- 6/21/2025
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00:00Exactly 60 years ago last week on the last days of World War II, the world's first atomic device was secretly and successfully detonated in the New Mexico desert.
00:19In Potsdam, Germany, Allied leaders met to discuss the future of Europe and map out an end to the war against Japan.
00:27And in the Pacific, a massive U.S. naval armada launched an all-out bombardment of the Japanese home islands.
00:34Exactly 60 years ago this week, in the Pacific, U.S. bombers continue to pound Japanese cities.
00:41Thousands of miles away in Germany, President Truman decides that he is prepared to use an atomic bomb against Japan.
00:48And in the U.S., a plane crashes into the Empire State Building, unleashing a wave of panic on the streets of New York City.
00:57To be continued...
00:59BAN
01:03I'd love you!
01:05I'd love you!
01:08I'd love you!
01:17July 22nd. The Pacific Ocean.
01:19Sixty years ago this week, U.S. warships maintain their merciless assault on the Japanese mainland.
01:25Under the cloak of darkness,
01:27nine destroyers managed to sneak past
01:29feeble Japanese defenses and sail into Tokyo Bay.
01:33Like a shark stalking its prey,
01:36the US Armada unleashes a barrage of artillery
01:39against a Japanese shipping convoy, causing severe damage.
01:44Meanwhile, further out in the Pacific Ocean,
01:47Allied ships are being resupplied
01:49in preparation for one of the largest
01:51naval operations yet.
01:52July 23rd.
01:55In just 24 hours, aircraft from the fast carrier forces
01:59of the 3rd Fleet will launch a devastating attack
02:02on what remains of the Japanese fleet.
02:06Their main target is the Kurei Naval Base,
02:09housing the last of Japan's heavy warships.
02:14But it's not only the Japanese Navy
02:16which will be dealt a major blow.
02:18The airfields on Shikoku and Kyushu
02:20are also on the list of targets.
02:22The Allies will attempt to disable a large number
02:25of Japanese aircraft.
02:27July 24th.
02:29The Kurei Naval Base is bombarded.
02:33A swarm of more than 1,000 carrier-borne fighters
02:36descends upon Japanese ships dry docked in the harbor.
02:42Sailors of the Imperial Navy look on in horror
02:44as their battleships, the Hyuga, the Issei, and the Haruna are demolished.
02:50The Japanese heavy cruisers, the Alba and Tone, are sunk.
02:54British aircraft also sink the Japanese escort carrier, Kaio.
02:59U.S. bombers continue an unyielding series of strikes
03:02along the coast from Osaka to Nagoya.
03:04July 25th.
03:06As Japan's coastline smolders from relentless U.S. air raids on military targets,
03:11the Kushimoto seaplane base and a Japanese airfield on the island of Honshu are also leveled.
03:18In order to demonstrate to the Japanese people that their military is now powerless,
03:22B-29 bombers scatter 600,000 leaflets over 11 Japanese cities,
03:28warning civilians that their town may be next on the list to be firebombed.
03:33Residents are urged to evacuate or suffer deadly consequences.
03:39The dropping of leaflets prior to the firebombings in Japan really had very little effect,
03:46and the civilian casualties were massive despite the leaflets.
03:50They did give a warning, but it was a cryptic warning,
03:56and they didn't identify any particular place.
03:59Pressure on the Imperial command mounts,
04:02as thousands of Japanese civilians are now homeless and struggling to survive.
04:07Industrial and agricultural production has almost ground to a complete halt.
04:13Unwavering in their determination to fight to the death,
04:16rather than accept unconditional surrender,
04:18the Supreme War Council prepares for the anticipated invasion of Japan's main islands.
04:24This week, the Japanese army stands at 2,350,000 men,
04:29with two tank divisions and four anti-aircraft artillery divisions.
04:34At their disposal are 4 million Japanese reservists,
04:37and a volunteer militia force of approximately 28 million men and women.
04:42Imperial headquarters issues the following adamant directive.
04:46The homeland operation must be a decisive one,
04:49in which the invasion forces will be quickly sought out and annihilated.
04:53The assault must be undertaken with the resolve that each man
04:56will take an enemy to death with him at the water's edge.
04:59But little do the Japanese officials know,
05:021,600 miles south on Tinian Island,
05:04scientists are working on two weapons of mass destruction
05:08that have the potential to break the fighting spirit
05:11of the Japanese military once and for all.
05:15July 26th.
05:16This very day, the USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian Island,
05:21on board, important components for one of the highly classified
05:24and newly developed atomic bombs under construction on the island.
05:28We arrived at Tinian on July the 26th
05:32and offloaded this cargo on the barges,
05:36and they immediately took it to an airfield there.
05:40So I took it ashore, and we had it loaded aboard a truck,
05:43and we trucked it up to the laboratories up at Northfield,
05:48where all the Los Alamos people were waiting for it.
05:51This special delivery is a part of the project codenamed Alberta.
05:55Back in March, a team of scientists, technicians,
05:59and military officials were transferred
06:01from the National Atomic Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico,
06:04to Tinian Island.
06:06Following their arrival, components of the atomic bombs
06:09would be delivered piece by piece.
06:12All of these shipments were closely coordinated
06:15between Los Alamos and this group of ours out there at Tinian.
06:20We knew what was coming.
06:22We knew when it was coming.
06:23July 27th, Kirkland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
06:29Five C-54s of the 509th Composite Group
06:32depart for Tinian Island
06:33with the last components of the Little Boy and Fat Man atomic bombs.
06:39Once on the island,
06:40scientists would assemble the bombs
06:42in preparation for deployment over mainland Japan.
