1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:03,066 Sub extracted from file and improved by Se7enOfNin9 for addic7ed.com 2 00:00:03,091 --> 00:00:05,105 [tense music] 3 00:00:05,130 --> 00:00:07,149 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party 4 00:00:07,174 --> 00:00:09,050 have dominated the hearts and minds 5 00:00:09,051 --> 00:00:11,578 of the German people for over a decade. 6 00:00:11,787 --> 00:00:15,432 But by the summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army 7 00:00:15,433 --> 00:00:17,561 and the forces of the Western allies 8 00:00:17,586 --> 00:00:21,213 are tightening their vice grip on Hitler's Third Reich. 9 00:00:22,047 --> 00:00:25,610 The Nazi's complete control is about to crack. 10 00:00:27,007 --> 00:00:29,195 All wars change the world, 11 00:00:29,196 --> 00:00:30,988 but none of them changed the world 12 00:00:30,989 --> 00:00:32,724 like the Second World War did. 13 00:00:33,409 --> 00:00:36,228 Japan's on the march, Germany's on the march. 14 00:00:37,729 --> 00:00:40,649 No one can imagine the nightmare they're about to unleash. 15 00:00:41,150 --> 00:00:44,027 The most destructive war in human history. 16 00:00:44,278 --> 00:00:47,088 Suddenly the world is turned upside down 17 00:00:47,089 --> 00:00:49,032 and all hell is let loose. 18 00:00:50,694 --> 00:00:53,996 The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 19 00:00:55,056 --> 00:00:58,125 You get the allies led by the big three. 20 00:00:58,333 --> 00:01:00,935 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, 21 00:01:00,936 --> 00:01:05,757 men who are dealing with immensely complicated questions. 22 00:01:06,008 --> 00:01:10,071 It's the biggest military operation of human history. 23 00:01:10,237 --> 00:01:12,005 The Allies have to come together 24 00:01:12,030 --> 00:01:13,382 not just militarily, 25 00:01:13,407 --> 00:01:14,841 but industrial scale 26 00:01:14,866 --> 00:01:16,784 it's a global perspective. 27 00:01:16,785 --> 00:01:18,720 They have to fight in every climate 28 00:01:18,745 --> 00:01:21,956 from the Arctic to the jungles of the Pacific 29 00:01:21,957 --> 00:01:25,444 to the deserts of Africa and the depths of the ocean. 30 00:01:25,753 --> 00:01:28,338 ♪ 31 00:01:28,339 --> 00:01:31,133 But there was no certainty of victory. 32 00:01:31,408 --> 00:01:34,453 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 33 00:01:34,762 --> 00:01:36,764 We see humans at their absolute worst, 34 00:01:36,806 --> 00:01:38,974 how they treat other human beings. 35 00:01:39,020 --> 00:01:40,993 And we see them at their absolute best, 36 00:01:41,018 --> 00:01:43,453 willing to give their lives that others might live. 37 00:01:43,603 --> 00:01:47,799 World War II was a struggle in which there could be one victor 38 00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:50,114 and one vanquished. 39 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,536 ♪ 40 00:01:54,656 --> 00:01:58,158 [explosion rumbles] 41 00:01:58,159 --> 00:02:01,313 [siren blares] 42 00:02:11,839 --> 00:02:14,091 [Reporter] The biggest story in Western Europe today 43 00:02:14,092 --> 00:02:16,969 is the attempted assassination of Hitler. 44 00:02:16,970 --> 00:02:19,555 For the second time since this war began, 45 00:02:19,556 --> 00:02:22,993 an assassin has almost succeeded in killing the Führer 46 00:02:23,018 --> 00:02:25,645 and perhaps changing the course of history. 47 00:02:26,437 --> 00:02:29,023 [tense music] 48 00:02:31,693 --> 00:02:34,279 [Tom] July 20th, 1944. 49 00:02:35,347 --> 00:02:39,226 A bomb hidden in a briefcase explodes at the Wolf's Lair, 50 00:02:39,346 --> 00:02:41,478 Adolf Hitler's military headquarters. 51 00:02:44,872 --> 00:02:47,207 It was the opening move in an elaborate plan 52 00:02:47,208 --> 00:02:49,877 to kill the Nazi leader and overthrow his government. 53 00:02:52,737 --> 00:02:57,577 Hitler is wounded but survives, and the plot fails. 54 00:02:57,856 --> 00:02:59,538 [Adolf Hitler speaking German] 55 00:03:16,696 --> 00:03:18,949 Surviving the July 20th bombing 56 00:03:18,997 --> 00:03:21,457 convinces Hitler beyond a shadow of a doubt 57 00:03:21,690 --> 00:03:23,590 that he has been chosen by 58 00:03:23,910 --> 00:03:26,021 heaven or by providence 59 00:03:26,148 --> 00:03:28,235 to lead the German people. 60 00:03:31,169 --> 00:03:33,488 He's on all sorts of medications. 61 00:03:33,755 --> 00:03:37,576 He's under more pressure than most human beings can imagine. 62 00:03:39,328 --> 00:03:42,512 He becomes even more paranoid than he already has been. 63 00:03:42,513 --> 00:03:45,083 He is micromanaging even more. 64 00:03:45,792 --> 00:03:48,437 Nazis take over armaments production. 65 00:03:48,519 --> 00:03:51,564 [crowd chatter indistinctly] 66 00:03:51,565 --> 00:03:54,358 [Tom] Hitler and the Nazis mobilize even more men 67 00:03:54,359 --> 00:03:57,111 and tighten their grip on Germany and its people. 68 00:04:00,365 --> 00:04:02,407 There is no difference anymore 69 00:04:02,408 --> 00:04:05,093 between the fate of the public and the German people 70 00:04:05,118 --> 00:04:07,773 and the fate of the Nazi state. 71 00:04:08,732 --> 00:04:12,043 The thing is, the German public is not 72 00:04:12,297 --> 00:04:14,929 too happy about how the war goes on. 73 00:04:15,129 --> 00:04:17,963 They are aware that Germany may lose the war, 74 00:04:17,964 --> 00:04:21,552 but they think the only person who can bring 75 00:04:21,553 --> 00:04:24,164 this to a close is Hitler himself. 76 00:04:27,709 --> 00:04:29,536 [Tom] As summer turns to fall, 77 00:04:29,561 --> 00:04:32,631 Germany's strategic situation deteriorates, 78 00:04:33,564 --> 00:04:35,524 and every German is aware 79 00:04:35,525 --> 00:04:39,054 that the allies demand unconditional surrender. 80 00:04:40,446 --> 00:04:42,891 [James] Hitler knows that that's an impossibility. 81 00:04:43,574 --> 00:04:44,991 Surrender means 82 00:04:44,992 --> 00:04:48,230 humiliation, being betrayed, ultimately executed. 83 00:04:48,705 --> 00:04:51,164 [Robert] Hitler also knows something about warfare. 84 00:04:51,165 --> 00:04:53,693 A passive defense never works. 85 00:04:54,377 --> 00:04:56,420 You have to show your adversaries 86 00:04:56,421 --> 00:04:58,365 that you're still dangerous. 87 00:04:59,783 --> 00:05:01,879 Hitler quotes Frederick the Great 88 00:05:01,953 --> 00:05:04,845 who was in a similar war in the 18th century. 89 00:05:04,846 --> 00:05:06,473 Frederick famously said, 90 00:05:06,532 --> 00:05:10,493 "We're gonna fight this war till one of our goddamn enemies gets tired." 91 00:05:12,061 --> 00:05:15,357 Hitler wants to come up with some Hail Mary. 92 00:05:15,382 --> 00:05:17,441 He wants to come up with some plan 93 00:05:17,442 --> 00:05:19,252 that will bring advantage back 94 00:05:19,277 --> 00:05:21,888 to a heavily disadvantaged situation. 95 00:05:27,227 --> 00:05:30,388 [Tom] In September, Hitler summons his generals 96 00:05:30,413 --> 00:05:31,815 to the Wolf's Lair. 97 00:05:32,816 --> 00:05:35,685 He outlines a plan that will return his troops 98 00:05:35,710 --> 00:05:38,363 to the scene of his greatest triumph... 99 00:05:38,714 --> 00:05:40,301 the Ardennes. 