Made for the home market during WWII, this silent German newsreel shows the signing of the Steel Pact aka and the role of German troops in Finland as part of the Finnish-Russian War.
The film starts with images of the signing of the Pact of Steel on 22nd of May, 1939. The Pact of Steel known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was a military and political alliance between Italy and Germany. The pact was initially drafted as a tripartite military alliance between Japan, Italy and Germany. While Japan wanted the focus of the pact to be aimed at the Soviet Union, Italy and Germany wanted it aimed at the British Empire and France. Due to this disagreement, the pact was signed without Japan and became an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, signed on 22 May 1939 by foreign ministers Galeazzo Ciano of Italy and Joachim von Ribbentrop of Germany. At :50 Adolf Hitler shakes hands as the agreement goes into feet. At 1:11 a newspaper announces a parade for Victor Emanuel and Mussolini to celebrate the alliance. Mussolini appears at 2:03 observing columns of troops and tanks. At 2:13 a parade in Berlin honoring Prince Paul of Yugoslavia is shown with Hitler in attendance. At 3:24 the Luftwaffe honors the Condor Legion in the city of Leon, Spain. At 3:48 Generalissimo Franco salutes victorious fascist forces. At 4:00 the ocean liner carrying the members of the Legion heads home to a hero’s welcome. Their return included an assembly for a personal address by Hitler on 6 June 1939, and a parade as part of the celebrations organized for Hitler’s 50th birthday 20 April 1939.
At 5:19 another newsreel shows Operation Reindeer, part of a joint German–Finnish military operation plan during World War II, which mainly operated and engaged by Germans. Its main goal was the capture of the key Soviet port at Murmansk through attacks from Finnish and Norwegian territory. At 5:30 German troops cross into Finland and at 5:20 enter the arctic circle. At 5:47 engineers work to stabilize a road with tree trunks so that trucks can cross. At 6:03 a Panzer fords a river. At 6:09 officers confer. At 6:20 horse drawn supply wagon is shown in the mud. At 6:30 German troops ford a river under fire by artillery. At 7:00 a beautiful aid worker gives German troops some hot food. A map shows the distance to the target, Murmansk. At 7:20 radio wire spools are air dropped to German troops who then begin stringing the wire. At 7:58 a supply ship unloads mail, coffee and other goods for the troops. At 8:17 more supply wagons are shown. At 8:27 a sign warns that the front is nearby. Troops slog on at 8:40 in wet weather gear. At 9:01 officers look at maps and at 9:08 troops walk past a shattered locomotive while at 9:14 wounded are evacuated by Junkers Ju-52 seaplane. At 9:50 German troops press on with artillery strikes and move heavy machine-guns into position on the outskirts of Murmansk.
Operation Silver Fox had three stages. Operation Reindeer (Rentier) was the initial attack by German forces from Norway to secure the area around Petsamo. The follow-up operations, Operation Platinum Fox (Platinfuchs) from the north by Army Norway (AOK Norwegen) and Operation Arctic Fox (Polarfuchs) by XXXVI Mountain Corps together with units from the Finnish III Corps, aimed to capture the vital port of Murmansk afterwards. The operation was unsuccessful and Murmansk continued to operate throughout the war.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
