A bomber takes off from an airfield for Normandy during World War 2. A group of bombers in flight. Free French 2nd Armored Division soldier looking up the sky. B-17 bombers flying. A German soldier looks up to see bombers. Bomber dropping bombs. German troops get out of a camouflaged truck. Close up of bomber pilot flying. Bomber cockpit with view of bomb sight. Bombs falling. A B-17 bomber dropping multiple bombs from its bomb bay. Anti-aircraft guns firing at bombers. A bomb lands on a factory. Aerial view of bombs landing onto crossroads. More B-17 bomber planes dropping bombs simultaneously. Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers dropping bombs over Normandy. Multiple bombs fall on Normandy, creating clouds of explosion. United States General J. Lawton Collins and General Omar Bradley (wearing glasses) ascend stairs. United States troops remove camouflage branches from a Jeep. An M4 Sherman tank moves. Soldiers began moving as Operation Cobra has begun. “Marigny” and “St. Gilles” are highlighted from a map of Normandy. United States soldiers moving through a village with destroyed houses. A German soldier in foxhole aims his rifle. United States M4 Sherman tank passing stone house on road. German soldier with deep scar on his face. German soldier fires a rocket launcher (Raketenpanzerbüchse 54). Multiple explosions on field. German troops fire artillery at United States soldiers. German commander observes field using binoculars. German soldiers prepare to attack Allied troops. German soldiers running. A German soldier fires a Maschinengewehr 34, also known as the MG 34, machine gun. A German soldier throws a hand grenade. A Panzer IV firing at Allied positions. Explosions and thick smoke. United States soldiers crouch beside a hedgerow for cover. Soldiers carry supplies after fighting ceased for the day. Soldier sitting while holding a pistol. Soldiers moving and running with rifles. Tank artillery firing. An M4 Sherman tank drives through a forested road. United States soldier climbs a hedgerow. Soldiers firing artillery from under camouflage nets. A group of United States soldiers climb a hedgerow. Soldiers on top of a moving M4 Sherman tank. Two soldiers fire a mortar from a foxhole. An M4 Sherman tank moves across a field. American commander directs troops to climb over hedgerows. United States soldiers firing at Germans from behind a hedgerow. Soldier firing an M9 Bazooka. A soldier firing with an anti-tank rifle grenade launcher (M7 grenade launcher). Soldiers firing with an M1919 Browning machine gun. An M4 Sherman tank pass by a house. An Armored Column with M4 Sherman tanks enters the town of Saint-Gilles. Most houses in Saint-Gilles are damaged. Piles of rubble in Saint-Gilles. United States 7th Corps soldiers engage in street fighting with German troops in Saint-Gilles. Destroyed houses in Saint-Gilles. Tank firing at a house. Soldiers running far. United States soldier firing with machine gun behind bushes. A tank climbs up a hedgerow. United States soldiers climbing hedgerows. Soldier puts more shell into an artillery. Map of Normandy showing the town of Avranches.
"The Big Picture” host Alexander Scourby interviews General Omar Bradley, the architect of Operation Cobra in Normandy during World War II. General Omar Bradley recounts his experience with handling Operation Cobra in Normandy. Omar Bradley attributes several factors for Operation Cobra’s success such as the aggressive and strong fighting spirit of the American troops, the teamwork displayed by the combat armies and air force, the alertness of subordinate commanders such as General Collins. On Martin Blumenson’s book, “Breakout and Pursuit”, General Omar Bradley says that reading the book sounds like “traveling down the road in the daylight than is the time you had taken it in the dark. It is generally familiar, which is always interesting to see the whole picture- part of which is hidden before”. General Omar Bradley gives a positive review on the historicity and veracity of “Breakout and Pursuit”. General Omar Bradley speaks about the value of military historians studying the events of World War 2. “Despite the fact that the weapons of war changes, the principle of war remain the same” said Omar Bradley. “War was a big thing in all our lives. We’ve been reading about the Revolution, the Civil War for a long time, to get a clear picture of ourselves as a nation. The Army is giving us the ability to do that now. The greatest war we have ever fought in our history” said General Bradley as he concludes the interview.
