Original subtitles

December 7, 1941

Japan is about to attack the United States of America.

On board the aircraft carrier Zuikaku the pilots are awoken at 4am.

Captain Mitsuo Fucida gathers them together

for the traditional sake toast to the emperor.

Fucida will lead the attack on Pearl Harbor,

the large American naval base in Hawaii,

according to the bold plan devised by Admiral Yamamoto.

Isoruku Yamamoto

Isoruku Yamamoto Yamamoto wants to deal a decisive blow

Yamamoto wants to deal a decisive blow

and eliminate this obstacle to Japan's conquest of the Pacific.

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Fucida recounts:

We took off for Pearl Harbor

I shouted out the codewords: "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

World War II The Apocalypse

Episode 4: American Allies

Pearl Harbor Hawaii

The attack comes as a total surprise.

Marine Corporal Earl Nightingale,

who was on board the battleship Arizona, describes the scene:

An explosion caused the ship to shake violently

I looked to the boat deck and everything seemed to flame!

I reported to the Major that the ship was aflame!

The major ordered us to leave. I was the last man to leave.

The bodies of the dead were thick and badly burned men were heading for the quarterdeck

only to fall, apparently dead or badly wounded.

In this attack, launched without any declaration of war,

2.500 Americans died and 1.200 were wounded.

Where less than a hundred Japanese pilots and sailors were killed.

These images would shock the American people.

They would no longer oppose their country's entry into the war.

Yet the Japanese forces did not land in Hawaii,

nor did they take Pearl Harbor,

They sank part of the American fleet

but only the, now, outdated battleships.

Aircraft carriers would become the key to victory in naval warfare.

And the 3 aircraft carriers, based in Pearl Harbor were not there,

they were all out to the sea

and so miraculously they remained intact.

The President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt had been expecting an attack.

Tension between the two countries was at its height.

But who would have imagined the Japanese naval aviation units would be able to strike

5.000 kilometers away from their bases?

The next day, Roosevelt goes before Congress:

Franklin D. Roosevelt The next day, Roosevelt goes before Congress:

Yesterday, December 7th 1941,

a date which will live in infamy,

the United States Of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion,

the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory!

It is indeed an invasion.

On the same day the Japanese attacked the British colony of Hong Kong.

Then they bombed the American air bases in the Philippines,

and land on the Bataan Peninsula.

The Japanese have already established a strong foothold in China.

They invade the British colonies of Burma and Malaya for their rubber,

the Dutch colony of Sumatra for its oil,

and they threaten India and Australia.

A few months earlier, they had moved into the French colony of Indochina.

After France's defeat in 1940,

the Vichy regime, which was unable to refuse anything to an ally of Hitler's,

had turned some of its air and naval bases over to the Japanese.

The U.S. retaliated by cutting off its oil supplies to Japan,

and freezing Japanese assets.

These economic sanctions have pushed Japan into the war.

The country, a chain of overpopulated islands lacking in natural resources,

was rapidly developing. It was in need of raw materials,

and it set out to conquer the nations who had them... by force.

Japan had built up its navy,

to become one of the second most powerful fleets in the world,

with no less than 10 aircraft carriers and with highly sophisticated fighter aircraft.

The remarkable "Zero" for example, which outperformed Allied planes

in terms of speed, maneuverability and range.

This is in addition to an army of millions of men, fiercely devoted to their emperor.

Hirohito

Hirohito is the 124th emperor of Japan.

This scholarly monarch studies marine biology,

in a laboratory in his palace.

He is a living god.

The actions of his military are covered by his divine authority.

In China, the Imperial army had carried out unbelievable massacres.

Such as in Nanking in 1937, where 300.000 Chinese were slaughtered,

before the Japanese could proudly parade through the Forbidden City,

in Beijing.

The emperor reigns, but does not govern.

Power lies in the hands of General Tojo and an ultra nationalist group,

that controls the country via the local Gestapo, the Kempeitai.

And via loudspeakers they broadcast the official declaration of war against the United States.

Hideki Tojo

100 million Japanese

are now called upon to completely devote and sacrifice themselves to the country.

As long as we all preserve this patriotic loyalty

to the imperial goal of peace throughout the world,

we will fear neither the Americans or the British!

These Japanese pilots who took off from Indochina at breakfast time,

do not fear the British.

They are looking for two British battleships, which have come to protect Singapore.

The venerable "Repulse"

and one of the most modern combat ships of the time,

the "Prince of Wales", the pride of the Royal Navy.

They are both sunk by the Japanese in less than an hour.

A fateful date, the end of Great Britain's dominion over the seas.

December 10, 1941 A fateful date, the end of Great Britain's dominion over the seas.

December 11, 1941

The following day in Berlin, the Fuhrer goes to the Reichstag,

for a meeting of Nazi leaders.

For four critical days since Pearl Harbor and Japan's entry into the war against the United States,

Hitler has been waiting in vain for Roosevelt to declare war on Germany.

If Hitler sides with Japan, perhaps Tokyo will support him in Russia.

The German Generals, however, are far from entousiastic.

Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister, has tried to dissuade Hitler,

but Hitler declares war on the United States.

We know what powers stand behind Roosevelt. It is the eternal Jew.

I am grateful to the German people for designating me to lead this historic struggle,

that will determine the history of the world

for the next ten centuries to come!

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill The British Prime Minister phones Washington.

Roosevelt says: We're all in the same boat now.

This is the moment Churchill has been awaiting for, for the last two years.

Roosevelt had wanted to show his electorate that he'd done everything he could to keep the peace.

The war has now become a World War, and Churchill now feels stronger.

What kind of a people do they think we are?

Is it possible that they do not realise that we shall never cease to persevere against them,

until they have been taught a lesson, which they and the world will never forget?

Churchill severely underestimates the enemy.

Hong Kong falls to Japan in just 17 days.

Hong Kong

Tomoyuki Yamashita General Yamashita, known as the tiger of Malaya,

General Yamashita, known as the tiger of Malaya,

sends Japanese tanks through the Malayan jungle.

He captures Singapore, the pearl of the British Empire.

Singapore He captures Singapore, the pearl of the British Empire.

Singapore a stronghold that was considered impregnable.

a stronghold that was considered impregnable.

Yamashita makes hundreds of prisoners line up in perfect order,

for an impressive and humiliating review.

Yamashita indulges in a chivalrous salute,

for the Japanese propaganda crew.

General Yamashita will be hanged for war crimes, in 1946.

General MacArthur, commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines,

Douglas MacArthur General MacArthur, commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines,

Douglas MacArthur which are now surrounded the Japanese,

is ordered by Roosevelt to escape,

so as not to be taken prisoner.

When he arrives in Australia, he declares: "I shall return"

MacArthur soldiers are taken prisoner.

30.000 Americans with their old 1917 "Doughboy" helmets.

And an equal number of Filipinos,

who set off for their interment camp, a 100 kilometers away.

This is the "Batan" death march.

One of the survivors, Sydney Stewart, recalls:

We marched for ten days and nights without eating. We were constantly beaten.

Those who could no longer go on, were killed by the guards.

They beheaded them with a sword.

In just 5 months,

Japan destroyed the allied forces in the Far East,

and conquered half of the Pacific.

Tenuho kai banzai! Long live the Emperor!

A huge banzai resounds throughout the empire,

to celebrate Japan's version of the lightning war.

It reaches General Tojo and the Emperor,

who make an appearance in public, with his family.

"Germany First"

Churchill and Roosevelt both agree on this strategy.

Their primary objective is to defeat Germany.

"We have to bomb it", says Churchill.

He creates an airfleet commanded by General "Bomber" Harris.

Arthur Harris He creates an airfleet commanded by General "Bomber" Harris.

Harris believes he can win the war with his powerful

4-engined Halifaxes and Lancasters.

This strategy is criticised as being costly in terms of men and equipment

but it does begin to take its toll on german cities.

On the 8th of March 1942 Essen is bombed, a way for Churchill to help Stalin.

Essen On the 8th of March 1942 Essen is bombed, a way for Churchill to help Stalin.

On the 8th of March 1942 Essen is bombed, a way for Churchill to help Stalin.

The city produces weapons used by the German forces in Russia.

The Germans begin to measure the consequences of Hitler's policies.

