1 00:00:03,066 --> 00:00:05,200 This program is rated 14 , 2 00:00:05,333 --> 00:00:07,266 and contains scenes of violence, coarse language, 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:08,667 and mature subject matter. 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:10,633 Viewer discretion is advised. 5 00:00:17,467 --> 00:00:19,532 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 6 00:00:19,533 --> 00:00:22,699 is a transformative figure in American history. 7 00:00:22,700 --> 00:00:24,799 He steers the country out of the Depression 8 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,299 and away from isolationism. 9 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:29,032 In the summer of 1944, 10 00:00:29,033 --> 00:00:31,966 Allied forces are battling across France, 11 00:00:31,967 --> 00:00:35,466 and heavy bombers are striking the Japanese home islands, 12 00:00:35,467 --> 00:00:40,199 but forcing the Axis powers to submit to FDR's demand 13 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,199 unconditional surrender still requires enormous effort 14 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,133 from America and its Allies. 15 00:00:47,533 --> 00:00:49,966 All wars change the world, 16 00:00:49,967 --> 00:00:51,799 but none of them changed the world 17 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:53,266 like the Second World War did. 18 00:00:54,033 --> 00:00:55,632 Japan's on the march; 19 00:00:55,633 --> 00:00:57,100 Germany's on the march. 20 00:00:57,967 --> 00:00:59,866 No one can imagine the nightmare 21 00:00:59,867 --> 00:01:01,266 they're about to unleash. 22 00:01:02,533 --> 00:01:05,032 The most destructive war in human history. 23 00:01:05,033 --> 00:01:07,933 Suddenly, the world is turned upside down, 24 00:01:07,934 --> 00:01:09,700 and all hell is let loose. 25 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,600 The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 26 00:01:15,934 --> 00:01:19,265 You get the Allies led by the Big Three: 27 00:01:19,266 --> 00:01:21,699 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin. 28 00:01:21,700 --> 00:01:26,966 Men who are dealing with immensely complicated questions. 29 00:01:26,967 --> 00:01:31,199 It's the biggest military operation of human history. 30 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:32,866 The Allies have to come together, 31 00:01:32,867 --> 00:01:35,599 not just militarily, but industrial scale. 32 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:37,866 It's a global perspective. 33 00:01:37,867 --> 00:01:39,532 They have to fight in every climate, 34 00:01:39,533 --> 00:01:42,866 from the Arctic to the jungles of the Pacific, 35 00:01:42,867 --> 00:01:44,766 to the deserts of Africa, 36 00:01:44,767 --> 00:01:46,766 and the depths of the ocean. 37 00:01:49,367 --> 00:01:52,432 But there was no certainty of victory. 38 00:01:52,433 --> 00:01:55,599 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 39 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:57,699 We see humans at their absolute worst, 40 00:01:57,700 --> 00:02:00,265 how they treat other human beings, 41 00:02:00,266 --> 00:02:01,833 and we see them at their absolute best, 42 00:02:01,834 --> 00:02:04,499 willing to give their lives that others might live. 43 00:02:04,500 --> 00:02:06,599 World War II was a struggle 44 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,266 in which there could be one victor 45 00:02:09,500 --> 00:02:11,199 and one vanquished. 46 00:02:32,500 --> 00:02:34,433 Summer, 1944. 47 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,432 While American forces combat Germany in Europe 48 00:02:39,433 --> 00:02:41,333 and Japan in the Asia Pacific, 49 00:02:42,433 --> 00:02:44,934 in the United States, it's an election year. 50 00:02:46,266 --> 00:02:48,332 Even though his nation is at war, 51 00:02:48,333 --> 00:02:51,600 the Commander In Chief, the most powerful man in the world, 52 00:02:52,767 --> 00:02:54,834 must seek the approval of voters. 53 00:02:56,934 --> 00:02:58,933 Franklin Roosevelt is trying to do something 54 00:02:58,934 --> 00:03:00,499 no American has ever done, 55 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:03,900 which is be elected to a fourth term as President, 56 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,866 and the country is not ready 57 00:03:07,867 --> 00:03:10,833 to turn Franklin Roosevelt out, 58 00:03:10,834 --> 00:03:14,833 but they're not thrilled about rehiring him either. 59 00:03:14,834 --> 00:03:16,733 Roosevelt wasn't in robust health 60 00:03:16,734 --> 00:03:18,599 when he first ran for President in 1932. 61 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,399 He was a polio victim as a young man; 62 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,499 he's in a wheelchair. 63 00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:25,432 Those who've known him before the war 64 00:03:25,433 --> 00:03:27,065 always come away a bit shocked 65 00:03:27,066 --> 00:03:29,999 at how dramatically he seemed to age. 66 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,499 The stress of the war has ground him down, 67 00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:36,165 so he's got to demonstrate to the American people 68 00:03:36,166 --> 00:03:38,833 that he is still firmly in command in this war 69 00:03:38,834 --> 00:03:41,566 and can bring it to a successful close. 70 00:03:47,567 --> 00:03:51,065 Roosevelt decides to sail over to Hawaii 71 00:03:51,066 --> 00:03:55,500 to hold a wartime conference with his top leaders. 72 00:03:56,900 --> 00:04:01,799 By being on a warship at the site where the war started, 73 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:03,300 for the Americans, 74 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,432 he has the ability to project an image 75 00:04:07,433 --> 00:04:10,300 of continued vitality and strength. 76 00:04:12,567 --> 00:04:15,566 The primary purpose of the Pearl Harbor Conference 77 00:04:15,567 --> 00:04:18,566 is to determine American strategy against Japan 78 00:04:18,567 --> 00:04:19,734 in the Pacific. 79 00:04:21,100 --> 00:04:22,099 Roosevelt looks at Japan 80 00:04:22,100 --> 00:04:23,466 and sees a country infected 81 00:04:23,467 --> 00:04:25,632 with a kind of militarism, 82 00:04:28,467 --> 00:04:30,799 a desire to conquer its neighbors, 83 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:32,632 a notion of racial superiority 84 00:04:32,633 --> 00:04:34,899 over all the other peoples in Asia. 85 00:04:37,133 --> 00:04:39,733 To prevent another Pearl Harbor, 86 00:04:39,734 --> 00:04:41,566 he's going to have to stick to the policy 87 00:04:41,567 --> 00:04:45,033 he declared in 1943: unconditional surrender. 88 00:04:46,467 --> 00:04:49,466 The United States controls most of the Pacific, 89 00:04:49,467 --> 00:04:50,766 including New Guinea 90 00:04:50,767 --> 00:04:53,066 and the recently captured Mariana Islands. 91 00:04:54,233 --> 00:04:56,566 The Navy wants to push on and take Formosa, 92 00:04:56,567 --> 00:04:58,399 modern-day Taiwan, 93 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,533 as a prelude to invading Japan. 94 00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:05,366 General Douglas MacArthur has other ideas. 95 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,032 Douglas MacArthur is one of the most famous 96 00:05:09,033 --> 00:05:11,299 American generals in history, 97 00:05:11,300 --> 00:05:13,532 also one of the most controversial. 98 00:05:13,533 --> 00:05:16,033 He's got an ego that is unbelievable. 99 00:05:17,367 --> 00:05:20,032 In Hawaii, he shows up late. 100 00:05:20,033 --> 00:05:22,800 He keeps the President waiting on purpose, 101 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,799 And then rolls in, in this leather jacket, 102 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:28,132 decidedly casual, 103 00:05:28,133 --> 00:05:30,466 in complete contrast to the Navy, 104 00:05:30,467 --> 00:05:32,867 which is all turned out in their dress whites. 