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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,080 โ™ช 2 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,176 As Hitler marched triumphantly 3 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,136 across western Europe in the early summer of 1940, 4 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,296 his fellow dictator in Italy, Benito Mussolini, 5 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,816 dreamt of a similar campaign further south. 6 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,336 His dream was to build a new Roman empire 7 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,096 that would see Italy expand 8 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,936 not only along the northern Mediterranean coast, 9 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:29,480 but south through North Africa. 10 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:32,336 He would turn the Mediterranean 11 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,880 into Mare Nostrum, our sea. 12 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,160 But it was a dream that would turn into a disaster. 13 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,616 It would lead in due course to Mussolini's death 14 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,120 and fatally overextend his German ally. 15 00:01:57,720 --> 00:01:59,536 At the start of the war 16 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:01,616 Italy already controlled Libya 17 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,720 and Abyssinia, Ethiopia today. 18 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:08,736 Mussolini calculated that if he could take 19 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,696 British controlled Egypt and Sudan, 20 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,136 he would be able to create a huge swathe 21 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,576 of Italian-controlled territory. 22 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:20,520 It looked like an easy campaign. 23 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,360 Italy had ten times more troops in the region than Britain. 24 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,856 In September 1940, Mussolini invaded Egypt 25 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,560 and captured the small coastal town of Sidi Barrani. 26 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,360 There the Italians stopped and dug in. 27 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:56,640 Britain gathered all available forces for a counterattack. 28 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,056 On December the 6th, 1940, 29 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,360 they moved in across the desert. 30 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,896 Just four days later, they overran the Italian defences. 31 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,680 Nearly 40,000 Italians were taken prisoner. 32 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,896 It was the first sign that the Italian Army 33 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:36,080 was in poor fighting shape. 34 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,216 The remainder of the defeated Italians 35 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,960 retreated back across the Libyan border. 36 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,640 The British followed in hot pursuit. 37 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,736 In barely a month, the Western Desert Force, 38 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:01,736 as it was called, had advanced 39 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,600 almost 600 miles across Libya. 40 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:12,136 It now paused and dug in 41 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,960 at the Libyan coastal town of El Agheila. 42 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,776 Almost half of Italy's Libyan empire had been seized 43 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:30,440 and over 100,000 Italian troops taken prisoner. 44 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,696 Meanwhile, to the south, British forces 45 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,520 invaded Italian controlled Abyssinia. 46 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,680 The fighting lasted for nearly 12 months. 47 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,376 The rugged terrain made communications 48 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,560 and transport difficult. 49 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,760 But in the end, the Italians were forced to surrender. 50 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,176 But even as Abyssinia was being secured, 51 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,856 Mussolini's empire-building was causing problems 52 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,400 in another part of the Mediterranean. 53 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,576 Nearly two years earlier in April 1939, 54 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,976 as part of his plan for a new Roman empire, 55 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,616 Mussolini had occupied Albania. 56 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:45,136 The following year he demanded 57 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,680 Greece become an Italian colony. 58 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,040 When the Greeks refused, he invaded. 59 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,816 The Greeks were outnumbered more than two to one. 60 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,096 But they swiftly turned back the Italian advance. 61 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,296 By the beginning of March 1941, 62 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,376 the Italians had not only been pushed out of Greece, 63 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,560 but out of much of neighbouring Albania too. 64 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:33,016 Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill 65 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,520 promised help so the Greeks could finish the job. 66 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,136 But Britain's forces were already 67 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:41,400 heavily committed elsewhere. 68 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,056 So it was that the British units in North Africa 69 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,576 were told to abandon their Libyan adventure 70 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:51,216 and ship much of the force 71 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,840 across the Mediterranean to Albania. 72 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,856 As the Italian troops were now pushed back, 73 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,760 Mussolini's Balkan ambitions fell apart. 74 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,600 The Italians were in deep trouble. 