Speeches & Audio | Videos

Allies Liberate Bastogne (1:27)

In a broadcast on December 29, 1944, Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe recounts the 101st Airborne’s victory against overwhelming odds at Bastogne, Belgium.

Listen to Similar Speeches & Audio

Your Parental Control settings do not allow you to view thiscontent.

Speeches & Audio (10)

  • Allies Liberate Bastogne
    Allies Liberate Bastogne

    Audio Clip (1:27)

    In a broadcast on December 29, 1944, Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe recounts the 101st Airborne’s victory against overwhelming odds at Bastogne, Belgium.

    Audio Clip (1:27)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt on American Progress in World War II
    Franklin D. Roosevelt on American Progress in World War II

    Audio Clip (1:00)

    With the United States now entered into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt uses the occasion of Washington’s birthday to broadcast to the nation on February 23, 1942, an outline of America’s progress in the war.

    Audio Clip (1:00)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 Labor Day Speech
    Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 Labor Day Speech

    Audio Clip (1:37)

    In his Labor Day radio broadcast in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt reminds his fellow citizens of the need to devote America’s industrial effort to building weaponry in order to "crush Hitler and his Nazi forces."

    Audio Clip (1:37)
  • Reagan Speaks on 40th Anniversary of D-Day
    Reagan Speaks on 40th Anniversary of D-Day

    Audio Clip (0:41)

    On June 6, 1984, in Normandy, France, President Ronald Reagan honors the heroes of D-Day, a pivotal moment during World War II.

    Audio Clip (0:41)
  • John F. Kennedy on Coup in South Vietnam
    John F. Kennedy on Coup in South Vietnam

    Audio Clip (6:06)

    On October 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy meets with the National Security Council to discuss whether to support the overthrow of South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem. During the secretly recorded conversation, Secretary of State Dean Rusk and the president craft a detailed plan involving Henry Cabot Lodge, ambassador to South Vietnam, Gen. Paul D. Harkins and the general of the South Vietnamese military, hoping to avoid setting off a civil war in the country.

    Audio Clip (6:06)
  • U.S. Goals in World War II
    U.S. Goals in World War II

    Audio Clip (0:31)

    In his speech delivered July 23, 1942, Secretary of State Cordell Hull explains the aims of the United States in World War II.

    Audio Clip (0:31)
  • U.S. Celebrates Liberation of Paris
    U.S. Celebrates Liberation of Paris

    Audio Clip (1:29)

    On August 25, 1944, Germany surrenders Paris, ending four years of occupation. In a radio broadcast, Jennings Randolph, a West Virginia congressman, sends his congratulations to the French people.

    Audio Clip (1:29)
  • War Report on B-29 Use
    War Report on B-29 Use

    Audio Clip (2:36)

    Brig. Gen. H.S. Hansell delivers a report in June 1944 on American B-29 bomber strikes against Germany and Japan.

    Audio Clip (2:36)
  • Truman Announces Germany's Surrender
    Truman Announces Germany's Surrender

    Audio Clip (2:04)

    In a May 8, 1945, radio broadcast, President Harry Truman announces the unconditional surrender of Germany, but reminds Americans that the war wages on in the Far East.

    Audio Clip (2:04)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fourth of July Address
    Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fourth of July Address

    Audio Clip (2:07)

    In a broadcast from his home in Hyde Park, New York, on July 4, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt warns Americans who wish not to get involved in the war that "the United States will never survive as a happy and fertile oasis of liberty surrounded by a cruel desert of dictatorship."

    Audio Clip (2:07)

Videos (10)

  • Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
    Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

    Video Clip (2:17)

    The "Desert Fox" gains fame in Germany and respect from the Allies for his victories in World War II, but his career ends over a plt to kill Hitler.

    Video Clip (2:17)
  • Allies Fight in North Africa
    Allies Fight in North Africa

    Video Clip (1:38)

    World War II: Battle in North Africa - view this actual footage from the National Archives from the World War II era about the 1942 battle in North Africa.

    Video Clip (1:38)
  • D-Day Documented by Newsreel Cameras
    D-Day Documented by Newsreel Cameras

    Video Clip (8:56)

    Footage of the historic D-Day invasion from the United News. The best known D-Day is June 6, 1944 the day on which the Invasion of Normandy began. This video clip is courtesy of The History Channel.

    Video Clip (8:56)
  • Allied Invasion of Italy
    Allied Invasion of Italy

    Video Clip (3:37)

    In September, 1943, Italy surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, while German forces quickly occupied north and central Italy. Aided by the Germans, Mussolini escaped from prison and established a puppet republic in northern Italy. Meanwhile, the new Italian government declared war on Germany, and Italy was recognized by the Allies as a cobelligerent. The Allied Italian campaign was a slow, grueling, and costly struggle. The fall of Rome in July, 1944 was followed by a stalemate. In April, 1945, partisans captured and summarily executed Mussolini. In May, 1945, the Germans surrendered.

    Video Clip (3:37)
  • Flying in the South Pacific
    Flying in the South Pacific

    Video Clip (3:31)

    Fred Linden's father was a PBY naval aviator during World War II and left behind two reels of film documenting his service in the South Pacific.

    Video Clip (3:31)
  • Women in the Cockpit
    Women in the Cockpit

    Video Clip (3:52)

    Dawn Letson befriended a World War II veteran who was a member of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program, and shares her films from WASP training camp.

    Video Clip (3:52)
  • World War II Tanks
    World War II Tanks

    Video Clip (3:16)

    Armored tanks provided extra firepower and mobility during World War II.

    Video Clip (3:16)
  • Foo Fighters
    Foo Fighters

    Video Clip (3:25)

    Did Nazi Germany use alien technology to disrupt allied bombers during WWII?

    Video Clip (3:25)
  • Amphibious Assaults of World War II
    Amphibious Assaults of World War II

    Video Clip (2:16)

    The landing vehicle tank was essential to the amphibious assaults on D-Day and throughout the Pacific theater.

    Video Clip (2:16)
  • Bombing Hamburg
    Bombing Hamburg

    Video Clip (1:35)

    During World War II, especially in 1943, Hamburg was severely damaged by aerial bombardment, and some 55,000 persons were killed.

    Video Clip (1:35)

Read More about Erwin Rommel

German World War II Field Marshal Erwin Rommel gained immortality in the North African campaign of 1941-1943.

Go

Shop HISTORY