1 00:00:00,094 --> 00:00:03,140 Sub extracted from file and improved by Se7enOfNin9 for addic7ed.com 2 00:00:05,187 --> 00:00:08,272 After their victory over Germany in North Africa, 3 00:00:08,273 --> 00:00:10,983 American generals want to attack the Third Reich 4 00:00:10,984 --> 00:00:13,079 directly through Northern Europe, 5 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:14,748 but Prime Minister Winston Churchill 6 00:00:14,749 --> 00:00:16,333 and the British believe an operation 7 00:00:16,334 --> 00:00:19,599 of that size and scope is premature. 8 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,726 Failure would be catastrophic. 9 00:00:21,727 --> 00:00:25,438 Churchill proposes they attack Germany from the south, 10 00:00:25,439 --> 00:00:29,380 for what he considers the soft underbelly of Europe, 11 00:00:29,820 --> 00:00:30,820 Italy. 12 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:34,355 All wars change the world, 13 00:00:34,356 --> 00:00:36,148 but none of them changed the world 14 00:00:36,149 --> 00:00:38,484 like the Second World War did. 15 00:00:38,485 --> 00:00:40,946 Japan's on the march, Germany's on the march. 16 00:00:42,783 --> 00:00:44,075 No one can imagine the nightmare 17 00:00:44,100 --> 00:00:45,351 they're about to unleash. 18 00:00:46,053 --> 00:00:48,554 The most destructive war in human history. 19 00:00:48,555 --> 00:00:51,348 Suddenly the world is turned upside down 20 00:00:51,349 --> 00:00:53,225 and all hell is let loose. 21 00:00:55,187 --> 00:00:58,200 The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 22 00:00:59,421 --> 00:01:02,257 You get the Allies led by the big three, 23 00:01:02,468 --> 00:01:04,844 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, 24 00:01:04,869 --> 00:01:09,580 Men who were dealing with immensely complicated questions. 25 00:01:09,860 --> 00:01:14,039 It's the biggest military operation of human history. 26 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:15,791 The Allies have to come together, 27 00:01:15,792 --> 00:01:18,252 not just militarily, but industrial scale. 28 00:01:18,253 --> 00:01:20,279 It's a global perspective. 29 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,031 They have to fight in every climate, 30 00:01:22,032 --> 00:01:25,199 from the Arctic to the jungles of the Pacific, 31 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,327 to the deserts of Africa, and the depths of the ocean. 32 00:01:31,290 --> 00:01:34,279 But there was no certainty of victory. 33 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,060 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 34 00:01:37,367 --> 00:01:39,451 We see humans at their absolute worst, 35 00:01:39,452 --> 00:01:41,420 how they treat other human beings, 36 00:01:41,620 --> 00:01:43,037 and we see them at their absolute best, 37 00:01:43,038 --> 00:01:45,873 willing to give their lives that others might live. 38 00:01:45,874 --> 00:01:47,917 World War II was a struggle 39 00:01:47,918 --> 00:01:52,338 in which there could be one victor and one vanquished. 40 00:02:14,283 --> 00:02:16,479 In May, 1943, 41 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,439 the prime minister of Great Britain 42 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,026 and the president of the United States meet in Washington DC 43 00:02:22,027 --> 00:02:25,700 for the third time since American entry into the war. 44 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,541 Rarely in history have political leaders 45 00:02:30,542 --> 00:02:32,300 forged as personal a bond 46 00:02:32,420 --> 00:02:35,006 as Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. 47 00:02:36,650 --> 00:02:39,444 Churchill still feels he's the senior partner. 48 00:02:39,469 --> 00:02:41,580 He can get what he wants out of Roosevelt. 49 00:02:41,700 --> 00:02:44,460 So after Tunis, after the big victory in North Africa, 50 00:02:44,540 --> 00:02:48,239 Churchill's argument is that there's one logical next step, 51 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:49,940 and that next step is Sicily. 52 00:02:51,100 --> 00:02:52,683 So campaigning in the Mediterranean 53 00:02:52,684 --> 00:02:56,020 will not only knock over one of the three big Axis powers, 54 00:02:56,021 --> 00:02:57,439 Mussolini's Italy, 55 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,569 it will also open a back door to Hitler's Germany. 56 00:03:01,622 --> 00:03:05,140 And the American commanders are saying, "Why? 57 00:03:05,260 --> 00:03:07,010 Let's just go straight for Berlin. 58 00:03:07,011 --> 00:03:08,345 What are we doing? 59 00:03:08,346 --> 00:03:10,039 Why are we dancing around the edges here 60 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,220 with this Mediterranean nonsense?" 61 00:03:12,276 --> 00:03:14,068 And they think that Franklin Roosevelt 62 00:03:14,093 --> 00:03:17,460 is being persuaded by Churchill's pretty words. 63 00:03:17,620 --> 00:03:20,220 There were charges then and since 64 00:03:20,300 --> 00:03:24,262 that Churchill wanted to go up through the bottom of Europe 65 00:03:24,263 --> 00:03:27,057 in order to preserve the British Empire. 66 00:03:27,844 --> 00:03:30,179 Britain was a Mediterranean power. 67 00:03:30,180 --> 00:03:33,015 The Americans suspected that this was all about 68 00:03:33,016 --> 00:03:37,019 defending British interests in Egypt, in the Suez Canal 69 00:03:37,020 --> 00:03:39,039 that controlled India and the Persian Gulf 70 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:40,700 where British oil was. 71 00:03:42,567 --> 00:03:44,067 FDR's not interested 72 00:03:44,068 --> 00:03:46,260 in preserving the British Empire, 73 00:03:46,380 --> 00:03:49,980 but he understands there are sound, strategic reasons 74 00:03:50,140 --> 00:03:51,891 to capture Sicily. 75 00:03:51,892 --> 00:03:53,226 One of Churchill's arguments was, 76 00:03:53,227 --> 00:03:54,559 they had these commitments 77 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,479 to take some pressure off the Soviet Union. 78 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,700 Joseph Stalin has been pushing for a second front. 79 00:03:59,780 --> 00:04:01,739 Churchill says, "You have all of these armies 80 00:04:01,740 --> 00:04:03,241 that are now freed up 81 00:04:03,242 --> 00:04:04,575 after the North African campaign is over. 82 00:04:04,576 --> 00:04:06,696 What are you gonna do with them? They're right there." 83 00:04:07,220 --> 00:04:08,930 The truth is that the Allies 84 00:04:08,931 --> 00:04:11,759 still don't have enough actual material 85 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,847 to conduct a cross-channel invasion and land in France. 86 00:04:16,737 --> 00:04:18,363 Allied military leaders 87 00:04:18,364 --> 00:04:21,439 are already planning a cross-channel invasion, 88 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,191 Operation Overlord, 89 00:04:23,764 --> 00:04:25,780 but it will not be ready for months. 90 00:04:26,620 --> 00:04:29,330 To relieve the military pressure on the Soviets, 91 00:04:29,331 --> 00:04:31,332 and sustain the momentum established 92 00:04:31,333 --> 00:04:33,501 by the victory in North Africa, 93 00:04:33,502 --> 00:04:35,420 FDR agrees to attack Sicily. 94 00:04:36,755 --> 00:04:39,423 After Sicily, they will pull, let us say, 95 00:04:39,424 --> 00:04:42,079 the Allied A-team out of the Mediterranean, 96 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,079 the leadership team, most of the landing craft, 97 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:48,040 most of the air power, deploy it to Great Britain 98 00:04:48,041 --> 00:04:51,359 to begin, finally, preparations in earnest 99 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,111 for an invasion of Western Europe. 100 00:04:53,453 --> 00:04:55,159 Churchill's like, "Yes, of course, 101 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:56,679 I'm sure things will go really fast. 102 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,406 We'll be back in time for a nice early D-Day in 1944." 103 00:04:59,431 --> 00:05:02,188 He goes, "Look, we're all dressed up, we're ready to go to the ball. 104 00:05:02,213 --> 00:05:03,394 Let's do Sicily." 105 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,679 The invasion of Sicily is given the code name 106 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,598 Operation Husky. 107 00:05:14,599 --> 00:05:16,141 At the time, Operation Husky 108 00:05:16,142 --> 00:05:19,079 is the biggest amphibious operation in history. 109 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:23,458 The scale of shipping and manpower is unprecedented. 110 00:05:23,459 --> 00:05:27,879 They're gonna put onshore, 160,000 troops. 111 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,347 Both Italian and German troops 112 00:05:32,348 --> 00:05:34,340 oppose the Allied landings. 113 00:05:50,086 --> 00:05:52,129 But the Allies achieve surprise, 114 00:05:52,130 --> 00:05:54,132 and quickly secure the beaches. 115 00:05:54,685 --> 00:05:56,599 You've got two field commanders on Sicily, 116 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:57,959 Montgomery for the British. 117 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,421 Montgomery is given the key role, Patton for the Americans. 118 00:06:01,422 --> 00:06:03,674 Patton's job is really as a shield. 119 00:06:05,092 --> 00:06:06,301 The British Eighth Army, 120 00:06:06,302 --> 00:06:07,919 under general Bernard Montgomery, 121 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:09,999 will advance north to Messina, 122 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:11,793 while the American Seventh Army, 123 00:06:11,794 --> 00:06:15,100 under General George Patton, guards his left flank. 124 00:06:15,125 --> 00:06:17,719 If you get to Messina, any troops that are 125 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,359 on Sicily cannot cross back over it into Italy proper. 126 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,446 And now you've captured all the troops that are on Sicily 127 00:06:23,447 --> 00:06:25,300 and you own Sicily. 128 00:06:25,820 --> 00:06:28,359 And that's especially crucial for the German divisions, 129 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,335 so that the Allies won't have to face them 130 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,580 at some future point in some future battle. 131 00:06:35,140 --> 00:06:37,934 As in North Africa, British and American forces 132 00:06:37,935 --> 00:06:40,646 are required to operate as one force. 133 00:06:41,304 --> 00:06:43,972 This is a really ambitious attempt 134 00:06:44,180 --> 00:06:47,700 to just bring two nations with two different traditions 135 00:06:48,070 --> 00:06:49,919 very, very close into harmony. 136 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,100 And as you might expect, there's teething trouble. 137 00:06:52,297 --> 00:06:54,381 Montgomery and the British senior commanders 138 00:06:54,382 --> 00:06:56,175 all had a similar attitude to the Americans, 139 00:06:56,176 --> 00:06:57,559 which is, they're green. 140 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,853 There were disasters and setbacks in North Africa, 141 00:06:59,854 --> 00:07:01,563 they're still learning their trade. 142 00:07:01,564 --> 00:07:04,119 We've been at this since 1940. 143 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:05,696 Patton, on the other hand, thinks Montgomery 144 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:07,199 has no kind of understanding 145 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,479 of what American servicemen can actually achieve. 146 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,039 Both armies endure horrendous conditions. 147 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:19,780 The mountainous terrain, 148 00:07:19,957 --> 00:07:24,700 the 100-plus degree heat, thousands are felled by malaria. 149 00:07:25,407 --> 00:07:27,815 Sicily in the summertime is incredibly hot, 150 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,002 it is disease ridden. 151 00:07:30,003 --> 00:07:32,088 Fighting there is brutal for everyone. 152 00:07:32,089 --> 00:07:33,089 Fire! 153 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:42,923 Facing stiff German resistance, 154 00:07:42,924 --> 00:07:44,968 Montgomery's army stalls. 155 00:07:46,473 --> 00:07:48,098 He's given access to the road 156 00:07:48,099 --> 00:07:50,260 Patton's army has already taken. 157 00:07:50,580 --> 00:07:52,164 Patton goes ballistic. 158 00:07:52,380 --> 00:07:55,460 To his credit, Patton doesn't just sit there seething. 159 00:07:55,580 --> 00:07:57,180 He comes up with a plan. 160 00:07:57,740 --> 00:08:00,695 What Patton sees is, a drive north up to Palermo 161 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:02,500 would put a feather in his cap. 162 00:08:03,213 --> 00:08:05,768 The Americans overrun the western half of Sicily 163 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,428 before the Germans and Italians know what is happening. 164 00:08:10,221 --> 00:08:13,279 Patton captures the Sicilian capital of Palermo 165 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,325 less than two weeks after the initial landings. 166 00:08:20,673 --> 00:08:23,719 This is the signal moment for the US army 167 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,679 so far in World War II. 168 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,281 Patton's forces are greeted in the streets of Palermo 169 00:08:30,282 --> 00:08:33,534 by Sicilians who were never a hundred percent on board 170 00:08:33,535 --> 00:08:35,359 with fascism anyway, 171 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:37,719 and they're gonna greet the arriving American army 172 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:38,935 as liberators. 173 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:46,319 Yet again, Adolf Hitler must adjust 174 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,780 for Italian military weakness. 175 00:08:48,980 --> 00:08:51,440 His major ally on the European continent, 176 00:08:51,441 --> 00:08:53,817 Benito Mussolini, seems unable 177 00:08:53,818 --> 00:08:56,654 even to defend his own home territory. 178 00:08:57,730 --> 00:08:59,039 Benito Mussolini 179 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,399 and his Italian fascist movement 180 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,279 had set the stage for Adolf Hitler 181 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,639 and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. 182 00:09:13,602 --> 00:09:15,519 Mussolini is the inventor of fascism, 183 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,920 is the embodiment of the virility of the fascist man. 184 00:09:20,860 --> 00:09:22,944 In the early phases of this relationship, 185 00:09:22,945 --> 00:09:26,759 Hitler himself looks up at Mussolini, and he aspires to do 186 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,660 what Mussolini has been able to achieve in Italy. 187 00:09:30,780 --> 00:09:32,879 Hitler consciously copied 188 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:34,780 Mussolini's grab for power. 189 00:09:35,100 --> 00:09:36,839 Duce! Duce! Duce! 190 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:37,882 The symbolism. 191 00:09:37,883 --> 00:09:39,135 Sieg heil. 192 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:43,429 The political tactics, 193 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:46,580 the violence. 194 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:53,140 But Mussolini no longer commands an iron grip on his nation 195 00:09:53,300 --> 00:09:54,843 like Hitler does. 196 00:09:55,370 --> 00:09:57,359 Mussolini's war has brought Italy 197 00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:58,559 nothing but misery. 198 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:00,879 The Italian people wanted very little part 199 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,159 of this war at the beginning, they want no part of it now. 200 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,119 Things cannot go on like this. 201 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:06,999 Hitler's getting situation reports 202 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:08,159 of what's going on in Sicily, 203 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:10,239 basically saying the Italians aren't fighting. 