75 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,496 It left Hitler with a problem. 76 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,336 Should he divert troops from elsewhere in Europe 77 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,576 to support his most important European ally 78 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,040 or should he abandon Mussolini to his fate? 79 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:30,880 He decided to help. 80 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,496 In April 1941, over half a million German troops 81 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,280 swept down into Yugoslavia and Greece. 82 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,496 For Germany, it would prove to be the beginning 83 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:56,120 of a fateful entanglement with Mussolini's political dreams. 84 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,720 But at first, all went well. 85 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,416 The Greeks, despite British help, 86 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:12,976 were unable to hold the Germans back. 87 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,936 And in late April, the Axis forces captured 88 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,240 the Greek capitol of Athens. 89 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,736 Some 30,000 men were evacuated 90 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,560 to the British controlled island of Crete. 91 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,400 Hitler decided to flush them out. 92 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:48,936 He had at his command 93 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,736 some 22,000 parachute and glider borne troops 94 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:56,240 backed up by 150 Stuka dive bombers. 95 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:04,320 The landings began at first light on May the 20th. 96 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,256 To begin with, they focused on the main airfields. 97 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,800 The Allied forces were overstretched. 98 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,096 There were incessant German air attacks. 99 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,296 The Germans soon captured the airfields 100 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,040 and began to fly in reinforcements. 101 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,240 The allies were pushed back across the island. 102 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,160 Two weeks later, it was all over. 103 00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:06,120 Fifteen thousand allied troops had to be evacuated. 104 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,720 A further 18,000 were taken prisoner. 105 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:23,616 The Axis powers now controlled 106 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,336 much of the Mediterranean 107 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,560 and the critical supply routes to North Africa. 108 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:32,376 It looked as though Hitler's decision 109 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,840 to support Mussolini had paid off. 110 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:43,160 He was poised to drive Britain out of the entire region. 111 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:58,016 In February 1941, a junior German general 112 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,000 arrived at the Libyan port of Tripoli. 113 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:09,056 Erwin Rommel was one of the rising stars of the German Army 114 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,056 and had been chosen by Hitler 115 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:13,656 as the man to rescue his Italian ally 116 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:17,320 and retake North Africa for the Axis powers. 117 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,440 The first units of his Afrika Korps were soon landing. 118 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,576 Some 16,000 men and over 100 tanks 119 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,280 had been diverted from the European front. 120 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:45,216 The Axis forces rapidly outnumbered the British troops, 121 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:48,840 depleted by the war in Greece and Crete. 122 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,696 Rommel advanced towards the British positions 123 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,320 at El Agheila and attacked. 124 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:16,096 As the British fell back, 125 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:17,760 Rommel pursued them. 126 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:23,816 In a matter of weeks the Allied soldiers 127 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,200 had been pushed all the way back to the Egyptian border. 128 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:35,376 But in the retreat a division of Australian troops 129 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:37,296 had been cut off by the Germans 130 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,480 in the Libyan port of Tobruk. 131 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,576 The British Commander, Sir Archibald Wavell, 132 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,216 now launched two successive attempts to relieve them. 133 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,456 Both were fought off by Rommel's now well-encamped troops. 134 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,440 The Germans massively out gunned the British. 135 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,416 Their 88 millimetre anti-aircraft guns, 136 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:20,336 when used against tanks, 137 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,760 far outranged the British. 138 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,576 Moreover, Rommel took advantage 139 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,296 of the wide open landscape 140 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,296 to drive his tanks around the British forces, 141 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:33,920 outflanking them time and time again. 142 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,640 It would become his trademark tactic. 143 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,216 The British press half grudgingly, half admiringly, 144 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,280 nicknamed Rommel the Desert Fox. 145 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,040 For Wavell, it was too much. 146 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:59,760 Now exhausted, he was replaced by General Claude Auchinleck. 147 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,176 Auchinleck came under immediate pressure 148 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,400 to try and again to relieve the allied troops in Tobruk. 149 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:14,640 But he refused until his forces had been reinforced. 150 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,576 Then on November the 18th, 1941, 151 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,800 he launched a major assault. 152 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,696 Operation Crusader, as it was called, 153 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,640 started with a lengthy armoured dogfight. 154 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:03,120 Again, the British tanks suffered heavy casualties. 155 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,520 But the infantry slowly moved forward. 156 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,096 Finally, after a month of confused fighting, 157 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:17,776 Rommel retreated. 158 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,960 Tobruk had been relieved. 159 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,696 The Axis units fell back along the coast 160 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,920 all the way to their starting point at El Agheila. 161 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,096 Auchinleck's military command now assumed Rommel 162 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:44,840 was a spent force, at least for the time being. 163 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,416 Its units were dispersed to bases along the coast 164 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:53,760 for a badly needed refit. 165 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:00,440 It was a mistake. 166 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,536 Two months later in January 1942, 167 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,896 Rommel's Afrika Korps was back on the attack. 168 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,896 It quickly brushed aside the forward units 169 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,920 of a now unprepared British Army. 170 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,096 The chase along the coast of Africa 171 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:32,360 began all over again. 172 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,576 The allies fell back towards a new defensive line 173 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,400 just west of Tobruk. 174 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,936 Here a series of defensive positions, 175 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,040 known as the Gazala Line, were constructed. 176 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,616 Rommel attacked it at the end of May 1942. 177 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:10,016 Once again, he swung his armour around the British forces 178 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,136 in a great outflanking movement 179 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,880 and came in behind the British positions. 180 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,336 But this time the British were prepared for it 181 00:17:23,360 --> 00:17:26,320 and tried, in turn, to outflank Rommel. 182 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,336 The fighting lasted for three weeks, 183 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:45,520 as each side tried to outmanoeuvre the other. 184 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,600 Eventually, the British were forced to retreat. 185 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,880 Three days later the Germans overran the Allied positions. 186 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,440 Rommel pressed home his advantage. 187 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,640 The British withdrawal threatened to become a rout. 188 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,496 Finally, Auchinleck turned to face his enemy 189 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,560 at the Egyptian village of El Alamein. 190 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,736 His southern flank rested on the Qattara Depression, 191 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,440 an area impassable to tanks. 192 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,536 On July the 1st, 1942, 193 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:51,296 Rommel attacked again. 194 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,176 But this time the British defences held. 195 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,816 Rommel, with his supply line stretched 196 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,576 and now seriously short of fuel 197 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:22,240 was forced to give up. 198 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,960 Now Auchinleck attempted a counterattack. 199 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:35,056 For the rest of July the two sides pushed at each other 200 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,416 like exhausted boxers. 201 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,576 Churchill was furious at the lack of British progress 202 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,096 and now visited Egypt. 203 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,400 It was time for yet another change of leadership. 204 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:07,520 Auchinleck was replaced by not one but two generals. 205 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,200 General Harold Alexander as Commander in Chief, Near East, 206 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,800 and General Bernard Montgomery as commander of 8th Army. 207 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:23,496 The British and Axis forces 208 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:26,320 had fought each other to a standstill. 209 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:29,976 There was no clear winner. 210 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,040 And the fate of North Africa still hung in the balance. 211 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:38,816 Everything would now depend on whether the British 212 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,296 could throttle the Axis supply routes 213 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,240 across the Mediterranean. 214 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:55,936 For the first months of World War II 215 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,096 the allies had enjoyed unchallenged control 216 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:01,000 of the Mediterranean Sea. 217 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:06,656 Britain's own supplies from the Middle East 218 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:08,856 passed through it undisturbed. 219 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:10,736 And communications with the empire 220 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,880 in India and the Far East were secured. 221 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:24,040 Italy's entry into the war changed all that. 222 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,520 Its naval fleet was modern and well equipped. 223 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,056 The Italians now concentrated their fire 224 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,096 on the strategically crucial 225 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,040 British controlled island of Malta. 226 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,296 The island was an important refuelling base 227 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,296 for British submarines and aircraft 228 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:51,520 in the eastern Mediterranean. 229 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,536 It had become the centre for Royal Navy attacks 230 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,520 on Italian and German supply convoys to North Africa. 231 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,056 In summer 1940, Italy bombed it. 232 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,696 It was the beginning of a two-year assault 233 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:26,816 which would inflict terrible suffering 234 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:28,800 on the island's population. 235 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,336 Yet for all Malta's strategic significance, 236 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:41,520 Britain was caught on the hop. 237 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,576 There were no fighter aircraft on the island 238 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:53,720 to beat off the attacks. 239 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:06,136 Then almost by accident four gladiator fighter biplanes 240 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:08,520 were found in crates on the island. 241 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:12,880 They were hastily assembled. 242 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,480 The aircraft put up a fierce resistance. 243 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,560 For three weeks the fate of Malta remained uncertain. 244 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,976 Then finally, British fighter reinforcements arrived. 245 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,896 And the Italian bombers were temporarily beaten off. 246 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,576 But it was now obvious to the British 247 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:57,376 that they had to do something 248 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,320 if they were to keep a toehold in the region. 249 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,496 That winter Britain launched what it hoped 250 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,016 would be a knockout blow against the Italian Navy. 251 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:20,736 On the evening of November the 11th, 252 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,296 twenty-one Swordfish torpedo bombers 253 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,000 lifted off an aircraft carrier. 254 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,536 They swept in on the Italian fleet, 255 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,856 anchored in its base at Taranto. 256 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,320 The Italians hadn't expected it. 257 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,600 Three of Italy's six battleships were crippled. 258 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,440 Four months later, Britain struck again. 259 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,096 The Italian fleet was again caught off guard 260 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:13,840 off the coast of Greece. 261 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,480 A fourth Italian battleship was damaged. 262 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:44,120 Mussolini's challenge to the British Navy was finished. 263 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,680 It was a turning point for Hitler too. 264 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,696 It was now clear that Italy could no longer 265 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,040 be depended on to maintain control of the Mediterranean. 266 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,496 It meant his supply lines to North Africa 267 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:05,720 were at risk of being cut off. 268 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,520 Germany decided to take a direct hand. 269 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:22,296 In early 1941, the Luftwaffe bombed Malta. 270 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,480 The island took another severe battery. 271 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:47,336 The attacks continued month after month. 272 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,640 Yet the British garrison hung on. 273 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,856 During an interlude in the German bombardment 274 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:05,136 in autumn 1941, it even managed to step up its attacks 275 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,176 on the Axis supply convoys to North Africa. 276 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,720 Then the Luftwaffe resumed the assault. 277 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,096 But despite the battering, 278 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:34,480 the people of Malta held on. 279 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:43,096 The following spring in April 1942, 280 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:45,896 they received a unique honour for the heroism 281 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:47,696 they had shown on the four months 282 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,680 of devastating Axis bombardment. 283 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,296 The island was awarded the George Cross, 284 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,680 Britain's highest award for civilian courage. 285 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,496 But by the summer of 1942, 286 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:14,320 Malta was running short of supplies and ammunition. 287 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,976 In mid-June the British Navy sent convoys 288 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,160 from Gibraltar and Egypt to relieve it. 289 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:30,840 But the Germans were waiting. 290 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:48,720 Just two of the 17 ships got through. 291 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,816 The situation on the island was getting desperate. 292 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,520 It was time for some decisive action. 293 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,616 In August, Britain launched Operation Pedestal, 294 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,440 the biggest convoy ever sent to Malta. 