and can experts, robert lincoln files affidavit to have mother tried on incompetent. she can be held due to "insanity." for complete coverage go to c-span.org. c-span where history unfold daily. in 1979 c-span was created by cable television companies and brought to you by cable or satellite providers. up next, reel america we present america goes over 1918 silent film documenting u.s. experience in world war i. which was made by the u.s. army

signal core. america goes over is one of silent world war i film that the national archives have restored. this is about an hour. welcome to reel america c-span's history network. let allison finkelstein. as we get started, how are the films been made at time. who saw them? >> in the case of this film it was done by the united states government. it was a compilation of u.s. army footage by camera men ov overseas and the idea was to propaganda to promote what america did which was help bring the war to a close on the allied side. >> it was released after the war was over so how would the propaganda have been intended by the government at that point in time in. >> this was to reassure america

they fault in war -- this is the era when you see america retreat league of nation this kind of film would have given a boost in moral. >> where are the film held today and how are they represerve issed? >> they are maintained by the national archive and digitized and place on youtube channel so anyone with watch at any time. >> is this preservation a difficult art? >> yes. you have original copies that can have scratches, we have a staff to make sure each scene is clear and do a screen script so you know what's going on. often it came with that kind of

thing when it was transferred from whatever government agency brought it over. >> we're going to roll the film called america goes over. >> the core was communications for the u.s. army and they were the ones responsible for motion picture and still photographs. >> the east man kodak company. >> yes. >> i really like watching this official film because have that border around the film and the flags that's the insignificant ya of the arm core. >> don't you love the guarantee. every frame is guaranteed. >> yes because so many were done with reenactment.

>> the british did a reactment. these are footage here in the united states or overseas. >> allison, tell us about decision. >> the entrance is interesting because scholars still debate it. this caused a lot of tensions between the u.s. and germany and some scholars equate this to u.s. entering the war. which is sinking of the ship. >> it's remarkable footage. >> i agree. the fact that cameras were so

ante -- we are seeing president wilson, how controversial was the decision to go to war? >> in 1960 to keeping the u.s. out of the war which some were against theodore roosevelt who was active, there was huge war preparedness movement, so some from saying it's about time we get into the war, other were do we need to get into this war it's not america's problem. other continents but the fact that our ships merchant ships were being sunk, some of them carrying armament in the eyes of the germans they were warships.

>> what country are they in? >> i'm guessing this would be france. it's hard to tell because all of the western front was torn up like this. it would be belgium. >> the trench warfare, tell us how that was done? >> trench conflict was the -- it did not define at least on the western front where a lot of this footage is focus. you have stalemate that both sides were using weapons that had advance where people could not go further without risking suicide attack. british you have 60,000 killed on one day. you get a type of warfare that makes difficult for people to survive. so they huddle in the trenches

to get shelter. >> what are the germans trying to capture? >> that's an interesting question. the germans are on the -- a few other attacks where they move forward a little bit. but i think in this case, here you see different scenery. this is the alps. this would be italian theater. >> who are the allies? >> great britain, france, belgium started out neutral. then you have germany, australia, hungry, empire, world war i, you have middle eastern

theater, a lot happening in places that are now part of the modern middle east. >> with the built up. >> right. they are showing how america is prepared for the war. we started unprepared. we had to rely on the ally. from shipping to what armament to use in combat. here you show the navy being built up. the navy's roll was not so much combat, they were under stretch like the -- >> how was the war financed? >> war was financed -- well, from the american coffers but eventually there were libly

drives where americans were asked to give money to help the effort for the men and women. >> so were men and women taken from the normal jobs and put into factories to work. how did this gear up? >> you had a lot of women start to take factories job. you had african-american migrated north to take the jobs. we see the draft, there may be the first selection of the first draft number. >> right, the first draft, secretary war newton baker. >> theodore roosevelt. >> he had three sons in the war. >> quinn tin roosevelt was a pilot and he died in the war and that strongly devastated

