Frank Capra's Why We Fight # 5 The Battle Of Russia CC: [1:22:56]

The Battle of Russia shows a history of Russia's defense and battle against Germany. Capra's synopsis: "History of Russia; people, size, resources, wars. Death struggle against Nazi armies at gates of Moscow and Leningrad. At Stalingrad, Nazis are put through meat grinder. The Battle of Russia  (1943) is the fifth film of  Frank Capra 's  Why We Fight  documentary series. The longest film of the series, it has two parts. It was made in collaboration with  Russian -born  Anatole Litvak  as primary director under Capra's supervision. Litvak gave the film its "shape and orientation," and the film had seven writers with voice narration by  Walter Huston . The score was done by the  Russian -born Hollywood composer  Dimitri Tiomkin  and drew heavily on  Tchaikovsky  along with traditional Russian folk songs and ballads. [ 2 ] The film historian Christopher Meir noted that the film's popularity "extended beyond the military audience for it was initially intended, and was the second in the series to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film begins with an overview of previous failed attempts to conquer Russia: the  Teutonic Knights  in 1242 (footage from  Sergei Eisenstein 's film  Alexander Nevsky  is used), by  Charles XII of Sweden  in 1704 (footage from  Vladimir Petrov 's film  Peter the Great ), by  Napoleon I  in 1812, and by the  German Empire  in  World War I . The vast natural resources of the  Soviet Union  are then described and show 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 and elements of  Russian culture  that are familiar to Americans, including the musical compositions of  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky  and  Leo Tolstoy 's book  War and Peace , are also mentioned.  Communism  is never mentioned in the film, but the  Russian Orthodox Church  is described as a force opposing Nazism. The start of the film includes a quote from US General  Douglas MacArthur , who commends the  Russian people 's defense of their nation as one of the most courageous feats in military history. The film then covers the German  conquests  of the  Balkans , which are 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 " defence in depth " tactic to counter that. 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 Germans. The  Siege of Leningrad  and the  Battle of Stalingrad  conclude the film. Information Obtained From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Russia