Bianca Freedling
Dr. Bianca Freedling was a German doctor stationed at a Nazi-occupied hospital in Italy. She was a quiet woman who kept her views to herself, but secretly detested what her fellow Germans had done to Italy, which she considered a beautiful country. One night as she was getting off of work, she encountered a small, crying boy named Carlo, who begged her to come help his mother. Taking pity on the boy, she went with him, only to be met by other ragged children and taken to a cave where there was a comatose American captain. The boys' leader, Aldo, demanded Bianca treat him. She refused, saying the American was an enemy soldier, and she wouldn't operate on him unless he'd been turned over to the German military.
When she moved to go, Aldo, becoming increasingly verbally abusive, moved to stop her, so she slapped him. Losing his temper, he attacked her. Spurred on, the other boys joined in, and in their rage they decided to use poor Bianca as a proxy for the Nazis who massacred their town of Reanoto. Before the ugly spectacle could continue, though, the American, Captain Turner by name, woke up and pulled Aldo off of Bianca. A guilt-ridden Carlo handed Bianca her doctor's bag and she tended to Turner now of her own free will.
After taking the night to recover, Turner agrees to help the boys in their plan to get revenge on Major Taussig. But first, they needed to help him in his original mission, to blow up the Della Norte Dam. To do that, they needed to steal the demo gear from the German base of Captain von Hecht. Bianca, for her part, remained with the children, her maternal instincts leading her to become protective of Dino's younger brother and sister Mario and Maria. She didn't really get along with Turner, considering his agreement to teach the boys how to use weapons a monstrous thing, and their working relationship eventually comes to blows later with him forcing himself on her despite having saved her from rape earlier.
In spite of this, her dedication to Mario and Maria made her stay. During the actual mission to blow the dam, she stayed behind with the two of them, guarded by one of the boys, Silvio. When the four were happened upon by a group of German soldiers from the dam, Bianca tried to mediate the situation, but things happened too quickly, and Silvio, after killing several of the Germans, was himself cut down. Enraged, Bianca grabbed Silvio's gun and shot the remaining Germans in cold blood.
After the dam was destroyed, Bianca went with Turner and the other boys to find a safe haven. Along the way, Aldo encountered and shot Captain von Hecht. After Turner stopped Aldo from finishing him off, Bianca tended to him, mending his hurt arm. With a column of American trucks approaching, Turner, the surviving children, Bianca and the wounded von Hecht went down to meet them. Aldo initially refused to join them, but after some prompting and comforting from Turner, finally agreed to do so, and everyone went with the Americans.
Comments
- Bianca's surname comes from Michael Avallone's novelization.
- In the novelization, Turner doesn't rape Bianca. Their sex is entirely consensual and the two even end up falling in love.
