Film starts showing silhouettes of British tanks on the move, including one with a bulldozer blade. View from Allied warplane as bombs explode on the ground below. In November, 1944, infantry of the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units fire Bren guns as they advance in Belgium and secure the Scheldt Estuary, to open a shipping route to Antwerp for the Allies. They traverse a river and cross rail lines while advancing. View of destroyed steel bridge across the Maas (Meuse) river with several British troops wading in water nearby. Silhouettes of German prisoners of war marching single file. View from rear of German prisoners walking under guard with hands resting on their heads. British troops running beside the Scheldt river at Antwerp on September 4, 1944, as huge explosions occur in the river behind them. A column of British troops, marching on tree-lined road, enters outskirts of Antwerp, as local people cheer them. Views of the troops being greeted in the city itself. Columns of Belgian refugees are seen returning to their homes. One,injured, is carried by friends in a wooden cart. A contingent of British troops marching in the city. Glimpses of derricks in the Antwerp port and a ship under construction in a shipyard. An animated map shows German counter offensive through Belgium and Luxemburg on September 4, 1944. Refugees leaving again, ahead of the returning German forces. View of a road sign reading: "Bastogne." American military police checking credentials of some refugees as they leave. American soldiers jammed together atop a Sherman tank parked at a checkpoint. After delaying further German advance, through the Ardennes, on September 16th, American troops are forced back and seen leaving , in trucks and Sherman tanks, from Bastogne, past a road leading to Martelange. As weather cleared on September 22nd, a formation of British Hawker Typhoon ground attack aircraft are seen in flight and diving to attack lines of communication with machine gun fire and rockets. Several different views of the aircraft firing and smoke rising from the ground. Animated map of German advance depicts the so-called "Bulge" extending 60 miles into Allied territory. Captured German films show German troops,one carrying a rifle and another a Sig 44 machine gun, as they pass columns of burning Allied trucks, other vehicles and armor. Closeup of German soldier waving to others to follow him, as he runs ahead past burning Allied equipment. Several German soldiers hunker under a knocked out Allied tank, as a German Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer light tank destroyer passes their position. Closeup of German soldier smoking captured American cigarette. German infantry, walk past barrel of destroyed Allied tank. Several gather and smoke American cigarettes. One of them, with a belt of ammunition around his neck, is Hans Tragarsky aka Walter Armbrusch, of German Kampfgruppe Hansen, a battle group formed during the Battle of the Bulge from SS-Panzergrenadierdivision Regiment 2, an infantry regiment of SS Pz Rgt 2 "Das Reich". (This image is well known but his identity is subject to debate.) Glimpse of German officer walking with a soldier at the front, with background engulfed in flames.. Scene shifts to a formation of U.S. Army Air Forces C-47 transport planes seen, in flight, dropping food and ammunition to beleaguered American troops caught in the Battle of the Bulge. Change of scene to German Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer moving; Panzer IV tanks firing 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 guns; and troops riding on a Tiger tank ( Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B). German soldiers riding in a streamlined Volkswagen Kübelwagen. German soldier in an open single seat courier car spattered with mud. Close-ups of him smoking a cigar. German soldiers looking at formation of American C-47 aircraft overhead. A U.S. Army Air Corps B-25 bomber in flight. View from Allied bomber dropping bombs that strike ground with many explosions. View from above of a B-24 Liberator bomber in flight. View on ground of shells and bombs exploding in wooded area and low level black flak clouds. Captured 88mm gun being fired by Allied forces. British soldiers in a Landing Vehicle Tracked, cross a stream and climb up a steep bank. View from British "Wasp" flame-throwing Bren-gun carrier, as it fires and resulting inferno of fires. Views from a long distance of other flame-throwers firing across the stream. Closeup view of one firing with fires burning on the opposite shore.
