much like you would find on any shopping website. you can say i want to see a particular person from name. i want to see a particular senate committee or a tag for a policy. the left side is very valuable .or narrowing down >> search, click, and play on the c-span video library at www.c-span.org. historyxt on american america," we present a 1918 u.s.s over" army silent film. we invited two scholars to provide context and commentary throughout the film which was made by the u.s. army signal corps. "america goes over" is one of many silent films the national archives has restored. this is about an hour. >> welcome to "reel america."

mitch ellisonce and allison finkelstein. says but this is a compilation of mostly u.s. army video core footage. ae idea was to create "america did which was to build the -- bring the war to a close. >> how have the propaganda been intended by the government? reassureas intended to a justns they fought for cause. there was quite a bit of backlash against world war i. this is the era where you see america retreat into neutrality,

the rejection of the league of nations. a littled have given bit of a boost of morale. >> where are the films held today? mitchell: the original copies are maintained by the national archives. they are being digitized and placed on the national archives youtube channel so anyone can watch these at any time. is themer: -- >> preservation of this type of film a difficult art? to review mays have copies that have scratches. we have a staff that will meticulously go through and check to make sure each scene is clear. often it came with that sort of transferred from whatever government agency brought it over. for the background. now we are going to roll of film, called "america goes

over." the signal corps was communications for the u.s. army. they were the ones responsible for motion picture and still photographs. susan: and the eastman kodak company, a very storied name. they always have that little border around the film, and the two flag insignia was actually signal flags. it was a moment of pride for the signal corps to have these films. mitchell: yeah, because so many films were done with reenactment . for example, the british did iran enactment of the battle of the psalm. this is telling you, this is actual footage taken overseas. susan: this is part of the background of what got the united states into the war. tells about that decision.

allison: the entry of the united states into the war is still interesting. scholars still debated today. this is submarine warfare were germans were attacking civilians or supposedly civilian, ships. this caused a lot of tension between the u.s. and germany. some scholars say this led to the u.s. entering the first rolled war, particularly the sinking of the lusitania. susan: this is remarkable footage they were able to get, the american or allied vessels. mitchell: i agree. i mean, the fact that the cameras were so, i guess, antiquated. certainly these surroundings would have shook from the reverberations susan: of the torpedoes hitting the ships. -- reverberations hitting the ships. susan: how controversial was this decision to go to war? mitchell: for one thing, wilson ran on his reelection platform

on keeping the u.s. out of the were against -- theater roosevelt was still active, even though he was not ofoffice, was a proponent war. some folks were saying, it's about time we get into the war. others were, do we really need to get into this war? it's not america's problem. the fact that our ships, merchant ships were being sunk, some of them were actually carrying armaments. they were warships in the eyes of the germans. susan: what country are they in? mitchell: i'm guessing this would be france. it's hard to tell because premature all of the western front was torn up like this. it could be belgium. the unique aspect of

world war i was trench warfare. tell us about that. allison: trench warfare is probably the most iconic battlefield aspect of world war i. it certainly did not define the entire world war, but at least on the western front where a lot of the british are focused right now, what happened was you had a stalemate that both sides were using weapons. people could not actually go further on the battlefield without risking basically suicide attacks, which is what happened, especially in the battle of the somme with the british. andhad over 60,000 killed one day. you get a type of warfare that is very difficult for people to survive. they huddle into those trenches to get some sort of shelter. susan: from a strategic standpoint, what is happening in this battle? were the germans trying to capture? mitchell: the germans were on the defensive for most of the war, except early on, and then a

few other attacks, like allison mme where around the so they move forward a little bit. i think in this case, it's completely different. this is, i guess, in the alps? allison: yes, i think so. mitchell: the italian theater. susan: who are the allies and who were the central powers? the allies were great britain, france, the united states when the u.s. entered, they'll jump started off as neutral and then they were invaded. then you have germany, austria, the ottoman empire. world war i stretches beyond what we are seeing on the western front. italy, the middle eastern theater, you have a lot of what is happening in places that are now part of the modern middle east. susan: with buildups of armaments. mitchell: right, they are showing how america is becoming

prepared for the war. we really started the war completely unprepared. we had to rely on the allies for everything from shipping to mostly what armaments we would in combat, especially airplanes. but here, you show the navy built up. the navy central role was not for much combat, but destroyers were used to protect the truth transfer ships as they left american port. because they were under threat just like the merchant ships were from german u-boats. susan: how was the war financed? financed the work was from american coffers, but eventually -- the war was financed from american coffers, but eventually, americans were asked to give money to help the effort. and women taken from normal jobs and put in these factories to work?

