1
00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,920
Fallen and wounded covered the beach.

2
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:12,760
The tide brought more and
more bodies and wounded.

3
00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:18,520
The bodies did not lie alone but
stacked on top of each other.

4
00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,600
It was a horrible sight.

5
00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:53,000
D-DAY: THE SOLDIERS' STORY 1/4

6
00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:36,360
At that time, Rommel was
Germany's best-known general.

7
00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,480
When he was commander
of the Africa Corps, -

8
00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:43,240
and later as commander of
Panzerarmee Africa, -

9
00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:48,720
National Socialist propaganda had
presented him as "The Desert Fox."

10
00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:50,920
He was a household name in Germany.

11
00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,160
He was associated
with German victories.

12
00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,840
Rommel wasn't recalled from
Africa by coincidence in 1943, -

13
00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,120
when the tide of war there
turned against Germany.

14
00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,600
They didn't want to take away the
aura of invincibility from Rommel, -

15
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,480
that Nazi propaganda
had associated with him.

16
00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:16,520
To inspire the German people
and the German soldiers, -

17
00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:21,720
it was logical to send
Rommel in 1943 western France, -

18
00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:26,400
where he was tasked preparing
for the invasion.

19
00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:35,960
Canadian and British
failed raid attempt -

20
00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:38,000
in Dieppe 1942, -

21
00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,920
led the two sides to
different conclusions.

22
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:47,160
The Allies realised that
they could not land into ports.

23
00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:52,080
From logistical point of view, this
would have been the easiest option.

24
00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:56,800
It was learned that the port
defense was too strong, -

25
00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:59,240
and the troops would be destroyed.

26
00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:02,040
On the German side it was concluded:

27
00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,920
"This time the Allies
were trying to Dieppe."

28
00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:11,120
"Next time they try
to land in larger port."

29
00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:16,880
Therefore, in 1944, the great harbors
of the West were declared "fortresses", -

30
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,360
which had to be held to
the last man and round.

31
00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,720
On June 17, 1940, -

32
00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,720
German troops arrived in Caen.

33
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,400
We had seen the French army fleeing -

34
00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,200
on foot, without cars and artillery.

35
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,320
The men wore thick uniforms
even though it was hot.

36
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,760
Then we saw the German army arrive -

37
00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,080
in their light summer uniforms.

38
00:14:55,160 --> 00:15:00,440
Fine equipment, armored vehicles and
extraordinary military strength.

39
00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:05,760
When we saw the discipline of the
troops, our first reaction was, -

40
00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:10,680
we should not be deluded
by this victorious army.

41
00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:14,880
We decided that Nazi Germany
would eventually lose the war.

42
00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,520
We wrote anti-German leaflets, -

43
00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,000
and put them up to
the electricity pylons, -

44
00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,680
to make the Germans realize, -

45
00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,240
that they were not welcome.

46
00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,280
We will not collaberate
and work for liberation, -

47
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:37,840
which would not come immediately but
we were sure it would come eventually.

48
00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,160
Field Marshal Rommel at the Headquarters
of the army commander in the West, -

49
00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:47,080
Field Marshal von Rundstedt.
The two military leaders in discussion.

50
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,160
As part of a special assignment
from the Führer, -

51
00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:58,440
Field Marshal Rommel goes to examine
fortifications on the Atlantic coast.

52
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:07,000
As well as senior officers, experienced
and skilled non-commissioned officers -

53
00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,240
also take part in the inspection.

54
00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,480
Our region was chosen for
its gently sloping beaches.

55
00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:53,840
They would make the landing easier.

56
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,040
Also it was within easy reach
of the Allied air and naval forces.

57
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:03,400
The resistance continued providing
information of the German defenses.

58
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,320
We sent details on all the bunkers
built by Organization Todt, -

59
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,760
on the caliber of the artillery
and the angles of the shot, -

60
00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:15,520
information on the position of
minefields and machine gun nests, -

61
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,920
and information on the
entire German defense measures.

62
00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,520
In early 1944, we were sure
that the landings were imminent.

63
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:28,040
We were getting more information, and
more weapons for the resistance fighters.

64
00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:32,560
We knew the crucial day was drawing closer.

65
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,080
On the eve of the invasion, -

66
00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:43,720
there were approximately 1.3 million
German soldiers stationed in the West.

67
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:48,880
There were some elite divisions
of Wehrmacht and Waffen―SS among them.

68
00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:54,480
But the majority were inexperienced
infantry divisions, -

69
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:56,680
and occupation army soldiers.

