DIE DEUTSCHE WOCHENSCHAU NR 684 - part [Main Title]

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  • Title: DIE DEUTSCHE WOCHENSCHAU NR 684 - part [Main Title]
  • Film Number: GWY 187
  • Other titles: DIE DEUTSCHE WOCHENSCHAU NR 1943/43 - part [Alternative Title]
  • Summary:
  • Description: I. German supplies and demolition before withdrawal over Dnieper. Animated map from Vitebsk to Zaporozhe. Russians wearing uniform of Foreign Volunteer Helpers load under German supervision supplies from large camouflaged dump piled high with boxes of tinned dripping, meat and Vitamin C, before trucks are driven off to new positions. Military policeman ensures orderly withdrawal by controlling traffic, which passes heap of military signposts, including one marked 1/Pz Btl 12. Army trucks and infantry cross River Dnieper by bridge named after Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt and protected by captured Russian 45mm anti-tank gun and 2cm Flakvierling. Russian peasants, transporting cooped chickens and large flock of sheep, seek refuge by crossing river by ferry. After withdrawal all installations of any military significance are destroyed; charges are detonated to wreck railway, broken-down locomotive and various large buildings. II. Germans fight rearguard action by Dnieper. Infantry cross screen from left to right outlined against dark smoke and flames of blazing houses and well pole, with harvested sunflower field in foreground. Other soldiers dig trenches beside drooping sunflowers, man machine gun, eat and scan horizon with binoculars. Covering forces are attacked by Russian planes flying through black puffs of anti-aircraft fire and releasing bombs which explode in distance. Battle commences with firing of flares, German infantry sheltering in deep trench and Pzkpfw IVs on horizon (End of Reel 1) and continues with soldiers crossing shell-pocked plain and firing artillery. Two large bridges over Dnieper stand destroyed after German withdrawal to right bank. Pioneers crouched in two Sturmboote and a rubber dinghy between are last to cross river (with cameraman on board); high-angle view from prominence on right bank pans over smoke-covered opposite side of river, now abandoned and smouldering. III. German evacuation of Kuban bridgehead. Animated map from Kiev to Novorossiysk. Successful withdrawal between 13 September and 9 October is illustrated by high angle view through fortress embrasure of Novorossiysk bay, where men in ruins of town remain in touch with the enemy, and a small amphibious operation in the marshlands of the Kuban: members of assault force synchronise watches, then wearing gumboots and shorts, set off in small boats through channels between reeds. Noise of engines draws enemy fire, with shells dropping in water nearby, but men disembark safely under fire, fire machine gun and then successfully withdraw. Exemplary German and Rumanian withdrawal to Crimea includes the preparation of defensive positions: Germans stand looking at map and others lay barbed wire wearing heavy duty gloves and handle Schützenminen and lay Tellermine. Military trucks drive past along dusty road, followed by smiling infantry, as well as Russian civilians fleeing from the Bolsheviks. After train passes, small gauge railway is blown up. On Taman Peninsula supplies from a goods train and trucks are unloaded onto ferries for transportation across Strait of Kerch to Crimea; petrol drums are manoeuvred on quayside by Russian Foreign Volunteer Helpers (wearing white badges on right sleeve) and peasants, and horses and carts loaded. (Volume abruptly sinks) Funicular railway transports material over water, supplies being handled by Russian Foreign Volunteer Helpers or prisoners under German supervision. Loading is temporarily interrupted by air alarm signalled from lookout point as Russian bombers attack loading area. 3.7cm and 8.8cm Flak opens fire and attacking Stormovik flies low over area. Camera pans to show that bombs mostly fall in water, although man rushing past blaze onshore indicates that some hit their target. Russian bomber hit by flak plummets into sea, exploding before impact, while pilot parachutes into water. Bearded Rumanian (?) soldier wearing beret and Germans look skywards. Harbour area appears undamaged as loading resumes and barges transporting men and matériel cross Strait. Soviet losses in Kuban sector from 1 February to 9 October reportedly total 355,000. Item concludes with German and Rumanian (indistinguishable) Ju 87s flying over coast and bombing Russian positions. IV. German destroyer patrol and interception in Atlantic. Destroyer Flotilla of four Z-23 Class ships in line ahead and one to port steam through calm seas before one vessel halts to check papers of French fishing trawler. Boarding party tender is lowered into sea and receives satisfactory response from crew, who present German sailors with fish and wave friendly goodbye. Action stations are called and hatches battened down when (unidentified) enemy is spotted and fired on. (Crew do not wear helmets for action.) Enemy reportedly returns fire and destroyer responds by firing two triple salvoes of torpedoes. Distant explosion suggests hit, then Flotilla returns towards port in open formation, with radar mast visible on leading vessel.
  • Alternative Title: DIE DEUTSCHE WOCHENSCHAU NR 1943/43 - part [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: GWY 187
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM-GERMAN Attribution: IWM – GWY 187
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1943-10-13
  • Production Country: Germany
  • Production Details: UFA (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Rundstedt, Gerd von (person) German Army, Feldgendarmerie (regiment/service) German Army, Foreign Volunteer Helpers & Russian personnel (regiment/service) German Army, Pioneers (regiment/service) German Army, Foreign Volunteer Helpers & Russian personnel (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: weapons, German - passive: Tellermine (object name) weapons, Russian - gun: 45mm PTP obr 1932g & [impressed] (object name) supplies, German, movement [FA] - food (object name) animals, mammals: sheep (object name) animals, birds: chicken (object name) refugees, Russian - flight (object name) demolition, German - denial Dnieper (River) (object name) demolition, German - denial (object name) agriculture, Russian - arable: sunflowers (object name) ships, German naval - amphibious: Sturmboot (object name) demolition, German - denial (object name) refugees, Russian - flight (object name) operations, German- mines: laying (object name) combat, Rumanian air: dive-bombing (object name) operations, German - amphibious (object name) operations, Russian air - rescue: baling out (object name) combat, German: anti-aircraft (object name) ships, German naval - destroyer: Z-23 Class (object name) operations, German naval - search (object name) ships, French civilian - fishing (object name) agriculture, French - fisheries (object name) weapons, German naval - torpedo (object name) Russia & <Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt Bridge> (geography) Russia & Dnieper (River) (geography) Russia & Kuban (geography) Russia & Strait of Kerch (geography) Russia & Novorossiysk (geography) Atlantic Ocean (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: German Title language: German Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 2 Footage: 1378 ft; Running time: 15 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    GWY 187

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