06:45Each would weigh in at a staggering 10,000 pounds.
06:49Fat Man is a plutonium-based bomb five feet in width.
06:53Little Boy, two and a half feet across,
06:55has a uranium-235 core.
06:59It is the U-235 that the USS Indianapolis has come to deliver.
07:03The heavy cruiser has set sail from San Francisco on July 16th.
07:08So classified was her mission
07:09that only a handful of people,
07:11including Harry Truman and Winston Churchill,
07:14knew what was inside the Indianapolis' large wooden crates.
07:17Not even the ship's captain, Charles McVeigh,
07:20knew what was on board.
07:22What McVeigh did know, however,
07:24was that he and his crew of roughly 1,200 men
07:27had been given a mission of grave importance.
07:30Just before the Indianapolis had set sail for Tinian,
07:33a coded signal was flashed to the ship which read,
07:36Indianapolis under orders of Commander-in-Chief
07:38and must not be diverted from its mission for any reason.
07:42This very day,
07:43as the mysterious crates are unloaded from the ship,
07:46Captain Charles McVeigh is given a new set of orders.
07:50Six hours after arriving at Tinian,
07:52he and the Indianapolis crew set sail once again.
07:55This time, their destination is Guam, 120 miles south.
07:59We immediately went to Guam
08:03after dropping off this crate and canisters,
08:07and the captain and his executive officer went ashore
08:11to get the orders for the forward area.
08:15July 27th, Guam.
08:17Captain McVeigh and his crew safely arrive,
08:20but are told they must now head for Leyte in the Philippines.
08:23The route is long and treacherous.
08:24After reaching Leyte,
08:27the ship would have a two-week break for repairs
08:29and then would up anchor once again
08:32and sail for the shores of Okinawa.
08:36July 28th, 9 a.m.
08:3860 years ago today,
08:40the Indianapolis sets off for the Philippines.
08:42McVeigh expects to arrive at Leyte in three days.
08:45Concerned about the state of the ship's engines,
08:48he plans to maintain lower speeds,
08:50but en route to Leyte,
08:51the Indianapolis will have to run
08:53the gauntlet of Japanese submarines
08:55lurking in the Pacific waters.
08:57Another American ship has recently fallen prey
08:59to the vestiges of the Japanese Navy.
09:02On July 24th,
09:03the U.S. destroyer escort Underhill
09:05was sunk by a kaitan,
09:07a small suicide boat launched from a submarine.
09:10The Underhill,
09:11which formed part of a 15-ship convoy
09:13sailing from Okinawa to Leyte,
09:15lost 112 men,
09:17more than half its crew.
09:18Although he receives a warning
09:20about Japanese submarines in the area,
09:22surprisingly,
09:24McVeigh is never told about the incident.
09:26The captain does, however,
09:27request an escort for the journey to Leyte.
09:30His request is denied.
09:33He was told the waters were safe
09:35and an escort would not be necessary.
09:39We were a heavy cruiser.
09:41Heavy cruisers, battleships, and carriers
09:43did not carry Soundire device.
09:45That's a device that could detect submarines underwater.
09:50So they always requested
09:52just escort carrier.
09:55Escorts are destroyers and destroyer escorts.
09:58They had Soundire device.
10:00They could detect submarines.
10:02But he was told it was not necessary.
10:05The captain is forced to rely on a tactic
10:07known as zigzagging,
10:08randomly changing course and speed
10:10to present a difficult target.
10:12Any major ship or any ship
10:14traveling in areas
10:16that might have submarines in it
10:18would zigzag.
10:19That would be going back and forth.
10:22And during the early part of the wars,
10:24that was fairly effective.
10:26But the submarines,
10:28both in the Japanese Navy
10:30and the American Navy,
10:32were so well equipped
10:34and so much improved
10:36that it wouldn't have made any difference
10:38whether we were zigzagging or not.
10:40A coded signal is flashed
10:43to U.S. bases on Lady,
10:45warning of the ship's expected arrival
10:47on July 31st.
10:48But the message is distorted
10:49and indecipherable
10:51to U.S. forces on the island.
10:53Incredibly,
10:53a request for a repeat signal
10:55is not made.
10:57Additionally,
10:58the Indianapolis' secret mission
10:59has left her name deleted
11:01from most arrival and departure boards
11:03in the Philippine Sea frontier.
11:05She is the first major warship
11:07to travel through this region
11:08without an escort since the war began.
11:11The USS Indianapolis
11:12would never reach her destination.
11:15The stage is set
11:16for the greatest disaster
11:18in the history
11:18of the United States Navy.
11:22This week,
11:2360 years ago,
11:24in Germany,
11:25leaders of the three main allied nations
11:27continue deliberations
11:29over the future of Europe
11:30and the fate of Japan.
11:31July 23rd,
11:33Potsdam, Germany.
11:35President Truman
11:36has been receiving reports
11:37of the daily attacks on Japan
11:39since his arrival at Potsdam
11:40one week ago.
11:42He is awestruck
11:43by how much the country
11:44has been able to endure
11:45and still refuse demands
11:47for an unconditional surrender.
11:49Now locked in discussions
11:51with British Prime Minister
11:52Winston Churchill
11:53and Soviet dictator
11:54Joseph Stalin,
11:55he must focus on the tasks at hand,
11:58redrawing the borders
11:59of post-war Europe
12:00and bringing a swift conclusion
12:02to the seemingly endless
12:03and brutal war raging on
12:05in the Pacific.
