Willie (Ewell) and Joe (Lembeck) are two U.S. Army veterans of World War II who got through the war by Goldbricking. After returning to civilian life they are recalled to active duty and end up part of the post war occupation forces in Japan. Chaos ensues as they attempt one con job after another in order to avoid work details and get leave to spend time in Tokyo.
In Korea, AD 668. Kim Beob-min (Hwang Jung-min) is the king of the small southern Korean state of Shilla and makes a deal with China's Tang dynasty officials to have a combined strike against the larger northern Korean state of Goguryeo. The conditions of the agreement involve Shilla being given back the Korean state of Baekje. The combined troops march to Pyongyang Castle, where Goguryeo's Yeon Gaesomun (Lee Won-jong) dies and hands over command of the army to his second son Yeon Nam-geon (Ryu Seung-ryong). This action upsets his first son, Yeon Namsaeng (Yoon Je-moon) who is not as war-hungry as Nam-geon.
The Stooges are street peddler greeting card salesmen who anger a man on the street after an accidental altercation. They are then approached by a woman (Evelyn Young) with a request to help her make her evil man-hating husband (Richard Fiske) jealous. Realizing it the same man they faced before, the Stooges defend themselves against the irate husband with their usual combatives and flee from the husband shouting his threats. In hiding from him, they line up on a queue that takes them to a recruitment office by mistake and end up joining the army.
The military is performing a practice air raid on New York City. Sach convinces the boys that it is real and they go down to the recruiter's office and enlist. Meanwhile, Slip arrives at Louie's and finds out what just happened and goes down there to stop them. He is too late, as they have already joined, and is tricked into enlisting himself.
Elmer est riche, jeune, et amoureux d'une employée, la belle Mary, qui le repousse. La Première Guerre mondiale a embrasé l'Europe et les Etats-Unis mobilisent. Mary s'engage dans le théâtre des armées tandis qu'Elmer est incorporé contre son gré. Avant même de partir vers le front, le malheureux Elmer est pris en grippe par son sergent qui le tient pour un provocateur. Les punitions pleuvent sur le jeune soldat. Sur le bateau qui fait route vers la France, il retrouve Mary qui ne semble plus insensible à ses charmes. Mais à la suite d'une dispute, les deux jeunes gens se brouillent.
Tulsa McLean (Elvis Presley) est un soldat américain en mission en Allemagne après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il est aussi musicien et forme un groupe de rock 'n' roll avec deux autres conscrits. Pour gagner de l'argent, il tient le pari de passer une nuit entière avec Lili (Juliet Prowse), connue pour sa froideur envers les hommes. Heureusement, tout se finit bien car les deux tombent amoureux après moult péripéties.
Ex-Marines Jimmy McGinnis (Victor McLaglen) and Harry Curtis (Edmund Lowe), who haven't seen each other for fifteen years, meet at a racetrack. They both immediately drop their jobs as an attendant and cleaner to rekindle their friendship and brawl over which one will have Violet (Binnie Barnes) for their girl. When visiting a clip joint called the Shoreleave Cafe with Violet, they meet the owner, Jim Blake (Paul Kelly). Blake was their former captain; he left the Corps under a cloud when he was blamed for a security breach. Blake is involved in espionage, arranging to buy the plans for a new amphibious vehicle.
Le Capitaine Yossarian, un pilote de bombardier B-25 des forces aériennes de l'armée des États-Unis, se trouve sur l'île de Pianosa pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Avec d'autres membres de son escadron, Yossarian s'engage dans de dangereuses missions de vol, et après avoir vu ses compagnons mourir, il cherche un moyen d'en réchapper.
Le film est divisé en deux parties distinctes, la première est composée de plusieurs saynètes caricaturant la vie des soldats dans les tranchées (inondations, charges, courrier...), alors que la seconde partie raconte la façon dont Charlot capture le Kaiser alors qu'il se trouvait en mission de reconnaissance en territoire ennemi. Il y fait la rencontre d'une jeune française, dans les décombres d'une maison, dont il tombera amoureux.
The boys' friend, Dave Moreno, is being held for treason by the U.S. Air Force. Slip and Sach go to headquarters to help Dave, but mistakenly enlist. Sach is also mistakenly assigned to a WAF barracks. When the boys finally do visit Dave he tells them he does not need help, as he is secretly being used to capture enemy agents. Undeterred by Dave's words, the boys continue to investigate and Slip and Sach wind up airborne. Good luck allows them to land safely, just where the spies are hiding out. They capture the spies and Dave's true mission is revealed.
Un sergent découvre qu'un soldat de l'armée cache un enfant dans la caserne. L'enfant est le fils d'un autre soldat qui chante dans une boîte de nuit, mais à la suite d'une série de malentendus, le sergent croit qu'il s'agit de son propre fils, né d'une ancienne histoire d'amour.