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{\an3}radioaktif.blogspot.com
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{\an3}RadenSandy
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MALE:
NARRATOR
December 7, 1941...
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00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:19,520
the turmoil of World War ll
enters its 27th month.
4
00:00:19,603 --> 00:00:22,732
Japanese troops storm Shanghai.
5
00:00:24,566 --> 00:00:26,944
German armies stand
at the gates of Moscow,
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00:00:27,027 --> 00:00:30,281
leaving 6 1/2 million casualties
in their wake.
7
00:00:31,990 --> 00:00:35,494
Nazi Germany has mainland Europe
in its grip.
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00:00:37,579 --> 00:00:39,331
Under siege,
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00:00:39,414 --> 00:00:42,463
Britain hangs on by a thread.
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00:00:44,294 --> 00:00:45,841
Three-thousand miles away,
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00:00:45,921 --> 00:00:48,299
the United States
remains at peace.
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00:00:48,382 --> 00:00:50,350
Seventy-six percent
of her citizens
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00:00:50,425 --> 00:00:52,018
support neutrality.
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00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,685
At 7:55 a.m.,
the peace is shattered.
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00:01:02,771 --> 00:01:05,149
Three hundred sixty
Japanese warplanes
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00:01:05,232 --> 00:01:07,485
descend on Pearl Harbor.
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00:01:12,739 --> 00:01:16,334
World War ll
has come to America.
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00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,089
This is America's war
as never seen before...
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00:01:27,296 --> 00:01:29,970
from the unique vantage point
of space.
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00:01:34,636 --> 00:01:37,981
Witness the key battles
unfold...
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00:01:38,056 --> 00:01:40,024
and the military strategies
behind them,
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00:01:40,100 --> 00:01:42,273
in stunning detail.
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00:01:42,352 --> 00:01:45,481
Revealed are the political
alliances,
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00:01:45,564 --> 00:01:48,033
the global battle for resources,
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00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:49,701
and the astounding awakening
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00:01:49,776 --> 00:01:52,245
of American military
and manufacturing might
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00:01:54,406 --> 00:01:56,283
that will determine the outcome
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00:01:56,366 --> 00:01:58,915
of the greatest conflict
ever fought.
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00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:09,000
WORLD WAR II FROM SPACE
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NARRATOR:
The unprovoked
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
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00:02:15,135 --> 00:02:18,105
will send shock waves
across the globe,
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00:02:18,180 --> 00:02:21,525
but America has feared a strike
for months.
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00:02:23,268 --> 00:02:26,898
Since 1931,
Japan's imperial ambitions
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00:02:26,980 --> 00:02:29,483
have grown bolder and bolder.
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00:02:29,566 --> 00:02:31,534
First, Manchuria is invaded,
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00:02:31,610 --> 00:02:34,204
then China itself.
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00:02:34,279 --> 00:02:37,783
When France falls
to Nazi Germany in 1940,
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00:02:37,866 --> 00:02:41,712
Japan seizes control
of French Indochina.
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00:02:41,787 --> 00:02:44,540
The US response is rapid.
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00:02:44,623 --> 00:02:46,751
Japan's financial assets
are frozen
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00:02:46,833 --> 00:02:49,336
and an oil embargo is imposed.
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The message is clear--
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withdraw from Indochina
or be economically crushed.
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00:02:55,509 --> 00:02:56,726
- After the embargo,
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Japan was faced
with two choices--
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stop territorial expansion--
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give into the demands
of the Allies--
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00:03:02,683 --> 00:03:04,435
or go to war.
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00:03:04,518 --> 00:03:07,738
NARRATOR:
Japan chooses War.
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00:03:07,813 --> 00:03:10,066
In the words
of Prime Minister Tojo,
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00:03:10,148 --> 00:03:13,448
"it is either glory or decline."
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00:03:13,527 --> 00:03:15,746
It is imperative that they make
53
00:03:15,821 --> 00:03:18,370
the first, decisive strike.
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00:03:22,035 --> 00:03:24,208
- The Japanese knew
they were never gonna go
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00:03:24,287 --> 00:03:26,039
toe-to-toe
with the United States
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00:03:26,123 --> 00:03:27,750
in a long Naval war
in the Pacific.
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00:03:27,833 --> 00:03:29,460
They knew they didn't have
the economic might--
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00:03:29,543 --> 00:03:32,012
the military might--
but it was a calculation
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00:03:32,087 --> 00:03:34,715
that they could administer
a knock-out blow
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00:03:34,798 --> 00:03:37,847
to the capital ships
of the US Pacific Fleet.
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00:03:37,926 --> 00:03:39,724
- If you could destroy
the Pacific Fleet,
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00:03:39,803 --> 00:03:41,771
the ability of the Americans
to respond to anything
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00:03:41,847 --> 00:03:45,727
for many months
would be taken away.
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00:03:45,809 --> 00:03:47,607
So the strike at Pearl Harbor
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00:03:47,686 --> 00:03:50,485
was not just a strike
at a symbol of American power.
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00:03:50,564 --> 00:03:53,659
It was American power
in the Pacific.
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00:03:53,734 --> 00:03:55,828
NARRATOR:
What American
intelligence cannot see
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00:03:55,902 --> 00:03:58,872
is revealed from space.
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00:03:58,947 --> 00:04:01,450
Admiral Yamamoto's fleet
departs Japan
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00:04:01,533 --> 00:04:04,707
on the longest assault
in history.
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00:04:04,786 --> 00:04:07,084
Avoiding shipping lanes
and landmass,
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00:04:07,164 --> 00:04:08,916
they arrive unseen,
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00:04:08,999 --> 00:04:12,344
275 miles from their target.
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00:04:12,419 --> 00:04:14,387
It's the perfect vantage point--
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00:04:14,463 --> 00:04:17,216
beyond the range
of America's defensive radar,
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00:04:17,299 --> 00:04:19,301
but at the optimum
strike distance
77
00:04:19,384 --> 00:04:23,230
for its force of 414
cutting-edge aircraft,
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00:04:23,305 --> 00:04:25,774
the jewel in the crown...
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00:04:25,849 --> 00:04:27,567
the Mitsubishi Zero.
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00:04:27,642 --> 00:04:29,610
- MAN 1: It's faster
than anything
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that they've used before.
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00:04:31,313 --> 00:04:34,817
It's incredibly maneuverable
and it has extreme range.
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00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:37,653
But while the technology
was pretty good,
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00:04:37,736 --> 00:04:42,162
what mattered at Pearl Harbor
was the man behind it.
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00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,868
It was the pilot.
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00:04:44,951 --> 00:04:48,376
The Japanese pilots have already
been at war for years,
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00:04:48,455 --> 00:04:52,585
so they're well-trained crews.
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00:04:52,667 --> 00:04:54,135
You add on top of that,
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00:04:54,211 --> 00:04:56,885
they'd been planning that attack
for a long period of time.
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So they'd been running war
games, simulating it,
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00:04:59,966 --> 00:05:01,968
going through the action
again and again,
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00:05:02,052 --> 00:05:03,895
so that, basically,
many of them talked
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about how they could have
done it going in blind.
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NARRATOR:
At 7:55 a.m.,
the first wave of bombers
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00:05:10,268 --> 00:05:12,020
swoop from the sky.
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00:05:12,103 --> 00:05:14,572
- [plane engine whines]
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- On the deck of USS Arizona
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00:05:16,733 --> 00:05:19,577
is Don Stratton.
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00:05:19,653 --> 00:05:22,873
- We knew right away that
there were Japanese planes,
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00:05:22,948 --> 00:05:27,169
and we knew that they were
bombing Ford Island,
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00:05:27,244 --> 00:05:29,588
and something
was radically wrong.
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00:05:29,663 --> 00:05:34,214
- [plane engines zooming]
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00:05:34,292 --> 00:05:36,636
- DON: Planes were strafing
and dive-bombing,
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00:05:36,711 --> 00:05:40,591
and it was just
a horrible experience
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00:05:40,674 --> 00:05:43,518
and a horrible sight.
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00:05:43,593 --> 00:05:48,019
- [eerie music,
bombs exploding]
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00:05:52,519 --> 00:05:54,192
- DON: It was
a high-altitude bomber,
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00:05:54,271 --> 00:05:57,366
dropped like a 2,000-lb bomb.
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00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,660
I mean, it just devastated
everything in its path,
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00:06:00,735 --> 00:06:03,158
and the concussion
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00:06:03,238 --> 00:06:06,492
and the smoke and the fire
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00:06:06,575 --> 00:06:08,748
was horrendous.
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00:06:08,827 --> 00:06:13,173
- [eerie music continues]
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- It just was like...
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you'd lost your home.
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NARRATOR:
Of eight battleships
atanchon
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the Arizona, Oklahoma,
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00:06:25,635 --> 00:06:28,514
West Virginia,
and California are sunk--
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00:06:28,597 --> 00:06:30,850
the rest severely damaged.
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00:06:30,932 --> 00:06:32,434
In 68 minutes,
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00:06:32,517 --> 00:06:37,193
Japan has crippled the heart
of America's Pacific Fleet.
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00:06:37,272 --> 00:06:38,990
- From a Japanese perspective,
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00:06:39,065 --> 00:06:41,409
the attack on Pearl Harbor
succeeded
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00:06:41,484 --> 00:06:44,488
beyond the most optimistic
expectations.
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00:06:44,571 --> 00:06:46,369
When you consider the losses
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00:06:46,448 --> 00:06:48,291
that the Japanese suffered
in this attack,
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00:06:48,366 --> 00:06:50,414
it was essentially nothing.
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00:06:50,493 --> 00:06:52,996
NARRATOR:
The Japanese
lose 64 men
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00:06:53,079 --> 00:06:57,550
to 3,649 US casualties--
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00:06:57,626 --> 00:07:03,178
a human damage ratio of 57 to 1.
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00:07:03,256 --> 00:07:05,258
But Japan's margin of victory
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00:07:05,342 --> 00:07:08,471
hides two major flaws
in the attack.
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00:07:08,553 --> 00:07:10,897
- The Japanese failed
to systemically attack
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00:07:10,972 --> 00:07:12,519
the oil fields--
135
00:07:12,599 --> 00:07:15,022
the oil storage tanks
at Pearl Harbor.
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00:07:15,101 --> 00:07:17,354
If they'd spent one more sortie
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00:07:17,437 --> 00:07:18,984
taking out those oil tanks,
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00:07:19,064 --> 00:07:21,032
they would have crippled
the whole Pacific Fleet,
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00:07:21,107 --> 00:07:24,327
which wouldn't have had the fuel
supplies to keep going.
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00:07:24,402 --> 00:07:26,325
NARRATOR:
More significant
are the ships
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00:07:26,404 --> 00:07:27,872
the Japanese fail to target.
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- PROF. KENNEDY: The American
aircraft carriers
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00:07:29,616 --> 00:07:31,289
were absent from Pearl Harbor
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00:07:31,368 --> 00:07:33,496
at the time
of the Japanese attack.
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00:07:33,578 --> 00:07:35,626
And as things evolved
very quickly,
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00:07:35,705 --> 00:07:37,628
it became clear
that the aircraft carrier
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00:07:37,707 --> 00:07:40,426
was destined to become
the most significant naval asset
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00:07:40,502 --> 00:07:42,596
for either side
in the Pacific war,
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00:07:42,671 --> 00:07:45,140
and the American carriers
were untouched.
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00:07:47,509 --> 00:07:50,513
NARRATOR:
Oil supplies
and air domination--
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00:07:50,595 --> 00:07:54,475
two factors that will dictate
the fate of World War ll,
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00:07:54,557 --> 00:07:59,108
and Japan fails to damage
either...
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00:07:59,187 --> 00:08:01,815
Instead, it has awoken
the full wrath
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00:08:01,898 --> 00:08:04,697
of the sleeping American giant.
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00:08:04,776 --> 00:08:09,703
- [dramatic orchestral music]
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00:08:09,781 --> 00:08:12,125
- DR. CRANE: Pearl Harbor
infuriated the American people.
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00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,328
It also infuriated
the American military--
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00:08:14,411 --> 00:08:17,711
massive casualties, destruction
of most of the Pacific Fleet.
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00:08:17,789 --> 00:08:20,383
If you wanted to do one thing
to unite a country
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00:08:20,458 --> 00:08:23,211
that before this
had been rather divided
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00:08:23,294 --> 00:08:25,797
about what to do about the war,
Pearl Harbor was it.
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- This was like a lightning rod
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00:08:28,049 --> 00:08:30,017
throughout the American
population.
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00:08:30,093 --> 00:08:32,221
No longer was President
Roosevelt
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00:08:32,303 --> 00:08:34,476
limited in his options.
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00:08:34,556 --> 00:08:37,435
He had a United States
population
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00:08:37,517 --> 00:08:40,612
that was angry and unified
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00:08:40,687 --> 00:08:44,237
and desired revenge
against Japan.
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00:08:44,315 --> 00:08:47,285
- NARRATOR:
Her era
of isolationism is over.
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00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,362
America is at war
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00:08:49,446 --> 00:08:51,323
and begins its rise to become
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00:08:51,406 --> 00:08:54,080
the most powerful nation
on the planet.
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00:08:58,955 --> 00:09:00,878
Washington calculates victory
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00:09:00,957 --> 00:09:04,131
will cost $300 billion--
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00:09:04,210 --> 00:09:07,555
$4.4 trillion in today's money--
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00:09:07,630 --> 00:09:11,351
over 1 1/2 times
the total US federal budget.
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00:09:13,636 --> 00:09:16,856
The government can raise half
through increased taxes.
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00:09:16,931 --> 00:09:19,980
For the rest,
it must turn to the public.
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00:09:20,060 --> 00:09:21,562
- MAN 2: To raise $300 billion
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00:09:21,644 --> 00:09:23,942
was then viewed as
an insurmountable challenge,
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00:09:24,022 --> 00:09:26,320
because basically we had to get
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00:09:26,399 --> 00:09:28,151
half of the population
of the United States
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00:09:28,234 --> 00:09:30,111
to buy bonds.
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00:09:30,195 --> 00:09:32,698
And what we were saying
is we're in World War ll,
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00:09:32,781 --> 00:09:33,907
we're in this to win,
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00:09:33,990 --> 00:09:35,617
It's a fight of good
versus evil,
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00:09:35,700 --> 00:09:37,543
and you on an individual level
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are gonna make a difference.
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NARRATOR:
To guarantee success,
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00:09:41,664 --> 00:09:43,712
the ad men of New York recruit
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America's most potent
propaganda asset.
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00:09:47,670 --> 00:09:50,469
- We had
the Hollywood machine.
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00:09:50,548 --> 00:09:52,676
America had
mass-marketed movies.
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00:09:52,759 --> 00:09:53,976
They knew the power
of Hollywood.
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00:09:54,052 --> 00:09:56,180
They knew the power
of celebrities.
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00:09:56,262 --> 00:09:58,640
- NARRATOR:
Over 300 movie icons
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00:09:58,723 --> 00:10:02,023
join the "Stars
Over America" campaign
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00:10:02,102 --> 00:10:04,275
crisscrossing the nation.
199
00:10:04,354 --> 00:10:06,823
Chicago... two huge
celebrity rallies
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00:10:06,898 --> 00:10:10,243
sell over $15 million in bonds.
201
00:10:10,318 --> 00:10:12,537
New York...
a 3-way baseball game
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00:10:12,612 --> 00:10:14,865
generates $56 million.
203
00:10:14,948 --> 00:10:16,621
By the end of the war,
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00:10:16,699 --> 00:10:23,503
bonds campaigns raise
$187.5 billion.
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00:10:23,581 --> 00:10:26,334
- BOB: To get everybody aligned
behind one goal
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00:10:26,417 --> 00:10:29,591
and make the transaction
is--is huge.
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00:10:29,671 --> 00:10:31,844
- NARRATOR:
America
and its beleaguered Allies
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00:10:31,923 --> 00:10:35,052
are going to need every cent.
209
00:10:37,178 --> 00:10:39,772
Four days after Pearl Harbor,
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00:10:39,848 --> 00:10:43,898
Nazi Germany declares war
on the United States.
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00:10:43,977 --> 00:10:47,698
She now faces two vast
and battle-hardened powers
212
00:10:47,772 --> 00:10:50,946
on two fronts.
213
00:10:51,025 --> 00:10:52,698
- MAN 3: When America entered
the war,
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00:10:52,777 --> 00:10:57,328
it looked as if the military
aggressors were going to win.
215
00:10:57,407 --> 00:11:00,911
- NARRATOR:
Seen from space,
America's peril is clear.
216
00:11:00,994 --> 00:11:02,837
Her fleet is in disarray,
217
00:11:02,912 --> 00:11:07,463
and her Pacific assets
at the mercy of a rampant Japan.
218
00:11:07,542 --> 00:11:09,294
On the other side of the planet,
219
00:11:09,377 --> 00:11:11,050
her strongest military ally,
220
00:11:11,129 --> 00:11:12,221
Great Britain,
221
00:11:12,297 --> 00:11:14,766
is buckling under siege
from Nazi Germany.
222
00:11:16,926 --> 00:11:18,678
America is at the epicenter
223
00:11:18,761 --> 00:11:21,856
of the greatest conflict
in history.
224
00:11:21,931 --> 00:11:25,276
Roosevelt must make the biggest
call of any US presidency--
225
00:11:25,351 --> 00:11:29,197
which enemy to engage first.
226
00:11:29,272 --> 00:11:30,945
- DR. CRANE: Franklin
Delano Roosevelt decided
227
00:11:31,024 --> 00:11:33,152
that Germany was the one
that could take down
228
00:11:33,234 --> 00:11:35,703
our closest friends
around the world.
229
00:11:35,778 --> 00:11:39,248
They had to make sure
that Britain survived.
230
00:11:39,324 --> 00:11:42,749
- Keeping Britain afloat
was essential
231
00:11:42,827 --> 00:11:46,673
to the long-term prospects
of victory.
232
00:11:46,748 --> 00:11:49,217
It stood as a large
aircraft carrier
233
00:11:49,292 --> 00:11:52,466
that would enable an invasion
onto the continent.
234
00:11:52,545 --> 00:11:55,094
If Britain fell
under Nazi domination,
235
00:11:55,173 --> 00:11:58,347
the challenge would be
almost insurmountable.
236
00:11:58,426 --> 00:11:59,723
- NARRATOR:
For Roosevelt,
237
00:11:59,802 --> 00:12:02,806
the future of Great Britain
is the future of the war.
238
00:12:02,889 --> 00:12:05,438
But after 17 months
of fighting alone,
239
00:12:05,516 --> 00:12:08,315
its survival rests
on a knife edge.
240
00:12:11,689 --> 00:12:13,532
Isolated,
Britain's only hope
241
00:12:13,608 --> 00:12:15,610
is to keep
her supply routes open--
242
00:12:15,693 --> 00:12:18,321
a fragile lifeline
German Admiral Doenitz
243
00:12:18,404 --> 00:12:20,782
seeks to destroy.
244
00:12:20,865 --> 00:12:23,038
- Britain depended on the import
245
00:12:23,117 --> 00:12:27,418
of 5 million tons of stuff
every month.
246
00:12:27,497 --> 00:12:29,966
German Admiral Doenitz argued
very persuasively
247
00:12:30,041 --> 00:12:32,920
that if we can subtract
a million tons a month,
248
00:12:33,002 --> 00:12:34,925
we will bring Britain
to its knees.
249
00:12:35,004 --> 00:12:38,634
- NARRATOR:
Doenitz's lethal
weapon is the U-boat.
250
00:12:38,716 --> 00:12:41,640
Capable of traveling
thousands of miles submerged
251
00:12:41,719 --> 00:12:43,813
and armed with a deadly cocktail
252
00:12:43,888 --> 00:12:47,313
of deck guns, mines
and torpedoes,
253
00:12:47,392 --> 00:12:49,019
it is the perfect weapon
254
00:12:49,102 --> 00:12:51,196
to starve Britain
into submission.
255
00:12:51,271 --> 00:12:52,773
- When they attack,
they're sending
256
00:12:52,855 --> 00:12:55,529
over 9,000 tons of supplies
257
00:12:55,608 --> 00:12:57,827
to the bottom of the ocean
258
00:12:57,902 --> 00:12:59,779
with 1 munition--1 torpedo.
