1 00:00:03,066 --> 00:00:05,200 This program is rated 14 , 2 00:00:05,333 --> 00:00:07,266 and contains scenes of violence, coarse language, 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:08,667 and mature subject matter. 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:10,633 Viewer discretion is advised. 5 00:00:18,667 --> 00:00:21,700 The nation of Poland no longer exists, 6 00:00:21,834 --> 00:00:25,100 and that enables Adolf Hitler to attack the West. 7 00:00:25,233 --> 00:00:29,567 After six months of inactivity, what is called the Phony War, 8 00:00:29,700 --> 00:00:32,567 Germany quickly occupies Denmark, 9 00:00:32,700 --> 00:00:34,133 then invades Norway, 10 00:00:34,266 --> 00:00:37,200 where they easily defeat a British and French force, 11 00:00:37,333 --> 00:00:40,300 triggering a crisis in the British leadership. 12 00:00:40,433 --> 00:00:42,266 Now, the question is, 13 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,467 where will Hitler point the Wehrmacht next? 14 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:47,700 And who will be able to stop him? 15 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,500 All wars change the world, 16 00:00:51,633 --> 00:00:53,467 but none of them changed the world 17 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,433 like the Second World War did. 18 00:00:55,567 --> 00:00:59,367 Japan's on the march, Germany's on the march. 19 00:00:59,500 --> 00:01:00,834 No one can imagine 20 00:01:00,967 --> 00:01:03,633 the nightmare they're about to unleash. 21 00:01:03,767 --> 00:01:06,266 The most destructive war in human history. 22 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,200 Suddenly the world is turned upside down, 23 00:01:09,333 --> 00:01:10,667 and all hell is let loose. 24 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,500 The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 25 00:01:16,633 --> 00:01:20,333 You get the Allies, led by the big three-- 26 00:01:20,467 --> 00:01:22,934 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin. 27 00:01:23,066 --> 00:01:24,934 Men who are dealing 28 00:01:25,066 --> 00:01:28,100 with immensely complicated questions. 29 00:01:28,233 --> 00:01:32,166 It's the biggest military operation of human history. 30 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:34,333 The Allies have to come together, 31 00:01:34,467 --> 00:01:35,767 not just militarily, 32 00:01:35,900 --> 00:01:37,166 but industrial scale 33 00:01:37,300 --> 00:01:38,967 it's a global perspective. 34 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:40,767 They have to fight in every climate, 35 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:44,433 from the Arctic to the jungles of the Pacific 36 00:01:44,567 --> 00:01:47,633 to the deserts of Africa and the depths of the ocean. 37 00:01:50,433 --> 00:01:53,200 But there was no certainty of victory. 38 00:01:53,333 --> 00:01:56,233 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 39 00:01:56,367 --> 00:01:58,734 We see humans at their absolute worst-- 40 00:01:58,867 --> 00:02:01,333 how they treat other human beings. 41 00:02:01,467 --> 00:02:03,400 And we see them at their absolute best-- 42 00:02:03,533 --> 00:02:05,400 willing to give their lives that others might live. 43 00:02:05,533 --> 00:02:07,700 World War II was a struggle 44 00:02:07,834 --> 00:02:12,433 in which there could be one victor and one vanquished. 45 00:02:38,467 --> 00:02:40,967 May 10, 1940... 46 00:02:44,734 --> 00:02:48,133 German forces sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium... 47 00:02:52,133 --> 00:02:53,633 Headed for France. 48 00:02:57,834 --> 00:02:59,233 This will be the third time 49 00:02:59,367 --> 00:03:03,900 that Germany has invaded France in 70 years. 50 00:03:04,033 --> 00:03:05,600 Because of this history, 51 00:03:05,734 --> 00:03:10,300 the French have constructed a 280-mile system of forts... 52 00:03:10,433 --> 00:03:12,934 known as the Maginot Line. 53 00:03:15,667 --> 00:03:18,300 The idea is to have a number of different fortifications 54 00:03:18,433 --> 00:03:21,000 and infrastructures and weapons, 55 00:03:21,133 --> 00:03:23,333 underground tunnels. 56 00:03:23,467 --> 00:03:26,066 You have extensive batteries 57 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,900 that can house entire battalions. 58 00:03:29,033 --> 00:03:32,900 There are even electric railroads underground 59 00:03:33,033 --> 00:03:35,467 to funnel soldiers from blockhouse to blockhouse. 60 00:03:40,266 --> 00:03:43,800 Confident that the border with Germany is secure, 61 00:03:43,934 --> 00:03:46,233 the French position their best troops 62 00:03:46,367 --> 00:03:48,300 along the Belgian-Dutch border. 63 00:03:50,367 --> 00:03:53,600 The French Army of 1940 is regarded as Europe's finest. 64 00:03:53,734 --> 00:03:57,266 They have a large number of soldiers. 65 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,900 They have some of the largest and best tanks 66 00:04:05,033 --> 00:04:07,066 in all of the world at this time. 67 00:04:09,467 --> 00:04:11,533 Nobody else has an army 68 00:04:11,667 --> 00:04:14,100 standing between the Allies and Germany. 69 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,467 It's so deeply assumed 70 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,500 the French Army will hold off the Germans, 71 00:04:19,633 --> 00:04:21,767 just as it had in the First World War. 72 00:04:23,934 --> 00:04:25,934 The French Army feels more than capable 73 00:04:26,066 --> 00:04:27,100 of meeting any challenge 74 00:04:27,233 --> 00:04:28,900 it might face in a future conflict. 75 00:04:30,767 --> 00:04:34,266 As they did 25 years before, in the First World War, 76 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,533 Great Britain also sends an army 77 00:04:36,667 --> 00:04:39,500 to stop the German invasion. 78 00:04:39,633 --> 00:04:42,100 Reinforcements for the British Expeditionary Force 79 00:04:42,233 --> 00:04:43,433 reach France. 80 00:04:45,834 --> 00:04:49,133 The British Expeditionary Force has been sent across 81 00:04:49,266 --> 00:04:53,000 to assist the French in their defense against the Germans. 82 00:04:53,133 --> 00:04:56,367 You've probably got about 300,000 men. 83 00:04:56,500 --> 00:05:00,266 They are the cream of British ground troops. 84 00:05:02,967 --> 00:05:06,266 British and French forces surge into Belgium... 85 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,367 Looking to confront the Germans 86 00:05:10,500 --> 00:05:11,867 in what they believe will be 87 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,166 the main effort of the German attack. 88 00:05:14,300 --> 00:05:16,133 They're heading for the line, 89 00:05:16,266 --> 00:05:18,567 towards the distant rumble of gunfire. 