'The Big Picture' episode narrated by Ronald Reagan depicts the life of U.S. General George S Patton, Jr. Opening scene shows General George S. Patton, Jr. stepping from a landing craft in France, during World War 2. He stands by the side of a road and waves, as elements of his 3rd Army pass in tanks. Patton in a jeep moving with his troops. General Patton pointing with a baton, in North Africa. View of a world globe being circled by a satellite. A baby picture of Patton (called "Georgie"). Patton seen as a boy, fencing, as a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, and as a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. A smiling Patton at West Point. Members of the first football team for soldiers established by Patton. Renault tanks of the 1st Tank Battalion moving with AEF soldiers in World War I. Tank commander George Patton standing in front of a Renault tank. Group picture of American soldiers and tanks, at the Tank School, in Fort Meade, Maryland, after World War I. Closeup of Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton, in the group. Patton and his wife, Beatrice Banning Ayer, in Old West costumes, for a party, where he displays a pistol in his belt, and in costumes for another party, where they dress as a knight and his lady on horseback. American recruits and draftees being issued uniforms in World War 2. Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr. commanding forces for the invasion of North Africa, in November, 1942. U.S. Navy warships fire their guns in advance of an amphibious landing. Landing craft heading toward shore. U.S. troops coming ashore at Casablanca, French Morocco. General Patton accompanied by French officers. Glimpse of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at their conference in Casablanca in 1943. Patton riding in an armored car with three-star flag displayed. Artillery firing in battle of Tunisia. Lt. Gen. Patton and others observing operations. British General, Sir Harold Alexander, steps from a light airplane to meet with General Patton in North Africa. They converse. General Patton in March 1943 with binoculars observing battle, with Major General Terry Allen on his right, and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. to the right of Allen. They are viewing from a ridge by the village of El Guettar, as allies engage German troops and armor from the 10th Panzer Division. M3 Lee tanks moving in the desert. Knocked out tanks of the German 10th Panzer Division, including German Panzer IV tanks, in the aftermath of the Battle of El Guettar. General Patton coming aboard an American warship, and then standing with an Italian officer and a U.S. Major General. Allied naval bombardment at night. Patton observing though binoculars. Allied warships bombarding Sicily. Allied amphibious forces heading ashore in landing craft. Troops moving ashore. Closeup of troops in a landing craft. Glimpse of Patton in a landing craft. Troops walking across floating dock from a landing ship. U.S. flag flying in sand at beachhead. Landing ships in background. General Patton stepping ashore from small boat, and conversing onshore with a Brigadier General and some troops.
Allied troops arrive in Tunisia during Operation Torch of World War II. German aircraft and Allied aircraft engaged in dogfights. Explosions and scenes of aircraft crashing to the ground. Soldiers watch the aircraft through binoculars. Battle of Kasserine Pass in February 1943: Allied tank destroyers blast German tanks "at point blank range" according to narrator, who also notes it was the German's first real battle with American troops. German prisoners of war being marched by Allied soldiers. British troops in Tripoli, Libya in January 1943. Elevated view shows Capitoline Wolf statue in Tripoli with British armor parked below. British Army Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery receives surrender of Italian officials. British General Montgomery seated in a jeep passing through the city. People applaud.
Montage of brief scenes in World War 2, around Port of Tunis, Tunisia, following Occupation by Allies in 1943. The first is view from a ship rising and falling with waves or swells in water, with sun setting in background. Next a high speed boat (perhaps a PT boat) is seen churning up large white wake as it speeds about in waters near Tunis. Closeup of a sailor (aboard the camera boat) manning a deck gun. He maneuvers the gun in various elevations and directions and then fires a round from it. Another crew member fires a tripod mounted Browning M 1919 air cooled 30 caliber machine gun. A third sailor fires a twin 20mm antiaircraft gun from a station atop the ship. A soldier fires his rifle from the ship's deck at sunset. Camera pans across widely spaced group of warships in the distance, and continues panning to show city of Tunis on the horizon. Now in Tunis harbor, the camera ship moves past a sunken ship with masts and funnel showing above water surface. Anchored transport ships silhouetted against light sky in the harbor. Stern view of a landing craft infantry. Huge explosion occurs in the water. An American soldier is seen on a sandy hill plunging the handle on a detonator. Views of waters turning rough in the area. Change of scene and time (water is extremely calm). A beached ship is seen in the harbor and several boats.
