Incredible WW1 Footage - Holy *** is this real?

Lonestar24
... the one thing that gave it away for me is that we see no recoil on the rifles, despite a lot of shooting. You dont have recoil when pretend-firing and when firing blanks.

This.

This was among the first things I noticed - no one ever appeared to actually fire their rifle - and Americans used 30-06 rifles in the war, a round with significant recoil.

I only watched it briefly, so may have missed some things, but some things I noticed:

Terrain - the use of Pugeot FT tanks and the appearance of the soldiers suggested they were American soldiers, and which would date the piece to 1918, probably "France." The terrain was clearly dry, sandy, a desert, with no significant trees - US Soldiers didn't fight in anyplace like this.

Artillery fire - those explosions looked wrong, but more importantly, did no damage. There was one scene where a shell went off next two a group of about 6 or 7 guys - one guy belatedly fell and "died". The carnage from even a light artillery shell or mortar, exploding that close to standing men would've been appalling, and the blast effects would've been visible.

Tank fire - as one of the tanks crosses in front of the camera, you can see it "fire" - the muzzle blast clearly came from the far *side* of the turret, not out of the gun itself, and at the wrong angle, relative to the gun - that is, the trajectory of the smoke was "upwards", while the 37mm gun was horizontal.

Tactics - There were none, just a lot of running back and forth, like it was a football game. In the age of the machine gun, much of this looked suicidal.

Camera - The Gods-eye view, anyone emplacing such a thing in that location would've been dead. I think the technology at the time was either hand-cranked or electric - but what would be the power source? Someone standing there, cranking the camera, in the midst of artillery fire - just very hard to conceive.

How could anyone possibly believe this is WWI combat footage?

Did the combatants agree before the battle by special arrangement not to shoot the cameramen or do you perhaps think he was protected by a force-field?

Some specific points about the tanks, firstly the FT-17 was built by Renault not Peugot.

Secondly these are not FT-17s.....The exhaust pipe of the tank in the film is clearly visible on the left side.

The exhaust pipe of a FT-17 is on the right side:
spoki.tvnet.lv...

These tanks are in fact the American 6 Ton Tank M.1917.....A copy of the FT produced in the US after WWI, one of the distinguishing features of these vehicles is that the exhaust is on the left side:
upload.wikimedia.org...

Which pretty much rules out this being WWI combat footage doesn't it?

reply to post by mlifeoutthere


The footage is real.

The trench warfare and bayonet charges of WW1 were one of the MOST horrific events in the history of mankind. The loss of life at Flanders Field was immense.
Thousands of men "going over the top" to be shot down by primitive machine guns without barely covering a few meters.

I think we have forgotten what a horror war is. Just to question the authenticity of the video I actually find astounding, and disturbing.

WW1 in Colour


Just imagine the bravery of these men, marching to almost certain death.
And the bravery of the men that would stand there and film it.
Thats bravery.

squarehead666

Some specific points about the tanks, firstly the FT-17 was built by Renault not Peugot.

Secondly these are not FT-17s.....The exhaust pipe of the tank in the film is clearly visible on the left side.

The exhaust pipe of a FT-17 is on the right side:

Nice catch on the exhaust - that makes it a M.1917, none of which reached France before the end of the way, and so proves the point - not real footage. QED.

And I have *no* idea why I wrote Peugot ...

reply to post by squittles


Please, just please, explain to me the purpose of "faking" WW1 footage?

I dont get it.

EDIT: OK so I realise it could be an old movie scene. I didnt even consider that, but still, the video I posted is not a movie.

For crying out loud.....It's not faked footage its a film!

Here's a suggestion.....Try reading the thread before replying to it.

reply to post by mlifeoutthere


I'm no expert but... looks pretty real to me.

Extending the subject, if I may...

With so much being said in regard to the 'Great War' in the news recently, I spent some time on Google maps and Street View to take virtual tours of the areas in France were so many battles occurred.

All across the French countryside, small graveyards exist, alongside roads, in farm fields... you can spot them easily from the satellite view and usually find little blue squares to click to see close ups of those that roads don't go directly near.

One place that was particularly moving was the Ossuary at Verdun. Around it are the graves of some of the hundreds of thousands from both sides that died here. Many are buried with no name, just that they are 'Known Unto God'. Inside the Ossuary there are vaults with the bones of the fallen clearly visible to the visitor...



It's all quite moving.

...

STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

please read the entire thread - before posting

several people have correctly identified this a ` outtake from a movie `

and identified the film set

further the tanks have been identified as a model built under licence in the US - that never saw action

I have very delibereatly given no evidence of these facts - to force you to go read the thread

the evidence from the people who solved each clue is overwhelming

ignorant_ape
STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

please read the entire thread - before posting

several people have correctly identified this a ` outtake from a movie `

and identified the film set

further the tanks have been identified as a model built under licence in the US - that never saw action

I have very delibereatly given no evidence of these facts - to force you to go read the thread

the evidence from the people who solved each clue is overwhelming

Nevertheless, it is very representative of what it was like. There are no genuine videos of the US Civil War but a few movies give a fairly good account of the horrors that were present... with Pickett's Charge in the movie, 'Gettysburg' being a good example.

History often leaves us gasping for what things were really like at certain moments... critical moments in time. There's no crime in looking at this old footage, genuine from battle or from Hollywood, etc. and trying to gain a split second's understanding.

It's all we really have.

squarehead666
For crying out loud.....It's not faked footage its a film!

Here's a suggestion.....Try reading the thread before replying to it.

Point taken but what is the big thing about whether the footage is real or not?

Yes WW1 was a horrible war, a war we should never forget, lest we repeat it.
Isnt that the real point?