12:06Since the successful testing
12:08of the atom bomb
12:09on July 16th,
12:10the tides have turned
12:11and the global balance of power
12:13is shifting.
12:15Truman is quickly realizing
12:16that possession
12:17of the awesome weapon
12:18gives the U.S.
12:19an undeniable military
12:20and political edge
12:22over the Soviets
12:22who have made no secret
12:24of their imperial ambitions
12:25in the Far East
12:26and Eastern Europe.
12:27I think he was probably
12:30quite aware
12:30that this bomb
12:31would give him leverage
12:32and even, if you will,
12:34a kind of personal confidence.
12:36Churchill also breathes
12:38a sigh of relief.
12:39Although the prospect
12:40of atomic warfare
12:41would later weigh heavily
12:42on his mind,
12:43this week he is relieved
12:45that the U.S.
12:46has made the discovery
12:46before the Soviets.
12:49July 24th, 7.30 p.m.
12:51Today, Truman decides
12:53to inform the Soviets
12:54about the newly developed
12:55atomic bomb.
12:56Many people
12:57in the United States government
12:58were encouraging
12:59President Truman
13:00at Potsdam
13:01to tell the Soviets
13:02about the bomb
13:03so that they wouldn't
13:05be surprised
13:06when we used it
13:07and feel that we had
13:09kept a secret from them.
13:11Truman tells Stalin
13:12that the U.S.
13:13has developed
13:14a new weapon
13:15of extraordinary
13:16destructive power,
13:17a weapon that no nation
13:18would be able
13:19to withstand.
13:20But to Truman's astonishment,
13:22Stalin seems neither surprised
13:24nor impressed by news
13:25that the U.S.
13:26has this weapon
13:27of unprecedented power.
13:29Truman, in fact,
13:30said to Stalin
13:31basically the following,
13:34we have a powerful
13:35new weapon,
13:37bigger than anything
13:38we've ever had before.
13:40And Stalin's response
13:41was to pretend
13:43that this was
13:44of no great importance
13:45to him
13:46and he'd never heard
13:46of it before.
13:47He said something like,
13:48well, I hope you put it
13:49to good use
13:50against the Japanese.
13:51According to one account
13:53of the conversation,
13:55Stalin dryly congratulates
13:57Truman on what he refers
13:58to as a bit of luck.
14:00After years
14:01of painstaking research,
14:02millions of dollars
14:03and the toil
14:04of thousands of people,
14:05including some
14:06of the brightest
14:06scientific minds
14:07in the world,
14:08Truman regards
14:09the success
14:10of the Manhattan Project
14:11as more than just luck.
14:13As Stalin strides off,
14:15Truman watches apprehensively.
14:18When Churchill questions
14:19Truman about how
14:20Stalin reacted to the news,
14:22Truman simply says,
14:23I don't know.
14:24He never asked a question.
14:26I think Truman's handling
14:28of the information
14:29that he gave
14:30to Stalin in particular
14:32was fairly savvy.
14:36Whether that's evidence
14:37of Truman's skill
14:38or whether it was simply
14:39that he was briefed
14:40for this particular incident,
14:43I'm not sure.
14:44This was still very early
14:46in his presidency.
14:47And, you know,
14:50we just really don't know
14:51how confident he was
14:53in his own abilities
14:55and decision-making powers
14:56at that point.
14:57Both Truman and Churchill
14:59now wonder
15:00if the Soviet leader
15:01is aware of the importance
15:02of what he's just been told.
15:05Stalin was perfectly aware.
15:07He had more information
15:08about the bomb in his hands
15:09than probably Barry Truman did.
15:11What Truman and Churchill
15:12don't realize
15:13is that Stalin
15:14had known about
15:15the U.S. atomic bomb program
15:17since March 1942.
15:19Lavrenti Beria,
15:20the sinister and much-feared
15:21head of Soviet security,
15:23had since infiltrated
15:24the Manhattan Project.
15:26Since then,
15:27a highly effective network
15:29of Soviet spies
15:30had kept the Kremlin
15:31up to date
15:32with U.S. progress
15:33on the atomic bomb.
15:34Sixty years ago,
15:36this very day,
15:37following his meeting
15:38with Truman,
15:38Stalin rushes back
15:39to the villa
15:40where he is staying
15:41and anxiously confers
15:42with Marshal Zhukov,
15:43Andrei Gromyko,
15:44Soviet ambassador
15:45to the U.S.,
15:46and Foreign Minister Molotov.
15:48He orders them
15:49to accelerate
15:50the Soviet Union's
15:51own atomic bomb program,
15:53which, unbeknownst
15:54to the Allies,
15:55had been in operation
15:56since 1942.
15:58To date, however,
15:59it has been unsuccessful
16:00and underfunded.
16:01July 25th,
16:04President Truman
16:05makes the decision
16:06to use the atomic bomb
16:07against Japan
16:08in early August,
16:09once the Potsdam Conference
16:11has come to an end.
16:13Foremost in his mind
16:14is the desire
16:15to bring a decisive
16:16and immediate end
16:17to the war in the Pacific
16:18and spare as many lives
16:20as possible.
16:21For the Soviets, however,
16:23Japan's sudden defeat
16:24would afford them
16:25no opportunity
16:25to enter the war,
16:27negating their claim
16:28to territories promised
16:29at Yalta
16:30earlier in the year.
16:32The Soviet Union
16:33agreed to enter
16:35the war against Japan
16:35three months
16:36after the defeat
16:38of Germany.
16:40Stalin asked
16:40for a return,
16:43essentially,
16:43to the status quo
16:45before the Russo-Japanese
16:47War of 1904.
16:49They would have
16:50a predominant presence
16:51in Manchuria
16:52after the Japanese left,
16:54and the Allies
16:54basically agreed to that
16:56so that Russia
16:57would take control
16:59again of the Manchurian Railway.
17:01They would have
17:02the port at Dalian,
17:04and they would get back
17:05Sakhalin Island,
17:08Kurel Islands,
17:09and possibly,
17:10and this was not
17:11entirely clear,
17:12but possibly
17:13the Soviet Union
17:14would also play a role
17:16in the occupation
17:17of Japan itself.
17:18This was never promised.
17:20On the other hand,
17:22Stalin seemed to think
17:23that that was still
17:23a possibility
17:24until the very end.
17:26This week, however,
17:27Truman knows
17:28that the newly developed
17:29atomic bomb
17:30may not only spare
17:31casualties associated
17:32with an invasion
17:33of the Japanese mainland,
17:35but it could preempt
17:36Stalin from entering
17:37the war against Japan,
17:39halting his imperial ambitions
17:40in the Far East.
17:42Truman and our government,
17:45up to the time
17:46of the successful test
17:47of the bomb
17:48in July of 1945,
17:50had been trying
17:51to encourage the Russians
17:53to enter the war.
17:54We wanted them to fight
17:56because we wanted them
17:56to put pressure
17:57on the million-man
17:58Japanese army,
17:59still afield in Manchuria,
18:01while we were putting pressure
18:03coming up from the south
18:05to the Japanese home islands.
18:07With the bomb,
18:08Truman realized
18:09he had a decisive weapon
18:11which he was quite sure
18:12would end the war,
18:14and at that point,
18:14we didn't need
18:15the Russians anymore.
18:16We didn't want them
18:17to enter the war
18:18if we could avoid it
18:19because we didn't want
18:20another divided country
18:22like Germany.
18:23This week,
18:24amid growing dissension
18:25among the Allies,
18:26Churchill breaks off
18:27from an argument
18:28with Stalin
18:28over the future
18:29of Poland and Czechoslovakia
18:31and leaves the conference.
18:32He boards a plane
18:33destined for London.
18:35He flies home
18:35with British Foreign Secretary
18:37Anthony Eden
18:38and his political rival,
18:39British Deputy Prime Minister
18:41and leader
18:41of the opposing Labour Party,
18:43Clement Attlee.
18:45Upon their return,
18:46the political opponents
18:47will soon learn
18:48the outcome
18:49of the general election
18:50held on July 5th.
18:51It has taken three weeks
18:53to collect and count
18:54the votes of the men
18:55and women
18:55still serving overseas.
18:57Tonight,
18:58Churchill goes to bed
18:59with hopes
19:00that after having
19:01led the country
19:01victoriously through war,
19:03the British public
19:04wants him
19:05to remain in office.
19:08July 26th,
19:09Great Britain.
19:10Sixty years ago today,
19:12the results of the country's
19:13first general election
19:14in ten years
19:15will be announced.
19:16Winston Churchill's
19:18Conservative Party managers
19:19have assured him
19:20that they would retain
19:21a substantial majority
19:22in Parliament.
19:23The Prime Minister
19:24anticipates returning
19:25to the Potsdam Conference
19:27within a matter of days.
19:28Winston Churchill was a prodigy.
19:42He possessed a gift
19:43with language
19:44which has certainly
19:45never been surpassed
19:46in the English-speaking world
19:48in the 20th century
19:48and perhaps never in history.
19:51With the possible exception
19:52of President Roosevelt,
19:53there was no other
19:54World War II leader
19:56who inspired a nation
19:57more than Winston Churchill,
19:59Prime Minister of Great Britain
20:00from May 1940
20:01until July 1945.
20:04Winston Churchill was born
20:05at Blenheim Palace,
20:06Oxfordshire,
20:07on November 30th, 1874
20:09to a conservative politician
20:11and his American wife.
20:14Twenty-one years later,
20:16he joined the Fourth Queen's
20:17own Hussars,
20:18a prestigious
20:19British cavalry regiment.
20:21He would spend
20:22the next four years
20:23on active service overseas
20:25in places like India
20:26and the Sudan
20:27before resigning
20:29to become a Boer War
20:30correspondent
20:31in South Africa.
20:34At the turn of the century,
20:36Churchill stepped
20:36into the political arena
20:38for the first time.
20:40He was elected
20:40Conservative MP for Oldham,
20:42an industrial town
20:43in the north of England.
20:45By 1910,
20:46he was Home Secretary
20:47in Herbert Asquith's Cabinet,
20:49having defected
20:50to the Liberals in 1904.
20:52The following year,
20:54Churchill was appointed
20:55First Lord of the Admiralty.
20:57He would hold
20:59the position again
21:00in 1939,
21:01but this time,
21:02he was once again
21:03a member
21:03of the Conservative Party.
21:06A year later,
21:06on May 10th,
21:07British Prime Minister
21:08Chamberlain
21:09stepped aside
21:09following the failure
21:11of his campaign
21:12to rid Norway
21:12of the Nazis.
21:14There was only one man
21:15to succeed him,
21:16Winston Churchill,
21:18the man who had been
21:18outspoken against
21:19the dangers
21:20of the Nazi regime
21:21in the 30s
21:22and the man
21:23who had been
21:23so vehemently opposed
21:25to Chamberlain's
21:25initial policy
21:26of appeasement.
21:28Churchill knew
21:28that his time had come.
21:30As he later wrote
21:31of his appointment,
21:32At last,
21:33I had the authority
21:34to give directions
21:34over the whole scene.
