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[military music]
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[narrator]
On the 13th of April 1943,
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German troops
deep in Soviet territory
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make a grisly discovery.
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In Katyn Forest near Smolensk
in western Russia,
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they stumble upon
a series of mass graves
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containing
more than 4,000 bodies.
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All officers
from the Polish military,
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including an admiral,
generals, and majors.
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For Nazi propaganda minister,
Josef Goebbels,
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news of the mass graves
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is a desperately needed
opportunity.
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It is clear the graves have
been
there for several years,
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so Goebbels
and the German High Command
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know that these Polish
prisoners
must have been killed
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by the Soviets soon after
they invaded Poland in 1939.
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Goebbels believes
he can use this information
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to turn Churchill and Roosevelt
against Stalin
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and weaken their alliance.
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But despite Goebbels' attempts
to publicise the massacre
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and turn international opinion
against the Soviets,
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he is no match
for Stalin's duplicity.
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When questioned by his allies,
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the Soviet leader denies
all knowledge of the massacre
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and pins the blame firmly
on the Nazi regime,
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and Churchill and Roosevelt
accept his assurances.
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They are about to enter
the critical phase of the war,
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and they need Stalin
and his Red Army
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as much as he needs them.
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[theme music]
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[slides clicking]
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‐[explosions]
‐[troops marching]
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[bombs hiss]
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[narrator]
In 1942, the Soviet Union,
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the United States,
and Great Britain,
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whilst theoretically united
against the fascist Axis
powers,
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were, in practice,
nations apart.
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Stalin's Soviet forces
were isolated and suffering,
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desperately defending
their western territories
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from the Nazi invaders.
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[distant artillery]
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The Americans
were still in shock
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after the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbour,
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and as newcomers to this war,
were still finding their feet.
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And Churchill, despite pleas
from Stalin and Roosevelt,
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was still determined
to postpone the invasion
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of northern France
until he could be
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absolutely sure of victory.
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In August 1942,
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Churchill flew to Moscow
to meet with Stalin.
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It was supposed to be a meeting
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of all three
of the major Allied powers,
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but Roosevelt
was unable to attend
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because of his health.
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What's remarkable,
and we know this now
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because of the recently
published Ivan Maisky's diaries,
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that Churchill
was talking about an alliance
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with the Soviet Union
much earlier than people
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had previously thought.
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So, Churchill was willing
to be flexible
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in the tradition
of geo‐strategic politics,
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global politics,
and even if that meant
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working with someone
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who you didn't
necessarily like very well,
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he understood that ultimately
a Nazi Germany represented
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a greater threat
than the Soviet Russia.
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[narrator] The Soviet Union
was on its knees,
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and Stalin was desperate
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for Churchill
and the Western Allies
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to open up
a western front in Europe
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to ease the vast pressure
on his armies in the east.
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[Harshan] Stalin's demand
for a second front
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speaks to some
of the real tensions
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among the Big Three
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about their own
national interests,
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and also their visions
of what the war was for.
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For him as well, this was about
his prestige in The Big Three.
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And so he wanted
to be treated as an equal
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in this common struggle
against Hitler.
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He was very frustrated
about the fact
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that Churchill would not agree
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to open that second front
sooner than later.
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[intriguing music]
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[narrator]
Churchill was well aware of
this
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and arrived in Moscow
for a series of meetings,
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still determined
not to give in to Stalin.
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[Martin] His principle goal
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is to talk to Stalin directly
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because he's concerned
that Roosevelt has made
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a rather rash promise to embark
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on a second front
in France in 1942.
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Now, of course,
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that message could
have been sent by telegram,
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but Churchill
also wants to open up
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some kind of a personal
connection to Joseph Stalin.
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He's a little concerned
that Roosevelt
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earlier in the year has said
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Stalin likes Roosevelt better
than he likes Churchill,
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and so perhaps Roosevelt should
speak for the both of them.
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Churchill did not like that.
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[narrator]
After the usual pleasantries,
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Churchill cut to the chase
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saying both British and
American
military advisers
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had warned against
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a cross‐channel
invasion of France
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as being too risky that year.
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As far as Stalin is concerned,
his prime hope
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is that Churchill has come
to offer a second front,
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though he knows
from his ambassador in London
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that actually Churchill is going
to try and get out of it.
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And following
his ambassador's advice,
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he attempts to shame Churchill
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by presenting the idea
that the British
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are scared to fight,
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trying to appeal
to Churchill's fighting spirit.
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And he does that
and Churchill is very offended.
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[narrator] Churchill's response
was to unfurl
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a map of the Mediterranean
and North Africa.
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He then took a pen
and started to draw
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a crocodile
with a dangerous snout.
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Churchill draws his picture
of a crocodile and says:
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"You can attack a crocodile
by hitting it on the snout,
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or hitting it
on the soft underbelly,
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and the Mediterranean
is the soft underbelly."
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Stalin says: "Yes, I can see
the advantages of doing that."
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[narrator]
But did Churchill really
believe
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this was the best way
to defeat Nazi Germany?
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I think Winston Churchill
was convinced of the idea
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that you could move into Germany
or move into Europe
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by pushing up through
the Eastern Mediterranean.
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Churchill loves this idea.
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In fact, Churchill's
only novel, Savrola,
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is about someone
who does exactly that
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and leads an expedition through
the soft underbelly of Europe.
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[narrator]
But many historians today
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think Churchill
was also motivated
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by his desire to keep
the British Empire alive.
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Churchill
is particularly concerned
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that the Mediterranean remain
under British control,
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because it's
the connection point,
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with the Suez Canal at one,
end and Gibraltar at the other,
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of the British Empire,
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and particularly, of course,
the important part
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of the British Empire,
the trade.
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[narrator] Stalin initially
appeared convinced
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and seemed to back
Churchill's plans.
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However,
when they met the next day,
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Stalin's mood had changed.
