World War Paratrooper & Glider Assault in Normandy D-Day Minus One June 5 (1944)

Synopsis

NOTE: FILM STARTS AT:40 SECONDS. The U.S. Army Air Forces Special Film Project D-Day Minus One (158A), released in 1945, tells the story of the paratrooper and glider assault—"the opening maneuver of Operation Neptune (the assault operation for Overlord)”—that preceded the all-out invasion of the beaches of Normandy on 6 June 1944. The film is presented by Lt. General Barney M. Giles, Deputy Commander of the Army Air Forces and Chief of The Air Staff ( 00:40 ). The film shows Allied troops and LCVPs landing on the beaches ( 02:10 ) and Douglas C-47 Skytrains flying overhead ( 02:25 ) as part of the invasion before backtracking to tell the story of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and IX Troop Carrier Command. A village in England houses the paratroopers and is nicknamed “Shantytown” ( 02:50 ) because of the immediate transformation of glider cargo boxes into housing for the soldiers once the gliders are removed. Preparations are made for jumping behind Germany’s Atlantic Wall ( 03:39 ): steel anti-tank obstacles and iron barriers concrete-fortified anti-aircraft bunker housing a German 380mm gun. Nazis load shells into the antiaircraft gun ( 03:48 ). Meanwhile, the U.S. Chiefs of Staff plan the operation to strike at Normandy ( 04:10 ). Paratroopers load onto buses ( 04:31 ) and drive across England to a sealed airport ( 05:04 ), where they kill time by playing games and music, exercising, and caring for their gear as they wait to find out the details of the upcoming…

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Details

Running time

17 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage