Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
{German Interrogator questioning a captured U.S. Infantry Army Lieutenant)
Lt. Leak: What you're up against Major, is a bunch of Mick, Pollack, Dago, and Jew boy gangsters from New York City. They'll never surrender. Never.
The Lost Battalion (2001) A&E Television
Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Rick Schroder as Major Charles White Whittlesey
Phil McKee as Captain George McMurtry
Jamie Harris as Staff Sergeant Gaedeke
Jay Rodan as Lieutenant Leak
The Storyline / plot
The Lost Battalion is about the 1st Battalion 308th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division, American Expeditionary Force and their famous engagement during the final days of the first world war. In the Fall of 1918 General Pershing decided to launch a three pronged attack into the German lines deep in the woods of the heavily fortified Argonne Forest. Some of the Officers in the line units believed that the attack was nothing more than a waste of life as the war was nearing it‘s end. However as an officer you can always ponder and even question the orders of the command but in the end you must carry the orders out. Major Whittlesey (Rick Schroder), commander of the 308th Infantry was given orders to advance on the heavily fortified German trenches in the Argonne Forest. The 308th would be in the center of the three pronged advance. The French would advance on their right flank while another American unit would advance along their left flank.
The advance was preceded by a heavy barrage of American Artillery as the guns silenced, the three battalions advanced into hellish wall of German fire. The Germans had sectors of fire that were devastating to the advancing infantry battalions, the results were catastrophic! While the 308th suffered staggering casualties, their leadership was outstanding and they continued their advance. Unbeknownst to Major Whittlesey, both battalions that were supposed to be on his flanks were slaughtered and what was left of the two battalions had routed and were in a full retreat back to friendly lines. This left the 308th pushing into enemy territory with no support on either flank or any kind of support.
As the Germans pushed the retreating units back, they closed in behind the 308th infantry battalion. Major Whittlesey sent out a platoon of his men to hook up with the French that were supposed to be on his flank, they never returned. As the Germans mounted a fierce attack to kill this stranded battalion, the Major realized what had happened and set up as best he could for this most unfortunate situation. Their ensuing battle for survival is as brutal as any battle that has ever taken place, anywhere or anytime. Their situation was as bad as it can get in a time of war.
SPOILER ALERT, this quote is a spoiler.
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{{The General speaking with Major Whittlesey after the five day ordeal.}}
General Alexander: Major Whittlesey, there's going to be promotions and commendations for everybody! No wonder our airplanes couldn't find this place.
Lipasti: Well your artillery certainly found it, General.
General Alexander: [to Whittlesey] Where is the rest of your battalion?
Maj. Whittlesey: [Whittlesey hands the General the collection of dog-tags]
Sergeant Gaedeke we couldn't find enough to bury. Lt. Schenck‘s platoon is somewhere out there. I sent him to link with the French you said were on our flank, General.
General Alexander: [pulls Whittlesey aside] These are acceptable losses...
Maj. Whittlesey: Not to me sir.
General Alexander: I understand your feelings for your men.
Maj. Whittlesey: You said our flanks were supported and you ordered my men to attack. You said supply would catch up to us which it did not. Is that acceptable to you?
General Alexander: Yes, that's acceptable to me. We were able to break through the German line because you held on here... because you held on here like a thorn in their belly. Major, you did an incredible job out here, but you had 600 men to worry about and I had 20,000 sent into action. I have to live with that.
General Alexander: I sent for trucks to bring your men back. They've been through hell.
Maj. Whittlesey: You'll never know what they‘ve been through, or what they can and can‘t do. They‘re better then you, General. They're better then me, they always are.
General Alexander: Let me take you and your officers back in my staff car.
Maj. Whittlesey: That‘s not acceptable, Sir. I‘ll stay with my men.
General Alexander: I understand.
Maj. Whittlesey: [the General salutes as Whittlesey just turns away] Men, we‘re moving out!
