World War One

Additional colourized footage from the remarkable DVD, World War 1 in Color.

In May of 1917, President Wilson ordered the enlistment of all able-bodied men, black or white. More than 350,000 African Americans trained to serve their country in mostly segregated camps.

These two clips, and the five that follow, are remarkably clever and admirable pieces of computer animation in which the eighty-five year old photographs of the World War One poets come to life reciting their famous verses.

This first one depicts the doomed poet Wilfred Owen “reading” his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”.We can do no better than give the excellent concise notes from Wikipedia about this very sad and beautiful poem.It is read superbly by poet Alan Mumford from Hampstead of London.

Wikipedia entry……”Dulce et Decorum Est” is a poem written by British poet and World War I soldier Wilfred Owen in 1917, and published posthumously in 1920. Owen’s poem is known for its horrifying imagery and its condemnation of war.”,350,425,1.214285714,4 to 3,,https://www.youtube.com/v/qVMFB7mHVaI,qVMFB7mHVaI,These two clips, and the five that follow, are remarkably clever and admirable pieces of computer animation in which the eighty-five year old photographs of the World War One poets come to life reciting their famous verses.

This first one depicts the doomed poet Wilfred Owen “”reading”” his poem “”Dulce et Decorum Est””.We can do no better than give the excellent concise notes from Wikipedia about this very sad and beautiful poem.It is read superbly by poet Alan Mumford from Hampstead of London.

Wikipedia entry……””Dulce et Decorum Est”” is a poem written by British poet and World War I soldier Wilfred Owen in 1917, and published posthumously in 1920. Owen’s poem is known for its horrifying imagery and its condemnation of war.””

The History Channel examines the awkward kit issued to the American Army in 1910 and carried throughout the First World War.

A quick clip from a contemporary U.S. Army news broadcast concerning the development of the U.S. Army in World War One.

A terrific collection of images mixed with the music of the era.

Recently, a retired American army officer retraced the steps of Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant Alvin York during his heroic stand-off in the Argonne Forrest in the autumn of 1918. Nothing new seemed to have been discovered, but it’s fun to watch anyway.

More than 3,500 Canadians died taking the Ridge and 7,000 more were wounded. Previous French attacks came at a cost of 200,000 dead with little or no ground gained. The Canadians accomplished what was said to be “impossible” as the ridge was thought to be impregnable.

A documentary outlining the roll German submarines and the Zimmerman telegram played in leading the United States into WW I.

A short documentary about the African American men who fought in WWI. Produced for the They Came to Fight: African Americans and the Great World War project.

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A segment from a documentary concerning the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and all those who attended it as representatives. Nice footage of Paris and Versailles.

Nieuport XI’s were first used in 1915. Their biplane design allowed them to easily outmaneuver their German Fokker Eindecker (“monoplane”) counter parts. Armed with a single 7.7 Lewis machine gun on the top wing element, the system was primed to make aces of her pilots – at least until German aircraft design caught up with this XI series. If the Nieuport XI had any drawback, it was the limited armament and the propensity of the wing assembly to buckle violently in flight, sometimes breaking apart.

Rolls Royce Armoured Car. Covering the period 1914 to 1950. Used in conflicts including The Great War, the Irish War for independence, The Second World War and the formation of The State of Israel.

A film clip from the Military channel about the Springfield and it’s place in the history of world weaponry.

A U.S. Government camera crew tours the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in France, resting place of the American Doughboys who were killed during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of 1918.

A segment from a the British documentary, “War Without End”:

Summer 1918. The last German offensive failed to break the Allies. Unrest bordering on revolution at home spread demoralization to the German army. The central Powers’s alliance was crumbling with Turkey exhausted, Bulgaria beaten, and Austro-Hungary trying to work its own armistice with the Allies.

The 369th may have been seconded to the French army, but it was up to the French how they would be used. And their need was for combat troops.The 369th was in combat longer than any US unit in WW1. They liberated towns. They were the first Allied soldiers to reach the Rhine. They won 171 decorations. Two Harlem Hellfighters were especially honored for fighting off an attack on their tiny outpost by 24 Germans.And that nickname, the Hellfighters? The Germans gave them that.