1.4 How did the Great War become a global war?
As the trench war became a stalemate, other fronts opened up in the race to beat Germany or her allies. Countries at war all mobilised their troops in their colonies to fight each other and help in Europe. All of these factors helped turn the Great War into a global war. The films on this page show the war on a variety of fronts, including the Balkans, Italy, Egypt and Russia.
WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE BALKANS
0 MINS 52 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1917
In the Balkans, an appeal from the trenches for artillery support is answered quickly by British guns.
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THE DIFFICULTIES OF MOUNTAIN WARFARE
0 MINS 22 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1918
This footage of an advance patrol on the Italian Front in 1918 reveals the difficulties of mountain warfare. In the Italian Alps, soldiers ride horses downhill through the snow or travel on skis, carrying rifles.
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'WE WILL EVACUATE ITALIAN SOIL'
0 MINS 54 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1914-1918
In this Pathé Gazette newsreel, Italian troops climb a path uphill through the woods. Then Austrian prisoners are pictured marching towards the camera, guarded by Italian soldiers. Filmed in Italy.
___________________________________________________________________________________AUSTRALIANS IN EGYPT
2 MINS 54 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1914-1918
Australian cavalry pass through the Egyptian desert and construct barges out of rowing boats on the River Nile in this footage from the First World War. One of the horses seems to dislike being part of the march and the rider struggles to get the animal back into formation. The role of horses in pulling artillery is then shown, as well as the inability of men to move the artillery without them.
___________________________________________________________________________________ANZACS IN THE DESERT
3 MINS 4 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1914-1918
ANZACs (soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) march through the desert and saddle their camels in this film, which also features footage of horse-drawn ambulances. The shots of the camels are repeated at the end of the film.
___________________________________________________________________________________RUSSIA STRIKES
0 MINS 59 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1916
This film illustrates Russian troops launching an offensive across a one thousand mile front in June 1916. The film shows the Russian soldiers on the move, marching through the snow, and accompanied by (perhaps surprisingly) camels.
___________________________________________________________________________________RUSSIAN ARMY AT THE FRONT
2 MINS 8 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1914-1918
In this film, we are given a good glimpse of life in a Russian camp on the Eastern Front during the First World War. The troops cook, collect water from wells and keep watch from their snow-covered trenches.