World War 2 Explained | Best WW2 Documentary | Part 2

[Music] on the morning of december 7th 1941 353 japanese planes would attack pearl harbor the american naval base at hawaii 2403 american lives would perish in the attack with 19 ships and 188 aircraft been destroyed or damaged in the process although the attack was a complete surprise for the american public the assault on pearl harbor was far from being a random attack on an unsuspecting enemy the operation had been meticulously planned for months with the causes behind it stemming back years [Music] after the great war japan had emerged as a victor state but had agreed to respect chinese territorial sovereignty as well as agreeing to limit their naval capacity to three-fifths the size of british and american fleets naval officers however resented the restrictions imposed on their fleet at the washington naval conference in 1921. in the west prejudice against asian countries was commonplace with them being seen as places to be colonized by european powers and siphoned of their natural resources so although japan a small island nation were sitting amongst the greatest industrial powers of the age japanese resentment began to build to what they saw as western arrogance not only was japan's sentiment towards international relations deteriorating but japan had also experienced a population boom with overcrowding and poverty emerging in the growth coupled with the great depression many nationalist sentiments began to rise with military leaders beginning to believe that japan's future could only be secured through outward expansion a military conquest to secure new land oil raw materials and grain if japan could successfully seize new territories they would be in a position to become a great world power and so in 1931 japan staged a railway incident in a northern part of china named manchuria claiming the chinese had destroyed japanese railway tracks in response japan took over the entire province the new land would be called manchu a puppet state controlled by imperial japan japan's actions brought about international condemnation with the league of nations calling for japanese withdrawal from manchuria in response japan left the league of nations which had once again proven ineffective japan would go on further expanding into china and by the end of 1937 had seized shanghai and the city of nanking in what later became known as the rape of nanking the japanese participated in the destruction widespread slaughter rape and murder of innocent two civilians thousand innocent lives would be taken in less than six weeks international outrage and condemnation of japanese actions would become the norm with the united states government giving the chinese a loan of 25 million dollars to aid in resisting the japanese invasion by july 1940 a new leadership had emerged in japan with the ministry of war being spearheaded by a man named hideki tojo tojo put military expansion as japan's main goal pursuing the conquest of asia and the pacific with the western allies weakened by german blitzkrieg japan looked to the south to french indochina to the dutch east indies and to british malaya all of which were ripe for the taking this move to the south would provide japan with raw materials oil and rubber but risked provoking a war with the west especially the united states who had bases in the philippines u.s president franklin roosevelt was unsettled by rising fascist powers around the globe and had a desire to step in but the american people were deeply isolationist after fighting in the great war the american people were reluctant to enter another with most being unaffected by conflicts happening across the sea even with british prime minister winston churchill petitioning america for help few were willing to get involved yet roosevelt saw things differently he believed that letting britain and france fall to a german invasion which would wipe out western democracy in europe would come to have disastrous consequences for the united states and so while he refused to intervene with force roosevelt did everything he could to help the allies with aid sending american ships into british ports filled with essential supplies vital for the war effort in the east however a different plan was taken america's pacific fleet was relocated to pearl harbor an american naval base in hawaii with american power now stationed closer to japan roosevelt hoped that it would deter japanese aggression with the island nation having to consider its actions more carefully before attacking allied colonies but deterrence proved ineffective with japan going on to invade french indochina roosevelt responded with economic sanctions placing an embargo on important naval and aviation supplies to japan such as oil iron ore steel and rubber great britain and the netherlands soon followed with japan finding itself cut off from 90 percent of its oil supply as japan relied on importing oil with this resource now cut off their dreams of empire were now out of reach japan was left with three options back down and forever live in the shadow of western powers try and negotiate a deal or double down and find a new source of oil through conquest turning first to negotiation japan offered to withdraw from indochina and parts of the chinese mainland but only if the united states would re-establish trade relations as well as support a japanese acquisition of the dutch east indies the roosevelt administration rejected the proposals and demanded outright japanese withdrawal from china japan was furious and the very same day their proposal was rejected they set sail to an american naval base in hawaii a place that went by the name of pearl harbor mussolini came to power in 1922 and wanted to restore italy's greatness his plan was to create a new roman empire but he did not yet have the economic or military capability to do so 1935 mussolini had aligned with britain and france opposing plans for german rearmament but that same year italy also invaded abyssinia modern-day ethiopia abyssinia was a member of the league of nations and appeals for international help the british and french in response placed economic sanctions on italy although they were more symbolic than effective even so mussolini now regarded britain and france as enemies five years later in 1940 as france was falling to german blitzkrieg mussolini saw his chance and decided to join the side of hitler and the nazis with his new ally mussolini's dreams of empire had come closer and he was now in prime position to seize the british and french territories of the mediterranean and north africa mussolini's eyes now laid upon egypt but there was a problem churchill was an enthusiastic imperialist and believed the control of the mediterranean was vital to britain's interests britain controlled both the suez canal and the straits of gibraltar the waterways connecting the mediterranean to the indian and atlantic oceans the british colony of egypt was also pivotal to the british empire on the coastline of egypt laid the suez canal which linked britain to india australia and the far east as well as the oil fields of iraq syria and iran the canal also facilitated britain with supplies from the empire that were vital to the war effort including oil and food of which over half were imported the loss of the suez canal would add several weeks to voyages to the east and expose redirected british ships to german new boats in the atlantic the safety and welfare of britain and its empire would therefore reside directly with egypt the fate of britain lay in the sand but mussolini planned to capture egypt from which he could threaten british naval bases in the mediterranean as well as the suez canal and from mussolini's perspective he had good reason to think he would be successful in june 1939 the british mediterranean fleet had only 45 combat ships against italy's 183 the italians also had more submarines with 108 against britain's 12 and with france surrendering in june 1940 the entire weight of controlling the mediterranean sea would reside with the royal navy on land the odds were also in italy's favor italy had some 250 000 troops in libya with the british only having a hundred thousand troops stretched out to defend egypt sudan and palestine on the 11th of june 1940 benito mussolini declared war on britain and france and on september 13th the italian tenth army invaded egypt from their colony libya the italians invaded quickly and soon captured the coastal town of sidi bharani archibald weivel commander-in-chief of the middle east began to plan a counter-attack which was code-named operation compass weivel would send the western desert force comprised of 36 000 men from britain india australia and new zealand but rather than attacking where the italians suspected in december 1940 the western desert force swung south traveling across the open desert to attack the italian forces from behind wavel's plan had worked with italian defenses being overrun in a matter of days in the battle of sidi bharani the british had managed to capture 40 000 italian soldiers with the remainder fleeing west italy's hopes of empire were looking unlikely but for the italians it only got worse losses would continue with the british chasing the fleeing troops 500 miles across libya with the british going on to capture bardia to brooke derna and benghazi wavel's offensive would finally end at el aghala on the 7th of february 1941. the italians had nowhere else to run in just two months the british had destroyed 10 italian divisions and captured more than 130 000 prisoners churchill confident that north africa was now under british control would send a large part of the region's forces to fight in greece [Music] in april 1939 mussolini took the first steps towards creating his new empire occupying albania to the east over a year later in october 1940 mussolini marched south into greece after they refused to become an italian colony however despite italy's superior numbers almost double that of the greeks they failed to take the country being pushed out of greece and much of albania too seeing this as an opportunity to [ __ ] axis control in the area churchill was quick to send aid diverting british soldiers from north africa to help the greeks defend their country and push back italy unfortunately for the allies this drew the attention of hitler who would not allow his southern flank to become exposed in april 1941 hitler sent half a million german soldiers southward quickly overcoming the combined british and greek forces within a month athens had fallen forcing a mass retreat of over 30 000 allied soldiers to the greek island of crete germany then attacked crete where the british and greek troops had taken up positions hitler had ordered an assault on the island deploying over twenty thousand soldiers who had land via parachute the invasion was effective and the island was taken within two weeks while fifteen thousand allied soldiers were evacuated some eighteen thousand were taken prisoner with the royal navy taking additional losses during the evacuation although the mission was a success for hitler he had sustained such heavy losses during the invasion with men being shot down in the sky that germany's parachute regiment would not be used again in a major battle for the remainder of the war while this was a major victory for the axis powers it was the first of several times that mussolini's failures would require hitler to divert his soldiers to the mediterranean this would in time proved to be disastrous for the fuhrer as his forces became stretched thin having chosen the path of conquest japan now looked to the dutch east indies and other countries in the pacific theatre countries that would provide them with oil and rubber but for this plan to work the japanese believed that american influence in the region would have to be removed in other words japan's leaders decided that military expansion in southeast asia would require an attack on the united states as the us had recently put their entire pacific fleet within striking distance of japanese forces pearl harbor would become japan's main target the attack on pearl harbor was masterminded by admiral isuroku yamamoto a gifted naval officer yamamoto was reluctant to go to war with the united states but when war became an inevitability he knew that the only way for japan to win was to knock out america's pacific fleet before the fighting began if they couldn't do so yamamoto thought that japan would eventually lose in a prolonged conflict with the united states yamamoto believed the attack on pearl harbor would give japan time around six months to seize the dutch east indies and secure control of southeast asia and the western pacific without american interference during this time japan could also begin construction of new battleships and aircraft carriers increasing its presence and naval might in the region and lastly yamamoto's plan assumed that the united states would negotiate peace terms following the loss of its fleet seeking compromise and accepting japanese dominance in east asia yamamoto also believed that it was vital to destroy america's aircraft carriers in the attack as he saw them as being the true heart of a modern navy as opposed to battleships but unknown to yamamoto u.s code breakers had managed to crack the japanese diplomatic code and knew an attack was imminent but they didn't know where with american territory under threat most of the time thought the philippines was the most likely target so when the u.s command of pearl harbor was warned that japan was on the offensive all they could do was prepare to mobilize against a threat they thought would strike somewhere in the pacific never imagining that they would be the actual target as a result walter schwart the army commander in hawaii believed that the most serious threat pearl harbor faced was sabotage from the 160 thousand hawaiian residents of japanese ancestry the island's planes were then clustered together on the runways so that they could be closely guarded and military supplies such as anti-aircraft rounds were locked away to prevent sabotage to reinforce the security of american outposts two of the three aircraft carriers were sent from pearl harbor to wake and midway island with the third aircraft carrier undergoing maintenance back on the west coast of the united states the japanese forces attacked pearl harbor on the morning of december 7th 1941 the attackers achieved complete surprise with almost every american who looked up to the sky and saw the japanese planes assuming they were friendly aircraft engaged in training exercises but then the first bombs exploded torpedoes specially designed for shallow waters struck into the side of battleships while armor-piercing bombs rained down from above cutting through their decks within minutes the battleships maryland and tennessee were each hit followed by the arizona which sank almost instantly the first japanese wave consisted of 183 planes with torpedo bombers attacking the ships and dive bombers simultaneously attacking their airfields preventing airborne resistance but unfortunately for the americans their anti-sabotage operation had left their planes clustered together making them ideal targets for japanese bombs to make matters worse they couldn't even shoot back as their anti-aircraft ammunition had been locked away 90 minutes later the attack was over the japanese had sunk or damaged 19 ships and destroyed 188 planes while damaging 159 others the attack had killed over 2 000 u.s servicemen with nearly half of them on the u.s battleship arizona it appeared to be a total victory for japan who had lost only 29 aircraft during the assault believing sufficient damage had been done admiral nagumo who had commanded the operation called off a third attack however although japanese losses were minuscule victory was not complete three american aircraft carriers were not at pearl harbor and seven heavy cruisers were still out at sea the attack had also failed to hit american fuel depots and had not destroyed the us submarine base the next day president franklin roosevelt declared war on the japanese empire and three days later germany and italy declared war on the united states pearl harbor would rally the american people who were once isolationist into fierce defenders of liberty with americans from all over the united states flocking to recruitment stations far from wiping out american influence in the pacific the japanese had just awoken a sleeping giant what had started as a mainly european war had now escalated into a global conflict [Music] in the wake of victory at pearl harbor and thinking that the american fleet had been neutralized japan embarked on a devastating path of conquest across southeast asia and the pacific within a month japan had attacked thailand british hong kong malaya burma and borneo as well as the american philippines guam and wake island a month later japan invaded the dutch east indies new guinea and the solomon islands and a month after that they invaded singapore the crown jewel of british imperial rule in the east the british had fortified singapore with coastal defense guns pointing out towards the sea but japan were invading from the north by land and by air with 30 000 japanese soldiers attacking on foot through malaya the british seemed to be in good position as they sported 85 000 soldiers in the region comprising of both british australian and indian troops but the british were outmatched in air power by a factor of two to one with the japanese also having both newer and more advanced tanks and aircraft with britain and the rest of europe focusing on germany in the west little to no modern weaponry was prioritized for the east and so with only 30 000 troops less than a third of british forces the japanese quickly broke through the british defensive lines in the north forcing a retreat back to singapore itself in response britain sent two battleships in support hms prince of wales and hms repulse but they were sent without the aid of an aircraft carrier making the ships vulnerable from the sky as a result they were quickly destroyed by japanese dive bombers giving japan naval superiority in southeast asia as churchill noted at the time over all this vast expanse of waters japan was supreme and we everywhere were weak and naked japan then pushed into singapore and after a devastating series of bombing raids by japanese aircraft the british garrison was left completely overwhelmed after a week of fighting military supplies and rations were running low with petrol for military vehicles and ammunition for the field artillery and anti-aircraft guns almost completely gone as a result the commanding officer lieutenant general arthur percival initiated the largest surrender in british military history with 80 000 troops laying down their arms allied soldiers were then taken to japanese prisoner of war camps being used as slave labor more than half of those taken would never return home burma and the dutch east indies fell the next month and with britain having been pushed out of southeast asia its position in india was now threatened 200 years of british supremacy in the east had been brought to an end in a matter of months [Music] in a mere six months japan had wiped out most of the allied presence in the far east with their conquest of the pacific almost complete but as japan had attacked the u.s territories of pearl harbor the philippines as well as guam and wake island the united states were looking for revenge and so roosevelt looked for a way to strike back against the japanese in an attempt to boost morale and give the american public something to celebrate famous military pilot lieutenant colonel james doolittle was then tasked with finding volunteers for an important mission he had gathered the best pilots available at the 17th bombardment group in florida their plan was to use land-based army bombers which could launch off an aircraft carrier 600 miles from japan's coast and then proceed to drop their bombs on japanese cities including tokyo before heading west and landing in china the plan was accepted the uss hornet was then loaded by crane with 16 b-25 mitchell bombers each comprising of five crewmen as the bombers were designed for land each had to be specially adjusted so they could carry double their usual fuel supply four days after passing hawaii the bombers would be forced to take off early after being spotted by japanese reconnaissance ships with strong winds helping the bombers lift off the flight deck doolittle would go up first not waiting for the rest of the group to join him as it would waste precious fuel as the last plane went airborne the carriers turned 180 degrees racing away from japan all 16 american bombers would successfully find their targets striking yokohama nagoya kobe and tokyo after unloading their bombs all pilots turned west to china apart from one who headed towards the soviet union due to low fuel when they arrived in china it was nightfall and unable to see the landing grounds the pilots and crew had to parachute out of the planes often landing in remote chinese villages against all odds 73 of the 80 doolittle raiders would make it back to the united states although the attack was militarily insignificant only killing around 50 people it came as a deep psychological shock to the japanese people up to this point they had only seen success after success with it being almost unthinkable that japan itself might be attacked back in the united states too little would go on to receive the medal of honor with the raid itself becoming known as the doolittle raid but for the japanese american aircraft carriers became a priority they would have to be destroyed if japan was to remain safe [Music] jimmy doolittle's raid on japan in 1942 had highlighted the vulnerability of the island nation and prompted japan to solidify their position in east asia and the pacific but in order to do this the japanese would have to capture the rest of new guinea with new guinea under japanese control it would allow them to establish a vertical defensive line along the pacific behind which they could establish their maritime empire a region they referred to as the greater east asia co-prosperity sphere from new guinea japan could launch attacks and drive the us out of midway and hawaii giving them complete supremacy over the region but it would also allow japan to isolate australia as well as further expand into new caledonia fiji and samoa for the japanese new guinea was a strategic necessity but in order to capture the rest of new guinea japan would have to take over the southern half of the island in particular the harbour and port moresby as the japanese prepared to take the port u.s intelligence at station hypo managed to decipher the japanese military code with admiral chester nimitz commander of the pacific fleet sending the aircraft carriers uss lexington and yorktown to intercept the japanese strike group on their way and so began the battle of the coral sea the u.s aircraft carriers under the command of rear admiral frank jack fletcher and the japanese carriers under the command of rear admiral chuichihara both sent out search planes to look for their enemy the american force soon came into contact with the japanese carrier shoho a brief attack of dive bombers and torpedo bombers the shoho would sink just seven minutes after taking the first hit it was imperial japan's first major combatant loss in the war the battle of the coral sea would be the first all-aircraft naval battle in history with the japanese and american fleets never coming into view of one another after two days of heavy fighting it would appear to be a draw the united states had lost the large carrier lexington and the japanese the small carrier shoho the us had lost 81 planes to japan's 105 with most american pilots being recovered from the sea but strategically it was a tactical victory for the united states as they had successfully stopped the invasion of port moresby crucially it was the first time in the pacific war that japan had failed to take over a region they had targeted six months after pearl harbor and one month after the battle of the coral sea japan were ready to strike again yamamoto believed it was crucial for the american aircraft carriers to be destroyed as they posed an enormous risk to mainland japan as shown with the doolittle raids but in order for them to be destroyed they would have to be brought out into the open and so yamamoto set up an elaborate plan japan would invade the u.s island of midway which served as an air base and refueling station for u.s aircraft the small island of midway was not of any particular strategic importance for japan but the japanese knew the americans would consider midway a vital outpost that provided them a defensive line for pearl harbor and therefore they would have no choice but to defend the island with the american fleet being sent in defense its aircraft carriers would be open to attack where japanese submarines battleships and a fleet of aircraft carriers known as the kido bhutai would be waiting to ambush them it seemed to be a brilliant plan but unknown to the japanese there were two major flaws first the japanese thought the americans only had two aircraft carriers believing they had already sunk both the lexington and yorktown and to the battle of the coral sea but the yorktown still survived and second the americans knew the entire plan on may 7 1942 the same day that american pilots sank the carrier shoho in the coral sea american code breakers at station hypo in pearl harbor had intercepted and deciphered several messages that the japanese were planning a major attack on a target codenamed af joseph rochefort head of the code breaking operation at station hypo believed that af was the japanese code for midway but in order to make sure and provide proof to his superiors he devised a cunning plan the basic midway would send out an uncoded radio message to hawaii falsely stating that their water purification system had broken down sure enough within 24 hours american code breakers picked up a japanese message that stated af was short on water rochefort's suspicions had been confirmed they were able to further determine the date of the attack as either the 4th or 5th of june as well as the japanese strategy all this information was then sent to the commander-in-chief of the u.s pacific fleet chester nimitz who decided to set a trap of his own nimitz's plan would utilize the element of surprise he would send all three of his aircraft carriers several hundred miles north of midway to a position named point luck correctly calculating that the japanese would never look there from this position once the japanese had launched an attack on midway their carriers would be exposed making them easy targets for american pilots nimitz's plan was in place he would then refuel the hornet and enterprise and repair the damage to yorktown rear admiral raymond ace bruins would command the hornet and enterprise while rear admiral frank jack fletcher would come on to the yorktown spruance would head out first and two days later on the 30th of may the yorktown would set sail with workmen remaining on board making last minute repairs on the morning of june 4th 1942 japanese admiral chuichi nagumo would launch a total of 108 aircraft all sent to attack the island of midway a wave of japanese bombers appeared over the island striking at the airfields below but unexpectedly the us bombers one of their main targets were nowhere to be seen and the airfields lay practically empty instead the japanese would face a squadron of outdated american brewster buffaloes and wildcat fighters while most were shot down by the far superior japanese zeroes they had managed to slightly blunt the japanese attack the initial attack had not succeeded and american bombers could still use the airbase to refuel and attack the japanese invasion force the commander of the strikeforce lieutenant joeichi tomanaga radioed back that a second strike was needed in order to fully destroy the american base but as the japanese prepared for a second strike the bombers from midway appeared overhead the american force consisted of an assortment of army marine and navy planes but they were all outdated and the japanese zeroes quickly shot them down admiral nagumo was then told one of his search planes had cited what appeared to be a carrier as american carriers were the actual target of the whole operation nagumo decided not to attack midway again and instead head north in pursuit two more waves of american aircraft would attack the japanese fleet but the planes were uncoordinated and shot down of the 41 torpedo bombers the americans sent to attack the japanese fleet that morning only four of them safely returned with none able to place a single torpedo on target the americans even with the element of surprise appeared to have failed the japanese were winning the battle of midway it was an almost unprecedented disaster for america it would be the next 10 minutes that changed the course of the battle and subsequently the entire pacific war a squadron from the enterprise led by lieutenant commander clarence mccluskey then arrived at the japanese fleet's original coordinates not knowing they had moved north mccluskey and his men had a difficult decision to make head back to the enterprise or go searching for the japanese fleet and possibly run out of fuel luckily mccluskey then spotted a single japanese destroyer named the arashi moving northward as it had been left behind to fight off the american submarine nautilus mccluskey assumed that the destroyer was heading north to rejoin its fleet and he was right his air group flew northward and soon found themselves above the entire japanese carrier fleet although the previous attacks on the japanese fleet had been unsuccessful many of the zero fighter planes were now running low on fuel and ammunition as mccluskey's bombers began to attack another squadron of dive bombers arrived from the yorktown the largest carrier the kagger would be hit first with a dozen 500 and one thousand pound bombs setting it ablaze within minutes the akagi would be next with a fatal 1 000 bomb penetrating the center of the flight deck exploding the 18 fully loaded torpedo bombers on board simultaneously bombers from the yorktown attacked the sawyu which was set a light within seconds three of the four japanese carriers had now been obliterated with only the fourth carrier the hiroyu managing to escape to hear you in desperation for revenge then launched an attack against the yorktown which would eventually be sunk by a japanese submarine in retaliation all available aircraft from the enterprise and hornet were sent to sink the hiru and they were successful the kido bhutai was now gone in just a single day japan's naval power had been completely obliterated yamamoto's plan had backfired and the united states were now free to roam the pacific but the battle of midway redefined the importance of air superiority for the remainder of the war and with four japanese carriers out of the equation the japanese would never again launch a major offensive in the pacific pearl harbor and midway were now secured for the united states but just one month later both sides would be engulfed in the battle of guadalcanal churchill saw greece as an important anti-german position and therefore thought it wise to send british troops there from north africa however churchill was unaware that at the same time he was sending troops to fight in greece hitler was preparing to send german forces to africa hitler saw mussolini's failures in north africa as endangering the axis war effort leaving germany vulnerable to the south and so to support italian resistance in february 1941 hitler sent in the africa corps 65 000 men under the command of major general erwin rommel rommel was a distinguished soldier in the great war and had commanded the seventh panzer division during the 1940 invasion of france he proved himself an effective tank commander and it would not be long until he was given the nickname the desert fox rommel arrived in libya in february 1941 quickly using his forces to push back the british stationed at el aghala whose numbers had been reduced by the war in greece the british would go on to see defeat after defeat being pushed out of benghazi in april and retreating all the way back to tabruk rommel continued to drive east surrounding the ninth australian division at tabruk on april 10th however he was unable to take the port and so left behind a small force of italian soldiers as he continued to push the british towards the egyptian border it was a decision rommel later regretted as the australian garrison at the brook held out against the siege for 240 days tying down important axis manpower and supplies on april 14th rommel's main force reached the egyptian border with his troops occupying the key territory of the hellfire pass unable to advance any further because of supply shortages rommel's forces began to dig in and fortified their position with 88 millimeter anti-aircraft guns the area was so well fortified that the british would soon refer to hellfire pass as hellfire pass under continuing pressure from churchill wavel was tasked to launch an offensive in order to regain to brooke churchill also sent reinforcements including more men and new tanks and so on the 15th of june wavelaunched his attack but german defenses proved too strong with their anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry blunting the advance in just four days britain had lost 98 state-of-the-art tanks wavel's attempts to regain to brooke had failed and so churchill sent him to india and replaced him with a new commander in chief of the middle east claude orkinlek [Music] once he arrived in north africa orkenleck took some time to reorganize and train his forces the british eighth army the eighth army were in a good position having double the aircraft and triple the tanks to their german and italian counterparts and so in november 1941 orconneck launched operation crusader a major offensive to help the besieged garrison and to brooke the operation was a success after several days of battle the germans had run out of fuel supplies and to brooke was regained on the 7th of december with rommel withdrawing his forces and the british close on his tail he would be forced to fall all the way back to where he started at el aghala but victory would not last long for the british a few months later on the 21st of january 1942 rommel would launch another offensive with new tanks and more supplies the british were unprepared with the germans taking benghazi and forcing them to withdraw to a defensive position named to the gosala line it was now may and not wanting to fight the british in a heavily fortified position head-on under the cover of night rommel's forces would drive south coming up behind the british forces in the morning for the next few days both sides would take heavy losses but rommel was able to capture a few british units orkenleck threatened with his forces being completely cut off began a retreat eastwards towards egypt rommel now had a clear path to tabruk and on the 20th of june he attacked what had previously taken nearly a year to capture was now taken in a single day to brooke and its 32 000 troops had surrendered and rommel took over its significant amount of supplies including 2.5 million gallons of fuel as well as 2 000 vehicles it was the greatest british surrender since the fall of singapore and churchill was furious but the situation only got worse rommel continued to push forward attacking the heavily fortified town of mercer matru the indian infantry brigade stationed there was nearly wiped out with 6 000 men being killed and 40 tanks destroyed orkin neck had to fall back yet again this time to the coastal town of el alamein 120 miles to the east rommel would continue his pursuit but orkenleck and the eighth army had prepared a heavily fortified defensive position at el alamein the town was protected on its southern flank by the qatari depression a stretch of sunken ground that was impossible to maneuver through and so if rommel was to attack it would have to be head-on and so on the first of july rommel attacked the first battle of el alamein had begun but british defenses proved to be too strong the fighting would last almost a month with both sides suffering similar losses with rommel unable to break through orkenlank ordered a counter-attack but it was unsuccessful now low on fuel rommel withdrew his men and began to prepare for a second attack a few weeks later and frustrated with british losses churchill visited cairo in an attempt to boost morale and rally the troops although orkenleck had successfully halted the german advance at el alamein churchill believed him to be too passive and replaced him with lieutenant general harold alexander with lieutenant general bernard montgomery being placed in command of the eighth army churchill gave them just one order destroy rommel's forces once and for all [Music] montgomery then received information from british code breakers that rommel was planning another attack on el alamein suspecting this time rommel would try and flank his position montgomery began to fortify the ridge of alem halfer to the south east this information proved true and on the 30th of august rommel launched his offensive but the attack took him much longer than expected with rommel's forces having to plow through minefields and deal with tanks getting bogged down in quicksand rommel's assault would last for three days but he was unable to break through the british were supported by the royal air force who made easy work of the german panzers with his tanks being destroyed by british fighter pilots as well as a lack of fuel and undesirable strategic positioning rommel's africa corps withdrew with rommel being forced back he set up a defensive line just west of el alamein between the qatar depression and the african coastline montgomery was ordered to give chase but he refused he wanted to keep his forces intact for the main battle which was about to come as the battle of stalingrad and the guadalcanal campaign ravaged on so began the second battle of el alamein rommel's position was impossible to outflank and knew that allies would have to fight him head-on and so he fortified his position with three million landmines stretching from the mediterranean coast to the katara depression rommel's position was so well fortified that it was quickly given the nickname the devil's gardens panzers were also kept in reserve to quickly deal with any british soldiers who managed to break through but defence was prioritized for good reason after the fall of to brook franklin roosevelt had immediately offered help sending the british 300 state-of-the-art sherman tanks as well as a hundred self-propelled guns the british now possessed a hundred and ninety thousand men as well as over a thousand tanks nine hundred artillery guns and one thousand four hundred anti-tank guns the germans were outnumbered in almost every category two to one to make matters worse for rommel british intelligence fire ultra were able to gather knowledge of virtually every mediterranean convoy that set sail to north africa severely reducing axis shipments by up to 70 per cent although the british had complete numerical superiority montgomery realized the strength of the axis defenses and ignored the pleas of churchill for an early attack he would instead wait for two months building up his forces as well as improving morale and training when montgomery was able to attack he wanted to be ready the day of attack would come on the 23rd of october 1942 that night montgomery unleashed an enormous artillery barrage on the german position so operation lightfoot could begin during the night and under the cover of artillery fire british engineers approached the devil's gardens along with the help of scorpion tanks equipped with rotating chains to destroy anti-tank mines the british manually cleared a path through the minefield so tanks were able to get through however this strategy yielded few results with the british quickly being pushed back a week later and to the north montgomery would launch operation supercharge effectively throwing everything the allies had against rommel the strategy worked with divisions from britain south africa australia and new zealand bravely pushing forward after 10 days of bloody conflict the allies were able to break the german lines rommel simply didn't have enough manpower to fight back and with advancing british forces soon able to cut off rommel's supply lines he was forced to withdraw montgomery ever cautious was slow to pursue allowing rommel to escape with most of his forces and so on the 3rd of november the 1400 mile pursuit to tunisia began for the next three months montgomery would chase rommel across the northern coast of africa with rommel reaching tripoli on january 23rd and the tunisian border by the end of the month by the time rommel got to tunisia however another enemy would be waiting for him the americans [Music] with conflicts being fought over the whole of north africa islands and countries surrounding the war zone became of high strategic importance in 1940 mussolini had turned his attention to the british controlled island of malta just south of italy the island was an important refueling station for submarines and aircraft and allowed britain to raid italian and german convoys traveling to north africa with churchill calling the island an unsinkable aircraft carrier malta was also the only allied base between gibraltar and alexandria in egypt making it a key strategic power in the region upon declaring war in 1940 mussolini had called for an offensive throughout the mediterranean with the first bombs being dropped on malta within hours the bombing campaign would last nearly two years and inflicted terrible damage and suffering on the island and its people the italian bombing campaign saw initial success as britain had failed to station sufficient fighter aircraft on the island but the british soon responded on november 11 1940 britain launched a raid on the italian navy in the harbour of toronto sending 21 swordfish torpedo bombers in a surprise assault the campaign was a huge success with the italian fleet withdrawing to naples the british had managed to disable half of the italian battleships leaving only three in working condition the italian navy had lost three battleships along with two destroyers and one cruiser proof that an air attack on naval vessels could inflict significant damage and something the japanese paid close attention to four months later a similar raid was launched with another italian battleship being taken out of action with only two active battleships left mussolini was quickly losing control of the mediterranean sea this again drew the attention of hitler who diverted more forces south to aid his italian ally the luftwaffe arrived over malta in early 1941 beginning a bombing raid that would last for months while the british forces mounted some resistance they were soon won down by the constant bombardment by the summer of 1942 malta's situation was looking bleak with the island having exhausted nearly all of its supplies britain attempted to send aid from gibraltar and egypt but the convoys were intercepted with only two of the 17 ships surviving the trip with the people of malta in dire conditions and realizing the island might soon be lost which would give control of the mediterranean over to germany britain launched operation pedestal on august 3rd 1942. 14 merchant ships would be sent through the mediterranean via the straits of gibraltar accompanied by a massive naval escort the largest and most powerful escort ever given to an allied convoy the 14 merchant ships would be escorted by two battleships four aircraft carriers seven light cruisers four corvettes four minesweepers 11 submarines and 32 destroyers the task was daunting with them having to find their way through heavily patrolled german and italian waters on the first day alone the aircraft carrier hms eagle would be sunk by a submarine with air attacks delivering extensive damage over the coming days but the british were determined to break through after two weeks of bombardment just five of the merchant ships managed to reach malta but it came at a high cost nine of the 14 merchant ships would be sunk along with one aircraft carrier two light cruisers and a destroyer with other ships being severely damaged but most importantly the supplies saved the island 55 000 tons of supplies would be delivered providing oil food and supermarine spitfires transforming the island's defenses the british could now continue to disrupt axis operations in the mediterranean with 27 axis ships being sunk that september and october alone the island of malta would be awarded the george cross by britain the highest award for civilian courage for the maltese people's remarkable resilience and heroism after the battle of tunisia the attacks on malta were rapidly reduced with the siege ending that november in 1942 the island of malta would play a key role in the upcoming months providing the allies with the base to invade sicily after the success of operation torch on the 8th of november 1942 the allies launched operation torch landing american and british troops in north africa they would land in the french colonies of morocco and algeria just south of spain with their ultimate destination being tunis a coastal city and the capital of tunisia with tunis under allied control this would provide a port to protect allied shipping convoys as well as an air base to bomb sicily and attack rommel supply lines however senior u.s commanders were initially against landing troops in north africa believing the roosevelt administration should focus on operation overlord the invasion of france but the british had rejected the plan believing that allies were not yet ready roosevelt however was concerned about a possible russian collapse believing a second front must be launched in order to relieve stalin of pressure and so he decided to send troops to africa this decision roosevelt believed would show the american public that some kind of action was being taken to fight against hitler as well as provide valuable training for american soldiers who had not yet experienced war american general dwight eisenhower would command the operation with british general harold alexander doing most of the planning as they landed in the french territories of algeria and morocco they met little resistance with the french troops stationed there soon surrendering and joining the allies in the fight against germany with the french now on the ally side hitler was furious sending in german troops to southern france that had previously escaped nazi occupation hitler also sent reinforcements to tunisia fully taking over the french colony german troops also tried to seize the french fleet at the port of toulon on france's southern coast however the french soldiers position there scuttled 77 ships before the germans could seize them back in africa the british kept pushing forward soon reaching tunisia where rommel had built up a defensive position but the americans went in overconfident and attacked rommel at the catharine pass the first battle of the war that would take place between the united states and germany completely inexperienced american troops suffered many casualties and were pushed back nearly 50 miles three thousand three hundred american soldiers were killed or wounded with another three thousand being taken into prisoner of war camps churchill's worries about a cross-channel invasion not being feasible with the current training of american troops had proven correct they needed more time to train however after being pushed back the americans were joined by the eighth army with rommel now facing growing british and american strength with their allies having regrouped they pushed into tunisia in april 1943. the fighting would last for almost a month and with hitler failing to reinforce rommel with supplies the germans were running low on ammunition fuel and food being pushed all the way back to tunis the germans tried to fight back against the allies but it wasn't enough on the 7th of may the allies entered the city and 5 days later the german and italian troops surrendered the battle for north africa was over after months of fighting the allies had won forty thousand axis soldiers would die in tunisia alone with a further 240 000 a quarter of a million men being taken as prisoners the loss of these men would prove detrimental to axis defenses with the invasions of sicily italy and france all on the horizon mussolini looked to north africa in fear he was now living on borrowed time with north africa firmly under allied control sicily would become the new point of focus the soviets had been asking the allies to open a second front preferably through france in order to alleviate the soviet army the united states agreed with the soviets but britain who had been fighting for two and a half years longer than the americans refused to go through with the plan their army after north africa was beginning to run short of manpower and so if an invasion of france was unsuccessful they wouldn't be able to attack again the americans reluctantly agreed to postpone the invasion of france but wanted to take action soon fearing that the soviets could crumble to a nazi invasion at any second leaving hitler and his armies free to attack the west sicily would now become the allies main focus providing a launch pad to which they can invade italy and then push through towards germany itself in order to invade sicily however the allies would first launch operation mincemeat a deception campaign aimed to confuse and divert axis forces stationed on the island british intelligence would dress the corpse of a homeless man in a royal marine uniform and let his body drift towards the coast of spain carrying fake secret documents the document stated that the allies were planning on invading greece and that a fake diversionary attack aimed at sicily would occur at the same time german intelligence believed the documents to be genuine and began to divert soldiers to the greek mainland with the germans and italians focusing on greece their allies would launch operation husky the invasion of sicily on july 10 1943 the operation would be commanded by general dwight eisenhower and general harold alexander the fighting itself however would see another two leaders with the american western task force being commanded by george patton and the british and canadian eastern task force being commanded by bernard montgomery they would initially lead 160 000 men into battle with the number soon rising to half a million they would be up against 300 000 axis forces many of whom had low morale after their defeat in north africa after a series of amphibious landings that didn't go to plan with bad weather steering the allies of course they were able to push northward driving the axis into retreat however montgomery's slow and methodical advance on the eastern side of the island had allowed the axis forces to create fortified defenses as they withdrew the hardest to break would be the etna line a defensive stronghold next to the volcano mount etna with the allies having to push through steep hills mountainous terrain and impossible minefields on the other side of the island however the united states were able to quickly advance northward eventually capturing palermo the island's capital taking 53 000 italian troops captive in the process with the city taken american forces could now help the british and canadians pushed through the aetna line the allies soon broke through with german high command quickly ordering a retreat on august 11th a massive fleet of transport ships would arrive at northern sicily with more than a hundred thousand axis forces escaping into italy the invasion of sicily was a massive success for the allies not only did it provide vital experience for the amphibious landings that were soon to take place in france but it had also provided relief to the soviets a week after the allies invaded the island hitler had diverted troops from the eastern front in an attempt to secure germany's southern flank in just 38 days of fighting in sicily allied forces had killed or wounded over 29 000 men almost double their own casualties along with 140 000 german and italian soldiers being taken captive allied control of the mediterranean would greatly reduce the amount of shipping that was previously lost to axis naval forces in the area with more food weaponry and medical supplies now reaching the front lines what churchill had described as the soft underbelly of europe for now seemed to be a reality with sicily firmly under british and american control churchill suggested that allies invade italy or what churchill called the soft underbelly of europe this plan churchill argued would tie down axis forces drawing troops away from the russian front therefore responding to soviet demands for allied action but it would also reposition german forces away from france where the allies were planning to invade in 1944 control of italy would also secure the mediterranean sea as well as provide the allies with new air bases from which they could intensify bombing on germany with churchill outright refusing to land at normandy until they had sufficient resources to do so and stalin urging for immediate action to be taken roosevelt reluctantly agreed that an invasion of italy was the only reasonable alternative just before the allies invaded italy however mussolini had been removed from office on july 24 1943 two weeks after the invasion of sicily the grand council of fascism had voted 19-7 to depose mussolini with italy's king then removing him from office he was replaced by a man called pietro berdolio who assured germany of his loyalty while he secretly negotiated with the allies but he proved to be completely incompetent with germany soon seizing key military positions throughout italy and mussolini being placed back in power as head of the german-occupied italian socialist republic in the north but for the allies italy was now controlled by nazi germany and the commander of the axis forces in the region general albert kesselring would prove to be a formidable opponent kessel ring's plan wasn't to drive the allies completely out of italy but to make their advance northwards as slow painful and costly as possible he would later become known as a master of defensive warfare on september 3rd 1943 the british eighth army under the command of general bernard montgomery crossed the strait of messina from sicily and invaded the italian mainland landing at the coasts of reggio and toronto in the extreme south of the country montgomery's men would meet little opposition having no trouble coming ashore and setting up bases however the british advance northward would soon be slowed down with the eighth army having to navigate through demolished bridges roadblocks mines and booby traps the germans were determined to make even the moving of supplies as difficult as possible six days after the british landings the us fifth army under general mark clark launched operation avalanche landing 165 000 allied troops at salerno the western side of italy but unlike the british the americans encountered heavy german resistance believing they had the element of surprise clark's forces had not bombarded the shores with artillery leaving german defenses intact so when the allies went ashore german panzers lay waiting for them the battle turned into a bloodbath with clark's forces nearly having to retreat completely but the allies were soon able to bring in naval gunfire driving the germans back after a week of fighting both sides had suffered heavy losses with the allies having lost two thousand men with a further seven thousand being wounded having failed to break through the allied lines kessel ring was ordered to retreat where he would begin to set up additional defensive lines further north [Music] the germans would take full advantage of the terrain italy had to offer with the allies encountering german defensive positions anchored in rivers valleys and mountains each of which had to be captured before the advance could continue eventually allied progress would come to a halt at the heavily fortified gustav line which stretched from the terrinian sea in the west across the apennines all the way to the adriatic it lay a hundred miles south of rome and it's where the allies would be stuck for the next six months they would make repeated attempts to break through but each time would end in failure and to make matters worse as the bulk of the allied forces had reached the line winter had just begun they would be met with heavy rain sleet and snow as well as chilling winds and blizzards soldiers would develop pneumonia fevers respiratory diseases and a fungal infection called trench foot where wet socks had not been removed for days on end thousands would die to the weather alone bogged down by mud mountains snow and rivers if their allies wanted to advance they would have to break the gustav line and in particular a hilltop monastery named monte casino monte casino was a 1400 year old hilltop monastery founded by saint benedict that lay at the western end of the gustav line it had become an extremely strong german defensive position with its location controlling access to both the leary valley and highway 6 the path that led to rome with its heavily fortified mountain defenses including concrete bunkers minefields tunnels and vast river crossings casino was the most important and the most difficult defensive position that allies would have to fight for the allies would make their first assault on the 17th of january 1944 with two more attacks following a few days later but they were simply unable to break through german defenses were too strong allied attacks would soon renew and by the middle of february some battles were seen that allies have to sustain losses of up to 80 the current course of action could not continue the focus of allied leadership began to turn to the monastery itself with them believing the germans were using it as an observation post from where they could make more accurate artillery fire it was this german exploitation they believed that was preventing them from breaching the gustov line but this was not the case despite the monastery being a great potential observation post because of its historical significance german commander albert kesselring had agreed with the vatican not to use the building in their defensive positioning and he had kept his word despite this and after much contemplation on the 15th of february 1944 the allies took the controversial decision to bomb the monastery with more than 200 bombers turning it into a pile of rubble to make matters worse the air raids were not followed up with an immediate ground attack leaving the germans to occupy the ruins creating an even more impenetrable defense when the allies did eventually attack a few days later it was to no avail the german line was now stronger than ever a third major battle would occur in march with the weather and in particular heavy rain making life difficult for soldiers on both sides for the allies things on the front lines were only getting worse with the fourth indian division and the second new zealand division having lost nearly five thousand men the gustav line seemed to be impenetrable with the tough and grueling combat pushing many soldiers to their breaking point if italy was to be captured it seems the allies would have to look for an opening somewhere else [Music] as the attack on the gustav line began in january allied high command had been planning for another amphibious landing codenamed operation shingle which they hoped would break the deadlock the plan was to land troops behind the gustav line forcing the germans to withdraw their men from monte cassino which would open a path for the allies to advance to rome the location chosen was a small coastal city on the western side of italy named anzio which lay 25 miles south of rome and 70 miles behind enemy lines the allies landed at anzio on the 22nd of january 1944 virtually unopposed and by the end of the first day alone more than 36 000 troops had come ashore the man in command of the operation major general john lucas was then told a reconnaissance unit had found an open path to rome but lucas was hesitant claiming his men were not yet ready to advance instead he decided to dig in to create a base on the beach head and wait for a german attack kesselring was quick to respond sending his reserve armies from rome and northern italy as well as men from the gustav line just three days after the allies had landed forty thousand german troops surrounded the beachhead lucas's lack of initiative would anger churchill who complained to his chiefs of staff i had hoped we were hurling a wildcat onto the shore but all we got was a stranded whale another week would pass with the germans now sporting 71 000 men against the allies 60 000 and just like the fighting over at monte casino their allies would have to deal with awful terrain the beachhead comprised of low-lying marshlands with no available cover and the trenches soon filled up with water with the soil unable to absorb the rain this would leave their allies exposed to german artillery which included an enormous 280 millimeter railway gun called anzio annie that bombarded away at the allied beachhead the luftwaffe also attacked them from the skies with ships close to the shore including the royal navy having to reposition to another location to avoid being sunk removing naval fire support from the area under constant bombardment the allies would make multiple attempts to break out but each time they would fail allied high command soon lost confidence in lucas's leadership and on the 22nd of february he was replaced by general lucian truscott of the us third division luckily for truscott as he took command german tactics had changed on the 29th of february kesselring ordered an attack on allied defenses which saw his men flinging themselves in the pouring rain against barbed wire and machine gun pit trenches but to no avail allied artillery would help crush the attacks with the german army taking heavy losses after two months of intense fighting the battle of anzio had come to yet another deadlock the germans had contained the allied invasion force but they were unable to push them back into the sea by the end of march 90 000 german troops had surrounded the allies but no major battles would occur instead the deadlock continued and much like the first world war artillery barrages and the patrolling of no man's land became the norm artillery would cause the bulk of casualties for both sides but since the allies were stationed on mosquito-infested marshes malaria trench foot and a host of other diseases would begin to take their toll with allied non-combat casualties reaching more than 37 000 by the end of the campaign further south the allies had been making progress at the gustav line with the arrival of spring weather the muddy roads had hardened allowing for the deployment of larger artillery as well as more men and so on the 11th of may 1944 the allies launched operation didum with a massive artillery bombardment smashing into german defenses the gustav line was beginning to break on the 17th the polish second corpse began their assault on monte casino and by the next day had occupied the previous german position although the capture of monte casino had been a success it had come at a high price with the allies having suffered 55 000 casualties the bloodiest battle of the entire italian campaign with monty casino now firmly in allied hands as well as troops now entering the leary valley german high command could see their supply lines had been breached and so ordered a tactical retreat further north to the hitler line on the 23rd of may the allied assault on the hitler line would begin with them breaking through after just two days of fighting there was now a clear path to rome baccatanzio after a four-month stalemate in which more than seven thousand men had died and more than 36 000 had been injured allied forces at the beach head now reached 150 000 with the fall of monte casino and the collapse of the gustav line on the 23rd of may the same day the allies attacked the hitler line general lucian truscott decided to launch a breakout offensive the morning would begin with 1500 artillery shells bombarding german defenses for almost an hour after this they would begin their advance but this time their allied attacks would prove successful and after just two days of fighting the german army was in full retreat now able to push through from anzio that ally's plan was to drive east and capture the germans retreating from the gustav and hitler line but as they were doing so general mark clark ordered truscott to stop advancing east and instead to push north towards rome this sudden change of plans did not go down well with other allied leadership but clark was determined that the u.s fifth army and not the british should be first seen entering rome in other words clarke would let the germans escape as long as it meant the united states reached rome before the british although getting to rome first would be a great political victory it would turn out to be a military disaster and a decision that allies would later regret as the same men they had let escape were now preparing for battle further north a battle that would cost the lives of thousands of men [Music] with their allies advancing quickly northward on the 3rd of june kesselring would declare rome an open city with his forces in the area having been pulled back to a defensive stronghold in the north called the gothic line the very next day on the 4th of june 1944 clark's american troops walked into rome civilians cheering his men on as they walked the streets for a time the world's eyes seemed to turn to rome and clark got the attention he'd been searching for but the fame was short-lived with the entire italian campaign quickly becoming a secondary theater of operations when just two days later d-day and the cross-channel invasion began the capture of rome was a significant milestone but it had also come at a great cost with total allied casualties up to this point exceeding 105 000 men as the allies advanced through the country northern italy had descended into a brutal civil war that would claim the lives of more than 150 000 people on one side were the italian and german fascists led by mussolini and on the other italian partisans and communists but with the war coming to an end and the germans in full retreat mussolini would make a desperate attempt to escape to switzerland but by this point his luck could run out while fleeing with his mistress he was caught by italian partisans where he would be shot dead his body was then dragged to milan where it was strung up outside a gas station alongside other prominent fascists crowds would cheer and beat his body as it appeared fascism had come to an end but after the fall of rome the fighting in italy would drag on for almost a year pushing northwards their allies would take florence before reaching the heavily fortified gothic line the line contained over two thousand machine gun nests bunkers and artillery positions constructed by hitler using slave labor facing bad terrain and weather their allies would assault the german defenses breaking through several times but never establishing a secure foothold by april 1945 there would be 1.5 million allies stationed in italy with the gothic line finally breaking just four days later the allies would cross the river po with the eighth army advancing north east towards venice and to the us fifth army advancing northwest towards milan with the german army defeated on all fronts and in full retreat they would see no option but to surrender on may 2 1945 just two days after the collapse of berlin the war in italy had come to an end the allies had destroyed the german army in italy but it had come at a great cost far from being the soft underbelly churchill thought it would be the allies found themselves attacking what u.s general mark clark called a tough old gut with the italian campaign becoming one of the most exhausting and grueling war efforts that allies would ever embark on it had taken the allies 22 months to get from sicily to the alps during which they had sustained over 300 000 casualties but far from being a failure the campaign had tied down over 400 000 german soldiers in italy giving much needed relief to the soviets in the east across the continent on the coast of england 156 000 american canadian and british troops lay waiting for a cross-channel invasion their targets were the beaches of utah omaha gold juno and sword d-day and the liberation of europe was but a moment away [Music] you

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Length: 84min 58sec (5098 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 01 2021