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At their second meeting,
Stalin decides,
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I'm not going to let him
get away with that,
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and starts having a go
at Churchill and lecturing him
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that the Germans
aren't that difficult to fight
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if you start getting down to it.
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It looks like the meeting's
going to completely collapse.
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When Churchill goes for his
final meeting with Stalin,
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it's supposed to be
just saying goodbye.
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They haven't agreed to anything,
but they've agreed to differ.
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After they've chatted for a bit,
Stalin says to Churchill:
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"Would you like to come back
to my flat for a drink?"
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So back they go to Stalin's
little apartment in the Kremlin,
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which was formerly
Catherine the Great's bedroom,
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and they sit down
and start chatting and drinking,
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and they're there
for five hours.
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They sit there talking about
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military affairs
that they both love.
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They're both
commanders‐in‐chief.
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They both always
stay up all the night talking.
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Stalin's daughter comes in
and brings them some food
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and Churchill says:
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"I've got a red‐headed
daughter as well."
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So they start talking about
their children and things.
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And after the end of five hours,
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they leave having formed
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a very strange
personal relationship.
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[narrator]
Despite Stalin's appeals
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for a more direct approach
to ease the pressure
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on his troops,
the soft underbelly
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of Churchill's crocodile,
the Mediterranean,
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was to be the focus for the
next
critical phase of the war.
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[tense music]
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But if Churchill had looked
400 miles northeast
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to the besieged city
of Leningrad,
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might he have been
more susceptible
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to Stalin's entreaties?
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[theme music]
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discussing the Allies'
best route to victory,
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the Soviet Union's
second city, Leningrad,
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was under siege
by the German Sixth Army.
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The Nazi blockade
would eventually last
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nearly 900 days
and claim the lives
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of more than 800,000 civilians,
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as well as more than 1 million
Soviet and German soldiers.
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[artillery]
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The siege of Leningrad
had begun in August 1941,
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just over two months
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after the launch
of Operation Barbarossa,
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the sudden invasion
of the Soviet Union,
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by three million Nazi troops.
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Hitler considered Leningrad
to be a key strategic target.
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It was home
to the Soviets' Baltic Fleet,
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and second only to Moscow
in terms of industrial output.
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But with his invasion force
spread wide
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across the Western Soviet
Union,
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the Nazi dictator
did not have the strength
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in manpower or equipment
to overrun Leningrad,
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so he ordered his troops
to encircle the historic city.
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He did not want
to capture Leningrad,
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but to destroy it
by shelling and bombing
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and starving
its people to death.
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[loud booming]
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By October 1941,
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Leningrad was almost
completely surrounded,
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with road and rail links
cut off.
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The population suffered
constant shelling,
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and an estimated
75,000 bombs were dropped
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during the 900‐day siege.
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Meanwhile, the city's
3 million inhabitants
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were slowly starving.
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The only supply route
was across Lake Ladoga.
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Provisions had
to be brought by boat
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or across the ice
during the frozen winters.
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[dramatic music]
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Very hard to get food
in and out.
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Ironically,
when the deep freeze came on,
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and it was possible
to drive over the lakes,
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then it was almost easier
than when the ground was muddy
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or there was heavy rain.
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So the city had to be supplied
basically by convoys of lorries
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across the lakes,
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under shell fire the whole time.
It's just horrendous.
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[narrator]
Strict rationing was brought in
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by the authorities
in an attempt to conserve
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the very limited supplies.
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Diaries from survivors
of the siege
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reflect the terrible effects
of the shortages.
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"There is no worse feeling
than when all your thoughts
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are on food,"
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wrote Berta Zlotnikova,
a teenager.
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"I am becoming an animal."
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Another anonymous man wrote:
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"My stomach has caved in,
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my ribs stick out
from top to bottom."
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Ration cards became the only
useful currency in the city,
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with people stealing them
and even killing for them.
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[tense music]
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Food quickly ran out.
There was no electricity.
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Communications were severed.
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People of Leningrad
were soon forced to start
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eating cats, mice,
dogs, leather,
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whatever they could find
to sustain themselves.
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There were cases of cannibalism,
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which were suppressed
by Soviet authorities,
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but it's a sign of desperation
which spread through the city.
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00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:17,320
[narrator]
Despite these daily horrors,
255
00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:19,240
the people of Leningrad
held out,
256
00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,760
but it would be two long years
of death and disease
257
00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,520
before the Red Army finally
managed to lift the siege.
258
00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,520
While the Soviet armies
struggled to fight off
259
00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:34,120
the Nazi forces
in the frozen east,
260
00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,760
their Western allies
were engaging the Axis powers
261
00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:38,440
in the deserts of Africa.
262
00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,680
The North African campaign
began in June 1940
263
00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:43,920
and continued for three years.
264
00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:48,600
[loud booming]
265
00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:50,800
The British forces,
which included troops
266
00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:53,960
from Australia, New Zealand,
India, and South Africa,
267
00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:55,720
were encamped in Egypt,
268
00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,240
while the Italian
and German Axis forces
269
00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:00,640
were in control
of Tunisia and Libya.
270
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:02,320
North Africa
wasn't only important
271
00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:03,840
in terms of attacking Germany
272
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,200
via the soft underbelly
of Europe,
273
00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,840
it was also vital
for keeping access open
274
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,160
to the Suez Canal
and oil in the Middle East.
275
00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:13,960
[Jonathan]
Britain was not prepared
276
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:15,840
to let the Suez Canal
fall into enemy hands,
277
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,040
because that would've
closed off any possibility
278
00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:20,520
of using the Mediterranean
as a shipping route again.
279
00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:23,920
If Britain controlled
the Suez Canal
280
00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,440
and the Mediterranean,
so if they had defeated Italy,
281
00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,680
then the route to the far east,
to India in particular,
282
00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:33,960
was much shorter,
and would free up
283
00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:35,120
a lot of shipping.
