Film opens showing a map of French and English coasts bordering the English Channel. Dieppe is the focus of attention. Narrator states that British, American, and Free French forces, totaling a Division strength, attempted a landing at Dieppe. Animated map illustrates hundreds of Allied landing craft off the coast, protected by Cruisers and Destroyers. A reserve of transport vessels is shown in the Channel and a strong supporting force of Allied bombers and fighter aircraft. Active scene shows German coastal guns firing from bunkers on the French coast and German soldiers deploying to defensive positions commanding the beaches They fire MG 42 machine guns and a 77mm field gun. Shells from British naval artillery explode near German soldiers at shoreline. Explosions at Dieppe harbor from British aircraft bombs. German anti-aircraft fire directed against them. View of Dieppe castle. German soldiers taking up defensive positions on a city street. More explosions from Allied bombers. German soldiers firing a 12.8 Cm Flak 40 anti aircraft gun and black Flak clouds seen in midst of attacking Allied aircraft. German soldiers firing a vehicle mounted 2 Cm Flak 38 gun and quad versions of the same. Allied aircraft struck and trailing white smoke as it falls toward the water offshore. Glimpse of German soldiers in center of town. Low flying Allied aircraft and explosions from their bombs. German Fw 190 fighter planes heading to engage the Allied aircraft. Contrails at altitude from dogfights between Allied and German fighter aircraft. An aircraft struck and falling. Closeup of a burning British aircraft on the ground. Camera pans across German soldiers and buildings damaged and destroyed by Allied bombing. British soldiers (mostly Canadian soldiers) being taken prisoner at the beachhead and later marched under guard in the town. A German General visits his troops at the beach front. Scenes of destruction after the battle. Dead bodies of Canadian and British Allied soldiers floating near the shore. Fire burning on a dock. Burning British Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank (LCT Mark VIII) with shell holes in it. More bodies of dead Canadian soldiers strewn on beach. Knocked out British Churchill tank displaying number 9. Several destroyed and damaged British LCT Mark 8s. Names: "Calgary" and "Beefy"on destroyed Canadian Churchill tanks of the 14th Canadian Tank Regiment. Destroyed British speed boat with sailor's body on it. Other destroyed invasion craft. Several crashed British aircraft at water edge. Closeup of bullet holes near British roundel on one. More destroyed British Churchill and other tanks. Beaches covered with fallen Allied soldiers. British soldier helmets caught in barbed wire.
An Allied tank drives past the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on August 25, 1944, during World War 2. Cheering Parisians hold up a newspaper reading: "Paris is delivered"and mentions French Forces entering Paris. A jeep filled with American soldiers passes through the celebrating crowd. View of American soldiers, including an Army chaplain, mingling with the citizens. More views of the people, including some carrying a large banner reading: "Liberated." They are followed by others carrying French tricolor national flags. Some carry placards thanking the Allies Some cite the Free French and display the Cross of Lorraine. Other placards contain the name "DeGaulle." American M4 Sherman tanks and jeeps drive along a tree-lined street. Closeups of children clapping their hands. A soldier drinks wine from a bottle. American soldiers kissing French girls. More scenes of celebration. A huge crowd gathered at Place de la Concorde with the Egyptian obelisk clearly visible. At this point, the film shifts to images of Paris before the war showing the gay night life of the city. Sidewalks in the artist section. Cafes with outdoor seating. Night clubs with risque shows. Fire works and displays that illustrate why Paris was called the City of Lights. Street open air markets with flowers, foods, and various other commodities for sale. A street vendor on a 3-wheel bicycle cart. The Egyptian obelisk at Place de la Concorde with the Arch of Triumph in the far background. Cars driving on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées near the Arch of Triumph. Notre Dame Cathedral. Sign for Metropolitan (subway). Imposing building along the River Seine with sightseeing boats plying the waters. Monumental bridges. A bus carries passengers along a city street. Men and boys carrying fresh newspapers for delivery. Parisians gather around the eternal flame at the Unknown Soldier Memorial under the Arc de Triomphe monument. A soldier memorial sculpture on the monument. Here the film reverts back to World War II. A German flag flying on a ship. Adolf Hitler showing delight at bringing the French to surrender on 22 June 1940, at the same railroad car of Compiegne, in which the armistice ending World War I was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. The Nazi German flag placed over the French monument in the “Glade of the Armistice”at Compiegne. German officers driving in staff cars past the Arc de Triomphe as German forces occupy Paris on June 14, 1940 in World War II. Views of