90 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:21,734 This is precisely what Hitler wants them to do. 91 00:05:24,967 --> 00:05:26,834 One of the Wehrmacht's best generals, 92 00:05:26,967 --> 00:05:30,266 Erich von Manstein, has designed a trap. 93 00:05:31,767 --> 00:05:34,300 Manstein-- very ambitious general, 94 00:05:34,433 --> 00:05:36,900 big advocate of war-of-movement tactics, 95 00:05:37,033 --> 00:05:38,633 blitzkrieg tactics... 96 00:05:38,767 --> 00:05:41,066 he says, we're going to distract them. 97 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,066 We'll still have an army facing the Maginot Line. 98 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,100 We'll still have an army sweeping through Belgium, 99 00:05:45,233 --> 00:05:46,667 but we'll do what they least expect. 100 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:48,700 We'll cut through the Ardennes. 101 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:51,967 The Ardennes Forest 102 00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:54,800 straddles the French frontier with Belgium. 103 00:05:56,300 --> 00:05:59,633 Its steep wooded hills and valleys 104 00:05:59,767 --> 00:06:02,900 are considered impenetrable. 105 00:06:03,033 --> 00:06:05,300 Here, there was no reason to build anything 106 00:06:05,433 --> 00:06:08,667 because the forest was so thick and dense. 107 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,867 But Manstein's not deterred by this terrain. 108 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,667 He sends his armored forces into France 109 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,000 from this unexpected direction, 110 00:06:17,133 --> 00:06:19,734 which gives Hitler the opportunity 111 00:06:19,867 --> 00:06:22,233 to outmaneuver the Allies. 112 00:06:22,367 --> 00:06:25,367 And once he's sold on it, as so often in Hitler's life, 113 00:06:25,500 --> 00:06:28,033 it becomes a kind of mania for it. 114 00:06:28,166 --> 00:06:30,567 He says, this is what I wanted. 115 00:06:30,700 --> 00:06:33,233 Finally, someone understands me. 116 00:06:33,367 --> 00:06:35,600 Hitler now throws the bulk of his forces 117 00:06:35,734 --> 00:06:37,266 through the Ardennes. 118 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,467 That same day... 119 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,233 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns. 120 00:06:47,367 --> 00:06:50,266 The Second World War is going badly for Britain. 121 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,233 Hitler's troops have swept through Denmark and Norway. 122 00:06:54,367 --> 00:06:56,633 And Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, 123 00:06:56,767 --> 00:07:00,266 like leaders do, takes the blame for that. 124 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,767 I sought an audience of the King this evening 125 00:07:03,900 --> 00:07:06,433 and tendered to him my resignation, 126 00:07:06,567 --> 00:07:09,300 which His Majesty has been pleased to accept. 127 00:07:11,166 --> 00:07:13,867 The King asks the First Lord of the Admiralty, 128 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,200 the maverick politician Winston Churchill, 129 00:07:17,333 --> 00:07:19,533 to become prime minister. 130 00:07:21,867 --> 00:07:24,333 Winston Churchill was born at a time when Britain was 131 00:07:24,467 --> 00:07:26,200 at its imperial apex-- 132 00:07:26,333 --> 00:07:29,000 the height of the Victorian age. 133 00:07:29,133 --> 00:07:31,033 From the youngest age, he's brought up 134 00:07:31,166 --> 00:07:34,800 thinking that he's special, that fate has predestined 135 00:07:34,934 --> 00:07:36,934 that he would one day save Britain and its empire. 136 00:07:38,934 --> 00:07:42,000 Churchill has openly been critical of Hitler, 137 00:07:42,133 --> 00:07:44,567 very worried about Hitler... 138 00:07:44,700 --> 00:07:46,800 against German rearmament, 139 00:07:46,934 --> 00:07:50,000 and against Hitler's obvious plans 140 00:07:50,133 --> 00:07:51,934 in Europe. 141 00:07:52,066 --> 00:07:53,300 He was the guy who, 142 00:07:53,433 --> 00:07:55,233 sounding like a bit of a crank for years, 143 00:07:55,367 --> 00:07:56,834 had said this was going to happen. 144 00:07:56,967 --> 00:07:58,066 And then when it does happen 145 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,166 and you're looking to turn to somebody, 146 00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:02,233 it's inevitable that you turn to the person 147 00:08:02,367 --> 00:08:03,700 that was right all along. 148 00:08:05,467 --> 00:08:07,567 Churchill's immediate challenge 149 00:08:07,700 --> 00:08:09,667 is to stiffen British resolve 150 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,400 and to prepare them for a long struggle. 151 00:08:15,767 --> 00:08:18,066 From his first address to Parliament, 152 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,166 Churchill demonstrates his determination 153 00:08:21,300 --> 00:08:22,867 to defeat the Nazis. 154 00:08:24,667 --> 00:08:26,800 Churchill used the wonders of language 155 00:08:26,934 --> 00:08:27,967 and the oratory skill, 156 00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:30,400 and the way he crafted his words-- 157 00:08:30,533 --> 00:08:32,633 well, he's one of the most quoted people in the world. 158 00:08:34,166 --> 00:08:36,233 I would say to the House, 159 00:08:36,367 --> 00:08:40,033 I have nothing to offer but blood, 160 00:08:40,166 --> 00:08:43,133 toil, tears, 161 00:08:43,266 --> 00:08:45,367 and sweat. 162 00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:48,667 Nasty, dirty base words-- blood, sweat, toil. 163 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:52,233 He takes you up here, and he brings you back down here. 164 00:08:52,367 --> 00:08:55,033 You ask, what is our aim? 165 00:08:55,166 --> 00:08:57,900 I can answer in one word... 166 00:08:58,033 --> 00:08:59,633 victory... 167 00:08:59,767 --> 00:09:01,633 victory at all costs, 168 00:09:01,767 --> 00:09:04,300 for without victory, there is no survival. 169 00:09:05,767 --> 00:09:07,333 People that were there that day said 170 00:09:07,467 --> 00:09:08,900 that you could feel the opposition 171 00:09:09,033 --> 00:09:11,934 to Winston Churchill just draining away. 172 00:09:15,367 --> 00:09:18,600 As the Wehrmacht advances on France through Belgium 173 00:09:18,734 --> 00:09:20,367 and the Ardennes Forest... 