Original subtitles

The big difference between North Africa

and the Soviet Union is that for the

German Reich, North Africa was a

secondary theater. No ideological

objectives were involved as was the case

in the Soviet Union where the aim was to

destroy communist ideology and wipe out

large sections of the population.

The myth of the war in Africa is linked

so closely to Arvin Romel because

basically RML represents what the German

public wanted.

A swashbuckling general who seemed to be

a man of the people, a military leader

who was loved by his troops and who

successfully commanded large armored

formations from the very front.

He was a kind of pop star of national

socialism.

In Irvin Rammel, Reich propaganda

minister Yseph Gerbles also had a

willing colleague.

[music]

It was the kind of war you imagine in an

adventure novel or an adventure film.

Naturally, the appropriate pictures also

inspired the nation. So in this respect,

as a theater of war, North Africa was

tailor made for propaganda purposes.

>> To the British, it was a major theater

of war. For them, it was all about

defending the British Empire.

>> Raml and Montgomery were professional

soldiers.

Montgomery Montgomery was the analytical

type, while Raml took a more aggressive

approach to warfare.

>> Casablanca made it quite clear that for

Allied leaders, the only acceptable end

to the war would be Germany's

unconditional surrender. This was a

crystal clear signal to Berlin.

Elephants from Nazi Germany on a visit

to the pyramids as part of a world tour

in 1934. [music]

The Hagenbeck Circus from Hamburg

stopped over in Egypt.

The formerly independent kingdom [music]

was under the protection of British

troops.

It wasn't only in the 1930s that

countries in North and East Africa had

awakened desires in a European dictator

with a craving for recognition.

Mussolini took over in [music] 1922 and

almost his first act was to tell the

Italians they were the rightful owners

of Corsica, [music]

Nice, Savoa,

Albania,

Tunisia, [music]

Ethiopia, and a land corridor linking it

with Libya. Later on, he had an even

bigger dream. the old Roman Empire as it

existed [music] nearly 2,000 years ago

to dominate all the lands adjoining the

Mediterranean.

[music]

Marin Nostra, our sea, they called it,

just as the ancient Romans did. Fascism

hadn't produced the heaven on earth that

he had promised them. So he pulled the

old trick of launching a foreign war to

divert attention from troubles at home.

So Mussolini beat his chest like Tarzan

and looked around for a worthy foe. He

found one. Ethiopia,

a good country for the beginning of a

glorious empire. Its army had no machine

guns.

Its army had no tanks. Its army did have

an air force. Exactly one old airplane.

One airplane against the nation which

had developed the new theory of total

air war.

of the blitz which would wipe out

cities, destroy civilians, men, woman,

and child.

In October of 1935, [music]

an incident was provoked at the little

settlement of Warwall near the border of

Ethiopia and Italian Somaliand. Italy's

honor had been violated.

Refusing any arbitration, Mussolini

moved the whole might of his army

through the Suez Canal to overrun the

undefended country.

With massive air raids and the use of

chemical weapons, the invaders forced

Ethiopia to its knees and made the

country part of the new colony of

Italian East Africa.

North Africa was actually an Italian

theater of war. Mussolini wanted to

extend his own colonial empire. He

wanted to join up Italian possessions in

Libya with those in East Africa. So the

Sudan and Egypt were to be occupied by

Italy. The commander-in-chief of the

Italian troops stationed in Libya was

Rudulfo Gratzani, a marshall who was

regarded as extremely loyal to the

regime and was seen as a fascist and who

had considerable experience of colonial

warfare. Mussolini ordered him to take

charge of an assault on Egypt and the

Suez Canal. But Gratzani was highly

skeptical. He was aware of the modest

capabilities of his forces. They were

poorly motorized and had hardly any

tanks or aircraft. So, he kept

postponing the campaign, saying

repeatedly, "Everything wasn't quite

ready."

Mussolini's ally, Adolf Hitler, didn't

think much of the Italian leader

ambitions [music] in Africa.

Following his successful campaign in

France, the Furer was planning his

long-desired invasion of the Soviet

Union. The last thing he needed was Rome

going it alone.

But the duche couldn't be stopped.

[music]

Mussolini blew his top and gave Gratzani

explicit orders to attack. And in

September 1940, he did. But after 100

kilometers or so, he brought his forces

to a halt, saying there were logistical

problems that prevented them from

advancing any further. He then had his

army take up defensive positions. What

is interesting is that Gratzani, whose

only experience had been gained in

colonial conflicts and not in

conventional warfare, established these

defensive positions as if he were

engaged in a colonial war. They were all

hedgehog positions, as if he were

fighting indigenous tribes. He did not

understand that against the British who

had a conventional army, this was

completely the wrong tactic.

Graatani was a convinced fascist. Even

in the Italian colonial era prior to the

Second World War, he had shown a

willingness to employ criminal methods

and to use incredible brutality towards

the indigenous population. But it

[clears throat] seems to have become

apparent relatively quickly that he was

not as proficient at commanding troops.

The advance he began in Libya made

hardly any progress and then came to a

standstill. This was a major reason why

his star began to wne.

The British saw how weak Gratzani's

troops were and in late 1940 launched

their own offensive against the

Italians.

In Operation Compass, they not only

forced the Italian army back to Libya,

the British also took Sirina, part of

the Italian colony of Libya and

threatened Italy's colonial possessions

in North Africa.

This was all extremely dangerous for

Mussolini internally because Libya was

Italy's most important colony. Thousands

of Italian settlers lived there. At

first, Mussolini also refused German

help. He did not want to become

dependent on the German Reich. But in

February 1941, he had to request German

assistance after all in order to prevent

the collapse of his colonial empire in

North Africa.

Hitler delayed [music] for a long time

in sending troops to support his Italian

ally in North Africa. [music]

German Supreme Command attached far

greater weight to achieving air

superiority over the Mediterranean in

order to cut British supply routes.

And besides, German military planning

was focused entirely on Operation

Barbarasa. [music] But in the end,

Hitler relented.

Thus in operation sunflower the German

Reich dispatched a blocking force under

the command of Lieutenant General Erin

Roma. It was comprised initially of just

one armored division. A second was added

later. This was then the German Africa

Corps. Raml was not someone who could be

categorized or labeled. He was simply

unpredictable.

not only where his military decisions

were concerned, but also in all his

other actions.

On the one hand, RML was a substitute,

as it were, for even more German troops.

The German Rish was preparing for

Operation Babalosa, so there just

weren't enough troops available to send

to help the Italians. And on the other

hand, there was also a diplomatic

problem. Germany wanted to assist Italy,

but the Italians of course had no desire

to create the impression that they could

never win without the Germans. So this

diplomatic element has to be taken into

account. Last but not least, however,

there were simply not enough combat

effective German troops who could be

spared from other areas.

German units landed in Tripoli on

February 12th, 1941.

On the very first parade held in the

Libyan capital, Raml showed his Italian

hosts and any British scouts who were

present who would be running things in

the future.

>> That this operation came about at all

shows perhaps the complete absurdity of

the process from a Berlin perspective.

On the one hand, Germany wanted to

assist its ally, but on the other not to

provide too much help because it didn't

have enough forces to spare. So tried to

compensate by sending a tank general

like RML whom propaganda had already

presented as a war hero but who had

actually been told to act defensively.

So he was precisely the wrong man for

the job. RL wanted to attack. He was a

general for offensive not defensive

action.

>> The RML legend goes back perhaps to 1937

when his book infantry attacks was

published.

An analysis of warfare from a

high-ranking officer,

an infantryman by trade who in World War

I had been awarded the Paulit.

Then of course he commanded the seventh

armored division, the ghost division in

the battle for France. So here we again

have this tableau of war with integrated

weapons which alone guarantees

successful campaigns. Warfare

characterized by dynamic advance without

stopping.

And then we have Raml in North Africa

used initially to stabilize the

Italians. A situation in which he can't

develop a momentum of his own. So what

does he do? He makes himself independent

and everything then everything develops

its own dynamism.

RML was a commander who as a rule was

little concerned a by what his superiors

thought of him and b by what his orders

were if he disagreed with them. He

showed in France that he tended to favor

his own assessment that he didn't regard

the orders from high command as being

all important.

It was a similar situation in North

Africa where officially he was

subordinate to Italian Supreme Command.

But in fact he did what he wanted and

since success proved him right, he

created the latitude to do what he

wanted to do.

When Irvin RML became the star of Nazi

propaganda because of his success in

North Africa and was rewarded with a

field marshals baton, he voluntarily

presented himself as a winner.

Also in front of the camera for the

party's archives.

North Africa

was the ideal theater of war for Raml

because he was able to practice his

military trade just as he wished without

having to follow any political

guidelines.

>> If we look at the joint conduct of the

war by the Italians and the Germans,

what is interesting is that there was no

actual coalition leadership. There was

no supreme command of any kind for North

Africa. North Africa.

>> Nominally, RML was subordinate to

Italian command, but in fact, he had

free hand to do what he wanted because

he had Hitler's backing.

>> The successful tactics of mobile desert

warfare forced the British to retreat.

Within 2 weeks, the Africa Corps had

advanced 800 km.

British military leaders were shocked

and at the same time impressed.

The legend of Raml the [music] desert

fox was born.

RML was clearly unwilling to fulfill the

brief he had been given to act

defensively and support the Italians.

He never seriously intended to play this

role

because he believed he had a good nose

for identifying where the British were

weak.

Ronald placed his faith in attack.

You can actually defend by attacking if

you do it at the right moment. And

history tells us whether or not the

moment was right. At the time it perhaps

was the right decision, but certainly

not in the long run.

