German invasion of the Soviet Union. Animated map shows German advances toward Minsk and Baranowitschi (Baranavichy), after taking Grodno, Belarus, during the Operation Barbarossa invasion of the Soviet Union, in World War 2. An armored column of the German Panzer II and III tanks of the Panzer Group Kleist (Panzergruppe Kleist) move along a dirt road. (They display the letter "K" on their fenders.) Seen are Panzerkampfwagen II (Sd.Kfz. 121) and Panzerkampfwagen (Sd/Lfz/141/1 Pz.Kpfw III Ausf.L). Closeups of the tanks moving in clouds of dust. Infantrymen wave at the tanks as they pass. The tanks deployed in an open field. Burning wooden structures. Tanks speeding ahead. One drives across a field at high speed, raising a trail of dust. Houses in a village burning. A tank moving down over a berm. Tanks in a field with smoke rising in the background. Officers standing next to a camouflaged vehicle, observing the scene with binoculars. German infantry advancing in ditches alongside a dirt road. Dense smoke rising in the field. A knocked out Soviet tank burning. Two Soviet BT tanks burning in the field. Closeups of burning Soviet BT tanks. Body of a Soviet soldier in the grass. A surrendering Soviet soldier runs toward the German lines.Closeup as German crew opens hatches and climbs out of their Panzer III tank to take advantage of temporary lull in their advance while thousands of Soviet troops are surrendering. View of Soviet soldiers walking with hands behind their necks. More Panzer III tank crew members taking a break as the Soviet troop surrender. Closeup of German officer interrogating an Asian Soviet soldier, as German soldiers watch. Two captured Soviet soldiers with their gear in a field. .
The German Campaign in the Soviet Union during World War II. German troops advance in the Soviet Union. Artillery being fired at the enemy. Soldiers cross a bridge. Officers inspect and look through a sighting instrument at enemy positions. German soldiers advance and fire rifles. Explosions occur. A soldier look into a building. Soldiers outside a hut. Soviet prisoners being taken.
Soviet civilians on a farm in the Soviet Union during World War II. A wheat farm in the Soviet Union. Threshers being operated on the farm. Wheat being collected in a container. Men pack grain in sacks. A grain bag loaded on a carriage being pulled by a tractor.
An old bearded Russian Cossack stands in the midst of a contingent of Soviet cavalry, seated on the ground, during World War 2. Closeups of some in his audience. Next, the old man is seen riding at the head of a troop of cavalry. They pass close to the camera, and then are seen from above, as they proceed along a dirt path. Marshal of the Soviet Union, Semyon Audyonny, is seen consulting with other officers. (Narrator states he is involved in training home guard cavalry.) Cavalry mounting up and heading out, past a fence where several rural people wave to them. A troop of Cossacks in Papaha (black Cossack hats) is put through their paces by their commander. He directs one of his troop to charge on horseback, brandishing his sword. The Cossack charges through a series of wooden stakes, swinging his sword at each as he passes. Closeup of one cut clean through. Final scene shows the entire troop charging in formation
Views of wheat fields in the Soviet Union. A harvester combine is being pulled by a tractor in the field. A man riding on, and operating, a horse drawn multi-paddle wheel harvesting device. He is followed by a boy on horseback leading a pair of horses pulling another man on a similar harvesting device. Change of scene to men and women in the fields gathering and bundling sheaves of wheat.
Miners use multiple motor-driven drills to penetrate roof of mining tunnel in the Soviet Union during World War 2. Heavy dust drops from the drill holes and completely covers the miners as they work. As drilling proceeds, they exchange original drill bits with longer ones to penetrate deeper. Open rail cars filled with chunks of mineral ore are seen traveling along a rail line carrying the ore from the mine.