1 00:00:00,094 --> 00:00:03,140 Sub extracted from file and improved by Se7enOfNin9 for addic7ed.com 2 00:00:05,589 --> 00:00:08,674 After their victory over Germany in North Africa, 3 00:00:08,675 --> 00:00:11,385 American generals want to attack the Third Reich 4 00:00:11,386 --> 00:00:13,679 directly through Northern Europe, 5 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:15,348 but Prime Minister Winston Churchill 6 00:00:15,349 --> 00:00:16,933 and the British believe an operation 7 00:00:16,934 --> 00:00:20,561 of that size and scope is premature. 8 00:00:20,562 --> 00:00:22,688 Failure would be catastrophic. 9 00:00:22,689 --> 00:00:26,400 Churchill proposes they attack Germany from the south, 10 00:00:26,401 --> 00:00:30,530 for what he considers the soft underbelly of Europe, 11 00:00:31,281 --> 00:00:32,281 Italy. 12 00:00:34,117 --> 00:00:35,952 All wars change the world, 13 00:00:35,953 --> 00:00:37,745 but none of them changed the world 14 00:00:37,746 --> 00:00:40,081 like the Second World War did. 15 00:00:40,082 --> 00:00:42,543 Japan's on the march, Germany's on the march. 16 00:00:44,628 --> 00:00:45,920 No one can imagine the nightmare 17 00:00:45,921 --> 00:00:47,172 they're about to unleash. 18 00:00:48,549 --> 00:00:51,050 The most destructive war in human history. 19 00:00:51,051 --> 00:00:53,844 Suddenly the world is turned upside down 20 00:00:53,845 --> 00:00:55,721 and all hell is let loose. 21 00:00:57,683 --> 00:01:00,851 The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 22 00:01:02,437 --> 00:01:05,273 You get the Allies led by the big three, 23 00:01:05,274 --> 00:01:07,650 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, 24 00:01:07,651 --> 00:01:12,905 Men who were dealing with immensely complicated questions. 25 00:01:12,906 --> 00:01:17,201 It's the biggest military operation of human history. 26 00:01:17,202 --> 00:01:18,953 The Allies have to come together, 27 00:01:18,954 --> 00:01:21,414 not just militarily, but industrial scale. 28 00:01:21,415 --> 00:01:23,874 It's a global perspective. 29 00:01:23,875 --> 00:01:25,626 They have to fight in every climate, 30 00:01:25,627 --> 00:01:28,921 from the Arctic to the jungles of the Pacific, 31 00:01:28,922 --> 00:01:32,049 to the deserts of Africa, and the depths of the ocean. 32 00:01:35,012 --> 00:01:38,472 But there was no certainty of victory. 33 00:01:38,473 --> 00:01:41,559 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 34 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,644 We see humans at their absolute worst, 35 00:01:43,645 --> 00:01:46,147 how they treat other human beings, 36 00:01:46,148 --> 00:01:47,565 and we see them at their absolute best, 37 00:01:47,566 --> 00:01:50,401 willing to give their lives that others might live. 38 00:01:50,402 --> 00:01:52,445 World War II was a struggle 39 00:01:52,446 --> 00:01:56,866 in which there could be one victor and one vanquished. 40 00:02:19,931 --> 00:02:22,266 In May, 1943, 41 00:02:22,267 --> 00:02:24,226 the prime minister of Great Britain 42 00:02:24,227 --> 00:02:27,813 and the president of the United States meet in Washington DC 43 00:02:27,814 --> 00:02:32,026 for the third time since American entry into the war. 44 00:02:34,321 --> 00:02:36,822 Rarely in history have political leaders 45 00:02:36,823 --> 00:02:39,158 forged as personal a bond 46 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:41,745 as Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. 47 00:02:43,413 --> 00:02:46,207 Churchill still feels he's the senior partner. 48 00:02:46,208 --> 00:02:48,709 He can get what he wants out of Roosevelt. 49 00:02:48,710 --> 00:02:51,712 So after Tunis, after the big victory in North Africa, 50 00:02:51,713 --> 00:02:55,549 Churchill's argument is that there's one logical next step, 51 00:02:55,550 --> 00:02:57,010 and that next step is Sicily. 52 00:02:58,679 --> 00:03:00,262 So campaigning in the Mediterranean 53 00:03:00,263 --> 00:03:03,599 will not only knock over one of the three big Axis powers, 54 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,267 Mussolini's Italy, 55 00:03:05,268 --> 00:03:08,397 it will also open a back door to Hitler's Germany. 56 00:03:09,564 --> 00:03:13,234 And the American commanders are saying, "Why? 57 00:03:13,235 --> 00:03:14,985 Let's just go straight for Berlin. 58 00:03:14,986 --> 00:03:16,320 What are we doing? 59 00:03:16,321 --> 00:03:18,114 Why are we dancing around the edges here 60 00:03:18,115 --> 00:03:20,533 with this Mediterranean nonsense?" 61 00:03:20,534 --> 00:03:22,326 And they think that Franklin Roosevelt 62 00:03:22,327 --> 00:03:26,122 is being persuaded by Churchill's pretty words. 63 00:03:26,123 --> 00:03:28,999 There were charges then and since 64 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,962 that Churchill wanted to go up through the bottom of Europe 65 00:03:32,963 --> 00:03:35,757 in order to preserve the British Empire. 66 00:03:36,716 --> 00:03:39,051 Britain was a Mediterranean power. 67 00:03:39,052 --> 00:03:41,887 The Americans suspected that this was all about 68 00:03:41,888 --> 00:03:45,891 defending British interests in Egypt, in the Suez Canal 69 00:03:45,892 --> 00:03:48,436 that controlled India and the Persian Gulf 70 00:03:48,437 --> 00:03:50,521 where British oil was. 71 00:03:52,149 --> 00:03:53,649 FDR's not interested 72 00:03:53,650 --> 00:03:56,277 in preserving the British Empire, 73 00:03:56,278 --> 00:04:00,072 but he understands there are sound, strategic reasons 74 00:04:00,073 --> 00:04:01,824 to capture Sicily. 75 00:04:01,825 --> 00:04:03,159 One of Churchill's arguments was, 76 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:04,369 they had these commitments 77 00:04:04,536 --> 00:04:06,412 to take some pressure off the Soviet Union. 78 00:04:06,413 --> 00:04:10,124 Joseph Stalin has been pushing for a second front. 79 00:04:10,125 --> 00:04:12,084 Churchill says, "You have all of these armies 80 00:04:12,085 --> 00:04:13,586 that are now freed up 81 00:04:13,587 --> 00:04:14,920 after the North African campaign is over. 82 00:04:14,921 --> 00:04:15,797 What are you gonna do with them? 83 00:04:15,798 --> 00:04:16,882 They're right there." 84 00:04:17,798 --> 00:04:19,508 The truth is that the Allies 85 00:04:19,509 --> 00:04:22,553 still don't have enough actual material 86 00:04:22,554 --> 00:04:26,641 to conduct a cross-channel invasion and land in France. 87 00:04:27,684 --> 00:04:29,310 Allied military leaders 88 00:04:29,311 --> 00:04:32,480 are already planning a cross-channel invasion, 89 00:04:32,481 --> 00:04:34,232 Operation Overlord, 90 00:04:35,358 --> 00:04:37,068 but it will not be ready for months. 91 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,030 To relieve the military pressure on the Soviets, 92 00:04:41,031 --> 00:04:43,032 and sustain the momentum established 93 00:04:43,033 --> 00:04:45,201 by the victory in North Africa, 94 00:04:45,202 --> 00:04:47,120 FDR agrees to attack Sicily. 95 00:04:48,455 --> 00:04:51,123 After Sicily, they will pull, let us say, 96 00:04:51,124 --> 00:04:53,959 the Allied A-team out of the Mediterranean, 97 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,171 the leadership team, most of the landing craft, 98 00:04:57,172 --> 00:05:00,132 most of the air power, deploy it to Great Britain 99 00:05:00,133 --> 00:05:03,803 to begin, finally, preparations in earnest 100 00:05:03,804 --> 00:05:05,555 for an invasion of Western Europe. 