100 00:05:43,736 --> 00:05:45,802 [Robert] The Ardennes Offensive of 1944 101 00:05:45,803 --> 00:05:48,198 is going to involve multiple German armies 102 00:05:48,223 --> 00:05:50,182 across 100 miles of front. 103 00:05:50,183 --> 00:05:53,268 They're going to crash through what they have identified 104 00:05:53,269 --> 00:05:56,605 as a weakly held portion of the American line. 105 00:05:56,606 --> 00:05:59,209 They're going to drive through the Ardennes Forest, 106 00:05:59,234 --> 00:06:01,503 scene of the great victory of 1940, 107 00:06:01,528 --> 00:06:04,297 and if all goes well, cross the Meuse River, 108 00:06:04,322 --> 00:06:06,531 and from there, make it to Antwerp. 109 00:06:06,532 --> 00:06:08,593 Antwerp is the major supply port 110 00:06:08,618 --> 00:06:11,077 for the entire allied force in Europe. 111 00:06:11,271 --> 00:06:14,607 If the Germans take Antwerp, it will be a catastrophe 112 00:06:14,608 --> 00:06:16,485 of unimaginable proportions. 113 00:06:18,183 --> 00:06:21,714 Hitler sees this as a way to divide the coalition, 114 00:06:21,715 --> 00:06:23,366 demoralize the coalition, 115 00:06:23,367 --> 00:06:24,951 and force the coalition 116 00:06:24,952 --> 00:06:26,786 to make separate peaces with him. 117 00:06:27,787 --> 00:06:32,042 [Tom] But Hitler will have to strip whole divisions from his Eastern front 118 00:06:32,117 --> 00:06:34,843 to execute his gambit in the West. 119 00:06:39,121 --> 00:06:41,456 [Robert] Not all of Hitler's generals are on board. 120 00:06:41,543 --> 00:06:43,252 They just don't believe 121 00:06:43,387 --> 00:06:45,638 that given their current force levels 122 00:06:45,639 --> 00:06:48,699 that they can blast across the West European continent 123 00:06:48,700 --> 00:06:51,269 and take the major city of Antwerp. 124 00:06:52,437 --> 00:06:55,290 Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt says 125 00:06:55,352 --> 00:06:57,958 "Antwerp, my god, if we even get to the Meuse River 126 00:06:57,959 --> 00:06:59,293 ...that's less than halfway... 127 00:06:59,294 --> 00:07:01,655 we should get down on our knees and thank God." 128 00:07:02,659 --> 00:07:05,116 [Geoffrey] But Hitler, by this stage of the war, 129 00:07:05,117 --> 00:07:07,619 he doesn't really trust very many of his generals, 130 00:07:07,911 --> 00:07:10,638 and he does have this belief in luck. 131 00:07:10,639 --> 00:07:13,349 He's gotten lucky at various points throughout this war, 132 00:07:13,350 --> 00:07:15,460 and he might be lucky again this time. 133 00:07:15,461 --> 00:07:17,587 So he decides to roll the dice. 134 00:07:18,064 --> 00:07:21,441 [Martin] Hitler will even eventually say that, "If this doesn't end well, 135 00:07:21,466 --> 00:07:25,195 I'd see no other path toward reaching a favorable conclusion." 136 00:07:25,895 --> 00:07:28,515 The fate of Germany really hangs in the balance. 137 00:07:31,059 --> 00:07:33,520 [tense music] 138 00:07:40,823 --> 00:07:43,654 [Robert] December 16th, it's a snowy morning 139 00:07:43,655 --> 00:07:45,824 in the Ardennes for the allies. 140 00:07:46,908 --> 00:07:48,509 It's overcast, 141 00:07:48,510 --> 00:07:50,537 it's freezing cold. 142 00:07:51,997 --> 00:07:54,598 The weather was awful for everybody, 143 00:07:54,599 --> 00:07:56,308 but it gave the Germans advantage 144 00:07:56,309 --> 00:07:59,170 because the allied aircraft are mostly grounded, 145 00:07:59,421 --> 00:08:01,815 and that's the perfect environment 146 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,860 for the Germans to launch this bold offensive. 147 00:08:07,262 --> 00:08:10,556 Suddenly at 5:30, it seems that hell has opened up. 148 00:08:10,557 --> 00:08:13,477 [artillery bangs] 149 00:08:14,975 --> 00:08:16,979 Every artillery piece the Germans own, 150 00:08:16,980 --> 00:08:18,872 heavy artillery, light artillery, 151 00:08:18,873 --> 00:08:22,319 rocket artillery, the famous Screaming Mimi's mortars. 152 00:08:23,737 --> 00:08:27,923 The American position in the Ardennes simply gets shredded. 153 00:08:27,924 --> 00:08:30,744 [bomb booms] 154 00:08:32,870 --> 00:08:34,789 [Paul] Trees are thrown through the air 155 00:08:34,790 --> 00:08:37,500 with this just shell after shell. 156 00:08:37,751 --> 00:08:40,254 [bomb booms] 157 00:08:41,811 --> 00:08:43,897 [Martin] Allied forces, they're caught off guard. 158 00:08:43,898 --> 00:08:45,800 They are overwhelmed. 159 00:08:46,009 --> 00:08:47,985 They certainly didn't expect the Germans capable 160 00:08:47,986 --> 00:08:51,931 of launching something as big as the Ardennes Offensive. 161 00:08:52,140 --> 00:08:53,741 [guns bang] 162 00:08:53,742 --> 00:08:56,644 Suddenly there's a couple of hundred thousand German infantry 163 00:08:56,645 --> 00:08:59,939 with 600 German Panzers along 100-mile front. 164 00:09:00,232 --> 00:09:02,484 [guns bang] 165 00:09:06,585 --> 00:09:08,098 [Tom] One of the four divisions 166 00:09:08,137 --> 00:09:10,382 holding the allied line in the Ardennes 167 00:09:10,383 --> 00:09:13,703 is the newly arrived American 106th. 168 00:09:15,227 --> 00:09:18,199 [Paul] The 106th Division who are just in the wrong place 169 00:09:18,224 --> 00:09:20,543 at the wrong time who have columns of German armor 170 00:09:20,544 --> 00:09:22,044 coming at them from all directions 171 00:09:22,045 --> 00:09:24,521 are just overwhelmed by this. 172 00:09:24,522 --> 00:09:29,886 And within a matter of hours, 7,000 men are captured. 173 00:09:31,023 --> 00:09:32,358 [Geoffrey] It's the biggest 174 00:09:32,383 --> 00:09:35,016 mass American surrender since Bataan. 175 00:09:37,746 --> 00:09:40,162 [Dr. Lieb] At this point of time, the German troops 176 00:09:40,163 --> 00:09:42,107 are in a state of euphoria. 177 00:09:42,941 --> 00:09:45,876 For weeks or months or even years, 178 00:09:45,877 --> 00:09:48,237 they had only known retreat, 179 00:09:48,238 --> 00:09:50,406 and now for the first and for a long time, 180 00:09:50,407 --> 00:09:52,325 they are on the offense again. 181 00:09:54,207 --> 00:09:57,763 [Martin] German troops are partly motivated because they're being told, 182 00:09:57,764 --> 00:10:00,098 "Take no prisoners. This is your chance. 183 00:10:00,099 --> 00:10:02,460 Now you get revenge against the Allies." 184 00:10:02,919 --> 00:10:06,798 The result is that there is literally a trail of massacres 185 00:10:08,383 --> 00:10:11,443 that will lead eventually to the most notorious 186 00:10:11,444 --> 00:10:12,887 of about a dozen massacres, 187 00:10:12,888 --> 00:10:14,347 and that's the one that takes place 188 00:10:14,348 --> 00:10:16,698 in the afternoon of December 17th 189 00:10:16,699 --> 00:10:18,977 just outside the city of Malmedy. 190 00:10:20,395 --> 00:10:23,273 [tense music] 191 00:10:24,607 --> 00:10:26,984 [Robert] The first SS Panzer division, 192 00:10:26,985 --> 00:10:28,895 they've worked their way forward under their 193 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,506 their battle group commander Joachim Peiper. 194 00:10:32,984 --> 00:10:34,526 Peiper's built for speed. 195 00:10:34,551 --> 00:10:37,828 He's been told to get ahead as fast as you possibly can 196 00:10:37,829 --> 00:10:41,098 towards the Meuse, cross the river, get to Antwerp. 197 00:10:41,099 --> 00:10:42,266 [cannon booms] 198 00:10:42,267 --> 00:10:43,918 And he's just overrun a couple of 199 00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:45,978 rear echelon US detachments, 200 00:10:45,979 --> 00:10:48,715 supply depots, administrative troops. 201 00:10:49,674 --> 00:10:51,233 There's a brief firefight. 202 00:10:51,234 --> 00:10:53,819 The Americans then surrender, about 120 of them. 203 00:10:53,820 --> 00:10:56,765 They move them off the road into a field. 204 00:10:59,851 --> 00:11:02,771 And the result is that 84 Americans, 205 00:11:03,146 --> 00:11:06,566 they are murdered after having surrendered their weapons. 206 00:11:10,566 --> 00:11:12,819 This is one of the largest war crimes 207 00:11:12,820 --> 00:11:15,191 against US soldiers during World War II, 208 00:11:15,216 --> 00:11:17,285 and it shows the ruthlessness which this war 209 00:11:17,286 --> 00:11:18,953 has achieved at this point. 210 00:11:19,621 --> 00:11:22,374 [tense music] 211 00:11:23,915 --> 00:11:25,726 [Tom] Some German units advance 212 00:11:25,727 --> 00:11:28,546 as much as 20 miles on the first day. 213 00:11:29,547 --> 00:11:31,982 The initial success of the Ardennes Offensive 214 00:11:31,983 --> 00:11:35,804 confirms Hitler's sense of divine destiny. 215 00:11:36,012 --> 00:11:38,947 [Dr. Lieb] In Hitler's mind, he thinks, "Again, I was right. 216 00:11:38,948 --> 00:11:41,241 I took the decision to launch this offensive 217 00:11:41,242 --> 00:11:43,076 against the advice of my generals, 218 00:11:43,077 --> 00:11:46,997 against the advice of my experts, but I was right." 219 00:11:46,998 --> 00:11:49,958 [cannon booms] 220 00:11:49,959 --> 00:11:53,279 So in the first couple of days of the Ardennes Offensive, 221 00:11:54,989 --> 00:11:56,548 it seems for the Germans 222 00:11:56,549 --> 00:11:58,800 that they have regained the initiative. 223 00:11:58,801 --> 00:12:01,413 [rockets zoom] 224 00:12:04,499 --> 00:12:06,001 [tense music] 225 00:12:08,933 --> 00:12:10,629 [Tom] The Wehrmacht's attack stretches 226 00:12:10,630 --> 00:12:12,423 from Belgium to Luxembourg, 227 00:12:12,716 --> 00:12:15,510 but the initial reports from the front are sketchy. 228 00:12:19,387 --> 00:12:24,310 How to respond to the German assault is the responsibility of one man, 229 00:12:25,020 --> 00:12:26,995 General Dwight Eisenhower, 230 00:12:26,996 --> 00:12:29,065 the Supreme Allied Commander. 231 00:12:30,365 --> 00:12:31,866 So Eisenhower has to determine 232 00:12:31,891 --> 00:12:33,462 whether or not this is a feint, right? 233 00:12:33,487 --> 00:12:35,712 Are the Germans trying to essentially pull his resources 234 00:12:35,713 --> 00:12:37,323 in the wrong direction? 235 00:12:37,574 --> 00:12:39,841 Or is this a proper offensive? 236 00:12:39,842 --> 00:12:41,703 Does he actually have to respond? 237 00:12:43,371 --> 00:12:46,332 Eisenhower immediately defines the threat. 238 00:12:48,575 --> 00:12:51,104 And he says, "This is more than a German feint. 239 00:12:51,588 --> 00:12:53,215 This is a major effort." 240 00:12:54,070 --> 00:12:57,526 And he thinks, let's not see this disaster 241 00:12:57,527 --> 00:12:59,595 as anything but an opportunity. 242 00:12:59,596 --> 00:13:01,764 The Germans wanna fight out in the open, 243 00:13:02,932 --> 00:13:04,684 let's take it to them. 244 00:13:06,769 --> 00:13:08,537 [Geoffrey] Yeah, the Germans are advancing. 245 00:13:08,538 --> 00:13:11,581 Yeah, the Germans have driven a deep bulge into my lines, 246 00:13:11,582 --> 00:13:13,943 but that offers me this big German salient 247 00:13:13,944 --> 00:13:15,836 that I can attack from the shoulders. 248 00:13:15,837 --> 00:13:18,824 That's why we refer to this as the Battle of the Bulge. 249 00:13:19,936 --> 00:13:23,369 [Tom] The Germans advance across a 60-mile front, 250 00:13:23,578 --> 00:13:26,705 but are held up by the US 28th Infantry Division 251 00:13:26,706 --> 00:13:29,417 at the Belgian town of Bastogne. 252 00:13:30,251 --> 00:13:33,337 [Robert] Both sides know that Bastogne is the key. 253 00:13:33,546 --> 00:13:36,958 If the Germans seize it, they can control the road network 254 00:13:36,983 --> 00:13:39,043 and motor all the way to the West, 255 00:13:39,068 --> 00:13:41,220 perhaps even reach Antwerp. 256 00:13:41,721 --> 00:13:43,406 But if the Americans hold it, 257 00:13:43,431 --> 00:13:45,808 the Germans are stuck in their tracks. 258 00:13:47,808 --> 00:13:49,512 [Col. Douds] So it's a race, 259 00:13:49,537 --> 00:13:51,431 it's a race for the Germans to take it. 260 00:13:51,456 --> 00:13:54,183 It's a race for the Americans to try and resupply it 261 00:13:54,208 --> 00:13:55,818 before it's lost. 262 00:13:56,402 --> 00:13:58,730 So all of a sudden, Bastogne becomes 263 00:13:58,755 --> 00:14:00,565 this key road intersection, 264 00:14:00,590 --> 00:14:03,742 not unlike Gettysburg or Waterloo or Thermopylae. 265 00:14:03,993 --> 00:14:05,495 It is everything. 266 00:14:07,538 --> 00:14:10,766 [Tom] As the Germans attempt to surround Bastogne, 267 00:14:10,767 --> 00:14:14,420 Eisenhower calls on the 101st Airborne Division, 268 00:14:15,380 --> 00:14:17,006 the Screaming Eagles. 269 00:14:18,967 --> 00:14:20,967 [Col. Douds] Their big contribution so far is 270 00:14:20,968 --> 00:14:23,782 when they get dropped behind enemy lines before D-Day. 271 00:14:23,825 --> 00:14:26,369 [planes whir] 272 00:14:28,267 --> 00:14:31,729 They've basically been in the game since June 5th of '44. 273 00:14:32,702 --> 00:14:35,816 [Robert] To say that the 101s is unprepared for this fight 274 00:14:35,817 --> 00:14:38,460 is to understate the matter considerably. 275 00:14:38,461 --> 00:14:40,654 [Col. Douds] They would usually jump into war zones 276 00:14:40,655 --> 00:14:42,239 carrying what they can carry, 277 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,927 which inherently means they don't have a lot of armor, 278 00:14:46,536 --> 00:14:48,386 they don't have any artillery. 279 00:14:48,387 --> 00:14:50,956 [Robert] They don't have the winter gear, that equipment 280 00:14:50,957 --> 00:14:53,583 that would allow you to fight a tough battle 281 00:14:53,584 --> 00:14:55,001 in the middle of December. 282 00:14:55,002 --> 00:14:57,088 It's a come-as-you-are war. 283 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:59,714 [Col. Douds] It tells you the degree 284 00:14:59,715 --> 00:15:01,466 to which this is a crisis, 285 00:15:01,467 --> 00:15:04,386 that in the midst of this crisis, Eisenhower turns around 286 00:15:04,387 --> 00:15:06,556 and looks and says, "I'll take them." 287 00:15:08,558 --> 00:15:10,308 Because the one thing they are 288 00:15:10,309 --> 00:15:12,804 is they are a hardened group of elites, 289 00:15:12,829 --> 00:15:14,764 and they will go in there and do the job 290 00:15:14,789 --> 00:15:17,400 despite all the limitations they face. 291 00:15:17,727 --> 00:15:20,355 [tense music] 292 00:15:22,261 --> 00:15:24,115 [Tom] December 18th. 293 00:15:24,949 --> 00:15:27,534 The 101st is trucked into Bastogne 294 00:15:27,535 --> 00:15:29,954 to relieve the battered 28th Division. 295 00:15:32,415 --> 00:15:34,948 The defense of this Belgian town is the key 296 00:15:34,973 --> 00:15:36,877 to the allied effort against Adolf Hitler 297 00:15:36,878 --> 00:15:37,962 on the Western front. 298 00:15:38,971 --> 00:15:41,702 And the key to the defense of this town 299 00:15:41,808 --> 00:15:45,011 is in the hands of the men of the 101st Airborne. 300 00:15:45,678 --> 00:15:48,306 [tense music] 301 00:15:50,110 --> 00:15:52,951 [Col. Douds] For the Germans, this whole thing has to happen fast. 302 00:15:52,952 --> 00:15:55,012 Every day they're standing in front of Bastogne is 303 00:15:55,037 --> 00:15:56,479 time they don't have, 304 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:58,182 time where the weather could clear up, 305 00:15:58,207 --> 00:16:00,351 time where the rest of the allied armies 306 00:16:00,376 --> 00:16:02,944 are starting to get reinforcements in there. 307 00:16:02,945 --> 00:16:04,779 And so the Germans are determined 308 00:16:04,780 --> 00:16:07,924 to throw everything at Bastogne that they possibly have. 309 00:16:07,925 --> 00:16:10,661 [cannons boom] 310 00:16:12,805 --> 00:16:15,766 There's an artillery bombardment. 311 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:17,994 They're attacking from all sides. 312 00:16:18,019 --> 00:16:20,129 They're trying to push the Americans out. 313 00:16:22,483 --> 00:16:24,108 [Robert] For the 101st Airborne, 314 00:16:24,133 --> 00:16:27,177 the fighting around Bastogne is as tough as any in the war. 315 00:16:27,178 --> 00:16:29,154 [gun bangs] 316 00:16:29,155 --> 00:16:31,848 It's out in the open, it's bitterly cold, 317 00:16:31,849 --> 00:16:33,308 there's snow on the ground. 318 00:16:33,309 --> 00:16:35,018 [Col. Douds] They're short on food, 319 00:16:35,019 --> 00:16:38,281 and yet with almost just small arms, bazookas, 320 00:16:38,306 --> 00:16:42,210 and machine guns, they're able to put up enough bluster and defense 321 00:16:42,389 --> 00:16:44,566 that they're able to hold the line. 322 00:16:45,821 --> 00:16:48,282 [tense music] 323 00:16:53,466 --> 00:16:56,624 [Tom] To reinforce the 101st in Bastogne, 324 00:16:56,874 --> 00:17:00,086 Eisenhower turns to his most aggressive commander, 325 00:17:01,087 --> 00:17:03,840 General George Patton and the Third Army. 326 00:17:05,174 --> 00:17:09,194 [Michel] Patton, you know, promises him three divisions in two days for Bastogne, 327 00:17:09,195 --> 00:17:12,348 which is something only George S. Patton would promise. 328 00:17:12,907 --> 00:17:14,451 [Paul] Promising three divisions. 329 00:17:14,475 --> 00:17:17,970 And you know, that's 40,000 men 330 00:17:17,995 --> 00:17:19,939 ready at 48 hours. 331 00:17:21,732 --> 00:17:23,650 [Michel] Patton had already planned 332 00:17:23,651 --> 00:17:25,068 for precisely this contingency 333 00:17:25,069 --> 00:17:26,695 and was ready to take the lead 334 00:17:26,696 --> 00:17:28,447 once he was given the operation. 335 00:17:30,533 --> 00:17:32,718 [Tom] But until the Third Army arrives, 336 00:17:32,751 --> 00:17:36,038 the Screaming Eagles are virtually on their own. 337 00:17:37,943 --> 00:17:40,267 [Martin] The Germans encircle the city, 338 00:17:40,268 --> 00:17:43,228 and that encirclement will be headline news 339 00:17:43,229 --> 00:17:45,047 back in the United States. 340 00:17:45,798 --> 00:17:48,901 There was this critical thought that we might lose 341 00:17:48,926 --> 00:17:52,972 the entire 101st Airborne Division to the enemy. 342 00:17:53,598 --> 00:17:56,933 [Alexandra] It looks as if the Germans are really in control 343 00:17:56,934 --> 00:18:00,563 and they send a message to the 101st Airborne. 344 00:18:02,356 --> 00:18:04,775 They say, "You've got to surrender." 345 00:18:07,066 --> 00:18:09,754 [Col. Douds] They're gonna give it to the acting division commander, 346 00:18:09,755 --> 00:18:11,924 Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe. 347 00:18:11,949 --> 00:18:13,508 McAuliffe will read the thing 348 00:18:13,509 --> 00:18:16,036 and he'll send back a one-word reply 349 00:18:16,037 --> 00:18:17,747 and it says, "Nuts!" 350 00:18:19,752 --> 00:18:23,018 Now, you gotta imagine, you know, some savvy Airborne officer 351 00:18:23,019 --> 00:18:24,853 gets to go give this to the German delegation. 352 00:18:24,854 --> 00:18:26,617 Of course, they read "Nuts" and they're like, 353 00:18:26,642 --> 00:18:28,633 "We don't understand the colloquialism." 354 00:18:29,342 --> 00:18:31,134 And so he gets to stand there and he says, 355 00:18:31,135 --> 00:18:32,970 "It's the same as go to hell." 356 00:18:34,347 --> 00:18:37,557 And in a sense, the whole unit kind of reaches out 357 00:18:37,558 --> 00:18:40,019 and they hit the collective I believe button, 358 00:18:41,395 --> 00:18:43,956 which is not so much that they can hold out forever, 359 00:18:44,106 --> 00:18:46,484 but Patton's coming. 360 00:18:46,632 --> 00:18:48,142 They're all coming. 361 00:18:48,169 --> 00:18:50,696 All we have to do is hold out a little longer. 362 00:18:54,188 --> 00:18:55,826 [tense music] 363 00:18:55,859 --> 00:18:57,569 [cannon booms] 364 00:19:01,249 --> 00:19:04,000 [Tom] In Bastogne, the men of the 101st Division 365 00:19:04,001 --> 00:19:06,420 had been under siege for almost a week. 366 00:19:08,130 --> 00:19:11,858 But on December 26th, Patton's Third Army 367 00:19:11,859 --> 00:19:13,803 reaches the outskirts. 368 00:19:15,346 --> 00:19:17,840 [Martin] Famously, it was the 4th Armored Division 369 00:19:17,865 --> 00:19:19,891 that has given the task of fighting up 370 00:19:19,892 --> 00:19:23,161 a narrow road corridor toward Bastogne. 371 00:19:23,162 --> 00:19:25,856 [tense music] 372 00:19:30,848 --> 00:19:34,322 And on the day after Christmas, on December 26th, 373 00:19:34,323 --> 00:19:37,675 elements of C Company of the 37th Tank Battalion 374 00:19:37,676 --> 00:19:39,786 pull up to the Bastogne perimeter. 375 00:19:39,787 --> 00:19:43,181 [cannon booms] 376 00:19:43,182 --> 00:19:45,934 [Col. Douds] The allies break the German lines, 377 00:19:45,935 --> 00:19:48,645 and now supplies will be able to flow in. 378 00:19:48,646 --> 00:19:50,547 And so for the Germans, 379 00:19:50,548 --> 00:19:53,358 the Ardennes Offensive breaks over Bastogne. 380 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:56,528 [cannon booms] 381 00:19:56,529 --> 00:19:58,847 [Tom] Even though Bastogne is relieved, 382 00:19:58,848 --> 00:20:02,059 fighting continues across the front for weeks. 383 00:20:02,852 --> 00:20:05,578 The United States Army suffers more casualties 384 00:20:05,579 --> 00:20:07,355 in the Battle of the Bulge 385 00:20:07,356 --> 00:20:09,775 than in any other battle in its history. 386 00:20:11,519 --> 00:20:16,115 But ultimately Hitler's Ardennes Offensive is a failure. 387 00:20:16,851 --> 00:20:19,427 [Robert] For Hitler, the catastrophe of the Ardennes is that 388 00:20:19,428 --> 00:20:21,594 it was the last round in the chamber. 389 00:20:21,595 --> 00:20:23,371 The Germans really poured 390 00:20:23,372 --> 00:20:25,915 their entire armored reserve into it. 391 00:20:25,916 --> 00:20:27,375 They could have used those troops 392 00:20:27,376 --> 00:20:29,627 perhaps to defend more robustly 393 00:20:29,628 --> 00:20:31,838 in the east and west simultaneously, 394 00:20:31,839 --> 00:20:33,757 but they threw them all away on a gamble 395 00:20:33,758 --> 00:20:35,343 and a gamble that failed. 