105 00:05:34,633 --> 00:05:36,466 MacArthur believes he's more important 106 00:05:36,467 --> 00:05:38,232 to the country than the President. 107 00:05:38,233 --> 00:05:40,366 In fact, he believes he is the country, 108 00:05:40,367 --> 00:05:42,966 that his will and his desires in some way 109 00:05:42,967 --> 00:05:46,000 embody the will and desire of the American people. 110 00:05:48,300 --> 00:05:51,132 MacArthur insists American forces must return 111 00:05:51,133 --> 00:05:53,199 to the Philippines 112 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,132 for reasons both strategic and personal. 113 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:02,699 Douglas MacArthur had a long-standing affiliation 114 00:06:02,700 --> 00:06:04,599 with the Philippines. 115 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,566 He had a real affinity for the Filipino people. 116 00:06:07,567 --> 00:06:09,500 He had lived there before the war, 117 00:06:10,367 --> 00:06:13,432 and then in 1941 and 1942, 118 00:06:13,433 --> 00:06:15,933 he was the commander in chief of that garrison 119 00:06:15,934 --> 00:06:17,366 when it was attacked by the Japanese 120 00:06:17,367 --> 00:06:19,265 at the very beginning of the war. 121 00:06:22,533 --> 00:06:25,132 When Japanese forces overran the Philippines 122 00:06:25,133 --> 00:06:26,767 in 1942, 123 00:06:28,066 --> 00:06:29,866 Roosevelt ordered General MacArthur 124 00:06:29,867 --> 00:06:32,699 to evacuate to Australia. 125 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:34,899 He understood MacArthur's personal value 126 00:06:34,900 --> 00:06:37,100 to the morale of the American public. 127 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,733 After months of bitter fighting, 128 00:06:41,734 --> 00:06:45,033 American and Filipino troops surrendered to the Japanese. 129 00:06:46,033 --> 00:06:47,699 In the cruelest conditions, 130 00:06:47,700 --> 00:06:50,366 they were marched off the Bataan Peninsula 131 00:06:50,367 --> 00:06:51,600 and into captivity: 132 00:06:53,033 --> 00:06:54,433 the Bataan Death March. 133 00:06:56,700 --> 00:06:58,699 During the Japanese occupation, 134 00:06:58,700 --> 00:07:02,066 hundreds of thousands of Filipinos are killed. 135 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,332 Women are forced into sex slavery; 136 00:07:06,333 --> 00:07:10,666 entire villages are destroyed in mass executions. 137 00:07:10,667 --> 00:07:11,999 As he is about to leave, 138 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,100 MacArthur makes this famous pronouncement: 139 00:07:16,333 --> 00:07:17,734 I shall return. 140 00:07:20,100 --> 00:07:21,499 It's not "we shall return"; 141 00:07:21,500 --> 00:07:23,332 it's "I shall return." 142 00:07:23,333 --> 00:07:26,432 This is a vow that becomes really a rallying cry 143 00:07:26,433 --> 00:07:27,766 for Americans, 144 00:07:27,767 --> 00:07:29,933 not only in the Philippines who are captured, 145 00:07:29,934 --> 00:07:31,633 but also for Americans back home. 146 00:07:33,333 --> 00:07:34,666 At Pearl Harbor, 147 00:07:34,667 --> 00:07:36,833 MacArthur presses the President to strike Japan 148 00:07:36,834 --> 00:07:39,300 through the Philippines instead of Formosa. 149 00:07:43,266 --> 00:07:44,933 The problem with the Philippines 150 00:07:44,934 --> 00:07:46,766 is it's not just an island; 151 00:07:46,767 --> 00:07:48,133 it's an archipelago. 152 00:07:48,333 --> 00:07:51,099 And there's a very large Japanese army on these islands, 153 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:53,165 hundreds of thousands of troops 154 00:07:53,166 --> 00:07:56,900 that could lead to protracted fighting with the Japanese. 155 00:07:59,433 --> 00:08:02,833 But MacArthur has some arguments on his side as well. 156 00:08:02,834 --> 00:08:05,399 The Philippines are an American possession. 157 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,065 They're a commonwealth. 158 00:08:07,066 --> 00:08:10,999 To simply bypass the Philippines and go to Taiwan 159 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,065 will make America look like a very inconstant partner, 160 00:08:15,066 --> 00:08:17,499 not to mention abandoning the survivors 161 00:08:17,500 --> 00:08:19,333 of the Bataan Death March. 162 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:22,332 Roosevelt leaves the conference 163 00:08:22,333 --> 00:08:23,834 without making a decision. 164 00:08:24,667 --> 00:08:26,232 A week later, though, 165 00:08:26,233 --> 00:08:30,066 he sends a letter to General MacArthur agreeing to his plan. 166 00:08:39,066 --> 00:08:41,033 On October 20th, 167 00:08:43,500 --> 00:08:45,332 over a hundred thousand U.S. troops 168 00:08:45,333 --> 00:08:49,833 backed by the Seventh and Third U.S. Fleets land on Leyte, 169 00:08:49,834 --> 00:08:51,766 a central island in the Philippines 170 00:08:51,767 --> 00:08:54,066 with a protected gulf. 171 00:08:54,834 --> 00:08:58,166 MacArthur's campaign to retake the country has begun. 172 00:09:03,567 --> 00:09:06,733 He had the Army Signal Corps of Engineers go ahead 173 00:09:06,734 --> 00:09:08,233 on the beach ahead of him, 174 00:09:10,233 --> 00:09:12,232 so by the time he got there, 175 00:09:12,233 --> 00:09:14,233 he gives his radio address. 176 00:09:14,967 --> 00:09:18,800 People of the Philippines, I have returned. 177 00:09:23,133 --> 00:09:26,466 The fact that MacArthur is able to return 178 00:09:26,467 --> 00:09:31,065 to fulfill that promise is a morale boost. 179 00:09:31,066 --> 00:09:32,899 But the theater of MacArthur saying, 180 00:09:32,900 --> 00:09:34,399 "I have returned," 181 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:38,733 does not translate into straightforward Allied victory. 182 00:09:41,734 --> 00:09:43,399 The Japanese know 183 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,300 that General MacArthur has promised to return, 184 00:09:48,467 --> 00:09:53,400 and so they anticipated the next decisive battle 185 00:09:54,133 --> 00:09:56,266 may be over the Philippines. 186 00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:59,632 The Philippines sit between Japan 187 00:09:59,633 --> 00:10:01,466 and the Dutch East Indies, 188 00:10:01,467 --> 00:10:04,899 Japan's primary source of oil. 189 00:10:04,900 --> 00:10:07,466 So if the Philippines get captured, 190 00:10:07,467 --> 00:10:09,466 it will cut off the supply lines, 191 00:10:09,467 --> 00:10:11,734 and the military runs out of oil. 192 00:10:13,633 --> 00:10:15,599 The Japanese already have a plan 193 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,466 to defend the Philippines: 194 00:10:17,467 --> 00:10:20,433 Operation Sho-Go, or victory. 195 00:10:21,567 --> 00:10:23,132 They will send all their warships 196 00:10:23,133 --> 00:10:26,065 to destroy the U.S. fleets in Leyte Gulf, 197 00:10:26,066 --> 00:10:29,966 then trap General MacArthur's troops on the island. 198 00:10:29,967 --> 00:10:31,799 The Japanese position is 199 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:36,065 it's absolutely imperative to carry out this operation now. 200 00:10:36,066 --> 00:10:38,399 We've got oil, we've got warships. 201 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:40,300 We better use them or lose them. 202 00:10:42,300 --> 00:10:46,065 This is almost like one last banzai charge at sea 203 00:10:46,066 --> 00:10:48,566 that can have a material effect 204 00:10:48,567 --> 00:10:49,767 on the outcome of the war. 205 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:52,399 That's the kind of spirit 206 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,734 in which the Japanese are heading into this battle. 