"Baptism of Fire" (1943) WW2 Fighting Man Combat Training Film - REEL History

Enemy planes. Flying high. Bi-motored. Flying south. Straight for us. Roger. Enemy planes bi-motored flying south straight for us, sir. Alert! Enemy planes still flying south. Looks like they got a date for lunch someplace else, Sergeant. All clear. Roger. All clear, sir. Sounded like a bunch of them. About to get my hands on one of the Jerries flying them. I was dreaming about my girl. What's the matter with you guys? Are you nervous? He hit the dirt like he was running for home with a score tie in the ninth. Yeah. I noticed you got some dirt on you, too. Oh, sure. That's because it's ordered. But you don't catch me diving into a shell hole for no German squarehead. Not me, brother. You forget one thing, Pete. High explosive cuts everyone down to size. If I get my hands on one of those guys, he's gonna wish it was high explosive. Hey, how much further you think it'll be, Bill? A hundred miles. Heard Lieutenant say we move out of dark. Uh-oh. Hey, you. I want you three men for a detail. What's up, Sergeant? You'll find out. Come on. Get the lead out of your ass! Come on, push! He's saying, where's the mud, Jim? Come on! Let's go! Okay, hold it! Thanks, Sergeant. Thanks for the lift, you guys. Everybody okay in here? Uh-oh. One of you men give me a hand here. Monaghan, give him a hand. Okay, Sergeant. Monaghan? Is that Jim Monaghan? Lift up, Monaghan. Yeah, I'm Jim Monaghan. How are you, Jim? Who is it? Oh, I forgot about the bandage. It's Fred Grant, Jim. Grampy. Gee, it's good to hear your voice. What are you doing up here? Oh, we're bivouacs in the woods near here. I guess our outfit's going up to relieve yours. Okay, soldier. We gotta pull out of here. Yeah. So long, Freddy. Give him hell, kid. Yeah. Yeah, sure, Fred. Hey, what's wrong with him? Lying. Who is he? A friend of mine. A guy I've known since we were kids. Now he's lying. Hey, you guys, let's get going. Come on, Jim. Sleeping, Bill? Trying to. You better try. I have. It's no use. Jack of smoke. Try and get that friend of yours, Freddy, off your mind. Thinking about it won't do you any good. It's not him. I'm sorry enough for him, poor guy. It's just that... Everything seems to have hit me all of a sudden. It hasn't sunk in yet that in the morning, it's the real thing. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. Is it like that with you, too? I've been trying to get set for tomorrow morning for a long time now. What do you mean? I've had as much training as you. It's not just training. I've been trying to get my mind ready, too. Oh. Okay, ten minutes and stay by the truck. Any guy likes a cigarette, I'll break his neck. And I'll know it. Hey, look out for my hand. All right, let's go, let's go. Hey, how much further, Sarge? When you hear thunder and it starts raining lead, you're there. Hey, Bill. Over here, Jimmy. Oh, what's... They're still at the time knots. About... About getting your mind ready. What did you mean? Well... When you know something pretty bad's gonna happen to you, you can do one of two things. You can worry about it until you're ready to blow your top. Or you can find out as much as you can about what it's really gonna be like. You take the second choice. I mean, find out as much as you can. You're giving yourself a break. Because nothing's ever as bad as you think it's gonna be. How the hell can you get set for what's coming tomorrow morning? The day they gave me a rifle, I started thinking about the day when I'd really use it. I thought about it so much, I nearly blew my top. Oh, what did you do? I started talking to whoever I could find that had been through it before. A couple of our non-coms had. They don't open up easy and they don't talk much. They don't kid you, it's tough. But then there are a lot of other guys that have been through it before us. If you keep that in your mind, well, you can... ...sort of get set for it. It's getting awful close, Bill. Scared? Yeah, kinda. You've got plenty of company. I've been thinking about the folks. Yeah, I know. That's one of the things you gotta forget. Well, how the hell can you forget it? I've been thinking about home so hard, it's... ...it's like bacon all over. I've been thinking about that ten-day furlough I had just before we shoved off. I had a hell of a good time doing the same things I used to get fed up doing before I got in the Army. It was pretty tough when I had to leave because I knew we were going overseas soon. Folks didn't go to the station. They knew that Jane, that's my girl, wanted to go with me alone. Jane and I didn't talk much on the way to the station. When we got there, people were already going through the gate. We both knew that it might be goodbye for a long time. Jane had wanted to get married when my draft number first came up. I didn't think it was right. I was wishing right then that we had. I looked back, she was crying. It wasn't time to go back. I found I hadn't said one damn thing I'd really wanted to. How can you stop thinking about those things? Make yourself. Bob... You gotta, Jim. Every guy I talked to said the same thing. Your first battle, your worst fight isn't with the enemy. It's with yourself. I know, it sounds corny. A lot of corny things are true. Does it really help you to forget? I mean... Does it make you not so scared? That's right. You gotta forget your civilian life. It's a past we can't get back to. Not for a long time, maybe. But here's the way it works. You're going into battle. Right away, you start thinking about home. Then you start thinking about all the things that can keep you from getting back there again. The result... You're too scared to think about your job. And if you want to come back... This is one job you gotta think about. Yeah, I get it. Adam! Alright, men, load them up. Adam! Where you been? I was looking for you. Oh, we've been talking. Come on, you guys. The sooner we get moving, the sooner I can start tearing those mugs apart. Oh, shut up. Who says so? I do. Okay, Sergeant. I got to forget them. What is it? What's going on? Take it easy, Jim. Those other guys over there, I think... Shut up, you guys. Get some rest. Blake. Yeah? Lieutenant wants you. Okay. All here, sir. Okay. You all know the situation. The enemy holds that ridge across the valley. Our job today is to take it. First and second squads will be in assault. Third squad in support. We attack at dawn. Dawn. Attack at dawn. I think I can take anything but more of this waiting. You see, Bill? Dispersed formation. Fewer casualties, Edward. Casualties. God, if I'm going to get it, make it quick. Look at this. Stay here. What's the matter with him? Is he blind? Doesn't he know what's going on? If he can, I can. Like Bill said. A big yellow. Wasn't I going to do it ten seconds ago? Maybe I would if he hadn't. What are you scared of? Look at them bunch up. They must be green, too. We remembered not to do that. Didn't they know that's the way to get killed? Is that it? Go crazy. The whole thing's crazy. It's got to stop. What happened last? Your rifle smashed. Can't do it. Don't be a damn fool. You've got to get his rifle anyway. Your first battle, your worst fight isn't with the enemy. It's with yourself. They're how right you were. I'm tired. What do you mean? It's only starting. I'm settling down, though. I'm learning. Why couldn't I stick it into that bastard? Bayonet practice. Instructor called it momentary paralysis. Warned us. Why didn't I think more about what they told me? Get there and see what's going on. How you doing, fella? Bill, and that's what they mean by a good soldier. I guess I never thought anybody would try and kill me. Well, I've got it licked now. No, I'd be ashamed of it. I did okay after that. Guys think so. I can tell. Bill called the shot. It don't matter how big you are in that kind of a fight. Thought I had the odds all figured out, didn't I? Well, don't cut yourself down too much. At least you have the right angle. Keep your mind off yourself. I was right. That's what you gotta do. Yeah, that's what it was. Like walking upstairs in a big building at night. You climbed one flight and it was dark. You came to a landing and you walked down a level hall with a light on for a while. Thought that's all there was to it. Bang. There you are climbing another flight, and it's dark. Same thing. Levels off and gets light again. You reach the top and look down. What were you scared of, the dark? No. No, you won't be scared like that again. Good guys. You sure find out what guys are like. Hey, what the hell are we waiting for? I don't know. Thanks for watching. If you'd like to help us produce more compelling historical content like this, please like, comment below, and share this video with fellow history buffs. And of course, be sure to subscribe to help keep history happening.