Days That Shook the World (2003) s02e06 Episode Script

The bomb and the bullet.
Some of the world's greatest leaders
have been slain by assassins.
Two events stand out in the history
of the twentieth century,
where the assassins were driven
not just by personal hatred,
but also by a desire to rewrite
their nation's destiny.
The plot to kill Adolf Hitler,
and the ambush of French
president Charles de Gaulle.
This is a dramated reconstruction
of two events as they happened,
on two days that shook the world.
The date is 20th July 1944.
Allied forces have turned the tide
against Nazi Germany in Northern France.
British and American troops
are fighting their way through Italy,
and the red army have
breached the Eastern Front
and are heading towards poland.
Meanwhile, a plot is
afoot to get rid of Hitler -
the man who started it all.
The next 24 hours
will determine the fate of Germany,
and the fate of the world.
Tomorrow morning, this man,
Count Von Staffenberg,
has a face to face meeting with
the man he calls 'The Antichrist.'
The Nazi supreme Commander - Adolf Hitler
- whom he intends to kill in order
to free Germany from tyranny.
we took this challenge
before our lord and our conscience,
and it must be done
because this man, Hitler,
he is the ultimate evil.
Tonight, Staffenberg makes
his peace with God.
Klaus Von Staffenberg comes from
a long line of military officers
whose lineage dates back to the
Bavarian nobility of the thirteenth century.
Staffenberg is admired by his men,
trusted by Hitler.
He has fought in all
of the Nazi's military campaigns.
On the front line in poland.
The Blitzkrieg, through France,
where he won the Iron Cross.
With the panzer division in North Africa.
And he is still only 36 years old.
He is a family man.
Married for 11 years,
and adores his five children.
But in 1942, Staffenberg went to Russia.
There he saw the Nazi's
savage treatment of Slavs and Jews.
It appalled him, as did the
wanton destruction of the German army
through Hitler's stubborn
refusal to withdraw.
Staffenberg saw 350,000
of his own men lost -
and he holds Hitler personally responsible.
Staffenberg tells a colleague -
is there no officer over there
in the Furor's headquarters
capable of shooting that beast?
The point is to kill Hitler,
and I am prepared to do that.
After the Russian campaign,
Staffenberg was posted to Tunisia
and was almost killed in an air attack.
He lost an eye, his right hand,
and two fingers of his left hand.
Now a colonel,
he is among the elite inner circle
of Hitler's high command.
This picture was taken just five days ago.
It was the day when Staffenberg
made his first attempt
to assassinate the Furor.
He successfully sneaked a bomb
into Hitler's headquarters,
but was forced to abort
the attempt at the last moment.
Today he is going to try again.
Hitler's headquarters
are known as the Wolf's Lair
for good reason.
Set deep in the forest
by the polish border,
it is protected by barbed wire,
acres of mining fields
and Hitler's elite personal body guard.
Since the tide of the war has turned,
Hitler is rarely seen in public.
The wolf's lair is where
he meets with his high command.
He has no idea that
some of these men
are plotting to kill him.
Staffenberg is not acting alone.
He is part of a conspiracy
involving hundreds of senior officers.
They intend not only to kill Hitler,
but also to overthrow the third Reich.
It's been less than 2 months since D-Day
when nearly 3 million troops
landed at Normandy.
The allies are pushing
German forces back to the Rhine.
Fighting has become
so intense that every day,
the war costs approximately 30,000 lives.
Ludwig Beck has already
had his breakfast.
He was once chief of staff of the army,
but he's no longer a serving officer.
He resigned his post in 1938,
because he disagreed
with Hitler's war plans.
He is part of the conspiracy.
And makes his way
to the High Command in Berlin.
If Staffenberg gets it right today,
by this afternoon,
Beck will become head of state.
Staffenberg lands in poland.
He is picked up in a staff car
and driven the six miles to the Wolf's lair.
It's a 20 minute drive.
In his attache case,
he carries four pounds
of plastic explosives.
Lieutenant Weiner von Hesten,
Staffenberg's aid,
will help him prime the devices.
Staffenberg has then got to place the bomb
close enough to Hitler to kill him.
But that's only half the job.
Once the Furor is dead,
Staffenberg will coordinate the coup
that will overthrow the third Reich.
Colonel General Friedrich Fromm
is Commander in Chief of the Home Army,
and directly in charge
of Homeland defence.
Fromm's playing a double game.
He has not committed himself to the coup.
But he has not turned them in, either.
He'll go with whoever has the upper hand.