French citizens listening to the voice of General Dwight D. Eisenhower over their radios, as he broadcasted from London, on June 6, 1944. Naval guns firing. Americans hitting the beach in Normandy (famous image, showing some soldiers falling to enemy fire). Members of the French forces of the Interior (FFI) preparing to engage occupying German forces. The Cross of Lorraine being placed on the sleeve of a woman member. The FFI setting up baricades and defenses in Paris. A tree being cut down for use in defense works. Young boys with shovels helping build fortifications. FFI members hunkered down behind sand-bagged defense positions. FFI firing their rifles and retrieving dead and wounded. German Panzer tanks in the streets. FFI engaged in Guerrilla warfare, sniper against sniper. FFI firing rifles in streets and one firing a machine gun from a building. A German tank burning on a street. Civilians hunkering down as snipers exchange fire. A German soldier captured and escorted by FFI. An Army M8 Greyhound armored car and jeeps and trucks, and M4 Sherman tanks, occupied by de Gaulle's Free French forces, head toward Paris. General de Gaulle standing in a jeep as it moves along a Paris street. FFI remove street barriers to allow an M4 Sherman tank to enter Paris. Free French soldiers and and Americans, accompanied by tanks, race under the Eiffel Tower. A line of Allied armored vehicles held up by last ditch defense actions by German forces. Explosions are heard. Gun fire seen emanating from many windows in a large building. Soldiers firing at the windows. German soldiers emerge from the building with arms raised. Surrendering German soldiers and officers are paraded with arms over their heads headed to prison camps. Some are put to work sweeping debris from a street. General de Gaulle leads a parade of Frenchman along the Champs-Élysées. He places a wreath near the eternal flame under the Arch of Triumph. French people sitting atop a line of Allied armored vehicles. More views of celebrating French people. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and General Omar Bradley speaking with a soldier. The French tricolor being raised on a flag pole.
German antiaircraft units fire at soviet bombers in Eastern Front during World War II. Von Kleist and Guderian Panzer Divisions roll past burning villages in Soviet Union just 500 kilometers from Kiev, Ukraine. General Guderian speaks with the officers. Soviet tank units surrender. 65,000 Soviet prisoners march under German guard.
President John Kennedy at speaker's stand in a press conference speaks that Professor Frederick Barghoorn was on a cultural mission to Russia and Russians will release him. Professor is released after spending 16 days in prison. Professor Frederick emerges from plane and is greeted by State Department Officials and family members in New York. At a news conference on his return, Professor Barghoorn said that in Russia you can be accused of Intelligence activity merely by walking down the street. Press cameramen recording event.
Saigon streets with people shopping, praying to ancestors in temples. Saigon in preparation for Tet festival night. City under attack by Vietcong during start of Tet Offensive. Burning buildings. Refugees leave city during siege. ARVN troops in house-to-house combat and street fights. Saigon radio station on fire and fire fighters fighting blaze in radio station. Vietcong prisoner being taken. Dead Vietcong and captured weapons. (Vietnam War period).
Egyptian soldiers take up positions to protect Cairo, during the Suez crisis of 1956. In opening scene, a soldier, is seen standing next to a jeep. Camera pans up to cinema theater marquee advertising an American movie: "Crime in the Streets." Soldiers positioned, at steel barriers in the street, monitor passing traffic which includes civilian cars and military jeeps. Camera in moving vehicle focuses on a jeep passing a heavy armored car parked at a street corner. Camera vehicle drives up close past the armored car, as it follows jeep carrying soldiers. View from side of street, as two jeeps drive past carrying soldiers. Camera focuses on one as it passes a gasoline station, with no activity at its pumps. The jeep continues past a tank at an intersection, with soldiers standing guard. The jeep continues into a more residential section, passing road barriers and a man and woman with some children, crossing the street, near troops at a fortified position on the corner. large portions of the street are obstructed by steel barriers, which the jeep must maneuver past. It passes several parked civilian cars. The next scene shows fortified position of civilian militia. Several militia members pose for the camera, pointing rifles from behind heavily sandbagged positions. Camera view from immediately behind one shows the road completely closed by steel barriers. View from behind another militia man who is looking through binoculars. Scene changes altogether to soldiers escorting civilian prisoners into a building for interrogation. Inside, a man shows pieces of a torn photograph to two men and asks them about the person shown in them. Unhappy with their responses, he slaps one of them during the questioning.
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