on
December The 12th
1937 the U.S. Naval Gunboat USS Panay Was Sailing Up the Yangtze River
The Panay Was a Flat-Bottomed Vessel Built in Shanghai
specifically for operating on the Great River
Which at over 3,000 miles long Was the longest in Asia and stretched deep into China
Both Great Britain and The United States had Invested Heavily in China for Many Years
Exploiting its Resources Including its Greatest of All, it's hard-working and cheaply employed People
Indeed many Cities in China, like the capital of Nanking had foreign districts built along the same lines of suburbs in
Washington or London
However China was not a Unified country and had been in the grips of an ideological power struggle since
1927 fought between the government and the communist party of China
Japan also occupied parts of the country but looked to exploit the civil war to gain even more
Territory in Manchuria and so in 1931
Manufactured a terrorist attack against a Japanese railway line
This was then used as a precursor for an invasion which saw China surrender Manchuria to Japan
But skirmishes continued until in the summer of 1937, Japan finally launched a full-scale invasion
Almost medieval acts of brutality carried out against the Chinese People by Japanese soldiers
With looting rape and mass murder being not only Commonplace, but actually encouraged by the Japanese leadership in
one shocking incident two Japanese officers held the competition to see who could decapitate
100 People with a Samurai sword The fastest and the incident was well publicized in Japan
It's also been remembered as the rape of Nanking
With all this happening in China both Britain and the US send their Navies up the Yangtze to protect their respective People's and Property
but to remain a Neutral Force in the fighting on land
By December 1937 The Japanese were encroaching on Nanking itself Where a large Number of Americans Lived and Worked and
So the USS Panay Was instructed to begin evacuating them on December the 11th
The Skies were abuzz with Japanese Warplanes and so The Americans Adorned a Vessel with large us flags to distinguish them from chinese Vessels
Early The Next morning the British Gunboat HMS Ladybird Was Shelled By Japanese Forces on shore
But Managed to escape serious damage
Later The USS Panay found itself attracting Unwanted Attention From 12 Japanese Planes and
Then Later a Japanese Gunboat
despite the large American Flags The Japanese Planes Attacked The American Gunboat and three Nearby tankers with Bombs and machine-gun fire
Over 50 Civilians and Crew on Board were wounded and Then Rescued by HMS Lady Bird and
HMS Bee as the Panay Sank While three Americans Charles L. Esminger Carl H. Carlson and
Edgar G. Hulsebus were Killed in the Attack Along with an Italian reporter
They Would be the first Americans to die in battle between the forces of the Imperial Japanese and the United States of America
Almost Exactly four Years Before The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
The scope of Japanese Nationalism Was Realized at The Genre Fortress Where from
1936 a Japanese doctor Named Shirō Ishii Began a Series of gruesome Medical Experiments on Human Beings
to develop biological and chemical Weapons for the Japanese Army
He had Been inspired by research carried out in Europe and had convinced The Japanese emperor to sanctioned Japan's own Research
Which he believed Would allow Japan to kill large Numbers of Enemy Forces quickly
something The Japanese Needed Desperately if They had plans to face the numerically superior Chinese or Soviet Union
When the Fortress Was attacked By resistant Fighters a Year Later he relocated his operation to Pingfang where the now notorious unit
731 was established
There Thousands of Chinese Civilians and Later Allied POWs were used in his nightmarish medical Experiments to develop biological
and Chemical Weapons as Well As Carry Out Experimental Surgeries
Unit 731 also trialed is biological Weapons Against Chinese Populations
Men Women Children animals and Even newborn infants were all used By Shirō Ishii's team to carry Out Their research
Throughout The 1930s
Japanese troops in Manchuria Fought a Series of One-Off Skirmishes with Chinese troops
culminating in full-scale War erupting Again on July The 7th 1937
After Years Of Fighting One Another The two sides of the Chinese Civil war the
Kuomintang and The Communists Called a ceasefire and United Against The Japanese
who took the Kuomintang's capital City of Nanking in December 1937
The Brutality of Japanese Forces Against The Chinese Coupled with the attacks on the American Vessel USS Panay and US
Delegates in Nanking Turned The United States Firmly against Japan
But US President Franklin Roosevelt Believed that the US Was more Likely to get embroiled in war in europe Than the far East
Thus While he authorized cash Payments to the Chinese to fund Their war efforts against the Japanese and
Even Allowed American Pilots to fight for the Chinese air force as Part of The famous Flying Tigers unit
He remained more focused on preparing to confront Hitler
This Played Into Japan's Hands As They continued Their Expansion into China and Southeast Asia
But and the continuing pressure from his Military Commanders
Roosevelt did authorize Increasingly Tougher restrictions on trade with Japan in an effort to punish them for their actions in China Beginning in
1938
The Japanese Themselves also Viewed War with America as Unlikely and were more Concerned with another conflict Breaking Out with the Soviet Union
North of Their Manchurian conquests
But The American embargoes did hurt them and caused Alarm in the Japanese leadership
nevertheless in September 1940 a Week before Japan Joined The Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy
Japanese Troops Entered French Indochina
Now Vietnam
Escalating What the US and UK saw As a Growing Crisis in Asia at
First The Japanese Only Used Indochina as a base for troops in the event of a War with the Soviet Union
But When Hitler Invaded the Soviet Union in 1941
Japan Occupied The rest of the Country and would continue to do so Until 1945
After Japanese Troops Entered French Indochina the US
Placed Their Toughest Sanctions Yet on Japan By embargoing Vital Scrap Metal Exports and Borrowing Japanese Ships from using the Panama Canal
Tensions Between Both Sides rose Throughout 1941 Leading to a series of negotiations to bring about a Peaceful Solution
Birds The Japanese Military especially The Navy Viewed war with the US as inevitable
The Japanese had by That time Plans to invade British, Dutch and French possessions Deeper Into Southern Asia as
Part of Its Plans Under its Greater East Asia Co-prosperity sphere concept Such as Brunei and The Dutch East Indies
But This Expansion Would Leave them vulnerable to attack from the US based in the Philippines Should They decide to interfere
Therefore They Began to draw Up plans for a decisive Attack on the US navy in an effort to destroy It before it could mobilize
As
Early As 1940 The Japanese Began theorizing Plans for an Attack on Hawaii and the Philippines
By April 1941 The Japanese Began training for an Attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in
What they had dubbed operation Zet Which was the brainchild of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
The Pilots trained to attack ships in Pearl Harbor Using air Launch Torpedoes
but The problem was that these Weapons tended to dive Deeper Than The shallow Waters of the Harbor allowed
The Japanese came Up with a cunning Solution Wooden fins are Forced the torpedo to rise Up immediately after hitting the Water on
November 26 1941 The japanese Fleet Set sail For hawaii and a Strict Radio Silence
at The time both the US and Washington were still negotiating But Roosevelt's Government had by then Began Demanding Japan
Withdrew From China Altogether
something Totally Unthinkable to the Japanese leadership
The Fleet comprised of six Aircraft Carriers With
359 fighters and Bombers
Making It The Most powerful Naval Aviation Force in History at That time on
December The 1st Yamamoto Was Informed that War with the Dutch, US, and UK, had Been authorized by the Japanese leadership
But Should It Appear That Both Sides were about to reach an amicable solution prior to december the 7th
Then He Should authorize to pull the Fleet back and Cancel The Attack
Endowed with intelligent photographs of Pearl Harbor Taken By a Japanese Spy aboard a Sightseeing Aircraft
Yamamoto made His final preparations on december the 6th and with no sign of a Peaceful Solution
The This morning The Aircraft took off from Their Carriers
The air Attack Was preceded By a Group of Japanese Midget Submarines That Attempted to sneak into the harbor
But One of them Was attacked and Sunk by the destroyer USS
Ward, Which fired The first American Shots of The Pacific theater of World War 2
This Should Have Alerted The Americans to an Attack but the information did Not Reach The US Admiralty in time
Meanwhile an American Radar Station Spotted The Formation of Japanese Aircraft But Was told That It Was a Flight of B-17s
arriving From Mainland USA and so no action was taken
At Pearl Harbor The Sailors were waking Up and preparing for a routine Sunday with Naval Bands Playing Songs
While the Skies Began to fill with Aircraft
The Americans were Taken completely By surprise and the Bands were still playing as the first bombs and torpedoes Struck The ships
During The Course of the Attack the Japanese Damaged or Sank eight American Battleships
Three Cruisers Three Destroyers an Anti-Aircraft Training Ship and a Minelayer a
Number of Nearby US Army Airfields were also hit in air raids
The Aircraft base There had Been Bunched together on the ground to make It easier to guard them against possible sabotage
But all This did Was Increased The damage caused by The bombs as They Landed Amongst them in
All the US Lost
2403 service personnel in the Course of the Attack While over a Thousand more Was Seriously Wounded
The damage could have Been Greater had Yamamoto Not decided to cancel a follow-up Attack Because They had lost The element of surprise
The Japanese Lost 29 Aircraft and five Midget Submarines That Attempted to participate in the Attack
All in all 64 Japanese were Killed While one Japanese Navy officer Kazuo Sakamaki Was captured alive
After His submarine was Grounded Becoming The first Japanese Prisoner of War Taken by The Americans
Crucially However and Almost Purely By Chance The US Navy's Aircraft Carriers were not present at the harbour and thus Survived Unscathed
The Next day president Roosevelt met with the us congress to ask them to vote on declaring war on Japan
The Vote Was almost Unanimously in favor of war Say For One objection By representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana
She told congress as a Woman I cannot Go to war and I refuse to send anyone else
In his speech Roosevelt Described december the 7th as a date Which Would live in Infamy
Less Than Four Days After Pearl Harbor Was Attacked
Adolf Hitler acting on His own Authority and Without Consulting his staff
Ordered His government to declare war on the US
in support of Japan and in respond to what he viewed as the USA violating its Neutrality By Supporting Britain
For The United States Of America The Second World war had begun
Admiral Yamamoto predicted That After The opening of Hostilities with the USA
Japan Would Have six months with Which to decisively Defeat the US
In the pacific to such an Extent that Washington Would have to sue for peace
Which would effectively Surrender The Pacific and Asia to Tokyo
Phew in Japan Truly Believes that an Invasion of The us Mainland Was a Possibility Given
How over stretched Japan Was Already With Its war
Which Was primarily aimed at British and Dutch Empire territories with the grand prize being Australia itself
The Reason he gave six months Was Because that was how long he predicted it would take
For The Mighty US Industrial complex to fully Gear Up for war
After Which Japan Could Not hope to match American war production
The Japanese Therefore Wasted Little time and Began Their own form of Blitzkrieg in the east
Within 24 Hours of The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese Troops had Attacked British Forces in Malaya and Hong Kong and
American Forces on the Philippines on
December The 10th two British Battle Cruisers HMS Prince of Wales and
HMS Repulse
Sailed to Attack The Japanese but Was sunk By Japanese Aircraft
This Attack Finally Convinced The World's Navies
That Aircraft Were now displacing surface Vessels as The most powerful Weapons of Naval warfare
The Battle for the Philippines saw some of Japan's most Experienced soldiers Pitted Against The numerically Superior
Bert's Mixed Bag of Defenders Who Varied from US regular Forces down to police officers and Volunteers
The Japanese Quickly overrun them despite the Valiant defense
But Pockets of stone American resistance Would continue in the Bataan peninsula
Until May the Following Year by Which time these men had become Famously Known as the Battling Bastards of Bataan
Ultimately Defeated The American and Filipino Fighters Then Found Themselves facing Horror of The Bataan Death March
Which Saw Nearly 80,000 exhausted and Wounded men Marched 70 miles into Captivity if
Any of them Became Too Weak to walk They were Bayoneted by Their captors and left to die
Hong Kong fell on Christmas day 1941
Like in China the population found Themselves The subject of rape and Murder at The Hands of the Japanese
especially Those of European Origin a
Few Weeks Later The Japanese attacked the Solomon Islands Beginning One of The most Bitter Campaigns of The war
Holding the Solomon Islands Allowed The Japanese to attack shipping Carrying Vital War Supplies from the US To Australia and New Zealand
Australia Was Now Seriously Under Threat from Attack by the Japanese
Which was Realized on March The 3rd
1942 When Japanese Planes Attacked British and Australian Planes a Broome in Western Australia on February
the 8th
1942 Japanese troops Launched Their offensive against British Singapore
Despite a Staunch defense the Garrison Was Forced to surrender a Little Over a Week later
Like in Hong Kong the population Was subject to shocking Brutality
Including One incident That Saw Doctors Nurses and Patients Of a Hospital Bayoneted
a
Month Later Saw The Start of The Burma campaign with the Japanese aim of securing the Major Seaport of Rangoon and
close Land Supply Routes to the Chinese
The Japanese were Joined in Their effort By Indian and Burmese Nationalist Armies Who wanted to remove the British from their countries an
Army From Thailand also Supported The Japanese but It was Here where their Advance Would Finally start to bog down
The dense Jungle and intense weather made fighting Here bitter Painful and Slow and
Despite Their best efforts The Japanese Failed to break the allied Defence
The Burma campaign Would continue Until the end of the war as the allies slowly Pushed the Japanese bank on
April The 18th the US
Carried Out a Daring Raid against The Japanese home Islands When a Force of US Army air force
B-25 Mitchell Bombers were Launched from The Aircraft Carrier USS
Hornet
The Sixteen Bombers were led By Lieutenant Colonel James Jimmy Doolittle and split Up to attack targets in Tokyo, Nagoya,
Kobe, and Osaka
Before Flying on to China
The Raid Achieved Very little in Terms of strategic importance
but At a time When the Japanese seemed unstoppable in the pacific It sent us morale Soaring
At Sea the US Navy Was rapidly mobilizing his forces to stop the Japanese Advancing Towards The west coast of America
Resulting in an engagement Between American and Japanese Vessels at The Battle of Coral sea on may the 4th 1942
The Battle Saw Aircraft as the Main means of fighting and as Such Was the first Naval Battle in history
Where the ships of both Sides Never Saw One Another
The Americans took Significant Casualties including The loss of a Vital Aircraft Carrier The USS Lexington
But Succeeded in momentarily Halting The Japanese advance and Perhaps Most Significantly
damaging Two Japanese Carriers That were Forced to return home for repairs on
June The 3rd a Small Japanese Force Invaded The Islands of Attu and Kiska
in the Aleutians off the coast of Alaska
With The Aim of providing a base to hamper allied shipping to the soviet union and China
Due to the remoteness of the islands the extreme weather conditions and the events in the South Pacific
It would be Over a Year before a Numerically superior American and Canadian Force Could Remove them in august 1943
Having Two Carriers Retreat From Combat After The Battle of the Coral sea Would prove especially significant When on June the 4th
1942
US And Japanese Naval Forces met Again in the battle of Midway Island
Midway Island Was One of The last objectives before The Japanese could Invade Hawaii and
As Such It Was Vital to both Sides Who Deployed the bulk of Their carrier Forces
The Japanese had four Aircraft Carriers Rather Than the six they Should Have had
Had it not Been for the damage Sustained in the earlier Battle
The Americans on the other Hand only had three and the air Battles that followed saw some of The most intense air Combat in history
The Americans Attacked The Japanese Carriers with Torpedo Bombers Which took the brunt of The Japanese defensive fire
High above However American dive Bombers Virtually Stumbled Across The Japanese Carriers and made Their Attack almost Unopposed
The Wooden Decks of The Carriers were covered with ammunition and Aviation Fuel
So when The bombs detonated Their effect Was Greatly Increased
The Japanese Would lose all four Carriers in The battle something They would never recover from
While the Americans lost Just One the USS Yorktown
The Japanese had Finally Been Halted and Now Began The slow island-hopping Campaign to push them back to Japan
starting in August with an American offensive against The Island of Guadalcanal
Yamamoto had Been proved Correct
After Six Months of Victory The Japanese lost The initiative under Tide had well and truly Turned against them
He would not see to live Japan's ultimate Defeat for he was Killed When his personal Transport Aircraft
Was Shot Down by American Fighters on April the 18th
1943
Like Rommel His memory is as respected in allied countries as His own
America's Entry into the war against Nazi Germany Began in Ernest with the first American troops arriving in Britain By the end of January
Meanwhile Germany's U-boats were now permitted to extend their operations right Up to the American coastline in
order to strike At Convoys as They Left port
However Now the U-boat Commanders had to contend with The American Warships hunting them as Well as British and Canadian Warships
Despite This the U-boats continued to inflict Painful Losses on the allies
1942 opened with Two significant events in the Course of Human History
The first occurred on January The 1st when 26 nations
Excluding Any of The Axis power Signed the United Nations Charter The
UN was to replace the failed League of Nations and had a Greater degree of Authority. To intervene on the world stage in the future
The Second occurred three Weeks Later But had a Much darker tone on
January The 20th Key Nazi figures met at the Wannsee Conference
Chaired By Reinhard Heydrich to discuss implementing the "Final Solution" Against Jews and Other Undesirables in
Nazi controlled Lands
This Helped establish The Policy for eradicating large Numbers of People Quickly using gas
Heydrich would be killed before the Third
Reich's Brutal ambitions came to full Fruition as he was assassinated in a British
Orchestrated Attack By Czech Freedom Fighters five Months Later
Mere Days Before The gassing at Auschwitz Began
On the Eastern Front the Germans and the Axis allies prepared for a Fresh summer offensive against the Soviet Union
Which Was Still recovering From The setbacks It had encountered in the opening Battles
At Lenninggrad The German Army Was Laying siege to the city whose population stubbornly Refused to surrender in
May The Germans Launched an ultimately Successful offensive into Crimea in the Ukraine and
Then in June They Lay siege to Sevastopol
Which held out Until July The 3rd the
Germans Then pressed on to a City on the edge of the river volga whose name Would become Synonymous with a Brutal nature of the
Eastern Front
Stalingrad
with the City Bearing the name of Their leader The Soviets Would fight Tooth and nail to keep the city from Falling into German Hands
Not Only for strategic reasons But for symbolic Purposes as well
Between late August 1942 and Early February
1943
Both Sides fought house-To-House For control of The Now Ruined City in
November 1942 The Soviets Attacked The Romanian and Hungarian
Units Supporting The German 6th Army fighting Inside the City
trapping Them there and cutting them off from Supplies
Attempts to Get Supplies to the Germans by air failed and by February The Germans had lost The battle that Missed another harsh Russian Winter
Nearly Two Million soldiers and Civilians Would Be lost in the battle for the city in
Western Europe
British and Canadian Forces Plan to raid the French Port of Dieppe with the primary aim being to prove as an allied Assault on
occupied France Was possible it
Was also meant to reassure Stalin that the western allies Remained committed to opening Up another front to relieve His own forces
Launched on August the 19th The raid Was a Near disaster with almost 60% of the force being Killed Captured or wounded
