The World at War s01e19 Episode Script

Paris was freed.
In this exactly day, to the East, the Romenia moved of side e its separation removed of Hitler the only source of natural oil.
Bulgaria already abandons the Axle e the Finlândia starts to negotiate an armistice with Russia.
General de Gaulle, leader of Free France, entered in its capital.
A capital of where it leaves, 4 years before, as an unknown soldier.
Now, he was greeted as proper soul of France.
For the black parisienses, years of the German occupation they had finished.
It would pass much time until the remaining portion of the Europe also to be freed? The World in War Hand-vises August of 1944 - March of 1945 Operation Two-horned anvil.
The Allies invade the south of France.
With the advance of the busy beach in Normandy in direction to the north, the squeeze of the hand-vise would start on all Germany de Hitler.
The squeeze of the hand-vise that it would jam the Third Reich.
We disembark close to St.
Tropez e I thought that they went to open fire.
Of surprise, the fog of that zone the beach, it leaves a Frenchman.
It brought a tray with cups of champagne.
We stop all.
He was total unexpected.
E it it smiled, one turned over for me and it said: "They are welcome, mine gentlemen, but, if they allow the critical one me, they are one in such a way been slow".
E since then, was known enters the troop as the Campaign of the Champagne.
Everywhere, during the insane people e glad weeks of August of 1944, the Germans were pushed stop the borders of its proper country.
The Frenchmen who had collaborated with the hateful people boches if had despaired.
The Frenchmen who had confraternizado with the invaders they had received a treatment special.
Thousand and thousand of Germans confused taciturnos and prisoners were made, for times entire divisions of one only time.
About 20 a thousand soldiers German they had been you deliver for its commander, Major-General Erick Elster.
General Elster delivers the pistol in surrender signal.
Elster commanded the area of Biarritz, since the Pyrenees to the bay of Biscay.
For many in the army Ally, the war seemed finished.
In fact, it was said in coming back for house in the Christmas.
You always command but them nor agreed with the way to get the final victory.
Montgomery argued that the defeat of the Germans in Normandy it are heavy.
as well as two a thousand tanks.
It was the moment certain to attack them e it defended one strong onslaught for the coastal plain, with the right side in the Ardenas e the left next to the coast, day and night, without stopping, never giving time to them to recover, e clearly that it would be in the command.
We would advance the right, we would cross the Reno, we would give the return for backwards of the Ruhr e the war would finish in 1944.
Eisenhower said:"It does not please me.
It is a little closed onslaught.
It does not reach many of the armies that they are in France.
I consider to advance in one ample front until the Reno, to cross it and to finish there with the war".
He was perhaps safer, but not it could finish the war in 1944.
I find that the British had been very slow perceiving that the main effort on war in the Europe it depended on U.
S.
A.
I find that the British press also she was probably slow.
The people had forgotten that great majority of the divisions, of the abastecimentos, etc.
, it belonged to the Americans.
During much time, after in to detach of the head-of-bridge, the abastecimentos had had to come for the beach or for air.
The army felt many times that it could not make what wanted, due to supplying lack, over all of gasoline.
Each tank used three liters of gasoline for kilometer.
The transport trucks were extended for almost 400 Norman beach km.
Such was the speed of the Allied onslaught that groups of soldiers German they had been stops backwards e the trucks had frequent that to pass between enemy bullets.
The drivers called the area enter Paris and the front "country of the indians".
The fight most difficult occurred in the coast.
Each port receives orders from Hitler to fight until the last a bullet.
Havre, Dieppe, Bologna, You are silent, Dunquerque.
they had of being attacked one of each time, in exemplary individual battles.
Hitler wise person who the supplying it would be the worse problem of the Allies, from there its determination in keeping the ports for the biggest possible time e in destroying them completely when finally they yielded.
One terço of the forces of Montgomery it eliminated the Germans of the ports, while the remaining portion advanced for Belgium.
My great moment was when we cross the border, because it commands the rear during the withdrawal of Dunquerque.
It commanded a battalion e had fought in the flank e in the rear of 3ª Division, commanded for the Marshal of Field Montgomery, that was then General.
It felt much shame of proper me.
We had advanced to the sound of the alive ones of the Belgians and, few days later, we pass for multitudes of faces pale, terribly discouraged.
