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(narrator) May 26, 1940.
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Along roads lined with their
smashed and abandoned equipment,
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British and French armies retreat to the
only Channel port still open to them:
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00:00:38,997 --> 00:00:41,248
Dunkirk.
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00:00:41,332 --> 00:00:43,959
Ten miles away, along the Channel coast,
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German armour awaits
Hitler's orders to attack.
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On the Dunkirk beaches,
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nearly half a million men -
British and French -
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face surrender, or the slim chance
of rescue by ships from England.
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(man)
There were masses of troops
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and they came down
in a sort of a V-shape
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to a crocodile, semi-single file,
as they got near the water's edge.
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00:02:06,793 --> 00:02:11,964
Of course, many of these soldiers were
going out up to their necks in water
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00:02:12,048 --> 00:02:14,091
and climbing into, say,
minesweepers
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00:02:14,175 --> 00:02:16,301
that could get in
nearly as close as that.
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Others on the beach were
embarking in the small boats.
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But there didn't seem to be
any panic or worry at all.
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One came across
lots of these small boats,
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many of them with perhaps
a dozen or so soldiers on board,
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heading back for England resolutely.
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One quite often offered to
take their crews of soldiers off them
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so they could go back for more,
and they said:
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"No fear. We've got our 12 pongos, and
we're going back to England with them."
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"You go and get your own."
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(man) The beach was...
There were thousands of men,
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like Margate beach on a bank holiday.
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The troops was in a pretty bad state.
They were in a bad way.
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There was one man especially,
I shall always remember.
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He came on board -
he'd had his teeth blown out -
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and he was holding a rifle
with a fixed bayonet.
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We had to take the arms
off everyone,
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but we couldn't shift
the gun out of his hands.
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His hands gripped it,
and they was... fixture.
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A chap was on the beach, and then he
gets aboard a ship and thinks he's safe.
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But they really did think this.
They said:
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"England, home and beauty -
let us get there, boyo."
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(McBeath) We were most impressed.
They were tired.
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Most of them went to sleep.
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Our job was to stop enemy aircraft
getting at those troops
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because, believe me, if enemy aircraft
had superiority of the air at Dunkirk,
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they would have massacred
those fellows on the beach.
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They had no guns,
they had no anti-aircraft.
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And German bombers
and German dive bombers - the Stukas -
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would have just murdered them. And
we couldn't have got those troops off.
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00:04:02,242 --> 00:04:05,535
Another thing the Germans tried to do
was to sink the ships.
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They knew that the fellows
couldn't swim to England,
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so they had to try and get on the ships.
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00:04:11,834 --> 00:04:16,838
And if they could sink these ships, the
British army would have been trapped.
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(narrator) The RAF tried to keep the
German air force away from the beaches,
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but six destroyers
and over 200 craft were sunk.
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Fighter Command lost nearly half
its strength in the French campaign -
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100 planes
in the Dunkirk operations alone.
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00:04:40,530 --> 00:04:42,614
(engine spluttering)
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Dunkirk was a major defeat,
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but the inspired efforts
of the Royal Navy and the little ships
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saved 330,000 British and French troops.
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For a week, the weather was fine,
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and the German army was held off.
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(Good) I don't think they thought they
would get them off. That's my opinion.
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But it was an act of God that they did.
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The weather was good,
the sea was like a millpond,
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and this was a great help to everybody.
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If it had been rough water, you'd
have never got them off of Dunkirk,
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because when those rollers
go up that beach, they go.
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(McBeath) Any moment,
a breakthrough by the German army
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could have stopped the whole operation.
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I don't think,
despite the valiant endeavours
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of the British and French troops
who were keeping the Germans back,
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that they could have stopped the might
of the German armour getting through
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if Hitler had so wanted to do it.
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(narrator) What was left of Dunkirk
surrendered on June 4.
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Thousands of troops
could not be rescued.
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A fortnight later,
France stopped fighting,
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and the British prime minister,
Churchill, broadcast to the world:
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(Churchill) What General Weygand hadcalled the Battle of France is over.
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The Battle of Britainis about to begin.
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Hitler knows that he will have to breakus in this island, or lose the war.
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If we can stand up to him,all Europe may be free,
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and the life of the world may moveforward into broad, sunlit uplands.
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But if we fail,
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then the whole world willsink into the abyss of a new dark age.
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Let us thereforebrace ourselves to our duty...
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and so bear ourselves
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that if the British Empireand its Commonwealth
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last for a thousand years,
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men will still say:
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"This was their finest hour."
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(whistle / cheering)
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(narrator) Britain prepared
to face immediate invasion.
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A new evacuation of children began
from the south and east-coast areas
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where a German landing
might be expected.
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Some parents sent their children
overseas to safety.
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But this was stopped
when a U-boat sank a British liner
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with 90 children on board.
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To guard against invasion, over a
million men not required by the forces
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volunteered to form the Home Guard.
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They drilled with broomsticks
as there were no rifles to spare,
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00:08:13,659 --> 00:08:18,038
and rehearsed bloodthirsty defences
against a German attack.
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The regular army's training
seems to have impressed the newsreels.
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00:08:44,106 --> 00:08:47,317
(newsreel) They have turnedkick-starter pushers.
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00:08:47,401 --> 00:08:50,445
Shanks's pony has given wayto a spanking motorbike.
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The left-right, left-right blokeshave both feet off the ground.
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They're part of Britain'smighty mobile mounties,
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all keen to welcome Adolf when he dropsin for a cup of tea and a cream bun.
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A battalion of infantry on wheelsis on exercise -
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a swift-moving striking force thatwill do the enemy a bit of no good.
107
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They learn under conditionsthey might meet with on active service.
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Up and down they go, but unlike the Hunthey're always on the level.
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(narrator) The army had brought back
their rifles from Dunkirk,
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but almost everything else
had been abandoned in France.
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00:09:28,317 --> 00:09:33,613
In June, the only fully-equipped
division in Britain was Canadian.
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00:09:33,698 --> 00:09:38,118
I remember in June going down
to the Southeast corner of Britain,
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00:09:38,202 --> 00:09:40,579
where General Thorne was in command -
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00:09:40,663 --> 00:09:44,207
Kent, Surrey, Sussex,
that sort of area,
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00:09:44,292 --> 00:09:48,712
a possible landing area for the Germans,
if they were going to attempt it -
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00:09:48,796 --> 00:09:53,258
and I remember sending a memorandum
to Winston which must be in his papers.
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If I remember right,
I said something like this:
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the troops were in very good heart
and very well trained,
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00:09:59,432 --> 00:10:06,146
but there was
no antitank weapon of any kind,
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00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:09,733
no antitank guns, and no tanks.
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00:10:09,817 --> 00:10:14,195
That was in the area where, if the
Germans landed, they might be expected.
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The cupboard was bare.
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(narrator) The king rejoiced
that Britain stood alone,
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00:10:20,703 --> 00:10:23,288
with no more allies to pamper.
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00:10:23,372 --> 00:10:26,416
The head of Fighter Command,
Sir Hugh Dowding, agreed.
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00:10:26,500 --> 00:10:30,295
He had lost too many planes
helping the French.
127
00:10:31,631 --> 00:10:36,217
Station names and signposts were
removed to baffle invading Germans.
128
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The effect was to baffle
British travellers.
129
00:10:39,722 --> 00:10:45,226
Antitank barriers deprived the Germans
or an easy advance along the railways.