'The fighting first' about the role of United States 1st Infantry Division in various campaigns during World War II. A soldier of United States 1st Infantry Division. Combat boots of soldiers during the civil war and World War I. A map shows the 1st Infantry Division units moving across the Atlantic Ocean towards North Africa for Operation Torch in November, 1942. Soldiers of 1st Infantry Division go to England and loaded onto ships as they move to Africa. U.S. General Terry Allen aboard a ship. Infantry soldiers fire in Oran, Algeria. Aircraft in flight, explosions occur and a convoy of trucks on advance during the battle in Oran. 1st Infantry Division troops as part of US II Corps battle against Nazi General Rommel's armies in Tunisia, North Africa. Battle scenes against German forces in North Africa in a variety of locations, overlaid with this narration: "we damn near flunked out at the Kasserine (Kasserine Pass). But we learned the score and we started to teach Gerry a few things out of our book. We rammed our way back to Gafsa and down Rommel's throat at El Guettar, where we tore up his crack 10th panzer division." In 1943, men of 1st Infantry Division load onto ships and arrive in Sicily. Troops advance into a town in Sicily after capturing it. Damaged houses in a city in Sicily.
General Dwight D Eisenhower from the North Africa campaign to the D-Day Normandy landings during World War II. Eisenhower with other military officers in the War Plan Office discusses strategy. A mural covering the west wall of the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas. An animated map shows plan to seize key positions in North Africa. Fight in Algiers and Casablanca. Allied troops fire artillery, bombarding a North African coastal town. Troops advancing from beachhead, engage in street fighting with Vichy French troops in Casablanca, Morocco. A flare gun is fired. Unfavorable weather conditions delay the troops advancing towards Tunis and Bizerte. Allied troops fighting at nighttime. Allied soldiers walk through mud, allied military vehicles pass through water on the roads. Troops fire artillery under a canopy, hitting the side of a hill. Thick clouds of smoke cover a hill. U.S. General Omar Bradley and his troops capture Bizerte, Tunisia and the British 1st Army captures Tunis. German and Italian prisoners raise their hands up upon surrender. Animated map shows the surrender of the Axis troops. A ceremony commemorates the victory. North African cavalrymen join the parade. General Eisenhower and Free French Forces General Henri Giraud review a military parade. Henri Giraud bestows to General Eisenhower the French Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. A mural on a wall of the Eisenhower Museum depicts the Allied invasion of Sicily. Allied troops march into Sicily in 1943.Civilians in the streets to celebrate. A mural on the wall of Eisenhower Museum depicts invasion of Italy. Allied troops land ashore and march into Italy. U.S. General Mark Clark 5th Army at Salerno. A sign reads Napoli. Eisenhower comes out of a tent. U.S. President Roosevelt visits the troops in the combat area with Eisenhower. United States President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in Cairo, Egypt. Another mural on the wall of the Eisenhower Museum. Eisenhower with other officers. Dramatization of German troops guarding and preparing the defenses of Normandy before the Allied landings. Eisenhower reviews training of the troops as they prepare for the invasion of France. Allied troops undergo physical training though obstacle courses. Churchill inspects the troops. Eisenhower reviews the troops on the eve of invasion. Eisenhower speaks to airborne troops wearing blackened camouflage face paint.
Axis Forces collapse in Tunisia, North Africa during the World War II. Planes of Allied Forces in flight. The U.S. and British officers confer. Allied tanks and infantry move forward. The map of Bizerta. Allied Air Forces strafe the retreating German forces. German and Italian forces surrender. Captured German General Officers led away. Crowds cheer as the Allied Forces enter Tunisia. Officers enter a plane. Allied Forces including Free French Colonial Cavalry and Scotch Bagpipers parade victoriously through Tunisia. Planes fly overhead. Several Generals present. Soldiers on horses.