Views from a U.S. Destroyer, one of the warships supporting Operation Shingle (invasion of Anzio, Italy) during World War 2. View from bridge as Destroyer fires her guns. Heavy black smoke rising from two Allied ships bombed by enemy aircraft. Another view of the Destroyer's guns firing. A bomb bursting in distance. A formation of enemy aircraft seen momentarily overhead. Dense black smoke rising from bombed ship nearby. Two burning convoy ships in distance.
American women at work in war production jobs in the United States during World War 2. American women work for the war production to help the soldiers and to increase the manpower. Smoke from the chimneys of factories. Crane at a harbor. Exterior of an ammunition factory. U.S. Army Air Forces B-24 Liberators under construction in a factory. A woman types a document, seated at a desk. Other woman work along with her. Women in uniforms. Women wash cars. Women pumping gas at gas stations. Women work at farms. 3 planes fly in formation. Women watch the planes in flight. Cars arrive outside a building. Women exit the cars. They work in the aircraft factory. Men work in the factory. Woman work along with them. A poster reads: 'Women in the war'. Women being instructed about the engine of the aircraft. They work on different parts of the plane. They work on a tiny equipment. Men serve food to women. Women seated at table as they eat food. Other women work on the tail section of the aircraft. The planes ready to be tested as they are parked outside the factory. A plane taxis on the airfield. Planes fly in formation.
View from the waterfront pier, of the German Battleship, SMS Schleswig Holstein, firing its 150mm and 290mm guns point blank at the Polish Westerplatte defenses, on September 1, 1939, as Germany precipitated World War 2 and invasion of Poland. Views from the Schleswig Holstein, where her Captain, Gustav Kleikamp, is seen observing the effects through binoculars,at timecode 00:20. Following these bombardment scenes, film shifts to Polish tanks (Vickers?) moving out of woods. Sequence shifts again to amphibious tanks moving through water and climbing onto shore.
Finland attacked by the Soviets during the "Winter War" or Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940, coinciding with World War 2. Vyacheslav Molotov addresses Soviet men in a hall. View of Stalin seated near a wall. Soviet Men applaud. Soviet planes in flight. Soviet Paratroopers jump from the plane and descend with the help of parachutes towards Finland. Soviet army soldiers place and fire a line of artillery on the battlefield. Soviet airplanes in flight over Helsinki. The city of Helsinki being bombed by Soviet aircraft. People flee from the area. Damage in the area due to the bombardment. Destroyed houses, buildings and rubble on the ground in Finland from aerial bombing. A wrecked airplane on the street.
With the surrender of Germany, World War 2 in Europe ends, on VE (Victory in Europe) Day, May 8, 1945. Scene opens with church bells ringing and view of west front of St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, in London, England. Crowd is celebrating in the square. around the statue of Queen Anne. Amongst the crowd are men and women in uniform. Here and there Union Jack flags are seen, one held by a little girl hoisted upon a man's shoulder. Camera pans across various parts of the celebrating crowds. View from above, of several couples dancing within a circle of people. Several uniformed U.S. Air Force officers in a jeep celebrate with the crowd. High altitude view of Trafalgar Square in London, England. 'Victory over Germany 1945' banner draped on base of Nelson's Column. Crowd of British citizens celebrating on streets of Whitehall and closeup of the Cenotaph with inscription "The Glorious Dead".
German attacks on other nations during World War 2. A sign reads 'Belgique' near a building. Germans in Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and France. German soldiers on tanks and other military vehicles as they advance in blitzkrieg (lightning war). They advance through the Dutch farmlands. German Ju-52 aircraft fly in formation and drop paratroopers. The destruction of Rotterdam by heavy German bombardment. People in Netherlands bury their dead at cemetery. French refugees leave their cities. Adolf Hitler looks at the Eiffel tower in Paris, with other German officials, during occupation of France. Aerial view of the city. German bombers attack London, England during the blitz. Shattered equipment on the ground and destroyed buildings in London, England. Hitler observes the German Atlantic Wall defenses. The battle and Allied evacuation of Dunkirk. White cliffs of Dover Sea shore in view. Map depicts German positions. The Battle of Britain. British spitfire planes attack German bombers. Children being evacuated from London and Paris. Fires and aerial bombardment at night by German aircraft during blitzkrieg. Rubble being cleared by British following bombing by German aircraft. British men and women war production workers in munitions and aircraft factories. Hitler and Goering with others in the railroad carriage where French authorities surrender at Compiegne in June, 1940. German forces attacking the Soviet Union, with tanks, infantry and aircraft during Operation Barbarossa, on June 22, 1941.The mobilization of Soviet defense forces depicted with scenes of Soviet citizens listening to radio updates and reading newspapers about invasion. Soviet men mobilizing for military training. New recruits in Russia prepare for military action.
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