Sunston.

In this way, Raml tried retrospectively

after Nazi propaganda to play down the

failure of his offensive

because the field marshal had clearly

underestimated the length of his supply

routes. So at first the dashing advance

seemed like a brilliant move by a superb

commander.

In my opinion in North Africa, Raml

simply caught the British on the wrong

foot.

I don't think any of Britain's military

or even political leaders thought that

the Vmark would become active in North

Africa.

That was simply inconceivable.

But when German units appeared there,

the new situation had to be dealt with

and they learned very quickly.

The British forces stationed in North

Africa to defend the empire's interests

were actually far superior to the

Germans and the Italians.

But at the time, [music] an entire

armored division was being refitted in

Cairo. And then there was the

unpredictability of the new opponent.

RL was a gambler. He let from the front.

But this meant that at times his staff

had no idea where their supreme

commander was

what he was doing and in his absence how

all the other troops should be led.

So depending on who is being asked,

opinions tend to regard RML as either an

outstanding commander or as a gambler

who perhaps succeeded in a way that

Hitler especially dreamt of as a German

approach to warfare.

However, this approach is perhaps

overrated because it would probably not

have been successful in other scenarios

different from those in the Second World

War.

Raml of course took [music] a different

view and in his report for Nazi film

archives shifted responsibility [music]

for the lack of support to German high

command and to the inadequate equipment

of the Italian troops.

Count

the

front

link.

Raml's advance in Sirinica was swift,

but it stopped at the fortress of

Tbrook. The field marshal then made a

serious error as commander. Instead of

waiting until he had sufficient forces

to make a concentrated attack, he

ordered his troops to make an immediate

mobile assault on a system of fortified

positions.

As a result, he sustained his first

losses. The German forces were repulsed.

But RML didn't say, "Okay, we'll now

wait."

Instead, convinced by the fact that

elsewhere he had always been successful

in his military career, he decided to

throw into the battle troops that had

just arrived. So, bit by bit, the German

reinforcements were sent into the fray

with comparatively high losses, and

there were complaints from officers who

had lost faith in RML

within his own ranks. The unnecessary

carnage at Tbrook earned this ambitious

general criticism as a soldier of

fortune.

This also fueled repeated concern in the

highest ranks of the Vermacht.

In his journal, the head of the general

staff, France Halder, noted that Raml's

character deficiencies [music]

show him to be a particularly

disagreeable figure whom no one wishes

to get into conflict with because of the

brutal methods he employs and because of

the support he enjoys at the highest

level.

When the German offensive came to a

standstill at Tbrook in the spring of

1941 and RML committed serious

leadership errors, Halder saw an

opportunity to finally get rid of him.

Numerous complaints had been received

from many of his commanders that RML had

completely lost control. They said he

had sent troops to the slaughter and was

totally lacking in empathy as a leader.

But that still wasn't enough. So Halder

came up with another plan to give him

the best general staff officers he had

thinking that they would curb him.

Haldder was confident that there would

soon be friction between Raml and his

staff officers. But he was wrong. Raml

got on very well with them. In fact,

despite some friction, perhaps he

enjoyed an excellent symbiosis with

them. In fact, with excellent minds

behind him, officers who were able to

plan everything with military precision,

Raml himself was able to command

intuitively from the front.

forchech.

Anyone who means well will say that RML

always had a good nose for operational

situations.

So we can say that from his point of

view RML assessed the situation

correctly.

He identified the enemy's weak points

and exploited them.

But the fact that the offensive then

came to a halt at Tobrook even though

the town was encircled was largely

because RML was short of supplies.

Basically at Torbrook, he was in a

dilemma. What if he couldn't take the

town?

He'd assumed he'd be successful, but he

obviously hadn't thought about how far

the success would get him.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

was annoyed at the course of the

fighting and demanded counter

offensives, but he ignored all warnings

about the effectiveness of the German

anti-tank guns.

Operation Battle Axe was supposed to

turn the situation in Britain's favor,

but Raml once again threw all his tanks

into the attack and he was successful.

This was total exaggeration because in

reality, German guns only knocked out 91

[music] tanks.

Overall, Raml suffered greater losses

than the British, but the enemy

destroyed only a dozen of his tanks

>> in November.

It's nameless

and

transition

Under cover of darkness and with total

radio silence, Operation Crusader got

underway totally unnoticed by the

Germans and Italians.

Blanketed by sandstorms, British tanks

suddenly appeared on the outskirts of

Tbrook.

>> Crusader

>> Crusader caught the Germans and the

Italians at the worst possible time.

From summer 1941, North Africa was

actually no more than a secondary

theater for the Germans because

Operation Barbarosa was in progress

against the Soviet Union. Raml was

getting hardly any supplies, virtually

no fresh material, and hardly any new

staff.

And in autumn 1941, supplies for the

Axis troops were virtually non-existent.

Yet, it was precisely now that the

British were launching their counter

offensive in the form of Operation

Crusader. At first, the Germans were

forced to retreat. Raml tried at once to

counterattack, but he just about managed

to avoid being captured himself.

Although he was able once again to take

much of the impact out of the British

offensive, ultimately Raml was forced to

withdraw to Tripoli as the British

regained control of Sriaka.

for

comfort.

North Africa was an extremely dynamic

theater. Success was rarely of long

duration because the terrain was flat.

There were virtually no natural

obstacles and when one side quickly

conquered territory, it often lost it as

well. This was because of the supply

situation. Troops could only be supplied

adequately over a certain distance. The

further east the German and Italian

forces advanced or the British

westwards, the further they moved from

their own supply bases, this made it

harder to support these troops while the

retreating enemy got closer to its own

supply bases. So, it was now better

supplied. This pendulum swung back and

forth several times.

RL

[music]

>> RML's disastrous mistake of advancing

rapidly and then having to relinquish

terrain he had won because of German

supply problems was celebrated as

victory by the Nazis.

In January [music] 1942, the popular

commander was received personally by

Adolf Hitler. The dictator was now

firmly resolved to give the war in North

Africa unlimited support.

RML was delighted.

It must be stated quite clearly that in

every respect RML had made himself

available to an unjust regime. He knew

right from the start whom he was

serving. After all, the crimes of

national socialism, the deprivation of

rights, the brutal political persecution

of political enemies hardly took place

in secret.

It all happened in plain view. So if

he'd wanted to, Irwin RML could have

known a great deal. His responsibility,

of course, lies in the fact that he made

himself available to Nazi propaganda.

Therefore, he helped ensure that the

murderous criminal war in the Soviet

Union and the extermination of European

Jews ultimately took place in the

background.

But Raml himself stood in the foreground

of propaganda

and that is how I view his historical

responsibility.

for

so fast.

England may

Shortly after the setback he suffered

through Operation Crusader, Raml

immediately attacked again, but without

consulting his Italian allies. He didn't

inform his superiors either. The

Italians were taken totally by surprise

that German units were attacking once

again. They called for RML to be

replaced, a request, however, that stood

little chance of being met. Still there

was much tension in the alliance between

Germany and Italy. RML was seen as a

burden. His success alone smoothed over

the problems.

>> In contrast to the Italians, Raml's

Africa Corps was delighted that their

idol was back on the attack.

On January 23rd, 1942, a soldier wrote

in a letter home,

>> "At last, we're rumbling forwards

again."

>> When the Germans appeared, the British

were surprised yet again. They were also

frustrated because although outnumbered,

the German Africa Corps had again

achieved success against British forces.

The British wondered what the reason for

this was. So from about the middle of

1942, they tried to copy the German

approach. They mounted rapid armored

thrusts to surround the enemy and so on.

And up to a certain point, they were

successful, but they failed to achieve a

decisive victory. Ultimately, when it

came to mobile warfare, the Germans

proved superior to the British time and

again.

[music]

Fore.

[music]

On May 26th, 1942, the Africa Corps

launched Operation Thesus to finally

drive the British out of Tobrook.

After fierce tank battles, the Axis

powers achieved a breakthrough.

Like many operations carried out by the

Germans and Italians, especially under

RML, Operation Thesius, I think, shows

that RML was quite capable of cunning

and imaginative leadership. stories

abound of him lining up his formations,

even including the field kitchen, in a

wet shape to stir up as much dust as

possible and surprise the enemy. Perhaps

not all of these tales are true, but

many of them will be. And RML overcame

operational deficits like too few

troops, too few weapons, and too few

supplies by thinking of a solution.

Tobuk however reveals a different

picture of the war in North Africa.

RL's brutal deployment of his own forces

with huge losses. This shows that RML

was never inclined to look at his losses

if he was convinced that he had taken

the right decision.

Storm life commands

[music]

from book.

>> Raml's ground offensive received massive

support from the German air force.

Its dive bombers especially succeeded in

cutting British communication lines.

In the ensuing confusion, German tanks

were able to advance into the fortress

without encountering any substantial

resistance.

on June 20th, 1942. Towuk was captured

within a few hours.

Raml and North Africa and his troops

served Nazi propaganda as excellent

distraction from the Eastern front

whenever things were not going too well

and especially in the winter of 1941.

The situation was in fact deteriorating

for the Germans. So Raml and his Africa

corps became even more important for

German propaganda. Raml was successful.

He had forced the British back virtually

to the Egyptian border. In doing so, he

had also succeeded in capturing the

fortress of Tbrook, the goal he had so

lamentably failed to achieve the year

before. But now he had taken Tbrook and

in doing so secured one of the greatest

successes of his military career. He was

made the Vey's youngest field marshal.

