It Began On October 2nd, 1918, When The Men Of The U.s. Army's 77th Division, 308th Battalion Were Surrounded By German Troops In The Argonne Forest. Without Food, Water Or Reserve Ammunition, Cut Off From Supply And Communication Lines, And Subjected To Constant Assaults And Bombardments, They Managed To Hold Off The Enemy Until They Were Finally Rescued After Five Days Of Desperate Action.

This A&e Original Movie Brings Their Harrowing Ordeal To Life. Directed By Russell Mulcahy (ricochet, Highlander), The Lost Battalion Stars Rick Schroeder (nypd Blue, Crimson Tide) As Major Charles Whittlesey, The Civilian-turned Soldier Who Won The Congressional Medal Of Honor For Keeping His Outnumbered Troops Alive And Fighting In The Face Of Seemingly Insurmountable Odds.

The true World War I story of an American unit that was surrounded by German troops and pounded mercilessly for days (at times even by its own artillery) is vividly portrayed in this made-for-television film starring Rick Schroder. Playing a patrician New York City lawyer commissioned a major and sent into combat, Schroder commands a battalion composed of New York wiseacres as well as so-called "apple knockers" from the West. The plot is straightforward (and will be familiar to those who know World War I history), but the film rises above what could have been a clichéd telling of the story of Major Whittlesey and his heroic men. The action sequences, shot tightly with hand-held cameras, owe a debt to Saving Private Ryan, and the surreal horror of World War I, in which armies killed with machine guns yet communicated by carrier pigeon, is conveyed very well. --Robert J. McNamara