396 00:20:35,968 --> 00:20:38,512 [somber music] 397 00:20:42,518 --> 00:20:45,369 [Tom] As the Allies stop Hitler in the West, 398 00:20:45,394 --> 00:20:49,065 the Soviets launch a massive offensive in the East. 399 00:20:52,420 --> 00:20:54,895 The Red Army is a force of millions, 400 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,756 which has begun its advance everywhere 401 00:20:57,781 --> 00:21:00,217 from Finland and the Baltics in the north, 402 00:21:00,242 --> 00:21:03,412 all the way down to the Black Sea in the south. 403 00:21:06,624 --> 00:21:09,668 The Soviet forces had advanced incredible speed, 404 00:21:09,669 --> 00:21:11,545 incredible hard fighting, 405 00:21:11,546 --> 00:21:15,966 and Stalin had stopped them between October and December 406 00:21:15,967 --> 00:21:18,552 for a very clear strategic purpose, 407 00:21:18,553 --> 00:21:22,890 to prepare a massive, massive buildup of armor. 408 00:21:24,225 --> 00:21:26,618 [Sean] So by January '45, 409 00:21:26,619 --> 00:21:28,495 they are ready to go on the offensive. 410 00:21:28,496 --> 00:21:31,065 [bomb booms] 411 00:21:33,479 --> 00:21:37,378 [Tom] Within weeks, Soviet forces cross into Germany. 412 00:21:37,379 --> 00:21:41,033 The Red Army has breached the border of the Fatherland. 413 00:21:41,516 --> 00:21:44,184 [cannons boom] 414 00:21:44,209 --> 00:21:46,705 [Dr. Lieb] Having Soviet boots on German ground 415 00:21:46,872 --> 00:21:50,000 is a major blow for the German psyche 416 00:21:50,251 --> 00:21:55,563 because they consider the Soviets as their mortal enemies, 417 00:21:55,564 --> 00:21:58,384 and this is a disaster for them. 418 00:21:58,509 --> 00:22:02,305 [Sean] The war is finally being brought home to the Germans. 419 00:22:03,639 --> 00:22:05,949 [Dr. Lieb] In theory, the Nazi authorities 420 00:22:05,950 --> 00:22:08,619 would've had the time for months 421 00:22:08,644 --> 00:22:10,978 to evacuate the civilians, 422 00:22:11,063 --> 00:22:13,082 but that's something they didn't do, 423 00:22:13,167 --> 00:22:15,626 because if you stay there, you'll show that 424 00:22:15,651 --> 00:22:16,960 you've got more confidence 425 00:22:16,961 --> 00:22:19,572 and that you are defending your home territory. 426 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,325 [Geoffrey] But basically, the Russians come 427 00:22:23,326 --> 00:22:24,743 with such overwhelming force 428 00:22:24,744 --> 00:22:26,645 that the Germans can't stop them at the border. 429 00:22:26,670 --> 00:22:29,706 And so this causes mass panic as the German civilians 430 00:22:29,707 --> 00:22:32,626 take to the roads to try to escape this Russian onslaught, 431 00:22:32,627 --> 00:22:35,504 knowing full well what awaits if they stay. 432 00:22:35,505 --> 00:22:37,589 [cannon booms] 433 00:22:37,590 --> 00:22:40,383 [Sean] The Germans have fought a horrific war 434 00:22:40,384 --> 00:22:43,220 of annihilation in the Soviet Union. 435 00:22:45,389 --> 00:22:47,432 Now the Soviets are finally able 436 00:22:47,433 --> 00:22:50,060 to take revenge against the Germans. 437 00:22:54,524 --> 00:22:57,108 [Geoffrey] They looted and they pillaged and they raped 438 00:22:57,109 --> 00:22:58,985 and they burned and they destroyed, 439 00:22:58,986 --> 00:23:00,737 and they took pleasure in doing these things 440 00:23:00,738 --> 00:23:02,572 as they advanced. 441 00:23:02,573 --> 00:23:05,076 [somber music] 442 00:23:07,095 --> 00:23:11,098 [Sean] There's 100,000 or more deaths on the German side, 443 00:23:11,207 --> 00:23:13,242 and something like maybe a fifth 444 00:23:13,267 --> 00:23:15,377 of the female population is raped. 445 00:23:19,131 --> 00:23:23,552 This is the beginning of what the Germans can expect 446 00:23:23,553 --> 00:23:26,931 to receive when Red Army break into Berlin. 447 00:23:32,186 --> 00:23:34,346 [Tom] Joseph Stalin engineers 448 00:23:34,371 --> 00:23:37,107 the Soviet Union's final moves, 449 00:23:37,316 --> 00:23:40,778 as the Red Army continues its march west 450 00:23:41,629 --> 00:23:43,504 towards Berlin. 451 00:23:43,505 --> 00:23:46,992 [Sean] Berlin is really the be all, end all of the war. 452 00:23:46,993 --> 00:23:49,261 This is where we have the Reich Chancellery, 453 00:23:49,286 --> 00:23:51,412 where we have the Reichstag building, 454 00:23:51,413 --> 00:23:53,349 where Hitler has his bunker. 455 00:23:53,498 --> 00:23:56,434 Once the Red Army reaches Berlin, the war will be over 456 00:23:56,435 --> 00:23:59,045 and it will be a great victory and a great triumph. 457 00:23:59,046 --> 00:24:00,494 [crowd speaks in foreign language] 458 00:24:00,519 --> 00:24:02,298 [Col. Douds] For someone who lives in Berlin. 459 00:24:02,299 --> 00:24:05,052 It's not lost on them what happens in East Prussia. 460 00:24:05,302 --> 00:24:07,470 The Soviets are getting retribution 461 00:24:07,471 --> 00:24:10,723 and it's coming in the form of German bodies, 462 00:24:10,724 --> 00:24:14,770 German blood, rapes, killings, and that's coming your way. 463 00:24:15,396 --> 00:24:19,024 Almost the image of an incoming tide that you cannot stop. 464 00:24:19,092 --> 00:24:20,651 [bomb booms] 465 00:24:23,445 --> 00:24:25,990 [tense music] 466 00:24:29,528 --> 00:24:31,803 [Tom] In the spring of 1945, 467 00:24:31,804 --> 00:24:34,681 Germany is under assault from multiple directions. 468 00:24:34,682 --> 00:24:36,458 [cannon booms] 469 00:24:38,432 --> 00:24:42,631 In the east, the Red Army rapidly advances towards Berlin. 470 00:24:43,632 --> 00:24:46,759 In the west, the allies continue on a broad front 471 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:48,887 as they approach the Rhine River. 472 00:24:52,467 --> 00:24:54,992 [Paul] The Rhine is the German's last 473 00:24:54,993 --> 00:24:57,228 key strategic position 474 00:24:57,229 --> 00:24:59,230 to try and delay the inevitable 475 00:24:59,231 --> 00:25:01,190 of the allies getting into Germany 476 00:25:01,191 --> 00:25:02,901 and defeating the Third Reich. 477 00:25:02,993 --> 00:25:06,671 [Geoffrey] It's a big, broad river, fast-flowing, deep, 478 00:25:06,672 --> 00:25:08,881 and the Germans know this, so they're planning 479 00:25:08,882 --> 00:25:11,785 to kind of defend every inch of it. 480 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:14,620 [Dr. Lieb] Their defense strategy in the west is 481 00:25:14,621 --> 00:25:17,791 to blow up all the bridges across the River Rhine. 482 00:25:19,460 --> 00:25:22,212 To use this huge natural barrier. 483 00:25:26,307 --> 00:25:28,717 [Tom] British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery 484 00:25:28,718 --> 00:25:31,720 designs an operation that will take Allied Forces 485 00:25:31,721 --> 00:25:34,642 across the Rhine and further into Germany. 486 00:25:36,018 --> 00:25:39,328 But unexpectedly, the American 9th Armored Division 487 00:25:39,329 --> 00:25:42,316 discovers another way into the German Reich. 488 00:25:46,031 --> 00:25:47,796 [Paul] Really, out of nowhere, 489 00:25:47,821 --> 00:25:51,442 an advanced unit of Americans ends up at the Remagen Bridge, 490 00:25:51,467 --> 00:25:53,534 the key bridge across the Rhine. 491 00:25:53,535 --> 00:25:57,122 And the Germans, they failed to destroy the bridge properly. 