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00:00Previously, on the last days of World War II, B-29s continued their attacks on Japan,
00:06killing tens of thousands of civilians in the firestorms they created.
00:12In Europe, the Western Allies began an offensive to encircle German forces west of the Rhine.
00:18The Russians continued their advance from the east, pushing deep into Germany.
00:22This week, on the Western Front, Allied forces begin their assault across the Rhine.
00:34It will involve the biggest airborne operation of World War II.
00:38In the east, Soviet Marshals Zhukov and Konev are vying with one another for the glory of conquering Berlin.
00:44It can be only a matter of time before T-34s are crashing through the streets of the German capital.
00:52After more than four years of desperate struggle, the Allies are finally closing in on the heart of the Third Reich.
00:59The 18th anniversary of World War II
01:29The 18th of March, the Western Allies continue their offensive in the southern Rhineland.
01:34Under the command of General George Patton, the U.S. Third Army captures Boppard.
01:39The next day, his Eighth Corps completely controls Koblenz along the Rhine.
01:47Thousands of Germans surrender.
01:49Only about 50 Germans manage to escape across the river.
01:52The 19th of March, though stretched thin, the Third Army rapidly advances more than 60 miles south,
02:00taking Oppenheim, Worms and Mannheim.
02:04To the south, U.S. General Alexander Patch's 7th Army rushes into the Tsarland.
02:10German forces abandon the Siegfried Line, consisting of miles of barbed wire, mines and pillboxes.
02:19The U.S. 70th Infantry Division captures the regional capital of Tsarbrücken.
02:27But the sporadic German defence takes a steady toll on Patch and Patton's advancing troops.
02:3212th Corps commander, General Manton Eddy, tells his men,
02:40the heat is on like I've never seen before.
02:48Meanwhile, 150 miles to the north,
02:51Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery is planning a massive assault across the Rhine.
02:55The ambitious operation is codenamed Operation Plunder.
02:58Following victory in the deserts of North Africa in 1942,
03:03Montgomery's reputation has soared.
03:07He became a mythic figure.
03:09He was a symbol for the British, certainly.
03:12A leading British general who had accomplished a great feat.
03:18And he was an inspiration.
03:22Affectionately known as Monty, he was as confident as he was methodical.
03:26He took his place among the Allied leadership commanding all ground forces in the D-Day landings
03:32and commanding the 21st Army Group in the subsequent Normandy campaign of 1944.
03:41Unfortunately, Montgomery had a very narrow view, some would say,
03:45about how you wage war on the ground.
03:49In the Normandy campaign in July 1944,
03:53he had made several mistakes,
03:56largely was blamed for the failure of the Allies
03:58to break out of the Normandy beachhead.
04:01Nevertheless, three months later,
04:03Montgomery was promoted to Field Marshal,
04:06the highest rank in the British Army.
04:08He then formulated Operation Market Garden,
04:11a daring plan to bypass the Siegfried Line
04:14and seize a Rhine bridgehead
04:16by dropping three airborne divisions into the Netherlands.
04:18But the operation was a costly failure
04:21and cost the British 6th Airborne Division alone 7,000 casualties.
04:31Despite these mistakes,
04:32Montgomery had an undeniable talent for high command.
04:36His character and language enabled him to impart
04:38his own confidence and determination to the troops he led.
04:42In 1946, Montgomery would be granted the title
04:48Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
04:50and would become Chief of the Imperial General Staff
04:53and Deputy Supreme Commander of NATO
04:56before his death in 1976.
04:58The 19th of March.
05:08Monty's latest offensive, Operation Plunder,
05:11involves three armies and more than a million men.
05:14Its objective?
05:15Cut off the Ruhr Industrial Valley.
05:18These huge factories, coal and iron mines,
05:21comprise the heart of Germany's war-making capacity.
05:24If Montgomery's forces could isolate the Ruhr,
05:27the German war machine would come to a screeching halt.
05:39British, Canadian and American forces prepare for the assault.
05:43Among them are seven armoured
05:45and two airborne divisions ready to strike.
05:48To assist the execution of the plan,
05:5137,000 Royal Engineers and 20,000 American troops
05:55will be deployed to man-assault craft and build bridges.
05:59Thousands of special vehicles,
06:01including landing craft manned by Royal Navy personnel, are ready.
06:07The Allies make extensive efforts to conceal the build-up
06:10using elaborate camouflage, dummy installations and fake equipment.
06:15A phenomenal 20-mile smokescreen will cover the opening attack.
06:22Bombing and a steady artillery bombardment keep the Germans occupied.
06:30Operation Plunder would be one of the most ambitious Allied efforts since D-Day.
06:35The assault is scheduled to begin on the 23rd of March.
06:38But as preparations continue, the rivalry grows between the Western Allies.
06:46British generals were always convinced from beginning to end of the Second World War
06:51that they were the true military professionals and the Americans were rank amateurs.
06:55Bradley would not speak to Montgomery other than on official business.
06:59He had Montgomery up to here.
07:01Patton had always hated him.
07:02Patton is riled by the opportunities and resources given to men
07:07he considers to be inferior combat commanders.
07:10He looks for any chance to prove he's right.
07:17As Patton's troops thrust south along the Rhine,
07:21he meets with General Hodges and Omar Bradley
07:23at 12th Army Group Headquarters in Luxembourg.
07:27Bradley gives Patton the green light he so desperately desires.
07:30If he sees an opportunity to cross the Rhine, he should take it.
07:38General George S. Patton was a grandstander,
07:42as famous for his outrageous behaviour and obscene language
07:45as for his bold leadership.
07:47He was the most brilliant mobile combat commander in history.
07:53He was an old guard cavalryman, except he wasn't riding a horse, it was a tank.
07:59Patton's creed was that no son of a bitch ever won a war by dying for his country.
08:04The way you win a war is let some other son of a bitch die for his country.
08:08He was passed over to lead US forces in the Normandy landings
08:11in favour of Omar Bradley,
08:13but was given command of the new 3rd Army in Bradley's 12th US Army Group.
08:19Nicknamed Old Blood and Guts,
08:21Patton's approach is summed up in his own words.
08:23Hold them by the nose and kick them in the pants.
08:30Patton basically took the German game plan and made it an American one.
08:34He looked at Blitzkrieg,
08:35he looked at the amazingly successful advances
08:38of the Germans in the early part of the war,
08:40and he reapplied those tactics, updated them,
08:44added a very healthy dose of his own philosophy
08:46and got Americans to drive the tanks.
08:49Patton used fast-moving armoured attacks to exploit openings
08:52and to get behind enemy positions, forcing them to surrender.
08:56Patton's advice to officers in doubt was simple.
08:59March toward the sound of gunfire,
09:01an easily recognisable sound
09:03which they could generally find in front of them.
09:06Attack, attack, attack.
09:09Patton told people in tanks,
09:10if you run out of gas, get out and walk.
09:13Off the battlefield,
09:14Patton's quick temper and attitudes were less popular
09:17and nearly wrecked his career more than once.
09:20Patton would have little time to savour the victory
09:23into which he had put so much energy.
09:25On the 9th of December 1945,
09:28he would die 12 days after a car crash
09:30in which his neck was broken.
09:31The 19th of March.
09:39Units of the 12th Corps are across the Nara River,
09:42which joins the Rhine near Mainz.
09:44At the same time,
09:45tanks of Patton's 20th Corps approach Kaiserslautern,
09:48about 30 miles to the south.
09:51By the end of the day,
09:52the trap around the German forces west of the Rhine
09:54has almost closed.
09:57The 20th of March.
09:59By late afternoon,
10:00the 90th Division on the left wing of Patton's 12th Corps
10:03arrive on high ground overlooking Mainz.
10:06Patton's 80th Blue Ridge Infantry Division
10:09secures Kaiserslautern.
10:11And shortly afterwards,
10:12the 4th Armoured Division reaches Worms
10:15and begins to fight its way through the city
10:17towards the Rhine.
10:20In desperation,
10:21the Luftwaffe sends 300 aircraft
10:23to attack the American columns.
10:25But the scarcity of aviation fuel
10:27and the shortage of train pilots
10:29has left the German Air Force almost impotent.
10:33The Luftwaffe was forced to conserve fuel
10:36so that they would have to pick and choose
10:39which raids they would go up to intercept.
10:42And in early 1945,
10:44for the first time in two years really,
10:45the Luftwaffe began moving units to the east
10:48to deal with the Russian advance,
10:50further weakening their defence of the Reich.
10:52They cause few casualties
10:55but lose 33 aircraft to ground fire
10:58and Allied fighters.
11:02Through the week,
11:03German troops west of the Rhine surrender in droves.
11:06The Germans who were surrendering
11:09were very docile
11:12and I think they were happy to surrender
11:15because they wanted to be fed.
11:17Many of them were starving
11:19and many of them knew that
11:21things had come virtually to an end.
11:23As German resistance collapses,
11:27Patton seizes his long-awaited opportunity.
11:30Convoys with assault boats
11:32and bridging equipment
11:33have been waiting in readiness.
11:35Patton orders them to advance.
11:37The 21st of March,
11:43the first day of spring,
11:45General Eddy orders his 12th Corps
11:47to prepare to cross the Rhine.
11:54The plan is for the 90th Division
11:56to make a decoy attack
11:57behind a smokescreen at Mainz
11:59and for the 5th Division
12:01to make an assault crossing
12:0210 miles further south
12:04at Nierstein and Oppenheim.
12:07The 22nd of March,
12:09more than 500 assault boats
12:11are ready for action.
12:13Patton is determined
12:14to get one up
12:15on Field Marshal Montgomery,
12:17whose forces are scheduled
12:18to cross the Rhine
12:19in just 24 hours.
12:21He informs General Eddy,
12:23tonight's the night.
12:26The 22nd of March, 10pm,
12:29Patton is determined
12:30to steal the headlines
12:31from Montgomery's
12:32imminent Rhine crossings.
12:34Troops from the 11th Infantry Regiment
12:36creeped down to the riverbank
12:38and set off in assault boats.
12:44At Oppenheim,
12:45Patton's forces encounter
12:46only light machine gun fire.
12:49By midnight,
12:50Patton has snuck
12:50his 5th Infantry Division
12:52across the river.
12:53Amazingly,
12:54his forces sustain
12:55in only 20 casualties.