259
00:12:59,862 --> 00:13:01,284
And when it detonates,
it creates
260
00:13:01,364 --> 00:13:03,037
this void
underneath the vessel
261
00:13:03,116 --> 00:13:05,585
that creates the vessel
to collapse
262
00:13:05,660 --> 00:13:08,755
- It's the difference
between being stabbed
263
00:13:08,830 --> 00:13:11,549
and someone breaking your back.
264
00:13:11,624 --> 00:13:13,376
It's a killer.
265
00:13:15,044 --> 00:13:17,422
- NARRATOR:
Churchill
introduces naval convoys
266
00:13:17,505 --> 00:13:20,304
to protect the merchant fleets.
267
00:13:20,383 --> 00:13:23,307
Doenitz's response
is devastating.
268
00:13:23,386 --> 00:13:25,354
- PROF. WAWRO: Admiral Doenitz
introduced this thing
269
00:13:25,430 --> 00:13:27,728
called "rudel" tactic--
wolf pack tactic.
270
00:13:27,807 --> 00:13:29,730
A rudel is a pack of animals,
271
00:13:29,809 --> 00:13:31,777
and instead of approaching
singly,
272
00:13:31,853 --> 00:13:33,605
as submarines had done
in the past,
273
00:13:33,688 --> 00:13:35,611
the Germans would have
their U-boats
274
00:13:35,690 --> 00:13:38,159
strung out in these
long patrol lines
275
00:13:38,234 --> 00:13:41,408
and then they would use radio
signals to congregate in a pack
276
00:13:41,487 --> 00:13:44,787
and overwhelm the defenses
of the convoy.
277
00:13:44,866 --> 00:13:47,210
- The results are devastating.
278
00:13:47,285 --> 00:13:49,379
When you get caught
by a pack of these,
279
00:13:49,454 --> 00:13:52,048
you might lose
half or more of the convoy.
280
00:13:55,793 --> 00:13:57,386
- NARRATOR:
In 12 months,
281
00:13:57,462 --> 00:14:00,056
900 ships are sunk.
282
00:14:00,131 --> 00:14:03,226
Only 29 U-boats are destroyed.
283
00:14:03,301 --> 00:14:07,272
It's a war of attrition
Britain is losing fast.
284
00:14:07,347 --> 00:14:10,351
- Winston Churchill knows
one big thing in 1940--
285
00:14:10,433 --> 00:14:12,561
that for Britain to be able
to fight this war,
286
00:14:12,643 --> 00:14:15,021
it needs American help--
it can't do it alone.
287
00:14:18,024 --> 00:14:20,527
- NARRATOR:
Churchill tirelessly
lobbies Roosevelt
288
00:14:20,610 --> 00:14:22,658
for American support.
289
00:14:27,408 --> 00:14:30,252
Though officially neutral,
Roosevelt cuts a deal.
290
00:14:32,372 --> 00:14:34,875
The US give
5O destroyers to Britain
291
00:14:34,957 --> 00:14:38,461
to keep it in the fight,
but at a price.
292
00:14:38,544 --> 00:14:40,137
In return, Britain hands over
293
00:14:40,213 --> 00:14:43,843
eight of its overseas bases
to America and dismantles
294
00:14:43,925 --> 00:14:46,303
its preferential trading system
with its colonies.
295
00:14:46,386 --> 00:14:48,605
- DR. PORTER: It was
a very mixed deal for Britain,
296
00:14:48,679 --> 00:14:50,898
because on the one hand,
it helps Britain fight the war.
297
00:14:50,973 --> 00:14:52,566
They couldn't have done it
without American support--
298
00:14:52,642 --> 00:14:54,019
materially.
299
00:14:54,102 --> 00:14:55,695
On the other hand,
it accelerates
300
00:14:55,770 --> 00:14:57,647
the collapse
of the British Empire--
301
00:14:57,730 --> 00:14:59,858
makes the Empire more
and more unaffordable.
302
00:14:59,941 --> 00:15:02,319
For Winston Churchill,
that's a very painful deal,
303
00:15:02,402 --> 00:15:04,370
but one that probably
has to be made.
304
00:15:08,533 --> 00:15:12,288
- NARRATOR:
December 1941
305
00:15:12,370 --> 00:15:14,498
America enters the war.
306
00:15:14,580 --> 00:15:17,254
Its first act of aggression
is to join Britain
307
00:15:17,333 --> 00:15:19,381
in the Battle of the Atlantic...
308
00:15:19,460 --> 00:15:22,339
a strategy that meets
with disaster.
309
00:15:24,006 --> 00:15:26,429
- PETER: When America
enters the war,
310
00:15:26,509 --> 00:15:29,137
the Battle of the Atlantic
actually takes a turn--
311
00:15:29,220 --> 00:15:31,564
worse for the Allies.
312
00:15:31,639 --> 00:15:34,313
The amount of Allied shipping
that's sunk
313
00:15:34,392 --> 00:15:38,772
goes up by these
astronomical amounts.
314
00:15:38,855 --> 00:15:40,823
- NARRATOR:
By mid-1942,
315
00:15:40,898 --> 00:15:44,903
2,703 Allied ships are sunk--
316
00:15:44,986 --> 00:15:48,661
a U-boat kill ratio of 36 to 1.
317
00:15:48,739 --> 00:15:52,960
It's an unsustainable
rate of loss.
318
00:15:53,035 --> 00:15:55,584
Even with America fighting
alongside,
319
00:15:55,663 --> 00:15:58,837
the liberty of Britain
and the freedom of Europe
320
00:15:58,916 --> 00:16:01,385
hang by a thread.
321
00:16:09,177 --> 00:16:11,646
Mid-1942...
322
00:16:11,721 --> 00:16:13,894
Britain remains
in the stranglehold
323
00:16:13,973 --> 00:16:16,772
of the German U-boat menace.
324
00:16:16,851 --> 00:16:18,945
American ships coming to its aid
325
00:16:19,020 --> 00:16:23,446
are being destroyed
at alarming rates.
326
00:16:23,524 --> 00:16:25,151
To reverse their fortunes,
327
00:16:25,234 --> 00:16:27,202
the Allies must gain
the upper hand
328
00:16:27,278 --> 00:16:29,952
in the intelligence war.
329
00:16:30,031 --> 00:16:31,908
- DR. CRANE: The most
critical factor
330
00:16:31,991 --> 00:16:34,494
in the Battle of the Atlantic
was the exchange of information
331
00:16:34,577 --> 00:16:36,579
between the Americans
and the British.
332
00:16:36,662 --> 00:16:38,585
It maximized
both the technological
333
00:16:38,664 --> 00:16:41,588
and the intellectual
capabilities of both sides.
334
00:16:41,667 --> 00:16:44,261
- NARRATOR:
The precedent
for this vital collaboration
335
00:16:44,337 --> 00:16:46,260
is the "Tizard Mission,"
336
00:16:46,339 --> 00:16:49,343
15 months before
the Pearl Harbor attack.
337
00:16:54,388 --> 00:16:57,107
With Nazi invasion
seemingly inevitable,
338
00:16:57,183 --> 00:16:58,560
Henry Tizard,
339
00:16:58,643 --> 00:17:00,520
Head of the British
Aeronautical Committee,
340
00:17:00,603 --> 00:17:03,072
persuades Churchill
to gift America
341
00:17:03,147 --> 00:17:06,276
every scientific innovation
Britain holds,
342
00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,738
in exchange for access
to US production lines.
343
00:17:11,531 --> 00:17:14,455
The blueprints are packed
into a single trunk.
344
00:17:14,534 --> 00:17:17,287
Embarking from Britain,
it reaches Washington DC
345
00:17:17,370 --> 00:17:19,793
in September 1940.
346
00:17:19,872 --> 00:17:21,419
- DR. PORTER: That box
was described
347
00:17:21,499 --> 00:17:22,876
by one American official
348
00:17:22,959 --> 00:17:25,883
as the most important cargo
that ever reached its shores.
349
00:17:25,962 --> 00:17:27,680
- NARRATOR:
The trunk
contains the memorandum
350
00:17:27,755 --> 00:17:29,849
on the feasibility
of the atomic bomb,
351
00:17:29,924 --> 00:17:33,849
designs for jet engines,
rockets, superchargers,
352
00:17:33,928 --> 00:17:37,808
gyroscopic gun sights,
submarine detection devices,
353
00:17:37,890 --> 00:17:40,894
self-sealing fuel tanks,
plastic explosives,
354
00:17:40,977 --> 00:17:46,108
and perhaps the most important
invention of World War ll...
355
00:17:46,190 --> 00:17:49,285
a working Magnetron Number 12,
356
00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,408
an advancement
in radar technology
357
00:17:51,487 --> 00:17:53,160
a thousand times more effective
358
00:17:53,239 --> 00:17:55,708
than the best American
counterpart.
359
00:17:55,783 --> 00:17:57,535
- This was revolutionary.
360
00:17:57,618 --> 00:18:00,792
You can put it into an aircraft,
you can put it on a ship,
361
00:18:00,871 --> 00:18:02,794
then you can take
that technology
362
00:18:02,873 --> 00:18:05,592
and take it anywhere
on the battle space.
363
00:18:05,668 --> 00:18:07,045
- NARRATOR:
American
assembly lines
364
00:18:07,128 --> 00:18:08,971
begin mass-producing the device
365
00:18:09,046 --> 00:18:12,892
that will change
the course of the war.
366
00:18:12,967 --> 00:18:14,514
Its first challenge...
367
00:18:14,594 --> 00:18:17,768
to close the deadly
Mid-Atlantic gap.
368
00:18:17,847 --> 00:18:20,600
From space, the boneyard
of Allied shipping
369
00:18:20,683 --> 00:18:23,106
is startlingly revealed.
370
00:18:23,185 --> 00:18:25,404
- DR. CRANE: You can fly
missions from the United States,
371
00:18:25,479 --> 00:18:27,857
you can fly missions
from Britain,
372
00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:29,863
but you can't quite close
everything,
373
00:18:29,942 --> 00:18:32,411
and you've got the mid-Atlantic
gap in the middle.
374
00:18:32,486 --> 00:18:36,992
And the U-Boats realize that
and concentrate in that area.
375
00:18:37,074 --> 00:18:39,202
- NARRATOR:
By April 1943,
376
00:18:39,285 --> 00:18:44,382
3,450 Allied ships
have been lost.
377
00:18:44,457 --> 00:18:46,334
But new carriers are launched,
378
00:18:46,417 --> 00:18:48,670
loaded with long-range aircraft,
379
00:18:48,753 --> 00:18:51,256
fitted with the Magnetron
Number 12,
380
00:18:51,339 --> 00:18:53,558
and the gap begins to close.
381
00:18:53,633 --> 00:18:56,762
- It turns the Atlantic
from this wide mass
382
00:18:56,844 --> 00:18:59,438
in which the U-boat can hide in
383
00:18:59,513 --> 00:19:03,017
to "No I can find you
out there."
384
00:19:03,100 --> 00:19:04,647
- NARRATOR:
As British
code breakers
385
00:19:04,727 --> 00:19:06,604
crack the German Enigma code,
386
00:19:06,687 --> 00:19:09,031
the final piece
of the Allied resurgence
387
00:19:09,106 --> 00:19:10,949
falls into place.
388
00:19:11,025 --> 00:19:13,369
And the tactical
and technological advantage
389
00:19:13,444 --> 00:19:17,119
is exploited in the convoy
battle known as ONS 5.
390
00:19:17,198 --> 00:19:19,792
- PROF. OVERY: Among all
the convoy battles,
391
00:19:19,867 --> 00:19:23,121
one of the most important
was ONS 5 in April '43,
392
00:19:23,204 --> 00:19:26,083
and it's important, really,
because it demonstrated
393
00:19:26,165 --> 00:19:28,918
clearly, I think,
how far the Allies had gone.
394
00:19:31,462 --> 00:19:35,092
- NARRATOR:
Forty-two ships
of the slow-bound ONS 5 convoy
395
00:19:35,174 --> 00:19:38,895
leave Liverpool for Canada.
396
00:19:38,969 --> 00:19:40,141
For Doenitz,
397
00:19:40,221 --> 00:19:42,690
it is a perfect target.
398
00:19:42,765 --> 00:19:44,767
- Doenitz is feeling
this great sense of urgency,
399
00:19:44,850 --> 00:19:48,024
like he needs to sink
more and more tons of shipping.
400
00:19:48,104 --> 00:19:51,074
And he actually presses
his luck in this battle.
401
00:19:54,318 --> 00:19:55,945
- NARRATOR:
The first wave
of U-boats
402
00:19:56,028 --> 00:19:59,532
sink 13 Allied ships.
403
00:19:59,615 --> 00:20:05,088
But as thick fog falls,
the advantage switches.
404
00:20:05,162 --> 00:20:08,041
Armed with the German codes
and advanced radar,
405
00:20:08,124 --> 00:20:10,843
the Allies strike back
with impunity.
406
00:20:13,796 --> 00:20:15,890
- PROF. WAWRO: Doenitz fights
longer than he should,
407
00:20:15,965 --> 00:20:17,808
brings in more U-boats
than he should,
408
00:20:17,883 --> 00:20:21,854
which are then, in fact,
chewed up by the convoy.
409
00:20:21,929 --> 00:20:23,397
After the battle, Doenitz says,
410
00:20:23,472 --> 00:20:26,191
"The Battle of the Atlantic
is over,"
411
00:20:26,267 --> 00:20:28,235
because he sees how expert
412
00:20:28,310 --> 00:20:30,062
the British and Americans
have become
413
00:20:30,146 --> 00:20:31,614
at detecting U-boats,
414
00:20:31,689 --> 00:20:35,284
chasing them down,
and killing them.
415
00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:36,861
- NARRATOR:
With ONS 5,
416
00:20:36,944 --> 00:20:39,788
the Battle of the Atlantic
is all but won.
417
00:20:43,909 --> 00:20:45,911
And the astonishing
transformation
418
00:20:45,995 --> 00:20:47,417
of American industry
419
00:20:47,496 --> 00:20:50,249
can start to dictate
the fortunes of war.
420
00:20:54,003 --> 00:20:57,678
With the money and the might
to out-produce the Axis,
421
00:20:57,757 --> 00:20:59,304
America embarks
422
00:20:59,383 --> 00:21:02,853
on an unprecedented industrial
and social revolution.
423
00:21:02,928 --> 00:21:04,851
- MAN 4: You had
a war industrial board.
424
00:21:04,930 --> 00:21:06,603
They looked around
the United States and said,
425
00:21:06,682 --> 00:21:08,025
"This particular place
is gonna be
426
00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:10,102
where we're gonna build tanks--
we're gonna build planes here."
427
00:21:10,186 --> 00:21:11,438
And so the population
went there.
428
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,069
- It's as if in World War ll,
somebody had picked up
429
00:21:14,148 --> 00:21:16,992
the North American continent
at the Eastern seaboard
430
00:21:17,067 --> 00:21:18,660
and raised it and tipped it,
431
00:21:18,736 --> 00:21:21,080
and everything--people,
money, machines--
432
00:21:21,155 --> 00:21:24,830
everything just slid
westward across the continent.
433
00:21:24,909 --> 00:21:28,664
- NARRATOR:
The population
of California swells by 53%,
434
00:21:28,746 --> 00:21:30,874
Oregon by 40%,
435
00:21:30,956 --> 00:21:33,254
and Washington by 37%.
436
00:21:33,334 --> 00:21:34,586
Nineteen million women
437
00:21:34,668 --> 00:21:37,091
become the core of the American
labor force,
438
00:21:37,171 --> 00:21:39,469
working in war factories,
439
00:21:39,548 --> 00:21:43,849
transportation, and agriculture
across the nation.
440
00:21:43,928 --> 00:21:46,101
Manufacturers of all sizes
441
00:21:46,180 --> 00:21:49,650
become a critical part
of the war effort.
442
00:21:49,725 --> 00:21:51,602
- COL. FARRELL: Typewriter
manufacturers,
443
00:21:51,685 --> 00:21:54,985
canned goods manufacturers--
they're all converted.
444
00:21:55,064 --> 00:21:59,035
They're all mobilized, if you
will, to support the war effort.
445
00:21:59,109 --> 00:22:01,157
- DR. CRANE: Car factories are
turned into making bombers
446
00:22:01,237 --> 00:22:04,161
and refrigerator factories are
turned into making armored cars.
447
00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,334
- Not for nothing, it's called
"the production miracle."
448
00:22:09,912 --> 00:22:11,380
- NARRATOR:
American
industry produces
449
00:22:11,455 --> 00:22:15,801
87,000 ships and landing craft,
450
00:22:15,876 --> 00:22:18,971
100,000 tanks
and armored vehicles,
451
00:22:19,046 --> 00:22:21,720
300,000 aircraft,
452
00:22:21,799 --> 00:22:24,222
2 million trucks,
453
00:22:24,301 --> 00:22:27,145
2O million rifles
and small arms,
454
00:22:27,221 --> 00:22:30,225
and 41 billion rounds
of ammunition--
455
00:22:30,307 --> 00:22:32,355
enough to kill
the population of the world
456
00:22:32,434 --> 00:22:35,358
17 times over.
457
00:22:35,437 --> 00:22:39,032
Yet America's decision
to engage Germany first
458
00:22:39,108 --> 00:22:41,486
comes at a price.
459
00:22:43,612 --> 00:22:45,535
- DR. CRANE: The Japanese
centrifugal offensive
460
00:22:45,614 --> 00:22:49,164
was a shock to everybody.
461
00:22:49,243 --> 00:22:52,213
They seemed unstoppable.
462
00:22:52,288 --> 00:22:55,542
- NARRATOR:
Japan advances
through the Pacific unchecked,
463
00:22:55,624 --> 00:22:59,094
capturing American, British
and Dutch territories
464
00:22:59,169 --> 00:23:01,718
in a string
of decisive victories.
465
00:23:04,592 --> 00:23:06,014
Within six months,
466
00:23:06,093 --> 00:23:08,141
they have near complete control
467
00:23:08,220 --> 00:23:10,268
of the Pacific theatre.
468
00:23:10,347 --> 00:23:12,566
- They captured territories
for two main reasons.
469
00:23:12,641 --> 00:23:14,689
The first one was for resources.
470
00:23:14,768 --> 00:23:17,066
The Dutch East Indies
provide oil and rubber,
471
00:23:17,146 --> 00:23:20,070
which they're going to need
to keep their war machine going.
472
00:23:20,149 --> 00:23:22,527
They also knew America
would eventually respond,
473
00:23:22,610 --> 00:23:24,487
and so a lot of the territories
474
00:23:24,570 --> 00:23:27,790
were going to be barriers
to set up against the Americans
475
00:23:27,865 --> 00:23:29,538
when they came back across.
476
00:23:29,617 --> 00:23:33,292
- NARRATOR:
April 1942...
America strikes back.
477
00:23:36,248 --> 00:23:37,841
Launching from the US Hornet,
478
00:23:37,917 --> 00:23:41,512
16 B-25's kick-start
the next phase of war...
479
00:23:42,421 --> 00:23:46,517
by bombing Tokyo.
480
00:23:46,592 --> 00:23:48,560
- DR. CRANE: For the Americans,
the raid
481
00:23:48,636 --> 00:23:50,263
is a chance to strike back,
482
00:23:50,346 --> 00:23:53,190
even though it didn't do
very much material damage.
483
00:23:53,265 --> 00:23:55,814
But it had a major impact
on Japanese leadership.
484
00:23:55,893 --> 00:23:58,146
The military was embarrassed
they'd allowed their--
485
00:23:58,228 --> 00:24:01,323
the emperor to be threatened
like that.
486
00:24:01,398 --> 00:24:03,867
- NARRATOR:
The Japanese
respond, setting their sights
487
00:24:03,943 --> 00:24:08,244
on America's
most westerly Pacific base.
488
00:24:08,322 --> 00:24:11,326
From space,
their strategy is clear--
489
00:24:11,408 --> 00:24:13,456
seizing the Island of Midway
490
00:24:13,535 --> 00:24:15,833
will extend
their defensive perimeter
491
00:24:15,913 --> 00:24:18,086
deep into American waters.
492
00:24:18,165 --> 00:24:21,886
- And their plan is, "We are
going to surprise the Americans.
493
00:24:21,961 --> 00:24:25,181
"We're gonna seize Midway,
and they are going to be forced
494
00:24:25,255 --> 00:24:27,758
to come out and fight us
on our terms."
495
00:24:27,841 --> 00:24:29,514
The problem for the Japanese is
496
00:24:29,593 --> 00:24:32,187
the Americans already know
they're coming.
