German Lieutenant

The German Lieutenant is a minor villain in Kelly's Heroes. He was played by John G. Heller.

Biography
The lieutenant is one of the antagonists Kelly's platoon encounters while en route to Clairmont and the bank full of Nazi gold there. He commands a small German outpost and several men.

The platoon is crossing what seems to be a complete innocent French farmer's field when suddenly an explosion claims the life of Grace, and Big Joe realizes they've wandered into a minefield disguised to resemble a farm. While Job and Mitchell go to retrieve Grace's dogtags and the BAR he was carrying, the others slowly and carefully make their way through the field, using their bayonets to dig for the mines. Meanwhile, at his base, the lieutenant receives a phone call about the explosion. Getting into a Kübelwagen, he takes two truckloads of soldiers and heads off to investigate.

At the minefield, Kelly sends Gutkowski across the nearby road to be on the lookout for any Germans. Everyone makes it safely out of the minefield without any further incidents, except for Job and Mitchell because they had gone to retrieve Grace's things. Suddenly Gutkowski comes running to tell Kelly that he's spotted a column of German vehicles: the lieutenant and his men.

It is decided that everyone who made it out of the minefield will hide behind a nearbly stone wall and ambush the Germans and kill them all if they must in order for Job and Mitchell to safely get out. As for them, they lie down and play dead.

The Germans arrive and the lieutenant calls for the convoy to halt. Standing up in his seat, he uses his binoculars and sees the three Americans in the minefield. Suspicious, he instructs his sergeant to take six men and go investigate. Realizing the jig is up, Big Joe gives the order to attack, and the Americans ambush the Nazi convoy. The lieutenant is the first German to be killed, cut down by Kelly's Thompson. Although all of his men follow suit, it was all for nothing as both Job and Mitchell are shot from across the minefield by the lieutenant's men.