October 5, 1918. The Germans gave them two options. Surrender. Or die. They chose a third.

It began on October 2nd, 1918, when the men of the U.S. Army's 77th Division, 308th Battalion were surrounded by German troops in the Argonne Forest. Without food, water or reserve ammunition, cut off from supply and communication lines, and subjected to constant assaults and bombardments, they managed to hold off the enemy until they were finally rescued after five days of desperate action.

This A&E Original Movie brings their harrowing ordeal to life. Directed by Russell Mulcahy (Ricochet, Highlander), The Lost Battalion stars Rick Schroeder (NYPD Blue, Crimson Tide) as Major Charles Whittlesey, the civilian-turned soldier who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for keeping his outnumbered troops alive and fighting in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Special Bonus Program from The History Channel®: Dear Home: Letters from World War I America fought in World War I for just over 9 months, yet close to 120,000 Americans died, leaving a country forever changed.. Learn what it was like in the trenches, hospitals and front lines from the soldiers, nurses, ambulance drivers, and postal clerks who were, as they wrote in their letters home, "Somewhere in France." Haunting and moving, this program brings "The Great War" to life through the words of Americans who lived it.