284
00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:37,040
[narrator]
During the first 18 months
285
00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:39,000
of the North Africa campaign,
286
00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,280
each army had struggled
to maintain its position
287
00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,520
across the expanse
of the Sahara Desert.
288
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,600
With huge distances
to cover over isolated areas,
289
00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,400
successful offensives
often ground to a halt
290
00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,200
as supplies ran out
and troops were forced
291
00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,160
to retreat to safer positions.
292
00:12:55,680 --> 00:13:00,480
Primarily it is a war
of logistics and supply,
293
00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,640
and the rhythm of the campaign
is entirely determined
294
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,280
by the capability of each side
to supply themselves
295
00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,160
at either end of a very long,
296
00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:13,720
thousands of miles long
supply chain.
297
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,640
When the allies get
too far to the west,
298
00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,920
they're too far away
from their sources of supply,
299
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:20,560
which are primarily in Egypt.
300
00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:22,640
Their ability
to maintain themselves
301
00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,480
and to keep moving forward
is eroding day by day,
302
00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:27,280
every mile west that they go.
303
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,920
Likewise, the Germans,
whose supply lines
304
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:33,720
are stretched back
to the western end to Tunisia
305
00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:35,320
and western end of Libya,
306
00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:37,080
when they go too far east,
307
00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,840
their fighting effort
is prejudiced.
308
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:41,840
[narrator]
Defending the Allies' position
309
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,400
was the British Eighth Army,
led by one of World War II's
310
00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:47,840
most notorious
military commanders,
311
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,360
General Bernard Law Montgomery.
312
00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:52,160
A graduate of Sandhurst,
313
00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,600
Montgomery was shot
through the lung by a sniper
314
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,640
during the First World War
and was so severely injured
315
00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,000
that a grave
was prepared for him.
316
00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,600
However, he went on
to make a full recovery,
317
00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,280
and spent the rest of the war
as a staff officer,
318
00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,640
where he could observe
tactics used
319
00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:09,320
by the military high command,
320
00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,560
and became an outspoken critic
of their willingness to accept
321
00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,600
large numbers of casualties
to gain a tactical advantage.
322
00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,560
In 1942, Churchill
appointed Montgomery
323
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,560
commander of the Eighth Army
in North Africa,
324
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:25,400
entrusting him
with leading the fight
325
00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:27,880
against German Field Marshal
Erwin Rommel,
326
00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:29,880
known as the Desert Fox.
327
00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:32,680
[Sir Mike] Montgomery, I think,
328
00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,440
was clear in his own mind,
329
00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,520
and certainly put it
to his army:
330
00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:41,840
"There is no going back.
331
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,040
We are not going back
any further.
332
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,440
We will stay here.
We will prepare."
333
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,480
And to be fair,
he was true to his word.
334
00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,320
Very methodical.
Some would say cautious,
335
00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:59,400
unwilling to unnecessarily risk
soldiers' lives.
336
00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,880
[Jonathan]
He was a very skilled general.
337
00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:03,280
He understood his intelligence,
338
00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:04,560
he was getting
a lot of intelligence
339
00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,880
from Bletchley Park
about the weaknesses
340
00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,600
of the German army,
and he knew how to exploit that.
341
00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:13,960
[narrator] El Alamein was seen
as the gateway
342
00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,640
to Egypt
and the Suez Canal beyond.
343
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:21,080
At 10 p. m. on the night
of October the 23rd, 1942,
344
00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,480
the British Eighth Army
launched their offensive
345
00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:24,920
on the Axis forces
346
00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,760
with a furious
15‐minute bombardment
347
00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:29,880
by more than 1,000 guns.
348
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,520
Crucially, at this point,
Rommel was not with his troops,
349
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,480
as he was at home
in Germany on sick leave.
350
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,720
By the time he returned
to command three days later,
351
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:45,680
German lines had been broken
352
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,040
and the Allies
were in total control.
353
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,120
Hitler ordered his troops
354
00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,080
to fight and die
to the last man,
355
00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,040
but after 12 days of exhausting
combat in El Alamein,
356
00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,040
Rommel and his remaining men
357
00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,040
retreated across the desert
back to Tunisia.
358
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:09,560
Montgomery's Eighth Army
had lost nearly 5,000 men,
359
00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,120
but Rommel's army lost more.
360
00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,200
9,000 Axis soldiers were killed
361
00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,480
and a further 35,000
were taken prisoner.
362
00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:22,120
It had been
an overwhelming victory
363
00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,360
for General Montgomery
and the Eighth Army,
364
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:26,360
but the Battle of El Alamein
365
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:29,960
was also symbolically
and psychologically
significant.
366
00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:32,200
This was
the first time in the war
367
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,520
the Western Allies had broken
a German army on the ground
368
00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,680
and delivered a knockout blow,
sending them into full retreat.
369
00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:42,960
Churchill makes
the famous quote about
370
00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:44,560
"this not being
the beginning of the end,
371
00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:46,080
this is the end
of the beginning."
372
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,440
[narrator] In his post‐war
memoirs, Churchill wrote:
373
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,760
"It might almost be said
that before Alamein,
374
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:53,560
we never had a victory.
375
00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,440
After Alamein,
we never had a defeat."
376
00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:00,320
In another six months,
377
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:02,680
the Allies would drive
the Axis forces
378
00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:04,920
out of North Africa completely.
379
00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:09,760
As Rommel and his men
retreated into Tunisia,
380
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:11,720
the allies were planning
a further,
381
00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:13,960
and they hoped, final operation
382
00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:16,760
to remove the Axis troops
from North Africa.
383
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,560
Operation Torch, led by
General Dwight D. Eisenhower,
384
00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,520
and launched
on the 8th of November 1942,
385
00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,240
saw a vast amphibious landing
at Fedala, in Morocco,
386
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,040
15 miles northeast
of Casablanca.
