male narrator: PREVIOUSLY ON THE WORLD WARS...
- INCOMING!
narrator: A NEW GENERATION
COMES OF AGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
- MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!
narrator: BUT WHEN THE FIGHTING STOPS,
CONFLICT TURNS INTERNAL.
- GERMANY IS DEAD,
AND YOU HAVE CONSPIRED TO KILL HER!
THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN!
[gunshots]
narrator: A GLOBAL DEPRESSION DEVASTATES THE WORLD,
ALLOWING NEW LEADERS TO RISE TO POWER.
- WILL THIS WORK?
narrator: SOME WORK TO REBUILD THEIR NATION.
OTHERS CREATE MASSIVE MILITARIES,
DETERMINED TO REIGNITE THE FIGHTING.
- WE MUST REVERSE THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES.
LET THESE CHAINS BE BURST ASUNDER.
[explosion]
narrator: ADOLF HITLER EMBARKS ON A VIOLENT RAMPAGE
THROUGH EUROPE.
- BOMB EVERY TOWN, EVERY VILLAGE.
WE WILL ANNIHILATE THEM.
narrator: BUT AS THE ALLIES ARE DETERMINED
TO END HITLER'S CRUSADE...
- WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE BEACHES.
WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE HILLS.
WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER.
narrator: ANOTHER THREAT EMERGES.
- ADMIRAL, STAY.
THERE'S MORE TO DISCUSS.
[pounding electronic music]
♪
[explosion]
♪
[engines rumbling]
[indistinct radio chatter]
- WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM
TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN.
THE JAPANESE HAVE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, BY AIR.
THE ATTACK ALSO WAS MADE ON
ALL NAVAL AND MILITARY ACTIVITY...
narrator: FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MODERN HISTORY,
AMERICA HAS BEEN ATTACKED BY A FOREIGN POWER.
OVER 2,400 AMERICANS ARE DEAD,
AND NEARLY THE ENTIRE U.S. NAVAL FLEET IN THE PACIFIC
HAS BEEN DESTROYED.
[Tapsplaying]
♪
- F.D.R. IS DEVASTATED,
BUT I THINK F.D.R., IN THE END,
HIS GREATEST LEGACY WAS HIS ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DURING THE DARKEST HOURS
TO NOT GIVE UP ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN.
narrator: ON THE DAY AFTER THE ATTACK,
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT GIVES THE MOST IMPORTANT SPEECH
OF HIS LIFE.
- DECEMBER 7, 1941,
A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY,
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WAS SUDDENLY AND DELIBERATELY ATTACKED
BY NAVAL AND AIR FORCES OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
WITH THE UNBOUNDING DETERMINATION OF OUR PEOPLE,
WE WILL GAIN THE INEVITABLE TRIUMPH,
SO HELP US GOD.
- ROOSEVELT WAS A NAVY MAN,
SO THE FACT THAT THIS ATTACK TOOK PLACE
AGAINST THE NAVY AND PEARL HARBOR
PERHAPS FILLED HIM WITH EVEN GREATER INDIGNATION
AGAINST WHAT HAD BEEN DONE
TO THE UNITED STATES BY THE JAPANESE.
- THE BRUTALNESS OF THE ATTACK;
THE SURPRISE OF THE ATTACK;
THE PRICE THAT WAS PAID IN THAT ATTACK,
I THINK, HELPED UNIFY THE NATION IN A MAJOR WAY,
AND FOR A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
IT GIVES HIM THAT CALL TO ACTION.
narrator: WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE ATTACK,
ROOSEVELT SIGNS A DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST JAPAN.
- NOW IT'S CLEAR.
THIS IS GONNA BE AN ALL-OUT CONFLICT.
THE NATION RALLIED AROUND F.D.R.'S LEADERSHIP,
AND MILLIONS OF AMERICANS SIGNED UP TO GO TO WAR.
- I WAS A VERY YOUNG BOY, I THINK SIX YEARS OLD.
A GUY DROVE UP AND SAID TO MY FATHER, JACK.
HE SAID, "THE JAPANESE HAVE BOMBED PEARL HARBOR."
MY FATHER RAN UPSTAIRS, PUT SOME THINGS TOGETHER,
AND THEN NEXT TIME I SAW HIM WAS THREE YEARS LATER.
narrator: AFTER YEARS OF AVOIDING CONFLICT,
THE UNITED STATES IS HEADING FOR ANOTHER WAR.
- AND SO IT BEGINS.
narrator: FOR JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER HIDEKI TOJO
AND HIS MILITARY,
THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR IS A HUGE SUCCESS.
- THE JAPANESE LAUNCHED ONE OF THE BOLDEST
AND MOST SUCCESSFUL TACTICAL SURPRISE ATTACKS
IN HISTORY WHEN THEY ATTACKED AT PEARL HARBOR.
350 AIRPLANES HAD BEEN DESTROYED,
8 BATTLESHIPS, 4 DESTROYERS.
THIS WAS A DEVASTATING MILITARY DEFEAT
FOR THE UNITED STATES.
narrator: WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE U.S. PACIFIC FLEET,
JAPAN CONTINUES ITS CAMPAIGN FOR CONTROL OF ASIA...
STRIKING KEY TARGETS THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC.
BUT TO TAKE OVER ALL OF ASIA,
THEY NEED THE PHILIPPINES AS A BASE OF OPERATION.
THE ONLY ISSUE--
IT'S A U.S. TERRITORY.
[engines rumbling]
[explosions]
[men shouting]
JUST TEN HOURS AFTER BOMBING PEARL HARBOR,
JAPAN LAUNCHES ANOTHER ATTACK ON THE U.S.,
AGAINST THE PHILIPPINES.
THE ONE MAN RESPONSIBLE
FOR PROTECTING THE U.S. TERRITORY
IS GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR.
- MACARTHUR FELT A PARTICULAR ATTACHMENT TO
AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PHILIPPINES,
AND HIS FIRST DAY OF WAR WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.
MACARTHUR'S AIR FORCE WAS STILL ON THE RUNWAYS, PARKED,
WHEN JAPAN'S PLANES CAME IN
AND DESTROYED MOST OF HIS AIR ARM.
narrator: MACARTHUR COMMANDS AN ARMY
OF 22,000 AMERICAN AND FILIPPINO SOLDIERS
TRAINED TO DEFEND THE PHILIPPINES AT ANY COST,
BUT THE JAPANESE ATTACKS ARE RELENTLESS.
[men shouting, gunfire]
MACARTHUR AND HIS MEN ARE COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED.
AMERICAN LEADERS FEAR IF TOJO GAINS CONTROL
OF THE PHILIPPINES,
THE JAPANESE WILL INVADE OIL-RICH ISLANDS
THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC,
FUELING A POTENTIAL ATTACK
ON THE WEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.
WITH AIR STRIKES ESCALATING AND SUPPLIES DWINDLING,
MACARTHUR'S ONLY OPTION IS TO RETREAT.
- LET'S GO, MEN.
- YOU HAVE TO CONSTANTLY BE ANALYZING THE SITUATION.
IS THE BATTLE CHANGING?
DO I HAVE TO MAKE NEW DECISIONS?
DO I HAVE TO EXECUTE CONTINGENCY PLANS?
- SET THE WOUNDED THERE.
THERE'S ROOM FOR SUPPLIES HERE ALONG THE WALL.
- WE'RE TRAINED PROFESSIONAL OFFICERS,
AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE STRESS,
HANDLE CRISIS AND NOT CRACK
AND NOT LOOSE OUR ABILITY TO THINK LOGICALLY AND RATIONALLY
AND MAKE SURE WE WIN THE BATTLE.
- MACARTHUR.
narrator: MACARTHUR SETS UP A MAKESHIFT HEADQUARTERS
IN A MASSIVE UNDERGROUND TUNNEL ON CORREGIDOR ISLAND.
THEY MAY NOW BE HUDDLED IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND...
[distant rumbling]
BUT MACARTHUR KNOWS THAT HE AND HIS MEN
ARE THE LAST STRONGHOLD
AGAINST A COMPLETE JAPANESE TAKEOVER OF THE PACIFIC.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD,
ADOLF HITLER HAS WATCHED THE JAPANESE
TAKE ON THE UNITED STATES
AND NOW SEES THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RAMP UP HIS OWN CRUSADE.
[cannon booming, explosion]
SINCE 1936,
THE GERMAN MILITARY HAS MARCHED THROUGH EUROPE...
[cannon booming, explosions]
OCCUPYING THE MAJORITY OF THE CONTINENT.
[men shouting]
- IN THE COURSE OF THE WAR,
THE MYTH OF HITLER'S PERSONAL INFALLIBILITY
AND MILITARY GENIUS REALLY TAKES HOLD
AND BEGINS TO DEVELOP A LIFE OF ITS OWN.
- IT IS GOOD FOR YOU TO COME.
GOOD TO SEE YOU. HOW ARE YOU?
A FRIEND AND I'LL BE HAVING DINNER TONIGHT,
AND I HOPE THAT YOU CAN JOIN US.
narrator: AFTER BREAKING HIS ALLIANCE WITH JOSEPH STALIN
AND LAUNCHING A MASSIVE ATTACK ON RUSSIA,
HITLER IS CERTAIN THERE IS NO MILITARY FORCE
IN THE WORLD THAT CAN TAKE ON HIS OWN...
EVEN THE UNITED STATES.
- IN HITLER'S SECOND BOOK,
WRITTEN IN 1928 BUT NEVER PUBLISHED,
HE MADE IT FAIRLY CLEAR
THAT ONCE HE HAD CONQUERED EUROPE,
HE WOULD TURN TO AMERICA.
FOR THE NAZIS, THERE IS NEVER ANY END TO WAR,
BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THAT A RACE LIKE THE GERMANS
COULD ONLY BE KEPT VIGOROUS
BY CONTINUAL WAR AND CONTINUAL CONFLICT.
narrator: BUT IF HITLER'S GOING TO ESTABLISH WORLD SUPREMACY,
HE KNOWS HE'LL HAVE TO DEFEAT HIS GREATEST THREAT
AND ONE DAY CAPTURE THE PRIZE OF THE WEST FOR HIS OWN PEOPLE.
ON DECEMBER 11, 1941,
JUST FOUR DAYS AFTER THE JAPANESE STRIKE
ON PEARL HARBOR,
ADOLF HITLER DECLARES WAR
ON THE UNITED STATES.
- THIS IS REALLY A VERY PUZZLING DECISION.
HITLER ALWAYS LEARNED THE LESSONS OF WORLD WAR I,
AND ONE OF THE LESSONS OF WORLD WAR I IS,
YOU KEEP AMERICA OUT OF THE BATTLE,
AND THAT'S SOMETHING HE'D BEEN DOING ALL ALONG,
BUT BY THIS POINT,
HE WAS SO CONVINCED THAT HE WAS INVINCIBLE,
HE WAS SO CONVINCED THAT HE COULD NOT MAKE MISTAKES,
THAT HE WAS THE MASTER MILITARY STRATEGIST
THAT HE GOES AGAINST HIS OWN LESSONS OF THE PAST.
narrator: HITLER'S FIGHT HAS GONE GLOBAL,
BUT HIS ULTIMATE MISSION IS ONE WITHOUT BORDERS.
[sweeping classical music]
♪
- HITLER'S NOTION OF HIS OWN MISSION
REALLY TAKES HOLD.
HE REALIZES THE FUTURE MISSION IS TO ORGANIZE THE GERMAN RACE
SO AS TO BE ABLE TO FACE THE CHALLENGE
OF ITS RACIAL ENEMIES.
narrator: SINCE THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR,
HITLER HAS CAREFULLY OUTLINED HIS PLAN
FOR THE FUTURE OF MANKIND...
♪
AND NOW IT'S BECOMING A REALITY.
HITLER SENDS HIS SECRET POLICE
TO ROUND UP GROUPS OF PEOPLE HE DEEMS UNDESIRABLE--
GYPSIES, HOMOSEXUALS,
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES,
AND ANYONE OF JEWISH HERITAGE.
- HITLER BELIEVED HE WAS CHOSEN BY DESTINY TO DESTROY THE JEWS.
THE NAZIS UNROLLED THIS MASSIVE WAVE OF TERROR
ON THE STREETS,
ROUNDING UP JEWISH MEN
AND THEN VERY QUICKLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
- WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A TOTAL SOLUTION
TO THE JEWISH QUESTION.
THE PROGRAM IS CLEAR.
IT READS TOTAL SEPARATION,
TOTAL SEGREGATION!
IT DOES NOT ONLY MEAN THE EXCLUSION OF THE JEWS
FROM THE GERMAN ECONOMIC SYSTEM.
IT MEANS MUCH MORE!
WE WILL BE FACED WITH THE HARSH NECESSITY
OF ERADICATING THE JEWISH UNDERWORLD,
JUST AS WE WOULD ROOT OUT CRIMINALS
IN OUR OWN STATE--
WITH FIRE AND SWORD.
THE RESULT WILL BE THE CERTAIN
AND ABSOLUTE END OF JEWRY IN GERMANY...
ITS COMPLETE ANNIHILATION!
narrator: HITLER ORDERS THE PRISONERS
TO BE PACKED ONTO TRAINS...
[train whistle blowing]
[people screaming]
AND TRANSPORTED TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS
LOCATED MILES FROM CIVILIZATION.
- THERE WAS A CONTINUAL, CONTINENTWIDE DELIVERY
OF TRAINLOADS OF JEWS,
AND IN FACT HITLER DENIED HIS MILITARY
TROOP TRAINS AND SUPPLY TRAINS
BECAUSE HE WANTED TO USE THOSE TRAINS
TO TRANSPORT JEWS TO THE DEATH CAMPS.
narrator: HITLER'S DEATH CAMPS
ARE METHODICALLY ORGANIZED FACTORIES OF KILLING.
THE PREFERRED METHOD OF EXECUTION IS GAS.
[gas hissing]
[coughing]
HITLER KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
TO BE GASSED.
narrator: AMERICA IS LOCKED IN BATTLE
WITH TWO RUTHLESS AXIS POWERS.
WITH JAPAN ON A TEAR THROUGH ASIA,
AND GERMANY'S RECENT DECLARATION OF WAR,
THE UNITED STATES HAS NO OPTION
BUT TO GO TO BATTLE AGAINST BOTH THREATS.
- AND SO IT BEGINS.
narrator: TOWARD THE END OF 1941,
U.S. PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
IS UNDER ENORMOUS PRESSURE.
NO AMERICAN PRESIDENT HAS EVER FACED THE CHALLENGE
OF FIGHTING TWO WARS AT THE SAME TIME.
- ROOSEVELT SAW HIMSELF DEALING WITH
THE RISE OF HITLER IN EUROPE
AND THE RISE OF THE JAPANESE IN ASIA.
- THEY'RE IN POSITION.
- VERY GOOD.
- HE HAD NO DOUBT THAT THE UNITED STATES
WOULD DEFEAT GERMANY AND JAPAN,
BUT IT WAS GONNA BE A LONG HAUL,
AND IT WOULD COST A GREAT DEAL IN MONEY AND LIVES.
narrator: WITH THE FATE OF THE WORLD
HANGING IN THE BALANCE,
ROOSEVELT WELCOMES A VISITOR TO THE WHITE HOUSE--
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL.
- CHURCHILL ONCE SAID,
THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN GOING TO WAR WITH ALLIES
IS TO GO TO WAR WITHOUT ALLIES.
EACH NATION HAS DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES,
DIFFERENT PRIORITIES,
AND YET WE HAVE TO JUST FACE UP TO THE REALITY
THAT YOU CAN'T DO THINGS ALONE TODAY.
children: ♪ O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM ♪
narrator: AS CHRISTMAS APPROACHES
THE TWO LEADERS WANT TO PRESENT A UNITED FRONT,
LETTING THE WORLD KNOW
THAT THE ALLIES ARE STRONGER THAN EVER.
BUT BEHIND THE SCENES,
ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL
ARE DEALING WITH THE ENORMOUS RESPONSIBILITY
OF MAKING DECISIONS
THAT WILL AFFECT THE FUTURE OF ALL HUMANITY.
- TOJO HAS TAKEN HONG KONG.
narrator: THESE TWO MEN ARE ALL THAT STAND IN THE WAY
OF A WORLD CONTROLLED BY ADOLF HITLER
AND THE AXIS POWERS.
children: ♪ ARE MET IN THEE TONIGHT ♪
narrator: ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD,
THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC IS ALREADY OUT OF CONTROL.
[siren blaring, engine rumbling]
[explosions]
AFTER THREE MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS FIGHTING
IN THE PHILIPPINES,
THE JAPANESE ARE CLOSING IN ON DOUGLAS MACARTHUR'S BUNKER.
- THE SUPPLY LINE IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT.
- GENERAL.
- YES?
- WE'RE LIVE.
narrator: THE LAST THING MACARTHUR WANTS TO DO
IS SURRENDER THE AMERICAN ISLANDS.
- YES, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET SOME REINFORCEMENTS.
YES. YES. WELL, WE'RE UNDER SIEGE.
I NEED CONFIRMATION FROM--
[rumbling]
IS EVERYONE ALL RIGHT?
narrator: TO DEFEND THE PHILIPPINES,
HE'S PREPARED TO DIE.
BACK IN WASHINGTON,
ROOSEVELT HAS TO ACT QUICKLY.
HE KNOWS LOSING HIS TOP GENERAL
WOULD BE A DEMORALIZING BLOW TO THE U.S. MILITARY
AND AN INCREDIBLE MORAL VICTORY
THAT WOULD ONLY EMPOWER THE JAPANESE.
- WHEN CAN WE GET REINFORCEMENTS TO MACARTHUR?
- WE CAN'T GET REINFORCEMENT TO MACARTHUR.
- HOW MUCH LONGER CAN HE HOLD OUT?
- WE DON'T HAVE THE SUPPLIES.
- AND WHERE'S OUR NAVAL FORCES RIGHT NOW AT THIS MOMENT?
- MR. PRESIDENT, THEY'RE ON THE BATAAN PENINSULA.
- HOW LONG TILL WE CAN GET SUPPORT THERE?
- HE CAN'T HOLD OUT LONG ENOUGH FOR US TO GET SUPPORT.
- HOW LONG?
- IT'LL BE A WEEK.
- WELL, GET MACARTHUR OUT OF THERE!
- HE REFUSES TO LEAVE, SIR.
- TELL HIM IT'S NOT A REQUEST;
IT'S A DAMNED ORDER.
- YES, SIR.
narrator: BUT THE LAST THING MACARTHUR WANTS TO DO
IS ABANDON HIS MEN.
- MACARTHUR'S A MILITARY GUY.
HE'S A GUY WHO LOVES THE MILITARY,
AND ONE OF THE THINGS YOU NEVER DO IS,
YOU NEVER RETREAT,
AND YOU NEVER ABANDON YOUR SOLDIERS,
BUT HE'S BEEN GIVEN AN ORDER BY HIS COMMANDER IN CHIEF.
narrator: AGAINST HIS OWN WISHES,
MACARTHUR RETREATS TO THE SAFETY OF AUSTRALIA,
AND AS SOON AS HE'S GONE,
HIS WORST FEARS ARE REALIZED
AS THE JAPANESE MILITARY OVERTAKES THE AMERICANS
AND FINALLY CAPTURES THE PHILIPPINES.
AS JAPAN CONQUERS THE PACIFIC,
6,000 MILES AWAY
ADOLF HITLER IS LOCKED IN A DEADLY WAR
WITH JOSEPH STALIN.
HITLER KNOWS IF HE CAN CONQUER THE SOVIET UNION,
THE AXIS POWERS WOULD THEN CONTROL
ALL OF EUROPE AND ASIA,
RULING OVER 30% OF THE GLOBE.
- STALIN AND HITLER ARE ENGAGED IN THIS BATTLE,
WHICH IS AS MUCH ABOUT EGO
AS IT IS ABOUT MILITARY STRATEGY.
LIKE A TARANTULA AND SCORPION IN A BOTTLE,
THEY'RE FIGHTING,
AND THEY'RE FIGHTING OVER THE CORPSE OF THEIR OWN TROOPS.
narrator: HITLER'S MILITARY IS ABOUT TO CAPTURE
THE SOVIET CAPITAL,
BUT WITH VICTORY IN SIGHT,
HITLER LETS HIS EGO TAKE OVER,
SUDDENLY CHANGING HIS BATTLE PLAN
AND SENDING MILLIONS OF TROOPS
TO CONVERGE ON AN INDUSTRIAL CITY
SO IMPORTANT TO JOSEPH STALIN, IT BEARS HIS NAME:
STALINGRAD.
[airplane engines roaring]
- HITLER THOUGHT THIS IS A PERSONAL BATTLE WITH STALIN,
SO HE BEGAN POURING RESOURCES INTO STALINGRAD
BECAUSE STALINGRAD--
A TOWN OF ALTHOUGH NO PARTICULAR STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE--
HAD THE NAME OF STALIN.
narrator: AS HITLER'S MEN CONVERGE ON STALINGRAD,
THEY COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH STALIN'S RED ARMY.
HITLER'S CONVINCED IF HE CAN TAKE STALINGRAD,
HE'LL BE ONE STEP AWAY FROM GLOBAL DOMINATION.
narrator: IN LESS THAN SIX MONTHS,
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
HAS WATCHED THE JAPANESE MILITARY
DEVASTATE HIS NAVAL FLEET
AND CONQUER THE PACIFIC ISLAND BY ISLAND.
WITH HITLER ON THE VERGE OF TAKING CONTROL OF EUROPE,
THE THREAT OF WAR IS NOW CLOSING IN
ON THE UNITED STATES FROM BOTH DIRECTIONS,
AND ROOSEVELT IS INCREASINGLY DESPERATE
FOR ANYTHING THAT CAN TURN THE TIDE OF THE WAR.
U.S. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE HAS BEEN WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK
INTERCEPTING ENCRYPTED JAPANESE MILITARY DISPATCHES
HOPING TO GET WIND OF THE NEXT ATTACK.
AND IN MAY OF 1942,
THE U.S. NAVY GIVES ROOSEVELT
THE OPPORTUNITY HE'S BEEN WAITING FOR.
- WHAT IS IT?
- WE'VE BROKEN THE CODE.
IT'S MIDWAY.
- HOW SURE ARE YOU?
- VERY.
- ALERT THE FLEETS.
narrator: THE DECIPHERED MESSAGES
CONTAIN DETAILS OF JAPAN'S NEXT PLANNED ATTACK--
THE MIDWAY ISLANDS.
SITUATED HALFWAY BETWEEN ASIA AND THE UNITED STATES,
MIDWAY IS HOME TO A CRUCIAL AMERICAN AIRFIELD.
IF THE JAPANESE TAKE MIDWAY,
THEY'LL CONTROL ALL OF THE PACIFIC.
WHAT'S WORSE,
THEY'LL HAVE A LAUNCHING POINT FOR A POTENTIAL ATTACK
ON THE WEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.
AFTER THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR,
THE U.S. HAS JUST THREE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS LEFT
IN THE PACIFIC,
BUT ROOSEVELT KNOWS THIS IS HIS CHANCE
TO MAKE A LAST STAND AGAINST JAPAN...
SO HE SENDS THE THREE REMAINING CARRIERS TO MIDWAY
TO LIE IN WAIT FOR AN AMBUSH
ON THE JAPANESE FLEET.
- GOD BE WITH US.
narrator: ON JUNE 4, 1942,
THE U.S. FLEET QUIETLY POSITIONS ITSELF AROUND MIDWAY.
AND AS THE JAPANESE NAVY CRESTS THE HORIZON...
THE AMERICANS LAUNCH THEIR SURPRISE ATTACK.
[gunfire]
[explosion booming]
[telephone rings]
- YES?
THERE ARE FOUR CARRIERS DESTROYED.
- I THOUGHT WE ONLY HAD THREE?
- FOUR JAPANESE CARRIERS, SIR.
WE NEED AN UPDATE ON EVERYTHING SENT OVER RIGHT AWAY.
narrator: IN JUST SIX MINUTES,
FOUR OF THE SAME JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
USED IN THE PEARL HARBOR ATTACK ARE DESTROYED,
AND OVER 3,000 JAPANESE SOLDIERS ARE KILLED.
- ROOSEVELT ABSOLUTELY BETS THE FARM,
AND THEY DESTROYED FOUR OF THE BIGGEST CARRIERS
IN THE JAPANESE NAVY.
AND IT TOOK A COMMANDER WHO WAS PREPARED
TO MAKE THE BOLD DECISION
TO ACT WHEN THE EASY THING WOULD HAVE BEEN TO,
YOU KNOW, TO PLAY IT SAFE.
HE DIDN'T PLAY IT SAFE, AND HE WON A TREMENDOUS VICTORY.
narrator: THE UNITED STATES HAS DEALT JAPAN
ITS FIRST MAJOR DEFEAT IN THE WAR.
- ONE MOMENT, GENTLEMEN.
narrator: FOR JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER HIDEKI TOJO,
THE LOSS AT MIDWAY IS A HUMILIATING FAILURE.
- DO NOT SPEAK A WORD OF THIS TO ANYONE.
narrator: MEANWHILE IN RUSSIA,
JOSEPH STALIN AND ADOLF HITLER
ORDER HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THEIR OWN TROOPS INTO BATTLE,
WAGING A WAR OF EGO FOR THE CITY OF STALINGRAD.
FOR STALIN,
THE CITY THAT BEARS HIS NAME IS INVALUABLE,
AND HE'LL SACRIFICE ANYTHING TO DEFEND IT.
- THERE ARE NO DESERTIONS.
EVERY SOLDIER MUST FIGHT--
FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
narrator: THE DEADLY BATTLE SEEMS UNENDING...
[gunfire]
BUT THE SOVIETS HAVE A SECRET ADVANTAGE
THAT PROMISES TO PUT THEM ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE GERMANS...
THE RUSSIAN WINTER.
- HITLER THOUGHT THAT HE WOULD GET TO MOSCOW
BEFORE THE WINTER,
BUT THE WINTER HAD SET IN,
AND THE GERMAN ARMY WAS UNPREPARED.
THE ENTIRE SIBERIAN WINTERIZED TROOPS CAME WESTWARD
AND MADE MINCEMEAT OUT OF HITLER'S PANZER DIVISIONS.