They knew that they would be again busy for the Germans e I did not stop to say: "They are not worried, we we come back.
" E, when crossing the border, we fulfill the promise.
E a young, that must have seen the red around my hat, it ran for my tank, with tears running for the face, it extended the hand thus and it said: "I wise person that went to come back, I wise person" A friend in Brussels said me that he heard tanks, but he was accustomed.
When it looked at for the window, it said exactly for itself: "They are different.
They do not seem German.
" Then, it opened the window, it was leant over and somebody waved e it said:"They are English" E ran for the street, as well as all the people of Brussels.
It did not have scene as of release of Brussels, never.
Some veterans of 30º Body still they coram when thinking about the occurred one.
Until there, all good.
Later they had come the errors.
They had ordered to stop them.
The reason it was the scarcity of abastecimentos.
It was made a mistake, because we had gasoline for 100 km in our vehicles e gasoline for more 100 km the 24 hours of distance e they had, in mine opinion, to have risky, therefore in the day where we stop the only thing between us and the Reno it was a division of very aged gentlemen.
We called it to them "Division the Belly", because they had all my age e belly problems.
They watched the dutch coast, they had never stopped a battle e would have IDO pacifically stops our fields of prisoners without having of if involving in this direful war.
The mentality was this.
E a battalion of the dutch SS it was not nothing.
We could have quickly last for them and crossed the Reno, cutting the access of the Germans in Holland to the Ruhr e we gave the return for backwards of the Ruhr, unquestionedly.
In my opinion, he was a tremendous one error.
We must have risky.
They had left in them to advance in 7 of September e we cover 15 km in four days.
Previously, we fizeramos 400 km in seven days.
Already we did not walk in persecution.
We were again fighting.
Later, in 11 of September, I received order to follow for Arnhem.
The three main canals of the delta of the Reno they were between advanced destacamentos of the Allies and German territory: the Mosa, the Waal and the Low Reno.
The plan of Montgomery it was to bind for by airmail the three canals, to capture the bridges e to advance for the left side of Siegfried line to isolate the Ruhr e finally to the German resistance before the Christmas of 1944.
Much people will say that the plain one were bad, that it had many objectives or that the parachutists they did not aterrisaram well e that the time, clearly, was not adjusted and it interrupted everything but, if more was given attention to the disposal of the enemy, I believe that the plan would be considered good.
The airborne forces that they aterrisaram in Arnhem suddenly they had been collated with tank German in I fix, that they met there by chance.
Between the first officers who they aterrisaram with the parachutists, the Germans had found a copy complete of our plan.
Soon it was led to the German commander place and clearly that, from there, it had all the information on what we were trying to make.
Nobody knows to the certainty if dominating the head-of-bridge on the Reno at this time of the year, with bad weather arriving, we would have obtained to keep it during some months of Winter, knowing, for experience, as the Germans were magnificent in if to recoup of critical situations.
The battle lasted three or four days e we did not obtain to make progressos.
Montgomery finished deciding that it could not continue e thus ordered to abort the operation e to bring the biggest number of people of another edge of the Reno, what we made.
We lose very, but I think that it is necessary to be honest and to say.
that the operation failed in its objective.
It had a partial success.
Detestei to always use the expression "failure glorious" e would not call it this, but it was a failure until certain point.
The failure in Arnhem it meant the impossibility to put end to the war before the Christmas of 1944.
Also it meant the loss of initiative of the occidental Allies.
However, in the front of the east, the situation was sufficiently different.
There, the Red Army it advanced in all the line.
In the center, one hundred a thousand Germans they had been surrounded in Minsk.
In the north, the Finlândia was banishes of the war, the recaptured Estonia, the Letonia and the Lituânia freed of the German forces e the borders of the Prússia oriental reached.
To the south, the Ukraine was freed, the Romenia capitulated, Bulgaria was invaded, isolated Greece e in Yugoslavia had an association with the guerillas of Tito.
It was a gigantic triumph, an smashing success in all the east, except in an almost forgotten city where the war starts has five years: the capital of the Poland, Warsaw.
In July of 44, the Red Army it occupied the eastern half of the Poland, the half that the Pact Nazi-Soviet of August of 1939 it attributes to it.
The exiled Polish Government in London it yearned for to impose itself before the Russians occupied all the country, what it would bring, its eyes, a mere change of occupants instead of the true release.
