(04)Why We Fight: "The Battle of Russia" PART 1 4/4

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The Battle of Russia was the fifth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series. It is the longest film of the series, beginning with an overview of previous failed attempts to conquer Russia: by the Teutonic Knights in 1212 (footage from Sergei Eisenstein's film Alexander Nevsky is used here), by Charles XII of Sweden in 1704, by Napoleon I in 1812 and by Imperial Germany in World War I.
The vast natural resources of the Soviet Union are then described, showing why the land is such a hot prize for conquerors. To give a positive impression of the Soviet Union to the American audience, the country's ethnic diversity is covered in detail. Later on, elements of Russian culture familiar to Americans, including the musical compositions of Tchaikovsky and Leo Tolstoy's book War and Peace are also mentioned. Communism is never mentioned at any point in the film. The start of the film also includes a quote from U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who commended the Russian people's defense of their nation as one of the most courageous feats in military history.
The film then covers the Nazi conquests in the Balkans, described as a preliminary to close off possible Allied counter-invasion routes, before the war against Russia was launched on June 22, 1941. The narration describes the German "keil und kessel" tactics for offensive warfare, and the Soviet "defense in depth" used to counter this. The scorched earth Soviet tactics, the room-to-room urban warfare in Soviet cities, and the guerilla warfare behind enemy lines are also used to underline the Soviet resolve for victory against the Nazis.
One powerful scene shows Russians swearing their oath:
For the burned cities and villages
For the deaths of our children and our mothers
For the torture and humiliation of our people
I swear revenge upon the enemy
I swear that I would rather die in battle with the enemy
Than surrender myself my people and my country to the Fascist invaders
Blood for Blood!
Death for Death!
The Siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Stalingrad conclude the film.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Soviet
• Union
• Russia
• Stalingrad
• Leningrad
• German
• Why
• We
• Fight
• Nazis
• Allied
• Communism
• Germany
• Balkins

[Bwkjam]

Just becuase the Russians had an iron fisted dictator doesn't mean individual Russians can't love their contry, as well as fight and die for it. Stalin did little for his people, he'd say "burn your house field and everything you can't carry, what your starving without your field, tough luck *Vodka Belch*.

[Senjhin]

@Mark123USA I don't care if he was a Russian, he was a Soviet. Much less important was whether or not he was Jewish; you can leave your antisemitism out of a historical argument if you desire any sense of credibility. You obviously did not understand the point I was trying to make.

[Mark123USA]

@Senjhin Do not give any credit to Stalin, give credit to General Zhukov and his generals and their armies. not to Stalin who did not know how to fight in a war. The only thing Stalin did was consult with his generals, and always tell the Soviet people words of encouragment to lift up the spirits of the people. Stalin was not a genius, I say this to you as a Russian, and by the way Stalin is not Russian, he is a Georgian-Jew from the Former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

[Senjhin]

I'm honestly unsure of whether or not the defense of Russia was a textbook example of defensive warfare and that Stalin's plan to buy time was his stroke of genius in halting the Nazi armies, or whether Stalin was a crazed paranoid autocrat who was conveniently gifted with the overwhelming might and reserves of the Russian people, whom he was able to throw again and again into the maw of the lion until the German army finally ground to a halt.

[fum00A]

It's strange to hear the Russians referred to as "free" people.

[disradiance]

I forgot a zero

[DracoMalfoy87]

I thought that 20 or 24 million Russians died in WW2 (military and civilian)

[leonsdottir]

@disradiance

only Siege of Leningrad - more than half a million civilians dead