Three Soviet harvesting machines in formation cut wheat in Ukraine before arrival of invading German forces during Operation Barbarossa, in World War 2. Several varying closeups of the harvesting operations and the farmers as they work. Tractor pulls a harvesting machine. Closeup of farmer teaching his wife how to operate the machinery. View of her at the wheel. People (mostly women and children) gleaning grain from the fields after the machinery has finished. Soviet soldiers carrying long handled scythes walk past the wing of an aircraft parked in a field, to join those in the harvesting. A windmill is seen in the far background. Civilians and soldiers work together with hand held tools to cut wheat. Closeup of woman twisting stalks to form a rope to bind the wheat sheaves. Views of soldiers carrying sheaves of wheat. People gathered around and atop a threshing machine. Workers,using pitch forks, toss wheat sheaves up to the threshers, who push them into the threshing machine. A tractor pulls a many wagons filled with flour, from a mill. Complete change of scene shows civilians hard at work building fortifications. Several ensuing scenes show civilians sandbagging and strengthening fortifications in other Allied countries, such as France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Spain, and China. Soviet men with shovels digging deep antitank defenses. Many hundreds of Soviet women at work with shovels building defenses along a hillside. A cadre of Soviet women, in uniform, march under command of a military officer, at a square in Moscow. Some appear to be carrying rolled up stretchers or litters over their shoulders, reflecting their role as nurses or medics. Red Cross nurses train for an emergency. One practices bandaging the arm of another. Several Red Cross nurses line up in a formation to march
A soviet army officer is shown speaking directly to the Soviet citizenry about defending against German aggression. As he speaks, the film shows brief glimpses of Soviet military preparedness. A group of Soviet BT tanks charges across an open field. These are followed by a group of T-26 tanks. Polikarpov I-16 aircraft are seen high overhead in formations. After more views of the army officer speaking, the film shows Soviet BT-5 fast tanks moving across a field. Then a cavalry charge demonstration is shown. That is followed by a glimpse of several Soviet torpedo boats racing through the water in side-by-side formation. Several unidentified Soviet tanks on a field. After more views of the army speaker, more views of cavalry charge and formations of Polikarpov I-16 aircraft in formation flight. A number of Soviet BT-7 tanks advancing toward the camera across a field.
The Russian campaign of World War II. Idle Russian artillery in a field, and corpse of a dead Soviet soldier beside an artillery gun. German soldiers moving on a small rail cart along a railroad track, as seen from on board the moving small rail car. The cart is stopped and the soldiers moving along the side of the rail track.The soldiers at a railroad yard. Point of view of a German soldier looking out from a partially covered position and firing a machine gun at enemy Soviet soldiers. Elevated view of the railroad yard with a group of soldiers walking through it. German soldiers moving through the wooden gate of a building in a town. German soldiers again moving on a rail cart on a rail track. Damaged buildings on the side of the marshalling yard. Damaged buildings and debris scattered on the ground. German soldiers in a repair crew replacing rails and changing the gauge of the rails on the yard. The crewmen at work on the rail track. A locomotive moving on the track. German soldiers aboard the locomotive.
The Russian Campaign of World War II, as seen through the German lens. A German Heinkel He 111 aircraft in flight. View inside a He-111 of the German pilot in the cockpit of the aircraft. Bombs away view of bombs being dropped on Russian positions. Smoke rising from the shelled positions. The aircraft in flight drops bombs as it flies over several positions. Explosions occur in the bombed areas and smoke rises. Several damaged buildings and the debris scattered on the ground.
German footage of Russian Campaign during World War II. German Heinkel He 111 aircraft preparing for takeoff. Dusk and night views of several German He-111 aircraft in flight. Interior cockpit view of aircraft with a German pilot controlling the aircraft. Flares and night time explosions are seen. Night time view of explosions on the ground as German bombers hit Soviet targets on eastern front in World War 2.
Film begins showing Soviet industrial complex with many smoke stacks emitting dark fumes. A banner is raised in front of a statue of Joseph Stalin. Soviet workers turn wheel and use wrench to install a large shaft into a machine in a factory. A large number of Soviet people descend stairs from an electric distribution network at a hydroelectric dam. Soviet head of state Mikhail Kalinin is among the persons seen in the group. Spectators stand on a platform above the dam where a large sign is displayed. View of the dam with gates open and water pouring through to the lower level of the river. Scene shifts to military parade on Red Square in Moscow. during World War 2. A formation of trucks carrying anti-aircraft guns drive along the street. Soviet T-34 tanks are also in the parade. Joseph Stalin waves from a balcony on the Kremlin as the parade passes. Soviet workers also join the parade, carrying banners and marching in a dozen parallel columns along Red Square. They exit in columns around both sides of Saint Basil's Cathedral. Soviet heavy artillery batteries fire at night creating great flashes of light. A shell strike destroys a building. Soviet troops fighting in close quarters among debris in a Russian city. Dead German soldiers lying in debris on a city street. Some are surrounded by weapons and belts of ammunition. A Soviet soldier removes a swastika from the top of a steel bridge. Soviet citizens walk about the ruins of a city during a lull in combat. A child emerges from an underground bunker. Russian sailors walk together along a street. Soviet people gather at an outdoor market, where they purchase foods.