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July 1942.
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It's been over a year
since Adolf Hitler launched
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Operation Barbarossa
against the Soviet Union.
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After initial success,
the German campaign bogs down
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across all fronts...
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so Hitler prepares
to launch another offensive.
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One of his objectives
is capturing Stalingrad,
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a city of great strategic
and symbolic value,
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particularly to the Soviet leader
Josef Stalin.
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One of the titanic battles
of World War II is about to erupt.
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All wars change the world,
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but none of them change the world
like the Second World War did.
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Japan's on the march.
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 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: 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
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in which there could
be one victor...
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...and one vanquished.
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June 1942.
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{\an8}Adolf Hitler travels to Finland
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{\an8}to meet with Finnish military leader
Carl Gustav Mannerheim.
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{\an8}The Germans are about to launch
another major offensive
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{\an8}against the Soviet Union.
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{\an8}But to do so, the Wehrmacht
needs access to more oil.
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{\an8}Hitler's main supply of oil
is from his ally Romania.
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But he confesses to Mannerheim
how dependent Germany is
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on that one source of fuel.
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Hitler's also concerned
the Romanian oilfields
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are vulnerable
to Allied air attacks.
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Oil is always
a problem for Hitler.
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Unlike the United States or Russia,
Germany doesn't have
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{\an8}an internal source of oil
or petroleum it can tap into.
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It must go get it
from somewhere else.
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The Caucasus,
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a mountainous region
of the Soviet Union's southwest,
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contains some of
the richest oilfields in the world.
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If the Germans can seize them,
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the Wehrmacht will have
all the oil it needs,
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as well as
depriving the Soviets access.
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The Caucasus
is a vast mountain range
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{\an8}that spans Europe and Asia:
750 miles.
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This is going to be a serious
obstacle for any army
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that tries to traverse it.
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Hitler and his generals
prepare a plan
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to conquer the Caucasus:
Operation Blue.
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The Southern Army Group
first head towards the Volga River
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to secure this vital supply route
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and prevent the Soviets
from moving in reinforcements.
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capture the fields.
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Can they get there?
If they could...
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could they go ahead
and pull all that oil out of there?
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Do they have the logistical means
necessary to get it back to Germany?
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This is Hitler's idea.
It has to be successful.
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Until now, Hitler's campaign
against the Soviet Union
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has proven to be
far more difficult than he
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and the German high command
anticipated.
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In June of 1941, the Germans
launched Operation Barbarossa,
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the invasion of the Soviet Union.
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The biggest military operation
of all time.
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Hitler is banking on a quick win.
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The Germans take tens of thousands
of square miles
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and capture millions
of Soviet soldiers.
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But they don't take Moscow,
they don't get the quick win.
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The war goes on into 1942.
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Barbarossa did not meet
its objectives set by Adolf Hitler,
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which was to capture vast amounts
of land, to get raw materials.
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Also, to wreck Bolshevism,
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which needed the collapse of
the Soviet Union to happen rapidly.
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None of which happened.
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Hitler is concerned
he's gotten himself in trouble
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in the Soviet Union
but he's convinced
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the situation can be righted.
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He can continue this war forever...
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as long as he has
a sufficient supply of oil.
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And that's what the 1942 strike
is going to take care of,
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a strike for the oil fields
of the Soviet Union.
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This is the world's
first war for oil.
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German forces
begin their push south
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towards the Volga as planned.
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{\an8}Hitler is impatient
and desperate to get...
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the oilfields as soon as he can.
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But then he splits
the Southern Army Group in two.
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For Hitler, Operation Blue
is an exercise in frustration.
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The armies
aren't moving fast enough.
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They're not meeting the objectives.
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And for that reason, he decides
to split them into two big groups.
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It's a measure
of his arrogance that he thought
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he was just simply going to be able
to divide this force.
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{\an8}And it's some of the most difficult
fighting terrain of Europe.
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Hitler orders most
of the Southern Army Group
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to push directly for the oilfields.
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The job of seizing the Volga
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will now be left
to a single combat force,
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one of the biggest
and most experienced...
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...the 6th Army.
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The German 6th Army
is the largest army
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in the German order of battle.
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At the beginning of the campaign,
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the 6th Army
had over 300,000 men in it.
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By the middle of August,
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they're closing in on the Volga
and the city that guards it:
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Stalingrad.
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Stalingrad is named after
Adolf Hitler's personal rival
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and the personification
of Bolshevism, Joseph Stalin.
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It's Stalin's city.
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It was named to commemorate
a great victory
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he won over the Whites
in the Russian Civil War.
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He doesn't want to surrender
a city named after himself.
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Stalingrad itself
is also a major industrial centre,
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{\an8}which produces something like
20% of Soviet tanks,
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{\an8}including the famous T-34,
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Along with a lot of other products
critical to the war economy,
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Stalingrad is a prize
in its own right.
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Once again,
the Red Army is forced to retreat
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by the Wehrmacht.
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The German forces
with their shirts off,
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it's summer, and they're
just racing across the steppes.
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And the Red Army is just collapsing.
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Stalin understands that
if Hitler controls the Volga River,
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that he will control
the supply lines,
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and therefore, there's a chance
he can defeat the Soviet Red Army.
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Stalin goes
into a freefall panic.
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Stalin is determined
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that this is where Hitler
must finally be stopped.
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In late July 1942,
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as the German 6th Army
advances on Stalingrad,
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he issues a directive from Moscow.
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Order 227.
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As the Germans are advancing
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and getting ever closer
to Stalingrad in July 1942,
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Stalin issues Order 227...
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this is the so-called
'Not a step backward',
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'Ni shagu nazad' order.
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No more retreat will be tolerated.
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He's reading
a lot of Roman history
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about how the Roman army
punished units for surrendering.
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Stalin says,
'We've lost too many provinces.
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We've lost all of European Russia.
The retreat must stop now.
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Not one more step back.
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Anyone who retreats,
in any shape or form,
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will be instantly executed.'
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There are going to be
blocking units,
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made up of the secret police, NKVD,
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commissars, people like that,
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{\an8}whose job it is to kill soldiers
that are coming back towards them.
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The reason Stalin
gives this order is revealing.
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The Soviets were presumed,
at the beginning of the war,
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to have these vast
and almost endless stores...
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of manpower, of grain, of wheat.
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A big country, after all, a much
bigger country than Nazi Germany.
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But as many as 70 million
former Soviet subjects
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are now behind German lines.
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And we shouldn't forget, of course,
that Nazi Germany is now drawing on
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the resources
of occupied Europe as well.
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In Stalin's calculations,
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Stalin no longer thinks the Soviets
have a manpower advantage.
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So, the essence of this order,
not a step back,
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is that if they withdraw
any further,
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they will forfeit any possible
material or manpower advantage
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over the German armies.
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Both Hitler and Stalin
understand
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the symbolic power of Stalingrad.
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Hitler gets fixated
on Stalingrad.
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It bears Stalin's name.
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{\an8}'Why don't I take Stalingrad?
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{\an8}This will be an unspeakable
humiliation to Stalin.
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It will be a sign
of German supremacy.'
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Stalin, he's under no illusions
that if Stalingrad is reached
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{\an8}by the German forces,
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{\an8}this is gonna be an existential
battle of annihilation.
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The German 6th Army
surrounds Stalingrad.
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Stalingrad,
a city of 800,000,
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is spread along 30 miles
of the Volga River.
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It has modern apartment blocks.
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Parks.
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And heavy industrial factories.
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On August 23rd,
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the Luftwaffe bombardment begins.
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In the first 24 hours...
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thousands are killed.
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Still, Stalin orders
all survivors...
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to remain in the ravaged city.
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Stalin deliberately
makes no organised attempt
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to evacuate
the civilian inhabitants.
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{\an8}Have the Germans attack,
shell, bomb.
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He wants to showcase
German barbarism.
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But he also figures
that this will...
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stiffen the resistance
of Stalingrad.
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{\an8}His thinking at this point is that
if I leave a Russian population
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{\an8}in a city centre, that...
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Soviet soldiers will fight all that
more heroically in their defence.
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Stalingrad
has been destroyed.
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There is devastation everywhere.
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{\an8}But the German 6th Army,
a quarter of a million men,
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{\an8}500 tanks, is ready to push
in the city and conquer it.
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Germany's 6th Army
is led by General Friedrich Paulus.
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Paulus as a character
is quite weak.
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00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,280
{\an8}He doesn't have the self-confidence
of a Manstein, or a Rommel,
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or anybody like that.
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00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:11,240
{\an8}Friedrich Paulus is one of
Hitler's less able generals.
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He doesn't have
a lot of experience in battle.
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He's a technocrat,
who is gonna get the job done.
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And Hitler doesn't think the job
is gonna be particularly difficult.
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After two weeks
of constant bombardment,
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General Paulus orders the 6th Army
to enter Stalingrad.
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There, the German troops
are confronted with a unique,
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battered landscape...
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that provides cover
for thousands of Soviet soldiers.
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Imagine an urban warfare campaign
in New York...
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...or London.
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It's a partially destroyed,
nightmarish ruin.
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{\an8}There's actually civilians
still running around
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{\an8}and living, like, in little caves
that they've dug out of the rubble.
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The environment is surreal.
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The Germans describe
this savage, close quarter combat...
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as Rattenkrieg: war of the rats.
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The German notion
of Rattenkrieg,
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rats scurrying between rubble,
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soldiers manoeuvring
in and out of sewers.
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Open a door. There's an enemy.
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Now, all of a sudden,
you're fighting with fists,
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not with artillery
and not with tanks.
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It is a very face-to-face, personal,
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and infantry-energy-intensive
battle.
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The Germans push through
the mangled industrial debris
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of factories and oil depots.
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Hiding within the ruins,
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Soviet snipers pick off
individual soldiers...
247
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:12,800
...sowing a sense of random terror.
248
00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,040
The most skilled marksmen
become legends.
249
00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,360
Men like Vasily Zaytsev,
250
00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,680
who becomes a hero
throughout the Soviet Union.
251
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,920
Everyone, young and old,
is expected to fight...
252
00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,160
...including women.
253
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,240
Women are very much part
of the Red Army effort anyway,
254
00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,160
but in Stalingrad,
they're trapped in the city.
255
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,440
And so they would just get in there
256
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:44,840
and start to fight
equally with the men.
257
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,240
They dig tank traps. They learn
how to shoot. They become snipers.
258
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,160
But despite the Red Army's
gallant defence of Stalingrad,
259
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,000
street by street, yard by yard,
260
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,200
the Germans are gaining ground.
261
00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:03,600
By the second week of fighting,
262
00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,960
the Soviets are in danger
of losing the city.
263
00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:12,480
At the same time,
German forces are closing in
264
00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,640
on the oilfields in the Caucasus.
265
00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:23,880
The Battle of Stalingrad
is going badly.
266
00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,200
The entire Soviet Union seems to be
staring down the barrel.
267
00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:31,360
Stalin decides he has to do
something dramatic to save the city.
268
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,120
Stalin summons his
First Deputy Commander in Chief...
269
00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,200
Georgy Zhukov,
270
00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,800
who successfully defended
Leningrad and Moscow.
271
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:42,840
At a meeting in the Kremlin,
272
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,360
Stalin confers with Zhukov
on military strategy.
273
00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,560
{\an8}Stalin had always wanted to be
a military commander.
274
00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:53,840
Long before World War II,
275
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,520
he dressed as a military commander,
276
00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:58,640
but he's not a commander.
277
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,280
He's not a brilliantly
talented strategist,
278
00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:05,040
and he's still constantly
overruling his generals,
279
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,760
ordering offensives that are
unnecessary, that are unprepared.
280
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:13,320
But now, Stalin begins to learn
to listen to people he trusts.
281
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:16,760
He's starting
to find talented people:
282
00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,240
Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov,
who helped defend Moscow.
283
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,400
He's now going, 'Hey, that guy,
I think he knows how to win.'
284
00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:26,480
Zhukov
is broad-shouldered.
285
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,280
He's short. He's muscular.
286
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,400
He's an incredibly tough person.
287
00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,640
He literally clears minefields by
sending troops running across them.
288
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,680
The quintessential
Stalinist general.
289
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,520
Zhukov presents Stalin
with a new plan.
290
00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,840
Lure the 6th Army
deeper into Stalingrad...
291
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,000
then surround them
292
00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,960
and counterattack
from the rear of the city.
293
00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,040
At the end
of the meeting, Stalin shakes hands,
294
00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,120
for the first time, with Zhukov.
295
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,960
Something that
he's never done before,
296
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,280
because he realises that
if this works,
297
00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,000
the tide of the war will change.
298
00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:26,880
In September 1942,
299
00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,400
Soviet General Zhukov designed
a new strategy to defend Stalingrad.
