Corrected entry: In the film, Hal Moore repeatedly fires his weapon at NVA soldiers near the command post. In actuality no NVA soldiers got into the command post area, and Hal Moore never fired his weapon.
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Correction: Artistic license, not a mistake.
Twotall
This is still a factual error. Any factual error could be said to be "artistic licence." That doesn't mean it's not a factual error.
Necrothesp
I don't think you really know the definition of "artistic licence" or "factual error." This movie is a dramatization, not a documentary. As such, film makers are free to use artistic licence to further the action and make the story more intense. Having Moore, for instance, use a gun that was made after the Vietnam War, would be a factual (historic) error.
Twotall
It becomes a gray area and I agree the term "artistic license" is too much of a blanket statement that can be used to wipe away factual errors. Generally artistic or dramatic license can allow a film, show, or book based on a true store to have composite characters, fictional characters, or real characters doing things in dramatic fashion. But having NVA soldiers in an area they historically never were should be a mistake just like if a dramatization of Apollo 11 mission had a crew of 4.
Bishop73