American troops being marshalled to confront German forces pressing in a salient during the Battle of the Bulge in World War 2. They load their gear into vehicles and head toward the front. A loaded Army M3 Half Track towing a field piece, crosses over steel bridging placed by engineers over a waterway. American troopers of the 82nd Airborne Division are among the Allied forces seen assembling to defend against the German offensive. Infantry of the U.S. First division accompanied by M10 Wolverine tank destroyers, heading toward Büchenbach, Germany. Patrols of the 1st Division search woods near Eupen, Belgium, where German paratroopers had landed. Next, one of the captured German parachutists stands on the hood of a jeep displaying the newest type of boot worn by them. An American soldier discovers one of the parachute packing cases. Near it he picks up a white snow cape worn by German soldiers at the snow-covered front.
Activities of United States troops in St Vith, Belgium, during World War 2. Destroyed road signs of St Vith and Malmedy. Smoke rises from knocked out German armor, burning.. View of burning 12 SS Panther tanks and destroyed German equipment. Destroyed vehicles from a German convoy contain captured American supplies. A destroyed car in which narrator says a German spy attempted a getaway. U.S. soldiers of an Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon, from the 423rd Infantry Regiment, are seen after infiltrating 18 miles through enemy lines to reach American forces at St. Vith. They are being debriefed by another soldier. American anti-aircraft guns fire at attacking Luftwaffe aircraft all along the front. American soldiers watch the aerial activity. A U.S. soldier lying on the ground, after being struck by a 90mm unexploded anti-aircraft shell that fell back to earth and killed him. (He was a member of Service Company, 83rd Infantry Division.) Sky literally filled with contrails from Allied and German aircraft engaged in dogfights overhead.
Activities of RAF (Royal Air Force), air arm of the British Armed Forces in England. RAF (Royal Air Force) pilot and crew put on flight clothing and gear while standing in front of a parked bomber aircraft on a sunny day. One of the crew smokes a cigarette. The British crew put on flight overalls and other gear before a bombing mission in World War II.
Soviet forces East of the Vistula River, attack Praga district, on eastern outskirts of Warsaw, Poland on their way to the city of Warsaw, during World War 2. View of Soviet Colonel-General Vasily Kazakov and his staff studying charts of the area. Nighttime view of Soviet artillery and rocket fire. Fires blazing and knocked out German tanks. Formation of Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik aircraft in flight. Bombs exploding on the ground. Anti-aircraft guns firing. A nearby explosion raising a huge amount of earth into the air. IS-2 / JS-2 (Josef Stalin) heavy tanks moving across smoke-filled terrain amidst explosions from German shells. Soviets operating captured German Panther tanks. Soviet infantry moving past barbed wire and attacking on the ground. Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky (wearing large Marshal's star) and accompanied by a Lieutenant-general (two-star) is seen conversing with Colonel-General Vasily Kazakov at the local Soviet headquarters. Closeup of Marshal Rokossovsky, smoking a cigar in a holder. View of distance smoke rising from town. Scene shifts to Soviet armor and machine gunners engaged in urban building-to-building battles. Armor and infantry elements of the First Polish Army (Berling's) operating with the Soviets, are seen entering the Praga district of Warsaw, as liberated citizens cheer them.
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.
Victims of the cold war own and live on canal boats in Berlin, Germany. The boats are anchored. A woman hangs clothes on a string. One woman peels potatoes. One man smokes and another plays cards on the boat, as they cannot conduct trade as they used to between West Germany and East Germany.
CRITICALPAST.COM: About Us | Contact Us | FAQs - How to Order | License Agreement | My Account | My Lightboxes | Shopping Cart | Advanced Search | Featured Collections | Website Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy ©2026 CriticalPast LLC.
License Agreement |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy Policy
©2026 CriticalPast LLC.