497
00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:37,484
The story of the American
code breakers
498
00:24:37,559 --> 00:24:39,812
is one of these lesser-known
499
00:24:39,895 --> 00:24:42,148
but perhaps one of the most
important parts of the story
500
00:24:42,231 --> 00:24:45,075
of why America wins
in the Pacific.
501
00:24:45,150 --> 00:24:47,369
- NARRATOR:
From June 1939,
502
00:24:47,444 --> 00:24:50,118
the US Navy Combat
Intelligence Unit
503
00:24:50,197 --> 00:24:52,575
under the command
of Joseph Rochefort
504
00:24:52,658 --> 00:24:55,878
has been attempting
to decipher JN-25,
505
00:24:55,953 --> 00:24:58,251
the Japanese naval code.
506
00:25:00,582 --> 00:25:04,052
Using punch card technology
and mathematical analysis,
507
00:25:04,128 --> 00:25:07,257
they work around the clock.
508
00:25:07,339 --> 00:25:09,057
In the lead-up to Midway,
509
00:25:09,133 --> 00:25:11,727
the decisive breakthrough
is made.
510
00:25:11,802 --> 00:25:13,224
- PETER: They break the code.
511
00:25:13,303 --> 00:25:15,397
They knew the Japanese
were coming.
512
00:25:15,472 --> 00:25:17,725
They knew where they
were coming to Midway.
513
00:25:17,808 --> 00:25:20,357
They even knew
when they were coming.
514
00:25:22,730 --> 00:25:25,233
- NARRATOR:
US Intelligence
finally grasps
515
00:25:25,315 --> 00:25:27,568
the full scale
of the Japanese attack.
516
00:25:31,238 --> 00:25:33,741
The situation
is highly precarious.
517
00:25:37,411 --> 00:25:38,788
With a weakened fleet
518
00:25:38,871 --> 00:25:41,545
and up against
a battle-hardened enemy force,
519
00:25:41,623 --> 00:25:44,126
Midway is the moment of truth.
520
00:25:44,209 --> 00:25:46,303
- PROF. OVERY: The only way
the Midway battle
521
00:25:46,378 --> 00:25:47,504
would work for America
522
00:25:47,588 --> 00:25:49,431
was to have their carriers
in the right place
523
00:25:49,506 --> 00:25:51,099
and be able to strike
the Japanese
524
00:25:51,175 --> 00:25:52,427
at just the right time.
525
00:25:52,509 --> 00:25:55,683
- The Americans have gotta
get in the first major shot.
526
00:25:59,433 --> 00:26:00,730
- NARRATOR:
At 4:00 a.m.,
527
00:26:00,809 --> 00:26:04,279
Japanese bombing of Midway
begins.
528
00:26:04,354 --> 00:26:08,325
What Admiral Nagumo can't see
is 275 miles away,
529
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,153
safely outside the range
of Japanese radar,
530
00:26:11,236 --> 00:26:13,409
4 US carriers
531
00:26:13,489 --> 00:26:15,833
are poised for a counterattack.
532
00:26:15,908 --> 00:26:17,706
Only at 7:40 a.m.
533
00:26:17,785 --> 00:26:19,537
does a Japanese
reconnaissance plane
534
00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:24,342
spot the US fleet.
535
00:26:24,416 --> 00:26:27,761
- DR. CRANE: Battles are often
decided by minutes and seconds,
536
00:26:27,836 --> 00:26:31,966
and Midway is filled with
important minutes and seconds.
537
00:26:32,049 --> 00:26:34,268
When the late
spotter plane
538
00:26:34,343 --> 00:26:35,970
finally finds
the American fleet,
539
00:26:36,053 --> 00:26:37,976
Admiral Nagumo is hit
with this dilemma about,
540
00:26:38,055 --> 00:26:41,150
"Do I outfit my aircraft
for bombs to bomb Midway,
541
00:26:41,225 --> 00:26:43,398
"as they already are,
or do I stop,
542
00:26:43,477 --> 00:26:45,400
"take those bombs off
and put on torpedoes
543
00:26:45,479 --> 00:26:47,106
so they can go after
the American fleet?"
544
00:26:47,189 --> 00:26:48,736
And whatever decision
he comes upon
545
00:26:48,816 --> 00:26:51,285
is gonna have a major impact
on the rest of the battle.
546
00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:53,829
- PROF. OVERY: While they were
doing all of this, of course,
547
00:26:53,904 --> 00:26:55,702
there was a long,
critical waiting point,
548
00:26:55,781 --> 00:26:56,998
with aircraft on the decks,
549
00:26:57,074 --> 00:26:59,293
huge quantities
of explosives around.
550
00:26:59,368 --> 00:27:03,214
For the Japanese
this was the riskiest moment.
551
00:27:03,288 --> 00:27:07,418
- NARRATOR:
It is the moment
America has been waiting for--
552
00:27:07,501 --> 00:27:12,098
41 Douglas torpedo bombers
descend for the attack.
553
00:27:13,590 --> 00:27:15,763
- DR. CRANE: But the American
torpedo bombers show up
554
00:27:15,843 --> 00:27:19,518
unescorted,
completely vulnerable.
555
00:27:19,596 --> 00:27:21,940
They're shot down
like fish in a barrel.
556
00:27:22,015 --> 00:27:25,189
They just don't survive.
557
00:27:25,269 --> 00:27:28,990
- NARRATOR:
Thirty-five
out of 41 planes are lost.
558
00:27:29,064 --> 00:27:32,159
Not a single bomb
hits the Japanese fleet.
559
00:27:36,029 --> 00:27:40,034
It seems that Japan has struck
the decisive blow.
560
00:27:42,995 --> 00:27:45,544
- And then all of a sudden,
the dive bombers come in,
561
00:27:45,622 --> 00:27:47,920
and the whole world changes.
562
00:27:51,003 --> 00:27:52,300
- NARRATOR:
A second wave
563
00:27:52,379 --> 00:27:56,384
of American dive-bombers
descends.
564
00:27:56,466 --> 00:27:58,309
- DR. CRANE: There's
the Japanese fleet
565
00:27:58,385 --> 00:28:00,137
with no air cover
and the decks covered
566
00:28:00,220 --> 00:28:02,689
with airplanes
and torpedoes and bombs.
567
00:28:02,764 --> 00:28:04,732
They're just torches to be lit,
568
00:28:04,808 --> 00:28:06,401
and the dive-bombers
will come in,
569
00:28:06,476 --> 00:28:08,069
and three Japanese
aircraft carriers
570
00:28:08,145 --> 00:28:10,068
are destroyed in minutes.
571
00:28:12,774 --> 00:28:15,493
- NARRATOR:
As the final
Japanese carrier is destroyed,
572
00:28:15,569 --> 00:28:21,326
along with 250
elite Japanese pilots,
573
00:28:21,408 --> 00:28:24,127
the balance of power
574
00:28:24,203 --> 00:28:26,376
has dramatically swung
in America's favor.
575
00:28:26,455 --> 00:28:28,628
- PROF. WAWRO: We had seven new
carriers under construction.
576
00:28:28,707 --> 00:28:30,550
They had one carrier
under construction.
577
00:28:30,626 --> 00:28:33,220
So they were never gonna be able
to replace these carriers.
578
00:28:33,295 --> 00:28:35,218
And what it meant
was they would be
579
00:28:35,297 --> 00:28:38,221
thrown back on the defensive
for the duration of the war.
580
00:28:40,385 --> 00:28:42,387
- NARRATOR:
In a global
theatre of war,
581
00:28:42,471 --> 00:28:44,690
control of the air
is proving to be
582
00:28:44,765 --> 00:28:49,396
one of the determining factors
for victory.
583
00:28:49,478 --> 00:28:51,355
On the other side of the planet,
584
00:28:51,438 --> 00:28:53,861
America's first strikes
on Nazi Germany
585
00:28:53,941 --> 00:28:56,945
are coming from the sky.
586
00:28:57,027 --> 00:28:58,870
The major cities in Europe
587
00:28:58,946 --> 00:29:01,199
are the new front lines of war.
588
00:29:01,281 --> 00:29:02,578
- [bombs whistle]
589
00:29:06,078 --> 00:29:08,581
- NARRATOR:
Six months on
from Pearl Harbor
590
00:29:08,664 --> 00:29:10,666
and the battlefronts
of World War ll
591
00:29:10,749 --> 00:29:13,343
are at a tipping point.
592
00:29:13,418 --> 00:29:15,546
America and her allies
have stalled
593
00:29:15,629 --> 00:29:17,222
the momentum of German
aggression
594
00:29:17,297 --> 00:29:20,096
in the Battle of the Atlantic
595
00:29:20,175 --> 00:29:22,644
and halted Japanese
territorial expansion
596
00:29:22,719 --> 00:29:26,895
in the decisive victory
at Midway.
597
00:29:26,974 --> 00:29:29,068
And in June 1942,
598
00:29:29,142 --> 00:29:32,237
the first American bombers
arrive in Great Britain.
599
00:29:32,312 --> 00:29:37,318
- [suspenseful orchestral music]
600
00:29:37,401 --> 00:29:40,405
- NARRATOR:
They join a brutal
battle for air supremacy
601
00:29:40,487 --> 00:29:44,287
that has raged over Europe
since the outbreak of war.
602
00:29:48,537 --> 00:29:51,757
Germany's Luftwaffe squadrons
draw first blood,
603
00:29:51,832 --> 00:29:52,754
bringing Poland,
604
00:29:52,833 --> 00:29:54,551
then the Low Countries
and France
605
00:29:54,626 --> 00:29:56,424
to their knees.
606
00:29:56,503 --> 00:29:58,756
- DR. CRANE: The fall
of France in 1940
607
00:29:58,839 --> 00:30:00,136
really seemed to vindicate
608
00:30:00,215 --> 00:30:01,888
the superiority
of the Blitzkrieg.
609
00:30:01,967 --> 00:30:05,062
There's big concerns that
the Germans may be unstoppable.
610
00:30:05,137 --> 00:30:07,765
- NARRATOR:
With Nazi domination
almost complete,
611
00:30:07,848 --> 00:30:09,475
Hitler turns the Luftwaffe
612
00:30:09,558 --> 00:30:11,936
against his last remaining
opposition...
613
00:30:12,019 --> 00:30:13,612
Great Britain.
614
00:30:13,687 --> 00:30:16,816
It is imperative that
its Royal Air Force holds.
615
00:30:16,898 --> 00:30:19,526
- The stakes in the Battle
of Britain, for the British,
616
00:30:19,609 --> 00:30:21,703
are survival.
617
00:30:21,778 --> 00:30:23,872
- NARRATOR:
July 10, 1940...
618
00:30:23,947 --> 00:30:26,041
the Battle of Britain begins.
619
00:30:26,116 --> 00:30:29,791
The Luftwaffe pounds British
defenses and its major cities.
620
00:30:29,870 --> 00:30:31,668
- [machine gun firing]
621
00:30:38,295 --> 00:30:40,798
- The RAF adapts very quickly
622
00:30:40,881 --> 00:30:44,260
and begins to shoot down more
German bombers and fighters
623
00:30:44,343 --> 00:30:47,142
than the Germans can replace.
624
00:30:47,220 --> 00:30:49,348
- NARRATOR:
Nineteen-hundred
German aircraft
625
00:30:49,431 --> 00:30:52,651
are destroyed in 113 days.
626
00:30:52,726 --> 00:30:55,900
It is an unsustainable rate
of attrition.
627
00:30:55,979 --> 00:30:59,108
- So Hitler's forced to cancel
the battle of Britain and begin
628
00:30:59,191 --> 00:31:02,240
massing forces for an invasion
of the Soviet Union.
629
00:31:05,447 --> 00:31:06,619
- NARRATOR:
The Battle
of Britain
630
00:31:06,698 --> 00:31:11,295
is Hitler's first major defeat
of World War ll.
631
00:31:11,370 --> 00:31:15,250
Air power is the new orthodoxy
of modern warfare.
632
00:31:15,332 --> 00:31:19,633
Roosevelt orders vast squadrons
of aircraft to be manufactured.
633
00:31:21,797 --> 00:31:24,095
At Ford's Willow Run plant
in Michigan,
634
00:31:24,174 --> 00:31:27,644
an astounding 8,500 bombers
are produced.
635
00:31:29,471 --> 00:31:32,941
Over 127,000 bombers are made...
636
00:31:33,016 --> 00:31:37,021
13,600 are transported
to British airfields.
637
00:31:41,066 --> 00:31:42,488
The assault on Germany
638
00:31:42,567 --> 00:31:46,322
can now enter a new phase
of intensity.
639
00:31:46,405 --> 00:31:48,828
- DR. CRANE: The arrival of
the 8th Air Force in Britain
640
00:31:48,907 --> 00:31:50,454
had a number of impacts--
number one,
641
00:31:50,534 --> 00:31:52,787
it guaranteed that the Germans
wouldn't be able to launch
642
00:31:52,869 --> 00:31:54,917
another major attack against
Britain the way they had
643
00:31:54,996 --> 00:31:56,088
in the Battle of Britain.
644
00:31:56,164 --> 00:31:57,962
There was just too many
Allied airplanes there.
645
00:31:58,041 --> 00:32:00,089
It also was a boost
to British morale
646
00:32:00,168 --> 00:32:02,921
that the Americans
were finally coming en masse.
647
00:32:03,004 --> 00:32:04,847
- NARRATOR:
But the American
airmen are entering
648
00:32:04,923 --> 00:32:07,301
a new kind of warfare--
649
00:32:07,384 --> 00:32:12,140
where sheer weight of numbers
is no guarantee of success.
650
00:32:12,222 --> 00:32:15,146
- CHRIS: The amount of weapons
that are being thrown up
651
00:32:15,225 --> 00:32:17,648
to stop the bombers is having
an enormous toll.
652
00:32:17,727 --> 00:32:20,651
The survivability rate is going
11 to 1 to the infantry.
653
00:32:20,730 --> 00:32:22,573
It's actually safer to be
an infantryman
654
00:32:22,649 --> 00:32:24,777
on the ground in Europe
in a foxhole
655
00:32:24,860 --> 00:32:26,828
than it is to be in this, uh,
656
00:32:26,903 --> 00:32:30,407
advanced machine
flying high above.
657
00:32:30,490 --> 00:32:33,710
- NARRATOR:
After losing
1,135 bombers,
658
00:32:33,785 --> 00:32:37,085
the RAF switches
to nighttime raids.
659
00:32:37,164 --> 00:32:38,541
But in the dark,
660
00:32:38,623 --> 00:32:41,092
only 1.5% of all bombs
661
00:32:41,168 --> 00:32:45,093
fall within 3 miles
of the target.
662
00:32:45,172 --> 00:32:46,970
- The Americans decide
that it's too inefficient,
663
00:32:47,048 --> 00:32:48,846
that you had to do it
in daylight
664
00:32:48,925 --> 00:32:50,222
where you could see the target.
665
00:32:50,302 --> 00:32:52,100
They thought, "We've got more
heavily defended bombers.
666
00:32:52,179 --> 00:32:53,931
"We think this will work."
667
00:32:54,014 --> 00:32:57,314
- NARRATOR:
American confidence
is based on the B-17,
668
00:32:57,392 --> 00:33:01,067
the most sophisticated war
machine of its time.
669
00:33:01,146 --> 00:33:03,524
- CHRIS: The B-17
is an amazing aircraft.
670
00:33:03,607 --> 00:33:05,530
They call it the flying
fortress--well, why?
671
00:33:05,609 --> 00:33:08,328
It has 13
50-caliber machine guns
672
00:33:08,403 --> 00:33:11,202
arrayed all around it
to give it a bubble of fire.
673
00:33:11,281 --> 00:33:13,124
You have fire coming
out the front,
674
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:14,747
you have fire coming
out the flanks,
675
00:33:14,826 --> 00:33:16,794
below, above, and in the rear.
676
00:33:16,870 --> 00:33:18,872
- COL. FARRELL: It was believed
that it could fly
677
00:33:18,955 --> 00:33:22,380
in broad daylight, unescorted
by fighter aircraft,
678
00:33:22,459 --> 00:33:25,087
deep into the heart of enemy
territory
679
00:33:25,170 --> 00:33:28,174
and unleash an amazing amount
of ordnance
680
00:33:28,256 --> 00:33:30,600
on enemy targets.
681
00:33:30,675 --> 00:33:33,428
- NARRATOR:
With unswerving
faith in the B-17,
682
00:33:33,512 --> 00:33:36,436
the American 8th Air Force
plan a dual raid
683
00:33:36,515 --> 00:33:39,735
to destroy the heart
of German aviation production.
684
00:33:42,646 --> 00:33:44,740
- DR. CRANE: The Schweinfurt-
Regensburg Mission
685
00:33:44,814 --> 00:33:46,691
was seen as the way
to really prove
686
00:33:46,775 --> 00:33:49,449
that this precision bombing
idea would work.
687
00:33:49,528 --> 00:33:50,780
They seemed to have picked out
688
00:33:50,862 --> 00:33:52,409
the key industries
they could knock out
689
00:33:52,489 --> 00:33:54,617
that would cripple
the German economy.
690
00:33:54,699 --> 00:33:56,451
They had the battle plan,
they thought,
691
00:33:56,535 --> 00:33:58,788
that would get them
to the target.
692
00:33:58,870 --> 00:34:01,123
- NARRATOR:
Two squadrons
of B-17's
693
00:34:01,206 --> 00:34:04,551
commanded by Colonel LeMay
and Brigadier General Williams
694
00:34:04,626 --> 00:34:07,175
prepare to attack
simultaneously,
695
00:34:07,254 --> 00:34:09,848
splitting German defenses.
696
00:34:09,923 --> 00:34:14,178
Almost immediately,
the plan begins to unravel.
697
00:34:14,261 --> 00:34:18,107
- It was a foggy day in England.
LeMay got his guys up.
698
00:34:18,181 --> 00:34:20,149
The other bomber division
couldn't get up.
699
00:34:20,225 --> 00:34:22,569
The decision was made that they
couldn't land LeMay's guys.
700
00:34:22,644 --> 00:34:24,066
They sent them on.
701
00:34:27,816 --> 00:34:29,739
When the Regensburg mission
goes in on its own,
702
00:34:29,818 --> 00:34:32,446
the bombers were sitting ducks,
not only for flak,
703
00:34:32,529 --> 00:34:34,531
but for the Germans
that were gathering
704
00:34:34,614 --> 00:34:36,616
from all over the whole
defense zone.
705
00:34:44,958 --> 00:34:46,835
The Schweinfurt leg
then comes in
706
00:34:46,918 --> 00:34:49,341
enough time
after the Regensburg leg
707
00:34:49,421 --> 00:34:52,015
so the Germans
can refit and rearm,
708
00:34:52,090 --> 00:34:54,138
and it goes through
the same mauling.
709
00:35:01,558 --> 00:35:04,732
- NARRATOR:
Sixty US bombers
are destroyed,
710
00:35:04,811 --> 00:35:08,816
double the losses ever suffered
in a single raid.
711
00:35:08,898 --> 00:35:11,401
- PETER: The problem for
the Allies was we took
712
00:35:11,484 --> 00:35:15,534
the marketing of the flying
fortress seriously.
713
00:35:15,614 --> 00:35:17,708
We took the idea that it
could protect itself
714
00:35:17,782 --> 00:35:19,329
with its own machine guns
715
00:35:19,409 --> 00:35:22,253
and not have to worry
about escorted seriously,
716
00:35:22,329 --> 00:35:24,047
And that didn't work.
717
00:35:24,122 --> 00:35:27,376
- NARRATOR:
The flaw is
startlingly clear from above--
718
00:35:27,459 --> 00:35:30,258
the lack of fighter escort
protection.
719
00:35:30,337 --> 00:35:32,556
The fighters have limited range
720
00:35:32,631 --> 00:35:35,680
and can only protect the bombers
partway to their targets,
721
00:35:35,759 --> 00:35:38,057
leaving them dangerously
exposed.
722
00:35:38,136 --> 00:35:40,230
- Then we get
the real game changer.
723
00:35:40,305 --> 00:35:43,809
We get the P-51.
724
00:35:43,892 --> 00:35:46,896
The P-51 was
an amazing fighter
725
00:35:46,978 --> 00:35:49,527
on so many
different levels,
726
00:35:49,606 --> 00:35:53,531
but the real key
is it had amazing range.
727
00:35:53,610 --> 00:35:55,612
It went
with the American bombers
728
00:35:55,695 --> 00:35:58,824
all the way in,
all the way out.
729
00:35:58,907 --> 00:36:02,662
That meant that we could now
take down the German defenses.
730
00:36:02,744 --> 00:36:05,372
We could create
true air dominance,
731
00:36:05,455 --> 00:36:07,958
and that's when you see
the Luftwaffe
732
00:36:08,041 --> 00:36:11,921
essentially swept
from the skies.
733
00:36:12,003 --> 00:36:13,550
- DR. CRANE: Once
the Luftwaffe's destroyed,
734
00:36:13,630 --> 00:36:16,304
and we have pretty much free
rein over the German skies,
735
00:36:16,383 --> 00:36:20,229
we really start to take down
the oil industry.
736
00:36:20,303 --> 00:36:23,147
- NARRATOR:
Oil... the single
most essential commodity
737
00:36:23,223 --> 00:36:25,897
of World War ll.
738
00:36:25,975 --> 00:36:28,194
- COL. FARRELL: Possession
of large supplies of oil
739
00:36:28,269 --> 00:36:30,317
was the only way to victory.
740
00:36:30,397 --> 00:36:34,777
Without oil, mechanized armies
could not fight.
741
00:36:34,859 --> 00:36:36,202
- NARRATOR:
From space,
742
00:36:36,277 --> 00:36:40,623
the battle for the world's
oil reserves is revealed.
743
00:36:40,699 --> 00:36:42,622
America is self-sufficient.
744
00:36:42,701 --> 00:36:44,544
Its oil fields
are the cornerstone
745
00:36:44,619 --> 00:36:47,213
of Allied military strength.
746
00:36:50,458 --> 00:36:52,005
In contrast,
747
00:36:52,085 --> 00:36:54,964
Germany's stockpile
of 2O million barrels
748
00:36:55,046 --> 00:36:56,423
is rapidly running out.
749
00:36:56,506 --> 00:36:57,974
- PROF. OVERY: One
of the weaknesses
750
00:36:58,049 --> 00:36:59,847
in the German war effort
751
00:36:59,926 --> 00:37:02,600
was they couldn't get access
to unlimited quantities of oil.
752
00:37:02,679 --> 00:37:05,307
They then decided to use
synthetic oil,
753
00:37:05,390 --> 00:37:07,142
and synthetic oil
was really critical
754
00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:09,728
for making up that difference.
755
00:37:09,811 --> 00:37:11,063
- NARRATOR:
Synthetic Oil,
756
00:37:11,146 --> 00:37:13,023
produced from coal
and natural gas,
757
00:37:13,106 --> 00:37:15,950
is the lifeblood of Hitler's
mechanized forces.
758
00:37:19,154 --> 00:37:20,497
As Allied air raids
759
00:37:20,572 --> 00:37:22,825
cripple Germany's
synthetic fuel production,
760
00:37:22,907 --> 00:37:26,787
Hitler's best hope is to seize
the Caucasus oil fields.
761
00:37:29,622 --> 00:37:32,501
Deep inside Russia,
the two sides clash
762
00:37:32,584 --> 00:37:35,929
in the bloodiest fighting
history has ever seen.
763
00:37:36,004 --> 00:37:40,305
At stake is the outcome
of World War ll.
764
00:37:48,224 --> 00:37:50,647
September 1940...
765
00:37:50,727 --> 00:37:52,775
while America remains neutral,
766
00:37:52,854 --> 00:37:56,233
Hitler has Mainland Europe
in his grip.
767
00:37:56,316 --> 00:37:58,569
But in the skies over Britain,
768
00:37:58,651 --> 00:38:01,905
the Nazis' relentless
westward advance is halted.
769
00:38:03,448 --> 00:38:05,325
It is a defeat
that forces Hitler
770
00:38:05,408 --> 00:38:08,287
to turn to his attention
towards his ultimate goal--
771
00:38:08,369 --> 00:38:12,044
the conquest and annihilation
of the Soviet Union.
772
00:38:14,584 --> 00:38:16,507
- COL. FARRELL: The Soviet Union
represented
773
00:38:16,586 --> 00:38:19,886
the nexus of everything
that Hitler hated.
774
00:38:19,964 --> 00:38:24,765
He saw it as a bastion
of communism and Judaism.
775
00:38:24,844 --> 00:38:26,767
And if it were not defeated,
776
00:38:26,846 --> 00:38:28,848
ultimately the Soviet Union
777
00:38:28,932 --> 00:38:32,482
would destroy Germany
and destroy the Aryan race.
778
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,313
- There was also just
sheer pragmatism here.
779
00:38:35,396 --> 00:38:38,366
The Soviet Union was
the "gross raum wirtschaft,"
780
00:38:38,441 --> 00:38:40,739
the great economic space.
781
00:38:40,819 --> 00:38:42,787
They needed the raw materials,
782
00:38:42,862 --> 00:38:44,864
the oil, the food,
783
00:38:44,948 --> 00:38:47,076
and by annexing
the Soviet Union,
784
00:38:47,158 --> 00:38:49,661
they'd be able to sustain
a long war
785
00:38:49,744 --> 00:38:53,374
and fend off any British-
American attacks.
786
00:38:53,456 --> 00:38:57,336
- NARRATOR:
June 22, 1941...
787
00:38:57,418 --> 00:39:00,171
Hitler launches
"Operation Barbarossa,"
788
00:39:00,255 --> 00:39:02,383
the invasion
of the Soviet Union.
789
00:39:05,635 --> 00:39:08,058
Across a 1,800-mile front,
790
00:39:08,137 --> 00:39:11,232
Hitler's army of over
4 million Wehrmacht troops
791
00:39:11,307 --> 00:39:12,900
surges forward,
792
00:39:12,976 --> 00:39:15,479
destroying everything
in its path.
793
00:39:15,562 --> 00:39:17,485
- COL. FARRELL: This was
the largest army
794
00:39:17,564 --> 00:39:20,659
that had been assembled
in the history of world.
795
00:39:20,733 --> 00:39:22,576
And the Germans demonstrated
796
00:39:22,652 --> 00:39:24,746
an operational and tactical
mastery
797
00:39:24,821 --> 00:39:26,994
that the Soviets simply
could not match.
798
00:39:29,409 --> 00:39:33,710
The barbarity is almost
incomprehensible.
799
00:39:33,788 --> 00:39:36,416
Following the front-line troops,
800
00:39:36,499 --> 00:39:38,922
there were the special
action squads.
801
00:39:39,002 --> 00:39:43,508
Their purpose was
to identify and murder
802
00:39:43,590 --> 00:39:45,217
political leaders
803
00:39:45,300 --> 00:39:49,680
and ultimately Jews
in the occupied areas.
804
00:39:49,762 --> 00:39:51,730
- NARRATOR:
The slaughter
of a million Soviets
805
00:39:51,806 --> 00:39:54,855
is the merciless testing ground
for the Holocaust.
806
00:39:59,063 --> 00:40:02,067
The SS accelerate
the genocide of Jews
807
00:40:02,150 --> 00:40:05,996
and others seen as undesirable.
808
00:40:06,070 --> 00:40:09,040
Over 9 million are slaughtered.
809
00:40:13,661 --> 00:40:17,837
- COL. FARRELL: This was
industrialized mass murder.
810
00:40:17,916 --> 00:40:19,259
This was something that--
811
00:40:19,334 --> 00:40:22,258
that hadn't even appeared
in the middle ages.
812
00:40:22,337 --> 00:40:24,465
- NARRATOR:
By the winter
of 1941,
813
00:40:24,547 --> 00:40:26,265
their brutal advance
has brought them
814
00:40:26,341 --> 00:40:29,595
to the brink of victory.
815
00:40:29,677 --> 00:40:31,725
Leningrad is under siege,
816
00:40:31,804 --> 00:40:35,525
and German panzer divisions
are at the gates of Moscow.
817
00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:38,979
Seeking a devastating
tactical and ideological blow,
818
00:40:39,062 --> 00:40:43,363
Hitler turns his attentions
towards Stalingrad.
819
00:40:43,441 --> 00:40:45,864
- PROF. WAWRO: Stalingrad was
an important target for Hitler
820
00:40:45,944 --> 00:40:48,618
because he knew by taking it,
he would insult Stalin.
821
00:40:48,696 --> 00:40:51,449
He also knew he would force
Stalin to try to take it back,
822
00:40:51,532 --> 00:40:54,035
and he would be able
to wear down the Red Army.
823
00:40:54,118 --> 00:40:56,621
But also it was an important
city because it would permit him
824
00:40:56,704 --> 00:40:59,253
to pivot south into the Caucasus
825
00:40:59,332 --> 00:41:01,755
and take all these
oil-producing regions
826
00:41:01,834 --> 00:41:05,429
and make Germany
self-sufficient in petroleum.
827
00:41:05,505 --> 00:41:06,722
- NARRATOR:
For both sides,
828
00:41:06,798 --> 00:41:10,302
the stakes for the Battle
for Stalingrad are immense.
829
00:41:10,385 --> 00:41:12,638
- COL. FARRELL: For Hitler
to fail at Stalingrad
830
00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:16,600
would be an enormous blow
to the Nazi myth.
831
00:41:16,683 --> 00:41:20,404
It would be an enormous blow
to the war itself.
832
00:41:20,478 --> 00:41:24,199
Similarly, Josef Stalin
was unrelenting.
833
00:41:24,273 --> 00:41:25,900
He would not tolerate defeat.
834
00:41:25,984 --> 00:41:28,407
He would not tolerate
pulling back.
835
00:41:28,486 --> 00:41:30,739
To surrender or to give ground
836
00:41:30,822 --> 00:41:33,951
would be met
by the utmost sanction.
837
00:41:37,453 --> 00:41:40,457
- NARRATOR:
The Luftwaffe
drop 1,000 tons of bombs
838
00:41:40,540 --> 00:41:42,838
on Stalingrad
839
00:41:42,917 --> 00:41:47,172
before 2 1/2 million
troops clash.
840
00:41:49,340 --> 00:41:52,264
- COL. FARRELL: The ferocity
of the Battle of Stalingrad
841
00:41:52,343 --> 00:41:54,266
was something
straight out of hell.
842
00:41:54,345 --> 00:41:57,224
It was not uncommon
for battles to be raging
843
00:41:57,306 --> 00:42:01,231
not over parts of the city
or city blocks,
844
00:42:01,310 --> 00:42:03,859
but literally
for different floors
845
00:42:03,938 --> 00:42:06,691
within one building.
846
00:42:06,774 --> 00:42:09,368
In some cases,
Soviet reinforcements
847
00:42:09,444 --> 00:42:11,446
came forward without weapons,
848
00:42:11,529 --> 00:42:13,281
facing certain death.
849
00:42:13,364 --> 00:42:17,210
And yet again and again
and again they came.
850
00:42:17,285 --> 00:42:18,878
- NARRATOR:
As the battle rages,
851
00:42:18,953 --> 00:42:22,583
the Red Army launch
"Operation Uranus."
852
00:42:22,665 --> 00:42:25,009
What Hitler's high command
cannotsee
853
00:42:25,084 --> 00:42:27,507
is revealed from space.
854
00:42:27,587 --> 00:42:29,885
Over 1 million Soviet soldiers
855
00:42:29,964 --> 00:42:32,308
outflank the German positions,
856
00:42:32,383 --> 00:42:35,307
before cutting
through the enemy's rear.
857
00:42:35,386 --> 00:42:37,855
- Operation Uranus
was a complete shock,
858
00:42:37,930 --> 00:42:42,026
and suddenly Stalingrad
was encircled.
859
00:42:42,101 --> 00:42:43,523
- NARRATOR:
Cut off from supply,
860
00:42:43,603 --> 00:42:45,105
the Germans are plunged
861
00:42:45,188 --> 00:42:48,943
into the harshest
of Russian winters.
862
00:42:49,025 --> 00:42:52,825
In sub-human conditions,
they begin to disintegrate.
863
00:42:55,448 --> 00:42:57,416
- PROF. OVERY: It was
freezing cold.
864
00:42:57,492 --> 00:42:59,790
Food supplies began to decline.
865
00:42:59,869 --> 00:43:01,246
Guns jammed.
866
00:43:01,329 --> 00:43:02,501
It was a nightmare.
867
00:43:02,580 --> 00:43:04,878
It's difficult to convey
in simple words
868
00:43:04,957 --> 00:43:07,585
what that experience was like.
869
00:43:07,668 --> 00:43:09,716
- NARRATOR:
After five months
under siege,
870
00:43:09,796 --> 00:43:12,766
Hitler's once-mighty
6th Army capitulates--
871
00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:16,890
the first German
field army to do so.
872
00:43:16,969 --> 00:43:19,347
Nearly 2 million have fallen,
873
00:43:19,430 --> 00:43:22,559
but for the Soviets,
the tide is turning.
874
00:43:24,393 --> 00:43:26,145
- COL. FARRELL: The boost
to Soviet morale
875
00:43:26,229 --> 00:43:28,948
can scarcely be overstated.
876
00:43:29,023 --> 00:43:32,072
German prisoners were marched
through Moscow.
877
00:43:32,151 --> 00:43:34,870
And this proved
that the Nazi soldiers
878
00:43:34,946 --> 00:43:36,698
were not supermen.
879
00:43:36,781 --> 00:43:39,876
Instead, they saw
German soldiers who quit,
880
00:43:39,951 --> 00:43:42,045
who surrendered,
who could not match
881
00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:44,999
the determination
of the Soviet soldier.
882
00:43:45,081 --> 00:43:48,210
- NARRATOR:
For Hitler,
the defeat is devastating.
883
00:43:48,292 --> 00:43:51,011
Instinctively, he strikes back.
884
00:43:51,087 --> 00:43:52,930
- COL. FARRELL: Adolf Hitler
attempted
885
00:43:53,005 --> 00:43:55,303
to regain
the strategic initiative,
886
00:43:55,383 --> 00:43:58,728
to close a gap--
a bulge if you will--
887
00:43:58,803 --> 00:44:01,022
centered around Kursk.
888
00:44:01,097 --> 00:44:04,067
- NARRATOR:
Seen from above,
Hitler's objective is clear--
889
00:44:04,142 --> 00:44:06,611
eliminate the bulge,
concentrate his forces,
890
00:44:06,686 --> 00:44:08,563
and regain the initiative.
891
00:44:08,646 --> 00:44:10,444
For the Allies,
it is critical
892
00:44:10,523 --> 00:44:13,527
that its newest military
partner holds.
893
00:44:13,609 --> 00:44:15,828
- DR. PORTER: The eastern front
is vital to the Allies
894
00:44:15,903 --> 00:44:19,783
because it absorbs the bulk
of Germany's fighting power.
895
00:44:19,866 --> 00:44:21,960
To put it very brutally,
the Soviets
896
00:44:22,034 --> 00:44:24,537
did most of the fighting and
most of the dying on land.
897
00:44:24,620 --> 00:44:27,590
- NARRATOR:
President Roosevelt
commits over $11 billion
898
00:44:27,665 --> 00:44:30,919
of lend lease supplies
to Stalin.
899
00:44:31,002 --> 00:44:33,846
Yet traditional trade routes
through Europe are blocked.
900
00:44:33,921 --> 00:44:36,344
Getting US aid
into the Soviet Union
901
00:44:36,424 --> 00:44:38,722
is one of the greatest
Allied logistical challenges
902
00:44:38,801 --> 00:44:40,803
of the war.
903
00:44:40,887 --> 00:44:43,015
- There were three routes
that we could use.
904
00:44:43,097 --> 00:44:45,350
One was the North Atlantic route
905
00:44:45,433 --> 00:44:49,154
into the northern Arctic ports
of Archangel and Murmansk--
906
00:44:49,228 --> 00:44:53,153
stormy seas, iced in,
hard to get to.
907
00:44:53,232 --> 00:44:56,486
And then there was one across
to the Pacific to Vladivostok,
908
00:44:56,569 --> 00:44:58,867
but everything had to be
unloaded in Siberia
909
00:44:58,946 --> 00:45:01,119
and then trucked into Russia
910
00:45:01,199 --> 00:45:03,167
on the Trans-Siberian Railway,
911
00:45:03,242 --> 00:45:06,212
which is slow
and time-consuming.
912
00:45:06,287 --> 00:45:08,710
And then there was the one
around the Cape of Good Hope,
913
00:45:08,789 --> 00:45:13,169
up into Iran and into Southern
Russia that way.
914
00:45:13,252 --> 00:45:14,674
- NARRATOR:
The Persian Gulf
route
915
00:45:14,754 --> 00:45:16,802
is crucial to Russian success,
916
00:45:16,881 --> 00:45:20,431
but making it viable
is a monumental task.
917
00:45:20,509 --> 00:45:23,683
- We had to build
a supply chain from scratch.
918
00:45:23,763 --> 00:45:25,686
There was no infrastructure.
919
00:45:25,765 --> 00:45:29,065
The harbors are not there--
we have to construct those.
920
00:45:29,143 --> 00:45:31,020
- NARRATOR:
Allied engineers
build wharfs,
921
00:45:31,103 --> 00:45:33,151
jetties, and piers.
922
00:45:33,231 --> 00:45:36,986
Simultaneously, 450 miles
of roads are constructed
923
00:45:37,068 --> 00:45:40,288
and 2000 miles of railway
modernized.
924
00:45:40,363 --> 00:45:41,910
With all routes
now open,
925
00:45:41,989 --> 00:45:45,289
the US pumps 16 million tons
of lend lease
926
00:45:45,368 --> 00:45:46,711
into Russia.
927
00:45:46,786 --> 00:45:48,788
Included are gasoline,
928
00:45:48,871 --> 00:45:51,875
ammunition,
929
00:45:51,958 --> 00:45:55,838
an entire military
telecommunication system,
930
00:45:55,920 --> 00:45:58,469
14 million pairs of boots,
931
00:45:58,547 --> 00:46:01,426
and enough food to offer
every Soviet soldier
932
00:46:01,509 --> 00:46:06,481
one square meal a day
for over a year.
933
00:46:06,555 --> 00:46:07,932
But most significant
934
00:46:08,015 --> 00:46:09,892
are the half million
Studebaker trucks
935
00:46:09,976 --> 00:46:12,946
supplied by the factories
of Detroit.
936
00:46:13,020 --> 00:46:15,239
- The Studebaker truck
was a real game changer,
937
00:46:15,314 --> 00:46:17,567
because it gives
the Soviet Army
938
00:46:17,650 --> 00:46:20,244
the ability to operate
on a massive scale
939
00:46:20,319 --> 00:46:22,538
with far-flung logistics.
940
00:46:22,613 --> 00:46:24,365
The other thing that
these trucks give them
941
00:46:24,448 --> 00:46:27,952
is an advantage literally
within the battle itself.
942
00:46:28,035 --> 00:46:30,413
The Russians had
a lot of artillery.
943
00:46:30,496 --> 00:46:33,340
You match that artillery
with the truck,
944
00:46:33,416 --> 00:46:35,009
and suddenly they've got
945
00:46:35,084 --> 00:46:37,883
these flying anti-tank
batteries literally zipping
946
00:46:37,962 --> 00:46:40,465
across different parts
of the battlefield.
947
00:46:40,548 --> 00:46:43,643
- NARRATOR:
To give the Soviets
the tactical advantage at Kursk,
948
00:46:43,718 --> 00:46:47,439
the Allies supply
one final thing--
949
00:46:47,513 --> 00:46:51,313
intelligence of the German
offensive plans.
950
00:46:51,392 --> 00:46:53,065
- PETER: The Soviets knew
they were coming.
951
00:46:53,144 --> 00:46:55,317
And so they create defenses
of a scale
952
00:46:55,396 --> 00:46:58,070
that really hadn't been seen
before in the war.
953
00:46:58,149 --> 00:47:02,199
I mean people talk about
the Maginot Line in France.
954
00:47:02,278 --> 00:47:06,784
This thing was the Maginot Line
put on steroids.
955
00:47:08,284 --> 00:47:09,627
- NARRATOR:
From space,
956
00:47:09,702 --> 00:47:11,704
the full enormity
of the Soviet defenses
957
00:47:11,787 --> 00:47:13,460
becomes clear.
958
00:47:13,539 --> 00:47:15,712
Three defensive lines contain
959
00:47:15,791 --> 00:47:19,671
a vast interconnected web
of thousands of anti-tank guns,
960
00:47:19,754 --> 00:47:21,848
pre-sighted artillery zones,
961
00:47:21,922 --> 00:47:25,176
and over 400,000 mines.
