Die Schweizer Armee – l’armée Suisse
Switzerland’s first film about the armed forces in five acts – 1918
The film ‘The Swiss Armed Forces’ was premiered 100 years ago and was Switzerland’s first official film about its armed forces. It was a cinema film rather than a promotional film, and was aimed at members of the forces as well as the public. Because cinema reels had to be changed in those days, the film is divided into five acts and lasts 50 minutes. A silent film with French and German intertitles, it sheds light on various aspects of the Swiss Armed Forces. The five acts are entitled ‘Mobilisation’, ‘Parading’, ‘Field Artillery’, ‘Air Force’ and ‘Dragoon’.
The film has been digitised by the Electronic Media Centre at the DDPS and is now available to a wide audience, as originally intended.