Charged with insubordination for punching a superior, Sergeant Kosugi is shipped to China in the last desperate days of the Second World War. His commander, Captain Sakuma, is vicious and dictatorial. Sakuma places Kosugi in charge of training for combat what once was the military band. Kosugi must somehow prepare his inept soldiers for the rigors of combat.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Toshirō MifuneSergeant Kosugi | Sergeant Kosugi |
 Makoto SatōInuyama | Inuyama |
 Reiko DanOharu | Oharu |
 Yūnosuke ItōMochida | Mochida |
 Tatsuya NakadaiSakuma | Sakuma |
 Hideyo AmamotoShiga | Shiga |
 Tōru IbukiSanpo | Sanpo |
 Akira NagoyaNezu | Nezu |
| HHiroshi HasegawaNakano | Nakano |
 Kenzaburo OsawaHarada | Harada |
| KKatsumi NezuOga | Oga |
 Ben HiuraYoshino | Yoshino |
| KKoichi NakamuraUeki | Ueki |
| AAkira NishikawaTsuboi | Tsuboi |
| TToyoyuki KimuraOkawa | Okawa |
| SShigeru KinamiChin | Chin |
| KKeiichi TakiSugiyama | Sugiyama |
| KKôji UnoInamoto | Inamoto |
 Shigeo KatōDeguchi | Deguchi |
 Nadao KirinoNot listed | Not listed |
| TToku IharaNot listed | Not listed |
 Kazuo SuzukiNot listed | Not listed |
| SShin IbukiNot listed | Not listed |
 Ikio SawamuraNot listed | Not listed |
| KKoji KosugiNot listed | Not listed |
| KKyoko MoriNot listed | Not listed |
| TTamami UrayamaNot listed | Not listed |
 Michiko KawaNot listed | Not listed |
| IIppei KawashimaNot listed | Not listed |