101 00:05:06,598 --> 00:05:07,681 Churchill's like, "Yes, of course, 102 00:05:07,682 --> 00:05:09,308 I'm sure things will go really fast. 103 00:05:09,309 --> 00:05:12,311 We'll be back in time for a nice early D-Day in 1944." 104 00:05:12,312 --> 00:05:13,562 He goes, "Look, we're all dressed up, 105 00:05:13,563 --> 00:05:14,730 we're ready to go to the ball. 106 00:05:14,731 --> 00:05:15,731 Let's do Sicily." 107 00:05:23,323 --> 00:05:26,283 The invasion of Sicily is given the code name 108 00:05:26,284 --> 00:05:28,202 Operation Husky. 109 00:05:28,203 --> 00:05:29,745 At the time, Operation Husky 110 00:05:29,746 --> 00:05:32,790 is the biggest amphibious operation in history. 111 00:05:32,791 --> 00:05:37,169 The scale of shipping and manpower is unprecedented. 112 00:05:37,170 --> 00:05:41,715 They're gonna put onshore, 160,000 troops. 113 00:05:44,845 --> 00:05:46,512 Both Italian and German troops 114 00:05:46,513 --> 00:05:48,682 oppose the Allied landings. 115 00:06:05,073 --> 00:06:07,116 But the Allies achieve surprise, 116 00:06:07,117 --> 00:06:09,119 and quickly secure the beaches. 117 00:06:10,245 --> 00:06:11,704 You've got two field commanders on Sicily, 118 00:06:11,705 --> 00:06:13,164 Montgomery for the British. 119 00:06:13,498 --> 00:06:16,959 Montgomery is given the key role, Patton for the Americans. 120 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,212 Patton's job is really as a shield. 121 00:06:20,630 --> 00:06:21,839 The British Eighth Army, 122 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:23,591 under general Bernard Montgomery, 123 00:06:23,592 --> 00:06:25,759 will advance north to Messina, 124 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:27,553 while the American Seventh Army, 125 00:06:27,554 --> 00:06:31,473 under General George Patton, guards his left flank. 126 00:06:31,474 --> 00:06:34,184 If you get to Messina, any troops that are 127 00:06:34,185 --> 00:06:36,645 on Sicily cannot cross back over it into Italy proper. 128 00:06:36,646 --> 00:06:39,732 And now you've captured all the troops that are on Sicily 129 00:06:39,733 --> 00:06:41,401 and you own Sicily. 130 00:06:42,402 --> 00:06:44,069 And that's especially crucial 131 00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:45,321 for the German divisions, 132 00:06:45,322 --> 00:06:47,114 so that the Allies won't have to face them 133 00:06:47,115 --> 00:06:50,201 at some future point in some future battle. 134 00:06:52,203 --> 00:06:54,997 As in North Africa, British and American forces 135 00:06:54,998 --> 00:06:57,709 are required to operate as one force. 136 00:06:58,835 --> 00:07:01,503 This is a really ambitious attempt 137 00:07:01,504 --> 00:07:05,132 to just bring two nations with two different traditions 138 00:07:05,133 --> 00:07:07,468 very, very close into harmony. 139 00:07:07,469 --> 00:07:09,845 And as you might expect, there's teething trouble. 140 00:07:09,846 --> 00:07:11,930 Montgomery and the British senior commanders 141 00:07:11,931 --> 00:07:13,724 all had a similar attitude to the Americans, 142 00:07:13,725 --> 00:07:15,476 which is, they're green. 143 00:07:15,477 --> 00:07:17,770 There were disasters and setbacks in North Africa, 144 00:07:17,771 --> 00:07:19,480 they're still learning their trade. 145 00:07:19,481 --> 00:07:22,358 We've been at this since 1940. 146 00:07:22,359 --> 00:07:23,651 Patton, on the other hand, thinks Montgomery 147 00:07:23,652 --> 00:07:25,319 has no kind of understanding 148 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,906 of what American servicemen can actually achieve. 149 00:07:32,118 --> 00:07:34,745 Both armies endure horrendous conditions. 150 00:07:36,956 --> 00:07:38,832 The mountainous terrain, 151 00:07:38,833 --> 00:07:43,797 the 100-plus degree heat, thousands are felled by malaria. 152 00:07:44,964 --> 00:07:46,882 Sicily in the summertime is incredibly hot, 153 00:07:46,883 --> 00:07:49,426 it is disease ridden. 154 00:07:49,427 --> 00:07:51,512 Fighting there is brutal for everyone. 155 00:07:51,513 --> 00:07:52,513 Fire! 156 00:08:00,563 --> 00:08:02,606 Facing stiff German resistance, 157 00:08:02,607 --> 00:08:04,651 Montgomery's army stalls. 158 00:08:06,361 --> 00:08:07,986 He's given access to the road 159 00:08:07,987 --> 00:08:10,906 Patton's army has already taken. 160 00:08:10,907 --> 00:08:12,491 Patton goes ballistic. 161 00:08:12,492 --> 00:08:15,911 To his credit, Patton doesn't just sit there seething. 162 00:08:15,912 --> 00:08:17,163 He comes up with a plan. 163 00:08:18,748 --> 00:08:20,999 What Patton sees is, a drive north up to Palermo 164 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:22,961 would put a feather in his cap. 165 00:08:24,045 --> 00:08:26,463 The Americans overrun the western half of Sicily 166 00:08:26,464 --> 00:08:29,092 before the Germans and Italians know what is happening. 167 00:08:30,885 --> 00:08:34,346 Patton captures the Sicilian capital of Palermo 168 00:08:34,347 --> 00:08:37,392 less than two weeks after the initial landings. 169 00:08:42,147 --> 00:08:45,107 This is the signal moment for the US army 170 00:08:45,108 --> 00:08:47,067 so far in World War II. 171 00:08:50,113 --> 00:08:52,114 Patton's forces are greeted in the streets of Palermo 172 00:08:52,115 --> 00:08:55,367 by Sicilians who were never a hundred percent on board 173 00:08:55,368 --> 00:08:57,411 with fascism anyway, 174 00:08:57,412 --> 00:08:59,913 and they're gonna greet the arriving American army 175 00:08:59,914 --> 00:09:00,998 as liberators. 176 00:09:05,962 --> 00:09:08,839 Yet again, Adolf Hitler must adjust 177 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,592 for Italian military weakness. 178 00:09:11,593 --> 00:09:14,053 His major ally on the European continent, 179 00:09:14,054 --> 00:09:16,430 Benito Mussolini, seems unable 180 00:09:16,431 --> 00:09:19,267 even to defend his own home territory. 181 00:09:20,727 --> 00:09:21,769 Benito Mussolini 182 00:09:21,770 --> 00:09:24,438 and his Italian fascist movement 183 00:09:24,439 --> 00:09:26,440 had set the stage for Adolf Hitler 184 00:09:26,441 --> 00:09:28,984 and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. 185 00:09:37,243 --> 00:09:39,119 Mussolini is the inventor of fascism, 186 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:43,708 is the embodiment of the virility of the fascist man. 187 00:09:44,876 --> 00:09:46,960 In the early phases of this relationship, 188 00:09:46,961 --> 00:09:50,923 Hitler himself looks up at Mussolini, and he aspires to do 189 00:09:50,924 --> 00:09:53,718 what Mussolini has been able to achieve in Italy. 190 00:09:55,470 --> 00:09:57,262 Hitler consciously copied 191 00:09:57,263 --> 00:09:59,473 Mussolini's grab for power. 192 00:09:59,474 --> 00:10:01,558 Duce! Duce! Duce! 193 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:02,601 The symbolism. 194 00:10:02,602 --> 00:10:03,602 Sieg heil. 195 00:10:06,314 --> 00:10:08,148 The political tactics, 196 00:10:10,151 --> 00:10:11,151 the violence. 