All language subtitles for Butterfly.Effect.S03E01_English

- [Narrator] Our
history is no more than

a series of incredible events.

Every one of us can
influence its course.

(upbeat music)

The most infinite
decimal of our decisions

can influence the
future of humanity.

To know the past is
to foresee the future.

June 6, 1944, Omaha
Beach, Normandy.

The remains of tanks lie
in witness to the tragedy.

The landing of Anglo-American
troops has been repelled.

This day will be marked in
the annals in the Third Reich

as the day the
allies lost Europe.

Since the Battle of
Kurst and the defeat

of several Soviet Armies,
Nazi Germany has managed

to impose an
armistice on Stalin.

Two million soldiers
have thus been removed

from the Eastern Front
and have strengthened

the garrisons of the
Atlantic wall to prevent

any possible invasions.

Today, incapable of
battling the German Army,

the allies are no longer
able to defeat the Nazis.

Europe is in Hitler's hands.

But none of that ever happened.

In 1943, a small grain of
sand,
thwarted the Germans' plans

and upset the balance of
forces in the second World
War.

June 22nd, 1941, beginning
of the Barbarossa Operation.

The Third Reich
invades the USSR.

Spring of 1943, the
Soviets decide to fortify

the cursed region.

And to wait for the
attack of the German Army.

April 30th, 1945,
after almost four years

of merciless struggles,
the Red Army battles

the last offenders of the
Third Reich in Berlin.

These three intimately
related events

are the key moments in
the Second World War

and the fall of the Third Reich.

East Prussia, June 23, 1941.

General Adolf
Hitler's headquarters.

Arriving at night, the fuhrer
enters the vast network

of bunkers known as the Wolf's
Layer for the first time.

Protected by two meters
of reinforced concrete

and a battalion
of elite soldiers,

the fuhrer personally
supervises
the progress of his plans.

The night before, he sent
out the German war machine

with the goal of
conquering the USSR.

Code name, Operation Barbarossa.

The soil of the
great Russian plains

trembles under the weight
of armor divisions.

The countryside
echoes with the sound

of the German Army
boots, the Wehrmacht.

3,800,000 and 3,800
tanks are on the move.

This is the biggest military
invasion in history.

Their missions, invade
the Soviet territory.

Destroy the Red Army.

Take Moscow, and
take down the USSR.

All before the start of winter.

The attack plan is simple.

Supported by aerial forces
and armor divisions,

the spearhead of the attack
must pierce the enemy lines

at two points, and then
converge behind the enemy
lines.

The Soviet forces find
themselves isolated,

stuck in a huge trap.

Then they are taken
out, one by one.

Led by competent officers,
backed by omnipresent

protection from the skies,
radio communication,

and solid combat experience,
the Third Reich armies

crush the Soviet defenses.

The Red Army is distraught.

Victims of the great
Stalinist purges.

Its commanders are
poorly prepared,

and its strategy is obsolete.

Soviet tanks are obliterated
by German canons.

Soldiers are mowed down
during suicidal charges.

Planes are destroyed
on the ground,

even before the enter flight.

The losses are dreadful.

Nothing can stop
the German machine.

Minsk falls in one week.

July 10th, the Third Reich
soldiers reach Smolensk

and cross the Dnieper.

September 16th, the
Germans manage to complete

the largest military
encirclement in history.

In Kiev, the Soviets
suffer over 600,000 losses.

The USSR is on its knees.

At the end of December, it
has lost three million men.

But faced with the
desperate resistance

of the Soviet troops, the
attacks begin to slow down

and have less impact.

After traveling 650 kilometers
across Russian territory,

the Wehrmacht, bogged down by
the muddy October torrents.

By the time the Panzer's
Divisions finally reach
Moscow,

the first snowflakes
have already arrived.

Winter, the faithful Russian
ally, enters the battle.

- [Woman] Welcome to
the memory of humanity.

Every historical event,
regardless of how small

is recorded and connected.

You only need to change on
to upset all the others.

Here we're able to control time.

Analyze and compare
billions of events

in order to rewrite
history in infinite ways.

For example, let's go
back to 1812 and compare

the Barbarossa Operation
with the Russian Campaign

led by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon, at the head of a
massive army for its time,

storms the Russian plains
to topple the Tsar.

His objective, reach and take
over Moscow before winter.

The Emperor looks
for confrontation.

He wants to fight a big
battle, but the Russian Army,

when faced with the French
troops, refuses to fight.

Retreats and burns all
possible
resources along the way.

The Great Army, deprived
of food, arrives in Moscow

suffering from starvation.

Forced to make the difficult
return in the middle

of the Russian winter,
only a few 10s of thousands

from the original 650,000 men
lived to see their home again.

Will winter be more gentle
with the Third Reich Army?

- [Narrator] January
31, 1943, Stalingrad.

Field Marshall Paulus, commander
of the sixth German Army

surrenders to the
Russian troops.

After five months of
bitter urban conflicts,

street by street,
house by house,

he is forced to face the facts.

Surrounded, dying
from cold and hunger,

his men are no longer
able to hold the city.

Stalingrad, the city that
bears
the name of a sworn enemy,

Stalin, will never be conquered.

For Hitler, the failure
to achieve this important,

symbolic goal is
a tough setback.

For the Wehrmacht, the
loss of over 250,000 men

is a crushing defeat.

One year earlier, the
German Army was only

eight kilometers from
Moscow when it was

pushed back by the Red Army.

(men shouting)

But even more than
the Soviet assaults,

it was winter with
temperatures dropping

to minus 30 degrees, that
vanquished the German troops.

From there, the
German Armies retreat

and struggle to
gather enough forces

to resume the offensive
against an increasingly

strong Red Army.

Officers recruited
from the ranks,

joined the flight
to breath new life

into the Soviet troops.

Battalions of tanks,
massed produced in the

distant factories of Ural,
begin arriving at the front.

The soldiers, at home
in the bitter cold,

are now equipped with
additional weapons,

stand up to the German troops.

Balance is reestablished.

The Barbarossa Operation
is just a distant memory.

After Stalingrad, the Red
Army confidentially launches

several offenses,
but the Wehrmacht,

no longer subdued by winter,
is once again invincible.

Soviet losses are staggering.

Hitler develops a new plan.

A powerful attack designed
to lacerate the Red Army

and reduce the front lines.

It is Operation Citadel.

It takes place around
the city of Kursk,

where numerous Soviet
troops are almost surrounded

by the German forces, forming
a salient on the front line.

The goal, gamble on the
effects of speed and surprise.

Isolate the Soviet Armies
using
wide, encircling movements,

then tighten the vice
on the survivors.

50 divisions, 900,000 men

and 2,700 combat
vehicles are assembled.

Prudently, Hitler
delays the date

of the attack several times.

He is waiting for the imminent
arrival of his new tanks.

The Panther and the Tiger.

Modern and devastating
beasts of war,

which give the advantages
of superior technology

to his armies.

Initially planned for May first,

the primary attack finally
takes place on July fifth,

two months late.

Two months of breathing
room for the Red Army,

which uses this time to
prepare counter measures.

Marshall Zhukov, at the
head of the Soviet Armies,

anticipates the imminent
offenses on Kursk.

And entrenches himself
on devising a solid
plan of defense.

A pivotal decision.

(men shouting)

First, he will stop
the German attack.

Then, he will initiate
a counter attack

with all his available troops.

Stop, then strike.

For the first time since the
beginning of the conflict,

the Soviet Union is ready.

- [Woman] We are now at
a point of divergence.

A point of divergence
is a key moment,

a crossroads in our
history where our world

can swing from one
side to the other.

The Soviet General staff
arrive at the front,

and decide to prepare
for the German offensive.

300,000 civilians
are recruited to dig

thousands of
kilometers of trenches

and antique tank ditches.

Several fortified lines of
defense are put in place.

One million mines, around
3,000 per square kilometer

are spread across the front.

Millions of cannons,
howitzers and armored

vehicles are gathered.

Simultaneously, fake airfields
and artillery positions

are built to trick the
German Aerial Forces.

And entire divisions
of tanks are concealed

in the thick forest.

If the Soviets had settled for
classical defense techniques,

it is almost certain
that they would have been

wiped out by the German troops.

And Operation Citadel would
have been a definitive
success.