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00:10:50,733 --> 00:10:55,654
In the invasion areas, the countryside
disappeared under coils of barbed wire.
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The beaches, too,
were wired to below low-water mark.
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JB Priestley remembers
a visit to the seaside.
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I went down one hot summer day -
late summer -
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00:11:09,710 --> 00:11:13,838
to one of the seaside resorts
on the Kent coast.
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00:11:14,882 --> 00:11:17,467
The last time I visited,
it was packed out -
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the beaches absolutely crammed,
and all the fun of the fair going on.
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00:11:22,181 --> 00:11:28,353
Then to see it on this
strange, bright, empty day,
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00:11:28,437 --> 00:11:33,274
the beaches deserted,
a lot of barbed wire all over the place,
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I felt then that, in a way, this was
a kind of symbol of what people felt,
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00:11:39,824 --> 00:11:45,578
and that they were ready
to abandon this for the time being
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00:11:45,663 --> 00:11:48,164
in order to get on with the war.
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(narrator) Churchill was everywhere,
no longer a suspect politician,
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but the living embodiment
of the British will to resist.
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It was a situation
he seemed to revel in,
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describing a vivid picture of himself
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leading a last-man defence
of a devastated Whitehall.
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00:12:07,309 --> 00:12:12,147
lmmediately Churchill became prime
minister, the pace in Whitehall changed.
148
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People started not merely to think fast,
but to act fast.
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00:12:16,694 --> 00:12:20,739
Distinguished civil servants could be
seen running down the passages.
150
00:12:20,823 --> 00:12:23,616
Churchill himself
was physically very energetic.
151
00:12:23,701 --> 00:12:27,412
He would suddenly make the most
extraordinary and energetic sorties.
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He would inspect troops,
marching at great speed down the ranks,
153
00:12:31,041 --> 00:12:34,210
and outpacing
all the younger men following him.
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00:12:34,295 --> 00:12:38,840
I remember one evening he said he was
going to inspect some new works,
155
00:12:38,924 --> 00:12:44,596
and although he was 65 years old,
he vaulted over a brick wall
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00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:48,308
and landed feet first
in a pool of liquid cement.
157
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And with an impertinence
which in retrospect I'm surprised at,
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I said, "You've met your Waterloo,"
as he was stuck in the cement.
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He turned to me and said,
"How dare you? Anyhow, my Blenheim."
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00:13:05,075 --> 00:13:08,036
(narrator) In the arms factories
they worked long hours
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to fill the gaps in British defences.
162
00:13:10,456 --> 00:13:13,875
Production reached a peak in June,
then fell as workers tired.
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00:13:13,959 --> 00:13:16,669
But the spurt lasted
through the critical time.
164
00:13:19,048 --> 00:13:21,174
Production of fighter planes doubled.
165
00:13:21,258 --> 00:13:25,845
A hundred new Spitfires and Hurricanes
a week replenished Dowding's forces.
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00:13:25,930 --> 00:13:28,932
The minister of aircraft production,
Lord Beaverbrook,
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00:13:29,016 --> 00:13:33,686
took care to make ordinary people
feel part of the production battle.
168
00:13:33,771 --> 00:13:37,273
My father was a master of propaganda.
169
00:13:37,358 --> 00:13:39,943
There were the pots and pans,
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where everyone was asked
to give up pots and pans and railings.
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00:13:43,405 --> 00:13:45,698
Stanley Baldwin
didn't give up his gates,
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00:13:45,783 --> 00:13:49,285
but most people gave up all
they could in the way of metal.
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00:13:49,370 --> 00:13:53,790
The pilots and we all knew you couldn't
make aircraft out of pots and pans,
174
00:13:53,916 --> 00:13:58,711
but it brought the people to realise
that it was a desperate situation.
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00:13:58,796 --> 00:14:03,341
The response was tremendous. They
had piles and piles of pots and pans -
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00:14:03,425 --> 00:14:08,763
not knowing what to do with them.
But he was a great propagandist.
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00:14:08,848 --> 00:14:11,307
(narrator) But where was
the German invasion?
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(♪ fanfare)
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00:14:18,357 --> 00:14:22,360
In June 1940, Hitler had not begun
to think about invading Britain.
180
00:14:22,444 --> 00:14:27,699
He was celebrating his French victory,
and expected Britain to make peace.
181
00:14:27,783 --> 00:14:31,160
Berlin gave him a hero's welcome
when he returned there on July 6
182
00:14:31,245 --> 00:14:34,581
with Admiral Raeder
and his other commanders in chief.
183
00:14:34,665 --> 00:14:38,835
Only the German navy
seemed to have plans for an invasion.
184
00:14:38,919 --> 00:14:41,296
By the time Hitler
began to take an interest,
185
00:14:41,380 --> 00:14:45,258
the army had its own plans
and was critical of the navy's.
186
00:14:48,012 --> 00:14:51,431
Both looked to Göring, the Luftwaffe
chief, to win control of the air -
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00:14:51,515 --> 00:14:53,558
vital for an invasion.
188
00:14:53,642 --> 00:14:58,271
And Göring believed the Luftwaffe
on its own could knock out Britain.
189
00:14:58,355 --> 00:15:02,817
Arguments between the services
went on for months.
190
00:15:03,402 --> 00:15:05,778
The army at first
wanted to land 40 divisions
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00:15:05,863 --> 00:15:08,573
on a wide front between
Ramsgate and Lyme Bay,
192
00:15:08,657 --> 00:15:11,993
and press on to a line from Maldon
in Essex to the Severn Estuary,
193
00:15:12,119 --> 00:15:14,162
sealing off London.
194
00:15:14,246 --> 00:15:17,415
This was later scaled down
to a landing by nine divisions
195
00:15:17,499 --> 00:15:21,669
between Folkestone and Brighton,
supported by two airborne divisions -
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00:15:21,754 --> 00:15:24,297
about 200,000 men in all.
197
00:15:24,423 --> 00:15:27,508
By September, Britain had overcome
her earlier weakness
198
00:15:27,593 --> 00:15:31,971
and had 16 divisions available
in the Southeast.
199
00:15:35,851 --> 00:15:40,813
An invasion fleet from all parts of
Germany assembled in northern ports.
200
00:15:43,651 --> 00:15:46,486
Landing craft were built,
and boats converted
201
00:15:46,570 --> 00:15:49,072
to carry troops and amphibious tanks.
202
00:15:51,283 --> 00:15:53,993
The army thought the fleet too small.
203
00:15:54,078 --> 00:15:57,372
The navy thought even that size fleet
difficult to protect.
204
00:15:57,456 --> 00:16:00,625
Both agreed
that air supremacy was vital.
205
00:16:00,709 --> 00:16:04,921
The invasion, codenamed Operation
Sea Lion, was set for mid-September.
206
00:16:05,005 --> 00:16:10,301
The plans did not impress the Luftwaffe,
on whom everything depended.
207
00:16:10,386 --> 00:16:13,638
(man) In my opinion,
the plan was not serious.
208
00:16:13,722 --> 00:16:21,020
Especially the navy didn't want
to have the responsibility,
209
00:16:21,105 --> 00:16:25,400
and the navy
has asked the air force first of all
210
00:16:25,484 --> 00:16:30,947
to establish the absolute...
the absolute air superiority
211
00:16:31,031 --> 00:16:33,449
over the invasion area.
212
00:16:34,702 --> 00:16:39,038
The preparation the navy did
was not very convincing.
213
00:16:39,123 --> 00:16:44,585
Also, our preparation...
My wing was designated to be
214
00:16:44,712 --> 00:16:48,840
one of the two wings
to be transferred to England,
215
00:16:48,924 --> 00:16:53,094
and our preparations were... ridiculous.
216
00:16:53,637 --> 00:16:57,390
The air force was not
trained and prepared
217
00:16:57,474 --> 00:17:01,894
to conduct an independent air war
over England.
218
00:17:14,158 --> 00:17:16,951
(narrator)
The Luftwaffe's first targets
219
00:17:17,036 --> 00:17:19,454
were merchant convoys
and harbours,
220
00:17:19,538 --> 00:17:24,000
particularly in
the narrow seas of the Channel.
221
00:17:24,084 --> 00:17:26,586
Dover became known as Hellfire Corner.
222
00:17:26,670 --> 00:17:30,631
There was always something for the
newsreel camera or the news reporter -
223
00:17:30,716 --> 00:17:34,302
for instance, Charles Gardner
of the BBC:
224
00:17:35,429 --> 00:17:39,766
(newsreel) Now the Germans aredive-bombing a convoy out at sea.
225
00:17:39,850 --> 00:17:42,769
There are one, two, three,four, five, six, seven.
226
00:17:42,853 --> 00:17:46,230
There's one going downon its target now.
227
00:17:46,315 --> 00:17:48,858
Boom. No, he hasn't hit a single ship.
228
00:17:48,942 --> 00:17:54,113
There are about ten ships in theconvoy, but he hasn't hit a single one.
229
00:17:54,198 --> 00:17:59,494
They come in a steep dive. You cansee the bombs leave the machines.
230
00:17:59,578 --> 00:18:02,371
You can hear our own gunsgoing like anything now.
231
00:18:03,207 --> 00:18:07,001
There's a fight going on.You can hear the machine-gun bullets.
232
00:18:07,086 --> 00:18:10,046
That was a bomb, as you may imagine.
233
00:18:10,130 --> 00:18:12,924
There's another bomb dropping.
234
00:18:13,884 --> 00:18:16,177
It's dropped... It missed the convoy.
235
00:18:16,261 --> 00:18:18,679
They haven't hit the convoyin all this.
236
00:18:20,015 --> 00:18:22,975
We've just hit a Messerschmitt!That was beautiful.
237
00:18:23,060 --> 00:18:28,439
He's coming right down now. I thinkdefinitely that was that first contest.
238
00:18:28,565 --> 00:18:32,193
Absolute steep dive. I'll just moveround so I can watch him a bit more.
239
00:18:32,277 --> 00:18:35,238
Here he comes.He's going slap into the sea.
240
00:18:35,322 --> 00:18:37,156
And there he goes - bam!
241
00:18:37,241 --> 00:18:40,368
Oh, boy! I've never seenanything so good as this.
242
00:18:40,452 --> 00:18:44,872
The RAF fightershave really got these boys taped.
243
00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:50,920
(narrator) The convoy system was
disrupted, and harbours like Dover hit.
244
00:18:51,004 --> 00:18:53,422
But while the town suffered casualties,
245
00:18:53,507 --> 00:18:57,718
Dowding had not yet been forced
to commit his full fighter strength.
246
00:18:57,803 --> 00:19:00,179
The unique thing about Fighter Command
247
00:19:00,264 --> 00:19:03,724
was that when war broke out
in September 1939...
248
00:19:04,476 --> 00:19:10,648
we had there a system covering
the entire country for air defence.
249
00:19:10,732 --> 00:19:16,404
And that system was based on radar,
or, as we called it in those days, RDF.
250
00:19:16,864 --> 00:19:20,074
We had this chain of radar stations
around the coast,
251
00:19:20,159 --> 00:19:22,994
and they were looking out
up to 100 miles.
252
00:19:23,078 --> 00:19:25,121
And they were feeding, on land lines,
253
00:19:25,247 --> 00:19:30,168
all the information
to the headquarters of Fighter Command.
254
00:19:30,252 --> 00:19:33,212
(Aitken) Radar really won
the Battle of Britain,
255
00:19:33,297 --> 00:19:37,550
because without it we would have been
doing standing patrols -
256
00:19:37,676 --> 00:19:42,889
and with the limited number of aircraft
and pilots, you couldn't have done it.
257
00:19:42,973 --> 00:19:45,892
As it was, we could wait on the ground,
258
00:19:45,976 --> 00:19:48,352
and then radar would watch.
259
00:19:48,437 --> 00:19:53,316
And through the various controls,
we would be told to take off
260
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:58,446
at a time when the Germans were
massing over Calais or over Abbeville.
261
00:19:58,530 --> 00:20:04,118
And so, therefore, we wasted no petrol,
no time, no energy -
262
00:20:04,244 --> 00:20:08,289
in fact, we could sleep
in between patrols.
263
00:20:08,373 --> 00:20:13,211
And then we'd take off, and we would be
directed towards the German formation,
264
00:20:13,337 --> 00:20:18,007
given height, distance and their
numbers - which was very important.
265
00:20:19,885 --> 00:20:23,387
(narrator) On August 13,
Göring changed his tactics.
266
00:20:23,513 --> 00:20:26,891
He ordered an attack on radar stations
and fighter airfields,
267
00:20:26,975 --> 00:20:30,603
which Fighter Command
was bound to defend.
268
00:20:33,065 --> 00:20:37,526
While German bombers blitzed airfields
that defended London and the Southeast,
269
00:20:37,611 --> 00:20:40,279
escorting fighters
dealt with British fighters
270
00:20:40,364 --> 00:20:43,908
that came up to attack the bombers.
271
00:21:04,721 --> 00:21:08,683
Fighting over England
put the Luftwaffe at a disadvantage.
272
00:21:08,767 --> 00:21:13,145
It was expected, but not equipped,
to win a decisive battle alone.
273
00:21:16,233 --> 00:21:20,152
The German bombers were not designed
to carry a heavy enough bomb load.
274
00:21:20,237 --> 00:21:24,865
German fighters had only enough fuel
to stay over England for half an hour,
275
00:21:24,950 --> 00:21:27,910
whereas the British fighters,
close to their bases,
276
00:21:27,995 --> 00:21:33,082
could land and refuel quickly enough
to rejoin the battle.
277
00:21:34,334 --> 00:21:36,419
(Galland) Our range
was very limited,
278
00:21:36,503 --> 00:21:40,548
and we could only cover
a small part of the British islands,
279
00:21:40,632 --> 00:21:43,467
including London.
280
00:21:43,552 --> 00:21:47,638
But over London, as an example,
we could only stay for ten minutes,
281
00:21:47,723 --> 00:21:49,890
to come back to our bases.
282
00:21:52,019 --> 00:21:58,149
So this limited range
of our fighters and the escort
283
00:21:58,233 --> 00:22:03,863
has been perhaps the... main point...
284
00:22:05,991 --> 00:22:11,203
which avoided an effective
air offensive against Britain.
285
00:22:12,664 --> 00:22:15,166
(narrator)
The Luftwaffe misled its pilots
286
00:22:15,250 --> 00:22:18,127
about the damage
done to British airfields.
287
00:22:18,211 --> 00:22:21,047
They claimed eight
had been virtually destroyed.
288
00:22:21,131 --> 00:22:23,382
In fact, none had been knocked out,
289
00:22:23,467 --> 00:22:26,927
and those damaged
were quickly patched up again.
290
00:22:27,012 --> 00:22:30,890
The German pilots, faced
by resistance they hadn't expected,
291
00:22:30,974 --> 00:22:33,059
became pessimistic about winning.
292
00:22:33,143 --> 00:22:38,981
We fighting crews were convinced
that we couldn't win the battle
293
00:22:39,066 --> 00:22:45,363
and we couldn't force England
to surrender by attacking
294
00:22:45,447 --> 00:22:52,036
without any operation
from the part of the army or the navy.
295
00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:56,207
Therefore, we were asking
that the High Command
296
00:22:56,291 --> 00:23:00,127
should order the invasion -
the Sea Lion.
297
00:23:02,005 --> 00:23:05,966
(narrator) A mere 1,400 British
fighter pilots and their ground crews
298
00:23:06,051 --> 00:23:08,552
stood between Britain and invasion.
299
00:23:08,637 --> 00:23:13,599
Their responsibility was great - too
great, perhaps, to bear thinking about.
300
00:23:13,683 --> 00:23:16,811
The face they showed the world
was dashing and carefree.
301
00:23:16,895 --> 00:23:21,565
(man) I think they took the situation
not the least bit seriously,
302
00:23:21,650 --> 00:23:24,068
from the point of view
of their lives generally.
303
00:23:24,152 --> 00:23:27,571
Some fellows would just
kick a ball around or lie around,
304
00:23:27,697 --> 00:23:33,994
some would sleep, read paperbacks,
listen to the radio -
305
00:23:34,079 --> 00:23:36,163
and that was our life.
306
00:23:42,087 --> 00:23:46,090
I wanted to shoot an plane down, but
I didn't want to shoot a German down.
307
00:23:46,174 --> 00:23:48,050
I really did not.
308
00:23:48,135 --> 00:23:53,597
We did hear stories of Germans
shooting our fellows in parachutes,
309
00:23:53,682 --> 00:23:56,434
and we used to think
that was pretty horrible,
310
00:23:56,518 --> 00:23:59,812
but we weren't sure
whether it was true or not.
311
00:23:59,896 --> 00:24:06,360
I know I had an experience of a German
aircrew getting draped over my own wing.
312
00:24:06,445 --> 00:24:11,782
He'd baled out of a bomber and got
caught on my wing with his parachute.
313
00:24:11,867 --> 00:24:17,121
I was jolly careful to get him off
as easily and as quickly as I could,
314
00:24:17,205 --> 00:24:20,082
by yawing the aeroplane
and shaking him off.
315
00:24:20,167 --> 00:24:23,586
There was no chivalry between
the German air force and the British.
316
00:24:23,712 --> 00:24:27,465
Absolutely none. Not as far as
I was concerned. I hated them.
317
00:24:27,549 --> 00:24:30,926
They were trying to do something to us -
trying to enslave us.
318
00:24:55,118 --> 00:24:57,036
(narrator) The climax of the battle
319
00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:59,705
came at the end of August,
start of September.
320
00:24:59,789 --> 00:25:04,376
Upon the result depended Hitler's
decision to launch his invasion.
321
00:25:04,461 --> 00:25:11,425
But the battle was between a comparative
handful of individuals on either side.
322
00:25:20,727 --> 00:25:23,687
(Aitken) The fights
were rather extraordinary,
323
00:25:23,772 --> 00:25:26,524
because although
there were a lot of aircraft about,
324
00:25:26,650 --> 00:25:31,654
suddenly, when you were fighting
a particular man, the sky became empty.
325
00:25:38,954 --> 00:25:42,081
(Holmes) No one ever considered
that he would be killed.
326
00:25:42,165 --> 00:25:46,377
Death was something which was
just put at the back of your mind.
327
00:25:46,461 --> 00:25:51,298
If it was not, you'd have just got the
jitters about it and been very worried.
328
00:25:51,841 --> 00:25:56,845
If a fellow did go missing, it was just,
"Poor old so-and-so, he's had it,"
329
00:25:56,930 --> 00:25:58,973
and that was that.
330
00:26:01,893 --> 00:26:06,772
lnwardly, of course, you'd feel it
tremendously if you lost a pal.
331
00:26:06,856 --> 00:26:11,277
But you didn't... you didn't
dwell on the subject of death at all.
332
00:26:11,361 --> 00:26:16,407
Sometimes you could tell if a fellow was
going to get killed. He sort of lost it.
333
00:26:18,743 --> 00:26:22,830
My greatest friend was killed.
He was shooting at a Messerschmitt,
334
00:26:22,914 --> 00:26:25,624
and another Messerschmitt
hit him from behind.
335
00:26:25,750 --> 00:26:30,129
I was shouting at him, and you couldn't
do anything - and you saw him go in.
336
00:26:30,213 --> 00:26:33,382
That affected you,
but you had to get on with it.
337
00:26:33,466 --> 00:26:37,803
Your friends affected you deeply.
Terrible. But you couldn't help it.
338
00:26:41,224 --> 00:26:44,685
(narrator) In the last week of August
and the first week of September,
339
00:26:44,769 --> 00:26:48,230
103 of Fighter Command's pilots died.
340
00:26:48,315 --> 00:26:51,692
128 were seriously wounded.
341
00:26:53,695 --> 00:26:58,407
Six key airfields in the Southeast were
put out of action for days at a time.
342
00:26:58,491 --> 00:27:00,784
Against German fighters and bombers,
343
00:27:00,869 --> 00:27:04,038
Britain was now losing fighters
even faster than Germany -
344
00:27:04,122 --> 00:27:06,206
nearly 500 in two weeks.
345
00:27:07,834 --> 00:27:11,086
The last week in August,
the first week in September -
346
00:27:11,171 --> 00:27:14,632
those two weeks were the worst for us,
347
00:27:14,716 --> 00:27:18,052
because by that last week in August,
348
00:27:18,136 --> 00:27:22,264
the Germans had been pounding
the airfields mercilessly,
349
00:27:22,349 --> 00:27:27,978
and 31 August
was probably our worst day.
350
00:27:28,063 --> 00:27:31,231
Fighter Command
was very nearly on its knees.
351
00:27:31,316 --> 00:27:33,817
Dowding was very conscious of that.
352
00:27:33,943 --> 00:27:37,363
What was worrying him was
the constant pounding of the airfields,
353
00:27:37,447 --> 00:27:41,742
and he was wondering
how much longer he could hold out -
354
00:27:41,826 --> 00:27:44,286
when I say "he",
I mean Fighter Command.
355
00:27:44,371 --> 00:27:47,122
Because he was still facing
that big problem
356
00:27:47,207 --> 00:27:50,042
of denying the Germans
air superiority,
357
00:27:50,168 --> 00:27:52,670
and yet they were
knocking airfields to pieces,
358
00:27:52,754 --> 00:27:55,339
with the threat of
knocking out Fighter Command.
359
00:27:55,423 --> 00:27:59,885
On 6 September, the king and queen
visited Fighter Command,
360
00:27:59,969 --> 00:28:02,179
and there were quite a few people
361
00:28:02,263 --> 00:28:06,767
who commented on
how tired Dowding appeared to be.
362
00:28:06,851 --> 00:28:10,604
The day after, 7 September,
363
00:28:10,689 --> 00:28:16,485
an invasion alert was issued -
"invasion imminent" -
364
00:28:16,611 --> 00:28:19,947
and all that day
things were remarkably quiet.