This was again just what Nazi propaganda

was waiting for. It was able to utilize

a major German success in North Africa.

Marshall.

>> At last, Raml [music] had control of a

port which would shorten the supply

route for his next advance by two weeks.

Nazi propaganda knew no [music] bounds.

It was actually a secondary theater. On

the other hand, though, it offered ideal

conditions for creating a propaganda

hero.

Pictures were broadcast which you would

not otherwise expect from a theater of

war.

Naturally, RML made himself available.

When you look at the news reels, you

know that's not someone who was forced

to appear in the footage. It's a figure

who did it quite consciously and played

an active role in the news reels.

[music]

Britain.

[music]

>> I think the North African theater of war

was perfect for German propaganda in

every respect.

First of all, it was an exotic

environment which produced impressive

pictures. As a rule, the sun was always

shining and German troops were always

tanned. [clears throat]

They had dusty faces and looked

dauntless. These were pictures the

Russian step somehow couldn't provide.

Cinematically, they weren't of the same

quality.

What's more, Nazi propaganda presented

the conflict in North Africa as the kind

of war the German people expected their

soldiers to wage it. In line with the

motto up and over and at him, we soon

defeated the French and now we are

storming forwards in North Africa.

Naturally, the war scenario that was

developing on the Eastern front was far

less suitable for broadcasting.

RML [music] wanted to take Egypt and the

Suez Canal, the lifeline of the British

Empire.

[music]

>> Hitler hoped the Africa Corps would

quickly prove victorious because with

the United States having entered the

war, he feared that American forces

would join the conflict and a final

[music] victory by Raml over the Eighth

Army would decisively undermine British

morale.

RML was many things. He was a commander

who very often achieved success on the

battlefield by taking unorthodox

decisions. To describe him as brilliant

is a bit too sweeping, but he was

definitely a commander who was greatly

inspired in many ways. At the same time,

however, which is conveniently

forgotten, he had fine staff officers

who advised RML and worked closely with

him. On the other hand, RML was also a

propaganda general, a creation of

Gobble's propaganda. I would tend to

describe him more as Gerbal's favorite

general and less as Hitler's favorite

general. Raml was many things. It was

propaganda that made him so popular and

famous in the German Reich.

Nice.

>> Addition after edition of the Nazi

weekly news reel celebrated the advance

of the Africa Corps. One of Lenny Reefen

Style's cameramen was sent to the front

to take spectacular pictures for cinemas

back home.

of

>> in Cairo. There is panic. In the gardens

of official buildings, files are being

burnt.

Raml is already planning a victory

parade in the Egyptian capital.

Reality is usually bitter. So what do

you do? You construct reality to suit

your needs.

This works in North Africa as long as

Raml is advancing.

Then everything is fine and dandy.

But that stops the moment reality really

does become bitter.

then you can't even seek refuge in a

myth.

So Raml was not allowed to lose.

The moment he lost, he would be of no

use whatsoever to propaganda.

Propaganda.

The advance of the Africa Corps in June

1942

was also glorified in the British film

Desert Victory, which contained captured

original footage from German

productions.

Consequently, every effort was made to

enhance the field marshall's nimbus.

Even if the British did this simply to

find an excuse for their own

intermittent failings.

>> Raml was not only a legend in the German

Reich. Soon he also became a legend to

his British foes. Because of his

unforeseen successes, he was built up to

be a kind of superman both by British

propaganda or the British media and also

by British troops themselves. When you

read reports from British units, they

all speak highly of RML. So much so that

in the summer of 1942, Sir Claude

Ashinch, the supreme commander of the

8th Army, felt prompted to issue an

order stating that Raml and his German

troops were not supermen.

It ended with a PS. I am not envious of

Raml.

So you can see that Raml also enjoyed

great respect with the British partly

and this should not be forgotten to

conceal their own deficiencies.

>> His much depleted army dug, blasted and

wired itself in and laid protective

mines.

Our front was one of discontinuous belts

of minefields with strong points and

machine gun and anti-tank gun imp

placements.

But it was as yet extremely slender

>> here. General waited.

>> Tobuk was just an intermediate stop on

the way to Alamine. Raml understood the

situation. His opponent had to be

weakened. So he set out in pursuit. At

this point, perhaps even before Tbrook,

there was a major discussion about

whether Malta should be first taken to

secure supplies. But Raml thought that

the situation looked so advantageous

that it had to be exploited on the

battlefield. So for the first time since

the war began, he forced the British

back over the border and deep into

Egypt. He only came to a stop at El

Alamine about 80 to 100 km west of

Alexandria.

Alexandria

in songs they wrote. Raml soldiers are

glorifying themselves. We are the German

Africa cause. They sing Hitler's daring

troops.

[music]

Yeah.

Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Forwards with our RML, the soldiers

chanted, the boundless hubris of the

German master race and a commander

consumed by ambition.

Military disaster was only a few months

away.

[music]

[music]

In late June 1942, the German Africa

Corps was advancing.

Following the fall of Tbrook, the aim

was to crush the British Eighth Army,

[music] which had dug in near the small

Egyptian town of Elammagne on the

Mediterranean coast.

In the opening years of the war, the

vehem was usually superior to its

adversaries operationally and tactically

and not only in North Africa. There are

a number of reasons for this. First, the

combined arms approach. This involved

all the individual elements, tanks,

artillery, infantry, sappers, and so on

interacting on the battlefield in the

right mix, so to speak. but with each

pulling its own strings so that its own

strengths are brought to bear with

maximum effect. The second point is the

employment of mission type tactics

whereby subordinates are given the

objective and the means to achieve it

but without actually being shown the

way.

Promoted by Hitler to the rank of field

marshal, RML exuded self-confidence.

Supported by his staff, [music] he was

certain that in view of the crushing

experience of Tobrook, the British

defenses would be unable to stop him.

>> In my opinion, in the figure of Arvin

Romelu, we see a major deficit of the

German military mindset. Romelu was an

operator and that is how he acted in

North Africa. He was an old sweat who

wanted to defeat his enemy. But it seems

that he never gave a thought to what

would happen afterwards.

And although he had achieved a fairly

emphatic victory over the British, he

had not taken them out of the war.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Nazi propaganda footage showing Raml

questioning British generals who had

been taken prisoner in June.

In this way, Germans on the home front

were given the impression that the war

in North Africa [music] was already won.

On July 1st, 1942, the battle of

Alalamine began. A sin film showing the

German advance and the first footage of

the fighting was hurriedly produced. It

could be bought by anyone in special

shops in Germany and watched at home

with the help of a projector.

[music]

The film had no soundtrack.

The British had mined the [music]

approach roads which considerably slowed

the German advance.

>> [music]

>> In front of Elamine, the 8th Army under

the command of General Sir Claude

Oshinch had established a 65 km [music]

long defensive belt.

German artillery fired full blast to try

and create a path through the British

lines for the German and Italian tanks,

but hopes of a swift victory vanished

within the space [music] of a few days.

In the first battle of El Alamine, when

Raml still tried to catch the British

defenses unawares with a mobile assault,

an old problem for the Axis forces in

North Africa became apparent. By now,

Italian armored units were good enough

to carry out attacks together with

German units, but not alone. The German

units were already relatively weak and

the Italians were not strong enough to

break through the British lines on their

own.

This in [music] a film shows enemy

soldiers who have surrendered to a

superior attacking force.

In reality though, Field Marshal Raml

did not have enough troops [music] to

gain a decisive advantage on the

battlefield.

During the campaign, it became clear

that this secondary theater of war could

not be conducted on a secondary level,

not even by the Germans. On the

[clears throat] one hand, because Berlin

needed to keep its Italian allies at all

costs, and on the other hand, because

the campaign had to be brought to a

successful conclusion, it was generally

realized that the German troops that

have been deployed thus far would not be

sufficient. And the situation was the

same for Italy. Both dictators Hitler

and Mussolini reinforced their units in

North Africa to achieve a decisive

operational breakthrough which

ultimately was to take place at Elmagne.

That would decide the future of the

campaign. This would either mean

retreating because of a defeat which

actually happened or advancing further

whereby the question would then have

arisen as to the goal after Elmagne

to Raml advancing at considerable speed.

Egypt with the Nile Delta which gives it

life. Cairo British general headquarters

and Africa's principal city. Alexandria,

Egypt's [music] chief port and base of

our Mediterranean fleet, and Sewers,

gateway to the Far East. All these must

have seemed dazzlingly [music] near.

[music]

to spread confidence.

[music]

up to the transport machine. [music]

[music]

>> Window dressing for the home [music]

front. These look like pictures from a

school outing. But in reality, these

young men from the capital of the Reich

were cannon foder for Raml's fatal

strategy.

For both sides, the critical element in

this theater was logistics. There were

two levels. The first involved strategic

supply. How do I get all my equipment

and my troops to North Africa in the

first place? The second level involved

operational supply. How do I get this

material and these people from the port

in Tripoli or Alexandria straight to the

front? Solving these questions was the

task facing planners on both sides.

Basically, we can say that the British,

despite all their problems, were mostly

well supplied, whereas the Italians and

the Germans very often had to live more

or less from hand to mouth.

[music]

>> [music]

[music]

>> Although the route was short, the

Germans and Italians had to bring in

their supplies across the Mediterranean.

But the British occupied island of Malta

had been a thorn in the axis side for

years. It proved a hindrance to German

and Italian supply transports time and

again.

>> The German air force repeatedly tried to

knock out Britain's base in the

Mediterranean, but ultimately without

success.

[music]

Hitler decided against Operation

Hercules, an invasion of the island

which had already been planned down to

the last detail.

the supplies so urgently needed by the

Africa Corps faltered.

>> One major problem in North Africa was of

course the provision of food stuffs, but

above all providing a supply of water

and considering the distances involved

providing fuel.

Neither the Germans nor the Italians

achieved this on a permanent basis,

whereas the British handled the problem

better and better.

In the meantime, the international press

had sparked off a [music] true RML

frenzy. Now, no one dared criticize the

popular army commander.

There were some who begrudged RML. No

one can make field marshall that fast,

they said. And those who had enjoyed an

orderly career as a general staff

officer had always been skeptical of

RML.

RML also had always had something

autistic about him. I'd say he had been

through a learning process, one that

took place in small steps. Otherwise, he

would never have got as far as Elmagne

had he been a Marshall forwards type who

never communicated.

>> You become a successful military leader

when you listen to the expertise of your

subordinates.

This is something RML did more and more

in 1942 than he had in 1941.

>> [music]

>> By now, the American armament's industry

was also providing supplies for the

material battle in the desert.

[music]

To avoid German air raids or submarine

attacks in the Mediterranean, most of

the British supplies [music] regarding

food, men, and material took the long

route around the Cape of Good Hope in

South [music] Africa and through the

Suez Canal.

One major supply advantage which the

British had was the railway line which

went as far as almagne. It enabled far

more goods to be transported in much

shorter time. After Elmagne both sides

faced the same problems whether it was

water, food or war material everything

had to be transported by truck

along the way. There was virtually no

chance for instance of refueling. So the

columns on the road also had to take

along everything they themselves needed.

So not everything that was loaded up was

able to reach the troops it was

earmarked for because the columns had to

use it for themselves.

Before being appointed commanderin-chief

Middle East command Sir Claude Oshinch

who was known as the orc had served as

British commanderin-chief in India.

Time and again he had incurred the

displeasure of British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill who complained about

his hesitancy.

>> Ainch is an extremely interesting figure

because in 1942 he managed to stop RML

and especially after the war there was a

major discussion about who actually

played the decisive role in turning

things around in North Africa. Was it

Montgomery who always assumed this role

for himself? Or was it perhaps Ashench

who had already managed to stop Raml

before then and thus lay the basis for

Britain's success in North Africa?

and with him men who had fought at

Gizala in city,

others who had been twice to Benghazi,

others who had escaped from behind

retreat of 400 miles,

and a battle which approached in its

importance, the Battle of Britain was

now at hand.

On their islands, the people of Britain

had to hold out against the German air

force. They couldn't fight the enemy on

the ground. But in North Africa, British

troops were able to engage the Viamat

and Italian forces, at least until the

situation changed. This was the only

chance to show British ground forces

fighting the Germans.

For that reason alone, for the British

too, North Africa was excellent. It

provided a cinematographic backdrop with

an exotic environment, dauntless bodies

and so on.

Inos etc.

>> Propaganda strategists in London had

also been busy. Numerous camera teams

were sent to North Africa to document

the fight against Raml.

They sent back spectacular pictures from

the first battle of El Alamine which

lasted throughout the whole of July

1942.

General Oshinch concentrated the British

artillery with considerable effect and

then attacked time and again with mobile

units.

In this way, he prevented Raml from

achieving a decisive breakthrough.

caused the Axis forces serious losses

and saved the Eighth Army from disaster.

On August 23rd, 1942, [music]

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

visited North Africa. His hallmark, the

[music] V for victory sign, hid the

concerns that were troubling him.

Churchill still regarded Raml and his

armies as highly dangerous. He also

doubted [music] Ashinch's ability to

finally go on the attack.

Consequently, a few days before, he had

unceremoniously replaced Oshinch with

General Harold Alexander.

The new commander-in-chief of the Eighth

Army was an old warhorse, Bernard L.

Montgomery.

>> The arrival of Montgomery breathed fresh

life into the eighth army. Even though

Ashench had certainly laid the

foundation, what was decisive was that

his men saw Montgomery as a charismatic

leader. not necessarily as a popular

leader but as an extremely charismatic

one who looked after his troops.

Montgomery also stood for something new

in this theater of war. He was against

the old structures. In fact, he said,

"We have to break up all these encrusted

structures." He fired generals one after

another and replace them with new ones.

>> I wouldn't say that Montgomery was a

naturally defensive military leader. He

was someone who planned his operations

with great precision. Montgomery was

also generally regarded as cool and

arrogant.

At the very least, extremely

self-confident. Seen in retrospect, his

appointment was correct because he was

the right man in the right place at the

right time.

Meanwhile, a German camera team was

filming Vermacht troops enjoying a dip

in the sacred [music] fountain at the

Egyptian oasis of Civa. But ever since

the days of the pharaohs, the local

inhabitants had regarded such activity

as sacriiggious and an evil omen.

[music]

The civilian population was actually an

important issue for the Italians because

after all they were the colonial

masters. The Germans were only guests,

so to speak. Nevertheless, a civilian

population comprised of Arabs was

perfect for propaganda purposes because

Nazi ideology was certainly sympathetic

towards Islam and the Arabs. So, it was

perfect if German troops portrayed

themselves in a protective role for the

local inhabitants.

>> [music]

>> Raml of course knew that in classical

times Svera had been a mythical site

with a famous oracle.

It was here [music] for instance that

Alexander the Great had been told that

he was the son of the god Zeus Ammon.

Material indeed for the Raml legend.

>> Raml knew that time was not on his side.

He was receiving hardly any supplies

whereas the British were constantly

being supplied. He knew that if he did

not attack now, sooner or later the

British would attack and overrun him. So

he decided to mount a final offensive in

the Egyptian theater of war. That was

the battle of Alam Hala, also known as

the second battle of El Alamine, in

which in classical style he tried to

outflank the British in the south and

then attack them from the rear.

RML actually [music] wanted to wait and

lure the British out of their positions.

General Forwards had [music] become a

cautious and increasingly pessimistic

commander.

Nevertheless, he yielded to pressure and

on September [music] 1st, 1942, launched

a major offensive against the Eighth

Army.

But thanks to [music] British radio

intelligence, Montgomery knew RML's

plans and organized his tank units in

such a way that they were able to repel

the attack and inflict serious losses

[music] on the Africa Corps.

But it was not due solely to

Montgomery's tactical skill that after 5

[music] days, RML had to call off the

attack in total frustration.

Supplies from the United States at least

included quality armor in the Grant and

in particular the Sherman tank. They

became the dominant weapons in the

African theater. What was also decisive

was the fact that in August 1942, the

British also gained supremacy in the air

because you can only operate freely with

your armored ground forces if you also

have control of the air. And that was a

major turning point in the war in North

Africa. Ultimately after losing the

battle of Alam Hala, Raml was physically

and mentally exhausted. He had to return

to Germany to recuperate.

In Berlin, Raml was at least able to put

on a good face with Hitler.

Hitler of course basked in the success

of a national hero

as he hands over the field marshals's

baton. You can see quite clearly that a

personal relationship exists between the

two.

[snorts] In a certain way the scene has

a slight intimacy.

This flattered RML of course and on the

other hand Joseph Gerbles was also happy

to appear with RML in front of the

international press and present his

hero.

Fore!

Foreign! Foreign!

RML stoically endured the propaganda

[music] lies and the smug complacency of

the Nazi leadership. When he posed

[music] for a photograph in his new

uniform, the field marshall looked tired

and battleweary.

This picture was taken at a time when

Raml was physically just a shadow of his

former self. He was recuperating in

Germany and he had the third battle of

Lalmain ahead of him. So he knew he had

reached a watershed.

Raml was serious. He was pensive. He was

full of emotion.

But Nazi propaganda gave its hero no

respit.

Foreign

speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Vice Minister Dr. Marshall

after the war. An observer wrote,

>> "It is not a time I like to remember

because so much blood was shed

unnecessarily through propaganda first

from Gerbles and then from Montgomery.

His person has come to symbolize the

finest military tradition."

Raml is the prototype of the tenacious

German who makes a career in the

military. So a lot of people identified

with him. He had a field marshals baton

in his kit bag. He was a winner and this

made him valuable to the propaganda

machine.

The question now is how far does this

propaganda reflect his true core and far

does it distort him.

Propaganda and that is exactly what

happened in the second half of 1942.

If we look at his state of health

through his aestheticism, his

perseverance, and the high demands he

made on himself, RML was in a bad way.

The field marshall had a particularly

close relationship with the family of

propaganda minister Joseph Gerbles.

Thus, the Nazi hero from Africa

willingly allows himself to play a guest

role in the film which was made every

year by UFA on the minister's birthday.

Since Gerbles rarely saw his six

children watched by their mother, they

portrayed their daily routine.

Magda Gerbles was an ardent fan of Irvin

Raml.

>> We can't really say much about Irvin

Raml's relationship with Joseph Gerbles.

We know that they met regularly, of

course. What we definitely can say,

however, is that Magda Gerbles revered

Irvin Raml.

She even wrote him letters in which she

stated her love for him and asked him

not to be irritated by her declaration

of affection.

So she was a massive fan of Irvin Raml

and showed it time and again.

Naturally he also visited the Gerbles

family in Berlin whenever possible.

On September 30th, 1942, [music] Yseph

Gerbles wrote in his diary,

>> "One evening, we were sitting together

with Raml, who was telling us about the

campaign in North Africa.

RML is one of the Furer's bravest

officers.

His greatest gift is improvisation.

Losing Raml would not only be materially

impossible for us to compensate, it

would also be an irreparable, [music]

prestigious setback.

