All language subtitles for W.C.W.S01E02.Victory.at.all.Costs.1080p.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

Narrator: May, 1940.

Darkness had
descended upon the world.

Germany and her allies

controlled large
swathes of Europe.

Japan had invaded China

and was looking to
expand her empire further.

Britain and empire
were under threat.

But if anybody
likes to play rough,

we can play rough, too.

Narrator: In this
fractured world,

Winston Churchill
became prime minister

of the United Kingdom.

He did so with a clear goal -

victory.

Now we are at war.

And we are going to make war.

Until the other side
have had enough of it.

Narrator: This is the story

of the man who led
britain and her empire

through one of the
darkest moments

in its history.

This is Winston Churchill's war.

Churchill's finest hour
was not an hour of victory.

His triumph as leader
was not to win the war,

but to keep britain and
her empire in the fight

during the dark
days of 1940 and '41.

German forces swiftly
advanced across France.

Over the skies of britain,

the royal air force
valiantly fought

to keep German troops from
the heart of Churchill's empire.

Bombs rained destruction
upon British cities

as Germany launched the blitz.

Churchill drew upon
all his rhetorical prowess

to lift morale and help
the people endure.

Churchill: Never in the
field of human conflict

was so much owed by so many

to so few.

Narrator: In spite
of the hardships,

he kept britain
on the offensive.

He deployed bombers
over Germany.

He launched campaigns
in the middle east

and the mediterranean.

Victories were
outnumbered by defeats.

But Churchill and
the British empire

remained steadfast.

And perhaps, most vitally,

Churchill sought help
from a powerful friend,

the United States.

For britain could not
win this war alone,

and Churchill knew it.

On 10 may 1940,

Churchill became prime minister.

It was, he wrote,
"walking with destiny."

His whole life had
been a preparation

for this hour and this trial.

It was in the house of
commons three days later

that he declared his aim.

Victory.

Victory at all costs.

The day he took
helm as prime minister

was the same day Germany
invaded France and the low countries.

The phoney war had ended
and France was in peril.

- Germany starts moving
towards a plan of attack

that aims to knock
out France in particular

as soon as possible,

and thereby isolate britain,

knock britain out of the
war through negotiation,

and then turn, probably,

to the war that
they really want,

which is the one
in Eastern Europe.

Narrator: Churchill was
faced with the defences

of European nations
falling like dominoes,

driven back by the
rapid German advance.

Sheltered behind
the maginot line,

the French had prepared
for a defensive war.

The maginot line was
a series of fortresses,

obstacles and
military facilities

built in the 1930s to
deter a German invasion.

- The French
military, of course,

is thinking of the
first world war.

Their defensive mindset
in part comes out of that,

and, I mean, this isn't entirely
the French military's fault.

I mean, France after
the first world war

is of course a deeply
affected society,

I mean, they've lost
over a million dead,

and more than a million wounded.

They've enormous debts
coming out of the first world war.

They can't suddenly
rearm to the extent

that perhaps the military would
have liked to have rearmed.

Narrator: The maginot
line defensive strategy

made economic
and strategic sense,

but it had some
fatal flaws and gaps.

The Germans invaded
the low countries,

bypassing the maginot line

along the French
and German border

by going through Belgium
and the Netherlands.

The French had also assumed

the dense forests
of the ardennes

would protect their right
flank from German armour.

But as the German attack through
the Netherlands and Belgium

drew allied troops to the north,

a southern attack
by German forces

broke through the ardennes

and shattered the
French defences.

The Germans were moving fast.

They had evolved a
new form of warfare

using a combination
of mechanised infantry,

tanks, artillery and aircraft,

to swiftly surprise and
overwhelm the allied forces.

Blitzkrieg.

Even small units were
equipped with radios,

making German
communication far stronger

than the confused
allied efforts.

- The German blitzkrieg
against Western Europe

opens on 10 may 1940,

and within a fortnight,

the British and French
and Belgian armies

are defeated.

They are withdrawing
to the channel coast.

So it looks as if the
second world war in the west

will be over,
literally within weeks.

