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Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party
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have dominated the hearts and minds
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of the German people
for over a decade.
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But by the summer of 1944,
the Soviet Red Army
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and the forces of the Western allies
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are tightening their vice grip
on Hitler's Third Reich.
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The Nazi's complete
control is about to crack.
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All wars change the world,
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but none of them changed the world
like the Second World War did.
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Japan's on the march,
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Germany's on the march.
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No one can imagine the nightmare
they're about to unleash.
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The most destructive war
in human history.
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Suddenly the world
is turned upside down
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and all hell is let loose.
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The West is stunned
by the speed of the advance.
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You get the allies
led by the big three.
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Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin;
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men who are dealing with
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immensely complicated questions.
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It's the biggest military
operation of human history.
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The Allies have to come together
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not just militarily,
but industrial scale.
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It's a global perspective.
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They have to fight
in every climate
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from the Arctic
to the jungles of the Pacific
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to the deserts of Africa
and the depths of the ocean.
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But there was
no certainty of victory.
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It was going to be
a horrific bloodbath.
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We see humans
at their absolute worst,
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how they treat other human beings.
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And we see them
at their absolute best,
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willing to give their lives
that others might live.
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World War II was a struggle
in which there could be
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one victor and one vanquished.
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The biggest
story in Western Europe today
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is the attempted
assassination of Hitler.
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For the second time
since this war began,
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an assassin has almost
succeeded in killing the Fuhrer
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and perhaps changing
the course of history.
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July 20th, 1944.
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A bomb hidden in a briefcase
explodes at the Wolf's Lair,
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Adolf Hitler's
military headquarters.
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It was the opening move
in an elaborate plan
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to kill the Nazi leader
and overthrow his government.
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Hitler is wounded but survives,
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and the plot fails.
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Surviving the July 20th bombing
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convinces Hitler
beyond a shadow of a doubt
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that he has been chosen by heaven
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or by providence
to lead the German people.
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He's on all sorts of medications.
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He's under more pressure than
most human beings can imagine.
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He becomes even more
paranoid than he already has been.
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He is micromanaging even more.
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Nazis take over
armaments production.
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Hitler and the Nazis
mobilise even more men
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and tighten their grip
on Germany and its people.
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There is no difference anymore
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between the fate of the
public and the German people
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and the fate of the Nazi state.
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The thing is, the German public
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is not too happy
about how the war goes on.
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They are aware that
Germany may lose the war,
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but they think the only
person who can bring
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this to a close is Hitler himself.
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As summer turns to fall,
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Germany's strategic
situation deteriorates...
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...and every German is aware
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that the allies demand
unconditional surrender.
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Hitler knows
that that's an impossibility.
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Surrender means humiliation,
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being betrayed, ultimately executed.
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Hitler also knows
something about warfare.
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A passive defence never works.
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You have to show your adversaries
that you're still dangerous.
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Hitler quotes Frederick the Great,
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who was in a similar war
in the 18th century.
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Frederick famously said,
"We're gonna fight this war
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till one of our goddamn
enemies gets tired."
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Hitler wants to come up
with some Hail Mary.
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He wants to come up with some plan
that will bring advantage back
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to a heavily
disadvantaged situation.
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In September,
Hitler summons his generals
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to the Wolf's Lair.
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He outlines a plan
that will return his troops
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to the scene
of his greatest triumph,
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the Ardennes.
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The Ardennes Offensive of 1944
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is going to involve
multiple German armies
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across 100 miles of front.
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They're going to crash through
what they have identified
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as a weakly held portion
of the American line.
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They're going to drive
through the Ardennes Forest,
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scene of the great victory of 1940,
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and if all goes well,
cross the Meuse River,
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and from there, make it to Antwerp.
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Antwerp is the major supply port
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for the entire
allied force in Europe.
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If the Germans take Antwerp,
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it will be a catastrophe
of unimaginable proportions.
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Hitler sees this
as a way to divide the coalition,
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demoralise the coalition,
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and force the coalition
to make separate peaces with him.
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But Hitler
will have to strip whole divisions
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from his Eastern front
to execute his gambit in the West.
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Not all of Hitler's
generals are on board.
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They just don't believe that
given their current force levels
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that they can blast across
the West European continent
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and take the major city of Antwerp.
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Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt
says "Antwerp, my God,
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if we even get to the Meuse River,"
that's less than halfway,
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"we should get down
on our knees and thank God."