365
00:28:20,031 --> 00:28:24,118
All of us were beginning to wonder
what the devil was going to happen next.
366
00:28:24,202 --> 00:28:27,746
And then, late afternoon,
the Germans launched
367
00:28:27,872 --> 00:28:32,876
what many of the pilots in the air
having to face this onslaught
368
00:28:32,961 --> 00:28:36,630
found to be just about the heaviest
attack they'd ever known.
369
00:28:36,715 --> 00:28:41,218
And then came what Dowding
later described as "the miracle" -
370
00:28:41,302 --> 00:28:45,264
the attack didn't go to the airfields,
it went to London,
371
00:28:45,348 --> 00:28:47,558
and the airfields were spared.
372
00:28:47,642 --> 00:28:49,768
Five minutes to five,
373
00:28:49,853 --> 00:28:52,104
the sirens went.
374
00:28:52,188 --> 00:28:57,234
Walking out onto my veranda,
looking down the river,
375
00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,778
the sky was full of planes.
376
00:28:59,863 --> 00:29:05,284
Within a couple of minutes, the bombs
started dropping in the Millwall Dock,
377
00:29:05,368 --> 00:29:07,953
and I could watch 'em.
378
00:29:08,037 --> 00:29:10,414
And it went on
for some considerable time.
379
00:29:10,540 --> 00:29:14,168
On that first Saturday,
they practically obliterated
380
00:29:14,252 --> 00:29:18,172
from the Silvertown Way to Silvertown.
381
00:29:18,256 --> 00:29:22,050
As a matter of fact, the whole of
the Tidal Basin, Custom House,
382
00:29:22,135 --> 00:29:26,138
right up to Silvertown was obliterated -
make no mistake about it.
383
00:29:27,265 --> 00:29:30,142
If it had continued,
that type of bombing,
384
00:29:30,226 --> 00:29:31,977
in the daylight...
385
00:29:32,061 --> 00:29:35,522
It was hitting everything
of consequence -
386
00:29:35,607 --> 00:29:39,610
shipyards, gasworks,
387
00:29:39,694 --> 00:29:43,489
oil firms, everything of consequence.
388
00:29:43,573 --> 00:29:47,701
Nearly all the bombs were dropping
in the proper target area.
389
00:29:48,912 --> 00:29:52,164
(narrator) That night,
250 bombers returned -
390
00:29:52,248 --> 00:29:55,459
the burning docks and warehouses
an unmistakable marker.
391
00:29:55,543 --> 00:29:59,004
But Göring's change of tactics
relieved the pressure.
392
00:30:04,302 --> 00:30:07,930
Fighter Command regrouped.
London burned.
393
00:30:33,456 --> 00:30:36,792
After the raid on September 7,
many rescue workers and firemen
394
00:30:36,876 --> 00:30:39,461
worked 40 hours nonstop.
395
00:30:39,546 --> 00:30:42,923
"Most of us had the wind up
to start with," one of them said,
396
00:30:43,007 --> 00:30:46,468
"but you looked around
and saw the rest doing their job."
397
00:31:06,114 --> 00:31:10,367
On September 15, the Luftwaffe
mounted another major daylight attack,
398
00:31:10,451 --> 00:31:12,536
expecting no opposition.
399
00:31:12,662 --> 00:31:16,331
But this time the Spitfires and
Hurricanes were waiting for them.
400
00:32:10,845 --> 00:32:15,766
On that day, September 15,
56 German planes were shot down.
401
00:32:16,392 --> 00:32:19,645
Britain had retained
command of the air by day.
402
00:32:23,483 --> 00:32:27,069
The Royal Air Force
had won the Battle of Britain.
403
00:32:41,042 --> 00:32:43,669
September 1940.
404
00:32:43,753 --> 00:32:45,837
Now there were no more daylight raids,
405
00:32:45,922 --> 00:32:48,840
and there could be no invasion
before the spring.
406
00:32:48,925 --> 00:32:53,178
But Britain's cities became targets
for the night bombers.
407
00:32:53,262 --> 00:32:57,307
For 76 nights in succession,
London was bombed.
408
00:32:57,392 --> 00:33:00,894
Queuing for shelter at dusk
became an orderly ritual,
409
00:33:00,979 --> 00:33:06,358
the evening alerts, the dawn all-clear,
part of Londoners' lives.
410
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,947
(air-raid siren)
411
00:33:20,039 --> 00:33:22,666
(hum of aeroplane engines)
412
00:34:12,175 --> 00:34:14,551
I used to hear the planes come over,
413
00:34:14,635 --> 00:34:19,181
and they was, in my opinion,
trying to break the backs of the houses.
414
00:34:19,265 --> 00:34:21,933
l'd listen and shudder.
"The next one's mine."
415
00:34:22,018 --> 00:34:27,147
They'd have, say, six bombs.
"One, two, three, four... This is mine."
416
00:34:27,231 --> 00:34:30,358
"No." Over the next one, they'd go,
and miss my house.
417
00:34:30,443 --> 00:34:32,194
That went on all night.
418
00:34:32,278 --> 00:34:37,240
About ten to eight, I said to my wife
and my in-laws, "l'll be off now."
419
00:34:37,325 --> 00:34:42,245
I walked out of the door -
lovely big three-floor houses they were.
420
00:34:42,330 --> 00:34:48,126
I walked up Approach Road, 20 yards
from the church, which was our post,
421
00:34:48,211 --> 00:34:50,962
and suddenly there was a... (whoosh)
422
00:34:51,047 --> 00:34:53,173
Nothing, I heard nothing.
423
00:34:53,257 --> 00:34:56,259
I talked about this
to people afterwards -
424
00:34:56,344 --> 00:34:58,762
the bomb that hit them,
they never heard.
425
00:34:58,846 --> 00:35:02,891
Now, I wonder if the people sitting
here now had that same experience.
426
00:35:02,975 --> 00:35:05,477
The bomb that hit you, you never heard.
427
00:35:05,561 --> 00:35:07,437
And I fell flat on my face.
428
00:35:07,522 --> 00:35:09,606
I picked myself up, I turned round.
429
00:35:09,732 --> 00:35:14,444
All I could see was a grey curtain
hanging in the middle of a wide road -
430
00:35:14,529 --> 00:35:17,322
about twice as wide as this pub.
431
00:35:17,406 --> 00:35:20,492
There was just
a brownish-grey curtain hanging there.
432
00:35:21,619 --> 00:35:23,745
♪ Come, come
433
00:35:23,830 --> 00:35:25,705
♪ Come and make eyes at me
434
00:35:25,790 --> 00:35:28,083
♪ Down at the Old Bull and Bush
435
00:35:28,167 --> 00:35:29,835
♪ La-la-la, la-la
436
00:35:29,919 --> 00:35:31,711
♪ Come, come
437
00:35:31,796 --> 00:35:33,713
♪ Drink some port wine with me
438
00:35:33,798 --> 00:35:36,466
♪ Down at the Old Bull and Bush
439
00:35:37,552 --> 00:35:41,388
♪ La-la-la-la-la-la,
la-la-la-la-la-la-la
440
00:35:41,472 --> 00:35:45,016
♪ Just let me hold your hand, dear
441
00:35:45,518 --> 00:35:47,227
♪ Do, do
442
00:35:47,353 --> 00:35:49,146
♪ Come and have a drink or two
443
00:35:49,230 --> 00:35:52,524
♪ Down at the Old Bull and Bush,
Bush, Bush !
