Life in the city of Cologne , Germany after Allied occupation during World War II. A sign reads ' Koln' Damaged Cathedral in cologne as a result of Allied bombings. Interiors of the Cathedral. A severely damaged rail road station in the city. Hohenzollernbrucke bridge across the river Rhine. German civilians around a bulletin board as thy read news about the war. A man waits for a street car. A damaged street car. People gathered outside a shelter. Women cook food at a community kitchen. Allied armies supply water to the people. Water being filled in containers. Women wash clothes. Food being looted from Nazi Army kitchen. People carry food crates and bags from the kitchen.
A captured Wehrmacht Major General gets into a jeep after German defeat from the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. A German Volkssturm militia man with an armband. Armband reads “Deusches Volkssturm Wehrmacht”. Volkssturm militia carry discarded Schmeisser guns to defend a town in the Ruhr Valley. A Volkssturm militia man surrenders to an American soldier. Surrendered Volkssturm men shows a place to an American soldier, where arms have been hidden. American soldier being led to a riverbank of the Rhine River where the German Volkssturm men show him flame throwers. The mass escape of prisoners from a German concentration camp. Polish, Czech, Yugoslavian, and Soviet prisoners of war find United States soldiers in the forest after their escape from a German prison camp. An Asian man, likely Soviet, after escaping a German concentration camp. Food and medical aid being provided to them by the Americans. Women being released from a camp by the Americans. Russian prisoners appear happy after being released from German prisons.
Film starts showing animated map of American forces driving East from France and British forces.including the 53rd Infantry Division, from Belgium toward the Rhein (Rhine) River in Germany. Allied infantry and armor gathering on a street in France. Closeups of some soldiers in berets mingling with American troops. Left shoulder of a soldier with Engineers patch. Another with white cross in white circle. American troops entering Bad Godesburg, where many white flags are displayed. An M4A3 Sherman tank moves along a street. "Adolf Schmitz" written on building in background U.S. infantry and armor moving through the town cautiously subject to lingering sniper fire. Views of signs identifying shops and commercial establishments in the town. U.S. soldiers silhouetted looking out of an upper story of a building where they are firing a machine gun towards a sniper's nest. German soldier surrendering and being searched briefly. A wounded person being carried on a litter by two civilian men, accompanied by a woman wearing a Red Cross armband. Scene shifts to road in countryside, clogged with long line of German prisoners of war being escorted under armed guard. Closeups of some of the prisoners and guards. Views of the Rhein river with many bridges destroyed by retreating German forces. Closeup of an American tank crew in their M4A3 Sherman tank. The Bridge at Remagen, with a sign on it reading: "Cross the Rhine with dry feet courtesy of the 9th ARMD Div." American soldiers guarding the bridge against air attack man an M33 twin mount 50 caliber antiaircraft machine gun. Another gun crew firing an M45 quad mount 50 caliber antiaircraft machine gun at attacking German aircraft attempting to destroy the Remagen bridge. Another antiaircraft gun defending the bridge. View from some distance of bomb bursting near the bridge, raising a geyser of water. Back at the bridge, itself, American infantry and vehicles continue to pour across it. Closeups of some and of soldiers in the vehicles. An M4A3 Sherman tank completing the crossing and moving on the German side of the river. Infantry walking along the roadside.
United States General Courtney Hughes speaks during a radio talk in United States. General Courtney H. Hodges speaks into a microphone as he talks to radio audiences soon after the end of World War II in Europe. He says that he is happy to be home and will soon visit his home town in Georgia. He says that after that he will visit Washington and then leave for the South Pacific where the United States 1st Army has been ordered to go. He poses with other officers.
United States troops ship USAT Thomas H. Barry (formerly the SS Oriente) carrying American soldiers as they arrive back home in New York, United States following the end of World War 2 in Europe. Men and women on the dock welcome the troops and wave in the foreground with United States troopship Thomas Barry underway as it approaches pier 16 at Staten Island in New York City, United States. American troops aboard the USAT Thomas Barry as they return from Europe after World War II. People on the pier wave to the soldiers. Troops on board the ship shout and whistle. War brides and babies on board the ship along with the troops. United States ship SS Santa Rosa waiting to dock.
American soldiers arrive in New York, United States aboard the ship Thomas H. Barry, returning home from service in Europe. Women with babies are seen on the dock. Soldiers on board the ship shout and whistle. As troops disembark, they touch and kiss soil formed into the shape of a map of the United States. (World War II period).
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