207 00:10:55,567 --> 00:10:57,232 The Allies have promised the Japanese 208 00:10:57,233 --> 00:10:58,600 that the war's gonna go on 209 00:10:58,734 --> 00:11:01,467 until unconditional surrender of the Japanese empire. 210 00:11:02,533 --> 00:11:03,699 But deep down inside, 211 00:11:03,700 --> 00:11:05,966 I'm not sure the Japanese believe that. 212 00:11:05,967 --> 00:11:08,866 They still think they can inflict enough casualties 213 00:11:08,867 --> 00:11:11,032 on the United States that eventually, 214 00:11:11,033 --> 00:11:13,532 despite all the talk of unconditional surrender, 215 00:11:13,533 --> 00:11:16,100 the Americans will be willing to talk. 216 00:11:19,300 --> 00:11:22,299 As MacArthur and his troops land on Leyte, 217 00:11:22,300 --> 00:11:25,767 the Japanese fleets move towards the Philippines. 218 00:11:26,633 --> 00:11:28,132 At this point in the war, 219 00:11:28,133 --> 00:11:31,532 the Japanese have suffered terrible losses in the Pacific 220 00:11:31,533 --> 00:11:33,966 from Midway to Guadalcanal, 221 00:11:33,967 --> 00:11:36,633 but they still have a tremendously powerful fleet. 222 00:11:37,633 --> 00:11:38,966 They have these super battleships, 223 00:11:38,967 --> 00:11:41,300 the Musashi and the Yamato. 224 00:11:42,533 --> 00:11:45,366 These are the biggest battleships ever built, 225 00:11:45,367 --> 00:11:48,632 and this has always been the U.S. Navy's fear. 226 00:11:48,633 --> 00:11:53,199 If these massive Yamato-class battleships get loose 227 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,966 in amongst MacArthur's troop ships, 228 00:11:55,967 --> 00:11:58,199 the invasion support vessels, 229 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,200 the devastation could be immense. 230 00:12:02,266 --> 00:12:04,699 Two Japanese fleets, 231 00:12:04,700 --> 00:12:06,933 a central fleet and a southern fleet, 232 00:12:06,934 --> 00:12:09,265 will converge on Leyte Gulf, 233 00:12:09,266 --> 00:12:13,032 where U.S. naval forces are protecting MacArthur's landing. 234 00:12:13,033 --> 00:12:15,366 Success depends on a third fleet 235 00:12:15,367 --> 00:12:17,700 moving towards the gulf from the north: 236 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:20,599 a decoy fleet. 237 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:21,734 There's another aspect. 238 00:12:21,867 --> 00:12:23,866 There's essentially a carrier task force 239 00:12:23,867 --> 00:12:27,099 that sails towards Leyte Gulf from the north. 240 00:12:27,100 --> 00:12:29,199 It has four aircraft carriers in it. 241 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,933 It's designed to try to lure American ships away 242 00:12:31,934 --> 00:12:33,233 from protecting MacArthur. 243 00:12:34,533 --> 00:12:37,265 And this is the brilliance of the Japanese move. 244 00:12:37,266 --> 00:12:39,867 They decide to use the carriers as bait. 245 00:12:41,100 --> 00:12:44,032 The entire Japanese strategy is to trap MacArthur, 246 00:12:44,033 --> 00:12:46,933 trap this famous general himself, potentially. 247 00:12:46,934 --> 00:12:49,432 They're gonna bring these two heavily armed 248 00:12:49,433 --> 00:12:53,199 and armored pincers against the American landing force 249 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:55,632 while it is still unloading cargo 250 00:12:55,633 --> 00:12:58,632 and supplies and troops at Leyte 251 00:12:58,633 --> 00:12:59,633 and annihilate it. 252 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:11,833 General MacArthur has landed 130,000 troops 253 00:13:11,834 --> 00:13:13,232 on Leyte, 254 00:13:13,233 --> 00:13:15,399 the first step in the American liberation 255 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:16,633 of the Philippines. 256 00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:21,165 But as U.S. troops establish a secure beachhead, 257 00:13:21,166 --> 00:13:25,566 the Japanese Navy enacts Operation Sho-Go. 258 00:13:25,567 --> 00:13:27,199 The Japanese have to figure out 259 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,065 how to sneak their forces close to the landing beaches 260 00:13:30,066 --> 00:13:31,332 without being discovered, 261 00:13:31,333 --> 00:13:34,232 because if they come under heavy air attack, 262 00:13:34,233 --> 00:13:35,699 they're in real trouble. 263 00:13:35,700 --> 00:13:39,399 So they plan to lure most of the American forces 264 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:40,500 out of the fight. 265 00:13:41,734 --> 00:13:43,065 There are two American fleets 266 00:13:43,066 --> 00:13:45,399 supporting MacArthur's forces: 267 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:48,667 the U.S. Third Fleet led by Admiral Bull Halsey 268 00:13:49,834 --> 00:13:52,800 and the Seventh led by Admiral Thomas Kinkaid. 269 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:56,667 As the Japanese cross the Sibuyan Sea, 270 00:13:57,567 --> 00:14:00,900 they're spotted by one of Halsey's scout planes. 271 00:14:07,233 --> 00:14:09,133 The Americans attacked from the air, 272 00:14:10,467 --> 00:14:13,733 and they better focus on the largest ships they see, 273 00:14:13,734 --> 00:14:16,600 which was the super battleships Yamato and Musashi. 274 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,566 Musashi is an absolute giant. 275 00:14:20,567 --> 00:14:23,232 She has 18.1-inch naval guns, 276 00:14:23,233 --> 00:14:25,400 the largest naval guns ever mounted. 277 00:14:26,133 --> 00:14:27,733 The Japanese have even developed 278 00:14:27,734 --> 00:14:31,133 a special anti-aircraft shell for them as well, 279 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:35,232 which explodes in this enormous cloud, 280 00:14:35,233 --> 00:14:37,899 and it's supposed to destroy any American planes 281 00:14:37,900 --> 00:14:39,400 that are flying through it. 282 00:14:43,633 --> 00:14:44,999 But the attacks that are 283 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,065 launched by these American planes 284 00:14:47,066 --> 00:14:48,966 gradually start whittling away 285 00:14:48,967 --> 00:14:50,567 at her defensive capabilities. 286 00:14:52,734 --> 00:14:54,933 Torpedo after torpedo 287 00:14:54,934 --> 00:14:57,065 streaks towards the Musashi, 288 00:14:57,066 --> 00:15:00,299 hitting and exploding below the waterline. 289 00:15:00,300 --> 00:15:03,466 Seventeen to 19 torpedoes, 290 00:15:03,467 --> 00:15:05,299 more than a dozen bombs, 291 00:15:07,367 --> 00:15:09,533 finally get her to go down. 292 00:15:12,633 --> 00:15:17,299 The Musashi sinks along with a thousand of her crew. 293 00:15:17,300 --> 00:15:19,467 The Japanese central fleet retreats. 294 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,199 That night, Kinkaid's fleet, 295 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:24,699 including battleships 296 00:15:24,700 --> 00:15:27,466 that had been damaged at Pearl Harbor, 297 00:15:27,467 --> 00:15:30,000 decimate the Japanese southern fleet. 298 00:15:31,533 --> 00:15:34,532 But Halsey again spots Japanese warships 299 00:15:34,533 --> 00:15:36,699 north of Leyte Gulf, 300 00:15:36,700 --> 00:15:39,366 including four aircraft carriers: 301 00:15:39,367 --> 00:15:41,200 the Japanese decoy fleet. 302 00:15:42,633 --> 00:15:43,899 In Halsey's mind, 303 00:15:43,900 --> 00:15:46,032 as a carrier commander himself, 304 00:15:46,033 --> 00:15:50,132 any enemy carrier fleet represents the most dire threat 305 00:15:50,133 --> 00:15:51,532 to his mission, 306 00:15:51,533 --> 00:15:54,632 which is protecting the invasion forces. 307 00:15:54,633 --> 00:15:56,866 So Halsey takes his entire fleet 308 00:15:56,867 --> 00:15:59,299 and goes charging off after it. 309 00:15:59,300 --> 00:16:01,699 And so Halsey's played into the Japanese hands 310 00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:03,700 exactly as they had hoped. 