962
00:47:25,259 --> 00:47:28,388
It is the largest defense
network ever constructed--
963
00:47:28,471 --> 00:47:30,940
over 5O miles deep.
964
00:47:36,354 --> 00:47:38,903
July 5, 1943...
965
00:47:38,981 --> 00:47:43,111
over 2,000 tanks
and 2 million troops engage.
966
00:47:50,910 --> 00:47:53,413
- COL. FARRELL: The level of
intensity at the Battle of Kursk
967
00:47:53,496 --> 00:47:54,918
was extraordinary.
968
00:47:54,997 --> 00:47:57,250
Large numbers of tanks
and soldiers
969
00:47:57,333 --> 00:47:59,961
were fighting
to the most brutal degree
970
00:48:00,044 --> 00:48:03,264
at very close quarters.
971
00:48:03,339 --> 00:48:06,183
There was brutal
hand-to-hand combat,
972
00:48:06,258 --> 00:48:07,680
flamethrowers,
973
00:48:07,760 --> 00:48:09,103
thousands of tanks,
974
00:48:09,178 --> 00:48:11,647
coupled with artillery
raining down.
975
00:48:11,722 --> 00:48:13,690
All of this would have combined
976
00:48:13,766 --> 00:48:15,860
to create a scene
that would have resembled
977
00:48:15,935 --> 00:48:18,654
hell on earth.
978
00:48:18,729 --> 00:48:20,276
- NARRATOR:
After 11 days,
979
00:48:20,356 --> 00:48:22,279
the German offensive collapses,
980
00:48:22,358 --> 00:48:25,077
only a third of the way
to their objective.
981
00:48:29,490 --> 00:48:32,118
Hitler's attempt to crush
the Soviet Union
982
00:48:32,201 --> 00:48:33,953
has failed.
983
00:48:35,246 --> 00:48:36,418
- COL. FARRELL: Hitler's
worst nightmare
984
00:48:36,497 --> 00:48:37,999
had come to pass.
985
00:48:38,082 --> 00:48:41,586
Germany would now be faced
with a war on two fronts
986
00:48:41,669 --> 00:48:45,924
and a war of attrition.
987
00:48:46,006 --> 00:48:47,474
- NARRATOR:
Stalin gains
988
00:48:47,550 --> 00:48:49,223
the initiative
on the Eastern Front
989
00:48:49,301 --> 00:48:51,019
at a huge cost--
990
00:48:51,095 --> 00:48:54,895
over 9 million
Soviet casualties.
991
00:48:54,974 --> 00:48:56,476
In contrast,
992
00:48:56,559 --> 00:48:58,903
America has yet to put
a single soldier
993
00:48:58,978 --> 00:49:01,197
on the battlefields of Europe.
994
00:49:01,272 --> 00:49:05,027
- Stalin was deeply frustrated
with Allied dawdling
995
00:49:05,109 --> 00:49:06,736
about opening a second front.
996
00:49:06,819 --> 00:49:08,992
He assumed that it was
a conspiracy,
997
00:49:09,071 --> 00:49:11,290
that Churchill and Roosevelt
998
00:49:11,365 --> 00:49:14,665
were going to fight
to the last Russian.
999
00:49:14,743 --> 00:49:16,837
Then the British and Americans
would cross the Channel
1000
00:49:16,912 --> 00:49:19,165
and harvest
all the spoils of war,
1001
00:49:19,248 --> 00:49:20,625
the Russians having won it
1002
00:49:20,708 --> 00:49:22,210
with their own blood
and treasure.
1003
00:49:24,879 --> 00:49:27,302
- NARRATOR:
Prior to
a full-scale invasion of Europe,
1004
00:49:27,381 --> 00:49:29,884
Roosevelt elects
to blood his troops
1005
00:49:29,967 --> 00:49:32,516
in North Africa.
1006
00:49:32,595 --> 00:49:34,563
- COL. FARRELL: The North
African campaign
1007
00:49:34,638 --> 00:49:37,517
was a testing ground
for the American army,
1008
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:40,319
which had yet to face
the German military
1009
00:49:40,394 --> 00:49:42,817
in a significant way.
1010
00:49:42,897 --> 00:49:44,899
- NARRATOR:
Overconfident
andinexpeflenced,
1011
00:49:44,982 --> 00:49:48,703
the US Military is about
to receive a baptism of fire--
1012
00:49:48,777 --> 00:49:50,199
- [bombs exploding]
1013
00:49:50,279 --> 00:49:52,657
- NARRATOR:
--that will shake
it to its core.
1014
00:49:52,740 --> 00:49:56,040
- The disaster at Kasserine Pass
was a seminal event.
1015
00:50:05,169 --> 00:50:06,887
- NARRATOR:
As the American
Pacific drive
1016
00:50:06,962 --> 00:50:09,306
towards Japan accelerates,
1017
00:50:09,381 --> 00:50:11,349
and as Stalin in the East
1018
00:50:11,425 --> 00:50:13,598
and the Allied bombing campaign
in the west
1019
00:50:13,677 --> 00:50:15,930
continue to weaken
the Third Reich,
1020
00:50:16,013 --> 00:50:18,141
America prepares
to test its troops
1021
00:50:18,224 --> 00:50:19,771
in North Africa.
1022
00:50:22,353 --> 00:50:24,196
They will join a desert campaign
1023
00:50:24,271 --> 00:50:26,569
that has been raging
for over two years.
1024
00:50:29,777 --> 00:50:32,781
June 10, 1940...
1025
00:50:32,863 --> 00:50:34,911
Italy, under Benito Mussolini,
1026
00:50:34,990 --> 00:50:37,413
joins the Axis
1027
00:50:37,493 --> 00:50:39,996
and, with Germany,
plans to force Britain
1028
00:50:40,079 --> 00:50:41,581
from North Africa.
1029
00:50:41,664 --> 00:50:44,292
- PROF. WAWRO: North Africa
was a vital front
1030
00:50:44,375 --> 00:50:46,218
for the British in World War ll
1031
00:50:46,293 --> 00:50:49,388
because it was the vital hinge
of the British Empire.
1032
00:50:49,463 --> 00:50:51,090
- NARRATOR:
A German
and Italian victory
1033
00:50:51,173 --> 00:50:53,551
will open up the untapped
oil reserves
1034
00:50:53,634 --> 00:50:56,387
of the Middle East
1035
00:50:56,470 --> 00:50:58,438
and seize the Suez Canal
1036
00:50:58,514 --> 00:51:01,063
that connects Britain
to its empire.
1037
00:51:01,141 --> 00:51:04,190
- LTG MASON: The Suez Canal you
needed to protect at all costs.
1038
00:51:04,270 --> 00:51:05,863
The bottom line,
if you are moving
1039
00:51:05,938 --> 00:51:08,282
large quantities of equipment,
you gotta use the sea lanes.
1040
00:51:08,357 --> 00:51:10,451
And that's as true today
as it was then.
1041
00:51:10,526 --> 00:51:12,073
- NARRATOR:
September 1940...
1042
00:51:12,152 --> 00:51:16,953
the Axis invades.
1043
00:51:17,032 --> 00:51:19,581
For two years,
they drive the British back.
1044
00:51:19,660 --> 00:51:21,458
But the advance is halted
1045
00:51:21,537 --> 00:51:23,335
as German Field Marshall Rommel
1046
00:51:23,414 --> 00:51:27,385
is defeated at El Alamein.
1047
00:51:27,459 --> 00:51:29,336
To capitalize on this victory,
1048
00:51:29,420 --> 00:51:32,173
Churchill lobbies Roosevelt
for support.
1049
00:51:32,256 --> 00:51:35,886
But the majority of presidential
advisors have their doubts.
1050
00:51:35,968 --> 00:51:37,436
- COL. FARRELL: Initially
1051
00:51:37,511 --> 00:51:39,605
most American
senior military personnel,
1052
00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:42,433
saw the campaign in North Africa
1053
00:51:42,516 --> 00:51:44,860
as a diversion
from the main effort,
1054
00:51:44,935 --> 00:51:47,859
essentially a waste of time.
1055
00:51:47,938 --> 00:51:51,659
- NARRATOR:
Decisively,
Roosevelt overrides his council.
1056
00:51:51,734 --> 00:51:54,203
- DR. CRANE: FDR's decision
to send American forces
1057
00:51:54,278 --> 00:51:55,746
to North Africa was probably
1058
00:51:55,821 --> 00:51:58,916
the most important strategic
decision of World War ll.
1059
00:51:58,991 --> 00:52:01,414
- PROF. WAWRO: It really gave
us a place where we could
1060
00:52:01,493 --> 00:52:03,621
land the US army,
bring it into the battle
1061
00:52:03,704 --> 00:52:05,581
against secondary German units,
1062
00:52:05,664 --> 00:52:07,587
not the units we'd encounter
in Europe.
1063
00:52:07,666 --> 00:52:11,170
And so it was--
it was a brilliant move.
1064
00:52:11,253 --> 00:52:13,301
- NARRATOR:
Since the Pearl
Harbor attack,
1065
00:52:13,380 --> 00:52:16,509
a vast American army
has been amassing,
1066
00:52:16,592 --> 00:52:19,436
hungry for their
first taste of war.
1067
00:52:19,511 --> 00:52:22,060
- MAN 5: People were lined up
at the recruiting stations.
1068
00:52:22,139 --> 00:52:24,233
All the boys were up in arms.
1069
00:52:24,308 --> 00:52:26,231
I graduated in February,
1070
00:52:26,310 --> 00:52:30,611
and I was in uniform in March.
1071
00:52:30,689 --> 00:52:33,784
The country had been violated,
is what we thought.
1072
00:52:33,859 --> 00:52:36,078
And everybody
just wanted to get busy
1073
00:52:36,153 --> 00:52:38,451
and do something about it.
1074
00:52:38,530 --> 00:52:40,953
- NARRATOR:
Volunteers
and inductees from the draft
1075
00:52:41,033 --> 00:52:43,912
swell the ranks
as America rises to become
1076
00:52:43,994 --> 00:52:47,089
the largest military power
in the world.
1077
00:52:47,164 --> 00:52:48,507
- COL. FARRELL: Before the war,
1078
00:52:48,582 --> 00:52:50,630
the total strength
of the US Army,
1079
00:52:50,709 --> 00:52:52,131
including its Air Corps,
1080
00:52:52,211 --> 00:52:54,305
was Well below 200,000.
1081
00:52:54,380 --> 00:52:57,509
There would be
over a 40-fold increase
1082
00:52:57,591 --> 00:53:00,686
in the space of 6 years.
1083
00:53:00,761 --> 00:53:03,105
- PROF. KENNEDY: During the war,
the armed forces
1084
00:53:03,180 --> 00:53:05,308
encompassed 16 million men
under arms.
1085
00:53:05,391 --> 00:53:09,521
That's 13%
of the entire population.
1086
00:53:09,603 --> 00:53:11,571
- NARRATOR:
With this vast
army assembled,
1087
00:53:11,647 --> 00:53:16,118
America is primed
for "Operation Torch,"
1088
00:53:16,193 --> 00:53:18,537
then the largest
amphibious invasion
1089
00:53:18,612 --> 00:53:21,456
in history.
1090
00:53:21,532 --> 00:53:23,876
- Torch actually was
a very important rehearsal
1091
00:53:23,951 --> 00:53:26,955
for D-Day--
it was a huge operation.
1092
00:53:27,037 --> 00:53:30,541
It was logistically
extremely complex.
1093
00:53:30,624 --> 00:53:32,922
- Torch was a monumental
challenge for the US,
1094
00:53:33,001 --> 00:53:35,754
because we hadn't won
the Battle of Atlantic yet.
1095
00:53:35,838 --> 00:53:39,138
We have to escort troops,
ammunition, supplies
1096
00:53:39,216 --> 00:53:41,719
from the United States
direct to North Africa,
1097
00:53:41,802 --> 00:53:45,523
escort troops from Great Britain
down to North Africa,
1098
00:53:45,597 --> 00:53:48,567
through waters patrolled
by German submarines.
1099
00:53:48,642 --> 00:53:51,395
Then we have to land them
on a hostile shore.
1100
00:53:51,478 --> 00:53:54,322
- NARRATOR:
November 8, 1942...
1101
00:53:54,398 --> 00:53:56,571
73,000 Allied troops
1102
00:53:56,650 --> 00:53:59,199
disgorge onto the beaches,
1103
00:53:59,278 --> 00:54:02,623
and immediately
the problems begin.
1104
00:54:02,698 --> 00:54:05,918
- MAN 6: What we saw
in the landings of North Africa
1105
00:54:05,993 --> 00:54:08,621
is a great study in everything
that can go wrong
1106
00:54:08,704 --> 00:54:10,047
in an amphibious landing.
1107
00:54:10,122 --> 00:54:12,466
And virtually everything that
could go wrong, did go wrong.
1108
00:54:12,541 --> 00:54:15,294
- PETER: The landing craft--
you didn't run out the front,
1109
00:54:15,377 --> 00:54:16,970
right onto the beach.
1110
00:54:17,045 --> 00:54:19,343
Instead you had to jump
over the side.
1111
00:54:19,423 --> 00:54:22,472
That, of course, is not the most
efficient way to get in there.
1112
00:54:22,551 --> 00:54:25,054
It's the most dangerous--
it's the slowest.
1113
00:54:25,137 --> 00:54:29,142
A number of our craft
get stuck on sandbars.
1114
00:54:29,224 --> 00:54:32,228
When they drive them out,
the electronics get fried.
1115
00:54:32,311 --> 00:54:34,109
- Fortunately, they're fighting
the Vichy French,
1116
00:54:34,188 --> 00:54:35,861
who fight half-heartedly.
1117
00:54:35,939 --> 00:54:39,364
And had they been attacking
the Germans in 1944,
1118
00:54:39,443 --> 00:54:41,491
the Japanese in 1944,
1119
00:54:41,570 --> 00:54:43,618
the experience
would have been a lot, uh--
1120
00:54:43,697 --> 00:54:45,449
a lot worse.
1121
00:54:48,118 --> 00:54:50,291
- NARRATOR:
As French Vichy
troops loyal to Hitler
1122
00:54:50,370 --> 00:54:52,372
capitulate,
1123
00:54:52,456 --> 00:54:54,550
US forces head for Tunisia
1124
00:54:54,625 --> 00:54:56,002
and their first clash
1125
00:54:56,084 --> 00:54:59,304
with the full-strength
German war machine.
1126
00:54:59,379 --> 00:55:01,222
- PROF. WAWRO: They're really
blissfully ignorant
1127
00:55:01,298 --> 00:55:03,221
of the realities of modern war.
1128
00:55:03,300 --> 00:55:05,473
I mean they've got their trucks,
they've got their tanks,
1129
00:55:05,552 --> 00:55:07,350
they've got their rifles,
1130
00:55:07,429 --> 00:55:10,023
they've got their very
complicated chain of command
1131
00:55:10,098 --> 00:55:11,691
from army to corps, division,
1132
00:55:11,767 --> 00:55:12,689
brigade, regiment, battalion.
1133
00:55:12,768 --> 00:55:17,399
They think that they'll do fine.
1134
00:55:17,481 --> 00:55:19,483
- NARRATOR:
US forces
engage Rommel
1135
00:55:19,566 --> 00:55:21,568
outside the town of Faid.
1136
00:55:24,321 --> 00:55:26,164
Making an initial breakthrough,
1137
00:55:26,240 --> 00:55:28,868
they pursue retreating
panzer divisions.
1138
00:55:31,995 --> 00:55:36,216
From space, Rommel's master
tactic is revealed--
1139
00:55:36,291 --> 00:55:38,134
the panzers are decoys,
1140
00:55:38,210 --> 00:55:42,090
luring US forces into a trap.
1141
00:55:42,172 --> 00:55:44,174
- CHRIS: They fall prey
to the techniques
1142
00:55:44,258 --> 00:55:46,260
of double envelopment
by the Germans,
1143
00:55:46,343 --> 00:55:49,313
with some very good weapons
like the German 88.
1144
00:55:49,388 --> 00:55:53,143
- The 88mm gun was literally
1145
00:55:53,225 --> 00:55:56,695
a world-class anti-tank weapon.
1146
00:55:56,770 --> 00:56:00,570
Not only could it shoot
at a further distance,
1147
00:56:00,649 --> 00:56:03,323
but it had an incredible
kill rate.
1148
00:56:03,402 --> 00:56:05,154
It's basically just lethal.
1149
00:56:05,237 --> 00:56:07,990
This thing is diabolic.
1150
00:56:08,073 --> 00:56:11,373
- COL. FARRELL: In many cases,
Americans either surrendered
1151
00:56:11,451 --> 00:56:14,705
or dropped their weapons
and ran.
1152
00:56:14,788 --> 00:56:18,258
The American performance,
to put it charitably,
1153
00:56:18,333 --> 00:56:21,177
was--was abysmal.
1154
00:56:21,253 --> 00:56:24,678
- NARRATOR:
US forces are pushed
back in to Kasserine Pass,
1155
00:56:24,756 --> 00:56:26,758
where under constant attack,
1156
00:56:26,842 --> 00:56:29,470
the untested units fall apart.
1157
00:56:29,553 --> 00:56:31,476
- PROF. KENNEDY: To raise
an armed force
1158
00:56:31,555 --> 00:56:33,557
of 16 million people
in a hurry means
1159
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:35,768
that in the initial stages
of armed conflict,
1160
00:56:35,851 --> 00:56:37,819
you're going to have troops
in the front line
1161
00:56:37,895 --> 00:56:40,273
who have no taste of battle
before this moment.
1162
00:56:40,355 --> 00:56:41,777
Dwight Eisenhower,
for example,
1163
00:56:41,857 --> 00:56:43,154
becomes the supreme
Allied commander.
1164
00:56:43,233 --> 00:56:45,611
Before World War ll, before
his North African campaign,
1165
00:56:45,694 --> 00:56:48,072
he had never heard a bullet
fired in anger
1166
00:56:48,155 --> 00:56:49,828
in his entire life.
1167
00:56:49,907 --> 00:56:53,286
He had no actual
combat experience.
1168
00:56:53,368 --> 00:56:56,042
- NARRATOR:
Further disaster
is averted when reinforcements
1169
00:56:56,121 --> 00:56:59,421
from the British 1st Army
arrive.
1170
00:56:59,499 --> 00:57:01,342
And with Field Marshall
Montgomery
1171
00:57:01,418 --> 00:57:02,965
approaching from the East,
1172
00:57:03,045 --> 00:57:05,844
Rommel retreats.
1173
00:57:05,923 --> 00:57:09,018
Frank Gervasi witnesses
the aftermath.
1174
00:57:10,344 --> 00:57:14,895
- We got to Kasserine Pass,
and we had patrols going out,
1175
00:57:14,973 --> 00:57:17,351
and you could still smell
the flesh,
1176
00:57:17,434 --> 00:57:19,232
from, you know,
the burnt-out tanks
1177
00:57:19,311 --> 00:57:24,989
and human beings,
and uh, it was bad.
1178
00:57:25,067 --> 00:57:26,944
We took an awful beating.
1179
00:57:27,027 --> 00:57:29,246
Don't forget, though,
we were against
1180
00:57:29,321 --> 00:57:31,790
Germany's best--Rommel's.
1181
00:57:31,865 --> 00:57:34,709
We had the equipment but we
didn't have the experience.
1182
00:57:36,662 --> 00:57:40,132
- NARRATOR:
America
suffers 6,500 casualties.
1183
00:57:40,207 --> 00:57:42,710
Its first land battle
in World War ll
1184
00:57:42,793 --> 00:57:44,921
is a disaster.
1185
00:57:45,003 --> 00:57:48,132
- Kasserine was a tremendous
defeat for the United States.
1186
00:57:48,215 --> 00:57:50,638
There's just no way
to sugar-coat that.
1187
00:57:50,717 --> 00:57:52,970
On the other hand, Kasserine
is the best thing
1188
00:57:53,053 --> 00:57:54,726
that ever happened
to the US Army.
1189
00:57:54,805 --> 00:57:56,728
Better to get your butt
kicked there
1190
00:57:56,807 --> 00:57:58,480
than get your butt kicked
in Normandy.
