The Lost Battalion is the true story of several units of the American 77th Infantry Division in World War One. The film follows the exploits of nine companies (550 plus men) involved in a battle during the Argonne Forest attack by the American Army in October 1918. During the attack, the Americans advance too far into the German positions and outrun their flank cover. The Germans react and quickly launch a counter attack which surrounds the men. The cut off Americans then suffered through six days of fierce German attacks. The Americans sent out over 30 runners to make contact with their own forces, but all were killed or captured by the Germans. They finally made contact using carrier pigeons. The men held off the Germans long enough to be rescued by their own forces. Raquel Pittman …show more content…
The rest were killed or taken prisoner by the Germans. Three Medals of Honor where handed out to officers of the Battalion. The interesting part here is that the film uses the survivors of the actual battle to play them-selves. The film starts off back in the US showing how the 77th Division was born. It was drawn from mostly New Yorkers of all classes etc. They are shipped off to camp for training before heading across the Atlantic to France. The action sequences are very well done. The amateur actors throw themselves around with wild abandon charging here and there. The Germans oblige by dying in heaps after every counter-attack on the Americans fails. The director, Burton L King, cranked out 140 plus films in his 20 years in the film business. He directed the great Harry Houdini in two of his action films, THE MAN FROM BEYOND and THE MASTER MYSTERY. There was a television remake of the events made in 2001. It was also called, THE LOST BATTALION, and starred Ricky Schroder and was directed by Russell (Highlander 1986)