311 00:16:05,700 --> 00:16:08,933 Halsey's taken all the major firepower 312 00:16:08,934 --> 00:16:14,000 north with him, and that puts MacArthur's invasion at risk. 313 00:16:18,367 --> 00:16:20,432 Halsey moves north, 314 00:16:20,433 --> 00:16:22,599 but the Japanese central fleet 315 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:26,734 under Admiral Takeo Kurita returns to Leyte Gulf. 316 00:16:28,934 --> 00:16:31,366 From the battleship Yamato, 317 00:16:31,367 --> 00:16:34,032 Kurita sees that only a portion of the Seventh Fleet 318 00:16:34,033 --> 00:16:36,699 is left to protect MacArthur's invasion. 319 00:16:36,700 --> 00:16:41,532 For Kurita, this is a heaven-sent opportunity. 320 00:16:41,533 --> 00:16:43,367 The dawn breaks, 321 00:16:45,266 --> 00:16:48,265 and now there is an American fleet 322 00:16:48,266 --> 00:16:51,099 sitting directly under his guns. 323 00:16:51,100 --> 00:16:52,900 All he has to do is sink them. 324 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:55,733 The American vessels 325 00:16:55,734 --> 00:16:59,432 that are still around Leyte primarily provide support 326 00:16:59,433 --> 00:17:01,833 for the landing forces going ashore. 327 00:17:01,834 --> 00:17:03,766 So there's only a token force 328 00:17:03,767 --> 00:17:06,667 of light escort carriers and destroyers. 329 00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:12,265 Escort carriers are small, extremely vulnerable. 330 00:17:12,266 --> 00:17:16,332 They can carry 25 to 30 aircraft max. 331 00:17:16,333 --> 00:17:18,332 They're designed for ground support 332 00:17:18,333 --> 00:17:20,165 for the troops ashore. 333 00:17:20,166 --> 00:17:21,499 That's their role. 334 00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:24,666 It is not to get themselves into standup fights 335 00:17:24,667 --> 00:17:27,133 against large enemy warships. 336 00:17:28,834 --> 00:17:30,599 The escort carriers launch their planes 337 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:32,667 against Kurita's much larger fleet. 338 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:35,432 And then these escort carriers, 339 00:17:35,433 --> 00:17:37,432 mostly what they do is turn around and run, 340 00:17:37,433 --> 00:17:40,500 because they are not designed to fight a threat like this. 341 00:17:42,667 --> 00:17:45,666 The only force that can match the Japanese, 342 00:17:45,667 --> 00:17:47,666 Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet, 343 00:17:47,667 --> 00:17:50,766 remains a hundred miles to the north. 344 00:17:50,767 --> 00:17:53,933 His commander in chief, Admiral Chester Nimitz, 345 00:17:53,934 --> 00:17:56,265 requests his location. 346 00:17:56,266 --> 00:17:59,432 Halsey receives a message from Nimitz: 347 00:17:59,433 --> 00:18:03,566 "Where, repeat, where, is Task Force 34 348 00:18:03,567 --> 00:18:05,499 The world wonders." 349 00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:07,833 Traditionally, naval messages begin and end 350 00:18:07,834 --> 00:18:09,332 with sort of a nonsense phrase 351 00:18:09,333 --> 00:18:12,165 to confuse code breakers. 352 00:18:12,166 --> 00:18:14,332 The nonsense phrase they used in this message, though, 353 00:18:14,333 --> 00:18:16,899 is "the world wonders," 354 00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:18,666 And the "world wonders" line 355 00:18:18,667 --> 00:18:22,500 should have been removed by his cipher officer, but wasn't. 356 00:18:23,333 --> 00:18:25,165 I've always wondered if Admiral Nimitz 357 00:18:25,166 --> 00:18:27,666 was also sticking a little barb in Halsey as to, 358 00:18:27,667 --> 00:18:29,166 "What are you doing up there?" 359 00:18:30,667 --> 00:18:32,899 And the result is that Halsey 360 00:18:32,900 --> 00:18:34,499 just goes into conniptions, 361 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:36,399 throws his cap on the floor, 362 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,499 swearing up and down. 363 00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:41,399 His chief of staff has to tell him 364 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:43,567 to get a grip on this situation. 365 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,399 Halsey realizes the danger. 366 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:51,232 He sends his fastest battleships back to Leyte Gulf, 367 00:18:51,233 --> 00:18:54,333 then continues after the Japanese carriers. 368 00:18:55,266 --> 00:18:56,833 Now, what the Americans don't know 369 00:18:56,834 --> 00:18:59,232 is that the Japanese carriers lying to Halsey's north 370 00:18:59,233 --> 00:19:00,799 don't have many planes on them. 371 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,399 In fact, most of the planes have been offloaded already 372 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,566 and flown to the island of Luzon 373 00:19:05,567 --> 00:19:07,099 for what is about to come, 374 00:19:07,100 --> 00:19:09,065 because a new and terrifying weapon 375 00:19:09,066 --> 00:19:10,899 emerges from this battle: 376 00:19:13,934 --> 00:19:14,967 the kamikaze. 377 00:19:27,567 --> 00:19:29,533 At an airfield on Luzon, 378 00:19:30,467 --> 00:19:34,400 Japanese pilots are assembled for a unique mission. 379 00:19:35,633 --> 00:19:37,799 Japanese pilots at the beginning of the war 380 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,799 were the cream of the crop, 381 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:43,567 elite, hand-selected, and carefully trained. 382 00:19:44,133 --> 00:19:46,165 But by this point in the war, Japan 383 00:19:46,166 --> 00:19:49,299 just doesn't have the time or the resources 384 00:19:49,300 --> 00:19:50,967 to train its pilots. 385 00:19:52,467 --> 00:19:55,232 The Japanese military leadership 386 00:19:55,233 --> 00:19:57,799 has to make a tough decision 387 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,966 to make a cost-efficient way 388 00:20:00,967 --> 00:20:03,767 of destroying American enemy ships. 389 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:10,467 And one way to do it is to undertake one-way flight 390 00:20:11,967 --> 00:20:16,433 that will end with crashing a plane. 391 00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:21,299 This new unit of 24 pilots, 392 00:20:21,300 --> 00:20:25,265 led by 23-year-old Lieutenant Yukio Seki, 393 00:20:25,266 --> 00:20:29,799 is Japan's first organized special attack unit. 394 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,433 They will soon become known as kamikaze: 395 00:20:33,633 --> 00:20:35,100 the divine wind. 396 00:20:37,567 --> 00:20:39,899 So the kamikaze in some ways represents 397 00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:44,065 a perversion of traditional Japanese bushido doctrine, 398 00:20:44,066 --> 00:20:45,332 the samurai code, 399 00:20:45,333 --> 00:20:48,232 this idea of sacrificing one's life for Japan 400 00:20:48,233 --> 00:20:49,600 and for the emperor. 401 00:20:50,900 --> 00:20:51,966 It's hard to generalize 402 00:20:51,967 --> 00:20:53,399 about their motivations. 403 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:55,566 You find some of them saying, 404 00:20:55,567 --> 00:20:57,799 "I'm doing this for the emperor." 405 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,466 Other pilots talk about their village, 406 00:21:00,467 --> 00:21:01,632 they talk about families, 407 00:21:01,633 --> 00:21:03,867 and they say, "I'm doing this for you." 408 00:21:05,467 --> 00:21:06,966 For the Japanese, what they're doing 409 00:21:06,967 --> 00:21:09,199 was not regarded as suicide. 410 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:10,867 It's a death in combat. 411 00:21:11,533 --> 00:21:13,299 So it's this sense that 412 00:21:13,300 --> 00:21:15,966 these young men are becoming something really special, 413 00:21:15,967 --> 00:21:18,699 that almost to give this level of self-sacrifice 414 00:21:18,700 --> 00:21:20,632 makes you a samurai. 