Fresh from the slaughter at Bastogne, Sgt. C.J. Mahoney rejoins Charlie Company of Patton's Hammerhead Division. His new commander is glory-seeking Lt. Woodward, a stiff-spined West Pointer who wields his rank like a bullwhip—all of it stinging Mahoney's hide. Just as the Sergeant is about to rearrange his new superior officer's baby face, German bullets and grenades burst through the heavy snowfall. Slicing his way through the blood and guts of no-man's-land with his kill-crazy sidekick Cranepool, Mahoney is singled out by Woodward for a volley of arrogant abuse. Burning at both ends, the Sergeant blasts hell at Hitler's advancing troops, saving the entire company from oblivion. Mahoney is up for the Silver Star—but first he vows to settle the score with a particular backstabbing lieutenant!