295 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,856 Fourteen merchant ships entered the Mediterranean 296 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:13,800 through the Straits of Gibraltar. 297 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,920 They were accompanied by a large naval escort. 298 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,240 Almost immediately they ran into German opposition. 299 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,936 For three days there was a ferocious sea battle 300 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:38,136 as Axis submarines and aircraft 301 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,056 attempted to stop and sink the convoy. 302 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:02,696 Finally, on the fourth day, 303 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,936 five of the British merchant ships 304 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:06,896 made it into port. 305 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,536 They brought with them just enough supplies 306 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:20,720 to keep the island going. 307 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:25,520 Malta had been rescued. 308 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:29,536 It meant the allies could continue to harass 309 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:31,936 the Axis supply lines to North Africa. 310 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,096 It was a strategic advantage that would prove crucial 311 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,120 to future events in the region. 312 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,896 In North Africa, Churchill's orders to his new team, 313 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,696 Generals Alexander and Montgomery, were simple. 314 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,400 Destroy the army commanded by Field Marshall Rommel. 315 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,296 Almost immediately they were informed 316 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,496 by the team that had broken Germany's enigma code 317 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,560 that Rommel was preparing to attack them. 318 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:27,136 Montgomery assumed the Desert Fox 319 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,056 would try another of his outflanking moves 320 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,056 and fortified the ridge of Alam Halfa, 321 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,640 just to the southeast of El Alamein. 322 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,016 It was, he hoped, the rock on which 323 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,480 the Axis forces would be broken. 324 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:58,720 When it came, the fighting lasted for three days. 325 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,320 This time Allied ground forces were helped by air power. 326 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:17,760 The RAF played havoc with the advancing German tanks. 327 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,736 Rommel was forced to give up. 328 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:28,160 And short of fuel again, he pulled back. 329 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,560 It was now Rommel's turn to dig in. 330 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,456 He chose a line between the impassable 331 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,616 sand sea of the Qattara Depression 332 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:47,640 and the Mediterranean coast. 333 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,160 Great belts of minefields were covered by artillery. 334 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:00,536 Rommel's Panzer divisions 335 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,056 were held back as a mobile reserve 336 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:06,160 to destroy any Allied breakthroughs. 337 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,360 Montgomery was well aware it was a formidable barrier. 338 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,520 He also knew it was impossible to outflank it. 339 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,896 His only option is to punch his way 340 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,520 directly through the middle of the Axis defences. 341 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,376 He was helped by a flood of new equipment 342 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,096 from the United States, 343 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:40,896 which included the new American Lee and Sherman tanks 344 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,120 with 75 millimetre guns. 345 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,616 At last, the Allies had a weapon 346 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:50,680 which could match the Germans. 347 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:07,336 Finally, on the evening of October the 23rd, 1942, 348 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,376 the British opened up an artillery bombardment 349 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,400 on Rommel's positions. 350 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,336 The Battle of El Alamein had begun. 351 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,296 Under cover of the bombardment, 352 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:36,576 Allied engineers moved forward to clear paths 353 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:38,576 through the Axis minefields. 354 00:34:50,240 --> 00:34:52,896 The British, Australian, New Zealand, 355 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:54,696 and South African divisions 356 00:34:54,720 --> 00:34:57,720 fought to drive a hole through Rommel's defences. 357 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,280 Rommel's artillery took a terrible toll. 358 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,680 Casualties mounted on both sides. 359 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:19,696 The Axis forces were harried by Allied air power. 360 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:30,896 Finally, after ten days of fighting, 361 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:33,480 the Allied forces broke through. 362 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,840 The following day Rommel retreated. 363 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:49,816 It was Germany's first major defeat 364 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:52,280 at the hands of the western allies. 365 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,280 Churchill was triumphant. 366 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,896 No, this is not the end. 367 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:05,520 This is not even the beginning of the end. 368 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,400 Though what it is perhaps the end of the beginning. 