300
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:34,280
Relying largely on deception...
301
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,760
...he opens up
misleading radio channels...
302
00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,840
...orders fake defences,
303
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,840
and starts construction
on 17 false bridges.
304
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,320
{\an8}The Soviets are starting
to learn the art of war.
305
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:51,280
This is not the Soviet Army of 1941.
306
00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,360
Zhukov, a chess player,
307
00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:56,760
is known for meticulous planning.
308
00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,240
{\an8}Zhukov's plans
for the operation are elaborate,
309
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,600
and they take weeks to prepare.
310
00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:08,320
The Army inside Stalingrad
311
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,120
{\an8}is completely unaware
of what its real role is.
312
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,560
Its role is to be
the bait in the trap.
313
00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,080
Their Commander
knows that the only way he can do it
314
00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,120
is by sacrificing more and more men.
315
00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:28,000
By October,
both armies combined
316
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,760
lose nearly 6,000 troops a day.
317
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,960
And both sides are equally ruthless
in their tactics.
318
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:44,640
German soldiers
would bribe these poor orphans
319
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,240
to go and fill their water bottles
in the Volga with a crust of bread.
320
00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:50,240
Soviet snipers were ordered
to shoot down
321
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,240
the Russian children
who were starving.
322
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,280
This was the pitilessness
of the battle.
323
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,240
At his headquarters,
Adolf Hitler is informed...
324
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:09,280
that his army won't be able to take
the oilfields in the Caucasus.
325
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,880
His earlier decision
to split his forces...
326
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,040
has doomed the operation.
327
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,320
Hitler is told
that, actually,
328
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,400
we haven't got enough troops
to seize the oil fields.
329
00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,160
He explodes in rage.
330
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,520
He says he's been lied to.
He blames his generals.
331
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:32,920
So, it completely changes the
atmosphere at Fuhrer headquarters.
332
00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:37,400
Hitler shifts his focus
to one goal...
333
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:40,800
...capturing Stalingrad.
334
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,880
By mid-November, it appears
the 6th Army might just do it.
335
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:55,280
They make their final push to
encircle Soviet troops on the Volga.
336
00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,880
The Germans are feeling confident
about the Battle of Stalingrad.
337
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,440
They already hold 90% of the city.
338
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,240
Hitler is getting reports
from his commanders on the site
339
00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:07,760
that the city is about to fall.
340
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,600
They're starting to fly
swastika flags.
341
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,960
{\an8}Hitler is boasting to his buddies,
'Stalingrad is about to be mine.'
342
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,480
Hitler seems confident
that the Wehrmacht
343
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,640
is on the verge of victory.
344
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,080
As fighting continues
around Stalingrad,
345
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,440
the Red Army
unleashes a deafening fusillade
346
00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:50,640
from over 3,000
Soviet heavy artillery...
347
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:52,800
and Katyusha rockets.
348
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:01,680
Katyusha rockets
are one of the great...
349
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,560
weapons invented by the Red Army.
350
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,840
They could fire these
terrifying salvos.
351
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,720
The scream is completely unearthly.
352
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,880
The 6th Army's flanks
are defended
353
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,200
by badly-equipped Romanian troops.
354
00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,560
This is where Zhukov
focuses his attack.
355
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:27,160
They were whipped
by their own officers.
356
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,000
They received
virtually no pay at all.
357
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,800
Their morale was rock bottom.
358
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:35,560
Why should they die for Germany?
359
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,960
The Romanians
are quickly overrun.
360
00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,240
Hundreds of thousands
of Red Army soldiers
361
00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,240
encircle the 6th Army
in a pincer movement.
362
00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,400
On November 22nd,
363
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:03,960
Soviet forces link up in the town
of Kalach, on the Don river.
364
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,320
The 6th Army is now surrounded
365
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:09,800
and cut off from its supply lines.
366
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,200
General Paulus
is in a desperate position.
367
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,120
One of the most shocking documents
368
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,600
in the German command
of the Second World War
369
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,320
is the memo that General Paulus
writes back to Fuhrer headquarters.
370
00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,280
It opens with two words:
371
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,280
Armee eingeschlossen.
372
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:31,440
'The army is surrounded.'
373
00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:34,800
{\an8}Words that no German commander
374
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,120
{\an8}ever believed
they would ever have to write.
375
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,000
Hitler, when he hears about this,
376
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:43,360
is absolutely speechless with rage.
377
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:46,800
As far as Hitler was concerned,
378
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,760
the capture of Stalingrad
had been proclaimed as a victory.
379
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,520
Only a few days before
the great Soviet encirclement.
380
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,840
He could not admit
that they had lost it.
381
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,520
This crucial battle
has altered
382
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:02,680
Stalin's approach to leadership.
383
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,080
Stalin had been
the headstrong, clumsy...
384
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,240
and obstinate commander,
385
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,400
{\an8}who constantly makes
colossal mistakes
386
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:14,400
{\an8}with catastrophic effects.
387
00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:17,960
Stalin by now has learnt...
388
00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:20,160
to listen to generals,
389
00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,000
to recognise
the limits of his expertise,
390
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,680
and to let them plan the detour
while he sets the larger strategy.
391
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,000
You start to see this transition
392
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,400
of Joseph Stalin
into political leader,
393
00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,400
and letting his military
professionals fight the battles.
394
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,400
Joseph Stalin is indeed maturing
as a war leader.
395
00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:45,320
Stalin's forces
have Paulus's 6th Army surrounded.
396
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:48,880
The Russian winter is closing in.
397
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,320
Winter descends
over the Eastern Front.
398
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:04,720
What remains of
the German 6th Army
399
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:07,240
is trapped
in the city of Stalingrad.
400
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,600
250,000 men...
401
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,680
are completely surrounded
by Soviet troops.
402
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,400
General Paulus asks permission
to attempt a breakout.
403
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:23,880
Hitler refuses.
404
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,760
{\an8}Hitler is linked
with the Stand Fast order:
405
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,200
{\an8}'Where the German soldier sets foot,
there he stays.'
406
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,280
Not taking Stalingrad
is not an option.
407
00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:36,320
It has to do with public opinion.
408
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,400
But Hitler knows the degree
of the predicament he's in.
409
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:46,640
The Wehrmacht
is now gonna face not only a...
410
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,160
Soviet Army growing in capability,
capacity and credibility,
411
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,720
they're also gonna
have to face the Russian winter.
412
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,800
{\an8}Soldiers don't have the right gear,
supplies become harder,
413
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,400
{\an8}vehicles are harder to start,
maintenance is harder to do.
414
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,520
Everything that should be easy
becomes more difficult
415
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:03,440
because people are cold.
416
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,760
How long
till the ammunition runs out?
417
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,240
{\an8}How long till
the medical supplies run out?
418
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,760
The Germans are hit by the
full force of the Russian winter.
419
00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,200
You're talking about
bitterly cold weather.
420
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,040
People suffering from frostbite.
421
00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:30,800
People are literally
dying of cold where they stand.
422
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,240
{\an8}The bodies are frozen solid.
423
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:38,160
You could break off their arm,
they're so frozen.
424
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:42,840
Soldiers are dying of dysentery,
425
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,280
typhoid and tuberculosis.
426
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,040
By the end of December,
427
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,920
their daily food intake
is less than a handful of bread,
428
00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,080
with weak, watery soup.
429
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:56,760
The troops are starving.
430
00:27:57,600 --> 00:27:59,560
There are dead men
lying everywhere.
431
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,120
There are rats everywhere. There's
no fuel. There's nothing to burn.
432
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,400
{\an8}There's absolutely no thought
of fighting any more.
433
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,200
Even hanging on to life
has become almost impossible.
434
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,720
You see German soldiers
and officers
435
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,640
asking the doctors for pills
so that they can commit suicide.
436
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,360
They are frozen.
They are desperate.
437
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,440
It's a scene of Hell on Earth.
438
00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:30,880
Back in Germany,
439
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:35,200
the public is largely unaware of how
serious the situation has become.
440
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,440
But now some are getting letters
from their loved ones,
441
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:45,400
detailing the horrors unfolding
in the ruins of Stalingrad.
442
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,840
Try to put yourself
in the place of these German troops.
443
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:53,480
You're very far away
from home, right?
444
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,360
It's Christmas season,
and you're listening to the radio,
445
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,320
and they're playing Silent Night.
446
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:03,120
At a certain point, you realise that
they're basically writing you off.
447
00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:08,200
Again and again, Paulus
asks for permission to break out.
448
00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,920
Each time, Hitler's answer is...
449
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:14,520
'No.'
450
00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,840
General Paulus's men are
dying in the thousands every day.
451
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,840
Any sense of military utility
had long departed.
452
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,400
And yet Paulus chose
loyalty to Hitler
453
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,800
over loyalty to the men
under his command.
454
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,280
Hitler has created
a command culture
455
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,840
in which his commanders
can't use their professionalism
456
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,080
and their expertise on the ground
to do what's best for their forces.
457
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,240
{\an8}And so this is also a failure of...
458
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,200
{\an8}Hitler's management
of his commanders.
459
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,400
By the end of January,
460
00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:53,000
Paulus informs Hitler
that they cannot fight on.
461
00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:55,240
Hitler responds
with a radio message,
462
00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,080
promoting Paulus to Field Marshal,
463
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,840
and congratulating him
on his new position.
464
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:06,000
Hitler does this not out of any
great love or admiration for Paulus.
465
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,200
{\an8}He does it because no field marshal
466
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,120
{\an8}has ever surrendered
in the field in German history.
467
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,080
He feels that this
is one way of, basically,
468
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,560
making Paulus commit suicide.
469
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:22,720
The next day,
470
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,120
Paulus goes to Red Army headquarters
outside Stalingrad.
471
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,160
150,000 of his men are dead.
472
00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,320
Paulus is trapped.
He faces an impossible choice.
473
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:42,840
Paulus surrenders
what is left of the 6th Army.
474
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,240
The remaining 90,000 German troops
475
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,920
are led away as prisoners of war.
476
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,480
Only a small number of them
will ever see Germany again.
477
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,160
It really was
a shock the Nazi elite,
478
00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,360
but also to the people of Germany.
479
00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:04,640
Psychologically,
it really was the turning point.
480
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:07,800
All of a sudden,
the unthinkable.
481
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:11,920
The idea you might lose this war
is right there in your face
482
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,240
and everyone back at home
would have known about it.
483
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:16,080
The morale is going to suffer.
484
00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:19,560
That's a turn-the-tables moment.
485
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:24,280
There's very few families in Germany
that didn't have
486
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,280
some tie to the 6th Army:
487
00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,240
a son, a father, a neighbour's son.
488
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,040
The 6th Army was the largest army
in the German order of battle.
489
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,400
And now it's been
completely destroyed
490
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,800
When Hitler receives
the news of Paulus's surrender,
491
00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:41,960
he's silent for several hours.
492
00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:45,320
Then he explodes.
493
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,440
He actually says, 'Why didn't
Paulus put a bullet in his brain?'
494
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,240
It only takes a second, and he would
have been immortal from then on.
495
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:58,480
But instead, he chose what Hitler
said was the coward's way out.
496
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:01,960
But Hitler knows
the gravity of this defeat.
497
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,360
To lose 250,000 men,
498
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,760
in a moment, essentially,
In other words,
499
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:14,600
to have that military force
wiped off your ledger,
500
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,160
that hadn't happened
to the Germans in the war.
501
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,480
It changes the political
calculation entirely,
502
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,560
and this myth of invincibility
is going to be shattered.
503
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,040
In a single campaign,
504
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,440
Hitler has lost an army...
505
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,480
...and began to lose the faith
of the German people.
506
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:56,680
Following the defeat
of Stalingrad,
507
00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:00,440
Adolf Hitler withdraws
to his mountain retreat in Bavaria.
508
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,640
On April 20th 1943,
509
00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:08,960
his inner circle throws a party
to mark his 54th birthday.
510
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,200
After Stalingrad,
511
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,240
all the indicators
are running against Germany.
512
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,680
The campaign in North Africa
has clearly gone bad.
513
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,000
Increasingly,
Hitler is losing control of himself.
514
00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,200
{\an8}The entire 1942 campaign
had been marked
515
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,440
{\an8}by gigantic tantrums
against his officers.
516
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:36,600
He is no longer up to the stress
of running a global war,
517
00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:39,800
but Hitler knows
that he has to launch...
518
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:41,920
an offensive in 1943.
519
00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:45,480
Or he risks losing control
of the war completely.
520
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,640
The Germans have enough armour,
521
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:51,680
{\an8}and enough energy
and enough manpower,
522
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,040
{\an8}to mount one final offensive
on the Eastern Front.
523
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,560
The Soviets have advanced
into an area to the south,
524
00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,080
creating a salient
around a region called Kursk.
