Battle for Cologne as recorded by Jim Bates (WWII, Germany, March of 1945)

James L. Bates, born in Boulder, Colorado, on May 14, 1916, moved to Colorado Springs in 1923, where his father worked as an aeronautical engineer for the Alexander Aviation Company. With seven years of experience at Alexander Film, Jim became a combat photographer with the 165th Photo Signal Company during World War II, capturing pivotal moments including the Battle of Cologne in 1945. The footage shown here, recorded by Jim Bates, most famously features the destruction of a German Panther Tank by an American Pershing Tank.