1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:06,000 [soft dramatic music] 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,680 - Since the death of Lenin in 1924, 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,720 Joseph Stalin has maintained an iron grip 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,360 on all aspects of life in the Soviet Union. 5 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:16,960 As a Soviet Premier, 6 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,480 Stalin agrees to the 1939 non-aggression pact 7 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,200 with the Nazis, extending his western border 8 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,480 and precluding any chance of going to war 9 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,680 with Hitler's Germany. 10 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,600 Stalin could not have been more mistaken. 11 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:34,640 [dramatic music] 12 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:36,560 - All wars change the world, 13 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,480 but none of them changed the world 14 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:40,760 like the Second World War did. 15 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,800 - Japan's on the march. Germany's on the march. 16 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:46,200 No one can imagine 17 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,000 the nightmare they're about to unleash. 18 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,880 The most destructive war in human history. 19 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,560 - Suddenly the world is turned upside down, 20 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:56,040 and all hell is let loose. 21 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,320 ♪ 22 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,880 - The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 23 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,880 - You get the Allies, led by the big three: 24 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:08,440 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin. 25 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,320 Men who are dealing with 26 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,360 immensely complicated questions. 27 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:17,640 - It's the biggest military operation of human history. 28 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:19,600 -The Allies have to come together 29 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:21,040 not just militarily, 30 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:22,480 but industrial scale 31 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,760 it's a global perspective. 32 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:24,880 - They have to fight in every climate 33 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:26,680 - They have to fight in every climate 34 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:30,220 to the deserts of Africa and the depths of the ocean. 35 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,800 to the deserts of Africa and the depths of the ocean. 36 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:33,900 ♪ 37 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,440 ♪ 38 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:36,540 - But there was no certainty of victory. 39 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:39,320 - But there was no certainty of victory. 40 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:39,420 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 41 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,760 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 42 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:42,860 - We see humans at their absolute worst, 43 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:44,720 - We see humans at their absolute worst, 44 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:47,380 And we see them at their absolute best, 45 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:48,880 And we see them at their absolute best, 46 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:51,380 - World War II was a struggle in which there could be 47 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:54,360 - World War II was a struggle in which there could be 48 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:54,460 one victor and one vanquished. 49 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,800 one victor and one vanquished. 50 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:57,900 ♪ 51 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:02,480 ♪ 52 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,440 [air raid sirens wailing] 53 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,120 [suspenseful music] 54 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,440 ♪ 55 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:21,320 [horn honks] 56 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:27,960 ♪ 57 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:33,000 - As war between Great Britain and Germany continues, 58 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,240 from his offices deep within the Kremlin, 59 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,320 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin 60 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,200 is confident the non-aggression pact 61 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,760 he made with the Germans will hold 62 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:46,160 and that he will soon have 63 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:50,760 even more influence around the world. 64 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,800 - Stalin's ideal plan was that the British and French 65 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:55,840 would fight off the Germans, 66 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:57,720 and that those two sides could fight it out 67 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,080 as much as they liked while Stalin watched 68 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,760 from the sidelines as they exhausted themselves. 69 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,120 [soft dramatic music] 70 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,400 - Since he was a young revolutionary, 71 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,000 Stalin hoped that conflict in the West 72 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,640 would ultimately provide an opportunity 73 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,480 for communism to spread throughout Europe. 74 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:18,800 ♪ 75 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,680 - Vissarionovich Jughashvili, 76 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,280 the man that we know as Stalin, 77 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,280 is Georgian by birth and origin. 78 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,640 He comes from a particular milieu 79 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,280 marked by, among other things, feuding and banditry 80 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:34,600 and a certain code of honor, 81 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,320 a code of vengeance and vendetta. 82 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,800 - In the 1920s, Stalin became the leader 83 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,880 of the Soviet Union... 84 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,960 and quickly suppressed any opposition to his rule. 85 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,120 [tense music] 86 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:51,600 [indistinct chatter] 87 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,440 In 1936, he launched a purge 88 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,720 that became known as the Great Terror, 89 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,000 targeting political opponents, 90 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,320 then expanding it to high-level army officers. 91 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,760 - Stalin supervised, through the NKVD secret police, 92 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,000 the killing of millions of people, 93 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:13,440 the destroying of families. 94 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,560 ♪ 95 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,680 Millions were deported 96 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:23,440 and sent to concentration camps known as the gulags. 97 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,880 He turned the country into a totalitarian police state. 98 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,160 ♪ 99 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,560 - A few years later in 1939, 100 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,840 Stalin makes a deal with Adolf Hitler. 101 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,520 ♪ 102 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,560 Even though Germany and the Soviet Union are hostile, 103 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:43,920 Stalin signs an agreement 104 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,000 known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact 105 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:47,680 with the Nazis. 106 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:49,520 ♪ 107 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,640 As a result of the pact, 108 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,360 Hitler and Stalin not only carve up Eastern Europe 109 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,200 and together invade Poland, 110 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:01,240 Stalin also commits to supplying vast quantities 111 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,880 of raw materials to the German Reich. 112 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,440 - The Soviet Union is providing Adolf Hitler 113 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:09,400 massive amounts of natural resources, 114 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,280 which is funding the economic engine 115 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:13,000 to build the military machine 116 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,960 that Adolf Hitler is using around the rest of the world. 117 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,720 - By 1940, it looks as if the pact has paid off, 118 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:21,160 certainly for Stalin. 119 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,200 He's got this agreement with the Nazis 120 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,480 that he doesn't have to worry about a war 121 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:27,920 on their western front. 122 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:29,320 ♪ 123 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:30,680 [horn honks] 124 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:35,920 ♪ 125 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,280 - Then in late September, 126 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,120 Germany, Italy, and Japan signed a military alliance 127 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,840 called the Tripartite Pact. 128 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,760 [applause] 129 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,360 - In Berlin, Hitler welcomed Japan to his gang, 130 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,240 the three-power treaty, Germany, Italy, Japan. 131 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,320 dictator nations falling in step for world domination. 132 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,200 [dramatic music] 133 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:02,320 - It was not clear what the role of the Soviet Union 134 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,480 might be in this new pact. 135 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,840 Would it become a quadruple pact 136 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,480 instead of simply a Tripartite Pact? 137 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,960 Would the Soviet Union become a full partner? 138 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,520 These were all still open questions in the fall of 1940. 139 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:19,200 [train whistle blowing] 140 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:21,200 [suspenseful music] 141 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:22,920 - In November, 142 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:28,640 Stalin sends one of the few people he trusts to Berlin, 143 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:33,280 his foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. 144 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:34,880 ♪ 145 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,120 Molotov means "hammer" in Russian. 146 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,640 - His nickname was Iron Ass 147 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:45,440 because he could sit for so long doing work. 148 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:47,960 He was intelligent, he was ruthless, 149 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,600 and Stalin trusted him. 150 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,560 ♪ 151 00:06:54,640 --> 00:07:00,320 Hitler receives Molotov in the chancellery. 152 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:02,320 There's an amazing scene as he enters, 153 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,200 huge, blond, giant SS men in their gleaming black, 154 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:09,000 death head's uniform salute. 155 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:16,240 ♪ 156 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,640 In walks this little Russian diplomat, 157 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:22,560 and Hitler greets him warmly. 158 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,360 And they have two big sessions of chats. 159 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,080 [tense music] 160 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:28,800 - Hitler is at an impasse in this war, 161 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:30,720 has conquered everything within reach. 162 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:32,720 He's trying to talk to the Soviets 163 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,000 about some tighter level of cooperation. 164 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:38,760 Hitler wants to get the Soviets on board 165 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:43,040 for some kind of global war against the British Empire. 166 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:46,080 - The Germans propose that the Soviets join 167 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,840 the Tripartite Pact and offer India as a prize 168 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,360 for when the British are defeated. 169 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:53,880 ♪ 170 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,080 Molotov doesn't take this seriously. 171 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,800 - Iron Ass is not impressed with Hitler. 172 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:06,080 And the conversations become increasingly awkward. 173 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:07,560 ♪ 174 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:09,520 - German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop 175 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,760 is hosting a reception for Molotov 176 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:18,440 when the Royal Air Force begins a raid on Berlin. 177 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:20,240 - In the middle of the banquet... 178 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,480 [air raid sirens wailing] 179 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:24,800 The air raid sirens start to sound 180 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:29,360 and they have to go down into Ribbentrop's air raid shelter. 181 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:30,840 [air raid sirens wailing] 182 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:32,000 [distant explosions] 183 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:34,000 And during the air raid, 184 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:38,200 Ribbentrop starts to boast that Britain is defeated 185 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:39,720 and it's only a matter of time 186 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:44,080 before Britain surrenders and the war is won. 187 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,360 - Ribbentrop, trying to make the best 188 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,560 of an obviously embarrassing situation, 189 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:50,680 jokes that the British are complaining 190 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,640 that they have not been invited to the party. 191 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:55,920 Molotov, however, is not charmed 192 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,520 by the Germans' attempt at humor. 193 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,160 And he says, well, if the war is over, 194 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:02,840 then why are we in this bomb shelter 195 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,040 and whose bombs are falling on us? 196 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,920 [train whistle blows] 197 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,360 - The next morning, Foreign Minister Molotov 198 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,120 returns to Moscow... 199 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,960 Unaware that Hitler and his military leaders 200 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,120 are planning a secret operation. 201 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,080 ♪ 202 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,080 - Hitler is capable of, you know, shaking your hand 203 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,040 and looking you in the eye and saying everything is OK 204 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:28,600 while planning to stab you in the back. 205 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:30,480 And that is clearly what's going on 206 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:32,600 between Molotov and Hitler. 