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The war was wreaking havoc in the East
since 1937,
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00:00:09,220 --> 00:00:11,460
when Japan invaded China.
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00:00:12,780 --> 00:00:15,980
It arrived in Europe
on September 1, 1939,
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00:00:16,180 --> 00:00:18,460
when Germany invaded Poland.
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00:00:19,460 --> 00:00:23,320
It has gained worldwide scope
on December 7, 1941,
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when the Japanese planes attacked
the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.
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The war affected all continents...
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...and it lasted six years.
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It ended with a new weapon,
for a new era.
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This is the story of the greatest
event in human history
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and these men
they took part in it.
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They witnessed the shootings
and the tragedies of war
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from wherever battles took place.
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Their testimony is an element
from the history of the formation of our world...
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...by those who could pay...
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...and by those who
they couldn't take it anymore...
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...the price of empire.
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WORLD WAR II:
THE PRICE OF EMPIRE
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Soldiers fight wars,
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but these are caused by the leaders
politicians, who fight with words.
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During 1943,
the leaders have said countless words.
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After Stalingrad,
Midway and Guadalcanal...
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... El Alamein and the Torța operation...
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...the leaders of the Grand Coalition,
as Churchill called it,
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or the United Nations,
as Roosevelt called him,
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they discussed
about achieving victory
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and the division of the post-war world,
conference after conference.
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Because they were discussing, the Allies were leading
a war on two fronts.
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The Axis powers were fighting two wars:
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Germany in Europe
and Japan, in Asia.
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For them, in many ways,
1943 will be the beginning of the end.
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EPISODE 9:
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
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The first conference in 1943,
code name Symbol,
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took place in January
in Casablanca, in French Morocco.
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Churchill, Roosevelt and the leaders
the Free French met
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to plan the European strategy
for the next phase of the war.
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Stalin refused to participate,
because of the siege of Stalingrad.
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They discussed offensive strategy
for this year,
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in which crushing blows are prepared
for the enemy, on new fronts.
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President Roosevelt had
the most provocative speech.
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At the end of the conference he said, possibly
without consulting the Allies:
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"The elimination of the war power
of Germany, Japan and Italy"
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"means their capitulation
unconditional."
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The words once spoken,
they could no longer be withdrawn.
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The idea of truce or compromise
was excluded.
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Germany and Japan have learned
that you can start a war yourself
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but it takes two parts
to make peace.
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The Trident conference followed,
from Washington in May.
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The Quadrant Conference, from Quebec,
took place in August.
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Sextant, the Cairo conference
since november
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outlined the position of the Allies
against Japan.
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It was attended by Roosevelt,
Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek.
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Stalin did not participate, because
Chiang was Japan's enemy.
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He didn't want the Japanese
to feel offended
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and attack him on his eastern border
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if they were sitting at the same table
with the Chinese leader.
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Two days after Cairo,
when Chiang had returned to China,
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Stalin met with Roosevelt
and with Churchill in Tehran.
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It was the first meeting
of the "big three".
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Stalin was promised
the opening of a second front.
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But where? Churchill bowed
towards the Balkans or the Aegean.
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But the balance of power had changed,
so Roosevelt presented
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the Normandy invasion plan,
taking Churchill by surprise.
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The Grand Coalition was only of the "big two",
which will dominate the post-war period.
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Destruction is planned
of the German forces as quickly as possible.
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They are some of those who want
ensure the achievement of the objective.
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And Japan wanted meetings with
partners, to show unity.
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00:05:48,945 --> 00:05:53,235
Prime Minister Tojo called
East Asia Conference,
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attended by Zhang Jingui,
the prime minister of the state of Manchukuo,
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Wang Jingwei, the boss
the Nationalist government of China,
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Ba Maw, from Burma,
Subhas Chandra Bose, from India,
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José Laurel, from the Philippines, and the prince
Wan Waithayakon, from Thailand.
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The meeting did not convince them
too many.
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In 1936, the Chinese political activist
Du Zhongyuan wrote:
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"Panasianism is just
Japanese imperialism, nothing else."
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During these 12 months of conferences,
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the war on the battlefields
was becoming more and more decisive.
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American troops went into action
with the Torţa operation, in North Africa,
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where the Axis was bringing reinforcements
to Tunis by sea.
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00:07:09,144 --> 00:07:12,359
General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
he was the commander of the German forces.
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Rommel, who was retreating from Tripolitania,
was going to make the junction with him.
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The command of all forces has been taken over
by General Vittorio Ambrosio.
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00:07:26,038 --> 00:07:29,175
In early February,
the Germans launched two offensives.
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00:07:29,413 --> 00:07:35,220
In the Spring Wind operation,
von Arnim isolated the American forces at Sidi Bouzid.
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00:07:35,511 --> 00:07:40,465
Rommel, in operation
Wind of Dawn, conquered Gafsa.
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American troops were ready for battle,
they had done basic training.
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Basic training
it's a tough workout.
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After six weeks of training,
you are ready to kill your best friend.
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Every morning you were told
"Kill or be killed!"
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Every day.
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00:08:05,947 --> 00:08:09,111
The soldiers were ready for battle,
but do not harden in battle.
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They were recruits
who were gaining experience
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00:08:12,769 --> 00:08:15,822
as Rommel
and von Arnim advanced.
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00:08:17,604 --> 00:08:23,752
Rommel targeted the Kasserine Pass,
3 km wide, from the Atlas mountains.
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00:08:24,803 --> 00:08:27,544
On February 19, he conquers it.
