 This film is the second silver screen adaption of the Finnish war book by Väinö Linna with the same name as the film. The story is based on Linna s experiences as an infantry man in the Finnish army during the so called "Continuation War" (1941-1944). The film tells the story of the fate of a machine gun platoon made up of young conscripts from various parts of Finland fighting against the Russian army from the beginning (summer 1941) to the end (summer/autumn 1944) of the war. Many of the caracters are based on author Linna s brothers in arms.