174 00:09:21,834 --> 00:09:24,300 Adolf Hitler takes a risk. 175 00:09:27,834 --> 00:09:29,800 This is a huge gamble for the simple reason 176 00:09:29,934 --> 00:09:32,367 that if you try to mass Panzer divisions 177 00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:35,934 and motorized infantry on these little dirt tracks, 178 00:09:36,066 --> 00:09:39,400 you're going to have massive traffic jams. 179 00:09:39,533 --> 00:09:41,700 And they're going to be a ripe target for the French 180 00:09:41,834 --> 00:09:43,100 and British air forces, 181 00:09:43,233 --> 00:09:45,033 which could fly over and just bomb these things 182 00:09:45,166 --> 00:09:47,166 while they're stuck in the Ardennes. 183 00:09:47,300 --> 00:09:50,400 Hitler is, in some ways, the ultimate gambler, 184 00:09:50,533 --> 00:09:53,300 with his notions that whatever he does, 185 00:09:53,433 --> 00:09:56,500 if he is strong enough and if he has the will 186 00:09:56,633 --> 00:09:59,834 and he's got the German people behind him, nothing can fail. 187 00:10:05,333 --> 00:10:07,734 Three days after German tank divisions 188 00:10:07,867 --> 00:10:10,166 enter the Ardennes... 189 00:10:10,300 --> 00:10:13,800 the French remain unaware of the Nazi threat. 190 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,066 The French are not expecting a major German assault here. 191 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,967 So the French troops along the Meuse are older men, 192 00:10:22,100 --> 00:10:24,200 reservists who've been called back to the colors. 193 00:10:27,166 --> 00:10:30,800 At 1500 hours on May 13th... 194 00:10:30,934 --> 00:10:33,433 the countryside quiet is shattered 195 00:10:33,567 --> 00:10:35,600 by the sound of tank engines. 196 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,000 So, if you're a French soldier... 197 00:10:41,133 --> 00:10:43,033 and you look out through your binoculars 198 00:10:43,166 --> 00:10:45,800 at what's happening... 199 00:10:45,934 --> 00:10:48,033 suddenly there's a tank appearing across the river. 200 00:10:50,300 --> 00:10:51,834 And then, suddenly, another one. 201 00:10:51,967 --> 00:10:55,333 And then, suddenly, dozens, even hundreds more. 202 00:10:55,467 --> 00:10:58,800 You make a panicky report back to your superior officer-- 203 00:10:58,934 --> 00:11:00,166 I see German tanks. 204 00:11:08,533 --> 00:11:12,834 German pioneer units throw bridges across the river. 205 00:11:12,967 --> 00:11:15,200 They get their tanks across 206 00:11:15,333 --> 00:11:18,100 and launch a massive assault on French defenses. 207 00:11:21,266 --> 00:11:23,300 The surprised French troops 208 00:11:23,433 --> 00:11:27,000 now face a terrifying German barrage. 209 00:11:38,734 --> 00:11:42,100 As German Panzer divisions race across the border... 210 00:11:43,900 --> 00:11:46,266 The French Army is overwhelmed. 211 00:11:48,767 --> 00:11:50,834 Now the Wehrmacht pours through 212 00:11:50,967 --> 00:11:54,467 a 60-mile-wide hole in the French lines. 213 00:11:59,333 --> 00:12:02,200 Line after line after line of tanks 214 00:12:02,333 --> 00:12:04,734 just crossing the Meuse. 215 00:12:04,867 --> 00:12:06,934 And at this point, 216 00:12:07,066 --> 00:12:11,333 there is no time for the French to mobilize 217 00:12:11,467 --> 00:12:14,500 and to come and defend that area. 218 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,233 One German commander, Erwin Rommel, 219 00:12:19,367 --> 00:12:21,400 is particularly aggressive. 220 00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:26,333 He's a daring, dashing young man. 221 00:12:26,467 --> 00:12:28,433 He doesn't come from the traditional 222 00:12:28,567 --> 00:12:32,333 Prussian aristocratic military background. 223 00:12:32,467 --> 00:12:36,500 He's very aware of doing smash-and-grab type actions... 224 00:12:38,133 --> 00:12:39,800 Which will get you noticed. 225 00:12:39,934 --> 00:12:42,333 Hitler's been very impressed by him. 226 00:12:42,467 --> 00:12:45,333 When he crosses the Meuse, it's full speed ahead. 227 00:12:48,033 --> 00:12:50,967 People describe the invasion of the West as Blitzkrieg, 228 00:12:51,100 --> 00:12:52,633 lightning war. 229 00:12:52,767 --> 00:12:55,400 But, you know, that's really just a poetic metaphor, 230 00:12:55,533 --> 00:12:56,734 a way to describe something 231 00:12:56,867 --> 00:12:59,100 that is actually much more complex. 232 00:12:59,233 --> 00:13:02,000 The Germans themselves use a term-- 233 00:13:02,133 --> 00:13:03,400 Bewegungskrieg. 234 00:13:03,533 --> 00:13:05,300 It means "the war of movement." 235 00:13:12,300 --> 00:13:14,467 The 7th Panzer Division becomes known 236 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:16,934 as the Ghost Division... 237 00:13:17,066 --> 00:13:19,600 because it disappears from the situation map 238 00:13:19,734 --> 00:13:23,033 for hours, sometimes days at a time. 239 00:13:23,166 --> 00:13:25,633 It's moving faster than people can keep up with. 240 00:13:28,233 --> 00:13:29,767 But that's Rommel. 241 00:13:29,900 --> 00:13:32,700 The French are in full retreat. 242 00:13:34,633 --> 00:13:36,734 After only a few days of fighting, 243 00:13:36,867 --> 00:13:40,700 northern France lies largely undefended. 244 00:13:47,767 --> 00:13:50,433 At 7:30 in the morning on May 15th, 245 00:13:50,567 --> 00:13:53,767 Winston Churchill receives a phone call. 246 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:57,300 It's French leader Paul Reynaud, who tells him, 247 00:13:57,433 --> 00:14:00,900 "We are beaten. The road to Paris is open. 248 00:14:01,033 --> 00:14:04,133 Send all the planes and all the troops you can." 249 00:14:07,333 --> 00:14:11,734 It cannot be overstated how surprising 250 00:14:11,867 --> 00:14:15,900 and out of left field this German breakthrough is. 251 00:14:18,166 --> 00:14:20,867 The French Army that had stayed diligently 252 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,667 in the trenches for four years in the First World War... 253 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,000 crumbling in a matter of days. 254 00:14:29,100 --> 00:14:32,500 Churchill immediately flies to France. 255 00:14:32,633 --> 00:14:37,066 Churchill takes a tremendous risk by going over to France. 256 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:38,467 There's a battle ongoing. 257 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:40,500 There's a danger he's going to be shot down 258 00:14:40,633 --> 00:14:43,467 at any moment by hostile German fighters. 259 00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:47,500 But he feels he has to do it 260 00:14:47,633 --> 00:14:50,500 because he wants to stiffen the French morale. 261 00:14:52,734 --> 00:14:54,266 But when he goes to the Quai d'Orsay, 262 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,600 which is the French foreign office, 263 00:14:56,734 --> 00:14:59,133 they're burning papers. 264 00:14:59,266 --> 00:15:02,567 The scene in Paris is absolute chaos. 265 00:15:02,700 --> 00:15:04,633 The French government is trying to figure out 266 00:15:04,767 --> 00:15:07,066 what they have to do in the face of this military defeat. 267 00:15:09,033 --> 00:15:12,000 Churchill calls the French lily-livered. 268 00:15:12,133 --> 00:15:15,967 He says they don't have the requisite state of mind 269 00:15:16,100 --> 00:15:17,900 to hold back the Germans. 270 00:15:20,467 --> 00:15:22,700 But what happened has nothing to do 271 00:15:22,834 --> 00:15:24,600 with fighting qualities 272 00:15:24,734 --> 00:15:27,066 or one side being more valiant than the other. 273 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:28,934 It has to do with one side 274 00:15:29,066 --> 00:15:31,300 completely overwhelming the other 275 00:15:31,433 --> 00:15:32,934 at the point of contact. 276 00:15:33,066 --> 00:15:34,867 And when things are happening faster 277 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,834 than you think they should be happening, 278 00:15:36,967 --> 00:15:38,867 the reaction can be kind of a wave of panic. 279 00:15:40,467 --> 00:15:42,300 With the French on the brink of collapse 280 00:15:42,433 --> 00:15:44,734 and the British Army in retreat... 281 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:50,500 Churchill turns to the United States for help. 282 00:15:51,900 --> 00:15:53,333 Churchill had one key strategy 283 00:15:53,467 --> 00:15:55,200 for winning the Second World War-- 284 00:15:55,333 --> 00:15:57,400 get America involved. 285 00:15:57,533 --> 00:16:01,433 He dictates a telegram to President Roosevelt. 286 00:16:01,567 --> 00:16:03,734 He makes the clear warning to Roosevelt 287 00:16:03,867 --> 00:16:07,033 that, eventually, Nazism might come for the Americans as well. 288 00:16:08,367 --> 00:16:10,367 So he makes an appeal. 289 00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:13,700 We need destroyers, naval assistance, 290 00:16:13,834 --> 00:16:18,400 but we also need guns, we need planes, we need steel. 291 00:16:18,533 --> 00:16:20,800 He's desperate for military assistance. 292 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,367 Ideally, Franklin Roosevelt wanted 293 00:16:25,500 --> 00:16:30,100 to keep German aggression on the European continent 294 00:16:30,233 --> 00:16:31,900 and, ideally, turn it back. 295 00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:35,333 And so Roosevelt's great hope 296 00:16:35,467 --> 00:16:38,233 is that perhaps by offering supplies, 297 00:16:38,367 --> 00:16:42,467 we keep the war on that side of the Atlantic, 298 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,266 because a Nazified Europe 299 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,767 was going to be a world threat. 300 00:16:49,734 --> 00:16:51,500 But it's an election year. 301 00:16:51,633 --> 00:16:52,967 Roosevelt is running 302 00:16:53,100 --> 00:16:55,967 for an unprecedented third term in office. 303 00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:59,367 His domestic policies are propelling him 304 00:16:59,500 --> 00:17:02,033 back into the White House. 305 00:17:02,166 --> 00:17:04,033 But the majority of Americans 306 00:17:04,166 --> 00:17:06,233 do not want to involve themselves 307 00:17:06,367 --> 00:17:08,000 in another global contest. 308 00:17:08,133 --> 00:17:12,133 So Roosevelt's foreign policy is a political vulnerability. 309 00:17:14,133 --> 00:17:16,834 Roosevelt wants to help Britain and France, 310 00:17:16,967 --> 00:17:18,900 but America's neutrality laws 311 00:17:19,033 --> 00:17:21,200 restrict how much he can provide. 312 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,800 His hands are tied. 313 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,367 If the Germans seize France, 314 00:17:29,500 --> 00:17:33,333 Britain will be left to face the Nazis alone. 315 00:17:41,700 --> 00:17:42,600 In northern France, 316 00:17:42,734 --> 00:17:45,300 German forces continue forward, 317 00:17:45,433 --> 00:17:48,767 attempting to trap the fleeing Allied armies. 318 00:17:56,133 --> 00:17:57,500 Now the Germans move 319 00:17:57,633 --> 00:18:01,266 to cut off the Allies at the English Channel. 320 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:02,633 Once they reach it, 321 00:18:02,767 --> 00:18:06,800 all those Allied armies will be surrounded. 322 00:18:09,834 --> 00:18:12,600 The only chance of survival for the troops 323 00:18:12,734 --> 00:18:14,967 is to build some kind of defensive system 324 00:18:15,100 --> 00:18:17,433 round the Channel port closest to them, 325 00:18:17,567 --> 00:18:18,700 and that's Dunkirk... 326 00:18:20,233 --> 00:18:22,734 And then attempt an evacuation by sea. 327 00:18:24,166 --> 00:18:26,100 The small coastal town of Dunkirk 328 00:18:26,233 --> 00:18:29,867 is just 60 miles across the Channel from Britain, 329 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,200 but Dunkirk doesn't have the infrastructure 330 00:18:32,333 --> 00:18:35,400 to support a mass naval evacuation. 331 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,834 By May 20th, more than 450,000 French, Belgian, 332 00:18:41,967 --> 00:18:45,233 and British soldiers are retreating in desperation 333 00:18:45,367 --> 00:18:47,266 to its wide open beaches. 334 00:18:49,133 --> 00:18:50,200 The Germans are already 335 00:18:50,333 --> 00:18:53,033 on the fringes of the Dunkirk perimeter. 336 00:18:53,166 --> 00:18:55,500 The Allies are trapped. 337 00:18:55,633 --> 00:18:58,100 There is no other British Army. 338 00:18:58,233 --> 00:19:01,233 That's the best leaders, the best sergeants 339 00:19:01,367 --> 00:19:05,967 and NCOs in danger of being absolutely wiped out 340 00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:07,433 by German forces. 341 00:19:11,567 --> 00:19:15,133 Then Hitler orders his Panzers to halt. 342 00:19:21,567 --> 00:19:23,600 Hitler travels to the front lines. 343 00:19:25,133 --> 00:19:27,367 He's noticed some problems. 344 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:31,600 The tanks are far, far ahead of their follow-up infantry-- 345 00:19:31,734 --> 00:19:35,233 Rommel's Ghost Division, for example. 346 00:19:35,367 --> 00:19:37,934 Hitler believes that the generals at the front 347 00:19:38,066 --> 00:19:39,767 are not reporting back to him 348 00:19:39,900 --> 00:19:42,166 with the specificity they should be. 349 00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:44,367 And he's kind of angry about that. 350 00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:45,867 And so Hitler had decided 351 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,867 to take control of this operation. 352 00:19:49,233 --> 00:19:50,700 Field Marshal Hermann Goering 353 00:19:50,834 --> 00:19:54,567 insists the Luftwaffe can finish off the Allies. 354 00:19:56,066 --> 00:19:57,400 Goering's like, you know, Hitler, 355 00:19:57,533 --> 00:19:59,200 Fuehrer, you know, it's like, come on. 356 00:19:59,333 --> 00:20:01,266 They're on the beach. They're sitting ducks. 357 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,166 Why would you want to waste your precious Panzers? 358 00:20:04,300 --> 00:20:06,967 I can do this with Luftwaffe aircraft alone. 359 00:20:12,734 --> 00:20:16,333 For the Brits on the beach, it's an absolute hellscape. 360 00:20:19,266 --> 00:20:21,266 They're subjected day and night 361 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:24,834 to constant aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe-- 362 00:20:24,967 --> 00:20:27,033 strafing... 363 00:20:29,133 --> 00:20:30,934 Dive bombing... 364 00:20:32,967 --> 00:20:34,934 Level bombing. 365 00:20:36,367 --> 00:20:39,166 The British troops are just on the sand. 366 00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:40,900 And each time this happens... 367 00:20:44,367 --> 00:20:46,633 They all take what cover they can. 368 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,867 This goes on hour after hour after hour... 369 00:20:52,967 --> 00:20:55,700 As they're waiting for deliverance. 370 00:20:55,834 --> 00:20:58,433 It was a time of total terror. 371 00:21:03,367 --> 00:21:05,400 As the Luftwaffe bombs the troops... 372 00:21:07,367 --> 00:21:11,500 The British War Cabinet is divided over how to save them. 373 00:21:11,633 --> 00:21:14,800 Prime Minister Churchill wants to evacuate as many British 374 00:21:14,934 --> 00:21:17,667 and French troops as possible by sea. 375 00:21:19,266 --> 00:21:22,300 But his foreign secretary, Lord Halifax, 376 00:21:22,433 --> 00:21:25,200 wants to explore diplomatic options. 377 00:21:26,867 --> 00:21:29,300 There are factions in the United Kingdom, 378 00:21:29,433 --> 00:21:31,233 led by Lord Halifax, 379 00:21:31,367 --> 00:21:34,400 which believe that the war with Germany is pointless, 380 00:21:34,533 --> 00:21:38,433 totally destructive, and can't be won. 381 00:21:38,567 --> 00:21:42,400 They want to have some sort of peace treaty 382 00:21:42,533 --> 00:21:44,100 with Germany. 383 00:21:44,233 --> 00:21:47,000 Halifax is saying, we have to face facts here. 384 00:21:47,133 --> 00:21:48,633 We have to face reality. 385 00:21:48,767 --> 00:21:50,500 Adolf Hitler has won in Europe. 386 00:21:50,633 --> 00:21:52,400 We can still preserve our independence. 387 00:21:52,533 --> 00:21:54,433 We can still preserve our empire 388 00:21:54,567 --> 00:21:55,967 if we make a deal with Hitler. 389 00:21:56,100 --> 00:22:00,266 And the way to do that is talk to an intermediary. 390 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,967 Well, that's the Italian fascist dictator 391 00:22:03,100 --> 00:22:04,533 Benito Mussolini. 392 00:22:06,166 --> 00:22:10,233 He might be a broker to negotiate a peace 393 00:22:10,367 --> 00:22:11,667 between Britain and Germany. 394 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:16,467 Halifax tries to get help from American diplomats. 395 00:22:18,700 --> 00:22:21,567 The American ambassador in Rome and various other people 396 00:22:21,700 --> 00:22:26,266 approach Mussolini to come up with some sort of peace treaty. 397 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,900 But Churchill will not negotiate. 398 00:22:30,033 --> 00:22:32,867 He believes that if London 399 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,300 were to enter into talks 400 00:22:35,433 --> 00:22:38,133 that British morale would collapse. 401 00:22:38,266 --> 00:22:42,233 Churchill decides to risk the sea-rescue plan, 402 00:22:42,367 --> 00:22:45,066 code-named Operation Dynamo. 403 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,033 On May 26th, 404 00:22:48,166 --> 00:22:52,000 the first Royal Navy ships set off across the Channel. 405 00:22:54,333 --> 00:22:56,266 Dynamo is the only card the British can play 406 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:57,333 at this point. 407 00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:01,567 In London, they're estimating, 408 00:23:01,700 --> 00:23:05,700 maybe we'll get 20,000, 30,000, 45,000 at the most off. 409 00:23:12,767 --> 00:23:16,433 But now Hitler sends his forces back into action. 410 00:23:18,300 --> 00:23:20,867 Panzers begin to assault the defensive line 411 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,533 around Dunkirk. 412 00:23:26,033 --> 00:23:27,533 On that first day, 413 00:23:27,667 --> 00:23:32,200 the Royal Navy rescues less than 8,000 men. 414 00:23:32,333 --> 00:23:34,667 The British need to find an additional way 415 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:36,133 to get troops home. 416 00:23:39,633 --> 00:23:41,667 There were these two breakwaters-- 417 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:45,100 long stone and concrete jetties 418 00:23:45,233 --> 00:23:47,500 that stretched a mile into the sea. 419 00:23:47,633 --> 00:23:50,734 They're not designed for ships to come and dock next to them, 420 00:23:50,867 --> 00:23:53,667 but in an emergency, this is what they can do. 421 00:23:55,967 --> 00:23:58,266 So you've got the British troops four abreast, 422 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,667 walking out onto this breakwater 423 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,767 so they can get out to deep enough water 424 00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:04,900 and get picked up by ships. 425 00:24:09,266 --> 00:24:11,934 But meanwhile, they're under constant air attack 426 00:24:12,066 --> 00:24:14,400 by dive bombers and bombers. 427 00:24:18,433 --> 00:24:20,433 The British are running out of time. 428 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,867 With over 400,000 Allied troops 429 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,133 trapped on the beach at Dunkirk... 430 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,300 A desperate call goes out from British leaders. 431 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,100 Help us get our soldiers home. 432 00:24:47,266 --> 00:24:50,333 The response is immediate. 433 00:24:50,467 --> 00:24:52,767 For nine days, small vessels, 434 00:24:52,900 --> 00:24:56,000 all captained and crewed by volunteers, 435 00:24:56,133 --> 00:24:57,900 cross the Channel. 436 00:24:58,033 --> 00:25:01,600 Fishing trawlers and paddle steamers... 437 00:25:01,734 --> 00:25:04,867 cargo ships and lifeboats... 438 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,300 barges and yachts... 439 00:25:09,033 --> 00:25:13,467 Each sail into the firestorm around Dunkirk... 440 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,467 joining the Royal Navy in the rescue mission. 441 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,233 There was every kind of ship 442 00:25:19,367 --> 00:25:21,266 that I saw coming in this morning, 443 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,200 and every one of them was crammed full 444 00:25:23,333 --> 00:25:24,734 of tired, battle-stained, 445 00:25:24,867 --> 00:25:27,934 and bloodstained British soldiers. 446 00:25:28,066 --> 00:25:31,834 The BEF leaves everything behind--all the tanks, 447 00:25:31,967 --> 00:25:34,400 all the artillery, all the trucks. 448 00:25:36,633 --> 00:25:40,033 The idea being that the men are the most important thing. 449 00:25:40,166 --> 00:25:44,233 We can make new equipment, but we can't make new men. 450 00:25:56,867 --> 00:25:58,600 The evacuation at Dunkirk 451 00:25:58,734 --> 00:26:02,533 brings over 300,000 British and French troops 452 00:26:02,667 --> 00:26:03,900 to Britain... 453 00:26:13,667 --> 00:26:15,900 Though thousands are left behind. 454 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,633 In Britain, the operation becomes known 455 00:26:23,767 --> 00:26:26,500 as the Miracle of Dunkirk. 456 00:26:28,734 --> 00:26:32,066 On British streets, there is relief, joy, 457 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:36,066 and anxiety about what's to come. 458 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,767 On June 4th, Churchill addresses those fears. 459 00:26:40,900 --> 00:26:45,834 We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance 460 00:26:45,967 --> 00:26:47,900 the attributes of a victory. 461 00:26:49,433 --> 00:26:51,066 He reminds people 462 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,367 that things aren't looking good for Britain at this time. 463 00:26:54,500 --> 00:26:56,433 France is almost certainly lost, 464 00:26:56,567 --> 00:26:58,367 and there's a great possibility 465 00:26:58,500 --> 00:27:00,133 in the weeks and months ahead 466 00:27:00,266 --> 00:27:02,033 that the Germans are going to launch 467 00:27:02,166 --> 00:27:04,467 a sea and air invasion of the UK. 468 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,734 And the question is, will we be able to stop it? 469 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,834 Churchill's able to come out 470 00:27:13,967 --> 00:27:16,367 and issue this clarion call, 471 00:27:16,500 --> 00:27:20,233 issue this roar of belligerence 472 00:27:20,367 --> 00:27:22,000 and determination. 473 00:27:22,133 --> 00:27:25,367 We shall fight on the seas and oceans. 474 00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:28,133 We shall fight with growing confidence 475 00:27:28,266 --> 00:27:31,133 and growing strength in the air. 476 00:27:31,266 --> 00:27:35,900 We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. 477 00:27:36,033 --> 00:27:37,934 It's the most simple messaging 478 00:27:38,066 --> 00:27:39,533 in political history. 479 00:27:39,667 --> 00:27:42,266 This is a war against absolute evil. 480 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:43,767 It is total war. 481 00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:46,500 We're going to fight for every inch and every yard, 482 00:27:46,633 --> 00:27:48,767 and we're going to win. 483 00:27:48,900 --> 00:27:51,100 We shall fight on the beaches. 484 00:27:53,166 --> 00:27:55,700 We shall fight on the landing grounds. 485 00:27:57,767 --> 00:28:01,567 We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. 486 00:28:03,266 --> 00:28:05,166 We shall fight in the hills. 487 00:28:06,633 --> 00:28:08,633 We shall never surrender. 488 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,200 With this speech, Churchill ends all discussions 489 00:28:16,333 --> 00:28:18,100 of a negotiated peace. 490 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,000 In France, Hitler moves quickly. 491 00:28:24,133 --> 00:28:27,467 He orders the Wehrmacht to strike south, 492 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:29,934 heading for Paris and beyond. 493 00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:37,533 The Germans are essentially pursuing anti-trench warfare-- 494 00:28:37,667 --> 00:28:40,533 anything that they can do to avoid the slog 495 00:28:40,667 --> 00:28:42,800 that they had in the First World War. 496 00:28:44,767 --> 00:28:47,333 As German forces race to the capital, 497 00:28:47,467 --> 00:28:50,500 damaging historic cities in their wake... 498 00:28:52,033 --> 00:28:55,200 The French population takes flight. 499 00:28:57,667 --> 00:29:01,567 People are terrified, fearing for their lives, 500 00:29:01,700 --> 00:29:04,967 of the brutality of the German soldier. 501 00:29:07,333 --> 00:29:11,266 So roads and railways are soon overflowing 502 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:12,967 with refugees-- 503 00:29:13,100 --> 00:29:15,333 men, women, children, grandparents. 504 00:29:17,133 --> 00:29:18,533 Families are divided. 505 00:29:18,667 --> 00:29:20,800 Children get separated from their parents 506 00:29:20,934 --> 00:29:22,500 because there's so much chaos. 507 00:29:25,633 --> 00:29:28,567 There are 8 million French refugees on the run. 508 00:29:41,166 --> 00:29:42,934 On June 14th, 509 00:29:43,066 --> 00:29:46,333 German troops march into Paris. 510 00:29:47,967 --> 00:29:51,400 They are parading down the Champs-Elysées. 511 00:29:51,533 --> 00:29:55,533 Things could not be worse for the French. 512 00:29:55,667 --> 00:29:58,400 Grown men are crying. 513 00:29:58,533 --> 00:30:01,567 This is unbelievable, unimaginable. 514 00:30:05,066 --> 00:30:08,700 Hitler insists the ceremony to sign the French armistice 515 00:30:08,834 --> 00:30:12,567 happens in the exact railway carriage where the Germans 516 00:30:12,700 --> 00:30:16,133 signed their surrender at the end of World War I. 517 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,500 Hitler is like a giddy schoolboy. 518 00:30:20,633 --> 00:30:22,667 He can't believe this is happening. 519 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,600 He's just jubilant. 520 00:30:26,667 --> 00:30:30,967 The terms of the armistice are several. 521 00:30:31,100 --> 00:30:32,367 The French Army is restricted 522 00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:34,700 to a size of no larger than 100,000. 523 00:30:36,667 --> 00:30:40,767 France itself will be divided into two parts. 524 00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:45,000 The Germans will occupy about 3/5. 525 00:30:45,133 --> 00:30:49,033 The remaining 2/5 will be led by Marshal Philippe Pétain, 526 00:30:49,166 --> 00:30:51,700 and this will become known as Vichy France, 527 00:30:51,834 --> 00:30:53,400 because the new French government 528 00:30:53,533 --> 00:30:56,233 will be seated in the town of Vichy. 529 00:30:59,266 --> 00:31:02,567 For the French, it's the end. 530 00:31:12,133 --> 00:31:13,967 The fall of France is a seismic event 531 00:31:14,100 --> 00:31:15,867 with global ramifications. 