Combat Bulletin No. 24

bullfighters and mosquitoes of the RAF Coastal Command crossed the channel to bomb and strafe Nazi merchant convoys carrying supplies for isolated German Garrison's still holding out along the western coast of Europe some ships are attacked on route others trapped inside the ports of beleaguered cities steadily mounting risks faced Nazi merchantman des landes seek contact is cut off by Allied bombings of enemy communications on the continent homeward bound bullfighters attack a gas tank aircore films of American 8th Air Force fighter bombers strafing ground targets the air assault on the Calais garrison RAF Lancaster's Halifax's and other heavies dropping thousands of tons of bombs score direct hits on Nazi strong points along the French coast port one of the Lancaster's comes down in flames this bombardment is preliminary to the truce arranged for the evacuation of civilians Calais was captured on 1st October a German pillbox and cross-channel gun position at La tracer re near the surrendered port of bolonia the 305 millimeter gun is part of the vast installations captured by the Canadians for the city of Dover silencing of these long-range weapons ends four years of German shelling it is estimated that the total number of shells dropped on Dover was two thousand two hundred and twenty-six activities of ordinance combat vehicle and artillery pools behind 1st and 3rd army lines at a collection Depot and repair yard servicing the 1st army mechanics of an ordnance battalion reassemble 155 millimeter howitzer damaged vehicles of the Third Army are repaired by members of a heavy maintenance company when tanks leave here they're ready for combat down to ammo and rations repairing the transmission and final drive of a Sherman tank and air-driven wrench is used to tighten transmission bolts on an m8 armored car a replacement is necessary for a gun barrel pierced by a 40 millimeter projectile cutting three-quarter inch armor plate patches are needed for tank holes punctured by a peeps welding a patch on a Sherman ho tank specialists reinstall a throne track a new radial engine is uncrated and installed in an armored vehicle back into action again with armored units moving into Germany Seventh Army infantry spearheads the drive above Belle Forum the gap to southwestern Germany on 23rd September they advance near the important highway junction of Rainier mall 14 miles south of AP now from remeer mall the attack spreads out along highways leading to the Vosges passes moving up to cross the Moselle River engineer units working in the area helped to assure safe and rapid passage for the troops I'm always held high and dry as the men wade in guide ropes have been rigged up to help the infantryman across assault boats are put into service as the order comes to rush the whole battalion across as quickly as possible meanwhile trucks Ford the river coming back empty to pick up another load of troops the advance continues it's reported that snow phases units fighting their way toward the western slopes of the Vosges to the north on the Third Army front a squadron of c-47s brings in winter clothing for American troops the planes arrive at a point southwest of non-si some 30 miles behind the battle frontlines the supply operation is under the supervision of the chief quartermaster for the European theater of operations heavy overcoats wool socks long underwear knitted wool cap smacking oars are among the variety of winter necessities flown into the fighting areas quartermaster reports indicate that by mid-october the American armies in Europe were 98% winterized fire bombs are introduced during the fighting for Metz in the 3rd army sector incendiaries are dropped by p-47s which on 28 September dive-bomb forts on dark setting huge fires the many German forts defending Metz have been stubborn targets for Allied artillery therefore the fire bombs serve as valuable aid for the ground troops on the 1st army front German civilians come out of the cellars of a factory-installed burg about six miles east of Aachen they'd been in hiding during the week-long house-to-house fighting for the city parish stahlberg's 30,000 population had fled before our troops entered on 22nd September AMG officials have been rounding up Nazi soldiers who disguised themselves in civilian clothes and joined the refugee columns near the Siegfried line an example of Nazi deception a house frame constructed over a pillbox behind the camouflage of a steel and concrete of a strong west wall fortification the house was designed so as to give maximum concealment to the main sections of the pillbox this type of camouflage was also employed by the Nazis along the Atlantic Wall four and a half miles south of Aachen on 28 September the Siegfried line is photographed from the air only a few of the pillboxes are seen as most of them have been sealed and covered to prevent their use by the Nazis in the event of recapture however the lanes of dragon's teeth which were still intact are shown they vary from two feet in height to five feet and are approximately three feet square at the base construction is of cement over a reinforcement and foundation of steel the Allied through disputes previous Nazi claims if the Siegfried line constitutes an impregnable barrier against invasion of Germany from the West German civilians help repair roadways damaged during the breaching of the line even as this work goes on first Army units continue the advance that preceded the siege of Aachen and the AirTrain wings toward the ainhoa Nijmegen area Holland with supplies and reinforcements following initial endings of the first Allied airborne army dropping supplies just south of