1191
00:57:58,558 --> 00:58:01,937
- There are some changes
made in policies,
1192
00:58:02,020 --> 00:58:03,397
in how we're going to operate,
1193
00:58:03,480 --> 00:58:05,403
but there are also
some key leadership changes.
1194
00:58:05,482 --> 00:58:07,325
You've got Eisenhower
earning his spurs.
1195
00:58:07,401 --> 00:58:09,153
You've got George Patton.
1196
00:58:09,236 --> 00:58:11,364
And the lessons learned
in North Africa
1197
00:58:11,446 --> 00:58:13,824
are gonna be applied
for the rest of World War ll.
1198
00:58:15,659 --> 00:58:17,332
- NARRATOR:
The new
US Army doctrines
1199
00:58:17,411 --> 00:58:20,130
ensure a dramatic turnaround.
1200
00:58:20,205 --> 00:58:23,800
First, Tunisia falls,
followed by Sicily,
1201
00:58:23,875 --> 00:58:27,846
preparing the way for the Allied
invasion of Italy.
1202
00:58:27,921 --> 00:58:30,265
And on the other side
of the world,
1203
00:58:30,340 --> 00:58:34,220
the Pacific war enters
a new phase of ferocity.
1204
00:58:34,302 --> 00:58:37,556
- The carnage was phenomenal.
1205
00:58:37,639 --> 00:58:41,519
- [bomb whistles,
plane engine roars]
1206
00:58:47,858 --> 00:58:49,656
- NARRATOR:
From the ashes
of Pearl Harbor,
1207
00:58:49,735 --> 00:58:51,112
the American war machine
1208
00:58:51,194 --> 00:58:53,071
is approaching full potential,
1209
00:58:53,155 --> 00:58:55,954
engaging her enemies
on three continents.
1210
00:58:58,285 --> 00:58:59,707
In the Pacific,
1211
00:58:59,786 --> 00:59:03,256
troop numbers grow by 457%.
1212
00:59:03,331 --> 00:59:06,551
Its fleet trebles in size.
1213
00:59:06,626 --> 00:59:08,970
With this vast force assembled,
1214
00:59:09,046 --> 00:59:12,391
America's final drive
towards Japan begins.
1215
00:59:13,925 --> 00:59:16,019
- The American strategy
is a dual-pronged approach,
1216
00:59:16,094 --> 00:59:18,096
with Admiral Nimitz,
1217
00:59:18,180 --> 00:59:20,603
with the Navy Marines going
through the central Pacific,
1218
00:59:20,682 --> 00:59:23,526
General MacArthur with most
of the army forces
1219
00:59:23,602 --> 00:59:25,229
coming through
the Southwest Pacific--
1220
00:59:25,312 --> 00:59:27,815
both approaching Japan
from different axes.
1221
00:59:30,233 --> 00:59:31,780
- NARRATOR:
Admiral Nimitz's
flotilla
1222
00:59:31,860 --> 00:59:33,908
is the largest in history--
1223
00:59:33,987 --> 00:59:35,910
the perfect weapon to destroy
1224
00:59:35,989 --> 00:59:38,788
Japan's defensive strongholds.
1225
00:59:40,327 --> 00:59:42,250
- PETER: It's
this massive fleet
1226
00:59:42,329 --> 00:59:45,629
of aircraft carriers,
destroyers,
1227
00:59:45,707 --> 00:59:47,880
fast battleships,
1228
00:59:47,959 --> 00:59:50,758
backed by this long
logistics train
1229
00:59:50,837 --> 00:59:53,681
of supply ships, oilers,
1230
00:59:53,757 --> 00:59:55,851
hospital ships--
you name it.
1231
00:59:55,926 --> 00:59:57,928
This thing was lethality
1232
00:59:58,011 --> 01:00:01,231
and industrialization
personified.
1233
01:00:02,974 --> 01:00:05,022
- NARRATOR:
The flotilla
targets Saipan,
1234
01:00:05,102 --> 01:00:07,070
one of the Mariana Islands.
1235
01:00:09,439 --> 01:00:11,692
Its airfields can become
the launchpad
1236
01:00:11,775 --> 01:00:16,827
for a sustained aerial
bombardment of Japan.
1237
01:00:16,905 --> 01:00:18,578
Emperor Hirohito demands
1238
01:00:18,657 --> 01:00:21,035
his 32,000 troops
stationed there
1239
01:00:21,118 --> 01:00:23,917
to defend at all costs.
1240
01:00:23,995 --> 01:00:25,463
- COL. FARRELL:
For the Japanese,
1241
01:00:25,539 --> 01:00:28,793
defeat was not an option--
retreat was not an option.
1242
01:00:28,875 --> 01:00:31,424
If it meant losing
everything and everyone,
1243
01:00:31,503 --> 01:00:34,302
they would do it
in pursuit of victory.
1244
01:00:36,466 --> 01:00:38,434
- NARRATOR:
June 1944...
1245
01:00:38,510 --> 01:00:41,229
8,000 US marines
hit the beaches
1246
01:00:41,304 --> 01:00:44,183
under intense Japanese fire.
1247
01:00:44,266 --> 01:00:46,610
- PROF. OVERY: For the marines,
it was a nightmare.
1248
01:00:46,685 --> 01:00:49,234
At the end of the day,
the Japanese have one job,
1249
01:00:49,312 --> 01:00:50,814
which is to inflict
heavy casualties
1250
01:00:50,897 --> 01:00:52,149
on the people attacking them.
1251
01:00:52,232 --> 01:00:53,734
If you're in the front line,
1252
01:00:53,817 --> 01:00:55,785
you're going to be
one of those casualties.
1253
01:00:58,488 --> 01:01:00,582
- NARRATOR:
Facing
fanatical resistance,
1254
01:01:00,657 --> 01:01:02,625
a further 80,000 troops land,
1255
01:01:02,701 --> 01:01:05,830
all dependent on naval support.
1256
01:01:07,914 --> 01:01:09,962
But what US Commander Admiral
Spruance
1257
01:01:10,041 --> 01:01:13,511
cannot see...
1258
01:01:13,587 --> 01:01:17,308
are 55 Japanese ships
rapidly approaching.
1259
01:01:19,467 --> 01:01:21,811
- For the Japanese,
this really was gonna be
1260
01:01:21,887 --> 01:01:23,139
their last shot.
1261
01:01:23,221 --> 01:01:25,724
They had to have success
here in this particular battle,
1262
01:01:25,807 --> 01:01:28,435
or they were not gonna
be ever able to field
1263
01:01:28,518 --> 01:01:30,816
this kind of force again.
1264
01:01:30,896 --> 01:01:32,864
- NARRATOR:
Responding
to danger,
1265
01:01:32,939 --> 01:01:34,156
Spruance splits his force,
1266
01:01:34,232 --> 01:01:37,532
dispatching one half to engage
the Japanese fleet.
1267
01:01:44,492 --> 01:01:46,415
As the two forces clash,
1268
01:01:46,494 --> 01:01:49,543
US technological superiority
dominates,
1269
01:01:49,623 --> 01:01:53,844
most notably 480 newly
developed Hellcats.
1270
01:01:54,961 --> 01:01:56,963
- PETER: The Hellcat's just
an incredible weapon.
1271
01:01:57,047 --> 01:01:58,173
It's fast.
1272
01:01:58,256 --> 01:02:00,600
It can take hits
and still keep going on.
1273
01:02:00,675 --> 01:02:01,801
It's well armored.
1274
01:02:01,885 --> 01:02:04,138
And on top of that,
it's now flown
1275
01:02:04,221 --> 01:02:07,270
by elite pilots.
1276
01:02:07,349 --> 01:02:09,443
- The Japanese lost most of
their well-trained pilots
1277
01:02:09,517 --> 01:02:12,145
in other battles--
they couldn't replace them.
1278
01:02:12,229 --> 01:02:13,902
They didn't have the fuel
to train.
1279
01:02:13,980 --> 01:02:15,653
Their aircraft weren't as good.
1280
01:02:15,732 --> 01:02:18,986
- And that's what really creates
the turkey shoot
1281
01:02:19,069 --> 01:02:20,616
of the Battle
of the Philippines Sea.
1282
01:02:23,365 --> 01:02:25,083
- NARRATOR:
Over
the next 8 hours,
1283
01:02:25,158 --> 01:02:28,287
429 Japanese planes
are destroyed,
1284
01:02:28,370 --> 01:02:30,498
compared to 29 American--
1285
01:02:30,580 --> 01:02:33,925
a kill ratio of 15 to 1.
1286
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:36,048
- DR. CRANE: The scale
of the slaughter
1287
01:02:36,127 --> 01:02:37,925
between the American pilots
and the Japanese
1288
01:02:38,004 --> 01:02:40,302
is significant enough where,
after the battle of Marianas,
1289
01:02:40,382 --> 01:02:41,634
the Japanese aircraft
carrier force
1290
01:02:41,716 --> 01:02:44,595
is no longer a factor
in the war in the Pacific.
1291
01:02:47,555 --> 01:02:49,523
- NARRATOR:
On land,
American troops
1292
01:02:49,599 --> 01:02:53,024
continue to face
ferocious resistance.
1293
01:02:53,103 --> 01:02:54,525
- PROF. KENNEDY:
The Pacific war was
1294
01:02:54,604 --> 01:02:57,699
a bitter
and cruel war,
1295
01:02:57,774 --> 01:02:59,868
but at Saipan, it became
more and more evident
1296
01:02:59,943 --> 01:03:04,119
how deep was the Japanese
ferocity
1297
01:03:04,197 --> 01:03:05,369
or the ferociousness
1298
01:03:05,448 --> 01:03:08,543
of the Japanese capacity
to resist.
1299
01:03:08,618 --> 01:03:11,246
There are these hair-raising
stories about how the Americans
1300
01:03:11,329 --> 01:03:14,424
had to lower drums of gasoline
and explode them
1301
01:03:14,499 --> 01:03:17,048
in the caves in which
the Japanese were hiding,
1302
01:03:17,127 --> 01:03:18,674
because they could
not induce people
1303
01:03:18,753 --> 01:03:21,973
to come out and surrender.
1304
01:03:22,048 --> 01:03:25,143
- NARRATOR:
The suicidal fervor
is not confined to soldiers.
1305
01:03:29,806 --> 01:03:31,808
Eight thousand Japanese
civilians
1306
01:03:31,891 --> 01:03:33,438
leap to their deaths.
1307
01:03:33,518 --> 01:03:35,111
- PROF. KENNEDY: The American
witnesses
1308
01:03:35,186 --> 01:03:37,154
could not believe their eyes
that they were seeing
1309
01:03:37,230 --> 01:03:39,858
this mass suicide
of Japanese civilians,
1310
01:03:39,941 --> 01:03:42,035
including women and children--
1311
01:03:42,110 --> 01:03:44,659
mothers killing
their own babies--
1312
01:03:44,738 --> 01:03:48,208
rather than surrender
to the Americans.
1313
01:03:48,283 --> 01:03:49,910
- NARRATOR:
When Saipan falls,
1314
01:03:49,993 --> 01:03:52,746
over 3,400 Americans lie dead,
1315
01:03:52,829 --> 01:03:55,924
alongside 46,000 Japanese,
1316
01:03:55,999 --> 01:03:59,879
half of whom
are civilian suicides.
1317
01:03:59,961 --> 01:04:02,635
It is a mere taste
of what's to come.
1318
01:04:05,091 --> 01:04:07,219
- NARRATOR:
January 1945
1319
01:04:07,302 --> 01:04:09,680
American Air Force General
Curtis LeMay
1320
01:04:09,763 --> 01:04:11,731
arrives at the conquered
airfields
1321
01:04:11,806 --> 01:04:15,026
of the Marianas.
1322
01:04:15,101 --> 01:04:16,819
The war in the Pacific...
1323
01:04:16,895 --> 01:04:18,693
- [bomb explodes]
1324
01:04:18,772 --> 01:04:21,571
- NARRATOR:
...is about
to ruthlessly escalate.
1325
01:04:21,649 --> 01:04:23,617
- COL. FARRELL:
Curtis LeMay believed
1326
01:04:23,693 --> 01:04:26,412
there should be no hesitation
and no moderation
1327
01:04:26,488 --> 01:04:29,241
in bringing destruction
to the enemy,
1328
01:04:29,324 --> 01:04:32,043
and the surest,
most effective way to do that
1329
01:04:32,118 --> 01:04:36,123
would be through massive,
unrestrained strategic bombing.
1330
01:04:36,206 --> 01:04:38,083
- He was going out to destroy
1331
01:04:38,166 --> 01:04:41,386
the industrial power of Japan.
1332
01:04:41,461 --> 01:04:44,260
And the kindling for all those
fires he was lighting
1333
01:04:44,339 --> 01:04:46,512
to burn down the factories
1334
01:04:46,591 --> 01:04:48,639
happened to be houses
with people in them.
1335
01:04:51,429 --> 01:04:52,897
- NARRATOR:
March 9...
1336
01:04:52,972 --> 01:04:55,851
over 300 B-29's reach Tokyo.
1337
01:04:58,728 --> 01:05:00,776
They systematically lay down
1338
01:05:00,855 --> 01:05:06,112
1,665 tons
of M-69 incendiary clusters
1339
01:05:06,194 --> 01:05:08,947
over the wooden city.
1340
01:05:09,030 --> 01:05:11,658
It remains
the most destructive air raid
1341
01:05:11,741 --> 01:05:14,039
in the history of mankind.
1342
01:05:17,414 --> 01:05:20,839
- The Japanese later called
the early fire raids
1343
01:05:20,917 --> 01:05:22,419
the "night of the black snow,"
1344
01:05:22,502 --> 01:05:25,756
because of the debris
and the impact
1345
01:05:25,839 --> 01:05:28,467
of these particular raids
on their lives.
1346
01:05:28,550 --> 01:05:30,678
The master bomber
who was watching the raids
1347
01:05:30,760 --> 01:05:33,058
said you could see the fires
150 miles away.
1348
01:05:35,515 --> 01:05:39,315
You had asphalt melting
in the streets.
1349
01:05:39,394 --> 01:05:41,647
You had glass melting
out of buildings.
1350
01:05:44,107 --> 01:05:46,781
A lot the air crews were really
shaken up by the results.
1351
01:05:46,860 --> 01:05:49,363
Tail gunners reported watching
people burning to death
1352
01:05:49,446 --> 01:05:51,949
and burning rivers
covered with napalm.
1353
01:05:54,159 --> 01:05:56,332
Japanese doctors wrote
about watching the debris
1354
01:05:56,411 --> 01:05:57,913
floating in rivers afterwards,
1355
01:05:57,996 --> 01:06:00,465
and they couldn't tell if it
was bodies or sticks of wood.
1356
01:06:02,542 --> 01:06:06,422
- NARRATOR:
Sixteen square miles
are razed to the ground.
1357
01:06:06,504 --> 01:06:09,849
The inferno claims
90,000 civilian lives
1358
01:06:09,924 --> 01:06:14,145
andleaves
over 1 million homeless.
1359
01:06:14,220 --> 01:06:16,348
On the other side
of the Atlantic,
1360
01:06:16,431 --> 01:06:18,274
Allied forces converge
1361
01:06:18,349 --> 01:06:20,977
to prepare for an equally
decisive breakthrough
1362
01:06:21,060 --> 01:06:23,529
in the liberation of Europe.
1363
01:06:23,605 --> 01:06:26,609
- For the Allies,
the D-day landings
1364
01:06:26,691 --> 01:06:29,114
represented
the success or failure
1365
01:06:29,194 --> 01:06:32,243
of the entire war.
1366
01:06:32,322 --> 01:06:35,417
- But the outcome really
rested on a knife edge.
1367
01:06:35,492 --> 01:06:39,292
- [machine guns firing,
bombs exploding]
1368
01:06:46,085 --> 01:06:48,588
- NARRATOR:
November, 1943...
1369
01:06:48,671 --> 01:06:50,924
Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill
1370
01:06:51,007 --> 01:06:53,977
meet in Tehran to plan
"Operation Overlord,"
1371
01:06:54,052 --> 01:06:56,430
the invasion
of Nazi-occupied Europe.
1372
01:06:59,807 --> 01:07:02,856
Churchill warns of
the challenges that await them.
1373
01:07:02,936 --> 01:07:05,359
- The British had learned
firsthand
1374
01:07:05,438 --> 01:07:08,066
how capable, how effective
a fighting force
1375
01:07:08,149 --> 01:07:10,026
the Wehrmacht was.
1376
01:07:10,109 --> 01:07:13,409
- NARRATOR:
Britain's experience
is chastening--
1377
01:07:13,488 --> 01:07:16,958
evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940,
1378
01:07:17,033 --> 01:07:20,833
driven from Norway and Greece.
1379
01:07:20,912 --> 01:07:22,414
Yet despite the dangers,
1380
01:07:22,497 --> 01:07:25,341
the Allies determine
to risk everything
1381
01:07:25,416 --> 01:07:29,011
on a full-scale
cross-Channel invasion
1382
01:07:29,087 --> 01:07:34,810
into the teeth
of the Nazi defenses.
1383
01:07:34,884 --> 01:07:37,387
- COL. FARRELL: In order
for D-Day to succeed,
1384
01:07:37,470 --> 01:07:40,974
it required four distinct
events to happen.
1385
01:07:41,057 --> 01:07:43,936
First, the Allies
needed the momentum
1386
01:07:44,018 --> 01:07:46,191
of manpower
and equipment
1387
01:07:46,271 --> 01:07:47,614
to make it to the beach
1388
01:07:47,689 --> 01:07:50,033
and continue to reinforce
the beachhead
1389
01:07:50,108 --> 01:07:52,361
once the landings were secure.
1390
01:07:52,443 --> 01:07:54,537
Secondly was air supremacy.
1391
01:07:54,612 --> 01:07:57,035
The Allies had to prevent
the Germans
1392
01:07:57,115 --> 01:08:00,836
from reinforcing their positions
on the beachhead.
1393
01:08:00,910 --> 01:08:04,540
Also, the Allies needed
a major Soviet offensive
1394
01:08:04,622 --> 01:08:06,750
so that Germany
would be sandwiched
1395
01:08:06,833 --> 01:08:09,086
between two invading armies.
1396
01:08:09,168 --> 01:08:11,921
And finally,
the element of surprise.
1397
01:08:12,005 --> 01:08:14,975
If the Germans had been aware
that the invasion was coming,
1398
01:08:15,049 --> 01:08:18,394
it would have certainly failed.
1399
01:08:18,469 --> 01:08:20,312
- NARRATOR:
To win
the intelligence war,
1400
01:08:20,388 --> 01:08:26,236
the Allies launch
"Operation Fortitude."
1401
01:08:26,311 --> 01:08:28,780
- Operation Fortitude
stands to the present day
1402
01:08:28,855 --> 01:08:31,779
as arguably the greatest
deception plan
1403
01:08:31,858 --> 01:08:33,735
in modern warfare.
1404
01:08:36,070 --> 01:08:38,493
- NARRATOR:
In an audacious
act of misdirection,
1405
01:08:38,573 --> 01:08:41,167
a decoy army
of 11 ghost divisions
1406
01:08:41,242 --> 01:08:42,960
figureheaded by General Patton
1407
01:08:43,036 --> 01:08:46,040
assembles opposite Calais.
1408
01:08:46,122 --> 01:08:49,001
- They had to really trick
the German high command
1409
01:08:49,083 --> 01:08:51,302
into thinking that Calais,
1410
01:08:51,377 --> 01:08:53,220
the shortest route
across the Channel,
1411
01:08:53,296 --> 01:08:57,142
was the way that the invasion
was going to be mounted.
1412
01:08:57,216 --> 01:08:59,184
It had dummy tanks,
1413
01:08:59,260 --> 01:09:01,433
dummy airstrips,
dummy hangers.
1414
01:09:01,512 --> 01:09:03,890
And they let the German
reconnaissance aircraft
1415
01:09:03,973 --> 01:09:06,692
fly over these areas and say,
"Oh, here's a huge army.
1416
01:09:06,768 --> 01:09:09,692
This is clearly where they're
going to put their main effort."
1417
01:09:11,564 --> 01:09:13,987
- NARRATOR:
With Fortitude
blinding the Axis,
1418
01:09:14,067 --> 01:09:16,820
the real invasion force
secretly assembles...
1419
01:09:20,156 --> 01:09:23,786
9 1/2 million tons of supplies,
1420
01:09:23,868 --> 01:09:27,668
4,000 amphibious vessels,
1421
01:09:27,747 --> 01:09:30,466
and over 1 1/2 million troops.
