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(narrator) September 1, 1939.
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Germany attacks Poland.
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Adolf Hitler ignores Britain and France
which had promised to fight for Poland.
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Sunday September 3. The British prime
minister Neville Chamberlain broadcasts.
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(Chamberlain) This morning
the British ambassador in Berlin
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handed the German government
a final note
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stating that unless
we heard from them by 11 o'clock
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that they were prepared at once
to withdraw their troops from Poland,
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a state of war would exist between us.
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I have to tell you now that
no such undertaking has been received
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and that consequently
this country is at war with Germany.
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(chanting / cheering)
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(narrator) Danzig, taken
from Germany after the First World War,
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welcomed its liberators.
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To many good Germans the city's capture
symbolised the end
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of the humiliating Treaty of Versailles.
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Hitler swept forward
to congratulate his victorious troops.
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He said they'd rescued his people
from Polish barbarism.
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The Germans thrust into Poland
from the west and north.
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In two weeks the Polish army
had virtually ceased to exist.
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Warsaw was one of the few places
to hold out.
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The Russians,
by agreement with Germany,
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seized parts of Poland
they claimed as theirs by right.
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The two conquerors met at Brest-Litovsk.
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It was the scene of the Russian
surrender to Germany in 1918.
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The official German greeting in Russian
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said German soldiers had always
respected Russian soldiers.
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The clash of Nazi and Communist was,
for the moment, conveniently forgotten.
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The final bombardment of Warsaw
began on September 23.
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(♪ Polish national anthem)
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For nearly three weeks Warsaw Radio
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had defiantly played
the Polish national anthem.
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On September 27 the anthem stopped.
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- (announcement in Polish)- (air-raid siren)
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Warsaw was reduced to rubble.
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The capitaI's commander surrendered.
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Poland, swallowed by Germany
and Russia,
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disappeared into a new dark age.
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Arrests, deportations, executions began.
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(siren)
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Britain's war started
with a false alarm.
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September 3.
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(man) I remember
when the outbreak of war came.
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We were in the cabinet room
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at the moment
that the ultimatum expired.
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(narrator) Lord Butler
was a junior minister.
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(Butler) And we were just beginning
to congratulate the prime minister
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on his broadcast
when we heard a terrible wailing,
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which of course
was the first air-raid siren.
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Chamberlain took it very seriously
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and his wife appeared with an enormous
basket full of things for the night
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and Thermos flasks
and things to read and so on.
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And so we all went and sheltered.
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I went and sheltered after some delay
in the Foreign Office.
55
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The whole of the Horse Guards Parade
was empty of people
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and there was nobody in sight anywhere.
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When I got there, there was no furniture
so I had to sit on the floor.
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And an air-raid warden
said that there would be no gas.
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But of course there wasn't really
any war for some time,
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00:08:24,253 --> 00:08:26,505
quite apart from being no gas.
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(air-raid siren)
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(narrator) So, no war that day,
or for many months.
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People settled down
to enjoy the unexpected reprieve.
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It was perfect weather
for a late holiday - or invading Poland.
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(♪ military band)
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People had braced themselves
for a grimmer war.
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00:10:06,856 --> 00:10:09,983
Hospitals were cleared
to take air-raid casualties.
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The experts predicted
over a million injured in two months.
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Children and their mothers evacuated
from the cities - 1.5 million of them.
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00:10:27,877 --> 00:10:31,671
For some, a nightmare.
For others, an adventure.
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(man) We assembled
in a playground rather like this.
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The kids were there and the parents.
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Children had the gas mask over
their shoulder and labels tied to them.
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(woman) The women had to decide
whether to keep their children with them
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or whether to allow them to go out.
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Now, one would think
that this was an easy decision.
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Why not keep your children with you -
the natural thing to do?
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But against this
was the terrible thought
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that there was going to be gas,
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00:11:06,248 --> 00:11:09,834
that there was going to be
terrible bombing and death
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and that children would be maimed.
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(man) Everyone was crying -
the parents and children -
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and as we moved off especially,
people burst into tears.
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My mother was more unhappy
about the wrench of us going
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rather than the war itself.
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My sister was crying.
I personally wasn't.
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I was rather excited at the prospect
of leaving this part of London.
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We thought we'd travelled
to the other side of the world,
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but in fact, we came to Denham, here,
only 20 miles from London.
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I promised my mother
I wouldn't be separated from my sister,
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so we went to the village hall
with all the other kids,
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and because we wouldn't be separated,
we were the last ones to find a billet.
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It was like being auctioned off
at the time.
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But when we finally got a house
to take us in, it was fantastic.
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It was a new world
that opened out to us.
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I mean, we had toothbrushes
and sheets on the bed and hot water.
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Imagine hot water!
We just couldn't get over it.
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And we didn't know
what eiderdowns were for.
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In the morning
we went blackberry picking.
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Then we heard the sirens,
so we rushed back to our billet.
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00:12:33,961 --> 00:12:39,632
The woman there reassured us and said
not to worry, and we sat down to lunch.
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It was the first fully laid-out table
I'd ever seen in my life.
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And war was declared,
I think, that same lunchtime.
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She said not to worry
and passed us the horseradish sauce.
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But I think a number of children
suffered really deeply
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being away from their families.
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They suffered a sense of rejection.
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They exhibited their senses of rejection
and sorrow and suffering
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very often by
strange behaviour problems,
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by bedwetting, perhaps not eating.
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31 arrived, with two junior nurses,
I think.
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They were pretty dirty
and two of them got impetigo.
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I had young children at the time.
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And I put them into a large room.
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You've no idea... I had no idea
that such things existed in England.
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They relieved themselves
all over the carpet
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and the place was a shambles.
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(man shouts orders)
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(narrator) There was no heroic rush
to volunteer for the forces.
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You waited your turn to be called up
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for processing
in the military sausage machine.
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All rather leisurely.
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(church bells)
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But a rush to get married.
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In August and September, the highest
number of weddings ever recorded.
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White the only wear.
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White for the blackout too, to make sure
car drivers can see you in the dark.
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00:14:27,241 --> 00:14:29,951
At first the blackout
was a bit of a joke.
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00:14:34,665 --> 00:14:39,252
Then road casualties shot up
and the blackout wasn't funny any more.