415 00:21:25,967 --> 00:21:27,566 In Leyte Gulf, 416 00:21:27,567 --> 00:21:30,532 the American escort carriers of the U.S. Seventh Fleet 417 00:21:30,533 --> 00:21:33,967 confront a new and lethal threat from the air. 418 00:21:45,133 --> 00:21:49,200 Stopping a kamikaze plane is almost impossible. 419 00:21:52,166 --> 00:21:55,032 The American carriers can only do two things. 420 00:21:55,033 --> 00:21:57,533 One is maneuver away, 421 00:21:59,367 --> 00:22:02,233 and the second is put up a huge curtain of flak. 422 00:22:04,767 --> 00:22:06,132 But oftentimes 423 00:22:06,133 --> 00:22:08,533 the kamikazes can break through that flak curtain. 424 00:22:09,867 --> 00:22:12,866 You could fire every anti-aircraft gun in the world, 425 00:22:12,867 --> 00:22:15,599 but unless you get something like a direct hit 426 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:16,934 that kills the pilot, 427 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:20,433 that plane's gonna hit your ship. 428 00:22:24,266 --> 00:22:26,400 There's a psychological effect as well. 429 00:22:27,467 --> 00:22:29,599 Japanese kamikaze are giving up their lives 430 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:31,232 in the most violent ways possible 431 00:22:31,233 --> 00:22:32,934 simply to kill Americans. 432 00:22:34,033 --> 00:22:35,199 This is something that is difficult 433 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:36,766 for Americans to understand, 434 00:22:36,767 --> 00:22:38,099 that this is a human being 435 00:22:38,100 --> 00:22:40,966 who has chosen to do this to you. 436 00:22:40,967 --> 00:22:43,200 How do you fight against an enemy like this? 437 00:22:44,266 --> 00:22:46,199 Lieutenant Seki crashes his plane 438 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,699 into the flight deck of an American escort carrier, 439 00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:51,333 the USS St. Lo. 440 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,934 It's the first ship to be sunk by kamikaze attack. 441 00:22:57,367 --> 00:23:00,667 Six other vessels are struck and barely stay afloat. 442 00:23:04,166 --> 00:23:05,833 But Admiral Kurita's central fleet 443 00:23:05,834 --> 00:23:08,266 also faces an aerial attack. 444 00:23:09,166 --> 00:23:11,666 Despite the pounding the Americans have taken, 445 00:23:11,667 --> 00:23:13,265 it is actually Kurita 446 00:23:13,266 --> 00:23:15,499 who is under a major disadvantage here. 447 00:23:15,500 --> 00:23:18,500 He's up against 350 American planes, 448 00:23:20,100 --> 00:23:23,165 and because Kurita is being constantly attacked 449 00:23:23,166 --> 00:23:24,600 by American aircraft, 450 00:23:25,500 --> 00:23:27,833 he becomes increasingly paranoid 451 00:23:27,834 --> 00:23:30,834 that he is now surrounded by American carriers. 452 00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:33,666 So after these moments of tension 453 00:23:33,667 --> 00:23:35,933 where Kurita could have potentially wreaked havoc 454 00:23:35,934 --> 00:23:37,999 on the American fleet in Leyte Gulf, 455 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,265 he actually withdraws. 456 00:23:40,266 --> 00:23:41,532 Kurita retreats ahead 457 00:23:41,533 --> 00:23:44,766 of Admiral Halsey's returning warships, 458 00:23:44,767 --> 00:23:48,166 but the Japanese have lost a third of their navy. 459 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,099 It's the largest naval battle in human history. 460 00:23:52,100 --> 00:23:54,433 More than 200,000 combatants involved, 461 00:23:55,433 --> 00:23:57,332 and the American victory really knocks 462 00:23:57,333 --> 00:24:00,399 the Japanese Imperial Navy out of the war in the Pacific. 463 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:01,666 But without a doubt, 464 00:24:01,667 --> 00:24:03,332 the Japanese are not gonna surrender. 465 00:24:03,333 --> 00:24:06,232 This perversion of the bushido code, 466 00:24:06,233 --> 00:24:09,065 it has manifested itself on islands throughout this war, 467 00:24:09,066 --> 00:24:12,566 and now it's manifesting itself in the sea and in the air. 468 00:24:12,567 --> 00:24:14,499 So it's starting to get in the mind of the Allies 469 00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:16,566 about how costly it will be 470 00:24:16,567 --> 00:24:19,566 to achieve that unconditional surrender of Japan. 471 00:24:21,734 --> 00:24:25,399 Over two months of fighting in dense jungle terrain 472 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,232 against fierce Japanese resistance, 473 00:24:28,233 --> 00:24:31,166 General MacArthur's troops retake Leyte. 474 00:24:32,567 --> 00:24:35,065 Luzon is next. 475 00:24:35,066 --> 00:24:36,766 Luzon in particular 476 00:24:36,767 --> 00:24:38,899 is gonna be a very tough nut to crack, 477 00:24:38,900 --> 00:24:42,399 because not only is it a large island with mountain chains 478 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,065 the Japanese can fortify, 479 00:24:44,066 --> 00:24:46,999 but there's also this enormous capital of Manila 480 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:48,566 with about a million people 481 00:24:48,567 --> 00:24:50,232 sitting in the middle of the island. 482 00:24:50,233 --> 00:24:52,399 And if the American forces get involved 483 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,165 in urban combat there, 484 00:24:54,166 --> 00:24:56,700 the casualties are likely to be very, very heavy. 485 00:25:03,333 --> 00:25:06,032 Twelve days after the victory at Leyte Gulf, 486 00:25:06,033 --> 00:25:08,299 it's election night in the United States. 487 00:25:08,300 --> 00:25:09,566 At Hyde Park, 488 00:25:09,567 --> 00:25:11,632 a victorious President greets townspeople 489 00:25:11,633 --> 00:25:13,366 on election night. 490 00:25:13,367 --> 00:25:14,699 Franklin D. Roosevelt wins 491 00:25:14,700 --> 00:25:16,533 an unprecedented fourth term. 492 00:25:17,967 --> 00:25:21,366 The unconditional surrender of Japan and Germany 493 00:25:21,367 --> 00:25:24,032 remains his highest priority. 494 00:25:31,867 --> 00:25:34,132 On January 9th, 1945, 495 00:25:34,133 --> 00:25:37,966 MacArthur's troops land on Luzon in the Philippines. 496 00:25:37,967 --> 00:25:41,366 Quickly, special operation forces trek inland 497 00:25:41,367 --> 00:25:43,966 to liberate Japanese POW camps. 498 00:25:49,367 --> 00:25:51,699 At the end of two years of captivity 499 00:25:51,700 --> 00:25:54,500 in Japanese hands, these men are in terrible condition. 500 00:25:55,633 --> 00:25:58,199 A third of them have already died. 501 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:02,366 There are also a number of American civilian detainees 502 00:26:02,367 --> 00:26:05,266 that are in camps that are near Manila, 503 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,933 so there's a ticking clock here 504 00:26:08,934 --> 00:26:10,532 as far as MacArthur is concerned. 505 00:26:10,533 --> 00:26:15,366 He needs to liberate these camps as rapidly as possible. 506 00:26:17,934 --> 00:26:19,166 In early February, 507 00:26:19,266 --> 00:26:22,432 American forces surround the capital of Manila. 508 00:26:22,433 --> 00:26:24,532 Most Japanese troops have retreated north 509 00:26:24,533 --> 00:26:27,432 to create an extensive defensive line, 510 00:26:27,433 --> 00:26:32,500 but one group stays with orders to fight to the last man. 511 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:38,265 The real problem of urban warfare in the modern era 512 00:26:38,266 --> 00:26:41,532 is that the city is a gigantic sponge. 513 00:26:41,533 --> 00:26:45,265 You can have a million-man army, 514 00:26:45,266 --> 00:26:48,200 and suddenly it's split up all over the place. 