One Inch from Victory

Using Russian and other newsreel footage, an opening prologue chronicles the Russians' struggles from 1914 to the time of the German invasion in 1941: During World War I, Czar Nicholas sent Russian soldiers to fight without equipment and three-quarters of them became casualties. After the war, the Russian people deposed the Romanovs, and in 1917, a new government, headed by Alexander Kerensky, was installed and later overthrown in a bloody revolution that lasted ten days. Vladimir Lenin came out of exile to form the Soviet Republic and promised the people peace and bread, a division of the land, and factory ownership by the workers. In 1922, 114 revolutionaries were tried for their part in a conspiracy to overthrow the Soviet government. The fifth anniversary of the Revolution was marked by celebrations. Lenin died on 21 January 1924, and thousands paid their respects while his body laid in state. After Joseph V. Stalin became the new leader, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established diplomatic relations with the Soviets. Next, using captured German footage in addition to newsreel film, the picture reports on the German invasion of Russia: During the Battle of Leningrad, the Germans come close to victory, but, although losses are heavy on both sides, the Russians do not yield. Five months into their push against the Russians, the Germans approach the town of Kharkov, which falls to the Germans on 25 October 1941. When the Germans arrive in the formerly great industrial city, they discover that the Russians have destroyed everything that they cannot carry away. Meanwhile, in occupied Czechoslovakia, citizens watch the funeral of assassinated Gestapo killer Reinhard Heydrich. In retaliation for his death, the Germans destroy the entire village of Lidice: the men are killed, and women and children are sent to concentration camps. In Sevastopol, in the Crimea, the naval fortress endures an eight-month siege. When the city finally falls in 1942, it is a useless, battered ruin. The German advance stops after the Battle of Rostov on 22 November 1941, when, under leader Semyon Timoshenko, the Soviets drive the Germans out of Rostov. Iran then becomes an important supply point for the Allies. Under the leadership of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, British and U.S. ships deliver supplies to the troops fighting the Nazis. British soldiers help build a new trans-Iranian railroad to connect Russia with the Persian Gulf. In the north, the Nazis attack the port of Murmansk. Although the Luftwaffe bombs Allied shipping runs, necessary materiel still manages to reach the Russian soldiers. After Germany declares war on the United States in December 1941, Lend-Lease shipments travel directly to Russia through Vladivostok, Murmansk and ports on the Persian Gulf. Soviet ambassador Maxim Litvanoff, U.S. vice-president Henry A. Wallace, Lend-Lease administrator Edward Stettinius, T. V. Soong of China and British ambassador Lord Halifax are seen sampling dehydrated foods to celebrate the anniversary of Lend-Lease. In 1943, after a bitter winter, the Germans begin a second campaign against the Soviets with an assault on the important industrial city of Voronezh. Before it falls, it too is completely destroyed by the retreating Soviet army. In Britain, Molotov concludes a twenty-four-year treaty with England. The Nazi army now advances toward the Caucasus oil fields, but rather than let them fall into Nazi hands, the Soviet army destroys the oil rigs. During the ninety-day siege of Stalingrad, the Germans run out of munitions, supplies and men. On 2 February 1943, the Russians launch a counter-attack and drive the Germans from Stalingrad. The film concludes with the information that Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill have met with Stalin in Teheran and pledged to work together in the war and in "the peace that will follow."