Ships, supplies, troops, and weapons being marshalled for the invasion of Europe. Allied troops under fire wade ashore from landing craft during D-Day invasion of Normandy France. Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy. A floating port, consisting of Phoenix breakwaters, steel piers and related structures, designed in Quebec, Canada, assembled in England, and towed across the English Channel. A dozen Allied fighter aircraft in close formation fly over the floating port convoy. Aerial views of the numerous elements of the floating port. Diagrams of the floating port and building of a Mulberry harbour. Views of the sinking of caissons. Old Allied ships being maneuvered and scuttled to form a breakwater. A floating bridge extending to the beachhead. Trucks moving over the floating bridge. Barrage balloons over the beachhead. A storm inflicts severe damage to phoenixes and the new port. But supply operations resume after repairs are made off the coast of Normandy. Views of war weary U.S. Army troops taking a break for chow in the days after the D-Day invasion. American troops enjoy a hot meal and eat rations. Some smile. A soldier smoking a cigarette. A U.S. soldier cheers on fellow soldiers riding away in an Army truck.
Allied invasion of Normandy, France during World War 2. Allied trucks and equipment move up from beachhead after D-Day. Half-tracks, armed with antiaircraft guns, move up from the beachhead. Back in England, gliders are readied for mission. A long line of Paratrooper medics wearing Red Cross Arm bands, board gliders. View from airplane flying over an airfield filled with C-47 tow planes, and gliders, all painted with invasion stripes. Closeup of Sergeant with British 6th Airborne Division showing Pegasus insignia on his sleeve. British paratroopers boarding a Hamilcar glider. U.S. paratroopers boarding gliders. View from above of Allied gliders being towed across the English Channel View from a ship in the invasion convoy, of tow planes and gliders overhead. View, from aircraft overhead, of invasion flotilla below. Distant view of Allied aircraft shot down by German antiaircraft fire, near the coast of Normandy and exploding in flames upon impact. View from the air of areas flooded by the Germans as a defense measure. Parachutes and gliders on the ground from earlier sorties. Gliders in this wave cut loose from tow planes and maneuver independently. Glimpses of Allied fighter planes moving fast and high above the scene. A glider splashing down in one of the flooded fields. Other fields, studded by the Germans, with poles 12-to 15 feet tall as defense against gliders. Gliders landing. Paratroopers leaving a Horsa glider, after landing.
Establishment of a beachhead in Normandy, France during D-Day, the Invasion of Normandy. Mix of some dramatic acting portrayals but mostly actual footage. Barrage balloons over a U.S. ship underway at sea. A sailor puts on his helmet on the deck of a ship. The setting sun in the background. A clock shows 12 midnight. Navy officers and soldiers look at the clock anxiously. The clock shows twenty minutes to six in the morning. Explosions as guns are fired from ships. A man talks over a phone. The rising sun. Barges and landing crafts loaded with soldiers in water. Guns are fired at a coast. Smoke comes out of the stacks of a ship. Aircraft in flight to provide air cover. Rockets are fired at the shore. Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel ( LCVPs ) reach the beach and drop their ramps. Soldiers unload from the crafts. Aircraft provide cover. More landing crafts approach. LCIs ( Landing Craft Infantry) loaded with soldiers reach the beach. Troops going ashore on beaches of Normandy under fire from German shore positions. Views from landing crafts in water near shore as troops run up beaches. Landing crafts return to ships. Debris and dead floating in water near beach. A ragged U.S. flag flutters on a U.S. Coast Guard rescue cutter. The Coast Guards take care of the wounded and the dead. A military officer types on a typewriter while smoking a pipe in the United States. Crates of medical supplies for the soldiers. U.S. Medical Field Units reach the shore. Wounded are carried to hospital ships and transports. Wounded are carried on stretchers. Soldiers come down a net on the side of a ship. Soldiers in a barge. Soldiers wade ashore. A wounded man is carried on a stretcher. Men wade ashore. (World War II period).
Storm in Normandy, France following D-Day. German prisoners are marched under guard. Sunken U.S. merchant marine ships form a protective breakwater on the coast of Normandy. Gale force winds hit the area. High waves break over the ships and cause damage during the storm. Wreckage of ships. Soldiers near the wreckage. The United States Coast Guard ship 'Flying Angel' is seen among the wreckage. Dead and wounded men are loaded on landing craft. A military officer types 'V-Mail' on a typewriter while smoking a pipe in the United States. The man puts his signature on the typed paper and then folds the paper. He puts on his cap, gets up from the table and walks away with the help of crutches. Camera zooms in for close-up of a Purple Heart award in a case on the desk. (World War II period).
Invasion convoy headed toward the French coast for the invasion of Normandy France on D-Day in World War 2. Allied warships begin their bombardment. Many views of naval guns firing. Sailors signaling with blinker lights. Second wave of Allied infantry leaving transport ships, descending rope nets to board their landing craft. Troops loaded aboard LCI(L) 211. Allied fighter aircraft in flight. Gun camera views of Allied aircraft attacking German FLAK tower; a Heinkel HE-111 bomber; a steam locomotive pulling a train; and barge traffic on a canal.
U.S. officers and troops in Normandy, France during World War 2. U.S. troops at a beach in Normandy. Full track vehicle moves ahead. African American soldiers of the 320th Battalion pose seated against a German coastal gun emplacement.. U.S. troops outside a German pillbox. Danger sign reads ‘minen’. Barrage balloons aloft in background. U.S. Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, Commander of the U.S. 1st Army, and U.S. 9th Air Corps Commander, Major General Ralph Royce standing together. Troops inspect an abandoned artillery gun. U.S. soldier stands next to dead German soldier. A crashed Allied glider. U.S. troops around wrecked Allied glider on a road. Road scrapers level an improvised field for aircraft. U.S. P-38 Lightning fighter lands on the field, creating cloud of dust.