To film a war scene, trenches were partly filled with water pumped in from the Los Angeles riverbed. Fourteen hundred feet of pipe were used, with thirteen hundred feet of fire hose attached. Working 24 hours a day, the pump, powered by a gas engine, drew 1,500,000 gallons of water into the trenches.
Before working as director, Erich von Stroheim worked as a actor, his roles were mostly gangster, during the war, his role were of a very nasty German officer, raping girls, etc.. With this role he became the first actor that everybody hated. His wife at that time told in a documentary about silent movies in the 80th, they were dining in a restaurant and a woman spited on him.