Narrator: As German
forces ripped through France,

Churchill fought his own battle
with members of his war cabinet.

The British foreign
secretary, lord halifax,

believed the best
path for britain

lay in a peace settlement

negotiated
through Hitler's ally,

Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini,

who, at this point,

had not joined
Germany in the war.

In early 1940,

a peace settlement with
Germany still seemed a valid option

to halifax and the other
members of the war cabinet.

They hoped that britain
would gain better terms

if a peace was negotiated
before losses mounted,

and before a French defeat.

Britain might retain its freedom

for the cost of a few
former German colonies,

and Nazi dominance
over central Europe.

Lives would be spared
- in britain, at least.

But Churchill held firm.

He argued surrender
before battle

would offer no better
terms than fighting on.

It would damage morale

and dissuade the United
States from entering the fight.

And Churchill believed
there were no guarantees

with the Nazi regime.

A peace guaranteed by
Hitler was no true peace.

- Hitler always seems
to have been optimistic

that the British
would, as he put it,

"see reason and come around."

He always hoped that they
would get rid of Churchill,

the main obstacle to peace,

and then there would be
some kind of settlement.

By this point, he had
very little understanding

of the mechanisms
within British politics

and why it was
that britain was likely

to continue the war
against Germany.

Narrator: When former
prime minister Chamberlain

added his support to
Churchill's argument,

and Churchill rallied
non-war cabinet ministers

to his cause,

halifax eventually conceded.

Britain would fight to the end.

Either way,

Chamberlain would
not live to see the fight.

He was mortally ill with cancer,
and died in November 1940.

This cabinet crisis was a moment

in which Churchill's
persuasive abilities

and his unfailing self-belief

proved him to be the
leader britain needed...

..Able to hold firm,

even against doubts
within his own war cabinet.

But while Churchill
scored a political victory,

the fate of the men
on the ground in France

hung in the balance.

As the Germans moved rapidly
toward the coast of France,

allied forces were in retreat

and on the verge
of becoming trapped.

An allied counter
attack at arras failed.

By 28 may, Belgium
had surrendered,

and all the ports
north of the somme,

save dunkirk, were
in German hands.

There were now fears

that the full force of the
advancing German army

would be unleashed upon
the retreating allied troops.

But on the edge of victory, the
German advance was halted.

- Why the German forces

didn't move in on
the British at dunkirk

is one of those perennial
questions about world war ii.

I think the answer is not,
as is sometimes suggested,

that because of Hitler's
relative lack of enmity

towards the British,

he wanted them to be
able to rescue their armies

so that they would be more
amenable to a peace offer.

Much more plausible explanations

are that the tank
forces in particular

were absolutely exhausted

from an incredibly rapid
two-week advance across France,

and they just couldn't go
any further at that point.

Narrator: Gathered
around dunkirk,

the retreating allied
troops were trapped,

defending the perimeter
with support from the raf.

From 26 may through to 4 June,

close to 200,000 British troops

and 140,000 French
and Belgian troops

were evacuated from
their precarious position.

Small yachts, fishing boats
and tugs from the thames

came together with destroyers,
gunboats and minesweepers.

They faced air bombardments
from the mighty luftwaffe

as they rescued
their stranded men.

- We still talk about
the dunkirk spirit,

because although it was
a massive defeat, I mean,

the British were bundled out
of the continent in three weeks.

It was a psychological victory,

which the British drew
on for the rest of the war.

Narrator: The evacuation
of the troops from dunkirk

was a herculean effort,

and one that far exceeded
Churchill's expectations.

Churchill: When a week ago today

I asked the house
to fix this afternoon

as the occasion for a statement,

I feared it would be my hard lot

to announce the
greatest military disaster

in our long history.

Narrator: He had
thought operation dynamo

might only rescue 45,000 men.

But the rescue of over
300,000 trained troops

was priceless.

- The evacuation at dunkirk
means several things.

I mean, in sheer
practical terms,

it means that the British

have literally hundreds
of thousands of men

to continue the fight.

