October 1918. Hundreds of American soldiers are trapped in France's Argonne Forest, and the shells landing on them are their own. Their last hope is a small homing pigeon named Cher Ami. This animated history explainer tells the true story of the Lost Battalion and the wounded bird that flew about 25 miles through gunfire, and explains how homing pigeons find their way home at all.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

0:24 The Forest

1:26 No Way to Call

2:02 Birds of War

3:24 How They Find Home

5:09 Friendly Fire

6:11 The Last Pigeon

7:05 25 Miles

7:52 194

8:36 A Hero's Return

• English AI voiceover, about 10 minutes, with fast pacing and a new shot every few seconds

• Original synthesized music and sound effects, mixed to -14 LUFS

• Original vector animation in a clean neon style, 1080p at 60 fps

• Fact-checked: figures that vary by source are given as "about", and the video says where historians still debate the details and where the science of pigeon navigation is still uncertain

• Family-friendly: no gore, and soldiers appear only as stylized silhouettes

A moving true story of courage, instinct and one very stubborn bird.