All language subtitles for World.War.II.with.Tom.Hanks.S01E05.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH.track2

- Prime Minister
Winston Churchill

and President
Franklin Roosevelt

are navy men.

They understand that
World War II will be won

by the side that
controls the seas.

Early in the war,

Germany dominates the Atlantic
and threatens Great Britain

while Japan is attempting
to build an empire

across the
Asia-Pacific theater.

The attack on Pearl Harbor

and Germany's
declaration of war

brings America directly
into the conflict,

a global struggle that will
range across many seas

and many oceans.

But the U.S. Navy has
a new weapon,

the aircraft carrier,
which extends its reach

and allows it to challenge an
enemy thousands of miles away.

- All wars change the world.

But none of them
changed the world

like the Second World War did.

- Japan's on the march,
Germany's on the march.

- No one can imagine
the nightmare

they're about to unleash.

The most destructive war
in human history.

- Suddenly, the world
is turned upside down,

and all hell is let loose.

?

- The West is stunned
by the speed of the advance.

- You get the Allies
led by the big three,

Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin.

- Men who were dealing with

immensely complicated
questions.

- It's the biggest military
operation of human history.

- It's the biggest military
operation of human history.

-The Allies have to
come together

not just militarily,

but industrial scale

it's a global perspective.

- They have to fight
in every climate

from the Arctic
to the jungles of the Pacific

to the deserts of Africa
and the depths of the ocean.

?

- But there was
no certainty of victory.

It was going to be
a horrific bloodbath.

- We see humans
at their absolute worst,

how they treat other
human beings.

And we see them
at their absolute best,

willing to give their lives
that others might live.

- World War II was a struggle
in which there could be

one victor and one vanquished.

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- In late 1940,

British cities are
pounded from the air

by the German Luftwaffe
almost every night.

?

Led by Prime Minister
Winston Churchill,

the people of Great Britain
show no sign of surrender.

But most of the food
and material

the island nation
needs to survive

must be brought from abroad

in British ships.

And Nazi U-boats threaten
every one of them.

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- More than 2/3 of Britain's
food comes in by ship.

Over 90% of Britain's oil
comes by ship.

- Britain also
needs raw materials.

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- You can't build
a Lancaster bomber

or a Spitfire out of steel.

You need aluminum.

Britain has no aluminum,

so it needs to ship it all
across the Atlantic.

- Most of what Britain needs
comes from one source:

America.

President
Franklin D. Roosevelt

has declared the United States
an arsenal of democracy.

A lifeline is established:

American resources
carried by British convoys.

But it's a perilous journey.

?

In 1940 alone,

over 500 British
merchant ships are lost.

- The Germans are able
to sink 3 million tons

of British shipping

between the summer of 1940
and the end of the year.

That's unsustainable.

If Churchill can't keep up the
flow of supplies to Britain,

well,
you're in existential trouble.

?

- The man directing
Germany's U-boat campaign

is Admiral Karl Doenitz,

a World War I U-boat commander
himself.

Throughout the Great War,

the Germans used
unrestricted submarine warfare

to attempt to choke Britain
into submission.

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- Doenitz's mind
is pure mathematics.

You sink more merchant ships

than can be built
to starve the British,

to deprive Britain
of the raw materials

and the calories needed
to fight the war.

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- In 1940,
Doenitz devises a new tactic.

He groups up to 20 U-boats

and orders them
to hunt British convoys.

They're called wolfpacks.

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- The moment one U-boat
finds a convoy,

it radios back to Doenitz.

Doenitz then looks
at where all his U-boats are.

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- Doenitz then vectors
all other U-boats

in and around those waters
onto the same target.

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- The wolfpack tactic
requires good communication...

Good coordination.

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- Nobody attacks
until they're all present.

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And then they pounce.

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- Imagine what it's like to be
in a convoy under attack.

?

Even if your ship
doesn't get hit,

you cannot stop
to pick up survivors.

?

You hear them screaming.

You want to help them,
but you cannot stop.

Because if you do,

you know a submarine
is waiting to sink you.

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- Through 1940, the wolfpacks
are so successful,

their crews refer to it
as the Happy Time."

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- Doenitz's plan to strangle
Great Britain is working.

?