I am delighted to have the field

marshall as a visitor in our home. We

can learn a lot from him, especially how

one can be a great yet modest figure.

[music]

British troops were preparing for the

next major battle against the Axis

forces.

The soldiers parents, wives, and

children were to be shown that any

setbacks would not be due to a lack of

fitness.

Meanwhile, the eighth army trained to

the last ounce. Physical fitness and

hardness of an army is one of the

biggest battle factors in war. When two

first class fighters meet, he who sticks

it longest wins in the end. This has

been proved time and time again and

applies to all ranks from general

officers to private soldiers and this

includes all branches of the army

whatever their job and wherever they be

fighting fit and fit to fight.

[music]

>> Joseph Gerbles noted confidently in his

diary that RML certainly doesn't

underestimate the enemy. He knows its

quality precisely, but he also knows

exactly what he can demand from himself

and his troops.

[music]

>> Even though people complained about him,

so to speak, Raml had charisma,

his authority was undisputed.

And this authority was due to the fact

that considering the various military

leadership philosophies, he led from the

front

naturally in an exposed position,

exposed for news reel cameras, but not

for the enemy, of course.

Monty was less inclined to do that, but

he too was always on the spot.

So for Churchill, Montgomery was an

interesting type of leader, someone who

could turn things around by using

factors like technology and mechanized

warfare.

Reducing a war just to commanders was

not enough.

In London, Prime Minister Churchill

became more and more impatient, but he

let General Alexander convince him that

Montgomery needed time to organize his

new troops and get the American tanks

ready for action.

The eighth army now had over a thousand

tanks at its disposal for operation

lightfoot.

On October 23rd, 1942, the third battle

of Lalamine began.

>> Montgomery

Montgomery had planned this battle, had

planned his offensive in great detail.

He wanted to keep the risk as low as

possible and waited until he had a

superiority of at least 2 to1 in every

area. Tanks, artillery, troops, and

aircraft. Only then in late October did

he launch Operation Lightfoot, which

started the third battle of Elamay. It

began with an unbelievable artillery

barrage, which shook the entire German

and Italian defensive lines. And in

contrast to many previous battles in

North Africa, in the third battle of

Elamine, it was not about somehow

outflanking the Germans. Montgomery

simply wanted to break through the

German and Italian lines with an iron

fist.

army had made a salient in the north 6

mi wide and to a depth 4 mi beyond the

first enemy minefields.

Next day attacks were made in the center

and south. The attacks that Roman had

been expecting and which he thought were

a real thing, but they were merely

diversions. In fact, our main attack was

to be in the north.

Some of the scenes in Desert Victory now

it seems were reststaged later, but

numerous camera teams were directly

involved in the battle area to document

the fighting at firsthand.

[music]

[music]

According

to official figures in the opening

credits, four cameramen were killed

while filming [music] and another seven

injured.

>> Ramu counteratt attacked repeatedly

during these days both on the ground and

in the air.

Basically, military calculation says

that in order to be fairly sure that an

operation will be successful, an

attacking force must outnumber the

defenders by 3:1. So, the British

superiority of 2:1 was not ideal. The

fact that the operation was still

successful says a great deal about its

preparation. Montgomery attached

enormous importance to everyone from

every officer down to each individual

single soldier being trained and

prepared. Only then was he willing to

attack. In some quarters he was

criticized for displaying a certain

stoidity, but in the end it paid off.

Raml rushed back from Germany.

On reaching his headquarters on the

evening of October 25th, he learned that

the fuel supply in particular was

critically low. This made it impossible

for him to engage in the mobile warfare

which in the past had proved so

successful.

>> RML was now fighting back with little

pause and with increasing desperation.

>> Montgomery forced RML to engage in an

exchange of blows the German commander

could not win. But even so, the resolute

defense put up by the Africa Corps upset

Montgomery's actual plan.

A battle of attrition lasting several

days took place with heavy losses on

both sides.

>> At the time of the battle of Elamine,

the German Africa Corps was under the

command of General Vilheim Vita Fontoma.

He was an experienced commander who had

seen action in the Soviet Union and had

already spent quite some time in North

Africa. He was regarded as a critic of

the regime. Fontoma was highly

intelligent and was an experienced tank

commander. After the battle, he too said

that it had exceeded all his

expectations.

In an interview in 1945 with the Times

newspaper, General Hans Kramer

remembered the battles in the desert.

Lamagain was lost before the battle

began. We lacked fuel. Large supplies of

fuel and material lay all over Italy and

we assumed that the Italians would bring

them over. But they couldn't manage it.

RML knew even beforehand that the

campaign in Africa was hopeless. Not

because we lacked arms and reserves, but

because we didn't have any fuel.

>> [music]

>> 30,000 Axis troops were taken prisoner.

Nearly 15,000 were wounded and 9,000

killed.

[music]

Montgomery also suffered heavy losses

[music] with 4,800 men killed and nearly

9,000 wounded.

Despite the precarious situation, Raml

ignored Hitler's order that members of

British commando operations encountered

behind German lines should be completely

wiped out, either in combat or while

escaping.

>> RML had long since lost [music] faith in

the Furer.

Early in November, defeat was clearly

looming at El Alamine. That was the

situation when Raml received an order

directly from Hitler. Your only option

now, it said, is to lead your troops to

victory or to die on the battlefield.

Victory or death, in other words. Raml

was shocked when he received the order,

but at first he intended to obey it.

However, when he discussed the situation

at El Alamine with General Toma, Toma

said, "Impossible. We must retreat. The

order is madness. We must pull back."

At first, Raml agreed to only a local

withdrawal. But a day later, he decided

to ignore Hitler's order completely and

pull his men out. He thus prevented his

army from being annihilated.

The modern assessment by British

military historians is that the victory

at Elalamine was not a stroke of genius,

neither strategically nor tactically.

However, Montgomery succeeded in

changing the mood of the eighth army so

that his armor and infantry fought with

particular courage.

And that in particular is why he became

a legend and why in 1944 Winston

Churchill promoted Montgomery to the

rank of field marshal.

His rival who at times was on a par with

Montgomery was plagued by other

problems.

In this case, Raml's own men were more

important to him than obedience to

Hitler. Consequently, he managed to

withdraw a large proportion of the

German and Italian tank army. However,

large numbers of Italian units were

taken prisoner. They were poorly

motorized and could not pull back fast

enough. In particular, Italian forces

located in the far south of the

battlefield were virtually all captured.

>> Nevertheless, RML managed to get more

than 100,000 German and Italian troops

heading back to Libya.

But he had to leave without one of his

most important advisers.

>> At Elamine, Ritter Fontoma was captured

and taken to Montgomery, the

commander-in-chief of the British 8th

Army. In his diary, Fontoma noted that

he had always been treated well by the

British and had never felt any hatred

towards him.

>> Pursuit was remorseless.

Every enemy column on the coast road or

in the desert, sometimes jammed head

totail, was bombed, blasted, and machine

learned.

They tasted what they'd administered in

France and Poland.

The British Royal Air Force played a

major role in the victory at Elamine

through its merciless bombing of [music]

Raml's armor.

Now it pursued the retreating German

army.

>> [music]

>> Built-in automatic cameras provided

spectacular pictures.

[music] Not least, it was because of

such pictures that in 1944, Desert

Victory won an Oscar as the best

documentary film. [music]

There followed many weeks in which the

British repeatedly tried to overtake RML

from the south and cut off his retreat,

but RML kept managing to withdraw in

good time into pre-built defensive

positions. What is interesting is that

the British were actually wellinformed

about the intentions of the Germans and

Italians through Ultra, the Allied

intelligence project that tapped the

very highest level of encrypted

communications of the Axis armed forces.

The problem for the allies, however, was

that Raml often reported something

upstairs and then went and did something

completely different, thus confusing the

enemy once again. In this way, he

managed to pull his army further and

further back.

>> In Desert [music] Victory, however, the

pursuit is stylized into one long

success story.

No mention is made of RML's tactical

tricks.

The Africa core, utterly broken and

possessed with no thought but flight,

was hotly pursued.

But the eighth army was not only the

thunder behind, but the lightning ahead

from hull down positions on the road of

escape. Our guns and tanks knocked out

on first day of retreat over 50 of

Rumble's remaining pancers without loss.

He had already left 500 tanks behind him

on the battlefield.

We captured over 1,000 pieces of

artillery.

>> Their armaments had been lost, but

[music] for the time being, RML had

saved most of his men from capture.

Sooner or later, though, they would have

to fight again.

It was a fine military achievement. I

believe it also shows that Raml was

capable of empathy as well, of course,

of rational thinking. the troops who had

been saved could be reorganized and at

some point in the future used in battle

once again.

For Raml, as soon as it became clear

that a German victory was no longer

possible, it was important to bring the

North Africa campaign to an orderly

conclusion. In other words, an orderly

retreat.

That however ran contrary to Nazi

thinking.

RML's Africa Corps had started out in

Tripoli in February 1941 with the

intention of advancing as far as the

Suez Canal.

Now his [music] defeated army was

heading back to the Libyan capital.

But even so, most of the soldiers would

extol their courageous field marshal for

the rest of their lives.

>> [music]

>> The basis for this sympathy was actually

respect simply because he never secluded

himself.

He was always visible to his troops. And

of course, I'm at least in the

conversations I have had with former

soldiers in this war. The retreat from

Elmain played a major role.

They believe that even if later they

were taken prisoner, Raml had saved

their lives.

And that of course is something his

soldiers have never forgotten.