Secondly, they've got
not just British troops

but French troops especially.

So there's a free French
army created in britain

because of the
evacuation of dunkirk.

Narrator: The evacuation
had been a success.

And France was not
yet completely defeated.

But Churchill cautioned
the British people

against complacency.

Churchill: We
must be very careful

not to assign to
this deliverance

the attributes of a victory.

Wars are not won by evacuations.

But there was a victory
inside this deliverance.

Narrator: After the
evacuation of dunkirk,

Germany had turned its advance
southward from the somme

toward Paris.

Another simultaneous
attack on the maginot line

prevented the deployment
of French reinforcements

to defend the capital.

On 14 June, Paris
fell to the Germans.

Among the many reasons
for the German victory,

key was the agility
and manoeuvrability

of the German army.

Blitzkrieg had delivered
victory to the Nazis in France.

- France and the low
countries, their armies,

Holland, Belgium, France,

and indeed the British
expeditionary force,

were all uniquely vulnerable
to this type of attack.

They were slow-moving
armies, in many ways, weak,

undertrained in some senses,

and expecting a long
period of static war,

whereby they would
hold the Germans

and then gradually build
up their fighting strength

before defeating them.

What blitzkrieg did

was it took away
that element of time.

The allied armies were
unable to keep pace.

Narrator: On 16 June,

the French hero of
verdun, Philippe pétain,

became premier of
what would become

the vichy French government.

The following day,
he asked the Germans

for terms for an armistice.

On 22 June, France
surrendered to Germany.

Britain and her empire
now stood alone.

When the war began,

Hitler had no immediate
plans for an invasion of britain.

He assumed the empire
would sue for peace.

When it became
clear britain would fight,

he began planning
for an invasion,

codenamed operation sea lion.

If Germany was to
launch an invasion,

air superiority was vital.

British fighters and bombers
could destroy an invasion fleet

before ships reached
the British shore.

The luftwaffe had to destroy
British airfields and aircraft,

or an invasion by sea
would not have a chance.

- They were going
to come by water.

So, obviously, if
you've got landing craft

and you have a viable air
force that is going to attack it,

they weren't going
to take that risk.

Air superiority was Paramount.

Narrator: In July 1940,

just three months after
Churchill became prime minister,

the air war over britain began.

The fight came to be
known as the battle of britain,

and would last through
to October 1940.

In August 1940, at
the height of the battle,

addressing the house of commons,

Churchill praised
all who contributed

to the battle of britain.

Churchill: The gratitude
of every home in our island,

in our empire,

goes out to the British airmen.

Never in the field
of human conflict

was so much owed by so many

to so few.

Narrator: Those few in the skies

were supported by
the many on the ground.

The crews who kept
the aircraft running,

who repaired the damage.

The armourers,

the observer call,

the anti-aircraft and
barrage balloon crews.

And those who worked
tirelessly in factories

to manufacture more aircraft.

Churchill was
particularly impressed

with lord beaverbrook,

who, as minister
for air production,

oversaw a constant
supply of aircraft to the fight.

Beaverbrook boosted output
when it was badly needed,

producing over
5,000 fighter planes

between June and October 1940.

Churchill had a
three-decade long association

with beaverbrook,

and he thought him
a dynamic leader.

The kind of man
who could inspire

the much-needed rapid
production of aircraft.

Many did not trust the
political loyalty of beaverbrook,

including Churchill's
wife, Clementine,

who cautioned
Winston against him.

But Churchill had faith
his old friend would deliver.

The battle of britain

helped cement Churchill's
standing as leader.

After the defeat of France,

britain had faced the
terrifying prospect of invasion.

The battle of britain
spared the people that fate.

And it was Churchill
who framed the fight

and lead them
through the threat.

- With the battle of britain,

and with Churchill and
his superb propaganda

in bringing the
people into the battle,

they were part of the fight.

They were willing to put up

with everything
that was happening.

And they knew, too,

that britain was
not going to lose.

Churchill: Few would have
believed we could survive.

None would have believed
that we should today

not only feel stronger,

but should actually be stronger
than we have ever been before.

[Rousing string music]

Narrator: But victory
in the battle of britain

did not mean peace
or safety for civilians.

[Dramatic music]

A new danger from the air

threatened to shatter
lives and morale.

In September 1940,

a German strategic
bombing campaign

began over england.

Known as the blitz,

high explosive bombs
and incendiary devices

fell relentlessly
across britain.

- London was
almost, not completely,

but almost continuously
bombed from September 1940

through to may 1941.

There were a few
nights when the weather

and various other
adverse conditions

meant that the
luftwaffe didn't come,

but broadly speaking,
London suffered

one of the longest
continuous bombing campaigns

in the 20th century.

Narrator: Countless
numbers were left homeless.

By the end of 1940,

15,000 British civilians
had been killed.

- The intention
behind mass bombings

was to really destroy and
degrade civilian population

and the civilian morale.

It was also, of course,
to take out manufacturing,

production, defence areas,

military installations
and so on.

Civilians were not to
be deliberately targeted,

but of course, when the
whole civilian population

is mobilised for war,

then civilians will become
a targets of air raids.

Narrator: The morale of britain
could have easily shattered

under this torment.

But Churchill
would not allow it.

His inspiring oratory

was his strongest
weapon during the blitz.

Churchill: We will
mete out to the Germans

the measure, and
more than the measure,

they have meted out to us.

You do your worst

and we will do our best.

Narrator: But Churchill
offered more than words.

He showed he was fearless,

or even reckless
with his safety.

He remained in London

and often made his
way to the rooftops

to seek a better
view during the raid.

In the aftermath of the raids,

he visited bomb-damaged
towns and cities.

He showed empathy.

He walked among the people

in the hope it would
give them strength.

- He was always
in the news reels

and particularly on the radio,

which, of course, was
a relatively new medium,

which brought Churchill
and Churchill's voice

into people's living rooms.

So, for the first time,

they could actually listen

and hear the
nuances of his speech,

his emphasis, his pauses,

which made him
such a great speaker.

They could hear it
themselves in the living room,

rather than reading
about it in a newspaper.

- If we are conquered,

the United States will
be left, single-handed,

to guard the rights of men.

Narrator: His speeches
provided a rallying point,

but it was the strength
of the people themselves

who ensured endurance,

and upheld the
morale of the nation.

As London endured the blitz,

britain was carrying out its
own aerial bombing campaign

against German cities.

Churchill firmly believed
bomber command

provided a path to victory.

It was also one way to attack
the heartland of Germany

without sending in troops.

- Churchill realised
very early on

the air force was the only way

that britain could
hit back at Germany.

So Churchill encouraged
the expansion of the air force,

particularly of bomber command,

to carry the fight to Germany.

That was expanded
in September 1941

with a directive to focus
on German industries

and transportation.

Narrator: The strategic
air war continued

and escalated as
the war progressed.

Soon enough,

Germany would be subjected
to air raids night and day,

and many of its
cities set alight.

Aerial dominance over
the skies of england

kept britain safe from invasion.

But there was another
threat from the sea.

[Ominous orchestral music]

After France signed the
armistice with Germany,

the British war cabinet

feared the French Navy fleet
might fall into German hands.

The combined German
and French navies

would alter the
power balance at sea

in the axis' favour.

Churchill ordered
that all French vessels

in Portsmouth and Plymouth

be taken under British control.

But French ships in other
ports were a different matter.

The strongest group
of French warships

was anchored at
mers-El-kébir in French Algeria.

They were still
under the control

of the French admiralty

and britain delivered
them an ultimatum.

The French ships
could join the British fleet

against Germany,

or the ships could
sail to North America

to be demilitarised.

If none of these options
were agreed upon,

britain would destroy the fleet.

But negotiations
were complicated

by a language barrier

and communication problems

between French officers and
their commanders in France.

Negotiations were
eventually terminated

and the royal Navy
was ordered to attack.

The French fleet at
mers-El-kébir was destroyed.