With the Red Army coming close itself to Warsaw, the German garrison seemed ready to leave.
In 29 of July, the Russian radio spoke of the imminent release of Warsaw e instigated "the Workers of Resistance" to attack the Germans.
In 1 of August, the Polish Army Illegal passenger in Warsaw rebelled itself, although nor all supported the London Government.
However, the objective of its apoiadores it was to bring of airplane the exiled Government as soon as they controlled the city e to establish a legitimate regimen before the arrival of the Russians.
But the rebellion coincided with the abrandamento of the offensive Russian, a coincidence that, however, it agreed to the plans of Stalin.
Stalin suspected of the clandestine movement, but it was extremely cruel to nor at least to try to supply it.
It denied our airplanes permission to play abastecimentos during some weeks, what it was a shock for all.
I think that it contributed for ours idea of the desumanidade of the Russians.
We had an organization very strong illegal passenger, with a civil Government e all the military commands, organized during the four years of the German occupation, that it emerged and it assumed its functions.
The Post offices, service assured for beaters, they were only the media it enters some quarters of Warsaw, that they were total isolated for the enemy fire.
The beaters went of a quarter for another one, having to the times to follow for sewers and to crawl under enemy fire.
At the beginning of the rebellion, we had the ammunition for the only ten twelve days e we depended on the ammunition stolen of the Germans.
It had ammunition plants e of weapons functioning in Warsaw, where the Germans produced its ammunition.
It is part of Polish carácter to be optimist and not to give up easily.
It would have given half of my life stops to participate raises in it of Warsaw.
It had an enormous intensification of the moral life, intellectual and emotional.
The side best of the people was distinguished.
It had sufficiently you recite during the rebellion of Warsaw.
It had people that she took steps against the tanks individually, people who if shot against enemy machine guns.
This type of things.
It had heroísmo very individual.
The Poles of London had almost had success, therefore in the end of the first week they controlled most of the city e the airplanes of the RAF would carry the Polish Government in the exile.
But then Hitler, perceiving of that Stalin nothing would make, it commanded to the SS that jammed the rebellion, in what it was obeyed with great satisfaction and cruelty.
The bombing was very bad, practically uninterrupted.
Bombs had not been alone, also had artillery.
We covered deceased with periodicals.
It was always the first thing to make, before the funeral, not to ruin the moral.
In the last days of the uprising, it only had a free quarter of Germans, with three, four, or perhaps five a thousand people.
To the times, 30 or 40 in room slept the same.
Now, the Germans bombed them with diving bombers.
Each time we had little food.
We did not have bread, potatoes, esparguete and this type of things.
In the end, we killed horses to eat the meat.
E also we ate dogs.
The Poles of London if had despaired e had blamed the British for the drama.
But the RAF could not take provisions without authorization of Stalin to replenish in territory busy for the Soviets.
When it was persuaded to yield, it remained so little of Warsaw that the provisions fell the greater part of the times in German hands.
We are terribly people without illusions for the world to have in the forgotten one.
I feel that the Poland was traída for the Allies.
Close to the end, we felt that it did not have hope for us.
We did not go to receive aid from the Russians e the Germans wanted to verwhelm us, therefore it did not need me to lower when it was under fire.
If it went to die more early or more late, the more early, better.
The Germans until had brought its bigger weapon of wall, the feared giant mortar called Thor, whose projectiles weighed more than two tons.
It was now a lost battle.
It lasted has ten long weeks e already kills 200 a thousand Poles more than.
The hour arrives to stop.
Surprising, the Germans they had allowed an honored surrender e had not treated the Poles as guerillas for immediate execution, but yes as war prisoners protected for the Convention of Geneva.
He was obvious that some generals German already they thought about possible judgments for war crimes after the conflict.
After the remaining citizens to be led of the city, Warsaw systematically was arrasada.
Hitler was determined to hinder that it was reerguesse.
Thus it finished one them episodes more tragic of the war.
Although the bombings and of the privations, the spirit of the German people in the Fall of It reacted to all the campaigns well of propaganda of Hitler.
This destined to collect it clothes of eastern onward Winter.
In this Fall, Hitler reduced the age of conscription for 16 years and way e dragged who until then escapes alleging to execute essential work.
part for the Volksturm, one species of Territorial Guard, e has left to restitute the terrible ones losses in such a way to the east as the west.
