"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Summary: Continuation (and end) of "U.S. War Department Report: HOW STRONG IS THE ENEMY? 1944.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
U.S. operations against Japan. Animated map diagram shows huge distances that must be covered. Various shots of aerial operations in the Aleutian Islands - -aircraft landing & taking off, taxiing on very wet airstrip; MCU pilots/others look at map. Air to air behind group of planes. Aerials over Aleutians; snow-covered rugged terrain, clouds, water. CU pilot in plane, talking. Aerial shot looking down on body of water, clouds.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
New Guinea. High angle shot of tractor transporting artillery on narrow path through jungle. LS Native people of New Guinea clearing land for an airfield; the workers are all men, wearing shorts or loincloths. Pan on workers as in BG an airplane arrives bringing supplies. Military planes. Supplies being unloaded by the New Guineans. Troops walking from transport plane. GIs clearing grass for a new base farther forward. Machines knocking down trees; CU surface is laid. High GV of cleared area, a few machines at work.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
U.S. planes raid Wewak in New Guinea. Air to air shots. CU bomber's hands on controls. POV plane as it shoots, flying toward Japanese airfield. WOW! Then shaky shot flying lower. LS Japanese plane flying upward. CU pilot's hand on joystick. CUs of American using stencil to paint Japanese flag representing a "kill" on his plane; joining 3 others. CU of the grinning guy making hand sign "O" for OK. US base; bomber on runway.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Chinese workers constructing airstrips by very primitive methods such as pushing and pulling a big roller, carrying buckets on yoke over shoulders, breaking rocks with hand tools, and using Ox-drawn cart. Shows how supplies are brought from American ship; trucks on rural road in India; elephant looks from left FG; brief shots of elephants carrying supplies truck and elephant. Indians working on railroad. LS a bunch of people walking w/ baskets on yokes, then dump contents over cliff. Aerials of Himalayas. Shots represent gas, oil, munitions, and spare parts being used to repair aircraft; all of which must be flown in. Panning shot of plane flying overhead.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Map of Northeast Asia area shows supply route to Vladivostok runs near the heavily fortified border of Japanese-occupied Manchukuo, which makes it too risky to try bombing Japan from there. Russia could be thrown into a 2-front war.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Montage of artillery barrage as Germans and Russians battle on the Eastern front. MS Hitler, Goering, Jodl (?) talking, along with other military officers (faces not seen). More montage of Russian front scenes - - burning tank, MSs CUs Russian troops in trench; LSs soldiers are shot, soldiers running across field.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
More animated map showing problem of logistics in bombing Japan, distance and supply. LSs supply yards. Various shots of bombers in flight.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Preparations for amphibious landing in Italy. Men and equipment assembled. Shots of Landing Ship Tanks, Shot of 3 men look out of portholes. Barges lined up. DUKWs. Ships being loaded. Tanks in hold of ship. Various LSs incl long pan on of invasion fleet. Various shots from shore of landing craft approaching and troops coming off (no enemy resistance seen in any of these shots). MS a small dog also disembarks along with the troops. Cutaways to aircraft flying over beach. Shot from edge of water of troops running past. LS troops run across beach toward cam. MS/LS troops digging foxholes/trenches. LS we hear shooting and the soldiers quickly disappear into the holes.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Several of U.S. Army engineers detecting & removing landmines, unroll a mat across the sand for wheeled vehicles, assembling temporary docks. Various heavy equipment unloaded on shores of Italy - -jeeps, trucks, armored cars, guns, bulldozers. MSs Troops unloading crates of supplies. Various shots showing damaged craft & materiel along the shore- -'casualties' of amphibious operation.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Various shots of ships anti-aircraft guns shooting at German aircraft. The Liberty Ship "Robert Rowan" hit by German bombers and blows up off Salerno; the ship was carrying munitions; there are wavy streams of smoke in every direction across the sky. Various LSs landing ships on fire. Wrecked equipment on deck. MLS body being carried from ship on stretcher.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Undersecretary of War Robert P. Patterson speaks, praising this report (the film) because "it tells us what we have to do and why we have to do it" Patterson discusses preparations for Allied landings at Sicily, emphasizing the quantity of equipment and supplies used VO over animated map, footage Various shots of wounded being carried on stretchers and tended on the beaches of Sicily; row of wounded on stretchers. MLS surgery (in building). CUs casualties. Map of Europe; symbols for coastal defenses, industry, and German armies appear on map. Map of East Asia. CU Patterson "The blow struck in 1944 will determine the outcome of the war. We are ready for the test of our strength and of our spirit. The year will be one of hard work and tribulation. For many of us, a year of personal tragedy .
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
CU General Wainwright; various shots from film taken by Japanese of Wainwright and American and Filipino troops taken prisoner at Corregidor in the Philippines. Flashbacks show the Pearl Harbor attack. MLS Japanese atrocities in China: Japanese soldiers shoot two Chinese men who kneel with hands tied. MS row of hanged civilians in Russia. MS Russian soldier, his arm around a little girl w/ bloody face; they walk past cam. Rubble and smoke at the ruins of the Naples Post Office which was blown up with a time bomb. Bodies of dead children and other civilians. GIs helping wounded civilians.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Shows Anthony Eden and V.M. Molotov at the Moscow Conference - -arriving, CUs signing. CUs of various Allied soldiers in battle - - firing weapons, running in desert, artillery in jungle, paratroopers jumping, street fighting in Italy. CU soldier's boot treading on a bullet-riddled swastika sign.
"How Strong is the Enemy?" pt 5 Allied Operations/Needs
Montage of close shots of industrial workers; incl low angle CU strong man spinning a wrench; an American flag hanging from high factory beam in BG. In last shot CU worker w/ tool fades to soldier w/ machine gun. (the film starts running backward at high speed for unknown reason).