A look at the U.S. Army from the threadbare Minute Men who confronted the Redcoats at Concord in 1775, through the War of 1812, the Mexican War, Civil War, and the Indian campaigns. We learn of America's tradition of not keeping huge conscripted standing armies, using instead citizen soldiers responding to crises.

Investigates how American armed forces fared when thrust into foreign territory--from the Army's entry into overseas warfare as it battled unprepared through the Spanish-American War, the First World War, and the disastrous opening days of WWII. We see how the Army found its giants in MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Patton.

Beginning in World War II, we see how the U.S. Army turned the tide in Europe and the Pacific against both Germany and Japan, and how the tragic demolition of the great fighting machine during demobilization at war's end found the Army fighting for its life against a surprise attack in Korea and an Asian Dunkirk!

After the costly, bitter stalemates in Korea and Vietnam, the Army makes a dizzying transition to a new kind of outfit built on the twin towers of capability and courage. A revolution in recruitment, training, and high-tech equipment builds an awesome force made to vanquish the communist juggernaut anywhere in the world. The investment pays off in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the crushing of Iraqi aggression in the Gulf War.