21:36I felt I was walking
21:37with destiny
21:38and that my whole life
21:39had been but a preparation
21:40for this hour
21:41and for this trial.
21:43The Second World War
21:44was his moment
21:45of destiny
21:46and he did things
21:48which probably
21:49no other national leader
21:51could have done.
21:51Above all,
21:52most of us believe
21:53that any other
21:54British Prime Minister
21:55in 1940,
21:56after the Germans
21:57had swept across France,
21:58would have made terms
21:59with Hitler
21:59because what chance
22:01of Britain alone
22:02to survive?
22:03Churchill alone
22:04possessed the stupendous
22:06moral stature
22:07to perceive
22:07that death or extinction
22:09was preferable,
22:11that you couldn't negotiate
22:12with something as absolutely
22:13evil as Hitler
22:15and he was almost
22:17alone in this.
22:17The French,
22:18after all,
22:19a great country.
22:20France perceived it better
22:21to make a deal
22:22than to go down
22:23but Churchill alone
22:26saw that Nazism
22:29was something so evil
22:30that it had to be fought
22:31literally to the death.
22:33On June 4th, 1940,
22:36faced with the imminent
22:36possibility of a German invasion,
22:39he rallied a nation
22:40in an effective
22:40and dramatic address
22:42to Parliament.
22:43Churchill delivered
22:44a resounding
22:44and emotional promise
22:46that Britain would be defended
22:48whatever the cost,
22:49that the country
22:50would never surrender
22:51and that the fight
22:52would take place
22:53on the beaches,
22:54in the streets,
22:54in the fields
22:55and in the hills.
22:57Churchill then
22:57immersed himself
22:58in the business
22:59of winning a war.
23:00He had an instinct
23:01for war,
23:02an understanding of it
23:03and above all
23:04this boundless combativeness
23:05that he understood
23:06that once you were engaged
23:08against an enemy
23:09in a war
23:09of national survival,
23:10there was no time
23:11for any more compromises
23:13or arguments.
23:14You had to fight
23:15and fight again
23:16until you attained victory.
23:18Ladened with honors
23:19from all over the world,
23:21including the Nobel Prize
23:22for Literature,
23:23Churchill would remain
23:24a member of Parliament
23:25until July 1964,
23:27just four months short
23:28of his 90th birthday.
23:31In 1963,
23:33U.S. President
23:34John F. Kennedy
23:35named Churchill
23:36an honorary American citizen,
23:38a tribute of which
23:39he was especially proud.
23:42Now therefore,
23:43I, John F. Kennedy,
23:44the President
23:45of the United States
23:45of America,
23:47under the authority
23:48contained in an act
23:49of the 88th Congress,
23:51will hereby declare
23:52Sir Winston Churchill
23:53an honorary citizen
23:54of the United States
23:56of America.
23:57After his death
23:58in 1965,
24:00his body lay in state
24:01at Westminster Hall
24:02before his funeral
24:03in St. Paul's Cathedral.
24:05It was the first
24:06state funeral
24:06for a non-royal
24:07since Lord Roberts
24:08in 1914.
24:11History probably
24:12will judge him
24:12to have been
24:13the greatest war leader
24:15there ever was,
24:16and certainly
24:17the British people
24:19still judge him
24:20as the greatest leader
24:22in our history,
24:22and I think
24:24not only Britain,
24:24but the whole cause
24:26of freedom and democracy
24:27were very, very lucky
24:28to have him
24:29in those most terrible years.
24:33July 26th, London, 9 a.m.
24:36Churchill is unsettled
24:37by sudden fears
24:38that he has lost
24:39the election.
24:41As he later wrote,
24:42the power to shape
24:42the future
24:43would be denied me.
24:44The knowledge
24:45and experience
24:46I had gathered,
24:47the authority
24:47and goodwill
24:48I had gained
24:49in so many countries
24:50would vanish.
24:52Sixty years ago today,
24:53the votes have been counted
24:54and the results are in.
24:56The Labour Party
24:57has won.
24:58Churchill has lost
24:59to his political rival,
25:00Clement Attlee.
25:01Churchill, of course,
25:03was devastated
25:04by election defeat,
25:06and he felt
25:08that it was
25:10basing gratitude
25:11by the British people
25:13after all he'd done
25:14to save them.
25:15But when his wife,
25:17Clementine,
25:18said that it could be
25:20a blessing in disguise,
25:21that he said,
25:22well, if that is so,
25:23it's a blessing
25:23at the moment
25:24very well disguised.
25:26The Labour Party
25:27has gained 393 seats,
25:29while the Conservatives
25:30received just 213.
25:34The Labour Party's
25:35great victory
25:36shows that the country
25:38is ready
25:40for a new policy
25:41to face
25:43new world conditions.
25:44The very fact
25:45that the electorate
25:46shifts
25:47after this great victory
25:50is not simply
25:51a political shift.
25:53It's a shift
25:54in a sense
25:54of what's really important.
25:58And it is,
26:00I think,
26:00the first sign
26:02of what will be
26:02an increasing trend
26:04in the post-war era,
26:05which is to
26:06de-emphasize
26:07the kind of
26:08Churchillian vision
26:09of national glory
26:10and purpose,
26:11and to try
26:13to build societies
26:14based on security,
26:16welfare,
26:17individual happiness,
26:20consumer goods,
26:21and the like.
26:22And although it seemed
26:24insulting and brutal
26:26to Churchill
26:26at the time
26:27to throw him out,
26:28I think most of us
26:29feel that it was a case
26:30in which democracy
26:32worked remarkably well,
26:33that Britain got
26:35a different sort
26:36of government
26:37to tackle
26:37the terrible challenges
26:39of peace.