204 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,241 He makes the decision to go to Italy 205 00:10:12,242 --> 00:10:14,380 to put some spine into Mussolini. 206 00:10:19,420 --> 00:10:21,713 He is shocked by the sight of Mussolini, 207 00:10:21,714 --> 00:10:25,100 who's really a broken man after the defeat in North Africa. 208 00:10:25,259 --> 00:10:27,159 There isn't much fight left in him, 209 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,540 and Hitler is horrified by what he's seeing. 210 00:10:31,813 --> 00:10:33,600 Hitler harangues Mussolini 211 00:10:33,601 --> 00:10:35,559 for hours about his failures. 212 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:37,959 His failure to instill a war-like spirit 213 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:38,999 into the armed forces, 214 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,079 his failure to make true fascists of the Italian people, 215 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,300 his failure to prosecute the war with sufficient vigor, 216 00:10:45,325 --> 00:10:49,080 and Mussolini has no choice but to sit there and take it. 217 00:10:51,131 --> 00:10:53,341 As Hitler and Mussolini meet, 218 00:10:57,621 --> 00:11:00,940 the Allies begin a bombing campaign on Rome. 219 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,315 The news comes as a shock to Mussolini, 220 00:11:04,340 --> 00:11:06,559 and he tries to convey to Hitler 221 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:08,380 the gravity of the situation. 222 00:11:09,180 --> 00:11:12,641 Hitler continues as if nothing had happened. 223 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,159 The bombing of Rome adds fuel 224 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,315 to this already simmering fire 225 00:11:19,316 --> 00:11:22,940 of questioning and doubt about Mussolini's leadership. 226 00:11:36,262 --> 00:11:39,306 The bombing of Rome is a shock to the Italians. 227 00:11:40,392 --> 00:11:42,643 The battles have been fought elsewhere, 228 00:11:42,825 --> 00:11:46,412 but now the price of Mussolini's war hits home. 229 00:11:47,872 --> 00:11:49,957 There's grumbling in the streets. 230 00:11:49,958 --> 00:11:51,833 Mussolini thinks he has the fascist 231 00:11:51,834 --> 00:11:53,719 brand counsel in his pocket, 232 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,471 he thinks he has the top leadership 233 00:11:55,472 --> 00:11:56,999 in the military in his pocket, 234 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,180 he thinks he has the King in his pocket. 235 00:11:59,900 --> 00:12:02,079 Victor Emmanuel III has been 236 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,835 the King of Italy since 1900, 237 00:12:03,860 --> 00:12:06,319 and he's the one that handed the government 238 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:08,460 over to Mussolini in 1922. 239 00:12:09,180 --> 00:12:12,399 On July 25th, the day after the fascist council 240 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,639 passes a vote of no confidence for Mussolini, 241 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,140 the King summons him to his palace. 242 00:12:18,309 --> 00:12:19,768 And he's told not to wear his uniform. 243 00:12:19,769 --> 00:12:21,879 This should have been an indication to him 244 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:23,159 that trouble was afoot, 245 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:25,700 and his wife, in fact, advises him not to go. 246 00:12:25,996 --> 00:12:29,060 Mussolini tells her, "No problem, I've got this." 247 00:12:29,740 --> 00:12:32,300 But the King has Mussolini arrested. 248 00:12:32,493 --> 00:12:35,120 He's rushed away in the back of an ambulance 249 00:12:35,121 --> 00:12:37,140 to hide him from public view. 250 00:12:51,973 --> 00:12:55,540 His 21-year fascist reign is over. 251 00:13:01,580 --> 00:13:02,919 The fall of Mussolini 252 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,975 leads to a very confusing situation. 253 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,210 The new head of state is the marshal of the Italian army, 254 00:13:08,211 --> 00:13:09,799 Pietro Badoglio. 255 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,381 He actually makes an announcement that the war goes on, 256 00:13:12,382 --> 00:13:15,051 "We remain Germany's loyal ally." 257 00:13:16,243 --> 00:13:18,340 After Mussolini is deposed, 258 00:13:18,453 --> 00:13:20,454 FDR addresses the nation. 259 00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:22,498 My fellow Americans, 260 00:13:22,499 --> 00:13:24,940 our terms to Italy are still the same, 261 00:13:25,140 --> 00:13:27,620 unconditional surrender. 262 00:13:28,220 --> 00:13:31,159 Publicly, Badoglio states repeatedly 263 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,039 that the war effort is going on alongside the Germans. 264 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:38,559 Privately, he is actually starting to make arrangements 265 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:40,980 for the Italians to get out of the war. 266 00:13:42,660 --> 00:13:46,503 Badoglio signals that Italy might be open to an armistice. 267 00:13:48,216 --> 00:13:49,791 He sends one of his generals 268 00:13:49,792 --> 00:13:53,420 to secretly negotiate directly with the Allies. 269 00:13:53,902 --> 00:13:56,719 Badoglio might wish to surrender, 270 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:58,887 but he needs to have someone at his back. 271 00:13:58,888 --> 00:14:01,199 He knows that there will be retribution 272 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,618 from the angriest man in Europe at the time, 273 00:14:03,619 --> 00:14:05,660 and that will be Adolf Hitler. 274 00:14:11,540 --> 00:14:14,879 In Sicily, Patton's army leaves Palermo to get to Messina, 275 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,090 while the British are advancing from the south. 276 00:14:17,091 --> 00:14:19,342 Meanwhile, the Germans are taking advantage 277 00:14:19,343 --> 00:14:22,053 of the delay in getting to Messina 278 00:14:22,054 --> 00:14:24,255 to begin getting off the island. 279 00:14:27,184 --> 00:14:29,477 It's effectively the German Dunkirk, 280 00:14:29,478 --> 00:14:32,105 because pretty much everyone who could walk 281 00:14:32,106 --> 00:14:34,119 and was able-bodied, got off, 282 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,860 and not only that, they got off with all their equipment. 283 00:14:38,003 --> 00:14:40,546 The entire purpose of the Allied operational plan 284 00:14:40,547 --> 00:14:44,260 was to trap the Germans on Sicily, and they fail. 285 00:14:46,261 --> 00:14:47,637 Still, things in Sicily 286 00:14:47,638 --> 00:14:49,600 go pretty much as Churchill would've wished. 287 00:14:49,601 --> 00:14:51,999 Not only do Allied troops successfully 288 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,799 drive Axis forces outta of Sicily, 289 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:55,839 and it also proves to be the death nail 290 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:57,740 of Mussolini's fascist regime. 291 00:15:02,423 --> 00:15:03,623 With the potential deal 292 00:15:03,674 --> 00:15:06,180 for an Italian surrender in the works, 293 00:15:06,343 --> 00:15:09,138 FDR and Churchill meet in Quebec. 294 00:15:09,768 --> 00:15:11,239 And it's at this point 295 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,141 that Churchill is able to say to Roosevelt, 296 00:15:13,142 --> 00:15:15,680 "Look, the Italians are pulling out of the war. 297 00:15:15,681 --> 00:15:18,557 We have an opportunity bloodlessly take 298 00:15:18,558 --> 00:15:20,100 the Italian peninsula. 299 00:15:20,101 --> 00:15:22,279 You know, what's not to like in this operation?" 300 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,480 Churchill says, "The Italians are begging us 301 00:15:24,481 --> 00:15:26,959 to come and help liberate them and switch sides. 