When Trumpets Fade

When Trumpets Fade is a television film made in 1998 and directed by John Irvin.

This film portrays the actions of an American private David Manning (Ron Eldard) during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, the battle between the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht which took place from 1944-1945 on the Western Front (World War II).

Private Manning is a reluctant hero and is initially shown as a bit of a shirker - "just doing enough to stay out of trouble", according to another character. Through the sheer bloodiness of the Hurtgen battles, Manning is left as the sole surviver of his unit and subsequently promoted to sergeant. He believes he is unqualified for the position, but his CO thinks otherwise. Manning then tries to back out of responsibility by asking to be filed on a Section 8 (mentally unfit due to combat stress) but is refused. Manning finds himself in charge of replacements, a prospect he is less than thrilled with. Eventually he accepts his responsibilities and his position in the scheme of things. He bravely leads his unit in an unauthorised raid on the 88mm guns that have been plaguing his section of the line, mainly to spite those officers who demand the impossible while staying out of the firing line themselves. The operation costs the lives of many of his men in the process. The film closes with Manning, wounded, being carried back to the American lines by one of the now battle-hardened replacements; a mirror image of his carrying back a wounded comrade at the opening of the film.

The overall point the film makes is that not everyone who took part in World War II was stereotypical hero material; in fact, Manning's role is distinctly one of an anti-hero, somebody ordinary pushed into extraordinary circumstances.

• Caption2
  Caption2

==External links==

• When Trumpets Fade New York Times
• When Trumpets Fade at IMDb