This film is part of Free

Modern 'Huns' Leave Their Mark

The ruins of an unnamed Belgian town early in WWI.

Non-Fiction 1914 1 mins Silent

Overview

Several newsreel films in the early days of WWI bear witness to the damage wrought in Belgium's towns and cities by advancing German forces. These films of ruins were a direct means of showing the aftermath of action without troubling the censors. The great bells fallen from the tower and lying in the street are a poignant statement of the ferocity of the German bombardment.

We know that Topical Budget cameraman F.W. Engholm was in Belgium at this time, so this footage may well have been taken by him.

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