***SPOILERS*** With the 1918 German spring offensive threatening to brake through the American lines General Kalthrob, Kirk Douglas, has an added headache on his hands with his chicken liveried yellow bellied milk, instead of whiskey a man's drink, sucking son Lt. Martin Kalthrob, Eric Douglas, messing things up by chickening out when the chips are down on then collapsing, for the allies, Western Front. Given a chance by his dad the general to redeem himself by leading a unit into no-man's land to fix a broken or cut, by artillery fire, telephone line Martin screws things up so bad by not alerting his men that their soon to be under German attack that they get wiped out almost to the last man as he saves his sorry a** by hiding in a foxhole!
With later Martin claiming that he bravely held off the German attack and killed at least a dozen German soldiers single handedly his BS story falls apart when the surviving member of his ill fated unit Sgt. Ripper, Lance Henriksen, in reporting to his dad Gen. Kalthrob, just before he died from his wounds, that he's full of it. In fact that left his men to be slaughtered by the Germans as he hid himself out in a ditch in order to save his own hide! Tried and convicted of cowardice under fire and responsible for the death of a half dozen troops under his command Martin is sentenced to be shot at sunrise the very next day by non other that his father General Kalthrob.
***SOILERS*** While awaiting his fate Martin is visited by his father the general who admits that by babying him that he's as responsible for his cowardly actions as well as he is. In a last attempt to get his son to stand up and act like a man Gen. Kelthrob devises a plan where Martin will avoid being killed by him putting blanks in all the firing squad's members rifles. This has the gutless Martin get the courage to stand up to the firing squad knowing that he'll, by faking to be shot, survive it and impress those in attendance, including his dad, that he isn't the coward that everyone says he is.***MAJOR SPOILER*** Knowing that he can't do anything to give is son Martin the courage that he lacks Gen. Kalthrob did the next best thing: Make him feel that he's invincible to the firing squad's bullets and thus, by standing tall as he's about to b be shot, he'll show everyone that he has what it takes to be a soldier in him not realizing what he was truly facing!
With later Martin claiming that he bravely held off the German attack and killed at least a dozen German soldiers single handedly his BS story falls apart when the surviving member of his ill fated unit Sgt. Ripper, Lance Henriksen, in reporting to his dad Gen. Kalthrob, just before he died from his wounds, that he's full of it. In fact that left his men to be slaughtered by the Germans as he hid himself out in a ditch in order to save his own hide! Tried and convicted of cowardice under fire and responsible for the death of a half dozen troops under his command Martin is sentenced to be shot at sunrise the very next day by non other that his father General Kalthrob.
***SOILERS*** While awaiting his fate Martin is visited by his father the general who admits that by babying him that he's as responsible for his cowardly actions as well as he is. In a last attempt to get his son to stand up and act like a man Gen. Kelthrob devises a plan where Martin will avoid being killed by him putting blanks in all the firing squad's members rifles. This has the gutless Martin get the courage to stand up to the firing squad knowing that he'll, by faking to be shot, survive it and impress those in attendance, including his dad, that he isn't the coward that everyone says he is.***MAJOR SPOILER*** Knowing that he can't do anything to give is son Martin the courage that he lacks Gen. Kalthrob did the next best thing: Make him feel that he's invincible to the firing squad's bullets and thus, by standing tall as he's about to b be shot, he'll show everyone that he has what it takes to be a soldier in him not realizing what he was truly facing!