This WWII Soviet propaganda film celebrates the heroic defense of Leningrad, Stalingrad and Moscow during 1942-1943 in WWII.

Narrator:

A commander telegraphed that the selfless struggle of the fighters in Sevastopol was an example of heroism for all the Soviet army and nation. Sevastopol, a hero city, fought for eight months. (00.24)

At great cost, Hitler’s army came close to Leningrad, but it was stopped on the city’s fringes. The Fascists decided to destroy the cradle of the revolution through shelling and bombing. (00.46)

The city braced itself for a long siege. Battles were taking place next to operating factories. (01.15) The army and citizens united in the face of the siege. They were surviving deprivation and fighting the enemy together. (01.38) Following a decision of the Central Committee of the Party and the government, an Ice Road over Lake Ladoga was created, the Road of Life. (01.48) The enemy came close to Moscow despite the fearless resistance of our troops. 100,000 Communists and 260,000 Komsomol members went to battle from Moscow. (03.02) Troops and ammunition were arriving from the hinterland to protect the capital. As always, on the Day of the October Revolution, there was a parade on Red Square. These words were spoken from the rostrum of the Mausoleum, ‘The enemy thought that our army would be dispersed after the very first strike. Our country was brought to its knees. But the enemy made a great miscalculation.’ (03.33) The troops left for the battle straight from the parade. 12,000 fighters submitted applications to be accepted into the party before the battle. Every fourth defender of Moscow was a communist. (04.00) The enemy was pushed back. It was the first major defeat of Hitler’s army in the Second World War. The idea of a blitzkrieg failed completely. (04.46)

Soviet scientists were looking for new supplies for defense needs. Engineers were developing new, more effective weapons. More than 1,500 enterprises that had been evacuated to the East started manufacturing products for the front line. Tens of thousands of tanks, planes, and weapons were delivered to the front line just in the first six months of 1942. (05.47) Collective-farm peasantry was also contributing to the defense of the country. In these conditions, women had to perform most of the hard work. Almost half of the cultivated areas were situated on the occupied territories. Nevertheless, the agricultural industry of the Eastern districts managed to make up for that loss thanks to the measures taken by the Party. (06.29) By the mid-1942, the national economy was fully reoriented towards military needs. (06.36) The absence of the second front in Europe made it possible for Hitler to launch a new offensive. The Fascists occupied Crimea, entered the bend of Don, strived for oil in Baku and Grozny. (07.06) However, the nations of Transcaucasia together with the army stood in the way of the invaders. (07.22)

Nonetheless, the fate of Caucuses was mostly determined by Stalingrad. One of the biggest battles of the Second World War began here. (07.54) The front line was already within the city. ‘Not one step back!’, the Party pleaded. ‘ ‘Not one step back, there is no land for us beyond Volga’. The resistance of our troops was increasing day by day. The soldiers were inspired by their belief in winning over Nazi Germany. (09.21) A radical change in the course of the war was close.

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, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com