387
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,360
Hitler was still keen
to defend North Africa
388
00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,200
at all costs, and sent
reinforcements from Germany.
389
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:40,440
However,
they were vastly outnumbered
390
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,520
by the Allied troops made up
of British, American,
391
00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,520
Canadian, French,
and Indian soldiers.
392
00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,120
The Axis forces
were trapped in Tunisia
393
00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,720
and surrounded
by the Allied armies.
394
00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,120
In addition,
the British navy controlled
395
00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:58,360
the Mediterranean sea
to the North,
396
00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,160
and the RAF
was in charge of the skies.
397
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:06,960
The Germans had nowhere to go,
but they weren't giving up.
398
00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:08,240
‐Fire!
‐[explosion]
399
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,040
Arriving on the Moroccan shore
at Fedala,
400
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,920
the American forces
met little resistance.
401
00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:16,600
But that would quickly change.
402
00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,680
On 19th of February 1943,
Rommel ordered an assault
403
00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:22,760
on the Kasserine Pass
in Tunisia,
404
00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,120
which was held
by the U. S. II Corps.
405
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:27,840
The Germans inflicted
heavy damage
406
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:29,360
on the defending Americans,
407
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,600
and the Allies suffered
around 10,000 casualties
408
00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,880
with hundreds of American
troops
taken prisoner.
409
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:37,800
American troops,
410
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:42,440
badly mauled
at the Battle of Kasserine Pass,
411
00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:44,240
are forced to retreat.
412
00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,600
And the American
high command realises
413
00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,480
that its troops need
to be far better trained,
414
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,080
and equally important,
415
00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,480
far better led than
they were at Kasserine Pass.
416
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,360
[narrator] Eisenhower replaced
the lieutenant general in
charge
417
00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:00,480
with a more aggressive
commander
418
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:02,000
would come to be recognised
419
00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,520
as one of America's
greatest ever generals
420
00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,840
and battlefield tacticians,
General George S. Patton.
421
00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:11,600
Under Patton's
relentless command,
422
00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:13,880
the superior numbers
of the Allies won out,
423
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:15,920
as they drove the Axis forces
424
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,880
back into
a smaller and smaller area.
425
00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:23,520
Remember this: you don't have
to be a corpse to be a hero.
426
00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,200
[narrator] On 13th of May 1943,
surrounded by the Allied
armies,
427
00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,680
the Axis forces
in Tunisia surrendered,
428
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:34,520
and more than
a quarter of a million
429
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,400
of their soldiers were
captured.
430
00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,480
The Allies
had taken North Africa,
431
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:41,400
and now had a base
from which to build
432
00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:45,920
the next phase of their
strategy
to attack Germany via Sicily.
433
00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,280
Here General Patton
would come into conflict
434
00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:53,160
not only with the Axis forces,
but also his supposed ally,
435
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,280
Field Marshal Montgomery.
436
00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,080
The two men loathed one another
almost more than their enemy,
437
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,320
with each determined
to outshine the other.
438
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:05,480
As the strike through
the Mediterranean
439
00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:07,360
got underway in earnest,
440
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,040
America and Roosevelt
were also focused
441
00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,120
on becoming the dominant power
in the Pacific,
442
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,800
and that would mean taking on
the imperial forces of Japan.
443
00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:25,040
[theme music]
444
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,280
[narrator] The surprise attack
on Pearl Harbour
445
00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:29,280
in December 1941
446
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:32,240
had left the U. S. armies
shocked and humiliated.
447
00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,840
But six months later,
a reinvigorated U. S. military
448
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,200
took part in a huge naval
and aerial battle
449
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:45,680
which would go on to define
the war in the Pacific:
450
00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:47,080
the Battle of Midway.
451
00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:48,480
[explosion]
452
00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,120
For the Japanese,
the success of Pearl Harbour
453
00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:55,960
left them determined
to eliminate
454
00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,440
any American military presence
in the Pacific.
455
00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,440
The first step would be
to attack and take control
456
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,760
of the small island of Midway,
457
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,560
the westernmost U. S. held
territory in the Pacific.
458
00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,560
This island more than
3,000 miles west of the USA,
459
00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:18,640
and 2,500 miles from Japan,
was home to a U. S. naval base,
460
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:21,480
and was seen by Japanese
command
461
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,360
as the gateway to domination
of the Pacific Ocean.
462
00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:29,440
The Japanese
approached the battle
463
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,320
with a clear advantage
in firepower.
464
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:37,040
But the U. S. had a different
strength: intelligence.
465
00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:41,080
American codebreaking teams
based in Hawaii
466
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,600
had intercepted
Japanese communications
467
00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:45,520
about their secret plans.
468
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:48,200
The Japanese intended
to fake an attack
469
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:50,880
on the Aleutian Islands
north of Midway,
470
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,640
diverting the American fleet
away from their real target.
471
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,160
In addition, U. S. codebreakers
had discovered the time,
472
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,280
location, and the plan of
attack
on Midway.
473
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,280
As they approached Midway
on the 4th of June 1942,
474
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,520
the Japanese
were expecting to carry out
475
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:10,560
a surprise attack on the U. S.,
476
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,320
just as they had
at Pearl Harbour.
477
00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,040
This time,
the tables had been turned.
478
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:17,960
[loud booming]
479
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,480
American planes bombed
the Japanese carriers
480
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,880
which still had dozens
of aircraft on deck
481
00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:27,400
being refuelled.
482
00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:31,960
The Japanese lost three
carriers
almost immediately.
483
00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:34,680
[loud booming]
484
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,880
So at the time,
Pearl Harbour was thought
485
00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:41,640
of as a disaster
for the Americans
486
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:43,720
and a huge success
for the Japanese
487
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,360
because they had sunk
all the American battleships.