While It failed to achieve its immediate objectives It did teach the allies valuable lessons about such large assaults
That Would Be Applied in the future
During the interwar years Aircraft Technology Advanced Considerably With Bomber Aircraft especially Becoming Larger Faster
Able to fly higher and Carry a greater Bomb Load across the length of the European continent as
war Broke Out even more powerful Four-Engine Bombers Such As The American B-17 flying Fortress
and British Avro Lancaster were on the drawing board
But The problem was that There was no truly accurate Way to drop Bombs onto a target from altitude
dive bombing Could Put a Bomb onto a target the size of a Tank
But This could Only Be Achieved by Smaller Aircraft Such as the Junkers Ju 87 stuka
Which is why dive bombing Was primarily used to support the army or Attack ships
By The late 1930s a Frightening New doctrine in air warfare Was considered By Air Force Leaders across the World
But Called For the use of armadas of bombers to drop Huge numbers of Bombs Over a large area of Strategic significance
These targets Would Often Center Around Industrial complexes Such as Factories or Refineries
But Would also include the Homes of the Workers Who lived nearby and the infrastructure to support those People Their shops
Churches or anything to do with everyday life
Finally The Death Toll Such acts Would create Was Seen as being enough to drive the survivors Mad with Fear
Leading to a Breakdown of social order and with the country no longer Able to function It Would Be Forced to surrender
This doctrine Was Known by Many Terms
Carpet Bombing Aerial Denial Strategic Bombing
But The truth Was It Was little more Than a Government-Sanctioned active Military Terrorism
Hitler and The Nazi leadership especially Believed in such tactics
reflecting Their Views of The inferior Peoples outside of Germany
The Nazis gave The World a taste of the power of Such operations during The spanish Civil war and
Then Again During The Invasion of Poland in
Both Instances The Germans were ultimately Victorious But This had more to do with the events on the ground with the German Army
It would not be until the battle of Britain That the concept Was truly Put into practice with German Bombers attacking British Cities
Such as London,
Coventry, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Even Belfast in Northern Ireland
Known as the Blitz from September 1940 Until May 1941
German Bombers Launched a Massive offensive Against British Cities in the hope that It Would Crush britain's resolve to continue the war in
The Early Days of The Blitz the British Leadership
Feared That The Germans were achieving Their Aims as large Numbers of People Began fleeing the cities Which acted as makeshift Shelters
something The Government tried to avoid
However as Other cities were attacked the population Who left Began returning
Except For The Children Who were evacuated for the Duration of The war
The Feared Collapse of Social order Failed to materialize and with Germany preparing The invasion of The Soviet Union in
1941
The Luftwaffe withdrew Much of its bomber force to support the Eastern and African Campaigns
However Over
45,000 People Perished in the Blitz and Rather Than achieve Victory for The Germans is Instead Hardened British resolve
Which now Called for revenge for Those lost
To some observers the failure of the Blitz
Demonstrated The inadequacies of trying to terror bomb populations into Submission
Some engineers in Britain Like the gifted Barnes Wallis
Believed he had a solution to the problem of Accuracy with a proposal to create Very Heavy Bombs carried By super Heavy Bombers
The Very Heavy Bombs Didn't Stray from Their Arm Point like the lighter Bombs often did
Making It Easier to predict where they would land and Thus Increased Accuracy
Later in the war wallace's proposals Would Be proven Correct with British Bombers Being Able to strike Targets
Such as Narrow Viaducts and Ships from altitude
Wallis and Supporters Wanted to build a Fleet of these super Heavy bombers to target Germany's Factories and Shipyards
Thus Denying The Germans the ability to build the Very tools for war
But he was met with open Hostility from some of The RAF Leadership
Many of Whom Incredibly Still Saw The value of area Bombing
One Man in particular Believed in its ability Namely air Marshal sir Arthur Harris
Who took over the RAF bomber Command in 1941
Supported By Churchill Harris Called For The RAF to start area bombing Key German Cities in
effort To bring Germany to its Knees with operations Beginning in 1942
Now supported by The us army air Forces
The Soviet Union Also Attacks German Cities including Berlin
But This Was not in conjunction with the western allies and Was often in retaliation or for propaganda purposes
Harris Used the Blitz as Justification for His campaign as he put it
"The Nazis entered the war under the Rather Childish Delusion That They were going to bomb everyone else and Nobody Was going to bomb them
They Showed the Wind and Now They're going to reap the Whirlwind"
Harris Learned The Wrong lessons from the Blitz
Firstly he Believed that a Population Living Under a
Totalitarian Regime Such As nazi Germany Would Break Under a Sustained bombing Campaign since The urge to be free would Go stronger as
Resentment Towards The Nazis Group
Secondly he Believes that the German Luftwaffe lacked The bomber Force Necessary for such a Campaign to be successful
Since It Was primarily organized in Support of The German Army
Rather Than strategic operations as The RAF Increasingly Was
Harris and Supporters were initially disappointed with The Early Results
citing Continuing Issues With Navigation
Which Was especially a Problem for The RAF Who flew their operations at night to protect them from Germany's day fighter Forces
This Would Be Addressed Over time with the use of Navigational Beacons and Later Radar Sets on Board The Aircraft
The US aircrew Who flew Bomber With better Protection Than Their RAF counterparts Flew in Daylight Which Greatly Improved Navigational Accuracy
But The bombers were Harassed by Enemy fighters Almost The Whole Way to the target and back again leading to heavy Losses
So Heavy were the Losses in the Early Days That's at One point the US
Considered Abandoning Daylight operations and Joining The RAF at Night with a Handful of US
Bombers Flying Night Missions with The RAF for trial Purposes
Harris Believed the Solution Was to simply increase the Number of aircrafts in the air to increase the devastation Below and
cooperative Protection for The Aircraft
This Led to operation Millennium a Bold Plan Like Called for Over a Thousand RAF Bombers Nearly Every available Aircraft
in bomber command
Including training Aircraft to take to the skies against a single City Namely Cologne on
May The 30th the city Was Subjected to the most concentrated single air Attack in history Up to that Point
Over the Next two and a Half Years allied Bombers Smashed German Cities in the belief It Would Defeat Germany
but As had Been proven in the Blitz against London
It's only Hardened The German People's resolve and tied Up much of the allied Resources
