---
title: "This World War I battle footage lets you go ‘over the top’"
date: "2019-01-28"
modified: "2020-10-22"
authors:
  - name: "Logan Nye"
    job_title: "Senior Contributor, Army Veteran"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/logan-nye.md"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/this-world-war-i-battle-footage-lets-you-go-over-the-top/"
categories:
  - "History"
  - "War History"
  - "World War I"
---

# This World War I battle footage lets you go ‘over the top’

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17309336/origin.jpg>)

The 1916 Battle of the Ancre was a weeklong British offensive against German positions on the Ancre River in France. It was [part of the first Battle of the Somme](<https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_ancre.html>), and it was one of the first times a tank was filmed in battle.

---

That's because the Battle of the Ancre from Nov. 13-19, 1916, was one of the better-documented fights in the war. A [film crew was on hand](<https://blogs.iwm.org.uk/research/2012/11/restoring-the-first-world-war-film-the-battle-of-the-ancre-and-advance-of-the-tanks-1917/>) for much of the fighting and put together an over hour-long movie of their footage.

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17309337/origin.gif>)

The filmmakers captured everything from a tank crew taking their cat mascot into the steel belly with them to horses drawing artillery into position to men going over the top to attack enemy trenches.

This [footage later made it into theaters around the world](<https://www.1914-1918.net/tanks.htm>), allowing Americans to see conditions on the front months before the U.S. entry into the war in 1917.

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17309338/origin.jpg>)

Unfortunately for the film crew and worse for the British soldiers, the rainy conditions made the terrain too muddy for the tanks and slowed down assaults by infantry, giving a huge advantage to the German defenders.

The British and French troops were able to inflict heavy losses on the Germans, but they [failed to take their terrain objectives before Winter weather forced the end to the offensive on Nov. 19](<https://www.cwgc.org/the-somme/battle-of-the-somme/the-battle-of-the-ancre.aspx>).

An excerpt from the film is available below. Amazon Prime members can [watch a 62-minute version of the ](<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YR6YBE4/ref=atv_piv_owned?_encoding=UTF8imdbref_tt_wbr_pivt=0m0stag%3Dimdbtag_tt_wbr_piv-20>)[film here](<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YR6YBE4/ref=atv_piv_owned?_encoding=UTF8imdbref_tt_wbr_pivt=0m0stag%3Dimdbtag_tt_wbr_piv-20>).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcehF582uPY

## Author
Logan was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd. Now, he's a freelance writer covering military history, culture, and technology. He has two upcoming podcasts and a Twitch channel focused on basic military literacy.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JustLoganNye>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/ProfHarlequin-111921498198749>)

## More

- [America’s first-ever tank unit saw heavy combat in World War I](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/americas-first-ever-tank-unit-saw-heavy-combat-in-world-war-i.md>)
- [Autopsy of a German tank killed in World War I combat](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/german-a7v-tank-autopsy-wwi.md>)
- [‘1917’ is going to be the coolest World War I movie ever](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/1917-coolest-wwi-movie-ever.md>)
- [Battle of the Somme: The bloodiest day in British military history](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/bloodiest-day-british-military-history.md>)
- [World War I’s bloodiest front is one you’ve never heard of](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/world-war-isonzo-campaign-bloodiest-front-never-heard.md>)
- [The 6 ways troops tried to counter tanks when they first appeared](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/lists/the-6-ways-troops-tried-to-counter-tanks.md>)
- [Why the British stole German underwear technology in World War I](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/why-the-british-stole-german-underwear-technology-in-world-war-i.md>)
- [9 books you need to read to understand World War I](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/books-understand-world-war-i.md>)