>> As a rule, unlike many of their comrades

who were captured in the Soviet Union,

soldiers with the Africa Corps were well

treated and [music] transported by ship

to prisoner of war camps in Britain or

the United States. There, most of them

survived the war. It is to their credit

that there are no stories of war crimes

in North Africa. And as a rule, British

prisoners of war were treated fairly.

>> In many respects, Elmine is one of the

battles in British commemorative culture

and for many years it remained largely

sacrosan in British history. It is only

over the last 20 years that it has been

subject to critical research because the

battle played an excessive propaganda

role right from the start.

This was certainly due in part to the

success of [music] Desert Victory. The

film presents a fairly one-sided picture

of events.

On November [music] 7th, British troops

reached the port of Masa Matru. They had

no idea that that [music] very night,

the story of the war in North Africa

would take another twist.

The victory at Elamagne in October and

November 1942

had a stabilizing effect on the British

Empire. stabilizing too with regard to

Britain's status in the eyes of the

Americans.

In any two-party constellation, you have

one partner who is stronger and one who

is weaker.

The British were taken seriously.

But would they be able to preserve this

American goodwill?

On the evening of November 7th, 1942,

off the coasts of Morocco and Algeria,

more than 100,000 American and British

troops [music] were ready to launch one

of the biggest amphibious landing

operations in history.

The two countries were under the control

of the Nazi friendly [music] Vichi

regime in France. Now the whole of North

Africa was to be liberated.

>> [music]

>> Hey.

[music]

Hey. Hey. Relentless

pursuit in the Libyan desert. British

troops in search of the remnants of

Field Marshall Irwin RML's defeated

army. The victor of Elamine, Bernard El

Montgomery, was firmly resolved to

eliminate [music] the German and Italian

forces once and for all and bring the

whole of North Africa under Allied

control.

>> Alamine. For the British in particular,

El Alamine has remained a highly

important battle even through to the

present day and for two reasons. It was

the last major battle of the Second

World War which the British fought on

their own. Later, basically they only

fought together with the Americans and

in the further course of the war,

American influence grew. Secondly, for

the British, Elamine also marked a

turning point. Churchill once remarked

that we experienced no victories before

Elamine nor any defeats afterwards.

[cheering]

>> British Prime Minister Churchill and

American President Roosevelt both

realized that a landing by Allied units

on the European continent was too risky.

But they agreed that Morocco and

Algeria, which belonged to [music]

French North Africa, were more suitable

for an invasion.

So Churchill and Roosevelt went ahead

and complied with Stalin's demand for a

military offensive.

Operation Torch was launched on November

[music] 8th, 1942.

American paratroops and airborne

infantry flown from Britain 1500 m away

had landed to capture airfields while

other American troops had poured ashore

on the beaches protected by the British

Navy. Here as in Alers, the fighting

lasted for only a few hours. But at

Casablanca, the battle still raised.

>> Massive bombardment of French coastal

positions was designed to make any

defensive measures difficult.

Then the landing craft set off.

At this point, Operation Torch was the

biggest amphibious landing in history.

So to begin with it was a logistical

feat and it met with military success.

Secondly the American troops were in

fact attacking a neutral country Vishy

France to which Algeria belonged. The

American landing was of course a

fundamentally risky enterprise on the

one hand because the troops lacked

combat experience and on the other

because they had no real idea of what to

expect or what they would be capable of

achieving.

Morocco and Algeria were under the

control of the Nazi friendly regime in

Vichi in France.

But the Germans had a lot of influence

there. So the British and the Americans

were not sure whether to expect

resistance from the 60,000 troops in the

French colonial army.

The French fought against the landing

forces, losing just over a thousand men,

but they changed sides relatively

quickly, and this allowed the American

forces to advance fairly quickly.

Thirdly, torch was of course a second

front in the rear of the German and

Italian tank army, which up to then had

only ever had to attack in one

direction, but now it had to face in two

directions and fight against two

different enemies.

Kempen

>> in Algeria, the Americans captured

Italian liaison officers.

French resistance fighters had arrested

most of the Vichy military leaders in a

lightning attack [music]

and thus enabled the Algerian capital to

be conquered quickly.

In view of the delight shown by its

inhabitants, the colonial masters

abandoned their hesitant attitude.

French commander and chief Admiral

Darlong gave the order to join forces

with the allies. Now at last Hitler

understood the importance of North

Africa as a theater of war.

He had long refused to send troops to

North Africa because the war in the east

against the Soviet Union was far more

important to him.

But now units were quickly dispatched to

North Africa.

Large air force squadrons were sent to

the Mediterranean and at a time when on

the eastern front Stalenrad was being

encircled.

So German air force units that were

urgently needed in Stalenrad were now

tied up in the Mediterranean.

The main aim of Operation Torch was to

take French Tunisia before the Axis

powers could move troops there.

But the advance lacked planning and was

disorganized. As a result, within a

short space of time, the Vermacht was

able to get 25,000 men in position. On

November 25th, 1942, a tank battle took

place which ended with the Germans

having to retreat. Field Marshall Raml

found himself in a dangerous

predicament.

After the defeat at Elmagne and

especially after operation torch which

came a few weeks later, the Germans and

Italian forces were naturally in dire

straits. On the one hand, they had

suffered an emphatic defeat at Elmagne

and only avoided total destruction

because Raml had ignored orders to hold

his ground and together with his staff

had managed to withdraw his troops in

some form of order.

So basically the situation was hopeless.

After retaking Tbrook, the British 8th

Army advanced west, capturing one port

after another.

The aim was to drive RML's Africa Corps

out of Libya once and for all.

A British propaganda film presented the

advance as a heroic tale of success.

>> [music]

>> Insireeni the 8 army [music] passed from

desert to a green countryside which its

Italian colonists had abandoned and it

was no more than a week between our

taking to book and entering [music]

Benghazi.

But Benghazi paused to replenish our

supplies.

The harbor bombed by us for over 2 years

so regularly that the pilots called it

doing a mail run was now littered with

sunken ships.

Cranes, installations, and most of the

keys were demolished.

Yet the Navy and engineers worked to

such good purpose that before long our

ships were unloading.

By sea land, we were soon bringing out 3

million gallons of petrol a week and

8,000 tons of ammunition.

>> [music]

>> Meanwhile, units of the first US tank

division were advancing further and

further into Tunisia from the west. They

were accompanied by an American camera

team which even filmed in color. When

German aircraft attacked, the cameramen

took some spectacular pictures.

On December 1st, 1942, German tanks

mounted a counterattack at Tuba.

>> This is the actual battlefield. Germans

on the left, Americans on the right.

>> The Americans who were supported by

British units were shocked by the

Germans firepower.

>> A British ammunition lorry is hit.

The British artillery also had little

impact on the Vermacht's tanks.

What's more, the German air force

mounted repeated attacks.

What the Allies didn't know was that

Hitler had ordered brand new German

tanks to be sent not to the Eastern

Front, but to Tunisia,

and they proved to be seemingly

invulnerable. They couldn't even be

successfully combed from a short

distance of 100 m.

>> These are German MarkV tanks.

>> The straw covered barns in the

foreground conceal Nazi 88 mm anti-tank

guns.

>> After suffering heavy losses, the

American tanks finally had to retreat.

Naturally, the US color film failed to

mention this.

>> These scenes were photographed from a

hill overlooking the battlefield. The

cameraman is actually nearer the German

lines than his own.

[music]

The Moroccan port city of Casablanca had

already capitulated 2 days after the

Americans landed. In mid January 1943,

a hotel and several comfortably

appointed villas in the upmarket suburb

of Anfer had been cleared to accommodate

delegations from Washington and London.

Casablanca.

>> Casablanca was also an extremely

important step in the allied conduct of

the war because Roosevelt and Churchill

met there and held talks at the highest

political level.

This was not only politically necessary

and essential to the joint conduct of

the war. It was also a signal to the

world that the United States was now

ready to enter the war against the

German aggressors and finally open the

second front which Stalin had always so

vehemently demanded.

Exhausted from the 5-day voyage, [music]

American President Franklin D. Roosevelt

had also arrived in Casablanca with his

delegation.

Ysef Stalin had canled his participation

because of the battle at Stalingrad,

the joint course had to be laid down in

such a way that in negotiations with the

Soviets. There would be nothing that

Stalin could conrue as hidden

disagreement between the two Western

powers.

This was important to Churchill and what

was even more important to Churchill was

for the Americans to understand

Britain's position.

That was not automatically the case

because the US was not interested in its

intervention perpetuating British

colonial rule in the region.

The British and the Americans were very

close but not that close.

For over 20 years, the US president had

suffered from a serious disease that

confined him to a wheelchair. He avoided

pictures that showed his handicap.

Consequently, he reviewed the American

forces guard of honor while sitting in a

jeep.

Whereas Washington would have preferred

to land right on the coast of the German

Reich in order to drive the enemy back

to Berlin at a rate of knots, the

British took a rather more moderate view

of the situation. They favored a war of

attrition, a thrust into the soft belly

of the German military, first into

Italy, then through the Balkans. These

were two different approaches. And in

the end, the British got their way

because their plan required fewer

resources and was less risky.

In Casablanca,

>> in Casablanca, two decisions were taken.

Firstly, a strategic decision that the

war in North Africa should be brought to

a close, followed by a campaign in

Italy. In other words, in a continuation

of the Mediterranean strategy, there was

for the time being at least to be no

landing in Western Europe. Secondly, on

a political level, it was decided that

Germany would have to accept

unconditional surrender. This would be

an important sign to the world that in

this war the allies were no longer

prepared to give the criminal Nazi

regime any opportunity to issue

conditions.

