The Most Brutal Battle Scene You've Never Heard Of

[@elmosanchez]

This video recently, on March the 17th, has reached 1,000 views! The first of my videos to reach the thousands digits. Thank you to everyone who has clicked and watched, because it's honestly amazing to see. April 24th will be when my channel turns exactly 1 year old. I wanna see if we can hit 100 subs by then. I think that might be a stretch to do, but I wanna see if it's possible. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out my other history related stuff. Or just whatever I've uploaded if you want. And if you think it's passable stuff, maybe subscribe and help me reach 100 subs. Because that would be epic. Thanks to all you!

[@andykerr3803]

3K now. And thank you.

[@elmosanchez]

@@andykerr3803 Thank YOU for watching!

[@privateplane7823]

i think its a bit more now

[@grimtea1715]

Bro this video and channel already slap

[@FrogLaneStudio]

Really well written, delivered and edited. Congratulations mate, as I small KZbinr myself I feel your struggle, where every view, like and sun is a validation of the hard work you put in to making it. Bravo buddy, I’ve liked and subbed and ready to watch more whilst I paint. Your passion for history and videography shines through. 👍🏻✊🏻

[@ddraig1957]

The battle scenes in this movie were astonishing. The explosions are real,not CGI or trick photography. It must have been incredibly dangerous to take part in the filming of these scenes

[@elmosanchez]

Totally agree. Not to sound pretentious, but they don't make them like they used to

[@letoubib21]

_No, most of them were already too young _*_. . ._*

[@letoubib21]

@mr oko _However, in 1914 these people already had to be of military age _*_. . ._*

[@PxThucydides]

Apparently the films backers were getting cold feet about the expense during filming, and were going to pull the plug; they went to the set and had a look at what was going on. After seeing what was being filmed, they turned around and pretty much wrote a blank cheque for whatever the director wanted to do.

[@charlescsmith1213]

I imagine it was dangerous as hell. In TORA! TORA! TORA! there is a scene were a p-40 is trying to take off during the Japanese attack and gets destroyed going out of control almost crashing into and killing some men nearby on the tarmac as they run for their lives. Little did the audience watching the movie know at the time that those actors almost DID die in real life because that plane was full size model of a P-40 being remote controlled and was absolutely not supposed to come anywhere near them. When the plane blew up it simply became uncontrollable and thus the scene of men running for their lives from a flaming P-40 in TORA! TORA! TORA! is actually depicting men actually running for their lives and is a famous example of how dangerous full scale practical effects in those days were.

[@johngalt258]

War is a total waste. My grandfather was Welsh and fought in this war. He was shot, gassed and deafened. Never heard him mention it. He became a minister after. My father fought in WWII, from D-day on, until discharged in 1946. He never would talk about it either, until he visited the memorial with a group of veterans. Met Bob Dole at the memorial. Many of the vets were crying there. And now, politicians are doing it again.

[@DonRoyalX]

When I was 14 my “Nonna” (the mother of my married-in Uncle who raised me with his wife my blood-Aunty) tried showing me this film as she knew I was into modern history and modern/ancient history was my favourite subject at school. But being the pretentious and foolish brat I was, I totally rejected and laughed at it, as if it was a total D-list movie that didn’t deserve any praise or attention. I totally mocked it in front of her. She was disappointed.. she has since passed and now I regret so much that I couldn’t have had her show me now. Poor woman saw the Great War, and all war, as I see it now, and wanted to share her wisdom to me. Ur video is making me want to tear up but I’m forcing it back, every day I think so deeply on why it is that hundreds of millions if not billions of individual conscious human beings have had to suffer so explicitly in conflict..I can’t wrap my head around it. Miss u nonna…and I’m sorry

[@elmosanchez]

I'm both glad and sad my video has such an effect. Thank you for commenting

[@davidoftheforest]

if you grew up and caught her drift, I'll bet shes proud of you. Having this level of reflective capability demonstrates that you're a deep enough thinker to see what her intentions were, and that, in my opinion, is very important and something shed be proud to see in you.

[@kingcobra7183]

Yes we watched this movie in class back in the day all quiet on the western front and we're being taught about Nazi Germany and Soviet union war and half the class was texting or asleep and bored and I did a half assed report on Joseph mengele as we picked names out of a hat and I got his name but now if I was given this report now I would kill this ish and give an awesome ww2 eastern front report today too bad everybody was kids and stupid because now I love ww2 history 12 years later

[@tigershark7155]

My Grandfather spent 8 days on Iwo Jima. My Great Grandfather was in the 3rd Division at the Marne. My Father was a sniper in Vietnam. I ended up patrolling East Germany. I’d give anything to know more than the scant handful of stories from them.

[@DonRoyalX]

Wow everyone, my god. Thank u guys so much for taking the time to share ur words. I really appreciate them all!

[@ashleywetherall]

Yes . This is probably the most authentic battle scene from a WW1 film. My grandad and his father saw it together. His father a WW1 veteran serving from 1914 to the end of the war, when watching the film for the first time had to leave the cinema during this point in the film. He said it was too real. He also said the trench spade was the best weapon in hand to hand trench combat as it was quite heavy so the soldiers would sharpen the blade and use it like an axe. One can only imagine the real horrors of a WW1 battle.

[@chrisrichard2526]

They did the same in WW2. I have an original German spaten in my collection that has the one side sharpened. They are perfectly weighted and best used to cleeve into a shoulder blade and neck.

[@philiprice7875]

the movie "Passchendaele" made a very good recreation of the battelfield

[@chopper3a982]

I agree! This scene does a great job of illustrating the difficulty of overcoming a defense in depth with WW1 technology. Breaking into the enemy first trench line was only half the battle, you then had to quickly consolidate your forces, establish a defense, and then hold it against an inevitable counter-attack what was typically executed with fresh enemy troops from their second line of defense. The only item I would add to the points you made was how this movie shows the physical demands of combat. These men are working their weapons, running, climbing and fighting hand-to-hand and are all exhausted. I've read numerous accounts from WW1 where attacking soldiers fell asleep almost immediately after taking enemy positions having reach their physical and mental limits. Few movies, even modern "realistic" ones, capture that aspect of combat as well as All Quite on the Western Front.