302 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:28,920 We could be in Rome in a couple of weeks here. 303 00:15:28,921 --> 00:15:31,519 If we land in Italy, it'll be a cakewalk. 304 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,620 We can't do Sicily and then go home." 305 00:15:34,140 --> 00:15:35,679 FDR agrees, 306 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,679 but only with assurance that Operation Overlord 307 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,340 will remain the Allies' highest priority. 308 00:15:41,540 --> 00:15:43,639 The difficult trade off in the Italian campaign 309 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:45,159 is that the key resources, 310 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,639 the landing craft and the best troops, 311 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,540 are gonna go back to the UK to prepare for D-Day. 312 00:15:52,368 --> 00:15:54,879 Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower 313 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,322 now picks one of America's youngest generals 314 00:15:57,323 --> 00:15:59,260 to lead the Italian invasion, 315 00:15:59,500 --> 00:16:03,340 Mark Clark, commander of the US Fifth Army. 316 00:16:03,650 --> 00:16:06,611 Clark has a flare for showmanship. 317 00:16:06,612 --> 00:16:08,487 Because once you pin on a star, 318 00:16:08,488 --> 00:16:11,200 you're also becoming a little bit of a politician as well. 319 00:16:11,257 --> 00:16:13,256 Mark Clark has an immense amount of talent, 320 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,802 but he also has a corresponding ego. 321 00:16:15,803 --> 00:16:17,600 He travels with a press corps. 322 00:16:17,601 --> 00:16:20,223 He will only let them take pictures of his favorite side, 323 00:16:20,224 --> 00:16:21,516 which I think is his left side, 324 00:16:21,517 --> 00:16:23,561 based on all the pictures we see of him. 325 00:16:27,035 --> 00:16:28,786 The Allied strategy in Italy 326 00:16:28,787 --> 00:16:30,860 calls for two large forces. 327 00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:33,660 The first will land in and Calabria, 328 00:16:33,803 --> 00:16:36,900 and the second will land a few days later at Salerno. 329 00:16:37,780 --> 00:16:41,300 The two forces will then link, and push north towards Rome. 330 00:16:46,660 --> 00:16:49,289 At Calabria, Montgomery's Eighth Army 331 00:16:49,290 --> 00:16:51,210 lands almost uncontested 332 00:16:51,900 --> 00:16:53,919 Badoglio was supposed to take to the airwaves 333 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,335 on the evening of September 8th 334 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:56,838 and announce the Italian surrender, 335 00:16:56,839 --> 00:16:58,719 and this is crucial to the plan, 336 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:00,959 because it will tell the hundreds of thousands 337 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,740 of Italian troops how in beach defense positions 338 00:17:04,060 --> 00:17:07,188 not to fire at the Allies as they land. 339 00:17:09,135 --> 00:17:10,400 At his headquarters, 340 00:17:10,401 --> 00:17:12,420 Eisenhower waits by his radio. 341 00:17:12,660 --> 00:17:15,820 The Salerno landings are just hours away. 342 00:17:19,940 --> 00:17:22,233 6:30 comes, no Badoglio. 343 00:17:22,234 --> 00:17:24,735 Seven o'clock, no Badoglio. 344 00:17:24,736 --> 00:17:28,799 The entire plan hinges on a well announced, 345 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,180 orderly Italian surrender. 346 00:17:31,820 --> 00:17:33,955 Eisenhower decides to force the issue 347 00:17:33,980 --> 00:17:35,820 by going on the radio himself. 348 00:17:36,867 --> 00:17:38,319 The Italian government 349 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,704 has surrendered its armed forces unconditionally. 350 00:17:41,789 --> 00:17:44,519 All Italians who now act to help eject 351 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,700 the German aggressor from Italian soil 352 00:17:46,940 --> 00:17:48,359 will have the assistance 353 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,340 and the support of the United Nations. 354 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:55,479 Hitler anticipates the announcement 355 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:56,940 of the armistice. 356 00:17:57,776 --> 00:17:59,399 From the moment Mussolini falls, 357 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,599 Hitler's convinced that Badoglio's government 358 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:03,900 is going to withdraw from the war. 359 00:18:04,180 --> 00:18:05,319 For weeks, 360 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:08,700 Hitler has been moving German troops into Italy. 361 00:18:08,893 --> 00:18:11,693 He orders Operation Axis. 362 00:18:11,725 --> 00:18:14,199 The Germans have an operation they've been preparing, 363 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,969 which is that, if the Italians do the dirty on us, 364 00:18:16,994 --> 00:18:18,319 we're gonna disarm them 365 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,799 and we're gonna take over the security of all of Italy. 366 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,820 Italy will become an occupied nation. 367 00:18:42,110 --> 00:18:46,119 Operation Axis is the disarmament of the Italian army 368 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,820 and the occupation of the entire Italian Boot 369 00:18:49,845 --> 00:18:51,280 by German forces. 370 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,026 It occurs with lightning rapidity. 371 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,879 The Italian army is on its back foot. 372 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,799 They aren't so sure about who they should be firing at, if anyone. 373 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,399 Local Italian resistance movements 374 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,700 form and fight the Germans. 375 00:19:15,060 --> 00:19:17,024 Nazi retaliation is fierce. 376 00:19:17,049 --> 00:19:20,679 The Italians were being executed by the Germans after they switched sides. 377 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,460 There were a lot of terrible things going on, villages wiped out. 378 00:19:30,781 --> 00:19:32,559 When the Allied invasion force 379 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:34,100 lands at Salerno, 380 00:19:36,020 --> 00:19:39,691 they believe they'll be welcomed by Italian troops. 381 00:19:41,968 --> 00:19:44,929 Underlying this operational plan is intelligence 382 00:19:44,930 --> 00:19:47,389 that the German army may evacuate Italy, 383 00:19:47,390 --> 00:19:50,340 that it has no desire to defend Italy. 384 00:19:50,500 --> 00:19:53,794 If all goes well, the Allies should be up to Rome 385 00:19:53,795 --> 00:19:56,300 with almost no casualties at all. 386 00:19:56,746 --> 00:19:59,400 So what they're gonna do is they're gonna land without any 387 00:19:59,401 --> 00:20:02,900 pre-bombardment and they're gonna hope for tactical surprise. 388 00:20:04,616 --> 00:20:06,658 The Allies are expecting to meet 389 00:20:06,659 --> 00:20:07,919 happy Italian faces, 390 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,829 perhaps handshakes, taking over Italian positions 391 00:20:10,830 --> 00:20:12,664 now that Italy had surrendered, 392 00:20:12,665 --> 00:20:15,439 and instead, what the troops at Salerno experienced 393 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,199 was a wall of German fire. 394 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,860 The whole of the beach is being saturated with shellfire. 395 00:20:35,660 --> 00:20:37,360 It's an absolute inferno. 396 00:20:42,648 --> 00:20:46,439 It was a grim experience for those first few crucial days 397 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,192 in which they're trying to defend the beachhead. 