Original subtitles

IT WAS THE TURNING POINT OF WORLD WAR II...

THREE MILLION SOLDIERS,

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SHIPS, PLANES, AND TANKS,

A LOGISTICAL COMPLEXITY UNPRECEDENTED

IN A MILITARY OPERATION.

THIS WAS THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY.

MORE THAN 75 YEARS SINCE THE END OF THE WAR,

CERTAIN DETAILS OF THIS TREMENDOUS BATTLE

HAVE GONE UNTOLD.

VERY FEW PEOPLE COULD TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS

IN JUNE AND JULY AND AUGUST

AND HOW THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY ACTUALLY ENDED.

NOW UNPUBLISHED ARCHIVES,

20 YEARS OF RESEARCH,

EXPERTS FROM THE UNITED STATES, THE UK, AND CANADA

BRING TO LIFE THE BOOTS-ON-THE-GROUND REALITY

OF NORMANDY'S 85 DAYS OF HELL.

LIBERATION HAS COME TO NORMANDY, BUT SO HAS WAR.

THREE MONTHS OF SAVAGE COMBAT...

IF WE CAN DESTROY THE GERMAN ARMY IN NORMANDY,

THEN THE REST OF FRANCE WILL BE SAVED.

...DURING WHICH THE ALLIES AND THE GERMANS

WILL FIGHT MERCILESSLY.

IT'S A BATTLEFIELD WHERE THEY LIVE AND THEY DIE

AND WHERE THEY FIGHT AND WHERE THEY KILL.

FROM THE AVERAGE SOLDIER'S POINT OF VIEW,

THIS JUST SEEMS TO BE A HOPELESS SITUATION.

IT WAS A VERY DIRTY BATTLE, A SCHMUTZIGER BUSCHKRIEG,

A DIRTY BUSH WAR.

EVERYONE PAID A HECK OF A PRICE FOR THIS.

D-DAY WAS JUST THE BEGINNING.

JUNE 6th, 1944, EARLY MORNING.

THOUSANDS OF SHIPS EMBARK FROM ENGLAND,

HEADED TO THE FRENCH COAST OF NORMANDY.

TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING, IT'S AN ALLIED OPERATION

TO TAKE BACK FRANCE FROM THE GERMANS.

THEY CALL IT OVERLORD.

RARELY IN HISTORY WILL YOU FIND A TIME

WHERE THESE MAJOR POWERS ARE ALL MOBILIZED

ALMOST TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THEIR STRENGTH

TO HAVE THIS CONFRONTATION

OVER WHAT IS TO HAPPEN WITH THE NORMANDY INVASION.

ALLIED SOLDIERS WILL FACE A TERRITORY

THAT THE GERMANS HAVE OCCUPIED FOR FOUR YEARS.

CAEN, CHERBOURG, SAINT-LOÔ...

ALL THE GREAT CITIES OF NORMANDYARE UNDER NAZI CONTROL.

THE LANDING ZONE CHOSEN IS 80 KILOMETERS LONG.

PLACED UNDER THE COMMAND OF U.S. GENERAL EISENHOWER,

THE TROOPS WILL LAND ON FIVE SECTORS.

UTAH AND OMAHA BEACHES

WILL BE TAKEN BY THE AMERICANS;

GOLD, JUNO, AND SWORD BEACHES

BY THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS.

AROUND 6:30 A.M.,

THE FIRST WAVES OF ALLIED SOLDIERS LAND ON FRENCH SOIL.

DURING THE FIRST HOURS OF THE LANDING,

THE ALLIES SUFFER HEAVY LOSSES

FROM THE ENTRENCHED GERMAN DEFENSES.

BUT SOLDIERS AND ARMORED VEHICLES CONTINUE TO LAND,

PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE ENEMY.

THE VITAL PART OF ANY SEABORNE INVASION

LIKE OPERATION OVERLORD WAS TO GET GROUND RAPIDLY

BECAUSE ONLY THEN COULD YOU START TO PUSH BACK THE ENEMY

SO THAT THEY COULD NOT KEEP FIRING AT THE BEACHES.

AFTER JUST ONE DAY,

THOUSANDS OF ALLIED SOLDIERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN KILLED,

BUT THE WIDE SCOPE OF THE LANDING

HAS BEEN FATAL TO THE GERMANS.

THE FIRST PHASE OF OPERATION OVERLORD IS COMPLETED.

SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE LANDING ZONES,

THE ALLIES MUST NOW REGROUP THE DIFFERENT UNITS ON THE GROUND.

YOU'VE GOT TO LINK UP THOSE FIVE BEACHES

AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN.

IF THEY'RE NOT LINKED UP,

THEN THE GERMANS CAN FILL THE GAPS

AND CAN BEGIN ATTACKING THE ALLIES

FROM ANY DIRECTION THEY WANT,

FROM WHAT MILITARY PEOPLE CALL THE FLANKS.

EISENHOWER AND HIS GENERALS

NEEDED TO CREATE A BUFFER ZONE

TO PROTECT AGAINST THE GERMAN COUNTERATTACK

THAT WOULD COME,

AND, IN FACT, THEY PREPARED FOR THAT.