444
00:35:53,067 --> 00:35:55,152
(man) No matter what shelter
you went in,
445
00:35:55,236 --> 00:36:00,574
there was always someone there
who would provide the entertainment
446
00:36:00,700 --> 00:36:03,368
to sort of take away the strain.
447
00:36:04,370 --> 00:36:09,291
(narrator) Underground stations, it was
decided, must not be used as shelters.
448
00:36:09,375 --> 00:36:13,962
But people simply took them over
and the authorities had to accept it.
449
00:36:14,630 --> 00:36:16,214
(woman) We was all singing,
450
00:36:16,299 --> 00:36:19,259
we was all happy -
just like there was no war at all.
451
00:36:19,343 --> 00:36:20,594
There was a canteen.
452
00:36:20,678 --> 00:36:24,973
I used to sing as well and cheer
people up when the bombs was going.
453
00:36:25,057 --> 00:36:29,936
Until one night, it was very bad, and I
was praying for the big guns to start.
454
00:36:34,775 --> 00:36:39,863
I was talking to a gunnery sergeant
who had been stationed in Hyde Park,
455
00:36:39,947 --> 00:36:44,534
and he told us without any hesitation -
and he cried when he told us:
456
00:36:44,619 --> 00:36:47,495
"When we was sent into London,
457
00:36:47,580 --> 00:36:51,374
we simply elevated our guns
to its maximum and fired."
458
00:36:51,500 --> 00:36:55,462
"We knew that every shell we pumped up
had no chance of hitting a plane,
459
00:36:55,588 --> 00:36:58,798
but don't tell me
it didn't give you courage."
460
00:36:58,883 --> 00:37:03,345
And there's not a person sitting round
this table, I think, can say it didn't -
461
00:37:03,429 --> 00:37:07,432
once they heard those guns firing,
they thought, "Good, we've got 'em now."
462
00:37:07,516 --> 00:37:11,478
But they only knew that it was the
morale - and that's all it did to 'em.
463
00:37:11,562 --> 00:37:15,732
But the bombs just had to come down.
There was nothing to stop them.
464
00:37:27,245 --> 00:37:28,912
(narrator) For 76 mornings,
465
00:37:28,996 --> 00:37:32,332
rescue squads dug through rubble,
searching for survivors.
466
00:37:32,416 --> 00:37:37,337
(man) A bomb dropped on
a block of flats, about four storeys,
467
00:37:37,421 --> 00:37:39,881
and it took the whole front out.
468
00:37:39,966 --> 00:37:43,760
And they said, "There's an old chap
up there. He won't go in a shelter."
469
00:37:43,844 --> 00:37:47,889
So we go up, and when we got up there,
the old chap was snoring his head off,
470
00:37:47,974 --> 00:37:53,144
about 20 empty bottles round his bed,
and the bed's nearly out in the street!
471
00:37:53,229 --> 00:37:55,814
And he never woke up then !
472
00:38:00,820 --> 00:38:06,116
We saw an old lady staggering around,
and we said, "You'll have to come out."
473
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:07,951
She came out
and all she had on
474
00:38:08,035 --> 00:38:11,705
was half of what
should've been a nightdress.
475
00:38:12,331 --> 00:38:16,167
I said, "You'll have to put something
on, make yourself a bit decent."
476
00:38:16,252 --> 00:38:19,879
She was about 80-odd,
and she was completely in a daze.
477
00:38:20,006 --> 00:38:25,844
She said, "l'll go and get something,"
and she came out with her hat on !
478
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:35,562
(narrator) People somehow got to work
through a nightmare of upended buses,
479
00:38:35,646 --> 00:38:38,732
cratered roads, bombed railways.
480
00:38:38,816 --> 00:38:41,192
(man on radio) London calling...
481
00:38:41,277 --> 00:38:45,989
(narrator) Radio reporters told America
and the world that London could take it.
482
00:38:46,073 --> 00:38:48,742
The spirit of Londoners
won sympathy and help.
483
00:38:48,826 --> 00:38:51,870
But the United States remained neutral.
484
00:38:52,872 --> 00:38:57,709
While Britain stood alone,
from September 1940 to May 1941,
485
00:38:57,793 --> 00:39:02,255
40,000 people were killed in raids -
half of them Londoners.
486
00:39:03,758 --> 00:39:06,384
Hundreds of thousands of people
were homeless,
487
00:39:06,469 --> 00:39:10,055
eating, living,
sleeping in rest centres.
488
00:39:11,557 --> 00:39:14,976
Clothing and everything else
had vanished with their home.
489
00:39:15,061 --> 00:39:16,853
But not morale.
490
00:39:16,937 --> 00:39:21,524
To be clean, you couldn't very well say,
"l'm going to have a bath today,"
491
00:39:21,609 --> 00:39:25,570
cos you was afraid the warning
would go halfway through it.
492
00:39:25,654 --> 00:39:29,949
So you'd have a bowl of water, have a
wash and perhaps get your neck done,
493
00:39:30,034 --> 00:39:32,535
and run and take all your things
in the shelter -
494
00:39:32,620 --> 00:39:34,704
finish your bath perhaps the next day.
495
00:39:34,789 --> 00:39:38,750
Never actually have a bath properly.
Step in and step out.
496
00:39:38,834 --> 00:39:42,253
You get used to it.
You can get used to anything.
497
00:39:42,338 --> 00:39:49,177
It was not an uncommon sight to see:
"No windows but plenty of spirit."
498
00:39:49,261 --> 00:39:53,848
Or, "Sorry we've got no front door.
Don't trouble to knock, just come in."
499
00:39:53,933 --> 00:39:57,519
And you'd see these funny little notices
put up outside a door.
500
00:39:57,645 --> 00:40:01,940
This was the sort of thing that made
you think there was something in it.
501
00:40:02,024 --> 00:40:06,069
The more you saw it, the more you felt
encouraged to be able to go out.
502
00:40:06,153 --> 00:40:11,366
Once you'd gone out to go on to a job
and your family were left behind,
503
00:40:11,450 --> 00:40:14,160
you always felt that somehow:
504
00:40:14,245 --> 00:40:16,329
"The Joneses or the Smiths up the road,
505
00:40:16,414 --> 00:40:20,708
if anything happens at home,
they'll look after 'em."
506
00:40:24,588 --> 00:40:28,425
(narrator) Factories went on working,
by night as well as by day.
507
00:40:28,509 --> 00:40:32,053
But night workers were
constantly interrupted by raids.
508
00:40:32,138 --> 00:40:36,683
There was no real defence
against German bombing at night.
509
00:40:36,767 --> 00:40:40,812
Fighter Command's helplessness
worried its chief, Dowding.
510
00:40:40,896 --> 00:40:45,400
I once went to Redhill with him when
the bombers were coming over London.
511
00:40:45,526 --> 00:40:50,280
There was a squadron commanded
by a fellow called Jimmy Little.
512
00:40:50,364 --> 00:40:55,869
He said to me in the car going down,
"Max, I hold my head in my hands
513
00:40:55,953 --> 00:41:01,249
at the thought of people being bombed
and I cannot do anything about it."
514
00:41:01,333 --> 00:41:03,793
(narrator) To the relief
of the authorities,
515
00:41:03,878 --> 00:41:07,422
Buckingham Palace was bombed
as well as East London.
516
00:41:07,506 --> 00:41:12,051
Now it could be seen that king, queen
and people were all in it together.
