Italian citizens and troops move in a procession and parade in Rome, Italy, around the time of the second Italo-Ethiopian war. People cheer on streets and gather in a public square to hear Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini address the crowd from a balcony, with an arch doorway behind. Scenes of crowd massed in front of the Altare della Patria monument.
An Italy campaign map shown. Street sign of Cassino appears. View of ruins of Cassino after Allied bombings in World War 2. General Albert Kesselring talks to German troops in Cassino area. Buildings in city are bombed into rubble which make cover for German troops. German soldiers see through wreckage. Artillery fire starts. General Mark Clark is seen in a tank. Allied troops fire artillery and small arms.
Pope Paul VI is installed as the Bishop of Rome. Pope Paul VI is carried into the Roman Catholic Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, or Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, to formally take possession of the Church. Nuns, priests, and people outside the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Piazza di S. Giovanni in Laterano, 4, 00184 Roma RM, Italy). Interiors of the Papal Archbasilica of Saint John (in) Lateran. As the Pontiff, Pope Paul VI is also Bishop of Rome, and he intends to make periodic visits to his flock.
Allied soldiers enter Rome, Italy during World War II. A sign reads 'Roma' (Rome). United States soldiers on tanks. Soldiers hide behind tank and firing with rifles. German soldier surrenders to the Allies near Frosinone, Lazio Region. A man seen in a trench. Soldiers near railroad tracks. A man carried on stretcher. Ruins and wrecked vehicles seen. Damaged buildings in view. Fire and a pillar of smoke rise in the sky.
Naval Academy of Southern Italy training cadets to become Officers in Italian Merchant Marine. Italian naval cadets performing different training tasks on a sailing vessel.
Allied Operation Husky in World War 2. Opening scene shows Allied ships in task force bound for the invasion of Sicily, Italy. Barrage balloons are seen in sky overhead. At first most of the ships seen are troop transports. Then a British Escort Cruiser is seen, followed by other British warships. The British Naval Ensign flying from the masthead of a warship. More views of battleships and destroyers. Aircraft carriers in line. View from ship in the task force as it passes island off Tunisia, and then passing Cape Bon, Sicily. A British destroyer pulls to the port side of the camera ship and transfers a person by bosun's chair. (Narrator calls him a "military expert.") Glimpses of life aboard the ships of the task force. Sailors swimming in a pool aboard deck. Others repairing shoes; washing items in small buckets; and reading "soldiers Guide to Sicily." Sailors use signal lamp to communicate with other ships. Sailors man and maneuver a multi barrel bofors anti-aircraft gun, on deck. Suddenly winds pick up and the seas become very rough. Next, the seas are seen very calm. Scene shifts to North African mainland, where several trucks full of British and American paratroopers move across the sand toward C-47 aircraft that will take them behind enemy lines in Sicily. C-47s are seen parked all over the area. Paratroopers don their chutes and battle gear as they prepare to board their aircraft. Closeup of a crew chief pulling propeller through on number one engine of a parked C-47 aircraft. British paratroopers assist one another with their gear. Officer makes final check of paratroopers under his command. Closeup of British paratroopers boarding their C-47 transport aircraft, and the plane taxiing in sand and taking off. Numerous C-47s taking off as daylight wanes. Allied warships bombarding the Sicilian shore in the nighttime. Troops engaged in amphibious assault on beaches of Sicily. Battle scenes showing black flak clouds in the sky and explosions near the assault and landing craft during the amphibious operations. Black smoke rising from Allied ships struck by bombs or shelling. A landing craft, filled with Canadian soldiers, leaves a transport ship headed for the beach. Other assault boats headed for the beach. Views from the Allied beachhead on Sicilian shore. British, Canadian and American troops making their way from landing craft to the shore, guided by ropes. The march along the shore. A British scout car arrives on the beach, followed by a truck. Then tanks come ashore from large landing craft. Some troops come ashore on a DUKW amphibian vehicle. Allied troops wade ashore and smile for the camera.