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''Battleground'' is a 1949 American war film that follows a company in the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as they cope with the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. It stars Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy, and features James Whitmore. It was directed by William Wellman from a script by Robert Pirosh. The film is notable for portraying American soldiers as vulnerable and human. While they remain steadfast and courageous, each soldier has at least one moment in the film when he seriously considers running away, schemes to get sent back from the front line, slacks off, or complains about the situation he is in. ''Battleground'' is considered to be the first significant American film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war.〔Filmsite.org (War and Anti-War Film )〕 ==Plot== In mid-December 1944 Pvt. Jim Layton (Marshall Thompson) and his buddy Pvt. William J. Hooper are fresh replacements assigned to separate companies in the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. As a newcomer Layton receives a chilly welcome. PFC Holley (Van Johnson) returns to the company after recuperating from a wound. Instead of going on leave in Paris, the squad is trucked back to the front to help stop a surprise German breakthrough in the Ardennes. They stop that night in the town of Bastogne. The platoon is put up for the night in the apartment of a local young woman, Denise (Denise Darcel), with whom Holley hopes to fraternize. The next morning, led by Platoon Sgt. Kinnie (James Whitmore), they are ordered to dig in on the outskirts of town. Just as they are nearly done, they are ordered to a new location and have to dig in again. Holley, Layton and Kippton (Douglas Fowley) stand guard that night at a roadblock. A patrol of German soldiers, disguised as American G.I.s, infiltrates their position and later blows up a nearby bridge. In the morning the squad awakes to a heavy winter storm. Roderigues (Ricardo Montalbán), a Latino from Los Angeles, is delighted by the novelty of snow, but his foxhole mate Pop Stazak (George Murphy), awaiting a "dependency discharge" that will send him home, is unimpressed. Layton goes over to see his friend Hooper, only to find that he had been killed hours before, and that no one in his company knew his name. Kinnie informs the squad about the infiltration and sends out a patrol—Holley, Roderigues and Jarvess (John Hodiak)--to search the woods. Just before they start out, the platoon is shelled by German artillery, causing Bettis (Richard Jaeckel) to panic and run away. During the barrage Layton reminds his squad leader, Sgt. Wolowicz (Bruce Cowling), of his name and finds for the first time that he has been accepted as a part of the squad. Holley's patrol briefly skirmishes with the infiltrators. Roderigues is wounded by machine-gun fire from an enemy tank. He is unable to walk, so Holley hastily conceals him under a disabled jeep half-buried in snow, promising to return for him. Unfortunately, by the time they can get back to him, Roderigues has frozen to death. Wolowicz, who has been wounded by shellfire, and a sick Cpl. Standiferd (Don Taylor) are sent back to a field hospital. Holley becomes the new squad leader, partnered with Layton, while Pop Stazak is paired with Hansan (Herbert Anderson). When Pop's discharge comes in they find out from Kippton that the 101st is surrounded forcing Pop to stay with the men. Moved again and again, 3rd Platoon is attacked at dawn. Just when it appears they will be overrun, Hansan is wounded and Holley loses his nerve and runs away. Layton follows Holley. Ashamed of his cowardice, Holley leads a flanking counterattack that defeats the German attack. Jarvess's partner, Abner Spudler (Jerome Courtland), is killed while trying to put on his wet boots. After they get Hanson to the aid station, the squad runs into Bettis doing K.P. duty in the rear and gives them a hot meal. Holley discovers that Layton is a quick learner, finding him being entertained by Denise. Later, while on guard duty, they encounter a party of Germans who have come under a flag of truce to offer Brig. Gen. McAuliffe surrender terms, resulting in his famous reply of "Nuts!" to the puzzled Germans.〔The actual incident involved F Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry on December 22, near Marvie, southeast of Bastogne. As depicted, the commander of the 327th GIR, Col. Joseph Harper, was called upon to explain the term.〕 In the bitter, foggy weather, the squad is short of supplies – supply transport aircraft are grounded. Several men attend impromptu outdoor Christmas services held by a chaplain (Leon Ames). That night the Luftwaffe bombs Bastogne. Denise is killed. The "walking wounded", including Hansan, are called back to duty for a last-ditch defense of the town. Bettis, slowed by his fear of going back to the lines, is killed by a collapsing house. As the squad is down to its last few rounds of ammunition, the weather clears, allowing Allied fighters to attack the Germans and C-47 transports to drop supplies, enabling the 101st to hold. Afterward, the siege lifted, Kinnie leads the survivors of the platoon toward the rear for a well-earned rest. As they move out, they spot a relief column of clean, well-equipped soldiers marching toward Bastogne. Kinnie begins calling "Jody cadence" and the veterans pull themselves together, proudly chanting the refrain as they pass the other GIs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battleground (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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