Build a movie plot around this: Why does Mireau order his artillery to open fire on a french trench? Because they would not fight
A voice-over narrator explains that Germany and France entered World War I in August, 1914 and, with the construction of a continuous line of fortified trenches stretching from Switzerland to the English Channel, a costly military stalemate set in. By 1916, "successful attacks were measured in thousands of yards and paid for by casualties in the hundreds of thousands."General George Broulard (Adolphe Menjou), an elderly member of the French General Staff, arrives from Paris at the headquarters (a magnificent chateau) of his subordinate, General Paul Mireau (George Macready), to inform him that a major offensive is planned for General Mireau's sector and, in preparation for this offensive, General Broulard wants Mireau's division to capture a well-defended German position nicknamed the 'Anthill'. Mireau balks at the idea, claiming that his division is in no condition to defend the Anthill, much less capture it. Broulard reluctantly mentions that, in a completely unrelated matter, he was thinking that Mireau was due for a promotion, not that this should sway his decision concerning the feasibility of an attack on the Anthill. After explaining to Broulard at great length that the men he commands mean more to him than "all the stars and decorations in France," the ambitious Mireau concludes that an attack on the Anthill just might work.Mireau undertakes an inspection of the front line trenches with his loyal and cynical staff officer, Major Saint-Auban (Richard Anderson). The general stops to ask several soldiers (who later become major characters) the question, "Ready to kill more Germans?" When one soldier (Fred Bell) fails to answer, merely staring straight ahead, his comrades reply that the soldier is suffering from shell shock. Mireau says there is no such thing as shell shock. When the general enquires about whether the soldier has a wife, the soldier replies that he'll never see her again since he's certain to be killed, to which Mireau scolds the soldier for acting like a coward. When the soldier replies...