The Nazi regime descends into murderous insanity.

Hitler, Goering, Himmler, and his assistant Heydrich,

begin to implement what they call: "The final solution".

The extermination of Jews in Europe.

It is further endorsed at the Wannsee conference near Berlin,

in January 1942.

That is why Heydrich has come to Paris,

to organize the rounding up of Jews in France.

Their one-way trip to the gas chambers in Auschwitz.

Auschwitz The Wannsee Conference is the manufacturing of mass produced crime.

The Wannsee Conference is the manufacturing of mass produced crime.

Thousands of Jews are crowded into fake showers...and gased.

After the "Holocaust by bullets" in Russia, the genocide intensifies.

Paris

Paris In Paris and across Europe, the occupation brings poverty.

In Paris and across Europe, the occupation brings poverty.

Everything is rationed, everything the occupied countries produce,

goes to feed the German Army.

The children's fathers are prisoners in Germany.

"Stalag" camps for enlisted men and "Oflag" camps for the officers.

Undergound footage "Stalag" camps for enlisted men and "Oflag" camps for the officers.

Undergound footage

Gaston Sidec imprissoned in June 1940 writes:

I wasted the 5 best years of my life in that Stalag,

from 20 to 25, without my wife.

In the Oflags the officers are treated better.

The French generals are inturned in the fortress of Konigstein near Dresden,

including the unfortunate leaders of the Battle of France,

such as General Giraud. His jailor takes great delight in filming him,

during an interesting visit to the city of Dresden,

Henri Giraud which British bombs would later raise to the ground.

which British bombs would later raise to the ground.

At the age of 63, General Giraud would become the hero of an acrobatic escape,

that would infuriate to Hitler.

For a while, Giraud would be the rival of General De Gaulle.

It is De Gaulle, however, who from London embodies the French resistance.

In France, attacks against the occupiers are being on the rise,

"Let's fight, let's unite, to kick out the Jerries" especially since the Communists joined the resistance's struggle,

following Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.

In retaliation for the anti-German attacks, hostages are executed.

De Gaulle now has a small army, fighting alongside the British in Africa,

called the Free French Forces.

Its members had been sentenced to death by the Vichy government.

Some have been fighting since the 18th of June 1940.

The most famous among them is General Leclerc.

Leclerc The most famous among them is General Leclerc.

His real name is Philippe de Hauteclocque.

But he adopted this alias to protect his family back in France.

After being promoted to General by de Gaulle, he fashioned a cappy for himself,

with two stars taken from an Italian,

after the victorious Battle in Kufra in Libya.

That day Leclerc said to his men:

Swear that you will not lay down your arms,

until our flag flies once again...

...over the cathedral in Strasbourg.

Bir Hakeim Libya

For 15 days at Bir Hakeem, in the Libyan desert,

other Free French Forces repel the German offensive,

launched by Rommel "the Desert Fox", at his Africa Corps.

Erwin Rommel launched by Rommel "the Desert Fox", at his Africa Corps.

In this global conflict, the so called "Axis powers",

the alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan, oppositioned in all fronts.

The Africa Corps is just outside Egypt.

The Wehrmacht occupies a third of Russia.

The Imperial Navy of Japan controls the Pacific,

and Germany submarines are wrecking havoc in the Atlantic.

The "U-Boat" is arguably Germany's most dangerous weapon.

Atlantic Ocean In the first few months of 1942 these submarines have sunk

In the first few months of 1942 these submarines have sunk

4 million tones of allied ships.

Oil tankers, freighters loaded with arms and planes

on their way with fresh supplies to an asphyxiated Great Britain.

Even though the United States has joined the conflict,

the war seems to be lost.

The world is on the brink of destruction.

The German submariners approach North America.

Through their periscopes they film the bright lights of New York.

New York

The American newspapers and radios warn the public of possible German air raids.

In reality however, planes do not yet have such a long range of action from Europe.

Still the population is told to black out their lights.

It is in fact the West Coast,

where the idea of a Japanese attack seems more plausible.

It is overtaken by hysteria.

Suddenly 120.000 Japanese-Americans fall under suspicion.

First, their radios are confiscated,

then their fingerprints taken.

