Landships II

As part of my medical condition brought on by how crap The First World War From Above is, I obtained a copy of this old VHS. It is remarkable viewing. A not very comprehensive account of the War, but useful from a number of aspects.

It's not in great demand - it cost 2 euros (plus 9 euros postage) - but some interesting things emerge.

There's a lot of French footage I've not seen before: the Home Front, women in the war effort, French Colonial troops in training and at play, and lots more. A pleasant change from the usual IWM suspects.

From a Landships p.o.v. there is a shot of de Bange guns being pulled by oxen teams, which I didn't know about, and of the kites that we discussed recently. Unfortunately, the scenes of 1914 and The Marne show many combatants sporting Adrians, Brodies, and Stahlhelme, with the French in Horizon Blue, but we're used to that. And there's footage from both Westfront 1918 and Stosstrupp 1917 - "Bobby" and "Mary" put in an appearance - but it does show genuine Renault FTs.

The narrator says that the three types of Tank used by France were "the Renault, St. Chamond, and Schnerbe." Schnerb was Holt's European representative who demonstrated the tractors to Brillié. Is that a mistake, or was the Schneider sometimes referred to as "the Schnerbe"?

The above notwithstanding, it's a very interesting film.

What is undeniable is that it closes with a minute or so of scenes of the devastation left by the War, filmed from an airship of which the pilot is visibly Jacques Trolley de Prévaux. You will remember that this footage was, according to the BBC, lost for 90 years. The closing credits of the VHS include the words "Copyright 1984".



-- Edited by James H on Saturday 27th of November 2010 12:57:14 AM