[men shouting, gunshots]
GERMAN WEAPONS AND UNIFORMS AREN'T DESIGNED
FOR RUSSIA'S BRUTAL WINTER,
AND IT ISN'T LONG.
BEFORE HITLER'S MEN...
[explosion]
ARE COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED.
[gunshot]
[classical music]
[indistinct chatter]
- ONE TIME, I'M WALKING WITH THE DOG,
AND THE DOG KICKS MY LEGS OUT FROM UNDER ME.
I WIND UP FALLING INTO THE--
AND ROLLING DOWN THE HILL IN THIS WAY.
- SIT.
PLEASE.
- THE RUSSIANS HAVE HALTED OUR ADVANCE.
WE HAVE LOST THE 14TH AND 22ND PANZER DIVISION.
ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN.
- ENOUGH!
- HITLER WAS FAMOUS FOR TELLING ORGANIZATIONS
NOT TO RETREAT.
HE WOULD PUT ORGANIZATIONS IN A PLACE LIKE STALINGRAD,
AND HE SAID, "YOU CANNOT GIVE UP AN INCH OF GROUND,"
WHEN IT WAS MILITARILY ILLOGICAL TO DO THAT.
IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO DO THAT.
ARMIES MOVE UP AND BACK,
AND YOU HAVE TO BE RESPONSIVE TO CONDITIONS.
- YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND ADOLF HITLER'S ACTIONS
IN WORLD WAR II WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING
THE LESSONS HE LEARNED FROM WORLD WAR I.
ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL LESSONS HE LEARNED WAS,
YOU NEVER GIVE UP,
THAT YOU NEVER SURRENDER.
HE WAS SO TRAUMATIZED BY THE GERMAN SURRENDER IN WORLD WAR I
THAT HE WAS DETERMINED UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD HE SURRENDER IN WORLD WAR II.
narrator: BLIND TO ALL LOGIC,
HITLER SENDS MORE TROOPS INTO ALMOST CERTAIN DEATH.
[men shouting, cannon booming]
[explosion]
ONE GERMAN SOLDIER DIES EVERY SEVEN SECONDS.
- ON THIS, OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY,
WE CELEBRATE...
narrator: ON FEBRUARY 2, 1943,
HITLER PREPARES FOR THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE FOUNDING THE THIRD REICH.
- MEIN FUEHRER.
- WHAT IS IT?
- NEWS FROM THE 6TH ARMY.
THEY'VE BEEN DESTROYED.
- DESTROYED?
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
- THEY SURRENDERED.
- SURRENDERED?
1/4 MILLION MEN,
AN ENTIRE ARMY OF THE REICH,
SURRENDERED?
SONS OF THE FATHERLAND
NOW TRAITORS TO THEIR RACE.
THEIR VERY NAMES ARE A CURSE ON THIS NATION,
ON THEIR MOTHERS, ON THEIR CHILDREN,
ON THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!
THE STAIN OF THEIR PERFIDY IS DARKER THAN BLOOD!
I WILL HEAR NO MORE OF THIS.
SURRENDERED...
JUST TO DIE IN A PRISON CAMP?
THE GODS OF WAR HAVE ABANDONED US.
narrator: WHAT'S LEFT OF THE GERMAN ARMY IS IN SHAMBLES,
AND THE MAN WHO SEEMED TO BE ON THE ROAD TO WORLD DOMINATION
MUST NOW WATCH HIS GREATEST ENEMY CLAIM VICTORY
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
FACE THE POSSIBILITY OF ULTIMATE DEFEAT.
narrator: WAR IS RAGING AROUND THE GLOBE,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
ADOLF HITLER HAS SUFFERED A DEVASTATING DEFEAT
AT THE HANDS OF JOSEPH STALIN
WHO NOW LOOKS TO BE UNSTOPPABLE.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT IS BEGINNING TO FEAR
THAT IF JOSEPH STALIN DEFEATS ADOLF HITLER ALONE,
HE'LL CONQUER EUROPE FOR HIMSELF,
REPLACING ONE TYRANT WITH ANOTHER.
ROOSEVELT KNOWS HE NEEDS TO GET THE AMERICANS INTO EUROPE
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
HE SENDS AN ALLIED FORCE INTO SICILY,
HOPING TO CAPTURE THE ISLAND
SO HE CAN ESTABLISH A BASE OF OPERATIONS
TO LAUNCH AN ATTACK
AGAINST THE AXIS POWERS IN EUROPE.
THE MOMENT THE ALLIES HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR
HAS FINALLY ARRIVED.
OVER 160,000 TROOPS STORM INTO SICILY
IN THE FIRST MAJOR AMERICAN OPERATION
IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER.
LEADING THE CHARGE FOR THE AMERICANS
IS ROOSEVELT'S SECRET WEAPON...
A MAN WHO'S WAITED 25 YEARS FOR THIS MOMENT,
LIEUTENANT GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON.
- LEADERS LIKE GEORGE PATTON,
AROUND WHOM AN AURA BEGINS TO GROW,
HAVE EXTRAORDINARY POWER.
FOR ONE, THEY INSPIRE THEIR OWN SIDE.
THERE IS A SENSE THAT WHEN YOU ARE WORKING FOR PATTON
WE ARE GONNA DO THINGS FASTER AND BETTER,
AND WE'RE GONNA WIN.
I WORK FOR A WINNER.
narrator: IN THE YEARS SINCE HE COMMANDED
AMERICA'S FIRST EVER TANK BRIGADE
IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR,
PATTON HAS PERSONALLY DEDICATED HIMSELF
TO BUILDING UP THE U.S. TANK DIVISION
FROM JUST A FEW DOZEN TANKS
TO OVER 88,000.
PATTON ARRIVES IN SICILY WITH A PLAN TO TAKE CONTROL.
- I NEED YOU TWO TO FIND ME
THE MOST PROBABLE PATH THROUGH HERE.
narrator: HE'S GOING TO SEIZE
THE SICILIAN CAPITAL OF PALERMO,
AND HE'S GOING TO DO IT BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
- PATTON WAS AN INTERESTING CHARACTER,
BECAUSE HE WAS THE FLAMBOYANT LEADER
THAT PEOPLE RESPECTED FOR WHAT HE DID,
BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS A SECOND HALF TO THE SENTENCE.
GEORGE PATTON IS BRILLIANT, BUT...
HE'S EGOTISTICAL.
HE CAN'T CONTROL RUNNING HIS MOUTH.
narrator: ON JULY 18, 1943,
PATTON AND HIS FORCES LAUNCH AN ASSAULT ON PALERMO...
[cannons booming, explosions]
SWEEPING AROUND THE ENEMY
AND CAPTURING THE CITY IN JUST 72 HOURS.
[gunfire]
[explosion]
AND NOW WITH SICILY UNDER THEIR CONTROL,
THE ALLIES ARE READY TO LAUNCH A MASSIVE ATTACK
ON THE AXIS POWERS.
ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1943,
ALLIED ARMIES MOVE INTO MAINLAND ITALY,
FIGHTING BACK THOUSANDS OF AXIS TROOPS.
AS THE ALLIES TAKE ITALY CITY BY CITY,
BENITO MUSSOLINI IS FORCED TO WATCH
HIS BELOVED EMPIRE BEGIN TO CRUMBLE.
BEFORE LONG, MUSSOLINI IS SUMMONED
FOR AN EMERGENCY MEETING WITH HIS CLOSEST ALLY.
MUSSOLINI MAY HAVE COME TO POWER FIRST,
BUT NOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED.
- WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO US NOW IS,
YOU ARE CAUSING US TO HAVE SUCH PROBLEMS,
AND BE THE TYPE OF ALLY WHO CAN BE OF SOME USE TO US.
WELL, WHY?
WHY DO WE HAVE THIS RELATIONSHIP?
GERMANY HAS GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING.
WE HAVE GIVEN YOU ALL THAT YOU HAVE NEEDED.
WE HAVE GIVEN YOU ARTILLERY WHEN YOU NEEDED ARTILLERY.
WE GAVE YOU MEN.
WE GAVE OUR TREASURE, OUR BLOOD,
AND NOW YOU COME TO ME AND YOU SAY NO?
WE HAVE SPENT ENOUGH TIME TALKING
OVER THESE INANE SUGGESTIONS OF YOURS
ABOUT HOW TO CARRY ON THIS WAR, AND YOU WILL STOP!
- THERE ARE SEVERAL TURNING POINTS
IN THE HITLER-MUSSOLINI RELATIONSHIP.
FIRST OF ALL, HITLER REGARDS MUSSOLINI
AS THE MAN WHO SETS THE EXAMPLE.
THE NEXT STEP IS IN THE WAR,
AND WHEN MUSSOLINI DOES COME IN, IT'S A FIASCO.
THE ITALIANS NOW BECOME VERY MUCH THE SECOND CLASS.
