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The Battle of Russia (1943) is the fifth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight documentary series, and the longest film of the series, consisting of two parts. The film was made in collaboration with Russian-born Anatole Litvak as primary director under Capra's supervision. Litvak gave the film its "shape and orientation," and the film had seven writers with voice narration by Walter Huston. The score was done by Russian-born Hollywood composer, Dimitri Tiomkin, and drew heavily on Tchaikovsky along with traditional Russian folk songs and ballads.
Film historian Christopher Meir notes that the film's popularity "extended beyond the military audience for it was initially intended, and was the second in the series to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Original Release
11/11/1943
US Release
11/11/1943
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Ion Antonescu | Self |
| Nikolay Cherkasov | Alexander Nevsky |
| Anthony Eden | Self |
| Alexander Edler von Daniels | Self |
| Edgar Garrik | King Charles XII of Sweden |
| Hermann Göring | Self |
| Miklós Horthy | Self |
| Alfred Jodl | Self |
| Kaiser Wilhelm II | Self |
| Wilhelm Keitel | Self |
Directors
Writers
Adolf Hitler, Anatole Litvak, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Rober Heller, John Sanford, Anthony Veiller
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Ion Antonescu | Self |
| Nikolay Cherkasov | Alexander Nevsky |
| Anthony Eden | Self |
| Alexander Edler von Daniels | Self |
| Edgar Garrik | King Charles XII of Sweden |
| Hermann Göring | Self |
| Miklós Horthy | Self |
| Alfred Jodl | Self |
| Kaiser Wilhelm II | Self |
| Wilhelm Keitel | Self |
| King Boris III | Self |
| King Michael | Self |
| General Kosakov | Self |
| Maxim Litvinov | Self |
| Yosuke Matsuoka | Self |
| Vyacheslav Molotov | Self |
| Benito Mussolini | Self |
| Friedrich Paulus | Self - Surrenders to Russians at Stalingrad |
| Konstantin Rokossovsky | Self |
| Arthur Schmidt | Self - Seated with Paulus at Surrender |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|
| Frank Capra | Producer |
Editors
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1944 | Oscar | Best Documentary, Features | Nominated |
