The Trench is a 1999 war film written and directed by William Boyd and starring Paul Nicholls and Daniel Craig. It depicts the experiences of a group of young British soldiers in the 48 hours leading up to the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Plot

In the days leading up to the Battle of the Somme, lance corporal Dell shows the platoon his collection of softcore pornography. Private Billy MacFarlane remarks to his brother Eddie that one of the girls looks familiar to him. Their fun is broken up by Sergeant Winter, who then meets with their commander, Lieutenant Harte. Harte informs him that the platoon will be "going over" in the third wave of the anticipated battle, carrying supplies in relative safety. That night while on watch, Eddie is reprimanded by Sergeant Winter for trying to look through a hole in the trench. When he gets off watch, Billy annoys him with questions about the girl from the photo he recognizes; Billy convinces himself it was a young woman named Maria who worked at the Post Office.