you had a lot of women who started to take factory jobs, more than there had been before. you also had african-americans migrating north, in many cases to take those jobs. here we see the draft. i think this may be the first election of the first draft member. mitchell: rhett, the first draft, the secretary of war, noon baker -- roosevelt, still active. mitchell: he had three sons that were in the war. he actually lost one. his son quentin roosevelt was a pilot. that really strongly affected teddy roosevelt. susan: 3 million american men were drafted ultimately. mitchell: ultimately. not all of them served. whathe vast majority of would become the american

expeditionary forces were made up of drafted -- susan: here we see people being conscripted into war, taken from their homes and ordinary lives, being turned into soldiers. mitchell: you can see the buildings. these were quickly built structures by the army quartermaster tour. forts scattered around the u.s., but they needed the so-called temporary camps, and they were constructed mostly in the south and southeast. about nine months out of the year. you had to factor in what the weather was going to be like. then: how difficult was turning of citizens? thaton: one of the things you find reading print sources, many the soldiers did not have the -- many of these soldiers did not have the training they thought they needed. they were very rushed. when i look at this footage, you kind of want to wonder what

happened to these men. there you see the statue of liberty. i think we thought that was camp upton. mitchell: did you notice, allison, they were using wooden -- allison: yes. mitchell: now there were british and french officers who came to the united states, whose transportation and housing was paid for by the u.s. war department and the idea was for them to lecture the soldiers at the camp. overseasntil they got that it really hit home. once the americans joined and how much of the war was fought on the seas versus the land? mitchell: by the time the americans got in the war, practically not, other than some attacks by u-boats. there was not a major enabling judgment the americans were

involved in. -- the was not a major naval engagement the americans were involved in. allison: this is one of my favorite stories from world war i, one of the first things i know pershing and the american troops did on arriving in paris was visiting the tomb of the marquee to left a yet, the war hero who helped the americans de lafayettequis among wealthy americans during the revolution. mitchell: they are training -- you can see they have their gas masks on. what was interesting, even though trenches are synonymous with world war i, the americans primarily did not fight from the trenches. general pershing was adamant the fight a troops

so-called open warfare. they would fight basically from above ground -- i'm sorry, you know, over the ground, through the woods, so forth. at he was fearful because the french and the british were using the trench warfare to go on and on and on. he felt as though the only way to defeat the germans was to attack by going over the top. susan: what are they depicting here? the good times could still be had off fighting these wars? are justi think these scenes of camp life. if you look at the faces of these men, they are very young. probably between 18 and 25. they are playing cards, trying to do laundry, and living life on the front. these personal scenes are some of the most interesting of this film.

mitchell: were they are showing now, they are jumping ahead to the spring of 1918. the germans are realizing, now that the americans are in the war and we are starting to get more and more troops, they have launched an offensive against the british and the french in hopes to drive those allied forces away and capture paris and bring the war to a close before americans get into the war. susan: earlier on, you referenced wearing gas masks. can you talk about the use of gas during world war i? mitchell: it was started by the germans in 1915 in belgium. and slowly, the allies caught up . moredea of the gas, it was of a choking element. it did not necessarily kill soldiers, but it made you so

miserable, it would get into your lungs and into your skin that you could not fight any longer. they were pretty much taken out, and the suffering the soldiers experience well after the war was horrible. veryon: it was also psychological. soldiers began to fear gas attacks and it made them a lot more jumpy at the front. mitchell: yet, despite the fact that we are in the so-called modern age of mechanized warfare with trucks and tanks, the it rains quitee a bit in this part of europe,