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There were no air raids,
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00:14:41,088 --> 00:14:46,050
but thousands of people were killed
or injured in accidents in the blackout.
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00:14:49,805 --> 00:14:53,808
Depressing, too. Without it, you could
almost forget there was a war on.
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00:14:53,893 --> 00:14:56,978
Every night, every home
had to be blacked out.
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00:14:57,062 --> 00:14:59,647
The air-raid warden
looking for chinks of light
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became more hated than Hitler.
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00:15:05,154 --> 00:15:07,864
The government closed cinemas
and entertainments
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at the beginning of the war.
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00:15:09,491 --> 00:15:12,118
A fortnight later
they were allowed to open again.
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(♪ band plays "We're Going to Hang Outthe Washing on the Siegfried Line")
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In spite of total war, there were nearly
a million and a half unemployed.
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Sir John Simon,
the chancellor of the exchequer,
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introduced an emergency budget.
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In three hours' time
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all budget secrets will be revealed.
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I am confident
that, whatever may be the burdens
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which have to be carried
by the British taxpayer,
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00:16:18,519 --> 00:16:22,355
my fellow countrymen will bear them
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00:16:22,481 --> 00:16:26,818
with the same resolution and courage
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00:16:26,902 --> 00:16:30,113
as our fighting men will show
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when they discharge their grimmer task
on the field of battle.
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(cheering)
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The blackout budget.
lncome tax up to 7s 6d.
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A 60% tax on excess profit.
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In retrospect, mild enough,
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00:16:57,016 --> 00:16:59,559
but a Conservative MP, Chips Channon,
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00:16:59,643 --> 00:17:03,062
thought it demolished
the edifice of capitalism.
157
00:17:04,732 --> 00:17:09,527
Another Tory, Leo Amery, wanted
a tougher war. Why not bomb Germany?
158
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The air minister Kingsley Wood said no.
159
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German munition works
were private property
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and the Germans would retaliate.
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00:17:17,536 --> 00:17:19,620
The opening phase of the war
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was one of the most extraordinary
periods through which I've lived,
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because it was a period of euphoria
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00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:28,838
on the part of the people
of this country.
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00:17:28,922 --> 00:17:32,175
For a long time
there were quite a lot of unemployed,
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00:17:32,259 --> 00:17:36,846
while the Germans
were manufacturing arms at full stretch,
167
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particularly in the Skoda works
in Czechoslovakia,
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which they had by that time occupied.
169
00:17:44,396 --> 00:17:47,815
Now, all this time the Germans
were a beehive of activity.
170
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We were doing absolutely nothing.
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We'd gone to war
for the defence of Poland.
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00:17:54,656 --> 00:17:58,910
In the event, we did nothing
to help Poland at all.
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We never lifted a finger.
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00:18:01,163 --> 00:18:03,581
For the first three months of the war,
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the greatest number of casualties
were in the blackout.
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We confined our war effort to dropping
leaflets on the German people
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telling them that it was a bad idea
to go to war
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00:18:17,262 --> 00:18:19,806
and that it was a pity
that they'd done it
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00:18:19,890 --> 00:18:21,724
and perhaps we might make peace.
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00:18:23,727 --> 00:18:25,645
(narrator) The Phoney War.
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00:18:25,729 --> 00:18:28,564
When a German plane
crashed in Scotland in November,
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00:18:28,649 --> 00:18:31,984
people came from miles around to see it.
183
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,617
And the Luftwaffe's dead were buried
with full military honours.
184
00:18:51,505 --> 00:18:55,591
Three British divisions went off
to France at the beginning of the war.
185
00:18:55,676 --> 00:19:00,930
More followed. "Nearly 200,000 men,"
said the war minister proudly.
186
00:19:01,014 --> 00:19:03,599
The French had mobilised
six million men.
187
00:19:03,684 --> 00:19:07,270
They grumbled that the British
weren't taking the war seriously.
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(Gracie Fields)
♪ Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye
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(men join in)
♪ Cheerio, here I go on my way
190
00:19:19,116 --> 00:19:24,120
♪ Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye
191
00:19:24,204 --> 00:19:29,500
♪ With a cheer, not a tear, make it gay
192
00:19:29,585 --> 00:19:34,797
♪ Give me a smile
I can keep all the while
193
00:19:34,882 --> 00:19:40,261
♪ In my heart while I'm away
194
00:19:40,345 --> 00:19:45,558
♪ Till we meet once again, you and I
195
00:19:45,642 --> 00:19:52,315
♪ Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye
196
00:19:57,946 --> 00:20:02,033
(narrator) In France,
training for a war that ended in 1918.
197
00:20:02,159 --> 00:20:05,578
The newsreel reporter tried hard
to make it sound impressive.
198
00:20:05,662 --> 00:20:09,207
(reporter) The force, instead of
being thrown into the line,
199
00:20:09,291 --> 00:20:13,252
is able to perfect its training
in conditions similar to those at home.
200
00:20:13,337 --> 00:20:17,965
This bayonet drill in gas masks is our
reply to transparent Nazi propaganda
201
00:20:18,050 --> 00:20:23,179
which seems to indicate that Germany
is preparing to employ poison gas.
202
00:20:23,263 --> 00:20:26,390
Infantry battalions exercise
with their weapons,
203
00:20:26,475 --> 00:20:29,685
awaiting the moment
for their use in actual warfare.
204
00:20:29,811 --> 00:20:31,896
The mortar platoon goes into action
205
00:20:31,980 --> 00:20:34,523
with a rapidity acquired
by constant practice.
206
00:20:34,608 --> 00:20:38,986
Steel helmets assume a fashionable
appearance with camouflage.
207
00:20:42,366 --> 00:20:44,784
(narrator)
French and British generals too
208
00:20:44,868 --> 00:20:47,453
prepared for their part
in the battle to come.
209
00:20:57,089 --> 00:21:00,049
The British dug in
on the Belgian frontier.
210
00:21:00,133 --> 00:21:03,010
In December it was decided
that when fighting began
211
00:21:03,095 --> 00:21:06,847
they'd leave their defences
and advance into Belgium.
212
00:21:06,932 --> 00:21:11,102
Anything helped
to keep their minds off the war.
