RUSSIA IN THE WORLD WAR

This short, silent film released by Empire Safety Film Co. shows footage of the Russian Imperial Army in World War I. The film is an extract from a longer documentary or newsreel, and was one of a series of shorts produced by Empire for its line of "toy" home film projectors, which operated with a household lightbulb. As the title cards point out, Russian troops actually invaded Germany at the start of the war, only to be pushed back and eventually crippled as a fighting force. At the start of the film is footage of trenches and barbed wire entanglements. Smoke from artillery shells can be seen throughout the film. At :58, German snipers are shown hitting Russian troops. At 1:42, a wave of Russian infantry makes a charge into German positions. The outcome is disastrous as only two officers return from the assault.