Battle of the Ancre in World War 1. British troops moving to the front by way of "communication trenches." Once in place, soldiers are seen using their rifles to launch grenades at the German lines. Smoke from shell bursts drifts across the no man's land outside the trenches.
Franklin D Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of Navy during World War 1. United States soldiers aboard a transport ship leave for Europe (France) during World War I. View of young Franklin D. Roosevelt speaking. United States Army troops disembarking in France. Shipbuilding operations underway in the United States. Views of partially completed warship hulls in a line at a shipyard. World War 1 trench fighting scenes. Soldiers fire guns and throw hand grenades. Views of American and German troops engaging in battle. Explosions and dirt flying. Soldiers taking cover in protection of trench. Germans fire machine gun. Many short views of First World War combat. A biplane aircraft falls after being shot down and crashes into the earth. Battle scenes with body of soldier falling back into a trench and a Renault FT tank approaching a trench line. Narrator indicates Roosevelt keeps track of the United States forces and went to France to meet General Foch. U.S. Navy 12 inch gun mounted on rail platform fires.
Traces events leading up to and through World War I. Portrait of German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wilhelm II riding on horseback. He starts the preparations for war. Views of German military officials including Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. Newspaper headlines of assassination of Austrian Archduke. Celebrations on streets of Germany at start of World War I including views of German soldiers and citizens preparing for war. Germany launch war on Serbia, France and England. German infantry and u-boat submarines target enemy positions. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in his office . U.S. declares war on Germany. U.S. forces departing from American cities and arriving in Europe; moving toward battle. Scenes from trench warfare of World War I in France. Soldiers going up "over the top" out of trenches during offensive operations and into "no man's land". Retreat of Germans, views of General von Luddendorff, the German Chief of Staff. Armistice declared after secret message sent to German government by Luddendorff. Cheering people celebrate the end of World War 1 after armistice. Views of United States General Pershing.
Rail guns firing in World War 1. U.S. troops charging out of trenches. Allied gunners firing "French 75s" Allied twin-tailed biplane bombers. French Renault F17 tanks. Crowds in cities celebrate Armistice Day and end of World War I. Treaty of Versailles. Destruction of warships. Scenes of Paris. A pagoda in Japan. Temples in Siam, China, and Manchuria. Two Kayan women in Myanmar or Thailand perform a dance. Both Kayan women wear long brass coil neck rings. In the U.S., a boy hits a baseball and runs toward first base. Scenes of Japan invading Manchuria. Newspaper with headline: Henry Stimson denouncing Japan. U.S. Army troops dispel World War I veteran bonus marchers. Men lined up in bread line for unemployed during Great Depression. Brief shot of Gangsters in gun battle in an American city. Scenes of dust bowl in American with farmers and families heading West in caravans. Family standing by tent. Torchlight parade in Germany. Adolf Hitler standing with German President Hindenburg circa 1933. Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Victor Lutze, at 1934 Nazi Rally in Nuremberg. Italian Caproni bombers over Ethiopia. Ethiopian tribesmen and Haile Selassie. U.S.Neutrality Act. American youths with a 1930 Ford coupe. Scenes from Civil war in Spain. Spanish Rebel forces in ground combat with Nationalist forces. German and Italian aircraft participate in bombing Spanish Nationalist targets in Spanish Civil War. Spanish civilians flee bombing, tend to wounded and dead victims following bombings. Italian Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 Sparviero bombers. Crowds running for shelter. Women and children victims of bombing, some crying and in shock. Spanish General Francisco Franco arrives by train in southern France to meet with Hitler. View of Gallup Poll forms, and findings, with Americans against entering European war and preferring neutrality. Japanese planes and warships attack China. Naval Chinese civilians run for cover; bodies of Chinese in trucks. Japanese freighters, Buenos Aires and Tatsuno Maru, in U.S. ports being loaded with scrap iron and metals. Hitler, Goering and other officers in 1938. Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier, Benito Mussolini, Count Ciano sign Munich Agreement. Hitler riding standing up in an open car during a rally in Germany. Elevated view of Los Angeles, then view of traffic on streets of Los Angeles California and newspapers being sold to pedestrians. View of faces of American citizens in a movie theater watching Confessions of a Nazi Spy. German-American Bund activities including outdoor rallies in the U.S. (Camp Siegfried in Yaphank, Long Island, New York, in 1937), and an indoor rally in New York City at Madison Square Garden in 1939. Emperor Hirohito reviewing World War 2 troops of Japan. Japanese steel production and arms production in Japanese factories. The Hokoku Maru Japanese ship being launched with fanfare from Tama Shipyards on July 5, 1939. Meeting of United States Military Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives in late 1939 to consider national defense matters. In meeting of Naval Affairs Committee, representative asks for increase of 25 percent in authorized naval tonnage.
