Captain Bruener

Captain Bruener was a minor villain in The Rat Patrol.

Biography
Bruener was an Afrika Korps officer serving alongside Captain Hans Dietrich. He and Dietrich monitored Allied radio transmissions and overheard the Rat Patrol being assigned to provide armed escort for a convoy. They ambushed the passing Rats, and chased them. During the pursuit, Bruener's halftrack got stuck in the sand. While his men attempted to free it, the chase ended at the nearby village of Aburah, where a young Arab girl named Kiri fell into a well.

When Kiri's mother pleaded the Allies and Germans to help her daughter, Dietrich and Troy agreed to a truce until they could pull the child from the well. Meanwhile, Bruener and his men finally freed their halftrack and caught up to the others at Aburah. Unaware of he truce, Bruener ordered a sniper to shoot Tully, which almost ended the truce. Dietrich was able to explain things to Bruener, who grudgingly agreed to hold off hostilities until Kiri was rescued.

After they finally got Kiri out of the well and returned her to her mother, Bruener attempted to take the Rat Patrol prisoner. Dietrich objected, as he'd given Troy his word that the truce would include letting the Allies go free, but Bruener refused to honor this part of the agreement. As soon as Kiri and her mother were clear, Bruener's men tried to take the Rats prisoner, but a grenade thrown by Hitchcock created enough confusion for them to escape, and Bruener was shot and killed by the escaping Allies. Dietrich was amused at his death.