It Was not entirely a Failure however since It did Indeed destroy much of Germany's Industrial complex
Forcing them to relocate factories into Mountains or Hidden in the countryside
but It did fail to achieve the victory Harris Promised
for Much Of The war the allied bomber Crews were Seen as heroes
Since for a time They were the only force taking the war directly to Nazi Germany
As the end of the war came in sight However and pictures of What allied bombing had done to Germany was Seen Around the World
The Populations of Britain and the us began to Turn against Harris and the bomber Crews
However Harris Would Remain
Unapologetic For The rest of His life
Hitler's Decision to invade the Soviet Union and then declare war on the United States
Was made While Rommel's Afrika Corps Was still fighting the British eighth Army in Africa a
Force Which Would Forever be Known as the Desert Rats
British and Commonwealth Forces Have begun Receiving large Numbers of more Advanced American-made tanks
Such as the M3 Grant an M4 Sherman Which greatly Helped Redress The balance With Germany's tank Forces
with the US Now fully Engaged against Nazi Germany Rommel Knew that time was no longer a Luxury he could afford
He had to achieve Victory against the British Forces and secure North Africa quickly before the Americans could Land Their troops in force
All the while he faced a never-ending problem With Supplies as Hitler focuses Attention on the Soviet Union
Rommel Began
1942 with a fresh offensive and Surly Began to push the British back across Egypt
His Genius As a Leader Was
Emphasized by His ability to achieve a Lot with Very little but a shortage of Fuel was Forever headache for Him and
Repeatedly Slowed His Advance Eastward on
August 13th The Desert Rats received New commander His name Was Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and
Like Rommel he had a personality to match His tactical Skill
Known affectionately As Monte to his men and the public he wore a Unique two badge berret
Drove Around and a Specially Modified
M3 tank and camped a picture of Rommel in His office to remind Him of his enemy Whenever he made his plans a
Tradition Maintained By American and British Tank Units to this Very day
By August the 31st
1942 the British Forces were boxed in Around El Alamein Where Rommel means What he believed to be his Final push to the Nile
However Well-Prepared British Defenses Saw The Attack Fail and so Rommel attempted to out flank them to the South
Which Only Saw His Forces Run Out of Fuel and fall back
Finally on October The 23rd
Monte Launched his great counter-offensive from El Alamein It Began with an incredible
900 artillery gun barrage That Saturated The Germans for Days Before Monte's tanks Pushed Forward
After a Series of Bitter Battles and with The Help of a Reinvigorated RAF Supported By New American Aircraft
Dominating The Skies above the Desert
Rommel Began His long Retreat Back with Monte in pursuit as
Monte chased Rommel Back Into Libya Worse news for the German General Was to come on November the 8th
1942 When a Huge Force of American and British troops
Supported By Pro allied Vichy French troops Landed in Morocco and Algeria to the West of Libya
Dubbed "Operation Torch" The Landings were the first Major
American-British Joint Operation and Was Under The Command of US General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Thus the Further West Rommel Retreated from Monty's Enemy the closer he got to Eisenhower's Army That Was Advancing Towards Him
Over the coming Year Rommel Would continue to fight an increasingly Hopeless Battle
Having to contend With immense allied Forces on two fronts
All the While suffering Chronic Supply Shortages and Having to contend With Hitler Who was increasingly Uninterested with Africa
Even When Hitler Released Supplies for Rommel They were increasingly being intercepted By American and British Naval Forces
That were swarming the Mediterranean
Throughout April
1943 It was Clear The Campaign in Africa Was lost and not wanting to lose One of The Third Reich's most esteemed Generals
Hitler Ordered Rommel Back To Germany as The Afrika Korps Finally Collapsed in May 1943
Defeat in north Africa Left The south of Nazi-Occupied europe and Their Ally Italy
Exposed to allied bombers and Ships as Well as Increasingly Denying Them the use of the Mediterranean
Rommel Himself Would Later commit suicide after Being implicated in a Plot to kill Hitler
There was Now debate among the allies as what to do next
The Soviet Union had Been demanding the Western Allies open up a Second front in Europe since america entered the war
The Americans Agreed and Wanted to strike France as soon as possible
Birth Churchill on the other hand Believed that Italy Would be the best setting for opening Up a new front in Europe
Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini Was Increasingly Losing His grip on power and
Churchill Believed that if Italy Was Invaded his government Would Fall and so Would any organized resistance
for This reason he labeled Italy Europe's Soft Underbelly and at The Casablanca Conference
He managed to convince Roosevelt To agree to support an Attack
Dubbed "Operation Husky" on July the 9th
1943
American and British Paratroopers and Amphibious Assault Forces Landed on The South side of Sicily and Began Pushing North
Prior to the invasion the British carried Out a Successful disinformation operation
Involving the use of a Dead man's body Dressed in a Royal Marines officer's Uniform
and Released It By submarine Near Spain With Plans for an allied Invasion of Greece The
Germans Recovered The Body and Believed the plans to be genuine and so focus their defensive efforts on Greece and not on Sicily in
Less Than a Month The entire Island Was Under allied Control
Which Allowed it to act As a Springboard for the allied Invasion of Mainland Italy Which Began on September the 3rd
Allied Forces first Landed At Taranto on the Heel of Italy
followed By Landings At Calabria and Salerno a Week Later as
Churchill predicted It Said he Was quickly destabilizing to the point where Mussolini was Removed from power on July The 24th
1943
The New Italian Government Began Secretly negotiating an armistice With the allies before allied troops Even Landed in Italy
It was announced publicly on September the 8th and Additional allied Landings were made Unopposed
But The Germans had caught on to what Was happening and Moved in to take Over key defensive positions and disarmed a Now potentially hostile
Italian Army
This Led to opening fighting Between the former Allies and on September the 9th the Italian battleship "Roma" Was sunk by German
Aircraft in What Was the first Attack in History carried Out using air Launched anti-ship Missiles on the
Greek Islands of Cephalonia
Italian Forces Battled German Troops for Over a Week and a Half
before being Defeated and Thousands of Italian Prisoners were then Massacred by The Germans on
September The 12Th 1943
Mussolini Was Rescued from prison in a daring Raid By German Special Forces and Flown to Northern Italy
Which Was Under German Control
Italy Was Now a de facto state of Civil war with The pro allied south Battling the pro-nazi north!