HITLER BEGAN TO REGARD THE ITALIANS AS WEAK,
AS THE WEAK LINK IN THE AXIS.
narrator: MUSSOLINI IS SENT BACK TO ROME
WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO HOLD THE LINE,
BUT LESS THAN TWO MONTHS LATER,
ITALY SURRENDERS TO THE ALLIES.
THE FIRST MAJOR AXIS POWER HAS FALLEN.
ADOLF HITLER HAS WATCHED THE MAN HE ONCE IDOLIZED
OVERTHROWN IN DISGRACE,
AND HE KNOWS THE ALLIES ARE COMING FOR HIM NEXT.
narrator: THE TIDE OF THE WORLD WAR IS TURNING
AS THE ALLIES LED BY PATTON TAKE DOWN ITALY.
- WHY DO WE HAVE THIS RELATIONSHIP?
STOP!
narrator: DURING THE CAMPAIGN,
PATTON CONQUERED ITALY IN JUST SIX WEEKS,
BUT HIS ARMY SUFFERED 6,000 KILLED
AND 16,000 WOUNDED.
BUT PATTON KNOWS THE JOB'S NOT DONE,
AND HE NEEDS EVERY MAN HE CAN GET
BACK ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
- SOLDIER.
WHY ARE YOU HERE, SON?
'CAUSE YOU LOOK HEALTHY ENOUGH TO ME RIGHT NOW.
YOU SEEM CAPABLE ENOUGH FOR FIGHTING TO ME.
- IN OUR OWN DAY WE KNOW OF THE DIFFICULTY OF BATTLE
AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS,
BUT IN THE 1940s,
THESE WERE NOT TERMS THAT WERE COMMONLY USED,
AND FOR PATTON IF SOMEONE HAD BATTLE FATIGUE--
IT WAS SIMPLY YOU WERE BEING A COWARD.
- LOOK AT ME, SON.
YOU MIGHT GET SHOT AND KILLED,
BUT YOU'RE GOING TO FIGHT.
- PLEASE DON'T SEND ME BACK.
- YOU COWARD.
narrator: NEWS OF THE INCIDENT QUICKLY GOES PUBLIC.
- ONCE THE STORY GOT OUT, THE PUBLIC WAS OUTRAGED,
AND ROOSEVELT WAS PUT INTO A BOX.
EVEN THOUGH HE REALIZED THAT PATTON
WAS ONE OF HIS BEST GENERALS,
HE HAD TO PUNISH HIM IN SOME WAY.
narrator: ROOSEVELT HAS NO CHOICE
BUT TO PULL PATTON FROM ACTIVE DUTY.
WITH WAR STILL RAGING ON TWO FRONTS,
ROOSEVELT BELIEVES THE ALLIES MAY NEED A NEW STRATEGY.
HE REACHES OUT TO WINSTON CHURCHILL...
[telephone ringing]
- YES?
narrator: CONVINCING HIM THEY NEED
TO TEAM UP WITH AN UNLIKELY PARTNER--
JOSEPH STALIN.
ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL KNOW THAT STALIN IS A BRUTAL TYRANT
WHO SHARES MORE IN COMMON WITH HITLER THAN WITH THEM,
BUT THEY COME TO THE REALIZATION
THAT THE ENEMY OF THEIR ENEMY NEEDS TO BE THEIR FRIEND.
IF THE ALLIES ARE GOING TO WIN THIS WAR,
THEY NEED STALIN ON THEIR SIDE.
[telephone ringing]
ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL PERSUADE STALIN TO MEET THEM
FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED CONFERENCE
AT THE SOVIET EMBASSY IN TEHRAN, IRAN.
- THIS IS THE FIRST MEETING OF THE THREE ALLIED LEADERS,
AND THEY EACH COME WITH THEIR OWN AGENDA.
STALIN IS CLEARLY IN THE STRONGEST POSITION.
- WE'VE BROKEN THE BACK OF THE GERMANS,
AND YOU MERELY SWAT AT THEM LIKE YOU WOULD AT A FLY.
- WE PUSHED THEM OUT OF NORTH AFRICA.
- WHILE MILLIONS OF RUSSIANS HAVE DIED.
I DO NOT THINK THE PEOPLE WANT ANY MORE OF MY MEN TO DIE.
DO YOUR PEOPLE WANT ANY MORE OF YOUR MEN TO DIE?
- I'M SURE THAT CHURCHILL AND ROOSEVELT HAD REAL QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHAT STALIN REALLY STOOD FOR.
WHAT KIND OF LEADER WOULD HE BE IN A POSTWAR PERIOD?
BUT THEY ALSO KNEW THAT STALIN'S PRIMARY MISSION
WAS TO DEFEAT NAZI GERMANY,
AND THEN THEY HAD TO WORK TOGETHER.
- WE NEED TO WIN THIS WAR.
WE NEED TO WIN THE PEACE.
THAT CERTAINLY DIDN'T WORK OUT
VERY WELL LAST TIME AT VERSAILLES.
- A PIECE OF PAPER HAS LITTLE POWER
TO KEEP PEOPLE APART, MUCH LESS HOLD THEM TOGETHER.
- WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT GERMANY CAN'T THREATEN EUROPE AGAIN.
- THEN YOU NEED TO HELP ME.
- AND YOU NEED TO HELP ME.
NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT JAPAN.
- I WILL HELP YOU WITH JAPAN
IF YOU HELP ME WITH HITLER.
IF THERE'S NO INVASION...
THEN I CANNOT HELP YOU WITH JAPAN.
narrator: AFTER FOUR DAYS OF INTENSE NEGOTIATIONS,
IN EXCHANGE FOR STALIN'S HELP IN THE PACIFIC,
ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL AGREE TO EXECUTE
AN UNPRECEDENTED INVASION OF EUROPE.
- THE ALLIES KNEW THAT TO DEFEAT NAZI GERMANY,
YOU WERE GONNA HAVE TO INVADE WESTERN EUROPE,
AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO FROM FRANCE,
ESSENTIALLY, INTO GERMANY,
AND IT WAS AN AMAZING UNDERTAKING
BOTH IN SCOPE AND COMPLEXITY.
narrator: WINSTON CHURCHILL KNOWS
THAT THE STRATEGY COULD BE THE TURNING POINT IN THE WAR.
BUT STILL HE HAS GRAVE CONCERNS.
CHURCHILL'S ORDERED AN AMBITIOUS OPERATION
LIKE THIS BEFORE...
[telephone ringing]
- FOUR SHIPS SUNK, ANOTHER BURNING.
narrator: THE INVASION OF GALLIPOLI
IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR--
A DISASTROUS AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT
THAT LEFT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BRITISH TROOPS DEAD.
CHURCHILL FEARS THAT THE ALLIES
ARE HEADING FOR ANOTHER GALLIPOLI.
IF THE MISSION IS GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL,
THIS TIME THEY'LL NEED TO BE SMARTER.
- GALLIPOLI CAST A LONG SHADOW.
IT HAUNTED CHURCHILL.
BUT THAT CAPACITY TO TAKE RISK,
TO THINK BIG, TO THINK ON A GLOBAL SCALE
BECAME ONE OF HIS GREAT STRENGTHS.
- MY BIGGEST WORRY IS THAT HITLER NOW KNOWS WE'RE COMING.
narrator: WHILE PREPARATIONS
FOR THE INVASION OF FRANCE CONTINUES,
CHURCHILL OVERSEES THE CREATION OF A SECRET PLAN
THAT WILL PUT THE ALLIES ONE STEP AHEAD OF ADOLF HITLER.
- SO WHAT WE NEED IS THE RIGHT LIES TO DECEIVE HIM.
narrator: IT'S CALLED OPERATION FORTITUDE.
THE SUCCESS OF THE MISSION WILL RELY ON ONE MAN
WHOSE MILITARY CAREER SEEMED TO BE OVER,
GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON.
AFTER BEING PULLED FROM ACTIVE DUTY,
PATTON HAS BEEN FORCED TO WATCH THE PLANNING
OF ONE OF THE LARGEST INVASIONS IN HISTORY
FROM THE SIDELINES.
- IF YOU PUT YOURSELF IN PATTON'S POSITION,
THEY'RE ABOUT TO INVADE THE CENTER OF EUROPE;
THEY ARE ABOUT TO GO AT THE GUTS OF NAZI GERMANY.
TO THINK HE'S NOT GONNA BE INVOLVED IN THAT
HAD TO HAVE BEEN JUST EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL
FOR PATTON BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE'S A WAR SOLDIER.
THIS IS HIS MOMENT, AND IF HE'S NOT IN IT,
IT'S GOING TO JUST BE TORTURE.
narrator: BUT OPERATION FORTITUDE
IS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR PATTON.
IN THE SPRING OF 1944,
ALLIED LEADERS COVERTLY SEND PATTON TO ENGLAND...
ALONG WITH 250,000 MEN
AND WHAT APPEARS TO BE THOUSANDS OF TANKS
AND FIGHTER PLANES,
BUT PATTON'S NOT GOING TO LEAD AN INVASION,
AND HIS ARMY ISN'T WHAT IT SEEMS.
