The dramatic events of this movie start in 1945 at the end of the world war ii, where Lt. Palance doubts that Eddie Albert can be the leader and take the command but he has a lot of connections in United States, so he lead a combat unit and one day he sends Jack Palance with his men in a severe errand and he doesn't reinforce them to lose their conflict.
One of Robert Aldrich's best films, this dark, grim, cynical portrait of infantry warfare in 1944 Belgium is extremely well acted by Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert and the rest of the male cast.
Aldrich conduz com segurança a tensão crescente da narrativa, e conta, ainda, com a forte presença de Palance. Os únicos problemas residem nos prolixos minutos finais e no personagem de Albert, que acaba se tornando muito caricatural.