26:39as Churchill's defeat
26:40makes big news
26:41around the world,
26:43another leader,
26:44once revered
26:44as a military hero,
26:46suffers a fall
26:46from grace.
26:49July 23rd,
26:50Paris.
26:52Amid protests
26:53and disorder,
26:55the sensational trial
26:56of Marshal
26:56Henri-Philippe Pétain,
26:58the former premier
26:58of France,
26:59begins at the
27:00Palais de Justice.
27:09An accused Nazi collaborator,
27:1589-year-old Marshal
27:16Henri-Philippe Pétain
27:18was the head
27:18of the Vichy government
27:19in France.
27:20During the outbreak
27:21of World War II,
27:23he served as the
27:23French ambassador
27:24to Spain.
27:26Then in 1940,
27:27at the age of 84,
27:29Pétain became
27:29the prime minister
27:30of France.
27:32After taking office,
27:33he negotiated his country's
27:35abject surrender
27:36to Nazi Germany.
27:39Pétain was convinced
27:40that all of Europe,
27:41including Britain,
27:42would be forced
27:43to follow suit.
27:44Hitler had decided
27:45not to occupy
27:46all of France
27:47and allowed the French
27:48to govern
27:48the unoccupied zone
27:49from the spa town
27:50of Vichy,
27:51220 miles south of Paris.
27:55Pétain ruled
27:55what became known
27:56as the Vichy regime,
27:58leading a right-wing
27:59collaborationist government.
28:02But this empty promise
28:03lasted only until
28:04November 1942,
28:05when all of France
28:07came under Nazi rule.
28:10In April 1945,
28:12Pétain faced
28:13numerous counts
28:14of treason.
28:17Over the course
28:18of the trial,
28:19a parade of top
28:20political officials,
28:21including ex-prime
28:22ministers Paul Renault,
28:24Édouard Daladier,
28:25and former president
28:26Albert Lebrun,
28:27would testify against him.
28:29In a show of arrogance,
28:31Pétain would refuse
28:31to recognize
28:32the authority of the court,
28:33saying disdainfully,
28:34a marshal of France
28:36asks mercy of none.
28:38But Pétain knew
28:39his fate was sealed.
28:40On August 15th,
28:42Pétain was found guilty
28:43and sentenced to death
28:44by a vote of 14 to 13.
28:47On the grounds
28:47of Pétain's old age,
28:49President Charles de Gaulle
28:50immediately commuted
28:52the sentence
28:52to life imprisonment.
28:54Pétain would live
28:55only another six years.
28:57He died at the age of 95,
28:59a month after being released
29:01from a remote prison island
29:02in the Bay of Biscay,
29:04the Ile-Dieu.
29:08July 26th, 7 p.m., London.
29:12Following his defeat
29:13at the Poles,
29:14as is the British custom,
29:15Churchill visits
29:16Buckingham Palace
29:17and offers his resignation
29:18to King George VI.
29:20The king will later
29:21ask Clement Attlee,
29:23as leader of the largest party
29:24in the House of Commons,
29:25to form a new government.
29:28Later that evening,
29:29Churchill issues
29:30an address
29:31to the British public.
29:32He thanks them
29:33for their steadfast support
29:34during the dark days of war
29:36and for the kindnesses
29:38shown to his cabinet.
29:41July 27th,
29:4260 years ago this very day,
29:45Churchill meets
29:45with his chiefs of staff
29:46for the last time.
29:48Field Marshal Allenbrook,
29:49affectionately nicknamed
29:50Brookie by Churchill,
29:52is on the verge of tears.
29:54As he would later write,
29:55it was a very sad
29:56and very moving
29:57little meeting
29:58at which I found myself
29:59unable to say much
30:01for fear of breaking down.
30:03With that,
30:04the 70-year-old Churchill
30:05left 10 Downing Street,
30:06where he worked
30:07as prime minister
30:08for five years.
30:10This week,
30:10the upset of the
30:11British general election
30:12also reaches President Truman
30:14in Potsdam, Germany.
30:16July 26th, Potsdam.
30:19Truman is stunned
30:20when he learns
30:21of Churchill's defeat.
30:24Churchill would not
30:24be returning to Potsdam,
30:26but before he left,
30:27he had signed
30:28the Potsdam Declaration.
30:31This very day,
30:33the official ultimatum
30:34of the U.S.
30:35and Great Britain
30:35is also ratified by China.
30:38It states,
30:39the full application
30:40of our military power,
30:42backed by our resolve,
30:44will mean the inevitable
30:45and complete destruction
30:46of the Japanese
30:47armed forces,
30:48and just as inevitably,
30:49the utter devastation
30:51of the Japanese homeland.
30:53The time has come
30:54for Japan to decide
30:55whether she will continue
30:56to be controlled
30:57by those self-willed
30:58militaristic advisors,
31:00whose unintelligent calculations
31:01have brought the Empire of Japan
31:03to the threshold
31:04of annihilation,
31:05or whether she will follow
31:06the path of reason.
31:08The Potsdam Declaration,
31:10while it asked
31:11for unconditional surrender,
31:13really laid down conditions
31:14for the Japanese
31:16to understand
31:18would be a consequence
31:19of their surrender.
31:21One was that they had
31:22to give up
31:22their whole empire,
31:24not only the territory
31:25they'd been conquering
31:27since 1941.