INSTEAD OF HEAVY MACHINERY AND MODERN WEAPONS,
PATTON'S ARMED WITH BALLOONS.
- ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL USED PATTON AS A DECEPTION.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE HOLLYWOOD PEOPLE HELP THEM
CREATE WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A PHONY ARMY.
THERE'S PHONY TANKS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY NOTHING BUT BALLOONS.
THERE'S BARRACKS.
IT APPEARS THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF ALLIED TROOPS ASSEMBLED ACROSS THE CHANNEL FROM FRANCE.
- THE ALLY TANK FIELDS...
narrator: IT ISN'T LONG BEFORE HITLER
SEES GERMAN INTELLIGENCE PHOTOGRAPHS
OF PATTON'S SUPPOSED ARMY,
AND HE COMPLETELY TAKES THE BAIT.
HITLER THINKS HE'S OUTSMARTED THE ALLIES.
HE REFUSES TO BELIEVE THAT PATTON HAS BEEN SIDELINED
JUST FOR SLAPPING A SOLDIER.
- PATTON.
- HERE ARE THE THREE MAJOR PORTS
SUITABLE FOR AN OPERATION OF THIS SIZE.
THE ONLY OTHER VIABLE LANDING IS FURTHER SOUTH.
- THE REAL INVASION WILL BE HERE
AT PAS DE CALAIS
WITH PATTON.
- HITLER KNOWS THAT PATTON
IS ONE OF ROOSEVELT'S BEST GENERALS,
THE GENERAL WHO IS BOLD AND AUDACIOUS,
SO IN ALL LIKELIHOOD
PATTON IS GOING TO BE LEADING THE ATTACK.
narrator: HITLER'S CONVINCED THE LEGENDARY GENERAL
IS PREPARING TO INVADE THE FRENCH MAINLAND
AT PAS DE CALAIS,
A MAJOR PORT CITY IN NORTHERN FRANCE
MERE MILES ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
FROM WHERE PATTON'S FORCES ARE GATHERING,
SO HE SENDS A MILLION TROOPS TO CALAIS
TO FORTIFY THE CITY.
ON JUNE 6, 1944,
THE DAY THAT WILL COME TO BE KNOWN AS D-DAY
FINALLY ARRIVES.
ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL ORDER 150,000 ALLIED TROOPS
TO PILE INTO OVER 4,000 BOATS AND HEAD TO FRANCE...
IN THE LARGEST AMPHIBIOUS INVASION EVER ATTEMPTED.
[cannons booming]
narrator: ON A DAY THAT WILL COME
TO BE KNOWN AS D-DAY...
150,000 ALLIED TROOPS PILE INTO THOUSANDS OF BOATS
AND HEAD TOWARD FRANCE
IN THE LARGEST AMPHIBIOUS INVASION EVER ATTEMPTED.
ACROSS THE CHANNEL,
MORE THAN A MILLION GERMAN SOLDIERS PREPARE
FOR AN ATTACK,
FORTIFYING THE FRENCH PORT CITY OF CALAIS
WHERE ADOLF HITLER IS CONVINCED
AN ALLIED ARMY LED BY GEORGE PATTON WILL LAND.
WHAT HITLER DOESN'T KNOW IS THAT THE ALLIED FORCE
ISN'T BEING LEAD BY PATTON AND ISN'T HEADING TO CALAIS.
ITS TARGET IS JUST OVER 200 MILES TO THE SOUTH,
THE BEACHES OF NORMANDY.
[explosions booming, gunfire]
[men shouting, gunfire]
AFTER A BRUTAL FIGHT,
THE ALLIED FORCES CAPTURE THE BEACHES.
- THE QUESTION OF D-DAY WAS,
CAN THE AMERICANS PRIMARILY, BUT THE BRITISH AS WELL,
ESTABLISH A FOOTHOLD ON THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT?
IF THEY CAN,
THERE WAS SOME HOPE THAT MAYBE HITLER COULD BE OVERTHROWN.
narrator: AS ALLIED TROOPS PUSH INTO NORMANDY,
ADOLF HITLER IS NOTIFIED OF THE INVASION,
BUT HE REFUSES TO REROUTE HIS TROOPS STATIONED IN CALAIS.
WITH PATTON STILL IN ENGLAND,
HITLER IS CONVINCED THAT THE ATTACK AT NORMANDY
IS JUST A DIVERSION
AND THAT A MUCH LARGER ALLIED ASSAULT
IS STILL ON THE WAY.
- HITLER IS SO OUT OF TOUCH.
HE'S SO CONSUMED WITH HIS OWN BRILLIANCE
THAT EVEN AFTER IT BECOMES OBVIOUS
THAT THE ALLIES ARE ATTACKING IN NORMANDY,
HE SPENDS SOME 72 HOURS REFUSING TO ACCEPT THE REPORTS.
WHILE HITLER WAITS FOR AN INVASION
THAT WILL NEVER COME...
[men shouting, gunfire]
ALLIED ARMIES BEGIN MOVING INTO FRANCE
TOWN BY TOWN...
[gunfire]
PUSHING BACK AGAINST THE GERMAN FORCES
AND LIBERATING THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
- WHAT IF HITLER HAD NOT BEEN SO ARROGANT?
WHAT IF HE HAD RECOGNIZED THAT THE ALLIES
WERE GOING TO INVADE IN NORMANDY?
WHAT IF, AFTER HE HAD CREDIBLE INTELLIGENCE REPORTS
THAT THEY WERE ATTACKING AT NORMANDY,
HAD MOVED HIS TROOPS THERE?
IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT HE COULD HAVE BLUNTED THE ALLIED ASSAULT.
AND IF YOU BLUNT THE ALLIED ASSAULT AT D-DAY,
THE BEST THE ALLIES COULD HOPE FOR IS A STALEMATE IN EUROPE.
narrator: WITH THE HELP OF PATTON'S DECOY ARMY,
THE NORMANDY LANDINGS ARE AN INCREDIBLE SUCCESS
THAT CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE WAR.
WHILE ADOLF HITLER SUFFERS AN UNTHINKABLE DEFEAT,
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD,
HIS LAST REMAINING ALLY LOOKS TO PROTECT HIS EMPIRE.
FOLLOWING HIS DEFEAT AT MIDWAY,
JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER HIDEKI TOJO
HAS BEEN TRYING TO REGROUP.
HE'S DESPERATE TO MAINTAIN HIS CONTROL OVER THE PACIFIC,
BUT LITTLE DOES TOJO KNOW
HE'S ABOUT TO FACE HIS BIGGEST CHALLENGE YET.
FOR YEARS GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
HAS WAITED FOR THE MOMENT TO EVEN THE SCORE WITH TOJO.
HIS NUMBER ONE GOAL:
TO TAKE BACK THE ISLAND TERRITORY
HE WAS FORCED TO ABANDON,
THE PHILIPPINES.
- FOR MACARTHUR, GOING TO THE PHILIPPINES
WAS BOTH A NATIONAL NECESSITY AND A PERSONAL OBLIGATION
FOR NOT SUFFICIENTLY DEFENDING THE PHILIPPINES.
narrator: IN JUNE OF 1944,
MACARTHUR LEADS AN ARMADA OF WARSHIPS INTO THE PACIFIC.
[distant gunfire]
FOR FIVE BLOODY MONTHS,
HE AND HIS TROOPS TAKE ON THE JAPANESE MILITARY,
FIGHTING ISLAND BY ISLAND
BY LAND AND BY SEA,
UNTIL MACARTHUR IS FINALLY ABLE TO FULFILL HIS PROMISE
AND LIBERATE THE PHILIPPINES.
- THAT OUTLINES THE MOVEMENT,
AS I UNDERSTOOD IT, HERE TO HERE.
narrator: BUT MACARTHUR'S NOT FINISHED.
AS SOON AS HE RETAKES THE PHILIPPINES,
HE SETS HIS SIGHTS ON AN EVEN BIGGER TARGET--
THE INVASION OF THE JAPANESE MAINLAND.
IN TOKYO, PRIME MINISTER HIDEKI TOJO
HAS FACED A SERIES OF HUMILIATING DEFEATS.
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HIS RISE TO POWER,
THE JAPANESE EMPIRE IS DWINDLING,
AND AS CRITICISM OF HIS LEADERSHIP ESCALATES,
TOJO IS FORCED TO RESIGN IN DISGRACE.
WHILE TOJO MAY BE GONE,
THE WAR IN JAPAN IS FAR FROM OVER.
narrator: THE WORLD WAR TAKES A TURN
IN THE ALLIES' FAVOR.
AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL D-DAY INVASION,
THE ALLIES CONTINUE TO GAIN GROUND IN EUROPE,
BUT ADOLF HITLER REFUSES TO SURRENDER.
