French colonial army in Kairouan, Tunisia. A map of Tunisia depicts the location of Kairouan. French Saphis on camels in a desert. French colonial troops march past a French officer. African Americans march during the parade. Camels lift their heads to view planes flying overhead. Saphis ride camels and soldiers march. Tanks roll during the parade. (World War II period).
United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Tunisian President Bourguiba at the Presidential Palace in La Marsa near Tunis, Tunisia. United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of Tunisia Habib Bourguiba and party leave front entrance of the Presidential Palace. Guards stand outside the entrance. They walk along a walkway. President Eisenhower examines a horse. He looks at the gazelle in a cage. The Presidents enter official sedan. Sedan moves. President Eisenhower removes his hat and waves to the crowd. Motorcycles lead and escort motorcades. Presidents seated in lead sedan.
President Bourguiba addresses a gathering at an airfield in Tunis,Tunisia. United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower and President of Tunisia Habib Bourguiba step down from speaker's stand to pavement. They stand at attention. Tunisian officers as they salute. Group of civilian stand on red carpet. Special guests stand near speaker's stand. President Eisenhower don his homburg and walk with President Bourguiba. They walk along a street. Eisenhower stops and waves to crowd. United States Marine Corps UH-34D (HUS-1) Seahorse helicopter taxis along runway. Large crowd in the foreground. President Bourguiba enters an official car. Staff and aides stand to right of car as he prepares to leave airfield for the palace.
Opening slate at start of film reads: "1942--1943 The Turn of the Tide." A column of British armor enters Bengazi, Libya, led by several troops in tankettes. Next seen are a Lee Medium Tank, M3 followed by an infantry tank, a jeep, another infantry tank and another Lee M3 Medium tank. Closeup of local people greeting the troops with upraised hands giving the "V" for victory sign. Another Lee M3 tank passes close by the camera. Black smoke is rising in the background. Scene changes to a half sunken ship near another burning in the harbor. Another view of this from further away above port buildings. Closeup of three smiling British soldiers leaning over a cartoon on a tank, of Winston Churchill (As a bulldog smoking a cigar and wearing a cap with the word "Victory" written on it). A crumpled captured flag with swastika on it. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery stands atop a vehicle (unseen) and looks through binoculars. Below, a column of British supply vehicles is making its way along a path in the desert. Two tanks coming toward the camera through sand. Animated map shows Nazi territory being threatened by the Allies from the Mediterranean, the USSR, and the English Channel. Views of Soviet infantry advancing against German forces in the snow of winter on the eastern front. Soviet troops firing updated 76-mm divisional gun model 1902 hidden in woods. Shells exploding in snow-covered field as Soviet BT series tanks advance. Various Soviet artillery firing from fixed gun batteries and from woods. A shell striking in distance. Fallen German soldiers lying on snowy field. Makeshift battlefield crosses marking graves of fallen German soldiers. German steel helmets lined up in the snow. A sign, posted on a birch tree, lists the names and birth dates of 16 German soldiers from the 3rd Panzer Division (3Pz-Pi-BH.39) buried at this site on November 28, 1941. Scene shifts to Joseph Stalin addressing Soviet troops in Red Square, Moscow, Russia. All the soldiers in formation seem to be singing (unheard). Film switches to animated map again. This time delineating the Eastern front being pressed by the USSR, and showing area of the 2nd Soviet winter offensive in 1943. Change of scene from Europe to the War in Asia, against Japan, shows General Douglas MacArthur after arriving by a B-17 bomber at a Pacific island American base. He ascends a steep hill in a jungle area, accompanied by other officers. Closeup of MacArthur. American infantry moving in single file in New Guinea, as a field piece fires a round in the direction they are headed. U.S. artillerymen load shells into a 105mm howitzer gun. A fire burns as mop-up operations begin on New Guinea. An Australian soldier is seen firing a Bren gun in jungles. Other Australian soldiers fire a mortar that explodes, raising earth and dust. More views of shells exploding near Allied soldier advancing. A soldier with fixed bayonet makes a fake charge toward the camera. Views of Japanese prisoners of war guarded in an outdoor compound. Japanese dead soldiers on Guadalcanal. An animated map shows new battle lines in the Pacific, closing in on Japan, with pressure from China, the USSR, and the Pacific islands being captured by the U.S. Arrows are added showing new pressure from American naval fleets and from British and American bombers out of Australia and captured islands.
