Fixed Bayonets!

FIXED BAYONETS! lays it right out for you in the opening lines, when one GI opines, "It takes more than brains to be a general. It takes guts to lead." And that's pretty much your movie. When Corporal Denno (Richard Basehart) admits that he doesn't have the guts to lead men in battle and thanks God that there's a lieutenant and three sergeants between him and command, we know that it's Four Little Indians and then this guy's gotta find out what he's made of.

From the IMDB (corrected for grammar):

The premise of this film is factually based on Task Force Faith in the Korean War: In late November 1950, the Chinese struck along the Chongchon River and overran several ROK divisions, landing an extremely heavy blow on the flank of the remaining UN forces. The resulting withdrawal of the United States Eighth Army was the longest retreat of an American unit in national history. In the east, at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir (November 26–December 13) a 3,000 man unit from the US 7th Infantry Division, Task Force Faith, was virtually wiped out, with significant hand to hand fighting. The Marines fared better; though surrounded and forced to retreat, they inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese, who committed 6 divisions while trying to
destroy the Marines.

Of the 2,500 troops trapped by the Chinese, about 1,500 eventually made it back to American lines, the majority of them wounded or badly frostbitten. Roughly 300 able-bodied survivors were formed into a provisional battalion which was attached to the Marines and fought with them in the breakout of the 1st Marine Division during the remainder of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Over 1,000 soldiers of Task Force Faith were killed or died in Chinese captivity.

In FIXED BAYONETS!, a 2-Star tells his colonels that he needs a platoon to cover his division's retreat, fooling the Chinese into
thinking that he hasn't retreated at all. CPL Denno's platoon draws the short straw, and from there it's all about 36 guys trying to stay alive in the snow while Denno doesn't so much shirk responsibility as hope it doesn't fall on his shoulders. It could be so much drek, but it's brought to life by a man uniquely qualified to do so: co-screenwriter and director Samuel Fuller.

From Wikipedia: During World War II, Fuller joined the Army. He was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, and saw heavy fighting. He was involved in landings in Africa, Sicily, and Normandy. He also saw action in Belgium and Czechoslovakia. For his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart.

Fuller understands the Army, he understands combat, and he understands platoon dynamics, which lends FIXED BAYONETS! an authenticity I hadn't expected. It gives the story urgency and drama, and it helps to create a thoroughly engrossing military thriller, even if we are absolutely certain of how CPL Denno will respond when the chips are down. In this case, it isn't so much the destination as it is the journey, and FIXED BAYONETS! is the closest you can get to winter in Korea without getting frostbite.

This is an excellent movie.