12:59The 23rd of March,
13:01as more American troops
13:03cross the Rhine,
13:04German artillery opens up
13:05and sporadic airstrikes begin.
13:08The lead units begin
13:09to fan out.
13:10US Army engineers race
13:12to bring tanks across
13:13by ferry
13:14and build a footbridge.
13:16German resistance
13:17is haphazard at best.
13:18The enemy has little artillery
13:21and Allied fighter-bombers
13:22pounce on any they can find.
13:28In most cases,
13:30German troops surrender
13:31after firing only a few shots.
13:34The German soldiers on the ground
13:36were in a miserable position.
13:38The Allies had more troops,
13:41had more equipment.
13:43We had so much
13:45in the way of air power,
13:48ground power,
13:50more than adequate amounts
13:52of gasoline
13:52to keep our vehicles moving,
13:54food being brought up to us,
13:57men coming up as replacements.
13:59We had fighting units
14:01that were massed
14:02to be strongly offensive.
14:04The German army
14:05literally was counting ammunition.
14:07They had to improvise.
14:09They had to turn cooks
14:10into infantrymen,
14:12into mortar men,
14:13and so on.
14:14The Germans fought tenaciously
14:16with no real hope of victory.
14:19As his troops advance
14:21through the morning,
14:22Patton calls General Bradley
14:24to break the news.
14:26Patton, right to the end,
14:27could never resist
14:28the temptation to grandstand.
14:29So he told the formation
14:31to get on
14:32and get across the river,
14:33which they did.
14:34And the next day,
14:35he called Bradley
14:36a triumphant day
14:37and he said,
14:37don't tell anyone, Brad,
14:38but I slipped the division
14:39across the river last night.
14:41We did not wait,
14:42Patton later wrote,
14:43and caught most of the 15
14:45Panzer Division in bed.
14:47That evening,
14:48news of the crossing
14:49is released to the press.
14:50Patton boasts,
14:51I want the world to know
14:53the Third Army made it
14:54before Monty starts across.
14:55What the American crossings
15:01had done
15:02was to deprive Monty
15:03of the glory
15:04of leading
15:06what he intended
15:07to be this
15:07last great
15:08set-piece operation
15:10of the campaign
15:11in the West.
15:12Montgomery had demanded
15:13weeks to prepare
15:14and fast
15:15artillery preparation
15:17and this whole
15:17airborne operation
15:18of Patton
15:19was just saying,
15:19well,
15:20you know,
15:20any fool can do it.
15:22Patton's Third Army
15:23expands its bridgehead
15:24at Oppenheim,
15:25pushing five miles
15:27beyond the Rhine.
15:28His troops storm
15:29through German towns,
15:31mopping up
15:31Nazi resistance.
15:356 p.m.
15:37The first phase
15:38of Operation Plunder
15:39begins as planned.
15:45The British Second Army
15:46will cross the Rhine
15:47north of Dusseldorf.
15:49195 Lancaster bombers
15:59and 23 Mosquitoes
16:01strike the town
16:02of Vesel
16:02to the north.
16:08The crossing points
16:09are illuminated
16:10by specially designed
16:11tank-borne searchlights,
16:13dubbed
16:13Monty's Moonlight.
16:159 p.m.
16:21Monty's men
16:22begin crossing
16:23in assault boats
16:24just north of Rhine.
16:25Dazed by the bombardment,
16:27German troops
16:28on the far bank
16:28offer little resistance.
16:38Panzer grenadiers
16:40prepare to counterattack,
16:41even though their commander,
16:42General Blazkowicz,
16:44does not believe
16:45this is the Allies'
16:46main assault.
16:47His intuition
16:48is correct.
16:52Two hours
16:53after the first crossing,
16:55a British commando brigade
16:56paddles virtually unnoticed
16:58across the river,
16:59two miles west
17:00of Vesel.
17:01They advance quietly
17:02towards the city
17:03and wait.
17:06The drone of engines
17:08overhead
17:08heralds the arrival
17:10of RAF Bomber Command.
17:11In 15 minutes,
17:13the town of Vesel
17:14is reduced to rubble
17:15before the British
17:16commandos advance.
17:24The 24th of March,
17:261 a.m.
17:30Supreme Commander
17:31Dwight Eisenhower
17:32and General Simpson,
17:34commander of the U.S.
17:359th Army,
17:36move to an observation post
17:37in a church tower.
17:38Simpson's men
17:39move their assault boats
17:41down to the river.
17:432 a.m.
17:46The three assault regiments
17:48of the 30th Division
17:49cross near the villages
17:50of Buderich
17:51and Rhineburg.
17:52Their boats
17:53are met by sporadic
17:54mortar fire.
17:55One Allied soldier
17:56is killed.
18:01Within two hours,
18:02the division is across
18:03and troops move out
18:05to secure the bridgehead.
18:07So far,
18:08the mission
18:08is a total success.
18:103 a.m.,
18:11the final phase
18:12of the operation.
18:14The U.S. 79th Infantry
18:15crosses the Rhine
18:16south of Rhineburg.
18:18But fog brings confusion.
18:20One unit gets so lost,
18:22it inadvertently lands
18:23back on the Western Bank.
18:25As dawn arrives,
18:28the Allied forces
18:29press on.
18:3210 a.m.,
18:33the roar of hundreds
18:34of aircraft engines
18:35is heard overhead.
18:37Troops in and around
18:38the city of Vesel
18:39watch as the sky
18:40fills with Allied aircraft.
18:43Operation Varsity,
18:44the airborne support
18:45for the Rhine crossings,
18:47is underway.
18:48It is the biggest
18:49airborne operation
18:50of World War II.
18:51Men of the U.S. 17th
19:05and British 6th Airborne Division
19:06have rendezvoused
19:08over Brussels
19:08before turning
19:09towards their drop zone.
19:16Escorted by 900 fighters,
19:1822,000 paratroopers
19:20in 3,000 transports
19:22and gliders
19:22cross the Rhine.
19:25The plan is to drop them
19:26five miles
19:27behind German lines
19:28to pave the way
19:30for Allied ground troops.
19:34Central to this effort
19:35is the workhorse
19:36of the airborne forces,
19:38the C-47 transport.
19:41Eisenhower later claimed
19:42four things won the war
19:44for the Allies.
19:45The bazooka,
19:46the jeep,
19:47the atom bomb
19:47and the rugged C-47.
19:50Affectionately nicknamed
19:52the Gooney Bird,
19:53this aircraft saw more action
19:54than any other wartime transport.
19:59It was an outgrowth
20:01of an airliner,
20:04the DC-2
20:04then later the DC-3.
20:07For its day,
20:07it was a fantastic aircraft.
20:09It had retractable undercarriage.
20:11The wheels came up.
20:13You could carry
20:13a very good payload.
20:16Using the latest
20:17aeronautical engineering techniques,
20:19including wing flaps,
20:20de-icing equipment
20:21and variable pitch propellers,
20:24the C-47
20:24had a range
20:26of 1,500 miles.
20:28Military versions
20:29were fitted with benches
20:31along the fuselage walls,
20:32seating up to 27 troops
20:34in combat gear
20:35or 18 stretchers
20:36for the wounded.
20:38Alternatively,
20:39the C-47
20:40could carry
20:416,000 pounds
20:42of supplies.
20:43This was one
20:44of the great
20:45haulers of all time.
20:47It could fly
20:48long distances,
20:49it was a very
20:49stable aircraft
20:50and one of the
20:52great things
20:52about the airplane
20:53itself is
20:54that the way
20:55it's made
20:55is that there's
20:57no aerodynamic
20:58stresses
20:58put on the wings
21:00and the fuselage
21:01of the aircraft
21:01so this thing
21:02can last forever
21:03and still do.
21:06The C-47
21:07was ubiquitous,
21:09appearing in all
21:10theatres of World War II.
21:13The 24th of March.
21:15Operation Varsity
21:16is underway.
21:20As descending
21:22paratroopers
21:22litter the sky,
21:24Winston Churchill
21:25watches from a hilltop
21:26with his military chief,
21:27Field Marshal
21:28Sir Alan Brooke.
21:29Supreme Allied Commander
21:31General Eisenhower
21:32is another observer.
21:35Smoke and haze
21:37obscure the battlefield,
21:39making it difficult
21:39for pilots
21:40to identify
21:41precise drop zones.
21:44At the start of the war,
21:45neither Britain
21:46nor the US
21:47had significant numbers
21:48of parachute infantry,
21:50although events
21:50quickly proved their worth.
21:53After the attack
21:54on Pearl Harbor,
21:55the Pentagon
21:55quickly authorised
21:56six new airborne regiments,
21:58consisting of
21:592,000 paratroopers.
22:01Churchill had already
22:02given the order
22:02to establish
22:03a British force
22:04of 5,000 paratroopers.
22:05US paratroopers
22:07were trained
22:08at Fort Benning
22:08in Georgia.
22:10Paratrooper training
22:11was the toughest available
22:12and many were forced
22:13to drop out
22:14through injury
22:15or unsuitability.
22:16Those that remained
22:17were a fighting elite.
22:18If I'm going to go
22:20to combat,
22:21I want to be
22:22with the best.
22:24And I made it
22:25in my mind
22:25I was going to volunteer
22:27for the paratroopers.
22:29Many men signed up,
22:31some influenced
22:32by the financial incentives
22:33on offer.
22:34Jump out of airplanes?
22:36No,
22:36I don't think so.
22:38And the guy says,
22:40well,
22:40you get paid
22:40$50 a month extra
22:42as a list of men.
22:43The guy says,
22:44I'll go.
22:45At Fort Benning,
22:46paratrooper training
22:47culminated with the completion
22:48of five successful
22:49test jumps
22:50and the right to wear
22:51the silver jump wings.
22:54The tactics,
22:54strategy and equipment
22:55of the airborne units
22:56evolved quickly
22:57during the war.
22:59The right aircraft
22:59and gliders
23:00had to be found
23:01and the pilots
23:02to fly them.
23:03Hard-pressed
23:04Air Force commanders
23:05were reluctant
23:05to give up
23:06any of their own
23:06air crew or equipment.
23:08Hard lessons
23:09were learned
23:09in the first
23:10paratrooper deployments
23:11in North Africa
23:12and Sicily.
23:14But by 1944,
23:15three airborne divisions
23:16were ready and able
23:18to play a vital role
23:19in the D-Day landings.
23:21The British 6th
23:22and the US 82nd
23:23and 101st
23:24Airborne Divisions
23:25took and held
23:26vital bridges
23:27and crossroads.
23:28They succeeded
23:29in securing
23:30the flanks
23:30of the invasion,
23:31but at a tremendous price.
23:33We did lose
23:34about 50%,
23:35but we got the job done.
23:38General Gavin,
23:39commander of the 82nd
23:40Airborne,
23:41declared,
23:42show me a man
23:42who will jump
23:43out of an airplane
23:44and I'll show you
23:45a man who'll fight.
23:46The 24th of March.
23:55The artillery bombardment
23:56eases up
23:57as the British 6th
23:58and the US 17th
23:59Airborne Divisions
24:00float gently down
24:01onto the battlefield.
24:06Upon landing,
24:08the paratroopers
24:08find themselves scattered
24:10and about a mile north
24:11of their intended position.
24:13They quickly form
24:14two large groups
24:15and link up
24:16with Allied commandos
24:17invasal.
24:19But soon,
24:20the Germans have recovered
24:21from their pounding
24:22by Allied artillery.
24:24Aircraft and paratroopers
24:26still over the battlefield
24:27come under heavy fire
24:28from the ground
24:29and take many casualties.
24:31Once on the ground,
24:33they continue to be hit
24:34by sniper
24:34and mortar fire.
24:43By nightfall,
24:45the paratroopers
24:46have established
24:46four bridgeheads.
24:48Hundreds of artillery pieces
24:49and vehicles
24:50are in place.
24:51It remains the largest
24:52and most successful
24:54airborne operation
24:55in history.
24:56But success
24:57has come
24:57at a high price.
24:5844 transports
25:00and over 50 gliders
25:01are destroyed.
25:03Over 1,000 lives
25:04are lost.
25:05There was an irony
25:06about it all
25:07because the river crossings
25:09had already been made
25:10and that,
25:11like so many
25:11airborne operations
25:13of the Second World War,
25:14it was heroic
25:14but it was a disaster
25:16with whole units
25:17being dropped astray
25:19into woodlands
25:20where a lot of them
25:21were killed
25:21just falling in the trees
25:22and others,
25:23the Germans were able
25:23to shoot
25:24before they could get down
25:25and several thousand
25:27good men died
25:29in operation
25:30that really
25:30had no military purpose
25:32at all.
25:34Montgomery's 21st Army Group
25:36has punched its way
25:37across the northern Rhine.
25:40Further south,
25:41Patton's 4th US Armoured Division
25:43is on the road
25:44to Frankfurt,
25:44one of Germany's oldest
25:46and largest cities.
25:47Resistance west of the Rhine
25:49has come to an end.
25:55Patton couldn't resist
25:56doing, again,
25:58the vulgar,
25:58melodramatic thing
25:59and relieving himself
26:00in the Rhine
26:01but I have to say
26:02Churchill did exactly
26:03the same thing
26:04a bit lower down the river.
26:06Coming up,
26:07the RAF attempts
26:08a daring raid
26:09on Gestapo headquarters
26:10in Denmark.
26:12From the information
26:14I had,
26:15it would be
26:15the time when
26:17the maximum number
26:18of Gestapo
26:19were in the headquarters
26:20and I was anxious
26:20to kill as many as possible.
26:23While Allied air forces
26:24continue a massive
26:25offensive across the Rhine,
26:27a very different operation
26:28is taking place
26:29in occupied Denmark.
26:31Its codename,
26:32Operation Carthage.
26:34The 21st of March,
26:369am,
26:3818 Mosquito fighter bombers
26:39take off.
26:40Their target,
26:41the Shell Petroleum Building
26:43in central Copenhagen,
26:45now a Gestapo headquarters.
26:5026 resistance fighters
26:52are held captive
26:52in the building's top floor
26:54to deter air attack
26:55and the building
26:56is full of vital
26:57Gestapo documents.
27:04The Mosquitoes fly in
27:06at a low level.
27:08They are cheered
27:08by Danish civilians
27:09as they pass.
27:14Admired for its agility
27:15and speed,
27:17the Mosquito
27:17was an aviation marvel.
27:19The Mosquito
27:22was a British
27:23light attack aircraft.
27:26It was made out
27:26of plywood.
27:27It was a very
27:29fast aircraft.
27:32It was so fast
27:34that the Germans
27:34couldn't keep up with it
27:36until they got
27:36the ME 262.
27:39Consequently,
27:40the British used it
27:40for things like
27:41photo reconnaissance.
27:42They could put that out
27:44and it could go
27:44and take photographs
27:46and get back
27:46where the Germans
27:47knew it was there.
27:48Designed by de Havilland
27:50in 1934,
27:52the two-seater Mosquito
27:53could carry heavy loads
27:54great distances
27:55thanks to its two
27:57Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
28:00Its plywood frame
28:01had several advantages.
28:03One, it's a
28:04non-strategic material.
28:06It's readily available.
28:08The other thing was
28:09it made the airplane
28:09very, very light.
28:11and because it was light
28:13the horsepower
28:15to weight ratio
28:16was huge.
28:18So this thing
28:20became very fast
28:21and it was very easy
28:24to repair.
28:28The Mosquito
28:29had a top speed
28:30of 380 miles per hour.
28:32Its high performance
28:33made it ideal
28:34for reconnaissance missions.
28:36But it could also
28:37carry machine guns,
28:38cannon, rockets
28:39or up to 4,000 pounds
28:41of bombs.
28:41It was an incredibly
28:43versatile aircraft.
28:45They could turn it
28:46into a night fighter
28:47and they turned it
28:48into a night fighter.
28:49It could be used
28:50as an anti-shipping weapon.
28:52And there are several instances
28:54in Holland
28:55and France
28:56where this airplane
28:59bombed prisons
29:01where the resistance fighters
29:04were being held
29:05and allowed
29:06Dutch resistance fighters
29:08and French resistance fighters
29:11to get away
29:11from the Gestapo.
29:13On the 18th of February
29:151944
29:16in one of the most
29:18phenomenal raids
29:18of the war
29:1916 RAF Mosquitoes
29:21had helped free
29:22258 resistance fighters
29:24in Amiens.
29:29Seven months later
29:30in Aarhus
29:31the Mosquito
29:32once again
29:33enabled the escape
29:34of resistance fighters
29:35as they destroyed
29:36the Gestapo headquarters
29:37in Denmark.
29:41It was no surprise
29:43that Mosquito squadrons
29:44were chosen
29:45to break the prisoners
29:45out of the Copenhagen
29:47Gestapo headquarters.
29:49The 21st of March
29:5018 Mosquitoes
29:52fly in at rooftop level.
29:53The operation
29:54has been planned
29:55in precise detail.
29:57I was particularly anxious
29:58that the attack
29:59should go in
30:00at 11.15
30:01because from the information
30:03I had
30:03it would be
30:04the time when
30:06the maximum number
30:07of Gestapo
30:08were in the headquarters
30:09and I was anxious
30:09to kill as many as possible.
30:13The Mosquitoes
30:14zoom over the roofs
30:15of Copenhagen.
30:16The leading aircraft
30:18flown by group
30:18captain Bob Bateson
30:19puts its bombs
30:20straight into the side
30:21of the shell building.
30:23As the other planes
30:24follow
30:24the Germans
30:25are caught
30:25completely off guard.
30:30But the mission
30:32takes a sudden
30:32and tragic turn.
30:34One Mosquito
30:35hits a lamppost
30:36and veers into the ground
30:37crashing near a school.
30:39The fire
30:40and smoke
30:40from the crash
30:41is mistakenly targeted
30:42by the next wave
30:43of Mosquito bombers
30:44and the school
30:45is hit.
30:48Fire spreads rapidly
30:49to nearby buildings.
30:51The school
30:51is soon engulfed
30:52in flames
30:53and burns down
30:54in less than two hours.
30:55123 civilians
30:57are killed
30:57including 87 children.
31:00I didn't realise
31:02that many other people
31:04had heard the bombs
31:05knew what had happened
31:06so I rushed
31:08to the telephone
31:09to tell the police
31:11that Jeanne d'Arc school
31:13has been bombed
31:14and the quiet voice
31:16said that
31:17they knew
31:18and they would come.
31:28While some prisoners
31:29are killed in the raid
31:3018 Danish resistance members
31:32are freed
31:33and 100 Gestapo agents
31:35and their collaborators
31:36are killed.
31:38Nine Allied aircrew
31:39are killed
31:39in Operation Carthage
31:41the last in a series
31:42of pinpoint raids
31:43conducted by the Mosquito.
31:46The same week
31:47the Allies
31:48bomb Berlin.
31:50The 18th of March
31:511250 American bombers
31:54and 700 fighters
31:55speckle the afternoon skies
31:57over Berlin.
31:59The raids target
32:01rail centres
32:02and armament plants
32:03in Berlin's
32:03central and north-eastern districts.
32:0726 Messerschmitt jets
32:09shoot down
32:0915 US planes
32:11but they cannot save the city
32:12from another devastating attack.
32:16That night
32:1834 Mosquito bombers
32:19add their incendiary bombs
32:20to the chaos beneath
32:22guided in by the flames
32:23rising from the battered city.
32:25A thousand Berliners
32:26lose their lives
32:27amidst the flames
32:28and collapsing buildings.
32:32Meanwhile,
32:35news of the massive
32:36Allied crossings
32:37of the Rhine
32:37reaches Hitler
32:38in his bunker.
32:39His reaction
32:40is no surprise
32:41to those around him.
32:42Hitler always responded
32:44to all military bad news
32:45in the same way
32:46by sacking
32:47the responsible commander.
32:49In this case
32:49von Lundstedt
32:50who actually
32:51had been
32:52a brilliant commander
32:53in the West
32:54who had done
32:55everything that anybody
32:56possibly could
32:57to hold up
32:58the Allies.
33:00Albert Speer,
33:01the Reich's
33:01Minister of Armaments
33:02and War Production
33:03bluntly informs Hitler
33:05that the war is lost.
33:07Hitler's contemptuous reply
33:08if the war is lost
33:10the nation will perish.
33:11By this stage
33:14he was like a man
33:15on the edge
33:16of a precipice
33:17who becomes aware
33:19that he's going to fall in
33:20and all that matters to him
33:22is to drag
33:22as many others
33:23in his case
33:24hundreds of thousands
33:25within
33:26into the abyss.