The government posts orders that introduce emergency measures.

Roosevelt declares: "It is a military necessity".

These Americans of Japanese ancestry have lived for generations in California,

where they contribute to the agriculture and economy of the State.

Most of them are U.S. citizens.

They are given 48 hours to vacate their shops and their houses.

They are then evacuated in groups

to relocation centers far out in the deserts of Utah,

or up in the snows of Colorado.

Centers euphemistically called "Interment Camps".

A disgraceful spectacle for the United States.

In the words of the American novelist Julie Otsuka:

My upbringing was very American.

We never spoke Japanese at home, we didn't eat Japanese food.

And then my grandfather was arrested by the FBI as a suspected spy for Japan,

along with my grandmother, my uncle and my mother.

My family has always been very discreet about what happened.

But nothing diminishes their loyalty to America.

6.000 will serve as translators in the Pacific.

Nearly 20.000 will sign up to combat the Germans in Europe.

The rest will be freed at the end of the war.

In 1942 America rallies around its flag.

Millions of men enlist,

a 6 million women go to work to replace them in the armament factories.

Roosevelt sets production targets at 125.000 airplanes,

75.000 tanks and 10 million tons of ships.

This is the "Victory" program.

But victory is uncertain and very far off.

American opinion is flagging and an exploit is needed to sure it up.

A daring plan is devised.

An aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Hornet,

will attempt to get as close to Japan as possible with a squad of 16 "B-25" bombers.

This is the first time that such large planes will be taking off

from the compact deck of a carrier, in battle.

The air crews are trained by Air Force Colonel Jimmy Doolittle,

once a famous racing pilot. He will command the raid.

Jimmy Doolittle once a famous racing pilot. He will command the raid.

The mission seems impossible. For the long flight over to Japan,

these planes are too heavy in terms of bombs and fuel.

April 18, 1942

But they succeed in taking off.

Their mission will be celebrated in a popular feature film "30 seconds over Tokyo".

They drop 16 tons of bombs and cause only minor damage.

But it is a huge slap in the face for the Empire of the Rising Sun.

8 raiders went down in Japanese territory

and vengeance was fierce.

Tried for war crimes, 3 were sentenced to death,

and 5 received life in prison.

For the Prime Minister General Tojo and for Admiral Yamamoto,

the American raid proved that it was necessary to extend their defensive perimeter to the east.

Their plan is to take Midway,

an American military base in the middle of the Pacific,

and then capture Pearl Harbor, as they should have done 6 months earlier.

Pearl Harbor June 1942

Pearl Harbor June 1942 What the Japanese do not know

is that the Americans have successfully broken their secret military code,

and are therefore aware of the plan.

As a result, the U.S. Commander in Chief, Admiral Chester Nimitz

Chester Nimitz prepares to defend Midway.

He has fewer aircraft carriers than Yamamoto,

but he brings them all over to set up an ambush.

June 3, 1942

Admiral Yamamoto is on his way,

at the head of the biggest armada ever put together.

200 battleships, and above all, an exceptional fleet of 8 aircraft carriers,

transporting nearly 600 planes.

On board are 5.000 Japanese marines,

and a painter who has come along to immortalize the battle, Fujita.

In Paris he was a famous Montparnasse artist.

Tsuguharu Fujita In Paris he was a famous Montparnasse artist.

He has returned to Japan to do his duty.

John Ford

John Ford On the American side it is the eminent director John Ford,

who will immortalize the defense of Midway island.

On the eve of the battle he recreates the atmosphere of his westerns...

...before the final shoot-out.

The marines know that the attack is slatted for the next day.

June 7, 1942

June 7, 1942 In the morning Ford films the first Japanese attack,

In the morning Ford films the first Japanese attack,

which devastates the American base.

A Japanese bomb explodes a little too close to the film makers,

seriously wounding Ford.

Ford would later recall the marine saying: "My God, that one was close!"

He would also recall:

Marines with me that were kids from 18 to 22...

...and they were the calmest people I've ever seen.

I figured then, well this war is practically won.

The pilots on board the U.S. aircraft carriers are no older.

They are barely out of college. They pose for John Ford's cameramen

and then take off to attack the Japanese fleet.

