Youtube WWII Documentaries

[kawaiku]

On Youtube, I discovered a number of WWII documentaries that are available for free viewing. I've watched a few and I wasn't sure if anyone here has watched them but I figured I'd let you guys know. Below I posted up the videos and the links along with a description of each video Enjoy

The True Glory:

The True Glory. The movie was assembled from actual footage of the WWII allied invasion of Europe, captured by thousands of different camera operators. Starting with D-Day, the documentary covers the major battles all the way to the fall of Berlin, along with personal vignettes.

The Battle of Russia:

The 60-minute documentary was the fifth of the Army Special Service's "Why We Fight" series. Assembled under the supervision of Lt. Colonel Frank Capra, the film is a sublimely assembled collection of authentic newsreel footage from both the U.S. Signal Corps and various Soviet sources. Narrated by Anthony Veiller, Battle for Russia is designed to clarify the history of America's Russian allies to military and civilian audiences alike, and to emphasize the importance of Russo-American cooperation in defeating the Nazi juggernaut. The film's highlight is the siege of Stalingrad, alternately terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Attack! The Battle for New Britain:

The Battle for New Britain, this 56-minute documentary was assembled by the Office of War Information. Lensed in the Southwest Pacific, the film deals with the efforts to recapture the island of New Britain from the Japanese. After a grueling training period (shown in unsparing detail), the Allied forces launch their three-pronged assault of the island. Despite heavy losses, the victory goes to the Americans and British.

The Battle of Britain:

June 1940 marked a pivotal moment in the Second World War. That month witnessed Nazi Germany's most aggressive move against England: the deadliest continual air strike in military history, the Battle of Britain. In an address to Parliament, Prime Minister Churchill predicted calamity just days prior to the strike. Few could have foreseen the extent of the destruction, but fewer still could have imagined the heart-tugging stoicism and courage with which the English people responded. This package from The Timeless Media Group revisits those crucial hours and days with a collection of films that evaluate the Battle of Britain from many different angles. It begins with The Battle of Britain, wherein two pilots reflect on their experiences during these battles.

The Great Battle of the Volga:

While this film of one of the epic struggles of WWII is over 50 years old, it still delivers the drama of the battle fought by Russian soldiers and sailors to defend Leningrad. Codenamed "Operation Barbarrosa" by Hitler, the battle was truly horrific. This documentary, The Great Battle of the Volga, focuses on the bravery and suffering of the Russian soldiers as they endure the tremendous attack by the well-equipped German army. That they could regroup and fight back with such ferocity is depicted, along with the terrible destruction caused by the Germans.

Thunderbolt:

A documentary on the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft and its use in missions over Europe and the Pacific Theatre in the Second World War.

The Battle of San Pietro:

This documentary movie is about the battle of San Pietro, a small village in Italy. Over 1,100 US soldiers were killed while trying to take this location, that blocked the way for the Allied forces from the Germans.

Attack in the Pacific:

There are over 10000 islands within the Pacific Ocean located between Asia and America, the vast majority of which possess little geopolitical importance in periods of peace but, during the Second World War, a good many of these outposts suffered through the dismal experience of armed conflict between two widely separated nations: Japan and the United States. This dramatic documentary, an Armed Forces Information Film, completed a year before the war's end, is dedicated to the men of the United States Navy, a fighting organization which fulfilled a most significant role in bringing about the defeat of Japan; the combat footage, although propagandistic, is startling. Following a valuable introduction describing the variegated Pacific islands and their denizens, effective use is made of film and graphics to describe the spread of Japanese military power from its base south to Australia, including the attack at Pearl Harbor, and provides excellent coverage of the methods used by members of the Allies, particularly the U.S., to prepare for counterattacks against Japan, bloodily advancing from island to island. Top-flight editing marks this work wherein all scenes are filmed by combat photographers, and although largely devoted to Naval/Marine achievements, the contributions of both the American Army and Army Air Force are highlighted as well, and scenes of the Jimmy Doolittle led bombing attack of Tokyo are particularly memorable.

The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress:

Documentary about the 25th and last bombing mission of a B17, the "Memphis Belle". The "Memphis Belle" took part in a great bombing raid on sub-pens in Wilhelmshafen, Germany. On their way they encounterd heavy AA fire and interceptors.

Appointment in Tokyo:

This inspiring 54-minute WWII documentary covers the entire American Pacific campaign from the Bataan retreat to the surrender of Japan. Many of the film's more unforgettable scenes, notably the rape of Manila, have been culled from captured Japanese newsreels. The "star" of the proceedings is General Douglas MacArthur, who after three years of relentless fighting makes good his promise "I shall return." Only occasionally does the film falter by lapsing into phony sentimentality.

The Fighting Lady:

"The Fighting Lady," provides a portrait of life on a World War II aircraft carrier, a vessel that is "enormous, wonderful, and strange to us." After profiling the various activities of the soldiers' day and following the ship's voyage through the Panama Canal, the film takes the audience through a litany of actual combat engagements. The Fighting Lady participates in a strike on the Marcus Islands, then defends itself against a surprise nighttime raid by Japanese fighters. Some of the photography comes from cameras set up in the cockpits of American planes, showing first hand what it's like to be diving through enemy anti-aircraft fire. The film culminates in a major confrontation with the Imperial Japanese Battle Fleet. In this massive
operation, later dubbed the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," American pilots
downed almost four hundred Japanese Zeros, while incurring only
twenty-two losses themselves.

[kawaiku]

There are quite a few so here are more!

Tunisian Victory:

Tunisian Victory is an Anglo-American propaganda film about the victories in the North Africa Campaign.

The film follows both armies from the planning of Operation Torch / Operation Acrobat to the liberation of Tunis. Interspersed in the pure documentary format are the narrative voices of an American and a British soldier (voiced by Burgess Meredith and Bernard Miles respectively), recounting their experience in the campaign. The British and American talk separately until the end of the film when they have a dialogue, agree to co-operate after the end of the war, with the other Allied nations to create a more just and peaceful post-war order.

Divide and Conquer:

The film covers the Nazi capture of
Denmark and Norway, steps necessary to mount a future attack on Britain,
then describes in detail Hitler's strategy as he conquers Luxembourg,
Belgium and the Netherlands. Special attention is paid to Nazi
atrocities. Dead and injured children are shown en masse and the film
explains how the bombing of Rotterdam leads to "thirty thousand men,
women and children killed in ninety minutes." The narrator tells how
the Luftwaffe bombs small villages so that refugees clog the highways,
and how it uses precision machine gun fire to herd the survivors toward
the allied armies, who find their progress severely constrained as a
result. An American military officer details the Nazi plan for an
invasion of France, which Hitler conquers in just over a month. The
Germans bludgeon the French armies into surrender, then "enslave" much
of the local population to service the German military regime.

The Battle of China:

With a brief history of the country, we also learn of why the Japanese wanted to conquer it and felt confident about succeeding. Finally, the history of the war in that theatre is illustrated and shows the stiff determination of the Chinese who use all their resources to oppose Japanese aggression to the end.

Report from the Aleutians:

A official documentary movie about the misson of the US forces on an island of the Aleutians, from which US bombers are attacking the Japanese occupied island Kiska. The movie includes footage from a bombing raid over Kiska with B-17 and B-24 bombers.

Desert Victory:

The full-length feature story of the rout of Rommel in Africa by the British 8th Army... with the most thrilling scenes ever taken under fire!

The Allied campaign to drive Germany and Italy from North Africa is analysed, with the major portion of the film examining the battles at El Alamein, including a re-enactment.

The Nazi's Strike:

In this installment of the Why We Fight propaganda film series, we see the events of Nazi Germany's diplomatic and military acts of international aggression. One by one, we learn of the Nazi's consistently underhanded and relenting violation of every promise of peace and exploitation of their foes's attempts of appeasement until the invasion of Poland September of 1939 which led to Britain and France finally taking an armed stand against Hitler.

Combat America:

A documentary recounting the experiences of the 351st Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces, based in England during the Second World War . The group's air and ground crews are followed through a number of bombing missions over Hitler's Germany.

December 7th:

"December 7th," directed by John Ford, begins with the aftermath of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, nicknamed "the Navy's hundred million
dollar fist." Authentic footage of the invasion is mixed with reenactments
to provide a complete portrait of the events of that fateful day. An
extended sequence pays tribute to the American soldiers killed in the
attack, many of whom are individually profiled, complete with
testimonials offered by surviving family members. American bravery is
not only embodied by the fallen, it is proven by the resolve that comes
in response to the attack. The film culminates in a profile of the
Navy's recovery of one sunken vessel in particular, employing the effort
as a metaphor for the American cause, "a symbol of the fighting spirit
of our men who build and man our ships." Much like this successful
refitting, the film suggests that American forces will rise from destruction, stronger than they were before.

To the Shores of Iwo Jima:

Excellent documentary about the landing and key battles on Iwo Jima during world war 2.

With the Marines at Tarawa:

A documentary film depicting the harrowing battle between the U.S. Marines and the Japanese for control of the Pacific island of Tarawa. A brutal battle from the war in the Pacific was the basis of this unusually graphic documentary short.

War Comes to America:

Part VII of the "Why We Fight" series of wartime documentaries. This entry attempts to describe the factors leading up to America's entry into the Second World War.

Stilwell Road:

Narrated by Ronald Reagan, a documentary about the construction of the Stilwell Road--originally called The Ledo Road--a 478-mile passage from Assam, India, to Ledo, Burma, during World War II. The road, which was built by 63,000 workers and cost $150 million, was used by the British, Chinese and Indian armies to transport supplies, troops and other essentials from India to Burma in order to keep the Japanese from overrunning the entire theater. Included is footage of the construction of the road itself and of Gen. Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, the American general in charge of forces in the China-Burma-India area of operations and for whom the road was named.

[kawaiku]

Here is the last one I believe:

The Battle of Midway:

On June 4-6, 1942, a large Japanese force attempted to capture Midway Island in the North Pacific, but was defeated by U.S. forces with a loss ratio of 4:1 in favor of the Americans. On hand was a crew of naval photographers directed by John Ford; their documentary footage was edited together with narration by Hollywood actors. The film covers the attack on Midway, some limited aerial footage, the search for survivors, and aftermath of the battle

[nemo]

Thanks for the heads up!

[prymus]

Very cool, going to have to load up some of these. Thanks for the info.