- And this was obviously a
very controversial thing to do.

Went down extremely
badly in France,

as you would expect.

Churchill gave a speech
in the house of commons.

It was not a speech which
contains any memorable phrases.

He didn't deliver
it over the radio.

It was a simple, quite
unadorned account

of the series of decisions

which had led up to this
particular attack on the French.

Narrator: It was not a decision
Churchill had taken lightly.

But he could not risk the
fourth largest fleet in the world

being used by
Germany against britain.

- This was perhaps a
sort of key changing point

in his political fortunes,
where, for the first time,

the conservative party
received Churchill very warmly.

Narrator: One threat
throughout the war

that was said to have
really frightened Churchill

was the threat posed
by German u-boats.

The battle of the
Atlantic was fought

to defend the movement of
troops and supplies across the seas.

If britain could not guarantee
supplies to the island,

her people would starve.

And if troops could
not be transported,

britain's offensive
capacity was limited.

Churchill: Since we last
met, the battle of the Atlantic

has been going on unceasingly.

In his attempt to blockade
and starve out this island

by u-boat and air attack,

the enemy continually
changes in tactics.

Driven from one beat,
he goes to another.

Chased from home waters,

driven from the
approaches to this island,

he proceeds to the
other side of the Atlantic.

Narrator: The
battle of the Atlantic

ran throughout the war.

But it reached a crisis point
in the second half of 1940.

After the fall of France,

Germany u-boats could base
themselves in French ports,

far closer to allied shipping.

And from September 1940,

wolfpacks of u-boats
stormed the seas.

- Churchill was really
seriously worried

about the whole question
of, um, the Atlantic convoys.

He thought that
britain might eventually

be strangled by the u-boats.

Narrator: For the crews of
the allied merchant ships,

the battle of the
Atlantic was terrifying.

If a ship was sunk,

it was unlikely the
crews would be rescued.

If a convoy or a lone
ship stopped to help,

it was vulnerable to attack.

Little could be
done for survivors,

who faced a dark fate in
the deep Atlantic waters.

Churchill spent much of 1940

focused on preparing
for a potential invasion

on British soil.

When the threat passed,
he turned to a strategy

to which he had held firm
since the first world war -

the 'soft underbelly' strategy.

He had won the
defensive battle for britain,

but defensive actions
did not deliver victories.

Britain needed to
take the offensive,

and the middle east
and north African theatres

provided an
opportunity to do so.

As a strategist,

Churchill was a
man with many ideas.

More than one observer,

including the us president,
Franklin Roosevelt,

noted that not all
of them were good.

- He saw himself
as a military leader,

and he took a very, very
close interest in strategy.

He was not always right.
In fact, often, he was wrong

in the strategies that
he... That he advocated.

But the great thing
about Churchill,

unlike Hitler, he never
overrode his military advisers.

He would drive them
nearly to distraction

by pushing his own
particular schemes,

often misplaced schemes,

but he never overrode them.

In the end, he never
went against them.

What made him a
great military leader

was not his success
as a strategist,

but his success
as a personality.

He embodied the
kind of ancient will,

the ancient courage,

the ancient
traditions of britain.

[Cheering]

Narrator: Churchill took a
particularly strong interest

in the allied middle
east campaign.

- In the early
stages of the war,

it was the only theatre
where commonwealth troops

were actually fighting
German troops

anywhere in the war.

The middle east was also an
important communications hub.

There was the Suez canal,

which gave a valuable
link to the far east,

and, of course,
britain needed oil

for its warships
and for its industry

and for its own war machine.

And suddenly, they
were threatened

by first the Italians,
and then the Germans.

[Cheering]

Narrator: Italy
had joined the war

against britain and
France on 10 June 1940.

Despite Italy having vastly
greater numbers in the field,

the initial allied campaign

in the middle east
and north Africa

was highly successful.

From 1939, a Garrison
of British troops

had guarded the Suez canal.

In September 1940,

the Italians moved
across the western desert,

creating fortified positions
about 80km into their advance.

The allied response
in December 1940

was decisive and effective.

