June 1918 Combat Footage: What I'm Seeing & What It Means

January 31, 2026. By Storm Boysen

June 1918 Combat Footage: What I'm Seeing & What It Means

I located this footage, reconstructed it from fragments, dated and geolocated it, and identified what is actually happening on screen, revealing close-quarters combat long believed not to have been filmed during the First World War.

After the 4K scanning of the film, it is even more evident that this material documents frontline combat filmed at very close range, likely during the fighting above the Piave River in June 1918. Unlike staged scenes or aftermath footage, these sequences, potentially the first known examples of their kind, record soldiers under active fire on the battlefield, with moments in which men are visibly struck and become casualties within the frame.

In my interpretation, one sequence shows a withdrawal across uneven terrain. A group of Austro-Hungarian soldiers moves along a shallow ridge toward a narrow gully, where small variations in elevation create immediate differences in exposure. Two men descend into the depression, while another remains silhouetted on the crest after raising his rifle. Moments later, exposed figures collapse violently without a protective reaction, consistent with sudden incapacitation under fire.

Across the film, the footage captures combat as an unfolding event rather than a posed or reconstructed scene: movement under fire, rapid shifts between cover and exposure, and the immediate consequences of engagement. In a close-range shot, bodily reactions and injury are visible, underscoring the reality and severity of what is being filmed. At the beginning of a close-up, the wounded soldier exhibits a brief, uncoordinated arm movement immediately prior to collapse, consistent with involuntary motor activity following a catastrophic head injury rather than a purposeful gesture.

I have discussed the technical characteristics of the film scan and the implications for future restoration with project film restoration adviser Robert A. Harris, with the understanding that determining the full ceiling of recoverable detail ultimately depends on evaluating the closest surviving source element.

The material represents possibly the first known visual record of World War I close-quarters combat, now viewable as a coherent sequence. I remain deeply committed to approaching the footage with care, with attention to historical accuracy, ethical presentation, and respect for the soldiers on the film.

Which is why I want to document this footage together with specialists from the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum and leading historians, and place it within To Hell and Back. My aim is to make the footage public, but only in a way that respects the soldiers on screen and treats what is shown with the seriousness it demands.

Further documentation, reconstruction, and closed expert review are underway. The Danish Film Institute screening is scheduled for March 26, 2026.

— Storm Boysen

Founder & Researcher, To Hell and Back Project