British Pathe

Compilation of material documenting the allied landings on the Northern Coast of France in 1944. Previously seen in Pathe Gazettes I presume. Not linked with new commentary.

C/U of a typewritten communique stating that the allied forces had begun landing that morning. Retrospective - footage...

Compilation of material documenting the allied landings on the Northern Coast of France in 1944. Previously seen in Pathe Gazettes I presume. Not linked with new commentary.

C/U of a typewritten communique stating that the allied forces had begun landing that morning. Retrospective - footage of the evacuation of the B.E.F. and allied troops from Dunkirk in 1940 is shown. 4 years later, back to the same Normandy coast. Various shots of troops on board ship, D-Day, wading through the sea etc. "We announce the fact that never in the history of newsreels have such vast plans been made for the coverage of the last great act of liberation." Various shots of troops sleeping on deck, disembarking. First pictures of the opening of the second front. Overhead shot of aircraft from the sky. Bombers move over French coast and blast enemy lines of communication - various shots of explosions. Allied soldiers march through streets and board amphibious vehicles. Winston Churchill visits the assembled Armada. Various shots of Churchill including him giving his famous "V for Victory" sign. Various shots of British, Canadian and American troops boarding ships (some with bicycles). Boats move away from harbour. A truck pushes an amphibious vehicle. Speech by General Eisenhower heard over shots of boats moving through the sea carrying large number of troops. Barrage balloons, warships, amphibious vehicles, paratroops, aircraft, air force, men board C47s. General Pemberton (?) salutes as the aircraft move off. Night shots of aircraft taking off. Channel Islands are seen below the aircraft. Aerial shots of the scenes below the aircraft.

01:43:53 Shots of civilians rushing to buy newspapers for the latest information about D-Day landings. C/U of newspaperman and of various people reading newspapers as they go about their business. Some are working whilst they read - one man paints a shop sign, another climbs down into a manhole. The narrator promises "fuller news pictures which we will present in our next editions of Pathe Gazette." M/S of group of women walking along reading a newspaper.

01:44:20 June the 6th - allied bombers drop bombs on France. Aerial shots of explosions. Air to air shots of aircraft. Coast of Normandy seen from aircraft. Bombs drop. Buildings on fire seen from the air. Fighter aircraft shoot up enemy aircraft and ground targets. Various shots of fire from aircraft. Aircraft and buildings exploding. Troop carrier aircraft, gliders and tow planes mass for take off signal. Various shots of aircraft - large number on the ground with invasion markings of black and white stripes. Panning shot of aircraft on the ground. Aircraft take off, seen in flight.

01:46:40 Men board ship for the battle of Normandy. Various shots of men in uniform walking up gangplanks on to boats. Troop ships move away from harbour. Narrator states that the newsreel has been made longer to show more material of the landings. Aerial shots of sea. Panning shots of warships firing shots. Guns are fired. Shells are loaded. Enemy shells begin to drop among the landing craft. Beach heads are established - aerial shot of coastline and ships at sea. Smoke screens are blown across. Allied Service Photographic Units and newsreel cameramen put "this amazing scene on celluloid." More shots of combat. Soldiers walking along the beach, ships on fire, injured men, landing craft, etc.

01:49:46 First casualties are brought out to the waiting ships. Various shots of injured men being transported to ships which stand offshore. Men on stretchers are lifted aboard, others are helped by fellow soldiers. English side of the Channel. Tank landing craft bring injured men home to southern ports. Red Cross orderlies help the wounded ashore. A man is lifted into a Red Cross ambulance.

01:50:44 "...the Navy keeps up its cross channel service." Various shots of troop ships. Shots of the raging battle on the French coast. Various shots of amphibious vehicles making their way up onto the beach and men disembarking. Buildings on fire. Railway station of Bernieres (sp?) M/S of signpost to St Aubin. Concrete gun emplacements, beach obstructions, block houses are all blasted out of existence by the allies. Pneumatic drills and dynamite are used. Naval guns lying off shore and allied warships are shown. Bombs are dropped. Bridges and roads are severed. Various shots of aircraft in flight and bombs being dropped. Admiral Ramsay and General Dwight D Eisenhower aboard a warship - C/U of the two men. General Bernard Montgomery joins them. Shots of the three men. C/U of Montgomery. Montgomery is helped down the side of a ship. Monty goes ashore aboard an amphibious vehicle. He salutes and talks to other military men. Glider reinforcements fly overhead. The 6th British Airborne Division is singled out by the narrator for special praise. Panning shots of their aircraft on the ground and soldiers walking through a field.

01:55:20 D-Day plus one. Various shots of soldiers on the march. M/S of a Minefield sign with a scull and crossbones painted upon it. Men walk through war torn landscapes. Wrecked buildings, bomb damage. Various shots of combat - shots are fired, buildings on fire, explosions, smoke etc. Civilians - French shake hands with the British and point out army entrenchments. Men walk along railway line. Tanks roll through the Normandy streets. French civilians wave at the liberating armies. M/S of group of German prisoners of war surrendering with their arms up. Group of prisoners of war stand to attention. High angle of troops on the march.

01:57:26 Pathe cameraman Jock Gemmel turns his camera on a Rhino Raft laden with German prisoners. Shots of "hundreds of beaten Bosch" being transported to Britain. Prisoners are transferred to an LCT. Russian, French and Polish nationals are amongst the prisoners taken. Various shots of the prisoners including a Colonel, "a privileged voyager". Germans arrive in England. Panning shot of the prisoners lined up in the English port.