10 Dumbest Decisions In War Movie History
7. Saving Private Ryan - Using An Entire Squad To Finish Off A Tank
Saving Private Ryan is an all time classic of the genre and much of this stems from its realism. They say that no plan survives contact with the enemy and one decision costs our protagonists dearly.
In a final battle at the French town of Ramelle, Captain Miller's platoon is up against a much stronger force and must improvise to succeed. The ambush opens well with turret and sniper fire catching their foe unaware. It culminates with the first German tank being disabled by the squad with sticky bombs.
Soon afterwards however, things take a turn for the worse. With the tank crew vulnerable, several soldiers jump in to finish it off. They shoot the driver and follow up with a set of grenades. This leaves them gravely exposed when a 20 calibre gun rolls up. Nearly all of the paratroopers are killed in gruesome fashion, shifting the battle in the Germans' favour.
What follows is a desperate retreat with most of the Americans losing their lives. It's down to sheer luck that the survivors are saved at the last second by P-51 bombers that rout the enemy along with other reinforcements. The platoon could have maintained their manpower and positions if a single trooper had taken out the tank.