The horrible slide of humanity into the hell called World War I began on June 28, 1914. Longtime political bickering and colonial rivalry among the European Powers gave way to mobilization of military forces. A French soldier discusses orders with his comrades. Some soldiers emerge from a deep trench while another detonates a bomb electrically.
Troops wait in their trenches for the signal to attack.
A French officer scans the horizon with a pair of field glasses. More soldiers walk through a trench, then a machine gun inside a bunker trains back and forth across the battlefield.