World War One Cantigny Battle Newsreel May (1918)

Synopsis

This silent newsreel shows the Battle of Cantigny, "America's first great battle" of the Great War, starting on May 28, 1918. At:36, French artillery manned by Americans fires fusillades at the German positions. At 1:02, ammunition is passed to the gun crews. At 1:19, views of No Man's Land are seen with artillery firing across trenches. At 1:47, the artillery is seen landing in No Man's Land and throwing up huge chunks of earth. At 2:20, Marines make an assault supported by French tanks. At 3:30, men go "over the top" and make an assault towards enemy lines. The film ends with a German soldier surrendering and a title card at 3:30 concluding that the battle was won. The Battle of Cantigny, fought May 28, 1918 was the first major American battle and offensive of World War I. The U.S. 1st Division, the most experienced of the five American divisions then in France and in reserve for the French Army near the village of Cantigny, was selected for the attack. The objective of the attack was both to reduce a small salient made by the German Army in the front lines but also to instill confidence among the French and British allies in the ability of the inexperienced American Expeditionary Force (AEF). See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

4 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage