The Voice Of The Guns (1940)

Retrospective documentary about guns in wartime. Propaganda.



Footage of 1918 military operations. Various types of artillery fire - good footage of large guns being loaded and fired. Narrator states: "It was the voice of massed guns that made possible the hammer blows of that August which preceded victory." Call for that voice to speak again. Second World War footage. Modern artillery is described - the "Stokes" is now lighter and simpler to operate. Various shots of infantry loading and firing shells emphasising the speed of fire. The improvement in tank construction is described. This has led to improvement in anti tank guns. Various shots of tanks and of the teams who operate mobile anti tank guns. Good C/Us of soldiers operating these guns in training manoeuvres. Men fire at dummy tank which move across the field being shot at. Tractor borne anti tank guns are shown driving over roads and rough country. Gun is fired whilst tractor is on the move. The gun is changed to anti aircraft mode and shots are fired - we see the gun being belt fed. Anti aircraft defence post is featured. Good shots of guns being moved into precision. C/Us of men working the guns. Shots are fired - presumably an exercise. Beaufour (?) anti aircraft gun seen in operation. Clips of shells are loaded. Test targets are fired at in a beach location. A Bren gun is demonstrated. Shots of men carrying Bryn gun through muddy ditches to show that it is unaffected by water. C/U of gun being loaded. Men lie on the ground and fire the guns mounted on a tripod. Artillery proper - various shots of field guns being moved into place and fired - some slow motion footage. Howitzer if fired - seen in slow motion. Immense gun is put through its paces - C/U of massive shell (half a ton in weight) being loaded. Various shots of the men loading and firing this monster. Mobility of field guns is demonstrated. Display of the guns firing on targets in some kind of exercise. Targets are hit. Various size Howitzers are demonstrated. Coastal guns are shown. Narrator states 'they symbolises the voice of the guns as they boom their warning'. Men load and fire the guns. Montage of quick shots of various guns. Bombastic voice-over makes patriotic statements about Britain being prepared for the challenge from her enemies thanks to the "Voice of the Guns."
FILM ID:3305.01

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British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/