The high-school student Paul Bäumer (Lew Ayres) is one of the many German youths who volunteers to serve in the army at the outbreak of the First World War. After receiving a merciless basic training under Sgt. Himmelstoß (John Wray), Paul and the other recruits are sent to the front line trenches where Paul meets the experienced verteran, Katczinski (Louis Wolheim). Together they suffer through the horrors of trench warfare. During a leave to his hometown, Paul is deeply disturbed by the naiveté of the inhabitants about the brutality of the war, and he refuses to glorify his experiences when asked to speak before his juniors at school. Back at the front, Paul finds only further destruction, the loss of friends, and disillusionment with the motives for the war.