213
00:21:11,937 --> 00:21:14,355
(♪ "Maginot Line" by George Formby)
214
00:21:14,439 --> 00:21:17,275
♪ Now, imagine me in the Maginot line
215
00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:19,735
♪ Sitting on a mine in the Maginot line
216
00:21:19,820 --> 00:21:22,321
♪ Now it's turned out nice again
217
00:21:22,406 --> 00:21:24,949
♪ The army life is fine
218
00:21:25,033 --> 00:21:27,410
♪ French girls make a fuss of me
219
00:21:27,494 --> 00:21:29,453
♪ I'm not French as you can see
220
00:21:29,538 --> 00:21:32,164
♪ But I know what they mean
when they say oui, oui
221
00:21:32,249 --> 00:21:35,459
♪ Down on the Maginot line
222
00:21:35,544 --> 00:21:38,462
♪ Now, imagine me in the Maginot line
223
00:21:38,547 --> 00:21:40,840
♪ Sitting on a mine in the Maginot line
224
00:21:40,924 --> 00:21:43,467
♪ Now it's turned out nice again
225
00:21:43,552 --> 00:21:45,594
♪ The army life is fine
226
00:21:45,679 --> 00:21:48,472
♪ At night myself to sleep I sing
227
00:21:48,557 --> 00:21:50,808
♪ To my old tin hat I cling
228
00:21:50,892 --> 00:21:53,227
♪ I have to use it now for everything
229
00:21:53,353 --> 00:21:55,187
♪ Down on the Maginot line
230
00:21:55,314 --> 00:21:57,398
(cheering)
231
00:22:04,990 --> 00:22:08,784
(narrator) "Winston's back,"
the navy was told on September 3.
232
00:22:08,869 --> 00:22:13,039
Chamberlain was reluctant to recall
his most bitter political opponent
233
00:22:13,123 --> 00:22:16,417
with a reputation
for military adventure.
234
00:22:18,754 --> 00:22:21,339
But Churchill was popular
with the public.
235
00:22:21,423 --> 00:22:24,133
He had warned them war was coming.
236
00:22:24,217 --> 00:22:27,219
Now, with surprising energy
for a 64-year-old,
237
00:22:27,304 --> 00:22:29,430
he proved a willing leader.
238
00:22:42,444 --> 00:22:45,696
The RAF dropped leaflets,
the army dug trenches,
239
00:22:45,781 --> 00:22:49,116
but Churchill's navy
was Britain's strongest arm.
240
00:22:51,328 --> 00:22:55,331
And the first lord of the admiralty
was often in the news.
241
00:22:55,415 --> 00:22:58,334
We are in a very different position
242
00:22:58,460 --> 00:23:03,381
from that we were in ten weeks ago.
243
00:23:03,465 --> 00:23:07,301
We are far stronger
than we were ten weeks ago.
244
00:23:07,386 --> 00:23:10,221
We are far better prepared
245
00:23:10,305 --> 00:23:15,142
to endure the worst malice
of Hitler and his Huns
246
00:23:15,227 --> 00:23:18,145
than we were at the beginning
of September.
247
00:23:18,230 --> 00:23:20,523
(narrator) The news
that a German battleship
248
00:23:20,607 --> 00:23:24,318
was sinking British merchantmen
gave the chance to take the offensive.
249
00:23:29,741 --> 00:23:34,286
Churchill concentrated much of
the navy's strength on finding her.
250
00:23:34,371 --> 00:23:38,082
One hunting group patrolled off
the River Plate in South America.
251
00:23:38,166 --> 00:23:41,794
Three cruisers -
Exeter, Ajax and Achilles.
252
00:23:41,878 --> 00:23:45,548
At dawn on December 13
they sighted a heavier German ship.
253
00:23:45,632 --> 00:23:49,135
It was the pocket battleship
Admiral Graf Spee.
254
00:23:49,219 --> 00:23:52,096
Although outgunned,
the cruisers engaged her.
255
00:23:52,180 --> 00:23:55,307
The Battle of the River Plate began.
256
00:23:58,979 --> 00:24:02,731
(man) Within about five minutes
of the alarm being sounded,
257
00:24:02,816 --> 00:24:06,569
Graf Spee and Exeter
were shooting at each other
258
00:24:06,695 --> 00:24:12,575
and the Ajax and Achilles
were both shooting at the Graf Spee,
259
00:24:12,659 --> 00:24:15,578
concentrating their gunfire.
260
00:24:16,204 --> 00:24:18,914
The Exeter was quite soon hit
261
00:24:18,999 --> 00:24:21,834
and received early damage.
262
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,421
Her foremost guns
only fired a few rounds each
263
00:24:25,505 --> 00:24:27,548
before they were out of action.
264
00:24:27,632 --> 00:24:31,969
She continued as long as she
possibly could with her after turret,
265
00:24:32,095 --> 00:24:37,433
but the ship herself was badly damaged.
Her speed was reduced.
266
00:24:40,645 --> 00:24:46,734
The six-inch-gun cruisers before long
turned directly towards the Graf Spee
267
00:24:46,818 --> 00:24:49,069
so as to close the range still faster
268
00:24:49,154 --> 00:24:52,531
and the captain of the Graf Spee
269
00:24:52,657 --> 00:24:58,078
did not follow up the Exeter entirely,
270
00:24:58,163 --> 00:25:03,292
but indeed before very long
started heading towards Montevideo.
271
00:25:04,211 --> 00:25:09,798
But we could not see
any spectacular damage inflicted on him,
272
00:25:09,883 --> 00:25:13,552
and indeed his speed
seemed to be unimpaired
273
00:25:13,637 --> 00:25:19,892
and his heavy guns were still firing
regularly and with very good accuracy.
274
00:25:23,563 --> 00:25:26,023
(narrator) The Graf Spee took on fuel
275
00:25:26,107 --> 00:25:29,818
and put ashore the crews
of the merchant ships she'd sunk.
276
00:25:36,368 --> 00:25:41,121
Captain Langsdorff asked the U ruguayans
for permission to stay
277
00:25:41,206 --> 00:25:44,792
but was told he must clear the port
in 72 hours.