you still needed horses carrying litters with the wounded. those trucks just could not handle -- here you see the firing of artillery, which was a really ordinance element during the war. susan: -- allison: and here is general pershing, the leader of the american expeditionary forces. mitchell: that was ferdinand fouts, the commander of the allied forces. those would have been, i believe, either british or french troops. general pershing was very adamant that the signal corps photographers not show deceased

wounded american soldiers. susan: because it would be harmful to the war -- mitchell: absolutely. he would have film censored before it was printed. you see some african american service members here. remember, the american military was segregated at this time. those african-american service members were probably working on that dock. it's a really sad story. 200,000: roughly african-americans served. the vast majority were in labor battalions or infantry. there were exceptions. there is the famous three 69th harlem health fighters -- hell fighters who were in combat longer than any other unit. germans were well

aware of any american buildup, so they would have wanted to destroy these ships before they crossed the sea? mitchell: absolutely. but they were not that successful. this is why we see them traveling in convoys protected by other naval ships. amazing footage. susan: what a steady hand by the photographer. and there we see the successful destruction of the u-boat. that would have been navy airships. many of the horses, the u.s. purchased from the french. i don't think dogs were

typically allowed. here you have americans entering france for the first time. from letters i have read, often they would see women dressed in the daughtersor of those who had been killed. must have europeans just been floored at the numbers of americans who came over. mitchell: they are jumping ahead here. put is the americans being into the line to stop the germans in this great offensive. they are famous for the efforts of the first division, the big red one. is the artillery. french artillery. the americans did not have their

own to bring over. so we borrowed them from the french. one of the more famous artillery commanders was captain harry s. truman, who was a commander of the national guard from missouri. susan: as the germans were hoping to overtake paris? mitchell: they were. they tried several times before. they got close again, but logistics and other problems, hungertainly, they were -- hungry and they were eager. there were troops, here you will see them in the town. it's amazing, you look at these towns and how do estimated they are. you go there today and you do not recognize there has been more there. basically you see the small villages. you can see where there are these ruins and a few buildings

that might have been restored. here are americans with some captured german pow's. a lot of times they would send them home and you will see these in museums or they will end up on ebay today. coming to a the effort world war i. mitchell: the americans did not have enough at the beginning of the war. us thetish lent transport ships. otherwise it would have taken a lot longer to get american troops over. thesell: -- allison: ships are interesting. they were painted with what is known as basil camouflage, a technique that would make it harder for them to be hit. mitchell: this is the second battle of the marne, where the germans were stopped on their

effort to get into paris. this would last through much of the summer. theson: these are engagements where the americans were starting to jump and much more. you see places like chateau thierry become symbols of the first world war. there's a very prominent american monument there. earlier, mitch, you were suggesting these battlefields farm fields and they still find unexploited -- unexploded ordinance? mitchell: yes, it's america farmers use them today. there is so much metal in the .round that is still found seven, too often, farmers are savvy,or killed when -- too often, farmers are maimed or killed when their plows go over the ordinance. and then you have the second

world war going over some of the same ground. these trench lines, many of them were not filled in. lines andnd trench barb wire sticking up from the ground, the ghosts of the americans and the british and the germans and all of the combatants still very much there in the land. mitchell: these are the scenes where they are showing the communications, which were actually very sophisticated for their time. there was wireless that was used. the signal corps was able to relay messages from the front to the rear or iceberg of -- or vice versa. you had runners who could relay messages. you had messages all the way in the back. you have the u.s. army corps female telephone operators known as the hello girls. you can see that there is

absolutely very little protection for the troops, firing repeatedly these weapons without any protection for their ears are we saw a soldier putting his fingers in his ears for production. how much compared to the high-tech equipment we have, so much, and how much protection did they provide for the soldiers? mitchell: not a whole lot. the material, especially for machine guns, penetrated very easily. they did not have bullet-proof vest's. that is one of the reasons casualties were so high. susan: i'm sure the metal and the helmets is nothing like we have today. mitchell: nothing like we have today. they developed throughout the war so they gave more protection. here we see the panel -- the pontoon bridges being developed by engineers so they could cross rivers fairly easily. the gas masks, usually you see them in the front of uniform so they could access them easily.