roosevelt. >> three million american men were drafted. >> not all of this served but the vast majority of the american forces was made of enlisted and drafts. >> here we are seeing being scripted into war, taken from homes and lives to be turned into soldiers. >> yes. you can see the buildings. they were built structures by the army quarter master core. there were soforts scattered an constructed in the south and southeast where the climate is warmer. you had to factor in what the weather was going to be like. >> how difficult was the turning of citizens into soldiers? >> it was difficult. one of the things you find in reading the primary sources is

many soldiers did not have the training they thought they theeded. they were rushed and getting them overseas. when you look at the footage you wonders what happened to the men. you see statue of liberty. >> yes. >> there were british and french officers who came to the united states whose transportation and housing was paid for by the u.s. war office. they seen were done. in the until they got overseas did it hit home. >> once the americans joined in, how much of the war was fought

on sea as possessed to land? >> some attacks by you boats there was wasn't a major navial engagement that the americans were involved in. >> this is one of my favorite stories from world war i, what they did upon arriving in paris was visit the tomb. >> here you are american troops in the so-called quiet sector where they are training to fight. you can see they have gas masks

on. even though trenches are se nom mouse with world war i, they leave from aboveground -- sorry, under the ground through the woods so forth. he was fearful because the french and the british was using the this would go on and on. he felt the only way to defeat the german was to attack by going over the top. >> what are they depicting here? >> these are just scenes of camp life. they are young, they are between 18 and 25. they are playing cards.

trying to do laundry. living life on the front. >> what they are showing is they are jumping ahead to the spring of 1918, the germans realize now the americans are in the war, they launched offensive against british and french in hopes to drive those allies force away and capture paris before more americans get into the war. >> can can you talk about the use of gas during world war i. >> it started by germans in 1915 in the belgium.

and slowly the allies caught up, and can the idea of gas was a choking element. it didn't kill soldiers but it made you miserable. it could get into throat and your skin that you could not fight any more. the suffering that soldiers had after the war was horrible. >> it was psychological. they fear gas attacks and it it made them jumpy at the front. >> despite the pack we are in modern age of mechanicalized

fight, it rains quite a bit in this part of europe, you still needed horses carrying litters with wounded and bringing -- this is motorized trucks could not handle. you see the firing of the artillery which was an important component during the war. >> here is general per shig, a quit shot of him. >> that was commander. the scene before that where they

showed the casualties in the trenches. general per shig was adamant that they did not show deceased or wounded american soldiers. >> because it would be harmful at home? is. >> yes. he had had sensored before it was printed. >> we see the overwhelmingly force. >> you see military was segregated so this african-american were working labor baal yon, it's a interesting and sad yet heroic story of their service. >> yes. roughly 200 african-american steved. half were labor battalion or

infantry. harlem hell fighters who were in combat longer than any other american unit. >> the germans were aware of the american build up so they wanted to destroy the ships as they we were crossing the sea? >> absolutely. two ships were sunk during the course of the war. >> this is why we see this traveling in convoys protected by other naval ships. >> amazing footage. >> what is study hand by the photographer. >> yes. >> in the midst of battle. >> i'm not aware of any photographers getting killed during the war. >> we see the destruction of the boats and the air ships. >> yes, which would have been

navy air ships. >> 40 men, eight hours. >> many were purchased from the french we you have a mascot over. dogs from not allowed on the troop transfer. you have american entering france for the first time in letters i read were astonishing pause often they would see women dressed in black, widows or daughters of father who have been killed. >> the european must have been floored at the number of americans who came over. >> they are jumping ahead. this is the americans being put into line to help stop the germans who are in this spring and early summer of 1918.