398 00:20:53,653 --> 00:20:56,639 And it's the fighting at Salerno that really convinces Hitler 399 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,120 to make them fight for every inch of Italy. 400 00:21:02,140 --> 00:21:05,220 Hitler moves more forces to defend Italy. 401 00:21:10,612 --> 00:21:12,571 He also discovers that Mussolini 402 00:21:12,596 --> 00:21:15,540 is being held at a hotel in the Apennine Mountains, 403 00:21:16,270 --> 00:21:17,940 and decides to take action. 404 00:21:18,860 --> 00:21:21,487 Hitler just can't quit Mussolini, apparently. 405 00:21:21,488 --> 00:21:24,698 He orders a commando raid onto the Gran Sasso 406 00:21:24,699 --> 00:21:26,980 to rescue Benito Mussolini. 407 00:21:29,662 --> 00:21:31,260 That force lands, 408 00:21:31,623 --> 00:21:34,140 overcomes Mussolini's guards. 409 00:21:36,380 --> 00:21:38,780 Mussolini is flown back to Germany. 410 00:21:41,051 --> 00:21:43,094 Hitler thinks that Mussolini 411 00:21:43,095 --> 00:21:46,540 would give legitimacy to the German occupation of Italy. 412 00:21:47,380 --> 00:21:49,999 For the rest of the war, Mussolini will be ruling 413 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,700 a kind of puppet regime in northern Italy. 414 00:21:52,752 --> 00:21:54,559 But he's a shadow of the figure 415 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:58,399 who used to strut across the world stage in the 1930s. 416 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,599 The situation has changed drastically 417 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,719 since Mussolini was the top dog and Hitler the imitator, 418 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,479 to now, Mussolini as Hitler's lap dog. 419 00:22:15,376 --> 00:22:18,253 After a massive air and naval assault, 420 00:22:18,278 --> 00:22:23,116 Clark's Fifth Army breaks out of Salerno and moves inland. 421 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,399 A modern mechanized army is going to experience 422 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,943 great difficulty in driving north, 423 00:22:29,944 --> 00:22:31,361 because the Germans recognized, 424 00:22:31,362 --> 00:22:33,363 the terrain's gonna do half the work for us. 425 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,359 Mountain ranges, ravines, and fast flowing rivers 426 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:42,980 made Italy a sort of natural fortress. 427 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:46,999 What the Germans do effectively 428 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,639 is scorched earth policy. 429 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:50,039 They rip up the railway tracks, 430 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:51,479 they flood the river valleys. 431 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:54,679 They make it almost impossible to move through this terrain 432 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,580 unless you've taken the high ground. 433 00:22:58,081 --> 00:23:02,079 It was very clear very quickly that they were gonna struggle 434 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,540 to fight their way up the Italian peninsula. 435 00:23:05,690 --> 00:23:07,524 General Mark Clark relabeled 436 00:23:07,525 --> 00:23:10,276 Churchill's description of Italy as the soft underbelly 437 00:23:10,277 --> 00:23:12,140 as the tough old gut. 438 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,420 It is said that all roads lead to Rome, 439 00:23:21,525 --> 00:23:23,839 but in the fall of 1943, 440 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:26,060 for the Allies, there was only one, 441 00:23:28,463 --> 00:23:29,940 Highway 6. 442 00:23:31,180 --> 00:23:34,593 As Allied forces are lured deeper and deeper 443 00:23:34,594 --> 00:23:36,799 by moving north up Highway 6, 444 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:38,639 the German strategy very quickly becomes, 445 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,850 we're going to set up a series of defensive lines, 446 00:23:40,851 --> 00:23:43,740 and you come to us, and we will then maul you. 447 00:23:49,644 --> 00:23:53,180 It looked a lot like World War I defenses look. 448 00:23:54,300 --> 00:23:56,140 There are mines, and mortars, and machine guns. 449 00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:59,969 On the high ground, you have artillery observers, 450 00:23:59,970 --> 00:24:02,559 who could have a full view of the advance of the Allies, 451 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,479 and they would call artillery to fire on the advances. 452 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,088 The frustration grows with the costliness of this advance, 453 00:24:10,089 --> 00:24:12,842 the slowness of this advance up the Boot. 454 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:15,959 There's some historical wisdom here, 455 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,815 and it traces back to the great Napoleon who once said, 456 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,140 "Italy is a boot, and like all boots, 457 00:24:21,165 --> 00:24:22,999 has to be entered from the top," 458 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,719 where there's a nice broad plain, 459 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:26,345 plenty of room to maneuver. 460 00:24:26,346 --> 00:24:28,799 To fight up from the toe of Italy 461 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:30,199 after coming from Sicily... 462 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:31,879 Look at the terrain of Italy. 463 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,799 Big mountain range all down the center spine. 464 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:36,575 This is the big problem in Italy. 465 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:38,879 Who would wanna put an army into that area, 466 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:40,540 especially if it's raining? 467 00:24:42,057 --> 00:24:44,079 It rains every day. 468 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,740 And General Clark once said, 469 00:24:45,980 --> 00:24:48,479 "Anyone who ever talks about sunny Italy 470 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:49,919 should be here in October," 471 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,880 which is when the Allies were there. 472 00:24:52,460 --> 00:24:56,460 Gains are measured not in miles, but often in yards. 473 00:24:57,140 --> 00:25:00,895 The Italian campaign soon turns into a slog for the Allies. 474 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,695 And it's sapping their energy. 475 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:04,919 They're wet, they're cold, they're tired. 476 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,600 All of that is draining morale, as well as manpower. 477 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:11,679 One of the things that they resort to 478 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:14,199 is using mules to carry supplies forward, 479 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,199 'cause at least mules can get through that kind of terrain 480 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:18,940 in those kind of conditions. 481 00:25:19,540 --> 00:25:22,119 I think it's fair to say, when the war began, 482 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:23,919 in the war department in Washington, 483 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:25,667 no one was thinking of mules. 484 00:25:29,260 --> 00:25:31,886 It was arguably the most horrendous fighting 485 00:25:31,887 --> 00:25:33,888 that the Western Allies had to experience 486 00:25:33,889 --> 00:25:35,766 in the whole of the European theater. 487 00:25:37,216 --> 00:25:39,091 There's no question that some of the Americans 488 00:25:39,186 --> 00:25:41,799 who've given the go ahead for the Italian campaign 489 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:43,857 are now having second thoughts. 