All language subtitles for World War II With Tom Hanks S01E02 Blitz 720p NOW WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-RAWR.eng.sdh

af Afrikaans
ak Akan
sq Albanian
am Amharic
ar Arabic Download
hy Armenian
az Azerbaijani
eu Basque
be Belarusian
bem Bemba
bn Bengali
bh Bihari
bs Bosnian
br Breton
bg Bulgarian
km Cambodian
ca Catalan
ceb Cebuano
chr Cherokee
ny Chichewa
zh-CN Chinese (Simplified)
zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)
co Corsican
hr Croatian
cs Czech
da Danish
nl Dutch
en English
eo Esperanto
et Estonian
ee Ewe
fo Faroese
tl Filipino
fi Finnish
fr French
fy Frisian
gaa Ga
gl Galician
ka Georgian
de German
el Greek
gn Guarani
gu Gujarati
ht Haitian Creole
ha Hausa
haw Hawaiian
iw Hebrew
hi Hindi
hmn Hmong
hu Hungarian
is Icelandic
ig Igbo
id Indonesian
ia Interlingua
ga Irish
it Italian
ja Japanese
jw Javanese
kn Kannada
kk Kazakh
rw Kinyarwanda
rn Kirundi
kg Kongo
ko Korean
kri Krio (Sierra Leone)
ku Kurdish
ckb Kurdish (Soranî)
ky Kyrgyz
lo Laothian
la Latin
lv Latvian
ln Lingala
lt Lithuanian
loz Lozi
lg Luganda
ach Luo
lb Luxembourgish
mk Macedonian
mg Malagasy
ms Malay
ml Malayalam
mt Maltese
mi Maori
mr Marathi
mfe Mauritian Creole
mo Moldavian
mn Mongolian
my Myanmar (Burmese)
sr-ME Montenegrin
ne Nepali
pcm Nigerian Pidgin
nso Northern Sotho
no Norwegian
nn Norwegian (Nynorsk)
oc Occitan
or Oriya
om Oromo
ps Pashto
fa Persian
pl Polish
pt-BR Portuguese (Brazil)
pt Portuguese (Portugal)
pa Punjabi
qu Quechua
ro Romanian
rm Romansh
nyn Runyakitara
ru Russian
sm Samoan
gd Scots Gaelic
sr Serbian
sh Serbo-Croatian
st Sesotho
tn Setswana
crs Seychellois Creole
sn Shona
sd Sindhi
si Sinhalese
sk Slovak
sl Slovenian
so Somali
es Spanish
es-419 Spanish (Latin American)
su Sundanese
sw Swahili
sv Swedish
tg Tajik
ta Tamil
tt Tatar
te Telugu
th Thai
ti Tigrinya
to Tonga
lua Tshiluba
tum Tumbuka
tr Turkish
tk Turkmen
tw Twi
ug Uighur
uk Ukrainian
ur Urdu
uz Uzbek
vi Vietnamese
cy Welsh
wo Wolof
xh Xhosa
yi Yiddish
yo Yoruba
zu Zulu
Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,440 - The nation of Poland no longer exists, 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,680 and that enables Adolf Hitler to attack the West. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,560 After six months of inactivity, what is called the "Phoney War", 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,840 Germany quickly occupies Denmark, then invades Norway, 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,800 where they easily defeat a British and French force, 6 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:29,040 triggering a crisis in the British leadership. 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,400 Now, the question is, 8 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,240 where will Hitler point the Wehrmacht next? 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,960 And who will be able to stop him? 10 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,600 - All wars change the world, but none of them changed the world 11 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,160 like the Second World War did. 12 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,320 MAN: Japan's on the march, Germany's on the march. 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,200 MAN 2: No-one can imagine the nightmare they're about to unleash. 14 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:54,760 The most destructive war in human history. 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,800 - Suddenly, the world is turned upside down, 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,040 and all hell is let loose. 17 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,800 - The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 18 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,080 MAN: You get the Allies, led by the big three... 19 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,720 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin. 20 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,480 Men who are dealing with immensely complicated questions. 21 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,760 - It's the biggest military operation of human history. 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,480 WOMAN: The Allies have to come together, not just militarily, 23 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,360 but industrial scale. It's a global perspective. 24 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,640 MAN: They have to fight in every climate, from the Arctic 25 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:32,720 to the jungles of the Pacific 26 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,960 to the deserts of Africa and the depths of the ocean. 27 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,680 - But there was no certainty of victory. 28 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,480 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 29 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:47,680 - We see humans at their absolute worst. 30 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:49,880 How they treat other human beings. 31 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,000 And we see them at their absolute best, 32 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,480 willing to give their lives that others might live. 33 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,560 MAN: World War II was a struggle in which there could be 34 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,600 one victor and one vanquished. 35 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,800 (explosions, air-raid sirens wailing) 36 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,800 TOM: May 10th, 1940... 37 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:33,720 (gunfire) 38 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,960 TOM: German forces sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium... 39 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:38,800 (explosions) 40 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:42,480 TOM: Headed for France. 41 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:48,880 This will be the third time that Germany 42 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,160 has invaded France in 70 years. 43 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,520 Because of this history, the French have constructed 44 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,080 a 280-mile system of forts... 45 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,800 ...known as the Maginot Line. 46 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,160 - The idea is to have a number of different fortifications 47 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,000 and infrastructures and weapons, underground tunnels. 48 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,960 MAN: You have extensive batteries that can house entire battalions. 49 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,280 There are even electric railroads underground 50 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,280 to funnel soldiers from blockhouse to blockhouse. 51 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,560 TOM: Confident that the border with Germany is secure, 52 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:34,800 the French position their best troops 53 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,120 along the Belgian-Dutch border. 54 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,760 - The French Army of 1940 is regarded as Europe's finest. 55 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,440 They have a large number of soldiers. 56 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:48,680 - (announcer speaking French) 57 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,640 ZINSOU: They have some of the largest and best tanks 58 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:55,880 in all of the world at this time. 59 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,360 MAN: Nobody else has an army 60 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,920 standing between the Allies and Germany. 61 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,920 It's so deeply assumed the French Army will hold off the Germans, 62 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,240 just as it had in the First World War. 63 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,800 - The French Army feels more than capable of meeting any challenge 64 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,080 it might face in a future conflict. 