The Normandy beachhead. General Charles De Gaulle and other Free French officers and officials, in jeeps, make their way into village of Courseulles-sur-Mer. Barrage balloons seen in sky. Allied troops move along roads in military vehicles, and some soldiers are on foot. A French Catholic priest, on a bicycle, recognizes General de Gaulle and his party, stops his bicycle in amazement and doffs his hat. A Frenchman, gardening, waves. Man, on horse-drawn cart, stops to look. Women on the side of the road greet and wave to the jeeps. People on either side of the road. General Charles De Gaulle arrives with other officers in the village. Children offer flowers to th General. Several people look on. The General and officers walk through the streets of the village. The General meets the villagers. A French sailor kisses a woman. General De Gaulle speaks from a platform,under a Free French Cross of Lorraine flag, and flanked by British and American flags. A huge crowd gathered to listen to the General. Several women and children look on. General Henri Giraud, stands nearby. The audience sings La Marseillaise. The General amidst the villagers.He kisses a small child. Buildings in view behind. The General proceeds to the vehicle. (World War II period).
French civilians cheer the arrival of Allied infantry soldiers and armored vehicles in Normandy after the D-Day landings in World War II. French men and women waving to the soldiers and a boy flashed the “V” or “Victory sign”. Smiling French children waving to the soldiers. Soldiers and a 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 enter a village. Sign reads “Sainte-Mere-Eglise”. Civilians welcome troops on top of an M4 Sherman tank entering the commune. A Military Police directs traffic in Sainte-Mere-Eglise. French civilian men pushing wheelbarrows with supplies. A soldier speaks to locals. Civilians clapping at the Military Police. Faces of smiling French civilians.
Landmarks in Paris, France. Traffic near the Arc De Triomphe (Pl. Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France) in Avenue Champs-Élysées. People cross the street. Woman stands at a square. Street sign points to the direction of Rue Montrosier and Rue Charles Laffitte at Neuilly-sur-Seine. Traffic police officer helps her to cross the street. A woman and a man stand at Tuileries Garden (Pl. de la Concorde, 75001 Paris, France) and another man takes their picture with a camera. Sculpture in the background.
A group of German army troops seem marching casually at Champ de Mars, Paris, during 1940, in World War 2. Sounds of a fife and drum corps are heard in background. The Eiffel tower looms in the background. Some soldiers are on bicycles. View shifts to a nearly empty Champs Elysees, with Arc de Triomphe (Pl. Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France) in the distance. German military vehicles move along the edge of the road. Camera moves closer to the Arc de Triomphe. Suddenly the scene shifts back a year, to the 1939 Bastille Day parade, in Paris. It shows British Grenadiers in uniform with bearskin hats, parading on the Champs Elysees, along with French Colonial Senegalese Riflemen wearing the Fez. Also seen are French Sailors, and infantry. Then, from a high point overlooking the parade, vehicles are seen pulling artillery. Back at street level, French 2-man Renault UE Chenillette tankettes are seen in formation. They are followed by a formation of Panhard AMD armored cars. Scene reverts to the present (1940) with German occupation troops marching past the Arc de Triomphe. As the German troops pass, German Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Fedor von Bock, Commander of Army Group B, is seen briefly saluting, as he reviews the troops from the sidelines. Another General stands with him. Spectators and column of German troops seen from Eiffel Tower. A German officer on horseback, leading his troops. Marshal von Bock, saluting. Various closeups of parading troops. View from an aircraft flying over the city of Paris, with Arc de Triomphe near center of the view. German troops towing artillery and caissons by teams of horses. Glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe, and Eiffel Tower. Horse-drawn wagons, carrying German troops and towing field artillery at the Place de la Concorde. The French Naval Department building (Hôtel de la Marine, 2 Pl. de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, France) seen behind them. Parisians watching solemnly from sidewalks. German sentries posted at the Hôtel des Invalides. (Les Invalides, 129 Rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris, France). French policemen giving directions to a German soldier, holding a map. German troops moving along the side of a commercial district street. Two French women smiling as the camera focuses on them. German soldiers marching cheerfully, along a French country road with a chorus heard singing in the background.
A U.S. delegation visits Normandy, France, 25 years after the Allied invasion of France during World War II. Soldiers and Honor Guard lined up. Military band plays. A cameraman records as a correspondent speaks. Children carrying American flags lined up along a path. Military officers seated in chairs. Civilians stand behind barricades. French officers at the ceremony. A helicopter in flight. A French Breton woman wearing a traditional hat of the Concarneau region. American officials including General Omar Bradley and his wife, along with General J. Lawton Collins. U.S. Ambassador to France Robert Sargent Shriver is also seen. Close views of General Bradley and General Collins seated side by side. British and American flags raised at the ceremony. A sign on a memorial reads 'In memory of our dead 1st Engineer Special Brigade'. A French flag raised. British, American, French and Canadian flags near the memorial at Utah Beach in Normandy. Military Honor guards standing at attention. Two U.S. Army soldiers in a small tank vehicle near the officials. The turret revolves. General Collins assists a soldier in lighting a flame torch. The soldier gets onto the tank. General Collins places flowers at the memorial.
Monuments and landmarks in Paris, France. People dining al fresco at Fouquet's (99 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France), a historic high-end brasserie restaurant along the Avenue Champs-Élysées. Cars drive down the Avenue de Champs-Élysées with Arc de Triomphe (Pl. Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France) in the background. People milling about on the sidewalk. The 'Pan American' Airlines office in Paris. A view of the city with Eiffel Tower in the background.
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