mitchell: another devastated french village of americans would go through. once it was occupied, they would use it for headquarters. susan: look at that distraction. allison: europe had been at war for several years before this. by the time the united states got there, there was really not much left. this was the mobile field kitchen, i believe. here, they are sort of narrating the story of american engagement first world war. mitchell: going back to make sure equipment was in good order, soldiers cleaning their uniforms, getting their hair cut. susan: teeth, actually. allison: delousing stations.

and that's one of the things the soldiers write about in their letters, complaining about the lies, complaining about the poor conditions they were living in, the wet heat -- complaining about the lice. here you see the salvation army. i think that those were doughnuts. the women were famous as doughnut dollies come of serving for the troops, trained to give them a little enjoyment. the salvation army also saved paper. they encouraged soldiers to write home, which they did in droves. you could see that in various museums. the information and letters tens to not be that informative because, again, they were censored. if you mentioned something about, you know, 40 of the minimize platoon went out across this river, that probably would have been redacted. susan: this section is on the tremendous effort to resupply for the war. mitchell: it was tremendous,

despite the fact the u.s. got into the war late, despite the fact that we had very little infrastructure, we built up tremendous -- we had sections where supplies came in on a daily basis, and they were transported, usually by rail, at the front. here, you see bread being baked. then they would have been shipped out to the various -- these are the rear areas and eventually the front line. susan: do we want to talk about general portion -- general pershing? mitchell: -- mitchell: i think ellison will agree with him. he was the ultimate commander for the americans. he was a good-looking guy. he was a micromanager. he had control over everything. if you go to the national archives records, often you will see little marks in the marginalia with his initials "jjp." he had his hands in just about

everything. pershing was really adamant that the americans would fight under american command. he did not want the entire army to be committed by the british or the french. mitchell: this is the first time that a full american army went on the offensive. mihiel, which had been captured by the american -- iv germans in 1914. pershing wanted to show what the americans could do as an independent army. memorial todaye memorializes the service of the lmericans in the st. mihie offensive. and there is a nearby cemetery where million -- where many of the men are buried. susan: one million shells fired. mitchell: the germans suspected americans were in the area and

there was going to be an attack. they did not exactly know when and where and they were starting to withdraw, but they were caught by surprise, and again, these are french guns. 's -- are 75's or big 110 is that right? that could hit the front of the lines or the rear area. and a lot of it was just morale, to shake up the troops on the other side. allison: one of the interesting things as you watch these artillery pieces, you can see they have automatic recoil. the go back on their own, as opposed to earlier wars, where people would have to move the menus that physical labor. the wire,here you see which is an important defensive structure on the western front. you have soldiers move forward -- first off, the artillery was supposed to break through the wire. then you would have troops on the front who would allison: the very dangerous task. mitchell: jumpoff, which is a

very synonymous term for world war i, meaning leaving the trenches and heading forward. susan: through the wire. wow. you can see there is no cover there at all. mitchell: these were tanks that the french provided the americans. although he was not in charge of the tank corps, the most famous tanker was george s patton. again, there was no air force, this was the army air corps? how significant was their contribution to the effort? mitchell: it really depended on the battle. as you can see, it was often cloudy in northern france. sometimes planes did not get up into the air because the cloud cover was so low. bombing was in its infancy, but planes would have been used more for reconnaissance alerting the troops. the artillery, where the enemy

was, or where there was a large concentration of enemy trucks. they mentioned they barrage, the idea of the garage was a artillery fire that it provides some cover for the american troops. they would time at so the artillery would go ahead of the troops and move it forward. it did not always work out that way and you did have instances of friendly fire. allison: a lot of the battlefields we are seeing that the americans fought over in 1918 have been used already for years by the german and french before the united states got there. these are not just fresh fields. they have been devastated. they have already seen battle.