65 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:23,040 TOM: As they did 25 years before in the First World War, 66 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,840 Great Britain also sends an army to stop the German invasion. 67 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,960 REPORTER: Reinforcements for the British Expeditionary Force 68 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:32,280 reach France. 69 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,280 MAN: The British Expeditionary Force has been sent across 70 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,360 to assist the French in their defence against the Germans. 71 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,520 You've probably got about 300,000 men. 72 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,640 They are the cream of British ground troops. 73 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,920 ZINSOU: British and French forces surge into Belgium... 74 00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:59,920 ...looking to confront the Germans in what they believe will be 75 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,160 the main effort of the German attack. 76 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,160 REPORTER: They're heading for the line, 77 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,320 towards the distant rumble of gunfire. 78 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,400 TOM: This is precisely what Hitler wants them to do. 79 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:15,800 One of the Wehrmacht's best generals, 80 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,920 Erich von Manstein, has designed a trap. 81 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,120 MAN: Manstein, very ambitious general, 82 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:26,520 big advocate of war-of-movement tactics, blitzkrieg tactics... 83 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:29,720 ...he says, we're going to distract them. 84 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:31,880 We'll still have an army facing the Maginot Line. 85 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:33,880 We'll still have an army sweeping through Belgium, 86 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,000 but we'll do what they least expect. We'll cut through the Ardennes. 87 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,800 TOM: The Ardennes Forest 88 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,560 straddles the French frontier with Belgium. 89 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:50,040 Its steep wooded hills and valleys are considered impenetrable. 90 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,160 - Here, there was no reason to build anything 91 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,320 because the forest was so thick and dense. 92 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,600 TOM: But Manstein's not deterred by this terrain. 93 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,280 He sends his armoured forces into France 94 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,680 from this unexpected direction, 95 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:09,920 which gives Hitler the opportunity to outmanoeuvre the Allies. 96 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,840 MAN: And once he's sold on it, as so often in Hitler's life, 97 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,360 it becomes a kind of mania for it. 98 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,080 He says, "This is what I wanted. 99 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,480 "Finally, someone understands me!" 100 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,720 TOM: Hitler now throws the bulk of his forces through the Ardennes. 101 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,080 That same day... 102 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,320 ...British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns. 103 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,040 MAN: The Second World War is going badly for Britain. 104 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,120 Hitler's troops have swept through Denmark and Norway. 105 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:45,680 And Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, 106 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:48,160 like leaders do, takes the blame for that. 107 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,320 - I sought an audience of the King this evening 108 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,120 and tendered to him my resignation, 109 00:06:55,280 --> 00:06:57,720 which His Majesty has been pleased to accept. 110 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,600 TOM: The King asks the First Lord of the Admiralty, 111 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,640 the maverick politician Winston Churchill, 112 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:07,840 to become Prime Minister. 113 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,400 SNOW: Winston Churchill was born at a time when Britain was 114 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,240 at its imperial apex, the height of the Victorian age. 115 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,040 From the youngest age, he's brought up 116 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,360 thinking that he's special, that fate has predestined 117 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:25,680 that he would one day save Britain and its empire. 118 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,320 - Churchill has openly been critical of Hitler, 119 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,480 very worried about Hitler... 120 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,520 ...against German rearmament, and against Hitler's obvious plans 121 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:39,960 in Europe. 122 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,800 - He was the guy who, sounding like a bit of a crank for years, 123 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,600 had said this was going to happen. And then, when it does happen 124 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:48,840 and you're looking to turn to somebody, 125 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,760 it's inevitable that you turn to the person that was right all along. 126 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,240 TOM: Churchill's immediate challenge is to stiffen British resolve 127 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:00,880 and to prepare them for a long struggle. 128 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:06,680 From his first address to Parliament, 129 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:11,080 Churchill demonstrates his determination to defeat the Nazis. 130 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,360 - Churchill used the wonders of language and the oratory skill, 131 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,920 and the way he crafted his words... 132 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,760 Well, he's one of the most quoted people in the world. 133 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,920 - I would say to the House, I have nothing to offer 134 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:32,720 but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. 135 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,080 - Nasty, dirty base words - blood, sweat, toil. 136 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,000 He takes you up here, and he brings you back down here. 137 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,680 CHURCHILL: You ask, what is our aim? 138 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,320 I can answer in one word... 139 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:50,200 ...victory, victory at all costs. 140 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,840 For without victory, there is no survival. 141 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,760 - People that were there that day said that you could feel 142 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,920 the opposition to Winston Churchill just draining away. 143 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,840 TOM: As the Wehrmacht advances on France through Belgium 144 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,040 and the Ardennes Forest... 