- Attacked by sea and by air,

Britain's survival falls
largely on the shoulders

of one man: Winston Churchill.

- In November 1940,

Churchill is told
in no uncertain terms

by government officials
that there are simply

not enough supplies
getting into Britain.

Britain is not going to be able
to continue the war.

He said
it gnawed at his bowels.

He said it's the only thing
that kept him up at night

in the Second World War--

was the German threat
in the Atlantic.

?

- Desperate,
Prime Minister Churchill

writes to President Roosevelt.

?

- Franklin Roosevelt had been

Assistant Secretary
of the Navy

during the First World War.

He understood
the role of sea power.

?

- In early December,
Roosevelt sets aside

the burdens of office for
a few days in the Caribbean.

?

- And a seaplane brings
a letter from Churchill.

?

- And Churchill says, this is
the most important letter

I will ever write.

?

- Churchill is terrified.

He's coming closer to losing
than he ever has.

He says, "I need help."

?

- I need planes, ships,
guns, and money.

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- Roosevelt
has long understood

the threat Nazi Germany poses
to the United States.

But he's been constrained
from offering direct aid

to the British because
of Americans' anxiety

over getting involved
in another world war.

- Roosevelt had read
"Mein Kampf" in German.

He understood in a way
that not many Americans did

what Hitler was about.

But 80% or 90% of the country
had no interest

in being involved in any way

in military conflict
in the Old World.

FDR understands that
if the United States

is to take its place
as a leader of the world,

he's got to do it very,
very carefully.

- Roosevelt returns
to Washington with a plan.

He calls it Lend-Lease.

- I ask this Congress
for authority and for funds

sufficient to manufacture
additional munitions

and war supplies of many kinds

to be turned over
to those nations

which are now in actual war

with aggressor nations.

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- Churchill's letter
has been answered.

- As he put it, if my
neighbor's house is on fire,

I lend him the hose.

I don't make him pay for it.

I just ask for it back
afterward.

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- Churchill had been thrown
a lifeline.

Lend-Lease would
keep Britain alive.

?

- President Roosevelt

shepherds the Lend-Lease
legislation,

designated HR-1776,
through Congress.

American weapons,
including tanks and planes,

are headed for Great Britain.

But these convoys will move
through hazardous waters.

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- Spring 1941.

American ships
carrying Lend-Lease supplies

to Britain are threatened
by Doenitz's wolfpacks.

?

?

Roosevelt understands
the risk.

But because
he knows what's at stake,

it's a risk
he believes worth taking.

He writes to
Prime Minister Churchill.

"I believe that the outcome
of this struggle

"is going to be decided
in the Atlantic.

"And unless Hitler can
win there,

he cannot win anywhere
in the world."

?

FDR extends the U.S.
maritime security zone

to 26 degrees west.

A significant part
of the Atlantic

is now patrolled
by the U.S. Navy.

?

- He takes over more
than half of the Atlantic

and turns it
into an American lake.

Roosevelt is now saying,

we will attack anyone who
goes to war in those areas,

knowing the only people

who are going to make
attacks in that area

is the Germans in submarines.

?

- As American and British
interests align,

President Roosevelt
and Prime Minister Churchill

agree to a summit
to discuss strategy

not just for the battle
in the Atlantic,

but for the whole war.

?

They will meet in a bay
just off Newfoundland

on the eastern edge of Canada.

?

Roosevelt tells
the Washington press

that he's taking a vacation
on the presidential yacht,

the "Potomac."

But once at sea, he transfers
to the heavy cruiser "Augusta"

and sets sail
to meet Churchill.

- And events were conspiring
to bring them on stage

at the same hour
at a cataclysmic moment.

Roosevelt wanted Churchill
as close as possible.

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- Churchill travels
to meet Roosevelt

on the battleship
HMS "Prince of Wales,"

escorted by
Royal Navy destroyers.

?

But summer storms
prevent the escorts

from staying with
the prime minister's ship.

?

Alone, the
HMS "Prince of Wales" travels

through U-boat-menaced waters,

the same journey
that British ships

continue to make every day.

?

?

On August 9th, the president
and the prime minister meet.

?

- It's a deeply emotional
and powerful moment

because it's
their first meeting

as the leaders of their
respective countries.