1422
01:09:32,168 --> 01:09:33,385
The man charged
1423
01:09:33,461 --> 01:09:35,463
with the immense logistical
challenge of the landings
1424
01:09:35,546 --> 01:09:39,426
is British Naval mastermind,
Sir Bertram Ramsey.
1425
01:09:39,509 --> 01:09:42,809
- Sir Bertram Ramsey's plan
was meticulous,
1426
01:09:42,887 --> 01:09:45,390
it was complex,
it was rehearsed,
1427
01:09:45,473 --> 01:09:47,646
and it was thorough
in every way.
1428
01:09:49,811 --> 01:09:51,905
- NARRATOR:
The plan
is astonishing.
1429
01:09:51,979 --> 01:09:54,073
Almost 7,000 vessels
1430
01:09:54,148 --> 01:09:56,367
will be loaded with men
and supplies
1431
01:09:56,442 --> 01:10:00,037
and moved in secret
to the assembly points.
1432
01:10:00,113 --> 01:10:01,911
At a pre-determined time,
1433
01:10:01,989 --> 01:10:04,083
they will navigate
through narrow channels
1434
01:10:04,158 --> 01:10:05,501
cleared of mines,
1435
01:10:05,576 --> 01:10:09,626
towards enemy shores
through unpredictable seas.
1436
01:10:09,706 --> 01:10:12,505
Simultaneously,
naval screens will be mounted
1437
01:10:12,583 --> 01:10:15,757
to protect against
Axis counterattacks.
1438
01:10:15,837 --> 01:10:17,805
- LTG MASON:
The scope and depth of it--
1439
01:10:17,880 --> 01:10:19,302
it's just off the scale.
1440
01:10:19,382 --> 01:10:21,430
Me personally, I've been
involved in planning
1441
01:10:21,509 --> 01:10:24,012
for things like
Desert Storm,
1442
01:10:24,095 --> 01:10:26,189
uh, Operation
Iraqi Freedom--
1443
01:10:26,264 --> 01:10:28,141
the early pieces of it--
and even that,
1444
01:10:28,224 --> 01:10:31,068
with big computers and lots
of smart guys working it,
1445
01:10:31,144 --> 01:10:32,691
it was daunting then.
1446
01:10:35,314 --> 01:10:37,282
- NARRATOR:
Getting the Allied
forces to the beachheads
1447
01:10:37,358 --> 01:10:40,077
is just the start.
1448
01:10:40,153 --> 01:10:43,703
Awaiting them
is Hitler's Atlantic wall,
1449
01:10:43,781 --> 01:10:47,376
a defensive network
1,600 miles long
1450
01:10:47,452 --> 01:10:51,252
and considered by the fuhrer
as unbreachable.
1451
01:10:51,330 --> 01:10:53,879
- PETER: It's this combination
of everything
1452
01:10:53,958 --> 01:10:57,303
from millions of mines,
1453
01:10:57,378 --> 01:10:59,221
specific defenses
1454
01:10:59,297 --> 01:11:02,597
designed to rip the bottom
of a landing craft.
1455
01:11:02,675 --> 01:11:05,519
Then you get
to machine gun bunkers
1456
01:11:05,595 --> 01:11:07,939
with interlocking fires,
1457
01:11:08,014 --> 01:11:10,483
6-inch cannons--you name it.
1458
01:11:10,558 --> 01:11:13,186
It's just a nasty,
nasty piece of work.
1459
01:11:13,269 --> 01:11:15,522
- DR. CRANE: You know,
there are trained troops
1460
01:11:15,605 --> 01:11:17,073
who've been there for years
sighting
1461
01:11:17,148 --> 01:11:18,900
every avenue of approach
off the beach.
1462
01:11:18,983 --> 01:11:21,202
And you know there are gonna be
massive counterattacks--
1463
01:11:21,277 --> 01:11:22,779
the Germans are masters at that.
1464
01:11:22,862 --> 01:11:24,364
So there's just
so much uncertainty.
1465
01:11:29,202 --> 01:11:30,624
- NARRATOR:
The window
of opportunity
1466
01:11:30,703 --> 01:11:34,003
is desperately narrow.
1467
01:11:34,081 --> 01:11:36,504
Supreme Allied Commander
Eisenhower
1468
01:11:36,584 --> 01:11:38,837
sets the date...
1469
01:11:38,920 --> 01:11:43,175
June 5, 1944.
1470
01:11:43,257 --> 01:11:44,850
- COL. FARRELL: Once Eisenhower
1471
01:11:44,926 --> 01:11:45,848
made the decision,
1472
01:11:45,927 --> 01:11:47,304
it was irrevocable--
1473
01:11:47,386 --> 01:11:48,683
there was no plan B.
1474
01:11:48,763 --> 01:11:51,232
This was it--go for broke.
1475
01:11:51,307 --> 01:11:53,309
Either the invasion
would succeed
1476
01:11:53,392 --> 01:11:55,486
or the invasion attempt
1477
01:11:55,561 --> 01:11:57,529
would have to be put off
indefinitely.
1478
01:11:57,605 --> 01:12:01,075
- Dwight Eisenhower sat down
and wrote a little note
1479
01:12:01,150 --> 01:12:04,245
taking blame for the failure
of the landings
1480
01:12:04,320 --> 01:12:07,369
that he was prepared to deliver
if it did fail.
1481
01:12:07,448 --> 01:12:10,167
No one on the Allied side
saw this as a sure thing.
1482
01:12:10,243 --> 01:12:12,587
- [bombs exploding]
1483
01:12:12,662 --> 01:12:15,040
- NARRATOR:
As the Allies bomb
the French infrastructure
1484
01:12:15,122 --> 01:12:17,500
connecting Normandy to the east,
1485
01:12:17,583 --> 01:12:19,460
3 million servicemen
1486
01:12:19,544 --> 01:12:23,515
are locked away
from the population.
1487
01:12:23,589 --> 01:12:26,433
Coastal towns are locked down.
1488
01:12:26,509 --> 01:12:31,185
The fate of the world
hangs in the balance.
1489
01:12:40,398 --> 01:12:44,528
After an agonizing 24-hour delay
due to bad weather,
1490
01:12:44,610 --> 01:12:47,204
"Overlord," the most
important Allied operation
1491
01:12:47,280 --> 01:12:48,406
of World War ll
1492
01:12:48,489 --> 01:12:51,959
is set in motion.
1493
01:12:52,034 --> 01:12:54,537
Before the armada embarks
for Normandy,
1494
01:12:54,620 --> 01:12:56,042
the Allies launch
1495
01:12:56,122 --> 01:13:00,423
one final master class
of deception.
1496
01:13:00,501 --> 01:13:02,378
To convince the Germans
1497
01:13:02,461 --> 01:13:04,714
that Calais is the invasion
site,
1498
01:13:04,797 --> 01:13:07,971
British bombers circle
at low altitude,
1499
01:13:08,050 --> 01:13:11,680
dropping tons of metallic chaff
into the air.
1500
01:13:11,762 --> 01:13:15,016
- CHRIS: This created a huge
radar registry for the Germans,
1501
01:13:15,099 --> 01:13:18,603
and this phantom army that has
been constructed in their minds
1502
01:13:18,686 --> 01:13:21,690
through documents
and fake bases--
1503
01:13:21,772 --> 01:13:23,945
now it starts to come alive.
1504
01:13:24,025 --> 01:13:27,245
- Totally threw
the German defensive planning.
1505
01:13:27,320 --> 01:13:29,869
It threw it into disarray.
1506
01:13:29,947 --> 01:13:31,620
- NARRATOR:
With
the misdirection campaign
1507
01:13:31,699 --> 01:13:33,121
underway,
1508
01:13:33,200 --> 01:13:36,329
the invasion force
heads towards its targets--
1509
01:13:36,412 --> 01:13:38,506
five beachheads
1510
01:13:38,581 --> 01:13:41,334
and a cliff-top gun emplacement
at Pointe Du Hoc.
1511
01:13:46,005 --> 01:13:47,348
Ahead of the transports,
1512
01:13:47,423 --> 01:13:51,428
an aerial and naval barrage
pounds the coastal defenses.
1513
01:13:51,510 --> 01:13:54,229
Despite the assault,
the men on the landing craft
1514
01:13:54,305 --> 01:13:57,275
come under ferocious
German fire.
1515
01:13:57,350 --> 01:13:58,852
- MICHAEL: It was confusing.
1516
01:13:58,935 --> 01:14:01,313
The German Planes
were going right over us.
1517
01:14:01,395 --> 01:14:04,774
There was these bombs and guns
going off and everything else.
1518
01:14:04,857 --> 01:14:09,863
- Some of the boats,
they got hit by bombs already,
1519
01:14:09,946 --> 01:14:12,870
and all you could see was
you don't know who they were--
1520
01:14:12,949 --> 01:14:14,872
see guys laying in the water,
1521
01:14:14,951 --> 01:14:17,329
some with limbs off and arms.
1522
01:14:17,411 --> 01:14:20,790
There was more than being
frightened on the boats.
1523
01:14:20,873 --> 01:14:23,171
Some guys were crying
a little bit.
1524
01:14:23,250 --> 01:14:25,127
Some guys was even urinating.
1525
01:14:25,211 --> 01:14:28,715
- We were all nervous--
everybody was--
1526
01:14:28,798 --> 01:14:30,892
but there was nothing
you could do about it.
1527
01:14:30,967 --> 01:14:34,722
You knew what had to do
and it had to be done.
1528
01:14:34,804 --> 01:14:36,772
- NARRATOR:
Charles Barley
and Michael Vernillo
1529
01:14:36,847 --> 01:14:39,020
are amongst the first
to hit Omaha,
1530
01:14:39,100 --> 01:14:43,480
the most heavily defended
German position.
1531
01:14:43,562 --> 01:14:46,566
- A lot of guys were in a bunch
getting off the boat,
1532
01:14:46,649 --> 01:14:48,617
and they were killed instantly,
1533
01:14:48,693 --> 01:14:51,196
you might as well say.
1534
01:14:51,278 --> 01:14:53,872
We got into the water.
1535
01:14:53,948 --> 01:14:55,871
The water was up to my stomach,
1536
01:14:55,950 --> 01:14:59,329
and I said to myself, I said,
"Goodbye, Charlie--you're gone."
1537
01:15:02,707 --> 01:15:05,506
And then it was really
a terrible feeling in the water.
1538
01:15:05,584 --> 01:15:07,427
You can see there's bodies
laying around,
1539
01:15:07,503 --> 01:15:09,255
and you couldn't identify
them...
1540
01:15:09,338 --> 01:15:12,888
It was really nasty--
really bloody.
1541
01:15:12,967 --> 01:15:14,344
- COL. FARRELL: Those
fortunate enough
1542
01:15:14,427 --> 01:15:15,804
to make it off the boats--
1543
01:15:15,886 --> 01:15:17,479
the scene
they would have confronted,
1544
01:15:17,555 --> 01:15:21,685
it's almost unimaginable.
1545
01:15:21,767 --> 01:15:24,987
They would have been suffering
still from seasickness.
1546
01:15:25,062 --> 01:15:26,939
They would have heard
the whirring of bullets
1547
01:15:27,023 --> 01:15:28,525
above their heads.
1548
01:15:28,607 --> 01:15:30,280
They would have seen
in front of them
1549
01:15:30,359 --> 01:15:33,408
dead and dying
American soldiers.
1550
01:15:33,487 --> 01:15:35,455
But it was more than chaos.
1551
01:15:35,531 --> 01:15:38,080
It was deadly chaos.
1552
01:15:38,159 --> 01:15:40,207
- NARRATOR:
As the Allies
continue to land
1553
01:15:40,286 --> 01:15:42,129
against merciless German fire,
1554
01:15:42,204 --> 01:15:45,299
the casualty rate soars.
1555
01:15:49,545 --> 01:15:51,718
- But after 15 hours
offighfing,
1556
01:15:51,797 --> 01:15:53,799
all beachheads are taken
1557
01:15:53,883 --> 01:15:58,730
with Pointe Du Hoc
falling the following day.
1558
01:15:58,804 --> 01:16:01,774
The Allies suffer
10,000 casualties,
1559
01:16:01,849 --> 01:16:06,025
but it is blood shed achieving
the almost-impossible.
1560
01:16:06,103 --> 01:16:10,358
They have a foothold
in Nazi-occupied Europe.
1561
01:16:12,735 --> 01:16:14,829
- For Hitler, this was
1562
01:16:14,904 --> 01:16:17,248
the nightmare come to pass.
1563
01:16:17,323 --> 01:16:20,042
- We basically, you know,
1564
01:16:20,117 --> 01:16:22,870
signed the death certificate
of Nazi Germany
1565
01:16:22,953 --> 01:16:24,876
on June 6, 1944.
1566
01:16:28,667 --> 01:16:30,544
- COL. FARRELL: After
weeks and weeks
1567
01:16:30,628 --> 01:16:33,006
of being bottled up
in the Normandy beachhead,
1568
01:16:33,089 --> 01:16:36,093
the breakout that occurred
exceeded expectations.
1569
01:16:38,010 --> 01:16:41,105
- NARRATOR:
The success is down
to the network of supply lines
1570
01:16:41,180 --> 01:16:44,855
chasing the front-line soldiers.
1571
01:16:44,934 --> 01:16:47,437
Connecting France
with the war depot of Britain
1572
01:16:47,520 --> 01:16:50,364
are artificial Mulberry harbors,
1573
01:16:50,439 --> 01:16:53,238
landing 2 1/2 million men,
1574
01:16:53,317 --> 01:16:55,570
4 million tons of supplies,
1575
01:16:55,653 --> 01:16:58,827
and 500,000 vehicles
within the first 10 months.
1576
01:17:01,033 --> 01:17:04,253
Fueling the offensive
is "Operation Pluto"...
1577
01:17:04,328 --> 01:17:07,081
7O miles of undersea pipeline
1578
01:17:07,164 --> 01:17:12,967
pumping up to a million gallons
of fuel per day into France.
1579
01:17:13,045 --> 01:17:15,047
- LTG MASON: Those tons and
those millions of gallons
1580
01:17:15,131 --> 01:17:16,758
of fuel were on a scale
1581
01:17:16,841 --> 01:17:18,809
that probably won't be
replicated in the future,
1582
01:17:18,884 --> 01:17:22,388
so what they accomplished
might be unique
1583
01:17:22,471 --> 01:17:25,850
in human history, really.
1584
01:17:25,933 --> 01:17:28,561
- NARRATOR:
From space,
the speed of advance
1585
01:17:28,644 --> 01:17:30,567
is astounding.
1586
01:17:30,646 --> 01:17:33,616
August 19...
Paris is liberated,
1587
01:17:33,691 --> 01:17:36,035
followed by Rouen, Verdun,
1588
01:17:36,110 --> 01:17:39,580
Antwerp and Brussels.
1589
01:17:39,655 --> 01:17:42,784
By September, the Allies
reach the Siegfried Line
1590
01:17:42,867 --> 01:17:45,711
on the cusp
of the German Fatherland.
1591
01:17:45,786 --> 01:17:48,790
Hitler launches his final,
desperate counterattack-
1592
01:17:48,873 --> 01:17:50,841
the Battle of the Bulge.
1593
01:17:50,916 --> 01:17:54,295
Despite heavy losses,
the Allies prevail
1594
01:17:54,378 --> 01:17:57,473
and Nazi Germany
stands on the abyss.
1595
01:17:59,216 --> 01:18:01,264
- Hitler's gamble
in the Ardennes
1596
01:18:01,343 --> 01:18:03,846
basically ensures
the end of the Reich.
1597
01:18:03,929 --> 01:18:06,102
This is his last operational
force he had
1598
01:18:06,182 --> 01:18:08,059
where he could try to influence
1599
01:18:08,142 --> 01:18:10,611
the pace of either front,
East or West.
1600
01:18:10,686 --> 01:18:12,609
Once he threw that force away,
1601
01:18:12,688 --> 01:18:14,816
the American-Soviet conquering
1602
01:18:14,899 --> 01:18:17,368
of the Reich in the next year
was inevitable.
1603
01:18:21,155 --> 01:18:25,001
- NARRATOR:
The War in Europe
nears its climax.
1604
01:18:25,075 --> 01:18:28,170
On the other side of the planet,
the drive towards Japan
1605
01:18:28,245 --> 01:18:33,968
is also approaching
its bloody conclusion.
1606
01:18:34,043 --> 01:18:36,045
But every island invaded
1607
01:18:36,128 --> 01:18:39,473
is coming at increasingly
higher cost.
1608
01:18:39,548 --> 01:18:42,097
- PROF WAWRO: At every stage,
the ferocity
1609
01:18:42,176 --> 01:18:45,726
and intensity of Japanese
defense increases.
1610
01:18:45,804 --> 01:18:49,308
What they thought were suicidal
defense tactics in Saipan
1611
01:18:49,391 --> 01:18:51,485
are redoubled at lwo Jima.
1612
01:18:57,233 --> 01:19:00,362
- NARRATOR:
February 19, 1945...
1613
01:19:00,444 --> 01:19:02,446
60,000 US Marines
1614
01:19:02,529 --> 01:19:04,657
storm the island of lwo Jima,
1615
01:19:04,740 --> 01:19:08,370
where a battle of unrivaled
brutality begins.
1616
01:19:08,452 --> 01:19:11,501
- [machine guns firing,
bombs exploding]
1617
01:19:14,208 --> 01:19:15,926
- COL. FARRELL: The fighting
on lwo Jima
1618
01:19:16,001 --> 01:19:18,925
stands as arguably
the fiercest fighting
1619
01:19:19,004 --> 01:19:21,052
that US military personnel
1620
01:19:21,131 --> 01:19:23,099
have ever experienced.
1621
01:19:23,175 --> 01:19:24,973
There was no amount
of punishment
1622
01:19:25,052 --> 01:19:26,850
could be inflicted
on the Japanese
1623
01:19:26,929 --> 01:19:29,227
that would cause them
to lose their will.
1624
01:19:31,308 --> 01:19:32,935
- PETER: Essentially
they've decided
1625
01:19:33,018 --> 01:19:35,146
that they are going
to die there.
1626
01:19:35,229 --> 01:19:37,778
And when you have
that kind of suicidal fervor,
1627
01:19:37,856 --> 01:19:41,577
it means that
the sort of tactics
1628
01:19:41,652 --> 01:19:44,121
that you might have used
previously
1629
01:19:44,196 --> 01:19:46,540
don't work.
1630
01:19:46,615 --> 01:19:49,994
And so we start using
flamethrowers,
1631
01:19:50,077 --> 01:19:52,921
napalm, tanks up close--
1632
01:19:52,997 --> 01:19:54,795
a style of battle
1633
01:19:54,873 --> 01:19:58,173
that raises the level
of violence,
1634
01:19:58,252 --> 01:19:59,970
even past what we've seen
1635
01:20:00,045 --> 01:20:02,047
in earlier parts
of World War ll,
1636
01:20:02,131 --> 01:20:05,305
which is hard to imagine.
1637
01:20:05,384 --> 01:20:07,386
- NARRATOR:
When lwo Jima falls,
1638
01:20:07,469 --> 01:20:10,439
Japan suffers 20,000 casualties
1639
01:20:10,514 --> 01:20:13,393
compared to 23,000 American,
1640
01:20:13,475 --> 01:20:15,398
the first time US casualties
1641
01:20:15,477 --> 01:20:19,482
exceed that of their enemy.
1642
01:20:19,565 --> 01:20:22,284
As Allied forces
prepare to invade Okinawa,
1643
01:20:22,359 --> 01:20:25,863
the proposed launch pad
for the invasion of Japan,
1644
01:20:25,946 --> 01:20:28,699
the stakes for both sides
are vast.
1645
01:20:30,451 --> 01:20:33,000
- DR. CRANE: The Japanese
defenders of Okinawa knew
1646
01:20:33,078 --> 01:20:35,376
that they were not going
to survive--they could not win.
1647
01:20:35,456 --> 01:20:38,209
But they hoped that,
by causing enough casualties,
1648
01:20:38,292 --> 01:20:40,511
creating enough horror,
that it might either
1649
01:20:40,586 --> 01:20:42,964
make the Americans
decide not to invade Japan,
1650
01:20:43,047 --> 01:20:44,924
or at least maybe
get the Japanese
1651
01:20:45,007 --> 01:20:47,726
a better peace offer
of some kind.
