The story
Action by the Spearhead Division during the capture of Cologne in March, 1945, the first major German city to fall to Allied troops. Includes scenes of the fiery destruction of a German Mark V Panther tank by a 3rd Armored T26 Pershing tank in which gunner Clarence Smoyer of Pennsylvania scored three hits in rapid sucession. The original YouTube posting of this video achieved over 100,000 views during 2007-2009, before being replaced by this higher resolution version with improved soundtrack. (Army Signal Corps film research by Dan Fong of 3AD.com staff; and with editing, film restoration [where possible], and soundtrack by Vic Damon of 3AD.com staff.)
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.