Made for the home market in Germany during WWII, this silent newsreel shows Wehrmacht activities in the Balkans. In particular the film shows operations in Yugoslavia and Belgrade. At :34 a situational map shows German and allied forces’ plan of attack. At :42 German troops move through heavy mud while at :49 artillery strikes enemy positions. At 1:03 a sign points the way towards Belgrade. At 1:07 severed bridges block the way while at 1:19 aerial footage shows destroyed historic buildings and strategic targets. At 1:30 German forces enter Belgrade, 12 April, 1941. At 1:36 troops enter the part of the city known as Gornji Grad and Yugoslavia surrenders. At 1:46 the border with Greece is shown. German troops wade across a river as tanks (2:20) move past a sign pointing the way to Athens. At 2:30 a Panzer navigates a tight street. The frame on top is a large radio antenna. At 2:48 a road sign points the way into Greece. At 2:53 troops on motorcycles move through the streets. At 3:00 paratroops prepare for an operation by putting on gloves and parachutes and then boarding a Junker Ju-52 for a paradrop at low level. At 4:23 the paratroops assemble around a bridge and engage the enemy with machine-guns. At 5:00 a smashed bridge is shown along with destroyed enemy armor and trucks. At 5:16 a Panzer fords a river. At 5:30 the entry into Athens on April 27th is shown, concluding with a shot of the Parthenon, the cradle of democracy. The German flag now flies over Greece.
The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in “Führer Directive No. 25”, which Adolf Hitler issued on 27 March 1941, following the Yugoslav coup d’état.
The invasion commenced with an overwhelming air attack on Belgrade and facilities of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force (VVKJ) by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and attacks by German land forces from southwestern Bulgaria. These attacks were followed by German thrusts from Romania, Hungary and the Ostmark. Italian forces were limited to air and artillery attacks until 11 April, when the Italian army attacked towards Ljubljana (in modern-day Slovenia) and through Istria and Lika and down the Dalmatian coast. On the same day, Hungarian forces entered Yugoslav Bačka and Baranya, but like the Italians they faced practically no resistance. A Yugoslav attack into the northern parts of the Italian protectorate of Albania met with initial success, but was inconsequential due to the collapse of the rest of the Yugoslav forces.
The Battle of Greece (also known as Operation Marita, German: Unternehmen Marita)[13] is the common name for the invasion of Allied Greece by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in April 1941 during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasion in April 1941. German landings on the island of Crete (May 1941) came after Allied forces had been defeated in mainland Greece. These battles were part of the greater Balkan Campaign of Germany.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
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