145 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:13,040 ...Adolf Hitler takes a risk. 146 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:18,480 - This is a huge gamble, for the simple reason 147 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:20,760 that if you try to mass Panzer divisions 148 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,960 and motorised infantry on these little dirt tracks, 149 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,440 you're going to have massive traffic jams. 150 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:30,800 And they're going to be a ripe target for the French 151 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,720 and British air forces, which could fly over and just bomb these things 152 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:35,960 while they're stuck in the Ardennes. 153 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,000 RICHIE: Hitler is, in some ways, the ultimate gambler, 154 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,000 with his notions that whatever he does, 155 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,200 if he is strong enough and if he has the will 156 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,600 and he's got the German people behind him, nothing can fail. 157 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,160 (birds chirping) 158 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,360 TOM: Three days after German tank divisions enter the Ardennes... 159 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,760 ...the French remain unaware of the Nazi threat. 160 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,920 - The French are not expecting a major German assault here. 161 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,640 So, the French troops along the Meuse are older men, 162 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,440 reservists who've been called back to the colours. 163 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,320 TOM: At 1500 hours on May 13th... 164 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:24,040 ...the countryside quiet is shattered by the sound of tank engines. 165 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:26,880 (distant gunfire, engines rumbling) 166 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,680 - So, if you're a French soldier... 167 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,920 ...and you look out through your binoculars at what's happening... 168 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,920 ...suddenly, there's a tank appearing across the river. 169 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:40,720 And then, suddenly, another one. 170 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,280 And then, suddenly, dozens, even hundreds more. 171 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,400 You make a panicky report back to your superior officer - 172 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:49,240 "I see German tanks." 173 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:00,640 - German pioneer units throw bridges across the river. 174 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,040 CITINO: They get their tanks across... 175 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,880 ...and launch a massive assault on French defences. 176 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:15,080 TOM: The surprised French troops now face a terrifying German barrage. 177 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,000 TOM: As German Panzer divisions race across the border... 178 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,520 ...the French Army is overwhelmed. 179 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,480 Now, the Wehrmacht pours through 180 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,520 a 60-mile-wide hole in the French lines. 181 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:58,880 - Line after line after line of tanks just crossing the Meuse. 182 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,680 And at this point, there is no time 183 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:09,080 for the French to mobilise and to come and defend that area. 184 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,400 TOM: One German commander, Erwin Rommel, 185 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,720 is particularly aggressive. 186 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,760 RICHIE: He's a daring, dashing young man. 187 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:22,920 He doesn't come from the traditional 188 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,320 Prussian aristocratic military background. 189 00:12:27,560 --> 00:12:31,040 He's very aware of doing smash-and-grab type actions... 190 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,680 ...which will get you noticed. 191 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:36,960 CITINO: Hitler's been very impressed by him. 192 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,880 When he crosses the Meuse, it's full speed ahead. 193 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,440 People describe the invasion of the West as Blitzkrieg, 194 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:47,200 "lightning war". 195 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,680 But, you know, that's really just a poetic metaphor, 196 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,040 a way to describe something that is actually much more complex. 197 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,240 The Germans themselves use a term - Bewegungskrieg. 198 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,840 It means "the war of movement". 199 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,960 - (reporter speaking German) 200 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:09,040 CITINO: The 7th Panzer Division becomes known 201 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:10,920 as the Ghost Division... 202 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,320 ...because it disappears from the situation map 203 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:16,520 for hours, sometimes days at a time. 204 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,120 It's moving faster than people can keep up with. 205 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:24,480 But that's Rommel. 206 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,040 TOM: The French are in full retreat. 207 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,440 After only a few days of fighting, 208 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,200 northern France lies largely undefended. 209 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,880 At 7:30 in the morning on May 15th, 210 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,560 Winston Churchill receives a phone call. 211 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,960 It's French leader Paul Reynaud, who tells him, 212 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,360 "We are beaten. The road to Paris is open. 213 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:58,160 "Send all the planes and all the troops you can." 214 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:06,240 - It cannot be overstated how surprising 215 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:10,440 and out of left field this German breakthrough is. 216 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,240 The French Army that had stayed diligently 217 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,920 in the trenches for four years in the First World War... 218 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,480 ...crumbling in a matter of days. 219 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,240 TOM: Churchill immediately flies to France. 220 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,480 DAVID: Churchill takes a tremendous risk by going over to France. 221 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,360 There's a battle ongoing. There's a danger he's going to be shot down 222 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,840 at any moment by hostile German fighters. 