1652
01:20:47,801 --> 01:20:50,395
- NARRATOR:
April 1, 1945...
1653
01:20:50,471 --> 01:20:54,066
the America armada
approaches its target.
1654
01:20:54,141 --> 01:20:57,987
Its scale is unmatched
in the Pacific War.
1655
01:20:58,062 --> 01:21:00,440
- Okinawa was
a military undertaking
1656
01:21:00,522 --> 01:21:03,150
on a scale that rivaled D-Day--
1657
01:21:03,233 --> 01:21:05,156
the size of the invasion force,
1658
01:21:05,235 --> 01:21:08,660
the size of the invasion fleet.
1659
01:21:08,739 --> 01:21:10,833
- NARRATOR:
One thousand-
two hundred warships
1660
01:21:10,908 --> 01:21:13,787
support 3 mass amphibious
attack forces
1661
01:21:13,869 --> 01:21:16,748
hitting the beaches.
1662
01:21:16,830 --> 01:21:21,961
More than 170,000 troops land
eerily unopposed.
1663
01:21:25,631 --> 01:21:27,178
But unseen by American troops
1664
01:21:27,257 --> 01:21:30,557
are 97,000 Japanese defenders,
1665
01:21:30,636 --> 01:21:34,766
ready to strike
with unprecedented savagery.
1666
01:21:34,848 --> 01:21:37,601
- They are taking
the Japanese soldier
1667
01:21:37,684 --> 01:21:41,188
and using just his body
as a weapon.
1668
01:21:41,271 --> 01:21:44,070
- NARRATOR:
Japanese soldiers
with 22-lb satchel bombs
1669
01:21:44,149 --> 01:21:46,652
run under tanks.
1670
01:21:46,735 --> 01:21:49,579
Six thousand defenders
banzai-charge marines
1671
01:21:49,655 --> 01:21:53,410
armed only with bamboo spears
and sidearms.
1672
01:21:53,492 --> 01:21:56,211
- PROF. KENNEDY: In our own
time, we make the comparison
1673
01:21:56,286 --> 01:21:58,334
with suicide bombers,
but if you can imagine
1674
01:21:58,414 --> 01:22:00,337
where entire Japanese units had
1675
01:22:00,416 --> 01:22:03,590
that depth of commitment
that would actually suffer
1676
01:22:03,669 --> 01:22:06,798
mass, essentially suicidal death
1677
01:22:06,880 --> 01:22:09,349
rather than surrender
their position--
1678
01:22:09,425 --> 01:22:12,019
that's a very formidable
military obstacle.
1679
01:22:12,094 --> 01:22:14,222
- [plane engines whirring]
1680
01:22:14,304 --> 01:22:17,558
- NARRATOR:
At sea,
wave after wave of Kamikazes
1681
01:22:17,641 --> 01:22:20,690
crash into US ships.
1682
01:22:20,769 --> 01:22:23,613
- DR. CRANE: The Kamikazes
were especially terrifying
1683
01:22:23,689 --> 01:22:25,532
to the Americans trying
to shoot them down
1684
01:22:25,607 --> 01:22:27,780
because how do you deter
somebody
1685
01:22:27,860 --> 01:22:30,238
who is willing to die
for something.
1686
01:22:30,320 --> 01:22:31,822
Their goal is to die.
1687
01:22:31,905 --> 01:22:36,706
And 18% of Kamikazes
hit ships.
1688
01:22:36,785 --> 01:22:40,164
- NARRATOR:
Four hundred-four
US ships are struck.
1689
01:22:40,247 --> 01:22:42,215
When Okinawa finally falls,
1690
01:22:42,291 --> 01:22:45,044
nearly 100,000 Japanese soldiers
1691
01:22:45,127 --> 01:22:49,223
and 150,000 civilians lie dead.
1692
01:22:49,298 --> 01:22:52,393
The US suffers
76,000 casualties,
1693
01:22:52,468 --> 01:22:55,688
a third of the entire
invasion force.
1694
01:22:57,598 --> 01:23:00,192
- DR. CRANE: The escalation
is just horrifying here.
1695
01:23:00,267 --> 01:23:01,735
And these are little islands,
1696
01:23:01,810 --> 01:23:03,608
and now we're talking
about invading
1697
01:23:03,687 --> 01:23:04,813
the whole Japanese homeland,
1698
01:23:04,897 --> 01:23:06,695
where there are millions
of defenders
1699
01:23:06,773 --> 01:23:08,571
and even more millions
of civilians?
1700
01:23:10,486 --> 01:23:12,363
- NARRATOR:
The US War
Department estimates
1701
01:23:12,446 --> 01:23:14,574
that the invasion of Japan
will result
1702
01:23:14,656 --> 01:23:17,580
in 1O million Japanese
casualties,
1703
01:23:17,659 --> 01:23:20,708
along with at least
1.7 million American.
1704
01:23:22,831 --> 01:23:25,710
Another solution must be sought.
1705
01:23:25,792 --> 01:23:28,716
As the Allies celebrate
victory in Europe...
1706
01:23:28,795 --> 01:23:31,719
as Hitler and his Reich
go up in flames...
1707
01:23:31,798 --> 01:23:36,304
NARRATOR:
America swears in
a new president.
1708
01:23:36,386 --> 01:23:38,684
And Harry Truman
is destined to unleash
1709
01:23:38,764 --> 01:23:40,562
a weapon SO fearsome
1710
01:23:40,641 --> 01:23:43,611
it will herald in
a new dawn of warfare
1711
01:23:43,685 --> 01:23:45,653
across the globe.
1712
01:23:45,729 --> 01:23:49,233
- [bomb explodes,
menacing music]
1713
01:23:55,948 --> 01:23:59,828
- NARRATOR:
War has ravaged
the world for nearly six years.
1714
01:23:59,910 --> 01:24:02,254
Germany and Italy are defeated.
1715
01:24:02,329 --> 01:24:06,835
Only Japan fights on
in defiance of the Allies.
1716
01:24:06,917 --> 01:24:09,716
But a new weapon
is about to make World War ll
1717
01:24:09,795 --> 01:24:11,672
reach its climax...
1718
01:24:14,841 --> 01:24:16,764
December 1938...
1719
01:24:16,843 --> 01:24:19,517
German scientists
split the atom,
1720
01:24:19,596 --> 01:24:22,645
releasing 200 million volts
of electricity.
1721
01:24:25,644 --> 01:24:29,023
After Albert Einstein warns
US President Roosevelt
1722
01:24:29,106 --> 01:24:31,575
that Hitler plans
an atomic program,
1723
01:24:31,650 --> 01:24:33,994
the race for the Bomb is on.
1724
01:24:35,696 --> 01:24:39,451
America, in collaboration
with Britain and Canada,
1725
01:24:39,533 --> 01:24:43,128
launches the Manhattan Project.
1726
01:24:49,751 --> 01:24:52,721
Entire towns
and industrial complexes
1727
01:24:52,796 --> 01:24:57,677
are constructed
across the nation.
1728
01:24:57,759 --> 01:25:00,729
Employing 600,000 people
1729
01:25:00,804 --> 01:25:03,353
and costing $2 billion--
1730
01:25:03,432 --> 01:25:06,276
$25.8 billion
in today's money--
1731
01:25:06,351 --> 01:25:09,821
it is engineering
on an unprecedented scale.
1732
01:25:11,732 --> 01:25:14,235
- DR. CRANE: No other nation
in the world could have done
1733
01:25:14,318 --> 01:25:16,116
the Manhattan project
like the United States did.
1734
01:25:16,194 --> 01:25:18,037
You get all these theorists
together, and they say
1735
01:25:18,113 --> 01:25:20,366
there are two ways in which
we can build this weapon.
1736
01:25:20,449 --> 01:25:23,077
There's a plutonium bomb
and a uranium bomb.
1737
01:25:23,160 --> 01:25:24,082
They're different processes.
1738
01:25:24,161 --> 01:25:24,957
They're both
immensely expensive.
1739
01:25:25,037 --> 01:25:26,004
Anybody else would have said,
1740
01:25:26,079 --> 01:25:27,797
"Which one do I want
to focus on?"
1741
01:25:27,873 --> 01:25:30,126
And the US said, "We're
gonna make sure this works.
1742
01:25:30,208 --> 01:25:31,334
"We're going to do both."
1743
01:25:34,171 --> 01:25:35,969
- NARRATOR:
July 1945...
1744
01:25:36,048 --> 01:25:38,551
the project bears fruit--
1745
01:25:38,634 --> 01:25:41,478
a uranium bomb code-named
"Little Boy"
1746
01:25:41,553 --> 01:25:45,183
and a plutonium bomb
code-named "Fat Man."
1747
01:25:45,265 --> 01:25:48,769
- The atomic bomb
is a technology
1748
01:25:48,852 --> 01:25:50,695
that historically
is on the scale
1749
01:25:50,771 --> 01:25:53,991
of the introduction
of gunpowder.
1750
01:25:54,066 --> 01:25:57,240
They've taken
the kind of lethality
1751
01:25:57,319 --> 01:26:01,040
that's been honed
throughout World War ll
1752
01:26:01,114 --> 01:26:04,960
and multiplied it by
a whole new aura of magnitude.
1753
01:26:06,370 --> 01:26:08,418
- COL. FARRELL:
For the first time,
1754
01:26:08,497 --> 01:26:09,999
with a single event,
1755
01:26:10,082 --> 01:26:12,426
an entire city
could be destroyed.
1756
01:26:12,501 --> 01:26:15,345
This represented
a new era in warfare.
1757
01:26:18,924 --> 01:26:19,846
- NARRATOR:
Returning
1758
01:26:19,925 --> 01:26:21,017
from the Potsdam Conference,
1759
01:26:21,093 --> 01:26:23,221
US President Harry S. Truman
1760
01:26:23,303 --> 01:26:25,055
must decide whether to unleash
1761
01:26:25,138 --> 01:26:27,391
the atomic bomb on Japan.
1762
01:26:29,601 --> 01:26:31,899
- DR. CRANE: If it
had come out a year later
1763
01:26:31,978 --> 01:26:33,901
that the president
of the United States
1764
01:26:33,980 --> 01:26:35,823
had a weapon he could have used,
1765
01:26:35,899 --> 01:26:37,617
that might have ended
the war earlier,
1766
01:26:37,693 --> 01:26:39,570
and instead he did not,
1767
01:26:39,653 --> 01:26:42,998
and we suffered 100,000
extra casualties,
1768
01:26:43,073 --> 01:26:45,576
he would have been run out of--
1769
01:26:45,659 --> 01:26:47,707
at best, run out of town
on a rail.
1770
01:26:47,786 --> 01:26:49,413
There was no way
an American president,
1771
01:26:49,496 --> 01:26:51,339
responsible to his constituents,
1772
01:26:51,415 --> 01:26:54,510
could have not used this weapon.
1773
01:26:54,584 --> 01:26:57,929
- NARRATOR:
Truman, hostile to
Stalin and his communist ethos,
1774
01:26:58,004 --> 01:27:00,632
can see the significance
of a nuclear strike
1775
01:27:00,716 --> 01:27:03,014
for the postwar world.
1776
01:27:04,010 --> 01:27:06,729
- PROF. OVERY: In 1945,
America faced a real paradox.
1777
01:27:06,805 --> 01:27:08,728
For a long time, of course,
Roosevelt and Truman
1778
01:27:08,807 --> 01:27:10,354
had been saying to Stalin,
you know,
1779
01:27:10,434 --> 01:27:12,232
"Please help us
with the war against Japan.
1780
01:27:12,310 --> 01:27:13,653
"Please invade Manchuria.
1781
01:27:13,729 --> 01:27:15,652
Please defeat
the Japanese army."
1782
01:27:15,731 --> 01:27:17,699
But when it was realized
that the Soviet Union
1783
01:27:17,774 --> 01:27:19,526
might defeat the Japanese
and then move on
1784
01:27:19,609 --> 01:27:22,362
and occupy part
of the Japanese islands,
1785
01:27:22,446 --> 01:27:24,619
that's not what the Americans
wanted at all.
1786
01:27:24,698 --> 01:27:27,121
They wanted the task
of rebuilding Japan.
1787
01:27:27,200 --> 01:27:29,453
And I think this was one
of the most important factors
1788
01:27:29,536 --> 01:27:31,630
in influencing
the American decision
1789
01:27:31,705 --> 01:27:33,173
to drop the Atomic bomb.
1790
01:27:33,248 --> 01:27:35,717
- [bomb exploding]
1791
01:27:35,792 --> 01:27:38,511
- NARRATOR:
After a successful
test in the New Mexico desert,
1792
01:27:38,587 --> 01:27:41,090
Truman gives the order
to drop the bomb
1793
01:27:41,173 --> 01:27:42,891
as soon as possible.
1794
01:27:45,635 --> 01:27:47,808
- PROF. OVERY: A number
of cities were chosen
1795
01:27:47,888 --> 01:27:49,481
as potential targets.
1796
01:27:49,556 --> 01:27:51,524
They were left untouched
by the incendiary bombing,
1797
01:27:51,600 --> 01:27:54,194
because if you bombed a city,
you couldn't tell
1798
01:27:54,269 --> 01:27:57,273
how much damage had been done
by the atomic attacks.
1799
01:27:57,355 --> 01:28:00,359
They were also looking for one
with quite a large population,
1800
01:28:00,442 --> 01:28:02,820
because if you could attack
a city with a large population,
1801
01:28:02,903 --> 01:28:06,077
you, again, would be able
to see the full impact.
1802
01:28:06,156 --> 01:28:08,454
When you look at it, this is
a really cynical decision
1803
01:28:08,533 --> 01:28:10,206
for choosing a target
1804
01:28:10,285 --> 01:28:13,038
on which you're going to drop
the most dangerous weapon
1805
01:28:13,121 --> 01:28:16,125
that has ever been developed.
1806
01:28:16,208 --> 01:28:18,836
- NARRATOR:
On August 6, 1945,
1807
01:28:18,919 --> 01:28:23,095
the Enola Gay launches
from the Mariana Islands.
1808
01:28:23,173 --> 01:28:25,346
At 8:15 a.m. local time,
1809
01:28:25,425 --> 01:28:28,804
"Little Boy," loaded
with 6O kg of Uranium,
1810
01:28:28,887 --> 01:28:31,436
is released over Hiroshima.
1811
01:28:31,515 --> 01:28:33,609
Forty-three seconds later,
1812
01:28:33,683 --> 01:28:36,311
the world changes forever.
1813
01:28:40,816 --> 01:28:43,490
The blast creates
a circle of devastation
1814
01:28:43,568 --> 01:28:45,161
1 mile wide,
1815
01:28:45,237 --> 01:28:48,741
with fires over another
4 1/2-mile radius.
1816
01:28:52,035 --> 01:28:55,335
Sixty-thousand
are killed instantly,
1817
01:28:55,413 --> 01:28:57,916
with a further 100,000 dying
1818
01:28:57,999 --> 01:29:00,093
from burns and radiation.
1819
01:29:03,338 --> 01:29:04,806
Three days later,
1820
01:29:04,881 --> 01:29:07,885
"Fat Man" is exploded
over Nagasaki,
1821
01:29:07,968 --> 01:29:10,892
killing 80,000 civilians.
1822
01:29:10,971 --> 01:29:12,894
- DR. CRANE: After
the first bomb in Japan,
1823
01:29:12,973 --> 01:29:15,021
there was a certain amount
of disbelief.
1824
01:29:15,100 --> 01:29:17,148
After Nagasaki, though,
it was kind of hard to deny
1825
01:29:17,227 --> 01:29:19,696
that the Americans had
some kind of new weapon here,
1826
01:29:19,771 --> 01:29:21,990
and this is just the start
of what could be
1827
01:29:22,065 --> 01:29:24,944
a long pattern of destruction.
1828
01:29:25,026 --> 01:29:27,870
- NARRATOR:
September 2, 1945...
1829
01:29:27,946 --> 01:29:30,199
Japan capitulates.
1830
01:29:30,282 --> 01:29:33,206
World War ll is over.
1831
01:29:33,285 --> 01:29:36,334
The nuclear age has begun.
1832
01:29:40,250 --> 01:29:42,002
- DR. CRANE: A lot
of people think
1833
01:29:42,085 --> 01:29:44,304
that the moral, ethical line
of destruction in World War ll
1834
01:29:44,379 --> 01:29:46,131
is crossed
by the atomic bomb.
1835
01:29:46,214 --> 01:29:47,306
I disagree.
1836
01:29:47,382 --> 01:29:49,259
I think that if there's
any moral lines left,
1837
01:29:49,342 --> 01:29:50,935
they're all crossed
with the fire raids
1838
01:29:51,011 --> 01:29:54,436
against Japanese cities.
1839
01:29:54,514 --> 01:29:56,391
The whole question
of the atomic bomb is,
1840
01:29:56,474 --> 01:30:00,399
"Will we continue to do
what our weapons make possible?"
1841
01:30:00,478 --> 01:30:02,355
And that is the ultimate
dilemma we've hit
1842
01:30:02,439 --> 01:30:05,488
with atomic and nuclear weapons.
1843
01:30:05,567 --> 01:30:09,538
- [poignant orchestral music]
1844
01:30:23,793 --> 01:30:25,045
- PROF. KENNEDY: If you ask
1845
01:30:25,128 --> 01:30:26,175
who won World War ll,
1846
01:30:26,254 --> 01:30:27,756
and if by that you mean,
1847
01:30:27,839 --> 01:30:28,840
what society, what nation,
1848
01:30:28,924 --> 01:30:29,846
contributed the most
1849
01:30:29,925 --> 01:30:31,097
in blood and treasure
1850
01:30:31,176 --> 01:30:32,098
to the eventual victory,
1851
01:30:32,177 --> 01:30:33,394
it's not the United States.
1852
01:30:33,470 --> 01:30:36,144
It's the Soviet Union.
1853
01:30:36,222 --> 01:30:40,352
Soviet losses in the war...
over 25 million people.
1854
01:30:40,435 --> 01:30:44,406
American losses
are 405,399 military dead
1855
01:30:44,481 --> 01:30:47,530
and a handful of civilians.
1856
01:30:47,609 --> 01:30:50,032
But if you ask the question
who won World War ll,
1857
01:30:50,111 --> 01:30:52,330
and you mean who ended up
1858
01:30:52,405 --> 01:30:55,033
in the most advantageous
position at the end of the war--
1859
01:30:55,116 --> 01:30:56,834
reaped the greatest fruits
of victory--
1860
01:30:56,910 --> 01:30:59,629
then the answer is clearly
the United States.
1861
01:30:59,704 --> 01:31:02,457
- NARRATOR:
During
the 6 years of war,
1862
01:31:02,540 --> 01:31:05,840
America grows from the 17th
world military power
1863
01:31:05,919 --> 01:31:07,717
to number 1.
1864
01:31:07,796 --> 01:31:10,675
Her overseas bases
expand from 14
1865
01:31:10,757 --> 01:31:14,182
to over 30,000
spread across the globe.
1866
01:31:14,260 --> 01:31:15,933
Her GNP doubles,
1867
01:31:16,012 --> 01:31:18,561
and she becomes the biggest
creditor in the world,
1868
01:31:18,640 --> 01:31:21,689
commanding half of the planet's
manufacturing capacity
1869
01:31:21,768 --> 01:31:25,739
and owning 2/3
of the world's gold stocks.
1870
01:31:25,814 --> 01:31:28,488
- DR. CRANE: It dominates
the world economy.
1871
01:31:28,566 --> 01:31:31,490
It controls the formation
of the UN.
1872
01:31:31,569 --> 01:31:34,163
It launches the world
on a path towards globalization
1873
01:31:34,239 --> 01:31:35,661
that it wants.
1874
01:31:35,740 --> 01:31:37,834
But it can no longer go back
to being isolationist.
1875
01:31:37,909 --> 01:31:40,412
The isolationist America
is gone forever.
1876
01:31:40,495 --> 01:31:44,921
I'm not sure if it has actually
sunk in even today
1877
01:31:45,000 --> 01:31:47,298
how much we have to be involved.
1878
01:31:47,377 --> 01:31:50,301
But as a result of World War ll,
we're drawn in the world's ways.
1879
01:31:50,380 --> 01:31:54,385
We cannot escape...
whether we realize it or not.
1880
01:31:54,467 --> 01:32:00,440
Translated by Raden Sandy
radioaktif.blogspot.com154015
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