>> here you see artillery, 75 millimeter. americans did not have own guns to bring over so we borrowed this from the french. one was the captain true man was a commander in the 35th division from kansas. >> germans from hoping to over take paris? >> yes. >> they got close. but logistic and other problems, they were hundred bring and eager, when you go there today you don't recognize there had

been a war there. >> no, the towns are small villages left on to. you can see the ruins or where the buildings may have been restored. >> there's some americans with some captured pows. you will see them in museum or up on ebay. >> the boys love souvenirs. >> ten thousand came to aide in world war i. >> right. americans didn'ts have enough. the british lent us transport ships but it would have taken a longer to get over.

>> the second battle is where the germans were stopped in their effort to get into paris. this would last through most of the summer. >> these were engagements where the americans were starting to jump in more. you can see places become symbol of the american roll. in fact it's a prominent american monument there. >> you can see the conditions under which the troops advancements are made. the battlefields today is farm fileds and they find -- >> it's miraclous that they are able to grow produce because

there's so much metal on the ground. farmer are killed when there was unfired or -- then you have second world war. >> this landscape was defini devastated. in you wonder you can find trench lines, ghost of the americans and the british and all of the combatants are there on the land. >> these are shown, there was wireless, it was used but also wire was laid for telephone to relay messages. then you had messages all the

way in the back handled by the u.s. army sigma core. the female operators known as the hello girls. >> there's little protections for the troops without protections for their ears. if if you looked at their uniforms today, how much compared to the kind of high-tech equipment we have, how much protest did they provide for the soldiers? >> not a lot. there was thin material. they didn't have bullet proof vests so. one of the reasons why casualties were high. >> i'm sure the metal in the helmets is nothing like we have today. >> nothing like we have today. here we see the pod two bridges

building built so they can cross bridges easy. >> the gas mask is important part of the uniform. you see them in the front part of the uniform so they can access them easily. once occupied they would use it it forehead quarters. >> look at that destruction. >> europe had been at war before that. by the time united states got there, there was not much left in parts of france and belgium. this is mobile field kitchen, i believe. they are marrying the story going back. >> making sure equipment was in

good order, you can see the soldiers cleaning the uniform, getting their haircut. >> shaved. >> yes. >> delousing station. that's one of the soldiers complaining about the lice, the poor conditions, having wet feet. you see members working with them, doughnuts, women trying to give them enjoyment on their few breaks. >> the salvation army supplied paper, they encouraged soldiers to write letters. which they did. you can see that in museums and can archives. the letters were censored.

if you say 40 men went out across the river, it would have been redacted. >> despite the fact u.s. got into the war late, despite the fact we had little infrastructure to bring, we built up tremendous. we had bay sections where supplies came in on daily basis or transported by rail. you see hot loaves of bread being baked and shipped out to the various front line. >> you want to talk about general pershing as we go into this. >> he was a good-looking guy, had a lot of experience. he had control over everything and for example, if you go to

national archive, you'll see his initials jjp because he read everything. >> the americans would fight under american command. he did not want the entire army to be come mamanded by the brit or the ger mans. >> this was the americans first army. which had been captured in 1914 and peshings want americans to show what they could do. >> here we saw before is the sight of the memorial today. there's a cemetery nearby where

m many of the men are buried. >> 1 million shells fired in an hour. >> its amazing. they didn't exactly know when and where. they were starting withdraw but they were caught by surprise. these are french guns, 75 or 110 that would hit the front of the lines or the rare area. a lot of it it was for moral to shake-up the troops on the other side. >> one of the interesting things as you watch the artillery pieces, you can see they have automatic recoil so they go back on their own. earlier wars people had to physically move them. >> here we have -- the artillery

was supposed to break through the wire but they didn't. the clip their way through. >> it's a dangerous task. >> jump off, which is a term for world war i, leaving the trenches or the open ground and heading forward. >> amazing footage. >> wow. >> there's no cover there at all. >> tanks, the french provided the americans although he was not incharge of the tank, the most was george pat ton who fought. >> the army was -- there was no air force it was army air core. how significant was their contribution? >> it depended on the battle.

plains did n planes did not get up into the air because it was so low. planes would have been use for reconnaissance, alerting the troops. >> the idea of the bothat the bs artillery would go ahead of the troops and they would move forward but it did not move that way, you did have instances of friendly fire.