33:28His oil fields
33:29are lost.
33:30His refineries
33:31have been destroyed.
33:32The Luftwaffe
33:33can do nothing
33:33to stop
33:34the Allied onslaught.
33:35The 19th of March,
33:44Berlin.
33:45Hitler issues
33:46his Nero decree.
33:48A scorched earth policy
33:49is to be implemented
33:50within Germany.
33:59Hitler made plain
34:00he had absolutely
34:01no interest
34:02in what happened
34:03to the German people
34:04after he
34:05and the Nazi regime
34:06had fallen.
34:07That as far as
34:08Hitler was concerned
34:09the German people
34:10had proved themselves
34:11unworthy
34:12of the mastery
34:15that he
34:16had decreed for them.
34:18The great tragedy
34:18that happened to Germany
34:19was that
34:20they believed
34:21in this man
34:22they had fought for him
34:23and right at the end
34:24he didn't care
34:25one iota
34:26for the average German.
34:28Hitler expects Speer
34:29to carry out his order.
34:30He called Speer
34:36to the bunker
34:37and he told Speer
34:40that he was
34:41to destroy
34:41everything
34:42and nothing
34:43should fall
34:44into the hands
34:44of the Russians.
34:45Speer
34:46who knows
34:46defeat is imminent
34:47is appalled
34:48at the order.
34:50What he was
34:50determined to do
34:51was to try
34:51somehow
34:52to minimise
34:54the damage
34:54to Germany
34:55to this great
34:57culture and civilisation
34:59that he appreciated
35:00more than any other
35:02of the German
35:03senior high command.
35:04In his memoirs
35:05he describes
35:06that this is
35:06a crazy order
35:07this is an order
35:08of somebody
35:08completely mad.
35:10It's at that moment
35:11Speer claims
35:11in his own memoirs
35:13that he realised
35:13that he'd been
35:14serving somebody
35:14who was absolutely crazy.
35:17Along with Speer
35:18many of the German
35:19field commanders
35:20either ignore
35:20or circumvent
35:21Hitler's order.
35:24Chaos reigns
35:25as the hierarchy
35:26of the Reich
35:27begins to collapse.
35:32Heinrich Himmler
35:33the commander
35:34of the SS
35:34and an Eastern Front
35:35army group
35:36has taken refuge
35:37in an SS sanatorium
35:3870 miles from Berlin.
35:40It has been weeks
35:41since the general staff
35:43in Berlin
35:43have received
35:44a status report
35:45from him.
35:48Army Group Vistula
35:49holding the northern flank
35:50of the Eastern Front
35:51is left leaderless
35:53whilst the Red Army
35:54begins a massive buildup
35:55around Frankfurt
35:56on the Oda.
36:02The Russians
36:02were moving relentlessly
36:03from the east
36:04the allies
36:05had broken out
36:06and now pushed
36:08to the very frontiers
36:09of the Reich
36:09and indeed
36:10occupied part of Germany
36:11so a vice
36:12was closing slowly
36:13on the Germans.
36:15There was no distinction
36:16between the front
36:17and the home front.
36:20Heinz Guderian
36:21the army chief of staff
36:23and one of the few
36:24genuine strategists
36:25left on the general staff
36:26knows that something
36:27must be done.
36:29He pays Himmler
36:30a visit.
36:32Guderian finds Himmler
36:34in good health
36:34but decides to use
36:36his feigned illness
36:37to his advantage.
36:38Guderian appeals to Himmler
36:40to surrender control
36:41of his army group.
36:42Himmler offers no resistance
36:44and willingly relinquishes
36:45his command.
36:48Back in Berlin
36:49Guderian persuades Hitler
36:51to replace Himmler
36:52with General Henrici.
36:54Hitler reluctantly agrees.
36:56For all of the show
36:57of the dictator
36:58who makes decisions
36:59and never deviates
37:00and has an iron will
37:02well this could be true
37:03about ideological matters.
37:05On the other hand
37:05it was also the case
37:06with especially
37:07with his closest cronies
37:08he tended to say
37:11yes to this one
37:13yes to that one
37:14and then let them
37:14fight it out.
37:15But what this did
37:16was to create
37:17an atmosphere of competition
37:18of men looking
37:19over their shoulders
37:20and that was true
37:22to the very end.
37:24The 21st of March
37:25Heinrich Himmler
37:26returns to the chancellery
37:28in Berlin.
37:29Guderian informs him
37:30that the war
37:31can no longer be won
37:32and urges him
37:33to persuade Hitler
37:34to arrange an armistice
37:35to end what he calls
37:36the senseless slaughter
37:37and bombing.
37:38Himmler refuses.
37:46Secretly however
37:47he has already begun
37:49separate peace negotiations
37:50with Western allies.
37:55Not victory
37:56survival of the Third Reich
37:57was somehow
37:58to drive a wedge
37:59between the allies
38:00between the Russians
38:01in the one hand
38:02and the Western powers
38:02in the other.
38:04Himmler was so out of touch
38:05with reality about this
38:07that he actually believed
38:09that it would be possible
38:10for him to meet Eisenhower
38:12as quote
38:13two men of the world
38:15that he
38:17actually asked
38:18one of his deputies
38:19what should I do
38:19when I meet Eisenhower
38:20should I shake his hand?