THE PLAN FOR SEALING OFF NORMANDY

WAS CALLED TRANSPORTATION,

AND THIS MEANT BOMBING ALL OF THE BRIDGES

OVER THE RIVER SEINE TO THE EAST

AND OVER THE RIVER LOIRE TO THE SOUTH

SO THAT THE WHOLE OF THE NORMAN AREA WAS COMPLETELY CUT OFF.

BUT ALSO IT MEANT SMASHING HOUSES AND TOWNS AND VILLAGES

AT CRUCIAL CROSSROADS AND PLACESTO PREVENT THE GERMANS

BRINGING UP REINFORCEMENTS AND SUPPLIES.

THE AMERICAN PHRASE, WHICH HAD BEEN INVENTED IN ITALY,

WAS CALLED PUTTING THE CITY IN THE STREET,

WHICH BASICALLY MEANT SIMPLY BLOCKING THE ROADS

SO THAT TRAFFIC COULD NOT GET THROUGH.

EVEN BEFORE THE FIGHTING STARTS INLAND,

NORMANDY IS PARTIALLY DESTROYED...

NO WATER, NO ELECTRICITY, NO PHONE LINES.

AND NOW, AFTER TAKING THE FIVE LANDING BEACHES,

THE ALLIES MUST ADVANCE, WHATEVER THE COST,

TO PUSH THE GERMANS BACK

AND OCCUPY ENEMY TERRITORY.

THE FIRST OBJECTIVE OF GENERAL MONTGOMERY,

COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH AND CANADIAN FORCES,

IS TO SEIZE THE CITY OF CAEN,

LOCATED NEARLY 20 KILOMETERS FROM SWORD AND JUNO BEACHES.

ON DAY 2, MONTGOMERY IS CONVINCED

THAT HE WILL SUCCEED IN RAPIDLY CAPTURING CAEN.

BUT FACING HIM IS GENERAL ERWIN ROMMEL,

KNOWN FOR HIS FEATS IN AFRICA AND NICKNAMED "THE DESERT FOX."

ROMMEL MOBILIZES HIS MOST POWERFUL ARMORED DIVISIONS

TO MEET THE BRITISH-CANADIAN FORCES ADVANCING TOWARDS CAEN

AND BLOCK MONTGOMERY'S ALLIED OFFENSIVE.

THE FIRST DAYS OF FIGHTING NORTH OF CAEN ARE DEVASTATING.

THE PERFECTLY ORGANIZED GERMAN DEFENSES

INVARIABLY REPEL ALL ENGLISH AND CANADIAN ATTEMPTS.

FACING THE GERMAN MARK IV, MARK V, AND TIGER TANKS,

THE AMERICAN SHERMAN TANKS USED BY THE ALLIES

ARE JUST NOT UP TO THE MARK.

WHAT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER IS

EVERY AMERICAN SHERMAN TANK

HAS TO BE SHIPPED TO THE BATTLEFIELD,

SO IT MEANS YOU HAVE TO PRODUCE SOMETHING

THAT'S REASONABLY LIGHT ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO SHIP

AND SMALL ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN GET IT ON THE SHIP.

IT'S A REASONABLY GOOD TANK,

BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE IN A TOE-TO-TOE BATTLE

WITH A GERMAN TANK HEAD-ON.

33 TONS FOR THE SHERMAN.

MORE THAN 43 TONS FOR THE GERMAN TANKS.

MORE ROBUST, WITH ARMOR SUPERIORTO THE AMERICANS',

THEY DELIVERED DEVASTATING CANNON POWER.

THE MUZZLE VELOCITY OF THOSE TANKS

MEANT THAT IF IT HIT YOU,

THAT SHELL WAS GOING TO PENETRATE YOUR ARMOR PROBABLY,

YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE SIDES,

AND EITHER GO STRAIGHT THROUGH OR WORSE,

RATTLE AROUND INSIDE AND EXPLODE.

WHILE THE BRITISH AND THE CANADIANS

ARE DEFEATED ON THE EAST FLANK,

THE AMERICANS START ADVANCING ON THE OTHER SIDE.

GENERAL BRADLEY COMMANDS THE TROOPS.

THEIR FIRST OBJECTIVE IS 17 KILOMETERS FROM THE COAST...

THE SMALL TOWN OF CARENTAN

AND ITS NETWORK OF ROADS AND RAILWAYS.

CARENTAN IS REALLY THE KEY

TO SEAL OFF THE COTENTIN PENINSULA

AND THEN CAPTURE CHERBOURG,

WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE GREATEST HARBOR IN NORMANDY.

BUT ALSO IN TANDEM WITH THAT,

YOU'RE GONNA START MOVING SOUTHWARD

TOWARDS THE TOWN OF SAINT-LOÔ.

THE 101st AMERICAN AIRBORNE DIVISION

SURROUNDS CARENTAN ON JUNE 9th, 1944.

THE FIGHTING, RUTHLESS AND SAVAGE,

WOULD LAST FOUR DAYS AND FOUR NIGHTS.

ON JUNE 12th, CARENTAN FALLS INTO AMERICAN HANDS...