278
00:25:49,506 --> 00:25:51,840
So he buried his dead.
279
00:25:51,925 --> 00:25:55,261
Believing that heavier British ships
were waiting for him,
280
00:25:55,345 --> 00:25:59,348
he prepared to carry out
his final orders from Berlin.
281
00:26:03,436 --> 00:26:06,855
(Woodhouse) As soon as he started
pulling his anchor up
282
00:26:06,940 --> 00:26:10,776
we got news of it from our people ashore
283
00:26:10,860 --> 00:26:15,239
and we sent off our aircraft.
284
00:26:15,323 --> 00:26:19,702
In due course we got the signal
from the aircraft,
285
00:26:19,786 --> 00:26:21,662
which was a very welcome one:
286
00:26:21,746 --> 00:26:24,039
"Graf Spee has blown herself up."
287
00:26:30,046 --> 00:26:34,508
(narrator) Two days later,
Langsdorff shot himself.
288
00:26:38,930 --> 00:26:43,350
Churchill made the most of a victory
won by bluff rather than gun power.
289
00:26:43,476 --> 00:26:46,186
Two of the cruisers were brought home.
290
00:26:46,271 --> 00:26:50,065
(♪ "A Life on the Ocean Wave"by Henry Russell)
291
00:26:51,234 --> 00:26:54,653
Their crews marched
through the City of London to Guildhall
292
00:26:54,779 --> 00:26:58,324
and the first lord of the admiralty
basked in their glory.
293
00:26:58,408 --> 00:27:01,577
(Churchill) The brilliant sea fight
294
00:27:01,661 --> 00:27:05,664
which you executed,
295
00:27:05,790 --> 00:27:09,126
those who are here executed,
296
00:27:10,670 --> 00:27:15,007
takes its place in our naval annals
297
00:27:15,133 --> 00:27:21,096
and I may add
that in a dark, cold winter,
298
00:27:21,222 --> 00:27:25,267
it warmed the cockles
of the British heart.
299
00:27:25,352 --> 00:27:27,102
(cheering)
300
00:27:32,859 --> 00:27:35,152
(air-raid siren)
301
00:27:43,453 --> 00:27:47,831
(narrator) Helsinki, November 30, 1939.
302
00:27:47,916 --> 00:27:50,959
Finland has refused
to hand over bases and territory
303
00:27:51,044 --> 00:27:53,003
demanded by her neighbour Russia.
304
00:27:53,088 --> 00:27:55,923
The Russians attack.
305
00:28:22,283 --> 00:28:24,827
The massive Russian army
crossed the frontier,
306
00:28:24,911 --> 00:28:27,204
apparently set
for the kind of easy victory
307
00:28:27,330 --> 00:28:28,956
the Germans had had in Poland.
308
00:28:35,213 --> 00:28:38,882
But the Finns, few in number,
fought back.
309
00:28:46,933 --> 00:28:50,978
Camouflaged Finnish ski troops
knew how to use their own conditions,
310
00:28:51,062 --> 00:28:55,649
moving round the Russian flanks,
cutting their supply lines.
311
00:28:59,154 --> 00:29:01,321
The Russian advance ground to a halt,
312
00:29:01,406 --> 00:29:04,366
confirming the German belief
that the Russian army,
313
00:29:04,451 --> 00:29:08,871
purged by Stalin of many
of its regular officers, couldn't fight.
314
00:29:21,301 --> 00:29:23,761
Whole Russian divisions were destroyed.
315
00:29:23,845 --> 00:29:27,556
Those who weren't taken prisoner
died in the snow -
316
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,894
for the Russians,
a humiliating, if temporary, failure.
317
00:30:10,016 --> 00:30:12,100
In Britain it was snowing, too.
318
00:30:12,227 --> 00:30:16,355
The censorship tried to hush it up
but people couldn't help noticing it.
319
00:30:16,439 --> 00:30:20,234
To the trials of the blackout were added
the worst winter for 45 years,
320
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:24,822
a coal shortage, burst pipes
and food rationing.
321
00:30:26,241 --> 00:30:28,909
The RAF was grounded.
322
00:30:33,206 --> 00:30:36,458
Troops were called in
to keep the trains running.
323
00:30:44,175 --> 00:30:46,176
For the navy, another victory.
324
00:30:46,261 --> 00:30:48,971
Taking refuge in a Norwegian fjord,
325
00:30:49,055 --> 00:30:53,642
the Graf Spee's supply ship Altmark
was cornered by British destroyers.
326
00:30:53,726 --> 00:30:57,062
Ignoring Norwegian neutrality,
they boarded her
327
00:30:57,146 --> 00:31:01,149
and after a fight
released 300 British prisoners.
328
00:31:03,278 --> 00:31:06,738
For Hitler the seizure of the Altmark
was a setback.
329
00:31:06,823 --> 00:31:10,200
He hastened his plans to invade Norway.
330
00:31:17,375 --> 00:31:20,168
(cheering)
331
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,131
For Churchill, another popular triumph.
332
00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:26,967
He too had his eyes on Norway.
333
00:31:37,020 --> 00:31:39,938
Churchill's colleagues
had discussed for months
334
00:31:40,023 --> 00:31:42,524
his plan for British action in Norway,
335
00:31:42,609 --> 00:31:45,485
but some, like the foreign secretary
Lord Halifax,
336
00:31:45,570 --> 00:31:47,487
were difficult to persuade.
337
00:31:51,826 --> 00:31:54,912
Churchill now added a plan
to help Finland
338
00:31:54,996 --> 00:31:57,748
as part of the Norwegian operation.
339
00:31:57,832 --> 00:32:01,752
He proposed to stop
Germany's important supply of iron ore,
340
00:32:01,836 --> 00:32:05,339
which came from Sweden
to the Norwegian port of Narvik.
341
00:32:05,423 --> 00:32:10,344
Then it was shipped to Germany
through neutral Norwegian waters.
342
00:32:13,181 --> 00:32:15,265
Churchill wanted to mine the waters
343
00:32:15,391 --> 00:32:18,560
and he added enticingly
that if Narvik were captured
344
00:32:18,645 --> 00:32:23,649
it could be used as a base for helping
Finland against Communist Russia.