207 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:34,440 ♪ 208 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,320 - One month after Molotov's Berlin visit, 209 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:40,920 on December 18th, 210 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:45,280 Hitler signs off on Fuehrer Directive Number 21... 211 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:50,720 A plan for a massive invasion of the Soviet Union 212 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:52,360 the following year. 213 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:53,960 ♪ 214 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,560 The invasion is given a code name 215 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,920 after a red-bearded medieval German emperor. 216 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,600 ♪ 217 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,040 The stage is now set for the biggest 218 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:08,360 military invasion in history, 219 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,960 Operation Barbarossa. 220 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:16,200 [crowd cheering] 221 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:17,360 [tense music] 222 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,840 ♪ 223 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:22,800 - In the last weeks of 1940, 224 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,240 Adolf Hitler tours German weapons factories 225 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,760 as preparations progress for Operation Barbarossa. 226 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:31,720 ♪ 227 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,160 His plan is to attack and conquer the Soviet Union, 228 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,720 to establish more lebensraum, living space, 229 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,800 for the new German empire in the East. 230 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,000 - [speaking German] 231 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,120 - The operation is top-secret. 232 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,720 But within days, sources have 233 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:04,320 fed the information to the Soviet intelligence services. 234 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,240 - Stalin is receiving information 235 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,240 from nearly every quarter 236 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:10,960 right from the belly of the beast in Berlin, 237 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:14,080 from the American military attaché, 238 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:18,680 from the British, and from his spy in Tokyo. 239 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,880 - But Stalin doesn't believe what he's hearing. 240 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,920 - Stalin is paranoid 241 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,160 that what is happening here is a very high-level game 242 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,000 on the part of the Western powers. 243 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,560 They're trying to maneuver him into a one-on-one war 244 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,800 with the previously undefeated Wehrmacht, 245 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,400 that he does not believe he's ready for at the moment, 246 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:45,040 and he is bound and determined to avoid being maneuvered. 247 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,080 You can get all the intelligence in the world, 248 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,800 but if you are predisposed not to believe it, 249 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,480 it doesn't really make that much difference. 250 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:57,360 - And when he receives a report from his master agent 251 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,240 in the German air force that Hitler is planning 252 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:02,000 an imminent invasion of Russia... 253 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,320 [tense music] 254 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:05,200 He says Hitler would not be so stupid 255 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,480 because he doesn't even realize 256 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:11,640 what he's dealing with, the scale of the Soviet Union. 257 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,160 ♪ 258 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:18,320 - Both Stalin and Hitler have read deeply into history. 259 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,760 ♪ 260 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,000 - Stalin has studied 261 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,120 the great German Prussian statesman Bismarck. 262 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:28,600 Bismarck thought that 263 00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:32,120 a war on two fronts was an extremely bad idea. 264 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:33,880 ♪ 265 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,800 - Germany remains at war with Great Britain, 266 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:38,040 and Stalin doesn't believe 267 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,080 Hitler would open a second front. 268 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,160 - Stalin thinks it very unlikely 269 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:44,600 that Hitler will invade 270 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:48,560 because he thinks Hitler is a sort of rational, 271 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,480 Bismarckian player. 272 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,040 And in that sense, he misread Hitler. 273 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:55,280 ♪ 274 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:56,880 - But Hitler believes 275 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,640 that he is destined to lead Germany to greatness. 276 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,960 - Hitler is nothing if not arrogant. 277 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,160 He believes he's better than Bismarck, 278 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:08,720 better than just about anybody else 279 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:09,960 who's ever lived before him. 280 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,080 ♪ 281 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:16,520 - Hitler finalizes the details of Operation Barbarossa, 282 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:21,160 proposed date of invasion, May 1941. 283 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:23,240 The plan is to overwhelm the Red Army 284 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,360 and topple the regime within two months, 285 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:30,160 well before the Russian winter sets in. 286 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,160 - A lightning blow against the Russians 287 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:33,760 that will prove once and for all 288 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:38,360 that he, Hitler, and Germany, are unconquerable. 289 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,440 - The offensive is divided into three giant army groups, 290 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,920 each with a specific objective. 291 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,280 - Going from north to south, 292 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,680 the first army group is Army Group North, 293 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,120 which moves along the Baltic, 294 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,520 and its final operational goal is Leningrad. 295 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:57,800 The center of the invasion 296 00:13:57,880 --> 00:13:58,920 is Army Group Center. 297 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,200 It's the largest force by far 298 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,760 and it is going toward Moscow. 299 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:06,720 Army Group South is moving through 300 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:08,960 what we would now call Ukraine 301 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:11,920 to secure resources and eventually, 302 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,360 the historic Ukrainian capital of Kiev. 303 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:17,520 - But in the spring of 1941, 304 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,440 the Nazis face a challenge in the Balkans 305 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,240 in Southeastern Europe. 306 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:29,320 ♪ 307 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,120 Hitler is forced to send an army into Yugoslavia 308 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,600 to crush an anti-Nazi coup. 309 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:39,080 ♪ 310 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,080 His infantry then marches into neighboring Greece 311 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,160 to help his Italian ally, Benito Mussolini. 312 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:49,320 - Hitler has been cleaning up this mess in the Balkans. 313 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,560 And so it's now a five-week delay 314 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:54,480 in the start of Operation Barbarossa. 315 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,440 ♪ 316 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:58,880 - The Kremlin receives more intelligence 317 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,880 that the Germans are preparing an invasion. 318 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,920 ♪ 319 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,280 Stalin dismisses it all. 320 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,240 And he doesn't stop sending Soviet grain, 321 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,960 oil, and steel into Germany. 322 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,840 ♪ 323 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,720 [birds singing] 324 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,160 ♪ 325 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,280 June 22nd, 1941. 326 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,320 As dawn breaks, over 3 million German soldiers 327 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,120 poured across the border into Soviet territory. 328 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,160 [flare hissing] 329 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:41,320 Operation Barbarossa is launched. 330 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,240 [gunfire] 331 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,000 [explosions] 332 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:53,360 ♪ 333 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,960 - It's the biggest invasion force 334 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:02,120 in the history of human warfare. 335 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,360 It's just so vast, 336 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,040 it's difficult to get one's mind around it. 337 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,800 ♪ 338 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,280 - If you just take the Eastern Front, 339 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:14,800 it's like trying to invade the United States 340 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,000 from San Diego to Seattle. 341 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:20,800 It is by itself the largest war that's ever happened. 342 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:22,160 That's crazy. 343 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,480 ♪ 344 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,200 - It's 3,000 tanks, 345 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:29,760 2,700 aircraft, 346 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,200 another 7,000 artillery pieces, 347 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:33,600 600,000 vehicles. 348 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,280 ♪ 349 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,040 It is massive on a scale no one else has ever seen before. 350 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:44,400 ♪ 351 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,640 This is the largest army that's ever been organized 352 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:49,600 in modern European terms. 353 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:51,200 This is 3 million men 354 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,200 spread across a couple thousand miles of front. 355 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:58,880 300 divisions, including 19 Panzer divisions. 356 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:00,440 This is a big force. 357 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:05,040 ♪ 358 00:17:05,120 --> 00:17:09,560 This is German manpower moving east. 359 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,680 This is the culmination of all of the dreams, 360 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,560 the hopes that Hitler has put into his leadership. 361 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:21,680 This is going to be the future of Germany in the East. 362 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:23,360 ♪ 363 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,440 - Hitler thinks that the Soviet system is so rotten 364 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:28,240 that he just has to kick in the barn door 365 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:29,880 and the whole structure is going to collapse. 366 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,320 ♪ 367 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,240 - The Wehrmacht moves fast. 368 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,080 In just a few hours, 369 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,000 miles of Soviet territory is overrun. 370 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,000 ♪ 371 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,960 The invasion seems to be going according to plan. 372 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,840 [dramatic music] 373 00:17:54,840 --> 00:18:00,080 ♪ 374 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,680 - On the morning of the invasion, 375 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:06,560 Stalin is awoken by his chief of staff. 376 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:10,960 - The phone rings in Stalin's bedroom 377 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:12,840 and Stalin answers it. 378 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,040 And he just says, the war has started. 379 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:17,240 And then silence 380 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:19,800 and he can just hear Stalin breathing 381 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,960 as he kind of wakes up and absorbs this information. 382 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:26,480 ♪ 383 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,960 [explosions] 384 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:31,520 ♪ 385 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,760 - The German advance is fast, it's furious, 386 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,600 it's efficient, it's brutal. 387 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:43,320 ♪ 388 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,520 - Adolf Hitler today launched his fast, 389 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,640 mobile Panzer divisions against what may be 390 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:50,920 the largest mass army of the world, 391 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,800 the Red Army of communist Russia. 392 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:57,840 ♪ 393 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:00,440 - The Red Army and the Soviet Air Force 394 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,240 are caught unprepared. 395 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:08,320 ♪ 396 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,280 [gunfire] 397 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:15,440 On the very first day... 398 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,560 the German Luftwaffe report that 399 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,760 they've destroyed nearly the 2,000 Soviet aircraft 400 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,040 both in the air and on the ground. 401 00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:27,320 - Russian airfields were bombed. 402 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,160 Russian cities were bombed. 403 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,360 All hell was let loose. 404 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,080 [gunfire] 405 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:43,000 ♪ 406 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,280 The Soviets do resist bravely. 407 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:50,080 But they are constantly outmaneuvered, 408 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,040 captured almost immediately. 409 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,760 The vast Soviet army is already in freefall. 410 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:02,600 ♪ 411 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,480 - The opening days of Barbarossa are Hitler's dream. 412 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:06,880 It goes incredibly well. 413 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,200 The forces are racing through former Poland, 414 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,120 they go across Byelorussia, 415 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,320 they get through the Baltic states. 416 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:17,800 It's just amazing. 417 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,280 It's like a hot knife cutting through butter. 418 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,680 [gunfire] 419 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,520 - In just the first week, the Wehrmacht pushed 300 miles 420 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:30,400 into Soviet territory, capturing over 400,000 troops. 421 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:32,560 ♪ 422 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:34,680 - The Russians are simply being stampeded 423 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,240 by a much more savvy German force. 424 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,280 ♪ 425 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:41,960 - During the Great Terror, 426 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,320 Stalin dismantled the leadership of the army, 427 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,360 executing thousands of experienced military officers. 428 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:50,920 [gunfire] 429 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,320 ♪ 430 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,400 - It is on a colossal scale. 431 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:01,760 3 of 5 field marshals, 13 of 15 army commanders, 432 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:06,160 50 of 57 corps commanders, 45% of all brigadier generals, 433 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,280 50% of all colonels have been executed. 434 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:15,280 The leadership of the Soviet armed forces is not in place. 435 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,320 ♪ 436 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,080 - Stalin had decapitated his own army. 437 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:21,800 He put younger men in their place, 438 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:23,840 but they weren't experienced and sometimes, they 439 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,360 were little more than Stalin loyalists or party hacks. 440 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:28,640 They're rookies. 441 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:30,640 This is an army that has suddenly been 442 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,600 reduced to kind of the teething level. 443 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,280 ♪ 444 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:37,000 [crowd cheering] 445 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:41,960 - Some Soviets initially welcome the Germans. 446 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:43,440 ♪ 447 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,720 They even tear down Communist statues 448 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:47,960 raised in Stalin's honor. 449 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,600 ♪ 450 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,440 [gunfire] 451 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,800 ♪ 452 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,320 On June 28th, 453 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,120 Hitler's Army Group Center reaches Minsk, 454 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:04,200 the capital of Belorussia, 455 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,640 just over 400 miles from Moscow. 456 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,360 ♪ 457 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:12,160 - The Germans keep coming. 458 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:16,240 Those 3 million Nazi troops keep advancing ruthlessly. 459 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:19,000 And Stalin is ordering counterattacks 460 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:20,640 that never happen. 461 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,160 It's just chaos out there. 462 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,520 - There was now a very palpable sense 463 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:30,000 of paranoia and fear that the Germans 464 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:35,640 now might be able to advance as far as Moscow. 465 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,760 [phone ringing] 466 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:41,440 - At the Kremlin, the news reaches Stalin. 467 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,240 [phone ringing] 468 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,200 - Stalin suddenly realizes 469 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,800 that he's lost control of the Soviet Union. 470 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,400 He's lost control of the invasion. 471 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:53,640 He turns to Molotov and he just says, 472 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,320 everything's lost. 473 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,480 So many lands have been lost. 474 00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,480 ♪ 475 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,280 - He's not simply talking about the army. 476 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:03,240 He's talking about the revolution. 477 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,160 He's talking about the first proletarian dictatorship, 478 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:06,760 the birthplace of communism. 479 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,360 All this, he says, has been flushed down the toilet. 480 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:12,440 [speaks Russian], he says. 481 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,320 ♪ 482 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,720 - Stalin retreats to his dacha, 483 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,160 his country home outside Moscow, 484 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:24,040 and shuts himself off completely. 485 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:29,960 At this crucial moment, the Soviet Union has no leader. 486 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,400 [tense music] 487 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,640 - As the Wehrmacht tears through Soviet territory, 488 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,040 - As the Wehrmacht tears through Soviet territory, 489 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:46,080 Stalin has not left his country house. 490 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:47,680 Some of his closest aides 491 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:51,280 fear he's suffering a nervous breakdown. 492 00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:54,560 - Back in the Kremlin, there's total panic. 493 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:56,080 So finally, Molotov says, 494 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,320 we've all got to go out to see Stalin 495 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,520 and to tell him to come back. 496 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:04,440 So they drive out, and Stalin is sitting in a chair, 497 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:07,960 pale, thinner, exhausted. 498 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,240 He says, what have you come for? 499 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,480 They say, come back. Lead us. 500 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:13,760 We can't do this without you. 501 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,080 ♪ 502 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,680 - Molotov persuades Stalin to return to the Kremlin, 503 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,120 where he speaks directly to the Soviet people. 504 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,760 ♪ 505 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,640 But instead of talking about communism, 506 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,800 he evokes their sense of history, honor, 507 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,240 and national pride. 508 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,520 - [speaking Russian] 509 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:45,800 - Stalin appeals to Mother Russia. 510 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,720 He appeals to the sorts of attitudes 511 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:51,800 and spirit of the people. 512 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:53,560 He could have been the tsar 513 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,720 in the way that the tsar might have appealed to the people. 514 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,560 - This is a really smart, canny move. 515 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,880 This is a wonderful way to unite the society 516 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,120 in a way that brings people together. 517 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,320 We have the same enemy 518 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,080 and Mother Russia is at stake here, 519 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:28,680 so rally to the cause. 520 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:32,360 [dramatic music] 521 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,520 - Tens of millions of Soviet peoples 522 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,360 are moved by Stalin's words. 523 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,120 - He appoints himself supreme commander-in-chief, 524 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,880 and he takes complete control of the war effort. 525 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,680 [tense music] 526 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,640 - The Soviets also begin to receive unexpected support 527 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:51,600 from the West. 528 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,760 - The Soviet Union is now acquiring sympathy 529 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,000 from Winston Churchill in London, 530 00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:59,560 from President Roosevelt in Washington. 531 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,400 These countries will offer Stalin aid. 532 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:04,320 ♪ 533 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,200 - Roosevelt sends to Moscow his closest advisor, 534 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,120 Harry Hopkins, to find out 535 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,600 how America can support the Soviet Union. 536 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,640 - At the airport, our camera filmed the arrival 537 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,040 of Mr. Harry Hopkins, who conferred with Stalin 538 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:20,400 on Russia's immediate need. 539 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:21,960 - But it will be some time 540 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,200 before Western aid will arrive. 541 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:29,760 ♪ 542 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,040 - [speaking Russian] 543 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:41,560 - By mid-July, the Red Army has lost nearly 4,000 tanks 544 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:44,600 and over 6,000 aircraft. 545 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,200 ♪ 546 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:51,280 2 million soldiers have been captured or killed. 547 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:53,360 ♪ 548 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:57,960 Troops taken prisoner are sent to German work camps 549 00:26:58,040 --> 00:26:59,840 or left to starve. 550 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,960 ♪ 551 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:08,000 - It becomes the most pitiless campaign ever launched, 552 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:09,840 I think, in modern history. 553 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:11,320 ♪ 554 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,400 They were rounded up in their thousands 555 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,160 and hardly given any food. 556 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,560 In fact, they would just throw loaves over the barbed wire 557 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:20,240 and laugh when the prisoners fought amongst themselves 558 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:22,560 because they were starving. 559 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,440 [prisoners shouting] 560 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,760 [somber music] 561 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:32,640 - The Nazis also target civilians. 562 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,520 Both the army and the SS are ordered to eradicate 563 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:37,200 all resistance. 564 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:40,400 Hitler's guidelines for the conduct of his troops 565 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:42,960 issued ahead of Barbarossa demand ruthless 566 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,200 and energetic measures against political agitators, 567 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,560 saboteurs, and Jews. 568 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:53,680 - They give the army carte blanche 569 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,360 to do exactly what they want to the populations 570 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,760 as they swarm over the borderlands. 571 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:02,200 ♪ 572 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:03,280 - This is where we start to talk about 573 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:04,880 the idea of total war. 574 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,320 We are now gonna literally target civilians on purpose. 575 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:15,680 ♪ 576 00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:22,200 - But the Soviets begin to fight back. 577 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,720 Partisans raid German outposts 578 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:29,320 and Stalin demands a scorched earth policy. 579 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:33,320 People are told to burn everything as they flee, 580 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,000 depriving the Nazis of food and shelter 581 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:38,840 as the German army marches 582 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:43,880 into the immensity of the Soviet Union. 583 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:46,600 - The terrain in this part of Russia 584 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,800 is like the Great Plains of the United States. 585 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:53,200 I mean, it's like being in Nebraska or Iowa, 586 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,560 flat seas of grass. 587 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:57,600 ♪ 588 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,120 When you start with a front a thousand miles long, 589 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,520 and as they advance, it gets to 2,000 miles, 590 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:05,200 they don't know how to deal with an area 591 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:09,800 where the armies are operating like ships at sea. 592 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:11,480 There is no running out of territory 593 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:13,080 when you're fighting the Soviets. 594 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,240 There's always more territory to retreat to. 595 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,440 ♪ 596 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:19,960 - By the end of July, 597 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,480 the German army has progressed over 400 miles. 598 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:25,200 But their advance is slowing 599 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:28,400 and supply lines are being stretched. 600 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:32,680 - Every army has to understand that if it advances rapidly, 601 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:34,880 it can outrun its supplies. 602 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,840 They always say, you know, amateurs talk tactics, 603 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:40,400 professionals talk logistics. 604 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:45,320 Tank repair, replenishment of ammunition, food, uniforms, 605 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,160 it just consumed the German armed forces. 606 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:51,920 Eventually, every force will reach what's called 607 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:53,680 a culminating point 608 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:56,120 where you've simply exhausted the men, 609 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:57,480 outrun the supplies, 610 00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:59,440 hit something you can't overcome. 611 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,120 Your combat power has been expended. 612 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,400 ♪ 613 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:05,960 - As German commanders and their men 614 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:10,120 confront the magnitude of their task, 615 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:11,800 Hitler faces perhaps 616 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,960 the greatest test of his leadership. 617 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:20,480 [tense music] 618 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:25,800 ♪ 619 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,400 - It's been six weeks since German troops 620 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,960 stormed into Soviet territory. 621 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,720 Hitler visits his men on the front. 622 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:37,240 ♪ 623 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:41,360 He meets with his commanders to discuss strategy. 624 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:46,400 The army groups are no longer moving at the same pace. 625 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:51,560 Army Group Center has pushed too far ahead. 