The capture of Avranches, France by U.S. soldiers during Operation Cobra in World War II. The map of Avranches, France superimposed on scenes depicting United States military vehicles moving in Normandy. Half track passes by a road sign “N 137 St. Servan 12 St. Malo 13”. A speeding truck passes by a road sign “Rennes N 137 St Malo”. A large artillery is being pulled by a military vehicle on the N 137 highway in Normandy. Bomber drops bomb over a village in France. View of a map showing “Mortain”. United States infantry engage in street fighting in Mortain, France. A United States soldier fires with rifle upwards during street fighting. A soldier fires bazooka during street fighting. A Churchill Mk VII Crocodile flame thrower tank fires at a house and tree. American soldiers running through burning field during a flame thrower tank attack. Multiple rocket launcher trucks fire rocket artillery. United States soldiers observe rocket artillery on the side of a forest. Map depicts “Argentan” and “Falaise”. Captured German prisoners march away through a destroyed French town. French people welcome United States troops in Paris. Map depicts the Seine River and Paris. Crowds of French men and women giving the “V-Sign” in Paris. French woman clapping her hands. French women crowd a Jeep with U.S. soldiers. Soldiers marching on the Avenue de Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe (Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France) behind. Free France General Jacques Philippe Leclerc and an American general salute in the Place de la Concorde (75008 Paris, France). Crowds of Frenchmen cheer and welcome Allied forces after liberation from Nazi Germany. A French man waves his flag while he holds on to tree branches. Map depicting the eastern France, Luxembourg and western Germany superimposed over scenes of marching soldiers. Television host Alexander Scourby delivers a conclusion. Closing credits.
Italian celebrity Giovanna Ferrara is interviewed for an Italian TV show on WATV 13 in Newark, New Jersey. A television show for the Italian American community in New York is aired on WATV 13 (now known as WNET – THIRTEEN). A cameraman moves his camera. Camera is labeled with “WATV 13”. A production sound mixer prepares before taping. A boom microphone rotates. Front view of a studio color camera. A male host interviews Giovanna Ferrara, a celebrity and winner of a popular game show in Italy (“Lascia o raddoppia?”, the Italian version of “The $64,000 Question”), in Italian. The Italian host speaks to Giovanna Ferrara talk during the show. Both the host and Ferrara are seated behind a table with a sign that reads “WATV NEWS”. The Italian host asks Signora Ferrara, who won 5 million lire (approximately $ 8,000 in 1957), her motives in joining the game show. Giovanna Ferrara expressed feelings of gratitude and generosity after winning “Lascia o raddoppia?”. The host thanked Giovanna Ferrara for her time and congratulated her in her new career. The host shakes hands with the Italian celebrity after the end of her interview.
An Italian athlete plays tennis at the West Side Tennis Club (1 Tennis Pl, Forest Hills, NY 11375, United States) in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. Tennis players compete on a grass court. Fans and audience in the viewing stands clapping their hands. Athletes play during a tennis game. Flags of the United States and Italy are displayed during the competition.
Italian studies and heritage of the Columbia University in New York City. A man reads a book while sitting under the statue, Alma Mater, in front of the Low Memorial Library of the Columbia University. People walking outside the Low Memorial Library and the grounds of the Columbia University (2960 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, United States). View of the Casa Italiana building (1151–1161 Amsterdam Ave., New York, New York) of the Columbia University. Entrances to the Casa Italiana and its library. Entrance reads “CASA ITALIANA LIBRARY DONATED BY CHARLES V. PATERNO M.D.”. Students and visitors study and read books inside the Casa Italiana Library. A teacher approaches a young woman reading a book. A bespectacled young man reading a thick book inside the library. A young man flipping through the pages of a book. A young woman reads a book about Italian historical figures such as Dante Alighieri and Giuseppe Garibaldi. A professor holding a lecture on Giuseppe Garibaldi at Columbia University. Male students listen to a lecture. Students viewing a portrait of Lorenzo Da Ponte, the first professor of Italian literature at Columbia University. Students passing through the Morgan Gate of Harvard University. Widener Library (1 Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States) is in the background. A woman admires a vespa scooter parked outside Harvard University. Students walking on the grounds of Harvard University. Professor Charles S. Singleton, an American scholar who specializes in medieval Italian literature, speaks about Dante Alighieri in Italian. Professor Singleton talks about Italian culture in America while surrounded by many books.
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