Is there any footage of first wave combat from the D Day landings or footage not taken after the conclusion of the fighting?

by Headlessstew

I enjoy history with an odd regard to military strategy, especially with concern to unique battles like Normandy Beach and Stalingrad. Do you know of any video documentation of Normandy (or Stalingrad)? Thanks!

nerox3

I suspect you are probably thinking of the film shot by Sergeant Bill Grant at Juno beach. This article in Legion magazine refers to it as the only surviving footage of the actual landing.

thesuperevilclown

Normandy - there were dedicated media personnel, and there were a couple of video newsreels (smithsonian, telegraph, history channel), there was a guy named George Stevens who was filming in colour, and even some from the German side of the lines.

Stalingrad - yep, same. from the soviets as well as from the Nazis.

now, i'v only done a quick glance at these, but they seem to be actual footage that was shown in newsreels at the time, rather than stuff recorded for documentaries later (the colour footage is the exception) to fit in with the "not taken after the conclusion of fighting" condition, however the colour footage was recorded on board the first ship to open fire in the pre-invasion bombardment. it's not "first wave" because it happened before the first wave went in.

Come on, OP, do a google search. or a youtube search. this stuff isn't hard to find. or is this a case of there being school projects due soon and people not willing to do their own research?