345
00:32:26,319 --> 00:32:30,280
Churchill knew that his plan might mean
retaliation by Hitler in Norway,
346
00:32:30,365 --> 00:32:34,534
and helping Finland
could mean war with Russia.
347
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:40,499
Chamberlain was concerned
about innocent Norwegian lives
348
00:32:40,583 --> 00:32:42,584
and the effect on American opinion.
349
00:32:42,669 --> 00:32:45,128
Eventually, he was persuaded.
350
00:32:45,213 --> 00:32:47,965
(man) I think that deep down
he still hoped
351
00:32:48,049 --> 00:32:52,094
that perhaps the major clash of armies
could be avoided.
352
00:32:52,178 --> 00:32:54,638
He thought that Germany
353
00:32:54,722 --> 00:32:57,140
was on the verge of starvation,
354
00:32:57,225 --> 00:32:59,351
or if not on the verge of starvation,
355
00:32:59,435 --> 00:33:03,605
it anyhow would be brought to the verge
of starvation by economic warfare.
356
00:33:03,690 --> 00:33:05,565
He thought also that deep down
357
00:33:05,650 --> 00:33:08,819
the German people didn't support Hitler,
358
00:33:08,903 --> 00:33:12,739
that this was a clique and that
if we did our propaganda properly
359
00:33:12,824 --> 00:33:16,118
there would perhaps be
a revolt of the generals
360
00:33:16,202 --> 00:33:18,370
or somebody else against Hitler
361
00:33:18,454 --> 00:33:24,251
and that therefore dropping propaganda
leaflets by bomber command of the RAF
362
00:33:24,335 --> 00:33:28,213
rather than bombs
was a good way of conducting the war.
363
00:33:28,297 --> 00:33:32,426
Anything to stop
the real major outbreak.
364
00:33:32,510 --> 00:33:38,348
And that is why I think to some extent
the campaigns in Norway
365
00:33:38,433 --> 00:33:41,810
were something acceptable
to Chamberlain,
366
00:33:41,936 --> 00:33:44,104
because it kept the war distant.
367
00:33:44,188 --> 00:33:49,484
It kept the idea of a real big clash,
368
00:33:49,569 --> 00:33:54,031
a repetition of Passchendaele
or the Somme, far away.
369
00:33:54,157 --> 00:33:59,077
It meant that war would be localised
and perhaps some miracle would happen.
370
00:33:59,162 --> 00:34:01,663
Perhaps Hitler would die
or be assassinated
371
00:34:01,748 --> 00:34:05,000
and the whole thing would end
with the minimum of bloodshed.
372
00:34:06,210 --> 00:34:08,295
Finland today
373
00:34:10,131 --> 00:34:15,177
amidst her snows and her frozen lakes
374
00:34:17,346 --> 00:34:23,435
is fighting against the forces
of unscrupulous violence
375
00:34:23,519 --> 00:34:26,146
just as we are ourselves.
376
00:34:26,230 --> 00:34:28,857
(applause)
377
00:34:29,734 --> 00:34:35,530
And her need calls
for our sympathy and our aid.
378
00:34:39,077 --> 00:34:41,161
(no sound)
379
00:34:43,790 --> 00:34:46,583
(narrator) British aid
did go to Finland, but late.
380
00:34:46,667 --> 00:34:49,669
The Russians
brought all their weight to bear
381
00:34:49,754 --> 00:34:51,963
and overwhelmed the Finnish defences.
382
00:34:57,970 --> 00:35:01,723
The day the British steeled themselves
to force a landing in Norway,
383
00:35:01,808 --> 00:35:03,850
Finland surrendered.
384
00:35:03,935 --> 00:35:09,397
So Britain was saved from war against
Russia and Germany at the same time.
385
00:35:10,858 --> 00:35:14,694
The armistice terms gave Russia
most of what she wanted.
386
00:35:19,534 --> 00:35:23,203
Hundreds of thousands of Finns
had to evacuate their homes.
387
00:35:32,505 --> 00:35:34,548
The French prime minister Daladier
388
00:35:34,632 --> 00:35:37,634
had staked everything
on helping Finland.
389
00:35:37,718 --> 00:35:40,345
He was replaced by Paul Reynaud.
390
00:35:41,556 --> 00:35:44,432
Reynaud went on pressing
for Churchill's operation
391
00:35:44,517 --> 00:35:46,726
to cut off the German iron ore.
392
00:35:46,811 --> 00:35:51,356
An Allied meeting in London
decided to mine Norwegian waters.
393
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:53,400
Churchill had got his way.
394
00:35:57,697 --> 00:36:01,408
British and French troops
stood ready to invade Norway.
395
00:36:04,245 --> 00:36:07,706
The mines were laid on April 8.
396
00:36:18,759 --> 00:36:21,636
A few days earlier,
no thought of Norway in his mind,
397
00:36:21,721 --> 00:36:26,224
Chamberlain had proclaimed
that Hitler had missed the bus.
398
00:36:26,309 --> 00:36:31,479
And General Ironside
dared the Germans to do their worst.
399
00:36:35,860 --> 00:36:39,863
Hitler's invasion force
sailed on April 6.
400
00:37:18,653 --> 00:37:21,821
The Luftwaffe took over
most of the Norwegian airfields.
401
00:37:21,906 --> 00:37:24,032
(♪ marching band)
402
00:37:31,707 --> 00:37:35,460
The German march into Oslo
was led by a band.
403
00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:47,931
Norway had no standing army,
only half-trained militia.
404
00:37:48,015 --> 00:37:51,393
The Norwegians
were antimilitarist by tradition
405
00:37:51,477 --> 00:37:56,022
and they had seen German newsreels
of the blitzkrieg on Poland.
406
00:37:56,107 --> 00:37:59,317
No one wanted Oslo
to go the way of Warsaw.
407
00:37:59,402 --> 00:38:01,278
There was little resistance.
408
00:38:16,627 --> 00:38:20,088
The Allied operation in Norway
was a muddle from the start.
409
00:38:20,172 --> 00:38:26,428
Troops were embarked, disembarked,
embarked again, without vital equipment.
410
00:38:29,515 --> 00:38:34,227
A contingent of French troops sailed
with the British, plentifully equipped.