[@elmosanchez]

Thanks for your input!

[@MisterHowzat]

"Quiet", not "Quite". Common mistake.

[@HandGrenadeDivision]

The scene also paints the false notion that a soldier's life was spent doing this every couple of days. For the most part soldiers spent their time in relatively quiet tours of the front line trenches. Major battles like this weren't done on the spur of the moment, but after long periods of amassing resources and planning. And by 1917 the allies had gotten very good at launching these attacks such that while it was still costly in terms of men, they could be done with a degree of confidence of success. No movie has yet really addressed the tactical changes that permitted that - the decentralization of command, the use of new types of barrages (box, creeping, etc.). The French were among the first soldiers on the front to start reworking their military tactics and finding success, the British Empire and American forces eagerly sent liaison officers to learn from them.

[@vlima7164]

Any books you can recommend that depict what you said?

[@inigobantok1579]

The modern version of the All Quiet on the Western Front is just like you listed.

[@bubbispapa2053]

Often credited as being the first movie ever made that depicted war in such a realistic manner. To this day it is still held up as the gold standard of war movies. WWI combat vets were occasionally known to go screaming in a panic from the theater due to PTSD (called shell shock then) because of the realistic battle scenes. Thanks for doing such an awesome job narrating this incredible film. The only line of narration I would change is at the end. Most of the "men" that died in that war (like so many other wars) were nothing more than boys barely out of school; or even had a chance to ever finish school. That would have been very poignant as that column of "ghosts" turned to look back as they marched off to war.

[@danrooc]

A matter of perspective: the poignant column of ghosts always meant to me they weren't marching off to war, but off from life and their loved ones. Most heartbraking scene.

[@BamideleAdegoroye]

A realistic movie. I thought it was a documentary ❤

[@Piece-Of-Time]

The reason why it was so realistic is it being anti-war movie. If we forget how horrible wars are there will be more

[@armybeef68]

He was annoying AF

[@gwtmlng]

To the narrator (with my apologies if some of the hundreds of comments mentioned this already): the last set of trenches that the Germans captured was not a recapture of their first line, but rather the capture of the first line of the French trenches. The German counterattack proceeded beyond their own lines and carried them to the French front line. The book mentions this also. In the film, the German officer even explicitly commands: "We can't hold this far forward. Back to your own lines." I remember this movie very well, and this battle scene indeed ranks very highly in my own personal list of best battle scenes, if not also first.

[@kristo1981]

I often watched this scene in the meanwhile of writing my master thesis. Studying for exams and writing papers felt just like war.

[@jamesandrew1750]

Not all he gets wrong, these were not daily battles at all, there were no attacks for long periods and when there were large offensives huge territories could be captured, the German 1918 offensive advanced 30 miles or so at its furthest.

[@pshehan1]

@@jamesandrew1750 The 1918 German spring offensive took advantage of the ending of the war on the eastern front and gave the Germans a temporary numerical advantage in the west. They hoped to win a victory before the Americans arrived in numbers but eventually the allied lines stabilized. I had relatives in the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) who served at Gallipoli and on the the Western front and visited the battlefields in France and Belgium in 2018. I visited Villers Bretonneux where the Australians stopped the German advance before Amiens, a vital railway hub. I had a beer in the Melbourne Hotel and visited the Victoria school, rebuilt with money collected by school children from the state of Victoria. The walls of the school have "Never forget Australia" written on them.

[@lifepolicy]

@@kristo1981 You know. School is like war. Just worse.

[@ericdoberstein8872]

@@jamesandrew1750 The reasons for this 30 mile advance were threefold. The southern part of this assault hit a part of the front recently occupied by the British and the French had not developed the 2nd and third defense lines needed for a defense in depth. Second: The British divisions were under strength because prime minister Loyd George was so disgusted with the commander of the British army, Haig, that he refrained from sending him reinforcements to replace his huge losses in his 1917 offensive, Third and most important the Germans had developed new infantry and artillery tactics on the eastern front that would latter become the basis for the German Blitzkrieg tactics of WWII.

[@christyhart8254]

There are very few books that have had such a profound effect on me as “All Quiet on the Western Front”. I remember reading the ending multiple times, and each time still not able to grasp what I had just read. This is absolutely one of the best literary works ever in the course of human history.

[@elmosanchez]

Agreed

[@music4dages]

I read this book when I was in the 7th grade. Couldn't stop telling my classmates about it. Alas, they were more interested in Star Trek and the latest Beatles song.

[@brianstone8719]

@@elmosanchez the book shaped my ideology deeper than religion ever did

[@finddeniro]

Hitler's Boys BAN the book..

[@finddeniro]

@@music4dages I also read it..7 grade..Chilling..

[@594bolt]

I saw this movie a couple of months ago and it is exceptional. It made me think of my great-uncle Alfred Hersekorn who died in the Meuse-Argonne offensive ten days before the Armistice as signed. A month or so before, he sent my great-grandparents a letter and a picture of himself. In the letter he wrote, "I shall have a good picture taken for you, for I shall never return." He was nineteen. I care for his grave at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY.

[@redbrush200]

That's heartbreaking. Crazy to have such a freeze frame of time, and some of the last words of a man.

[@mikeaylward4521]

Do you have this photo?

[@594bolt]

@@mikeaylward4521 No, I do not, although I remember seeing it at my grandmother's house when I was a boy. I do have a copy of the same photo that was used in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper telling of his wounds which he died from. The same photo with that quote is also in the World War Service Record for Rochester and Monroe County. The book is 652 pages and inscribed on the cover it says Presented by the City of Rochester, New York in Memory of Alfred Carl Hersekorn. All families received one if they had a family member killed.

