United States 7th Army soldiers fight German troops near Strasbourg, France during World War II. An animated map depicting Nazi Germany and its radius distance to different European cities. Allied troops and tanks move along the countryside in France. Soldiers talk to French civilians. 7th Army troops engage in street fighting in Strasbourg. Tanks on the field. Soldiers fire with their rifles. Buildings and houses sustained damage. 7th Army soldiers use a battering ram to open a door. Newsreel cameraman John Doran records the street fighting. German soldiers surrender to the 7th Army in Strasbourg. Other soldiers on tanks and military vehicles. Wreckage in the area due to the firing and bombarding. A French elderly woman in black meets Allied soldiers. Soldiers help the civilians and take them to safe places. French refugees board a United States Army truck. A United States soldier picks up a pet puppy dog left behind by fleeing Nazi German forces. Medics treat the wounds of a German soldier. Medical troops carry the wounded on stretcher.
'Eve of Battle' depicts the Allied invasion of Europe during World War II. Slave labor from Nazi Germany-invaded countries construct Atlantic Wall. German artillery and fortifications in the Atlantic Wall. Nazi German soldiers marching in groups. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler shake hands with Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin sit together during the Tehran Conference in December 1943. Exiled Allied leaders such as General Charles de Gaulle of France, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Dr. Edvard Beneš of Czechoslovakia inspect Allied troops. Various Allied troops from Poland, Norway, England, United States, and Czechoslovakia prepare to launch an invasion in France. Eisenhower along with other officers plans the European invasion. Allied ships and aircraft on their way to Europe. Allied bombers drop bombs over Nazi German U-boats. Naval battle begins and explosions occur, smoky docks. In England war supplies unloaded. Supplies include weapons, military equipment, and food. A tank and locomotive trains being loaded into a ship bound for Europe. Allied aircraft take off at night. A man directs an aircraft taking off. Allied bombers bombard German targets resulting into fiery flare in Europe. British children playing jump rope as a supply train pass by in the background. Tanks and fighter planes transported by train. Supply boxes unloaded and stacked for transport to the battle front.
Croatian officers return to Zagreb, Yugoslavia from Germany. A train pulls up at a station in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Croatian officers get off the train as a jubilant crowd cheers and welcomes them in a warm manner. Officers review troops, hear a speech by an officer. Officer shakes hands with the soldiers. Soldiers march on the street as people cheer them. Officers parade with the Chief of State Ante Pavelic. (World War II period).
Us Army Air Forces B-29 Super Fortress of the 73rd Bomb Wing (Tail Code: "V Square 29") comes in for landing. Plane parks on the ramp. U.S. Brigadier General Emmett O'Donnell, Vice-Admiral John Hoover and Brigadier General Haywood Hansell study a map, leaning it against one of the plane's propellers. General O'Donnell walks over to converse with Major Robert Morgan, who is well-known as the pilot of the B-17 "Memphis Belle" that flew 25 missions over Germany in the European theater. He now flies B-29s with the 73rd Wing in the Pacific theater. (World War II period).
An aerial view of the cities and villages of Normandy in France soon after the D-Day invasion of World War 2, but after Allied forces had moved further east toward Germany. German installations are bombed and strafed. Allied troops fire artillery. Smoke rises up due to explosions. Soldiers walk in a street. Rubble on the street. An allied aircraft in flight. Smoke rises up as the German installations are bombed. Street fighting in Normandy. Nazi soldiers surrender after street fighting in Cherbourg. Buildings in the background. German prisoners are marched. Wounded soldiers. Civilians gather as a United States flag is raised in Cherbourg. Civilians cheer as the Germans are defeated. A man gives a speech. (World War II period).
A film about the role U.S. Army Air Forces ( USAAF) P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft in air strikes over Germany during World War II. P-47 aircraft in formation flight. The aircraft peel off one by one. Aircraft in a hangar. Mechanics work on the aircraft. P-47 Thunderbolts being unloaded at a port in England. Jeeps and trailers tow the aircraft to the hangar. British mechanics work on aircraft as they assemble parts. Aircraft being fueled. Propellers rotate and an aircraft taxis during a test. A pilot comes out from a building. A sign on the building reads 'Test pilots'. P-47 aircraft in flight.