Damage after the disastrous 1930 Irpinia and Vulture earthquake in Melfi, Italy. People carry their belongings as they head to a safer area after an earthquake hits Melfi, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Men clear away debris. Refugees along a roadside. A man leading a donkey. People move away with horses and belongings to safer areas. Displaced women and children along the road. People flee from the city as they move past damaged houses.
Supersonic Missile fired from Patrick Air Force base in Florida. The Northrop Snark SM-62 missile demonstrates accuracy as it hurtles south, 5000 miles to hit a mid ocean target area. Animated map shows the course of missile range on target area. Missile takes off from launch pad.
Fish farming in Dutch Guiana, South America (present day Suriname). Farmers harvest a rich haul of fish in flooded fields behind seafront dikes. Mud crabs in the field. Farmers pick up fish and toss them into baskets. The farmers put freshly caught fish into a large container.
Opening scene shows British artillerymen bombarding the Italian town of Ortona, on the Adriatic coast of Italy, which is held by paratroops of the German 1st Parachute Division in World War 2. Closeups of British soldier operating 155mm gun. British officers planning the barrage. Battery of guns firing. View of shells striking Ortona, along the coastline. Heavy guns firing from under camouflage netting. Smoke rising from artillery strikes. Scene shifts to Allied occupied airfield in Foggia, on the coast, South of Ortona, where P-40 aircraft of the 99th Pursuit Squadron are preparing to fly in support of the Ortona offensive. (This U.S Army Air Forces unit is comprised entirely of African American pilots and support personnel including Tuskegee Airmen.) Closeups of airmen fueling and arming the aircraft, and of pilots gathered in a mission briefing. 99th Squadron aircraft taking off and departing overhead in formations. View from the British artillery position of numerous bombs bursting on Ortona. Film shifts to the Central Front in Italy where U.S. forces are engaged in the Battle of San Pietro. Views of American artillery bombarding German positions in San Pietro. Closeups of numerous U.S. guns being fired. An ejected shell flies through the air from a U.S. Sherman tank during the bombardment. Views of U.S. troops passing a Sherman tank as they enter San Pietro and begin searching for booby traps in the wreckage of the town. Closeup of a soldier dismantling a booby trap. German aircraft sweep overhead and bomb the town. American soldiers dig out a buddy who was buried by a bomb burst, but rescued unhurt. He smiles for the camera. Casualties of the fighting, including many civilians are carried on stretchers and assisted. Local residents are seen grieving over fallen relatives and friends. Groups of townspeople stand along a hillside and watch as Italian soldiers join with the Allies in the fighting. Jeeps are seen navigating the muddy mountain trails as far as possible. Then further movement requires the use of mules. Troops are seen with mule trains. Soldiers shoulder heavy ammunition crates and slog uphill with them over a muddy mountain trail.
Allied Forces with mechanized units and tanks enter Florence, Italy in World War II. British Army soldiers moving across Tuscan hills and countryside towards Florence. French, Indian, South African, British and Polish Allied soldiers under the command of General Harold Alexander resting and riding on top of tanks to Florence. Italian civilians greet the British and Allied troops in Florence. King George VI of the United Kingdom arrives in Italy and is greeted by General Maitland Wilson. King George VI inspects the Royal Navy Units aboard ships in Naples, Italy on July 23, 1944. Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham accompany King George VI on motorboat inspecting the port of Naples. British Royal Marines and soldiers of the United States 5th Army form a guard of honor for the king’s return. The king boards a British cruiser. King George VI takes a ride in a car with Commander-in-Chief General Alexander. King George VI inspects the 8th Army of United States and Indian troops. He reviews Polish Units with Polish General Władysław Anders and General Oliver Leese. King George VI confers knighthood on General Leese in the field.
Opening scene shows German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel gesturing as he hosts members of a Japanese military mission and a Turkish military delegation (headed by Colonel General Cemil Cahit Toydemir). At Adolf Hitler's invitation, they are on a tour of the Eastern front and English channel coasts between June 25th and July 7th, 1943, during World War 2. Here, they are seen inspecting German positions and witnessing firepower demonstration on the Russian Front near Kharkov (also Kharkiv) just south of Kursk. They observe a German artillery gun crew as they demonstrate rapid firing of their field piece. Shells explode raising black smoke. Closeup of a senior Japanese military official. Turkish and Japanese delegation visitors board two small open train cars driven by German soldiers on motorcycles adapted for the purpose. Following a pause, the scene shifts to the visiting officers inspecting German armor, including a small armored personnel carrier; a Tiger Tank of Pz.Abt.503; and other armored vehicles. They watch a Tiger tank moving along a muddy berm rotating its turret and 88mm gun as it moves. Another tank races past the camera at high speed, raising clouds of dust. A German gun crew, in a trench, fires an MG 42 heavy machine gun. They look up and camera focuses on formations of German JU 87 Stuka dive bombers flying overhead. Visiting officer peers through a periscopic viewing device, as Large explosion occurs in the field. German, Japanese, and Turkish officers converse as a huge plume of smoke rises in the background, capturing their attention.
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