38:22Himmler's approaches
38:23received no serious
38:24consideration
38:25from the allies.
38:26As set forth
38:27in the Atlantic Charter
38:28in 1941
38:29there would be no separate peace
38:31with the Germans
38:31under any circumstances.
38:34The allies reject
38:34anything short
38:35of an unconditional surrender.
38:39Encircled by advancing allies
38:40the Nazi regime
38:42is being forced
38:42to come to terms
38:43with the inevitable
38:44the ultimate defeat
38:45of the Third Reich.
38:47Halfway around the world
38:51in the Pacific
38:51fighting continues.
38:53The US Navy
38:54confronts the most intense
38:55kamikaze attacks to date
38:57and US forces
38:58prepare to weed out
38:59Japanese resistance
39:00in the Philippines.
39:02The 18th of March
39:03the US 40th Infantry Division
39:06mounts an assault
39:06on the Philippine island
39:07of Panay.
39:09The troops expect
39:10to be met
39:10by fierce Japanese resistance
39:12and a barrage of fire.
39:14As they come ashore
39:15however
39:15they find a welcoming committee
39:17of Filipino guerrillas
39:18lined up on the beach.
39:20The Filipino leader
39:21Colonel Macario Peralta
39:23had already taken control
39:24of most of the island.
39:26As American infantry
39:27land in force
39:28the remaining Japanese troops
39:30flee to the mountains.
39:31The same day
39:33carriers of US Task Force 58
39:35Intrepid, Enterprise
39:37and Yorktown
39:38launch strikes
39:39against targets
39:40on Kyushu
39:40the southernmost island
39:42of Japan.
39:43The day would be marked
39:44by an onslaught
39:45of Japanese kamikaze attacks
39:47against the carriers.
39:51All three carriers
39:53sustained damage.
40:03When a Japanese plane
40:05came down
40:06and dove right on
40:07the carrier Yorktown
40:08dropped the bomb
40:09right in the middle
40:10of the flight deck
40:10and took off
40:12and started heading away
40:15and he was coming
40:16near our ship
40:17and he was less than
40:1850 to 100 yards away
40:20as he was going up
40:23he put his fingers
40:24to his nose
40:25I could see him
40:26very plainly
40:27through the canopy
40:28he put his fingers
40:29to his nose
40:30and he went right by.
40:31The blast blows
40:32two holes in the side
40:33of Yorktown
40:34kills five sailors
40:35and wounds 26.
40:39The Japanese
40:40lose more than
40:40160 planes.
40:43The 19th of March
40:45the next day
40:46carrier aircraft
40:47from Task Force 58
40:48pound Japanese targets
40:50paving the way
40:51for the imminent landings
40:52on Okinawa.
40:53Once again
40:59the Japanese retaliate
41:00with a massive wave
41:01of kamikaze attacks
41:03the largest attack
41:04U.S. forces
41:05have encountered
41:05to date.
41:07Three American
41:08aircraft carriers
41:09are damaged.
41:10These big flight decks
41:12know exactly
41:12what they are
41:13and the Japanese airmen
41:14know how valuable
41:15the carriers are.
41:16A carrier
41:17with all that gas
41:18and everything else
41:19is just a floating bomb.
41:20Two bombs
41:24hit the USS Franklin
41:25as she is refueling
41:26her aircraft.
41:2740,000 gallons
41:28of aviation fuel
41:30are ignited
41:30and 724 crewmen
41:33perish in the inferno.
41:37The USS Wasp
41:39is also hit by a bomb.
41:40Over 100 crewmen
41:42are killed.
41:43The ferocity
41:43of the Japanese air attack
41:45and their losses
41:46leave U.S. sailors stunned.
41:47The planes would come
41:51straight down
41:52out of the sun.
41:54The kamikazes
41:55they were a nightmare
41:57because it was
41:59a lot harder
41:59to hit a plane
42:01that's not trying
42:03to set itself up
42:03to drop a bomb
42:04or launch a torpedo.
42:05They can come at you
42:06from any angle.
42:08When it's coming
42:08straight down
42:09even if the man is dead
42:11you had to tear
42:13the plane apart
42:14in order to stop it.
42:17No one's safe.
42:19You just feel
42:20completely vulnerable.
42:22Here you've swept
42:23the seas of the
42:24Japanese Navy
42:24but the Japanese
42:25have found a way
42:26to sink lots
42:27of American warships.
42:34Next,
42:35on the last days
42:36of World War II
42:37the Western Allies
42:39prepare to drive
42:40deeper into Germany
42:41but competing strategies
42:42and personalities
42:43produce a sour rivalry.
42:45In truth,
42:47the British
42:47and the Americans
42:48were pretty sick
42:49to the death
42:49of each other.
42:50In the Pacific
42:51the US gains
42:52complete control
42:53of Iwo Jima
42:54but Okinawa
42:55is next
42:56and the fighting
42:57will lose
42:57none of its
42:58brutal intensity.
43:00The Americans
43:00will lose more ships
43:01at Okinawa
43:02than they lost
43:03at Pearl Harbor
43:04which was
43:05a naval disaster.
43:07education
43:24and the
43:31faults
43:32in film
43:33over
43:34the
43:34years
43:34in iwo
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41:40
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