But also it thought to give a use more audacious to the new conscripts.
Since the defeat in Normandy, Hitler it planned a great counterattack, waiting not only it withhold the Allies before reaching the Reno, but over all to force to beat them it in withdrawal and to beg the peace, a peace that would give space to it of maneuver to contain the Russians before they were come close too much of Berlin.
It was its fancy.
It was also for such end that it conserved the tanks, reequipping them after the estragos in Normandy.
But where to attack? In the Fall of 1944, the occidental Allies had occupied the German border throughout 1600 km e had arrived to cross Siegfried line in one or two places.
But the supplying was a problem, therefore Antuérpia was not opened.
Most of the British forces it met the north of Antuérpia.
If Hitler captured Antuérpia in one audacious blow and arrived at the sea, it would not only eliminate the main port of supplying of the Allies, it would divide as well as them in two e the British could have to face another Dunquerque.
Eisenhower, when providing the front of One of these points was but the 200 km of Antuérpia: the Ardenas, the magical place of 1940, of mística memory for Hitler.
If the least History if it repeated for it.
In the war, we must remember that not we can everywhere be strong.
for Bradley, it received certain orders e, consequentemente, had to decide where to be strong and where to be weak.
It evaluated the situation and it opted for reducing the sector of the Ardenas.
Said Foiz us, for some men, that they were in the houses that we occupy, that it was a calm sector very, where nothing it happened.
To the times, a patrol was sent e heard the snap of a long-distance weapon, but she was not necessary to make nothing.
He was not accurately one novice but, in our unit, it did not have much people with combat experience.
In 24 of October, I was called the quarter-general of Hitler, in the Eastern Prússia, e it disclosed, me and to General Krebs, the Head of the Group of Armies of the Center, he folloied that me, that we would receive reinforcements in the end of November or at the beginning of December.
It mentioned 20 divisions of infantry, ten of tank e many other forces special e promised that we would have the support of three a thousand airplanes of the Air Force, but total we were surprised.
It explained that the objectives, Brussels e Antuérpia, was risky e could seem inalcançáveis, given the state of the available forces.
However, it decides to bet everything in cartada, therefore Germany needed space of maneuver and to fight in defense, it said, it would only postpone the decision and it would not move the situation of Germany.
For the attack in the Ardenas, Hitler, without the knowledge of the Allies, it congregated half million of soldiers more than.
They would fight only 80 a thousand Americans inexperienced and badly equipped.
It seemed the repetition of May of 1940.
The spirit of the aggressors German was high e this compensated, in my opinion, our relative weakness in number and armament.
We attend a concentration of forces, of great number of tanks, more tanks of what those that we see in last the two years.
Until we saw airplanes e we perceive that the preparativeses they had been kept in secret.
Day zero, 16 of December, arrives.
The barrage fire lasted one hour e showed to the Allies the flavor of the defeat that they had caused in Casino, it has some months, and in El Alamein, it has some years.
The last great attack starts of the Germans the west.
Hitler launches its bets more despaired.
A simple soldier alone sees the road e seems to it that it has more divisions.
Consequentemente, we feel that such concentration of forces perhaps it allowed in them to reach the final objective, that was Antuérpia.
The sky was enevoado.
The aerial superiority of Americans and of the British it was not excellent in a time thus, therefore we believed our success.
The surprise was total.
One day started of tremendous confusion for the Allies, the worse one that they had lived in all the European war.
When the Wehrmacht started to invade the American ranks in the Ardenas, the colloquy in the quarter-general of the Allies in Versailles it was centered in the notice of the death of director of orchestra Glenn Miller more than in the possibility of the greater offensive German the west since 1940.
In this day, Eisenhower was promoted the General of five stars.
E the Marshal of Montgomery Field it asked for to go in house in the Christmas.
In fact, in this morning, Ike attended to the marriage of the driver, while Monty played golf.
The day passed and increased the similarities with May of 1940: the crusher to be able German, its implacable speed, e over all the chaos in the Allied rear, while the inexperienced soldiers e confused ran away for local insurance, obstructing the roads and hindering the reinforcements to be arrived at the front.
A rumor was spread out, of that America would deliver part of the prisoners of war to Russia, e this helped to earn spirit and will to fight.