411
00:38:45,531 --> 00:38:49,159
Unlike the British,
they were trained for winter conditions,
412
00:38:49,243 --> 00:38:52,454
but they hadn't got straps
for their skis.
413
00:39:01,213 --> 00:39:04,215
Even the expedition's objectives
were confused.
414
00:39:04,300 --> 00:39:08,011
Trondheim in central Norway
was to be captured by a pincer attack
415
00:39:08,095 --> 00:39:10,347
from Andalsnes and Namsos.
416
00:39:10,431 --> 00:39:12,766
So some troops were diverted south.
417
00:39:12,892 --> 00:39:16,227
But Churchill's mind
was still fixed on Narvik,
418
00:39:16,312 --> 00:39:18,897
and it was there
the first battle took place.
419
00:39:49,053 --> 00:39:50,762
The navy bombarded Narvik
420
00:39:50,846 --> 00:39:53,973
and German destroyers already there
took a battering.
421
00:39:54,058 --> 00:39:55,850
But the advantage was lost.
422
00:39:55,935 --> 00:40:00,021
The British army commander didn't make
a direct assault on the town.
423
00:40:05,486 --> 00:40:09,948
British Territorials did land
at Namsos and Andalsnes.
424
00:40:10,032 --> 00:40:13,660
They had no skis,
no proper maps of Norway,
425
00:40:13,744 --> 00:40:16,746
and no heavy guns.
426
00:40:18,958 --> 00:40:24,462
There was little they could do when
they ran into the well-equipped Germans.
427
00:40:29,260 --> 00:40:32,846
Captain Martin Lindsay
was with the British force at Namsos.
428
00:40:32,930 --> 00:40:36,433
(Lindsay) There was no hope at all
for this operation
429
00:40:36,517 --> 00:40:41,604
because it was entirely improvised
at short notice and in a great hurry
430
00:40:41,689 --> 00:40:46,818
and the force had no aircraft
supporting it and no artillery.
431
00:40:46,902 --> 00:40:50,947
But even more important,
all the ground was covered with snow
432
00:40:51,031 --> 00:40:54,242
and the only way to operate
was with ski troops,
433
00:40:54,326 --> 00:40:56,661
and we hadn't got ski troops.
434
00:40:56,745 --> 00:40:59,789
Therefore the troops
were confined to the road.
435
00:40:59,915 --> 00:41:05,462
Whenever the Germans got onto the hills
on the flank they had to retire.
436
00:41:09,842 --> 00:41:13,887
(narrator) The British
couldn't stop the Luftwaffe
437
00:41:13,971 --> 00:41:17,265
from blitzing
the little Norwegian towns.
438
00:41:17,349 --> 00:41:21,686
German control of the Norwegian
airfields was the key to the battle.
439
00:41:38,454 --> 00:41:42,832
The Germans advanced,
capturing hundreds of British prisoners.
440
00:41:46,670 --> 00:41:50,673
Some of these were flown to Berlin
and paraded before Hitler.
441
00:41:53,969 --> 00:41:56,846
Others were put in front
of German newsreel cameras.
442
00:41:56,972 --> 00:42:02,810
You seem to be in a good mood. You don't
find Germans as bad as you expected?
443
00:42:02,895 --> 00:42:05,021
- Oh, no, certainly not.
- Oh, no.
444
00:42:05,105 --> 00:42:07,899
I was captured at Fåberg by the Germans.
445
00:42:07,983 --> 00:42:10,944
From there I came to Lillehammer
446
00:42:11,070 --> 00:42:13,821
and we had a supper.
447
00:42:13,906 --> 00:42:18,493
It consisted of brown bread, Gorgonzola,
448
00:42:18,577 --> 00:42:22,288
wine which the Germans gave to us,
cigarettes.
449
00:42:22,414 --> 00:42:26,543
And a hot meal each day.
450
00:42:26,627 --> 00:42:29,337
And I'm getting on fairly decent.
451
00:42:29,421 --> 00:42:32,757
I hope the war will soon be over
and we'll all go back home.
452
00:42:35,344 --> 00:42:37,845
(narrator)
Most did go home ingloriously,
453
00:42:37,930 --> 00:42:41,891
abandoning Andalsnes and Namsos
still burning.
454
00:42:53,195 --> 00:42:57,782
Chased by the Luftwaffe - the Norwegian
campaign rammed home the lesson
455
00:42:57,866 --> 00:43:03,079
that sea power without air power
could no longer win battles.
456
00:43:30,399 --> 00:43:34,319
Their only honour the part they played
in bringing down a government,
457
00:43:34,403 --> 00:43:38,197
for now the machinery of democracy
began to work.
458
00:43:41,327 --> 00:43:43,369
As the troops disembarked,
459
00:43:43,454 --> 00:43:47,498
an angry parliament was assembling
to debate the disaster.
460
00:43:47,583 --> 00:43:50,335
Feeling cut across party lines.
461
00:43:50,419 --> 00:43:54,339
Captain Lindsay, a Tory, went to
the leader of the Labour opposition.
462
00:43:54,423 --> 00:44:00,011
(Lindsay) Well, I was the first person
from this force to reach London.
463
00:44:00,137 --> 00:44:04,140
I went to see Mr Attlee on the morning
of the first day of the debate
464
00:44:04,224 --> 00:44:06,309
and I gave him a memorandum
465
00:44:06,393 --> 00:44:10,521
about the appalling improvisation
and deficiencies in Norway,
466
00:44:10,606 --> 00:44:15,109
because I was convinced that we should
lose the war if we went on like that,
467
00:44:15,194 --> 00:44:18,029
which he gave to Herbert Morrison
468
00:44:18,113 --> 00:44:21,032
to help him open for the opposition
that afternoon.
469
00:44:21,116 --> 00:44:25,703
The Norway debate was the only
decisive debate I ever attended
470
00:44:25,788 --> 00:44:29,624
during my 34 years as a member
of the House of Commons
471
00:44:29,750 --> 00:44:31,918
because it was the only division
472
00:44:32,002 --> 00:44:35,213
which definitely brought about
the fall of a government.
