Opening scene behind introductory writing, shows U.S. troops climbing down from a landing craft and walking towards a beach during Normandy invasion of World war 2. Date is D-Day +3 (June 9, 1944) and allies are setting up logistic resupply operations. Views across beach at extreme low tide. A cluster of DUKW amphibious vehicles sitting on the sand, below some cliffs. Some buildings of the French village of Arromanches-les-Bainsin background. Closeup of a demolished French dwelling at base of cliff. Two U.S. soldiers walk along a road at the waterfront, where steel barriers that have been removed from the beach, are piled up. Closeup of the steel barriers. An M4 Sherman tank, equipped with deep wading gear is seen mired in the sand. A closeup of U.S. Landing Craft Tank (LCT-25) on the beach with an M3A1 Half-Track destroyed on its offramp. It had been hit by shell fire on D-day, setting other half-tracks and the landing craft afire. Closeup of the destroyed halftrack.
American soldiers of the U.S. 90th Infantry Division, walking atop captured Fort Obergentringen, Near Thionville, on the west side of the Moselle River, in World War 2. Next, the Fort's German Krupp 105mm guns are seen firing numerous shells at German positions in Thionville, east of the river. American soldiers with binoculars observe the shell strikes from the fort. Smoke rising from the shelling. [Note: A September 17, 1944 wireless report about the fort's capture , to the New York Times, by Frederick Grahamby, stated that "The fort's name is Gingringen and from 1870 to 1919 it belonged to Germany." However, it is actually Fort Obergentringen (Fort Guentrange) on the hills of Guentrange, overlooking Thionville, and built in 1899.]
German prisoners of war at work digging graves for fallen American soldiers, at the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944, shortly after the D-Day invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord). This is the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II, and located on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel, east of St. Laurent-sur-Mer and northwest of Bayeux in Colleville-sur-Mer. (It is now the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.) Vertical posts with dog tags attached, mark the gravesites of the fallen troops. American soldiers sit near covered dead bodies of the fallen and perform tasks of identification and grave assignment. Covered remains of one soldier are carried across the field on a stretcher. Barrage balloons are seen in the sky overhead.
World War 2 invasion of Normandy, France. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marshal Joseph Stalin, and Prime Minister Churchill, meeting at Tehran, Iran, in December 1943. U.S. Generals George Marshall and Hap Arnold, at conference table. Closeup of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Map showing defense areas of the German 7th, 15th and 19th Armies in Europe. Map showing ports at Brest, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Dieppe, and Calais. Cherbourg is highlighted. U.S. Army trucks, tanks, and artillery, stockpiled in England. Railroad train carrying M3 Stuart tanks. U.S soldiers leaving troop ships and marching to their camps in Britain. Allied troops practicing amphibious assaults on Southern coast of England. Formation of B-26 bombers. View from Allied aircraft flying low over German-occupied area. B-17 aircraft dropping bombs over Germany. Bombs away view seen as bombs drop toward enemy targets. German fighter planes attacking B-17 bombers beginning in February 1944. Gunner in turret of B-17 firing at them. Dogfight views with German fighter aircraft. A B-17 exploding in the air. German fighter downed by B-17 gunner. Gun camera footage of German Bf 109 attacked from rear by gunfire. Just as it is hit it releases its drop tank. American soldiers in trucks, DUKWs, M4 tanks, and M8 armored Cars. Troops receive gas masks, waist life belts, field rations, and French money. May 30, 1944, American soldiers board tanks, trucks and other vehicles bound for embarkation points in England. Seen are Stuart M3 light tanks, jeeps, and M7 Priest tanks. M7 tanks are seen, equipped with intake and exhaust ducts. (At TC:11:39, U.S. M7 Priest tanks, equipped for deep wading, are seen passing the base of the Jubilee clock on the beachfront at Weymouth, on their way toward Castle Town in Portland for embarkation.) Transport ships are loaded at the embarkation ports. Trucks being backed onto LCT-453. U.S. Army infantry marching and boarding transport ships. Troops marching into LST 376 at Plymouth, England. Higgins Boats, from the USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) bringing troops to board her. Troops on deck of Attack transport, USS Joseph T. Dickman (APA-13). Barrage balloons overhead. Soldiers shooting craps on a troop ship deck. Coastguardsmen playing with a puppy dog. Gun crews on U.S. Navy warship being briefed. Soldiers field-strip and check their weapons.
Night action at sea during World War 2. A massive explosion occurs as a mine detonates. Flashes in the dark as tracers are fired at night and flares fall on the surface. United States Navy heavy cruiser USS Quincy, CA-71, painted in Camouflage Measure 31-32-33 series Design 18D. Next is the battleship USS Nevada, BB-36, painted in Camouflage Measure 22. ( Note: This was likely filmed between May 1944 and September 1944 when these two ships supported both the Normandy and Southern France Invasions.)
An airfield in England, filled with Waco CG-4A Gliders and their C-47 tow planes, in readiness for the invasion of Normandy, France, in World War 2. U.S. Army Air Forces intelligence officer briefing C-47 and Glider pilots and crews about conditions expected in the drop zones of Normandy before D-Day in World War 2. Brigadier General James Gavin,Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, giving a final briefing to his paratroopers. A military chaplain holding final religious services for troops. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, visiting paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division, as they prepare to depart on the night of June 5, 1944. U.S.Army paratroopers boarding their C-47 aircraft to depart for Normandy on June 5, 1944. Several are seen tying parapacks of heavy equipment to the aircraft for separate release. Paratroopers of 101st Airborne Division, loading equipment aboard a CG-4A Glider, and getting final briefing from their pilot. Other 101st Airborne troopers don personal equipment on the ramp near their C-47 airplane, which displays paint-striped wings and fuselage. Jumpmaster makes final check of his troopers. The paratroopers boarding their aircraft with heavy loads of equipment. C-47 aircraft take off towing their gliders.