German Gun in London

An impressive WWI German field gun exhibited in the grounds of the War Office stands testament to the gains made by allied forces in Europe.

Some impressive captured German artillery is on display in Whitehall. Given the restrictions imposed on cameramen working at the Front in the early phase of WWI (they weren't allowed to film troops in combat), newsreels like Topical Budget relied heavily on home front imagery to build an impression of allied forces' advances and thereby keep up public confidence in the progress of the war.

This film was part of a wider propaganda campaign orchestrated by the War Office; an official photograph of similar German weaponry also appeared in contemporary newspapers. The film's close angles invite us to scrutinise the gun - almost to fetishise it.