...WITH HEAVY LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES.

BUT THE ALLIES HAVE ACHIEVED THEIR GOAL.

SIX DAYS AFTER THE LANDINGS,

ALL THE COALITION FORCES ARE FINALLY LINKED UP.

THE TROOPS OCCUPY A BEACHHEAD 80 KILOMETERS LONG,

REACHING AT CERTAIN POINTS 10 TO 30 KILOMETERS DEEP,

WHILE ON THE WEST SIDE, THE AMERICANS ADVANCE

TOWARDS CHERBOURG AND SAINT-LOÔ,

ON THE EAST SIDE,

THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS STILL CLASH WITH THE GERMANS,

WHO MAINTAIN THEIR POSITIONS AROUND CAEN.

THESE REPEATED DEFEATS PUT MONTGOMERY

IN A DIFFICULT POSITION WITH THE U.S. COMMAND.

HE'S DESPERATE TO WIN A FIRST IRREFUTABLE VICTORY

ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

ON JUNE 12th, HE ATTEMPTS AN ENCIRCLEMENT MANEUVER

BY SKIRTING CAEN FROM THE WEST TO TRAP THE GERMAN DIVISIONS.

THE 7th BRITISH ARMORED DIVISION

IS SENT TO THE SMALL TOWN OF VILLERS-BOCAGE.

BUT THE GERMANS ANTICIPATE THE MOVE

AND AMBUSH THE BRITISH WITH A TIGER TANK BATTALION

COMMANDED BY MICHAEL WITTMANN,

THE MOST IMPRESSIVE TANK COMMANDER OF WORLD WAR II.

ONE BY ONE, THE BRITISH TANKS ARE DESTROYED.

THE FAILURE TO CAPTURE VILLERS-BOCAGE

BY THE 7th ARMORED DIVISION AND XXX CORPS

DID IMPACT BADLY ON MORALE.

THEY JUST REALIZED THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A FAR TOUGHER JOB

THAN THEY HAD THOUGHT ABOUT OR IMAGINED WHEN THEY SET SAIL.

IN THESE CONDITIONS, TAKING THE PORT OF CHERBOURG

BECOMES AN ABSOLUTE PRIORITY FOR THE ALLIES.

AFTER CAPTURING CARENTAN, THE AMERICANS TAKE TEN DAYS

TO TRAVEL 50 KILOMETERS AND REACH CHERBOURG.

THE 4th, 9th, AND 79th U.S. DIVISIONS

FINALLY REACH THE CITY ON JUNE 21st.

THEY LAUNCH THE ATTACK THE FOLLOWING DAY.

THREE U.S. DIVISIONS ARE ALL JUST ADVANCING

NORTH TOWARD CHERBOURG

AND TRYING TO GET INTO THE TOWN AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN.

THE CITY IS DEFENDED BY 30,000 TROOPS

TRAPPED BY THE ALLIES.

THEY'RE DOOMED BECAUSE THE ALLIED NAVY

FROM THE SEAWARD SIDE CAN POUND THEM,

AND THEN THE AMERICAN ARMY COMING FROM THE LANDWARD SIDE

CAN KINDA JUST CATCH THEM IN A VISE.

SO, THE WHOLE THING KIND OF JUST DEVOLVES

INTO THIS SORT OF BLOCK BY BLOCK FIGHT.

IT WILL TAKE A FEW DAYS

BEFORE THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS

DRIVE OUT ALL POCKETS OF RESISTANCE IN THE CITY.

ON JUNE 26th, THE GERMANS SURRENDER.

THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS ARE TAKEN PRISONER.

AFTER FOUR LONG YEARS OF OCCUPATION,

CHERBOURG FINALLY TASTES FREEDOM ONCE AGAIN.

CHERBOURG IS CERTAINLY THE BIGGEST CITY

AT THAT POINT THAT IS LIBERATED.

THERE IS THIS LARGER GERMAN SURRENDER,

AND THE ALLIES THEN HAVE IT.

AS AN AVERAGE SOLDIER,

THAT STILL WASN'T NECESSARILY YOUR TYPICAL DAY,

SO THOSE WHO WERE THERE, SAY, AT CHERBOURG,

TENDED TO REMEMBER THAT.

DESPITETHIS FIRST VICTORY IN CHERBOURG,

THE CASUALTIES AFTER THREE WEEKS OF FIGHTING ARE STAGGERING.

THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN KILLED OR WOUNDED.

ON THE BATTLEFIELD, THE MEDICAL TEAMS

TRY TO INTERVENE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

THEY TRANSPORT BLOOD,

SET UP FIELD HOSPITALS.

A COMPLEX ORGANIZATION IS ESTABLISHED

TO FOLLOW THE TROOPS AS THEY ADVANCE.

IN SPITE OF THE LOSSES, THE ALLIES KEEP MOVING FORWARD

DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY.

AFTER THE AMERICANSTAKE CHERBOURG, THEY HEAD SOUTH.

THE NEXT ALLIED TARGET IS

LESS THAN 90 KILOMETERS AWAY...

THE CITY OF SAINT-LOÔ.