70
00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:01,840
Most regular infantry divisions were
often a mix of very young soldiers, -

71
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:06,800
who, after a short period of training,
were conscripted to the service, -

72
00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,120
or older family men, -

73
00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:16,200
who were remnants of the original
occupation army from 1940 to 1941.

74
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,040
In addition, there were
veterans from the eastern front.

75
00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,960
They were an important link
between the young and the very old.

76
00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,200
The atmosphere was not bad.

77
00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,800
For one thing, I was
happy to be in the West.

78
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,800
Many of my friends were in Russia.

79
00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,600
We would receive letters from home, -

80
00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:15,680
with news that friends, school mates
or older people had fallen, -

81
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,080
or were missing in Russia.

82
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,080
So, we felt we were relatively safe.

83
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:27,520
We thought, the French coast is so long.
Why should they land right here?

84
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,000
On January 29th, -

85
00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:54,360
Rommel came with battalion
officers and company commander, -

86
00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,600
to our Widerstandsnest―defense.

87
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,680
We were based on the exit of the
valley near the village of Colleville.

88
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:05,880
Rommel said, among other things:

89
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,400
"This bay is similar to
the Gulf of Salerno in Italy."

90
00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:15,520
The Americans had landed
there in September 1943.

91
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:21,240
Since at that time, at our gun positions as
well as those at our neighboring placements, -

92
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:25,360
that is, at defense positions 61 and 60, -

93
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,800
the cannons were
unprotected on the rocks, -

94
00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,640
on concrete slab only.

95
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,720
That's why Organization Todt
soon arrived, -

96
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,480
with plenty of equipment and crew.

97
00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,920
It built casemates for the cannons, -

98
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,520
and better shelters for soldiers.

99
00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,440
On the seaside, there was only a
wooden hut a meter deep on the ground.

100
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,080
That is, in practice there
was no protection at all.

101
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,880
By the end of 1943, at latest, -

102
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:01,800
the preparations had began
for the Allied landing, -

103
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,600
in some sections of the coast
more intensively than others.

104
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,640
The Atlantic Wall
was extended and reinforced.

105
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:11,440
And the troops were trained
to repulse an enemy landing.

106
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,960
Additional pillboxes and fortifications
were built, often further back from the coast, -

107
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:21,480
the idea being to have a second chance to stop
the enemy, in case they manage to get ashore.

108
00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,280
troops were brought to France
from the eastern front.

109
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,960
Not as many as Rommel hoped for, -

110
00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:32,440
because the battles in the east
were too fierce.

111
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,560
But several elite panzer divisions
did come to the West, -

112
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,440
and above all, SS―divisions.

113
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:44,520
These were very much weakened
after the battles in the East, -

114
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,480
in terms of numbers and equipment,
so they were "refreshed".

115
00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:54,080
Those were the units to suppose
defeat the Allies once they landed.

116
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:34,160
In 1944, Rommel was one of the
few generals in the West, -

117
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,080
who had extensive
experience of fighting -

118
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,440
against the western Allies and
especially the British.

119
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,720
He knew that because of
their air superiority, -

120
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:49,640
the Germans would not be able to
deploy large panzer divisions, -

121
00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,360
as they had in the East.

122
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:55,240
Moving them around would make them
targets for the Allied aircraft.

123
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:57,440
In the period before the landings
this led to serious arguments -

124
00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,560
between Rommel and those
other Wehrmacht generals, -

125
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,120
who had gained experience
in the Eastern front.

126
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,800
How best to fight the Allies?

127
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:12,040
Most importantly, where do we
deploy our pazer divisions?

128
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,040
Close to the coast, as Rommel wants, -

129
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:20,520
so that they could engage against the
Allied infantry as soon as possible?

130
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:26,320
Or should we deploy them inland, which is
what the eastern front generals want?

131
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:31,720
But when you look at Rommel's strategy it's
actually a violation to German military doctrine, -

132
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:35,600
which valued the concentration of forces, -

133
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:40,000
identifying the decisive point
and striking against it.

134
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:42,600
Rommel's principle here
was to disperse his forces.

135
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:32,920
We were fully aware of the military
power of the German army, -

136
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:39,080
both of Wehrmacht and the SS―units.

137
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:44,720
And we also knew that the only way
to prevail against this power, -

138
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:51,360
was to destroy as much as possible.

139
00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:55,800
Especially to destroy the
infrastructure and the supply lines.

140
00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:00,320
So we considered the bombings
indispensable to our victory.