?

- Franklin Roosevelt
and Winston Churchill

were very similar men
in many ways.

They both believed that
they were destined to play

a great role in the lives of
their nations and of the world.

?

It was very important to FDR

to stand when
he met Churchill.

Because of the polio,

this was a pure effort
of will.

He did not want to be seated

in front of men who
were fighting.

?

You can see the beginnings

of what would become

arguably the most important
political friendship

in history
in those first moments.

Churchill's boyishly happy

and is so excited
that the president

of the United States
is receiving him.

It's also important
to remember the intimacy

of being together at sea,
in the vast ocean,

where they're looking
each other in the eye.

They want to get along.

They want to please the other.

?

- The two leaders also want

to map a way forward
for the world.

They produce
the Atlantic Charter,

with joint war aims
and a blueprint

to prevent another world war.

?

- They knew that history
had mysteriously

but unmistakably
cast them in this drama.

And it was a reminder,
an emotional reminder,

of what was at stake.

?

- When Churchill departs
for home,

FDR sends
two American warships

to accompany him
as far as Iceland.

?

In fall 1941,
Roosevelt orders the U.S. Navy

to escort British convoys
halfway across the Atlantic.

- It puts U.S. forces now
very close to Europe.

Everything about that
is a way to be

more aggressive to Germany.

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- On September 4, 1941,

the USS "Greer" is attacked
by a German U-boat.

The "Greer" strikes back.

Roosevelt responds with
a shoot on sight order.

?

- I tell you the blunt fact

that the German submarine
fired first

upon this American destroyer
"Greer"

with deliberate design
to sink us.

- What we are seeing are

tensions ratcheting up
in the Atlantic,

an undeclared war
almost certainly at some point

going to turn into
a shooting one.

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- On October 17th,
the USS "Kearny"

is damaged by a torpedo
from a German U-boat.

?

11 sailors are killed.

Two weeks later,

the USS "Reuben James"
is torpedoed and sunk.

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115 sailors are killed.

?

- Roosevelt again
condemns German barbarism,

German brutality.

How can they do this?

- But Roosevelt
doesn't declare war.

He realizes
this isn't quite enough

to base an entry
into the Second World War.

?

- At the end of 1941,

preserving Great Britain's
Atlantic lifeline

is FDR's chief naval concern.

?

But in the Pacific,

a different threat is about
to launch.

?

?

- December 7, 1941.

Six Japanese aircraft carriers

with over 300 dive bombers
and torpedo planes

approach America's largest
naval base in the Pacific.

?

- We interrupt this broadcast

to bring you
this important bulletin

from the United Press.

Flash, Washington.

The White House
announces Japanese attack

on Pearl Harbor.

- What is the country that
finally attacks America

on American soil?

It's Japan.

- Messages from Tokyo say that

Japan has announced
a formal declaration of war

against both the United States
and Britain.

- Churchill learns about
Pearl Harbor from the BBC.

He hears the broadcast
announcing this.

He calls FDR.

FDR says, "It's true.

We're all in the same boat
now."

?

- Four days later,

Germany declares war
on the United States.

America will fight a war
across both the Atlantic

and Pacific oceans.

And FDR is now
a wartime president.

?

- Roosevelt comes under
a great pressure.

He really finds the first
few months of 1942

probably the most difficult
in the war.

And if you're Roosevelt,
everyone's yelling at you.

The British are yelling at you

to convoy
in the North Atlantic.

The navy's yelling at you
for more resources

to go to the Pacific.

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- To fight the war
in the Pacific,

FDR appoints
Admiral Chester Nimitz

as the new Commander-in-Chief
Pacific, CINCPAC.

- Nimitz arrives to assume
command of the Pacific fleet

while Pearl Harbor
is still a burning mess.

It just stinks of death
and fire and destruction.

?

- Nimitz takes command
of a weakened Pacific Fleet.

Most American battleships
are destroyed

or damaged at Pearl Harbor.

But its aircraft carriers
were at sea

and escaped the attack.

?

Nimitz is relying on admirals
like William "Bull" Halsey

to press the fight
against the Japanese.

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- He sees that
American naval strategy

based on the battleship
is all gone.

But we still have
aircraft carriers

and we still have submarines.