Which had Been re-branded as the "Italian Social Republic"
Any Hopes of Sweeping Through Italy By Christmas 1943 Was Soon Dashed
However as The Germans and Their Remaining Italian Allies organized a Tough Defense Along The Winter line a
Series of three defensive Lines countered Around protecting The strategically important Monastery of Monte Cassino
The Allies Would continue Advancing North Through to the end of 1943 but It Was a Slow and Painful process as
The Western Allies Slog Through Italy The Soviets continued Their fight to repel the Germans who are still advancing Through The Soviet Union on
July The 5th
1943 the Germans Launched Operation Citadel
Sparking The Battle of Kursk
This Battle Saw Such an immense use of tank Forces by Both Sides That It Remained the largest single tank Battle in history
Having Realized The Battle Would take Place at the Kursk Salient the Soviets had ample time to prepare Their Defenses and
For The first time in the war a German strategic Advance Failed
The re-Energized and reorganized Soviet Forces had By Now Learned from Their Early Mistakes and were taking the initiative
Against the German Invaders
Having Lost Their Momentum on the eastern front and with allied troops pushing Through Italy The noose Was tightened Around Nazi Germany in
The Pacific the situation for Japan Was no better as They continued Their own Retreat back to their home Islands
Which were Themselves not a subject of air raids by The new B-29
Super-fortress Strategic Bombers Flying From India and China
in January 1944 Soviet Forces Finally Lifted The siege of Leningrad
The City had Held Out for two Years and Nearly five months and had even continued Undertaking Limited tank production
but at The cost of an estimated Half a Million Dead
The immense Soviet Army Now Began Steamrolling Their Way west pushing the Germans and Their Axis Allies further back on
March The 26th Soviet troops Pursued the Germans into Romania and Over a Month Later Retook the Crimea in
Italy The Battle for The German-held Territory Around The Monastery of Monte Cassino Began
Between January and May the Allies Launched four Major
Offensives Against The Germans there Which was key to their defensive lines protecting Pro Axis Northern Italy
But Dogged German resistance Repelled Them Until Finally on May The 18th 1944
The Allies Broke Through Along a 20-mile line
The Victory cost the Allies Fifty five Thousand men and Was met with a Great deal of criticism When the ancient Monastery itself
Was Bombed by Allied Warplanes
at The same time the allies were fighting at Monte Cassino
Another Allied Force Landed At Anzio in an Attempt to outflank the main German defensive lines it
Was Under The Command of us Army Major General John Lucas and
Despite landing and establishing a Beachhead the allies found themselves Contained there until May by Which time Lucas had Been Relieved of his command
with the Victory of Cassino and the Breakout from Anzio the allies Pushed Towards Rome
with the first US Army Units arriving at The City on June 4th
in
The far east The Japanese Launched a Major offensive to push British empire Forces out of Burma and into India
Despite some Early Gains and The charismatically brutal nature of jungle warfare the Japanese were halted and then Pushed back
It would prove one of The last Major offensives that The japanese could Muster
In the Pacific the island hopping Campaigns continued with Many Japanese Garrison's Now being Starved of Supplies
Thanks to an increasingly effective US Navy submarine blockade of The Japanese home Islands
Nevertheless The Fanatical Japanese made the Allies pay for Every inch of Ground
Stalin had Been calling for the opening of a Western front in Europe since the Americans Joined the war in order to ease pressure on
His forces
The paranoid dictator Even Confided in some of his aides That he Believed the west were deliberately delaying opening a front in
order to Wear down the Soviet Forces
By 1944 the Western Allies were Finally preparing to storm Fortress Europe
Which WouLd Force The Now outnumbered Germans and Their Axis Supporters to commit resources to three battle fronts
Just Like Hitler When he planned to invade Britain
The Allies Knew That Any crossing of The English Channel had to be made in the summer months Because the weather
Afterwards Would prove too Hazardous
Britain therefore Became The History's Biggest staging post in the first Half of
1944
It seemed as though Every available piece of Land Was Being Turned into an Airfield for Aircraft or parking Lots for tanks and Trucks
Knowing That German Aircraft were Still carrying Out reconnaissance Over the UK
The Allies Devised ingenious Ways of confusing The Germans intelligence Pictures
Such As inflatable tanks and Wooden airplanes That Looked Real enough on reconnaissance Photos Taken at High altitude
Finally By June 1944 the Allies were ready to launch an Invasion
Dubbed Operation Overlord It Was Under The Command of The supreme allied commander
General Dwight D. Eisenhower and It Was decided to Land troops At Normandy Rather Than the more obvious choice of Calley
Which Was a Shorter Journey Between the UK and France
The RAF and
US AAF had Spent Months softening Up Defenses Along The Germans so-Called Atlantic Wall
While French resistance Gathered intelligence on German Forces in the area as Well as Conducting Sabotage of
Transport Links on
June The 6th D-Day Began with an immense airborne Invasion of Normandy by allied paratroopers
They were parachuted in behind the lines in an effort i flanked the main German Defenders Along The coast
In the Early Hours of the morning the main Amphibious Force Landed at five Beaches each Given Their own codename?
American Beaches were Utah and Mmaha
British Beaches were Gold and Sword and The Canadian Beach Was Juno
despite intense fighting and Heavy Casualties the Allies had secured the Beachhead and opened The Western front
The previous Experiences at (???) Salerno Anzio and The Pacific had taught the allies wow how to best Conduct Amphibious
Operations
culminating in this, the invasion of Nazi occupied Europe
Three Whole fronts the Allies were now pushing the Germans back to the Fatherland
Despite the numerical Advantage the allies Enjoyed The Germans were still Able to demonstrate their extraordinarily
Technological Prowess a Week after D-Day The 1st V1 flying Bombs Began to rain down on London
While They lacked The Accuracy to greatly Affect the outcome of the war they did terrorize the south East of England and
distracted The Allies by having them focus on bombing Their Launch Sites
This WouLd Be Reinforced Later with The introduction of The V2 Which became the blueprint for Today's
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
Germany had also Introduced the first operational Jet Fighter The ME-262
These wonder Weapons had an Unexpected Advantage for the allies However
Hitler Had Such Great Faith in Germany's Missiles Rocket Fighters and super tanks That he diverted Much-needed Resources
Into their development Rather Than allocating Those Resources to more conventional But proven Weapons
The Immaturity of The technology meant That They Weren't Able to deliver The results Hitler Fantasized about and
so their continued development only Hampered Germany's war effort
By Tying Up increasingly Limited Resources
Knowing This a Secret Plot to kill Hitler with a Bomb was devised By some of his generals
But The Plot failed and the conspirators were executed in
July The Russians Reached Poland While in august the western Allies had liberated Paris
The Germans were now in full retreat as the allies Carefully But Steadily Advanced east But field Marshal Montgomery
Devised a Daring Plan To speed up the Defeat of Germany
Involving the use of paratroopers to capture a Series of Bridges across the Rhine and Mass Rivers in the Netherlands and Germany
Ground Forces were then Raced Towards the Bridges to secure them and allow allied troops to flood into Germany itself
It Was a Risky Plan Leaving One British General to Famously Say "I think we May be going a bridge too far"
However Monte Had Managed to convince Eisenhower and the operation Began on September the 17th
Codenamed "Market Garden" The operation Was walked with problems
resistance Was far Higher Than Expected and not all the Bridges were captured
German Forces
Encircled the paratroopers and over a Week Later the remaining allied Elements Either had to fight Their Way back to allied Lines or surrender
After
Market Garden The Allies returned to their slow But Steady progress Through Western Europe
But The Germans were not Finished yet as the year drew to a close the Germans Launched a Last-ditch effort
To break the allied Lines in Europe with the stunning offensive Through The Ardennes forest in december
Now Remembered as The "Battle of the Bulge" It aimed to cut the allied Armies in two and
Relied Heavily on Capturing allied Fuel stocks to power the 1,200 German tanks Involved in the Attack
The offensive caught The allies completely off Guards Who found Themselves without The help of air support due to the poor weather
However Fierce Pockets of allied resistance Slowed The German offensive
Which lost Cohesin and more Crucially he failed to capture the fuel stocks in
January 1945 The weather Improved allowing the Allies to launch powerful air strikes Which caused the Germans to begin retreating
back to their main defensive Lines
Although Victorious For The us army It Was the bloodiest battle of the war in europe
In the pacific at The Battle of Leyte Gulf on October the 25th
Allied Forces had discovered a New Terror Unleashed upon them the Kamikaze
These were planes Flown deliberately into ships making Them essentially Manned Missiles and some Japanese
Admirals Believed They were now the only Way to Turn the tide against the allied Navies
Incredibly Such Was the belief in the righteousness of Such Suicidal acts There Was no shortage of Volunteers
Later The Kamikaze doctrine Would include Ramming allied Bombers and Even Specially developed Rocket-Powered Aircraft
After The Battle of The bulge It was Clear to most People That Nazi Germany Was all but Finished
and All That Remained Was to mop up the last remnants of resistance in March
1945 allied troops Began crossing the Rhine and
Not long After a V1 flying Bomb became the last bomb to fall on british soil in the war
for Germany However The air raids Only Intensified with Dresden Being Held by Over
1300 American and British Bombers Over a Two day Period in February
in april the last German resistance in the ruhr is Suppressed
Leading to a staggering three Hundred and Seventy Thousand German soldiers being Taken Prisoner
On the eastern Front
Russian troops Swept Through Poland and Into East Germany and Austria
Taking Vienna on April The 13th
During Their Advance Thousands of Germans in Poland Became trapped and tried to flee by sea aboard the william Gustav ocean Liner
The Ship Was Torpedoed By a Soviet submarine Killing Nearly 10,000 German soldiers and Civilians
Making It The single Worst maritime disaster in history as
Its Ally Was Increasingly Under Allied Control
Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and His Mistress were Killed By communist fighters in Northern Italy on
April The 28th by Which time hitler and his own Mistress Eva Braun Had Retreated to his own Bunker in Berlin
Where he planned to stay Until the end
Whilst there he Generally Retreated into his own Mind to a World where the wonder Weapons he believed in so much Had Saved his Reich
The Soviets had Reached The Outskirts of Berlin on April The 16th 1945
Thus beginning the Final Chapter of nazi Germany's History
For Over two Weeks The Soviet Army
Bombarded and Fought Their Way Through The rubble of What Was left in Berlin in scenes not Too dissimilar to the ones at
Stalingrad almost three Years Earlier
Every available Citizen Was pressed into The City's defense with Boys as Young as 12 being Given Uniforms from Dead German Soldiers
