When Trumpets Fade

When Trumpets Fade is set in the autumn of 1944, as American forces push toward the German border and the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest grinds on. Private David Manning survives an assault that wipes out his unit, and he wants nothing more than to be sent away from the front. Instead, Captain Pritchett promotes him to sergeant and gives him command of a group of inexperienced replacements. Caught between his own instinct to stay alive and the responsibility he now carries for young soldiers, Manning is forced to lead them back into combat.

The film is a television war drama directed by John Irvin, released in 1998. It came near the end of a run of features that also includes The Dogs of War, Ghost Story, Raw Deal, Hamburger Hill, Next of Kin, Robin Hood, Widows' Peak and Freefall. Ron Eldard plays Manning, with Zak Orth, Frank Whaley, Dylan Bruno, Devon Gummersall and Dan Futterman in supporting roles. John Kemeny produced for HBO and Citadel Entertainment, and the film runs 95 minutes.

The film holds a 7 out of 10 rating on IMDb from more than eight thousand votes, and a 6.6 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller number of votes, indicating a modest but appreciative audience. A critics' rating of 6 out of 10, drawn from 74 reviews, places critical response roughly in line with how viewers have received it.