[@wshaw8543]

It's an honorable thing to care for them. I don't know you, but I respect you for that. Pass on what happened to your children and grandchildren. Only battles with swords and pikes and chariots. At a time with ZERO medical treatment. The swing of a sword or battle axe could amputate limbs! How nerve-wracking it must have been just before running to charge your enemies! Imagine your first day on THAT job!!

[@realsydney7327]

You are a good man.

[@peter386]

My father had this movie recorded on Betamax from TCM. I used to watch this as a kid. This scene in its silver screen and ominous, dark tone, still give me goosebumps.

[@ThePerfectRed]

3:57 Holy crap, that guy getting blow up and his detached hands holding on to the barbed wire is disturbing.. and this in 1930 !

[@bofoenss8393]

It was a recreation of a famous picture taken during the war. The original photo shows a pair of severed decaying hands gripped on to the barbed wire. Just like these you see in the film.

[@letoubib21]

@@bofoenss8393 _Yeah, just wanted to answer the same, an iconic photography _*_. . ._*

[@wesstubbs3472]

Some critics of war have pointed out that all you have to do to stop war is make everyone visit a VA hospital to visit the casualties.

[@ThePerfectRed]

@@wesstubbs3472 Or draft politicians instead of teenagers.

[@slaughterhouse5585]

@@ThePerfectRed True. The people who start the wars aren’t the ones who actually have to fight them. Do you think Putin is worried about getting his ass blown off?

[@milowagon]

Amazing battle scene indeed. My Grandfather fought on the western front (Arras. Ypres 1 and Ypres 2) and he always said the battle scenes were the most authentic in this film. However, his one gripe was the straight trench style depicted. He said a direct shall hit in such a trench would have a collosal death toll. The man was there so he knew what he was talking about. He was wounded twice and lived till 1963.

[@bigsmokes2708]

What side if you dont mind me asking?

[@milowagon]

British army, Kings own Scottish Borders regiment. Funny thing, his full cousin was on the German side and he was in a mortar crew. Every launch was a chance of killing his own kin. They both survived the carnage and lived to old age.

[@sirridesalot6652]

Yes, trenches were made in a zig-zag pattern so that if part of a trench was taken by the enemy that enemy would not be able to fire along the entire trench = enfilade fire.

[@Sp33gan]

A good eye! That problem was noted by audiences of the day, as well. The only logical explanation is that the trenches were shown in straight lines for better camera angles. It can be a bother but, sometimes, we have to give concessions to the movie in order to make it easier to understand for those who don't know.

[@sirridesalot6652]

@@Sp33gan So true. I've often thought that if they could get the smells of battles, into the films then people wouldn't be as apt to think that war was glorious.

[@charlieishere17]

My 9th grade history class was shown that scene when we were learning about WW1. It's one of the most famous films of all time

[@elmosanchez]

I wish more people knew about it :/

[@bad74maverick1]

@@elmosanchez I have never met anyone who hasn't heard of All Quiet on the Western Front.

[@aaronleverton4221]

We read it for Year 10 English.

[@patster4040]

@@aaronleverton4221 Aaron, it was compulsory for us here in Australia (NSW) in year 9. The book had profound effect on me.

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@patster4040 I am Australian.

[@jonnyke7090]

May god forgive us for what we have done in the past, present and future. May god have mercy on our souls. Great video brother, keep it up.

[@williamlloyd3769]

All Quiet on the Western Front - was part of a USC Cinema 101 course I took my freshman year in 1974. This film really had an impact. Thanks for making this video.

[@patrickdevine1085]

Seen it numerous times best movie showing the dire realism of war.

[@krankenhaus1991]

When this move was released, it was only 12 years after WWI. Many actors or film crews might have actually fought in frontline trenches, tried to recreate their brutal and traumatic memories in the movie.

[@zenmeisterhoch80]

They had german officers at the set for instructions.

[@warwickmudge4114]

For sure, that was my first thought

[@jasonbevelander6322]

Yes its true many veterans were used as extras in the big battlefield scenes and also shot on location of actual battlefields that had remained largely unchanged only a few years after WW1...so very realistic. Lest we forget.

[@iceswallow7717]

All 2000 extras were WWI veterans: mostly German, some Hungarian etc.

[@pottedplant99]

many of the extras and i think a couple of the main cast were vets

[@laurenbarnes4918]

Watched this in my 7th grade class with my history teacher and it sparked my interest in WW1&2 and coming to terms with my own (forced) family history of being on the German side. Rest in peace Mr. Stubstad and thank you for interest you breathed into me from All Quiet on the Western Front and your passion for it.

[@markkirby2282]

all quiet on the western front is a classic movie and way ahead of its time, you dont see them as enemy soldiers but just soldiers

[@elmosanchez]

Soldiers are a complex group of people. It's always good to remember that they're people, and are capable of being both good and evil. Neutral and unbiased depictions of soldiers will always be better in my mind than portraying them as always good or always bad

[@finddeniro]

Lew Aires... a hilter banned the Book..

[@joeblow411]

The last scene of this movie has always struck me. I remember seeing this movie somewhere between the ages of 10 or 12. Then I was in basic training, on the firing line during marksmanship training. I was the buddy observing the shooter during some live fire exercise in the South Carolina summer heat. During a cease fire a butterfly landed on the front sight of her M-16. We both noticed and wished we had a camera. Another session of shooting and the butterfly returned. I asked if she had ever seen All is Quite on the Western Front. She had not. I then explained the final scene. It is one of better memories of my Army service. I hope to never forget it.

[@kkarx]

This is one of the greatest battle scenes ever made and incredibly it is one of the first movies of this kind. I"ve seen the movie numerous times. The remake is also absolutely amazing.

[@RackwitzG]

What a meat grinding battle. Erich Maria Remarque's real name is Erich Maria Kramer. "Remarque" is his name phonetically pronounced backwards and his artist name.

[@pump7683]

bro i was watching this and realized you’re not even at 100 subs. you deserve more very informative, enlightening and entertaining video. thanks!