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But Hitler,
by this stage of the war,
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he doesn't really trust
very many of his generals,
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and he does have
this belief in luck.
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He's gotten lucky at various
points throughout this war,
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and he might be lucky
again this time.
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So he decides to roll the dice.
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Hitler will even
eventually say that,
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"If this doesn't end well,
I'd see no other path
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toward reaching
a favourable conclusion."
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The fate of Germany
really hangs in the balance.
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December 16th,
it's a snowy morning
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in the Ardennes for the allies.
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It's overcast, it's freezing cold.
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The weather
was awful for everybody,
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but it gave the Germans advantage
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because the allied aircraft
are mostly grounded,
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and that's the perfect environment
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for the Germans to launch this...
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bold offensive.
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Suddenly at 5:30,
it seems that hell has opened up.
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Every artillery piece
the Germans own,
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heavy artillery, light artillery,
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rocket artillery, the famous
Screaming Mimi's mortars.
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The American position in the
Ardennes simply gets shredded.
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Trees are thrown through the air
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with this just shell after shell.
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Allied forces,
they're caught off guard.
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They are overwhelmed.
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They certainly didn't expect
the Germans capable
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of launching something
as big as the Ardennes Offensive.
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Suddenly there's a couple
of hundred thousand German infantry
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with 600 German Panzers
along 100-mile front.
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One of the four divisions
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holding the allied line
in the Ardennes
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is the newly arrived
American 106th.
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The 106th Division,
who are just in the wrong place
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at the wrong time,
who have columns of German armour
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coming at them from all directions,
are just overwhelmed by this.
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And within a matter of hours,
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7,000 men are captured.
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It's the biggest mass
American surrender since Bataan.
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At this point of time,
the German troops
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are in a state of euphoria.
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For weeks or months
or even years,
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they had only known retreat,
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and now for the first
and for a long time,
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they are on the offense again.
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German troops are partly motivated
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because they're being told,
"Take no prisoners.
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This is your chance. Now you get
revenge against the Allies."
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The result is that there is
literally a trail of massacres...
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...that will lead eventually
to the most notorious
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of about a dozen massacres,
and that's the one that takes place
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in the afternoon of December 17th
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just outside the city of Malmedy.
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The first SS Panzer division,
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they've worked their way forward
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under their battle group
commander Joachim Peiper.
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Peiper's built for speed.
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He's been told to get ahead
as fast as you possibly can
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towards the Meuse,
cross the river, get to Antwerp.
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And he's just overrun a couple
of rear echelon US detachments,
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supply depots,
administrative troops.
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There's a brief firefight.
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The Americans then surrender,
about 120 of them.
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They move them
off the road into a field.
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And the result
is that 84 Americans,
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they are murdered after having
surrendered their weapons.
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This is one of
the largest war crimes against
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US soldiers during World War II,
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and it shows the ruthlessness
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which this war
has achieved at this point.
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Some German units advance
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as much as 20 miles
on the first day.
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The initial success
of the Ardennes Offensive
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confirms Hitler's sense
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of divine destiny.
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In Hitler's mind, he thinks,
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"Again, I was right. I took the
decision to launch this offensive
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against the advice of my generals,
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against the advice of my experts,
but I was right."
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So in the first couple of days
of the Ardennes Offensive...
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it seems for the Germans that they
have regained the initiative.
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The Wehrmacht's attack stretches
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from Belgium to Luxembourg,
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but the initial reports
from the front are sketchy.
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How to respond to the German assault
is the responsibility of one man:
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General Dwight Eisenhower,
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the Supreme Allied Commander.
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So Eisenhower has to determine
whether or not this is a feint.
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Are the Germans trying
to essentially pull his resources
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in the wrong direction?
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Or is this a proper offensive?
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Does he actually have to respond?
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Eisenhower immediately
defines the threat.
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And he says,
"This is more than a German feint.
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This is a major effort."
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And he thinks,
let's not see this
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disaster as anything
but an opportunity.
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The Germans wanna
fight out in the open...
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...let's take it to them.
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Yeah, the Germans are advancing.
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Yeah, the Germans have driven
a deep bulge into my lines,
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but that offers me
this big German salient
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that I can attack
from the shoulders.
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That's why we refer to this
as the Battle of the Bulge.
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The Germans advance
across a 60-mile front,
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but are held up by the
US 28th Infantry Division
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at the Belgian town of Bastogne.
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Both sides know
that Bastogne is the key.