490 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,119 Churchill and the British commanders 491 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:48,955 promised the Americans that, basically, 492 00:25:48,956 --> 00:25:51,100 Italy would fall relatively quickly. 493 00:25:53,300 --> 00:25:55,679 Churchill argues again and again 494 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,519 that it would be folly not to continue 495 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:02,239 once one has set out on the Italian campaign, 496 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,260 arguing they must capitalize on their gains. 497 00:26:05,463 --> 00:26:07,415 What do you do, evacuate Italy? 498 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,399 No, you fight the enemy in front of you. 499 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,159 Before you know it, you're embroiled in a massive, costly, 500 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:14,044 brutal war in Italy. 501 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,519 Highway 6 snakes into the Liri Valley 502 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:22,140 on its way up the Italian peninsula. 503 00:26:25,942 --> 00:26:29,719 Overlooking the valley is a 1,700-foot rocky peak 504 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:31,460 called Monte Cassino. 505 00:26:33,850 --> 00:26:37,860 Perched on top is a sixth century Benedictine abbey. 506 00:26:38,980 --> 00:26:41,719 Monte Cassino is the strong point 507 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,980 of the German's defensive formation, 508 00:26:44,005 --> 00:26:45,580 the Gustav Line. 509 00:26:48,674 --> 00:26:50,279 It must have seemed to the Allies, 510 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:51,959 as they gazed up there, 511 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,199 that this is a kind of perfect defensive position 512 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:55,820 for the Germans to use. 513 00:26:56,060 --> 00:26:58,380 From the commanding heights of this terrain, 514 00:26:58,580 --> 00:27:00,439 the Germans can rain down 515 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,439 accurate and effective artillery fire at all times. 516 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,935 There is no way to get to Rome 517 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,060 without in some way dealing with Monte Cassino. 518 00:27:13,420 --> 00:27:16,260 The Allies hope to get to Rome by Christmas, 519 00:27:16,580 --> 00:27:19,279 but it's here in the shadow of Monte Cassino 520 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,615 that the advance stalls. 521 00:27:26,537 --> 00:27:30,220 In November, Allied leaders gather in Tehran. 522 00:27:30,566 --> 00:27:34,166 FDR is meeting Stalin for the first time. 523 00:27:34,254 --> 00:27:35,859 And the first thing that happens 524 00:27:35,884 --> 00:27:37,324 is Roosevelt and Stalin 525 00:27:37,349 --> 00:27:40,840 seem insistent on building their own relationship, 526 00:27:41,220 --> 00:27:43,763 sometimes freezing Churchill out, 527 00:27:43,764 --> 00:27:45,557 and he takes this really badly. 528 00:27:47,059 --> 00:27:52,540 He has to cede center stage with Roosevelt to Stalin. 529 00:27:52,740 --> 00:27:55,284 And Churchill is in an interesting kind of 530 00:27:55,285 --> 00:27:56,400 no man's land. 531 00:27:57,380 --> 00:27:58,646 There's this old line 532 00:27:58,671 --> 00:28:01,200 that Stalin didn't know much English, but he knew two words, 533 00:28:01,201 --> 00:28:02,639 second front, 534 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,450 because he said it over and over and over again. 535 00:28:05,451 --> 00:28:07,559 And when Stalin says second front, 536 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,319 he doesn't mean Sicily or even mainland Italy, 537 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:12,040 he means France. 538 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,959 Churchill says, "I was the little British donkey 539 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:20,244 sitting between the great American eagle 540 00:28:20,245 --> 00:28:21,559 and the Soviet bear, 541 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,460 and I was the only one who knew the way home." 542 00:28:25,740 --> 00:28:27,799 Churchill is still sticking 543 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:29,395 with his Mediterranean plan. 544 00:28:29,420 --> 00:28:31,844 But he knows that, coming out of Tehran, 545 00:28:31,845 --> 00:28:34,055 it's really important to be able to go back 546 00:28:34,056 --> 00:28:35,860 and win this victory. 547 00:28:37,837 --> 00:28:39,064 Winston Churchill, 548 00:28:39,089 --> 00:28:40,800 the master of out-of-the box thinking, 549 00:28:40,801 --> 00:28:42,639 has an idea for a left hook, 550 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:45,519 an amphibious landing on the western shore of Italy 551 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,780 behind the Gustav Line. 552 00:28:48,780 --> 00:28:50,839 Troops will land at Anzio, 553 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,399 50 miles behind the German forces, 554 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:54,880 then drive inland, 555 00:28:54,944 --> 00:28:58,340 drawing German defenders away from Monte Cassino. 556 00:28:58,365 --> 00:28:59,879 Winston Churchill thinks 557 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:01,999 that this could break the whole thing free. 558 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,680 This is the wildcat we need to shatter this stalemate. 559 00:29:06,850 --> 00:29:08,559 The Allies agree to do it, 560 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,020 mainly because Churchill is convinced it can work. 561 00:29:11,980 --> 00:29:14,455 But because so many men and landing craft 562 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,679 have been shipped back to Britain to prepare for D-Day, 563 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,140 the an Anzio landing winds up being two divisions only, 564 00:29:22,300 --> 00:29:24,010 a drop in the bucket. 565 00:29:35,768 --> 00:29:39,145 The Allied force at Anzio lands on an empty beach. 566 00:29:39,146 --> 00:29:41,940 There are almost no Germans in front of it. 567 00:29:41,941 --> 00:29:43,900 Surprise has been achieved. 568 00:29:45,820 --> 00:29:47,479 Speed is of the essence. 569 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,359 As soon as you land, you must get off the beachhead 570 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:52,900 as quickly as possible, strike inland. 571 00:29:54,100 --> 00:29:56,759 One jeep patrol actually gets as far 572 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:58,052 as the outskirts of Rome. 573 00:29:58,053 --> 00:30:01,931 So clearly, there is a route of advance open. 574 00:30:02,766 --> 00:30:06,180 The commander of the invasion is General John Lucas. 575 00:30:06,580 --> 00:30:09,457 Instead of driving boldly into the interior 576 00:30:09,458 --> 00:30:12,335 and seizing the high ground over the Anzio beachhead, 577 00:30:12,336 --> 00:30:14,540 General Lucas stays put. 578 00:30:14,820 --> 00:30:17,455 His thought is, "I need to secure this port, 579 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:19,491 'cause that is how we will be reinforced", 580 00:30:19,492 --> 00:30:21,140 and so he sits. 581 00:30:21,780 --> 00:30:24,559 As he sits, the German commander Kesselring 582 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,599 will basically pull all the cooks, bakers, 583 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:28,159 and candlestick makers from round Rome 584 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,380 and build them up to pen in the Anzio landing. 585 00:30:33,954 --> 00:30:36,519 The Germans have the high ground again, 586 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:38,519 and are able to control the situation 587 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,679 by subjecting the Allied forces to constant shelling. 