Chester Nimitz understands,
okay,

out with the old,
in with the new.

- Nimitz adjusts
American naval strategy

to rely on aircraft carriers
and a series of raids.

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- Because those aircraft
carriers are available,

he does have a tool
to punch back at Japan.

?

- The Imperial Japanese Navy

is well-trained
and well-equipped.

?

They dominate and control the
western half of the Pacific.

?

April 1942.

Four months
after Pearl Harbor,

Admiral Nimitz is eager
to go on the offensive.

But where?

?

The navy's top cryptanalyst,
Commander Joseph Rochefort,

and his team decode signals

that reveal
the Japanese navy's plans.

- The intelligence that
Rochefort is bringing to Nimitz

is not necessarily
all that clear-cut.

But the picture
that is developing

is one of continued Japanese
interest in the South Pacific.

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- Rochefort believes
the Japanese are going

to invade southern New Guinea.

From there,
they could block the sea lanes

that connect the United States
and Australia

and possibly strike Australia,
which is the key

to the American strategy
in the South Pacific.

- The Japanese would
control everything

from Japan to Australia,

that entire linkage
to the Indian Ocean,

and, oh, by the way,
a principal ally

in the southern part
of the hemisphere.

- Nimitz dispatches
two aircraft carriers,

the "Lexington"
and the "Yorktown,"

to intercept
the Japanese force.

They are the only two carriers
available.

?

- His basic game plan is
to cruise in the Coral Sea

and wait for
the Japanese moves

and deliver an attack
against the Japanese.

?

- It's hard sometimes
to remember

because we have satellites
that illuminate the whole world

in real time, that for most
of military history,

the fog of war is huge.

And at sea,
it's an even bigger deal.

Trying to find your enemy
is half the battle.

A large fleet can
become almost invisible.

And then once you find it,

you have to hit them
before they find you.

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- Rochefort's intelligence
is correct.

American
reconnaissance aircraft

spot the Japanese fleet
in the Coral Sea.

Both American carriers
launch their plans.

?

- This attack is
really the first sign

that what we have here is
what's called an RMA nowadays,

a Revolution
in Military Affairs.

?

- The two fleets are
more than 100 miles apart.

?

- They're attacking with
aircraft from far away, right?

They're not exchanging salvos
from big guns.

- The Americans had never
done anything like that

with aircraft carriers before.

?

- American dive bombers
strike first,

finding the Japanese
carrier "Shoho."

?

She's hit and sinks
in less than an hour.

?

- "Shoho" is the first
Japanese carrier

that's going to be sunk
during this war.

?

- When you throw a punch
in boxing,

you open yourself up
to a counterpunch.

So your choices are don't fight

or fight and open yourself up
to a devastating blow.

- The United States Navy
has struck first.

But now Nimitz's force faces
the Japanese counterattack.

But now Nimitz's force faces
the Japanese counterattack.

?

- The U.S. Navy sinks
their first

Japanese aircraft carrier
in the Coral Sea.

But the next day,
Japanese planes

locate and target
the USS "Lexington,"

America's oldest carrier,
nicknamed "Lady Lex."

?

She takes four direct hits.

?

She's still seaworthy,

but a gas line ignites
and she catches fire.

?

She burns to the waterline...

?

And is scuttled
to avoid capture.

?

To protect
the remaining carriers,

the Japanese call off
the invasion.

The Battle of the Coral Sea

is the first time
that the United States

has turned back
a Japanese offensive.

- From Nimitz's standpoint,

he's learned
to trust his intel officers.

He's also learned
that the carriers

are going to be the way to go.

Even though this is
kind of the Wild West

of naval combat at this point,
carriers are effective.

They can sink enemy warships.

?

- Fearing a long war
with America,

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto,
the architect of Pearl Harbor,

is always seeking a knockout
blow against the U.S. Navy.

- So he says,

I need to destroy
these American carriers.

But how do I do it?

And so they cook up this plan,
the Japanese naval staff,

is that they'll attack
a vital American place.

And they decide Midway Island,
so called because it's midway

between the West Coast of
the United States and China.

- It is American territory.

It's something
the Americans value.

That might be enough to lure

the Americans out
to defend that territory.

And if they do,

then we can annihilate
their carriers

and have a free hand
in the Pacific.

