Aerial view from high altitude, shows convoy of American warships underway in the Pacific War in 1943 (World War II). Nearest ship seen is an aircraft carrier. Illustrated globe and animated map show a Naval Task Force headed through the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Three U.S. Navy Douglas Dauntless dive bombers seen flying in formation with an aircraft carrier steaming in the background. Glimpse of more aircraft carriers. Sailors in the powder handling room of the Cruiser USS Chicago (CA-29) carrying cylinders of powder for her 8-inch guns. Sailors, stripped to the waist, in one of her gun turrets, load an 8-inch shell and powder charges into the breech of one of Chicago's guns. Interesting view from below, as they close the breech and step back as the gun fires. Glimpse of Naval guns firing from a U.S. warship. Another view of sailors loading an 8-inch gun on the USS Chicago. (Note: The USS Chicago was lost between Rennel Island and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on 30 January 1943.) A Baltimore Class Cruiser firing its guns. Flashes from naval guns firing from several American warships in close succession. Fire directed at the shore of a Japanese held island. Gun camera footage from a U.S. warplane strafing Japanese aircraft on the ground at an enemy air base. More gun camera footage of strafing and bombing. Closeup of a U.S. Army Air Forces B-26 Liberator bomber in flight, with others in the background. Views from U.S. Aircraft as their bombs strike Japanese targets on the ground below. A U.S. Navy TBF Avenger aircraft flying overhead as viewed from a landing craft. View from inside a landing craft full of U.S. troops heading toward an amphibious landing. Closeup glimpse of Coxswain in landing craft and troops aboard behind him. Amphibious landings being made under fierce friendly and enemy fire. U.S. troops leaving their landing craft under enemy fire. Marines firing small arms, machine guns, and using hand grenades, in Tarawa, Kiribati. Views of fallen Japanese defenders on Tarawa. Closeup of Marine smoking a cigarette. Another is binding shoulder wound of a buddy. American flag raised on one of the few still standing palm trees. American Marines saluting the flag. Bodies of fallen American marines floating at the shore and on the sands of Tarawa. Marines departing Tarawa. Scene shifts to Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) leader Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, seated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Cairo, Egypt on 25 November 1943. Leading Allied military leaders sit at a table to hammer out details of postwar plans. American officers present include U.S. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall and Chief of the Army Air Forces, General Henry H. ("Hap") Arnold.
General Dwight D Eisenhower from the North Africa campaign to the D-Day Normandy landings during World War II. Eisenhower with other military officers in the War Plan Office discusses strategy. A mural covering the west wall of the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas. An animated map shows plan to seize key positions in North Africa. Fight in Algiers and Casablanca. Allied troops fire artillery, bombarding a North African coastal town. Troops advancing from beachhead, engage in street fighting with Vichy French troops in Casablanca, Morocco. A flare gun is fired. Unfavorable weather conditions delay the troops advancing towards Tunis and Bizerte. Allied troops fighting at nighttime. Allied soldiers walk through mud, allied military vehicles pass through water on the roads. Troops fire artillery under a canopy, hitting the side of a hill. Thick clouds of smoke cover a hill. U.S. General Omar Bradley and his troops capture Bizerte, Tunisia and the British 1st Army captures Tunis. German and Italian prisoners raise their hands up upon surrender. Animated map shows the surrender of the Axis troops. A ceremony commemorates the victory. North African cavalrymen join the parade. General Eisenhower and Free French Forces General Henri Giraud review a military parade. Henri Giraud bestows to General Eisenhower the French Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. A mural on a wall of the Eisenhower Museum depicts the Allied invasion of Sicily. Allied troops march into Sicily in 1943.Civilians in the streets to celebrate. A mural on the wall of Eisenhower Museum depicts invasion of Italy. Allied troops land ashore and march into Italy. U.S. General Mark Clark 5th Army at Salerno. A sign reads Napoli. Eisenhower comes out of a tent. U.S. President Roosevelt visits the troops in the combat area with Eisenhower. United States President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in Cairo, Egypt. Another mural on the wall of the Eisenhower Museum. Eisenhower with other officers. Dramatization of German troops guarding and preparing the defenses of Normandy before the Allied landings. Eisenhower reviews training of the troops as they prepare for the invasion of France. Allied troops undergo physical training though obstacle courses. Churchill inspects the troops. Eisenhower reviews the troops on the eve of invasion. Eisenhower speaks to airborne troops wearing blackened camouflage face paint.