223 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,560 But he feels he has to do it because he wants to 224 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,760 stiffen the French morale. 225 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,160 But when he goes to the Quai d'Orsay, 226 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,120 which is the French foreign office, they're burning papers. 227 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,440 - The scene in Paris is absolute chaos. 228 00:14:57,520 --> 00:14:59,520 The French government is trying to figure out 229 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,000 what they have to do in the face of this military defeat. 230 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,000 - Churchill calls the French "lily-livered". 231 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,160 He says they don't have the requisite state of mind 232 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,360 to hold back the Germans. 233 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,080 CITINO: But what happened has nothing to do 234 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:21,320 with fighting qualities or one side being more valiant than the other. 235 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,880 It has to do with one side completely overwhelming the other 236 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:26,760 at the point of contact. 237 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:29,960 And when things are happening faster than you think 238 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:32,000 they should be happening, the reaction can be 239 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:33,720 kind of a wave of panic. 240 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,040 TOM: With the French on the brink of collapse 241 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:39,240 and the British Army in retreat... 242 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,680 ...Churchill turns to the United States for help. 243 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,000 - Churchill had one key strategy for winning the Second World War - 244 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,080 get America involved. 245 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,600 TOM: He dictates a telegram to President Roosevelt. 246 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,680 - He makes the clear warning to Roosevelt that eventually, 247 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,520 Nazism might come for the Americans as well. 248 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:04,920 So, he makes an appeal. 249 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:07,800 "We need destroyers, naval assistance, 250 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:12,240 "but we also need guns, we need planes, we need steel." 251 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,240 He's desperate for military assistance. 252 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:22,720 - Ideally, Franklin Roosevelt wanted to keep German aggression 253 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:26,400 on the European continent and ideally, turn it back. 254 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:32,480 And so, Roosevelt's great hope is that perhaps by offering supplies, 255 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:36,800 we keep the war on that side of the Atlantic, 256 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:41,840 because a Nazified Europe was going to be a world threat. 257 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,880 - But it's an election year. Roosevelt is running 258 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:49,760 for an unprecedented third term in office. 259 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,760 His domestic policies are propelling him 260 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,200 back into the White House. 261 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:59,920 But the majority of Americans do not want to involve themselves 262 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,160 in another global contest. 263 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,640 So, Roosevelt's foreign policy is a political vulnerability. 264 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,200 TOM: Roosevelt wants to help Britain and France, 265 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:15,120 but America's neutrality laws restrict how much he can provide. 266 00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:19,240 His hands are tied. 267 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,400 If the Germans seize France, 268 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,440 Britain will be left to face the Nazis alone. 269 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,560 In northern France, German forces continue forward, 270 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,160 attempting to trap the fleeing Allied armies. 271 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,000 (reporter speaking German) 272 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,440 TOM: Now the Germans move to cut off the Allies 273 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:52,360 at the English Channel. 274 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:58,040 - Once they reach it, all those Allied armies will be surrounded. 275 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,760 - The only chance of survival for the troops 276 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,200 is to build some kind of defensive system 277 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,480 round the Channel port closest to them, and that's Dunkirk. 278 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,920 And then, attempt an evacuation by sea. 279 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,440 TOM: The small coastal town of Dunkirk 280 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,720 is just 60 miles across the Channel from Britain, 281 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,400 but Dunkirk doesn't have the infrastructure 282 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,240 to support a mass naval evacuation. 283 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:33,800 By May 20th, more than 450,000 French, Belgian, 284 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,120 and British soldiers are retreating in desperation 285 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:39,520 to its wide open beaches. 286 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,440 - The Germans are already on the fringes of the Dunkirk perimeter. 287 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:47,640 TOM: The Allies are trapped. 288 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,400 SNOW: There is no other British Army. 289 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,200 That's the best leaders, the best sergeants 290 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:57,840 and NCOs in danger of being absolutely wiped out 291 00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,640 by German forces. 292 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,760 TOM: Then, Hitler orders his Panzers to halt. 293 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,080 CITINO: Hitler travels to the front lines. 294 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:19,600 He's noticed some problems. 295 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,640 The tanks are far, far ahead of their follow-up infantry... 296 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:26,320 Rommel's Ghost Division, for example. 297 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,080 Hitler believes that the generals at the front 298 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,720 are not reporting back to him with the specificity they should be. 299 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,920 And he's kind of angry about that. And so, Hitler had decided 300 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,120 to take control of this operation. 301 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,320 TOM: Field Marshal Hermann Goering 302 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,240 insists the Luftwaffe can finish off the Allies. 303 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,200 - Goering's like, "You know, Hitler, Fuehrer," you know, 304 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:52,920 it's like, "Come on. They're on the beach. They're sitting ducks! 