Activities of the Seabees in Scotland in 1941 and in Algeria in 1943, during World War II. News headlines in 1943 read : ' Italy is out of war' and '17 more Italian towns taken'. An animated map. The Clyde valley in Scotland showing a base built by the U.S. Navy Seabees, in 1941. Numerous quonset huts and vehicles are seen. View of the River Clyde, where 2400 feet of oceangoing dock are being assembled. A ship anchored at a harbor displaying U.S. flag. Allied troops board a landing ship with their belongings. An animated map tracing travel of Allied invasion forces from Scotland to Oran, Algeria, where Seabees are seen testing a floating causway that would be used for invasion of Sicily. Scuttled axis ships and other obstacles and damage that Seabees must repair in occupied ports. Allied ships and troops proceeding for invasion of Sicily. Allied warships bombarding Sicilian coast.
Allied Forces in North Africa during Christmas, 1942, during World War 2. Map of Tunisia. Ancient Roman ruins, including the Amphitheater of El Jem. A native plows a field. Children ride mules. Christian Cathedrals in various places. Interiors of a cathedral. At various places Allied soldiers hold Christmas Services outdoors. Camel Corps troops astride their camels. A Christmas service in front of a Curtiss P-40 aircraft displaying an American flag on its right wing and a Christian flag on its left. Scenes of children celebrating Christmas in different parts of the world, including boys throwing snowballs at each other outside a school building in the United States (Lettering above doorway of school reads "Durham Public School", possibly in Durham, NC. Graves of dead soldiers. Religious services held for the allied soldiers. British General Montgomery attends a religious service. Bells ring in churches across the world Sign reads 'A Happy Christmas'. Soldiers carry sacks. Letters brought for soldiers on a jeep. Soldiers run to get their letters. A soldier reads his letter. A soldier wakes up to find a filled stocking hung on his tent. Another soldier opens a parcel. 'Pine Grove USA' and 'Birney Cave Mincoka' written on two signs. Soldiers open parcels. Empty boxes, cups and bottles on a table. Preparation for the Christmas feast. Feathers are plucked from a turkey. Many bottles of rum in a row. Chickens are removed from an airplane. Soldiers in a chow line. A pudding on a plate is put on the table. A bowl of oranges on a table with some WAC (Womens Army Corps) service members. A sign in the background reads 'A Merry Xmas' Soldiers feed their pets. A puppy is fed. A donkey and a pig are fed. A pet monkey grooms a soldier's head. Candy is thrown to the native children. The Red Cross dispenses milk given by soldiers to native children. Soldiers go sightseeing in Egypt and observe an Egyptian magician. The Great Sphinx of Giza with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background as Allied soldiers fall off a camel they are trying to ride. Native people of Morocco in a city market area. Women pass in veils. British Soldiers play Cricket. American soldiers play baseball. A soldier plays a guitar. Another soldier views a magazine with a young woman centerfold picture. Soldiers polish uniform brass and shine shoes to prepare for assembly. Others take baths in tubs outdoors. With all troops assembled, President Roosevelt visits, riding in a jeep (while in the area for the Casablanca Conference). He is accompanied by Lieutenant General Mark Clark and General George Patton, riding in the back of the jeep. Later the President is seen sitting sideways in the jeep, holding his hat over his heart as he passes troops lined along the roadside. Secret Service agents ride behind carrying machine guns. The generals in his jeep salute as they pass the colors. Next, British Prime Minister Churchill is seen greeted by an honor guard of four British soldiers during his time in Casablanca for the Casablanca Conference. He is seen beside a gate labeled "Villa #3" which was the Villa “Mirador in the complex of Villas beside the Anfa Hotel.