A Mountain War

A Mountain War – Synopsis A story of battlefield warfare, political scheming and romantic tragedy. In 1914 the assassination of an Archduke in Sarajevo plunged Austria into a retaliatory war against Serbia. As the conflict escalates, four boys find themselves in the provincial capital of Innsbruck as new recruits into the Empire's elite regiment, the mountain Kaiserjaeger. There is August, a finalist in the regional marksmanship trials; there is Harald, a junior government bureaucrat from Vienna with prospects , a lover of all things refined and with a beautiful girlfriend, the daughter of a von. Harald has been sent to the Tirol region following a career-ending indiscretion in which he inadvertently confirmed Austria's intention of invading Serbia; his superior and mentor, the minister von Gotschein, believed he would be safe in one of the Empire's remote outposts. There is Andrei, a Ukrainian Cossack, on the run from the Bosnian authorities – he had been set up by the head of Russian Military Intelligence in the Balkans (Viktor Temeshenko) and placed at the scene of Archduke Ferdinand's murder, a scene from which he had barely escaped. By chance, and on his way to Poland he finds himself in the Tirol where he joins the other young men. Finally there is Riesen, a farm boy from the Zillertal who just wants a quiet life and who's goal is to turn the family farm into a tourist resort for wealthy English and American tourists. As the company trains in the Dolomites they become proficient in all aspects of alpine warfare – shooting, climbing, skiing and during that period they bond into a tightly-knit friendship group. On completion of their training however, instead of being sent to the mountain garrisons they find themselves in Serbia: Russia has now entered the war and Germany has taken the chance to invade Belgium, putting pressure on the Austrian divisions. Though not trained for open-ground fighting, the company commander, von Villendorf (arrogant, incompetent, impetuous) volunteers the company for a frontal attack on entrenched Serbian positions. The attack is a disaster, the Kaiserjaeger troops are decimated and the decision is taken to send surviving units from the company to join the Germans in France for training. In a reserve position close to Verdun the boys become caught in a gas attack but are so successful in repelling the advancing French that they are granted a week's leave in Sarajevo. While the rest of the unit are determined to enjoy themselves though, the Cossack has other plans: he tracks down and confronts his one-time spy-chief (Temeshenko)in a city bar. There a surprised and discomfited Temeshenko teaches some political realities to Andrei, explains why it would have been useful for a Cossack to have been captured along with Gavrilo Princip's conspirators and then runs him through underneath the café table with his sword stick. Andrei is only wounded though and shoots Temeshenko, before once again going on the run in Sarajevo. He is rescued by his comrades and evades capture by the police before returning to the war with his friends. Italy has now entered the war and the boys find themselves fighting across high peaks and glaciers against the equally skilled Alpini. When the commander (von Villendorf) sends his men on a poorly planned raid he abandons them when the attack goes wrong and the company is slaughtered, leaving only August and Riesen alive; Harald is back in Vienna, dealing with the discovery that his girlfriend is now married to another. August, furious, vows to kill von Villendorf but is sent by other officers to the high passes to search for survivors. The group is now fragmented – Andrei is gone, August is wandering the snow ranges while Harald and Riesen are fighting a rearguard action against the Italian army on the Isonzo plain. When the Armistice comes and Austria is defeated, Harald vows to go home, back over the mountain, back to his beloved Vienna, while Riesen will return to the family farm and his dream of wealthy tourists. In 1939 von Villendorf, now an SS officer in Hitler's new regime, is entering a staff car when he is shot. The shooter is August, having finally caught up with him.