Splendid footage of the Dutch Army during WW1 in 1917 in color! Part-1 [A.I. enhanced & colorized]

About this film

In 1916, cinema operator Willy Mullens from The Hague was commissioned by the Ministry of War to make a film to prove that the Dutch armed forces were ready to defend the neutrality of the country. The film also had to promote the appreciation of the population for the armed forces. Mullens and his cameramen depicted the most diverse activities of the army and navy. After WW-I, during the Interbellum, he became well known as ‘filmer of the fatherland", but his popularity deminished with the rise of competitor Polygoon, who provided film reels to nearly all the Dutch cinemas from 1924 onwards. The Leger en Vloot film was commissioned by the Dutch government to make it clear to other countries that Dutch neutrality was not to be trifled with. In that respect it is important to note that this film should be viewed from a historic perspective and not judged through todays eyes. What can be concluded is that the weapons and other equipment that were at the disposal of the Dutch army were very basic during WW-1. For example machine guns were transported by dog drawn carts and huge numbers of soldiers used bikes as their means of transportation. Besides rudimentary early radio equipment,…

Directors & creators

Ricks Film Restoration

Subjects

Dutch army, 1917, WWI, Colorized, Neutrality

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