First scene shows President Harry Truman shaking hands with Joseph Stalin on a porch of the Cecilienhof ( home of Crown Prince Wilhelm) in Potsdam, Germany. The two leaders are accompanied by their respective foreign ministers, James F. Byrnes, U.S. Secretary of State, and Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov. Stalin descends steps from the building followed by Truman. View of the back lawn at Cecilienhof. View of its front entrance. Various views of the house and grounds. American, Soviet, and British flags flying from the building. Cars carrying the leaders on road to the Cecilienhof. President Truman and James Byrnes entering outside gate, followed by other attendees. Then Stalin is seen entering followed by Soviet officers and officials. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force (SCAEF) in Europea and U.S. Army Chief of Staff. George Marshall are seen walking together in a wooded glade on the meeting grounds. British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, entering the grounds for the meeting. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin stand on a step before an entrance to Cecilienhof. Truman places their hands together in a mutual handshake, at which Churchill and Stalin laugh. Views of the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, in Red Square, Moscow, Russia where foreign minsters of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union are seen meeting meeting in conference at the Spiridonovka Palace in October, 1943. Closeup of Soviet Prime Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, and U.S. Secretary of State, Warren Hull, successively signing a document. Scene shifts, to a C-47 transport aircraft flying over great pyramid of Giza in Cairo, Egypt. Next, the front of the Soviet Embassy in Teheran, Iran, is shown. The "Big Three" (Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill) sit on the porch of the building. Military officers from their countries stand behind them. Narrator (Franklin D. Roosevelt) says they agreed to launch a gigantic attack on Germany. Scene shifts to Germany, where German military is paraded on public display, showing artillery, Panzer I tanks carried aboard army trucks, Heinkel He 111 bombers in formation overhead, and marching troops giving Nazi salute silhouetted against bright pavement. View shifts to the Livadia Palace, in Yalta, Crimea, Russia. Brief view of the "Big Three" and their staffs sitting around a conference table. Change of location to San Francisco, California, where flags of many nations are displayed along with a United Nations Logo. Representatives of the many nations sign the Charter of the United Nations, founding the U.N. organization on 26 June 1945. Film shifts to Germany where victorious American, British and Soviet troops shake hands and celebrate victory. They share drinks and toast victory.
United Nations leaders meet to pledge support against the Axis Powers. Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ; British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese General Chiang Kai-shek on chairs. Dignitaries behind them. Madame Chiang confers with Churchill. A meeting of the United Nations leaders in Tehran, Iran. President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Joseph Stalin, Premier of Soviet Russia and the diplomatic representatives of the free nations present. President Roosevelt introduces Sara Churchill, the daughter of Churchill, to Stalin. Stalin shakes hands with Sara. The Sword of Stalingrad is presented to Stalin as a gift from the King of Britain to the people of Stalingrad. Marshall Stalin accepts the sword on the behalf of the people of Russia. The leaders pose with dignitaries standing behind them. (World War II period).
Allied leaders at conferences in the Middle East during World War II. Aerial views of pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Chinese Premier Chiang Kai-Shek and his wife Madame Chiang Kai-shek seated during the Cairo Conference. Allied officers stand behind the seated leaders. Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Tehran Conference in Tehran, Iran. Churchill's daughter Sarah, an officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, is introduced to Premier Stalin by President Roosevelt. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union William Averell Harriman and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov stand behind the Big Three with other officials. During a ceremony, Winston Churchill presents the Sword of Stalingrad to Premier Stalin which he accepts on behalf of Russian people. U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall present.
Radio tower at Huckstep Station inside Camp Huckstep near Cairo, Egypt in World War 2. Radio operator trainees assigned as base station operators takes notes and key messages while wearing headphones. OSS agent trainees step outside car to set up radio. A radio operator puts on headset to receive message. An OSS agent trainee wearing parachute harness is dragged through dirt to simulate parachute landing in a course dubbed, "arrival." Students practice falling to simulate parachute landings as well as body position during parachute drop.