IN DECEMBER OF 1944,
HITLER ORDERS OVER 200,000 GERMAN TROOPS
INTO SOUTHERN BELGIUM
IN WHAT WILL COME TO BE KNOWN AS THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE.
[men shouting, gunfire]
HITLER'S SNEAK ATTACK TAKES THE ALLIES COMPLETELY OFF GUARD.
[explosions, gunfire]
ROOSEVELT REALIZES IF HE'S GOING TO BEAT HITLER,
HE NEEDS GENERAL GEORGE PATTON TO HELP LEAD THE CHARGE,
SO HE MAKES THE BOLD DECISION
TO RETURN HIM TO ACTION.
- DO IT.
- SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO KEEP SOMEBODY
LIKE A GEORGE PATTON AROUND
EVEN WHEN EVERY INSTINCT TELLS YOU,
GET RID OF THIS GUY,
BUT THE BOTTOM LINE WAS THAT HE WAS A GREAT TACTICIAN
ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
narrator: AFTER A YEAR ON THE SIDELINES,
PATTON IS BACK WHERE HE BELONGS--
RIGHT ON THE FRONTLINES,
LEADING THE CHARGE INTO BATTLE.
ON DECEMBER 16, 1944,
PATTON AND THE ALLIES
COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH HITLER'S ARMY.
[gunfire]
- THERE WAS JUST A LIMIT ON WHAT THE GERMAN ARMY
AT THAT POINT HAD THE CAPACITY TO DO.
THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE FORCES OR THE LOGISTICS.
narrator: WITHIN DAYS OF JOINING THE BATTLE,
PATTON AND HIS FLEET ARE ABLE TO TAKE DOWN
SIX DIVISIONS OF HITLER'S ARMY
FINALLY BREAKING THROUGH THE GERMAN DEFENSES.
HITLER'S TROOPS ARE LEFT WITH NO OTHER OPTION
BUT TO RETREAT BACK INTO GERMANY.
[air raid siren blaring]
WITH ALLIED ARMIES CLOSING IN ON BERLIN,
HITLER IS FORCED TO WATCH THE SAME TERROR AND DESTRUCTION
HE ONCE FORCED UPON THE WORLD
NOW INFLICTED ON HIS OWN CITY.
- IN THE LAST PHASE OF THE WAR,
THE AIR RAIDS ON BERLIN
WERE BECOMING EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE.
THE SOVIET ARMY WAS MOVING THROUGH THE CENTER OF BERLIN.
- MEIN FUEHRER, IT'S TIME.
[air raid siren blaring]
- HITLER RETREATED UNDERGROUND
TO A PREPARED, HEAVILY-FORTIFIED CONCRETE BUNKER
UNDERNEATH THE REICH CHANCELLERY IN BERLIN,
AND HE WAS RELATIVELY SAFE THERE.
HE HOPED FOR TURNAROUND.
HE THOUGHT THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME WONDER WEAPON
THAT WOULD BE DEVELOPED BY GERMAN SCIENTISTS.
IT WAS ALL COMPLETE FANTASY.
narrator: ADOLF HITLER'S EMPIRE HAS BEEN REDUCED
FROM 3 MILLION SQUARE MILES
TO 500 SQUARE FEET.
AS PATTON AND HIS TROOPS ADVANCE INTO GERMANY...
THEY ARRIVE AT A SERIES OF LARGE,
FACTORY-LIKE BUILDINGS
SURROUNDED BY EMPTY FIELDS
IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
- FIRST SQUAD, MOVE UP.
[somber violin music]
♪
narrator: THE RUMORS HE'S HEARD ARE TRUE.
THIS IS ONE OF ADOLF HITLER'S DEATH CAMPS--
BUCHENWALD.
PATTON FINDS 20,000 EMACIATED SURVIVORS
SUFFERING FROM STARVATION, DISEASE, AND TORTURE.
THOUSANDS OF CORPSES LINE THE GROUNDS,
KILLED DURING ONE OF THE WORST GENOCIDES
THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN,
A SYSTEMATIC MASS EXTERMINATION PROGRAM
HITLER CALLS THE FINAL SOLUTION.
THE CAMP PATTON LIBERATES IS JUST ONE
OF 20,000 DETENTION AND KILLING FACILITIES
BUILT BY HITLER.
IN ALL THE HOLOCAUST KILLS 11 MILLION PEOPLE,
6 MILLION ARE JEWISH.
- MY WIFE'S MOTHER WAS IN AUSCHWITZ AND DACHAU.
SHE WAS LIBERATED FROM DACHAU BY THE U.S. ARMY.
I HAD A PRESS SECRETARY,
AND HIS FATHER HAD BEEN PART OF THE GROUP
THAT HAD LIBERATED MY MOTHER-IN-LAW.
THESE SOLDIERS AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO DID THAT
SAVED THE WORLD FROM NAZISM AND FASCISM.
narrator: FOR PATTON, THE HOLOCAUST IS A REMINDER
OF EVERYTHING THE ALLIES HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR.
- FOR MY GENERATION
THAT HAD PARENTS WHO SURVIVED THE HOLOCAUST,
WHO HAD RELATIVES WHO WERE LOST IN THE HOLOCAUST
THERE IS A REAL RESPONSIBILITY TO LEARN THE LESSONS OF HISTORY
AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT FORGOTTEN.
narrator: SHAKEN BY WHAT HE SEES,
PATTON AND HIS TROOPS ROUND UP AS MANY GERMANS AS THEY CAN--
THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS
ALONG WITH ORDINARY CITIZENS...
FORCING THEM TO BEAR WITNESS
TO HITLER'S ATROCITIES.
- PATTON'S DECISION IS TO CONFRONT THE PERPETRATORS
OF INJUSTICE AND SLAUGHTER
WITH THE ACTUALITY OF WHAT THEY DID.
IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS,
YOU'RE LESS LIKELY TO UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THEM.
WHEN PEOPLE PERPETRATE WAR CRIMES,
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
IS THAT THEY'RE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEM,
'CAUSE IF THEY'RE NOT HELD ACCOUNTABLE,
THEN I'M AFRAID IT'S AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO OTHERS
TO VIOLATE THE MOST BASIC NORMS AS WELL.
narrator: PATTON KNOWS THERE'S ONE WAY
TO STOP THE GENOCIDE--
WIN THE WAR.
narrator: AFTER 5 YEARS OF FIGHTING,
THE ALLIES ARE FINALLY CLOSING IN ON ADOLF HITLER,
BUT RIGHT WHEN VICTORY SEEMS WITHIN REACH,
AMERICA IS DEALT A DEVASTATING BLOW.
[explosion]
ON APRIL 12, 1945,
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT DIES
OF A SUDDEN STROKE.
- AMERICANS WERE SHOCKED.
ROOSEVELT HAD GUIDED AMERICANS
THROUGH THE TWO GREAT EMOTIONAL, ECONOMIC
AND MILITARY CRISES OF THE 12TH CENTURY,
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II.
THESE WERE FORMATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR AN ENTIRE GENERATION,
AND WHEN ROOSEVELT DIED MANY THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS FELT
AS THOUGH THEY HAD LOST A MEMBER OF THEIR FAMILY.
narrator: WITH AN ALLIED VICTORY WITHIN REACH,
AMERICA HAS JUST LOST ITS COMMANDER IN CHIEF.
VICE PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN
IS IMMEDIATELY SUMMONED TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
THE FORMER SHOPKEEPER FROM SMALL-TOWN MISSOURI
HAS BEEN VICE PRESIDENT FOR LESS THAN THREE MONTHS
BEFORE SUDDENLY BEING THRUST INTO THE ROLE
OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND NOW IT'S UP TO TRUMAN TO PUT AN END TO 30 YEARS
OF THE DEADLIEST FIGHTING THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.
- HARRY TRUMAN WOULD SAY IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW,
THE MOON AND THE STARS JUST FELL DOWN ON TOP OF HIM.
HE'S SUDDENLY PRESIDENT.
THE CHALLENGE WHEN HE BECAME PRESIDENT WAS,
HE HAD TO WIN THESE WARS.
IT'S STILL RAGING,
SO FIRST THINGS FIRST,
YOU HAD TO GET THAT VICTORY IN EUROPE.
narrator: AS A NEW LEADER COMES TO POWER IN AMERICA,
IN ITALY THE OLD GUARD HAS CRUMBLED.
BENITO MUSSOLINI HAS BEEN HIDING OUT
IN NORTHERN ITALY,
BUT HE PLANS AN ESCAPE TO SPAIN...
[bells ringing, crowd cheering]
ONLY TO BE CAPTURED ON HIS WAY OUT OF THE COUNTRY
AND PUBLICLY EXECUTED BY MEMBERS OF THE ITALIAN RESISTANCE.
- MUSSOLINI'S CORPSE IS PUT INTO THE CENTER OF A SQUARE
WHERE SOME LOCALS COME OUT AND ABUSED IT--
WHAT PEOPLE HAD ALWAYS DONE WHEN A TYRANT FELL
AND THEY HAD A CHANCE TO ABUSE HIM.