many of these trenches are actually german trenches. susan: we talk about the advance of medical technology during world war i and the treatment of casualties. allison: they had a lot of sophisticated medical technology. the professionalization of nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapist, really trying to expand the use of triage and bringing casualties out of the front lines to hospitals, then later base hospitals where they could get more sophisticated treatment. you had a lot of university hospitals that would go over as a team. so you have skilled surgeons, doctors, and nurses that were used to working together and volunteer their services to go as a unit to europe. susan: a graphic showing the advance of the allied effort in that part of france. mitchell: saint-mihiel was a complete success for the americans. all of their objectives were captured in one day on september 12. this is the 13th, the next day where they are mopping up. this was a great morale boost

for the americans. the other allied commanders were a little bit skeptical about the americans and how well they would do on their own. the fact that it was the american first army under pershing leadership that drove the americans out. the mascot dogs were quite frequent. two of the most famous were rags and sergeant stubby. this was a great morale booster. the only problem was, the next two weeks was going to be a greater offensive. here you see some activity behind -- we saw the kitchen patrol, the doughboys interacting with french families, whoever is left. susan: and feeding the local populace. mitchell: there were hundreds of french villages that had been occupied by the germans and the americans liberated them. the french were so thankful.

there were accounts of french living and sellers for months, not having enough food, water, heat. susan: and german pows. mitchell: they were used to bring wounded to the rear. they were brought to camps. they called them cages. germans were allowed to read, watch theater, played instruments, sports. it really was not a bad situation once they were captured. susan: in addition to the american offensive, this is one where americans supported efforts by the allies. mitchell: they did. primarily americans with support from the french, plus the air power used by the germans -- i'm sorry, by the italians in british and french. here is a completely different theater, the so-called hindenburg line north of paris, where to american divisions have spent time with the british

national guard, the 27th and 30th. they would attack one of the strongest german defensive positions late in september. susan: complemented by the australians. mitchell: by the australian core, yes. the australians love the americans. this also the kinship to them. looking at these roads, you get the sense of how much this landscape had to be manipulated to get anything across. the troop transports, trucks, pontoon bridges -- there was so much infrastructure and logistics that was just as much a part of world war i as the battlefields and trenches. mitchell: the canal is interesting grade the time of was built by napoleon in the early 1800s. when the germans built their defensive system in 1917 and in, they used the tunnel for communications ability.

a massive structure that still stands today. susan: now we are going into america's greatest battle. mitchell: it ultimately would be 47 days and more than one million american troops, the largest concentration of american soldiers in our military history. susan: you know the number of losses? mitchell: roughly 26,000 americans died during the battle. something like 100,000 were wounded. susan: and in the worst of conditions, it looks like. mitchell: if you have ever been to this part of france in the fall, the battle started on september 26. it rained almost every day. as allison pointed out, these roads had been used in previous battles numerous times. they were not in the best condition. you had engineers going out trying to fill in holes using lumber, stones from houses that had been decimated. really, horses were the best way to get transportation to the

front. allison: they had massive tractive -- massive traffic jams. a lot of officers who are focused on how to get their men from one place to another. mitchell: this became an important part of the battle, transportation to the front, which ultimately bogged down for the americans. the americans had what they call a main fighting force of almost 28,000 officers and men, that was twice the size of both the british and french and even the germans. moving so many troops forward became a real problem.

susan: can you imagine the job of being in a hot air balloon over an active battlefield? likeon: no, and i really how the film is showing these different technologies from the balloons to the airplanes. you sort of see the eclectic techniques used in the first world war. mitchell: here is american troops that are in french trenches, waiting for the initial jumpoff on the 26th.

can you imagine how nervous they must have been? susan: and these again are 18-year-olds, 19 years old. mitchell: some of them had fought previously in the war, but a large majority had not seen service, or at least combat. susan: the first work to make night as hideous as the day. what are they saying here? mitchell: the artillery started around 1:00 a.m., so thousands of guns lit up the night sky. allison: the artillery barrage was such an important part of preparing the battlefield for the soldiers to start advancing. susan: they give homage to the teutonic preparedness, the german warmaking ability. mitchell: they certainly were the best troops in world war i. but the americans, as this battle would prove, came of age and really became first-rate fighters. ended theattle not