>> The conference took place under strict

secrecy.

German propaganda had [music] got wind

of the meeting between the two

statesmen. Joseph Gerbil suspected that

Churchill had traveled to Washington.

The Nazi press awaited the closing

communique with demonstrative composure.

>> Nazi propaganda, however, skillfully

turned the demand for unconditional

surrender into a claim that the British

and the Americans merely wanted to

destroy the German Reich and the German

nation.

Consequently, unconditional surrender

must be seen ultimately as a

double-edged sword because it even

strengthened German perseverance under

Nazi propaganda.

At roughly the same time Hitler received

Romanian leader Antonescu at his Wolf's

Lair headquarters, the Furer was still

unwilling to accept that the Sixth Army

no longer stood any chance at

Stalingrad. Nor did Hitler see the war

in North Africa as lost either. Even

though US forces were adapting better

and better to Irvin Raml's tactical ps

and inflicting heavy losses on the

Africa corps,

the field marshall was now under no

illusion that this war could still be

won.

>> Raml gradually withdrew to the Tunisian

Libyan border, finally arriving there in

January 1943. He once again found

prepared defensive positions, but he

also warned that his army could be

destroyed at any time. Raml argued the

case for all Axis forces to be withdrawn

from the African theater of war.

But Kessler, who was his superior, said,

"No, no, everything is fine. We'll

manage it with reinforcements. We'll

certainly be able to stop the British

and the Americans."

For Hitler, of course, it was clear. Who

was he going to believe? Raml the

pessimist or Kessler, the optimist? For

Hitler, the choice was easy. He trusted

Kessler and sent further reinforcements

to Africa.

>> But now the enemy attack rose to a

crescendo.

>> Axis units put up desperate resistance

to the superior force of half a million

Allied troops.

The British and Americans now had their

sights set on Tripoli, the Libyan

capital.

Despite great efforts, German supplies

did not arrive in the required

quantities. The biggest transport

aircraft in World War II, the ME323,

brought supplies to North Africa several

times, but it merely delayed a defeat

which was now inevitable for the

Germans.

>> The Geigant or Giant was the biggest

land-based transport aircraft of the

Second World War. It could carry a 100

men and their equipment and up to 13

tons of freight or one tank. However, it

was also an easy target for Allied

attacks. While we've been building up

our strength, Ronald had been digging in

at Ela.

But after the remaining 3 weeks

preparing to fight, he changed his mind

and withdrew as soon as he felt the full

weight of our attack.

His indecision achieved nothing except

to intensify our new onslaught.

[music]

From Ela to Tripoli is 530 mi. It took

the eighth army 41 days to accomplish

it. During that time, they fought

several actions with Ronald's rear

guards, putting down on one occasion a

bar rivaling that of Elammen.

But though we were delayed, our onward

sweep was never [music] in doubt.

Just before the last stage began,

General Montgomery said in an order of

the day, "Nothing has [music] stopped us

since the Battle of Egypt began. Nothing

will stop us now." And nothing did. 8

days later, we were fighting on the

outskirts of Tripoli itself.

Montgomery really had not pursued RML's

retreating army fast enough.

The eighth army's commander-in-chief was

unwilling to risk heavy losses.

According to a high-ranking British

officer, theounding should be left to

others.

In the end, though, Montgomery decided

to beat the Americans to the punch with

regard to Tripoli. He attacked first and

on January 23rd, 1943,

the British occupied the Libyan capital.

The surrender of Tripoli by the governor

of Libya and the mayor of the city

extinguished the Italian overseas

empire.

Country by country the British army had

conquered it. Abiscinia,

Italian Somali land, Libya,

Tripolitania.

Not a single town now remained to them.

>> Led by the legendary 11th Hus, the

eighth army entered Tripoli.

But RML was once again a step ahead of

Montgomery and had already withdrawn his

troops.

Naturally, [music] the propaganda film

Desert Victory makes no mention of this.

It enthusiastically celebrates the

British success [music]

and even includes a personal message

from Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

In 80 days, the 8th Army had advanced

close on,400 miles, a feat unparalleled

in military history.

Throughout the battle and advance, for

every casualty suffered, it had

inflicted five on the enemy.

In the words of Mr. Churchill,

you have altered the face of the war in

a most remarkable way.

what it has meant

in the skill and organization of

movement and maneuver.

What it has meant in the tireless

endurance and self-denial of the troops

and in the fearless leadership displayed

in action can be appreciated only by

those who are actually on the spot. But

I must tell you

that the fame of the desert army has

spread throughout the world.

[music]

On February 7th, 1943, Churchill visited

the 8th Army and together with General

Montgomery took the salute at a parade

of the British troops. The prime

minister was dreaming of a resurrection

of the British Empire, which would be

bigger and more powerful than ever

before. Italy, at any rate, had been

eliminated [music]

once and for all as a colonial power.

Now only the Germans were a problem in

North Africa.

The loss of Tripoli was a serious blow

for Irvin Raml because some of his

frontline supplies came in through the

port.

The field marshal himself still had

around 10,000 combat ready troops and

about 100 tanks. His intention was to

join forces with General Hans Jurgen Fon

Arnim's fifth tank army on the Marth

line in southern Tunisia.

looked at on its own and within the

context of the North African campaign,

the establishment of the Marath position

was of course an outstanding feat of

military leadership, especially after

the defeat and the absolute disaster

that had occurred at Elmagne. It was

also a great achievement by the soldiers

who had to make the concept a reality

and actually build a sustainable

defensive position. But if I analyze it

on a strategic level, the question

arises, as indeed with the entire

campaign, as to what the actual purpose

of the operation was.

>> Battle lines were drawn.

In the north stood the British First

Army. In the center, General Jiro's

French troops. In the south, the

Americans. Further south, a small group

of fighting French had completed its

historic [music]

1500 mile march and taken up positions

on the left flank of the British Eighth

Army, [music] which faced the formidable

Marath line.

>> It was perfectly clear that this

defensive position too could be no more

than an intermediate step, and it was

totally unclear what would happen next.

If the troops were to be evacuated, the

defensive position would be highly

important for taking any evacuation

measures. Ultimately, it was the last

holding line for introducing any

reinforcements in order to attack.

Basically, history itself answered the

question. Without the Marath line, the

evacuation of at least some of the

units, including above all, Field

Marshall RML himself would in all

likelihood not have been possible.

In the meantime, the Americans had

stationed the 9inth Air Force's 12th

Bombardment Group on the airfield at

Medanine in Tunisia.

From there, the Earthquakers, as they

were known, attacked German positions,

in particular the airfield near Spfax,

directly on Tunisia's Mediterranean

coast, which was occupied by the German

Air Force.

missions were dangerous because German

anti-aircraft cannon [music] was still

able to damage or even bring down the US

bombers.

An American camera team took spectacular

color pictures of damaged aircraft

coming in to land.

>> [music]

>> The crew of this bomber wasn't so lucky.

The pilot didn't survive the emergency

landing.

US [music] Commander-in-Chief Dwight D.

Eisenhower was concerned at the slow

advance of his troops.

[music] He placed his hopes in generals

like George S. Patton who were ready to

take risks. On February 19th, 1943, a

decisive [music] battle took place.

The Germans thought they could defeat

the relatively inexperienced American

troops. So they tried to break through

at the Casarine Pass, which lies roughly

in central Tunisia, and then turn north

in order to encircle all Allied troops

stationed in northern Tunisia.

At first, the battle at Kasarine Pass

went very well for the Germans.

After a few days, however, the Americans

and their commander, General Patton, who

played an important role, managed to get

sufficient supplies and reserves through

to the pass and stop the German advance.

Basically, the Castle offensive was not

only RML's last offensive, one he

himself conducted, it was also the last

offensive at all in North Africa by

German and Italian units. Thus, the war

in North Africa was decided. This is

also indicated by the fact that RML was

withdrawn to the safety of Italy. At

least he was. The German units stayed

put.

The desert fox had failed once and for

all, but the news was not allowed to be

made public on the home front where RML

was still a useful idol.

As defeat loomed ever larger, early in

March 1943, RML was recalled from North

Africa for very special propaganda or

political reasons. The Nazis did not

want to see RML associated with the

defeat. Gobles wrote in his diary that

RML will still be of great importance to

us, so we can't allow him to be burnt

out, so to speak, in North Africa. It

would also be a bad sign to the people

at home, indeed to the world public, if

Germany's most popular and famous

general were to be taken prisoner. So,

the Nazi leadership had other things

planned for Evan Rul without

recognizing, however, that in the

meantime, the field marshal had become

fairly disillusioned about the further

course of the war and Germany's chance

of winning it.

In November 1943, RML was given the task

of securing [music] the Atlantic Wall in

France.

After the Allies had landed successfully

in Normandy, he was seriously injured in

an attack by a fighter aircraft. Because

of his links to the 20th of July

plotters, the field marshal was ordered

by Hitler to commit

Raml remained a fascinating figure

because in his military career he showed

various ways of acting on a human level.

Raml is representative of Germany. It

wasn't Germany that betrayed Hitler.

Hitler betrayed Germany with all the

consequences of a war that was lost not

just militarily and politically but

morally as well.

On March 9th, [music] 1943,

Hitler appointed Colonel General Hans

Jurgen Fonim to succeed Raml as

commander-in-chief of Army Group Africa.

Arnim had already proved himself a loyal

follower of the dictator on the Eastern

Front. As an experienced tank commander,

he placed his faith in the combat

capabilities of the armor sent to North

Africa.

General von Arnum was regarded as a safe

hand in a crisis. So he was deliberately

sent to North Africa because he had

stood firm in the past and was the type

of general Hitler particularly liked.

