U.S. troops board a large troop transport ship via a gangplank. Troops on an intermediate deck of the ship. Some are sprawled out relaxing. View from above of more troops boarding a ship. Men and equipment on the pier below. American forces at various far flung places where the U.S. Army Services Forces facilitated their transport and logistic support. Fleeting glimpses of troops in: Ireland; Alaska; Trinidad; and South America. Troops jam the upper deck of a transport ship. Army Service Forces officers in a planning meeting. Naval officers on deck of a ship look through binoculars as U.S. Naval ships bombard the coast of Solomon Islands and landing craft carry marines in an amphibious assault. Next, a man is seen annotating a map of North Africa. Secret maps pertaining to Allied landings in Tunisia and Algeria. Animated map illustrates amphibious landings on North African coast, highlighting Casablanca, Oran, and Algeria. Landing craft carry troops and supplies that are piled up in the sand beach. Soldiers moving military supplies ashore, in fire brigade fashion. Soldiers working at desks in Offices of the Army Service Forces. Filing cabinet in background. Trucks on the move in remote locations. Supply ship being loaded at a terminal. Fuel drums and army vehicles a being loaded aboard ships. Officers seated at a conference table. Ordinary American enlisted soldiers in a griping session at an Army post in the United States. Camera pans over large formation of soldiers. Animated chart shows more than half of servicemen who are part of Army Service Forces (ASF), are unaware of that. Troops marching in review at a tropical location, where reviewing officers wear pith helmets. Chart illustrates lack of unit pride in ASF. Images of various ASF logos. Chart shows results of polling data from soldiers and service members. Signal Corps and Engineers elements of ASF have the greatest unit pride. But most think better of other branches of the Army. More troops marching, in steel helmets and carrying rifles with bayonets affixed. Troops marching overlaid by "50%" indicating that half don't believe their contributions to the war effort are significant. Troops lined up (for pay?). More charts expressing concern about low morale. A heavy gun firing. German paratroopers jumping from a formation of Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. Charts expressing prevailing U.S. troops view that Germany wouldn't be too hard to defeat. Chart showing lack of understanding about why the U.S. is fighting Germany. Image of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill seated in front of their key military officers at Casablanca Conference in World War 2. Chart shows U.S. soldiers believe that the greatest war effort is expended by the U.S. followed by Russia, with China and Britain providing little. Chart illustrates that only half U.S. troops want to get overseas and fight. Chart shows U.S. War Department films can correct this problem.
From a film about Oil drilling operations in African countries. Elevated, wide view of the walled capital city of Fez in Morocco. View of native residents in Morocco walking in a narrow street of the city of Fez. Map shows location of Algeria in Africa. View of Port of Oran. Scene at the Medjillah oil fields near Tliouanet. Oil being pumped from a well into a barrel.
Amphibian assault on Oran, Morocco, during Operation Torch, in World War 2. U.S. troops descend rope ladders from Troop ships and enter assault boats. Major General Terry Allen, (Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr.) Commander of the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division, descends rope ladder, followed by his Deputy, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. A Colonel follows them. Views from inside the assault boat carrying them and other officers and soldiers, including some Military Policemen. View from that boat, of troops entering assault boats from a large Attack Transport Ship (APA). A jeep being lowered from the APA to a boat. The assault boat carrying First Infantry Division Commander and staff reaches the beach in Oran, and discharges them onto the beach. There is no opposing force evident.
Colonel William Wilson Quinn introduces an episode of "The Big Picture" that tells about the history of the 1st Infantry Division of the United States, called the "Big Red One." We see the boots and the shoes that 1st Infantry soldiers wore beginning with the Revolutionary War, through the Civil War, the First World War and the Second World War. Recruits are shown in training during World War 2 before deploying overseas in Operation Torch and the invasion of North Africa. Commanding General of the 1st Infantry Division, General Terry Allen, is seen during the Division's deployment to North Africa in World War II. Soldiers relaxing aboard troop ship. Naval barrage at night followed by amphibious assault on coast of Algeria. Animation shows the target areas of the division as they capture Oran. German counter attack is seen with bombers, tanks, and artillery. American soldier standing with rifles shooting at low-flying German aircraft that are bombing their position. Scenes of German and American gun crews firing. Nazi German General Rommel seen in his staff car. Animation shows route of the Division with others towards the North. Heavy nighttime gunfire is seen. American soldiers meet and greet British troops of General Montgomery's 8th Army.
In 1943, Higgins boats from the USS Callaway (APA-35) practice maneuvering in a circle, in waters off San Diego, California. A M3 Stuart light tank being lowered from the ship onto Higgins boat number PA35-1. View of two marines riding on top of the tank as the boat proceeds toward shore. Higgins boat (PA26-23) from the USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) churns the waters during training activities in waters off Algeria, North Africa. Boat No. 23 flies a striped flag of maroon and gold, which seems to identify it as a supervisory boat. Other landing craft, including Boat PA26-11, execute training maneuvers.
Opening scene shows Brigadier General Terence John Tully, U.S. Signal Officer, escorting King George VI of England as they leave a building, during the King's visit to Allied officers in Algiers, North Africa, during World War 2. Next, King George VI is seen in a garden, conversing with an American officer while a British officer stands a rigid attention nearby. He is then seen with General Tully in the midst of a group of British officers. Closeup of the King. Allied officers stand in a line as the King greets them individually. Closeup views of of the King, from behind the line of officers and then from behind the King, as the photographer circles the gathering. Closeup of King George VI and General Tully as they return to the building, first seen in the film. Camera focuses on King George VI as he says farewell to his hosts. He salutes and enters the building.