Torpedo Squadron 8 will strike first.

One of its pilots, 25 year old Lieutenant George Gay,

nose dives over the Japanese fleet.

The anti-aircraft guns on the Japanese aircraft carriers

shoot down the American planes one after the other.

George Gay flies low over the waves. He is shot down.

He surfaces in the water, miraculously unhurt.

A few hundred yards away he can see the feverish activity on board the Japanese aircraft carriers.

Planes are being fueled and bombs are being loaded in preparation for their second wave of attack.

At that very moment, another squadron of U.S. bombers flies over the Japanese ships.

An incredible stroke of luck! They sink 4 Japanese aircraft carriers.

George Gay, still in the water, recalls:

I found myself in the middle the Japanese wrecks and the sharks.

I saw the Japanese planes coming back from the first attack on Midway.

They were looking for their aircraft carriers, the ones we had just sunk.

So I saw the Japanese pilots who had, by now, ran out of fuel,

landing in the water.

George Gay would be rescued by an American sea plane.

He would go on to become an airline pilot.

The U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown has been damaged by the Japanese.

It tends to its wounds.

Counts the number of casualties and attempts to return to its base.

But the next day it is torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-168.

The Americans have lost an aircraft carrier but the Japanese have lost 4.

This is the first Japanese defeat and it boosts the Allies morale.

It restores their confidence.

But it doesn't seem to have weakened Japan.

Thwarted at Midway in the middle of the Pacific,

continues to advance south towards Australia.

Darwin, the northernmost city in Australia already bombed by the Japanese,

is now preparing for an invasion. The country's first war.

The Australians will attempt to counter the Japanese,

to continue their expansion, invading New Guinea.

An enormous island, practically impenetrable

which until then had mainly attracted explorers.

The Papuans will end up providing precious assistance to the Australians,

who will fight a desperate war in New Guinea, against the mosquitos,

the red ants,

the leeches,

the snakes,

and attacks from the Japanese.

But it is the island of Guadalcanal that now concerns the Americans.

One of their reconnaissance planes has revealed that the Japanese are building an airfield on the island.

Another threat to Australia.

The Americans organize the first big landing of the war.

Guadalcanal August 7, 1942

Initially, on the beach, the Marines do not encounter any resistance,

and head into the jungle.

One of them, Edwin Morgan, reports:

We were getting to know the jungle...

it was full of suspicious noises that were frightening...

I was afraid...

But we said to ourselves, there is no reason for the Japanese to be better than us...

They all live in cities, there are no jungles in Japan!

The Marines are professionals and the Japanese are die-hards.

The Japanese are so confident in their superiority that they charge with their bayonets,

just as in World War I, in Verdun, against machine gun fire.

With the same result as in Verdun: A bloodbath.

Japanese soldiers are killed in the Battle of Tenaru River.

After that, the Marines are able to capture the airfied.

They secure it and enlarge the runway for the first planes of the Airborne Marines,

called the "Black Sheep" squadron.

This airfield becomes the target of incessant shelling by the Japanese.

At night their cruisers glide up and down the coast and pound the bases,

with such regularity that the Marines call it the "Tokyo Express".

A naval battle is engaged to prevent reinforcements from landing.

A Japanese elite regiment gets through.

These are Japanese marines are fearsome warriors,

but they go off to war without any defense against tropical diseases.

Malaria will kill many of them.

Others will sacrifice themselves in keeping with the bushido tradition.

Their commander, Colonel Ichiki, reminds them of the samurai moto:

Duty is heavy like a mountain,

but a soldier's death is light like a feather.

The Battle for Guadacanal is only just beginning.

The fighting will last six months.

A war of attrition.

The U.S. marines feel that they are trapped,

in what they call "A Green Hell".

They too are ill. Their wounds become infected.

But this is only just the beginning of their ordeal.

Rostov

Rostov At that moment, the Red Army is going through its own ordeal.

At that moment, the Red Army is going through its own ordeal.

The Russians call it the "Black Summer" of 1942.

The Germans have resumed their march eastwards

and are taking prisoners again.

Less than the previous year, however, because most of the time

the Soviets have already taken off,

and left nothing but scorched earth behind them.

