[3] It shows events through the eyes of two very ordinary teenagers, one from England and one from Germany, who enlist in the war, which they expect will be over within months.

[3][4] The drama stars Patrick Gibson and Jack Lowden, and was written by Tony Jordan and directed by Brendan Maher.

[3][5][6][7] The series operates in parallel as it follows two teenagers in two countries, one German (Jack Lowden) and one British (Patrick Gibson), who sign up as soldiers at the outbreak of the First World War.

It reveals the toll the war takes on the two young men and their fellow soldiers as it lasts far longer than expected, and grows harsher and more meaningless.

[12] The title was taken from the first line of Wilfred Owen's 1917 poem, "Anthem for Doomed Youth": "What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?