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If the Germans seize it,
they can control the road network
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and motor all the way to the West,
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perhaps even reach Antwerp.
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But if the Americans hold it,
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the Germans are stuck
in their tracks.
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So it's a race. It's a race
for the Germans to take it.
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It's a race for the Americans
to try and resupply it
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before it's lost.
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So all of a sudden,
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Bastogne becomes
this key road intersection,
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not unlike Gettysburg
or Waterloo or Thermopylae.
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It is everything.
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As the Germans
attempt to surround Bastogne,
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Eisenhower calls on the
101st Airborne Division:
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the Screaming Eagles.
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Their big contribution so far is
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when they get dropped behind
enemy lines before D-Day.
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They've basically been
in the game since June 5th of '44.
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To say that the 101st
is unprepared for this fight
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is to understate
the matter considerably.
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They would
usually jump into war zones
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carrying what they can carry,
which inherently means
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they don't have a lot of armour,
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they don't have any artillery.
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00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:20,440
They don't have the winter gear,
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that equipment that would
allow you to fight a tough battle
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in the middle of December.
It's a come-as-you-are war.
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00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,120
It tells you the degree
to which this is a crisis,
252
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,880
that in the midst of this crisis,
Eisenhower turns around
253
00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,800
and looks and says,
"I'll take them."
254
00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:39,800
Because the one thing they are
255
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:41,960
is they are a hardened
group of elites,
256
00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:43,880
and they will go in there
and do the job
257
00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,120
despite all the
limitations they face.
258
00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:52,800
December 18th.
259
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,120
The 101st is trucked into Bastogne
260
00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:58,560
to relieve the battered
28th Division.
261
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,440
The defence of this
Belgian town is the key
262
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,960
to the allied effort against
Adolf Hitler on the Western front.
263
00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,040
And the key to the
defence of this town
264
00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,960
is in the hands of the men
of the 101st Airborne.
265
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,600
For the Germans,
this whole thing has to happen fast.
266
00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,720
Every day they're standing in front
of Bastogne is time they don't have,
267
00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:25,280
time where the weather
could clear up,
268
00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:27,720
time where the rest
of the allied armies
269
00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,200
are starting to get
reinforcements in there.
270
00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,000
And so the Germans are determined
271
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:34,640
to throw everything at Bastogne
that they possibly have.
272
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,680
There's an artillery bombardment.
273
00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:44,280
They're attacking from all sides.
274
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,360
They're trying to push
the Americans out.
275
00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:50,480
For the 101st Airborne,
276
00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,120
the fighting around Bastogne
is as tough as any in the war.
277
00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:56,920
It's out in the open,
278
00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:58,960
it's bitterly cold,
there's snow on the ground.
279
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:00,880
They're short on food,
280
00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:02,840
and yet with almost just small arms,
281
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:04,880
bazookas and machine guns,
282
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:08,320
they're able to put up
enough bluster and defence
283
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:09,960
that they're able to hold the line.
284
00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,880
To reinforce the 101st in Bastogne,
285
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,840
Eisenhower turns to his
most aggressive commander:
286
00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,560
General George Patton
and the Third Army.
287
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:31,600
Patton, you know, promises him
288
00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:33,520
three divisions in two days
for Bastogne,
289
00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,720
which is something only
George S. Patton would promise.
290
00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,760
Promising three divisions.
And you know, that's 40,000-plus men
291
00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:44,000
ready in 48 hours.
292
00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,880
Patton had already planned
for precisely this contingency
293
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,080
and was ready to take the lead
once he was given the operation.
294
00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,280
But until the Third Army arrives,
295
00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,800
the Screaming Eagles
are virtually on their own.
296
00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,480
The Germans encircle the city,
297
00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,360
and that encirclement
will be headline news
298
00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:08,120
back in the United States.
299
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,760
There was this critical thought
that we might lose
300
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,520
the entire 101st Airborne
Division to the enemy.
301
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,280
It looks as if
the Germans are really in control
302
00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,120
and they send a message
to the 101st Airborne.
303
00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,000
They say,
"You've got to surrender."
304
00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:31,960
They're gonna give it to
the acting division commander,
305
00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:34,000
Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe.
306
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,040
McAuliffe will read the thing and
he'll send back a one-word reply,
307
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,000
and it says, "Nuts!"
308
00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:44,600
Now, you gotta imagine, you know,
some savvy Airborne officer
309
00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:46,400
gets to go give this
to the German delegation.
310
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,200
Of course, they read
"Nuts" and they're like,
311
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,840
"We don't understand
the colloquialism."
312
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:52,440
And so he gets to stand
there and he says,
313
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,600
"It's the same as go to hell."
314
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,520
And in a sense,
the whole unit kind of reaches out
315
00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:00,520
and they hit the collective
"I believe" button...
316
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,720
...which is not so much
that they can hold out forever,
317
00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,360
but Patton's coming.
318
00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:08,800
They're all coming.
319
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:10,960
All we have to do
is hold out a little longer.
320
00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:30,720
In Bastogne,
the men of the 101st Division
321
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,000
had been under siege
for almost a week.
322
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:36,640
But on December 26th,
323
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,640
Patton's Third Army
reaches the outskirts.
324
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:43,880
Famously,
it was the 4th Armored Division
325
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:45,080
that is given the task
326
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,680
of fighting up a narrow road
corridor toward Bastogne.
327
00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,680
And on the day after Christmas,
on December 26th,
328
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:03,080
elements of C Company
of the 37th Tank Battalion
329
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:04,800
pull up to the
Bastogne perimeter.
330
00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:10,880
The allies break the German lines,
331
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,240
and now supplies
will be able to flow in.
332
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:15,520
And so for the Germans,
333
00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,000
the Ardennes Offensive
breaks over Bastogne.
334
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,360
Even though
Bastogne is relieved,
335
00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:26,240
fighting continues
across the front for weeks.
336
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,760
The United States Army
suffers more casualties
337
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,080
in the Battle of the Bulge
338
00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,720
than in any other
battle in its history.
339
00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:40,400
But ultimately, Hitler's
Ardennes Offensive is a failure.
340
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,040
For Hitler,
the catastrophe of the Ardennes
341
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:44,800
is that it was the last
round in the chamber.
342
00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:46,680
The Germans really poured
343
00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:49,160
their entire armoured
reserve into it.
344
00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,480
They could have used those troops
perhaps to defend
345
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:53,280
more robustly in the east
346
00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,000
and west simultaneously,
but they threw them all away
347
00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,120
on a gamble,
and a gamble that failed.
348
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,680
As the Allies
stop Hitler in the West,
349
00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,880
the Soviets launch a massive
offensive in the East.
350
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,560
The Red Army
is a force of millions,
351
00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:19,840
which has begun
its advance everywhere
352
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,240
from Finland and the Baltics
in the north,
353
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,240
all the way down
to the Black Sea in the south.
354
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,080
The Soviet forces
had advanced incredible speed,
355
00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:32,720
incredible hard fighting,
356
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:37,160
and Stalin had stopped them
between October and December
357
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,880
for a very clear strategic purpose;
358
00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:44,000
to prepare a massive,
massive buildup of armour.
359
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:47,680
So by January '45,
360
00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,280
they are ready to go
on the offensive.
361
00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:57,920
Within weeks,
Soviet forces cross into Germany.
362
00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,480
The Red Army has breached
the border of the Fatherland.
363
00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,760
Having Soviet boots on German ground
364
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,960
is a major blow
for the German psyche because
365
00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:12,960
they consider the Soviets
366
00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:15,120
as their mortal enemies,
367
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,560
and this is a disaster for them.
368
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,120
The war is finally
being brought home to the Germans.
369
00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,240
In theory, the Nazi authorities
370
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,160
would've had the time for months
371
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,080
to evacuate the civilians,
372
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:32,120
but that's something they didn't do,
373
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,480
because if you stay there, you'll
show that you've got more confidence
374
00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,120
and that you are defending
your home territory.
375
00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:41,840
But basically, the Russians come
376
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:43,400
with such overwhelming force
377
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,440
that the Germans
can't stop them at the border.
378
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,240
And so this causes mass panic
as the German civilians
379
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,840
take to the roads to try to
escape this Russian onslaught,
380
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,320
knowing full well
what awaits if they stay.
381
00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,280
The Germans
have fought a horrific war
382
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,040
of annihilation in the Soviet Union.
383
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,040
Now the Soviets are finally able
384
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:07,360
to take revenge against the Germans.
385
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:13,960
They looted
and they pillaged and they raped
386
00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:16,320
and they burned and they destroyed,
387
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:18,720
and they took pleasure in doing
these things as they advanced.
388
00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,680
There's 100,000 or more
deaths on the German side
389
00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,560
and something like maybe a fifth
of the female population is raped.
390
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:39,560
This is the beginning
of what the Germans can expect
391
00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:42,800
to receive when Red Army
break into Berlin.
392
00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:49,880
Joseph Stalin engineers
393
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,720
the Soviet Union's final moves,
394
00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,320
as the Red Army continues
its march west...
395
00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:58,800
...towards Berlin.
396
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:02,200
Berlin is really the be all,
end all of the war.
397
00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:04,400
This is where we have
the Reich Chancellery,
398
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,240
where we have
the Reichstag building,
399
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,560
where Hitler has his bunker.
400
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,160
Once the Red Army reaches Berlin,
the war will be over
401
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,320
and it will be a great victory
and a great triumph.
402
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:16,760
For someone who lives in Berlin,
403
00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,880
it's not lost on them
what happens in East Prussia.
404
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:21,680
The Soviets are getting retribution
405
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,760
and it's coming in the form
of German bodies,
406
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:26,840
German blood, rapes, killings,
407
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,080
and that's coming your way.
408
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,560
Almost the image of an incoming tide
that you cannot stop.
409
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:43,360
In the spring of 1945,
410
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,960
Germany is under assault
from multiple directions.
411
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,560
In the east, the Red Army
rapidly advances towards Berlin.
412
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,800
In the west, the allies
continue on a broad front
413
00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,040
as they approach the Rhine River.
414
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,120
The Rhine is the German's
415
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,120
last key strategic position
416
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:09,960
to try and delay the inevitable
417
00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,720
of the allies getting into Germany
and defeating the Third Reich.
418
00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:17,040
It's a big,
broad river, fast-flowing, deep,
419
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:18,360
and the Germans know this,
420
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,600
so they're planning to kind of
defend every inch of it.
421
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,680
Their defence
strategy in the west is
422
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,600
to blow up all the bridges
across the River Rhine.
423
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,760
To use this huge natural barrier.
424
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,040
British Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery
425
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,960
designs an operation
that will take Allied Forces
426
00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:44,160
across the Rhine
and further into Germany.
427
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,240
But unexpectedly,
the American 9th Armored Division
428
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,600
discovers another way
into the German Reich.
429
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:56,560
Really, out of nowhere,
430
00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,960
an advanced unit of Americans
ends up at the Remagen Bridge,
431
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:01,520
the key bridge across the Rhine.
432
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,000
And the Germans, they failed
to destroy the bridge properly.
433
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:08,520
That's not because
the Germans were dumb,
434
00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:10,240
the Germans tried
to blow the bridge.
435
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,680
It's just that they didn't have
enough explosives to do the job.
436
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:14,760
But it was very stoutly built.
437
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,640
The bridge just kind of jumps on
these really heavy stone piers
438
00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:19,360
and then settles back into place.
439
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:23,400
The Allies
couldn't believe their luck,
440
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,760
so they raced forward
and they took the bridge.
441
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,760
And they get across the Rhine three
weeks earlier than anticipated.
442
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:32,760
Once you're over the Rhine,
you're into Germany proper.
443
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:35,960
It's a crucial moment
for the war in the West.
444
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,320
For the Germans,
this is a huge blow
445
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,480
because now the Allies can bring in
446
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,400
reinforcements much quicker
447
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,520
and Hitler is absolutely
furious about this.
448
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,480
Oh, Hitler is prone
to rage at this time,
449
00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:53,920
and he demands
that everyone responsible
450
00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:55,600
will be immediately
court marshalled,
451
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,040
not brought to Berlin to explain,
452
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,160
but a drumhead court marshal
in the field and shot.
453
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,040
Hitler retreats to Berlin.
454
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:14,840
He orders the destruction
455
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,240
of bridges, roads,
railways, factories,
456
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,880
anything that can aid
the allied advance.
457
00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:25,680
This Nero order,
458
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:28,880
named in honour of the Roman Emperor
459
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,840
who famously allowed
the city of Rome to burn,
460
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:33,600
would authorize German forces
461
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,560
to destroy absolutely everything
as they retreated.
462
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:39,600
Blow up the bridges,
blow up the sanitation,
463
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:41,360
blow up the power plants,
464
00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:43,760
even if it doesn't do
any good in the war effort.
465
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:47,360
There's no reason to worry
about a post-war Germany.
466
00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,040
He stopped caring about
the individual people
467
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:52,880
'cause they're no longer worthy
468
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:54,760
of surviving the war.
469
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:02,840
Hitler commands his loyal
470
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,680
and capable minister of armaments,
471
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,600
Albert Speer,
to carry out his order.