[@elmosanchez]

Thanks, friend! Appreciate the kind words!

[@elmosanchez]

We're at 100 now, Pepe 🤝

[@elmosanchez]

@Dark craft Thank you, Mr. Dark Craft

[@pump7683]

@@elmosanchez over 200 now as I write. I am seriously happy that you are getting this recognition

[@TheAV2X]

@@pump7683 talk about 423!

[@tekay44]

the fact that they had the veterans of that war and they were young enough to recreate the tactics they used is phenomenal. wonderful piece of history.

[@snakemanmike]

All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the great works of all time. It portrays war as it really is- sad and so wasteful. The message is as real today as it was back then.

[@bracoop2]

Damn. 1930. Amazing. I always saw this movie on my dads desk. Should’ve watched it.

[@GGdeTOURS37]

My grand father wrote about this war and his charges against the Germans in bayonet direct fights. He survived and killed some of them but in his letters there was always a kind of neutrality in his words describing the German soldiers, a kind of respect. Not the respect of the invasion, because he was feeling like fighting for to defend his country, but the respect of the opposite soldier, who was a worker like him, forced to make a war they didn't want! GG - City of tours - France

[@JB-pd3ir]

Yep, they did not want it. My relatives were on the German side and they told me they did not want it. My grandfather would always say "The World War was the worst thing I ever experienced in my life. I never wanted to fight. Why should I kill the guy? He did nothing to me or my family."

[@tirionson]

The question is why did they fight? For the bankers, all wars are bankers wars.

[@Guido_XL]

The Germans did not want to invade France at all. They waged a war that was imposed upon them by the French pressure onto Germany, as France allied itself with Russia and the UK. That war could have been prevented, if this kind of deceptive politics had not steered towards these catastrophic conditions in the first place. Germany was defending itself against a war threat that did not emanate from Germany, although Allied propaganda then obviously suggested otherwise. What would have happened if Germany had won WWI? They would have marched on the Champs-Élysées to demonstrate their victory, and gone home. They would have ensured that the detrimental alliance between France, Russia and the UK would not spawn another war again, one way or the other, but not by occupying France.

[@timelliott4117]

Thank you for a truly touching real video. This truly illustrates that "war doesn't decide who's right, it decides who's left"

[@theorncampbell4432]

I was under the impression that this battle scene was widely considered to be the most groundbreaking battle ever put to film. It's served as the blueprint for generations of film makers.

[@FlorianBosselmann]

We watched this as kids in history class. I remember it left me deeply shattered for months.

[@bad74maverick1]

I have never met anyone who hasn't heard of All Quiet on the Western Front. It's one of the most iconic war movies of all time. It was nominated for 4 Oscars, winning two for best picture and best director! Heck most people even know of the color remake in 1979 starring Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine. And it won an Emmy and a Golden Globe!

[@lllordllloyd]

Yes. Another irk for me was supposing the French only went into the attack out of fear of being shot by their own commanders. This is ludicrous, an insult to the millions of brave troops whose only fear was letting down their comrades, relatives and country. Projecting our own individualism and experience onto men in history is something we must overcome when thinking about historical events. But, good luck to Elmo and his channel.

[@simonshiels1]

@@lllordllloyd gotta agree with you on this one.....if the only incentive was to attack was the fear of what might be the consequences from their commanders is erroneous......officers would be attacking with their men and experiencing higher proportionate losses than those men. The individuals doing the punishing would be the MPs.......a branch not well regarded by any of the rest of the army

[@marysueeasteregg]

The 2022 German language remake got much critical acclaim; among other nominations/awards it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and won for Best International Feature Film. I read the book many years ago, but have not seen any of the film versions.

[@bad74maverick1]

@@marysueeasteregg I haven't seen the newest one yet, but the trailers I have seen make it look very good!

[@GumbootZone]

One small detail of authenticity that I'm sure many missed, was the spiked helmets. You'll notice some have the spike missing, looking like it's been sawn off. This is real. The Germans quickly learned that the spike made them more visible to the enemy and more difficult to hide, so eventually many soldiers started cutting them off. Eventually, in 1916, these old "Pickelhaube" helmets were replaced by the more familiar coal-scuttle helmets like Paul is wearing in the end scenes.

[@bernarddavis1050]

The spike on the Pickelhaube could be unscrewed, so there was no need to saw it off. The cap was made of boiled leather, so offered little protection from shrapnel etc. All combatant armies, at least on the Western front, had adopted steel helmets by mid 1916 because of the heavy losses from head wounds among soldiers in trenches under plunging fire: in the German case, it had nothing to do with camouflage or visibility. And btw the helmet spike was not just a German thing: several armies had them for their cavalry troops in the 19th Century; supposedly it was there to deflect sabre cuts.

[@hmmmmm6243]

One of the best war films ever made, WW1 so often forgotten except in France and Britain. I read a memoir about the war and the author said that if you had to be out working when the Germans shelled you just went about your business because you were more likely to be hit if you were staying still taking cover. Snipes and gas scared them but if the artillery was going to get you there was nothing you could do. For me one of the most shocking things to learn was that after the had been going for a year or two craters that had filled with rainwater became death traps because the soil had become so drenched that it was just mud so a guy would jump in and not be able to get footing and just drown. My grandfather was in WW1 and his regiment had a 50% casualty rate. So it’s a miracle I’m even here.

[@brentcaflisch5765]

The first time I saw this movie, I was blown away, no pun intended, at the realism of the battle scenes. This movie should be required to watch and the book to be read.

[@josephdukes2387]

All I have to say is this. If you have not ever seen All Quite on the Western Front. Then you need to wake up. It is one of the best war movies ever made. Period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@user-pg9te8ug1j]

The book "Im Westen nichts Neues" ("All Quiet on the Western Front") by Erich Maria Remarque (if your care about the perspective of the book: as said in the video, his last name is French, but he was German participating in WWI on German side) is one of the best books I ever read. Another masterpiece on same level of E. M. Remarque "Die Nacht von Lissabon" ("The Night in Lisbon"): The retrospective of a German Jew who made it as a refugee to Lisbon in 1942, after experiencing prosecution, detaining, concentration camps. Absolutely worth a read.

