The moment the guns fell silent: Eerie WW1 recording captures exact second the chaos of war stopped dead... to be replaced by beautiful birdsong

  • Chilling recording depicts the moment silence descended on the battlefield
  • Heralded the end of the First World War and four years of devastating blood shed
  • Artillery activity was recorded on the American front near the River Moselle

By Amie Gordon For Mailonline

Published: 04:17 EST, 8 November 2018 | Updated: 06:06 EST, 8 November 2018

A chilling recording depicts the moment silence descended on the battlefield, bringing an end to the First World War and four years of bloody shed.

Captured on the American front near the River Moselle, the artillery sound ranging clip provides a poignant insight into how the end of the war sounded to those on the frontline.

To mark the centenary of the Armistice, the Imperial War Museum has released the recording of the intense barrage of sound at the western front enabling listeners to immerse themselves in that moment in history.

News of the end of World War I is joyfully received by the men of the 64th Regiment Infantry, 7th Division in Min de Jaueny, Moselle, France on November 11, 1918

News of the end of World War I is joyfully received by the men of the 64th Regiment Infantry, 7th Division in Min de Jaueny, Moselle, France on November 11, 1918

Capturing St. Mihiel Salient: American machine guns and supply wagons come at a halt in a shattered town in the eastern half of the St. Mihiel Salient, waiting to press on to Moselle valley

Capturing St. Mihiel Salient: American machine guns and supply wagons come at a halt in a shattered town in the eastern half of the St. Mihiel Salient, waiting to press on to Moselle valley

How two British scientists developed groundbreaking technology

In the early years of the First World War, they found it impossible to isolate the low frequency sound of the gun firing as it was swamped by the other higher frequency sounds.

But a clue to solving this problem was found by British scientist William Lawrence Bragg, while he was sitting on a toilet.

He noticed that every time a gun fired nearby he was lifted slightly off the seat. This was caused by the pressure wave from the firing gun entering the pipe connected to the toilet.

Another British scientist William Sansome Tucker had a similar experience while trying to sleep in his tent in the winter. He realised that the cold puffs of air that were making him shiver were caused by the pressure waves from nearby guns.

Tucker designed a microphone that could detect the cooling effect of these puffs of air on a heated piece of wire. This new low frequency microphone worked brilliantly. The sound of a gun firing produced a large 'blip' on the photographic film while the other sounds barely registered at all.

Source: Imperial War Museum 

The artillery activity that it illustrates was recorded on the American front near the River Moselle, one minute before and one minute after the Armistice at 11am on 11 November 1918. 

The graphic record reveals that fighting on the western front continued right up until the final moments of the First World War, with artillery still visibly active at 10.58am.

The graphic record is a product of sound ranging, a technique used by the Allies to determine the location of enemy artillery. 

Photographic film was used to record the exact moment that the sound of a gun firing was received by six different microphones. 

Because the microphones were located far apart, they picked up the sound from the same gun at slightly different times. 

These time differences were used to calculate the position of the gun.

The museum teamed up with sound designers Coda to Coda to recreate the sounds recorded on the document. 

Visitors will be able to hear the recording in a sound installation now in display at the museum.

Will Worsley, Director and Principal Composer at Coda to Coda, said: 'This document from IWM's collections gives us a great insight into how intense and chaotic the barrage of gunfire must have been for those fighting on the western front. 

'We hope that our audio interpretation of sound ranging techniques through bone conduction enables visitors to project themselves into that moment in history and gain an understanding of what the end of the First World War may have sounded like.'  

During the First World War, a team of scientists developed a technique called sound ranging which worked using a system of microphones and a device called a string galvanometer

During the First World War, a team of scientists developed a technique called sound ranging which worked using a system of microphones and a device called a string galvanometer

Infantry advance from the trenches in the First World War

Infantry advance from the trenches in the First World War

During the First World War, a team of scientists developed a technique called sound ranging which worked using a system of microphones and a device called a string galvanometer.

The purpose of the equipment was to try and determine where enemy guns were positioned by analysing the length of time it took sound impulses from the firing of guns to arrive at the allied front. 

The equipment would have had six 'microphones' whose signals were recorded simultaneously on the film recorder.

Specially trained analysts would then try and decode the patterns on the film and use them work out the positions of enemy guns, a process called multilateration. 

The main problem with using sound to find guns was that each firing produced several different sounds. 

The gun made a noise when it was fired, the shell made a noise when it broke the sound barrier in the air and again when it exploded.  

A soldier smokes a pipe and looks across the valley at the castle above the Moselle River in Cochem, Germany. The landmark was the headquarters of the Fourth Army Corps of the U.S. Army of Occupation in Germany

A soldier smokes a pipe and looks across the valley at the castle above the Moselle River in Cochem, Germany. The landmark was the headquarters of the Fourth Army Corps of the U.S. Army of Occupation in Germany

Sound ranging played an important part in British operations from 1917 onwards including at Passchendaele and Cambrai. 

It was used to disable as many enemy guns as possible before the infantry advanced, giving the troops the best possible chance of success. 

Taking place at IWM North and IWM London, Making A New World explores how the First World War has shaped the society we live in today through a programme of free exhibitions, alongside immersive live music, performance and public debates. 

For more go to the Imperial War Museum and Coda to Coda 

American forces enter Thiaucourt in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France 

American forces enter Thiaucourt in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France 

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WW1 recording captures second the chaos of war stopped dead

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