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The Americans who defended her
they retreat in great chaos.
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00:08:32,602 --> 00:08:38,217
Rommel, however, had no support.
Von Arnim did not send the armor.
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00:08:39,315 --> 00:08:45,031
The allies quickly regrouped.
In 20, Rommel was pinned down.
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00:08:47,166 --> 00:08:52,726
By the 24th, the Allies had begun
to regain what the Axis had won.
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From this moment forward momentum
it could no longer be stopped.
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Gafsa was recaptured by Patton,
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the New Zealand troops passed through
through the Tebaga pass,
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and the final assault on Tunis
started on May 6.
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It was conquered a day later.
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General Alexander,
the commander of Army Group 18
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00:09:12,907 --> 00:09:18,654
conveyed to Churchill:
"We are the masters of the North African shore."
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00:09:19,918 --> 00:09:22,530
But the conquest came at a cost.
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00:09:23,224 --> 00:09:26,371
There were 75,000 victims
on the side of the Allies
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and 300,000 on the Axis side,
of which 240,000, prisoners.
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00:09:36,270 --> 00:09:38,587
For Hitler, it was a setback.
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00:09:38,875 --> 00:09:43,782
For Mussolini, left without support
and with heavy losses on the eastern front,
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00:09:43,990 --> 00:09:46,945
where 75,000 Italians
they had been killed
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00:09:47,181 --> 00:09:51,085
and 50,000 had been repatriated
being injured, frostbite or sick,
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it was a real catastrophe.
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His imperialist dream was shattered.
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From consolidated positions
off the north african coast,
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The Allies launched on July 10
the invasion of Sicily.
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TO THE LAND OF SICILY!
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00:10:13,459 --> 00:10:18,096
Invasion of Sicily! The film presents
the naval part of the operation.
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00:10:18,445 --> 00:10:21,847
Thrilling adventure after
landing is in full swing.
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00:10:22,330 --> 00:10:26,349
These are just a few of the
the ships that cross the Mediterranean.
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00:10:29,306 --> 00:10:34,178
In Operation Husky,
115,000 British landed
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00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,581
and 66,000 Americans.
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00:10:38,319 --> 00:10:41,985
They faced a force
consisting of 315,000 Italians
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00:10:42,264 --> 00:10:47,041
and 50,000 Germans under command
General Alfredo Guzzoni.
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00:11:00,929 --> 00:11:06,141
The landing was preceded by a
air assault, what a disaster it was.
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00:11:06,958 --> 00:11:11,269
69 gliders were launched
too early and they fell into the sea.
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00:11:12,234 --> 00:11:17,710
56 were released elsewhere.
Only 12 were landed where they were supposed to.
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00:11:21,008 --> 00:11:23,196
And the paratroopers failed.
130
00:11:23,454 --> 00:11:29,064
They crash landed on the island
or in the sea.
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00:11:35,570 --> 00:11:40,135
In the night between July 11 and 12,
504th Parachute Regiment of the USA
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was brought from Tunisia to Sicily,
as reinforcements.
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00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:49,404
23 planes were destroyed
and 400 people died,
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00:11:49,828 --> 00:11:53,302
all because of the fire
pulled by its own forces.
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00:11:54,382 --> 00:12:00,761
Despite the setbacks,
the number of those disembarked was large.
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00:12:07,521 --> 00:12:11,064
Alexander, Montgomery and Patton
plan the elimination of the Germans
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from their defensive positions
very strong.
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00:12:16,316 --> 00:12:21,105
On July 16, Patton began the journey
to Palermo, the capital of Sicily,
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00:12:21,390 --> 00:12:24,154
which he entered on July 23.
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00:12:25,376 --> 00:12:29,362
On July 25, Benito Mussolini,
whose rise to power
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00:12:29,562 --> 00:12:34,740
it had been described by a righteous historian
"a trial of scoundrels and lies",
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he lost power and was arrested
by the Great Fascist Council.
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00:12:44,104 --> 00:12:50,117
On September 12, he was rescued
by a commando sent by Hitler
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who installed his ally in the Republic of Salo,
a puppet state in northern Italy.
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There, Mussolini and Clara Petacci,
his unhappy mistress,
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were captured by the partisans
in January 1945.
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They were shot, mutilated
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and hang upside down
in front of Milan train station.
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00:13:18,721 --> 00:13:20,158
After the arrest of Il Duce,
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00:13:20,372 --> 00:13:25,882
the new government of Marshal Badoglio
began negotiations with the Allies.
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00:13:26,818 --> 00:13:31,069
The Armistice of Cassibile
it was signed on September 3.
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Italy was out of the war.
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00:13:36,111 --> 00:13:40,229
But the struggles in Italy
they had just warmed up.
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00:13:40,608 --> 00:13:46,202
The allies entered the Sicilian port
Messina on August 17,
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but the enemy
including the 9,800 vehicles,
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00:13:50,535 --> 00:13:54,198
he had retreated to the interior of the country.
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00:13:55,642 --> 00:13:58,492
The Allies did not follow them immediately.
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00:13:58,793 --> 00:14:01,070
Instead, they argued for three weeks,
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00:14:01,282 --> 00:14:06,505
during which the Germans moved
16 divisions in the Italian Peninsula.
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00:14:09,833 --> 00:14:14,739
After the occupation of Sicily,
we were attacked by the Germans.
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00:14:15,131 --> 00:14:20,204
At night they threw bright torches
and marked the ships,
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so that the bombers
to come to the fix.
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00:14:26,266 --> 00:14:31,581
Ju 88 made a shrill sound,
that scares you.
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00:14:34,664 --> 00:14:40,704
They sank a few ships,
some with crew.
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Italy is a narrow country,
mountainous and furrowed by rivers,
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which facilitates the defense and not much
allows the use of armor.
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The campaign there was launched
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00:14:59,397 --> 00:15:03,666
on September 9, a few days later
after the Armistice of Cassibile,
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00:15:03,905 --> 00:15:08,798
with landings south of Naples,
in the province of Salerno.
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00:15:12,498 --> 00:15:16,420
The next day, on September 10,
Rome, declared an open city,
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00:15:16,734 --> 00:15:19,303
was occupied by German troops.
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00:15:30,262 --> 00:15:34,416
On September 14, two days later
after saving Mussolini,
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00:15:36,207 --> 00:15:40,722
German troops launched
a counterattack on the beach of Salerno.
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It was only rejected because
allied air and naval supremacy.
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We had to stop the Germans
to bring new troops to the beach.
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That's why we were taken there,
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for Clark's army to have
where to be disembarked,
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to start the offensive towards Naples.
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00:16:13,269 --> 00:16:17,713
The Germans came in force.
I opened fire and the fight began.
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00:16:25,940 --> 00:16:31,246
They quickly realized that I had none
enough weapons to repel them.
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00:16:32,284 --> 00:16:34,865
They started firing mortars.
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00:16:37,534 --> 00:16:40,648
They were positioned higher than us.
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00:16:41,709 --> 00:16:43,808
They created a lot of problems for us.
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00:16:44,281 --> 00:16:46,824
At one point,
they were so close to us
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that I heard a German officer
who gave orders about A Company.
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00:16:54,148 --> 00:16:58,952
He passed close to me,
then he was shot.
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00:16:59,904 --> 00:17:03,273
He didn't know where he was,
he thought he was among his own.
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00:17:05,809 --> 00:17:08,016
That's how close they had come.
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00:17:09,918 --> 00:17:14,539
On 16 September, the British 8th Army,
advancing from the south of Italy,
190
00:17:14,739 --> 00:17:18,826
made the junction with the 5th Army
of General Mark Clark's USA.
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00:17:20,811 --> 00:17:25,446
The Allies had good positions in Italy
and they started the attack towards Rome.
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00:17:25,688 --> 00:17:30,958
But, as we shall see,
it will be an extremely difficult road.
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00:17:35,918 --> 00:17:39,828
At one point, I had installed myself
machine gun by a tree.
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00:17:40,028 --> 00:17:43,128
It wasn't a huge one,
but it was still a tree.
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00:17:43,428 --> 00:17:53,162
Suddenly, a bullet went through him,
he hit me and knocked me back.
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00:17:55,192 --> 00:17:58,980
They sent me to the hospital, they wanted to
to award me the "Purple Heart" Medal.
197
00:17:59,323 --> 00:18:05,126
I refused, I told them I didn't want to
for my folks to receive a telegram.
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00:18:17,010 --> 00:18:21,961
It was the fourth year of the war, the initiative
belonged to Hitler's opponents,
199
00:18:22,209 --> 00:18:26,788
but his troops were still fighting
through foreign countries.
200
00:18:30,885 --> 00:18:34,165
Most, on the eastern front.
201
00:18:39,351 --> 00:18:43,071
At the end of 1942, attention
it was aimed at Stalingrad.
202
00:18:43,271 --> 00:18:46,740
Although in this city it took place
the greatest battle in history
203
00:18:47,036 --> 00:18:53,951
another big Russian city continued
to endure a cruel siege: Leningrad.
204
00:18:57,477 --> 00:19:00,238
The former imperial capital
Saint Petersburg
205
00:19:00,438 --> 00:19:05,609
was under siege
from September 8, 1941.
206
00:19:16,121 --> 00:19:20,016
In January 1943,
operation Iskra was launched.
207
00:19:20,291 --> 00:19:24,593
Leningrad and Volkov fronts
they managed to create a corridor
208
00:19:24,845 --> 00:19:27,371
which increased the capacity
supply of the city.
209
00:19:29,273 --> 00:19:34,269
But only on January 27, 1944...
210
00:19:39,750 --> 00:19:43,807
...at 872 days
after the siege began...
211
00:19:48,798 --> 00:19:52,500
it ceased and was sent
a train full of cats
212
00:19:52,752 --> 00:19:58,252
to replace the ones eaten,
to deal with rats.
213
00:20:02,075 --> 00:20:09,217
The Axis lost 500,000 soldiers,
Soviet troops, almost 3.5 million.
214
00:20:10,561 --> 00:20:13,706
One million civilians died
from Leningrad,
215
00:20:14,006 --> 00:20:17,595
at a rate of over a thousand daily.
216
00:20:22,412 --> 00:20:25,181
They died in Leningrad
more people
217
00:20:25,471 --> 00:20:31,373
than the British lost together
and the Americans throughout the war.
218
00:20:41,815 --> 00:20:47,062
In 1943, the effort of the Red Army
focused on Don,
219
00:20:47,362 --> 00:20:52,657
where the battle of Stalingrad
he had gathered enormous forces.
220
00:20:54,613 --> 00:20:58,897
Since the beginning of January,
Axis Army Group A had retreated
221
00:20:59,097 --> 00:21:01,312
in a position
behind the lower Don.
222
00:21:01,512 --> 00:21:06,125
In the 13th, the Voronezh Front, led
by General Golikov, the advance began.
223
00:21:06,719 --> 00:21:11,752
Supported by the Briansk Front,
Golikov attacked the German 2nd Army.
224
00:21:12,114 --> 00:21:17,149
The Russians recaptured Rostov,
Kursk, Pavlograd and Krasnograd.
225
00:21:17,532 --> 00:21:22,103
Then on February 20,
von Manstein counterattacked.
226
00:21:32,803 --> 00:21:35,374
Vatutin's Southwest Front
was being pushed back.
227
00:21:35,598 --> 00:21:39,602
Panzers broke the Voronezh Front
and they recaptured Kharkov.
228
00:21:45,395 --> 00:21:47,583
On March 18,
they had conquered Belgograd
229
00:21:47,783 --> 00:21:51,483
and they had reached the third stage
of von Manstein's plan.
230
00:21:55,622 --> 00:21:59,118
Spring, operations
they stopped for a short time.
231
00:21:59,377 --> 00:22:01,706
Fluctuations of victories
from the first part of the year
232
00:22:01,949 --> 00:22:06,373
they had created a bulge
in the Russian line.
233
00:22:06,868 --> 00:22:13,283
Based in Kursk, it was held
by the Voronezh and Central Fronts.
234
00:22:16,861 --> 00:22:19,922
We arrived in the Voronezh region.
235
00:22:22,178 --> 00:22:24,677
The division entered the military zone.
236
00:22:25,421 --> 00:22:29,463
Initially, it was a steppe area.
237
00:22:30,779 --> 00:22:38,720
The military zone was
right in the middle of the Voronezh steppe.
238
00:22:39,345 --> 00:22:43,391
They had to be built
several lines of defense.
239
00:22:47,834 --> 00:22:52,947
We were getting ready
for the Battle of Kursk.
240
00:22:56,318 --> 00:22:57,852
Von Manstein had planned
241
00:22:58,128 --> 00:23:00,895
as Walter Model's 9th Army
to attack from the north,
242
00:23:01,095 --> 00:23:05,510
and Hermann Hoth's 4th Army,
with the Werth Group, from the south.
243
00:23:05,870 --> 00:23:08,225
They were going to make the junction
at Kursk.
244
00:23:12,090 --> 00:23:19,006
But the attack on Kursk was
obviously, and Stalin anticipated it.
245
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,108
Hitler postponed the offensive on
Kursk, code name Citadel,
246
00:23:26,308 --> 00:23:27,891
which was scheduled for May 4.
247
00:23:28,191 --> 00:23:31,918
He believed fervently,
maybe even despair
248
00:23:32,184 --> 00:23:34,984
that the war will be won
of "miracle weapons"
249
00:23:35,205 --> 00:23:39,710
and he wanted more of us
heavy tanks to be sent into battle.
250
00:23:45,961 --> 00:23:51,670
His commanders knew that
and the Soviets will increase their forces.
251
00:23:53,173 --> 00:23:56,592
Stalin chose
to stay in defensive positions.
252
00:23:56,812 --> 00:24:04,209
300,000 Soviet civilians
they prepared 9,000 km of trenches,
253
00:24:04,409 --> 00:24:08,121
on eight lines,
covering a depth of 160 km.
254
00:24:09,077 --> 00:24:13,594
They buried 503,993 anti-tank mines
255
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:19,184
and 439,348 antipersonnel mines.
256
00:24:22,248 --> 00:24:29,241
The biggest battle between tanks
in history began on the 4th of July.
257
00:24:30,481 --> 00:24:33,983
It was a huge squeeze
between armor.
258
00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:42,084
900,000 German soldiers,
with 2,500 tanks,
259
00:24:43,580 --> 00:24:48,961
they faced 1,300,000 Russians,
with 3,000 tanks.
260
00:24:52,254 --> 00:24:54,889
It was a warm, sunny day.
261
00:24:56,986 --> 00:25:02,869
I received the order.
We were the first to attack.
262
00:25:05,269 --> 00:25:10,651
When the artillery began to fire,
when the signal was given...
263
00:25:10,851 --> 00:25:12,852
You can track a missile launched.
264
00:25:15,639 --> 00:25:17,659
You see his tail.
265
00:25:22,661 --> 00:25:27,936
The German offensive began
with artillery fire and bombardments.
266
00:25:28,881 --> 00:25:32,807
The broads advanced in the night,
to remove the mines.
267
00:25:39,211 --> 00:25:43,795
It's terrible, hear the hiss of the bomb,
but you don't see where it falls.
268
00:25:45,913 --> 00:25:51,055
How thrower bombs explode...
The mortars were firing at full blast.
269
00:25:51,255 --> 00:25:54,795
Not to mention the noise
made by automatics and machine guns.
270
00:26:02,064 --> 00:26:05,573
I started the attack. when i looked
my comrade was gone.
271
00:26:06,987 --> 00:26:10,865
I crawled back
and I saw him on the ground, laughing.
272
00:26:11,065 --> 00:26:17,351
I noticed that he no longer had a stomach.
His intestines were hanging out.
273
00:26:23,536 --> 00:26:27,701
It was like a fog, you couldn't see anything.
There was smoke everywhere.
274
00:26:30,935 --> 00:26:36,549
bombs were falling
artillery shells, they were tanks.
275
00:26:38,802 --> 00:26:42,086
You didn't hear the orders.
276
00:26:42,286 --> 00:26:48,763
I was giving orders to the left and n
right, but no one could hear them.
277
00:26:48,963 --> 00:26:53,330
I was kicking them, so they would know
whether to take it to the left or to the right.
278
00:26:55,431 --> 00:27:01,023
I was standing behind the turret and I was telling him
to the driver where to take her.
279
00:27:04,598 --> 00:27:11,080
Before the attack, we traded
of the tickets with our addresses,
280
00:27:12,580 --> 00:27:15,241
so that we can tell
what happened
281
00:27:15,441 --> 00:27:17,703
Everything was written on the notes.
282
00:27:18,732 --> 00:27:21,938
What was I supposed to do? I attacked again...
283
00:27:22,138 --> 00:27:28,134
I was hurt. I got up quickly and without
come to think of it, I wanted to attack again…
284
00:27:29,413 --> 00:27:35,709
I couldn't raise my gun,
I couldn't see how I was bleeding.
285
00:27:35,909 --> 00:27:42,622
What to do ? I could move my arm
left, but I couldn't hold the gun.
286
00:27:43,922 --> 00:27:46,852
A nurse, a strong woman,
287
00:27:48,370 --> 00:27:51,926
he asked me if I could go.
I couldn't, but I could crawl.
288
00:27:52,775 --> 00:27:58,031
He took my gun and my knapsack.
289
00:27:59,972 --> 00:28:02,661
Until July 7,
Model's forces, in the north,
290
00:28:02,862 --> 00:28:05,278
and of Hoth in the south,
they had made great progress.
291
00:28:05,546 --> 00:28:09,105
They looked ready
to tighten the "neck" of the protuberance.
292
00:28:10,577 --> 00:28:15,583
But the advance slowed. On July 10,
Hoth had to bring in the reserves.
293
00:28:15,783 --> 00:28:20,536
On the 11th, Zhukov and Vasilevsky
they counterattacked.
294
00:28:32,073 --> 00:28:36,814
On July 12, the Soviets brought
armored reserve at Prohorovka.
295
00:28:37,068 --> 00:28:41,326
A huge clash ensued
between the mechanized forces.
296
00:28:52,738 --> 00:28:55,964
The Russians told him
Prokhorovskoe poboische,
297
00:28:56,221 --> 00:28:58,851
"Prokhorovka Massacre".
298
00:29:00,418 --> 00:29:03,100
They were grueling, difficult battles.
299
00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:09,695
If you broke through a line of defense,
you ran into another.
300
00:29:12,718 --> 00:29:16,675
In one place, the Soviet trenches
they were next to the German ones,
301
00:29:16,875 --> 00:29:18,362
then there were other soviet ones.
302
00:29:25,333 --> 00:29:28,815
Some died in explosions in the trenches,
before the attack.
303
00:29:31,134 --> 00:29:34,070
Others were fighting
to drive the enemy out of the trenches.
304
00:29:36,570 --> 00:29:38,986
Many were injured and crippled.
305
00:29:39,637 --> 00:29:45,217
Thank God I made it
to achieve our goal
306
00:29:45,817 --> 00:29:50,106
at the Battle of Kursk!
307
00:29:51,806 --> 00:29:56,845
Our tanks were vulnerable
in the space between the turret and the cover.
308
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:04,859
It was a disaster if a projectile hit
in that place, it was stuck there until it exploded.
309
00:30:10,411 --> 00:30:13,543
They must have spotted me
310
00:30:13,746 --> 00:30:19,203
and they hit the turret of the tank
when it was rotating.
311
00:30:26,703 --> 00:30:31,504
The turret was cast iron.
312
00:30:31,747 --> 00:30:35,361
You realize how hard it was,
with everything with a pipe? It was 3.5 tons.
313
00:30:35,561 --> 00:30:38,447
The turret of the tank was destroyed.
314
00:30:42,247 --> 00:30:47,535
The machine gunner and me
we were thrown from the tank.
315
00:30:47,735 --> 00:30:51,447
I chose with a serious concussion.
316
00:30:55,550 --> 00:31:02,425
75% of the armored vehicles of the Red Army and
40% of his troops were engaged in combat.
317
00:31:05,625 --> 00:31:11,582
The Soviets lost five times
more armored than the Axis.
318
00:31:13,282 --> 00:31:16,121
The Russians had even more victims
among soldiers:
319
00:31:17,122 --> 00:31:23,714
177,847, against 49,822.
320
00:31:25,764 --> 00:31:31,344
Only one camp could recover
after such an engagement.
321
00:31:35,258 --> 00:31:39,708
It was a very difficult moment.
322
00:31:45,608 --> 00:31:50,164
The Messerschmitts, the planes
german,
323
00:31:50,364 --> 00:31:53,664
they were actually flying 15-20 m above the ground.
324
00:31:53,864 --> 00:31:58,688
I could feel the current produced by the planes
and the volleys fired by them.
325
00:32:00,380 --> 00:32:06,402
If you lay on the ground, you could hear
how the bullets were biting the ground.
326
00:32:08,902 --> 00:32:14,670
Some screamed, but others could not,
because they were already dead.
327
00:32:18,170 --> 00:32:23,235
In 1943, two million Soviets
were killed or disappeared,
328
00:32:23,435 --> 00:32:26,701
and 5.5 million were injured
or they got sick.
329
00:32:27,901 --> 00:32:33,918
However, their ranks
they increased then by 500,000.
330
00:32:35,043 --> 00:32:37,998
That's why
General Heinz Guderian said
331
00:32:38,198 --> 00:32:42,222
that, for the Germans,
"Kursk was a decisive defeat."
332
00:32:42,722 --> 00:32:48,951
He described the events of 1943
as a "revenge of reality".
333
00:32:49,951 --> 00:32:53,451
On July 13, Hitler ordered the troops
to resist
334
00:32:53,751 --> 00:32:55,651
reinforcements could not be sent.
335
00:32:55,851 --> 00:32:59,070
The bombings, which had become
a daily habit
336
00:32:59,370 --> 00:33:02,370
they kept 70% of the planes busy
fighters of the Luftwaffe,
337
00:33:02,570 --> 00:33:05,127
and the Allies were in Sicily.
338
00:33:06,033 --> 00:33:09,708
On July 15,
The Central Front began its advance.
339
00:33:10,834 --> 00:33:13,303
After two days,
and the South-West Front.
340
00:33:13,503 --> 00:33:16,168
By mid-August,
the battle was over.
341
00:33:16,381 --> 00:33:18,803
The Russians were at the gates of Kharkov,
342
00:33:19,020 --> 00:33:23,947
and the last German offensive
on the eastern front he had brought nothing.
343
00:33:25,447 --> 00:33:31,642
I lay unconscious,
and the machine gunner had been killed.
344
00:33:31,842 --> 00:33:38,784
The driver-mechanic and the other machine gunner
they disappeared
345
00:33:38,984 --> 00:33:43,478
I've been looking for them ever since,
but I didn't find them.
346
00:33:43,678 --> 00:33:50,993
I don't know what fate they had,
whether they died or not.
347
00:34:00,593 --> 00:34:06,731
Five weeks after Kursk, the Russians
they pushed the Germans back 240 km,
348
00:34:07,031 --> 00:34:09,331
on a front of 1,000 km.
349
00:34:10,131 --> 00:34:13,431
From now on,
The Axis will only be on the defensive
350
00:34:13,731 --> 00:34:17,431
and will always defend,
to Berlin.
351
00:34:19,631 --> 00:34:21,731
With the coming winter
to freeze campaigns,
352
00:34:21,931 --> 00:34:25,731
the Russians could have celebrated
the important conquests of territories,
353
00:34:26,131 --> 00:34:33,031
but the German armies were still
intact and present on Soviet territory.
354
00:34:36,631 --> 00:34:41,831
Their failures accelerated
a certain aspect
355
00:34:42,031 --> 00:34:46,031
of the plan for the east,
Generalplan Ost.
356
00:34:51,631 --> 00:34:56,231
The riots at Treblinka, Sobibor
and from the Warsaw ghetto,
357
00:34:56,531 --> 00:34:59,931
as well as the imminent approach
of the Soviet troops,
358
00:35:00,231 --> 00:35:02,731
they created a sense of urgency.
359
00:35:04,431 --> 00:35:09,931
The decision has been made
to exterminate the Jews in the camps.
360
00:35:12,531 --> 00:35:14,031
In Majdanek, in November,
361
00:35:14,331 --> 00:35:17,431
volunteers from the 101st Police Battalion
of German Reserve,
362
00:35:17,631 --> 00:35:21,831
working in shifts
they shot 43,000 Jews.
363
00:35:22,131 --> 00:35:25,631
They called it the operation
Harvest Festival.
364
00:35:28,231 --> 00:35:32,731
"A glorious page in our history,"
Himmler had said a month before,
365
00:35:33,031 --> 00:35:35,031
"but which cannot be written."
366
00:35:38,131 --> 00:35:43,731
We couldn't believe it
that such a thing is possible.
367
00:35:45,331 --> 00:35:51,631
It was just about Germany,
the land of Goethe and Schiller.
368
00:35:52,731 --> 00:35:56,631
"All menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt."
369
00:35:56,931 --> 00:36:01,731
"Brotherhood of men", Symphony IX
by Beethoven, these are the lyrics...
370
00:36:03,031 --> 00:36:08,631
They to kill innocent children?
I couldn't believe it!
371
00:36:45,923 --> 00:36:51,623
In 1943, the war in Europe
it had become almost like a vise.
372
00:36:53,823 --> 00:36:58,423
The Axis forces were caught in the jaws
of the enemy, which were slowly closing in.
373
00:36:58,823 --> 00:37:04,723
In Asia, things were different,
it was a totally different war there.
374
00:37:05,523 --> 00:37:10,423
There was a lot of fighting going on in Asia,
between disparate forces.
375
00:37:10,723 --> 00:37:12,923
Scattering with garrisons
of the Pacific Islands was,
376
00:37:13,123 --> 00:37:18,123
after gl.-lt. Tsukada Osamu,
Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff,
377
00:37:18,423 --> 00:37:20,923
"like sprinkling salt in the ocean".
378
00:37:25,023 --> 00:37:31,123
In Asia, large formations of troops
they clicked only in China.
379
00:37:33,923 --> 00:37:39,423
In China, the Chinese were not helped
in the fight against the Japanese
380
00:37:39,723 --> 00:37:42,023
than the troops
American General Joe Stilwell,
381
00:37:42,223 --> 00:37:47,023
who had called him "peanut".
Chaing Kai-Shek, whom he had served,
382
00:37:47,623 --> 00:37:49,423
some American engineers
383
00:37:50,723 --> 00:37:54,823
and a unit of American airmen,
known as "Flying Tigers".
384
00:37:55,923 --> 00:38:00,723
They became the Fourteenth Air Force,
under the command of gl.-lt. Claire Chennault.
385
00:38:00,967 --> 00:38:04,567
Chennault couldn't stand Stilwell,
and the feeling was mutual
386
00:38:04,767 --> 00:38:09,067
as was the case with hostility
between Stilwell and Chiang Kai-shek.
387
00:38:10,367 --> 00:38:12,567
But if the fighting in China ceased,
388
00:38:13,567 --> 00:38:19,567
820,000 Japanese soldiers
they could have been relocated to other areas.
389
00:38:23,867 --> 00:38:29,667
Rightly so, Chiang Kai-Shek
he felt that the contribution of the Chinese forces
390
00:38:29,867 --> 00:38:35,067
was not appreciated enough
and the promises had not been kept.
391
00:38:39,967 --> 00:38:45,267
The feeling of lack of appreciation
of China's role has not decreased.
392
00:38:48,067 --> 00:38:52,867
30% of those who died in
World War II was Chinese,
393
00:38:54,167 --> 00:38:57,467
and 39% of Japanese losses
were recorded
394
00:38:57,667 --> 00:38:59,867
in the fight with China.
395
00:39:02,567 --> 00:39:07,967
By 1943, the situation in Manchuria
it started to break down.
396
00:39:09,167 --> 00:39:12,167
But it didn't affect our daily routine.
397
00:39:12,367 --> 00:39:18,017
More and more units were leaving,
being relocated to the south.
398
00:39:18,717 --> 00:39:23,217
They were going to Singapore, Taiwan
or the Philippines.
399
00:39:25,117 --> 00:39:29,917
I was wondering why they were collecting
and they were sending so many soldiers to the south.
400
00:39:34,617 --> 00:39:37,817
Allied troops and units
of Chinese nationalists
401
00:39:38,017 --> 00:39:41,917
they were fighting the Imperial Japanese Army
in Burma,
402
00:39:42,317 --> 00:39:48,117
where the restoration of the Burma Route, for
supplying the nationalists was crucial.
403
00:39:49,517 --> 00:39:54,117
Until then, Chinese resistance
it depended on supplies
404
00:39:54,317 --> 00:39:57,317
brought by airplanes
over the Himalayas.
405
00:40:02,217 --> 00:40:04,117
The Japanese were supplying their troops
406
00:40:04,317 --> 00:40:10,117
on a railroad made by slaves
and prisoners of war.
407
00:40:14,417 --> 00:40:17,717
Working on the 400 km
of the Burma-Thailand railway
408
00:40:17,917 --> 00:40:25,717
killed about 90,000 local slaves
and 12,300 prisoners of war.
409
00:40:27,817 --> 00:40:35,117
27% of Allied prisoners
of Japan died in captivity.
410
00:40:39,617 --> 00:40:45,617
Those who fell into the hands of the Germans
only 4% died.
411
00:40:52,017 --> 00:40:56,417
British Army in Burma
he called himself the "forgotten army".
412
00:40:56,617 --> 00:41:01,817
Lord Mountbatten said
that she is not forgotten, but was not known about her.
413
00:41:03,317 --> 00:41:09,417
Mountbatten, despite the failure
from Dieppe, he was still promoted,
414
00:41:09,617 --> 00:41:13,917
more than he would have been allowed
his experience and, perhaps, his ability.
415
00:41:15,317 --> 00:41:17,617
He had important connections.
416
00:41:20,917 --> 00:41:24,417
A very interesting appointment
after the Quebec Conference
417
00:41:24,617 --> 00:41:27,617
is that of the Lord Admiral
Louis Mountbatten, the King's cousin.
418
00:41:27,917 --> 00:41:30,917
He will be the supreme commander
of the forces in Southeast Asia.
419
00:41:34,117 --> 00:41:37,417
Lord Louis settled down
at the headquarters in Ceylon,
420
00:41:37,617 --> 00:41:40,617
now sri lanka,
towards the end of 1943.
421
00:41:40,917 --> 00:41:45,217
He brought an impressive retinue,
which included the personal barber,
422
00:41:45,517 --> 00:41:51,517
an employee of Trumper in London,
taken and made a sergeant in the RAF.
423
00:41:53,217 --> 00:41:57,417
Mountbatten became viceroy
of India, the last, by the way,
424
00:41:57,717 --> 00:42:01,817
governing the bloody transition
of it towards independence.
425
00:42:05,617 --> 00:42:09,917
The problem of India's independence
affected the Burma campaign.
426
00:42:13,617 --> 00:42:17,117
Only a third of the British Army from
The Far East was British.
427
00:42:17,417 --> 00:42:21,417
Most of the Burmese army
was made up of Indian divisions,
428
00:42:21,717 --> 00:42:26,217
who remained loyal to their officers
and thus the cause of the Allies.
429
00:42:28,517 --> 00:42:33,617
Their loyalty was crucial to
the success of the Burma campaign.
430
00:42:34,517 --> 00:42:38,517
Conscious consumption
of an anti-malarial tablet
431
00:42:38,817 --> 00:42:40,917
was also
one of the keys to victory.
432
00:42:45,917 --> 00:42:51,417
There was a time when about 50-60%
of the people were sick with malaria.
433
00:42:51,617 --> 00:42:55,817
Then they sent us a medicine
from Great Britain.
434
00:42:56,017 --> 00:42:58,617
Mepacrine, a small tablet.
435
00:42:59,617 --> 00:43:04,017
Every evening, at prayer,
each received a tablet.