HE WAS THE PERSON WHO HAD BEEN RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE BOMBING AND ALL THE TROUBLES OF THE WAR.
"OKAY, LET'S KICK HIS HEAD IN."
ONE OF THE MOST RUTHLESS DICTATORS
THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN HAS FINALLY FALLEN.
[air raid siren blaring]
JUST TWO DAYS LATER,
WHILE HIDING IN HIS BUNKER IN BERLIN,
ADOLF HITLER LEARNS OF MUSSOLINI'S BRUTAL EXECUTION.
- THE SOVIET ARMY WAS MOVING
THROUGH THE CENTER OF BERLIN TOWARDS THE BUNKER.
HITLER DID NOT WANT TO SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS MUSSOLINI.
HITLER WAS NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT HAPPEN TO HIM.
narrator: BUT ADOLF HITLER LONG AGO VOWED
TO NEVER TO SEE GERMANY SURRENDER AGAIN.
[gunshot]
ADOLF HITLER'S SUICIDE
FORCES GERMANY TO SURRENDER TO THE ALLIES
FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS CENTURY.
WITHIN LESS THAN ONE MONTH
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, BENITO MUSSOLINI,
AND ADOLF HITLER HAVE DIED,
AND THE WAR IN EUROPE HAS COME TO A CLOSE.
- THE WAR ENDS IN EUROPE,
AND OF COURSE FOR EUROPEANS, THAT'S THE END OF THE WAR;
FOR THE UNITED STATES, IT'S NOT.
THE UNITED STATES STILL HAS ANOTHER WAR TO WIN.
narrator: BY SPRING OF 1945,
ADOLF HITLER IS DEAD,
AND THE WAR IN EUROPE IS FINALLY OVER.
BUT ONE AXIS POWER REMAINS,
AND PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN AND THE UNITED STATES MILITARY
CAN NOW FOCUS THEIR ATTENTION ON JAPAN.
[gunfire]
[explosions]
FOR THREE YEARS THE UNITED STATES HAS ENGAGED
IN A DEVASTATING FIGHT WITH THE JAPANESE MILITARY,
BUT EVEN AFTER THE FALL OF THEIR LAST REMAINING ALLIES,
JAPAN STILL REFUSES TO SURRENDER.
AND AS THEY GROW INCREASINGLY DESPERATE,
THEY BEGIN BOMBARDING THE ALLIES
WITH DEVASTATING KAMIKAZE ATTACKS.
- THE JAPANESE HAVE A CODE OF BEHAVIOR.
ONE OF THOSE PARTS IS NO SURRENDER.
THE JAPANESE WERE JUST SO DETERMINED
TO FIGHT ON AT ALL COSTS.
narrator: GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
KNOWS THE JAPANESE MILITARY
WILL BE A FEARSOME ENEMY TO BEAT.
HE'S CONVINCED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO DEFEAT THE LAST AXIS POWER
IS WITH WHAT COULD BE
THE LARGEST MILITARY OPERATION IN HISTORY,
AN ASSAULT THAT WOULD DWARF EVEN THE SIZE OF D-DAY--
A DARING AMPHIBIOUS INVASION OF THE JAPANESE MAINLAND.
- THE UNITED STATES COULD LOSE
AS MANY AS A HUNDRED THOUSAND MEN.
THE CASUALTIES COULD BE OVER A MILLION,
BUT MACARTHUR BELIEVES THIS IS THE PROPER THING TO DO
EVEN THOUGH IT'D BE COSTLY.
narrator: BUT MACARTHUR IS NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH PLANS
FOR A CONQUEST OF JAPAN.
AS THE WAR NEARS AN END,
JOSEPH STALIN LOOKS TO TAKE CONTROL.
IN JULY OF 1945,
JOSEPH STALIN BEGINS MOBILIZING HIS TROOPS INTO CHINA.
HE'S NOT ABOUT TO LET THE UNITED STATES
HAVE JAPAN FOR THEMSELVES,
AND HE BELIEVES IF CAN BEAT AMERICA TO THE PUNCH,
HIS POWER ON THE WORLD STAGE WILL BE UNMATCHED.
- THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT STALIN
HELPED US DEFEAT NAZISM,
BUT IT'S ALSO TRUE THAT STALIN HAD HIS EYE
ON THE POSTWAR WORLD
AND WAS MUCH MORE FOCUSED ON GAINING ADVANTAGE
AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II
WHICH WOULD POSITION THE SOVIET UNION
FOR A GREATER FUTURE.
narrator: WITH STALIN ON HIS OWN QUEST
FOR GLOBAL DOMINATION,
GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES
WILL NEED TO ACT FAST.
FROM THE BEGINNING, WINSTON CHURCHILL
HAS SEEN STALIN AS A THREAT ALMOST AS GREAT AS HITLER.
BUT BEFORE HE CAN NEUTRALIZE STALIN
AND END THE WAR ON HIS OWN TERMS,
HE RECEIVES SOME SHOCKING NEWS.
ON JULY 26, 1945...
WINSTON CHURCHILL
IS UNEXPECTEDLY VOTED OUT OF OFFICE.
- CHURCHILL WAS PROVED RIGHT ABOUT THE NAZIS,
AND THAT'S WHAT TRANSFORMED HIM TO A GREAT WARTIME LEADER,
AND IT WAS IN WAR THAT HE PROVED HIS LEADERSHIP CREDENTIALS.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THE BRITISH PEOPLE
THEN DIDN'T TRUST HIM TO WIN THE PEACE.
narrator: WITHOUT CHURCHILL, HARRY TRUMAN IS ON HIS OWN.
HE KNOWS HE NEEDS TO FINISH THE WAR
BEFORE STALIN IS ABLE TO,
BUT HE ALSO KNOWS THAT MACARTHUR'S PLANNED INVASION
WOULD LEAD TO A CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF LIFE,
BUT WHAT FEW REALIZE,
IS THAT TRUMAN HAS ANOTHER OPTION.
- IT'S A GO.
[explosion rumbling]
narrator: ON AUGUST 6, 1945,
THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB STRIKES HIROSHIMA.
IN AN INSTANT,
OVER 80,000 JAPANESE CIVILIANS ARE DEAD.
THE LEVEL OF DEVASTATION IS UNLIKE ANYTHING
ANYONE HAS EVER SEEN BEFORE.
[explosion rumbling]
JUST THREE DAYS LATER,
A SECOND ATOMIC STRIKE HITS NAGASAKI...
INSTANTLY KILLING ANOTHER 75,000 PEOPLE.
LESS THAN A WEEK LATER,
JAPAN FINALLY SURRENDERS.
THE LAST REMAINING AXIS POWER HAS FALLEN.
- IT'S EASY TO CRITICIZE TRUMAN'S DECISION
TO DROP THE BOMB,
BUT TELL THAT TO THE MILLION MOTHERS
WHO MIGHT HAVE LOST THEIR SONS.
WAR IS NO FUN THING.
IT'S A TERRIBLE THING,
BUT THE FACT THAT THOSE TWO BOMBS WERE DROPPED,
I THINK, GUARANTEED THAT WE'LL NEVER SEE
AN ATOMIC BOMB AGAIN DROPPED ON ANYONE.
IT'S EXISTENTIALLY NOT POSSIBLE,
AND I KNOW.
I WAS IN CHARGE OF 28,000 OF THEM.
- IT'S OVER.
narrator: THOUGH DIFFICULT AND CONTROVERSIAL,
THE DECISION TO DROP THE BOMB BRINGS AN END
TO THE SINGLE BLOODIEST CONFLICT IN HUMAN HISTORY.
IN THE 31 YEARS BETWEEN 1914 AND 1945
OVER 100 MILLION PEOPLE WERE KILLED
IN THE DEADLIEST FIGHTING THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.
THE WORLD WARS
WERE A TIME OF RUTHLESS TYRANTS
BUT ALSO LEGENDARY HEROES...
AN ERA WHEN A SINGLE GENERATION OF MEN
DETERMINED THE FATE OF ALL MANKIND.
- HISTORY TELLS US THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF EVIL
AND UNLESS GOOD PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO FIGHT
PEOPLE CAPABLE OF EVIL, EVIL WILL TRIUMPH.
- SOMEONE WHO IS WILLING TO TAKE THE RISKS
THAT ARE INVOLVED WITH MILITARY ACTION IS A HERO
AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.
I MEAN MY TOUGHEST JOB WAS TO WRITE NOTES OF CONDOLENCE
TO THE FAMILIES WHO HAD LOST LOVED ONES,
BUT THE WORDS I ALWAYS USED
IS THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS TAKE SOME COMFORT
IN THE FACT THAT THEY GAVE THEIR LIFE FOR THEIR COUNTRY
AND THAT THEY WILL BE FOREVER REMEMBERED AS HEROES.