The outcome of World War Two

would have been
tragically modified.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The night
of July 5th, 1943,

Operation Citadel begins.

Two o'clock in the morning,
the German divisions

are silently preparing.

(speaking foreign language)

Following General
Von Manstein's plan,

the troops, which are
divided into two groups,

plan to simultaneously attack
from the north and the south.

Then join forces in
surrounding the Soviets

at Kursk in four days time.

Two pinchers of a
thousand scorpion.

Before long, taking
advantage of the darkness,

they initiate the
surprise attack.

(men shouting)

Suddenly, illuminated
the night sky,

more than 1,000 Soviet cannons
release a flood of fire

on the German positions.

The message is clear.

The Red Army is
aware of the attack,

and they are ready
to fight back.

At dawn, engines
spew black smoke

and nature starts to tremble.

The mighty Panzers are
moving towards their goal.

These tanks, weighing
several dozens of tons,

are iron fists,
weapons of devastation.

In their wake, the infantry
is there to occupy the ground

and take care of survivors.

Above the armor turrets,
the sky is streaked

by Luftwaffe of
fighter squadrons.

In front of them, the
tank leaders soon see

the first Soviet
line of defense.

But every stretch of the path
has been riddled with mines,

so the plains quickly
become a death trap.

The Panzers cannot
move 50 meters

without risking the
loss of its crawlers,

or being caught in the
crossfires of the cannons.

Hundreds of Katyushas, later
called Stalin's organs,

fire a bevy of rockets
on the German formations.

The Soviet tanks, instead
of engaging in a doomed

face to face battle, are
transformed into bunkers.

All but the turrets are
buried under ground.

(gunshots firing)

From their trenches,
the Russian soldiers

have access to all of
their available weapons.

Though many soldiers
end up buried alive

underneath the Panzer tanks.

Others run right to the
tanks and attack them

with Molotov cocktails.

The infantry no longer
charges in successive waves

as in 1941.

Instead, each line
retreats successively,

from position to position,
covering each other.

The Citadel is stalled.

In the evening of
the seventh day,

the Third Reich Armies
have painfully advanced

30 kilometers, which is very
far from their original goal.

Despite the massive
support of the Air Force,

even the Panzer SS Division
struggles to advance.

Still, the German
generals are convinced

that the Soviets are on
the brink of surrendering.

The Russian losses
have been terrible,

and soon Kursk will be theirs.

But they are unaware of
the incredible number

of reserve soldiers and tanks

waiting to assist the Red Army.

- [Woman] Two assault tanks,
two different strategies.

The Soviet T-34 is
cheap, massed produced

and known for overpowering
the maximum number of enemies.

Rustic and easy to
use, its weight, power,

armament ratio, makes it a
versatile and formidable tank.

Over the course of the
conflict, Soviet factories

produce nearly 50,000
of these vehicles.

In comparison, the German
Tiger tank is an engineering

masterpiece and a monster
with fierce and firepower.

Equipped with the
famous 88 millimeter

high velocity cannon,
and a thick armor

that makes it almost
invulnerable to the T-34.

However, its 57 tons are a
handicap to this mastodon.

Because of its complex
and resource heavy design,

only 1,347 units manage to
leave the assembly lines.

At Kursk, the Germans
only have 146 Tigers

lined up in front
of countless T-34's.

An army of David's against
a handful of Goliath's.

- [Narrator] July
12th, in Prochorowka,

the Fifth Guard Army faces
the SS Panzer Division.

The effective range of the
Soviet guns is 500 meters.

A Tiger can destroy
targets from a distance

of two kilometers.

The Russian tank leaders
don't have a choice.

They march their
machines straight towards

the German mastodons.

Firing shell after shell
with immaculate precision,

the Panzers shred the T-34s.

When faced with the Tigers,
the Soviet Army uses

its greatest
advantage, its numbers.

At the price of
horrendous body counts,

braving a deluge of fire,
the Russian troops charge

at full speed towards
the heavy German tanks.

Steel against steel.

A fight of titans.

The ambitious German
strategy evolves

into a furious one on one
battle between assault tanks.

The battlefield is thrown
into indescribable chaos

where each tank
team fights alone

in the midst of
smoke and flames,

while surrounded by enemies.

