I. 'BLITZING GERMAN AIRFIELDS.' An officer of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) watches a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber aircraft from the 456th Bomb Squadron of the 323rd Bomb Group take off as he walks his Great Dane dog in the vicinity of the runway (Earls Colne in Essex ?). Interior views of a B-26 cockpit show the aircraft's pilot wearing a throat communications microphone and an A2 leather flying jacket. A Martin B-26(B?) retracts its tricycle undercarriage after take off. Aerial footage show Marauders crossing a coastline at low level and later, flying in formation at medium altitude. Bombs drop over Beauvais airfield (?) near Paris. The commentary states that the Luftwaffe has plenty of anti-aircraft guns, but no airfields in this part of "the Fortress of Europe." A USAAF bombardier/air gunner is shown at his station in the nose of a B-26, manning an air-cooled Browning .50-in heavy machine gun.

II. 'ITALY DAY BY DAY.' Footage is shown of the aftermath of a German time bomb explosion at the new Post office building in Naples. Smoke rises from the explosion as US corpsmen and military police give medical attention to the casualties. Injured Neapolitan civilians and US troops lie or sit in the rubble strewn-street, some are plainly suffering from shock. British military ambulances arrive on the scene. The commentary states that the retreating German forces left time bombs in many places, causing some deaths and many casualties. Stock shots show damaged buildings and railway marshalling yards. On a lighter note, the commentary points out that many Italians are eager to work for the Allied forces in the region. Hundreds of Italian civilians queue for jobs outside a town hall building that has been taken over by the Allied occupation forces. A US military policeman stands guard outside the town hall entrance which has a sign fixed to it which reads "Town Hall- AMGOT." A USAAF Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft taxies at an unidentified Southern Italian airfield. Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) groundcrew unload the C-47 aircraft watched by USAAF personnel and Italian partisans who have Moschetto modello 91 per Cavalleria 6.5mm carbines (fixed folding bayonet) slung across their shoulders. RAAF ground crews off-load oil drums from USAAF Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft (11-9473). Stock shot footage shows Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) ground crews servicing the engines of a Savoia-Marchetti SM 79 Sparviero bomber. British soft-skinned vehicles and infantry detachments cross a pontoon bridge described by the commentary as being the first crossing of the Volturno River by elements of US General Mark W Clark's Fifth Army (?). British sappers tighten tension screws on a Bailey bridge that has been erected to replace a destroyed iron bridge. The commentary states that the Volturno River was an important German defensive line where a "stiff fight" took place before the line was eventually "forced" by the Allies. Panoramic views show a typical Southern Italian valley with the smouldering wreckage of a German aircraft in the foreground (the wreckage is badly distorted, but possibly forms part of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 F fighter).

III. 'NEWS FROM ENGLAND.' King George VI and Queen Elizabeth review men of the Fourth Indian Division who have been drawn up in the inner quadrangle of Buckingham Palace. King George VI chats to an Indian Army Major before bestowing gallantry awards on the waiting men. A member of the Fourth Indian Division receives the Victoria Cross from King George VI.

IV. 'STALINGRAD'S SWORD.' A policeman opens the entry doors to the Goldsmith's Hall in the City of London. A large crowd of civilians wait in line for entry to see the sword that will be presented to the people of Stalingrad by King George VI. Interior views of Goldsmith's Hall follow as spectators file past the display cabinet that houses the presentation sword. A close up of the sword is shown. The new Russian Ambassador to Great Britain, Mr Feodor Gusev, examines the sword at close hand with evident interest.

V. 'RUSSIA.' Russian troops stand to attention in front of soft-skinned vehicles during an awards ceremony given in honour for some of the defenders of Stalingrad. A close up of an award certificate shows its Cyrillic text. Russian female soldiers receive bravery certificates and medals at a ceremony in a wooded area. Russian civilians carry flowers, forming part of a funeral procession that winds through a devastated urban landscape (Stalingrad ?). Russian partisans gather to hear a political address by a speaker who stands on a podium. The gathered partisans are armed with Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina obr 1941g (PPSh-41) 7.62mm sub-machine guns and possibly Pistolet-Pulemyot Sudaeva obr 1943g 7.62mm sub-machine guns. A Russian artillery crew fire a 76.2mm Pushka obr 1939g dual-purpose field gun at an unseen target from the cover of a gun pit in a wooded location. Russian infantry fire 50mm mortars (50mm Rotny Minomyot obr 1940g ?) that have been heavily camouflaged by Oak branches. Russian infantry move forwards over steppe, supported by fire from a Stankovy Pulemyot Maksima obr 1910g 7.62mm heavy machine gun mounted on a Sokolov carriage. The commentary states that Hitler has already lost over two-thirds of the territory that he captured during the first year of the war in Russia. German dead are shown in a trench, a 9mm MP 40 (Maschinenpistole) sub-machine gun lies discarded in the mud with its stock folded. A Russian 152mm Gaubitsa-Pushka obr 1937g field gun fires at high elevation. Russian naval infantry advance past a burning Isba (lodge-house). Stock shots show German Wehrmacht prisoners being marched under armed guard past shell damaged buildings.

Notes

Associated material: items I - IV are repeated at WPN 282