488
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,240
With the benefit of hindsight,
we can see that things
489
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:51,600
were a little bit different
than that.
490
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:53,720
The American aircraft carriers
survived,
491
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:55,920
and over the course
of the rest of the war,
492
00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,440
the Americans evolved
a way of waging war
493
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:03,240
involving aircraft carriers
and amphibious infantry.
494
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,160
That allowed them to leapfrog
from island to island
495
00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,560
across the Pacific until
they got within range of Japan,
496
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,000
and thereby created
the whole new way of war
497
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:14,920
built around
the aircraft carrier
498
00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:16,600
rather than around
the battleship,
499
00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,520
which is still broadly the way
that navies operate today.
500
00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:22,640
[narrator] The battle continued
for three days,
501
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:24,080
and while the Japanese rallied,
502
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:25,880
they never regained
the initiative.
503
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,760
The Battle of Midway ended
in a resounding U. S. victory.
504
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,840
The Japanese lost
more than 3,000 men,
505
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,600
four carriers, and hundreds
of aircraft at Midway,
506
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:46,160
while the United States
lost just 362 men,
507
00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,880
one carrier, one destroyer,
and 144 aircraft.
508
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:54,840
[explosions in distance]
509
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,240
The Battle of Midway turned
510
00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,400
the war in the Pacific
on its head.
511
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,880
The Japanese imperial expansion
had been stopped,
512
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,800
and now the Americans
would push them back,
513
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,640
island by island.
514
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,160
[explosions]
515
00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:17,360
With its Navy once more
in command of the seas,
516
00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:19,520
the U. S. forces planned
to seize control
517
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,360
of the many Pacific islands.
518
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:22,840
[gunshots in distance]
519
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,040
And one of the most brutal
battles of the campaign
520
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,040
took place at Guadalcanal.
521
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,680
This British colony,
one of the Solomon Islands,
522
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:35,000
had been invaded
by Japanese troops in July
1942.
523
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,880
But the Allies wanted
to reclaim it,
524
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,240
and on the 7th of August,
their first major land
offensive
525
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,000
in the Pacific began.
526
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,840
6,000 U. S. Marines
landed on Guadalcanal
527
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:49,560
and seized the airfield,
528
00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,600
surprising the 2,000 Japanese
soldiers there.
529
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,640
With both the U. S. and Japanese
seeing Guadalcanal
530
00:24:57,800 --> 00:24:59,440
as strategically important,
531
00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,320
a ferocious fight for control
of this territory began.
532
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,360
Both sides poured
reinforcements
onto the island.
533
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,240
By October,
the Japanese had around
534
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,400
36,000 ground
and naval troops there.
535
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,560
The savage combat went on
for months in the island
jungle.
536
00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,000
In a bid to regain control
of the island's airstrip,
537
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,240
the Japanese sent 7,000 troops
on 11 transport ships,
538
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:31,600
protected by two battleships.
539
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,440
The Allies had received
intelligence reports
540
00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:36,400
that the convoy was coming,
541
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,280
and sent every available unit
in the area
542
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,440
to attack the Japanese fleet.
543
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,320
After an intense battle,
544
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,760
most of the Japanese ships
were sunk.
545
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:48,120
[artillery fire]
546
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,800
Finally, in February 1943,
547
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,440
the Japanese
completely overwhelmed,
548
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,320
were forced to evacuate
12,000 of their remaining
troops
549
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,080
from Guadalcanal.
550
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,000
From then on,
the Japanese were only able
551
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,920
to send supplies
and reinforcements by
submarine,
552
00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:08,800
and as their numbers
and morale dwindled,
553
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,080
the Allied forces gradually
took control.
554
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,840
Japan could only
go on the defensive
555
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,000
against an increasingly
powerful
United States.
556
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,160
[reporter] No Jap planes
attacked this beachhead.
557
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:25,640
American air power
rules the Solomon.
558
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,520
And 1943, the year
of strength has just begun.
559
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,000
The leaders have planned,
the United Nations
560
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,000
are sworn to attack
until there is peace
561
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,080
with the unconditional
surrender
of the Axis.
562
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,120
with war raging in the Pacific,
North Africa, and Russia,
563
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,360
Churchill and Roosevelt
met in Casablanca
564
00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,160
to decide upon future plans
for the war.
565
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:59,560
The Americans come to Casablanca
hoping for agreement
566
00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,600
that the next operation will be
the invasion of northern France.
567
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,920
The British come hoping
that the next operation
568
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:09,280
will be to continue
their movements
569
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:10,800
in the Mediterranean.
570
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:13,480
They managed to persuade
the Americans to agree
571
00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,800
they will at least embark
on the next operation,
572
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:18,360
which is the invasion of Sicily.
573
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:20,960
The Americans say
that will be it,
574
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:22,600
and then we'll transfer
575
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:25,440
our attentions
to northern France.
576
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,000
The British,
I think hope that, well,
577
00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:30,320
we hope it won't be it.
Once we've got Sicily,
578
00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,280
the obvious thing to do would be
to carry on into Italy.
579
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:35,560
[narrator]
Roosevelt was still keen
580
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:37,520
on an Allied invasion
in western France,
581
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:39,600
though less so than Stalin,
582
00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:41,840
who had declined the invitation
to the conference
583
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,600
because of the dire situation
the Red Army
584
00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:47,360
and his people were facing
at Leningrad.
585
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,760
So far, Churchill's
plan had succeeded.
586
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,400
FDR, distracted
by events in the Pacific,
587
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,600
and without Stalin
to back him up,
588
00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,240
once again allowed
the British Prime Minister
589
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:00,720
to have his way,
590
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,320
and the second front in Europe
was again postponed.
591
00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:09,360
I think Roosevelt
recognised that...
592
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,480
the Allies, western Allies,
were simply not ready yet.
593
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,840
For example, they did not have
594
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:22,120
sufficient flat bottom boats
to convey invading troops
595
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:23,360
onto the beaches.