525
00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:09,360
Hitler sees an opportunity
to seize the initiative.
526
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:15,480
The salient around Kursk in 1943
was such an obvious target
527
00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:19,560
that basically both sides knew
some type of offensive was coming.
528
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:24,200
Hitler is basically putting
all of his chips on the table.
529
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:29,720
But his resources
are already stretched across Europe.
530
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,200
Everything is getting harder
by 1943:
531
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,040
the Soviet artillery is better,
their tanks are better,
532
00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:40,000
their leadership is better.
533
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:42,840
{\an8}So it will take a lot of resources,
it will take a lot of armour,
534
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,120
{\an8}and it will cost
in order to do this.
535
00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:50,360
Considering the resources
of Nazi Germany at this point,
536
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:52,680
its economic reserves, its soldiers,
537
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,080
{\an8}this is a ridiculous thing
to attempt.
538
00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,400
Hitler is particularly excited
about his giant tanks,
539
00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,880
the Tigers and Panthers, which
he thinks, 'Oh, game changers.'
540
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:11,160
In Moscow, the Soviet high
command is receiving intelligence
541
00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:13,880
about the Germans'
upcoming offensive.
542
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:17,680
Unlike early in the war,
543
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,480
Stalin is now utilising
the intelligence he receives.
544
00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:24,760
Stalin's instincts
are always just, 'Attack now.
545
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,080
Attack on all fronts.
Attack at any cost.'
546
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,640
By the time of Kursk,
he's learnt that, actually,
547
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:32,800
this is not the way to win a war.
548
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,960
Now he's taking
the intelligence on board.
549
00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:39,560
{\an8}He's trusting it. The German attack
is gonna be massive.
550
00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:42,400
Zhukov persuades Stalin,
'We're gonna dig in.
551
00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:46,520
We're gonna prepare, and
we're gonna draw the Germans in.'
552
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,480
As Zhukov prepares
for the coming offensive,
553
00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:54,360
Soviet factories
increase their production.
554
00:35:57,960 --> 00:35:59,800
By this stage
of the war,
555
00:35:59,960 --> 00:36:04,240
the Soviet economy is vastly
outproducing the German economy.
556
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,200
Stalin was now producing
massive amounts of weaponry.
557
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,440
The United States has
also been sending military supplies
558
00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,520
to the Soviets through
its Lend-Lease plan,
559
00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:19,720
which was designed to get
American materials to Great Britain
560
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:22,080
and the Soviet Union.
561
00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:25,200
By 1943, tons of military hardware
562
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,120
are rolling off Allied ships
each month.
563
00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:33,920
The Soviets were especially
impressed with the Willys Jeeps,
564
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,920
American Sherman tanks,
565
00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:40,840
along with more than
12,000 warplanes.
566
00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:48,040
The Soviets are also
receiving hundreds of thousands
567
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:50,200
of tons of food.
568
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:55,760
The Soviet Army
is actually being fed
569
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,480
by the American economy in 1943,
570
00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:03,160
everything from the famous tushonka
pork Americans refer to as Spam
571
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,600
to millions of packets
of dehydrated borscht.
572
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,360
One of the ways that Hitler
wants to defeat these people,
573
00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:13,840
{\an8}and whittle down their numbers,
is through starvation.
574
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,160
{\an8}But if they're being fed from
outside sources, you can't do that.
575
00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:21,640
The supplies
help the Soviets build
576
00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,560
one of the largest defensive forces
ever seen:
577
00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:27,960
1.3 million troops.
578
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:32,160
At Zhukov's command,
579
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:35,400
civilians dig several thousand miles
of trenches
580
00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:37,800
and tank traps outside Kursk.
581
00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,720
Nearly one million mines are laid.
582
00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:46,440
It's the most
densely defended area
583
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:49,760
{\an8}of the whole Earth in the course
of the Second World War.
584
00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:57,120
The Soviets are prepared...
585
00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:59,600
for the full weight...
586
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,640
of the German Wehrmacht.
587
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,880
July 1943.
588
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:16,680
The Germans launch their colossal
offensive against the Red Army
589
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:18,840
in the Kursk salient.
590
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:28,440
Quickly, the German advance
runs into Zhukov's fortifications.
591
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,760
It's the countermove
to the idea of blitzkrieg.
592
00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:42,600
{\an8}If you break through the front line,
there's another line behind there
593
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:46,040
{\an8}with anti-tank efforts
and trenches and men.