515 00:26:49,433 --> 00:26:51,366 So the Americans find themselves having to fight 516 00:26:51,367 --> 00:26:54,066 street by street, building by building, 517 00:26:55,266 --> 00:26:58,532 and it really turns Manila into the Stalingrad 518 00:26:58,533 --> 00:26:59,866 of the Pacific. 519 00:27:06,934 --> 00:27:08,432 MacArthur's men are supported 520 00:27:08,433 --> 00:27:12,265 by Filipino resistance fighters who provide intel, 521 00:27:12,266 --> 00:27:14,499 disrupt Japanese supply lines, 522 00:27:14,500 --> 00:27:17,499 and help secure key routes into the city. 523 00:27:17,500 --> 00:27:20,132 There have been active groups of 524 00:27:20,133 --> 00:27:23,934 Filipino guerrillas in existence since 1942, 525 00:27:26,433 --> 00:27:28,332 and those guerrillas have been carrying on 526 00:27:28,333 --> 00:27:30,766 a very successful campaign of resistance 527 00:27:30,767 --> 00:27:33,332 against the Japanese occupiers. 528 00:27:37,667 --> 00:27:41,265 The Japanese response, like the Nazis in Europe, 529 00:27:41,266 --> 00:27:43,265 was to use guerrilla activity 530 00:27:43,266 --> 00:27:45,999 as an excuse to murder civilians. 531 00:27:49,266 --> 00:27:52,165 So whether it's a school, a hospital, homes, 532 00:27:52,166 --> 00:27:54,933 Filipino people are being bayoneted, 533 00:27:54,934 --> 00:27:59,165 they're being shot, beheaded, sometimes burned alive, 534 00:27:59,166 --> 00:28:00,734 corpses left to rot. 535 00:28:02,567 --> 00:28:04,566 There's a sense of scorched earth, 536 00:28:04,567 --> 00:28:07,500 a sense that we will leave nothing for the Americans. 537 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:10,666 The Japanese will ultimately take the lives 538 00:28:10,667 --> 00:28:13,233 of a hundred thousand Filipino civilians. 539 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:15,999 The Battle of Manila, in a lot of ways, 540 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,667 is a harbinger of what's to come. 541 00:28:20,333 --> 00:28:24,899 Roosevelt and his top military advisors are aware 542 00:28:24,900 --> 00:28:28,065 of the increasingly dire implications 543 00:28:28,066 --> 00:28:30,733 of a longer war with Japan, 544 00:28:30,734 --> 00:28:33,232 but the American people are very focused 545 00:28:33,233 --> 00:28:35,232 on what's going on in Europe, 546 00:28:35,233 --> 00:28:38,867 and they think the war is now winding down. 547 00:28:40,066 --> 00:28:42,666 President Roosevelt's just been reelected. 548 00:28:42,667 --> 00:28:44,332 He's looking at the horrors, 549 00:28:44,333 --> 00:28:46,999 the brutality of the fighting in the Philippines, 550 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:48,666 and he's been peppered with letters 551 00:28:48,667 --> 00:28:49,999 from the moms of America saying, 552 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:50,999 "Where is my boy? 553 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,399 What is he doing? 554 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,165 What God-forsaken island is he fighting on this time?" 555 00:28:55,166 --> 00:28:57,666 He needs to find a way to strengthen the will 556 00:28:57,667 --> 00:28:59,666 and resolve of the American people, 557 00:28:59,667 --> 00:29:02,232 because he knows things are going to get a lot worse 558 00:29:02,233 --> 00:29:04,232 before they get better. 559 00:29:10,133 --> 00:29:12,766 Roosevelt meets with British Prime Minister 560 00:29:12,767 --> 00:29:14,799 Winston Churchill in Malta 561 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,966 to discuss the strategy for ending the war in Europe 562 00:29:17,967 --> 00:29:19,899 and in the Pacific. 563 00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:21,466 The question is, 564 00:29:21,467 --> 00:29:23,632 if we have an enemy willing to sacrifice young men 565 00:29:23,633 --> 00:29:25,966 in kamikaze attacks, 566 00:29:25,967 --> 00:29:29,566 an enemy that seems willing to fight on beyond reason, 567 00:29:29,567 --> 00:29:32,132 how are we going to bring this to an end? 568 00:29:32,133 --> 00:29:34,399 Roosevelt's advisors are arguing 569 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,799 that the Japanese will not give up. 570 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:38,566 This war will not end 571 00:29:38,567 --> 00:29:41,466 until there is actually an invasion 572 00:29:41,467 --> 00:29:42,800 of the home islands. 573 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,733 Churchill and Roosevelt are in Malta 574 00:29:46,734 --> 00:29:49,966 on the way to Yalta early in 1945, 575 00:29:49,967 --> 00:29:54,132 and this is where Operation Downfall first crystallizes: 576 00:29:54,133 --> 00:29:55,467 the invasion of Japan. 577 00:29:57,734 --> 00:30:00,899 The sense is that after the war in Europe would be over, 578 00:30:00,900 --> 00:30:02,899 and all of the resources, all the men, 579 00:30:02,900 --> 00:30:04,632 all the equipment that they could muster 580 00:30:04,633 --> 00:30:07,399 would be transferred into the Far East theater 581 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,299 for a massive, massive operation, 582 00:30:10,300 --> 00:30:13,132 the kind of which history has never seen before. 583 00:30:13,133 --> 00:30:14,466 This would occur 584 00:30:14,467 --> 00:30:17,132 after a protracted strategic bombing campaign, 585 00:30:17,133 --> 00:30:18,799 which as of early 1945 586 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,100 is beginning to take more and more effect. 587 00:30:23,233 --> 00:30:26,233 At first, the Marines are ordered to take Iwo Jima. 588 00:30:30,233 --> 00:30:32,899 Japan has an airfield on Iwo Jima, 589 00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:35,399 and as the B-29s start operating 590 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,733 out of Saipan and the Marianas, 591 00:30:37,734 --> 00:30:41,299 they're using it to spot the B-29 formations 592 00:30:41,300 --> 00:30:42,600 on their radar scopes. 593 00:30:44,467 --> 00:30:47,399 Iwo Jima becomes a logical place to, first of all, 594 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:50,065 remove something from the Japanese control. 595 00:30:50,066 --> 00:30:52,799 Second, don't allow them to have any Japanese fighter 596 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:55,799 on there or early warning systems. 597 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,899 And third, for all those B -29s 598 00:30:57,900 --> 00:31:01,532 that are making those long flights over 1,200 miles, 599 00:31:01,533 --> 00:31:03,866 it creates a place to land if they have engine trouble, 600 00:31:03,867 --> 00:31:05,699 if they run into any difficulties. 601 00:31:05,700 --> 00:31:07,934 So Iwo Jima has gotta go. 602 00:31:09,300 --> 00:31:11,834 That needs to become an American airfield. 603 00:31:13,133 --> 00:31:15,532 Now, American intelligence tells the Marines 604 00:31:15,533 --> 00:31:18,266 that there are about 13,000 Japanese defenders, 605 00:31:19,867 --> 00:31:22,433 but there are actually 23,000, 606 00:31:23,700 --> 00:31:27,200 nearly double what the intelligence estimates listed. 607 00:31:28,467 --> 00:31:31,366 As a result, you have an American invasion force 608 00:31:31,367 --> 00:31:34,366 that's going to be meeting a much tougher defense 609 00:31:34,367 --> 00:31:35,966 than it expected. 610 00:31:50,133 --> 00:31:53,632 Japanese troops on Iwo Jima have been preparing 611 00:31:53,633 --> 00:31:56,800 for an American attack for over three months. 612 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,366 The Japanese strategy is to make the battle last 613 00:32:01,367 --> 00:32:03,366 as long as possible. 614 00:32:03,367 --> 00:32:06,099 Each day that that battle lasts 615 00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:08,199 is a day where the people at the home islands 616 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,600 are spared of an American invasion. 