369 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:16,936 For two and a half months 370 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:18,696 Montgomery chased Rommel west 371 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,920 along the North African coast towards Tunisia. 372 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:35,776 Meanwhile, an Anglo American force 373 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,176 had landed a thousand miles to his rear 374 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:42,120 in French North Africa, Morocco and Algeria today. 375 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,720 It was code named Operation Torch. 376 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,536 The Allied 1st Army was soon 377 00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:04,320 moving eastwards towards Tunisia. 378 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,520 Rommel was in danger of being attacked from behind. 379 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:23,576 Over the next few days the Germans flew in 380 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,496 tens of thousands of troops from Europe 381 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:28,816 to save Rommel and shore up 382 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,200 the German position in North Africa. 383 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,696 Finally, in late February 1943, 384 00:37:36,720 --> 00:37:40,416 Rommel, reinforced, set up a new defensive line 385 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:42,936 a hundred miles inside Tunisia 386 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,600 and turned to attack Montgomery's advancing forces. 387 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:54,696 But Montgomery had been forewarned 388 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:56,976 by the enigma code breakers. 389 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,856 And his troops were waiting 390 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:01,200 as the German tanks rolled forward. 391 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,616 British artillery broke up the assault 392 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:14,240 and the Panzers were quickly halted. 393 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,960 It was Rommel's last battle in North Africa. 394 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:31,496 He now returned to Germany 395 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:35,120 to beg Hitler to abandon the North African campaign. 396 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:39,640 But Hitler refused. 397 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,920 It was a misjudgement. 398 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:54,896 As Montgomery's 8th Army now pushed up from the south, 399 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:58,760 the Anglo American 1st Army squeezed in from the west. 400 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:07,520 On May the 7th, US forces took the port of Bizerta. 401 00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:12,176 The British 7th Armour Division, 402 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:15,920 the famous Desert Rats, drove into Tunis. 403 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,016 The Allies pincer closed, 404 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,960 and the Axis troops were trapped. 405 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,096 Five days later, a quarter of a million 406 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,680 German and Italian soldiers surrendered. 407 00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:45,216 It was more than twice the number 408 00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:48,720 that had surrendered at Stalingrad four months earlier. 409 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:55,040 For Germany, it was another momentous disaster. 410 00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,816 The following day, the British regional commander in chief, 411 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:02,896 General Harold Alexander, 412 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:04,696 signalled Winston Churchill, 413 00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:07,296 "Sir, it is my duty to report" 414 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:10,536 that all enemy resistance has ceased. 415 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:14,080 "We are the masters of the North African shores." 416 00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:27,536 Mussolini's gamble in North Africa 417 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:31,160 had taken a terrible toll on German resources. 418 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,856 It was about to have even more serious consequences 419 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,760 for both him and Germany. 420 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,816 In January 1943, at a conference 421 00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:59,216 in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, 422 00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:02,856 Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to open a new front 423 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:05,080 on German dominated Europe. 424 00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:11,960 The obvious target was Italy 425 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,880 seriously weakened by its North African failures. 426 00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:21,680 The only question was where should the invasion begin? 427 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:25,720 Should the route go via Sardinia or Sicily? 428 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,896 The Allied high command chose the Sicilian route. 429 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:34,976 But to throw the Germans off the scent, 430 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,320 they organised a deception plan. 431 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,680 Operation Mincemeat was launched. 432 00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:50,656 A corpse was dropped off the shores of Spain 433 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:52,720 carrying false papers. 434 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:58,296 When it was washed ashore in May 1943 435 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,656 and the papers passed to the Germans, 436 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:05,336 they revealed that the Allies would pretend to attack Sicily 437 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:08,480 but that their real target was Sardinia. 438 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,656 Enigma code breakers soon confirmed 439 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:21,136 the Germans had fallen for it. 440 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:32,696 Six weeks later, the British 8th Army under Montgomery 441 00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:36,040 landed in the southeast corner of Sicily. 