Scenes from British feature film "The Somme" made in 1927, about the Battle of the Somme in World War 1. Part of it depicts events involving the South African Brigade in the battle. The extract opens with shells bursting all along No Man's Land among fragments of trees. Explosions and smoke everywhere. On July 18, 1916, Nine German Battalions deploy to drive the South African Brigade from the Delville Wood. Several soldiers of the Brigade seen entrenched in a sand-bagged position as a German shell explodes only yards from them. German soldiers advance through the broken trees and brush, while under fire by British gunners using Vickers machine guns. Some German soldiers falling and others seeking cover in abandoned trench. A line of South African troops firing their rifles from a trench, as several German soldiers reach them and are shot dead just feet away. A British soldier is shot while climbing out of a trench containing several fallen comrades. Other British (or South African) troops scrambling to find a safer place. One crawling across the ground. A British gunner firing a Lewis gun. German troops starting to go over-the-top, from their trench. British soldiers advancing. German gunner firing Maxim gun from fortified position, as shells burst in the distant background. A horizontal line of British troops advancing toward the German position. Some are cut down by the machine gun fire. German gunner firing a captured British Vickers machine gun. British soldiers hunkered down in a deep shell hole behind a ridge. They use their trenching tools to dig in deeper. Several German shells burst in the air. Two British soldiers watch as a tank approaches through the smoke. Large numbers of British troops attack downhill through smoke and haze. German soldiers preparing to defend an occupied structure, as more British troops charge forward. Post-battle view of the area, with fallen soldiers marked by rifles stuck in the ground with helmets on them. (Note: The tanks shown in this film are models Mark V which did not enter service until 1918.)
King's Liverpool Light Infantry advance during Battle of Arras in World War 1. British soldiers move out of trench and advance. Explosions take place near the front line. Trench is lined with wire fence. Line of soldiers are issued bomb supplies in wooden boxes with rope carrying handles. They move forward in a trench after each receives bomb supplies. British troops come out over the top of the trench and advance in no man's land.
Battalion of British Manchester Regiment occupying "Dantzig Alley" trench, near Mametz, after capturing it during Battle of the Somme in France, during World War 1. A captured German 17cm Trench Mortar. Ambulatory wounded British soldiers seen among other troops at their army post, near Minden, France.
Film show troops of Irish Regiment of United Kingdom soldiers taking up their positions in the trenches during the Battle of Ancre, in World War 1. Some of the troops from Ireland light a fire under a cooking pot that is set in a cut out section of the trench wall. Two soldiers and an officer climb aboard a camouflaged British Mark I tank (male). The officer carries a mascot black cat on his shoulder. The tank's six-pounder gun is moved from side to side and up and down, in the tank sponson.
British soldiers operate a 9.45 inch trench mortar, during the Battle of the Somme, during World War 1 in France. A mortar bomb (called a "flying pig") is loaded into the mortar. The soldiers move to a safe location in their dugout and fire the mortar.
American infantry and horse-drawn artillery move along a road in World War 1. U.S. troops moving quietly through serpentine trenches at the front during final phases of World War 1. "Linga, DCI, Rincalzi" stenciled on wood sign near trenches. The area is battle-scarred, but no hostilities are in progess. Another scene shows American troops in a deep trench behind barbed wire, with rifles and fixed bayonets at the ready. Scene shifts to German and Turkish prisoners of war being escorted by American soldiers, past destroyed buildings and rubble. Several prisoners wheel wounded comrade on a gurney. Another change of scene shows small contingent of U.S. Cavalry, carrying American flag as they ride out of village, along a debris strewn road, followed by several U.S. soldiers riding bicycles. Later, a large number of troops march along the same road led by Army band musicians in uniform. Brief glimpse of Ottoman troops on horseback.Smoke or gas rising along battle line. American troops run toward it and one appears to reach for his gas mask. Glimpse of troops and some civilians making their way down a broken boardwalk at edge of a bay. A bomb or shell crater in midst of open fields.
Allied preparations for the battle of the Marne in World War 1. Several French troops are seen in a deep crater-type defensive position. Others are seen in a shallow linear trench. French soldiers begin digging in at the side of a road, near a telephone pole. More French troops deepen their circular protective position on relatively high ground. Finally, others are seen in relatively unprotected positions in a grassy field. Several French soldiers stand near a Schneider CA1 tank. American troops are seen dimly in the far background, as they enter the area single file. Closer view of American Expeditionary Forces troops moving into position along a tree line. (World War I; World War 1; WWI; WW1)
Following bold attacks by German forces against English Channel ports in France, French General Ferdinand Foch orders a counter attack by all Allied armies. The film then depicts a montage of war scenes, growing shorter and in quicker succession as the film proceeds. Allied soldiers advancing across open fields on a broad front during counter offensive following German attacks against English Channel ports in France, during World War 1. Allied gunners firing French 75 field artillery pieces. A shell explosion close to the camera. Dead horses next to a destroyed wagon. German shells bursting in the field among advancing Allied troops running across wide open fields. A French machine gun firing. German soldiers moving along a road in woods, while under shell fire. German troops running across a field towards the camera, with one struck by gunfire and falling. A German soldier falling right in front of the camera. Other fallen German and Allied soldiers. American troops charging up a hill, and some falling to German machine gun fire. View of German machine gun nest firing. Frantic succession of battle scenes and carnage on both sides. Soldiers carrying wounded on litters. Dead lying in trenches. Smoke, fire, explosions. French troops marching through a town where lingering gas affects their eyes. Artillery being fired by both sides, including heavy siege mortars. More views of dead and wounded soldiers. Railroad guns firing. Artillery troops racing on horseback with teams of horses pulling artillery and caissons. (World War I; World War 1; WWI; WW1)
World War 1: A rock quarry area in France where French soldiers have constructed a trench for battle directly in the stone quarry. The men stand in the trench in France, surrounded by stone. Part of the trench has a covered plank held firm by a roof of rocks. French soldiers look out from the trench.
French infantry assembled before advancing to occupy trenches in World War 1. The pick up supplies and are next seen marching in full battle gear towards the front lines. Officers on horseback follow leading platoon carrying the unit flag. Long line of infantrymen follow behind. Another view of the infantry on the march. The troops enter their trenches. They are dressed warmly and as they progress into an area of woods, snow is seen on the ground. A sign at the trench line reads: "Bois Carre." (WWI. WW1)
The Saint Mihiel Drive, France, in First World War. U.S. infantry troops make their way across recently captured trenches. Several bodies of fallen soldiers are covered and lying near trenches. U.S. soldiers carry and assist their wounded. German prisoners carry their wounded in a blanket and on a stretcher as they are escorted under armed guard to the rear. American and German soldiers are all smiling.( No doubt glad the immediate battle has ended.) Medics attend wounded. A U.S. soldier on stretcher smokes a cigarette and imagines being tended by a pretty nurse at the base camp.(Cartoon illustrates his thoughts.) ( World War 1. WWI. WW1)
Two French officers are seen walking through a trench containing the dead bodies of fallen German soldiers following battle in World War 1.
British soldiers during the Battle of Somme, World War 1 in France. Shells fired at British trenches as a British soldier carries a wounded comrade on his back across a trench. Two soldiers carry a wounded soldier on a wheeled stretcher along a trench.
The British Dressing Station for slightly wounded at Minden Post, during Battle of the Somme, in World War 1. Medics providing first aid to the wounded. Watching in the background are several soldiers of the 24th Oldham (Pioneers) Battalion, awaiting orders to advance and occupy captured German trenches. German curtain artillery barrage outside the Minden Post. Their shells exploding in a line across the battlefield. A lone British soldier standing in the remains of British fire trenches wrecked by German high explosive shelling, minutes before. British patrol moving cautiously and stepping over barbed wire, in no-man's-land to clear the area of German snipers and hidden machine guns. They move along line of captured trenches checking for German soldiers hidden in dugouts.
Preparing for the Battle of the Ancre, during World War 1, Allied troops are seen with supply train of horse-drawn wagons carrying hay, flour, and other essentials to sustain troops. Soldiers unloading supplies from railroad box cars. Army butchers cutting large sides of beef. Army officers inspecting supply activities. Allied infantry moving forward with supply wagons. Infantry marching in good order, three abreast toward the battle fields. The Royal Welsh Fusiliers and Australians on their way to the trenches. Highlanders and Royal engineers bringing wooden grids to the muddy trenches. Allied troops roll artillery shells to their guns.German artillery shells the Allied light rail supply link.
Remarkable, rare, on-scene views on the receiving end of a British and French Allied artillery barrage, shot by German photographer at the German frontlines, during the battle of the Somme, in World War 1. Allied artillery shells fired at German positions begin striking along the German lines and cause some German soldiers to abandon their trenches. Fairly close range view of shells striking in middle of the German trenches. As the barrage by British and French artillery increases in intensity, more German soldiers are seen running towards the rear to seek better protection and escape the bombardment. Two huge explosions cause more German soldiers to flee the area. (The Allied gunners are clearly zeroed in on the German positions.) The shelling continues with heavier guns causing even larger explosions. More German troops flee the area. Remote and close views of the relentless artillery barrage as it devastates the German lines. (WWI; WW1)
United States 27th Division troops march past through village of Premont in France, during the Second Battle of the Somme, in World War 1. They march over muddy road dressed in rain gear, with tarpaulins protecting their horse-drawn caissons. American troops without helmets (wearing service caps) marching along road past bombed out ruins. Army truck and British soldier on a bicycle pass them going the opposite direction. Allied troops moving forward on a road, as several German prisoners of war march toward the rear, carrying stretchers with wounded, on their shoulders. British Mark V tank parked on hill, with Officers holding charts and conversing nearby. Horses pulling caissons and supplies to British battery of 18 pounders setting up in the field. British batteries firing, as more field artillery is seen being moved forward in the far distant background. Troops of American 27th Infantry wait in a trench as officers assess situation ahead. The signal is given and the troops advance out of the trench and across a field.
French infantry soldiers in a trench firing rifles during the battle of Moulin Briete in Belgium during World War 1. The French soldiers emerge from the trenches and advance, running. View of British soldiers, prone on the ground, firing. A farm house in the field. French and British forces advance, sometimes running and sometimes dropping to the ground and crawling forward.
British Army at the Battle of Somme in France during World War 1. A 6 inch Howitzer fired at German first line in Mametz, France. Explosions occur and smoke rises. A Canadian 60 pounder fired at German positions. Soldiers fire the 60 pounder from behind sand bag mounds. Shrapnels burst over German trenches. Infantry and cavalry units of London Scottish and East Yorkshire march forward for the battle area. A Priest conducts a prayer service as soldiers stand around him in a circle before the Battle of Somme.
From "The Battle of the Somme." British Army at the Battle of Somme in France during World War 1. British infantry and cavalry units wait to move forward and get into trenches near Fricourt Mametz in France. At Bray platoons of Buff, Bedford, Suffolk and a battalion of Royal Welish Fusiliers lined up and march forward. Cavalry units also move forward. French farmers in fields, they tend the artillery horses and make them drink water. A General stands with a live fox in his arms (or possibly a slender dog), as soldiers stand beside and behind him in the background.
Views of destroyed buildings in World War 1. French troops march into town on a road surrounded by completely destroyed buildings. They tow a covered heavy long gun behind a truck. French Army trucks moving in a line across barren fields. Battery of fortified French artillery guns firing. French infantry going "over the top" leaving their trench on the attack. No Man's Land, with shells exploding. French troops running on the attack. A line of French soldiers moving along the ridge of a hill. French troops assaulting fortified German positions on higher ground, partly obscured by battle smoke. Smoke (possibly gas) drifting across no man's land. (WWI; WW1)
British troops in World War 1 Battle of the Somme, are seen at a huge stockpile of mortar shells called "Plum Puddings" that are most effective in smashing German barbed wire entanglements. Soldiers carrying them from the pile as quartermasters make a count of them. British Troops, in a well protected dugout, loading a 2 inch trench mortar with attached periscope post and "Plum Pudding" shell atop. They afix the fuse and crawl into the dugout, away from the mortar and fire it remotely with a cord. They repeat the process.
British Troops of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment at their campsite prior to the big advance in the Battle of the Somme during World War 1. They stand amongst their tents and assemble for supper near a camp fire tended by unit cooks who fill their mess kits with hot soup. View of no man's land with shells bursting in area of Beaumont Hamel. A fresh battalion of reiforcements for the Royal Warwickshire Regiment resting on their way to trenches at the front. Later they are seen march along a dirt road to the front.
British soldiers fire 18pdr guns from captured Germans trenches during the Battle of Somme, World War 1 in France. Field battery directing, point blank, direct fire, from behind sand bag mounds. Two horses killed while bringing up the field battery lie in a field.
British soldiers during the Battle of Somme, World War 1 in France. British Lancashire Fusiliers occupy a sunken road in no man's land in France. Soldiers with rifles at the road. Close-up views of British soldiers. Warwick Regiment soldiers (Warwickshires) advance up a captured German trench.
British troops carrying two captured German 9.15cm Light Trench Mortars, in the Battle of the Somme, during World War 1. They place them on the ground where an officer examines them and British gunner demonstrates how they work. At La Boiselle, France, British artillerymen, with horses, pull captured German 77mm field guns and limbers. One of the captured guns is seen with writing on it in chalk reading: "Captured by 7th Division."
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