The Lost Battalion was a World War I unit that was part of an assault on the German line in the Argonne Forest, a location that would have been a problematic combat area in World War II. The battalion is ordered to occupy the center while two other divisions are on the right and left flanks. The central thought is the other part of the offensive that manages to achieve its goal, which is to hold a mill in the forest. The flanks are unable to break through the lines, leaving the center to fend for itself. The battalion was already low on supplies before the operation, but is sent out anyway. The battalion in the film is lied to by General Alexander that the other divisions have achieved their objectives and that the center must be held at all costs. The battalion's commanding officer, Major Charles Whittlesey, follows this order and digs in to hold his position. Suffering heavy casualties, the men still hold their ground. With the communications line down the battalion must use carrier pigeons to communicate with headquarters. Whittlesey calls for an artillery barrage on the enemy line, but the barrage is off target and hits their position instead. Taking friendly fire Whittlesey sends his latest carrier pigeon Cher Ami to send this message: "We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is launching a barrage directly upon us. For heaven's sake, stop it." (Whittlesey) With this Final Message: The battalion remained alone until relief forces could reach them. After five days of fighting, only 191 men of the original 670 made it back to the American lines. (Historyonfilm) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The film does a great job of staying close to real life but has some minor issues, the biggest having to do with the simple writing of the script. There are parts during battles where men literally stand up only to be peppered with bullets. This may have been done for film effects as the film did not have the most amount of funding. But leaving cover only to get up and take a bullet isn't very realistic. Another mistake is in the plot of the film itself, the film makes it seem like the lost battalion won the war or played a major role in ending the war. Unfortunately this is not all true, men have done an important job in holding the line. But with the Germans already retreating and Germany having difficulty financing the war, Germany's defeat was already within reach. While it's nice to say that the battalion won the war, it's not the most realistic thing to say when there are another 5 weeks and 20,000 soldiers fighting alongside that battalion.