594
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:48,160
If you break through that one,
there's another one.
595
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:57,480
Your forces,
as the German Wehrmacht,
596
00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:59,720
are getting smaller
and weaker and damaged.
597
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:04,040
And eventually you just sort of
whittle away the spear point here.
598
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:08,680
For eight days, the Germans
grind against Soviet defences.
599
00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:17,840
Two vast tank armies collide.
600
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,360
Astonishing intensity.
601
00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:36,960
{\an8}Tanks, helm to helm, hull to hull.
602
00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:47,840
{\an8}The German tanks are better built,
have bigger guns, better armour.
603
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,120
But if you've only got
a few of them,
604
00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:53,640
and you've got a mass of T-34s
coming at you,
605
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:55,800
you have a big problem.
606
00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:59,800
Hitler's miracle weapons,
the Tigers and Panthers,
607
00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:02,720
which are these giant,
diabolical metal machines,
608
00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:05,560
actually don't work too well.
609
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:11,840
Hitler's tanks are destroyed
610
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,080
by the more manoeuvrable
Soviet tanks.
611
00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:20,680
After two days,
the Wehrmacht is forced to withdraw.
612
00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:23,440
Hitler has failed.
613
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,800
He's rolled the dice three times
inside the Soviet Union.
614
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:30,880
Operation Barbarossa in '41,
Operation Blue in '42...
615
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,840
...and now the great offensive
at Kursk, and he's failed each time.
616
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:40,720
Hitler's final gamble on
the Eastern Front has been crushed.
617
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:44,480
They get nothing
out of the Battle of Kursk.
618
00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:46,360
It's a huge defeat for the Germans.
619
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:49,040
{\an8}They're always gonna be
going backwards from this point on.
620
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,080
Kursk destroys enough
of the German combat power
621
00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:55,400
that they can never take the
offensive for the rest of the war.
622
00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:58,240
{\an8}Therefore, the Soviets maintain
the initiative to pick the time
623
00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,080
{\an8}and place of the choosing, where
they're gonna take their next act.
624
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,240
This is
a decisive moment
625
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,440
in Stalin's development
as a supreme commander.
626
00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:11,320
Hitler is undergoing precisely
the opposite transformation.
627
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:14,360
At this point in the war,
628
00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:17,000
Hitler is really
losing his grip on reality.
629
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,000
And...
630
00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:22,080
people who thought he made
some madcap moves in 1940,
631
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:23,960
but they paid off.
632
00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:28,280
As the war lengthens, his decisions
become more and more suspect.
633
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,720
The two great warlords of
World War II are passing each other
634
00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,880
as one develops
and one deteriorates.
635
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:45,840
In November 1943,
636
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:49,440
Joseph Stalin meets with
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
637
00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:51,680
and President Franklin D Roosevelt.
638
00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:57,120
It's the first meeting of the group
639
00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:00,520
that will become known as...
the Big Three.
640
00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:07,800
The big three
sat down in Tehran,
641
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,280
round the table with their teams.
642
00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:14,640
{\an8}Each of them said something,
and Stalin really put it best.
643
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,480
{\an8}He said, 'History has spoilt us.
644
00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:20,760
{\an8}Never have three men had...
645
00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:25,360
{\an8}the vast and massive powers
that we have today.
646
00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:27,560
{\an8}Let's get to work.'
647
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:35,360
Stalingrad creates a tradition
that eventually spreads
648
00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:37,400
to the rest of the Red Army.
649
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:41,720
Soviet soldiers passing each other
in the street say 'blind swap'
650
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:45,720
and exchange the items
in their pockets without looking.
651
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:48,680
Soldiers swap a single cigarette
for a watch,
652
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:51,680
or money for a scrap of paper.
653
00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:54,160
In Stalingrad, life is so uncertain,
654
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:56,440
soldiers could be dead
in an instant,
655
00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:58,680
that nothing has any value at all.
656
00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:02,600
The Battle for Stalingrad
is the turning point
657
00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:04,760
of the war on the Eastern Front.
658
00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,880
Never again would the Wehrmacht
take the offensive in the east.
659
00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:11,600
And in the west,
660
00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:14,800
the Allies prepare
to cross the Mediterranean:
661
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:18,080
the next step in their attack
against the Third Reich.
662
00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:19,960
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