197 00:10:14,197 --> 00:10:18,450 But Mussolini no longer commands an iron grip on his nation 198 00:10:18,451 --> 00:10:19,994 like Hitler does. 199 00:10:21,162 --> 00:10:23,038 Mussolini's war has brought Italy 200 00:10:23,039 --> 00:10:24,124 nothing but misery. 201 00:10:24,415 --> 00:10:26,208 The Italian people wanted very little part 202 00:10:26,209 --> 00:10:28,961 of this war at the beginning, they want no part of it now. 203 00:10:28,962 --> 00:10:30,921 Things cannot go on like this. 204 00:10:30,922 --> 00:10:32,881 Hitler's getting situation reports 205 00:10:32,882 --> 00:10:34,217 of what's going on in Sicily, 206 00:10:34,342 --> 00:10:36,552 basically saying the Italians aren't fighting. 207 00:10:36,553 --> 00:10:38,554 He makes the decision to go to Italy 208 00:10:38,555 --> 00:10:40,515 to put some spine into Mussolini. 209 00:10:46,229 --> 00:10:48,522 He is shocked by the sight of Mussolini, 210 00:10:48,523 --> 00:10:52,067 who's really a broken man after the defeat in North Africa. 211 00:10:52,068 --> 00:10:54,069 There isn't much fight left in him, 212 00:10:54,070 --> 00:10:56,281 and Hitler is horrified by what he's seeing. 213 00:10:58,491 --> 00:11:01,201 Hitler harangues Mussolini 214 00:11:01,202 --> 00:11:02,744 for hours about his failures. 215 00:11:02,745 --> 00:11:05,038 His failure to instill a war-like spirit 216 00:11:05,039 --> 00:11:06,374 into the armed forces, 217 00:11:06,708 --> 00:11:09,543 his failure to make true fascists of the Italian people, 218 00:11:09,544 --> 00:11:12,921 his failure to prosecute the war with sufficient vigor, 219 00:11:12,922 --> 00:11:16,800 and Mussolini has no choice but to sit there and take it. 220 00:11:18,803 --> 00:11:21,013 As Hitler and Mussolini meet, 221 00:11:25,977 --> 00:11:29,063 the Allies begin a bombing campaign on Rome. 222 00:11:30,398 --> 00:11:32,566 The news comes as a shock to Mussolini, 223 00:11:32,567 --> 00:11:34,985 and he tries to convey to Hitler 224 00:11:34,986 --> 00:11:36,529 the gravity of the situation. 225 00:11:38,072 --> 00:11:41,533 Hitler continues as if nothing had happened. 226 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,121 The bombing of Rome adds fuel 227 00:11:46,122 --> 00:11:48,207 to this already simmering fire 228 00:11:48,208 --> 00:11:52,002 of questioning and doubt about Mussolini's leadership. 229 00:11:59,761 --> 00:12:02,805 The bombing of Rome is a shock to the Italians. 230 00:12:04,265 --> 00:12:06,516 The battles have been fought elsewhere, 231 00:12:06,517 --> 00:12:10,104 but now the price of Mussolini's war hits home. 232 00:12:11,564 --> 00:12:13,649 There's grumbling in the streets. 233 00:12:13,650 --> 00:12:15,525 Mussolini thinks he has the fascist 234 00:12:15,526 --> 00:12:17,569 brand counsel in his pocket, 235 00:12:17,570 --> 00:12:19,321 he thinks he has the top leadership 236 00:12:19,322 --> 00:12:21,031 in the military in his pocket, 237 00:12:21,032 --> 00:12:23,201 he thinks he has the King in his pocket. 238 00:12:24,202 --> 00:12:26,828 Victor Emmanuel III has been 239 00:12:26,829 --> 00:12:28,247 the King of Italy since 1900, 240 00:12:28,248 --> 00:12:30,958 and he's the one that handed the government 241 00:12:30,959 --> 00:12:32,961 over to Mussolini in 1922. 242 00:12:34,254 --> 00:12:37,089 On July 25th, the day after the fascist council 243 00:12:37,090 --> 00:12:40,801 passes a vote of no confidence for Mussolini, 244 00:12:40,802 --> 00:12:43,470 the King summons him to his palace. 245 00:12:43,471 --> 00:12:44,930 And he's told not to wear his uniform. 246 00:12:44,931 --> 00:12:47,266 This should have been an indication to him 247 00:12:47,267 --> 00:12:48,642 that trouble was afoot, 248 00:12:48,643 --> 00:12:51,478 and his wife, in fact, advises him not to go. 249 00:12:51,479 --> 00:12:54,440 Mussolini tells her, "No problem, I've got this." 250 00:12:55,608 --> 00:12:58,360 But the King has Mussolini arrested. 251 00:12:58,361 --> 00:13:00,988 He's rushed away in the back of an ambulance 252 00:13:00,989 --> 00:13:03,240 to hide him from public view. 253 00:13:18,715 --> 00:13:21,551 His 21-year fascist reign is over. 254 00:13:28,683 --> 00:13:30,434 The fall of Mussolini 255 00:13:30,435 --> 00:13:32,269 leads to a very confusing situation. 256 00:13:32,270 --> 00:13:35,480 The new head of state is the marshal of the Italian army, 257 00:13:35,481 --> 00:13:37,190 Pietro Badoglio. 258 00:13:37,191 --> 00:13:38,567 He actually makes an announcement 259 00:13:38,568 --> 00:13:39,651 that the war goes on, 260 00:13:39,652 --> 00:13:42,321 "We remain Germany's loyal ally." 261 00:13:43,990 --> 00:13:46,199 After Mussolini is deposed, 262 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:48,201 FDR addresses the nation. 263 00:13:48,202 --> 00:13:50,245 My fellow Americans, 264 00:13:50,246 --> 00:13:53,040 our terms to Italy are still the same, 265 00:13:53,041 --> 00:13:55,043 unconditional surrender. 266 00:13:56,210 --> 00:13:59,004 Publicly, Badoglio states repeatedly 267 00:13:59,005 --> 00:14:02,132 that the war effort is going on alongside the Germans. 268 00:14:02,133 --> 00:14:06,762 Privately, he is actually starting to make arrangements 269 00:14:06,763 --> 00:14:09,265 for the Italians to get out of the war. 270 00:14:11,601 --> 00:14:13,560 Badoglio signals that Italy might be open 271 00:14:13,561 --> 00:14:15,229 to an armistice. 272 00:14:17,315 --> 00:14:18,732 He sends one of his generals 273 00:14:18,733 --> 00:14:22,361 to secretly negotiate directly with the Allies. 274 00:14:23,404 --> 00:14:26,073 Badoglio might wish to surrender, 275 00:14:26,074 --> 00:14:28,241 but he needs to have someone at his back. 276 00:14:28,242 --> 00:14:30,702 He knows that there will be retribution 277 00:14:30,703 --> 00:14:33,121 from the angriest man in Europe at the time, 278 00:14:33,122 --> 00:14:35,041 and that will be Adolf Hitler. 279 00:14:41,631 --> 00:14:43,840 In Sicily, Patton's army leaves Palermo 280 00:14:43,841 --> 00:14:45,425 to get to Messina, 281 00:14:45,426 --> 00:14:47,636 while the British are advancing from the south. 282 00:14:47,637 --> 00:14:49,888 Meanwhile, the Germans are taking advantage 283 00:14:49,889 --> 00:14:52,599 of the delay in getting to Messina 284 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:54,559 to begin getting off the island. 285 00:14:57,730 --> 00:15:00,023 It's effectively the German Dunkirk, 286 00:15:00,024 --> 00:15:02,651 because pretty much everyone who could walk 287 00:15:02,652 --> 00:15:05,112 and was able-bodied, got off, 288 00:15:05,113 --> 00:15:07,865 and not only that, they got off with all their equipment. 289 00:15:09,325 --> 00:15:11,868 The entire purpose of the Allied operational plan 290 00:15:11,869 --> 00:15:15,872 was to trap the Germans on Sicily, and they fail. 291 00:15:17,583 --> 00:15:18,959 Still, things in Sicily 292 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,086 go pretty much as Churchill would've wished. 293 00:15:21,087 --> 00:15:23,630 Not only do Allied troops successfully 294 00:15:23,631 --> 00:15:25,549 drive Axis forces outta of Sicily, 295 00:15:25,550 --> 00:15:27,634 and it also proves to be the death nail 296 00:15:27,635 --> 00:15:29,470 of Mussolini's fascist regime. 297 00:15:34,684 --> 00:15:35,884 With the potential deal 298 00:15:35,935 --> 00:15:38,603 for an Italian surrender in the works, 299 00:15:38,604 --> 00:15:41,399 FDR and Churchill meet in Quebec. 300 00:15:42,316 --> 00:15:43,650 And it's at this point 301 00:15:43,651 --> 00:15:45,402 that Churchill is able to say to Roosevelt, 302 00:15:45,403 --> 00:15:48,488 "Look, the Italians are pulling out of the war. 303 00:15:48,489 --> 00:15:51,366 We have an opportunity bloodlessly take 304 00:15:51,367 --> 00:15:52,909 the Italian peninsula. 305 00:15:52,910 --> 00:15:55,203 You know, what's not to like in this operation?" 306 00:15:55,204 --> 00:15:57,289 Churchill says, "The Italians are begging us 307 00:15:57,290 --> 00:16:00,041 to come and help liberate them and switch sides. 308 00:16:00,042 --> 00:16:02,002 We could be in Rome in a couple of weeks here. 309 00:16:02,003 --> 00:16:04,838 If we land in Italy, it'll be a cakewalk. 310 00:16:04,839 --> 00:16:06,841 We can't do Sicily and then go home." 311 00:16:07,842 --> 00:16:09,093 FDR agrees, 312 00:16:09,343 --> 00:16:12,345 but only with assurance that Operation Overlord 313 00:16:12,346 --> 00:16:15,473 will remain the Allies' highest priority. 314 00:16:15,474 --> 00:16:17,434 The difficult trade off in the Italian campaign 315 00:16:17,435 --> 00:16:18,768 is that the key resources, 316 00:16:18,769 --> 00:16:21,563 the landing craft and the best troops, 317 00:16:21,564 --> 00:16:24,399 are gonna go back to the UK to prepare for D-Day. 318 00:16:26,402 --> 00:16:29,279 Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower 319 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,573 now picks one of America's youngest generals 320 00:16:31,574 --> 00:16:34,117 to lead the Italian invasion, 321 00:16:34,118 --> 00:16:38,246 Mark Clark, commander of the US Fifth Army. 322 00:16:38,247 --> 00:16:41,208 Clark has a flare for showmanship. 323 00:16:41,209 --> 00:16:43,084 Because once you pin on a star, 324 00:16:43,085 --> 00:16:46,463 you're also becoming a little bit of a politician as well. 325 00:16:46,464 --> 00:16:48,173 Mark Clark has an immense amount of talent, 326 00:16:48,174 --> 00:16:51,009 but he also has a corresponding ego. 327 00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:52,844 He travels with a press corps. 328 00:16:52,845 --> 00:16:55,430 He will only let them take pictures of his favorite side, 329 00:16:55,431 --> 00:16:56,723 which I think is his left side, 330 00:16:56,724 --> 00:16:58,768 based on all the pictures we see of him. 331 00:17:02,688 --> 00:17:04,439 The Allied strategy in Italy 332 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,400 calls for two large forces. 333 00:17:07,484 --> 00:17:09,986 The first will land in and Calabria, 334 00:17:09,987 --> 00:17:13,031 and the second will land a few days later at Salerno. 335 00:17:14,367 --> 00:17:17,286 The two forces will then link, and push north towards Rome. 336 00:17:23,084 --> 00:17:25,876 At Calabria, Montgomery's Eighth Army 337 00:17:25,877 --> 00:17:27,797 lands almost uncontested 338 00:17:28,923 --> 00:17:30,799 Badoglio was supposed to take to the airwaves 339 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,050 on the evening of September 8th 340 00:17:32,051 --> 00:17:33,718 and announce the Italian surrender, 341 00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:35,720 and this is crucial to the plan, 342 00:17:35,721 --> 00:17:38,223 because it will tell the hundreds of thousands 343 00:17:38,224 --> 00:17:41,351 of Italian troops how in beach defense positions 344 00:17:41,352 --> 00:17:44,480 not to fire at the Allies as they land. 345 00:17:46,774 --> 00:17:47,733 At his headquarters, 346 00:17:47,734 --> 00:17:50,360 Eisenhower waits by his radio. 347 00:17:50,361 --> 00:17:53,321 The Salerno landings are just hours away. 348 00:17:58,077 --> 00:18:00,370 6:30 comes, no Badoglio. 349 00:18:00,371 --> 00:18:02,872 Seven o'clock, no Badoglio. 350 00:18:02,873 --> 00:18:07,085 The entire plan hinges on a well announced, 351 00:18:07,086 --> 00:18:09,463 orderly Italian surrender. 352 00:18:10,756 --> 00:18:12,632 Eisenhower decides to force the issue 353 00:18:12,633 --> 00:18:14,010 by going on the radio himself. 354 00:18:15,803 --> 00:18:17,054 The Italian government 355 00:18:17,346 --> 00:18:19,640 has surrendered its armed forces unconditionally. 356 00:18:20,725 --> 00:18:23,560 All Italians who now act to help eject 357 00:18:23,561 --> 00:18:26,187 the German aggressor from Italian soil 358 00:18:26,188 --> 00:18:27,522 will have the assistance 359 00:18:27,523 --> 00:18:29,442 and the support of the United Nations. 360 00:18:33,029 --> 00:18:35,196 Hitler anticipates the announcement 361 00:18:35,197 --> 00:18:36,240 of the armistice. 362 00:18:37,325 --> 00:18:39,117 From the moment Mussolini falls, 363 00:18:39,118 --> 00:18:41,202 Hitler's convinced that Badoglio's government 364 00:18:41,203 --> 00:18:44,080 is going to withdraw from the war. 365 00:18:44,081 --> 00:18:45,707 For weeks, 366 00:18:45,708 --> 00:18:48,960 Hitler has been moving German troops into Italy. 367 00:18:48,961 --> 00:18:51,921 He orders Operation Axis. 368 00:18:51,922 --> 00:18:53,506 The Germans have an operation 369 00:18:53,507 --> 00:18:54,884 they've been preparing, 370 00:18:55,051 --> 00:18:57,469 which is that, if the Italians do the dirty on us, 371 00:18:57,470 --> 00:18:58,846 we're gonna disarm them 372 00:18:59,096 --> 00:19:02,599 and we're gonna take over the security of all of Italy. 373 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,519 Italy will become an occupied nation. 374 00:19:17,615 --> 00:19:21,826 Operation Axis is the disarmament of the Italian army 375 00:19:21,827 --> 00:19:25,872 and the occupation of the entire Italian Boot 376 00:19:25,873 --> 00:19:27,082 by German forces. 377 00:19:29,377 --> 00:19:32,003 It occurs with lightning rapidity. 378 00:19:34,882 --> 00:19:38,385 The Italian army is on its back foot. 379 00:19:38,386 --> 00:19:41,304 They aren't so sure about who they should be firing at, 380 00:19:41,305 --> 00:19:42,305 if anyone. 381 00:19:45,685 --> 00:19:48,186 Local Italian resistance movements 382 00:19:48,187 --> 00:19:50,398 form and fight the Germans. 383 00:19:52,233 --> 00:19:54,442 Nazi retaliation is fierce. 384 00:19:54,443 --> 00:19:57,070 The Italians were being executed by the Germans 385 00:19:57,071 --> 00:19:58,363 after they switched sides. 386 00:19:58,364 --> 00:19:59,323 There were a lot of terrible things going on, 387 00:19:59,323 --> 00:20:00,323 villages wiped out. 388 00:20:08,374 --> 00:20:09,999 When the Allied invasion force 389 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,585 lands at Salerno, 390 00:20:14,004 --> 00:20:17,675 they believe they'll be welcomed by Italian troops. 391 00:20:20,469 --> 00:20:23,430 Underlying this operational plan is intelligence 392 00:20:23,431 --> 00:20:25,890 that the German army may evacuate Italy, 393 00:20:25,891 --> 00:20:29,310 that it has no desire to defend Italy. 394 00:20:29,311 --> 00:20:32,605 If all goes well, the Allies should be up to Rome 395 00:20:32,606 --> 00:20:35,025 with almost no casualties at all. 396 00:20:36,277 --> 00:20:37,402 So what they're gonna do is they're gonna land 397 00:20:37,403 --> 00:20:39,404 without any pre-bombardment, 398 00:20:39,405 --> 00:20:41,782 and they're gonna hope for tactical surprise. 399 00:20:43,993 --> 00:20:46,035 The Allies are expecting to meet 400 00:20:46,036 --> 00:20:47,163 happy Italian faces, 401 00:20:47,413 --> 00:20:50,206 perhaps handshakes, taking over Italian positions 402 00:20:50,207 --> 00:20:52,041 now that Italy had surrendered, 403 00:20:52,042 --> 00:20:54,961 and instead, what the troops at Salerno experienced 404 00:20:54,962 --> 00:20:57,630 was a wall of German fire. 405 00:21:10,811 --> 00:21:12,437 The whole of the beach 406 00:21:12,438 --> 00:21:14,148 is being saturated with shellfire. 407 00:21:16,108 --> 00:21:17,442 It's an absolute inferno. 408 00:21:23,657 --> 00:21:27,243 It was a grim experience for those first few crucial days 409 00:21:27,244 --> 00:21:29,996 in which they're trying to defend the beachhead. 410 00:21:34,877 --> 00:21:36,836 And it's the fighting at Salerno 411 00:21:36,837 --> 00:21:38,047 that really convinces Hitler 412 00:21:38,214 --> 00:21:40,424 to make them fight for every inch of Italy. 413 00:21:43,844 --> 00:21:47,263 Hitler moves more forces to defend Italy. 414 00:21:52,603 --> 00:21:54,562 He also discovers that Mussolini 415 00:21:54,563 --> 00:21:57,441 is being held at a hotel in the Apennine Mountains, 416 00:21:58,442 --> 00:22:00,069 and decides to take action. 417 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,947 Hitler just can't quit Mussolini, apparently. 418 00:22:03,948 --> 00:22:07,158 He orders a commando raid onto the Gran Sasso 419 00:22:07,159 --> 00:22:09,869 to rescue Benito Mussolini. 420 00:22:12,122 --> 00:22:14,082 That force lands, 421 00:22:14,083 --> 00:22:16,877 overcomes Mussolini's guards. 422 00:22:19,755 --> 00:22:21,924 Mussolini is flown back to Germany. 423 00:22:24,426 --> 00:22:26,469 Hitler thinks that Mussolini 424 00:22:26,470 --> 00:22:29,723 would give legitimacy to the German occupation of Italy. 425 00:22:31,016 --> 00:22:33,560 For the rest of the war, Mussolini will be ruling 426 00:22:33,561 --> 00:22:36,646 a kind of puppet regime in northern Italy. 427 00:22:36,647 --> 00:22:38,481 But he's a shadow of the figure 428 00:22:38,482 --> 00:22:42,235 who used to strut across the world stage in the 1930s. 429 00:22:42,236 --> 00:22:44,445 The situation has changed drastically 430 00:22:44,446 --> 00:22:47,866 since Mussolini was the top dog and Hitler the imitator, 431 00:22:47,867 --> 00:22:50,910 to now, Mussolini as Hitler's lap dog. 432 00:23:00,087 --> 00:23:02,964 After a massive air and naval assault, 433 00:23:02,965 --> 00:23:07,803 Clark's Fifth Army breaks out of Salerno and moves inland. 434 00:23:09,138 --> 00:23:12,599 A modern mechanized army is going to experience 435 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:15,143 great difficulty in driving north, 436 00:23:15,144 --> 00:23:16,561 because the Germans recognized, 437 00:23:16,562 --> 00:23:18,563 the terrain's gonna do half the work for us. 438 00:23:21,025 --> 00:23:25,069 Mountain ranges, ravines, and fast flowing rivers 439 00:23:25,070 --> 00:23:28,866 made Italy a sort of natural fortress. 440 00:23:31,493 --> 00:23:33,119 What the Germans do effectively 441 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:34,746 is scorched earth policy. 442 00:23:34,747 --> 00:23:36,164 They rip up the railway tracks, 443 00:23:36,165 --> 00:23:37,957 they flood the river valleys. 444 00:23:37,958 --> 00:23:41,002 They make it almost impossible to move through this terrain 445 00:23:41,003 --> 00:23:42,712 unless you've taken the high ground. 446 00:23:44,673 --> 00:23:48,509 It was very clear very quickly that they were gonna struggle 447 00:23:48,510 --> 00:23:50,846 to fight their way up the Italian peninsula. 448 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,474 General Mark Clark relabeled 449 00:23:54,475 --> 00:23:57,226 Churchill's description of Italy as the soft underbelly 450 00:23:57,227 --> 00:23:59,228 as the tough old gut. 451 00:24:07,404 --> 00:24:10,448 It is said that all roads lead to Rome, 452 00:24:10,449 --> 00:24:13,076 but in the fall of 1943, 453 00:24:13,077 --> 00:24:15,120 for the Allies, there was only one, 454 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:19,249 Highway 6. 455 00:24:20,834 --> 00:24:24,170 As Allied forces are lured deeper and deeper 456 00:24:24,171 --> 00:24:26,589 by moving north up Highway 6, 457 00:24:26,590 --> 00:24:28,424 the German strategy very quickly becomes, 458 00:24:28,425 --> 00:24:30,635 we're going to set up a series of defensive lines, 459 00:24:30,636 --> 00:24:33,721 and you come to us, and we will then maul you. 460 00:24:40,104 --> 00:24:43,440 It looked a lot like World War I defenses look. 461 00:24:44,733 --> 00:24:46,573 There are mines, and mortars, and machine guns. 462 00:24:48,362 --> 00:24:50,571 On the high ground, you have artillery observers, 463 00:24:50,572 --> 00:24:53,282 who could have a full view of the advance of the Allies, 464 00:24:53,283 --> 00:24:56,202 and they would call artillery to fire on the advances. 465 00:24:58,122 --> 00:25:01,290 The frustration grows with the costliness of this advance, 466 00:25:01,291 --> 00:25:04,044 the slowness of this advance up the Boot. 467 00:25:05,796 --> 00:25:07,315 There's some historical wisdom here, 468 00:25:07,339 --> 00:25:10,008 and it traces back to the great Napoleon who once said, 469 00:25:10,009 --> 00:25:12,760 "Italy is a boot, and like all boots, 470 00:25:12,761 --> 00:25:14,679 has to be entered from the top," 471 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:16,305 where there's a nice broad plain, 472 00:25:16,306 --> 00:25:17,724 plenty of room to maneuver. 473 00:25:17,725 --> 00:25:20,560 To fight up from the toe of Italy 474 00:25:20,561 --> 00:25:22,270 after coming from Sicily... 475 00:25:22,271 --> 00:25:24,105 Look at the terrain of Italy. 476 00:25:24,106 --> 00:25:27,108 Big mountain range all down the center spine. 477 00:25:27,109 --> 00:25:28,651 This is the big problem in Italy. 478 00:25:28,652 --> 00:25:31,279 Who would wanna put an army into that area, 479 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:32,489 especially if it's raining? 480 00:25:34,366 --> 00:25:36,743 It rains every day. 481 00:25:36,744 --> 00:25:38,828 And General Clark once said, 482 00:25:38,829 --> 00:25:41,080 "Anyone who ever talks about sunny Italy 483 00:25:41,081 --> 00:25:42,665 should be here in October," 484 00:25:42,666 --> 00:25:44,626 which is when the Allies were there. 485 00:25:46,003 --> 00:25:49,465 Gains are measured not in miles, but often in yards. 486 00:25:50,924 --> 00:25:54,427 The Italian campaign soon turns into a slog for the Allies. 487 00:25:54,428 --> 00:25:55,845 And it's sapping their energy. 488 00:25:55,846 --> 00:25:58,473 They're wet, they're cold, they're tired. 489 00:25:58,474 --> 00:26:02,351 All of that is draining morale, as well as manpower. 490 00:26:03,604 --> 00:26:05,313 One of the things that they resort to 491 00:26:05,314 --> 00:26:08,066 is using mules to carry supplies forward, 492 00:26:08,067 --> 00:26:11,277 'cause at least mules can get through that kind of terrain 493 00:26:11,278 --> 00:26:12,905 in those kind of conditions. 494 00:26:14,198 --> 00:26:16,324 I think it's fair to say, when the war began, 495 00:26:16,325 --> 00:26:18,242 in the war department in Washington, 496 00:26:18,243 --> 00:26:19,745 no one was thinking of mules. 497 00:26:24,041 --> 00:26:26,667 It was arguably the most horrendous fighting 498 00:26:26,668 --> 00:26:28,669 that the Western Allies had to experience 499 00:26:28,670 --> 00:26:30,547 in the whole of the European theater. 500 00:26:32,091 --> 00:26:33,966 There's no question that some of the Americans 501 00:26:33,967 --> 00:26:36,761 who've given the go ahead for the Italian campaign 502 00:26:36,762 --> 00:26:38,638 are now having second thoughts. 503 00:26:40,516 --> 00:26:42,391 Churchill and the British commanders 504 00:26:42,392 --> 00:26:44,227 promised the Americans that, basically, 505 00:26:44,228 --> 00:26:46,271 Italy would fall relatively quickly. 506 00:26:48,732 --> 00:26:51,317 Churchill argues again and again 507 00:26:51,318 --> 00:26:54,320 that it would be folly not to continue 508 00:26:54,321 --> 00:26:58,199 once one has set out on the Italian campaign, 509 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,828 arguing they must capitalize on their gains. 510 00:27:01,829 --> 00:27:03,287 What do you do, evacuate Italy? 511 00:27:03,288 --> 00:27:05,748 No, you fight the enemy in front of you. 512 00:27:05,749 --> 00:27:08,709 Before you know it, you're embroiled in a massive, costly, 513 00:27:08,710 --> 00:27:10,253 brutal war in Italy. 514 00:27:13,006 --> 00:27:16,008 Highway 6 snakes into the Liri Valley 515 00:27:16,009 --> 00:27:18,719 on its way up the Italian peninsula. 516 00:27:22,891 --> 00:27:27,144 Overlooking the valley is a 1,700-foot rocky peak 517 00:27:27,145 --> 00:27:28,480 called Monte Cassino. 518 00:27:31,275 --> 00:27:35,153 Perched on top is a sixth century Benedictine abbey. 519 00:27:36,572 --> 00:27:39,282 Monte Cassino is the strong point 520 00:27:39,283 --> 00:27:41,868 of the German's defensive formation, 521 00:27:41,869 --> 00:27:43,202 the Gustav Line. 522 00:27:46,248 --> 00:27:48,749 It must have seemed to the Allies, 523 00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:50,085 as they gazed up there, 524 00:27:50,210 --> 00:27:52,003 that this is a kind of perfect defensive position 525 00:27:52,004 --> 00:27:54,005 for the Germans to use. 526 00:27:54,006 --> 00:27:56,841 From the commanding heights of this terrain, 527 00:27:56,842 --> 00:27:58,801 the Germans can rain down 528 00:27:58,802 --> 00:28:01,971 accurate and effective artillery fire at all times. 529 00:28:04,349 --> 00:28:07,602 There is no way to get to Rome 530 00:28:07,603 --> 00:28:10,480 without in some way dealing with Monte Cassino. 531 00:28:12,482 --> 00:28:15,985 The Allies hope to get to Rome by Christmas, 532 00:28:15,986 --> 00:28:18,446 but it's here in the shadow of Monte Cassino 533 00:28:18,447 --> 00:28:20,782 that the advance stalls. 534 00:28:26,204 --> 00:28:30,291 In November, Allied leaders gather in Tehran. 535 00:28:30,292 --> 00:28:34,295 FDR is meeting Stalin for the first time. 536 00:28:34,296 --> 00:28:36,130 And the first thing that happens 537 00:28:36,131 --> 00:28:37,715 is Roosevelt and Stalin 538 00:28:37,716 --> 00:28:41,344 seem insistent on building their own relationship, 539 00:28:41,345 --> 00:28:43,888 sometimes freezing Churchill out, 540 00:28:43,889 --> 00:28:45,682 and he takes this really badly. 541 00:28:47,351 --> 00:28:53,482 He has to cede center stage with Roosevelt to Stalin. 542 00:28:53,815 --> 00:28:56,359 And Churchill is in an interesting kind of 543 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:57,361 no man's land. 544 00:28:58,403 --> 00:29:00,196 There's this old line 545 00:29:00,197 --> 00:29:02,281 that Stalin didn't know much English, but he knew two words, 546 00:29:02,282 --> 00:29:03,533 second front, 547 00:29:03,700 --> 00:29:06,452 because he said it over and over and over again. 548 00:29:06,453 --> 00:29:08,829 And when Stalin says second front, 549 00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:11,791 he doesn't mean Sicily or even mainland Italy, 550 00:29:11,792 --> 00:29:13,042 he means France. 551 00:29:14,878 --> 00:29:18,839 Churchill says, "I was the little British donkey 552 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,842 sitting between the great American eagle 553 00:29:21,843 --> 00:29:23,511 and the Soviet bear, 554 00:29:23,512 --> 00:29:26,264 and I was the only one who knew the way home." 555 00:29:27,808 --> 00:29:30,226 Churchill is still sticking 556 00:29:30,227 --> 00:29:31,560 with his Mediterranean plan. 557 00:29:31,561 --> 00:29:34,271 But he knows that, coming out of Tehran, 558 00:29:34,272 --> 00:29:36,482 it's really important to be able to go back 559 00:29:36,483 --> 00:29:38,193 and win this victory. 560 00:29:40,529 --> 00:29:42,363 Winston Churchill, the master of 561 00:29:42,364 --> 00:29:43,281 out-of-the box thinking, 562 00:29:43,282 --> 00:29:45,199 has an idea for a left hook, 563 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,160 an amphibious landing on the western shore of Italy 564 00:29:48,161 --> 00:29:50,205 behind the Gustav Line. 565 00:29:51,957 --> 00:29:54,000 Troops will land at Anzio, 566 00:29:54,001 --> 00:29:56,877 50 miles behind the German forces, 567 00:29:56,878 --> 00:29:58,213 then drive inland, 568 00:29:58,422 --> 00:30:01,633 drawing German defenders away from Monte Cassino. 569 00:30:02,467 --> 00:30:03,801 Winston Churchill thinks 570 00:30:03,802 --> 00:30:05,761 that this could break the whole thing free. 571 00:30:05,762 --> 00:30:09,307 This is the wildcat we need to shatter this stalemate. 572 00:30:10,851 --> 00:30:12,476 The Allies agree to do it, 573 00:30:12,477 --> 00:30:14,771 mainly because Churchill is convinced it can work. 574 00:30:16,314 --> 00:30:18,566 But because so many men and landing craft 575 00:30:18,567 --> 00:30:22,069 have been shipped back to Britain to prepare for D-Day, 576 00:30:22,070 --> 00:30:26,991 the an Anzio landing winds up being two divisions only, 577 00:30:26,992 --> 00:30:28,702 a drop in the bucket. 578 00:30:34,875 --> 00:30:38,252 The Allied force at Anzio lands on an empty beach. 579 00:30:38,253 --> 00:30:41,047 There are almost no Germans in front of it. 580 00:30:41,048 --> 00:30:42,841 Surprise has been achieved. 581 00:30:45,469 --> 00:30:46,886 Speed is of the essence. 582 00:30:46,887 --> 00:30:49,805 As soon as you land, you must get off the beachhead 583 00:30:49,806 --> 00:30:52,601 as quickly as possible, strike inland. 584 00:30:53,810 --> 00:30:56,479 One jeep patrol actually gets as far 585 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:57,772 as the outskirts of Rome. 586 00:30:57,773 --> 00:31:01,651 So clearly, there is a route of advance open. 587 00:31:03,153 --> 00:31:04,487 The commander of the invasion 588 00:31:04,488 --> 00:31:07,323 is General John Lucas. 589 00:31:07,324 --> 00:31:10,201 Instead of driving boldly into the interior 590 00:31:10,202 --> 00:31:13,079 and seizing the high ground over the Anzio beachhead, 591 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,831 General Lucas stays put. 592 00:31:15,832 --> 00:31:18,250 His thought is, "I need to secure this port, 593 00:31:18,251 --> 00:31:20,503 'cause that is how we will be reinforced", 594 00:31:20,504 --> 00:31:21,922 and so he sits. 595 00:31:23,006 --> 00:31:25,716 As he sits, the German commander Kesselring 596 00:31:25,717 --> 00:31:27,635 will basically pull all the cooks, bakers, 597 00:31:27,636 --> 00:31:29,386 and candlestick makers from round Rome 598 00:31:29,387 --> 00:31:32,681 and build them up to pen in the Anzio landing. 599 00:31:35,435 --> 00:31:38,104 The Germans have the high ground again, 600 00:31:38,105 --> 00:31:40,189 and are able to control the situation 601 00:31:40,190 --> 00:31:43,400 by subjecting the Allied forces to constant shelling. 602 00:31:46,655 --> 00:31:48,864 Leading the way in the German bombardments 603 00:31:48,865 --> 00:31:51,242 were two enormous railroad guns, 604 00:31:51,243 --> 00:31:53,452 known colloquially to the Allies 605 00:31:53,453 --> 00:31:56,331 as Anzio Annie and the Anzio Express. 606 00:32:04,881 --> 00:32:08,969 These fire a 500-pound shell 30 miles. 607 00:32:12,973 --> 00:32:16,392 It would've sounded like a freight train. 608 00:32:16,393 --> 00:32:19,562 You could hear it kinda whistling in, and then boom. 609 00:32:23,692 --> 00:32:26,569 The Allies at Anzio are sitting in a marsh. 610 00:32:26,570 --> 00:32:28,362 They have no cover. 611 00:32:29,781 --> 00:32:31,949 Around them are mountains and German artillery, 612 00:32:31,950 --> 00:32:35,202 and the artillery never stops firing. 613 00:32:36,872 --> 00:32:39,123 There was nowhere on the beachhead you could go to 614 00:32:39,124 --> 00:32:41,041 and get respite from enemy fire. 615 00:32:41,042 --> 00:32:43,002 And so, what you basically gotta do 616 00:32:43,003 --> 00:32:46,922 is burrow down into the ground and hold tight. 617 00:32:46,923 --> 00:32:49,842 It was just this horrendous grind 618 00:32:49,843 --> 00:32:52,845 of being under fire for 24 hours a day. 619 00:32:56,683 --> 00:32:59,435 This is as miserable a position 620 00:32:59,436 --> 00:33:02,105 as any force in World War II found themselves. 621 00:33:03,648 --> 00:33:05,482 Anzio is Churchill's plan. 622 00:33:05,483 --> 00:33:06,984 And he said, famously, after the event, 623 00:33:06,985 --> 00:33:09,278 "I thought we landed a wildcat on the shore. 624 00:33:09,279 --> 00:33:11,114 What we got was a beach whale." 625 00:33:16,077 --> 00:33:17,119 The Luftwaffe strafes 626 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,079 Allied troops on the beachhead. 627 00:33:21,958 --> 00:33:25,045 Included in the effort to help Lucas's forces off the beach 628 00:33:27,631 --> 00:33:29,758 is the 99th Fighter Squadron, 629 00:33:30,967 --> 00:33:34,346 part of what will become known as the Tuskegee Airmen. 630 00:33:35,096 --> 00:33:37,723 During that era of segregation, 631 00:33:37,724 --> 00:33:41,810 most African Americans serve in rear echelon units. 632 00:33:41,811 --> 00:33:44,521 Tuskegee airmen are frontline fighting units, 633 00:33:44,522 --> 00:33:46,565 and they're changing everyone's minds. 634 00:33:51,529 --> 00:33:54,407 On one of their mission, 16 of them fly over Anzio, 635 00:33:58,078 --> 00:34:00,204 and then what they find is the German aircraft 636 00:34:00,205 --> 00:34:01,997 working over the landing craft. 637 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,962 They shoot down 10 of those German aircraft. 638 00:34:15,762 --> 00:34:17,054 To the south, 639 00:34:17,304 --> 00:34:19,641 multiple attacks on the Monte Cassino abbey fail. 640 00:34:23,603 --> 00:34:25,562 The Allies debate whether to bomb 641 00:34:25,563 --> 00:34:27,440 the mountaintop Abbey from the air. 642 00:34:29,985 --> 00:34:33,529 The Benedictine abbey that sits on Monte Cassino 643 00:34:33,530 --> 00:34:35,281 is a cultural relic. 644 00:34:35,282 --> 00:34:39,159 The law of armed conflict would say, we don't touch those. 645 00:34:40,911 --> 00:34:43,955 Of course, this is one of the most important libraries 646 00:34:43,956 --> 00:34:46,332 of Christian thought for millennia, 647 00:34:46,333 --> 00:34:48,962 and many civilians had taken refuge there. 648 00:34:50,714 --> 00:34:52,631 But the assumption was that the Germans 649 00:34:52,632 --> 00:34:54,800 were inside the abbey and using it 650 00:34:54,801 --> 00:34:57,721 as the perfect field artillery observer's position. 651 00:34:58,722 --> 00:35:00,472 We cannot allow the enemy 652 00:35:00,473 --> 00:35:03,183 to continue to harass us with artillery fire. 653 00:35:03,184 --> 00:35:05,561 So, the abbey's gotta go. 654 00:35:09,482 --> 00:35:11,692 Allied forces distributed pamphlets 655 00:35:11,693 --> 00:35:15,070 warning that there would be a bombardment, 656 00:35:15,071 --> 00:35:16,822 and the residents, they thought, 657 00:35:16,823 --> 00:35:18,533 they're not actually going to do it. 658 00:35:31,296 --> 00:35:35,050 Allied bombers flatten this shrine of Christianity. 659 00:35:38,845 --> 00:35:41,430 The bombing actually resulted in the killing 660 00:35:41,431 --> 00:35:44,767 of hundreds of civilians who were taking refuge there. 661 00:35:44,768 --> 00:35:47,811 Allied intelligence was wrong. 662 00:35:47,812 --> 00:35:50,064 The German observation posts 663 00:35:50,065 --> 00:35:53,151 had not been inside the monastery walls. 664 00:35:54,402 --> 00:35:56,362 The Germans who weren't occupying the abbey 665 00:35:56,363 --> 00:35:59,323 have now decided to occupy the rubble, 666 00:35:59,324 --> 00:36:02,201 which is incredibly effective for defensive purposes. 667 00:36:02,202 --> 00:36:05,079 So the Allies got the exact opposite 668 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:06,373 of what they hoped to achieve. 669 00:36:08,750 --> 00:36:10,542 Bombing the monastery gets the Allies 670 00:36:10,543 --> 00:36:12,544 no closer to their goal. 671 00:36:12,545 --> 00:36:15,506 At some point, infantry is going to have to 672 00:36:15,507 --> 00:36:18,842 ascend a mountain under enemy fire. 673 00:36:27,435 --> 00:36:30,771 The Allies have bombed the Monte Cassino abbey, 674 00:36:30,772 --> 00:36:32,481 but the Germans still hold the summit. 675 00:36:34,734 --> 00:36:36,944 When the weather improves in May, 676 00:36:36,945 --> 00:36:38,988 the Allies make yet another assault. 677 00:36:40,323 --> 00:36:42,866 They take nearly their entire force in Italy 678 00:36:42,867 --> 00:36:47,204 and cram it into the narrow western half of the peninsula, 679 00:36:47,205 --> 00:36:50,249 using overwhelming strength now, 680 00:36:50,250 --> 00:36:54,629 tanks, aircraft, ceaseless waves of artillery bombardment. 681 00:36:56,089 --> 00:36:59,717 You've got this extraordinary United Nations of troops. 682 00:36:59,718 --> 00:37:02,387 I mean, people from all over the world are Cassino. 683 00:37:03,555 --> 00:37:05,597 We got the British, we got the Americans, 684 00:37:05,598 --> 00:37:09,601 we got New Zealand Maoris, we got Canadians, we got Indians, 685 00:37:09,602 --> 00:37:11,603 we got French Moroccans, Goumiers, 686 00:37:11,604 --> 00:37:13,814 that are wonderful mountain fighters. 687 00:37:13,815 --> 00:37:17,360 It is one of the places where Japanese Americans fight. 