Stoßtrupp 1917 (1934)

1917. The Western Front of the First World War. The film follows the combat history of a German unit—a storm battalion. Throughout 1917, the battalion’s soldiers are sent to the most arduous parts of the front, where the bloodiest battles are fought: the spring battle on the River Aisne in Champagne, the fighting in the muddy marshes of Flanders, and the Battle of Cambrai. It shows their hardships and bloody losses in battles against the French and the British. Despite all the difficulties and their grief for fallen comrades, the main characters never lose their courage. The filmmakers recreate the horrors of the First World War on screen: endless artillery bombardments, the mud of trench warfare, hand-to-hand fighting and assault attacks, the demolition of fortifications and “clearing” of trenches, a gas attack, and a fight with a tank.