[@schwanzuslongos4899]

"Arc de Triomphe" by Remarque is a good book, too!

[@letoubib21]

*". . . his last name is French . . ."* _His real name was _*_Remark . . ._*

[@user-pg9te8ug1j]

@@letoubib21 True, but what was the name he used to publish books? Remark or Remarque? And couldn't someone who maybe never heard about him as a writer get the idea he is a french author reporting "from the frence side" ? Exactly - and that's why I added this info.

[@BillPurkayastha]

@@letoubib21 Erich _Paul_ Remark, in fact.

[@carstendanielsen9669]

You should also read the the sequel,"The road back"(Der Weg zurück) where he describes the return home after the end of the war. It is perhaps even more heartbreaking. It was truly the "Lost Generation"

[@exJacktar]

I'll see your suggestion, which is excellent, btw. And I'll raise with, Theirs is the Glory from 1946. This is basically a reenactment of the battle of Arnhem, shot on location with the men who fought there only a short time earlier. The reactions of the troops to contact shows real reflexes to combat by combat veterans. This, this is the real deal. No CGI, no actors playing real men, but the men playing themselves.

[@ivanrenic4243]

I live in Germany and back in middle school our history teacher showed us the scene. I definitely agree with you on this one being the most authentic!👍🏿🍻

[@elmosanchez]

Danke Schön 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪

[@electrichellion5946]

My granddad born in 1898, fought in WWI as a machine gun gunner. Said he had an ammo bearer who kept bringing belts of ammo by the box full and draped over neck and shoulder and a soldier working as a spotter and he kept water in the jugs for the barrel shroud that surrounded the barrel. He said when our guys were attacking they fired in support to keep enemy gunners heads down. And then fired covering fire as survivors came back. When the Germans attacked he said he laid them down in lines and they would stack up. Strafing left o right and back left just mowing down men until there were no more bullets to shoot and the water for the gun was all used up. When I asked if he knew how many fell before him he turned and said he didn’t want to know how many but he’ll remember their faces until his death. Only talked about it with me once and never a mention again. Grandma said he still had rough nights sleeping and he lived into his ninety sixth year.

[@JR44444]

I have read this book multiple times, it´s a great read. One of the few books i was required to read in school that was actually enjoyable. It´s extremely chilling and emotional. Remarque actually likely saw little direct combat action as we learned in our literature class, but he was a soldier and at least got close.

[@dikon0172]

Have you also read the 2nd part, The Road Back? In my eyes, it gives the best inside look, in the brocken soul of that lost generation.

[@Hallmighty]

This movie is free on KZbin. It popped up in my feed like 5 days ago, and for some reason I decided to check it out, and I'm so glad that I did. I was blown away by how well it was made and how compelling the story was.

[@enriquemireles8947]

Most wars are fought for nothing .

[@HogeN1337]

wrong...... all with us is for the income to the infrastracture

[@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw]

Most wars are fought over something that was thought to be important at the time. Once the fighting started, they would soon forget what they were fighting for, and why.

[@apb3440]

Most wars are fought because of some megalomaniac, narcissistic lunatic.

[@petem7118]

Or rather fought by the many for the benefit of a few….!

[@-.Steven]

"All wars are bankers wars" Rob Paul

[@1badjesus]

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS. I'm sure you've already seen ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT on Netflix... simply OUTSTANDING.

[@Dan-ud8hz]

“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.” ― General William Tecumseh Sherman

[@KevinSavoie]

Soldiers pray for peace more than anyone else.

[@oddshot60]

"You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace." General William Tecumseh Sherman My GOD do I hate and despise Presidents and Kings, the politicians who send men to war.

[@donaldmccleary9015]

Thus is one of the most truthful quotes of all time.

[@frankus54]

A masterpiece for its time. Thanks

[@konradheumann8342]

The author of "Im Westen Nichts Neues" ("All Quiet on the Western Front") was - as you point out - himself a veteran of a war that had only been over for 12 years when he released the film. I think you find very much the same dynamic at work in Oliver Stone's "Platoon," which won an Oscar for Best Film in 1985. Stone is a Vietnam combat veteran, and the war had only been over for a decade when he made the film.

[@Oggie389]

These battle scenes were filmed in my hometown (local town historian). It was filmed on the coast of so Cal. A ww1 film I found to be more authentic was the Nazi response to "All Quiet.." with Ernst Jungers inspired, Stosstroop 1917

[@soldat2501]

The artillery is French. That’s called a rolling barrage and it starts on the barbed wire concentrations in No Man’s Land to break it up and destroy it if possible, clearing the way for the attacking troops. Then it rolls up on the enemy trenches to suppress and kill them while the infantry attack. If timed well, the artillery moves back behind the lines to prevent reinforcements from moving up.

[@TheKingsSon2403]

Brilliant video and commentary. Great job. I'm delighted I found you, Elmo.

[@elmosanchez]

Hey, thanks!

[@brass427]

I agree. 'All Quiet' was a masterpiece, both on paper and on screen. As another illustration of the true horrors of these types of epic battles, a visit to the beaches at Normandy is most sobering. Just to stand there and picture the death and destruction ... very powerful. Equally frightening is a trip to the former WW1 battle locations. Verdun has to be seen to be believed.

[@cozmcwillie7897]

I heard an old British soldier saying he wasn't afraid of the Germans. He said he was afraid of the rats. "At night out in no-man's-land, we could hear wounded men unable to move, screaming, while being eaten alive by rats".

