Soldiers form a human barricade to make way for important Allied military officials such as General Jacques Philippe Leclerc (Free France), United States General Omar Bradley and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. United States General Omar Bradley walking during World War II. United States General George Patton uses a pair of binoculars. United States Army conducts mopping-up operations in a destroyed French town. United States infantry move through a forest. Soldiers walking on a street. Television host Alexander Scourby narrates while holding a book titled “Breakout and Pursuit” by Martin Blumenson. An excerpt of the book “Breakout and Pursuit”. United States, British and Canadian troops engage in a naval battle with German forces on the English Channel July 1, 1944. Gun turrets of battleship aiming and firing at German position. Battleships firing artillery. Thick smoke forms from heavy firing from naval artillery. Soldiers climbing down a marine rope ladder. Smoke covers the Normandy coast after Allied ships fired at German positions. Allied infantry wade through the waters after landing near a beachhead in Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944. Famous shot of some soldiers collapsing after reaching the beachhead after landing. Some soldiers attempt to swim to reach the beach. Smoke forms away from the beach. A line of Allied infantry wade through the beach. A barrage balloon floats over a beach in Normandy. Alexander Scourby shows a map of Western Europe during World War 2 and points to the area of Northwestern France to demonstrate the goal of Operation Cobra. Aerial view of marshlands and hedgerows in Normandy. Tanks are seen on marshlands. German soldiers enter a French village. German soldier carries an MG42 machine gun. German troops sprinting near a berm. Explosion from bombing. German troops ducking in a berm alongside a hedgerow. A bomb explodes in field.
United States General Omar Bradley emerges from a bunker with other generals in Normandy during World War 2. United States generals walking as a group, with General Bradley speaking with General Eisenhower. Television host Alexander Scourby says with regard to Operation Cobra, “No plan in war is fool-proof. But this one is bold, and if it worked it would enable the Allies to break the stalemate in which they have become bogged down”. “Brittany was still the eventual goal” says Alexander Scourby as he points to the region of Brittany in France on the map. United States troops resting and doing chores during their free time. A soldier gets a haircut. A young soldier reads a letter. A soldier doing laundry using a washboard and metal tub. A soldier polishes his leather boots. Soldier cleaning a spot from his uniform. A United States soldier wearing a bowler hat reads a newspaper. Daily News headline reads “OWN OFFICERS BOMB HITLER; PURGE STARTS” after the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler speaks to a crowd at rally. A group of German military troops, with an officer wearing the Iron Cross, convene for a meeting in a forest. A German soldier with machine gun rounds slung over his shoulders smoking a cigarette. German soldiers smoke cigarettes while resting. Shirtless German soldiers digging a trench. German soldier spreads butter on bread. A German soldier drinks water from a bucket. A group of German troops, with close ups showing tired faces. United States General Omar Bradley shakes hands with another officer before boarding a Jeep. Soldiers sitting beside a hedgerow. United States soldiers sitting in a ditch next to a hedgerow and smoking. A soldier holds a pocket watch. A soldier lights up another’s cigarette. A formation of B-17 flying fortress bombers in flight. Close view of bombs dropping towards ground. Aerial view of explosions on ground. A German soldier uses binoculars. A tank on the field. Soldiers creep up beside hedgerow. Soldiers hiding while wearing camouflage. German commander commands troops to fire. German soldiers firing artillery. German soldier puts shell into artillery. Artillery fires behind shrubs. General Omar Bradley observes battle from afar. General Omar Bradley listens to Major General J. Lawton Collins, who is describing how the city of Cherbourg was taken. German armored vehicles covered in camouflage driving. German half-tracks moving.
A bomber takes off from an airfield for Normandy during World War 2. A group of bombers in flight. Free French 2nd Armored Division soldier looking up the sky. B-17 bombers flying. A German soldier looks up to see bombers. Bomber dropping bombs. German troops get out of a camouflaged truck. Close up of bomber pilot flying. Bomber cockpit with view of bomb sight. Bombs falling. A B-17 bomber dropping multiple bombs from its bomb bay. Anti-aircraft guns firing at bombers. A bomb lands on a factory. Aerial view of bombs landing onto crossroads. More B-17 bomber planes dropping bombs simultaneously. Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers dropping bombs over Normandy. Multiple bombs fall on Normandy, creating clouds of explosion. United States General J. Lawton Collins and General Omar Bradley (wearing glasses) ascend stairs. United States troops remove camouflage branches from a Jeep. An M4 Sherman tank moves. Soldiers began moving as Operation Cobra has begun. “Marigny” and “St. Gilles” are highlighted from a map of Normandy. United States soldiers moving through a village with destroyed houses. A German soldier in foxhole aims his rifle. United States M4 Sherman tank passing stone house on road. German soldier with deep scar on his face. German soldier fires a rocket launcher (Raketenpanzerbüchse 54). Multiple explosions on field. German troops fire artillery at United States soldiers. German commander observes field using binoculars. German soldiers prepare to attack Allied troops. German soldiers running. A German soldier fires a Maschinengewehr 34, also known as the MG 34, machine gun. A German soldier throws a hand grenade. A Panzer IV firing at Allied positions. Explosions and thick smoke. United States soldiers crouch beside a hedgerow for cover. Soldiers carry supplies after fighting ceased for the day. Soldier sitting while holding a pistol. Soldiers moving and running with rifles. Tank artillery firing. An M4 Sherman tank drives through a forested road. United States soldier climbs a hedgerow. Soldiers firing artillery from under camouflage nets. A group of United States soldiers climb a hedgerow. Soldiers on top of a moving M4 Sherman tank. Two soldiers fire a mortar from a foxhole. An M4 Sherman tank moves across a field. American commander directs troops to climb over hedgerows. United States soldiers firing at Germans from behind a hedgerow. Soldier firing an M9 Bazooka. A soldier firing with an anti-tank rifle grenade launcher (M7 grenade launcher). Soldiers firing with an M1919 Browning machine gun. An M4 Sherman tank pass by a house. An Armored Column with M4 Sherman tanks enters the town of Saint-Gilles. Most houses in Saint-Gilles are damaged. Piles of rubble in Saint-Gilles. United States 7th Corps soldiers engage in street fighting with German troops in Saint-Gilles. Destroyed houses in Saint-Gilles. Tank firing at a house. Soldiers running far. United States soldier firing with machine gun behind bushes. A tank climbs up a hedgerow. United States soldiers climbing hedgerows. Soldier puts more shell into an artillery. Map of Normandy showing the town of Avranches.
The capture of Avranches, France by U.S. soldiers during Operation Cobra in World War II. The map of Avranches, France superimposed on scenes depicting United States military vehicles moving in Normandy. Half track passes by a road sign “N 137 St. Servan 12 St. Malo 13”. A speeding truck passes by a road sign “Rennes N 137 St Malo”. A large artillery is being pulled by a military vehicle on the N 137 highway in Normandy. Bomber drops bomb over a village in France. View of a map showing “Mortain”. United States infantry engage in street fighting in Mortain, France. A United States soldier fires with rifle upwards during street fighting. A soldier fires bazooka during street fighting. A Churchill Mk VII Crocodile flame thrower tank fires at a house and tree. American soldiers running through burning field during a flame thrower tank attack. Multiple rocket launcher trucks fire rocket artillery. United States soldiers observe rocket artillery on the side of a forest. Map depicts “Argentan” and “Falaise”. Captured German prisoners march away through a destroyed French town. French people welcome United States troops in Paris. Map depicts the Seine River and Paris. Crowds of French men and women giving the “V-Sign” in Paris. French woman clapping her hands. French women crowd a Jeep with U.S. soldiers. Soldiers marching on the Avenue de Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe (Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France) behind. Free France General Jacques Philippe Leclerc and an American general salute in the Place de la Concorde (75008 Paris, France). Crowds of Frenchmen cheer and welcome Allied forces after liberation from Nazi Germany. A French man waves his flag while he holds on to tree branches. Map depicting the eastern France, Luxembourg and western Germany superimposed over scenes of marching soldiers. Television host Alexander Scourby delivers a conclusion. Closing credits.
German troops advance on Kharkov-Rostov front during World War 2. German Wehrmacht soldier uses binoculars behind a trench. Explosion behind burned trees on a battlefield. German soldiers watch explosion from behind trenches while standing on muddy puddle. A German soldier crouches in the trench. A German soldier uses a field telephone while looking at a map with two colleagues. German troops move an 88mm Flak. German soldier loads shell into a Flak. Artillery fires in the forest, hitting the battlefield. German artillery troops firing artillery, covering their ears. Mushroom clouds form over battlefield. Shirtless German soldier smokes a pipe while firing an artillery. A German soldier observing mushroom cloud in the horizon. German artilleryman pulls the firing lever on a Flak gun. A soldier uses binoculars as his head peers from a tank hatch. A Wehrmacht soldier driving a tank, controls can be seen. Gun barrel of a tank. Soldiers walking on foot. A soldier hides behind the branches with an artillery gun sticking out. Allied aircraft flying. A Flak anti-aircraft gun fires at Allied planes. Explosion on a field after a plane went down. A German tank rolling. Shirtless German troops adjust the position of Flak gun barrel. Flak guns firing at enemy planes. A German soldier looking up the sky. A soldier fires machine gun upwards. A German soldier moves. A German soldier fires with a MG 42 machine gun. Firing in the battlefield. A German soldier firing with a machine gun at Soviet troops. A German soldier aims and fires with a rifle. A German soldier toss a stick hand grenade (Stielhandgranate). German troops briefly run before lying down in prone position. German troops walk past soldiers in trenches.
German troops lead away captured U.S. soldier prisoners of war (POW) in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in World War 2. German Wehrmacht troops walk on a damaged street. Captured U.S. soldiers marching under German guard. A German soldier writes “Aus der Traum” (“From the dream” in English) on the base of an artillery gun. More camouflaged Wehrmacht trucks driving through muddy roads. German troops ride a vehicle pulling an artillery. Wehrmacht soldiers on top of a half-track. Snow falling and covering Panzer tanks. A Panzergrenadier infantry holding a Panzerfaust over his shoulder. A German Panzer tank moving. Snow covers forest.