Is the intro to Saving Private Ryan any less thought provoking because its a movie?

If we are going to discuss WW1 movies then "Gallipoli(1981)" and "All Quiet On the Western Front(1979)" are great portrayals of the horrors of that war.
And the comedy "Blackadder Goes Forth"(especially the award winning last episode) is a great place to even begin to understand the horror that was WW1.

WW1 was such a horror that we still have "Remembrance Day" to honour the brave men that gave their lives in the name of freedom, now expanded to all wars but was started after WW1. The reason for the poppy is due to Flanders Field(I think) after the aftermath of the battle there, poppies grew in abundance.

Its been a very long time since I studied WW1(in primary school), so could well be mistaken on minor details.
But the majority of what I learned all those years ago is pretty unforgettable. Nor should it be forgotten.

That to me is the real point.

reply to post by redoubt


No it isn't.....You or I can't even begin to imagine what it was really like!

Here's a link to the Imperial War Museum's photo archive for the Battle Of The Somme 1916:

www.iwm.org.uk...

FIlming with late 19th or early 20th century cinema equipment on WWI battlefields that featured massive use of very heavy artillery would be extraordinarily bad for your health!

PS - My great grandfather (who I'm said by some mebers of the family to be the virtual reincarnation of) came back from The Somme gassed and shell-shocked.

mlifeoutthere
First of all i had no idea where to put this, it has nothing to do with ww3 or war on terror or ufos or other topics nor is it general chit chat, so ive put it here.

I came across this footage, supposedly showing ww1 footage in action, a mass charge/ bayonet fight/ the people falling etc ..

I count thousands of soldiers marching into battle, i highly doubt this is staged propeganda.

The footage is also from the military archives.

This has to be the most fascinating historical footage i have ever seen, if real. Im not interested in gore or stuff like that, its more about the historical aspect that i am interested in this. Plus its in black and white so you it isnt graphic in a violence sense.

Here it is, (cant tell you how many times ive replayed it)

P.S what does it for me is at 12 seconds the guy at the very bottom left hand corner with a rifle and bayonet in panick swipes his musket at an enemy, sees that the enemy has backup and runs back.. that is excactly the kind of real life spur of the moment reaction you would have with a ton of people charging you down, and not rehearsed acting from a cheesey movie script

PPS anyone notice how the officer is always the first to run away

(look for guy with pistol)

edit on 8-11-2013 by mlifeoutthere because: (no reason given)

Absolutely brutal war on the grand scale of things, gas attacks and pointless charging of thousands into barbed wire and machine guns (that's if you made it past the constant barrages of artillery fire).

I suggest you watch this documentary series, one of the best on WW1:

MadMax9
reply to post by mlifeoutthere

 

I've never seen it before (1st hint) but if you think logically with low swooping planes (something they did not do) and a fixed camera that everyone ignores..... !!!!!!! the answer is there..... if you think about it!

6 stars for your guess that they never flew planes low,like someone else said they had to to hit the enemy as they never had mounted guns plus they dropped their mortars by hand so the lower the better

OneManArmy
Please, just please, explain to me the purpose of "faking" WW1 footage? I dont get it.

One important fact about wars that very few seem to understand is that all wars are carefully planned, scripted, staged, and orchestrated into existence just like any other Hollywood production.

The true purpose behind them is ALWAYS concealed by lies.

Incessant wars have no purpose other than to increase the wealth and power of the Illuminati, reduce the population, and create a global police state.

History is nothing but lies and ALL wars are started on purpose!

"All war is based on deception." -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

"Wars are all based on lies, could not be fought without lies" — Charles M. Young.

Murgatroid

OneManArmy
Please, just please, explain to me the purpose of "faking" WW1 footage? I dont get it.

One important fact about wars that very few seem to understand is that all wars are carefully planned, scripted, staged, and orchestrated into existence just like any other Hollywood production.

The true purpose behind them is ALWAYS concealed by lies.

Incessant wars have no purpose other than to increase the wealth and power of the Illuminati, reduce the population, and create a global police state.

History is nothing but lies and ALL wars are started on purpose!

"All war is based on deception." -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

"Wars are all based on lies, could not be fought without lies" — Charles M. Young.

Indeed, Major General Smedley Butler laid that out plain as day.
I totally agree with your point.

MadMax9
reply to post by mlifeoutthere

 

I've never seen it before (1st hint) but if you think logically with low swooping planes (something they did not do) and a fixed camera that everyone ignores..... !!!!!!! the answer is there..... if you think about it!

Strafing by aircraft was frequent and in fact was invented in WW1. If fact the term "strafing" comes from the WW1 German catchphrase "Gott strafe England" meaning "May God punish England." The low swooping aircraft were in a perfect position to strafe trenches, personnel and/or supplies.

I think the best way for me the OP to put it is that we can not say for definate it is authentic, but we can not say for definate that it is staged either.

I know a couple of people have pointed out movies from the 1920s, but none of them show anything like the footage in the clip.

I suspect staged.. Why ?

Too many men go down and stay down. This does not happen in real combat.

reply to post by mlifeoutthere


I think the bit of footage in the OP may be from a feature film, not sure which but I think it's out there somewhere.

And who's side was the cameraman on? He just stood there like he invincible Tank diriver done well avoiding the "bodies" also.

Zcustosmorum
reply to post by mlifeoutthere

 

I think the bit of footage in the OP may be from a feature film, not sure which but I think it's out there somewhere.

Correct. If you read the thread it was filmed for the silent Movie Wings (1927). Not all the footage made it into the final cut.

Link to movie

Wings (1927)