Steel is the weapon of war used by the nation that had chosen "guns before butter" and unleashed its lightning blitzkrieg attacks on Europe.

As the epitome of a new mechanized steel weapon, the light and simple to use Bren gun was manufactured in Canada in a complex operation that involved 2,800 smaller processes employing 18,000 tools and jigs.

On the "front of steel", it is "soldiers in dungarees" that will make the difference between winning and losing in modern warfare and Canada is playing its part.

Typical of the NFB's Second World War documentary short films in the Canada Carries On series, The Front of Steel was made in cooperation with the Director of Public Information, Herbert Lash.

Additional footage was shot for the film by cinematographers Alfred Jacquemin and Roy Tash, with on-location sound recording by technicians Maurice Metzger and Walter Darling.