442 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:49,560 The Italian coastal troops presented few problems. 443 00:42:59,920 --> 00:43:04,800 Further west, the US 7th Army landed in the Gulf of Gela. 444 00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:16,896 The Italian resistance was again overwhelmed. 445 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,296 For the Italian people the invasion of Sicily 446 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:29,416 was the final humiliation. 447 00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:37,736 Mussolini was overthrown in a popular uprising. 448 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,496 The new government now opened secret talks 449 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:44,536 with the Allies for an armistice. 450 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,200 For Hitler, it was another nightmare. 451 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:58,536 He was now forced to pour in yet more scarce resources 452 00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:01,080 to protect his southern flank. 453 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,616 He told his commanders that even if Italy surrendered, 454 00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:09,680 they should fight on. 455 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:21,200 Within five weeks the Germans had been pushed out of Sicily. 456 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:27,496 The Allies now crossed to the main land 457 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:29,720 and pushed up through the country. 458 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:39,120 US troops moved up the west side. 459 00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:45,840 British troops moved up the east. 460 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:53,416 The Germans fought back savagely all the way. 461 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,056 Even so, Naples fell to the Allies 462 00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:05,520 on October the 1st, 1943. 463 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:13,896 But then their progress was slowed 464 00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:18,296 by autumn rains and skilful German rear guard attacks. 465 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:27,096 It was not until the end of November 466 00:45:27,120 --> 00:45:31,096 that Allied forces finally reached the Gustav Line, 467 00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:34,576 the first of a series of German defensive positions 468 00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:36,400 cutting across Italy. 469 00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:42,896 British troops managed to break through 470 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:44,696 at the eastern end of the line, 471 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:46,816 but winter was setting in. 472 00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:49,280 And bad weather forced them to halt. 473 00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:57,896 Nevertheless, in the west, US forces 474 00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:00,256 attempted to outflank the German defences 475 00:46:00,280 --> 00:46:02,240 by taking to the sea. 476 00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:14,656 They landed on January the 22nd, 1944, 477 00:46:14,680 --> 00:46:17,920 sixty miles to the north of the point of Anzio. 478 00:46:26,240 --> 00:46:28,896 But here, amidst fierce fighting, 479 00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:33,280 they were pinned down and nearly driven back into the sea. 480 00:46:39,720 --> 00:46:42,096 The Americans remained trapped at Anzio 481 00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:45,440 for the rest of the winter and into the spring. 482 00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,656 Meanwhile, in the centre of Italy, 483 00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:56,096 the key to breaking the Gustav Line 484 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:59,760 was the towering Monte Cassino mountain complex. 485 00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:09,736 As spring came, there was a series 486 00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:11,696 of attempts to capture it. 487 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:21,696 Each assault failed. 488 00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:28,736 In desperation, the Allies bombed 489 00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:30,920 a historic monastery on the summit. 490 00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:50,760 But the Germans hung on. 491 00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:14,576 Finally, in late spring 1944, 492 00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:17,336 as the weather improved, the Allied forces 493 00:48:17,360 --> 00:48:19,720 broke through the German lines. 494 00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:26,120 Simultaneously, the Americans broke out of Anzio. 495 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:34,440 The Allied forces now moved swiftly north to Rome. 496 00:48:39,320 --> 00:48:41,376 The Italian capitol was liberated 497 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:44,536 on June the 4th, 1944. 498 00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:57,616 For Hitler, it was another blow. 499 00:48:57,640 --> 00:49:01,120 He was now hanging on to Italy by his fingernails. 500 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:08,600 The Allies continued to push north. 501 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:25,496 The German defenders finally fell back 502 00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:27,816 to the formidable Gothic Line, 503 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:29,640 just north of Florence. 504 00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:41,400 Here bad weather again brought the Allied advance to a halt. 505 00:49:47,440 --> 00:49:50,856 It wouldn't be until the spring of 1945 506 00:49:50,880 --> 00:49:52,896 that the campaign could resume 507 00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:55,216 and Italy was finally won. 508 00:50:06,200 --> 00:50:09,920 By then the Italians had had enough of Mussolini. 509 00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:14,920 He was captured by Italian partisan forces and shot. 510 00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:23,960 His corpse was hung by its heels in Milan. 511 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:29,856 Mussolini's war had been a catastrophe 512 00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:32,240 for himself and his country. 513 00:50:33,560 --> 00:50:36,096 It had also left the German southern flank 514 00:50:36,120 --> 00:50:38,200 dangerously exposed. 515 00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:42,096 The German Army was now overcommitted, 516 00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:46,480 short of troops, and retreating on all fronts. 40836

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