Nijmegen here airborne infantryman are engaged in securing important bridges and flanking the northern anchor of the Siegfried line during the entire Netherland airborne operation American planes and gliders alone carried nearly six million pounds of supplies and equipment the following scenes were made with a camera strapped to the chest of a parachutist a heavy concentration of anti-aircraft fire brings further losses in Allied planes indicating a vigorous attempt on the part of the enemy to stem and allied drive north from Nijmegen glider plane's bring in reinforcements to help broaden the ain't Hoeven Nijmegen karada and attempt to establish contact with encircled elements of the British 1st Airborne Division on the north bank of the lake river operating with British forces during the whole period of the airborne invasion were nearly six thousand American planes and gliders of this number less than three percent were lost despite fierce enemy opposition to law which fell on 26th August an inspection is made of the harbor area extensive Allied bombings and Nazi demolitions leveled most of the big installations this torpedo plant was in full production just prior to the entry of 7th army troops the lathes are still in place on a mountain overlooking the harbor is fort 2.c4 built by the french in 1877 and used by the Germans when they occupied southern France an 88 millimeter gun which guarded the fort has a blown-out breach fort de la Croix farm built in 1873 French coastal guns are set up at strategic points near the fort guns and forts were rendered unusable by Allied bombings before d-day in 1936 the French installed 320 millimeter dual naval guns to strengthen two laws defences a rangefinder and plotting installation b-24s flying hundreds of miles to the north from bases on Wake the island attacked the Palau archipelago the frequent bombings helped to neutralize the enemy's offensive power prior to emphasis invasions these islands constitute a strategic barrier to the Philippines Mindanao is some 500 miles to east the Japs had developed the flowers as a principal advanced naval base and assembly point for fuel ammunition and supplies passing between Japan and the southwest Pacific coordinated with the land-based heavy bombers Ortiz's carrier aircraft support from task force 58 torpedo bombers and their fighter escort sleeve flight decks to join in the attacks the combined operations greatly reduced the importance of the flouse as a Japanese fleet Anchorage and airbase in conjunction with the aircraft surface vessels of Admiral William F Hall Z's Third Fleet move in to attack gun emplacements pillboxes and other defenses on the beaches and inland the assault is concentrated mainly on Peleliu and bangor islands five successive days of bombing and shelling climax the pre invasion for a on the morning of 15th September initial forces head for Peleliu for first blendings in the Palau group the shelling of the island continues supplemented by fire from landing craft Marines of the 1st division commanded by Major General William s Rupert US driving force toward the beaches reports from palely who credit the relatively light losses to the extremely effective coal fire and close support fire from the warships offshore and to the accuracy of bombings by the carrier-based aircraft Vallely who was chosen for the first attack because it contains the best airfield of the archipelago within the island the Jeff garrison is holding out in pillboxes caves and trenches the strongest point of resistance is along a low Coral Ridge nicknamed bloody nose Ridge by the Marines a command post and communication system are quickly set up meanwhile Marines move on the airfield against stiffening resistance jab dead in the first two days of fighting total 1458 power lines advance to the northern and eastern limits of the airfield which is captured by noon of the 16th recked bombers fighters and transports are found by the Marines construction equipment is brought up to the beaches and driven to the airfield the Power Shovel speeds the job of whipping the airstrip in the shape natural coral deposits provide servicing material the airdrome has two runways both approximately 4,000 feet long with 460 foot turning circles at either end from here our fighter planes can strike against the entire Palau group first blendings on the captured airfield army troops of the 81st division which successfully invaded nearby angaur island helped end the fierce fighting for polio

Channel: Nuclear Vault

Views: 95,947

Rating: 4.6644735 out of 5

Keywords: Europe, war, education, super, yt:quality=high, 24, Nuclear, Untold, history, #nuclearvault, War, No., Vietnam, Boeing, #airboyd, propaganda, airplane, jet, luftfahrt, of, Germany, vietnam, History, documentary, Atomic, airline, the, Propaganda, States, aviation, United, Bulletin, airboyd, Combat, II, world, military, korean, prop, bowl, Korea, Airbus, World War

Id: gpLaNNzxN-g

Length: 20min 23sec (1223 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 22 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Very interesting, especially that POV part

[u/knowyourpast]

RAF coastal command attack German shipping and coastal installations

American 8th Air Force strafing runs

Reducing the German forces around Calais from the air w/ interesting view of air burst incendiaries

The introduction of napalm during the drive on Metz

Interesting POV footage of an American paratrooper assault and glider troops

Attacking the Palau Islands from the air

Shelling the Palau Islands from the sea

Footage of the particularly vicious landings on Peleliu and the battle for famous locations like Bloody Nose Ridge and the airfield