way it did with an allied victory, the war would have gone on until probably 1919 and the americans would have been the main fighting force on that part of the front. susan: is this a credit to general pershing? mitchell: i think so. he is heavily criticized because of open warfare and throwing his troops piecemeal at the germans. but he felt that was the only way to break through. i agree, i think in reality, they learned how to use small tactics and get around some of the german positions. allison: it gives you a sheer size of the battlefield. looking at these very early tanks moving forward with the troops behind them. these battlefields are of such a scale, today you cannot really go around them in one day on foot, you have to drive to see the amount of space that the troops were crossing over the series of days. mitchell: it is open country. you can see that very clearly today, just massive fields where you are exposed. the enemy, the germans, are on the high ground on ridges.

it is amazing that any success happened. susan: the filmmakers continue to narrate the days of the battle. again, 47 days in this one particular offensive. mitchell: they had no idea it was going to last that long. the other allied commanders, especially the french, thought it was going to go much longer, maybe as far as christmas before any breakthrough. 37 millimeter guns were smaller mobile artillery, kind of like mortars that were used for close range fighting. gun nests werene a real detriment to the americans. the famous story of alvin york, who was able to capture 132

germans, most of them in machine gun nests in the argonne forest. allison: the americans are using french technology, weapons developed by other countries. part of the other problem, you could see with all the smoke from the artillery, you had smoke plus fog plus rain. it was very difficult for soldiers to recognize where they were. compasses, which they were given, did not always work. what happens is soldiers became separated from their units and often end up with other units are get captured. showed, highy just ground in the area that was very important for the americans to capture, took two days. once that was taken, it opened up a whole area the americans to advance and drove the germans from that particular part of the high ground.

allison: i became a very iconic symbol of american progress, the offensive, the site of a major memorial today. when you stand there, you can see the major benefits of capturing that hill. susan: american soldiers were referred to as doughboy? mitchell: there is some question about where the nickname started. it is believed it dates back to the mexican-american war, when americans became covered in dust , they looked like the adobe houses in mexico. i have heard other explanations. clearly an important battle, because this film take such pains to narrate the extent of it. mitchell: part of it is because it was the largest battle involving the americans. as we pointed out before, ultimately more than a million american troops. it became really the symbol of world war i for the americans.

even though it took 47 days in the remastered casualties, the americans were able to break through the strong german positions, which forced the germans into an armistice. had the americans not attacked in this area, it is hard to imagine that the war would have ended anytime soon. and it might have ended in favor of the germans. c in c? commander in chief. mitchell: yes, that is pershing. he went through a lot of pressure in battle. when things are not going well and into mid-october, the allied commanders were starting to call for his head and to have him sacked. he had also not only commanded but also the tactical unit first army. he recognized that was too much for him and steps down as first army commander. again, having the dogs as a mascot. allison: you can see the conditions these men were living

in for 47 days, out in the woods, rotating in and out, walking all these huge fields. it is quite a burden on the body to participate in a conflict like that. susan: more pows. mitchell: they were brought to the rear, and the germans were starting to surrender in droves. they recognized the war was coming to an end and many of them had been in this area for at least a couple, maybe three years. there seem to be a lot of people standing around. allison: i think also most of these people have probably never seen a movie camera before. to see someone filming would have been something that was a little bit rare, probably very exciting, and they wanted to get in on the action of the film. i think you see that when you watch them waving at the camera. mitchell: the decorations -- there were three main decorations during the war. the highest honor was the medal of honor.

next to that was the distinguished service cross, probably what general pershing is placing on the soldiers. then there was the distinguished service medal. the silver star and purple heart were also awarded to world war i soldiers, but not until later on in the 1930's. they were made retroactive. so that is interesting. to see a lion in the front lines. allison: there were all sorts of animals in different mascots that the doughboys had. they would take these and other animals from the farms, but you could see a playful side of the doughboys as well. mitchell: knights of columbus providing welfare, similar to salvation army. you had entertainers who came over. the most famous was elsie janice , a stage and film star from new york, who came with her mom to entertain troops in the british sector.