Hitler thinks they are fleeing, but it is in fact an order from Stalin.

Yet, for the "Landsers", the soldiers of the Wermacht,

a fierce battle has to be waged for every single town.

Major Hawk of the 18th Infantry Regiment writes:

The new recruits are not used to this kind of fighting.

They soon get depressed, go crazy and are struck down.

On the 8th of August we lost 35 young men like this,

out of the 50 who were killed in the 6th Company.

Into this quagmire, Hitler throws everything he has,

some 10 million men.

He estimates, however, that he still needs 800.000 more,

for this decisive campaign.

His Romanian, Hungarian and Italian allies will provide the men,

most of who are forced to go and fight for him.

Of the Italians forced into war by Mussolini's megalomania,

300.000 would be killed.

Hitler's goal is no longer Moscow but southern Russia.

He's planning a colossal pincer movement that will close up around the oil fields in the Caucasus,

and with Romel advancing through Egypt, those in the Middle East.

His other goal is Stalingrad, Stalin's city and its factories.

Hitler launces both offensives at the same time,

which alarms his military commanders.

As he did for Moscow the previous year, Hitler splits up his forces.

A part of the Wehrmacht penetrates deep into the steppes,

General von Kleist says: "In front of me no enemies...

behind me no reserves..."

They reach the Caucasus mountains, they head for the Iranian border,

which has recently become a supply route for American aid to the USSR.

They will never reach it.

In the meantime, the rest of the German forces,

the 6th Army led by General Paulus is marching towards Stalingrad.

To try and stop the relentless advance of the German tanks,

the Russians start using desperate means... dogs.

Up until now the skins of these dogs were used to make boots.

The Russians have hastily put together a method,

based on the work of the famous scientist Pavlov and his conditioned reflexes.

The dogs are starved and trained to seek their food under a tracked vehicle.

They are strapped with remote controled explosives

and freed at the last minute when a German tank comes into view.

Moscow

In August 1942 Churchill and Harriman, Roosevelt's Ambassador,

Averell Harriman In August 1942 Churchill and Harriman, Roosevelt's Ambassador,

fly to Moscow to meet with Stalin,

who is demanding that a second front to be opened in the west.

Churchill makes his famous V for victory sign,

but he has no other choice but to admit to Stalin that the Allies cannot help him,

against the Germans on the eastern front.

Harriman promises aid and equipment, but Stalin is furious.

Stalin Harriman promises aid and equipment, but Stalin is furious.

He knows he will have to fight Hitler alone.

He assigns the defense of Stalingrad to one of his most rutheless henchmen,

the Ukrainian Nikita Khrushchev,

Nikita Khrushchev who had been responsible for several of Stalin's massacres before the war.

Khrushchev conveys Stalin's order not to retreat.

But he is unable to stop the German advance,

from arriving on the outskirts of Stalingrad.

By September 1942,

Paulus reaches the railway line that goes to Moscow.

He manages to follow it all the way to Stalingrad and takes the central train station.

The Stukas prepare to destroy the city that is the pride of the Soviet Union.

The greatest industrial city in the communist world,

built to cater to the workers with its garden estates,

and its "Red October" and barricades factories.

Stalingrad

The German bombs kill thousands of civilians.

The massive tractor factory, where the T-34 tanks were manufactured,

is reduced to a sea of rubble.

Yet these ruins become block houses and fortresses,

that the Germans have to capture in hand to hand combat.

They suffer heavy casualties,

which are, however, nothing compared to the Russian losses.

After 4 weeks of dogged fighting,

the Germans finally get to the top of the only high point in the city, Mamajev hill.

From there, they can control all of Stalingrad.

On the 15th of October 1942, the Germans reach their goal.

The great Russian river, the Volga.

Only a thin strip of land is still held by a few Soviet combatants.

General Paulus can inform Hitler that the swastika is flying over the city,

which is now occupied by the 6th Army.

Hitler is delighted.

He gathers all of his associates together: Goering, Goebbels, Himmler,

and his devotees and he tells them:

I wanted to take that city, Stalin City...

It's finally ours!

Boats can no longer sail up the Volga! That's what is most important.

Subtiting by vprasinos To be continued...

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