BUT THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS FACE

ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUSREGIONS FOR INFANTRY AND TANKS...

THE NORMANDY BOCAGE.

THE BOCAGE IS MADE UP OF CULTIVATED FIELDS

SEPARATED BY DITCHES AND EMBANKMENTS,

CANOPIED BY HEDGEROWS SEVERAL METERS HIGH.

IT'S BASICALLY A MAZE OF THESE HEDGEROWS,

MOST OF WHICH ARE ABOUT 8 FEET TO 13 FEET HIGH,

THAT THICK NORMAN SOIL, CLAY-LIKE SOIL,

PACKED AROUND FENCES AND STONE

THAT CERTAINLY INDIVIDUAL SOLDIERS CAN'T GET THROUGH,

SO THE HEDGEROW OPENING BECOMES A KILL ZONE.

THE GERMANS HAD FOUR YEARS TO PREPARE THEIR DEFENSE.

HEAVY MACHINE GUNS WERE POSITIONED

IN THE CORNERS OF EACH FIELD.

MORTARS TARGET EVERY SPOT THE ALLIES MIGHT CROSS,

AND MINES HIDE IN THEIR PATHWAYS.

WITH A VISIBILITY OF NO MORE THAN A COUPLE OF METERS,

THE AMERICANS ADVANCE BLINDLY.

UP AGAINST THE GERMANS,

DOZENS OF ALLIED SOLDIERSDIE TAKING BACK A MERE MEADOW...

...OR A SINGLE HEDGE.

THE U.S. ARMY FINDS ITSELF IN NORMANDY

IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLOODBATH, ABSOLUTE BLOODBATH.

DAY BY DAY, HEDGEROW BY HEDGEROW,

CHOKE POINT TOWN BY CHOKE POINT TOWN,

EVERY ONE OF THEM WHERE YOU FIGHT,

YOU'RE GOING TO SUFFER CASUALTIES.

FROM THE AVERAGE SOLDIER'S POINT OF VIEW,

THIS JUST SEEMS TO BE A HOPELESS SITUATION.

YOU JUST KNOW THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE

KIND OF THE ROAD TO NOWHERE IN NORMANDY.

AS THE AMERICANS TRY TO NAVIGATE

THE NORMANDY HEDGEROWS,

THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS

ARE STILL ATTEMPTING

TO BREAK THE GERMAN STRONGHOLD

AROUND THE CITY OF CAEN.

THE BRITISH GENERAL MONTGOMERYDECIDES TO CHANGE HIS OFFENSIVE.

HE LAUNCHES OPERATION CHARNWOOD.

ON JULY 7th, 467 ALLIED PLANES

DROP MORE THAN 2,500 TONS OF BOMBS

ON ENEMY-OCCUPIED AREAS AROUND CAEN.

AFTER HAVING BEEN HEAVILY BOMBED ON JUNE 6th,

THE CITY OF CAEN IS DECIMATED.

ON JULY 9th, THE BRITISH AND CANADIAN SOLDIERS

FINALLY ENTER THE CITY FROM THE NORTH.

AS THE CANADIANS AND BRITISH FOUGHT INTO CAEN,

THROUGH THE RUBBLE, THEY SAW FRENCH CIVILIANS

WHO HAD SURVIVED THE BOMBING

BUT WHOSE FAMILY MEMBERS HAD BEEN KILLED.

THEY TALKED ABOUT HEARING THE SCREAMS

OF THE FRENCH CIVILIANS WHO WERE TRAPPED.

BUT FOR THE ALLIED COMMAND,

THE ANNIHILATION OF CAEN

AND THE THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS KILLED

UNDER THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH BOMBS

WAS A NECESSARY EVIL...

THE PRICE TO PAY IN WINNING THE BATTLE.

IT'S ALWAYS HARD TALKING ABOUT ENDS AND MEANS

AND WHAT JUSTIFIES WHAT IN WARFARE.

A MORAL DECISION WOULD BE THAT THE KILLING OF CIVILIANS

IS, ALMOST BY DEFINITION, A WAR CRIME.

BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO AVOID IT IN REALITY.

THE PRIORITY WAS WE'VE GOT TO DEFEAT THE GERMANS

BECAUSE, IN A WAY, WE ACCEPT THAT NORMANDY IS GOING TO BE

REALLY THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB FOR THE WHOLE OF FRANCE.

IF WE CAN DESTROY THE GERMAN ARMY IN NORMANDY,

THEN THE REST OF FRANCE WILL BE SAVED.

WHILE THE BRITISH AND CANADIAN TROOPS

GRADUALLY LIBERATE THE CITY OF CAEN,

THE AMERICANS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE

AGAINST A STRONG GERMAN RESISTANCE

ON THEIR WAY TO SAINT-LOÔ.

THOUSANDS OF ALLIED SOLDIERS ARE TRAPPED

IN THE NORMANDY BOCAGE.

THE INCESSANT RAIN AND MUD SLOW THEIR PROGRESS EVEN MORE.

TO ESCAPE THIS FATAL LABYRINTH, THEY TRY AN INGENIOUS STRATEGY.