susan: i was wondering if these are men. mitchell: some of the new york soldiers have their own troop of actors. allison: a famous film director who did a lot of films in the 1930's, actually did entertainment overseas during world war i with the army. mitchell: don't forget about the influenza epidemic, which was in its second wave during this battle, which devastated the troops. -- the about doctors best doctors were brought over from the u.s. civilians, especially on the east coast, were suffering because there were not enough

doctors. so many of them are in the army at this point. allison: looking at the footage, you can get a much better sense of how the influenza epidemic spread so quickly in conditions like this. mitchell: wet and damp. allison: not a lot of hygiene, people close together for long periods of time. mitchell: we mentioned before about the gas. often gas, once detonated, would stay on whatever plants were alive or on the ground because of the dampness and soldiers would get impacted, even much later on. making the case of how they had to build the roads as they went along. allison: exactly. you can see the struggles they are having, trying to push whatever kind of vehicle that is stuck in the mud. mitchell: moving what looks like artillery forward. allison: in world war i, they would rotate the troops out so

that you had troops going behind the line to communications trenches, to front-line trenches, so you would not get them as worn-out. it did not always work as intended, but that was the main goal. mitchell: for the most part, soldiers moved on foot. if they were going really long distances, they were transported by motor vehicle, often driven by indochinese drivers, who are led by the french. how theyu just wonder have energy to fight between the long distances they walked, the trenches and roads they build, then actually fight the battle. mitchell: that is a good point. exhaustion must've been terrible. you see planes leaving from the aerodrome's. susan: these are biplanes. do you know anything about the models used in the war? mitchell: they're must be french models used by the americans. susan: now strongly reinforced

enemy. mitchell: by the early part of october, the germans had brought up a number of divisions. they were really holding their ground against the americans. the battle was starting to fall apart. i talked a little bit before about how pershing had to regroup. really it started in late september, early october, where the germans were preventing the americans from moving forward. susan: it really is quite stunning to look at these battle scenes between the germans, americans, french, and british and to think what strong allies we all are today. allison: that is the most interesting thing about looking back at these films. you can see the progression of history, but the people fighting in these wars did not know what was going to happen. today, we have a very sort of privileged way of looking back at it. really thehis is

beginnings of coalition warfare. susan: could you speak more about that? mitchell: today, we have nato. it is not unusual for american troops and french troops and troops from all other countries fighting together, analogous to the war against terrorism. but what where one is the first time on a large-scale basis that americans, french, and even british joined together and fought on the same battlefield and served under each other's armies. best sort of thing. susan: when you look at the extreme conditions these people fought under, today we are familiar with the terms of being shellshocked and having ptsd. we did not know much about that at the time. but imagine what their reentry was like after these kinds of battles. allison: it was very difficult, and i think a lot of people did recognize, even if they did not know what to call it or how to treat it. that is why you saw many veterans struggling after the

war. especially after the great depression, many of them struggled even more. mitchell: the previous scene showed a field hospital in a church, a famous scene. i believe that was an area where there was heavy fighting between the first and 35th division. here you see the rebuilding of a bridge across a strategically important river. susan: once again, you get a sense of the distances these armies had to go to gauge in battles. the danger of transporting troops across open fields. mitchell: the hall -- the whole argonne was about 34 miles, which is quite large. areson: many of the rows similar today, if you go to the battlefields and drive along them, you can follow closely maps that were created in the

1920's and 1930's. it is interesting to compare those landscapes. susan: so much as the american civil war battles are preserved, the world war i battlefields are preserved in france? allison: yes and no. and the american sectors, they are a lot less traveled and a lot less visitors, so it is more untouched. in other sectors where the french and british had a famous battles, they are preserved a little bit more in ways that are familiar with the torah spot. -- with the tourist spots. would you agree, mitch? mitchell: i would. the american battle monuments commission has done a good job into aing a battlefield civil war type battlefield, where they have markers and artillery guns, city can get a sense. but by and large if you visit the battlefields today, you have to use your imagination. and a good map to find out where the lines were, where the fighting was. susan: what happened to the