596
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:25,400
[narrator]
One overarching conclusion
597
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,120
that was reached in Casablanca,
598
00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,760
with which Stalin
would certainly have agreed,
599
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,040
was that there were to be
no deals with Hitler.
600
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:36,440
The only goal of this war
was total victory
601
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,400
and unconditional surrender
of the Axis Powers.
602
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:41,640
[intriguing music]
603
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:43,480
In July 1942,
604
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:45,960
Stalin and the people
of the Soviet Union,
605
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,160
already suffering
aerial bombardment
606
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:50,440
and starvation in Leningrad,
607
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,080
were facing a vicious assault
from the Nazis
608
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:54,880
in another Soviet city.
609
00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:59,760
Situated on the banks
of the Volga River
610
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:01,240
in southwestern Russia,
611
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,760
Stalingrad was a key
strategic target for the Nazis.
612
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,400
It was one of the Soviet
Union's
main producers
613
00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,360
of tanks,
armaments and tractors,
614
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,480
and taking control of it
would sever transport links
615
00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:15,000
with southern Russia.
616
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,320
The Battle of Stalingrad,
which lasted seven months,
617
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,720
is regarded as the bloodiest
and most brutal battle
618
00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,280
of the entire Second World War.
619
00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:28,160
[Sir Mike]
I'm not sure any other battle,
620
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:29,320
certainly in Europe,
621
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,240
comes close to Stalingrad.
622
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,200
It is a big city, Stalingrad.
623
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,280
The Volga, huge river
flowing through it.
624
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:43,000
Very important industrially
to the Soviet Union.
625
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:47,000
So totemic,
and in strategic terms,
626
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,080
basically, um...
627
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:54,400
it stopped the Russians' ability
to cross the river Volga.
628
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,920
[narrator] As important
as the military victory
629
00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:58,960
was the potential
propaganda victory
630
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,480
the Nazis would have
by seizing the city
631
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:03,600
bearing
the Soviet leader's name.
632
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:05,640
It had great symbolism
is his mind,
633
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,280
he was not going to let
this fall to the Germans.
634
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:10,320
It was
the important supply route
635
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:13,280
on the Volga River,
which moved goods
636
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:16,080
from the south of Russia
to the north.
637
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,480
But Stalingrad was also
in Hitler's path
638
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:21,240
as he moved his forces south,
639
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:23,800
so it was absolutely imperative
that the city
640
00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,280
didn't fall to Hitler.
641
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,520
[narrator]
Stalin steadfastly refused
642
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:29,440
to concede to the Germans,
643
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,640
and on the 28th of July
issued Order No. 227,
644
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:35,920
which decreed
that the city's defenders
645
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,760
would take "not one step back."
646
00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,000
He also refused to allow
the evacuation of any
civilians,
647
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,280
stating that the army
would fight harder
648
00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:47,680
to defend the people
who lived there.
649
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:51,960
[loud boom]
650
00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,920
More than 300,000
crack German soldiers
651
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:57,400
were tasked
with taking Stalingrad.
652
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,280
On 23rd of August,
the Luftwaffe launched
653
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,640
a ruthless aerial assault
on the city,
654
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,760
launching wave after wave
of incendiary bombs
655
00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,000
which razed most of the city's
wooden housing to the ground.
656
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:13,440
By mid‐September,
657
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:15,800
the Germans had pushed
the Soviet forces back
658
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,360
into the very centre
of the city,
659
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:21,000
a 9‐mile‐long strip
along the Volga.
660
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:22,600
[distant artillery]
661
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,400
Within weeks,
the Nazis controlled
662
00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:28,240
two thirds of Stalingrad,
663
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,640
and Hitler broadcast a message
that the city was about to
fall.
664
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:38,040
But Stalin stuck by his promise
to defend it at all costs,
665
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,600
and sent in more
reinforcements.
666
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,560
Under the leadership
of General Zhukov,
667
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:46,120
one of the few competent
Red Army commanders
668
00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:48,240
to have avoided Stalin's
purges,
669
00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:52,760
the Soviets dug in and engaged
the enemy in close combat,
670
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,880
street by street,
house by house,
671
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:57,520
and even floor by floor.
672
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,960
In the city you can't move
673
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:04,840
great fleets of tanks, and...
674
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:10,400
it's messy, it's short,
short range stuff.
675
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,720
The techniques
are rather different.
676
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:19,440
The ammunition expenditure
in built up areas is vast.
677
00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:23,440
They are different,
different beasts.
678
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,400
[narrator] The Nazi invaders
became increasingly tired
679
00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:28,440
and dispirited
by the heavy losses
680
00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:29,680
they have suffered.
681
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:31,880
Conversely, the Red Army
was buoyed
682
00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,040
by successfully
holding its ground,
683
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,360
and while keeping
the Nazis at bay,
684
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:40,160
they planned a counteroffensive
of their own outside the city.
685
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:43,600
On the 19th of November 1942,
686
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,240
Operation Uranus
was launched north and south
687
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:48,000
of the Axis troops,
688
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:50,040
attacking the weaker divisions
at the flanks
689
00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:51,680
of the German attack,
690
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:54,760
rather than the crack troops
on the frontline in the city.
691
00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,600
The operation
totally surprised the Nazis,
692
00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:01,200
and within four days,
693
00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,360
the German and Axis armies
outside Stalingrad
694
00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:06,240
were completely surrounded,
695
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,000
leaving the divisions
in the city cut off.
696
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,880
Hitler refused to allow them
to retreat from the Volga River
697
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,840
and ordered them
to stand and fight.
698
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,040
But this was a losing battle.
699
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:19,840
Winter was setting in,
700
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,480
and food and medical supplies
were running out.
701
00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:24,520
[distant artillery]
702
00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:28,280
Eventually,
on the 31st of January 1943,
703
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,240
the Germans surrendered.