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Conclusion
The Lost Battalion is the most brutal of war films. The film is disturbing to me for several reasons. The first issue that really stuns me is that the battle never needed to take place at all. Some General just wanted to make one last push for nothing more than to hold a few more yards of ground before the armistice. Win, lose or draw, absolutely nothing would be gained by this assault. Commanding troops in this manner was criminal but acceptable at the time. Heavy casualties were an acceptable part of war. Casualties are still a fact of war but Generals are held accountable for their every move. This three pronged attack was aimed directly at the strongest point in the German lines. It is apparent to me that the General just wanted to take that part of the line because the Germans said that it could not be done. His ego killed thousands of men for the hell of it. There was no need to attack this German strong point at that point in the war.
Another issue that soldiers had to deal with during World War One were battle tactics that were outdated by the weaponry. Up until World War One soldiers were still lining up, side by side and advancing. The problem with this old reliable tactic was that machine guns had come into play. Infantry units coming online and advancing into machinegun fire results in catastrophic massacres. So both sides just dug in and lived in trenches. The attacking side would almost always be killed in force. The film depicts this predicament very well. The one thing that infantry units needed to over come the new machine gun on the battlefield, was Armour / tanks. The British were having some fairly good success utilizing their infantry combined with Armour.
The soldiers of The Lost Battalion were pinned down, surrounded, out of food, ammunition, medical supplies and down to one carrier pigeon. Things could not get much worse, right? It started to rain like there was no tomorrow as American Artillery opened fire on their exact position. By the time the command received a message from Major Whittlesey, Stating, “for gods sake cease fire you are killing us’. The Artillery fire lasted over four hours and over 1/4 of the remaining men were killed or wounded by American Artillery.
The Lost Battalion is one of the best war films that I had ever seen. The thousands of men that needlessly died in the Argonne Forest have finally had their story told. They will not be forgotten! Over six hundred courageous soldiers charged the German lines in the Argonne forest in October of 1918. Six days later, less than 200 soldiers walked out. Almost all of the survivors suffered from some kind of a wound. Five soldiers earned the Congressional Medal Of Honor for their actions during this six day battle. The hand to hand combat and the fierce fighting took it‘s toll on everyone involved. Consequently, Major Whittlesey who had been a successful attorney before the war, killed himself just three years after the war ended. He was also one of the soldiers that earned the Congressional Medal Of Honor.
The movie was pretty close to actual events. There were actually over 700 men involved in the battle of the lost battalion. They were what was left of two battalions of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 308th regiment. The order of battle had some minor errors. Over all the battle was very accurate. The cinematography was very well done. The battle scenes are comparable to Saving Private Ryan and The Band Of Brothers. The pyrotectics and special effects were as realistic as can be. This combined with the high quality film and excellent cinematography makes for a very convincing film. The scenes were very close up and personal, a lot of the combat was hand to hand with fixed bayonets. The soldiers were out of ammunition. The directing was as solid as it gets. The film develops most of the characters very well and we see the war from a very focused perspective. The viewer sees the war from the perspective of the individual soldiers fighting for their lives. We never see the big picture. The acting by all involved is very good. The performance by Rick Schroder was just outstanding!
I have purchased this film for my personal collection. The film is a powerful look into the insaneness and brutality of war. You get to know these men who fought and in most cases gave their life for a what they thought was a noble cause. In reality they may have been nothing more than a pon for an egotistical general. I believe there effort was not completely in vein though. As a result of battles such as the one that these men fought, the war was ended just a month after their courageous charge. The vigor and bravery of the soldiers of the 1st Battalion 308th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division, American Expeditionary Force are second to none. I would recommend this film to any student of history / warfare. I would also recommend that every Frenchman see this film as well.
The Actual Statistics from the battle of The Lost Battalion
Over 700 Soldiers were surrounded on October 2nd, 1918
Six Days Later, 176 were Killed
Over 325 were carried out on stretchers
Less than 200 walked out under their own power
Five Soldiers earned the Congressional Medal Of Honor
Sgt York earned a Congressional Medal Of Honor on October 8th 1918, serving with a different unit but in the same forest.
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