Commanders who were dogged leaders who

didn't operate wildly hither and thither

and in a way act flexibly but who simply

held out with strength of character. And

that was Arnum just the type of general

Hitler wanted.

Fon anem was generally seen as an

extremely solid officer who led his men

in the same sound way.

But he was also regarded as being at

least loyal to the regime. It is said

that the war in North Africa was fair in

how it was fought. But Fonim had little

time for that.

On the contrary, when he arrived in

North Africa, he told his troops he

wanted them to hate their British enemy.

When Raml was recalled and Arnum took

command of all German forces in North

Africa, he immediately declared that all

talk of fair play which has existed up

to now with regard to the British is

total nonsense. The British want to

destroy the German Reich, so all talk of

fair play must stop.

In late March 1943, the remnants of the

Africa Corps were systematically

bombarded by the Eighth Army and pushed

back further and further towards Tunis.

It would be only a matter of time before

they were totally surrounded by Allied

forces.

In view of this overwhelming force, the

German positions became harder and

harder to defend.

[music]

The Germans, pinned down by the North

Umbreans at Marath, moved their armor

too late. The New Zealanders, then forth

to be known as the left hookers, drove

through.

>> The cheering crowds contained numerous

Jews who, under the German occupation,

had had to fear for their lives.

Jewish boys tagging off the yellow stars

they'd been made to wear as if they was

lepers. [music]

The Jewish inhabitants of Tunisia had

been made to do forced labor by General

Von Arnim and prepare defenses against

Allied attacks.

Before then, the Germans had ruthlessly

plundered Jewish [music] communities.

Now all the local slave workers could

return to their hometowns and villages,

but they still remained secondclass

citizens. The British in particular

treated them with the arrogance of

colonial masters.

[music]

US commanderin-chief Dwight D.

Eisenhower had learned from [music] his

mistakes and was now acting with growing

self-confidence.

of the various strategies which might

now be employed against the enemy.

General Eisenhower chose one which

envisaged the entire military situation

in terms of a cylinder. The western wall

allied land forces along the great

dorsal. The northern and eastern allied

air and sea power concentrated in the

Mediterranean.

The seapports of Tunis and Bazert were

to act as the intake valve through which

those enemy troops that escaped the

devastating attacks of planes and

submarines based at Malta were to be

sucked into the cylinder. At the bottom

of the cylinder stood the powerful

British Eighth Army to serve as the

piston which in its upward stroke would

push the enemy into an ever smaller

[music] space. Still in possession of

the enemy were certain high hills to the

west of [music] Tunis and Bazert. Their

capture was an essential part of the

entire strategy for these hills with a

spark plug

which when the piston had forced the

enemy into a state of high compression

would explode the combustible mass.

Hitler had strictly forbidden the

evacuation of the Africa Corps. So the

Germans and Italians had no choice but

to fight to the bitter end or to

surrender.

After the failure of the last German

offensive at Casarine Pass, it was

merely a question of time before the

bridge head in Tunis collapsed. The

allies were forcing the Germans and

Italians further and further back

towards Tunis.

What's more, the supply situation for

the German and Italian troops was

getting steadily worse. Consequently, on

May 13th, 1943, the remnants of the

German and Italian troops in Army Group

Africa surrendered after Stalenrad. This

was a second major defeat for the

Germans.

The end came quickly.

By tens,

by hundreds,

by thousands, they came

on foot

in trucks.

Ultimately, [music]

these men owed their lives to the

arbitrary act by Irvin Raml, who after

the defeat at Elamine, ignored Hitler's

orders and began a retreat.

[music]

At the end, 15 full divisions, 266,000

of their best men, laid down their arms.

No batan this no

men riddled with disease and shrunken

with hunger fighting to the last

barehanded

educated in the school for power they

were quick to recognize superior power

and when they did they quit quit cold

this is the end of the axis African

adventure

>> ultimately the capitulation of the

German troops and tunist was a result of

the deteriorating situation after the

Axis forces had been defeated at

Elmagne. American units had landed

successfully in Algeria as part of

Operation Torch and German and Italian

forces had proved unable to stop the two

attacking forces partly because their

supply chain had finally collapsed.

People at home were already talking

about Chunisrad, a reference to the

defeat at Stalingrad a few months

earlier. This was a disastrous time for

German and Italian military leaders.

Anything other than surrender was out of

the question because otherwise the Axis

troops in North Africa would simply have

starved to death.

The world conquering dreams of an army

were over.

Some prisoners look apathetic.

Some appear relieved

while others seem to make no attempt to

hide their hatred.

In the end, over 260,000 German and

Italian soldiers were taken [music]

prisoner. Half of them belonged to

Raml's Africa Corps.

Most of the Germans were taken by ship

to America to spend the rest of the war

in prisoner of war camps.

Thanks to massive American help, the

British had emerged victorious.

>> North Africa,

>> North Africa also served the British and

the Americans as a testing ground for

further operations. The British in

particular reverted to their strengths,

artillery and the air force, firepower,

and keeping their own losses to a

minimum. The British approach was

certainly very schematic, highly

predictable, very slow, but also very

assured. It always ended in victory.

That might not always have seemed

spectacular perhaps, but ultimately the

British knew where their strengths lay.

On the British side, a lot of things

needed improving, especially with regard

to cooperation between ground troops and

the air force. But these were all

learning processes in the course of the

war. The Americans also learned quickly.

In his memoirs, RML clearly stressed how

swiftly the Americans had learned and

that a lot still had to be expected from

them. Yet, most of Germany's leaders

failed to draw the right conclusions

from the failures in North Africa. Blame

was attached to the incapable Italians

and to Allied material.

Matial,

>> a German military cemetery in Tunisia.

Around [music] 20,000 of Hitler's elite

soldiers paid for the North African

adventure with their lives.

In Tunis on May 20th, [music] 1943, the

Allies celebrated their victory with a

2-hour military parade.

Later, Winston Churchill [music] wrote

in his memoirs,

"No one could doubt the importance of

the victory achieved in Tunisia,

Africa has been purged of an enemy. A

continent [music] has been liberated."

>> The North African theater showed quite

clearly that this was also a testing

ground for the allies, who had passed

and who hadn't. People like Ashen Lech

and so on played no further role in the

rest of the war. Others like Montgomery,

Patton and Eisenhower were figures who

in the eyes of their country's leaders

had shown their quality. The allies then

trusted them through to the end of the

war. They were in fact the dominant

personalities in the last two years of

the war that ended in the defeat of Nazi

Germany.

US commander-in-chief Dwight D.

Eisenhower had no cause to give his

troops a rest after their victory in

North Africa.

Luck was on his side and he had long

since ordered Nazi Germany to be

weakened further as quickly as possible.

At [music] first, mainly from the air.

Stationed at Burka airfield in Libya was

a squadron of B-24 bombers which carried

out strategic attacks on targets in

Italy, southern Germany, and [music]

Austria.

Whereas Britain's Royal Air Force

specialized in the carpet bombing of

German cities, the Americans focused

mainly on Germany's infrastructure and

industrial facilities.

On this operation, the flying [music]

fortresses of the 376th Bombardment

Group attacked aircraft factories

[music] in Regensburg and Vina Noat.

In the meantime, the Allies were

preparing [music] their next offensive.

>> As a result of the Italians and the

Germans having had to capitulate in

North Africa and the Axis, thus losing

the war in North Africa, the British

southern flank, their empire so to

speak, was safe and they could use their

resources elsewhere. So, North Africa

was an important step towards the

landings later, not only in Italy, but

in Normandy too. So it was also an

important step for the allies in their

victory over Nazi Germany.

[music]

>> At the conference in Casablanca, the

allies agreed to defer landing on the

French Channel coast.

First, Sicily was [music] to be taken to

make communication routes through the

Mediterranean more secure.

The effective date for Operation Husky

was July [music] 10th, 1943.

The first US infantry division was

allocated a section in the Gulf of

Jaylor.

Because of their division badge, the

elite troops were admiringly known as

the big red one.

Cameramen from the OSS, the Office of

Strategic Services, were in the front

line to document the landing.

The Italians had long since become

warweary and wanted nothing more than to

get out of their disastrous coalition

with Hitler.

Two weeks after the start of the Allied

offensive, Benito Mussolini was removed

from power by the fascist Grand Council

in Rome.

Just as in North Africa, the Germans put

up fierce resistance. The fighting

lasted 38 days. When it ended, Sicily

was under Allied control.

When you look at the war in North Africa

from a German perspective, there seems

to have been little point in it. Looking

at the map though, it might seem to have

a purpose if you consider a strategic

variation that German and Italian forces

would advance over the Sewish Canal and

instead of heading for East Africa would

make for the Persian corridor.

They could then meet up at the oil

fields in the Caucuses with German

armies attacking eastwards in the Soviet

Union.

This pinser movement would have been

conceivable but it would have meant a

totally different approach by the German

Vat. But if you think this scenario

right through, it is scary how the

Second World War might have ended had

this option been chosen.

This plan was never seriously pursued,

but Raml's dream of leading [music] an

Africa Corps parade in Cairo one day was

finally over.

Instead, it was Americans who [music]

visited the ancient sites of the

pharaohs. Hollywood director George

Stevens had come from the United States

[music] with his own camera teams to

document the allies victory over Hitler.

But first, sightseeing [music] was on

the agenda, an ambassador of freedom in

front of the symbols of civilization.

Stevens [music] would also be present in

1945 when those responsible for terror,

war, and genocide perish [music]

ignaminiously.