Opening scene shows some Italian statesmen and naval officers boarding the Italian royal yacht Trinacria, anchored in the harbor, at Gaeta, Italy. Next, British King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra and daughter, Princess Victoria, are seen posing on the Trinacria's deck, with Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, who is engaged in conversation with the British monarch. Princess Victoria is the center of attention of a group of Italian naval officers. King Edward VII lights a cigarette, throws his match overboard, and smokes while the group continues posing for pictures. He shakes hands with an elder Italian statesman. The two kings converse and Victor Emmanuel III speaks to one of his officials, as Edward VII continues to meet members of the Italian party. (Reportedly, lunch was served in the saloon of the Trinacria, after which King Edward,Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria returned to the British Royal Yacht, HMY Victoria and Albert III, and sailed to Naples.)
United States troops and equipment advance in Gaeta, Italy during World War 2. Aerial views of the damage caused to buildings in Gaeta from bombings. Damaged buildings in the city. Debris in the streets. Troops, half tracks and artillery roll through the ruins.
The Italian Campaign during World War II. An American soldier inspects a damaged German Kettenkrad tracked motorcycle abandoned at a roadside. Allied truck, jeeps, halftracks, and towed field artillery moving along a road. Sign on road near destroyed buildings identifies Highway 7 and points to towns of Gaeta, Velletri, Albano, Genzano, and Rome. U.S. Sherman tank on road passing bombed out buildings. Allied military ambulances on the road. More views of destroyed buildings. A damaged Sherman tank. A damaged German tank. A U.S. soldier climbs out his bunker carved out of rubble.
Film of funeral procession for Grand Duke Frederick I, in Karlsruhe, Baden, begins with closeup of mounted military band with musicians playing their instruments as they ride on horseback. Scene shifts to numerous officials lined up on one side of the road and civilians on the other, as a line of clergymen pass between them, walking in advance of the partly shrouded carriage carrying the coffin of the Grand Duke. Behind the clergy, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King Gustav V of Sweden are seen walking together. Closeup of the funeral carriage escorted by uniformed military who precede, surround, and follow it
The aftermath of Allied bombing in Milan, Italy during World War II. Italians walking around damaged buildings and rubble on the ground after heavy bombing. Damaged La Scala Opera House (Via Filodrammatici, 2, 20121 Milano MI, Italy) after the bombings. Interiors of the opera showing its damaged dome. Damage sustained in the Palazzo Marino (Piazza della Scala, 2, 20121 Milano MI, Italy), near the La Scala Opera House. A statue of Italian poet Alessandro Manzoni (Piazza S. Fedele, 20121 Milano MI, Italy) still stands among the rubble of the surroundings. Behind the statue is the Church of Saint Fidelis (Piazza S. Fedele, 4, 20121 Milano MI, Italy). Damaged glass dome of the famous shopping mall Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (P.za del Duomo, 20123 Milano MI, Italy). Italian men walking in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II after bombing. Exteriors of the Ospedale Maggiore (now known as the Policlinico di Milano Via Francesco Sforza, 35, 20122 Milano MI, Italy) after bombings. Corridors of a building with rubble spread all over. Cars and pedestrians on a street and damaged buildings in the background. The neighborhood of San Babila with significant damage. Basilica di San Babila exteriors after bombing. Damaged exterior of the famous Duomo Cathedral (P.za del Duomo, 20122 Milano MI, Italy). Rose windows of the Duomo Cathedral. Damaged body of a naked statue. People close the doors of the Duomo Cathedral.
Naval Operating Base, Hampton Roads, Virginia (renamed U.S. Naval Station Norfolk, in 1945 ). U.S. Navy Commander seated in a chair aboard a ship. A large group of civilian businessmen and officials pose on board a ship with several American Navy officers and one British Naval officer, for a photograph. Some of them stand and some are seated. One civilian stands in front of the group and poses with an American Navy Captain. Change of scene shows Admiral Way on the Navy Base, containing mansions and other structures from the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. It is a very windy day and several civilians are seen on a sidewalk and entering a large building on Admiral Way. Numerous Navy personnel in uniform are seen in the area, including a number of Naval officers entering that building and others heading there along a sidewalk. Residential mansions are seen in the vicinity along Admiral Way.