United States, British French, Italian Official War Films by Agreement with the Respective Governments. Then Men Move Forward. As the Hun Lines bend back, thousands of eager soldiers ...fighting for the freedom of the world...pass on to join the fighting. When the mountain streams of Italy impede the progress of the troops, engineers shift pontoon bridges and the men move forward. On the snowy heights where all transportation is difficult, sure footed-dogs carry ammunition to the fighters. French and Americans, side by side, prepare to push on once more where the Germans are forced back across the Marne. And along the roads the heroes wounded in the fight move back ...their only sorrow that they can fight no longer...and with their prisoners who are glad because they cannot. Moving forward they enter Longmont, taken back from the foe, its ruined Abby is mutely eloquent that they go on until the war is ended. And once again in Palestine the troops move on. Sweating and toiling here, British engineers construct a railway to carry them ahead. Across the sands the tractors creep, dragging great howitzers. Shining in the sun, Mosque and Minaret rise in a land free from the bondage of the Turk. A prisoner is questioned by his English captors. The retreating foe has committed the greatest crime of the desert ...destroyed a well. As the British press forward here, prisoners and supplies of war are taken from the fleeing foe. The roads of France ring to the tread of the manhood of America marching now to join the battle that shall never end until the world is free. The Hun was ready to shell Paris with another super-cannon, when the onward press of Americans put him to flight leaving the encampment.

Duration 13:02

 

Official films of the Signal Corps of the US Army, taken under action and service conditions in France. The first officially released picture record of our part in the World War compiled by military experts. Every picture is genuine. Considering that these pictures were taken under fire with fatalities to cameramen the results are remarkable. "Freedom of the Seas" denied to American vessels forced us into the conflict. The following scenes, a U-boats own record, are from a captured film. The repeated sinking of American ships forced President Wilson, on April 2nd 1917, to ask congress to declare war. "We desire no conquest, we see no indemnities" Meanwhile the allies fought on through their forth year of war. A daring British raid returning through No-man's Land with prisoners. Liquid fire. A fatal shot on a British column The courageous French fought back the invaders with the heroic battle-cry "They shall not pass" The Italians fought desperately in their mountain fastnesses. Meanwhile America strove to overcome her un preparedness. Cantonments rose like magic. Guns! Ships! Men! Hog Island shipyard Hundreds of thousand volunteered, nearly three million were drafted. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker draws the first number. Theodore Roosevelt wishes he were one of them. Heroes in the making. What a whale of a difference a few months make! Our small force in France starts training. In Oct 1917 a few of our troops become aquatinted with the enemy in "quite" sectors. On March 21, 1918 launched against the British the first of a series of attacks to crush the Allies before the arrival of America in force. The French brought up men and guns to stop then enemy's rapid advance. On April 9th an enemy offensive in Flanders forced the British to rush up reserves. The British met attach with counter-attack over shell-torn ground. With enormous losses the Allies were fighting with "their backs to the wall". The Allies appeal to America for men. Two million men crossed safely under our navy's protection. How it was done. U-boat alarm on transport. Convoy destroyer firing at a U-boat. Y-gun throwing depth charges---which explode beneath the surface, disabling the U-boats. Protecting convoys with a smoke screen. From ship to "40 hommes 8 chevaux." At Cantigny and Chateau Thierry the enemy first realized that the Yanks were there. Distant shelling of Cantigny.  Hurling himself at the French the enemy quickly pushed 35 miles to the Marne, with Paris his next goal. In the crisis Americans were rushed to halt the advance. Chateau Thierry and ruins of bridge immortalized by Americans. Our troops too Belleau woods from the best enemy division. The rapidly increasing American forces played an important part in stopping the last great enemy offensive. With Americans in the place of honor, the Allies assumed the offensive, and drove the enemy from the Marene salient. On July 18th our troops attacked before dawn, driving a deep wedge in the enemy line south of Soissons.

Duration 15:40

In their first battles overeager doughboys, forgetting their training, needlessly exposed themselves. Occasional shells fell as we entered the town. The smell of a field kitchen was a magnetic attraction. After weeks of victorious fighting, the enemy driven back to the Aisne, our troops were withdrawn. Policing up. And still they come. Behind the lines, and army labors to supply our troops at the fronts. 1500 miles of railway were built. An American city of warehouses at Gievres. Two million mouths to feed. Pershing's steadfast purpose was an American army under American command. Orders for the first American Army. Concentrating for the firs all American operation. The St. Mihies Salient had for four years threatened the rear of Verdum. In the distance Montsec which dominated the American lines. On September 12th, the battle opened. Our artillery fired a million shells in four hours. Directing artillery fire. The computed range was corrected by observing the burst. Before dawn wire-cutting patrols had opened the way for our men. And the caissons go rolling along. The barrage rolls forward as our troops advance. The second line crossed the recently capture trenches. A dot-and-dash-hund captured in the dugout. Sherman oughta said something about K.P. The first French paper in four years. The king and queen of the Belgians review the American troops. Our planes swept the enemy from the sky. Our ace spots an enemy plane. The fight. "When a fella needs a friend," Our planes taking off to harass the enemy. Artillery observers had their ups and downs. Enemy plane attacks the sausage (balloon). Dropping to safety. But too late to save the balloon. Waiting for the zero hour. The first war to make night as hideous as day. A series of positions, prepared with Teutonic thoroughness, lay between the American and their objective. The inferno through which our troops had to pass. The advance was rapid through the open country.

Duration 15.33

The enemy's artillery on our flanks in the Argonne and on the heights east of the Meuse shelled every point our troops had to past. "37's" were used effectively against machine guns in the open. But in the Argonne forest enemy machine gun nest delayed our progress. A nest on the edge of the wood is flanked by our gunners A few grenades, a rush and the way is clear. The hill of Montfaucon had been stubbornly contested. In three days our army had smashed through the first two defense systems. The report of the C in C at this point in the Meuse Argonne battle. "The battle was prosecuted with an aggression and heroic spirit of courage and fortitude which demanded eventual success dispite all obstacles." Fritz and his faithful friend. Dainty corn willy for the men in the lines. Guests of Uncle Sam. And another one falls for us. Back from the lines for a well earned rest. Decorations. The soft side of "Black Jack." A lion for a mascot. Issuing liquid rations. K. of C. welfare. Wild Wild Women! Supplies had to be brought up before further advances could be made. Road-building material. "Days of Shovelry." Clearing the road for the artillery. Worn out divisions had to be relieved by fresh troops. Dugouts along the road. On October 4th we renewed the attack against the now strongly reinforced enemy. Throughout October, our troops, under constant shell and machine gun fire, fought the enemy's best divisions. Crossing the Meuse to drive the enemy from the height east of the river. Our artillery under shell fire. Our guns can be seen near the top of the slope. Three weeks of desperate fighting broke the enemy's resistance. He covered his retreat by artillery fire on every captured village. Pressing on, the American army reached its objective. In many liberated towns, inhabitants had clung to the spot through long years of war. Our main objective the railway near Sedan.

Duration 17.05

The Allied victory was complete when on November 11the the order came to cease firing. The Allied commanders. "Finney La Guerre."

Duration :41