617 00:32:11,867 --> 00:32:14,466 So the commander of the Japanese on Iwo Jima, 618 00:32:14,467 --> 00:32:16,366 Kuribayashi, says, 619 00:32:16,367 --> 00:32:19,032 we're going to prepare these defensive fortifications 620 00:32:19,033 --> 00:32:22,667 and wait, draw the Americans in, and then attack them. 621 00:32:24,934 --> 00:32:27,265 The Japanese aren't on Iwo Jima; 622 00:32:27,266 --> 00:32:29,066 they're actually in Iwo Jima. 623 00:32:30,767 --> 00:32:32,933 They have miles and miles of tunnels 624 00:32:32,934 --> 00:32:36,366 that they have dug out of this soft volcanic terrain 625 00:32:36,367 --> 00:32:38,166 on the island. 626 00:32:38,867 --> 00:32:42,199 And they've also fortified the most prominent landmark 627 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:44,700 on Iwo Jima, which is Mount Suribachi. 628 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,699 Looming over the Marines' landing beaches, 629 00:32:48,700 --> 00:32:51,532 Mount Suribachi provides the Japanese 630 00:32:51,533 --> 00:32:54,199 with a perfect defensive position. 631 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,766 It's gonna be this defensive hive 632 00:32:56,767 --> 00:33:00,933 that the Americans will have to reduce cave by cave, 633 00:33:00,934 --> 00:33:03,934 bunker by bunker, one thing at a time. 634 00:33:05,166 --> 00:33:08,933 On Iwo Jima, Japanese soldiers are issued orders 635 00:33:08,934 --> 00:33:11,333 to kill 10 Americans before they die. 636 00:33:13,834 --> 00:33:15,599 We see very few Japanese 637 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:16,966 who attempt to surrender. 638 00:33:16,967 --> 00:33:18,933 There's a view that this is a great dishonor, 639 00:33:18,934 --> 00:33:21,666 not only to oneself and one's family, 640 00:33:21,667 --> 00:33:23,333 but to the emperor as well. 641 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:26,800 If you look at the letters 642 00:33:26,934 --> 00:33:28,999 that Kuribayashi writes home to his family, 643 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,833 he's clear right from the beginning 644 00:33:30,834 --> 00:33:33,599 that no one on the Japanese side is coming home 645 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,165 from the Iwo Jima campaign. 646 00:33:35,166 --> 00:33:36,599 And he starts to issue these orders 647 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,833 very clearly to his men saying, "Fight to the death," 648 00:33:39,834 --> 00:33:41,499 but he doesn't want a banzai charge. 649 00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:44,599 He doesn't want pointless suicidal acts. 650 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:48,165 He wants to show the Americans the cost to them 651 00:33:48,166 --> 00:33:50,333 of going as far as the Japanese home islands. 652 00:33:59,333 --> 00:34:02,332 The Navy bombarded Japanese positions 653 00:34:02,333 --> 00:34:04,834 for three days. 654 00:34:06,233 --> 00:34:09,733 Now the Marines plan to land 60,000 men 655 00:34:09,734 --> 00:34:12,666 across Iwo Jima's southern beaches, 656 00:34:12,667 --> 00:34:15,400 push north, and take the island. 657 00:34:17,533 --> 00:34:20,432 So at 8:59 on the 19th of February, 658 00:34:20,433 --> 00:34:24,667 the first 10,000 men land, and it's quiet. 659 00:34:27,333 --> 00:34:29,999 But then at 10 o'clock in the morning, 660 00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:35,099 every Japanese soldier with a mortar, machine gun, 661 00:34:35,100 --> 00:34:36,399 or a piece of artillery 662 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,065 will now start to shell the landing beach. 663 00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:51,232 In the face of withering fire, 664 00:34:51,233 --> 00:34:54,734 the Marines struggle up dunes of 15 feet or more. 665 00:34:57,667 --> 00:35:01,467 Iwo Jima is not sand; it's volcanic ash. 666 00:35:02,567 --> 00:35:04,233 Your feet just sink up to your knees. 667 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:07,400 It's like walking in coffee grounds. 668 00:35:11,233 --> 00:35:13,567 It's incredibly deadly to try and move forward. 669 00:35:16,233 --> 00:35:18,466 Bulldozers are called in to clear a path 670 00:35:18,467 --> 00:35:19,899 through the dunes, 671 00:35:19,900 --> 00:35:22,467 allowing the Marines to continue their advance. 672 00:35:24,934 --> 00:35:26,766 As the Marines finally make their way 673 00:35:26,767 --> 00:35:28,799 off the beaches, they're getting attacked from everywhere, 674 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:30,299 people coming out of tunnels, 675 00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:32,132 of mortars coming off of Mount Suribachi, 676 00:35:32,133 --> 00:35:34,799 of hidden artillery emplacements all over the place 677 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,467 with snipers firing positions they can't even see. 678 00:35:38,633 --> 00:35:41,332 Individual soldier has to somehow 679 00:35:41,333 --> 00:35:43,466 get up close with a grenade 680 00:35:43,467 --> 00:35:45,632 that he can put through the firing slit 681 00:35:45,633 --> 00:35:47,400 and kill the crew that's in there. 682 00:35:49,900 --> 00:35:51,332 Ultimately, one of the greatest weapons 683 00:35:51,333 --> 00:35:55,133 that the Marines have is what they'd call Zippo tanks, 684 00:35:56,734 --> 00:35:58,900 which are tank-sized flamethrowers 685 00:36:00,300 --> 00:36:02,266 that can shoot long distances, 686 00:36:03,967 --> 00:36:05,699 and that becomes the weapon of choice 687 00:36:05,700 --> 00:36:06,967 for Marines on Iwo Jima. 688 00:36:15,633 --> 00:36:17,666 By the end of the first day, 689 00:36:17,667 --> 00:36:19,700 the Marines have secured an airfield 690 00:36:20,700 --> 00:36:23,200 and prepared to attack Mount Suribachi. 691 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:28,532 On Iwo Jima, two strategies come into conflict. 692 00:36:28,533 --> 00:36:31,199 One says, no surrender, that's the Japanese, 693 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:32,966 and then unconditional surrender, 694 00:36:32,967 --> 00:36:35,299 and that's the American position. 695 00:36:35,300 --> 00:36:36,866 And on Suribachi, 696 00:36:36,867 --> 00:36:39,532 the Americans make a determined statement 697 00:36:39,533 --> 00:36:42,032 that it's going to be unconditional surrender. 698 00:36:42,033 --> 00:36:44,299 There is no position on planet Earth 699 00:36:44,300 --> 00:36:45,934 held by the Japanese army 700 00:36:47,033 --> 00:36:48,967 that American troops cannot take. 701 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,466 After securing the beaches, 702 00:37:02,467 --> 00:37:06,300 U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima attack Mount Suribachi. 703 00:37:07,867 --> 00:37:09,199 The force that goes up the hill 704 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,233 fights off Japanese resistance, 705 00:37:13,867 --> 00:37:16,432 and upon reaching the summit, 706 00:37:16,433 --> 00:37:17,799 they find a water pipe 707 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:20,299 that had been associated with a Japanese cistern. 708 00:37:20,300 --> 00:37:23,632 They attach a small American flag to that water pipe, 709 00:37:23,633 --> 00:37:26,199 and then they raise that flag. 710 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:32,532 But they realize the flag's too small. 711 00:37:32,533 --> 00:37:33,667 We need a bigger flag. 712 00:37:34,934 --> 00:37:36,299 So what they're gonna do 713 00:37:36,300 --> 00:37:37,799 is they're gonna take a ship's flag 714 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:38,866 and they're gonna send it up there. 715 00:37:38,867 --> 00:37:40,900 And about noon, it gets up there. 