305 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:55,760 "Why would you want to waste your precious Panzers? 306 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,240 "I can do this with Luftwaffe aircraft alone." 307 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,480 For the Brits on the beach, it's an absolute hellscape. 308 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:11,880 (Stuka sirens wailing) 309 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,360 - They're subjected day and night to constant aerial bombardment 310 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,160 by the Luftwaffe, strafing... 311 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:19,840 (gunfire) 312 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:22,920 WAWRO: ..dive bombing... 313 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:26,920 ...level bombing. 314 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:28,520 (explosions) 315 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,280 - The British troops are just on the sand. 316 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:33,600 And each time this happens... 317 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:35,600 (Stuka siren wailing) 318 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,920 DAVID: ..they all take what cover they can. 319 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,000 This goes on hour after hour after hour... 320 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,320 ...as they're waiting for deliverance. 321 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,680 - It was a time of total terror. 322 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:53,880 (explosion) 323 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:57,720 TOM: As the Luftwaffe bombs the troops... 324 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:03,040 ...the British War Cabinet is divided over how to save them. 325 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,040 Prime Minister Churchill wants to evacuate as many British 326 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,680 and French troops as possible by sea. 327 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,520 But his foreign secretary, Lord Halifax, 328 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,520 wants to explore diplomatic options. 329 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:23,560 RICHIE: There are factions in the United Kingdom, led by Lord Halifax, 330 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,960 which believe that the war with Germany is pointless, 331 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,600 totally destructive, and can't be won. 332 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:35,520 They want to have some sort of peace treaty with Germany. 333 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,040 - Halifax is saying, "We have to face facts here. 334 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,720 "We have to face reality. Adolf Hitler has won in Europe. 335 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:44,680 "We can still preserve our independence. 336 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,840 "We can still preserve our empire if we make a deal with Hitler." 337 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,760 And the way to do that is talk to an intermediary. 338 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,320 Well, that's the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. 339 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:02,280 He might be a broker to negotiate a peace 340 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,440 between Britain and Germany. 341 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,520 TOM: Halifax tries to get help from American diplomats. 342 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,920 RICHIE: The American ambassador in Rome and various other people 343 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,680 approach Mussolini to come up with some sort of peace treaty. 344 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,480 TOM: But Churchill will not negotiate. 345 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:27,400 - He believes that if London were to enter into talks, 346 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:29,800 that British morale would collapse. 347 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,320 TOM: Churchill decides to risk the sea-rescue plan, 348 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,120 code-named Operation Dynamo. 349 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:40,520 On May 26th, 350 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,880 the first Royal Navy ships set off across the Channel. 351 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:49,680 WAWRO: Dynamo is the only card the British can play at this point. 352 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,840 In London, they're estimating, maybe we'll get 20,000, 353 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,640 30,000, 45,000 at the most off. 354 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,840 TOM: But now Hitler sends his forces back into action. 355 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,240 Panzers begin to assault the defensive line around Dunkirk. 356 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,840 On that first day, 357 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,240 the Royal Navy rescues less than 8,000 men. 358 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:28,040 The British need to find an additional way to get troops home. 359 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,120 DAVID: There were these two breakwaters - 360 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:39,200 long stone and concrete jetties that stretched a mile into the sea. 361 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,240 They're not designed for ships to come and dock next to them, 362 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,840 but in an emergency, this is what they can do. 363 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:50,560 WAWRO: So you've got the British troops, four abreast, 364 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,440 walking out onto this breakwater, so they can get out 365 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,680 to deep enough water and get picked up by ships. 366 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,000 - But meanwhile, they're under constant air attack 367 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,240 by dive bombers and bombers. 368 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:12,720 TOM: The British are running out of time. 369 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,880 TOM: With over 400,000 Allied troops trapped on the beach at Dunkirk... 370 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,120 ...a desperate call goes out from British leaders. 371 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,160 "Help us get our soldiers home." 372 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:48,520 The response is immediate. 373 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,880 For nine days, small vessels, 374 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,320 all captained and crewed by volunteers, 375 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,200 cross the Channel. 376 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,440 Fishing trawlers and paddle steamers... 377 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,440 ...cargo ships and lifeboats... 378 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:05,360 ...barges and yachts... 379 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,920 Each sail into the firestorm around Dunkirk... 380 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,680 ...joining the Royal Navy in the rescue mission. 381 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,280 - There was every kind of ship that I saw coming in this morning, 382 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,400 and every one of them was crammed full of tired, battle-stained, 383 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:24,760 and bloodstained British soldiers. 384 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,560 - The BEF leaves everything behind - 385 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,240 all the tanks, all the artillery, all the trucks. 