472
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,600
Speer refuses.
473
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,800
Because he sees that Hitler's,
474
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:14,400
you know, gone mad essentially.
475
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:16,360
And Speer actually
comes to Berlin and says,
476
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,440
right before the end,
and he says, "I haven't done it."
477
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,560
This shows
that the bond between Hitler
478
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,000
and his leadership is being
broken to a certain degree.
479
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,320
It's almost to the very last days,
the crumbling Third Reich,
480
00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,680
that this link
finally starts to collapse.
481
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,560
Hitler has now lost control
of the entire situation.
482
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:39,760
He's now focused
only on the battle of Berlin.
483
00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,160
In the garden outside
the Reich Chancellery,
484
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,200
the Fuhrer reviews
a formation of Hitler youth
485
00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:54,840
who have been awarded
the Knight's Cross
486
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,400
for bravery in battle.
487
00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:00,320
Now, many will be
ordered to defend Berlin.
488
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:02,720
The Hitler youth,
489
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:04,880
14 and 15 and 16-year-old boys.
490
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,600
By any analysis, this is insane.
491
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:14,160
And he comes up
out of the bunker
492
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:16,240
and he pins medals on these
493
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:18,520
sort of beardless little boys.
494
00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,560
Any rational onlooker
can see that Hitler has lost
495
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:23,800
all attachment to reason.
496
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:29,120
It may be
he's thinking of the last lost war,
497
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,040
but I think 1918
498
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:34,320
is enough of a obsession with Hitler
499
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,640
that he is determined that Germany
will not give in this time.
500
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,160
There will be no surrender.
501
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,520
There will be total war to the end.
502
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:43,440
If Germany is gonna go down,
503
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,240
it's going to go down
in a blaze of glory.
504
00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,360
Allied forces rapidly advanced
505
00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:08,200
through the Ruhr Valley
and into the heart of Germany.
506
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:10,000
The British and Americans had agreed
507
00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,760
that Soviet forces
should capture Berlin,
508
00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,560
but Stalin grows suspicious
of allied success.
509
00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:20,800
You have to remember that Stalin is
510
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,440
naturally and not unreasonably
deeply mistrustful.
511
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:28,240
So when the Western Allies
start pouring into Western Germany
512
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,440
far faster than anyone expects,
513
00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:33,560
Stalin fears that there may be
something that he doesn't see.
514
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,880
Stalin is always paranoid
515
00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,280
that the Western powers are going to
516
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,800
make a deal with the Germans
at the last minute
517
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,200
against the Soviet Union,
against the Communists.
518
00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,200
In Moscow, Stalin summons
519
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:58,880
Marshal Georgy Zhukov,
520
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,320
the hero of Stalingrad and Kursk,
521
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:03,760
and Marshal Ivan Konev,
522
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:05,840
who has led the first
Ukrainian front,
523
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,560
a famed Red Army group,
throughout the war.
524
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:14,720
He sits there
with the map and he says,
525
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:16,520
"Who's gonna take Berlin?"
526
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,360
So Stalin effectively sets up
527
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,320
a kind of race between them
528
00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:23,960
to see who will
take Berlin first.
529
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,360
So this is a way
of motivating his generals
530
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:29,120
because Stalin, of course,
wanted to ensure
531
00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,280
that the Red Army would be
the first to reach Berlin.
532
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,320
And in an amazing scene,
533
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:36,160
both Marshals salute
534
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,440
and leave the room
and run to their cars
535
00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:41,520
to start the race to Berlin.
536
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,400
By mid-April, the Red Army
is closing in on Berlin.
537
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,560
Zhukov's forces
approach from the east.
538
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,120
Konev's troops will attack
from the south.
539
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,600
The final assault on Berlin begins
540
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:03,800
with a ferocious artillery barrage.
541
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:14,520
Something like 9,000 guns
542
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:16,960
rained down 1.2 million shells.
543
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,920
To put that in context,
the British fired one million
544
00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,560
rounds of artillery onto
the German trenches on the Somme
545
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,560
over like two weeks in World War I.
546
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,360
Now, in one day, more shells
into the streets of Berlin.
547
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:39,280
Zhukov's forces meet
548
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,760
particularly fierce resistance
in the Seelow heights,
549
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:46,680
an area the Germans consider
the gates of Berlin.
550
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,360
The Germans are dug in.
551
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,360
They have no desire to surrender
552
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,000
because they know
they would be viewed as traitors.
553
00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,960
Berlin is meant to be
a fortress city, Festung Berlin.
554
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,320
This means it has to be
defended at all costs.
555
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:07,800
Hitler's order was to keep
fighting until there's nothing left.
556
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:09,760
They're not gonna admit
the war's been lost.
557
00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:13,120
Hitler is now facing total defeat,
558
00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:14,400
and he wants to drag
559
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:18,080
the entire German people
into this total defeat.
560
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:21,200
The population
has been pressed into service.
561
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,600
They've been, you know,
building tank traps
562
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,240
and digging ditches.
But I don't think you can
563
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,400
fool a bunch of people who are
living in cities that are rubble.
564
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,440
You hear the artillery
in the distance
565
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:34,680
that the Soviets
are shooting at your city.
566
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:36,760
I mean, we're past
the time of illusions.
567
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:38,400
You're people
at the end of the rope.
568
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:41,160
The German troops that are left,
569
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,800
it's this bizarre assembly of
570
00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:47,120
overage people that normally
wouldn't be drafted, or underage.
571
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,120
You have a large number
of very young
572
00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:54,000
members of the Volkssturm.
573
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,440
They were divided
into these tank hunting units
574
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,120
where they were 12 and 13-year-old
boys that were equipped
575
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:02,360
with this very effective
German anti-tank weapon
576
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:03,840
called the Panzerfaust.
577
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:07,680
These basically
one-shot German bazookas,
578
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:09,720
and they're gonna be
in these load of fighting holes
579
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:13,440
waiting for the Soviet tanks to come
and take their one shot, and be,
580
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,320
you know, crushed into pulp
under the treads.
581
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:19,960
The ideology of the
Reich has gone out the window.
582
00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:22,520
You don't know
what you're fighting for anymore.
583
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:25,600
You are now protecting your street
584
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,840
and your friends and your family
from the marauders that are coming.
585
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,720
If you're still in Berlin
by April 1945,
586
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:36,880
you're not gonna get out.
587
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,040
So you're fighting for your life.
588
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:54,440
On April 19th, Zhukov's troops
589
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,520
break through the German lines
at Seelow Heights.
590
00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,520
Konev enters the Nazi
capital from the south.
591
00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:09,760
Battle of Berlin is brutal.
592
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:14,440
It's an urban battlefield,
593
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,200
which is the hardest sort
of fighting and the most costly.
594
00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:21,960
It's impossible
not to take every building.
595
00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:23,520
You can't leave
buildings behind you.
596
00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:26,280
You're under fire all the time
from buildings on both sides.
597
00:34:28,240 --> 00:34:30,120
Large amounts
of civilians are killed,
598
00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,040
and it's incredibly
slow and dangerous.
599
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,280
This moonscape
of Berlin that's already been
600
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,360
just shattered to rubble
is now just being pounded
601
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:45,840
by companies of Soviet infantry
filtering into the city
602
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,240
from all points.
I mean, literally all points.
603
00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:03,720
But in the end,
this extraordinary battle,
604
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:08,480
the Soviet troops begin
to converge on the Chancellery.
605
00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:15,040
Beneath the Reich Chancellery,
606
00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,000
Hitler is sequestered in a bunker
607
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,440
with his companion, Eva Braun,
608
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:22,000
and surrounded
by aides, secretaries,
609
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:23,960
and Nazi party officials.
610
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:27,280
He believes that the military
611
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:29,080
and the German people
612
00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:31,560
have let him down.
613
00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:33,280
Hitler wants to keep
the resistance going
614
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:35,040
for as long as
possible to inflict
615
00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:37,480
as much damage
on the invading armies.
616
00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:42,160
However, he does not want
to outlast, to outlive the war.
617
00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:44,520
He does not want
to become a prisoner of war.
618
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,040
He does not want to become
some type of curiosity
619
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:48,920
exhibited by his enemies.
620
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,400
And so he has to
stay alive as long as possible,
621
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:56,960
as close to the
bitter end as possible
622
00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:58,800
so that there will never really be
623
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:02,080
an idea of Nazi Germany
in people's minds
624
00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:03,960
that does not include Adolf Hitler.
625
00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:09,040
He's going to go down
in Wagnerian fashion
626
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:10,800
and take a world with him.
627
00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:22,080
On April 29th, Hitler is informed
628
00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:23,880
that his longtime ally,
629
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,800
the Italian dictator,
Benito Mussolini,
630
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:28,720
has been executed.
631
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:32,440
His body put on display
by Italian partisans.
632
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:35,840
Mussolini has just been
hung upside down
633
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:38,040
in a gas station in northern Italy,
634
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:40,200
along with his mistress,
Clara Petacci,
635
00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:43,360
where he's like mocked
and spat upon and vilified.
636
00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:48,120
Hitler fears the same fate
for himself.
637
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,080
The Soviets are right outside
the Fuhrer bunker.
638
00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:54,400
He's listening to the
shelling happening above him.
639
00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:02,120
And so Adolf Hitler,
on April 30th, 1945,
640
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,600
commits suicide in the Fuhrer bunker
along with Eva Braun...
641
00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:11,000
...in a city that has been
reduced to rubble.
642
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:22,680
When Hitler commits suicide,
643
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,880
Stalin is woken in the night
by Marshal Zhukov,
644
00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:27,840
and Marshal Zhukov says to him,
645
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,720
"Marshal Stalin, I've got news.
646
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:32,080
Hitler is dead and he's
committed suicide in the ruins,"
647
00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:35,080
and there's a long silence.
And then Stalin says something like,
648
00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:36,840
"So that's the end of the bastard."
649
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,200
Puts the phone down
and goes back to sleep.
650
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:57,160
On May 2nd,
the Soviets raised their flag
651
00:37:57,320 --> 00:37:59,520
above the ruins of the Reichstag.
652
00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:05,640
On May 7th,
German General Alfred Jodl
653
00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:09,160
surrenders to the
Western Allies at Reims, France.
654
00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:13,880
A day later, the Germans
officially surrendered
655
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:15,960
to the Soviets.
656
00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:18,880
With the stroke of the pen,
Nazi Germany ceases to exist
657
00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,640
on May 8th, 1945.
658
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:32,080
This is a solemn
but a glorious hour.
659
00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:34,680
General Eisenhower informs me
660
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,080
that the forces of Germany
has surrendered
661
00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:39,080
to the United Nations.
662
00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:41,400
Here we are
at the end of a brutal war
663
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,280
against a brutal
adversary in Europe.
664
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:46,000
And there was such great costs
665
00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:48,160
with so much exhaustion.
666
00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:51,360
It's almost impossible to imagine
what that must have been like.
667
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:59,120
Our rejoicing
is sobered and subdued
668
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:03,120
by a supreme consciousness
of the terrible price we have paid
669
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:04,760
to rid the world of Hitler
670
00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,080
and his evil band.
671
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,520
Hitler was the
ultimate reckless gambler.
672
00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:15,720
Risking everything,
even Germany, even Europe.
673
00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:20,640
Let us not forget the sorrow
674
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,480
and the heartache,
which today abide
675
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:26,720
in the homes of so many
of our neighbours.
676
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,400
The Second World War,
unlike the first,
677
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:31,920
is one in which the
majority of the casualties
678
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:34,440
actually happened
among the civilian population.
679
00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:36,560
A lot of it was simply because of
680
00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:38,640
the vast atrocities committed.
681
00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:47,680
The war left terrible scars
on the landscape of Europe
682
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,560
and in the memories
of the populations.
683
00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:55,200
We must work
to bind up the wounds
684
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:57,040
of a suffering world.
685
00:39:57,200 --> 00:39:58,800
The West is free,
686
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,360
but the East is still in bondage.
687
00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:03,560
In the popular mind,
688
00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:06,640
World War II tends to wrap up
689
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:09,240
with the glory of VE Day.
690
00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:12,840
It did not happen that way
691
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,680
for the people who were fighting it.
692
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:18,400
In the Pacific,
693
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:20,360
there's no end in sight.
694
00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:23,000
When the
last Japanese division
695
00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,080
has surrendered unconditionally,
696
00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:29,720
then only will our
fighting job be done.
697
00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:31,800
Until that day,
698
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:34,800
let no man abandon his post
699
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,000
or slacken his efforts.
700
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:45,240
After VE Day, Europeans
facing chaos and uncertainty
701
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:47,000
begin the long work of putting
702
00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:49,520
their shattered
world back together.
703
00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:53,080
In the Pacific,
the war is reaching a crescendo.
704
00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:56,600
As the United States fights its way
to the Japanese home islands,
705
00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:00,320
a new weapon is tested
in the deserts of New Mexico.
706
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:02,280
A noiseless flash
707
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:04,560
with a potential
to change the world.
708
00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:06,080
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