492 00:25:58,481 --> 00:26:00,475 [Martin] That's not because the Germans were dumb, 493 00:26:00,476 --> 00:26:02,209 the Germans tried to blow the bridge. 494 00:26:02,210 --> 00:26:05,022 It's just that they didn't have enough explosives to do the job. 495 00:26:05,277 --> 00:26:06,898 [Geoffrey] But it was very stoutly built. 496 00:26:06,899 --> 00:26:08,483 The bridge just kind of jumps on these 497 00:26:08,484 --> 00:26:09,925 really heavy stone piers 498 00:26:09,926 --> 00:26:11,929 and then settles back into place. 499 00:26:13,889 --> 00:26:15,865 The Allies couldn't believe their luck, 500 00:26:15,866 --> 00:26:18,159 so they raced forward and they took the bridge. 501 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:19,643 And they get across the Rhine 502 00:26:19,644 --> 00:26:21,522 three weeks earlier than anticipated. 503 00:26:22,439 --> 00:26:25,818 Once you're over the Rhine, you're into Germany proper. 504 00:26:26,568 --> 00:26:29,154 It's a crucial moment for the war in the West. 505 00:26:32,074 --> 00:26:35,119 [Dr. Lieb] For the Germans, this is a huge blow 506 00:26:35,452 --> 00:26:38,429 because now the Allies can bring in 507 00:26:38,430 --> 00:26:39,889 reinforcements much quicker 508 00:26:39,890 --> 00:26:42,459 and Hitler is absolutely furious about this. 509 00:26:42,876 --> 00:26:45,269 [Robert] Oh, Hitler is prone to rage at this time, 510 00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:47,355 and he demands that everyone responsible 511 00:26:47,356 --> 00:26:49,398 will be immediately court marshaled, 512 00:26:49,399 --> 00:26:52,068 not brought to Berlin to explain, 513 00:26:52,069 --> 00:26:55,514 but a drumhead court marshal in the field and shot. 514 00:26:55,723 --> 00:26:58,475 [somber music] 515 00:27:04,805 --> 00:27:06,900 [Tom] Hitler retreats to Berlin. 516 00:27:07,693 --> 00:27:13,058 He orders the destruction of bridges, roads, railways, factories 517 00:27:13,332 --> 00:27:16,860 anything that can aid the allied advance. 518 00:27:19,055 --> 00:27:24,559 [Martin] This Nero order named in honor of the Roman Emperor, who 519 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,061 famously allowed the city of Rome to burn, 520 00:27:27,062 --> 00:27:29,146 would authorize German forces 521 00:27:29,147 --> 00:27:32,171 to destroy absolutely everything as they retreated. 522 00:27:32,196 --> 00:27:33,351 [thunderous explosion] 523 00:27:33,376 --> 00:27:35,403 [Dan] Blow up the bridges, blow up the sanitation, 524 00:27:35,404 --> 00:27:38,115 blow up the power plants, even if it doesn't do 525 00:27:38,140 --> 00:27:39,740 any good in the war effort. 526 00:27:39,808 --> 00:27:43,270 There's no reason to worry about a post-war Germany. 527 00:27:44,938 --> 00:27:47,314 He stopped caring about the individual people 528 00:27:47,315 --> 00:27:51,403 'cause they're no longer worthy of surviving the war. 529 00:27:58,034 --> 00:27:59,743 [Tom] Hitler commands his loyal 530 00:27:59,744 --> 00:28:01,805 and capable minister of armaments, 531 00:28:01,830 --> 00:28:04,792 Albert Speer, to carry out his order. 532 00:28:05,834 --> 00:28:07,544 Speer refuses. 533 00:28:08,195 --> 00:28:11,404 [Geoffrey] Because he sees that Hitler's, you know, gone mad essentially. 534 00:28:11,469 --> 00:28:13,624 And Speer actually comes to Berlin and says, you know, 535 00:28:13,649 --> 00:28:17,262 right before the end, and he says, "I haven't done it." 536 00:28:18,555 --> 00:28:21,198 [Dr. Lieb] This shows that the bond between Hitler 537 00:28:21,199 --> 00:28:24,937 and his leadership is being broken to a certain degree. 538 00:28:25,687 --> 00:28:29,273 It's almost to the very last days, the crumbling Third Reich 539 00:28:29,274 --> 00:28:32,668 that this link finally starts to collapse. 540 00:28:32,669 --> 00:28:35,796 Hitler has now lost control of the entire situation. 541 00:28:35,797 --> 00:28:38,492 He's now focused only on the battle of Berlin. 542 00:28:39,284 --> 00:28:41,995 [somber music] 543 00:28:45,563 --> 00:28:48,685 [Tom] In the garden outside the Reich Chancellery, 544 00:28:48,686 --> 00:28:51,880 the Führer reviews a formation of Hitler youth 545 00:28:52,089 --> 00:28:55,258 who have been awarded the Knight's Cross for bravery in battle. 546 00:28:55,970 --> 00:28:59,821 Now, many will be ordered to defend Berlin. 547 00:29:00,222 --> 00:29:04,367 [Robert] The Hitler youth, 14 and 15 and 16-year-old boys. 548 00:29:04,368 --> 00:29:06,353 [youth speaks in foreign language] 549 00:29:07,646 --> 00:29:11,024 [Robert] By any analysis, this is insane. 550 00:29:11,942 --> 00:29:14,068 [Geoffrey] And he comes up out of the bunker 551 00:29:14,069 --> 00:29:18,490 and he pins metals on these sort of beardless little boys. 552 00:29:18,740 --> 00:29:21,950 Any rational onlooker can see that Hitler has lost 553 00:29:21,951 --> 00:29:24,012 all attachment to reason. 554 00:29:25,622 --> 00:29:29,001 [Robert] It may be he's thinking of the last lost war, 555 00:29:29,543 --> 00:29:34,814 but I think 1918 is enough of a obsession with Hitler 556 00:29:34,815 --> 00:29:36,232 that he is determined 557 00:29:36,257 --> 00:29:38,592 that Germany will not give in this time. 558 00:29:38,593 --> 00:29:39,986 There will be no surrender. 559 00:29:39,987 --> 00:29:42,264 There will be total war to the end. 560 00:29:42,472 --> 00:29:44,556 If Germany is gonna go down, 561 00:29:44,557 --> 00:29:47,352 it's going to go down in a blaze of glory. 562 00:29:52,468 --> 00:29:54,902 [tense music] 563 00:29:56,805 --> 00:29:59,213 [Tom] Allied forces rapidly advanced 564 00:29:59,214 --> 00:30:02,576 through the Ruhr Valley and into the heart of Germany. 565 00:30:02,910 --> 00:30:04,760 The British and Americans had agreed 566 00:30:04,761 --> 00:30:07,748 that Soviet forces should capture Berlin, 567 00:30:08,165 --> 00:30:11,793 but Stalin grows suspicious of allied success. 568 00:30:13,806 --> 00:30:16,814 [Michel] You have to remember that Stalin is naturally 569 00:30:16,815 --> 00:30:20,109 and not unreasonably deeply mistrustful. 570 00:30:20,110 --> 00:30:23,029 So when the Western Allies start pouring 571 00:30:23,030 --> 00:30:26,032 into Western Germany far faster than anyone expects, 572 00:30:26,033 --> 00:30:28,159 Stalin fears that there may be something 573 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:29,686 that he doesn't see. 574 00:30:30,395 --> 00:30:32,955 [Simon] Stalin is always paranoid 575 00:30:32,956 --> 00:30:36,500 that the Western powers are going to make a deal 576 00:30:36,501 --> 00:30:38,919 with the Germans at the last minute 577 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,757 against the Soviet Union, against the Communists. 578 00:30:51,959 --> 00:30:55,729 [Tom] In Moscow, Stalin summons Marshal Georgy Zhukov, 579 00:30:55,754 --> 00:30:58,982 the hero of Stalingrad and Kursk, 580 00:30:59,168 --> 00:31:00,941 and Marshal Ivan Konev, 581 00:31:00,942 --> 00:31:03,069 who has led the first Ukrainian front, 582 00:31:03,070 --> 00:31:06,056 a famed Red Army group throughout the war. 583 00:31:09,478 --> 00:31:12,145 [Simon] He sits there with the map and he says, 584 00:31:12,354 --> 00:31:14,439 "Who's gonna take Berlin?" 