[@knockshinnoch1950]

Great video. I can only agree that this particular battle scene is one of the greatest in movie history and the movie itself is a masterpiece. I first saw it as boy in the 1970s watching with my grandfather who was himself only a boy during the First World War. I only recently discovered he lost two uncles and several older cousins in the war. They were never spoken of. It really is amazing that a film which is almost a century old can still make as much impact as AQOTWF. I watched it again recently and reread the book. Both are immensely powerful and deeply moving. The recent 2022 NETFLIX version which was released a year after you posted this critique- is a very different story but is still impressive in certain aspects. I saw Saving Private Ryan in the cinema first week it was released. It was an incredible experience. The cinema fell deathly silent during that opening 20 minute sequence, everyone was gripped. I've never experienced that kind of shared group emotion before or since watching a movie- the only film that came close was Schindlers List and that was at the END of the film.

[@NauticalNightmareDeep]

Marvellous! That’s some battle scene. I’ve never seen that before, it makes Hollywood battle scenes look like a picnic. Thanks 👍

[@satyrosphilbrucato9140]

When my now-ex-wife and I visited Scotland, we saw a memorial wall to Scots who'd died in various wars. The memorial listed units, dates, and casualties. One of the WWI units had lost over a thousand men in one week. She said, "How can one unit lose that many soldiers in such a short period of time?" I told her about how most of WWI was fought. "That's horrible," she said. She was right.

[@ollie-kc6nj]

Yeah it's really hard to fathom that amount of people being killed that's a field of dead

[@sirridesalot6652]

I was reading a book Road past Vimy and in that book there's a passage where a slew of attacking Allied infantry attack a German position and they all lie down before reaching it. A high ranking officer watching from a distance asks, "Why have they all stopped?" to which a more junior officer replies, "Because they are all dead!"

[@satyrosphilbrucato9140]

@@sirridesalot6652 Yipe... 0_0

[@rogueriderhood1862]

A thousand men in one week would have been distributed across several battalions of the regiment, not from one unit.

[@satyrosphilbrucato9140]

@@rogueriderhood1862 Kinda missing the point there, dude.

[@Timecapsuleiguess]

Your words at the end very impressive and because i hate war those words are inspirating. Good video

[@jackoliver7506]

Don't know how you popped up in my feed, but you just earned to sub my friend.

[@elmosanchez]

Don't know either. But thank you, friend

[@tgn2446]

I'm old enough that I watched this film in high school. The film was indeed a masterpiece

[@zenogodofeverything3519]

I grew up thinking about wars like this meaningless but when it comes to a person a soldier each life matters in the eyes of another.

[@rogerjohnson2562]

Excellently done! The world needs many more videos like this one!!

[@elmosanchez]

Thank you!

[@pikunichris]

My grandfather who was in the AEF lay wounded for two days in No Man's Land before being picked up by his fellow Americans who thought he was dead until they put another body on top of him, when he made sure they knew he was still alive.

[@elmosanchez]

One of the more unspoken brutalities of WW1. Thank you for sharing

[@Redwood65]

My grandfather was with the 57th Pioneer Infantry Regiment at the Meusse Argonne. They repaired and built bridges and roads up to the front. My father said his dad wasn't a rifleman and my mom countered with, "That doesn't matter. What he saw there scarred him for life." The images of the Meusse Argonne battle I've located support my mother's position.

[@drjohnson98]

Good job bringing attention to a terrific scene in a great film that many today would not be aware of. This film holds up amazingly well almost 100 years after it was made. Fully merits being named among the other great ones that you noted.

[@elmosanchez]

Glad you agree!

[@Piece-Of-Time]

6:25 mostly because this scene showed every battle in that war

[@rogerevans9666]

Having read the book, the explanation for the butterfly scene is that the hobby of the soldier (Paul Bäumer) before the war was butterfly collecting. In the middle of the movie, he is allowed to go home and rest for a few days. If you look carefully, as he enters his room, one of his butterfly collections is hanging on one of the walls. Unfortunately, his hobby indirectly caused his death since a French sniper (briefly shown) noticed this German soldier extending his arm from the trench toward a butterfly.

[@worlore1651]

Mercy

[@TSULLY210]

The simple fact that you used All Quiet On The Western Front….. I gotta sub

[@jaffa3717]

I actually watched this in a history lesson in school when I was probably about 14 or 15. I remember that butterfly scene so clearly. Great film

[@markhorton8578]

All quite on the western Front was very well known by those over 55, because it was screened on TV. Nowadays most young people turn off/over if they see a black and white film, yet very many of them have stood the test of time far better than much of the modern junk they claim is great but which will be completely forgotten within a generation. Glad you selected this film. The effects etc. were ahead of their time. It really does capture the atmosphere of the book, though for obvious reasons, not the depth of intensity.

[@paulhaye3725]

We did an analysis of this book at school when I was 15 and saw the original black and white movie at school as part of the analysis (alongside 'Richard III' by Skakespeare). Both the book and the movie left an impression on me, and I'll agree about the intensity of this battle scene - I still remember how hard it hit me (although I must admit I think the first 30 minutes of 'Saving Private Ryan' was better). One of the details I still remember from this film was the severed hands hanging from the barbed wire barrier. This same image was used in one of those epic Vietnam war movies. I think it was Apocalypse Now, that was released the year after we saw this at school.

[@patrickwalsh279]

Well done and well observed. Thanks for posting and for your commentary.

[@elmosanchez]

Thank you for watching!

[@Boringdaddi]

Well, some of us do know this movie… we’re just older than you. Best war movie ever and my top 5 as well

[@elmosanchez]

Lol. Nice

[@Teufer2]

I watched this movie when I was around 17. And I was born in 1994. I am extremely interested in WW1.

[@robertcook4568]

I believe they made a three movies from this book over the years. Only the first film is a true work of art depicting the horror of war on such a personal level. Excellent review!

[@jonathanwalker8730]

104 years later, with things as they are at the time of writing, one can only think of the words of Georg Hegel: "The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history." Great video; an interesting choice of film. I cringe to admit it, but despite having read the book I've never actually seen the film. It looks extraordinary. I have subscribed.

[@elmosanchez]

Both All Quiet films are amazing. Thanks for watching!