?

- Yamamoto's plan is to launch
a surprise attack on Midway

with four of his carriers.

The Japanese will take
the strategic island

and believe Midway will then
radio Pearl Harbor for help,

prompting Nimitz to send his
carriers to defend the island.

Once the American carriers
get to Midway,

Yamamoto will appear
with the rest of his fleet.

- He will trap them
in jaws of iron,

crush them, and destroy not
only the American carriers,

but also their battleships,

at which point the Americans
will have no naval forces

of any worth left
in the Pacific.

?

- This could be
a decisive strike

against the U.S. Naval forces
in the Pacific.

?

In late May,

the Japanese task force
head to Midway Island.

?

There are 250 aircraft
on its carriers.

But cryptanalyst
Joseph Rochefort, once again,

has intercepted
the Japanese coded signals.

Rochefort believes Japan

is sending its fleet
to attack Midway.

- And the problem is,
is the Japanese

aren't referring
to Midway Island

as Midway Island.

They're saying, AF.

We're going to attack AF.

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- Rochefort has a plan
to reveal the identity of AF.

Midway sends false
radio messages

on a channel
the Japanese monitor,

suggesting there's a problem
on the island.

- Midway is going
to radio back in the clear

that, hey, our desalinization
plant has just broken,

and we're running out
of fresh water.

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And then they wait and listen.

?

And shortly thereafter,

a Japanese radio station
will send another message

back to the Japanese fleet

that AF has just run out
of fresh water.

And now, for the first time,
they know it's Midway.

?

- Nimitz dispatches
his three remaining

aircraft carriers
and a supporting fleet

towards Midway.

?

?

- The U.S. Navy
is lying in wait

to intercept the Japanese
attack on Midway.

?

If they can locate
the Japanese carriers.

This is the first time
many young pilots

will go into battle.

?

- There are some
that had never even

taken off a aircraft carrier
before.

We do have
a fascinating bit of footage

that shows VT-8,

that torpedo squadron
on the "USS Hornet."

When we look at that picture,
what you see is a bunch of

20-something-year-old
naval aviators.

And what you see
is the swagger.

Now, probably in that swagger

and the smoking
of the cigarettes,

it's probably hiding
a little bit

of the fear of the unknown.

But even still,
you see that twinkle.

This is our time.

?

- At 6:30 a.m.,

Japanese aircraft
attack Midway

and inflict heavy damage.

?

- The battle starts off
really going perfectly,

according to the Japanese plan.

?

- But the Japanese don't know

that the American fleet
has moved into position

to the northeast of Midway

and are now ready
to launch a surprise attack.

?

Starting at 7:00 a.m.,
more than 100 aircraft

launch from the "Hornet"
and the "Enterprise."

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Squadrons search for the
Japanese fleet at 19,000 feet.

?

- As an aviator
in World War II,

you might have
a set of binoculars

to help increase your vision.

But otherwise,

you're looking at about
30 square miles' worth of sea

and trying to figure out
where anything is.

?

- Three squadrons fly
due west...

?

But can't find
the Japanese carriers.

One squadron of Devastator
torpedo planes, VT-8,

flies southwest.

Just after 9:00 a.m.,

through broken clouds,
they spot the Japanese fleet.

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- The torpedo planes
are terrible.

It's only got
a single machine gun.

And so these things are just
lumbering, slow,

vulnerable targets that are
going to be horribly exposed

to any sort of Japanese fighter
opposition if they run into it.

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- As VT-8 lines up
to attack the carriers,

they're intercepted
by Japanese Zeros.

?

- The Japanese Zero
is the most advanced

Japanese aircraft
that they have.

It is a world-class fighter.

?

It can maneuver like crazy,
it can climb like a banshee.

- The Zeros fire on VT-8.

- They just tear
into these formations

and began very quickly
sending them,

ones and twos, arrowing down
into the ocean in flames.

And the entire squadron
is wiped out.

- Squadron VT-8 is destroyed.

It takes less than 15 minutes.

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- When we think about those
guys we see in the footage,

of the 15 aircraft
that attacked,

14 of them will be shot down.

?

They get absolutely
sacrificed.

?

Some groups sacrifice
more than others,

and in that case,
they sacrificed all.