386 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,040 The idea being that the men are the most important thing. 387 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,600 We can make new equipment, but we can't make new men. 388 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:56,920 TOM: The evacuation at Dunkirk 389 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:01,120 brings over 300,000 British and French troops to Britain. 390 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,800 Though thousands are left behind. 391 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:24,040 In Britain, the operation becomes known as the Miracle of Dunkirk. 392 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,360 On British streets, there is relief, joy, 393 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,160 and anxiety about what's to come. 394 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,200 On June 4th, Churchill addresses those fears. 395 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:43,840 - We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance 396 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,040 the attributes of a victory. 397 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,640 DAVID: He reminds people that things aren't looking good 398 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,600 for Britain at this time. France is almost certainly lost, 399 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,400 and there's a great possibility in the weeks and months ahead 400 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,480 that the Germans are going to launch a sea and air invasion of the UK. 401 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,800 And the question is, will we be able to stop it? 402 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:14,200 - Churchill's able to come out and issue this clarion call, 403 00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:19,080 issue this roar of belligerence and determination. 404 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,560 CHURCHILL: We shall fight on the seas and oceans. 405 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,200 We shall fight with growing confidence 406 00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:28,480 and growing strength in the air. 407 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,280 We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. 408 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,520 SNOW: It's the most simple messaging in political history. 409 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,880 This is a war against absolute evil. It is total war. 410 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,320 We're going to fight for every inch and every yard, 411 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:46,960 and we're going to win. 412 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,360 CHURCHILL: We shall fight on the beaches. 413 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:53,840 We shall fight on the landing grounds. 414 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,240 We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. 415 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:03,400 We shall fight in the hills. 416 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:06,840 We shall never surrender. 417 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,160 TOM: With this speech, Churchill ends all discussions 418 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:16,360 of a negotiated peace. 419 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:21,840 In France, Hitler moves quickly. 420 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,440 He orders the Wehrmacht to strike south, 421 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:27,680 heading for Paris and beyond. 422 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,240 (gunfire) 423 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,960 ZINSOU: The Germans are essentially pursuing anti-trench warfare. 424 00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:38,720 Anything that they can do to avoid the slog 425 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,120 that they had in the First World War. 426 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:42,960 (gunfire and shouting) 427 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,400 TOM: As German forces race to the capital, 428 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,120 damaging historic cities in their wake... 429 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,480 ...the French population takes flight. 430 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,480 BROCH: People are terrified, fearing for their lives, 431 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,120 of the brutality of the German soldier. 432 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:11,040 So, roads and railways are soon overflowing with refugees - 433 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:13,520 men, women, children, grandparents. 434 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:16,760 Families are divided. 435 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:18,960 Children get separated from their parents 436 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,120 because there's so much chaos. 437 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,400 TOM: There are 8 million French refugees on the run. 438 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:44,040 On June 14th, German troops march into Paris. 439 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,520 BROCH: They are parading down the Champs-Elysées. 440 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,640 Things could not be worse for the French. 441 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:55,760 Grown men are crying. 442 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,440 This is unbelievable, unimaginable. 443 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:00,920 - (officer shouts) 444 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,880 TOM: Hitler insists the ceremony to sign the French armistice 445 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,760 happens in the exact railway carriage where the Germans 446 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,280 signed their surrender at the end of World War I. 447 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:19,040 RICHIE: Hitler is like a giddy schoolboy. 448 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,200 He can't believe this is happening. 449 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:22,880 He's just jubilant. 450 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:27,760 ZINSOU: The terms of the armistice are several. 451 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,520 The French Army is restricted to a size of no larger than 100,000. 452 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:37,800 France itself will be divided into two parts. 453 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,120 The Germans will occupy about 3/5ths. 454 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,160 The remaining 2/5ths will be led by Marshal Philippe Petain, 455 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,920 and this will become known as Vichy France, 456 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:54,080 because the new French government will be seated in the town of Vichy. 457 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,080 - For the French, it's the end. 458 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,280 TOM: The fall of France is a seismic event 459 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:19,960 with global ramifications. 460 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:22,200 REPORTER: France gave Germany a blank cheque today, 461 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:24,280 signing the terms of the armistice... 462 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,400 TOM: German propaganda... 463 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,200 - (reporter speaks German) 464 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,400 TOM: ..captures iconic images 465 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:35,960 on Hitler's first and only trip to conquered Paris. 