716 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:45,466 Six Marines plant the second American flag. 717 00:37:45,467 --> 00:37:49,299 Joe Rosenthal, an Associated Press photographer, 718 00:37:49,300 --> 00:37:50,632 captures the moment. 719 00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:55,966 All the ships offshore begin blowing their horns. 720 00:37:58,967 --> 00:38:00,667 Everyone on the island can see it. 721 00:38:08,367 --> 00:38:10,766 It's a snapshot in time. 722 00:38:10,767 --> 00:38:12,699 The composition's nearly perfect, 723 00:38:12,700 --> 00:38:14,432 although he basically shoots it off his hip 724 00:38:14,433 --> 00:38:17,265 without even using his rangefinder as he did it. 725 00:38:17,266 --> 00:38:19,532 You can't see anybody's face. 726 00:38:19,533 --> 00:38:21,834 And so really it becomes everybody's picture. 727 00:38:24,700 --> 00:38:27,599 Two days later, Rosenthal's photograph 728 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:31,032 is on the front page of newspapers across America. 729 00:38:31,033 --> 00:38:34,199 President Roosevelt immediately understands 730 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:37,233 how inspirational this single image is. 731 00:38:38,367 --> 00:38:40,766 FDR was always a frustrated journalist. 732 00:38:40,767 --> 00:38:43,366 He had been the editor of the Harvard newspaper. 733 00:38:43,367 --> 00:38:46,300 He understood visual imagery. 734 00:38:48,100 --> 00:38:50,099 It's American determination 735 00:38:50,100 --> 00:38:52,467 embodied in a single photograph. 736 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:55,133 They're all working together, 737 00:38:56,100 --> 00:38:58,532 and so it tells a national story. 738 00:38:58,533 --> 00:39:00,599 It's not just those guys on top of the hill 739 00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:01,900 that raised the flag. 740 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,633 It's a nation that put that flag on top of the hill. 741 00:39:06,767 --> 00:39:11,432 But it's striking that the flag isn't fully planted. 742 00:39:11,433 --> 00:39:15,432 It's as if the struggle is still unfolding, 743 00:39:15,433 --> 00:39:19,099 and that fit FDR's mood at that point. 744 00:39:19,100 --> 00:39:20,666 This isn't over. 745 00:39:20,667 --> 00:39:22,432 We're getting closer, 746 00:39:22,433 --> 00:39:24,265 but we haven't gotten there yet. 747 00:39:24,266 --> 00:39:27,099 To FDR, these six Marines 748 00:39:27,100 --> 00:39:30,499 are the perfect symbol of America's wartime effort. 749 00:39:30,500 --> 00:39:33,099 He calls the Marines and says, "Find me these guys. 750 00:39:33,100 --> 00:39:34,933 I want to bring them to the Oval Office. 751 00:39:34,934 --> 00:39:37,165 I want to send them on a war bond drive." 752 00:39:37,166 --> 00:39:40,099 So the Marine Corps sends somebody to the island, 753 00:39:40,100 --> 00:39:42,165 but they find that three men who were in the photo 754 00:39:42,166 --> 00:39:43,766 were dead already. 755 00:39:43,767 --> 00:39:46,200 They died within days of the photograph being taken. 756 00:39:49,100 --> 00:39:52,632 U.S. Marines suffered 26,000 dead, 757 00:39:52,633 --> 00:39:54,133 wounded, and missing. 758 00:39:55,667 --> 00:40:00,033 Almost every Japanese soldier on Iwo Jima is killed. 759 00:40:02,166 --> 00:40:03,599 Kuribayashi himself, 760 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:06,099 who never believed he was getting off Iwo Jima alive, 761 00:40:06,100 --> 00:40:08,767 he retreats, and he takes his own life. 762 00:40:10,934 --> 00:40:12,233 It's the only battle in the Pacific 763 00:40:12,333 --> 00:40:14,332 where the Americans actually take more casualties 764 00:40:14,333 --> 00:40:16,099 than the Japanese take. 765 00:40:16,100 --> 00:40:17,999 So for American military planners, 766 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:19,933 the lesson of Iwo Jima seems pretty clear, 767 00:40:19,934 --> 00:40:21,933 that if you're going to launch Operation Downfall, 768 00:40:21,934 --> 00:40:23,165 if you're actually going to invade 769 00:40:23,166 --> 00:40:24,833 the Japanese home islands, 770 00:40:24,834 --> 00:40:26,766 the cost is going to be immense, 771 00:40:26,767 --> 00:40:28,599 because at this point in the war, 772 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:29,999 most Americans have concluded 773 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:31,934 that Japan is never going to surrender. 774 00:40:35,433 --> 00:40:37,666 After victory on Iwo Jima, 775 00:40:37,667 --> 00:40:40,766 the Marine Corps sends three surviving flag raisers 776 00:40:40,767 --> 00:40:42,499 back to Washington, 777 00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:45,499 but they will not meet their President. 778 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,165 Ladies and gentlemen, 779 00:40:50,166 --> 00:40:52,099 the tragic news of the President's death 780 00:40:52,100 --> 00:40:54,999 came to Washington today as a complete shock, 781 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,967 except to a very few people who knew of his condition. 782 00:41:01,667 --> 00:41:03,632 Franklin Roosevelt had 783 00:41:03,633 --> 00:41:06,700 loomed so large for so long. 784 00:41:07,066 --> 00:41:09,332 An entire generation of Americans 785 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:12,000 really only knew him as their President. 786 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,566 Supposedly during the funeral procession, 787 00:41:15,567 --> 00:41:19,165 a man is so overcome by his emotions 788 00:41:19,166 --> 00:41:23,165 and another man says, "Did you know the President?" 789 00:41:23,166 --> 00:41:27,232 And he says, "No, but he knew me," 790 00:41:27,233 --> 00:41:30,000 and that's how people felt about Franklin Roosevelt. 791 00:41:31,734 --> 00:41:34,566 Roosevelt had been a very, very active President, 792 00:41:34,567 --> 00:41:37,399 a very, very powerful personality, 793 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,999 the kind of caretaker to the people, 794 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,332 and he knew you can't fight an endless war 795 00:41:43,333 --> 00:41:45,767 if you want to maintain your democratic ideals. 796 00:41:47,166 --> 00:41:51,666 He also knew how difficult unconditional surrender can be 797 00:41:51,667 --> 00:41:53,533 to put into actual practice. 798 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:57,733 During years of fear and uncertainty, 799 00:41:57,734 --> 00:41:59,566 Roosevelt was uniquely able 800 00:41:59,567 --> 00:42:03,466 to lead America's colossal fight against fascism. 801 00:42:03,467 --> 00:42:06,399 Now, this job will fall to his vice President, 802 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:07,333 Harry Truman. 803 00:42:10,734 --> 00:42:15,065 Mrs. Roosevelt summons Truman to the White House. 804 00:42:15,066 --> 00:42:18,899 He says, "Is there anything we can do for you?" 805 00:42:18,900 --> 00:42:20,232 And Mrs. Roosevelt says, 806 00:42:20,233 --> 00:42:23,000 "No, Harry, is there anything we can do for you? 807 00:42:23,967 --> 00:42:26,033 For you are the one in trouble now." 808 00:42:29,233 --> 00:42:33,399 On assuming the presidency, Truman told reporters, 809 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:35,299 "I felt like the moon, the stars, 810 00:42:35,300 --> 00:42:38,599 and all the planets had fallen on me." 811 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:42,065 Harry Truman of Missouri is now responsible 812 00:42:42,066 --> 00:42:45,232 for the successful conclusion of the largest conflict 813 00:42:45,233 --> 00:42:46,966 in human history, 814 00:42:46,967 --> 00:42:49,132 including the final destruction 815 00:42:49,133 --> 00:42:51,500 of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.