Not So Much A Movie Against War...

Rating: 9/10 (12 November 2017)

...as on the military hierarchy, at least in the French Army during World War One. A high-ranking French general is seeking further promotion, and he sees an opportunity to do so by having his regiment take a German position known as "The Anthill". Trouble is, he normally spends his time way behind the lines, and when he makes a front-line inspection of his troops, it is clear he lack a real understanding of what life is like for them.
He orders the attack anyway, despite the warnings from the officers below him, and the enemy repulses the initial attackers so quickly, the remaining infantry mutiny and refuse to press the attack. The frustrated general finds three scapegoat soldiers to court-martial, and though they are represented by an officer who is a real lawyer, he is helpless to save them.
We see the emotional damage the incompetent general has put others through-not for the glory of France, but for his own purposes. He might eventually be brought down, but his evil lives after him.