Intercutting dramatic vignettes with newsreel footage, the story follows the characters from an infantry squad as they make their way from Sicily to Germany during the end of World War II.
Very sad scene where a soldier adopts a dog on the battlefield. His unit is then deployed elsewhere. As they are driving away in the back of their trucks, the dog, which they could not bring with them, chases after them. They have to euthanize it by shooting it at a distance.
War film, so there is ubiquitous gun violence. In particular: a deserter is executed by firing squad. And: a dog is euthanized by shooting it at a distance.