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War Department Report Gran Sasso Raid Axis Military Strength Wwii Supply & Logistics 86334 (1944)

1944 · Feature film · 46 min

  • War
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Synopsis

Dating to early 1944 and prior to the D-Day invasion, this WWII newsreel prepared by the Office of Strategic Services assesses enemy strength, and looks at grand strategy, production and logistics, showing what has been accomplished so far -- and what sacrifices will need to be made to ensure victory. Opening titles:(:07-1:20). September 12, 1943, German paratroopers free Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in the Gran Sasso Raid. The German Fallschirmjäger led by Major Harald Mors and Waffen-SS commandos. An exultant but diminished Mussolini visits with Adolf Hitler (1:21-3:23). Footage shows Hitler with the Japanese representative Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka (4:40). OSS assessment of enemy strength. Newsreel footage shows Japanese Army troops, then Japanese aircraft carriers heading for Pearl Harbor in December 1941 (3:24-5:25). Bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. English headline reads: U.S. Pacific Fleet Annihilated! Graphic montage shows Japanese military offensive (5:26-7:04). Montage of Japanese industry, factories and armament production, military activities, etc. A map shows Japan's bases in the South Pacific and the start of American resistance to the enemy onslaught including the victory at Midway (7:05-9:19). Shots of dead Japanese soldiers and American Marines. At (9:35) the hand of a dead German trooper, adorned with a Nazi ring, is shown. At 9:39, rows of German graves. German forces are shown surrendering in Russia. Montage of German troops…

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Details

Running time
46 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

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