626 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:56,120 It is only about 200 miles outside Moscow. 627 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:01,520 But its supply lines are perilously thin. 628 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,080 - That's a real problem if you're a operational planner. 629 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:09,720 You have one thrust that's hanging out there on a limb. 630 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:14,640 - The German high command is divided about what to do next. 631 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,320 Some of Hitler's generals want to continue pushing 632 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:23,000 towards Moscow and capture the capital before winter sets in. 633 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,400 - Hitler believes if he and the German armies 634 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:29,560 can overrun Ukraine, it'll undercut the economic basis 635 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,640 of Stalin's dictatorship and undercut the economic basis 636 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,240 of the Soviets continuing the war. 637 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:37,120 ♪ 638 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:38,720 And so the decision is made 639 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,880 to hold the tanks from their thrust against Moscow, 640 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,880 then send a vast force into the Ukraine. 641 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:53,160 ♪ 642 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:56,120 - On September 18th, 643 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,040 the city of Kiev is encircled by the Nazis. 644 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:01,840 - Kiev is enormously important 645 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,480 because Kiev in and of itself is the control of Ukraine. 646 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:05,680 And what's Ukraine? 647 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:07,840 Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe. 648 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,200 ♪ 649 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:12,720 So there's a huge encirclement battle at Kiev, 650 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:16,800 one of the biggest battles thus far in the war. 651 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:18,280 - Feuer. 652 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:25,080 ♪ 653 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:27,800 [gunfire] 654 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:33,520 ♪ 655 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,800 - With the Panzer groups coming from the north, 656 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,560 from the central axis, 657 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:42,800 and also in the south. 658 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:47,200 They capture 600,000 troops. It's staggering. 659 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,120 One's never imagined a battle like that in the past. 660 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,240 Hitler keeps on saying they can't go on providing 661 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,360 more troops for us to surround in this particular way. 662 00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:58,760 They're gonna collapse at any moment. 663 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:04,560 ♪ 664 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,520 - With over half his forces resupplied... 665 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,240 [gunfire and explosions] 666 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:12,600 ♪ 667 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:14,600 Hitler turns to Moscow. 668 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:21,720 ♪ 669 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,200 - The Wehrmacht forces progress very, very rapidly. 670 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:28,960 They get so close to the city of Moscow, 671 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,720 you can actually see the towers of the city center. 672 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:35,320 - People were, obviously, scared at the prospect 673 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:36,840 of what was likely to happen. 674 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:38,440 But at the same time, by now, 675 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,400 there was a determination to fight back. 676 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,240 [tense music] 677 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,360 - They are preparing the defenses of the city. 678 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,920 Men and women are out digging ditches. 679 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:54,000 Everything is ready for a last-ditch defense of Moscow. 680 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,800 That is, Moscow will be defended 681 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:58,720 to the last drop of blood. 682 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,560 - Stalin considers evacuating the Soviet government 683 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:08,600 to a city on the River Volga, over 500 miles away, 684 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:13,920 - Stalin's staff begin to prepare his own library, 685 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:19,680 his own houses, to be evacuated and to abandon Moscow. 686 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:23,200 But Stalin is very aware of appearance. 687 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,760 He's always thinking about history. 688 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:30,720 He knows if Stalin leaves Moscow, Moscow will fall. 689 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:32,800 ♪ 690 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:36,480 - Many people think that the regime is about to collapse. 691 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,240 For the first time, it looks like the Communist Party 692 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:41,360 is actually about to be toppled. 693 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:43,760 ♪ 694 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,640 At the last moment, Stalin decides to stay. 695 00:34:47,720 --> 00:34:52,040 ♪ 696 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:58,160 - The German army is poised to capture Moscow. 697 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:00,320 But Stalin has an ally. 698 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:05,240 ♪ 699 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,560 General Winter. 700 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:11,000 ♪ 701 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,480 [tense music] 702 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,040 ♪ 703 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,840 - Four months into the invasion of the Soviet Union, 704 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,960 the German army faces a new enemy. 705 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:28,040 - It was always said that Russia's greatest general 706 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:29,680 was General Winter. 707 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:32,280 So the Russians were much better prepared 708 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:35,320 for winter than the Germans. 709 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:39,000 ♪ 710 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:40,440 - So what happens in the Soviet Union, 711 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:42,000 if you're on the path toward Moscow, 712 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:44,320 as invaders have found over the centuries, 713 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:46,400 the weather turns bad, it rains, 714 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:48,320 and a very inadequate road network 715 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,280 now gets turned into mud. 716 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:53,800 The Russians call it rasputitsa, the roadless time. 717 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:57,160 ♪ 718 00:35:57,240 --> 00:35:58,800 - This is not like normal mud. 719 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:02,920 You can't move and you can't bring supplies forward. 720 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:05,720 General Mud slows the German advance 721 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:08,680 at a time when they're trying to beat the clock here. 722 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:10,920 Then when it gets really cold, 723 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,320 you see an entirely different situation. 724 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,560 The soldiers start freezing. 725 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:20,080 - By November, temperatures are plummeting 726 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:23,760 to as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit, 727 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:28,760 devastating the Wehrmacht's men and supply lines. 728 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:30,920 - These German soldiers were fighting 729 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,160 with frozen steel with their bare hands, 730 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:36,960 unable to service their weapons, 731 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:38,600 so the weapons jam, 732 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:42,240 the lubricants freeze on the tanks, 733 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:45,560 they have to build fires under the tanks at night 734 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:47,920 to keep the oil loose enough. 735 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:52,360 Everything degrades their combat performance. 736 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,560 - Hitler told them they were going to be the all-conquering 737 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:57,480 master race of Europe. 738 00:36:57,560 --> 00:36:59,280 They're cold, and they're tired, 739 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,280 and they probably haven't had a square meal in two weeks. 740 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:04,120 ♪ 741 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,080 - An invading army has been here before. 742 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:11,800 Napoleon Bonaparte had tried to seize Russia in 1812. 743 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:14,840 - Napoleon invades Russia, takes Moscow, 744 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:17,720 but as winter comes, is defeated 745 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,960 by the unconquerable vastness of Russia and the cold. 746 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,760 And in the end, the retreat from Moscow 747 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,240 really destroys Napoleon's empire. 748 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:30,720 ♪ 749 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:34,120 - But Hitler ignores the lessons of history. 750 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:38,320 He orders his troops forward to take Moscow. 751 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,880 ♪ 752 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:42,680 - Stalin still has a fear that there'll 753 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,640 be some breakthroughs into the heart of Moscow itself. 754 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:47,960 But, you know, something happens in this period. 755 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:50,760 A piece of intelligence comes across his desk 756 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:54,080 that for once, he's willing to listen to. 757 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,520 And it comes from his agent in Japan. 758 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:03,360 ♪ 759 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,560 - The intelligence from Stalin's agent in Tokyo 760 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:09,040 suggests that Japan will not attack 761 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,760 the Soviets' eastern border. 762 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:16,320 Instead, Japan is planning to move south against British, 763 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:21,520 French, and Dutch colonies in Asia, and perhaps against 764 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:25,600 the United States in the Philippines. 765 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:28,840 So Stalin transfers 400,000 troops 766 00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:33,400 that were stationed in the Soviet Far East to Moscow. 767 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:35,760 ♪ 768 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:38,480 - A whole new army. 769 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:42,560 Fresh, untouched, fully manned, tanks, howitzers, planes. 770 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:44,960 ♪ 771 00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:47,240 - This is the Siberian reserve. 772 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,400 These are troops dressed in heavy white parkas, ski troops. 773 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:54,120 They're used to operating in the cold. 774 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:57,760 ♪ 775 00:38:57,840 --> 00:38:59,360 - In November, 776 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,640 with some German units just 21 miles from Moscow... 777 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:05,840 ♪ 778 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:07,960 Stalin celebrates the anniversary 779 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:12,400 of the Russian Revolution in Red Square. 780 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:35,920 - Marching in the parade are Stalin's Siberian divisions. 781 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,560 ♪ 782 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:42,720 - They were not raw recruits being sent to the front. 783 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,080 They were trained and experienced hard-line soldiers. 784 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,080 ♪ 785 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:53,120 - The defense of Moscow is largely in their hands. 786 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:06,960 [cheers and applause] 787 00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:14,320 ♪ 788 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:22,280 - On December 5th, Stalin launches his counteroffensive. 789 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:26,040 ♪ 790 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,200 [wind howling] 791 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:35,360 ♪ 792 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:41,800 It catches the Germans at their worst possible moment. 793 00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:43,880 They're tired, they're hungry, they're sick, 794 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:47,200 they're freezing to death, they're out of supplies. 795 00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:51,360 ♪ 796 00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:54,800 And the Soviet offensive sweeps all before it. 797 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,480 [gunfire and explosions] 798 00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:04,840 ♪ 799 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:11,040 - The Germans are completely stunned 800 00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:14,120 and they are thrown back over 100 miles. 801 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:17,280 It's an astonishingly successful counteroffensive 802 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:20,080 and Moscow is safe. 803 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:22,400 ♪ 804 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:23,880 - Over the next weeks, 805 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:27,560 Soviet troops halt the Wehrmacht 806 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:29,920 and begin to push the Germans back. 807 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,800 ♪ 808 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,240 Stalin has stemmed the tide. 809 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,160 ♪ 810 00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:41,360 - The defeat of the German drive on Moscow 811 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:43,200 and the near-destruction of the Germans 812 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:46,400 is a sea change for both Hitler and Stalin. 813 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:49,200 Hitler now has to look at a scene of desperation 814 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:54,200 and trying to rebuild his army in the Soviet Union. 815 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,920 Stalin now not only knows that he's going to survive, 816 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,360 he also knows that he's going to be able to launch 817 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:04,560 one hammer blow after the other against the Germans. 818 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,240 ♪ 819 00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:09,960 - Designed to be another victorious blitzkrieg, 820 00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:13,920 Operation Barbarossa descends into a deadly stalemate 821 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:15,360 for the Germans. 822 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:17,200 In the free West, President Roosevelt 823 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:18,960 and Prime Minister Churchill 824 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:23,440 provide support to the Red Army to wear down the Nazi invaders. 825 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:25,400 Across the Pacific, 826 00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:29,160 a new power has been building its own empire, 827 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:32,880 one that will attempt to destroy American forces 828 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:37,040 in a single day of infamy.