Seven a thousand Americans had surrendered of one alone time, in the biggest surrender in mass of Americans in the European campaign.
The operators of German camera they had had one day in full.
The fog started to waste itself in the zone where we were but, for return of the noon, we saw that we could not go more far, that it only remained in them to capitulate.
The lieutenant went down, made an agreement with the responsible German officer e came back stops saying in them that we had one hour to disassemble.
e to destroy our weapons.
or to dig holes stops to embed what we wanted e to prepare us to go down the mount inside of one hour.
The first American prisoners they did not know what he transferred himself.
In they had found asking for them bread e, as we had enough bread, demons to them bread and they in had given chocolate to them.
To the end of two or three days, we saw as soon as the Americans they were more resistant of what we judge.
They had obtained to cross the line because, in first place, we did not have the support of the fighter aircrafts.
It had many low clouds e we did not obtain to see the enemy in movement of air.
But, in the eve of Christmas, the clouds had been wasted.
e the fighter aircrafts had come e had destroyed the tank German.
The tanks of Manteuffel had been without gasoline the 110 km of Antuérpia.
Property, were white easy for the airplanes Allies.
"It was a great slaughter", wrote the American commander in the report.
For Hitler, it was more that the beginning of the end.
I spoil it of the offensive one affected the spirit e, consequentemente, the behavior of soldiers and civilians for equal, e thus we contribute stops to speed up the end of the war.
With the offensive German definitively stopped, the Americans to the south e the British to the north had pressured the stock market formed in the Ardenas, the stock market that gave to this battle specific its celebrates name.
They had been congregated in January of 1945, with the German army in a total chaos, therefore the offensive one of the Russian Winter it starts four days before.
Now, the game of Hitler the west it was visa as supreme madness, therefore it has to delouse the defenses to the east to carry through it.
With the reserves carefully accumulated of fuel, equipment and, are clearly, men, depleted, the machine of German war it started to disintegrate itself.
It would say that the attack of Hitler in the Ardenas it caused the end of the war, perhaps six months more early of that it would happen if did not attack, therefore the Germans could have retreating for the Reno, that it was an obstacle, but they did not have nothing with that to defend the Reno, therefore the German army, the mobile reserves and troops, they had been destroyed in the Battle of the Ardenas.
The German soldier was exausto e alone desired a thing: the end of the war.
But it was made use to continue to fight, to cover the rear of the eastern front.
The tanks of Zhukov enter duly in Germany, for the first time, mere 150 km of Berlin.
The occasion is festejada with the booty savage of all the villages at sight.
Soon, thousand and thousand from civilians German they ran away for west, it stops far from the Russian feared ones, reproducing previous scenes, as the long refugee lines Frenchmen and Belgians of have five years.
With the intensification of the bombings Allies, each time more German cities the rubbles were reduced.
In "Mein Kampf", Hitler writes: "If not to win, we will drag the world with us for the destruction.
" During all the month of March, Russian weapons in Berlin had heard.
To find they had come me and they had asked: "It wants to arrange the city of Clèves" "To arrange" it meant to bomb intensely Clèves.
Wise person who Clèves was a beautiful old e German city-museum.
Ana de Clèves, one of the women of Enrique VIII, she is born there.
Wise person who had many civilians in Clèves, men, women and children.
If it said "not", would live.
If it said "yes", would die.
I had to take a decision terrible, but it was crucial to occupy a piece of excellent high land.
The German reserves they would have to cross Clèves e we needed to cross the Siegfried Line and to arrive there.
Our lives, our soldiers, they had to be in first place, therefore it said that yes, it wanted "arranged that it", but in the night where the bombers they had left to arrasar Clèves I felt me an assassin e after the war I had great nightmares because of Clèves.
After an other, the cities the west of the Reno the soldiers lost German: Bona, Koblenz, Mainz and, are clearly, Colony.
In 22 of March, no soldier German fought the west of the Reno.
The Reno only isolated cerne of Germany of Hitler of the occidental Allies e the preparativeses to cross it they had been initiated immediately.
ARNHEM AVENGER I remember that, to the 21:00, it was seated in a rank of command, to the wait.
Then, the notice of that arrived Scottish had crossed the Reno.
It was a historical fact, to cross the Reno.