World War I Historical Films

WWI Archival Film Vault

Rare Archival Footage from the Great War

Step back in time with our comprehensive collection of World War I historical films, offering authentic footage of soldiers, battles, and life during the Great War. From rare battlefield scenes to poignant moments on the home front, these films capture the realities of a world-changing conflict. Ideal for educators, historians, and documentary filmmakers, this curated footage provides a powerful glimpse into the past, preserving the stories of bravery, hardship, and resilience. Bring history to life with these invaluable archival materials, perfect for educational projects, historical research, or creative storytelling.

HISTORY U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS - YOUTH TO MATURITY

Compilation of major U.S. events and politics beginning with the first half of the 19th century and ending on the eve of World War I.
Historical Film 30 min COL

HISTORY U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS - RELUCTANT WORLD POWER

Compilation of major U.S. events and politics beginning on the eve of World War I and ending with the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Historical Film 30 min COL BW

94TH AERO SQUADRON - 1918

Documents the activities of the first American air squadron based in France in World War I. The “Hat In Ring” insignia was used to commemorate the United States entry into WWI by taking the phrase of tossing one's “hat in the ring”, a boxing phrase to signify one's willingness to become a challenger.
Historical Film 1918 BW 25 min

AERO SQUADRONS OF WWI

Activities of the following Aero Squadrons during World War I: 1st, 2nd, 12th, 13th, 24th, 99th, 103rd, 132nd, 135th, 139th, 147th, 148th, 185th, and 258th; the 88th and 284th Observation Squadrons and the 9th Reconnaissance Squadron.
Historical Film 1918 BW 22min (SILENT)

Black Troops WWI - PORT OF DISEMBARKATION 1919

The all Black 93rd Division of the 369th Infantry Regiment arrive in New York Harbor from WWI Europe with scenes of Colonel William Hayward commander of the 369th and Jim Europe's 369th Infantry Harlem Hellfighters Jazz Band.
Historical Film 1919 BW 10min (SILENT)

ARMY'S FIRST, THE - WWI AND WWII COMBAT

The battlefield history of the United States First Army with scenes of the battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in WW I, landing on the beaches of Normandy, the drive across France and the First Army fighting its way into Germany to meet the Russians at the Elbe River in WW II.
Historical Film 1917 - 1945 BW 28 min

ARTILLERY - KING OF BATTLE

History of the development of U.S. Army field artillery from the cannon used by Washington in 1775 to the big guns and battlefield missiles of today.
Historical Film BW 26 min

BATTLE OF PICARDY 1918

A series of French animated maps showing the disposition of Allied and German forces on the Western Front during WWI.
Historical Film 1918 BW 14min (SILENT)

CAPTURED WWI GERMAN FILM 1914-1918

Captured German WWI film documenting the early days of WWI and scenes from the Western Front and the Turkish Front.
Historical Film 1914-1918 BW 17min (SILENT)

GERMAN SUBMARINE WARFARE WWI

Germany places a "magic belt" of U-Boats around England where their mission is to intercept all merchant shipping and try to isolate the UK from all war materiel and resources.
Historical Film 1917-1918 BW 21min (SILENT)

INFANTRY TRAINING 1918

Unedited of infantry training at Camp McClellan Alabama and Camp Pike Arkansas running combat drills, troops in formation and reviewing troops.
Historical Film 1918 BW 9min (SILENT)

MANY ROADS TO GLORY

Todays Army Transportation Corp depends on trains, trucks, helicopters. and airplanes to move men and supplies to any combat zone in the World.
Historical Film BW 28 min

MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE

Unedited footage of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest filmed under actual combat conditions in WWI France and was one of the final Allied offensives of the Great War.
Historical Film 1918 BW 8min (SILENT)

MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE - 35TH DIVISION 1918

Unedited footage of the American Expeditionary Forces 35th Infantry Division in France arrives in the Vauquois sector of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
Historical Film 1918 BW 10min (SILENT)

