At the start of the Korean War, Lt. Benson (Robert Ryan) and his platoon are ordered to rendezvous with American forces at Hill 465. Benson and his troops encounter a truck containing Sgt. Montana (Aldo Ray) and his passenger, a colonel (Robert Keith) experiencing psychological combat trauma. Benson, who believes the safe passage of his men takes precedence over the colonel's medical needs, seizes the truck to transport his platoon's equipment -- a decision that Montana fiercely opposes.