31:28It also demanded
31:29that the Japanese
31:31submit to a period
31:33of occupation
31:34by American forces
31:36for a period
31:37not determined,
31:39and it also insisted
31:40that war criminals
31:42be tried
31:42by the Americans.
31:44Truman did not ask Stalin
31:46to sign
31:47the Potsdam Declaration.
31:49Japan has no official warning
31:50of the Soviet Union's
31:51impending entry
31:52into the war.
31:53The document also makes
31:54no mention
31:55of an atomic bomb.
31:57July 28th,
31:59this very day,
32:00Clement Attlee,
32:01Britain's newly elected
32:02prime minister,
32:03leaves London for Germany
32:04to join the Potsdam conference
32:06already in progress.
32:08It is clear at Potsdam
32:10that the United States
32:11and the Soviet Union
32:12are the primary actors.
32:15Even before there is a switch
32:17from Churchill to Attlee,
32:20it's the big two
32:22rather than the big three.
32:24And that doesn't change
32:28when Attlee comes in.
32:30Ernest Bevin,
32:31who has replaced
32:31Anthony Eden
32:32as foreign secretary,
32:34accompanies him.
32:35As Attlee and Bevin
32:36head to Potsdam,
32:37President Truman
32:38receives Japan's response
32:40to the ultimatum
32:41issued two days earlier.
32:43Prime Minister
32:43Kentaro Suzuki
32:44proclaims
32:45that his government
32:46will respond
32:47to the Potsdam Declaration
32:48with Mokusatsu.
32:50Now, Mokusatsu
32:51is a very interesting word.
32:53Literally, it means
32:55killed by silence.
32:59And it could have
33:00any number of meanings.
33:01It could mean
33:02just treating
33:02this Potsdam Declaration
33:04with contempt.
33:05On the other hand,
33:06it could have
33:07a much milder meaning,
33:08which is simply
33:08we're ignoring it
33:09or we're not responding to it.
33:11The prime minister,
33:13I think, decided
33:13that, well,
33:15we don't really
33:17have to respond to this.
33:18Time, in a sense,
33:19is on our side
33:20since they didn't know
33:22about the atomic bomb.
33:24And, of course,
33:25it was construed
33:26as Japan rejects
33:28totally
33:29the American ultimatum.
33:32And, again,
33:33the Americans felt,
33:34all right,
33:34we have to go ahead
33:35with what we have to do.
33:36We have to drop
33:37the atomic bombs.
33:40Truman immediately
33:41confirms his decision
33:42that the bomb
33:43will be used
33:43against Japan.
33:45As far as he is concerned,
33:47with the atomic bomb
33:48at his disposal,
33:49there are now
33:49hundreds of thousands
33:50of young men
33:51who will not have to die
33:53as a result of an invasion
33:54of the Japanese mainland.
33:56When you look at it
33:57from the perspective
33:57of the American military,
33:59there are 2.5 million
34:01Japanese troops
34:02in the home islands.
34:03There are 28 million civilians
34:05who are supposedly enrolled
34:07in a voluntary militia.
34:08There are 5,000 kamikaze plane.
34:10There are 5,000 regular aircraft.
34:12There are hundreds
34:14if not thousands
34:14of motorboats
34:15that are loaded
34:16with TNT.
34:18And you're expecting
34:19anywhere from
34:20half a million
34:21to a million casualties.
34:2360 years ago this week,
34:25far removed
34:25from the tense showdown
34:26within the walls
34:27of the Sicilian Hoff Palace
34:28in Potsdam,
34:29hundreds of people
34:30on the streets
34:31of New York City
34:32are in a state of panic.
34:34July 28th,
34:35New York,
34:369.49 a.m.
34:37This foggy
34:38and overcast morning,
34:40a plane emerges
34:41from the New York City skyline
34:42and crashes
34:43into the Empire State Building.
34:46The Empire State Building
34:48and all New York City
34:49were wrapped in fog
34:50as a B-25 Mitchell bomber
34:52trying to reach
34:53a nearby airport
34:54crashed into
34:55the tallest structure
34:56in the world.
34:56Named after General
35:07Billy Mitchell,
35:08a famous American
35:09air power pioneer,
35:11the B-25 entered service
35:12in February 1941.
35:15By April 18th, 1942,
35:17B-25s were used
35:18in one of the most daring,
35:20albeit ineffective,
35:21raids of the war
35:22when 16 of them
35:23took off from the carrier
35:24USS Hornet
35:25and headed for Japan.
35:29Under the command
35:30of Colonel James Doolittle,
35:31the B-25s achieved
35:33complete surprise,
35:34striking targets
35:35in Tokyo,
35:36Yokohama,
35:37Kobe,
35:37and Nagoya.
35:38The attack would become
35:39known as the Doolittle Raid.
35:42Although the physical damage
35:43caused by the B-25s
35:45was minimal,
35:46psychologically,
35:47the raid
35:47had a lasting effect.
35:49It gave the U.S. public
35:50a needed boost
35:51to morale
35:52and made the citizens
35:53of Japan acutely aware
35:54that they were not
35:55beyond reach.
35:57The B-25,
35:59equipped with up to
36:001450 caliber machine guns
36:02and capable of carrying
36:03a 4,000-pound bomb load,
36:05had a range of 1,500 miles
36:07at a cruising speed
36:08of 284 miles an hour.
36:10Some versions of the plane
36:12were also modified
36:13to carry a 75-millimeter cannon.
36:16It was crewed by six men
36:17and proved particularly useful
36:19in the Pacific theater,
36:20where it was used
36:21for daring low-level attacks
36:23on Japanese airfields
36:24and ships at anchor.