585 00:31:15,062 --> 00:31:17,334 [Sean] So Stalin effectively sets up 586 00:31:17,335 --> 00:31:19,528 a kind of race between them 587 00:31:19,736 --> 00:31:21,905 to see who will take Berlin first. 588 00:31:22,114 --> 00:31:24,590 So this is a way of motivating his generals 589 00:31:24,591 --> 00:31:27,384 because Stalin, of course, wanted to ensure 590 00:31:27,385 --> 00:31:30,247 that the Red Army would be the first to reach Berlin. 591 00:31:30,706 --> 00:31:34,683 [Simon] And in an amazing scene, both Marshals salute 592 00:31:34,684 --> 00:31:38,062 and leave the room and run to their cars 593 00:31:38,063 --> 00:31:40,882 to start the race to Berlin. 594 00:31:41,633 --> 00:31:44,302 [tense music] 595 00:31:46,786 --> 00:31:50,392 [Tom] By mid-April, the Red Army is closing in on Berlin. 596 00:31:51,685 --> 00:31:54,438 Zhukov's forces approach from the east. 597 00:31:55,022 --> 00:31:57,774 Konev's troops will attack from the south. 598 00:31:58,831 --> 00:32:01,193 [Sean] The final assault on Berlin begins 599 00:32:01,194 --> 00:32:03,629 with a ferocious artillery barrage. 600 00:32:03,630 --> 00:32:05,864 [cannon booms] 601 00:32:05,865 --> 00:32:08,493 [cannons boom] 602 00:32:12,492 --> 00:32:17,669 Something like 9,000 guns rained down 1.2 million shells. 603 00:32:17,853 --> 00:32:21,048 [cannons hiss] 604 00:32:21,423 --> 00:32:23,924 [Geoffrey] To put that in context, the British fired 605 00:32:23,925 --> 00:32:25,592 one million rounds of artillery 606 00:32:25,593 --> 00:32:27,236 onto the German trenches on the Somme 607 00:32:27,237 --> 00:32:29,431 over like two weeks in World War I. 608 00:32:30,265 --> 00:32:34,644 Now, in one day more shells into the streets of Berlin. 609 00:32:38,856 --> 00:32:40,374 [Tom] Zhukov's forces meet 610 00:32:40,375 --> 00:32:44,211 particularly fierce resistance in the Seelow heights, 611 00:32:44,212 --> 00:32:47,991 an area the Germans consider the gates of Berlin. 612 00:32:50,077 --> 00:32:52,052 [Sean] The Germans are dug in. 613 00:32:52,053 --> 00:32:53,954 They have no desire to surrender 614 00:32:53,955 --> 00:32:56,291 because they know they would be viewed as traitors. 615 00:32:57,042 --> 00:33:01,187 Berlin is meant to be a fortress city, Festung Berlin. 616 00:33:01,188 --> 00:33:03,757 This means it has to be defended at all costs. 617 00:33:05,731 --> 00:33:08,235 [Paul] Hitler's order was to keep fighting 618 00:33:08,236 --> 00:33:10,387 until there's nothing left. 619 00:33:10,388 --> 00:33:12,849 They're not gonna admit the war's been lost. 620 00:33:13,100 --> 00:33:16,035 [Dr. Lieb] Hitler is now facing total defeat, 621 00:33:16,036 --> 00:33:18,746 and he wants to drag the entire German people 622 00:33:18,747 --> 00:33:21,191 into this total defeat. 623 00:33:21,733 --> 00:33:24,276 [Dan] The population has been pressed into service. 624 00:33:24,277 --> 00:33:26,545 They've been, you know, building tank traps 625 00:33:26,546 --> 00:33:28,198 and digging ditches. 626 00:33:28,615 --> 00:33:31,091 But I don't think you can fool a bunch of people 627 00:33:31,092 --> 00:33:33,177 who are living in cities that are rubble. 628 00:33:33,178 --> 00:33:36,013 You hear the artillery in the distance 629 00:33:36,014 --> 00:33:38,457 that the Soviets are shooting at your city. 630 00:33:38,458 --> 00:33:40,500 I mean, we're past the time of illusions. 631 00:33:40,501 --> 00:33:42,462 You're people at the end of the rope. 632 00:33:43,310 --> 00:33:45,064 [Geoffrey] The German troops that are left, 633 00:33:45,065 --> 00:33:48,800 it's this bizarre assembly of overage people 634 00:33:48,857 --> 00:33:51,596 that normally wouldn't be drafted or underage. 635 00:33:53,056 --> 00:33:55,746 [Martin] You have a large number of 636 00:33:55,771 --> 00:33:58,578 very young members of the Volkssturm. 637 00:33:59,479 --> 00:34:02,754 They were divided into these tank hunting units where they were 638 00:34:02,779 --> 00:34:05,443 12 and 13-year-old boys that were equipped with this 639 00:34:05,468 --> 00:34:08,697 very effective German anti-tank weapon called the Panzerfaust. 640 00:34:10,198 --> 00:34:12,716 [Geoffrey] These basically one-shot German bazookas, 641 00:34:12,717 --> 00:34:14,927 and they're gonna be in these load of fighting holes 642 00:34:14,928 --> 00:34:18,138 waiting for the Soviet tanks to come and take their one shot 643 00:34:18,139 --> 00:34:21,418 and then be, you know, crushed into pulp under the treads, 644 00:34:22,586 --> 00:34:25,312 [Paul] The ideology of the Reich has gone out the window. 645 00:34:25,313 --> 00:34:27,799 You don't know what you're fighting for anymore. 646 00:34:29,092 --> 00:34:32,278 You are now protecting your street and your friends 647 00:34:32,279 --> 00:34:35,182 and your family from the marauders that are coming. 648 00:34:36,766 --> 00:34:40,620 [Geoffrey] If you're still in Berlin by April 1945, 649 00:34:40,653 --> 00:34:42,276 you're not gonna get out. 650 00:34:43,189 --> 00:34:45,066 So you're fighting for your life. 651 00:34:45,442 --> 00:34:47,776 [bazooka booms] 652 00:34:50,863 --> 00:34:53,658 [tense music] 653 00:34:59,732 --> 00:35:01,625 [Tom] On April 19th, 654 00:35:01,759 --> 00:35:05,795 Zhukov's troops break through the German lines at Seelow Heights. 655 00:35:06,129 --> 00:35:09,633 Konev enters the Nazi capital from the south. 656 00:35:11,051 --> 00:35:13,720 [guns bang] 657 00:35:16,702 --> 00:35:19,184 [Simon] Battle of Berlin is brutal. 658 00:35:19,851 --> 00:35:21,785 [guns bang] 659 00:35:21,786 --> 00:35:23,829 It's an urban battlefield, 660 00:35:23,830 --> 00:35:26,999 which is the hardest sort of fighting and the most costly. 661 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,110 [guns bang] 662 00:35:29,277 --> 00:35:31,695 It's impossible not to take every building. 663 00:35:31,696 --> 00:35:33,255 You can't leave buildings behind you. 664 00:35:33,256 --> 00:35:36,576 You're under fire all the time from buildings on both sides. 665 00:35:38,286 --> 00:35:40,245 Large amounts of civilians are killed, 666 00:35:40,246 --> 00:35:43,708 and it's incredibly slow and dangerous. 667 00:35:43,836 --> 00:35:46,422 [tense music] 668 00:35:47,974 --> 00:35:50,023 [Geoffrey] This moonscape of Berlin 669 00:35:50,048 --> 00:35:52,442 that's already been just shattered to rubble 670 00:35:52,467 --> 00:35:54,361 is now just being pounded 671 00:35:54,386 --> 00:35:57,905 by companies of Soviet infantry filtering into the city from all points. 672 00:35:57,906 --> 00:35:59,599 I mean, literally all points. 673 00:35:59,849 --> 00:36:02,560 [tense music] 674 00:36:11,093 --> 00:36:12,737 [Simon] But in the end, 675 00:36:12,781 --> 00:36:14,994 this extraordinary battle, 676 00:36:15,214 --> 00:36:20,328 the Soviet troops begin to converge on the Chancellery. 677 00:36:20,974 --> 00:36:23,477 [tense music] 678 00:36:24,530 --> 00:36:26,835 [Tom] Beneath the Reich Chancellery, 679 00:36:27,095 --> 00:36:29,144 Hitler is sequestered in a bunker 680 00:36:29,145 --> 00:36:31,605 with his companion, Eva Braun, 681 00:36:31,606 --> 00:36:34,400 and surrounded by aides, secretaries, 682 00:36:34,401 --> 00:36:36,469 and Nazi party officials. 