?

- While Marine fighters from
Midway attack the Japanese,

they don't inflict
real damage.

Other U.S. squadrons
continue to search

for the Japanese fleet.

?

- At about 9:30
in the morning,

things are going terribly.

The Americans are
losing this battle,

and Nimitz's battle plan
is falling apart.

- If navy pilots don't locate
the Japanese carriers,

Midway will fall,

and America's strategy
in the Pacific

will be dealt a crushing blow.

?

?

- Fighting Squadron Six
of Dauntless dive bombers

are searching
for the Japanese fleet

that has attacked Midway.

?

- This is the best aircraft
in the United States Navy

in 1941, '42.

It carries
a thousand-pound bomb,

and it can be
extremely effective.

?

- The squadron is led
by Navy Lieutenant Commander

Wade McCluskey,
a 15-year veteran.

?

- Wade McCluskey goes out
to the portion of ocean

where he expects
the Japanese to be located,

and there's nothing but sun

and sea and sky
and some clouds.

?

- The squadron is in the air
for close to two hours.

By 9:30 a.m.,
they're running low on fuel.

But McCluskey
continues the search.

?

- This is an incredibly gutsy
move on McCluskey's part.

The fuel gauges are really bad.

Deciding to continue
his search

and continue looking
for the enemy,

that's really ballsy.

- Oh, by the way,
everybody's barking at him,

we're pretty low on fuel.

We got to get back.

- But he implements
a box search

and starts looking
for the Japanese.

Flies north for a bit, nothing.

?

But finally as he's about
to turn for home,

he sees
a lone Japanese warship.

?

- And he goes,
that guy looks like

he's headed
somewhere in a hurry.

- If I follow that ship,

it's going to take me
someplace.

And he does.

?

- 30 minutes later,

McCluskey spots the
Japanese aircraft carriers.

?

By chance, another squadron
of American dive bombers

is nearby.

- These planes would
show up out of the blue

through a break in the clouds.

And all of a sudden,

they're like a swarm of bees
closing in on your fleet.

And it happens insanely fast.

?

- What you'd want to do
is come out of the sun.

And then you'd roll over
and roll back out,

and you'd set about
a 70-degree dive angle.

You want to get as close
as you can to that carrier,

about 1,500 feet.

?

- If you've got
a really good pilot,

you really can put this bomb
in a pickle barrel.

?

- Three carriers
take multiple hits,

the "Akagi," "Soryu,"
and "Kaga."

- In the span of four minutes,

United States dive bombers

knock out three
Japanese aircraft carriers.

?

- The Japanese have one
remaining carrier,

the "Hiryu."

?

At midday, its dive bombers

find and attack the
American carrier "Yorktown."

?

After attempting
to save her for hours,

the "Yorktown's" captain
finally orders the crew

to abandon ship.

?

But the "Hiryu's" victory
is short-lived.

?

American bombers find it

and sink the fourth
Japanese carrier of the day.

?

12 hours after the first
Japanese attack,

Yamamoto's plans to deliver
a decisive blow

to the U.S. fleet
has collapsed.

Instead, America has
delivered a devastating

and decisive blow of its own.

Four of Yamamoto's carriers

are at the bottom
of the ocean.

3,000 of his men are killed.

?

This is a turning point.

?

- It's easy to forget now

the feeling of revenge
that Americans felt

when they were finally able
to strike back at the Japanese.

?

- President Roosevelt,

who has been
monitoring the battle,

finally receives word
that America has won.

- Midway is
absolutely critical.

It allows Roosevelt to get
out of this defensive crouch

that we've been in for the
first seven months of this war

and begin thinking about, okay,

how would we like
to reshape this war?

Where would we like
to go on the offensive?

?

- The emotional outcome
of Midway

might be the biggest thing,
right?

This is
the psychological blow.

The idea that they
come to Midway,

get smacked in the face,

and turn around
and go back home,

psychologically devastating
to the Japanese.

Oh, by the way,
for the Americans,

the idea that
we can fight and win

against the Japanese,
that's power.

?

- After Midway,

the United States takes
the upper hand in the Pacific.

For the first time,
the country wins

a decisive victory
against the Japanese.

America is now on the offensive
in the Pacific.