Under a camouflage canopy, soldiers load and fire artillery as German forces draw closer to Paris during World War 1. German officers observe firing. German infantry, wearing the Pickelhaube helmet, marching towards Paris. French and Belgian refugees with horse drawn carriages flee from German forces. French soldiers on horseback. German cavalry gallop over a road and berm into a field. German infantry, holding their rifles, as seen from low ground level, charging towards the French.
The Imperial German Army (“Deutsches Heer” in German) leaves for Belgium and France after the German Empire declares war on Russia and France in World War 1. A steam locomotive train moves past a forest, moving slowly beside a crowd of Imperial German troops. German troops march out after the train has come to a full stop. German Army officials greet each other. German Kaiser Wilhelm II shakes hands with a high-ranking military official. German military officials inspect infantry. Kaiser Wilhelm II shakes hands firmly with a German military officer after raising his clenched fist in the air.
Funeral of the heir presumptive of the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination was the immediate cause of World War 1. Arriving in Trieste (now in present-day Italy), Roman Catholic priests bless coffins of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin, the Duchess of Hohenburg. Austrian officers observe as priests fling holy water onto couple’s coffins. Austrian guards unload a coffin from a funeral horse-drawn carriage. Austrian guards of the 7th Uhlans and 4th Dragoons march alongside funeral carriages of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie in Vienna, to be buried in their family crypt at Artstetten Castle in Artstetten-Pöbring, Lower Austria. Brief shot of Franz Joseph I of Austria.
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.
German forces in France during the early parts of World War 1. German military officers consult a map in France. View of French hills. German military men discuss over a map from observation point. German soldiers operate firing heavy artillery. Battlefield explosion from artillery bombardment. Soldiers scatter all over the battlefield as they avoid artillery shells. German military officer uses a pair of binoculars. German infantry, wearing the Pickelhaube helmets, marching with packs. Two German officers salute to each other as other military men point at battlefield. German cavalry charging.
A British politician, likely Lord Horatio Kitchener (British Secretary of State for War), passionately addresses the crowd in a recruitment rally in London during World War 1. A sign behind the man says " London Rec... Recruits Wanted...". A "Lord Kitchener Wants You" recruitment image. Men climb up on stage. Men move in line to report for mobilization. A man raises his book upon reporting for enlistment. Officials read papers. Military official takes a book away from the man's hand. Young men receive their uniforms after enlistment. Four divisions of enlisted soldiers are mobilized to the front in Europe. Soldiers embark on a ship sailing to the front. A ship full of soldiers leave the United Kingdom for Europe to fight.