588 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:46,799 Leading the way in the German bombardments 589 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,177 were two enormous railroad guns, 590 00:30:49,178 --> 00:30:51,387 known colloquially to the Allies 591 00:30:51,388 --> 00:30:54,100 as Anzio Annie and the Anzio Express. 592 00:31:02,156 --> 00:31:06,060 These fire a 500-pound shell 30 miles. 593 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,700 It would've sounded like a freight train. 594 00:31:12,846 --> 00:31:16,220 You could hear it kinda whistling in, and then boom. 595 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:22,900 The Allies at Anzio are sitting in a marsh. 596 00:31:23,078 --> 00:31:24,639 They have no cover. 597 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,239 Around them are mountains and German artillery, 598 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:30,799 and the artillery never stops firing. 599 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,815 There was nowhere on the beachhead you could go to 600 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:36,855 and get respite from enemy fire. 601 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,932 And so, what you basically gotta do 602 00:31:38,957 --> 00:31:42,719 is burrow down into the ground and hold tight. 603 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,359 It was just this horrendous grind 604 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,362 of being under fire for 24 hours a day. 605 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,272 This is as miserable a position 606 00:31:54,273 --> 00:31:57,060 as any force in World War II found themselves. 607 00:31:58,485 --> 00:32:00,319 Anzio is Churchill's plan. 608 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:01,821 And he said, famously, after the event, 609 00:32:01,822 --> 00:32:03,959 "I thought we landed a wildcat on the shore. 610 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:05,860 What we got was a beach whale." 611 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:11,535 The Luftwaffe strafes 612 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:13,282 Allied troops on the beachhead. 613 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,500 Included in the effort to help Lucas's forces off the beach 614 00:32:21,460 --> 00:32:23,820 is the 99th Fighter Squadron, 615 00:32:24,823 --> 00:32:28,180 part of what will become known as the Tuskegee Airmen. 616 00:32:28,740 --> 00:32:31,279 During that era of segregation, 617 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,900 most African Americans serve in rear echelon units. 618 00:32:35,180 --> 00:32:37,719 Tuskegee airmen are frontline fighting units, 619 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:39,934 and they're changing everyone's minds. 620 00:32:44,370 --> 00:32:47,460 On one of their mission, 16 of them fly over Anzio, 621 00:32:50,580 --> 00:32:52,975 and then what they find is the German aircraft 622 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:54,815 working over the landing craft. 623 00:32:56,502 --> 00:33:00,100 They shoot down 10 of those German aircraft. 624 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:08,639 To the south, 625 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,500 multiple attacks on the Monte Cassino abbey fail. 626 00:33:15,060 --> 00:33:17,175 The Allies debate whether to bomb 627 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:19,260 the mountaintop Abbey from the air. 628 00:33:21,214 --> 00:33:24,880 The Benedictine abbey that sits on Monte Cassino 629 00:33:24,881 --> 00:33:26,639 is a cultural relic. 630 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:30,380 The law of armed conflict would say, we don't touch those. 631 00:33:31,740 --> 00:33:34,559 Of course, this is one of the most important libraries 632 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,135 of Christian thought for millennia, 633 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,780 and many civilians had taken refuge there. 634 00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:43,079 But the assumption was that the Germans 635 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,159 were inside the abbey and using it 636 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:48,380 as the perfect field artillery observer's position. 637 00:33:48,980 --> 00:33:50,559 We cannot allow the enemy 638 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:53,159 to continue to harass us with artillery fire. 639 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,180 So, the abbey's gotta go. 640 00:33:59,060 --> 00:34:01,399 Allied forces distributed pamphlets 641 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:04,519 warning that there would be a bombardment, 642 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:06,159 and the residents, they thought, 643 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:08,140 they're not actually going to do it. 644 00:34:20,171 --> 00:34:24,180 Allied bombers flatten this shrine of Christianity. 645 00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:30,079 The bombing actually resulted in the killing 646 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,159 of hundreds of civilians who were taking refuge there. 647 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:36,159 Allied intelligence was wrong. 648 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:38,159 The German observation posts 649 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:41,300 had not been inside the monastery walls. 650 00:34:41,700 --> 00:34:44,237 The Germans who weren't occupying the abbey 651 00:34:44,262 --> 00:34:46,858 have now decided to occupy the rubble, 652 00:34:46,881 --> 00:34:50,015 which is incredibly effective for defensive purposes. 653 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,599 So the Allies got the exact opposite 654 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:54,140 of what they hoped to achieve. 655 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:57,959 Bombing the monastery gets the Allies 656 00:34:57,960 --> 00:34:59,734 no closer to their goal. 657 00:34:59,735 --> 00:35:02,439 At some point, infantry is going to have to 658 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,600 ascend a mountain under enemy fire. 659 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,340 The Allies have bombed the Monte Cassino abbey, 660 00:35:15,540 --> 00:35:17,415 but the Germans still hold the summit. 661 00:35:19,502 --> 00:35:21,519 When the weather improves in May, 662 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,860 the Allies make yet another assault. 663 00:35:24,620 --> 00:35:27,163 They take nearly their entire force in Italy 664 00:35:27,164 --> 00:35:31,200 and cram it into the narrow western half of the peninsula, 665 00:35:31,502 --> 00:35:34,140 using overwhelming strength now, 666 00:35:34,399 --> 00:35:38,759 tanks, aircraft, ceaseless waves of artillery bombardment. 667 00:35:40,065 --> 00:35:43,519 You've got this extraordinary United Nations of troops. 668 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:46,560 I mean, people from all over the world are Cassino. 669 00:35:46,898 --> 00:35:49,119 We got the British, we got the Americans, 670 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:53,039 we got New Zealand Maoris, we got Canadians, we got Indians, 671 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:55,041 we got French Moroccans, Goumiers, 672 00:35:55,042 --> 00:35:56,820 that are wonderful mountain fighters. 673 00:35:57,060 --> 00:36:00,700 It is one of the places where Japanese Americans fight. 674 00:36:01,420 --> 00:36:04,479 Who gets assigned Monte Cassino? The Pols. 675 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:09,215 World War II began in Europe 676 00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:11,540 when Germany invaded Poland. 677 00:36:11,774 --> 00:36:14,399 As much as anyone, the Polish people 678 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:16,919 have suffered from the brutal rule of the Nazis. 