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“ Act and Fact D-Day ” June 6 (1945)

1945 · Short film · 10 min

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Synopsis

This period newsfilm depicts the beach landings which took place on June 6th, 1944. This was the Allied invasion during WW2 and it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. It was released by British Information Services (:12) and opens with European citizens opening their windows and leaning out on the morning of D-Day (:31). Heads are titled to the skies as the drone of heavy-laden planes had been heard throughout the night (:34). An Evening Standard paper is seen with a headline reading ‘The Invasion of Europe Begins’ (:37). The Allied bombing forces dropped bombs with their new rocket bombing planes over coastal fortifications (1:04). A massive payload falls from one and mushroom cloud explosions are fed back into the sky (1:36). Inland targets include the enemy’s communication systems, canal transports, locomotives and enemy air power (1:48). Strafing along the countryside (2:17) and the canal follows (2:24). An airfield is then seen hit (2:45) as well as a German plane in the sky (3:14). General Eisenhower and his staff met at the Allied Operations headquarters (3:42). He is pictured with Admiral Bertram Ramsay (3:49). Transports and gliders await troops and the men prepared for the assault (4:00). The planes are seen painted with fresh zebra stripes (4:05). Troops collected emergency rations for two days (4:15) as once they were behind enemy lines they would be cut off from supplies until uniting with the beach forces. Transportation crafts are loaded up (4:42)…

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Details

Running time
10 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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