517
00:41:14,638 --> 00:41:19,267
King George and Queen Elizabeth won
respect by touring the blitzed areas.
518
00:41:19,351 --> 00:41:23,771
They had come to the throne in the wake
of the Duke of Windsor's abdication.
519
00:41:23,856 --> 00:41:28,526
Now, for the first time, they emerged
as popular figures in their own right.
520
00:41:28,611 --> 00:41:30,695
(cheering)
521
00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:35,783
Churchill too, with exuberance,
persuaded most political opponents
522
00:41:35,868 --> 00:41:38,077
to forget his past.
523
00:41:38,162 --> 00:41:41,998
(man) The average East Londoner
didn't care twopence for Churchill,
524
00:41:42,082 --> 00:41:43,875
as a man or a politician,
525
00:41:43,959 --> 00:41:48,046
but the man who filled up
Chamberlain's place,
526
00:41:48,130 --> 00:41:50,673
he was a leader.
527
00:41:50,758 --> 00:41:55,386
And every time he opened his mouth,
he inspired confidence into the people -
528
00:41:55,471 --> 00:41:58,264
whether they accepted him
as a Conservative...
529
00:41:58,349 --> 00:42:03,269
But he was there, he was for 'em,
and he was against the common enemy.
530
00:42:05,856 --> 00:42:09,567
(narrator) But sometimes
he got a mixed reception.
531
00:42:09,652 --> 00:42:12,487
(man) I remember,
just off Green Street,
532
00:42:12,571 --> 00:42:15,198
an avenue where Churchill
came down.
533
00:42:15,282 --> 00:42:18,952
There was a devil of a great crater
as big as this pub.
534
00:42:19,036 --> 00:42:23,748
There were crowds of women trying to
get things out of the shattered houses.
535
00:42:24,625 --> 00:42:29,671
Churchill, after having a look round,
he said, "We can take it."
536
00:42:29,755 --> 00:42:34,759
And the women told him what they could
take, in no unmistakable manner.
537
00:42:34,843 --> 00:42:39,264
They said, "We're the ones that are
taking it - you're out of the way."
538
00:42:50,401 --> 00:42:53,486
(narrator) December 29, 1940.
539
00:42:53,571 --> 00:42:59,450
German planes scattering incendiary
bombs set the City of London ablaze.
540
00:42:59,535 --> 00:43:03,246
There were 1,500 fires
in and around the city.
541
00:43:03,330 --> 00:43:07,458
St Paul's Cathedral
was surrounded by fire.
542
00:43:10,879 --> 00:43:14,090
(man) You could see the fire of London.
543
00:43:14,174 --> 00:43:17,760
60 miles away, you could see the fire.
544
00:43:24,184 --> 00:43:28,438
(woman) That night I was in a shelter,
and it was burning above me.
545
00:43:28,522 --> 00:43:32,108
We all had to get out,
and we wasn't panicking a bit.
546
00:43:32,192 --> 00:43:36,654
And we had to run
to the top of Commercial Road,
547
00:43:36,739 --> 00:43:40,199
to a factory that had a shelter
down below in the basement.
548
00:43:40,284 --> 00:43:43,745
And as we were running along,
there was fires all burning around.
549
00:43:43,829 --> 00:43:47,498
I could feel the heat on the floor -
the puddles were hot.
550
00:43:47,625 --> 00:43:52,128
And in the shelter, we stood all night,
sleeping on each other's shoulders.
551
00:43:52,212 --> 00:43:57,133
I stood all night sleeping
on somebody else's shoulder.
552
00:44:01,555 --> 00:44:06,309
(man) Eventually, we used
so much water, we ran out of it.
553
00:44:06,393 --> 00:44:09,687
And there we stood,
letting the fires burn -
554
00:44:09,772 --> 00:44:13,274
and we couldn't do nothing about it.
555
00:44:20,074 --> 00:44:23,284
(narrator) The heart of
the City of London was destroyed,
556
00:44:23,369 --> 00:44:26,037
but St Paul's survived.
557
00:44:27,956 --> 00:44:31,751
Manchester, Coventry, Birmingham,
Swansea, Liverpool and many more
558
00:44:31,835 --> 00:44:35,672
shared London's ordeal - all were
within reach of the German air force,
559
00:44:35,756 --> 00:44:38,091
with bases in France
and the Low Countries.
560
00:44:38,175 --> 00:44:42,345
It was more difficult for British
bombers to reach German cities.
561
00:44:42,429 --> 00:44:48,267
The government looked for some other way
of carrying the war to the enemy.
562
00:44:48,352 --> 00:44:52,438
We decided the only place
where we could fight the enemy
563
00:44:52,523 --> 00:44:57,902
was the North African desert,
the Middle East theatre generally.
564
00:44:57,986 --> 00:45:02,240
There was nowhere else. We couldn't
hope to make a landing in France
565
00:45:02,324 --> 00:45:07,120
in any foreseeable future, and therefore
couldn't injure the Germans that way.
566
00:45:07,204 --> 00:45:11,249
So the two alternatives...
They weren't alternatives.
567
00:45:11,333 --> 00:45:16,170
The two possibles were bombing,
and fighting in the Middle East.
568
00:45:16,255 --> 00:45:19,132
And that is why
from those very early days
569
00:45:19,258 --> 00:45:25,346
we began to push, agitate,
ask for more armour in the Middle East.
570
00:45:25,431 --> 00:45:30,309
We had to take the armour out of
the line, out of the defence of Britain.
571
00:45:30,436 --> 00:45:33,688
There was no other way of doing it.
572
00:45:34,189 --> 00:45:35,857
(narrator) On December 10, 1940,
573
00:45:35,941 --> 00:45:39,652
two Commonwealth divisions
under General Wavell
574
00:45:39,737 --> 00:45:43,823
attacked the big ltalian army
in North Africa.
575
00:45:45,617 --> 00:45:49,912
Slightly to their own surprise,
they advanced with great speed.
576
00:45:50,956 --> 00:45:53,082
Fortress after fortress was taken.
577
00:45:53,167 --> 00:45:55,418
100,000 prisoners were captured.
578
00:45:55,502 --> 00:45:59,297
Now there seemed to be a chance
to get at the main enemy, Germany -
579
00:45:59,381 --> 00:46:02,717
through Yugoslavia and Greece.
580
00:46:02,801 --> 00:46:06,554
We did think that if it were possible
581
00:46:06,638 --> 00:46:15,271
to bring certain Balkan countries
into conflict with Hitler,
582
00:46:15,355 --> 00:46:20,193
the consequences of that
might be really unforeseeable -
583
00:46:20,319 --> 00:46:22,320
couldn't predict the result.
584
00:46:22,404 --> 00:46:26,866
The view of the War Cabinet
and the Defence Committee
585
00:46:26,950 --> 00:46:32,163
was that, if the Greeks were going to
defend themselves against the Germans,
586
00:46:32,247 --> 00:46:35,541
we should bring them what help we could.
587
00:46:35,667 --> 00:46:37,418
And Dill and I were sent out,
588
00:46:37,544 --> 00:46:41,756
after Wavell's victory,
to Cairo to look into this business.
589
00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:46,761
When we got there, Wavell said, "I hope
you won't mind what I'm going to say."
590
00:46:46,845 --> 00:46:50,014
"I didn't think I ought to waste time -
591
00:46:50,098 --> 00:46:53,100
l've begun the movement of troops
and the concentration
592
00:46:53,185 --> 00:46:55,394
to enable us to go to Greece."