466 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:42,440 - When France falls, for the vast majority of Americans, 467 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,640 it's as if the unthinkable has happened. 468 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,240 - Roosevelt and the people close to him 469 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,320 recognise immediately what this means. 470 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,680 All the things that the United States didn't have to do 471 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,880 as long as France was in between us and the Germans, 472 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:01,320 they're now going to have to do. 473 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,720 It's going to build a very large army, it's going to build 474 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,360 a very large navy, it's going to think about a global presence, 475 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:08,800 and it's never again going to put its own security 476 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:11,800 in the hands of another country, even a friendly one like France. 477 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:16,880 TOM: Roosevelt now calls for America to mobilise. 478 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,120 In the coming months, he'll institute the first peacetime draft 479 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:26,520 and call for the production of 50,000 warplanes. 480 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,160 ROOSEVELT: Overwhelmingly, we as a nation, 481 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:36,040 we are convinced that military and naval victory 482 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,640 for the gods of force and hate 483 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,480 would endanger the institutions of democracy 484 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:44,560 in the Western world. 485 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:46,360 (crowd cheering) 486 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:51,200 (crowd cheering) 487 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,760 TOM: After taking Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, 488 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,440 Belgium, and now France... 489 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,440 ...Hitler is triumphant. 490 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:03,480 (cheering continues) 491 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:07,960 RICHIE: There's a tremendous return of Hitler to Berlin. 492 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,680 The crowds are in the hundreds of thousands on the streets... 493 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,640 ...pushing toward his motorcade. 494 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:20,760 (crowd cheering, chanting in German) 495 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:27,760 - For the Nazis, these are the glory days. 496 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:29,800 (cheers and applause) 497 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:36,040 RICHIE: This is the height of Hitler's power. 498 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,520 For most of the population of Germany, 499 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,560 he can do no wrong. He is their beloved Fuehrer. 500 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,120 And Hitler's ego goes out of control. 501 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:56,960 That allows Hitler to convince himself 502 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,720 of his own propaganda, convince himself that in a way, 503 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:01,560 he's almost immortal. 504 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:15,080 TOM: Now, Hitler attempts to dictate a new peace deal 505 00:34:15,240 --> 00:34:16,960 with Great Britain. 506 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,600 - (speaking German) 507 00:34:25,240 --> 00:34:27,800 (applause) HITLER: Deutschland, Sieg Heil! 508 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:31,880 ALL: Heil! Heil! Heil! 509 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:38,400 TOM: Churchill defies him. 510 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:46,120 And so, Hitler gives the go-ahead to an operation 511 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:48,680 he thinks will force Britain into submission... 512 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,920 ...Operation Sea Lion. 513 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:55,680 - He's now saying, OK, well, if the Brits aren't going to 514 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:58,560 come to terms with me, then I will invade Great Britain. 515 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:03,680 TOM: First, the Luftwaffe targets the planes 516 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,480 and infrastructure of the British Royal Air Force. 517 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:13,240 - So the initial German air assaults were against British RAF facilities. 518 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:19,480 Airfields, administrative stations, supply depots, and the like. 519 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:23,400 TOM: Goering claims the Luftwaffe 520 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,400 will destroy the Royal Air Force in just three days... 521 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,920 ...and leave Britain open to invasion. 522 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:33,680 (explosion) 523 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,160 TOM: British pilots scramble in defence. 524 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,640 - Can this relatively small number of British planes - 525 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,720 they've got probably about 2,950 - 526 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,920 fight off what is an ever-increasing Luftwaffe? 527 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,440 TOM: The Battle of Britain is the largest 528 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:04,800 and most intense aerial combat the world has yet seen. 529 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,080 (gunfire) 530 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:15,040 TOM: If the Luftwaffe wins, Germany will invade. 531 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:17,920 (gunfire) 532 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,720 TOM: By the end of August 1940, 533 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:29,720 the Luftwaffe is sending 1,000 planes a day 534 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:31,880 across the English Channel. 535 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:36,120 The fate of the British Empire 536 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:39,080 is being decided in the skies above southern England. 537 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:44,320 (gunfire) 538 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:51,200 TOM: Churchill is acutely aware that the future of his country 539 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:54,000 rests in the expertise and bravery 540 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,520 of just a small number of young pilots, 541 00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:00,400 not just from Britain, but from across the Commonwealth 542 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,720 and conquered Europe as well. 543 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,160 - Never in the field of human conflict 544 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:10,360 was so much owed by so many to so few. 545 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:17,040 SNOW: He was talking about those several hundred fighter pilots 546 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,240 who were flying sometimes six times a day, 547 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,640 taking off, striking at a German air armada, 548 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:27,000 landing, being rearmed, refuelled, and then taking off again. 