704
00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:34,560
Stalin and his Red Army
had finally won
705
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:36,200
the Battle of Stalingrad.
706
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,200
[sombre music]
707
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,960
This was Stalin's greatest
victory in the entire war,
708
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:45,360
but it came at great cost.
709
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:47,920
More than
a million Soviet soldiers
710
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,480
are estimated to have been
killed, wounded, or captured,
711
00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,640
and more than
40,000 civilians also died.
712
00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:58,520
The tolerance
713
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,400
for casualties of the leaders
of the Soviet Union
714
00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,040
is remarkable.
715
00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:07,160
The Russians executed
13,000 of their own men
716
00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:08,640
in the course
of the battle of Stalingrad
717
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:10,640
for not fighting hard enough.
13,000.
718
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:12,440
The Russians
were willing to send
719
00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,680
men into action in Stalingrad
without weapons.
720
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,040
They were expected to...
When things were most desperate,
721
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,400
they were ferried
across the river Volga,
722
00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:21,840
dropped on the bank,
told to climb up the bank
723
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:23,360
and pick up a rifle as they went
724
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:24,760
and then go
and fight the Germans.
725
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:29,400
There was an acceptance
of the requirement
726
00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:31,880
to sacrifice for the motherland.
727
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:35,880
[narrator] The Axis forces
also sustained heavy losses,
728
00:34:36,240 --> 00:34:39,200
an estimated 800,000 men.
729
00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,800
It was as close
as the Germans got
730
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:46,200
to breaking through
right into the heartland.
731
00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:51,240
And the fact that Nazi Germany
was roundly defeated,
732
00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:53,680
it was very symbolic.
733
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,720
[narrator] The impact
of the victory was immense.
734
00:34:56,880 --> 00:34:59,680
Stalingrad was undoubtedly
the key turning point
735
00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:02,840
in the war between
Germany and the Soviet Union,
736
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,840
and also in the overall battle
737
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,840
between Allied forces
and the Axis powers.
738
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,360
But just as the tide finally
seemed to be turning
739
00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:13,680
in favour of the Big Three,
740
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:18,080
the Nazi discovery of thousands
of corpses in mass graves
741
00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:20,280
in a forest in western Russia
742
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:24,840
threatened to cause a major
rift
between the Allies.
743
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:29,960
[theme music]
744
00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:32,920
April 1,
745
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,400
when Nazi soldiers discovered
more than 4,000 bodies
746
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:37,920
hidden in mass graves
747
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,280
in Katyn Forest
in the Soviet Union,
748
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,120
all the evidence suggested
749
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,680
that the killings had been
carried out by the Soviets
750
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,040
during their invasion of
Poland.
751
00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,320
The carve‐up of the country
had been agreed
752
00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:51,960
between Hitler and Stalin
753
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,120
in the Nazi‐Soviet
non‐aggression pact.
754
00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:58,480
The victims, who had been shot
in the back of the head
755
00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:02,160
and buried,
were Polish military officers,
756
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:05,840
and the Nazi propaganda
minister Joseph Goebbels
757
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,680
was now keen to publicise
the massacre to the world
758
00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:12,040
in an attempt
to break the alliance
759
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,520
between Stalin,
Churchill and Roosevelt.
760
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:17,640
But Goebbels
was to be disappointed.
761
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,200
Whatever Churchill and
Roosevelt
may have suspected
762
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:23,280
about Stalin's part
in these murders,
763
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,480
they could not afford
to lose him as an ally.
764
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:28,480
There was very little doubt
765
00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:32,800
that both Roosevelt
and Churchill knew
766
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,120
that the Soviets were
responsible for the massacre.
767
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:40,240
But again, it was a trade‐off,
768
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,360
certainly for Roosevelt,
and even for Churchill.
769
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,680
Are we going to kick up
a fuss about this?
770
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,440
Churchill is quoted as saying:
771
00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,560
"Alas, it's probably true."
772
00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:54,840
The Soviets, of course, denied
that they'd been responsible
773
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,560
and accused the Germans
of having killed the Poles
774
00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:02,000
when they went through
the area in 1941.
775
00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:03,800
That was their official story.
776
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,520
[narrator]
At the time, 4,443 bodies
777
00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:09,320
were found in Katyn Forest,
778
00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:13,880
but we now know that more than
22,000 Polish intellectuals
779
00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,600
and officers who had been taken
as prisoners of war
780
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:19,040
were rounded up and shot
by the Soviets
781
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:20,920
before being dumped
into mass graves
782
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:24,040
in different locations
in western Russia.
783
00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:27,760
They were generals,
majors, chaplains,
784
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:31,280
university professors,
lawyers and engineers
785
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:32,720
targeted by Stalin
786
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:36,240
and the Soviet Secret Police,
the NKVD.
787
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:38,960
It was an attempt
to crush resistance
788
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:40,480
to the Soviet invaders
789
00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:44,120
and prevent the resurgence
of an independent Poland.
790
00:37:45,240 --> 00:37:48,320
The scale of the massacre
is now undisputed
791
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,280
since the execution documents
were made public.
792
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,640
After the Nazi‐Soviet Pact
was agreed,
793
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:59,160
Red Army troops
move through eastern Europe,
794
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:01,280
occupying territory
that was agreed
795
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,360
as part of the secret protocol
of that pact.
796
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,200
Now, as part of that
movement across Europe,
797
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,560
Stalin wanted any pockets
798
00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:13,760
of potential anti‐Soviet
resistance to be eliminated.
799
00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:16,320
It's very much in keeping
with how he'd operated
800
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,000
throughout the 1930s.
801
00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:20,000
And this is when
the Polish prisoners
802
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:21,960
who were housed
in western Belarus
803
00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:23,840
and western Ukraine
come into this,
804
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,040
because he saw them
as potentially dangerous.