The Italian fortified positions

were overrun in
a matter of days,

and Italian forces
retreated to bardia.

In early January 1941,

British commonwealth
troops successfully attacked

the Italian stronghold in
the Libyan town of bardia...

..And captured tens of
thousands of prisoners,

more than 400 artillery
pieces and over 100 tanks.

It was a morale-boosting
victory for britain and for Churchill,

who reported the success
in the house of commons.

It was a theatre which
Churchill took a great interest in,

despite having
acknowledged and agreed

with his chiefs of
staff early in the war

that first priority
had to be britain.

Churchill, in reinforcing
the middle east,

was going against
his own chiefs of staff

and what, to them,
was the correct strategy.

Narrator: But by mid-year 1941,

German forces led
by the desert fox,

general erwin rommel,

had arrived in north Africa.

The tide of the
battle in north Africa

turned against the allies,

and an unhappy stalemate
settled around tobruk in Libya,

lasting until December.

The battles fought
in the middle east

and north Africa were important,

but victory in that theatre
would not win the war.

Churchill knew he
needed powerful friends,

and he spent a good
deal of 1940 and 1941

courting Roosevelt
and the United States.

One of the ways he did this
was through his speeches.

The end may be yet far off.

We cannot tell.

And that depends upon the enemy.

How long he will resist,

we cannot tell.

Narrator: Churchill's commitment
to fight to the end and beyond

through the royal Navy

was admired by some
in the United States.

Eleanor Roosevelt
called Churchill's words

"a tonic for those in britain
and the United States."

- Particularly,
if we think about

the 'fight on the
beaches' speech,

Churchill, having said,
"we will fight on to the end,"

he goes on to say that,

"if we were defeated
in these isles,

"which, not for one
moment do I believe,

"that we would continue
the fight across the seas."

In other words,
the British fleet

would move to Canada
and to other places

in order to continue
the struggle.

And that in particular, from
the American point of view,

that's the crucial bit.

Narrator: But many
in the United States

still held strong
isolationist views.

This was a European war,

and they did not want to
get embroiled in the conflict.

Churchill's calls across
the sea to the new world

did not sit easily
among the isolationists.

- And what they're saying

is they're not saying that
Churchill is a bad speaker,

what they're saying is
that Churchill is somebody

who represents britain
and the British empire,

and he's doing a
very effective job

on behalf of the British empire,

but that doesn't mean
that we, the Americans,

have to fall in behind
him and do things,

by allying ourselves
with the British empire,

that are not in our interests.

Narrator: Roosevelt and
Churchill had been corresponding

since the beginning of the war.

The friendly
banter in the letters

went a long way
in building relations

between the two.

- Churchill and
Roosevelt had great fun.

You can see it in
their correspondence.

I mean, their relationship
was very warm and cordial

throughout the war,

but particularly in the
first couple of years.

When Roosevelt first
started writing to Churchill,

he called him,
"dear naval person,"

because he was first
lord of the admiralty,

and then when Churchill
became prime minister,

he signed his letters,
"former naval person."

Narrator: Churchill
pressed Roosevelt for help

in the form of material.

In September 1940,

the Roosevelt administration

offered their destroyers
for bases exchange.

- We have come to realise

that the greatest attack
that has ever been launched

against freedom
of the individual

is nearer the Americas
than ever before.

Narrator: The United
States would provide

50 naval destroyers

in exchange for 99
year leases on bases

in British territories
in newfoundland,

the British west
indies and Bermuda.

The deal also included a promise

that if britain was
forced to surrender,

they would dispatch
the royal Navy

to North America.

This was a concession
Roosevelt could make

without going to congress.

He was sympathetic

to the dire position
britain faced.

To give you the strength

to regain and
maintain a free world,

we shall send you, in
ever-increasing numbers,

ships, planes, tanks, guns.

That is our purpose
and our pledge.

[Applause]

- After the fall of
France, of course,

britain is carrying
on the war alone,

and by December,
they were broke.

They had no more resources to
purchase American war material,

which came as a real
shock to Roosevelt.