36:26The B-25 also saw service
36:28with the U.S. 12th Air Force
36:29in the North African
36:30and Italian campaigns.
36:33By the end of the war
36:34in August 1945,
36:36the North American plant
36:37in Kansas City
36:38had produced more B-25 variants
36:40than any other U.S. Air Force
36:42medium bomber.
36:45Although it was a medium bomber,
36:46it was a very successful bomber.
36:48The B-25 would remain in service
36:51with the United States Army Air Force
36:52until January 1959.
36:56July 28th, New York.
36:59Sixty years ago, today,
37:01a B-25 Mitchell bomber
37:02crashes into the Empire State Building.
37:05The incident sparks hysteria
37:07on the ground.
37:09Many actually believe
37:10the city is under enemy attack
37:12as flames engulf the famous landmark
37:14and debris crumbles
37:15onto the streets below.
37:16The American medium bomber
37:18had, in fact, been on a routine flight
37:21from Bedford, Massachusetts.
37:23The plane's pilot,
37:24Lieutenant Colonel William Smith,
37:26a 27-year-old husband
37:27and father of one
37:28from Latham, Alabama,
37:30was en route to Newark Field
37:31in New Jersey
37:32to pick up his commanding officer.
37:34While flying over
37:35New York's LaGuardia Airport,
37:37he requests a weather report
37:38from air traffic control.
37:40The report back is low visibility.
37:42The control tower urges Smith to land,
37:45but Smith requests
37:46and receives permission
37:48from the military
37:49to continue on to Newark.
37:51The last transmission
37:52from air traffic control to Smith
37:54will turn out to be
37:55this fatal warning.
37:56From where I'm sitting,
37:57I can't see the top
37:58of the Empire State Building.
38:01Confronted with dense fog,
38:02Smith drops the bomber
38:03to a lower altitude
38:04to regain visibility.
38:06But fog often acts like a prism,
38:08distorting objects
38:09and disorienting
38:10even the most experienced pilots.
38:12He soon finds himself
38:13in the middle of Manhattan,
38:15surrounded by skyscrapers
38:17just 600 feet off the ground.
38:19He tries to dodge buildings
38:21by twisting and climbing,
38:22but his efforts prove futile.
38:24Traveling at 250 miles per hour,
38:27the 12-ton B-25 bomber
38:29smashes into the north side
38:30of the Empire State Building.
38:32Upon impact,
38:34the plane creates a crater
38:35in the 102-story building
38:3718 feet wide
38:38and 20 feet high.
38:40The plane's high-octane fuel ignites.
38:43Flames erupt down
38:44the side of the building
38:45and inside through hallways
38:46and stairwells
38:47all the way down
38:48to the 75th floor.
38:52When the plane hit
38:54the building's north side,
38:55parts of it were jammed
38:56into the walls.
38:57Others plummeted down
38:58elevator shafts.
39:00Still others crashed
39:01through seven consecutive walls
39:02and out the south side,
39:04causing damage
39:05to nearby buildings.
39:06One elevator fell 80 floors,
39:08but its girl operator
39:09miraculously escaped death.
39:15The crash claims 14 lives,
39:18including the plane's
39:19three-man crew.
39:2026 more were injured.
39:22This week,
39:25as news of the B-25 crash
39:27into the Empire State Building
39:29is splashed across front pages
39:30around the U.S.,
39:31it is also a grim reminder
39:33that the world is still at war.
39:36Halfway around the globe
39:37in the Far East,
39:39Allied infantry troops
39:40continue to battle it out
39:41with fanatical Japanese forces.
39:44July 22nd, China.
39:4760 years ago this week,
39:48the U.S. Far East Air Force
39:50launches an attack
39:51on shipping facilities
39:52and air bases
39:53in Japanese-held Shanghai.
39:55Five days later,
39:57Chinese troops
39:58would march into Guilin.
40:00Japanese occupiers
40:02would put up
40:02a fierce resistance
40:03in the beginning
40:04of a vicious month-long battle
40:05for possession
40:06of the province.
40:08In Borneo,
40:10Japanese resistance
40:11is disintegrating
40:12as Australian forces
40:13continue their advance.
40:14This week,
40:16the region occupied
40:17by the Japanese
40:18since 1942
40:19is almost entirely controlled
40:21by Allied troops.
40:24July 23rd, Borneo.
40:26Australian forces
40:27establish a six-mile beachhead
40:29after yet another
40:30unopposed landing
40:31in Bollock-Pappan Bay.
40:33The Aussie troops,
40:35almost completely unopposed,
40:37have now progressed
40:38even closer to the heart
40:39of the oil-producing land.
40:41Japanese defenders
40:42remaining in the area
40:43have been killed,
40:44captured,
40:45or have slowly dispersed.
40:47The loss of Borneo
40:48strikes a major blow
40:49to the Japanese,
40:50who relied heavily
40:51on the region for oil
40:52and accounted for
40:5340% of their fuel.
40:56As this week comes to a close,
40:58the Allies gain momentum
40:59against Japan.
41:02But Japanese Imperial headquarters
41:03have made it known
41:04that they will fight
41:05to the death.
41:07What they don't know
41:08is that the Allies
41:10have an ace up their sleeve
41:11and aren't afraid
41:12to use it.
41:13In just nine days,
41:15the world
41:16will be forever changed.
41:17in the future.
41:21The Allies
41:21have to be
41:22more than
41:23the Allies
41:23and the Allies
41:23have to be
41:24more than
41:25the Allies
41:25and the Allies
41:26and the Allies
41:28have to be
Recommended
42:01
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