805
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:30,360
They could be a rallying point
of anti‐Soviet opposition.
806
00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:33,960
Moreover, if he got rid
of these prisoners,
807
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,920
who were officers,
they were Polish intellectuals,
808
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,400
he might also head off
the possibility
809
00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:43,440
of a resurgence
of a Polish government.
810
00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:45,200
And, of course,
he was looking to install
811
00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:47,600
his own communist government
in Poland.
812
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,960
[narrator] In April 1943,
three years after the killings,
813
00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:53,960
and almost immediately
after the Red Army
814
00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:56,440
had recaptured the region
from the Nazis,
815
00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:58,680
the Soviet cover‐up began.
816
00:38:58,840 --> 00:38:59,960
[sombre music]
817
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:01,920
The NKVD destroyed a cemetery
818
00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:04,960
the Germans had permitted
the Polish Red Cross to build
819
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,280
and removed other evidence.
820
00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:09,360
In January 1944,
821
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,520
Moscow appointed
its own investigative body,
822
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:15,000
which unsurprisingly concluded
823
00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:18,560
that the Polish prisoners
had been murdered in 1941
824
00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:22,360
during the German occupation,
not in 1940.
825
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:25,600
But the cover‐up
extended far beyond
826
00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:27,960
the borders of the Soviet
Union.
827
00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:30,280
Documents released in 2012
828
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:33,000
showed how far
Churchill and Roosevelt
829
00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:36,720
were prepared to go
in accepting Stalin's denials.
830
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,280
The Polish government in exile,
based in London,
831
00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:43,000
was pushing for an independent
inquiry into Katyn.
832
00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:47,640
But archives now show us
that in April 1943
833
00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:49,600
Churchill wrote
a note to Stalin,
834
00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:52,120
saying he would
"oppose vigorously"
835
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,040
any investigation.
836
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:56,840
Roosevelt's language
was more diplomatic,
837
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,040
but his meaning
when he wrote to Stalin
838
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:00,600
was the same:
839
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:03,240
"I am inclined to think
that Prime Minister Churchill
840
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:04,840
will find a way of prevailing
841
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,920
upon the Polish government
in London in the future
842
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:10,320
to act with more common sense."
843
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,120
We now know
from American documents
844
00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:15,720
that were declassified
in the 1970s
845
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:18,360
that FDR also sent
a telegram to Churchill
846
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:20,680
at the end of April 1943.
847
00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:23,520
Roosevelt, of course,
was in a much weaker situation
848
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:24,960
than Churchill,
849
00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,080
because he had a large
Polish‐American constituency,
850
00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:31,080
one of the bedrock elements
851
00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:34,760
of the New Deal voter coalition
were Polish‐Americans,
852
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:39,640
and they looked to Roosevelt
to do something to ensure
853
00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:41,400
the independence
of their homeland
854
00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:43,040
after World War II.
855
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:47,080
After all, the British had gone
to war in 1939 to defend Poland.
856
00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:52,080
But here we were in 1944,
apparently getting ready
857
00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:55,520
to set Poland up for domination
858
00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:57,600
by the Soviet Union
after World War II.
859
00:40:58,160 --> 00:40:59,520
[narrator]
Churchill's ambassador
860
00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:01,880
to the Polish government
in exile, Owen O'Malley,
861
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:03,240
wrote his own report,
862
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:06,000
which came to some
uncomfortable conclusions:
863
00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:07,280
"There is now available
864
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:09,600
a good deal
of negative evidence,
865
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:11,440
the cumulative effect of which
866
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:14,200
is to throw serious doubt
on Russian disclaimers
867
00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:16,440
of responsibility
for the massacre."
868
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:19,280
Churchill sent the full report
to Roosevelt
869
00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:20,960
with the following notes:
870
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:23,480
"I should like to have it back
when you've finished with it,
871
00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:26,320
as we are not circulating it
officially."
872
00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:29,560
The people who ordered
and carried out this massacre
873
00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:31,200
were never brought to justice,
874
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:33,560
but eventually in 1990,
875
00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:36,400
the eighth and last leader
of the Soviet Union,
876
00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:39,960
Mikhail Gorbachev,
did accept responsibility
877
00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:42,800
for his country's role
in the tragedy.
878
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:47,920
Solidarity is a universal value
879
00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:51,160
that is becoming fundamental
880
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:55,320
for progress and human survival.
881
00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:57,800
[narrator]
We now know without a doubt
882
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:00,280
that Stalin was behind
these killings.
883
00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:01,880
But at the time, the Big Three
884
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,560
had other,
more pressing concerns,
885
00:42:04,720 --> 00:42:06,880
such as keeping
the alliance together
886
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:08,360
to defeat Hitler.
887
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:11,560
[theme music]
888
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,080
Next time on Race To Victory.
889
00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:19,320
The Big Three meet face‐to‐face
for the first time in Tehran.
890
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,080
But as a result
of the successes and failures
891
00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:23,880
of battles already fought,
892
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,640
the dynamic of their
relationship is changing.
893
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,960
It's very clear to Churchill
that he's on the outs
894
00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:34,440
and that Stalin and Roosevelt
are getting closer and closer,
895
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:37,920
and Churchill's starting
to struggle to find a place,
896
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:39,240
a reason to be there.
897
00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:41,520
[narrator]
And while the Allied forces
898
00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:43,000
fight their way into Italy,
899
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:46,160
a second front in France
is finally agreed,
900
00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:48,320
despite Churchill's concerns.
901
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:52,600
The Americans always believed
that the war in the West
902
00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:55,480
would be won in France,
not the Mediterranean.
903
00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:00,760
[narrator] To be successful
in the fight against Hitler,
904
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,200
the Big Three will need
to put their differences aside
905
00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:05,240
once and for all.
906
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:08,720
The Final Phase
of the race to victory
907
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,320
is beginning.
908
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:26,360
[theme music]