473
00:44:35,297 --> 00:44:37,382
For nearly a year before that debate
474
00:44:37,466 --> 00:44:41,010
there had been a piling-up
of bitterness and anguish
475
00:44:41,095 --> 00:44:42,845
in the breasts of people
476
00:44:42,930 --> 00:44:47,517
who wanted Britain to go all out
and win the war against Hitler.
477
00:44:47,601 --> 00:44:52,480
And so you can imagine
that the debate was a very fierce one -
478
00:44:52,564 --> 00:44:58,403
not only the Labour opposition
but also Conservatives.
479
00:44:58,487 --> 00:45:03,741
They felt that the whole conduct
of the war could not be carried on
480
00:45:03,826 --> 00:45:09,372
under a man whom they had already
assailed at the time of Munich
481
00:45:09,456 --> 00:45:13,376
and whom they realised
was not really by nature a war leader.
482
00:45:13,460 --> 00:45:16,337
Gradually, the temperature
began to rise,
483
00:45:16,422 --> 00:45:19,215
and when Herbert Morrison
for the Labour Party
484
00:45:19,299 --> 00:45:23,177
announced that they were going to divide
at the end of the debate
485
00:45:23,262 --> 00:45:25,555
against the government...
486
00:45:25,681 --> 00:45:28,099
There was an action group
487
00:45:28,183 --> 00:45:33,813
of which Clement Davies was chairman,
the Liberal leader, and I was secretary.
488
00:45:33,897 --> 00:45:37,358
It was an all-party committee,
489
00:45:37,443 --> 00:45:41,779
committed to pressing for
more decisive action during the war
490
00:45:41,864 --> 00:45:44,198
and a more vigorous posture
491
00:45:44,283 --> 00:45:46,659
and more vigorous prosecution
of the war.
492
00:45:46,744 --> 00:45:50,788
And we decided to hold a meeting
after Morrison's announcement
493
00:45:50,873 --> 00:45:53,958
and we asked Leo Amery
to preside over it.
494
00:45:54,042 --> 00:45:56,544
It was an enormously attended meeting.
495
00:45:56,628 --> 00:45:59,547
Many Conservative
members of parliament were there
496
00:45:59,631 --> 00:46:02,091
and I felt something was happening.
497
00:46:02,217 --> 00:46:04,802
There were a great many
members of parliament
498
00:46:04,887 --> 00:46:08,556
who had never been hitherto
members of our action group
499
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:10,391
who fetched up at the meeting.
500
00:46:10,476 --> 00:46:12,852
The feeling at the meeting
was passionate.
501
00:46:12,936 --> 00:46:17,523
And I felt, at that time,
that a great many Conservative members
502
00:46:17,608 --> 00:46:20,401
were not only prepared
to abstain in the division
503
00:46:20,486 --> 00:46:22,779
but even to vote against the government.
504
00:46:22,863 --> 00:46:27,825
And I came down from that meeting
with feelings of great tension.
505
00:46:27,910 --> 00:46:34,874
Meanwhile, Churchill had been putting up
a great defence of the government,
506
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:40,087
and it was ironical again there
because the debate was about Norway
507
00:46:40,172 --> 00:46:43,299
and Norway had been
a series of disasters for which,
508
00:46:43,383 --> 00:46:48,638
although he might not be blamed
because they may have been unavoidable,
509
00:46:48,722 --> 00:46:52,225
he was directly responsible
as first lord of the admiralty.
510
00:46:52,351 --> 00:46:56,687
And Amery made
a most formidable speech
511
00:46:56,772 --> 00:46:59,398
in which he quoted CromwelI's words:
512
00:46:59,483 --> 00:47:02,819
"You have been here long enough
for any good you have done."
513
00:47:02,903 --> 00:47:05,196
"In the name of God, go."
514
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,365
And then Lloyd George came down
515
00:47:07,491 --> 00:47:11,160
and made the most devastating speech
I've ever heard even him make
516
00:47:11,245 --> 00:47:14,080
in which he concluded
by saying to Chamberlain :
517
00:47:14,164 --> 00:47:16,457
"You have asked the nation
for sacrifices
518
00:47:16,583 --> 00:47:20,169
but there is one sacrifice
that is more necessary than any other,
519
00:47:20,254 --> 00:47:22,797
and that is
the sacrifice of your own office."
520
00:47:22,881 --> 00:47:25,341
When the result was announced
521
00:47:25,425 --> 00:47:29,428
and the Conservative majority
fell to about 80,
522
00:47:29,513 --> 00:47:32,974
and that meant the fall
of the government in the circumstances,
523
00:47:33,058 --> 00:47:36,894
I could see Chamberlain,
I can see him now, blanch.
524
00:47:37,020 --> 00:47:42,358
He had asked for friendship
525
00:47:42,442 --> 00:47:44,610
from those who were his friends
526
00:47:44,695 --> 00:47:49,448
and he hadn't got it, and he walked
out of the chamber a solitary figure.
527
00:47:49,533 --> 00:47:52,076
And I felt very sorry for him
at that moment
528
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:54,662
because I knew that he knew
that he was done.
529
00:47:54,746 --> 00:47:58,040
And I remember Chamberlain
going to his room afterwards
530
00:47:58,125 --> 00:48:01,043
and saying he wondered
whether this could go on.
531
00:48:01,128 --> 00:48:06,841
But it wasn't till the next day that he
really realised that his number was up.
532
00:48:06,925 --> 00:48:10,553
On that particular day the whips,
I think, tried to explain to him
533
00:48:10,637 --> 00:48:13,514
that it might have been worse
and that sort of thing,
534
00:48:13,640 --> 00:48:15,391
but those of us who were with him
535
00:48:15,475 --> 00:48:18,144
could see the writing on the wall
by that time.
536
00:48:18,228 --> 00:48:21,981
During those two days, 9 and 10 May,
537
00:48:22,065 --> 00:48:26,152
there was great doubt
as to who would succeed Chamberlain.
538
00:48:26,236 --> 00:48:30,364
The Labour Party made it clear that if
there was to be a coalition government,
539
00:48:30,449 --> 00:48:33,117
which by now
everybody thought necessary,
540
00:48:33,201 --> 00:48:35,369
they would not serve under Chamberlain.
541
00:48:35,454 --> 00:48:39,624
The choice, therefore,
was between Churchill and Halifax.
