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[Canadian Army Newsreel Musical intro.]
Narrator: ... courses in Great Britain today
are those used for conditioning paratroops.
Their designers knew well that of all soldiers, these men would
be most reliant on their own resources.
Trained to live on very little food and be without
shelter for days and nights together,
they must keep in the best physical condition.
Indoor jumps are made to accustom the men to the
impact of landing.
Finally, the big day comes when the trainee makes
his first jump.
When that door shuts, there's only one way
back to work - the short way.
As their friends look anxiously skyward, these young soldiers
in the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
show how well they have measured up to the problems
of airborne operations.
Paratroops hit the ground fast.
It's like jumping from the roof of a car moving at 10 mph.
And when they have completed their training, each man
proudly wears the wings of the Canadian Sky Troop,
wings soon to be known and feared by the Germans
in occupied Europe.
Another airport was needed in the south of England.
It was needed in a hurry.
And last June, the RCEs were given the job of building it.
So every bit of available equipment and every new
idea was put to work.
Sixty thousand cubic yards of earth were graded; 45,000 tons
of rock were crushed.
And then, 200,000 sq. yards of concrete were spread.
The RCEs were a busy lot.
The summer slipped by and gradually, the
great airport took shape.
But even before the job was complete, giant bombers
were taking off the runways that had been finished.
Less than four months after work had commenced,
the great new airfield was ready to hand over to the
Royal Air Force.
The ceremonies were simple.
Brigadier Melville, on behalf of the Army,
and Air Vice Marshal Baker of the Royal Air Force
took the salute.
Then they inspected a guard of honour to bolster
the men who had built the airport and the
men and women who will use it.
Not only was this achievement a credit to the abilities of
the Royal Canadian Engineers,
but another example of how the various branches of
His Majesty's armed forces are working together
towards a common goal.
As invasion day draws inevitably closer,
there must be more and more rehearsals of
landing on hostile shores.
Although the details of Exercise Pirate
differed from the others, it had a common purpose.
Every detail must be learned by heart.
Every movement must be precisley timed.
Every man must know what he does and when.
Combined Ops means a smooth working together of every
branch of the services.
Only in that way, can the real thing succeed.
Exercise Pirate and all the other exercises are
of course only a prelude;
a dress rehearsal, preparing for the day of assault.
When that day dawns the victory will be
achieved by applying the principles learned in
the long series of exercises.
It isn't all fighting and no play for the Canadians in Italy.
At Potenza, they took time out to hold a divisional
sports meet and for a day the Italian arena ... held
over 1,500 enthusiastic spectators.
Peter Stursberg, CBC commentator, was there
and followed the 880 yard dash, lap by lap.
The winners were Corporal D.R. Cameron and
Bombadier L.W. Brook.
They had tug of wars in Italy, too.
This one was between Divisional Artillery and
CIC and was won by the infantrymen.
The obstacle race held new hazards for these
fighting veterans.
Prizes were awarded and to many, it was
reminiscent of similar scenes back in Great Britain.
The sun doesn't always shine in sunny Italy.
In a recent letter, a Canadian Army cameraman wrote:
'The rains have come and I don't mean maybe.
I've never seen it rain so hard any place before.' ...
But rain or shine, the Canadian Army must be fed.
Petrol must be supplied to keep the tanks,
the jeeps and all parts of the great mechanized
army running smoothly.
All through the Sicilian campaign and in Italy,
units of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps.
have worked day and night in all weather to keep up
the daily requirements.
With today's mechanized army and the problem
of supplies for men and motors is tremendous.
But it's all in a day's work for the smooth running RCAFC.
There are lots of reasons for celebrating
Thanksgiving Day, even in Italy.
And what would Thanksgiving Day be without a turkey?
But neither the pleasure of a sports meet nor the
torrential downpour of the Italian fall
can halt the ... Montgomery's 8th Army
and with it the Canadians.
Slowly, relentlessly the push moves on.
Potenza is left behind and the infantrymen
move up town by town, past buildings
devastated by the retreating enemy.
The road to Rome is not an easy one.
Some conquerors have reached it; others have not.
But now the liberators are moving up toward
Rome and beyond.
For them there will be no halt until the fortress
Europe isn't a fortress anymore.