Close range shots are
fired from the cannons.

Steel plates are torn from
the flanks of the tanks

and shredded turrets
are thrown into the air.

At the end of the
day, the Germans are
masters of the field,

but short on men,
equipment and ammunition.

So they are no longer
able to attack.

The next day, Hitler
decides to stop the attack.

The coursed defenders
hold their ground.

To the north and the south,

the massive counterattacks
from the Soviet Reserve Army

overwhelm the Panzers.

Zhukov moves on to phase two.

Th Wehrmacht, exhausted,
no longer has the strength

to fight back.

In a few days, all the
hard worn ground is lost

and returned to the
hands of Soviets.

During the months that
follow, the German retreat

from the Eastern Front.

Germany has lost the upper hand.

- [Woman] Act or react.

In military terms, having
the initiative in combat

means imposing your
movements and timing

on the adversary who has
no choice but to react.

When dealing with a front of
several thousand kilometers,

losing the initiative
means not knowing

when or where the
enemy will attack.

This forces you to
stretch your resources

and weaken your
overall position.

In 1940, during the
Battle of France,

the Franco-English
Forces find themselves

under the constant pressure
of German Divisions,

who maintain the initiative
from the beginning

to the end of the campaign.

The victory at Kursk, gives
the initiative to the Red
Army.

The Soviets will skillfully
exploit this advantage.

(soft music)

- [Narrator] Berlin,
April 30th, 1945.

The last German soldiers
who are still able to fight

prepare for a final battle.

Earlier that day, they
learned that the fuhrer,

Adolf Hitler, was dead.

At the foot of Reichstag,
the seat of Parliament

and symbol of the Third
Reich, they put their last

pieces of artillery into play.

They do not expect any pity
from the Red Army soldiers

who can overtake
them at any moment.

The strong army, which
four years earlier,

had swept over the Soviet
Union is no longer capable

of stopping the
Russian steamroller.

Since the defeat of
Operation Citadel in Kursk,

the Wehrmacht has done
nothing but retreat.

The initiative has passed,
definitively, into Soviet
hands.

The Germans had kept
fighting for two more years,

at a terrible price, just
to delay the inevitable.

(grunting)

The fate of the Eastern Front
had already been decided

long before the Americans and
the English land in Normandy.

The Red Army, growing
stronger day by day,

supported by an
efficient industry,

and an almost
inexhaustible pool of men,

launch offensive after
offensive and take back

all the territory that
had been lost in 1941.

No line of defense
is able to prevent

the Soviet Armies from
entering
the Reich's sacred soil

and besieging its
capital, Berlin.

May 9th, 1945, after
over five years of war,

World War Two ends in Europe.

The Soviet Union, conqueror
of the Third Reich Armies,

sacrificed over 25 million
lives on the alter of
freedom.

Germany, vanquished,
will see its territory

occupied by the allies
and then sliced in half.

Divided, it will be at the
heart of a new conflict,

The Cold War.

But that is another story.

- [Woman] In July 1943,
80% of German forces

are on the Eastern Front,
fighting the Soviets.

20 million soldiers
enlisted in the Wehrmacht

encountered at one
moment or another,

the hell of the Russian front.

Four million Germans
died in combat there.

From 1941 to 1945, we
can estimate that 80%

of the Wehrmacht trusses
happened on the Eastern Front

when facing the Red Army.

For the German Generals,
the Russians were an even

bigger threat than
the Anglo-Americans
on the Western Front.

The Soviet Union, at the cost
of millions of soldiers' lives

broke the back of
the Third Reich.

And that was well before
the allied landings

in Normandy in 1944.

Still, nowadays, the
United States is praised

as the great victors of
the Second World War.

In the darkest hours
of the conflict,

soldiers on both sides,
Germans and Russians,

descended upon local civilians,

committing numerous war crimes.

The image we have
today of the victors

of World War Two is far
from the much darker

and less glorious reality.

The truth is also
a victim of war,

as often the victors
impose their version of it.

But one thing is certain,
obeying the blind orders

of a totalitarian regime,
millions of Russian soldiers

were sacrificed
without reservation

in the pursuit of victory.

Without them, the Third
Reich would have won the war.

(intense music)