WORLD WAR I 1917 GERMAN LANDING ON ISLAND OF SAAREMAA, ESTONIA OPERATION ALBION 31425

Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website Dating to 1917 and re-released and shown to the German public just before the outbreak of WWII, this silent film shows the German Army landing on the Island of Saaremaa (Osel) in Estonia. This campaign into the West Estonian Archipelago, and against Russian forces, was known as Operation Albion. It was launched because the German high command believed capturing the islands would leave St. Petersburg vulnerable to attack. The campaign opened against Muhu on October 12, and by October 20th the Russian Army had evacuated. A similar campaign against Hiiumaa produced similar results and, after losses at the Battle of Moon Sound, the Russian Baltic Fleet had to withdraw from the Suur Straight. The Germans claimed 20,000 prisoners and 100 guns captured during Operation Albion from 12 to 20 October. The Estonian islands seized were occupied until the end of hostilities. Overall, Operation Albion was considered a tremendous German success, with the Russian forces on the islands destroyed, and the islands and coastal batteries firmly in German hands. Estonia later became independent after the October Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire. As a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the new state was incorporated into the Soviet Union in June 1940 as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Motion picture films don’t last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. For almost two decades, we’ve worked to collect, scan and preserve the world as it was captured on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies -- including home movies, industrial films, and other non-fiction. If you have endangered films you’d like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit