WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 99 [Main Title]

Stalingrad.

I. 'STALINGRAD.'(Extract from Stalin's congratulatory speech to the men of the Don Front is read by the commentator after the main WPN titling and prior to item titling) The commentary introduces an item covering events leading to the final surrender of Axis forces at Stalingrad in February 1943. Russian 152mm Gaubitsa-Pushka obr 1937g field guns fire at high elevation from gunpits dug into the snow-covered terrain. Russian artillerymen fire 122mm Gaubitsa obr 1938g field guns on the outskirts of an airfield formerly used by the Luftwaffe, abandoned German Junkers Ju 52/3m transport aircraft are parked in the background (the airfield is possibly one of the seven airfields in the environs of Stalingrad). Aerial footage shows Russian air force Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers flying in formation. Russian artillerymen fire a 76.2mm Pushka obr 1902/30g L/30 field gun at unseen targets. Artillery shells explode in snow covered ground. Stock shots show large numbers of Russian infantry running across steppe supported by fire from a Stankovy Pulemyot Maksima obr 1910g 7.62mm heavy machine gun. Russian infantry wearing snow camouflage smocks run past German dead, dragging a Stankovy Pulemyot Maksima heavy machine gun mounted on skis. The commentary outlines the events leading to the Axis surrender at Stalingrad and stresses the human cost of its recapture over views of German dead and wrecked soft-skin vehicles. Marshal N N Voronov and General K Rokossovsky (Commander Don Front) stand in the cover of a trench and smoke cigarettes. Stock shots show a Russian artillery barrage from 76.2mm Pushka obr 1939g dual purpose field guns and 122mm Gaubitsa obr 1938g field guns. A Russian anti-tank crew fire a 45mm Protivotankovaya Pushka obr 1930g across a rubble-strewn square. Russian infantry crawl across rubble carrying ammunition boxes. German infantry leave the basement of a ruined building with their hands raised in surrender. Generalleutnant Sanne of the German 100th (Jäger ?) Division is escorted by Russian officers across a rubble-strewn street after his surrender at Stalingrad. General Romulus Dimitriu of the 20th Rumanian Infantry Division is also shown after his surrender, surrounded by other Axis officers and Russian infantry armed with self-loading rifles. The surrendering Axis troops are described by the commentary as being "Hitler's dupes" and "Men who were sacrificed uselessly to save their Führer's self-esteem." Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Paulus (Commander VI Army) and his Chief of Staff Generalleutnant Arthur Schmidt are brought to the Russian headquarters for interrogation. Interior views of the Russian headquarters show Paulus and Schmidt seated at a table talking to various high ranking Russian officers (General Tolbukhin presiding over the interrogation ?). Hundreds of German VI Army prisoners march in a ragged column across the snow past a stationary Russian T-70 light tank. A close-up of the German's feet show some only wearing rags as footwear. The commentary states that Stalingrad was a bulwark of the United Nations and a symbol of the United Nation's ultimate triumph over tyranny. The Red Flag is hoisted from a building overlooking Central Square by a Russian infantryman. Hundreds of German prisoners file past destroyed buildings on their way to captivity and an uncertain future.

35mm