Russia's Great Haul

Striking visual record of a prisoner-of-war camp on World War One’s Eastern Front.

Topical Budget’s producers were proud of these crystal-sharp newsreel pictures of Cossacks lording it over captured German and Austrian troops at a POW camp. 'Topical - first again!!', their publicity crowed, 'a most wonderful picture from our correspondent with the Russian Forces... shows with striking effect the progress of our Ally on the Eastern Front. Don't miss this, it's a winner..."

Sadly surviving incomplete, it was released as a standalone ‘war topical’ rather than a mere item within the Topical Budget’s regular newsreel (it was the 22nd of 23 such specials). It’s unknown exactly who the ‘correspondent’ was, and whether he was a Topical employee or freelancer (they may even have bought this footage in from another producer, whatever the opening title’s claim). But they were right to make a song and dance of it. 'Our correspondent' has left us with a crisp, striking and, to British eyes, relatively unfamiliar visual record from behind the lines.