German soldiers against French tanks and flamethrowers /All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

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[bigj]

You have to admit the cinematography is amazing.

In this scene, the French are all hidden by the smoke. They don’t talk, and appear brutal, ruthless, and effiecent.

But when the Germans attack the French trench, it empathizes their faces. They speak, run, and beg, just like the Germans did here.

Very simple, but very effective technique.

[blacksabbath]

during 1 st world war, french soldiers were fanatized and eager for revenge because of 1870-1871 war (they lost alsacia and lorraine). That's why they resist at Verdun 1916 and died instead of surrender. Verdun was the worst battle of all times. i visited the battlefield. there is a place (Douaumont) with millions of bones from unknown fallen soldiers and graves evrywhere. very moving. Poor young guys

[CrossroadsReloaded]

Being French myself, seeing French soldiers as the enemy is interesting. The movie rightfully depicts them as ruthless, faceless killers; and this is exactly what enemy soldiers would look like seen from any side. Good or evil does not exist on a battlefield; it's only a matter of perspective. We would be presomptuous to believe that we would act any different if these events were to happen again, even though most of us have spent their entire lives in safety and peace. After enduring horrors for years, even the kindest of us would turn into a psychopath enjoying the sight of an enemy screaming in pain as he's burning alive. War has always revealed the darkest, most awful nature of mankind.

[philipcoriolis]

Flamethrower operators were rarely taken prisoner, especially when their target survived. Captured flamethrower users were in many cases summarily executed.

[stuka]

WW1 Western Front has to be the hardest and most horrific battlefield man has ever endured in war, and it went on for 4 years. Absolutely insane.

[Sean-mefv]

It is truly sickening that leaders ever send their fellow citizens into any situation remotely like this. Human beings are truly disappointing sometimes.

[MaskedViolinist]

One of, if not the most horrifying film you'll ever see. I still get goosebumps down my arms at the thought of these scenes. There's not a moment to catch your breath, much like for the soldiers. Just misery, and death, and inhumane brutality.

[leodelu]

Once the Germans first used the Flammenwerfer in 1915 against the French, they opened Pandora's box.
Logically it was used against them afterwards.

[Blackness_]

I love this movie, and this scene in particular showed how brutal war can actually be, the mud and dirt of ww1 was not friendly to anyone, it was quite brutal in fact. This scene is brutal, and shows how terrifying war can be, which is why I love it.

[elchin]

I was about to burst into tears when Kropp died in such a miserable way.

[t.miranda]

I could not believe my eyes on this scene. This watching this film was one of the most depressive yet eye opening experiences of my life. Outstanding work!

[charlessaint]

French at Verdun, 1916, "They shall not pass!"
French in 1918, "They shall not survive!"

[Sean-Johnson]

My father always said…

“Life isn’t fun without a struggle in it, but some struggles lead to tragic endings.”

[MadlyParrot]

“War is where the young and stupid are tricked into killing each other”
- Niko Bellic

[msxwindx]

My great-grandfather fought in WW1. He told my father that all they were doing is standing in the middle of the field at their full height and shooting each other after that they were running and throwing grenades under their feet. It was all like this

[CyberWar]

Wonderfully done scene showcasing the brutality of WWI. The fact that there are so few movies about this war (compared to WWII, at least) is a sin, as there are so many great stories to tell.

Obviously, like every couch expert and keyboard commando commenting movie scenes, I have to mention few small gripes so that the good readers can call me a nitpicking smart-ass.

1) The flamethrowers. Movies always get them wrong, though it is for practical and safety reasons. Movie prop flamethrowers use propane, and while adequate enough for special effects, it is a far cry from how terrifying the real things which use liquid fuel are. A wall of roiling flames and black smoke projected at a considerable distance and setting on fire everything between the target and the operator.

2) The flamethrower effects. Movies always show victims of incendiary attacks shrieking and wailing as they shamble about engulfed in flames, probably because that's what the audience expects from someone burning alive. In truth, the effects tended to vary greatly. Numerous accounts by flamethrower operators from WWII say that most of the time, enemies who were hit directly like in this scene didn't scream at all, or at most let out a short cry before collapsing. The combination of thermal shock and the inhalation of flames would swiftly render victims unconscious and swell their lungs, so that they wouldn't be able to scream even when they did feel the pain. More often than not flamethrower victims would survive the blast unscathed or with minimal injury, especially in WWI when the fuel mixtures weren't as deadly as WWII-era napalm. This usually happened in cold weather when the targets were wearing thick woolen greatcoats. In still other cases, targets were killed by oxygen depletion and carbon monoxide poisoning rather than the flames, so it would vary greatly. Point is, the real-world effects of the flamethrowers were seldom as spectacular as the war movie classic of screaming, flailing victims engulfed head to toe in fire.

3) Explosions. War films seldom convey just how powerful explosions on the battlefield are, again mostly for practicality and safety of the film crew. Whether anyone would have gotten out of that tank after taking a stick grenade inside can be open for debate, but what can be said with certainty is that the shell which knocks down Paul would have almost certainly been a dud. Someone who has a live artillery shell, however small, land right next to him just doesn't survive the experience conscious and with the same number of intact body parts he had before. A dud shell, however, can still throw men about and cause injury with the rush of air in its wake.

[uispthg]

Imagine the horror of seeing something like this for the first time in warfare and not knowing how to defeat it.

[thomasmartin]

nothing has changed, only the weapons.

[d_avocado]

Ironically it was the Germans who introduced the flamethrower in WW1 against the French first

[AutismAutismcreature]

If you are ever lit on fire by a flamethrower give that person who set you on fire a warm hug