532 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:17,800 France gave Germany a blank check today, 533 00:31:17,934 --> 00:31:19,633 signing the terms of the armistice... 534 00:31:19,767 --> 00:31:22,533 German propaganda... 535 00:31:25,500 --> 00:31:27,400 Captures iconic images 536 00:31:27,533 --> 00:31:31,734 on Hitler's first and only trip to conquered Paris. 537 00:31:33,700 --> 00:31:35,700 When France falls, 538 00:31:35,834 --> 00:31:38,600 for the vast majority of Americans, 539 00:31:38,734 --> 00:31:41,233 it's as if the unthinkable has happened. 540 00:31:43,100 --> 00:31:44,800 Roosevelt and the people close to him 541 00:31:44,934 --> 00:31:47,266 recognize immediately what this means. 542 00:31:48,867 --> 00:31:50,600 All the things that the United States 543 00:31:50,734 --> 00:31:52,633 didn't have to do as long as France 544 00:31:52,767 --> 00:31:54,800 was in between us and the Germans, 545 00:31:54,934 --> 00:31:57,467 they're now going to have to do. 546 00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,066 It's going to build a very large army, 547 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:00,767 it's going to build a very large navy, 548 00:32:00,900 --> 00:32:02,700 it's going to think about a global presence, 549 00:32:02,834 --> 00:32:04,700 and it's never again going to put its own security 550 00:32:04,834 --> 00:32:06,300 in the hands of another country, 551 00:32:06,433 --> 00:32:07,767 even a friendly one like France. 552 00:32:09,633 --> 00:32:13,734 Roosevelt now calls for America to mobilize. 553 00:32:13,867 --> 00:32:15,233 In the coming months, 554 00:32:15,367 --> 00:32:18,166 he'll institute the first peacetime draft 555 00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:22,700 and call for the production of 50,000 warplanes. 556 00:32:24,467 --> 00:32:27,266 Overwhelmingly, we as a nation-- 557 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:32,200 we are convinced that military and naval victory 558 00:32:32,333 --> 00:32:35,700 for the gods of force and hate 559 00:32:35,834 --> 00:32:38,567 would endanger the institutions of democracy 560 00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:40,266 in the Western world. 561 00:32:47,934 --> 00:32:51,567 After taking Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, 562 00:32:51,700 --> 00:32:54,033 Belgium, and now France... 563 00:32:55,367 --> 00:32:57,166 Hitler is triumphant. 564 00:32:59,433 --> 00:33:02,367 There's a tremendous return 565 00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:05,300 of Hitler to Berlin. 566 00:33:05,433 --> 00:33:08,667 The crowds are in the hundreds of thousands on the streets... 567 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,600 Pushing toward his motorcade. 568 00:33:21,266 --> 00:33:23,900 For the Nazis, these are the glory days. 569 00:33:29,367 --> 00:33:32,967 This is the height of Hitler's power. 570 00:33:33,100 --> 00:33:35,166 For most of the population of Germany, 571 00:33:35,300 --> 00:33:37,100 he can do no wrong. 572 00:33:37,233 --> 00:33:38,567 He is their beloved Fuehrer. 573 00:33:47,033 --> 00:33:49,900 And Hitler's ego goes out of control. 574 00:33:50,033 --> 00:33:53,000 That allows Hitler to convince himself 575 00:33:53,133 --> 00:33:54,900 of his own propaganda, 576 00:33:55,033 --> 00:33:58,033 convince himself that in a way, he's almost immortal. 577 00:34:07,867 --> 00:34:11,500 Now Hitler attempts to dictate a new peace deal 578 00:34:11,633 --> 00:34:13,400 with Great Britain. 579 00:34:24,066 --> 00:34:27,900 all: Heil! Heil! Heil! 580 00:34:32,633 --> 00:34:35,400 Churchill defies him. 581 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:41,834 And so Hitler gives the go-ahead to an operation 582 00:34:41,967 --> 00:34:45,667 he thinks will force Britain into submission-- 583 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:49,066 Operation Sea Lion. 584 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:51,467 He's now saying, okay, well, if the Brits aren't going 585 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:52,767 to come to terms with me, 586 00:34:52,900 --> 00:34:54,600 then I will invade Great Britain. 587 00:34:57,333 --> 00:34:59,200 First, the Luftwaffe targets the planes 588 00:34:59,333 --> 00:35:02,800 and infrastructure of the British Royal Air Force. 589 00:35:04,633 --> 00:35:06,500 So the initial German air assaults 590 00:35:06,633 --> 00:35:09,266 were against British RAF facilities... 591 00:35:11,233 --> 00:35:14,166 Airfields, administrative stations, 592 00:35:14,300 --> 00:35:15,967 supply depots, and the like. 593 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,000 Goering claims the Luftwaffe 594 00:35:19,133 --> 00:35:21,066 will destroy the Royal Air Force 595 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,300 in just three days... 596 00:35:23,433 --> 00:35:25,567 and leave Britain open to invasion. 597 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,800 British pilots scramble in defense. 598 00:35:41,433 --> 00:35:45,633 Can this relatively small number of British planes-- 599 00:35:45,767 --> 00:35:48,834 they've got probably about 2,950-- 600 00:35:48,967 --> 00:35:53,166 fight off what is an ever-increasing Luftwaffe? 601 00:35:55,166 --> 00:35:57,166 The Battle of Britain is the largest 602 00:35:57,300 --> 00:36:01,867 and most intense aerial combat the world has yet seen. 603 00:36:07,934 --> 00:36:11,800 If the Luftwaffe wins, Germany will invade. 604 00:36:22,266 --> 00:36:24,967 By the end of August 1940, 605 00:36:25,100 --> 00:36:28,333 the Luftwaffe is sending 1,000 planes a day 606 00:36:28,467 --> 00:36:30,133 across the English Channel. 607 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,367 The fate of the British Empire 608 00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:37,900 is being decided in the skies above southern England. 609 00:36:45,767 --> 00:36:49,300 Churchill is acutely aware that the future of his country 610 00:36:49,433 --> 00:36:52,166 rests in the expertise and bravery 611 00:36:52,300 --> 00:36:56,000 of just a small number of young pilots 612 00:36:56,133 --> 00:36:57,300 not just from Britain, 613 00:36:57,433 --> 00:36:59,333 but from across the Commonwealth 614 00:36:59,467 --> 00:37:00,967 and conquered Europe as well. 615 00:37:01,100 --> 00:37:04,700 Never in the field of human conflict 616 00:37:04,834 --> 00:37:09,100 was so much owed by so many to so few. 617 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:15,567 He was talking about those several hundred fighter pilots 618 00:37:15,700 --> 00:37:18,433 who were flying sometimes six times a day, 619 00:37:18,567 --> 00:37:22,033 taking off, striking at a German air armada, 620 00:37:22,166 --> 00:37:24,266 landing, being rearmed, refueled, 621 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:25,834 and then taking off again. 