436
00:43:04,217 --> 00:43:10,717
An officer commanded "Up!"
and then "On the neck!".
437
00:43:13,817 --> 00:43:19,317
In the Pacific, the Japanese task was
to maintain the territories won.
438
00:43:21,317 --> 00:43:23,817
But they didn't succeed.
439
00:43:28,617 --> 00:43:36,617
It wasn't about that
about winning or losing.
440
00:43:42,317 --> 00:43:46,017
I didn't have time
to think about it.
441
00:43:46,217 --> 00:43:48,917
I was doing everything I could
to stay alive.
442
00:43:51,617 --> 00:43:57,517
We had nothing to eat, nothing to clothe us with,
and lice were everywhere.
443
00:43:59,517 --> 00:44:02,317
If I made a mistake,
we were being punished.
444
00:44:11,017 --> 00:44:16,017
In the first half of 1943,
the target of the Allies was Rabaul.
445
00:44:16,417 --> 00:44:18,617
The admiral was appointed to command
William Frederick Halsey Jr.
446
00:44:18,817 --> 00:44:24,217
The Americans and Australians attacked
the fortresses of Lae and Salamaua,
447
00:44:24,517 --> 00:44:28,617
which had to be destroyed
before the attack on Rabaul.
448
00:44:30,517 --> 00:44:35,817
I went out
and we followed the Japanese planes.
449
00:44:36,117 --> 00:44:40,917
They were returning with the cockpit down,
to be able to see what is on the ground.
450
00:44:42,817 --> 00:44:47,817
America tried to interrupt
supplying the Japanese troops.
451
00:44:48,417 --> 00:44:51,617
In the Battle of the Bismarck Sea,
at the beginning of March,
452
00:44:53,517 --> 00:44:57,717
American planes flying low
they came across a convoy.
453
00:44:58,017 --> 00:45:03,717
Transport an entire division,
to reinforce Lae and Salamaua.
454
00:45:10,017 --> 00:45:12,617
All eight transport ships
were sunk
455
00:45:12,817 --> 00:45:16,117
as well as four of
the destroyers that escorted them.
456
00:45:25,917 --> 00:45:31,717
In early September, the troops
Australian and American ships landed at Lae,
457
00:45:32,317 --> 00:45:35,117
and the Japanese evacuated Salamaua.
458
00:45:38,117 --> 00:45:41,617
The Australians welcomed
a fierce resistance at Finschhafen...
459
00:45:45,117 --> 00:45:47,917
...which they succeeded
to conquer it on October 2.
460
00:45:48,817 --> 00:45:54,217
At the end of August, the Japanese
they could no longer send reinforcements
461
00:45:54,517 --> 00:45:59,317
and announced that New Guinea
he has to make do with what he has.
462
00:46:03,517 --> 00:46:09,017
The Sphere's defensive perimeter
of Coprosperity was penetrated.
463
00:46:13,017 --> 00:46:18,817
The Allies had gained supremacy
on the sea and in the sky within the Sphere.
464
00:46:19,017 --> 00:46:23,617
They were increasing their air coverage
by building tracks,
465
00:46:23,817 --> 00:46:26,617
as they advanced,
island by island, atoll by atoll.
466
00:46:28,617 --> 00:46:31,217
Saipan was coming...
467
00:46:33,117 --> 00:46:37,117
...Guam and the Philippines.
468
00:46:41,117 --> 00:46:46,117
Actions were needed
of the Allies over huge distances.
469
00:46:46,417 --> 00:46:51,217
Well armed and equipped force
traveled thousands of miles of ocean.
470
00:46:55,417 --> 00:47:00,117
It was possible because of achievements
astonishing of American production,
471
00:47:00,417 --> 00:47:02,917
organization and control.
472
00:47:04,717 --> 00:47:12,117
Every American soldier in the Pacific
he had 4 tons of supplies at his disposal.
473
00:47:12,717 --> 00:47:16,717
Each Japanese, only one kilogram.
474
00:47:19,317 --> 00:47:24,917
Every Japanese was supported
by a person with a non-combatant role.
475
00:47:26,917 --> 00:47:31,417
The Americans, with engineers, health workers,
transport staff and stewards,
476
00:47:31,717 --> 00:47:36,517
they offered 18 support people
to every soldier on the front.
477
00:47:43,717 --> 00:47:48,217
Japan's diminishing chances emerge
from a simple statistic.
478
00:47:50,617 --> 00:47:57,817
Between 1940 and 1943,
Japan's GDP grew by 2%.
479
00:47:58,017 --> 00:48:03,617
Comparatively, in the US industrial production
increased during the war 25 times,
480
00:48:03,917 --> 00:48:07,917
and the GDP increased by 136%.
481
00:48:16,117 --> 00:48:23,417
The next episode finds us in 1944,
the year of the great offensives.
482
00:48:23,717 --> 00:48:26,717
March to the Philippines from the Pacific,
483
00:48:27,117 --> 00:48:30,017
the Bagration operation
from the eastern front,
484
00:48:30,917 --> 00:48:32,517
the battle for Italy
485
00:48:33,517 --> 00:48:36,217
and the largest amphibious landing
from history
486
00:48:36,417 --> 00:48:39,017
which opened the second front
against Hitler:
487
00:48:39,417 --> 00:48:42,117
operation Overlord.
488
00:48:43,117 --> 00:48:48,117
Root: Viasat History
Trans-synchro: vonRichthofen
Subs.ro Team @ www.subs.ro