[@enriquemireles8947]

Robert E Lee said that Warner so ugly that we learn not to enjoy it. But here we are again.

[@jimmyjams9036]

The first time I watched this movie, I was taken aback at the realism of the battle scenes. It's a really good movie.

[@roguetrooper70]

It's called a "Creeping Barrage." It's a very well-timed orchestrated attack but a very shitty way to fight a war.. Both sides would come out after each attack to collect their dead and wounded. My Great Grand father was with Canadian Expeditionary Force, unit The Fort Garry Horse. Ive done extensive research regarding my grandfather. The Germans called the unit by another name.. "Hell- for Leather". Sounds like something from "Priest " Hell Bent For Leather..hmm coincidence... Then 72 yrs later I joined The Fort Garry Horse 1989, who was now a Reserve Armoured Reconinsince Unit.

[@j.armstrong9021]

My Dads Dad (My Grandfather)was on the American side, and His Brother was on the German side during this War, The Brother lived in Gent Belgium after the War and lived to 99, He sent My Dad His Medals and Dad kept Them in a box with His own from WWII, Dad lived to 95 and all His War stuff, Diary, Letters, Photo Albums and Medals were appropriated by one of My Sisters after He passed. I was the Youngest Son and We talked a lot about what He went thru, the one thing that bothered Him most was that a fellow Soldier next to Him was vaporized by a mortar round and all that was left was His boots with His feet, Dad didn't even get a scratch, but His hearing was trashed. "Why Him and not Me" He always said. That nightmare followed Him until He died, He always wondered Who the Soldier was and the butterfly effect of life.

[@Sirxchrish]

For a 1930 picture, this sequence is a pretty amazing feat. I love it when production companies muster huge groups of extras like this for battles.

[@elmosanchez]

Agreed

[@cjr4286]

Sometimes, the framing of the shots can have a huge effect on how realistic we perceive the battle to be. Stanley Kubrick recreated "combat cameraman" style footage in Dr. Strangelove, and the effect is unnerving. For an 18th-Century line battle, "Culloden" from 1964 shows the close-in terror of a bayonet charge, which completely shatters the common vision of an "orderly," Napoleonic-style line battle.

[@Ivan-hq5fl]

I'm so glad you are not an average boomer, all quiet on the western front is my favorite book and movie. Thank you, ur epic.

[@elmosanchez]

Lol. Thanks!

[@simonyip5978]

The ending, with the German soldiers looking back, as they march towards.... their deaths? to the next battle? to wherever..? who knows? It definitely seems decades ahead of other films and that scene is a particularly poignant part of the movie.

[@edgein3299]

Or maybe dead and looking back on their lives.

[@davefarris2014]

@@edgein3299 I have this movie on DVD and that is roughly how I always interpreted it. They're all dead. Or maybe they were all dead when they marched off to that disaster in the first place?

[@darthsuitcase6166]

"their deaths? to the next battle?" Same thing. If not the next battle, then another one, eventually, and probably soon.

[@Otokichi786]

"We marched into Hell for you. We're dead now, what do you make of that? Nothing? That's what I thought."

[@michaellovell1368]

They were marching to heaven. The scene was shown earlier in the film and those young schoolmates had died during the course of the film. So poignant

[@oddshot60]

I started watching a series, The Great War, on KZbin a while back. I got as far as the middle of 1916 and had to stop. The carnage, the NUMBERS and the unspeakable senselessness of it all had begun to invade my dreams. AQATWF is a beautifully made motion picture (NOT a "movie"). As a vet, I remember my reaction to Full Metal Jacket, We Were Soldiers Once and others. That said, I cannot imagine the reaction of a WW1 Veteran to All Quiet.

[@sirridesalot6652]

In the book Road Past Vimy a high rankinjg officer touring the front lines after a major battle is quoted as having said, "My God! We sent men to fight in that?" Apparently many attacks were planned from the rear areas where those planning the attack had NEVER visited the front lines.

[@mhanke1]

Spontaneously, I would have nominated that battle scene, even before having watched your video. This always was the most impressive (anti-)war movie for me, only to be closely met by "Paths of Glory" with Kirk Douglas, that had a rather similar story.

[@miken5413]

Amazing production! Wow! I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this before now

[@elmosanchez]

Thanks!

[@West_Coast_Mainline]

Netflix adaptation looking good

[@elmosanchez]

Agreed

[@msanjelia]

Considering this movie was made in 1930 when the industry was in it's infancy the movie is a masterpiece. People who love this movie adaptation, most say that the fact it was make so close in time after the war, the movie producers used actual solders to help make it as realistic as possible. You can learn war strategy but those who lived it know it best. War strategy in WW1 was not effective other then taking lives. The book is better then any movie adaptation and i've watched them all. I highly recommend that ppl read it. It really shows Paul's thoughts and feelings. It's so well written that it keeps your interest ( regardless of the fast pace of the modern world and our lack of concentration) almost 100 yrs after it's first publication. The book stood for the best anti war book of all times when it was published in 1928 and I agree.

[@ianh1504]

All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the best war movies, in that it depicts the pointless brutality and shines a light acutely on the suffering of the young men convinced to throw their lives away for their country. Seeing his friend die a slow undignified death in a hospital bed, returning home to find wailing mothers and old men sitting around a table, spouting their opinions about the war as if it were a soccer match. Finding his humanity again before SPOILER Its a great war movie for antiwar hippies like me

[@HigHrvatski]

The scariest snene is the French soldiers jumping in the trench with the camera perspective being like if you were a German soldier looking up.

[@mannyg9059]

Now matter in how great of shape you are, after a short time of continuous movement your muscles tire and you can't even lift your arms to fight or defend yourself, your adrenaline drains from your body quickly and you become a lump of flesh ready to be slaughtered by fresher and even weaker individuals. It happened to me and it's a very frightening feeling. .

[@Matt_from_Florida]

My grandfather (who died in the 1980's) had this movie on 8mm.