549 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,560 - A 109 destroyed, Freddie, yes. - Oh, good show. 550 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:33,920 - But, of course, actually, there are ground crew. 551 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:36,760 There are legions of observers who are using binoculars 552 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:38,600 to look at the skies above. 553 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,800 - 30 enemy aircraft over the Channel flying due west. 554 00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:44,680 SNOW: There are women working on plotting tables 555 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,480 to build up this big picture of German movement. 556 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,080 There is a gigantic, integrated, 557 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:54,520 information-rich system supporting those pilots. 558 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:57,760 (gunfire) 559 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:01,120 WAWRO: The German loss rates are really high. 560 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,120 And the Germans aren't succeeding, you know. 561 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,360 They're not able to break them. 562 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,920 TOM: In seven weeks, the Luftwaffe lose 600 aircraft and their crews. 563 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,800 Germany is losing the Battle of Britain. 564 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:20,960 (air-raid siren wailing) 565 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,720 TOM: In mid-September, Hitler approves a new strategy. 566 00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:36,760 Invading Great Britain is postponed indefinitely. 567 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:41,240 The Luftwaffe's new mission is to destroy the spirit 568 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,800 of the British people, through terror bombing. 569 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:48,000 (explosions) 570 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,080 - So, begins the Blitz... 571 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,400 ...which is months and months and months 572 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:59,480 of almost uninterrupted bombing of British civilian areas. 573 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,560 TOM: In the fall of 1940, the German Luftwaffe 574 00:39:07,720 --> 00:39:10,680 bombs London on 57 successive nights. 575 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:19,800 - The Blitz was traumatic. It was horrifying. 576 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:23,120 There is arbitrary random death. 577 00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:27,440 Being caught in collapsing buildings, 578 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:31,160 burned alive, gas mains blowing up. 579 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:36,840 Tens of thousands of civilians were killed. 580 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:41,120 TOM: In cities across the United Kingdom, 581 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,600 families bury their dead... 582 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:47,240 Some in mass graves. 583 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,280 SNOW: Churchill did everything he could. 584 00:39:54,720 --> 00:39:56,920 He visited the East End. 585 00:39:57,080 --> 00:39:59,600 He actually wept on one occasion when he saw the bloodshed, 586 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,600 the devastation that had been rained down by German bombers. 587 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:12,880 TOM: America receives firsthand reports of Britain's ordeal. 588 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:17,120 - Hello, America. This is Edward Murrow speaking from London. 589 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:20,320 The noise that you hear at the moment 590 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:22,520 is the sound of the air-raid siren. 591 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:23,880 (air-raid sirens wailing) 592 00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:27,200 - A searchlight off in the distance sweeping the sky above me now. 593 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:31,920 CARLIN: Edward R Murrow was one of those people 594 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,360 who had this attitude of bringing you to... 595 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:37,480 You know, "you are there" was one of the things he used to say. 596 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:42,040 MURROW: Off to my left, I can see just that faint red, angry snap 597 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:46,560 of anti-aircraft bursts against this steel-blue sky. 598 00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:48,720 (gunfire) MURROW: There they are. 599 00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:52,560 That hard, stony sound. 600 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:56,680 CARLIN: So, all of a sudden, the American people 601 00:40:56,840 --> 00:41:00,600 had the ability to hear in their homes, from their radios, 602 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:03,320 the sounds of the bombs falling on London. 603 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:06,000 (bomb whistles and explodes) - "Live from the Blitz," right? 604 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,520 (explosions) 605 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,160 CARLIN: How could you not have sympathy with the people 606 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:13,840 on the ground - the women, the children, the noncombatants? 607 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:21,720 And it made a huge difference in terms of building a sea change 608 00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:24,920 in the American attitudes that laid the groundwork 609 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:29,280 for the isolationist attitudes of the United States to change. 610 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:32,360 (applause) 611 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:37,040 TOM: At the polls in November, 612 00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:40,920 Franklin D Roosevelt wins an unprecedented third term. 613 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,160 (crowd cheering) 614 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:49,120 TOM: Now, he has the political freedom to offer all aid 615 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:51,720 to Great Britain, short of war. 616 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:57,960 - Democracy's fight against world conquest 617 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:02,720 must be more greatly aided by sending every ounce 618 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:05,680 and every ton of munitions and supplies 619 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,440 that we can possibly spare 620 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:12,280 to help the defenders who are in the front lines. 621 00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:18,520 We must have more ships, more guns, 622 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:22,000 more planes, more of everything. 623 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:29,200 We must be the great arsenal of democracy. 624 00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:37,240 - In the autumn of 1940, northern Europe is in Nazi hands, 625 00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:40,480 including what had been the Republic of France. 626 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,000 Great Britain stands alone. 627 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,160 Between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, 628 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:47,240 there exists a territorial peace. 629 00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:49,920 But what does that mean to a leader like Adolf Hitler? 630 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:52,080 Subtitles by Sky Access Services 49931

Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.