United States 9th Armored Division crosses the Rhine River in Germany., during World War 2. Opening scene shows several amphibious assault craft being moved by crane at a port in Belgium, where they are loaded on tractor trailer trucks and driven across Belgium to support Allied advance into Germany. British sailors ride atop the craft. They are brought into a town where a signalman, standing atop one, uses semaphore flags to transmit a message. Next, a smoke generator is seen creating a smoke screen over the area. Landing vehicles tracked (LVT) are moving over ground adjacent to the Rhine River. A formation of American B-17 bombers flies overhead. View from bomber, showing bombs striking German industrial targets. Closeup of two U.S. soldiers watching from the West bank of the Rhine, as U.S. bomb strike targets on the East Bank. View of smoke rising from bomb strikes. View of bridges destroyed by German forces. Closeup of three U.S. soldiers standing together. A German Messerschmitt Me-110 warplane passes overhead. Wrecked railroad bridge seen from above. The East bank seen from an aircraft. Soldiers refueling from 55 gallon drums. Troops moving through smoke screen. Two soldiers looking at the Rhine where the Ludendorff steel bridge is seen still standing. View of bridge at Remagen, from a cliff on the West bank of the Rhine. Soldiers in a jeep approach the bridge on West bank. View from jeep driving on riverbank underneath the bridge. Soldiers running across the footpath on the bridge. View from vehicle driving across the bridge. Troops and equipment crossing the bridge into Germany on East side of the Rhine. Large sign posted on bridge tower, reading: "Cross the Rhine with dry feet, Courtesy of the 9th Armored Division." Group of American soldiers watching as others cross the bridge. Several British Lancaster bombers are seen over the Rhine River. Inflight closeup of one releasing a large bomb. Camera tracks its fall to explode on target. Medical Corpsmen hurrying along the river bank, carrying a stretcher. Troops entering small boats and amphibious assault craft to cross the river. A U.S. Army Air Forces P-47 aircraft diving. A pilot wearing an oxygen mask seen in a cockpit. Troops in an LVT crossing the Rhine. More views of American and British troops crossing the Rhine by water. Troops being organized as they move out on the Eastern shore. A column of British troops moving on a road and escorting German prisoners. Two of the prisoners looking up as a formation of U.S. C-47 aircraft fly overhead. View inside a C-46D transport as troopers jump from its double rear paratroop doors. View from aircraft as paratroops descend with chutes open. A C-46 flying low over a German town, towing a Waco CG-4A glider. Army vehicles crossing river on a pontoon bridge. Closeup glimpse of a British officer. British troops riding in army trucks. (Note: Vehicles: seen in this film include: Diamod T 981, M20 MB GPW, M8 Armored Car Landing Craft, LVT, Rogers Trailer M9, M4 Sherman, Quad Mount, DUKW, WLA, CCKW )
President Harry S. Truman in Germany for the Potsdam Conference during World War 2. President Truman, Admiral William D. Leahy and Secretary of State James F. Byrnes in official car in Berlin. The Secret Service stand on running boards of President Truman's car. A man takes photographs of President Truman. President Truman’s car drives past the camera. In next scene, the USS Augusta, a Northampton class cruiser, arrives at Port of Brussels (Place des Armateurs 6, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium) in Belgium. The USS Augusta is being towed by two tugboats. Belgian crowds waving at the ship. Sailors on the deck of the USS Augusta. President Truman and General Dwight D. Eisenhower review the Honor Guards in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. President Truman and Eisenhower talking. President Truman and Admiral Leahy boards Douglas VC-54C (2107451) also called "Sacred Cow," the first U.S. Presidential aircraft (later termed Air Force One), at Frankfurt airport. Airplane taxiing on the runway.
Demonstrations in the Republic of the Congo after the death of Premier Lumumba. Premier Patrice Lumumba with President Jospeph Kasavubu at Congo Independence Day celebration at an airport runway with other officials. King Baudouin of Belgium arrives in a formal military dress and descends down an airplane stairs. He shakes hands with the Premier and the President. Belgium troops march to the military plane. Premier Lumumba poses with other officials at the United Nations. Colonel Joseph Mobutu (Mobutu Sese Seko) poses. Demonstrations following the death of Premier Lumumba. Student march outside Belgium Embassy in Moscow. Pickets outside the UN building in New York. People demonstrating demand the withdrawal of UN troops from Congo. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson speaks at the United Nations assembly during his first address. A fight breaks out in the UN gallery and people are thrown out. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson continues his speech and apologizes.
The wedding procession of Italian Prince Umberto II and Princess Marie Jose of Belgium in Rome, Italy. King Albert I of Belgium sits with Italian King Victor Emmanuel III on a carriage ride. Thousands cheer during the procession. Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and Queen Elena of Italy in a horse carriage. Royal Guards on horseback follow the royal carriages. People watching the royal procession pass by the Fountain of the Naiads (Piazza della Repubblica, 00185 Roma RM, Italy) in the Piazza dell'Esedra (now known as the Piazza della Repubblica). The ancient basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri is seen on the background. Prince Umberto and Princess Marie Jose appear in a balcony after their marriage ceremony in the Pauline Chapel inside the Quirinal Palace (Piazza del Quirinale, 00187 Roma RM, Italy). A huge crowd waving to the newlywed couple.
Princess Margaret of Britain waves towards a large crowd of people in England after her marriage to Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, a commoner photographer later styled as the 1st Earl of Snowdon. British crowd cheering for Princess Margaret. Scene change to King Baudouin of Belgium as he marries Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón of Spain during a traditional Catholic ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (Place Sainte-Gudule, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium) in Brussels, Belgium. Queen of England Elizabeth and her husband Prince Phillip introduce little toddler Prince Andrew, sitting with his family on shore of a lake. Next scene shows Crown Prince Akihito of Japan playing with his newborn son Prince Naruhito at the Tokyo Imperial Palace (1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-8111, Japan). The next scene is Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, with his wife, Farah Pahlavi, at a ceremony after the birth of their first son, Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran. Final scene is United States President John Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline in a hospital on the birth of their son John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr.