Somewhere in France (1915)
Captives being brought from firing line through communicating trench. The Germans that have just been taken in an attack are being brought back wounded under French guard. Wounded German prisoners followed by wagonloads of dead. A village being wrecked by heavy artillery fire and the Germans under escort of French infantry carrying their dead on stretchers. In three days' fighting, the French captured seventy field guns. 120 m/m short gun on automatic carriage in action. This view shows the French throwing large shells into the German front. Firing French trench mortar. When this gun is fired the concussion is so great the men place their hands over their ears and run away. High explosive and shrapnel shells bursting over German position. This view shows that when a shrapnel shell breaks it has an actual radius of eight acres. High explosive shells tearing up earth. French soldiers examining captured German trench. French front at Quennevieres. (Aisne.) An hour of recreation. French soldiers playing football, taught them by the English Tommies. We also see them bathing in a hole caused by large shells from the German side. Ammunition and aerial torpedo supplies nearing the trenches. Ammunition "a la cart." This shows ammunition being brought up in long strings of wagons. It also shows you some of the big automobile trucks which are used so extensively in the war. Company of quick firers. The deadly machine gun sections being rushed to the front. Repairing a bridge. French quickly repairing a bridge blown up by Germans. French Alpine troops. Quennevieres Farm, a famous battleground. In this picture we get a view of a farm which General Joffre says has been soaked with blood from the battles that have been fought upon it. For France they died. For a brief moment only you are shown soldiers lying dead upon the battlefield. One of them you will notice has a bayonet sticking in his breast. Made in America. Here we will see barbed wire piled in great heaps. Without it this war would be won by one side in a short time. Barbed wire prolongs the war. Raising soldier of telescopic tower to direct artillery fire. We witness the French armored breast work and recoil of the gun. You see the man approach, his little tower door and direct the firing of the guns. He descends very easily. Gathering statistics from German captives. German officers who have been taken prisoners being examined by the French. Part of the 25,000 prisoners taken by the French at the Battle of Champagne. The stolid oxen are used to draw the heavy artillery. Concentrating German prisoners to send them to detention camps. Cutting buttons off trousers of German prisoners to prevent them from escaping. Picturesque troops from Morocco strengthening their position. The Moroccan soldier with his turban and picturesque costume digging new trenches and strengthening his position which he has just captured. German graveyard behind trenches captured by the French. Germans bury their dead immediately behind their firing trenches. The ground is shattered and torn by shells. Bringing up field kitchens. The French coast is protected by a largo fleet of hydro-aeroplanes. Looking down on the torpedo-boat destroyers off the French coast. This shows the photographer up in a hydro-aeroplane photographing the warships underneath as they cut the water at 21 knots an hour. The return of the air fleet. How a waterplane is taken back to its shed. French artillery lookout officers. Here you see the French artillery officer a short distance from the German trenches directing the range of the French artillery. French shells exploding in enemies' trenches. Shells from the French side smash the German trenches. The French are expert in throwing hand bombs. We see a French soldier coolly standing and flinging hand bombs into the German trenches in front of him. German gas bombs constantly fall within the French lines. Gas bombs breaking in the woods inside the French lines. At one time gas had a horror to the allied soldiers. Now with the aid of the gas protectors they are indifferent to it. A "75" battery throwing shells into the German lines. We get a look at the famous gun called the "75" in action. The French speak with pride of this gun. Tracey le Val, the seat of many battles. The famous town which has been ruined by shells from both sides. French African troops. Glimpsing the brown-skinned man from Africa, some of whom have already been decorated with French medals for bravery. This village captured by house-to-house fighting. This is one of the many villages which the Germans held with machine guns located in each house, and the French had to capture house by house at a great cost. King George V of England, President Poincare of France and General Joffre reviewing the French cavalry. Various types of bombs and hand grenades. A picture which demonstrates the different kinds of bombs that are made and used by the French in trench warfare. Illuminating cartridges and fuses used in night warfare. As the enemy must be watched continually even at night the French use the same as the Germans, flare rockets, which are shot in the air and held in position by a little parachute and which throw a powerful light over the enemy trenches. These are sent up every few minutes through the night. Actual battle being fought between French and German trenches only forty feet apart. French trench cannon. French trench mortar. French cross-bow throwing bombs. Another type of trench mortar. Steel lookout or observation tower. Here is shown the different type of French trench guns showering the German trenches with shells. The steel tower used for observation purposes. Bois le Pretre, the scene of many battles. Twenty yards from the enemy. Back of the French trench with the French soldiers taking advantage of a lull in the firing shaking out their blankets and house cleaning. Germans bombarding French position with high explosive shells. This scene shows shells hitting in front of the French trench where the dirt is thrown up as high as the Capitol building. German prisoners taken at Bois le Pretre. French military balloon ascending to make observations. French armored cars, painted to resemble the landscape, on way to attack. The French army is now equipped with new steel helmets. The call to arms. As the bugle blows the men fall in line and march off with a quick stride. French infantry advancing in open formation. French infantry advancing in open formation through the woods to begin an attack. Trees are torn to pieces by a heavy shell fire that has been directed on their position. Machine guns and munitions brought through captured German trenches by pack mules. German trenches after they had been captured by the French and their equipment piled in heaps lying on top of the trenches. Starting off to take photographs of German positions. This shows an aeroplane and the photographer starting off for a trip over the German trenches. Ten thousand feet in the air over German trenches. Here you will see 10,000 down the German trenches and the battlefield "Somewhere in France" where this photograph was made. Above the clouds. The French machine is attacked by a German "Taube." By clever maneuvering other French machines force the German to descend inside French lines. The captured machine had scarcely a scratch. Another concentration camp for German prisoners.
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| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Donald C. Thompson | Cinematographer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Joseph Joffre | |
| King George V | |
| Raymond Poincaré |
