Videos: Combined Operations, Odds 'n' Sods

There Are a Few Clips Out There re Combined Operations

But Have Readers Found Better Items? Help Wanted! 

Introduction:

There may be some really good videos related to the Combined Operations organization, its early development, how 950 - 1,000 Canadian sailors got involved, where the UK and Canadian members of the RN and RCNVR trained, respectively, and where they participated in early raids and invasions before D-Day Normandy.

If there are, I certainly haven't found a flood of them. More like a trickle, bits and pieces here and there. Help Wanted is mentioned in the title to this post, so if a reader has discovered one or two or three informative videos about the organization, please let me know. I will gladly add them to the thin offerings I share below:

1. "Churchills in Landing Exercise" by British Movietone News. Time - 1min:52sec. Details briefly - Churchill tanks take part in a landing exercise; (21 Sep 1942) "A Training Exercise for personnel, armoured vehicles and landing craft."

2. "Winston Churchill Watches Army Landing Exercise, 1941". By British Pathe. Time - 2min:41sec. Details - Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Admiral Sir Robert Keyes observe army troops training for a large scale invasion using British Invasion Barges. Parts may have been filmed at No. 1 Combined Operations Training Camp on Loch Fyne, near Inveraray, Scotland.

3. "Lord Louis Mountbatten Appointed Chief Of Combined Operations, 1942"  by British Pathe. Time - 00min:32sec. Details - Mountbatten becomes Vice Admiral, Lieutenant General, and Air Marshall. Lord L. Mountbatten inspects naval ratings.

4. Combined Operations 1942 by British Pathe. Time - 7min:25sec. Details - The unsuccessful raid on Dieppe by Allied Forces with triumphant and cheerful commentary. Example from more details at site of video - C/U (close up) of a map showing the coastlines of Britain and France with Dieppe highlighted. Quick aerial shot of Dieppe. A group of airmen watch planes flying over an airfield. C/U of the American flag; pan down to a group of US airmen. M/S (middle ground-shot) of the group of American airmen. L/S (background-shot) of aircraft overhead. M/S of the bow of a destroyer ship at sea. Several shots of the invasion fleet at sea, laying a smokescreen and under bombardment. Shells land in the sea around the ships. L/S of assault craft heading towards beaches. Anti-aircraft guns on ship firing. L/S of Allied aircraft overhead. Boston bombers in action dropping bombs on Dieppe, etc.

5. D-Day Greatest Combined Operation In World's History, 1944 by British Pathe. Time 10min:06sec. Details - Sample from several paragraphs at site - Allied armies invade Normandy coast of France - D-day landings. Normandy, France and Southern England. Aerial shots of bombers over Northern France prior to the landings. They bomb coastline, "in softening of the German defences". Rockets are used to bombard Normandy emplacements, and fighter aircraft shoot grounded aircraft at aerodrome, boats and enemy fighters in flight. Shots are bit shaky as they are taken from plane but give good sense of battle. Various shots of rows of Gliders and Dakotas on airfield waiting for departure. All have D-day markings - black and white stripes. Various shots of Dakotas taking off pulling gliders. Aerial shot planes in flight.

Below are links to three more videos related to the Combined Operations organization, in the area of commando training, and "the greatest raid", i.e., Operation Chariot, the raid at St. Nazaire.

6. Rough Weather Landing, an Experiment by No. 4 Commando at YouTube. Time 10min:20sec. Details at site - Marked as 'Most Secret' this Combined Operations film follows the men of the Royal Marines No. 4 Commando as they demonstrate the skills required to launch an attack from the sea by scaling cliffs after completing a hazardous landing from the sea - brave men indeed. It looks like this may have been filmed in Cornwall (UK).

7. Combined Operations - Beach Organisation at YouTube. Time 17min:16sec. Details at site - What happened on a landing beach after COPP had guided in the first wave of landing craft? The short answer is: logistics. This film was made before the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. It uses animated maps and live action to help explain the role, structure and organisation of a beach maintenance area during the early stages of an amphibious landing. The film is available through the Imperial War Museums archive – the ending suggests that there was originally more footage that has not been digitised. © IWM ADM 1163 . Interested readers may like to explore the Imperial War Museum archives, re video, still photographs, art work, etc. Get started here -

Search our Collections. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205186060 will take you to photo A12667 by Lt. F. A. Hudson, Royal Navy official photographer

8American troops landing on the beach at Arzeu, near Oran, from a landing

craft assault (LCA 26), some of them are carrying boxes of supplies.

Photo Credit - Hudson, F A (Lt.) A12649 (IWM)

I share the following video with no audio because the quality of the filming is very good. It depicts US troops landing at Arzew (see photo above) and I'm pretty sure my father appears on two occasions at least (e.g., above, he is at the end of his rope, an anti-broaching line, middle ground, left). The video was found on an Associated Press (AP) Archive and I encourage readers to use its search engine to locate videos at other locations or taken at other times.

8. North Africa Combined Operations (No Sound) as found at AP Archive (Time - 13min:36sec.)

Notes - Cameramen at all points have gathered from front-line positions. These Movietone pictures of the most momentous "Combined Operation", which gives us control of the Western Mediterranean. Shotlist - Troops disembarking from landing craft and making their way through sea on to beach. Scenes on beach. Unloading supplies. Soldier carrying an American flag on beach. Wire being laid on beach. Vehicles moving onto beach. Various shots of landing craft approaching beach and soldiers wading through sea. Local man speaks to troops. Supplies being passed hand to hand. Various shots of soldiers on board landing craft. Vehicles being unloaded from ship onto quayside. Locals gathered on quayside. Troops eating and drinking on quayside. Shaving on quayside. Scenes at docks. Unidentified US Navy officials have cigarette together. Various scenes at docks. American officials survey work at docks. Street scenes - troops advancing with caution. Civilians. Troops of different regiments posing together. On board landing craft. Ruined castle. Camp beside the castle. CU soldier eating. MS of castle with sign in front: "New York City - Mayor Molotov". Various shots of the castle with American flag flying. Soldiers on guard. Abandoned artillery, wrecked RAF and American aircraft. Aircraft coming in to land. Small dog on board ship. LS of ships of armada. Various views of ships. Troops being lifted from large ship into landing craft. Semaphore message being sent. Ships at sunset. Various shots of ships in convoy. Landing craft approaching coast. Some shots from on board landing craft approaching beach. Activity on beach - soldiers share cigarettes with locals, equipment being brought ashore, troops walking on beach, landing craft arriving, views of harbour from moving ship. Various shots of harbour. 

9. The Greatest Raid - Operation Chariot (i.e., the raid at St. Nazaire, 1942) by Yarnhub on YouTube. Animated. Time - 5min:36sec. Details at site - HMS Campbeltown, an obsolete WW1 destroyer was sent on a one way mission to St Nazaire. A floating time bomb, its intent was to destroy the only dry dock capable of repairing Tirpitz on the North Atlantic coast. An incredibly important mission that was seen by many to be too dangerous. In many circles Operation Chariot has become known as the Greatest Raid of all time. It came at great cost and was achieved only through the extreme bravery of those involved.

Again, Help Wanted.

Another entry will soon follow related to videos connected to Operations Baytown and Avalanche, the invasion of Italy beginning September 3, 1943.

Please click here to view more videos, re Operation TORCH, the invasion of North Africa, 1942

Unattributed Photos GH