Opening slate, in Swedish, states: "Ett af Roda Korsets ambulerande lasarett." (One of Red Cross's ambulatory hospitals.) Men are seen carrying large panels (ostensibly pertaining to an ambulatory hospital) from a house among trees. Next is a brief glimpse of Red Cross women preparing food in an urban setting. A Berlin policeman stands nearby, watching them. Some persons are seen seated at tables in the background.
Opening slate reads,”Deutschwehr Berlin I.” (German Army Berlin I) Men in civilian clothes, but wearing German Army caps, stand behind a line of food set out in a courtyard in Berlin. Several women fill bowls of soup from a cauldron, and offer them to boys and young men, forming a line. The women, and some of the youth, wear white armbands reading “DeutschWehr.” Camera focuses on recipients balancing their soup bowls as they pass through the line. A corpulent German Army officer appears briefly behind the food line.
During World War 1, in Berlin, Two German men attend to a large outdoor drink dispenser. One draws a glass of liquid (possibly beer) from it and drinks. The other closes an insulated cover on the device. A woman stands nearby, watching. Several other people watch in the background.
Headlines in various New York and Belgian newspapers report the entry of Austria, Germany, Russia and Great Britain into the World War 1. A poster part of the recruitment campaign by Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War. British troops in the streets of England, mobilize for the war. King George V, his son and uncle, inspect British troops. Turkey: The Sultan of Turkey and other military officials emerge from a building. The Sultan takes his seat in horse carriage and is driven away. Turkish troops at a port and soldiers seated in a ship. Belgium: Bombarded buildings and ruins in Louvain. People and soldiers on the street. People in carts on a road in search of new homes. Military officers study a map. Belgrade: Serbians bomb Belgrade. Soldiers fire artillery guns. Bomb explosions on a hill. British soldiers camp with French soldiers across the channel. Australian soldiers march ahead to join the war. Germany: Retired General Paul Von Hindenburg, commander of the Germans, and other military officers pose outside a building. The German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II ascends from the sand dunes of Belgium to inspect his troops in a field. France: French soldiers on alert in trenches and bunkers, defend the borders of Paris. General Gallieni and his troops leave Paris for the front in taxicabs.
Headlines of prominent newspapers show rising tensions prior to World War 1. Headline of New York American 'Czar expects war declaration today, England and Germany ready to strike, Austrians and Serbs in big battle'. Montage of headlines from various newspapers regarding looming war. Berliner Tageblatt New York Times headlines say 'Austria and Serbia ready for war, Russia gives warning to Germany, London still sees hope for peace'. New York Times and Freier Press headlines about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. Serbian police dragging the assassin. Blood stained tunic of Archduke. Burial ceremony of Archduke Ferdinand with coffin covered with Austrian flag. Czar Nicholas II of Russia reviews troops. Various Cossack regiments being reviewed. Russian Revolution scenes and mass demonstrations and riot in streets of Moscow as Bolsheviks seize power in 1917. Russian civilians and Bolshevik loyal soldiers armed with rifles marching in mass funeral processions and demonstrations in Russia against the Czar led government. Leon Trotsky speaking to a crowd and saluting Red forces as Bolshevik troops parade. Food distribution to Russian children and people eating on snow covered streets of Moscow around time of revolution. Headlines showing Russian entry in World War I. Snow covered Kremlin. Vladimir Lenin at a desk talking. More views of newspaper headlines regarding outbreak of World War 1.
A meeting between German general Erich Ludendorff and Marshal Paul von Hindenburg at Ludendorff’s office in Germany during World War 1. General Erich Ludendorff working from his desk. Marshal Paul von Hindenburg arrives and shakes hands with General Erich Ludendorff. Marshal Paul von Hindenburg takes his seat and begins to listen to General Ludendorff’s report. The two military officials discuss matters, transferring to a desk with a map. General Ludendorff and Marshal von Hindenburg both looking at the map.