late! You know what the consequences are!
Keep moving, before they get to France.
Where do I need to sail to ? Where is France located ?
- In the south, look at the compass. - Isn't it in the east?
East, south, that doesn't help me. The compass says E and F.
E stands for east and the F stand for...
...for forward. Off course.
So is it east or forward now?
Just follow the arrow, how hard can it be?
Allright, follow the arrow.
Sergeant, according to the arrow we're almost east.
Then we've arrived. Damn it, the rest will already be there.
- You see them ? - No!
I guess we did overtake them then.
Yes! Land! Raf, Hilaire, hold tight. Gerard, full power and get on that beach!
Take cover in the impact craters and behind...!
Install the bridgehead and hold it, rally point dog one. Go, go, go.
- Gerard, get down! - But, there's nobody here.
- I guess we're the first then. - No! It's certainly an ambush.
- Come on. - Gerard!
Hello!
Hello! Krauts!
- Do you see Hitler? - There is nobody here.
Come on... Where are they?
Well, we've already libarated this place.
Later, they managed to reconstruct the route we took.
And according to the average fuel consumption of a boat like that...
...and the current and the wind during that time,
...it had to be something like this.
But at that time we didn't know where we were.
So what better could we do than ask?
There...
- Soldier on a bicycle. Black uniform. - Waffen SS.
Okey men. He's going to tell us where we are.
I've got enough to get him to talk.
- Aaand 1-0 for Gerard. No? - Hold on, it's 1-2.
It's an SS, that's double points. That's double points isn't it sergeant?
- Gerard, you idiot! I needed him alive! - Why is that?
How can he tell us where we are now, you calf?!
- Oh yea ... - So he doesn't count ?
I don't care about that stupid game. I want to know where we are.
Come one, search me another one.
If he doesn't count, he doesn't count.
Honest is honest.
- Soldier on foot. Brown Uniform - Sturmabteilung.
Damn it, he has mortar grenades on him.
We wait until he has past and then we...
Well, he shot the first one.
- Little child. - Damn it!
By the way Sturmabeitlung, isn't that 5 points ?
No that's not 5 points! Now stop with that stupid game!
Take it easy boy, take it easy.
There's a whole army between us and Berlin. The next one will also be able to talk.
The next one who shoots one gets minus 500. And I'm not kidding.
- Can he just choose it like that? - He's boss Gerard.
- Soldier on guard. Blue uniform. - Luftwaffe.
Stay there! Stay there!
Put down those rifles, I'm serious.
Speak up, where are we?
There, minus 500 for Gerard.
Damn it that's cheating! Filthy dog!
We're at war now aren't we.
Now it's enough! If you shoot one more, it's minus 1000 points,
I shoot both of you myself, and I get 500 million points for each.
He can't stand losing can he?
Speak up "Scheinehund". Where are we?
You can understand me! Where are we?
- What did he say? - He says we're in Bretagne.
Hey, ask how far away we are from Hitler.
Yes, well he says we're in the middle of hostile territory.
And that we're allowed to fire at anything military.
- That's good. - Wait, who guards the prisoner?
God damn it, Raf!
Come on! Shoot then!
You crazy? For minus 1000?
There we go. A nice drawing.
Good. We are in Bretagne and we need to go to Normandy.
In other words, heading east.
The sea is there. So east is left.
No, but the sun is there, so east is right.
Wait a minute.
Wait, is it a.m. or p.m? Because we haven't figured that out yet?
And the Englishmen do everything opposite.
English right is continental left. - Is it?
Anyway where is it? Because I would like to still catch Hitler today.
We should've grabbed that compass form the boat.
Wait a second. If the north-pole is located here, the left-pole should be...
- Left. - No, wait...
Look, we go right first. If Hitler isn't there, we ask again. Yes?
Allright.
It must have been at that point that they sent those scouts at us.
- If only we didn't let that sergeant walk. - Patrolman, Gerard.
Yeah, yeah. But it's him who betrayed us. Dirty rat.
- Where are you driving to ? - To Ostend.
Gerard, Ostend is to the right.
No it isn't, Ostend is heading east.
Guys, to the west.
It is located in West-Flanders after all.
- Is that a.m. of p.m.? - Don't start!
Heading west then, heading west.
Yes, thank you.
- So,10-11 for me. - No, 10-11 for me.
I got the one with the trumpet.
And I got the one with the triangle.
- This one? - Yes.
- I've shot this one and this one. - No, I shot that one.
Yeah right and this one too?
- What are you doing? - Collection weapons.
So that it doesn't fall into the hands of the enemy.
Are you kidding?
Hilaire, imagine the next German passing by, he can just grab this machine gun.
- But can't you see? - Yes I can! Yes I can.
- I'm now showing 3 fingers. - Oh okey...
Wait a minute.
That still is a 1 on 5 chance.
Raf, How many fingers am I holding up?
Two ?
God damn it. That's what I was missing. A blind man in my battalion.
I'm totally independent! Name me one thing I can't do?
- Tennis. - Yes, but ...
- Darts. - Important things Hilaire.
Driving, sharp shooting, billiards, cards.
Except hurdling, crosswords, crafts, pétanque, fencing...
Name me one thing...
Drop your weapons!
- Now it's certainly 10-11 for me. - What? I shot first, buddy.
Yeah but you missed him, buddy.
- Well, one each? - One each.
There has to be a nest here, I guess.
What in the world is happening over here?
- We've just been attacked by Germans. - Where, where !?
Sergeant! We found a nest!
Damn it!
If Hitler isn't here, I don't know it anymore.
What do we see?
We see a German base. Raf, you don't see shit.
Uuhm guys, we need to stop all those Germans...
But they're with a couple hundred! And we're here with...
...three and a half. - Hey, I'm perfectly independent!
Name one thing that ...
- What was that ??! - Goddamnit! Calf!
Dammit! Cover! Cover!
This is great, man! This is great!
Act like we're with a lot of people, that's going to scare them.
Can nobody make any of those sounds?!
- Is it here? - Yes it's here isn't it.
- You can't go in there! - Yes, yes, I see it...
- You can't go in there! - Let me be! I'm driving.
- Take the next one! - Who is driving?
Can't we just ask somebody?
No no, you know that asking isn't a good idea.
It probably already started.
Look there, the funeral.
With flags and uniforms. That's it.
- You see. I've found Ostend. - Yes, it's all good, Gerard.
Always complaining until I've found it, then they shut up...
Allright, we'll shut up.
Damn, I'm out of bullets. Raf, give yours to me.
Never, I can shoot as well as you.
I'm perfectly independent!
We won't hold this for long, but let's die fighting.
Goodbye, Gerard.
Cease fire!
Would you like to negotiate a surrender?
- Thank God! - What are they saying?
They want to surrender.
A wise decision, but only on my conditions.
You have to disarm and we want you to retreat completely from England.
We believe that you didn't understand us correctly.
We want to negotiate your surrender!
- Ah, like that. - What are they saying?
They are asking us to surrender.
That makes much more sense, actually.
I just hit one that has brushes!
I think it was Hitler!
Dammit, they're loosing heavily over in England.
If I just hit Hitler, then the war is over.
You are surrounded. This is your last chance. Surrender!
- What now? - Let them come, those dirty Germans!
They are fifty times more than us.
- So that's 200 points. - No, we are surrendering.
Surrender. We are attacking.
We're done for.
No, sergeant, wait. I have an idea.
Hey sergeant, they are speaking English here.
That's probably part of their disguise.
Where are you? Not that I can't easily find you on my own.
The Germans are taking over their base, and all the English are in Normandy.
We should help them.
Yeah, of course, and what are we going to do?
Go on foot? It's not like we are in England.
We could take that thing there.
No one of us can fly.
Damn it, run, run !
Gerard, you can't fly a plane.
Hey, I've been driving the tractor since I was 12.
This thing does not seem to have gears.
- Do something! - Don't rush me! I can't fly.
- Gerard, do something. - Let me pull out the choke.
- Pull up. - I will pull open the dung cart.
Gerard, turn back.
We're going to leave them a present of the 42th.
- What? - We'll drop a bomb on them.
Where are the bombs in this thing?
- I can't find them. - Let me try.
- Raf, you're blind. Don't touch that. - Hey, I'm perfectly independent.
Raf, don't do it.
That takes care of him.
Couldn't it be that button?
Then, we flew back to England.
Our plane also had a compass like that.
Yeah, yeah, our plane also had a compass like that.
We never got that Victoria Cross.
Afterwards, our route was reconstructed.
Based on the average fuel consumption of such a plane,
and the wind at that time, it must have been something like this. Here.
When we arrived at the English base,
the compass light started to blink,
and the automatic pilot made us land.
And, luckily, the 37th British infantry broke our fall.
They had been called to the base as reinforcements.
What is up with that Flemish flag?
It will have joined Spirit, probably.
Die, bastards. I will kill you all.
How did he get here?
Now they're speaking Flemish?
Damn it.
Yes, and then,
we realised everything that had happened.
That was kind of an awkward moment,
because we thought we were doing great.
Did you also fight on the East Front?
- Yes, I guess. - No, we were in the west.
No, no, we thought we were in the west, but we actually were in the east.
Gerard, don't start.
When the sun, in France, at pre-mid-day
I would now like to ask the former fellow soldiers of Hildebrand
to say a few words.
It's our turn.
We have had rough times, during and after the war.
Maybe even rougher,
than those who did fight at the right side.
If such a thing even exists in an armed conflict.
Many will say that we were wrong during the war.
That we strayed to the wrong side of the front.
Let that be.
What I remember, is that we fought bravely,
for what we thought was the good cause.