593
00:46:55,479 --> 00:46:59,732
(narrator) The landing in Greece
was meant to forestall a German attack.
594
00:46:59,817 --> 00:47:03,361
To many Greeks,
it seemed likely to hasten it.
595
00:47:03,445 --> 00:47:05,655
They had held their own against ltaly,
596
00:47:05,739 --> 00:47:09,242
but when the Germans attacked
on April 6, 1941,
597
00:47:09,326 --> 00:47:11,994
Greece was overwhelmed in three weeks.
598
00:47:12,079 --> 00:47:15,164
So was Yugoslavia,
which had joined the Allies.
599
00:47:15,249 --> 00:47:19,460
50,000 Commonwealth troops
were evacuated.
600
00:47:19,545 --> 00:47:22,839
One has to admit that...
601
00:47:24,007 --> 00:47:27,760
we didn't obtain
the objectives we'd hoped for.
602
00:47:27,845 --> 00:47:32,098
We weren't able to conduct,
with the help of the Yugoslavs,
603
00:47:32,182 --> 00:47:36,060
any effective campaign in the Balkans.
604
00:47:36,144 --> 00:47:39,814
Turkey, it is true,
remained a defensive pad,
605
00:47:39,898 --> 00:47:44,485
but we lost Greece
and lost many men - brave men -
606
00:47:44,570 --> 00:47:46,737
and more were captured.
607
00:47:47,447 --> 00:47:50,783
So in that sense,
the balance sheet was much against us.
608
00:47:50,868 --> 00:47:55,371
And it was a depressing time,
no question of that.
609
00:47:55,455 --> 00:47:58,207
(narrator) By May 1941,
Germany and her allies
610
00:47:58,292 --> 00:48:02,044
controlled most of Continental Europe.
611
00:48:02,129 --> 00:48:05,214
And in North Africa,
a small German force under Rommel
612
00:48:05,299 --> 00:48:08,175
had recaptured
nearly all the British gains.
613
00:48:08,260 --> 00:48:11,971
The British tried to hold Crete
as a naval base.
614
00:48:18,020 --> 00:48:19,770
With complete command of the air,
615
00:48:19,855 --> 00:48:23,024
the Germans attacked Crete
with 16,000 parachutists -
616
00:48:23,108 --> 00:48:28,195
the first large-scale airborne assault
in the history of warfare.
617
00:48:29,156 --> 00:48:34,035
In spite of heavy losses, they gained
a foothold on a vital airfield, Maleme,
618
00:48:34,119 --> 00:48:37,038
which meant that
more troops could be flown in.
619
00:48:57,100 --> 00:48:58,726
Helped by intensive bombing,
620
00:48:58,810 --> 00:49:03,439
the Germans were able to advance
against a bigger Commonwealth force.
621
00:49:04,066 --> 00:49:07,568
Once again, air power won the battle.
622
00:49:07,653 --> 00:49:11,280
Commonwealth losses:
13,000 killed, wounded or captured.
623
00:49:11,365 --> 00:49:16,285
And another evacuation to add
to the list of Norway, France, Greece.
624
00:49:16,370 --> 00:49:20,748
The British people wondered
how much more they would have to take.
625
00:49:20,832 --> 00:49:24,752
(Colville) Churchill thought
Crete should be held at all costs.
626
00:49:24,836 --> 00:49:28,506
If we lost Crete, we lost our base
in the Eastern Mediterranean -
627
00:49:28,590 --> 00:49:30,675
our naval base and our air base.
628
00:49:31,343 --> 00:49:34,762
And he kept on
telegraphing to Wavell, saying:
629
00:49:34,846 --> 00:49:41,769
"Surely you can spare just a dozen tanks
for the defence of Maleme airfield",
630
00:49:41,853 --> 00:49:46,482
the chief airfield in Crete,
"against German paratroops."
631
00:49:46,566 --> 00:49:49,276
And Wavell replied
that he had no tanks -
632
00:49:49,361 --> 00:49:54,615
they were all having their tracks mended
or their engines greased or something -
633
00:49:54,700 --> 00:49:57,702
and that he couldn't spare even a dozen.
634
00:49:57,786 --> 00:50:01,247
Well, Crete was lost.
It was a great disaster -
635
00:50:01,331 --> 00:50:04,875
upset everybody in the House
of Commons, upset the country.
636
00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:10,214
It was a low point for us in the war,
in the spring of 1941.
637
00:50:10,298 --> 00:50:15,720
I used to be up
until 2:30 in the morning,
638
00:50:15,804 --> 00:50:20,474
broadcasting to America
and the Dominions and so on.
639
00:50:20,559 --> 00:50:26,188
And I'd snatch
some pretty dicey sort of sleep
640
00:50:26,273 --> 00:50:29,734
in the basement of Broadcasting House.
641
00:50:29,818 --> 00:50:35,406
l'd come out in the morning,
and then I'd walk around, and I'd think:
642
00:50:35,490 --> 00:50:40,619
"I don't think there can be much more
of this, because everything's going."
643
00:50:40,746 --> 00:50:43,998
On those mornings, you thought,
"Another two weeks of this
644
00:50:44,082 --> 00:50:46,959
and there'll be nothing around here
but rubble."
645
00:50:53,592 --> 00:50:56,052
(narrator) On May 10, 1941,
646
00:50:56,136 --> 00:50:59,472
London suffered its most destructive
night raid of the war.
647
00:50:59,556 --> 00:51:03,184
Over 3,000 people
were killed or injured.
648
00:51:05,645 --> 00:51:08,856
Hundreds of fires had to be left
to burn themselves out.
649
00:51:08,940 --> 00:51:13,027
There seemed no end in sight
to the slaughter and destruction.
650
00:51:13,111 --> 00:51:18,115
But although Londoners didn't know,
it was the turning point.
651
00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:21,077
In April, '41,
652
00:51:21,161 --> 00:51:26,123
Hitler assembled
all the commanders in France.
653
00:51:27,375 --> 00:51:31,003
And... during two hours,
654
00:51:31,088 --> 00:51:38,594
he talked to us about
the part two of the Battle of Britain.
655
00:51:40,097 --> 00:51:44,183
And... he told us later -
656
00:51:44,267 --> 00:51:49,730
two of us,
namely my friend Mölders and myself -
657
00:51:51,316 --> 00:51:57,905
that it has only been in order to
camouflage the offensive against Russia.
658
00:51:58,740 --> 00:52:00,991
This has been in April, '41.
659
00:52:02,035 --> 00:52:05,496
And the raid on 10 May
660
00:52:05,580 --> 00:52:09,834
can only be considered
as a camouflage of the...
661
00:52:11,545 --> 00:52:15,923
beginning of the Russian campaign.
662
00:52:20,011 --> 00:52:22,972
(narrator) Among the victims
of the raid on May 10
663
00:52:23,056 --> 00:52:24,598
was the House of Commons.
664
00:52:24,683 --> 00:52:28,727
For exactly a year,
a year of disappointment and defeat,
665
00:52:28,812 --> 00:52:31,564
the Commons had
sustained Churchill in office.
666
00:52:31,648 --> 00:52:34,441
But the important battle had been won.
667
00:52:34,526 --> 00:52:37,444
Britain had survived.
668
00:52:37,529 --> 00:52:39,488
Now it was Russia's turn.
62030
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