>> a lot had been used for years by the germans and french before united states got there. they were devastated. they have already seen battle of the and many of the trenches are german trenches. >> we talked about advance of medic medical technology and treatment. >> they roefl paragraprofession therapist, to hospitals and base hospitals to get more sophisticated treatment. you had skilled surgeons and doctors. >> advance ally effort in that part of france?

>> it was a complete success for the americans. all the objectives were captured on september 12. this was a great morale booster for the americans. the other allies commanders were skeptical by the americans and how well they would do on their own but the fact that the americans -- the american first army under peshings leadership. this was a great moral booster. the only problem was the next two weeks were going to be greater offensive. >> here you see activity behind, you see kitchen patrol, the doe

boys. >> when feeding the populist. >> yes. >> the french were thankful and french living in sellers for months on end, not having food or water. >> german pows, used to bring wound to rare. the camps were setup, pow camps they called them cages, they played musical instruments it was not a bad situation for them once they were captured. >> they did. this was primarily americans support from the french. plus the air power was used -- by the italians and british and

and the french. here is a different theater which is so-called hinder burg line north of paris where divisions had spent time with the british, 27 and 30th and they would attack the strongest german defensive position late in september. >> complimented by the australia. >> yes. australians lover the americans. they felt like kinship to them. >> looking at the roads, you get the sense how much the landscape had to be manipulated to get everything across. there was so much infrastructure as part of world war i. >> when the ger mans built

defensive system in 1917 and increased in this 1918, they used tunnel for communications and it was massive structure that stands today. >> we're going into america's greatest battle. >> that would be 47 days and more than one million american troops. >> do you know the number of losses? >> there were roughly a little more than 26,000 americans who died during the battle. something like 100,000 that were wounded. >> worse of the conditions it looks like? >> if you ever been to in part of the france, the battle started 26 of september. it rained every day. the roads had been used in previous battles had been fought

over numerous time, they were not in the best. they were trying to fill in holes with lumber, courses were the best way to get transportation to the front. >> you had massive traffic jams and officers and troops focused on figuring out how to get their men from one place to another. >> this became another port part of the battle. the americans had what they call division the main fighting force. almost 28,000 officer, twice the size above the british and french and moving troops toward became a problem.

>> you can imagine a job of being hot air balloon over the battlefield. >> no. you see the eclepic techniques used in the first world war.

>> here is american troops that are in french trenches waiting for the jump off on the 26th. can you imagine how nervous they must have been. >> these are 18, 19-year-old. >> yes. some of them had fought previously in the war but a large majority had not seen service yet or combat. >> the first war is hideous as the day. what are they saying? >> the fighting started at 1:00 a.m. thousands lit up the night's sky. >> the artillery was such an important part of preparing the battlefield for the soldiers to advance across it. >> the germans were making ability. >> they were the best troops on

in world war i, but the americans came of age and became first rate fighters. had the battle not ended, the war would have gone on to 1919, the americans would have been main fighting force on this front. >> is this credit to general peshings? >> i think so. he was criticized because of throwing his troops piecemeal at germans. they learned how to use small tactics to get around german positions. >> looking at early tanks moving forward with the troops behind them, the battlefield are of such a scale you cannot go around them on foot, you have to drive around them to see the space the troops were crossing

over a series of days. >> you can see that clearly today, just massive field where you're exposed and enemy, on the high ground on ridges and it's a amazing any success happened. >> the filmmakers continue to narrate the battle. >> they have no idea it was going to last that long. the ally commander, the french thought it was going to go much longer than maybe as far as christm christmas as far as break through. .37 millimeter guns from smaller mortars used for close rage