[@elmosanchez]

Neat to hear

[@cry1ngcsgo331]

Hi, so in Germany Remargen as an Author is very apreciated and therefore this Book is, at least in some Schools, part of the main curriculum. I personally had to read it in 9th Grade on an grammar school in Germany. Greetings

[@elmosanchez]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[@DodAederen]

I first saw this movie at a friend's house, 16mm projector with sound in about 1972. The film came out of the RKO archives, which we had access to. I have always remembered the scene, where the camera was above the muzzle of the machine gun, and where ever it pointed, a man came apart. Powerful movie, genius direction.

[@ddkeegs]

Saving Private Ryan holds a special place in my heart. In 1986, when I became a medic in the 3rd Ranger Battalion...the older(30-40s) sergeants pulled us 18-19 year old newbies pulled us aside. And told us of the raid on Omaha Beach...an ENTIRE Ranger Battalion was lost that day to make a hole ("Dog 1 is open...FOLLOW ME!") They looked at us stone cold serious..."Boys. You are now Rangers...nothing is changed...we can be asked within 24hours anywhere in the world to make a hole...LOL ...Welcome to the 3rd Ranger Battalion. "

[@Leon-bc8hm]

Blah blah Americans blah blah allot.

[@ddkeegs]

@@Leon-bc8hm blah...blah. That's why we don't all speak German and live under the 3rd Reich fool. They literally spearheaded the invasion that crushed Hitler and the Nazi regime. Show some respect.

[@JeffY-y3z]

I used the original movie All Quiet on the Western Front yearly while teaching social studies and history in HS, along with Saving Private Ryan.....All Quiet even though it's nearly a hundred years old is still as violent, vivid, and visceral as it was when it came out. Great movie.

[@davidblake5603]

A great movie from a great book. I read it five times. Remarque's book "the Road Back" deals with the reintegration of the German veteran into post war Germany, and is very good also. Some of the troubles they had we see today. Another good movie is "They Shall not Grow Old" by Peter Jackson who took old footage of WW 1, stabilized the frame rates, colorized it, and hired lip readers to see what the people were saying. The short clip of the Lancaster Fusileers waiting to go over the top at the Somme on July 1 1916 was especially poignant because they knew they were going to get killed, and most of them did that day, mostly in the first hour.

[@gerbrandvisser]

Well done Mr. Sanchez! This item should be shown in schools. It says all that needs to be said about war in its seven and a half minutes.

[@gunner678]

It's a book that everyone should read, particularly before so easily promoting the glorification of war, and sending off our young to fight for often political purposes. The original movie is a cinematic masterpiece. The 1979 remake isn't bad either, but not anywhere near as good as the original.

[@midnightteapot5633]

Never heard of ? I saw this scene for the first time in 1976 , and many times since, I was always impressed by it.

[@HartDoug]

I read an article a few years ago that described a truly obscene thing called, ‘War of Attrition’... Do you know what that means? It meant that someone had ‘counted’ the populations of England, France, and (initially, Russia) and then counted the populations of Germany and Austria and they had discovered that England and France (and Russia) ‘outnumbered’ Germany and Austria! That meant they could ‘force the soldiers over the tops of the trenches’ and if they killed one enemy for every British or French soldier who was killed, the French and British would have a few soldiers left when the Germans ‘ran out’ (of soldiers)! The Generals who thought up this obscenity should have been ‘shot for treason’ at the end of the war!

[@janefelix3821]

Gen. Grant used the same logic too as the Northern population outnumbered the Southern population by a factor of 2.5 to 1. However, roughly 40% of the Southern population was black (mostly slaves) so if you take that into account the Northern advantage was like 4:1 and then more so as once Northern armies took over Southern territories they enlisted former slaves. During WW1 you also have to take into account Colonials as England and France had more overseas colonies to draw their forces from, plus with the British Navy controlling the seas Germany could not transport their colonials to Europe.

[@mk.5706]

So you understood at last what war is all about since the classical antiquity. Took you pretty long.

[@HartDoug]

@@mk.5706, Okay, what would you like me to tell you? Yeah, There was also the fact that a small number of the ‘wealthy’ who were financially ‘invested’ and usually ‘pushed’ for more...

[@thomassaldana2465]

@@HartDoug Bear in mind that, during the World Wars, the rich and famous generally didn't just sit back and relax while they sent the poor working class to die. I can't be sure about every country, but across the British Empire, the aristocracy had a significantly higher casualty rate, as a percentage, than the working class. Junior officers in particular had a higher casualty rate than the enlisted soldiers. Just a few months into the war, high command had to issue a standing order that General Officers were not allowed near the front line without special permission, because too many of them were getting killed alongside their men. That war was a tragic, bloody disaster. But the myth that the political class kept themselves safe while sending the working class to die is simply not true. To give credit where it's due, they at least had the decency to put their money where their mouth was.

[@bluskies1000]

You have hit upon one of the reasons LBJ was so disliked. He started the Viet Nam war (another story itself) , and decided to fight it as a war of attrition, rather than defeat the North Viet Nam army, a Russian client. His casualties were enormous. Causalities dropped fast after Nixon (a dove btw) was elected, then he defeated NVN in the field, forcing peace. But his politics was wrong, he was blamed for the entirety of the war and the dead. Nixon's domestic political record is long buried but very outstanding. A competent man.

[@catsamazing338]

One of my favorite films. As much a documentary as movie. So advanced for 1929. Almost 100 years old and still brilliant. 👍

[@dr.strangelove7696]

War is Hell

[@gagwool6583]

Indeed, Strangelove, let's hope General Ripper doesn't end the world.

[@panther7584]

"War isn’t Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse." "How do you figure that, Hawkeye?" "Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?" "Sinners, I believe." "Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander."

[@waterbeauty85]

When I was young, KBHK in San Francisco used to show this movie every Memorial Day, and it was popular enough that it even got remade as very good TV movie in 1979. It's sad to me that it's now in the "you've never heard of" category.