At the start of the Tet Offensive, a United States Marine Corps unit on patrol stops at Firebase Gloria. When the base comes under attack the patrol remains to help in its defense. The United States Army soldiers and Marines are subjected to numerous attacks by the Viet Cong, but in the end hold the base with assistance from the 1st Cavalry Division (United States). While the Marines try to defend the base, the Viet Cong commander discovers that he is in a similar position: it was never his mission to win the battle, but to lead his men to their deaths in order to allow the North Vietnamese Army to take a more substantial role in the war. The Americans are subsequently forced to abandon the base having lost too many men in the process of defending it. In the end, the soldiers and commanders on both sides take stock of the loss of life for this single base.