Lest We Forget is a 1947 military documentary that consists of newsreels and government propaganda films, giving viewers a look at the fighting of World War II. The film opens with aerial footage of Berlin in the aftermath of Allied bombing attacks. Footage shows some of the city’s buildings and squares looking desolate. People celebrate the end of the war in Paris (01:33) and London (02:12). Soldiers march along beaches in England, preparing for the invasion of Normandy. LCVPs land on a beach and soldiers run ashore. B-17 Flying Fortresses fly through the air and drop bombs over Axis targets (03:54). A squadron of B-24 Liberators bomb German positions in France as well (04:31). Trains and trucks haul tanks and other military supplies. Men maneuver a tanker car off a freighter. Men work on maintaining planes (05:20) leading up to D-Day. This is followed by aerial footage of aerial combat. Off the coast of England, viewers see dozens of ships and barrage balloons; men walk onto ships for embarkation (06:12). Men drive heavy machinery into an LST (07:19). A few sailors play instruments aboard a ship (08:26). Back in England, GIs listen to details of their mission at an air field. Men kill time playing volleyball and cleaning and prepping weapons. General Dwight D. Eisenhower greets soldiers before they depart for Europe (10:18). Footage shows the Allied fleet crossing the English Channel. Planes and gliders take off during dusk and throughout the night. A glider is towed during takeoff and takes flight (11:56). Planes tow the gliders over the Channel. Men wait on the ships. Navy guns begin to fire on Nazi targets in Normandy (14:10). Soldiers climb overboard and into landing craft; the landing craft hit the beach and soldiers run for cover (16:08). Medics tend to wounded men. An aerial view shows a field full of landed gliders (17:12). On the beaches of Normandy, soldiers leave their landing craft and wade to shore. Paratroopers march after landing (17:55); some pose with children while a few others pose with a captured Nazi flag. German POWs are marched to ships that will take them to England (18:32). There is a good aerial shot of Allied columns moving through French towns. A woman greets soldiers on the road and offers them a drink. German soldiers walk out of a building with their arms held up, surrendering to the Allied troops. Harbor forts of Cherbourg are bombed (20:15), concluding this first reel.
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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, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
