70 Years Ago

In the far north, Norwegian, French and Polish troops, supported by the Royal Navy and
the RAF, fought against the Germans over the control of the Norwegian harbour Narvik, important for the year-round export of Swedish iron ore (The Swedish harbour of Luleå is blocked by ice in the winter months). Read the rest of this entry »

The 3rd ‘Blackshirt’ Division was one of several Italian division made up of Fascist volunteers. Generally less well-trained in comparison to standard Italian Army divisions, the 3rd Blackshirts put up a spirited defense against the British during Operation Compass in late 1940 but was eventually overrun and destroyed on the border with Egypt.

A pre war RAF Gloster Gladiator

The British land forces operating in central Norway were to bitterly complain that they rarely, if ever, saw their own aircraft. It was not for want of trying by the Fleet Air Arm. They were now operating aircraft from the aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and Glorious. Because the air threat to the ships themselves they stayed 100-150 miles offshore, which in consequence stretched the operating capabilities of their aircraft. An account of the difficulties encountered by Midshipman ‘Doc’ Goble when he ran out of fuel when flying a Skua from the Ark Royal on the 24th April 1940 can be found on Dinger’s Aviation Pages.

Project Title: ‘9th April 1940 – The Influence of Cinematic Reenactments on Documentary Immersion and Credibility’
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These films were unfinished and uncut, the end of the war was only weeks away and the films never made a wartime public showing. They really show the human face of war and are therefore a powerful reminder of the sacrifice of all wars.

The film is in black and white and the film was found in East German archives, it was filmed on the Oder Front in the last weeks of the war. It starts with an officer asking soldiers how they felt. They say they will give the Russians “what for” when they come. A Soviet deserter is questioned. He says he feared German artillery and that some 300 men in his unit will be put to death because he deserted. He goes on to say that he did not take the German uniform from a dead German, but saw it laying on the ground and he was cold.

The Battalion Commander is interviewed next, he says that his group is built up from various Reserve and Alarm Units, they have been there for a month and realise how important it is to be defending German soil.

Towards the end of the film you see defenders building defences and the camera then pans over the horizon, you can hear Soviet artillery in the background and the comments of the German soldiers building the defences. Very few of these soldiers would have survived the war and therefore this gives the film a very powerful human face.