fighting. the machine guns were depri meant to americans. >> just before you saw french show a machine gun, americans are using french technology, weapons developed by other countries. >> in part of the other problems you can see with the smoke from the artillery, smoke, plus fog, plus rain, it was difficult for them to recognize where they were. soldiers become trait separated from their unit or get captured. they showed the scene was high ground in the area that was

important for the americans to kp capture. it took two days. >> it became iconic symbol of americans progress. the site of memorial today. when you stand there you see the benefit of capturing that hill. >> the american soldier in world war i was referred to as doe boy. >> yes. it dates back to mexican-american war. when americans became dust and they looked look it adobe houses in mexico. and i heard other explanations. >> clearly an important battle because the filmmaker takes time

to narrate it. >> more than million american troops, and it became a symbol of world war i for the americans and the fact that even though it took 47 days and there were massi massi massive casualties, it's hard to imagine that the war would have ended any time soon. it might have ended in favor of the germans. >> peshings went through a lot during the battle. into mid-october, the allies were starting to call for his head because he commanded aef but the tactical unit first army and he recognized that was too

much for him and he stepped down as first army commander. again, the having the dogs, the mascot. >> the conditions that the men were living in for 47 days out in the woods, rotating in and out, walking the huge fields, it's a burden on the body to participate in conflict like that. >> more pows. >> yes. >> the germans were starting to surrender in droves. they recognize the war was coming in end. >> there seems to be a lot of people standing around. >> i think also most of people never seen a movie camera before. so see this was something rare and exciting and they wanted to get in on the action on the

film. you see that when you watch them waving at the camera. >> the decoration, there were three main decorations during the war, the pious hon for was the medal of honor, general distinguish service and distinguished medal. that's interesting. you see a lion in the front lines. >> there were all sorts of animals and mascots that the doe boys had. you can see the playful side of this as well. >> welfare similar to salvation army.

you had entertainers who came over. the most famous was lc janet who came with her mom. >> i was wondering if these are men. >> yes, they are men. some of these new york soldiers had own troops of actors. >> the famous filmmaker did entertainment overseas during world war i with the army. don't forget about the inflew

enza epidemic which devastated the troops. the best doctors were grobrough over from the u.s. the east coast were suffering. so many were in the army at this point. >> looking at the footage, you can get a sense of how if. >> a lot of people close together for long periods of time. >> we mentioned before about the gas. often gas, once it was detonated would stay on whatever plants were alive or on the ground because of the dampness. soldiers would get impacted even much later on. >> making the case of how they had to build them as they built the law. >> you can see the struggles we are having here trying to push

whatever vehicle it is probably stuck in the mud. >> it looks like artillery forward. >> troops going behind the liebs to front line trenches so you wouldn't get them as worn out. it wouldn't always work as intended but that was the main goal. >> and for the most part soldiers moved on foot. if they were going long distances they were transported by motor vehicles. >> they have the energy to actually fight between the long distance they walked and the roads they had to create and actually fight the battles. >> yeah.

>> anything about the models used in the war? >> they were mostly french models used by the americans, for example. >> now strongly reenforced enemy. >> by the early part of october germans brought up a number of divisions and were really holding their ground against the americans. the battle was starting to fall apart. i talked a little bit before about how really it started in late september or early october where the germans were preventing the americans from moving forward. >> it really is quite stunning to look at these battle scenes between the germans, americans, french and the british and think what strong allies we all are today. >> that is one of the most interesting things. you can see the progression of

history. the people fighting in these wars did not know what was going to happen. we have a sort of privileged way of looking back at it. >> this is really, you know, the beginnings of coalition warfare. >> would you speak more about that? >> today we have nato. it is not unusual. fighting together against the war against terrorism. they joined together and fought ton same battlefield and served under each army. >> when you look at extreme conditions today we are familiar with terms being shell shocked and having ptsd, we didn't know much about that at the time.

