Germans forces fight fiercely to hold the line against Soviet forces near Riga, Latvia in World War Two. A map of Baltic States. German infantry advance behind Panther tanks past abandoned equipment. A German Panther commander wearing headphones. Guns and artillery being fired. An enemy plane being destroyed by antiaircraft fire. A Soviet T34-85 tank destroyed by pointblank fire from a German tank. German Pz.III Beobachten, Panther and Tiger tanks advance. Ppanzerfaust, recoilless anti tank weapons and mobile machine guns in action. German Pz.IV tank fires. Soviet positions on Latvian coast being bombarded by German naval forces. Smoke rises due to explosion. A soldier on a tank looks through binoculars. German infantrymen ride on advancing Geman StuG III mobile assault guns. German armored cars fire on a village. A village in flames. Soviet tanks in flames. A soldier smokes a cigarette. Panther tank driver.
Early civilian air travel with Junkers passenger aircraft in Northern Europe. A Junkers F 13 plane in flight. Aerial view of Riga as seen from an aircraft approaching for landing. Bridges, palaces, and lakes are also seen. Horse drawn carriage cross a bridge in Riga (present day capital of Latvia). Boats docked along Riga port. A Latvian mailbox for airmail reads “Gaisa pasts. Correspondence.”. A woman drops letters on the mailbox outside a building.
German forces repulse attack during Soviet Riga Offensive Operation in Latvia, Estonia, in World War 2. A map shows German-Soviet front around city of Riga, on Eastern Front.. German units repulse a Soviet attack, using artillery, Nebelwerfer rockets, tank destroyers and infantry with Panzerfaust antitank weapons. Medium shot of soldier firing Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon.
Shows government suppression of Bolsheviks around time of Russian Revolution, and before the 1917 abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, in Russia, and by German forces in post-war Latvia, in 1919. Imperial Russian troops intrude on a gathering of persons ostensibly opposed to Tsarist policies. Slate states such persons are accused of "Pro-Germanism." View of a damaged prison building and high guard tower. View of women and children in a large common cell of the prison. View of prison wall from outside, with barred windows evident. Women walking about inside the prison, as an Imperial Russian guard walks past the cell. View through a barred window. The final short sequence was filmed near Riga, on May 26, 1919, by American Army cameraman, Lieutenant Johnson, who was in Latvia as part of a U.S. post-war relief effort. It shows three Latvian Bolshevik soldiers facing a German firing squad. Boots of the condemned (which were valuable) have been removed. The firing squad executes the Latvian soldiers. Next, the bodies of the victims are seen in a ditch where they had fallen. (Note: This entire film includes a mix of staged theatrical and documentary scenes from various sources, times, and places.)
Animation depicts an airplane flying to cities such as Danzig (Gdańsk, Poland), Königsberg (Kaliningrad, Russia), Memel (Klaipėda, Lithuania), Riga (Latvia), and Reval (Tallinn, Estonia). Civilian travelers board a Junkers F 13 passenger plane at Tempelhof Airport (Platz d. Luftbrücke 5, 12101 Berlin, Germany) in Berlin, Germany. Men and women peer from the door and window of the aircraft before departure. A man opens the back of an Ullstein cargo truck. Men unload cargo from truck in front of the Junkers hangar. Cargo handlers load packages into the aircraft. The aircraft takes off from Tempelhof aerodrome.
Animated map shows progress of German surprise June offensive on the Eastern Front in World War 2. Having passed through Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania, German forces now move toward Soviet-occupied Dünaburg (Daugavpils) on the banks of the Daugava River,in Latvia. A German Panzer I tank and infantry on bicycles ride into village on the way. Next, infantry take cover as they receive fire from houses in the village. The soldiers advance cautiously and return small arms fire toward the source. A panzer I tank moves along the road with turret turned and guns (unseen) trained to the side. Fires have broken out among wooden structures. A local resident gives directions to several German soldiers. German infantry search house-to-house for belligerents. Local communist sympathizers are rounded up. Closeup of a woman and two men apprehended. A group of Soviet and Latvian communists sit on the ground, where they are being held. A contingent of German soldiers on horseback ford a stream ahead of horsedrawn artillery pieces and caissons. Closeups of wagon wheels as they roll through the water. A field piece (7.5 cm FK 16 nA) is towed behind one wagon. Troops walk single-file across a narrow plank bridge over a stream. Others help lift bicycles up the steep opposite bank. Local people wave to German army troops marching 3 & 4-abreast in relaxed formation. Women throw flowers at soldiers passing in a staff car. Two panzer II light tanks (SdKfz 121 Panzerkampfwagen II) on a dirt road, raise dust as they pass.