WE'VE GOT TO CREATE A NEW OPENING

THROUGH THE HEDGEROWS, BECAUSE THE MAIN ONE,

THE GERMANS HAVE COVERED,

AND THEY'RE GOING TO KILL EVERYBODY

WHO MOVES THROUGH THERE.

SO, THEY BEGIN TO WELD, IRONICALLY ENOUGH,

THE REMNANTS OF GERMAN BEACH OBSTACLES,

THE METAL, ONTO THE FRONT OF TANKS WITH PRONGS...

...AND BEGIN TO USE THE TANKS THEN

TO PUNCH A NEW OPENING THROUGH THE HEDGEROW.

WITH THESE SO-CALLED RHINO TANKS,

THE ALLIES TAKE THE GERMANS BY SURPRISE.

BUT FOR EVERY HEDGE CROSSED,

THEY REMAIN AT THE MERCY OF THE ENEMY SOLDIERS.

AS THE GERMANS HAVE IN THE DITCHES,

BEYOND THE HEDGEROW, A LOT OF PANZERFAUST GUNNERS.

IT'S A ONE-TIME, ONE-SHOT KIND OF ANTI-TANK WEAPON

THAT CAN BLOW UP YOUR TANK,

SO THE INFANTRYMEN HAVE TO MOVE VERY CLOSE TO THE TANK

AND BASICALLY WHAT THE MILITARY CALLS "CLEAN OUT"

THE GERMANS IN THE DITCHES.

THAT BASICALLY MEANS KILL THEM.

AND VERY CLOSE, FACE-TO-FACE QUITE OFTEN.

AND THEN THE TANKERS WILL LAY DOWN

WHAT'S CALLED WHITE PHOSPHOROUS FIRE,

AND WHITE PHOSPHORUS IS A TERRIBLE WEAPON.

IT'S BASICALLY A CHEMICAL THAT WILL JUST BURN THROUGH YOU

AS LONG AS IT HAS OXYGEN.

IT WAS A VERY DIRTY BATTLE.

I MEAN, THE GERMANS THEMSELVES DESCRIBED IT

AS A SCHMUTZIGER BUSCHKRIEG, A DIRTY BUSH WAR.

AND GENERAL COLLINS, WHO'D BEEN FIGHTING IN THE FAR EAST,

SAID THIS WAS WORSE THAN THE JUNGLE.

ON JULY 18th,

AFTER THREE WEEKS OF RELENTLESS FIGHTING

SINCE THE CAPTURING OF CHERBOURG,

THE ALLIED SOLDIERS FINALLY ENTER THE CITY OF SAINT-LOÔ.

BUT UPON ARRIVAL, NOT MUCH REMAINS.

THE SOLDIERS HAVE TO ADVANCE EXTREMELY SLOWLY

AS THE GERMANS HAVE MINED THE ENTIRE CITY.

A FEW CIVILIANS EMERGE FROM THEIR SHELTERS

TO SEARCH THE RUBBLE FOR OBJECTSTHAT MIGHT HAVE SURVIVED

THE ONSLAUGHT OF ALLIED BOMBS.

AFTER CHERBOURG, SAINT-LOÔ IS THE SECOND GREAT VICTORY

FOR THE ALLIED COMMAND.

BUT THE STATE OF THE CITY,

WHICH IS LATER NICKNAMED "CAPITAL OF THE RUINS,"

EXEMPLIFIES THE HIGH PRICE OF LIBERATING NORMANDY.

AFTER A MONTH AND A HALF OF FIGHTING,

THE TROOPS' MORALE IS AT AN ALL-TIME LOW.

EVERY FOOT GAINED AGAINST THE GERMANS

COMES AT THE COSTOF INTENSE AND MERCILESS COMBAT.

THERE'S THE STRESS OF NOT KNOWING

WHEN THE NEXT GERMAN SHELL IS GOING TO COME IN

AND WHETHER IT'S GOING TO HIT NEAR YOU OR NOT.

THEY SEE A VERY LIMITED BATTLEFIELD.

IT'S A BATTLEFIELD WHERE THEY LIVE AND THEY DIE

AND WHERE THEY FIGHT AND WHERE THEY KILL.

FOR THE SOLDIERS, THE WARM WELCOME OF THE LOCALS

REMINDS THEM WHY THEY CAME HERE TO RISK THEIR LIVES.

A LITTLE ALCOHOL, CIGARETTES,

SIMPLE GIFTS THAT LIFT THE MEN'S SPIRITS

BEFORE THE NEXT ADVANCEMENT,

THE NEXT MORTAR FIRE,

THE NEXT DEAD.

OVER TIME, MANY OF THEM REALIZE THAT THE ONLY WAY OUT

WAS TO BE KILLED OR WOUNDED,

EVEN AS REINFORCEMENTS CAME BEHIND THEM.

THEIR WORLD BECAME VERY SMALL.

BATTLE STRESS BECAME A TREMENDOUS PROBLEM

IN THE FIGHTING IN NORMANDY, AND IN JULY AND IN AUGUST,

AS THE STRAIN CONTINUED,

BETWEEN ABOUT 20 AND 30 PERCENT OF THE CASUALTIES

WERE COMBAT STRESS.