683 00:36:37,512 --> 00:36:39,806 He believes that the military 684 00:36:40,056 --> 00:36:43,351 and the German people have let him down. 685 00:36:43,601 --> 00:36:46,036 [Sean] Hitler wants to keep the resistance going 686 00:36:46,037 --> 00:36:47,871 for as long as possible to inflict 687 00:36:47,872 --> 00:36:50,565 as much damage on the invading armies. 688 00:36:50,566 --> 00:36:54,779 However, he does not want to outlast, to outlive the war. 689 00:36:55,030 --> 00:36:57,673 He does not want to become a prisoner of war. 690 00:36:57,674 --> 00:37:00,492 He does not want to become some type of curiosity 691 00:37:00,493 --> 00:37:02,746 exhibited by his enemies. 692 00:37:03,496 --> 00:37:08,142 [Robert] And so he has to stay alive as long as possible, 693 00:37:08,143 --> 00:37:10,794 as close to the bitter end as possible 694 00:37:10,795 --> 00:37:15,065 so that there will never really be an idea of Nazi Germany 695 00:37:15,066 --> 00:37:18,345 in people's minds that does not include Adolf Hitler. 696 00:37:19,195 --> 00:37:22,974 He's going to go down in Wagnerian fashion 697 00:37:23,183 --> 00:37:25,101 and take a world with him. 698 00:37:26,066 --> 00:37:28,610 [tense music] 699 00:37:34,398 --> 00:37:36,879 [Tom] On April 29th, Hitler is informed 700 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,882 that his longtime ally, 701 00:37:38,907 --> 00:37:41,843 the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, 702 00:37:41,899 --> 00:37:43,806 has been executed. 703 00:37:43,911 --> 00:37:47,432 His body put on display by Italian partisans. 704 00:37:48,851 --> 00:37:51,143 [Geoffrey] Mussolini has just been hung upside down 705 00:37:51,144 --> 00:37:53,729 in a gas station in northern Italy, 706 00:37:53,730 --> 00:37:55,647 along with his mistress, Clara Petacci, 707 00:37:55,648 --> 00:37:59,511 where he's like mocked and spat upon and vilified. 708 00:38:01,888 --> 00:38:04,182 Hitler fears the same fate for himself. 709 00:38:05,517 --> 00:38:08,202 The Soviets are right outside the Führer bunker. 710 00:38:08,203 --> 00:38:11,122 He's listening to the shelling happening above him. 711 00:38:14,789 --> 00:38:18,712 [Martin] And so Adolf Hitler, on April 30th, 1945, 712 00:38:18,713 --> 00:38:22,884 commits suicide in the Führer bunker along with Eva Braun 713 00:38:25,710 --> 00:38:28,360 in a city that has been reduced to rubble. 714 00:38:29,221 --> 00:38:31,973 [somber music] 715 00:38:38,308 --> 00:38:40,216 [Simon] When Hitler commits suicide, 716 00:38:40,217 --> 00:38:43,470 Stalin is woken in the night by Marshal Zhukov, 717 00:38:43,471 --> 00:38:45,405 and Marshal Zhukov says to him, 718 00:38:45,406 --> 00:38:47,574 "Marshal Stalin, I've got news. 719 00:38:47,575 --> 00:38:49,952 Hitler is dead and he's committed suicide in the ruins," 720 00:38:49,953 --> 00:38:51,471 and there's a long silence. 721 00:38:51,496 --> 00:38:53,288 And then Stalin says something like, 722 00:38:53,289 --> 00:38:54,915 "So that's the end of the bastard." 723 00:38:54,916 --> 00:38:57,944 Puts the phone down and goes back to sleep. 724 00:38:58,235 --> 00:39:00,947 [somber music] 725 00:39:12,703 --> 00:39:14,419 [Tom] On May 2nd, 726 00:39:14,511 --> 00:39:18,256 the Soviets raised their flag above the ruins of the Reichstag. 727 00:39:21,734 --> 00:39:24,945 On May 7th, German General Alfred Jodl 728 00:39:25,054 --> 00:39:28,683 surrenders to the Western Allies at Reims, France. 729 00:39:30,310 --> 00:39:33,603 A day later, the Germans officially surrendered 730 00:39:33,604 --> 00:39:34,981 to the Soviets. 731 00:39:35,356 --> 00:39:36,790 With the stroke of the pen, 732 00:39:36,791 --> 00:39:40,987 Nazi Germany ceases to exist on May 8th, 1945. 733 00:39:41,237 --> 00:39:43,864 [tense music] 734 00:39:48,566 --> 00:39:52,040 [Harry] This is a solemn but a glorious hour. 735 00:39:52,499 --> 00:39:55,101 General Eisenhower informs me 736 00:39:55,242 --> 00:39:59,172 that the forces of Germany has surrendered to the United Nations. 737 00:39:59,998 --> 00:40:02,357 [Michel] Here we are at the end of a brutal war 738 00:40:02,358 --> 00:40:05,193 against a brutal adversary in Europe. 739 00:40:05,194 --> 00:40:09,015 And there was such great costs with so much exhaustion. 740 00:40:09,224 --> 00:40:11,283 It's almost impossible to imagine 741 00:40:11,284 --> 00:40:13,060 what that must have been like. 742 00:40:17,136 --> 00:40:20,562 [Harry] Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued 743 00:40:20,710 --> 00:40:23,795 by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price 744 00:40:23,796 --> 00:40:27,008 we have paid to rid the world of Hitler 745 00:40:27,033 --> 00:40:29,035 and his evil band. 746 00:40:30,537 --> 00:40:33,706 [Simon] Hitler was the ultimate reckless gambler. 747 00:40:34,374 --> 00:40:38,127 Risking everything, even Germany, even Europe. 748 00:40:40,694 --> 00:40:42,382 [Harry] Let us not forget 749 00:40:42,407 --> 00:40:44,901 the sorrow and the heartache, 750 00:40:44,926 --> 00:40:49,604 which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors. 751 00:40:49,871 --> 00:40:52,324 [Sean] The Second World War, unlike the first, 752 00:40:52,325 --> 00:40:54,660 is one in which the majority of the casualties 753 00:40:54,661 --> 00:40:57,605 actually happened among the civilian population. 754 00:40:58,064 --> 00:40:59,956 A lot of it was simply because of 755 00:40:59,957 --> 00:41:02,485 the vast atrocities committed. 756 00:41:02,735 --> 00:41:05,571 [somber music] 757 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:11,385 The war left terrible scars on the landscape of Europe 758 00:41:11,386 --> 00:41:14,163 and in the memories of the populations. 759 00:41:16,907 --> 00:41:19,226 [Harry] We must work to bind up the wounds 760 00:41:19,227 --> 00:41:20,712 of a suffering world. 761 00:41:20,962 --> 00:41:25,717 The West is free, but the East is still in bondage. 762 00:41:26,259 --> 00:41:31,279 In the popular mind, World War II tends to wrap up 763 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:33,891 with the glory of VE Day. 764 00:41:35,268 --> 00:41:37,270 It did not happen that way 765 00:41:37,604 --> 00:41:40,773 for the people who were fighting it. 766 00:41:41,566 --> 00:41:45,111 In the Pacific, there's no end in sight. 767 00:41:46,322 --> 00:41:48,547 [Harry] When the last Japanese division 768 00:41:48,548 --> 00:41:51,492 has surrendered unconditionally, 769 00:41:51,743 --> 00:41:55,079 then only will our fighting job be done. 770 00:41:55,872 --> 00:42:00,168 Until that day, let no man abandon his post 771 00:42:00,501 --> 00:42:02,670 or slacken his efforts. 772 00:42:03,648 --> 00:42:06,299 [plane zooms] 773 00:42:06,507 --> 00:42:11,361 After VE Day, Europeans facing chaos and uncertainty 774 00:42:11,362 --> 00:42:13,071 begin the long work of putting 775 00:42:13,072 --> 00:42:15,600 their shattered world back together. 776 00:42:15,850 --> 00:42:19,187 In the Pacific, the war is reaching a crescendo. 777 00:42:19,437 --> 00:42:21,455 As the United States fights its way 778 00:42:21,456 --> 00:42:23,356 to the Japanese home islands, 779 00:42:23,357 --> 00:42:26,861 a new weapon is tested in the deserts of New Mexico. 780 00:42:27,111 --> 00:42:31,866 A noiseless flash with a potential to change the world.