'Original' D-Day film comes to light

A newly-restored film shot during the historic D-Day landings of 1944 reveals the carnage Allied soldiers faced when they stormed the beaches of Nazi-occupied France.

The video shows British and American soldiers, carrying weapons and bulky supplies, assaulting the Normandy beaches in June 1944 in the face of fierce German resistance.

Images also shows British and American warplanes bombarding key Nazi fortifications and strategically-important railways and roads.

In more distressing scenes, Allied troops carry wounded comrades on stretchers.

The historic clip, regarded as the first D-Day documentary, was filmed by the public relations section of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces, commanded by General Dwight Eisenhower.

The film was shot during the first three days of the Allied invasion, from June 6-9, 1944.

It was archived at the Eisenhower Library in the US and recently restored by historians.

Researcher Steve Greene, of the Eisenhower Library, said: "This film is probably the first film documentary of the events of the first four days of the D-day assault, created within days of the invasion".

Combat cameraman using bulky 35mm motion picture film cameras recorded the frontline action. Their unwieldly equipment made them easy targets for the Nazi defenders.

After it was produced, copies of the film were sent to allied leaders Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt.

The D-Day invasion of France by allied forces was the largest naval, land and air offensive in military history.