TO COMPENSATE FOR LOSSES,

REINFORCEMENTS LAND DAILY ON THE NORMANDY BEACHES

AND ARE IMMEDIATELY SENT TO THE FRONT LINE.

AFTER A MONTH AND A HALF OF INTENSE FIGHTING,

THE MAIN CITIES OF NORMANDY

HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM THE HANDS OF THE GERMANS,

BUT THE BATTLE IS FAR FROM OVER.

TO PIERCE THE GERMAN DEFENSES

AND ACCELERATE THE TROOPS' MOVEMENT,

THE ALLIED COMMAND LAUNCHES OPERATION COBRA.

COBRA IS CONCEIVED AROUND THE IDEA OF, GOSH,

WE HAVE ALL THESE GREAT BOMBERS,

ALL THIS AIRPOWER WE'VE BEEN USING TO PUMMEL GERMAN CITIES.

WHAT IF WE CARPET-BOMBED

A PART OF THE GERMAN LINES IN THESE HEDGEROWS

TO PUNCH A HOLE AND HAVE AN OPENING NOW

FOR OUR ARMOR AND ALL OF OUR OTHER TROOPS

TO GET THROUGH HERE VERY QUICKLY?

IT MAKES A GREAT DEAL OF SENSE ON PAPER.

IT'S IN THE IMPLEMENTATION

THAT IT CREATES SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS.

WHY? BECAUSE THE BOMBERS ARE NOT THAT ACCURATE.

YOU'RE ASKING THEM TO DO SOMETHING

THEY'RE NOT REALLY CAPABLE OF DOING,

WHICH IS TO BOMB CLOSE,

WITHIN ABOUT 1,000 TO 2,000 METERS

OF THEIR OWN GROUND TROOPS.

THEY'RE LUCKY TO HIT A TARGET WITHIN THREE MILES OR SO.

FOR TWO DAYS, THOUSANDS OF BOMBS

HIT THE FRONT LINE SOUTHEAST OF SAINT-LOÔ.

OVER THE COURSE OF TWO DAYS,

JULY 24th AND 25th, 1944,

THE HEAVY BOMBERS COME OVER FROM ENGLAND

AND THEY BOMB IN FRONT OF THE U.S. ASSAULT DIVISION.

THEY BOMB SHORT, AND THEY KILL SEVERAL HUNDRED AMERICANS.

THIS IS, I BELIEVE, THE GREATESTFRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT

IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.

BUT ALSO THE GOOD NEWS IS IT DOES TREMENDOUS DAMAGE,

OF COURSE, TO THE PANZER LEHR DIVISION,

THE GERMANS WHO WERE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THIS,

AND SO COBRA DOES WHAT IT'S DESIGNED FOR.

THE PANZER LEHR DIVISION,

OTHER GERMAN DIVISIONS,

WERE SO BADLY THROWN BY THE HEAVY BOMBING

THAT THEY WERE IN A COMPLETELY DAZED STATE

WHEN THE AMERICANS GOT TO THEM.

WITHIN TWO DAYS, THE REAL BREAKTHROUGH HAD BEEN ACHIEVED.

IN JUST A FEW DAYS,

THOUSANDS OF GERMANS ARE TAKEN PRISONER.

THE REICH FORCES HAVE SUFFERED ONE OF THEIR HEAVIEST DEFEATS

SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR.

DESPITE THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE,

THE MILITARY SUCCESS OF OPERATION COBRA

BRINGS THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY INTO A NEW PHASE.

ON JULY 28th,

THE TOWN OF COUTANCES IS CAPTURED BY THE ALLIES.

THE SAME DAY, A NEW COMMANDER ARRIVES...

GENERAL PATTON.

FAMOUS FOR HIS FEATS IN NORTH AFRICA AND SICILY,

PATTON HAS JUST TAKEN COMMAND OF THE THIRD U.S. ARMY.

HIS MISSION... MAKE A BREAKTHROUGHTO THE SOUTH OF NORMANDY.

THE GERMANS FEARED PATTON

MORE THAN ANY OTHER ALLIED GENERAL.

PATTON'S NEW JOB, WHICH HE WAS EXTREMELY EXCITED ABOUT,

WAS THE PROSPECT OF TAKING OVER, HAVING HIS OWN ARMY,

ONCE THE BREAKOUT CAME FROM NORMANDY.

IN JUST FOUR DAYS,

PATTON'S TROOPS WILL RETAKE THE CITIES

BETWEEN COUTANCES AND AVRANCHES

AND ADVANCE MORE THAN 50 KILOMETERS TO THE SOUTH

AT A PACE NOT YET SEEN IN THIS BATTLE.

AS THEY PROGRESS,

THOUSANDS OF GERMAN SOLDIERS ARE TAKEN CAPTIVE.

THIS REALLY TOOK THE AMERICANS

ALL THE WAY THROUGH, DOWN PAST AVRANCHES,

AND OUT OF NORMANDY, EVEN INTO NORTHERN BRITTANY.

IT WAS A SPECTACULAR SMASHING OFTHE GERMAN ARMIES IN NORMANDY.

