Summary
Set against the seismic shift of 1914, 'For France' presents a poignant juxtaposition between American academic idealism and the visceral reality of European carnage. Gerald Ackland, a West Point cadet of refined sensibilities, finds his scholarly pursuits in Paris abruptly terminated by the thunder of the Great War. Rather than retreating to the safety of neutral shores, Ackland undergoes a metamorphic transformation, enlisting in the French aeronautical corps as a fighter pilot—a role that elevates him to the status of a modern-day knight-errant. Meanwhile, the pastoral tranquility of the Marne becomes a theater of terror as Martha Landeau and her father seek refuge in their ancestral farmstead, only to be engulfed by the advancing grey tide of the German military. The narrative reaches a fever pitch when the sanctity of the domestic sphere is violated by raiding soldiers, leading to a miraculous, sky-born intervention. However, this aerial rescue serves not as a resolution, but as a catalyst for a harrowing odyssey through the scorched earth of the Western Front, where the boundaries between personal duty and national sacrifice become inextricably blurred.
Synopsis
When World War I breaks out, young West Point cadet Gerald Ackland, who is studying in Paris, joins the French army as a fighter pilot. His French fiancee, Martha Landeau, and her father flee to the family farm, which is near the Marne River, for safety. When German troops take over the area, they raid Marthe's farm and attempt to ravage her--but suddenly, out of the sky, comes a French fighter plane that scatters the Germans--and its pilot is none other than Gerald. However, that's not the end of their troubles, by any means.