688 00:37:18,445 --> 00:37:21,447 Who gets assigned Monte Cassino? The Pols. 689 00:37:24,951 --> 00:37:26,243 World War II began in Europe 690 00:37:26,244 --> 00:37:29,204 when Germany invaded Poland. 691 00:37:29,205 --> 00:37:31,999 As much as anyone, the Polish people 692 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,752 have suffered from the brutal rule of the Nazis. 693 00:37:36,588 --> 00:37:37,921 The idea that Pols 694 00:37:37,922 --> 00:37:39,047 would never miss an opportunity 695 00:37:39,048 --> 00:37:40,841 to take it back out on the Germans 696 00:37:40,842 --> 00:37:42,968 for what they did to them should be lost on no one. 697 00:37:46,932 --> 00:37:48,432 At Monte Cassino, 698 00:37:48,433 --> 00:37:51,310 the Pols are that final wave of fighters, 699 00:37:51,311 --> 00:37:53,812 and they, with incredible bravery and toughness, 700 00:37:53,813 --> 00:37:55,606 go up this huge inclines. 701 00:38:01,654 --> 00:38:04,281 As you advance up the hill, you have to show yourself. 702 00:38:04,282 --> 00:38:06,242 You're gonna be picked off, you're a sitting duck. 703 00:38:10,747 --> 00:38:12,247 We're talking almost 4,000 casualties 704 00:38:12,248 --> 00:38:14,750 for the Polish units attacking against Monte Cassino. 705 00:38:17,504 --> 00:38:18,796 The Pols 706 00:38:18,797 --> 00:38:21,007 finally overrun the ruins of the abbey. 707 00:38:24,135 --> 00:38:26,053 The Polish flag is unveiled 708 00:38:26,054 --> 00:38:27,513 on the top of the monastery. 709 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:36,104 And they play this very, very famous bugle call, 710 00:38:36,105 --> 00:38:37,439 HejnaB Mariacki, 711 00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:40,150 which translates to St. Mary's trumpet call. 712 00:38:40,151 --> 00:38:44,488 It's a symbol of resilience, of national identity, 713 00:38:44,489 --> 00:38:48,784 of hope for the future, and of the fight for Poland 714 00:38:48,785 --> 00:38:51,161 for every single Polish person. 715 00:38:55,250 --> 00:38:57,793 And it sounds out over the monastery 716 00:38:57,794 --> 00:38:59,504 once the fighting has died down. 717 00:39:03,842 --> 00:39:07,427 The Gustav Line is broken. 718 00:39:07,428 --> 00:39:08,887 The Americans are finally able 719 00:39:08,888 --> 00:39:11,598 to break out of the Anzio beachhead. 720 00:39:14,602 --> 00:39:16,103 There's a plan to encircle 721 00:39:16,104 --> 00:39:17,563 and destroy the Germans. 722 00:39:17,564 --> 00:39:19,606 The plan is for Mark Clark 723 00:39:19,607 --> 00:39:22,192 to angle his troops to the northeast 724 00:39:22,193 --> 00:39:25,445 and cut off Highway 6 at Valmontone. 725 00:39:25,446 --> 00:39:27,282 Those were the orders he was given. 726 00:39:28,449 --> 00:39:31,034 But Clark decides to make a swift left turn, 727 00:39:31,035 --> 00:39:32,953 that is north, towards Rome. 728 00:39:34,664 --> 00:39:37,082 Rome is an irresistible target. 729 00:39:37,083 --> 00:39:39,877 Nothing screams we are making progress 730 00:39:39,878 --> 00:39:41,296 than to have captured Rome. 731 00:39:41,546 --> 00:39:44,715 And Mark Clark fundamentally thinks that the Fifth Army, 732 00:39:44,716 --> 00:39:47,676 who has slogged their way up the Italian peninsula, 733 00:39:47,677 --> 00:39:50,721 and him in particular, should get credit for this. 734 00:39:53,683 --> 00:39:55,559 The conquest of Rome is to take out 735 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:57,519 one of the great Axis capitals 736 00:39:57,520 --> 00:39:58,354 in the war. 737 00:39:58,355 --> 00:39:59,521 And what you're doing 738 00:39:59,522 --> 00:40:01,189 is pointing out to the rest of the world 739 00:40:01,190 --> 00:40:03,150 that we're on the march, it's happening, 740 00:40:03,151 --> 00:40:05,402 and next stop, Berlin. 741 00:40:08,281 --> 00:40:12,201 The first of the Axis capitals is now in our hands. 742 00:40:13,703 --> 00:40:15,245 One up 743 00:40:15,246 --> 00:40:17,623 and two to go. 744 00:40:17,624 --> 00:40:19,833 However, the liberation of Rome 745 00:40:19,834 --> 00:40:23,003 is gonna be entirely overshadowed 746 00:40:23,004 --> 00:40:27,132 because the next day is going to be the launch of D-Day, 747 00:40:27,133 --> 00:40:30,594 and Roosevelt can't say anything about it. 748 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:33,932 After 10 months, 749 00:40:34,057 --> 00:40:36,601 the Allies have reached the Italian capital. 750 00:40:37,894 --> 00:40:40,687 But General Clark's decision to take Rome 751 00:40:40,688 --> 00:40:43,358 allows the Germans to escape once again. 752 00:40:44,484 --> 00:40:46,360 Ever since, he's had to answer questions 753 00:40:46,361 --> 00:40:48,195 about those orders. 754 00:40:48,196 --> 00:40:51,074 Was his ego simply too large to pass up Rome? 755 00:40:52,283 --> 00:40:54,201 Ultimately, the liberation of Rome 756 00:40:54,202 --> 00:40:57,246 has more symbolic than strategic value. 757 00:40:58,164 --> 00:41:00,999 The Allies would continue to fight the Germans in Italy 758 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:02,961 for almost another year. 759 00:41:04,587 --> 00:41:05,879 I think Churchill went to his grave thinking 760 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:07,965 there was an opportunity there that was missed. 761 00:41:07,966 --> 00:41:12,594 Churchill always believed that it had been a good idea, 762 00:41:12,595 --> 00:41:16,223 but it had been undone by a bit of foot dragging 763 00:41:16,224 --> 00:41:17,599 and some bad luck. 764 00:41:19,602 --> 00:41:22,396 The Italian campaign is the moment 765 00:41:22,397 --> 00:41:25,440 at which Churchill overreaches himself. 766 00:41:25,441 --> 00:41:29,069 He had insisted on this vast continental campaign 767 00:41:29,070 --> 00:41:31,280 that had led to nothing but misery. 768 00:41:33,449 --> 00:41:35,492 Because of difficult terrain, 769 00:41:35,493 --> 00:41:37,995 military miscalculation, 770 00:41:37,996 --> 00:41:41,999 and determined resistance from a skillful enemy, 771 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:46,754 the Allied effort in Italy gained little and cost much. 772 00:41:47,797 --> 00:41:49,881 The Italian campaign is the last time 773 00:41:49,882 --> 00:41:53,760 the British will have a predominant presence 774 00:41:53,761 --> 00:41:55,846 in the Allied forces. 775 00:41:55,847 --> 00:41:59,641 America has been building airplanes and tanks, 776 00:41:59,642 --> 00:42:01,560 and creating soldiers. 777 00:42:01,561 --> 00:42:04,563 As the American strength rises, 778 00:42:04,564 --> 00:42:07,315 Winston Churchill's influence wanes. 779 00:42:10,278 --> 00:42:11,438 The battle for Italy, 780 00:42:11,571 --> 00:42:13,321 which will go on until the end of the war, 781 00:42:13,322 --> 00:42:16,241 was fought with determination and bravery. 782 00:42:16,242 --> 00:42:18,201 Ordinary soldiers fought for their nation, 783 00:42:18,202 --> 00:42:20,912 but also for each other. 784 00:42:20,913 --> 00:42:22,873 This kind of comradery is found 785 00:42:22,874 --> 00:42:26,001 in all theaters and on all battlefields. 786 00:42:26,002 --> 00:42:28,211 War tests the best of us. 787 00:42:28,212 --> 00:42:31,673 And nowhere would men be tested more 788 00:42:31,674 --> 00:42:33,801 than in the skies over Germany.