THIS WAS DEFINITELY THE START OF TAKING THE FIGHT

RIGHT THE WAY THROUGH INTO FRANCE.

ON JULY 31st, PATTON AND HIS TROOPS

RECLAIM THE PONTAUBAULT BRIDGE THAT CROSSES THE SEÉLUNE RIVER.

THEY GAIN DIRECT ACCESS TO THE WEST OF FRANCE AND TO BRITTANY.

THE FOLLOWING DAY,

THE AMERICANS ARRIVE AT MONT-SAINT-MICHEL,

COMPLETELY ABANDONED BY THE ENEMY.

PATTON'S BREAKTHROUGH IS A SERIOUS SETBACK

FOR THE GERMAN ARMY.

THE GERMANS ARE IN AN EXISTENTIAL SITUATION

IN NORMANDY.

AND THE LOGICAL THING TO DO

WOULD BE TO SIMPLY RETREAT EASTWARD

AND GET OUT OF THERE AND FIGHT SOMEWHERE ELSE,

BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT LOGIC

WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE LIKE ADOLF HITLER.

INSTEAD OF ORDERING HIS TROOPS TO RETREAT,

HITLER DECIDES TO COUNTER-ATTACK.

HIS PLAN... SEND HIS TANKS TO THE TOWN OF MORTAIN,

CLOSE TO WHERE SEVERAL AMERICAN UNITS HAVE JOINED UP.

THE GOAL IS TO CREATE A BREACH IN THE ALLIED CONFIGURATION

MEANT TO REACH AVRANCHES

BY CUTTING THE AMERICAN ARMY IN TWO

AND REGAINING CONTROL OF THE AREA.

RELUCTANTLY, THE GERMAN GENERALS ON THE GROUND

PREPARE THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE.

THEY HAD THESE FIRM ORDERS FROM HITLER,

EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE COMMANDERS

OF THE GERMAN PANZER UNITS

WERE DUBIOUSABOUT THIS PARTICULAR OPERATION.

BUT THEY HAD NO OPTION, BUT THEY HAD TO GO AHEAD AND ATTACK.

ON AUGUST 7th, 1944,

THE GERMANS LAUNCH A COUNTERATTACK IN MORTAIN,

CODE NAME... OPERATION LUÜTTICH.

COLUMNS OF PANZERS ATTACK THE 30th U.S. INFANTRY DIVISION

WITH FULL FORCE.

THE GIs RESIST THE POWERFUL GERMAN TANKS

AND MANAGE TO SLOW THE NAZI TROOPS' PROGRESS,

GIVING TIME FOR REINFORCEMENTS TO ARRIVE.

WITHIN A FEW DAYS, THE MASSIVE INFLUX OF ALLIED FORCES

PUSHES BACK THE GERMAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE.

HITLER'S OPERATION LUÜTTICH IS A TOTAL FAILURE.

THE GERMANS SUFFER AT LEAST 50 PERCENT CASUALTIES,

PARTICULARLY ALONG THE ROADS THAT KIND OF ENVELOP

ON EITHER SIDE OF MORTAIN.

IT'S REALLY A DISASTER FOR THE GERMANS.

BY MID-AUGUST, THE GERMAN FORCES ARE DEFEATED.

ON AUGUST 15th, 1944, HITLER THROWS IN THE TOWEL

AND ORDERS HIS TROOPS TO FLEE NORMANDY.

ARRIVING FROM THE WEST,

THE AMERICANS ADVANCE

AT FULL SPEED TOWARDS ARGENTAN

TO JOIN FORCES WITH THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS.

VILLAGE AFTER VILLAGE, ONE BY ONE,

THEY OCCUPY ENEMY POSITIONS.

THEY ANNIHILATE THE AREAS OF GERMAN RESISTANCE.

THE SMALL VILLAGE OF RAÂNES,

TIRELESSLY HELD BY THE WEHRMACHT AND AN SS UNIT,

IS REDUCED TO RUBBLE.

DOZENS OF CIVILIANS ARE KILLED.

BUT NOW IS THE TIME TO EXPEL

EVERY LAST STANDING GERMAN SOLDIER IN NORMANDY.

BRADLEY AND MONTGOMERY

COORDINATE THE ALLIED TROOPS' MOVEMENT.

IN THE WEST, THE AMERICANS

ADVANCE TOWARDS THE SEINE.

IN THE NORTH,

THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS

INCREASE THEIR PRESSURE

ON FALAISE.

IN THE SOUTH,

THE FRENCH ARMORED DIVISION

OF GENERAL LECLERC,

ALONG WITH THE AMERICANS, HEAD BACK UP TO ARGENTAN.

BETWEEN THE CITIES OF FALAISE AND CHAMBOIS,

A POCKET STARTS TO FORM,

TRAPPING NEARLY 100,000 GERMAN SOLDIERS.

IF THE ALLIES MANAGE TO CLOSE THE GAP ON THE EAST SIDE,

THEY WILL CUT OFF ANY CHANCE FOR ESCAPE.

BRADLEY BOASTED TO VISITORS TO HEADQUARTERS,

"NEVER DOES A GENERAL GET AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE WE HAVE NOW

TO CLOSE THIS GAPAND BASICALLY TO SEAL THEM OFF."

THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY HAD BEEN FOUGHT

OVER HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES,

BUT IT SEEMED TO FUNNEL AT THE FALAISE GAP.

AND THIS ENORMOUS BATTLEFIELD OF HUNDREDS OF MILES

GETS FOCUSED DOWN TO A VERY SMALL DEADLY PLACE.

TO WEAKEN THE ENEMY'S FINAL DEFENSES,

THE ALLIED AIR FORCES HAMMER THE GERMAN POSITIONS.

ON THE GROUND, THE FIGHTING IS UNPRECEDENTED.

THE CANADIANS TAKE FALAISE

ON AUGUST 17th,

TRUN, THE 18th.

LITTLE BY LITTLE, THE VISE

TIGHTENS ON THE GERMANS.

THEY HAVE A CORRIDOR OF NO MORE

THAN SEVEN KILOMETERS WIDE

TO FLEE TO THE EAST.

THE MASSACRE INSIDE THEPOCKET AT FALAISE WAS HORRIFIC.

THE FIGHTER BOMBERS KEPT ON COMING IN.

ALL OF THE GERMAN TRANSPORT HORSES,

DRAGGING FIELD HOSPITALS OR GUNS OR WHATEVER,

WERE JUST SIMPLY MACHINE-GUNNED IN THEIR TRACES.

THE SMELL, THE STENCH OF CORPSESFOR WEEKS AFTERWARDS

WAS SIMPLY APPALLING.

IT WAS A TURKEY SHOOT, AS THE AMERICANS WOULD HAVE CALLED IT.

ON AUGUST 21st,

THE FALAISE POCKET IS CLOSED ONCE AND FOR ALL IN CHAMBOIS.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF GERMANS ARE TAKEN PRISONER,

AND THOUSANDS LAY DEAD.

THE BATTLE WILL LATER BE KNOWN AS THE STALINGRAD OF NORMANDY.

YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF DEAD BODIES,

ANIMALS AND HUMANS, THAT ARE IN THAT AREA.

EISENHOWER WILL LATER WALK IT FAMOUSLY

AND SAY IT WAS POSSIBLE TO WALK

FROM ONE SIDE OF A FIELD TO ANOTHER

WITHOUT EVER STEPPING ON ANYTHING BUT DEAD FLESH.

I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING TO TRY TO IMAGINE TODAY,

THAT FALAISE GAP FILLED WITH CORPSES

AND WOUNDED, SCREAMING MEN.

AND THAT WAS THE PRICE OF VICTORY.

IN THE CITY OF ARGENTAN,

LIBERATED THE DAY BEFORE BYTHE 80th U.S. INFANTRY DIVISION,

CAMERAS IMMORTALIZE THE MEETING

BETWEEN THE SOLDIERS AND THE CITY'S MAYOR.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RUBBLE,

SOME CIVILIANS FINALLY DARE TO EMERGE FROM THEIR SHELTERS.

THE FALAISE-CHAMBOIS BATTLE WILL BE THE LAST ONE

IN THESE THREE MONTHS OF FIGHTING IN NORMANDY.

ON THE ALLIED SIDE, 220,000SOLDIERS WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED,

AND 20,000 CIVILIANS WERE KILLED.

ON THE GERMAN SIDE, THE REICH ARMY LOST MORE THAN 200,000 MEN

AND ANOTHER 200,000 WERE TAKEN PRISONER.

ON AVERAGE, A BATTALION AND A HALF

WERE BEING GROUND DOWN OR DESTROYED

ROUGHLY EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

IN MANY CASES,

A DIVISION WOULD LAST NO LONGER THAN, SAY, TWO WEEKS.

WELL, THIS GIVES ONE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH NORMANDY CONTRIBUTED,

I THINK, TO THE OVERALL ALLIED VICTORY,

JUST PURELY IN THE CASE OF THE DESTRUCTION

OF GERMAN FORMATIONS.

BY THE END OF AUGUST,

HORDES OF SOLDIERS AND VEHICLES LAND AT CHERBOURG

AND HEAD EAST TO ERADICATE THE REST OF THE NAZI ARMY.

EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUTTHE LANDINGS ON THE 6th OF JUNE.

VERY FEW PEOPLE COULD TELL YOU

WHAT HAPPENS IN JUNE AND JULY AND AUGUST

AND HOW THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY ACTUALLY ENDED.

AND I THINK TO THIS DAY,

WE ARE STILL DEALING WITH THOSE BATTLES, THAT WAR,

TRYING TO COME TO GRIPS WITH IT, TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT,

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE RUINS OF NORMANDY 75 YEARS AGO.

AS FEW AS 50 CAMERAMEN

TIRELESSLY SHOT EACH DAY OF THIS HISTORIC BATTLE.

THEY LEFT BEHIND HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF FOOTAGE,

SOME OF WHICH ONLY SURFACED DECADES LATER.

FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS,

THESE IMAGES WILL REMAIN THE FINAL WITNESSES

OF NORMANDY'S 85 DAYS OF HELL.