542
00:48:40,542 --> 00:48:43,336
(narrator) Lord Halifax
was the obvious successor,
543
00:48:43,420 --> 00:48:46,464
Chamberlain's trusted colleague.
544
00:48:46,548 --> 00:48:52,803
But no peer had been prime minister
for nearly 40 years. As for his rival...
545
00:48:52,888 --> 00:48:56,057
(Colville) Churchill was viewed
with grave misgiving
546
00:48:56,141 --> 00:48:59,769
by the establishment,
as it would now be called.
547
00:48:59,853 --> 00:49:04,148
Everybody at 10 Downing Street
and Whitehall generally,
548
00:49:04,232 --> 00:49:08,861
the cabinet offices, and in very large
sectors of the Conservative Party,
549
00:49:08,946 --> 00:49:10,947
were frightened of Churchill.
550
00:49:11,031 --> 00:49:14,659
They thought he was an adventurer.
They remembered Gallipoli.
551
00:49:14,743 --> 00:49:18,829
They thought that they did not want
to see the fortunes of this country
552
00:49:18,914 --> 00:49:22,333
at a most critical moment
in its whole history
553
00:49:22,417 --> 00:49:27,713
handed over to somebody who might do
the most extraordinary things
554
00:49:27,798 --> 00:49:30,758
and undertake
the most astonishing adventures.
555
00:49:30,842 --> 00:49:33,594
And they all, after all,
realised that Norway,
556
00:49:33,679 --> 00:49:37,181
this fiasco from which
we were just hoping to recover
557
00:49:37,265 --> 00:49:39,725
or had just been saved
in the nick of time,
558
00:49:39,810 --> 00:49:42,353
was largely the inspiration
of Churchill.
559
00:49:42,437 --> 00:49:47,024
It was a very fine idea
but it didn't work, just like Gallipoli.
560
00:49:47,109 --> 00:49:55,074
And therefore it was with
a certain amount of fear of Churchill
561
00:49:55,158 --> 00:49:57,827
that I think the minds of most people
562
00:49:57,911 --> 00:50:01,455
in the centre of government
and in the centre of Whitehall
563
00:50:01,581 --> 00:50:04,125
turned towards Halifax.
564
00:50:04,209 --> 00:50:08,796
Halifax was safe. He was clever.
He was a fellow of All Souls.
565
00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:15,428
He was a man of indisputable charm
and absolute integrity.
566
00:50:15,512 --> 00:50:20,141
And it was hoped that he would perhaps
be sent for by the king.
567
00:50:20,225 --> 00:50:22,601
The Labour Party approached me -
568
00:50:22,686 --> 00:50:26,230
Hugh Dalton and Herbert Morrison -
569
00:50:26,314 --> 00:50:30,192
and they both talked
in favour of Halifax
570
00:50:30,277 --> 00:50:33,904
and they thought
that Halifax ought to take over.
571
00:50:33,989 --> 00:50:37,366
I think their idea always was
572
00:50:37,451 --> 00:50:40,870
that Churchill would run the war
under Halifax,
573
00:50:40,954 --> 00:50:43,622
an idea which didn't appeal to Halifax.
574
00:50:43,707 --> 00:50:46,250
I remember Churchill telling me
575
00:50:46,376 --> 00:50:49,587
that the critical moment came
576
00:50:49,671 --> 00:50:56,177
when Chamberlain asked Halifax and him
to join him in the cabinet room.
577
00:50:56,261 --> 00:51:00,890
And the three of them were there.
578
00:51:00,974 --> 00:51:06,270
Halifax was sitting beside Chamberlain,
579
00:51:06,354 --> 00:51:08,898
who suddenly turned to Churchill
and said :
580
00:51:08,982 --> 00:51:13,861
"Tell me, Winston, do you see any reason
why in the 20th century
581
00:51:13,945 --> 00:51:17,865
a prime minister should not be
in the House of Lords?"
582
00:51:17,991 --> 00:51:23,579
And Churchill thought
that this was a trap.
583
00:51:23,663 --> 00:51:27,708
lf he said,
"No, I see no reason at all,"
584
00:51:27,793 --> 00:51:30,419
he thought Chamberlain
would turn to Halifax
585
00:51:30,504 --> 00:51:33,964
and say, "In that case,
if the king were to ask my advice
586
00:51:34,049 --> 00:51:36,342
I could perhaps suggest you."
587
00:51:36,426 --> 00:51:40,012
On the other hand, it would be difficult
for him to say, "Yes, I do,"
588
00:51:40,097 --> 00:51:43,432
because then there could be
no alternative but himself.
589
00:51:43,517 --> 00:51:47,436
So he turned round and stood staring
over the Horse Guards Parade
590
00:51:47,521 --> 00:51:49,438
and did not reply to the question.
591
00:51:49,564 --> 00:51:52,733
The decision, I think,
was largely taken by Halifax
592
00:51:52,818 --> 00:51:58,948
who told me he had a pain in his stomach
an hour or two before the meeting
593
00:51:59,032 --> 00:52:01,992
and did not really want
to be prime minister,
594
00:52:02,077 --> 00:52:04,787
whereas the man who did want
to be prime minister -
595
00:52:04,871 --> 00:52:07,289
he was quite determined - was Churchill.
596
00:52:08,500 --> 00:52:13,087
(narrator) At dawn the Germans swept
into Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
597
00:52:13,171 --> 00:52:17,716
The war was at last
coming very close home to Britain.
598
00:52:21,304 --> 00:52:25,432
As the Allied armies braced themselves
for battle, Chamberlain resigned
599
00:52:25,517 --> 00:52:29,895
and advised the king
to send for Churchill.
600
00:52:29,980 --> 00:52:32,148
(Colville) Churchill would be a gamble,
601
00:52:32,274 --> 00:52:37,403
and perhaps when you're
at a very serious moment of your lives,
602
00:52:37,487 --> 00:52:39,780
a gamble is not the thing to undertake,
603
00:52:39,865 --> 00:52:43,033
and so it was with great despair
604
00:52:43,118 --> 00:52:47,621
that we all heard
on the evening of 10 May
605
00:52:47,706 --> 00:52:50,916
that the king had sent for Churchill.
53230
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