679 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:20,039 The idea that Pols 680 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:21,519 would never miss an opportunity 681 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:23,079 to take it back out on the Germans 682 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:25,400 for what they did to them should be lost on no one. 683 00:36:28,581 --> 00:36:30,081 At Monte Cassino, 684 00:36:30,082 --> 00:36:32,879 the Pols are that final wave of fighters, 685 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:35,359 and they, with incredible bravery and toughness, 686 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:37,415 go up this huge inclines. 687 00:36:42,816 --> 00:36:45,480 As you advance up the hill, you have to show yourself. 688 00:36:45,481 --> 00:36:47,679 You're gonna be picked off, you're a sitting duck. 689 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:53,313 We're talking almost 4,000 casualties 690 00:36:53,337 --> 00:36:55,660 for the Polish units attacking against Monte Cassino. 691 00:36:57,934 --> 00:36:59,199 The Pols 692 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,740 finally overrun the ruins of the abbey. 693 00:37:04,538 --> 00:37:06,319 The Polish flag is unveiled 694 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:07,880 on the top of the monastery. 695 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:15,959 And they play this very, very famous bugle call, 696 00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:17,294 HejnaB Mariacki, 697 00:37:17,295 --> 00:37:19,759 which translates to St. Mary's trumpet call. 698 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:24,159 It's a symbol of resilience, of national identity, 699 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:28,159 of hope for the future, and of the fight for Poland 700 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:30,536 for every single Polish person. 701 00:37:34,258 --> 00:37:36,799 And it sounds out over the monastery 702 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,020 once the fighting has died down. 703 00:37:42,260 --> 00:37:44,980 The Gustav Line is broken. 704 00:37:45,620 --> 00:37:47,455 The Americans are finally able 705 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:49,720 to break out of the Anzio beachhead. 706 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:54,119 There's a plan to encircle 707 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:55,755 and destroy the Germans. 708 00:37:55,756 --> 00:37:57,798 The plan is for Mark Clark 709 00:37:57,799 --> 00:37:59,959 to angle his troops to the northeast 710 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:03,239 and cut off Highway 6 at Valmontone. 711 00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:05,180 Those were the orders he was given. 712 00:38:05,820 --> 00:38:08,615 But Clark decides to make a swift left turn, 713 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:10,535 that is north, towards Rome. 714 00:38:12,035 --> 00:38:14,453 Rome is an irresistible target. 715 00:38:14,454 --> 00:38:16,959 Nothing screams we are making progress 716 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:18,479 than to have captured Rome. 717 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,599 And Mark Clark fundamentally thinks that the Fifth Army, 718 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,335 who has slogged their way up the Italian peninsula, 719 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:27,100 and him in particular, should get credit for this. 720 00:38:30,151 --> 00:38:32,039 The conquest of Rome is to take out 721 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:34,479 one of the great Axis capitals in the war. 722 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:35,599 And what you're doing 723 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:37,359 is pointing out to the rest of the world 724 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:39,279 that we're on the march, it's happening, 725 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,460 and next stop, Berlin. 726 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,300 The first of the Axis capitals is now in our hands. 727 00:38:49,163 --> 00:38:50,705 One up 728 00:38:51,259 --> 00:38:52,860 and two to go. 729 00:38:53,116 --> 00:38:56,129 However, the liberation of Rome is... 730 00:38:56,154 --> 00:38:58,439 gonna be entirely overshadowed 731 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:02,359 because the next day is going to be the launch of D-Day, 732 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:05,620 and Roosevelt can't say anything about it. 733 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:08,879 After 10 months, 734 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:11,620 the Allies have reached the Italian capital. 735 00:39:12,660 --> 00:39:15,453 But General Clark's decision to take Rome 736 00:39:15,454 --> 00:39:18,020 allows the Germans to escape once again. 737 00:39:18,580 --> 00:39:20,895 Ever since, he's had to answer questions 738 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:22,519 about those orders. 739 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:25,520 Was his ego simply too large to pass up Rome? 740 00:39:26,140 --> 00:39:28,559 Ultimately, the liberation of Rome 741 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,604 has more symbolic than strategic value. 742 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:34,879 The Allies would continue to fight the Germans in Italy 743 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:36,841 for almost another year. 744 00:39:37,536 --> 00:39:39,639 I think Churchill went to his grave thinking 745 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:41,639 there was an opportunity there that was missed. 746 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:45,620 Churchill always believed that it had been a good idea, 747 00:39:45,900 --> 00:39:49,239 but it had been undone by a bit of foot dragging 748 00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:50,815 and some bad luck. 749 00:39:52,618 --> 00:39:55,199 The Italian campaign is the moment 750 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:58,079 at which Churchill overreaches himself. 751 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:01,599 He had insisted on this vast continental campaign 752 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,100 that had led to nothing but misery. 753 00:40:05,820 --> 00:40:08,022 Because of difficult terrain, 754 00:40:08,023 --> 00:40:10,159 military miscalculation, 755 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,620 and determined resistance from a skillful enemy, 756 00:40:13,940 --> 00:40:18,820 the Allied effort in Italy gained little and cost much. 757 00:40:19,340 --> 00:40:21,424 The Italian campaign is the last time 758 00:40:21,700 --> 00:40:25,303 the British will have a predominant presence 759 00:40:25,304 --> 00:40:27,389 in the Allied forces. 760 00:40:27,390 --> 00:40:30,959 America has been building airplanes and tanks, 761 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:32,878 and creating soldiers. 762 00:40:32,879 --> 00:40:35,439 As the American strength rises, 763 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:38,415 Winston Churchill's influence wanes. 764 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:42,375 The battle for Italy, 765 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:44,375 which will go on until the end of the war, 766 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:46,740 was fought with determination and bravery. 767 00:40:46,924 --> 00:40:48,975 Ordinary soldiers fought for their nation, 768 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,140 but also for each other. 769 00:40:51,380 --> 00:40:53,359 This kind of comradery is found 770 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:55,940 in all theaters and on all battlefields. 771 00:40:56,260 --> 00:40:58,469 War tests the best of us. 772 00:40:58,470 --> 00:41:01,660 And nowhere would men be tested more 773 00:41:01,685 --> 00:41:03,980 than in the skies over Germany.