History Film / GoTellTheSpartans

* YourCheatingHeart: Maj. Barker had an affair with the wife of a general.

* HistoryRepeats: The French were defeated at Muc Wa. The Americans say several time that they will not be defeated like them. They end up being defeated.

* {{Bunny ears lawyer}}: Wattsberg, who specializes in charts on enemy activity will occur is treated scornfully by Baker and Olivetti but his predictions prove to be utterly accurate, and he has enough knowledge of the ground to tell them when an important attack is upcoming.
{{cassandra truth}}/{{not now kiddo}}: Wattsberg and his predictions get a lot of this from Barker.

{{good is dumb}}: by-the-book Hamilton.

* {{Mauve shirt}}: Ackley, the only one of the five men initially on the mission who isn’t a newcomer and didn’t’ get an introduction scene, although nonetheless he has some characterization and survives.

* {{passed over promotion}}: it's noted that Hamilton is noted as being old for his rank.
* {{Politically incorrect hero}}: Oliezenski given his refusal to risk his life for any of the Asian soldiers.
”* PsychoForHire: Cpl. "Cowboy" enjoys torturing and killing people. He is a mercenary hired as an interpreter and an interrogation specialist by the Americans.

* {{by the book cop}}: Hamilton is a by the book soldier.

{{good is dumb}}: Hamilton.

* PsychoForHire: Cpl. "Cowboy" enjoys torturing and killing people. He is a mercenary hired as an interpreter and an interrogation specialist by the Americans.

* AmbitionIsEvil: {{Averted|Trope}} for Hamilton and Olvietti, both of whom desire promotions but get portrayed fairly positively. What poor decisions they do make are unrelated to their desire to be promoted.

- ambition is evil- averted for Hamilton and Olvietti, Both of whom desire promotions but get portrayed fairly positively. What poor decisions they do make are unrelated to their desire to be promoted.

* UnbuiltTrope: As the more-or-less the first Hollywood film to seriously examine Vietnam, a lot of familiar Vietnam movie tropes make their first appearance here. You can find elements remarkably similar to ''Film/{{Platoon}}'', ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' and ''Film/ApocalypseNow''. If you didn't know it predated all of them, you'd be excused for assuming it was a FollowTheLeader attempt to piggyback on the success of those films.

* UnbuiltTrope: At times this film feels like ''Film/{{Platoon}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' with a pinch of ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', but it predates all of them.

* WarWasBeginning: The film opens with some text explaining that the story takes place in the "advisory" period before the US began major operations in Vietnam.

1964: UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar is underway, but at this early stage of the conflict, US Army troops are still only considered to be "advisers" to the South Vietnamese Army. Major Barker (Lancaster) is ordered by his superiors to occupy Muc Wa, a deserted hamlet. A decade earlier, French troops suffered a major defeat at Muc Wa, and the thinking is that if the Americans can succeed where the French failed, it would be a major show of force. But with few competent soldiers available, Barker must send the only men he has at his disposal. He hopes that nothing will go wrong, because the place is of little strategic value. But in a conflict that has already turned into a quagmire, things aren't so easy.

* UnbuiltTrope: At times this film feels like ''Film/{{Platoon}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', but it predates both of them by about a decade.