ROLE OF ARMOR, THE

Documenting the evolution of tanks and armored vehicles and the role armor has played in WWI through the Korean War.
Historical Film BW 28 min

SHOTS OF THE WORLD WAR: 1917-1918

Selected scenes of WWI with German U-Boats attacking merchant ships, civilian recruits in Army boot camp, arrival of the A.E.F. in France and trench warfare.
Historical Film 1917-1918 BW 10min (SILENT)

TANK ACTIVITIES - A.E.F. 1918

Unedited footage of tanks and tank warfare with tank-infantry maneuvers of the A.E.F. in France plus footage of French tanks and British Mark IV tanks.
Historical Film 1918 BW 10min (SILENT)

U.S. FLEET RETURNS - DECEMBER 1918

Unedited footage of the return of the United States Fleet, Battleship Division Nine, to New York City Harbor.
Historical Film 1918 BW 5min (SILENT)

WWI AMERICA GOES OVER

America answers the call of free Europe and joins the Allies to fight the Axis Powers as the US forms American Expeditionary Forces AEF where they crossed the Atlantic, landed in France and entered combat almost immediately in some of the significant battles toward the end of WWI.
Historical Film 1914-1918 SEPIA 9min (SILENT)

WWI CHATEAU THIERRY AND THE AISNE-MARNE OPERATION 1918

Under the command of General John J. Blackjack Pershing the Battle of Chateau-Thierry was one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Force AEF.
Historical Film 1918 BW 8min (SILENT)

WWI FLASHES OF COMBAT ACTION

Combat action from World War I with scenes of snipers, a chemical gas attack, artillery firing, night attack, the Allied Commanders of WWI and more.
Historical Film 1918 BW 8min (SILENT)

WWI - THE SAINT MIHIEL DRIVE 1918

The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major battle of World War I against the German Army, involving the American Expeditionary Force AEF and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Blackjack Pershing.
Historical Film 1918 BW 8min (SILENT)

WWI - US NAVY IN WORLD WAR I

Rare footage of the US Navy in action during World War I with scenes of the US Navy in a convoy operation playing cat-and-mouse with attacking Nazi submarines.
Historical Film 1918 BW 8min (SILENT)

WWI WESTERN FRONT - TUNNELING UNDER GERMAN LINES

British 170th Tunneling Company dig a tunnel towards and then under German trenches where they wire high explosives in place, detonating them prior to a planned infantry attack.
Historical Film 1918 BW 8min (SILENT)

WORLD WAR I ACTIONS: 1914 - 1918

War engulfs the continent of Europe and fueled by the Industrial Reovolution, brings about more modern and deadlier weapons that decimate an entire generation of citizen-soldiers.
Historical Film 78 min BW (SILENT - SUBTITLES)

WORLD WAR I ACTIONS: REEL1 IN HD

Kaiser Wilhelm II visits the German troops on the front, German troops in trenches on the Western Front in WW, Austrians on the Eastern Front battling Russian forces, German General Paul Von Hindenburg called from retirement.
Historical Film #1914 - 1918 BW 9min (SILENT)

WORLD WAR I ACTIONS: REEL 2 IN HD

Scenes of World War I with shots of British soldiers charging across no man's land with fixed bayonets, explosions from artillery fire, German machine gun firing, German Red Cross.
Historical Film 1914 - 1918 BW 10min

WORLD WAR I ACTIONS: REEL 7 IN HD

Scenes of WWI with unrestricted submarine warfare by German submarines, flotsam from the RMS Lusitania, ground warfare and political turmoil.
Historical Film 1914 - 1918 BW 12 min (SILENT)

WORLD WAR I BALLOONS, AIRCRAFT, SUBMARINES

Machines of war, observation balloons, fighter aircraft, and U-Boat submarines bring a new lethality to the WWI battlefield.
Historical Film 9 min BW