622 00:37:25,967 --> 00:37:28,100 A 109 destroyed, Freddie, yes. 623 00:37:28,233 --> 00:37:29,767 Oh, good show. 624 00:37:29,900 --> 00:37:31,867 But, of course, actually, there are ground crew. 625 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,433 There are legions of observers 626 00:37:34,567 --> 00:37:36,934 who are using binoculars to look at the skies above. 627 00:37:37,066 --> 00:37:40,000 30 enemy aircraft over the Channel flying due west. 628 00:37:40,133 --> 00:37:43,033 There are women working on plotting tables 629 00:37:43,166 --> 00:37:46,333 to build up this big picture of German movement. 630 00:37:46,467 --> 00:37:49,367 There is a gigantic, integrated, 631 00:37:49,500 --> 00:37:52,934 information-rich system supporting those pilots. 632 00:37:57,166 --> 00:37:59,066 The German loss rates are really high. 633 00:38:00,734 --> 00:38:02,700 And the Germans aren't succeeding, you know. 634 00:38:02,834 --> 00:38:05,734 They're not able to break them. 635 00:38:05,867 --> 00:38:07,300 In seven weeks, 636 00:38:07,433 --> 00:38:10,700 the Luftwaffe lose 600 aircraft and their crews. 637 00:38:12,433 --> 00:38:15,300 Germany is losing the Battle of Britain. 638 00:38:22,700 --> 00:38:24,533 In mid-September, 639 00:38:24,667 --> 00:38:27,667 Hitler approves a new strategy. 640 00:38:32,033 --> 00:38:35,800 Invading Great Britain is postponed indefinitely. 641 00:38:35,934 --> 00:38:37,600 The Luftwaffe's new mission 642 00:38:37,734 --> 00:38:41,700 is to destroy the spirit of the British people 643 00:38:41,834 --> 00:38:43,066 through terror bombing. 644 00:38:47,734 --> 00:38:50,433 So begins the Blitz... 645 00:38:50,567 --> 00:38:53,867 which is months and months and months 646 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:58,266 of almost uninterrupted bombing of British civilian areas. 647 00:39:02,633 --> 00:39:05,834 In the fall of 1940, the German Luftwaffe 648 00:39:05,967 --> 00:39:09,533 bombs London on 57 successive nights. 649 00:39:15,700 --> 00:39:18,066 The Blitz was traumatic. It was horrifying. 650 00:39:19,533 --> 00:39:21,900 There is arbitrary random death. 651 00:39:23,300 --> 00:39:26,066 Being caught in collapsing buildings, 652 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:29,734 burned alive, gas mains blowing up. 653 00:39:32,667 --> 00:39:35,100 Tens of thousands of civilians were killed. 654 00:39:36,834 --> 00:39:39,867 In cities across the United Kingdom, 655 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,934 families bury their dead... 656 00:39:43,467 --> 00:39:45,333 Some in mass graves. 657 00:39:49,433 --> 00:39:51,700 Churchill did everything he could. 658 00:39:53,233 --> 00:39:55,367 He visited the East End. 659 00:39:55,500 --> 00:39:56,834 He actually wept on one occasion 660 00:39:56,967 --> 00:39:58,967 when he saw the bloodshed, the devastation 661 00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:00,867 that had been rained down by German bombers. 662 00:40:06,867 --> 00:40:10,166 America receives firsthand reports 663 00:40:10,300 --> 00:40:12,567 of Britain's ordeal. 664 00:40:12,700 --> 00:40:14,100 Hello, America. 665 00:40:14,233 --> 00:40:16,400 This is Edward Murrow speaking from London. 666 00:40:16,533 --> 00:40:18,734 The noise that you hear at the moment 667 00:40:18,867 --> 00:40:20,700 is the sound of the air-raid siren. 668 00:40:22,266 --> 00:40:24,300 A searchlight off in the distance 669 00:40:24,433 --> 00:40:26,233 sweeping the sky above me now. 670 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,433 Edward R. Murrow was one of those people 671 00:40:30,567 --> 00:40:33,300 who had this attitude of bringing you to-- 672 00:40:33,433 --> 00:40:34,667 You know, "you are there" 673 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:36,800 was one of the things he used to say. 674 00:40:36,934 --> 00:40:39,867 Off to my left, I can see just that faint red, 675 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,900 of anti-aircraft bursts 676 00:40:43,033 --> 00:40:45,433 against this steel-blue sky. 677 00:40:46,633 --> 00:40:49,066 There they are. 678 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,200 That hard, stony sound. 679 00:40:53,300 --> 00:40:55,166 So, all of a sudden, the American people 680 00:40:55,300 --> 00:40:59,367 had the ability to hear in their homes from their radios 681 00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:01,967 the sounds of the bombs falling on London. 682 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:05,100 "Live from the Blitz," right? 683 00:41:07,467 --> 00:41:09,333 How could you not have sympathy 684 00:41:09,467 --> 00:41:10,667 with the people on the ground-- 685 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:12,800 the women, the children, the noncombatants? 686 00:41:16,300 --> 00:41:17,734 And it made a huge difference 687 00:41:17,867 --> 00:41:20,734 in terms of building a sea change 688 00:41:20,867 --> 00:41:23,834 in the American attitudes that laid the groundwork 689 00:41:23,967 --> 00:41:28,100 for the isolationist attitudes of the United States to change. 690 00:41:33,567 --> 00:41:35,767 At the polls in November, 691 00:41:35,900 --> 00:41:40,567 Franklin D. Roosevelt wins an unprecedented third term. 692 00:41:43,734 --> 00:41:46,467 Now he has the political freedom 693 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:51,000 to offer all aid to Great Britain short of war. 694 00:41:53,433 --> 00:41:56,533 Democracy's fight against world conquest 695 00:41:56,667 --> 00:42:01,233 must be more greatly aided by sending every ounce 696 00:42:01,367 --> 00:42:04,600 and every ton of munitions and supplies 697 00:42:04,734 --> 00:42:07,300 that we can possibly spare 698 00:42:07,433 --> 00:42:11,433 to help the defenders who are in the front lines. 699 00:42:13,233 --> 00:42:17,300 We must have more ships, more guns, 700 00:42:17,433 --> 00:42:21,200 more planes, more of everything. 701 00:42:23,266 --> 00:42:27,900 We must be the great arsenal of democracy. 702 00:42:31,567 --> 00:42:33,266 In the autumn of 1940, 703 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:35,934 northern Europe is in Nazi hands, 704 00:42:36,066 --> 00:42:39,133 including what had been the Republic of France. 705 00:42:39,266 --> 00:42:42,066 Great Britain stands alone. 706 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:44,433 Between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, 707 00:42:44,567 --> 00:42:47,133 there exists a territorial peace. 708 00:42:47,266 --> 00:42:51,633 But what does that mean to a leader like Adolf Hitler?