This is also the period
of the London blitz,

so on the newsreels
and in the newspapers,

you have these photographs

of the British firemen
with these huge hoses

trying to put out
these fires at night

as London is bombed.

And Roosevelt gave this
remarkable press conference,

where he said,
you know, "if your...

"If your neighbour's
house is on fire,

"and he comes over and
wants to borrow a garden hose,

"you're not going to say,
'well, you have to pay for it.'

"you're gonna
give him the hose."

Narrator: In early 1941,

us congress passed
the lend-lease act.

It now allowed the
president to provide aid

to countries who defence
was vital to the United States.

- People of Europe who
are defending themselves

do not ask us to
do their fighting.

They ask us for the
implements of war.

The planes, the tanks,
the guns, [indistinct]

Which will enable them
to fight for their Liberty

and our security.

Narrator: Securing the
support of the United States

was important for britain.

But in 1941,

it seemed increasingly likely

that the outcome of
the war against Germany

would be decided
on the eastern front.

The war on the eastern front
was war on a massive scale.

In June 1941,

the German invasion took place
on a front nearly 3,000km long.

The Germans attacked
the Soviet union

with 150 divisions,

3,000 tanks, 2,500 aircraft,

7,000 pieces of artillery,
and some 3 million men.

30 divisions of Finnish,
Romanian and other axis troops

further bolstered
the invasion force.

In the initial stages
of the invasion,

the Germans were successful.

Blitzkrieg again
proved powerful.

The panzer groups cut
through Russian defences

and travelled 800km
in three weeks.

By July 1941,

hundreds of thousands
of Russian troops

had been captured.

For the Soviets,

the situation was
becoming catastrophic.

By August, German tanks
were closing in on Moscow.

- In early September 1941,

Stalin writes to Churchill
and asks for two things.

He's asking for military
support, the equipment.

He's also asking Churchill if
he can launch a second front,

already in 1941,
somewhere on the continent.

And to the first
request, Churchill replies

that he will attempt to
meet Stalin's demands.

He will try and send 400
planes and 500 tanks a month,

and this will also
lead to the extension

of lend-lease supplies
under the first protocol

that will attempt,

through the United
States and Great Britain,

to sustain the red army.

Newscaster: The
great fighting qualities

of the Soviets'
enormous manpower

must be sustained by a
constant supply of weapons,

however far the
Germans penetrate.

Narrator: This was a remarkable
show of support from Churchill,

especially considering
his long-held antipathy

towards communism.

- There is no
question of willingness

on behalf the western
powers to support the red army.

And this is significant

when one considers
the starting point,

the animosity, the suspicion,

the anti-communism of the west.

The support for Stalin
is genuine and real,

to the detriment, sometimes,

of British forces
in north Africa.

But there is a recognition
of the numbers,

the sheer numbers
of German forces

being deployed in the east,

and the fact that
the red army is doing

the bulk of the fighting.

- Whatever our suffering,
whatever our toils,

we will continue hand in hand
like comrades and brothers...

..Until every vestige
of the Nazi regime

has been beaten into the ground.

Narrator: Churchill recognised
the scale of the contribution

being made by the Soviet union.

He knew he needed
Stalin as an ally,

but he also knew britain
did not have the manpower

or resources to sustain the
second front Stalin wanted.

- To the other request
of a second front,

Churchill will respond
to Stalin by saying,

"actions leading to fiascos

"are of no hope to
anyone but Hitler."

And I think this is the
hallmark of the British response,

because it's
simply a recognition

of the logistics involved.

And even if you can
get onto the continent,

how do you sustain that?

Narrator: Despite
pressure from Stalin

and the United States,

over the course of the war,

Churchill held
firm on that view.

September delivered the
Soviet union more defeats.

Kiev fell to axis forces.

Leningrad, now the
city of st Petersburg,

was cut off.

The siege of Leningrad
would last 872 days,

and plunge the
city into starvation.

While the Soviet union
battled the main German force,

in August 1941,

a secret meeting between
Churchill and Roosevelt

was planned off the
coast of newfoundland.

