When Trumpets Fade
| When Trumpets Fade | |
|---|---|
DVD Cover
|
|
| Directed by | John Irvin |
| Produced by | John Kemeny |
| Written by | W.W. Vought |
| Starring |
Ron Eldard Frank Whaley Zak Orth Dylan Bruno |
| Music by | Geoffrey Burgon |
| Distributed by | HBO |
|
Running time
|
92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
When Trumpets Fade is a TV war film from 1998 directed by John Irvin, produced by John Kemeny and written by W.W. Vought. It is based on a true story of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest in Autumn of 1944 during World War II. A few days later, the Battle of the Bulge began, leaving the battle of Hürtgen Forest largely forgotten.
This film portrays the actions of an American soldier, David Manning (Ron Eldard), during the World War II Battle of Hürtgen Forest, a battle between the United States Army and German Wehrmacht which took place from September 14, 1944 to February 10, 1945 on the Western Front.
Private Manning is a soldier in the 28th Infantry Division who, in order to survive, does just enough to stay out of trouble, but not enough to actually make a difference. Through the sheer bloodiness of the Hurtgen battles, Manning is left as the sole survivor of his platoon and is subsequently promoted to sergeant. He tries to get out of it, saying he is unqualified for the position, but his company commander, Captain Roy Pritchett, thinks otherwise. Manning then tries to back out of responsibility by asking to be filed on a Section 8 (mentally unfit due to combat stress), but is refused.
Manning now finds himself in charge of a squad of replacements, a prospect he is less than thrilled with. He meets with his new men, and during the evening, leads them into position on the line. The next morning, on patrol with his squad, Manning puts Private Warren Sanderson on point. Sanderson goes forward too quickly, getting lost and then narrowly avoids contact with the enemy. After some time, Manning decides that they must leave without Sanderson. At that moment, Sanderson returns. After the incident, Manning is scorned by his peers and berated by his platoon leader, First Lieutenant Terrence Lukas.
...
Wikipedia