A Midnight Clear

A squad of young American intelligence scouts stationed in the Ardennes forest encounters a group of German soldiers who signal a desire to surrender rather than fight. As Christmas approaches, an unofficial truce forms between the exhausted young men on both sides. The fragile peace is shattered by tragedy born of miscommunication.

The film is set during the opening of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, drawing on documented instances of informal truces and fraternization between exhausted soldiers on both sides during the harsh Ardennes winter. Such episodes, while not officially sanctioned, occurred sporadically throughout the war.

Adapted from William Wharton's semi-autobiographical novel, the story and characters are fictionalized composites rather than a specific documented incident.

Germany's last great offensive in the west aimed at Antwerp, struck a thinly held front in winter fog, and was halted short of the Meuse.

American units were overrun or encircled in the first days; the 101st Airborne and attached units held Bastogne until Third Army broke through from the south. Clearing weather returned Allied air power and the salient was eliminated by late January.

Directed by Keith Gordon

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, Gary Sinise

Positioned at December 20-25, 1944 within the Winter 1944 phase of the war, as part of the Ardennes Offensive. This is entry 133 of 150 in the chronological archive.

• Ardennes
• Christmas truce
• Battle of the Bulge
• youth in war
• literary adaptation

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  Battle of the Bulge

  December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945

• 

  Saints and Soldiers

  December 1944 - January 1945

• 

  Battleground

  December 19-27, 1944

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  Hart's War

  Winter 1944-1945

• 

  Ike: Countdown to D-Day

  February–June 1944

• 

  The Great Escape

  24–25 March 1944