imagine what their reentry was like. >> it was very difficult. i think a lot of people did recognize it even if they didn't know how to treat it. that's why do you saw so many veterans struggling after the war. when the great depression hit the u.s. many suffered even more. >> it showed a hospital at a church. it was an area when there was heavy fighting with the 35th divisions. you can see the rebuilding of a bridge which was strategically important. >> the danger of transporting troops across open fields. >> i think the whole front was about 34 miles, which is quite

large. >> many of these roads are very similar today. if you go to these battlefields and you drive along them you can follow very closely maps in the 1920s and 1930s. it is interesting to sort of compare the landscapes. >> world war i battlefields are preserved in france? >> yes and no. i think they are a lot less traveled and a lot less visitors to them. it is more untouched. in other sectors where the french and british had more of the famous battles, they preserved in more ways than we are familiar with. would you agree with that, mitch? >> i would. it is famous for the marines fighting in june of 1918. the abmc has done a good job of sort of turning it into a civil war-type battlefield.

they still have artillery guns. by and large if you visit the battlefields today you really kind of have to use your imagination to find out where the lines were, where the fighting was. >> what happened to the french villagers displaced as they were going on? i'm sure many lost their lives. where did they go? how were they given comfort? >> some of them never returned. although some villagers did return and some left for shelter you could really see many of these villages were wiped out with maybe only women or children left. today there is remnants of villages that were never restored. >> a lot as the germans started coming in vacated and went to southern france. some were captured and used as civilian labor by the germans. some even brought to germany. >> here at points south the

americans have broken through. it's the end of october, beginning of november. behind the scenes the germans are negotiating based on president wilson's 14 points. they know that the war is pretty much done. they are not ending it. they are 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 the americans are overwhelming the germans are fighting back and it continues to be high casualties. >> and here they are talking about the french villagers. >> right. some people did say of course these look like older men, women, families, people who have really gone through a lot. >> so this is now late october, 1918? >> yeah. probably the second phase. we are talking about about the

third week in october. >> eventually declared november 11th. >> the main objective was sadan which is important to the french because they lost it during the oppression war. they are talking about the november 11th which is the cease fire. it's not necessarily a surrender. >> you can see the joy here on the soldiers faces. >> and soldiers were dying even though they knew there was going to be one. >> some lingered a little bit after. >> it was very critical of the americans for the most part. there he was extremely happy. >> you can see these are french right there followed by some americans in the background. people had been drawn through this horrible war and were so

devastated and so brutalized by it. it is almost difficult to imagine what feelings must have been at this time. >> there is american troops. >> yeah. >> parading through paris. it took a while for the americans to come back home. really it wasn't until early 1919 before they had enough crew transportation to get the americans back to the united states whe states. pretty much every city welcomed the troops back home. >> so the war is over, what's america's reaction to what had happened? >> it is interesting that you bring that up. at first it's very much a joy to see the troops coming over, newspapers are publishing special editions.

slowly as the troops come home a lot want to talk about the war. those in combat saw such horrible fighting they don't want to talk about it. they want do get back into civilian society. slowly the americans, you know, they sort of forget about the war. even though they are trying to think about it you have other things going on. you have the act eventually where prohibition and then, you know, just the country has changed significantly. so many of the soldiers didn't want to talk about the war and didn't write about it until much later on unlike the civil war where you had soldiers writing their accounts. >> many of these struggles to adjust back to life in the united states when the war was over. it is interesting because it was mostly world war veterans who crafted the gi bill that would

help the second world war veterans readjust better. it is seeing the tragedies that they witnessed and trying to figure out better ways for the mel tear to cope with them. >> thanks to allison and mick of this rare footage shot by members of the army during actual battle in world war i we have been able to bring to you own real america. >> thank you so much. american history tv in prime time continues friday night with history of u.s. soviet relations. we'll bring you programs about the cold war summits, jazz diplomacies in the third world and the nuclear arms race.

>> on what conservatism means and the current political debate on campuses. the director for the transgender equality will join us to talk about the trump administration's reversal transgender bathroom. >> up next we discuss shell shock, describing the effect of long-term distress of