Mireau visits the front's war zone, in a dramatic change of scene. He is clearly out of place and ill-at-ease as he marches through the muddy, narrow trenches to inform Commander Colonel Dax of the planned attack. Emotionally and physically isolated from the men he leads, Mireau plans to pass the responsibility of the attack on to his field commander. The General uses the same tactics that Broulard used on him to slowly convince Dax to lead the attack on Anthill. When Mireau realizes Dax will not cooperate willingly, he threatens Dax with relieving his of his command if he should not comply. It can be said that Dax follows orders for much the same reason Mireau did, for personal gain. Each man in the line of command has a less sinister reason for complying with the plan: Broulard and his careless attitude toward casualties to win at all costs, Mireau and his ambitious desire to obtain a promotion, and Colonel Dax, who simply wants to keep his job.

The attack itself is a complete disaster, with French troops retreating and some soldiers not even leaving the trenches. Mireau, who is a spectator with binoculars in the command post a safe distance away, is impatient and hysterical for the men to attack in a new wave. His impatience with his men is questionable because of his relative perspective on the battle. If he had been in the same position as Colonel Dax, who was leading the assault, he may have been more empathetic to the feeling of hopelessness and more aware to the sheer absurdity of the attack. Unable to admit that the attack was ill-conceived and to consequently cover up his own disastrous complicity, Mireau announces that he plans to assemble a general court-martial for the next day to selectively punish the regiment for its cowardice.

The court martial precedes in a very unfair and biased manner. Dax stands as the defense in the trial, and each time he presents evidence to display the heroism of his troops or else to prove the absurdity of the attack it is struck down as unfit for the defense. The true purpose of the court martial was to place the blame of the failed attack on scapegoats; the 3 blameless, randomly selected soldiers from the attack were to be executed to “set an example.” The true blame rested on the generals for planning such an absurd plan, a plan that reached its peak of absurdity when General Mireau calls for Captain Nichols to notify Captain Rousseau, the battery commander, and orders him to open fire on his own troops who are still in the trenches. Rousseau respectfully refuses the request twice knowing that he must have written proof of the insane command. He too is disposed of after the battle, on the charge of an insufficient supply of artillery shells. The blame rests on the corrupt reasoning of the head General Broulard, who defended his own motives using a veil of patriotism. Dax eventually realized this, but realized this too late to save his men.

The Guillotine's intentions from the beginning were corrupt, as his original mission was to eliminate the Ching rebels, including the One Armed Boxer, who coincidentally only has one arm. During a prestigious kung-fu tournament, including crazy characters such as “Win Without a Knife” Yakuma, who actually holds a knife secretly, a man who fights using his pigtails, and an Indian Yoga master who could extend his arms by 5 inches, The Flying Guillotine tried to assassinate the One Armed Boxer, but failed.

The Flying Guillotine himself is completely blind, and used a flying guillotine, a hat shaped device that chopped heads right off! What also made this film stand out is its use of creative special effects. A dramatic fight at the end incorporates coffins with spring-loaded hatchets and Wang Yu's gravity-defying wall-climbing. You could also imagine the kind of public reaction a film like this would receive in 1976, to this day it remains a cult film classic that lives up to its eccentric name by offering one of the most unusual and fascinating kung-fu movie experiences.