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Description: | I. French newsreel item on General Franchet d'Esperey's arrival as GOC Army of the Orient, Salonika Front, 17th June 1918.
II. French newsreel item of Schneider CA1 tanks driving themselves onto railway flatcars, one reversing up to the camera, France, June 1918.
III. French newsreel of the Alsace area following small French attacks, Western Front, June 1918.
IV. French newsreel item on the presentation by President Poincaré of its standards to the Army of Independent Poland, France, June 1918.
V. French newsreel item of Field Marshal Haig and Sir Arthur Balfour sitting relaxed on a bench at the Trianon Palace, 2nd July 1918.
VI. French newsreel item of Marshal Foch arriving at AEF headquarters to confer with General Pershing, Western Front, June 1918.
Franchet d'Esperey is met from his train by various military representatives of the Allies, British, Italian and Serbian. Franchet d'Esperey goes on with his staff to review part of the French contingent, all wearing tropical dress. (The British representative is not General Wilson, the GOC. The Italian and Serb may be Generals Ferrero and Dojovic.)
First the small village and river valley of Montgobert, subject to an attack on 12th-13th June but not obviously damaged. The villages of Coeuvres and Valséry, liberated at the same time, show some damage from shelling, but not a great deal. German prisoners captured at Ambleny and Montgobert in a surprise attack on 28th June are escorted back along a road to the holding cages by men of a colonial division.
The presentation is part of a formal ceremony. The various standards are blessed with holy water by a priest, and the troops join in prayer and an oath-taking. M Dmowski, President of the Polish National Council, and President Poincaré both give speeches. The standard of the Polish regiment "des Bayonnais" is awarded the Croix de Guerre for its members' fighting skill in 1914. In the formal presentation Poincaré himself takes each standard briefly and hands it to a Polish soldier. The full force (formerly the Polish Legion) of Infantry, Artillery and Cavalry then marches past.
As Foch's car arrives Pershing is waiting by the steps of his chteau to meet it. The two men move into the open beside the car, talking together for the benefit of the cameras.
35mm | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | Dmowski John Joseph Pershing Polish Army Arthur James Polish National Council French Army Roman 31/3(44) Salonika Front & 17/6/1918 Douglas [colonial troops] Ferdinand J M First World War Louis Felix Marie Francois Dojovic (General) 01/3(4-15).8 camera Haig United States Army & American Expeditionary Force Polish Legion Foch Raymond N L Ferrero (General) Franchet d'Esperey Poincaré Balfour | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Section Cinématographique de l'Armée Française | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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