DVD Hamburger hill (anglais) (*)

In 1969, a platoon of soldiers fight in Vietnam, ending with a soldier dying on a helicopter. As they prepare to be sent into action again, a platoon of the 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), receives five new recruits as replacements--Beletsky, who constantly complains that he won't be able to remember everything he has been taught; Languilli, who is obsessed with sex and annoyed when people mispronounce his name; Washburn, a quiet, conservative man and the only African-American in the batch of replacements; Bienstock, who is outgoing and has volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam; and finally Galvan, the quietest but most promising of the new soldiers.

Taken under the wing of their war-weary squad leader, Staff Sgt. Adam Frantz, the recruits spend their early days filling sand bags and struggling to sleep before being placed in Frantz's squad. They are then given a crash-course in battlefield skills, including everything from oral hygiene to a demonstration by a Viet Cong deserter on how skilfully enemy troops can penetrate perimeter U.S. defenses. Frantz does his best to prepare the new soldiers for combat, but expresses frustration before the VC deserter silently penetrates a barbed wire barrier and aims a rocket launcher at them.

Aside from the replacements, the platoon has a new commander, Lieutenant Eden, and Sergeant First Class Worcester. The platoon's machine gun team is composed of the burly Private Duffy and his mismatched, bespectacled companion, Private Gaigin. There are also three African-American veterans in the unit: Motown, « Doc » Johnson and Sgt. McDaniel (who has less than a month left on his tour), all of whom have first-hand knowledge of the racial discrimination still practiced in the army.

The new arrivals get their first, sudden taste of war when a quiet spell beside a river is interrupted by an enemy mortar barrage. Frantz calls for counter battery fire ending the attack. Several civilians are killed in the exchange and one of the replacements, Galvan, is decapitated by a shell fragment. The death of a soldier further riles up Staff Sgt. Frantz.

Soon, the platoon takes part in a major operation and is air-lifted into the A Shau Valley. Shortly after disembarking at the landing zone, they come under automatic weapons fire and a firefight ensues. The North Vietnamese soldiers withdraw after suffering at least one apparent casualty. McDaniel is also killed. This loss provokes considerable bitterness and tension from « Doc » Johnson, who blames Frantz for not getting the short-timer McDaniel a less dangerous assignment.

The battalion is initially ordered to reconnoiter a nearby mountain, but is unexpectedly diverted and commences an assault on the enemy-held Hill 937 which soon grows into a major battle as unexpectedly heavy resistance is encountered. The North Vietnamese, rather than using hit-and-run tactics, as they had in previous engagements, instead defend well-entrenched positions. The platoon is forced to attack the hill repeatedly against stubborn opposition. Between assaults, US air-strikes steadily strip away all vegetation with napalm and white phosphorus, leaving the hill a barren, scorched wasteland.

In one assault, a battle-crazed and wounded Duffy, wielding an M60, seems on the verge of carrying the day as enemy resistance begins to crumble. However, botched air support by helicopter gunships causes several friendly casualties, to the horror of Lt. Eden and his radio telephone operator, Murphy. The assault fails and Duffy is among the fatalities.

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