Scene is battle-damaged bridge over the Elbe River at Tangermunde, Germany, immediately following surrender of Germany in World War II. The bridge center has dropped so low, that one must climb considerable height to reach the other shore. German families and others cross to the American-occupied side of the river. Several women with children are seen. A man with head bandaged, and a weary woman cross over. A woman whose face is bleeding is helped by a German soldier. A German officer helps elderly people as they climb the last section of bridge. An exhausted woman makes her way toward the top of the bridge. Her companion, a young woman, rests her head while waiting for her friend. Then they go on together. A mother and father with two small children make it to the upper bank. Two men and several women stand and rest after their crossing. A small child is pulled close by a parent.
The American 405th Infantry Regiment receiving large numbers of surrendering German soldiers and officers at the end of World War 2 in Europe. A U.S. Army soldier standing with surrendered German officer and soldiers. He holds a rifle and discusses it with the officer. An American field grade army officer gives instructions to a German officer who then joins other German soldiers crossing a battle-damaged bridge over the Elbe River at Tangermünde, Germany. German soldiers join hundreds of others in a large outdoor area. More German soldiers cross the Elbe and are herded toward marshaling areas. One is deliberately tripped by an American soldier, as he passes. Another is stopped by an American soldier who pulls his SS insignia out of his jacket so it can be seen. The "Death Head" insignia is seen on his cap. Closeup of two German SS soldiers. Closeup of open area filled with German soldiers . St. Stephan's church in the background. Back at the bridge, surrendered German soldiers continue pouring across the river. A U.S. Army soldier hits, prods and strikes some of the German soldiers with the stock end of a sub-machine gun, as they pass. Closeup of a German SS officer being stopped by an American soldier, who removes a binocular case from him. German soldiers who have surrendered are resting on the ground covered by blankets. Others lounge about near a pile of personal gear including mess kits. A wooden wagon filled with straw stands behind them. Closeup of civilians including a woman and a child with head bandages, who are sitting in the wagon. View shifts to other side of the Elbe river where many civilians are gathered. The castle and St. Stephan's church is seen on the opposite shore. German soldiers standing near an open car door next to a jumble of bicycles and packs. A German officer resting on a motorcycle. Crowd of German soldiers queued up at the bridge. One German soldier carrying a Panzer Faust (hand-held anti tank weapon) crosses the field full of other German soldiers and civilians. A hatless German soldier holds a Luger automatic pistol. Several German soldiers resting on the ground with their rifles and gear. An American field grade army officer stands in front of a sign reading: "405 Inf" (405th Infantry Regiment of the 102nd Infantry Division). A sign in multiple languages is also seen. The American officer is next seen conversing with German officers, including Nazi German SS-Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner (with the "Death Head" insignia on his cap).
Soviet Forces battling in Berlin during 1945, in World War 2, employ tanks and heavy machine guns. A Soviet soldier herds two German prisoners from a building. Groups of German soldier prisoners struggle through rubble as they are led from buildings, under guard. Soviet tanks firing as they pass a church building. A Soviet heavy gun being fired point blank on a Berlin street during Battle of Berlin. Buildings on fire. Soviet soldiers firing artillery field pieces. Views of destroyed and damaged German military aircraft on and in hangars of an airfield. Soviet Ilyushin II aircraft land on the airfield. Closeup of distressed German General rubbing his eyes. Flashback in time to 1943, in World War II. Field Marshal Hermann Goering is seen reviewing flyers of a German Luftwaffe (Air Force) unit. A Junkers Ju 52 trimotor aircraft lands and parks on an airfield. Italian leader Benito Mussolini steps from the aircraft after his rescue from imprisonment by the Italian Government at the Hotel Campo Imperatore. He is personally welcomed by Adolf Hitler, who had ordered the mission to rescue him. Change of time, again, to 1945, when Berlin, Germany is attacked by Forces of the Soviet Union. Closeup of a despairing German General. Scenes of utter destruction as Soviet troops batter Berlin, Germany with artillery. Soviet soldier steps down from his tank and gives a Soviet General a handgun, which he pockets and then leads a group of Soviet officers into a building
U.S. paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division are seen silhoutted against sky as they board C-47 transport aircraft in Operation Market Garden mission to Grave and Nijmegen, Holland, in September, 1944, during World War 2. C-47 starts engines. C-47s take off towing gliders. Change of subject to Allied operations crossing the Rhine River into Germany in 1945. U.S. Army troops in a long boat powered by an outboard motor. U.S. troops board U.S. Navy amphibious assault boats on shore of the Rhine (Rhein) River. View from above of assault boats undergoing fire from German defenders during the crossing. U.S. troops moving quickly out of the assault boats on German soil. Scene shifts to airborne operations. View in cockpit of U.S. transport aircraft carrying U.S. paratroopers of the 17th Airborne Division, on joint British-American Operation Varsity, to drop paratroopers on the German side of the Rhine River. A C-46 transport aircraft, in flight, bearing Tail Code "H.". View from cargo compartment as 17th Airborne Division paratroopers exit very efficiently, by jumping from both doors of the C-46. Sky filled with parachutes. Scene shifts to ground operations. U.S. Army troops stand shoulder to shoulder on a section of pontoon bridge, as it is pushed across a river by Army engineers in two small power boats. U.S. tanks and vehicles crossing pontoon bridges. Supreme Allied Commander, Five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower, stands with Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson, commander of the U.S. Ninth Army, as they observe Allied operations. American soldiers taking German prisoners of war. German POWs being escorted under guard and large numbers of them in an open field under U.S. guard.
Clouds and lightening seen in the sky. A photograph of Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goering on the ground, soaking in the rain. Ruins and rubble seen in Germany in the year 1945. High rise buildings seen later. Tall buildings and streets with automobiles and pedestrians seen. A small stream is seen.
British Royal Air Force Lancaster bomber aircraft drop bombs over German targets in Dresden during night of February 13-14, 1945, during World War 2. Bombs impact and view of explosions and smoke. Two views of German scarecrow bombs exploding, designed to look like the explosion of an Allied bomber aircraft in order to intimidate the enemy. United States Army Air Force B-17 bombers attack the City of Dresden two days later on February 15-16, 1945, focusing on railroad marshaling yards. Relentless bombing by both the American and British forces destroy the city completely.
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