Westfront 1918

During the last months of 1918, four infantrymen take a rare rest behind the lines in France. The Student falls in love with a French peasant girl named Yvette, giving him something soft and human to hold on to amid the war. This quiet interlude shows the fragile humanity that war tries to erase.

Back in the trenches, they endure dirt, mud and constant danger as the war grinds on. The Bavarian, Karl, the Student, and the Lieutenant form a tight, uneasy bond while the fighting continues around them. Everyday hardship tests their nerve and resolve on the Western Front.

A portion of the trench collapses, trapping the four comrades. The Student digs them out, risking his life again to save his brothers-in-arms. The rescue underscores how a single act can shape the fate of multiple lives.

Misjudged distances cause their own artillery to fire on them, a deadly mistake. The Student volunteers to relay updated firing instructions to the guns, braving exposure and possible death to shield his friends. The moment highlights the fragility of safety in war.

Karl receives leave and returns to his starving hometown in Germany. There he discovers his wife in bed with a butcher, a cruel betrayal that shakes his faith in life and marriage. He heads back to the front, carrying anger and disillusionment.

In Karl's absence, the Student's fate remains unsettled as they press on with the relentless war. Karl's bitter discovery has hardened him, and the group continues to fight under the looming threat of collapse. The emotional toll tightens its grip on all of them.

During a melee, the Student is stabbed and falls, his body lying in the mud of a shell-hole with only one hand protruding. The moment marks a poignant turn toward the soldiers' inevitable fate. His sacrifice reverberates through the remaining trio.

An Allied offensive with tanks and a mass French advance begins, fracturing the German trenches. Karl and the Bavarian are seriously wounded while the Lieutenant descends into insanity, shouting loudly through the bombardment. The field positions strain under the relentless assault.

The wounded are gathered into a field hospital where Karl and the Bavarian are treated alongside the Lieutenant. The hospital is crowded with injured soldiers, all seeking relief from the brutal grind of war. Chaos and fever color the day as the reality of loss grows closer.

In a feverish moment, Karl sees his wife again and mutters that they are all to blame. He dies, his hand still hanging from the bed as a silent sign of guilt. The moment leaves the survivors haunted by responsibility.

Beside Karl, a wounded French Poilu takes his hand and insists that they are comrades, not enemies. The gesture embodies a shared humanity that war cannot erase. The moment gives a glimmer of hope amid the siege of death.

The final message, The End?!, invites reflection on war's cost and responsibility. The film asks who the real enemies are and what binds people in such times. It closes on a somber note about humanity amid catastrophe.