french villagers displaced by these battles? i am sure many lost their lives. where did they go, how were they given care and comfort? allison: some of them never returned. other some villagers did return and some left for shelter, you could see many of these villages were wiped out with only women and children left. today, there are even remnants of villages that were never restored. mitchell: a lot of the french, as the germans started coming in, either vacated or went to southern france to get away from the war zone. some are captured and used as civilian labor by the germans, some even brought to germany. eric points out that finally the americans have broken through. it is the end of october, beginning of november. behind the scenes, the germans are negotiating an armistice based on president wilson's 14 points. because they know that the war

is pretty much done. but they're not ending it, not willing to give up unless they can get some sort of say in the peace discussion. so really, the fighting continues despite the fact that the americans are overwhelming the germans. they are still fighting back and it continues to be high casualties. here they are talking about the french villagers. say -- ofe did course, these look like older men, women, families, people who have gone through a lot. this is now late october 1918? mitchell: probably, the second phase. we are talking about the third week in october. susan: an armistice eventually declared november 11. mitchell: the main objective was a city important to the french,

because they had lost it during the franco-prussian war. here they are talking about the november 11 armistice, which as it points out was a cease-fire, not mrs. early -- not necessarily a surrender. you can see the joy on the soldiers faces. mitchell: they were still fighting up until the last minute. that meant soldiers were dying, even though they knew there would be an armistice. susan: did all fighting stopped on the 11th? mitchell: some of it lingered because word did not reach. there is general pershing. it was very critical of the americans for the most part, but there he was extremely happy. allison: these are french followed by americans in the background. been drawn through this horrible war and were so devastated and brutalized, the joy is almost difficult to imagine what they are feeling at the time. mitchell: there is american

troops at the arc de triomphe parading triumphantly through paris. it took a while for the americans to come back home. it was not until early 1919 that they had enough troop transportation to get them back to the u.s. where there were massive parades in pretty much every city that welcomed the troops back home. susan: let's and where we began. the war is over, troops are coming home, what is america's reaction to what happened? mitchell: it is interesting you bring that up. at first, it is for a much enjoyed to see the troops come over. newspapers are posting special editions. there is praise everywhere. but slowly as the troops come home, a lot of them don't want to talk about the war. those that were in combat, especially in the argonne, and saw such horrible fighting and decimation, they don't want to talk about it.

they just want to get back into civilian society. slowly the americans start to forget about the war. even as they are trying to think about it, you have other things going on. you have the volstead act eventually, prohibition. the country has changed significantly. but so many of the soldiers just did not want to talk about war. they did not write about it until much later on, unlike the civil war, where you had soldiers writing their accounts in various magazines. allison: many of these soldiers and service members really struggled to adjust back to life in the u.s. once the war was over. it is interesting because it was mostly world war i veterans that crafted the g.i. bill that would help world war ii veterans readjust better. you see the men and women who supported them learning from their experience and seeing the tragedies they witnessed and trying to figure out better ways

for the next generation of the military to cope with them. susan: our thanks to allison and mitch. this rare footage shot by members of the army signal corps during actual battle in world war i that we have been able to bring to you today on "reel america" on american history tv. mitchell: thank you. allison: thank you so much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] on "q&a" --onight >> while people were starving, van buren was having fancy parties. harrison was the candidate for the poor people and here was this rich man in washington sneering at the poor people. harrison had thousands of acres, so he was actually a very wealthy man, but he was portrayed as the champion of the poor. women came to the parades and waved handkerchiefs. some gave speeches. some wrote pamphlets. it was very shocking.

they were criticized by the democrats, who said these women should be home making putting. announcer: ronald schaffer, author of the book "the carnival campaign, how the campaign of tippecanoe and tiger to change presidential elections forever." president franklin d roosevelt appointed general george c. marshall u.s. army chief of staff in 1939. up next, king college london visiting professor andrew roberts discusses marshall's role in america's world war ii victories. he argues that general marshall's skills as a strategist transformed the u.s. army despite opposition from president roosevelt and winston churchill. the new york historical society hosted this event. it is just over 50 minutes. >> we are so very pleased to welcome back andrew roberts, the di