so they Could Carry on the fight
One Unusual unit defending The City composed a Group of Waffen-ss men with Lion insignia
They were british Pows Who had volunteered to switch Sides After That Genetic Purity had Been Confirmed
The Soviet Armies Battle for the City became Hampered By a decreasing Level of discipline amongst it's ranks
who took the drinking Looting murder and Mass rape in
Hitler's Bunker Fear and Insanity Reigned Over the last of The German Leadership
Finally Hitler Himself Could Take no more and on April The 30th 1945
He and his Mistress Eva Braun took Their own Lives
he had left instructions for His guards to cremate his body since he had seen the Way Mussolini's body had Been treated and
He did not want the same
with The Führer Dead Berlin Surrendered on may the 2nd but The mass rape and Looting of the Population
Continued With Girls as Young as eight Being Gang-raped
It Was not Uncommon for Soviet officers to go around the city in cars Hunting unfortunate Women
Who were forced out of Their destroyed Homes to look for Food
Now with the capital City Gone Their leader Dead and The complete collapse of the country
The Remaining German Military Units Flocked to the Allies to surrender on
May the 8th the last of The German Army Surrendered and V-E Day Victory in Europe Was declared in
The Pacific However the fight continued and Grew more Bloodthirsty as The Japanese Became more desperate in
February The Battle of Iwo Jima Began with an intense three-day Naval barrage of Japanese Positions in
The Ensuing Battle The americans Would lose Nearly 7,000 men
While the japanese Would lose 90% of over 20,000 men stationed on the islands on
April The 1st
1945 the Americans Began an effort to clear The Ryukyu Islands Which counted Around the Main Island of Okinawa
It was to be the last of the island hopping Campaigns before the allies hit Japan Themselves in
Three Months of fighting The Americans Would lose another 20,000 and as the Japanese fought to the bitter end
With Even a commander committing suicide Rather Than Surrender
Many Military Planners
Looked At These Figures and Began to realize that an Invasion of The Japanese home Island Was going to be extraordinarily Costly in
Terms of Lives and The fighting Would Probably Go on for at least Two more Years
Something Had to be done to end the war quickly
for Several Years Before The war there had Been a Number of Theories Put Forward
About how to harness the Energy of the atom into a source of power and as a Weapon
Winston Churchill Was especially Interested in Such Research During The 1930s and even published Papers on its Military application
Some preliminary Work had begun in Britain the US Germany and Japan
But When the war Began Britain propped his research efforts to concentrate on defending the country
After Pearl Harbor However The Americans Began Their own Projects before
collaborating With British and Canadian Researchers to develop What was soon Dubbed the atom bomb the most powerful weapon in History
Under The Banner of the Manhattan project The scientists Labored Through 1942 To 1945
Developing The World's first atom Bomb
At New Mexico's Alamogordo range on July The 16th 1945
The first Successful atom Bomb test Was Conducted
Thus confirming The Allies Now had a Weapon of Unspeakable Power
After Confirming That The Weapon Could Be carried to a target in Japan By a B-29
Superfortress Bomber
president Truman Who had replaced Roosevelt After His Death on April the 12th
Authorized its use Against The Japanese City of Hiroshima on August
The 6th 1945 the city Was decimated By an atom Bomb Dropped by The B-29 super-fortress Enola Gay
The Bomb codenamed "Little Boy" had an Explosive Yield Equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT and
Killed Over a Hundred Thousand People
Truman Demanded an immediate Japanese Surrender or promise there Will be more atom bomb attacks in what he described as a Rain of Ruin
With no surrender Forthcoming Truman ordered Another Attack This time on the City of Kokua
But It was obscured By Clouds and a Smokescreen so the Crew of the B-29 boxcar flew to their secondary target
Nagasaki at
1102 Hours the Bomb detonated with a Yield Of 21,000 Tons of TNT
Killing Over 80,000 more People on
August the 15th The Japanese Emperor Announced that the country Was to surrender to the allies with the formal signing of the surrender
Taking Place on September The 2nd Now remembered as V-J Day The end of World war two
We Will never Know Exactly how many died in the second World War most estimates for the toll are They staggering 60 million People
3% of the World's population in 1940
After
The War the Extent of Nazi and Japanese war Crimes became Public Leading to a series of trials for war Crimes
However not all of Those responsible were brought to justice
Josef Mengele a Nazi doctor Who performed Experiments on twins at Concentration Camps Escaped to south America where he died in
1979 in
The East Japanese Dr. Shirō Ishii
traded The Research unit 731 had carried out
For pardons with The US government Who feared It might Fall into the Hands of the Soviets if they did not
no other war in history has so dramatically Changed Not Just the political World But The everyday World
The Technologies developed During The war such as Jet Engines Rocketry and Newer communications Equipment
Have all Been integrated into our everyday Lives
The V2 Rockets Fired At London By Germany Paved The way for the first Space Rocket Which Launched Satellites into space
Allowing us not Only to communicate more effectively across the Globe but Keep a close Eye on our planet
The Advancement of Aircraft Technology Particularly The Jet engine made Will travel accessible to all and Not Just the privileged few
Even The Evil Experimentation Carried Out By The Nazis and Japanese has Increased our medical Understanding of The Human Body
But When all is said and done the end of World War two did not see peace in our time
The Victorious Allies Quickly Turned on One another Believing the Next war would see Washington and London Pitted against Moscow
Germany Was Divided Between East and West and this became The setting for the cold war a
Period of History Where the legacy of World War two Actually Threatened to annihilate mankind once and for all
English Subtitles Made By: Doge102 1