On the morning of 9 August,

Churchill stood in
nervous anticipation

aboard the hms
'prince of wales'.

He needed the
meeting to go well.

He needed Roosevelt's approval,

and he needed the United States.

- He treated Roosevelt

with enormous
deference and respect.

He said, "no man ever
sought to please his mistress

"as much as I sought to
please Franklin Roosevelt."

He started pretty early.

He started in 1939

writing personal
letters to Roosevelt,

'cause but he realised that
Roosevelt was key, really,

in a way that
Chamberlain didn't.

He despised Roosevelt

and thought that the
Americans were going to give us

nothing but words.

Churchill saw that only the
great arsenal of democracy

was going to save the British.

Newscaster: Mr Churchill leaves

to go aboard the United
States cruiser 'Augusta',

in which mr Roosevelt,

supposed to be on a fishing
trip in his yacht, 'potomac',

has come to the appointed place.

Narrator: The meeting did
not secure a commitment

from the United
States to enter the war.

It had not delivered
an alliance,

but it illustrated
a show of support,

a shared vision for
a Democratic future

after the war.

And for Churchill, it was
an important opportunity

to further cement his
bond with Roosevelt.

On August 15 1941,

on his return voyage
to the United Kingdom,

out in the Atlantic,

Churchill's party came
across a British convoy

of more than 70 ships.

The hms 'prince of wales'
sped through at 22 knots.

But the crews recognised
the nine-flag hoist,

which spelled out 'Churchill',

and they waved and
cheered as his ship passed.

An enthused Churchill
stood on the bridge,

cheering and giving
the sign 'v' for victory.

He was so thrilled
by the encounter,

he had the ship turned around
and pass by a second time.

As the allies continued the
struggle against Germany...

..Another serious
threat had been rising

in the Asia-pacific.

Japan was looking
to expand its empire.

- There's no question that
both Churchill and Roosevelt

understood that
something was up.

They could see troop movements
towards the malay peninsula.

They really expected
Malaya to be attacked.

Roosevelt was even
very careful and cautious

about avoiding some
kind of confrontation

that would allow
the Japanese to say,

"well, you fired on us first."

The British were very worried.

They went to Roosevelt and said,

"look, if they attack the
British empire in Asia,

"are you going to come
into the war with us?"

They were desperate to get
the Americans into the war.

Narrator: In November 1941,

when Churchill delivered his
address at the mansion house,

it was clear he was concerned

about a potential
Japanese attack.

He declared himself

"a sentimental
well-wisher of Japan,

"an admirer of her
many gifts and qualities."

A conflict between Japan
and the English-speaking world

was something he would
view with keen sorrow.

On 7 December 1941,

that sorrow was realised.

Japan attacked Pearl harbor.

Pearl harbor in Hawaii

was the headquarters for
the us Navy pacific fleet.

Japan's attack killed thousands

and severely depleted the
ships available to the us Navy.

- December 7... 1941.

A date which will
live... In infamy.

Narrator: The war
became a global conflict.

Japan's attack

and Germany's declaration
of war on the United States

a few days later

finally brought
the us into the war.

Churchill would now
have guaranteed support

from the powerful ally

he had been
courting for so long.

- When the news of
Pearl harbor came through,

he said he went
to bed that evening

and he slept "the sleep
of the just and the saved."

Because he knew that
america coming into the war

in that way

would tip the balance
completely against Nazi Germany.

Narrator: In 1940 and 1941,

Churchill used all of
his persuasive abilities

to keep britain in the fight

and to secure assistance
from a powerful friend.

And he compromised
his principles

to accept Stalin
and the Soviet union

as allies in the fight
against Germany.

But with the entry of
Japan, the war had changed.

Japan had imperialist
ambitions of its own,

ambitions which
were now directed

at British and us
interests in Asia.

The power of the United States,

now an ally in the war,

was on the rise.

And the Soviet union
had plans of its own.

New empires were
rising, friend and foe.

And the British empire,
which Churchill held so dear,

would never be the same again.

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