The key to the conspirator's plans
is an emergency military protocol
codenamed Valkyrie.
It is designed to mobilise troops
onto German streets
in the event of civil unrest.
The conspirators aim to use these troops
to overthrow any officers
still loyal to Hitler.
One problem.
Only Fromm has the authority
to put Valkyrie into operation.
While Hitler's high command
finish their breakfast meeting,
coded messages go out across Germany
that Staffenberg is ready.
The equipment is leaving.
The code informs the conspirators
that Staffenberg will plant the bomb today.
Staffenberg first has to endure a meeting
that lasts an hour and a half
before his midday briefing with Hitler,
at which he intends to detonate the bomb.
It's hot outside. Inside - it's even hotter.
To buy himself time to prime the bombs,
Staffenberg asks where he can
change his shirt and freshen up.
Time is now critical,
and they are keeping other members
of Hitler's elite waiting.
They now have to prime
enough explosives to
kill everyone in the room.
Hitler is in the building.
And waiting for them.
First - they have to build
the intricate fuse system,
a compressed spring
held by a retaining wire,
and joined to a vial of acid.
Staffenberg now has to crush the vile
so that the acid seeps
around the retaining wire
that holds the trigger.
Once the safety pin is removed,
only the wire holds the trigger.
The acid is now eating
through the retaining wire.
And now they insert the fuse
into the plastic explosive.
The clock is ticking.
Only minutes to go
before the bomb explodes.
But they still have one more bomb to prime.
The officers are getting impatient.
The interruption unnerves
Staffenberg and Hefter.
At the last moment,
they decide they don't have time
to prime the second bomb.
They go with one bomb
and hope that it will be enough.
Hitler's briefing has already begun.
First on the agenda -
munitions to the Eastern Front.
It's been a year since Stalingrad,
when the Nazi's suffered
their most humiliating defeat.
The Nazi's are in retreat,
but Hitler still believes
they can win the war.
With the bomb primed,
Staffenberg has a
nerve-wracking journey to make.
He has only a matter of minutes
before the fuse detonates.
He still has to make
the long walk to the meeting room.
It is now time
that something was done,
but the man who has
the courage to do something
must do it in the knowledge that he will
go down in German History as a traitor.
If he does not do it, however,
he would be a traitor
to his own conscience
When Staffenberg arrives,
the meeting is already underway.
Nothing unusual about that.
Senior officers were allowed to come
and go as they pleased.
Staffenberg needs to get as close
to Hitler as possible.
He makes the excuse
that his hearing is not good,
due to his injuries.
The senior naval officer
allows Staffenberg beside Hitler.
The positioning of the
attache case underneath Hitler
is in the perfect spot to ensure his death.
Staffenberg has now got to
get away from the danger zone.
The coup is dependant on Staffenberg
getting out alive, and mobilising the conspiracy.
Staffenberg meets up
with his key ally inside HQ.
General Erick Fairlevel,
head of communications,
has a crucial role to play,
cutting off Wolf's Lair
from the outside world.
The explosion is deafening
and catches everyone by surprise.
Fairlevel contacts the Berlin conspirators,
to give them the signal that Hitler is dead,
and they can take power.
The effect of the bomb blast
has been devastating.
The cry rings out - where is the Furor?
His body is beneath the debris
in the bombed out room.
Staffenberg sees a body being carried out.
He is in no doubt -
he has accomplished his mission.
Staffenberg and Hesten
make a quick getaway.
While the Wolf's Lair goes into high alert,
all security gates are closed.
No one can leave the site.
Staffenberg and Hesten board
their flight back to Berlin.
The flight will take three hours.
The critical phase of the coup has begun.
For the moment,
all that Staffenberg can do
is sit back and wait.
He expects to arrive back in Berlin
in the throws of a coup,
with troops on the street
and his co-conspirators in charge.
The effect of the bomb blast
has destroyed the room.
There is an eighteen inch hole
where the briefcase once stood.
All 24 people in the room
were blown off their feet.
Four were killed outright,
or die later from their wounds.
Two pounds of plastic explosives
had exploded less than
a yard from Hitler.
Hitler had been leaning on the table
when the explosion
propelled the table upwards.
But Hitler is not among the fatalities.
Amazingly, Hitler emerges from
the rubble dazed and shocked,
with minimal injuries.
On his way to the inner compound,
Ferlevel sees Hitler
walking toward his bunker.
He can't believe what he has seen.
Ferlevel phones conspirators in Berlin.
Something fearful has happened.
The Furor is alive.
Block everything.
The conspirators are split.
They are unable to
decide what to do next.
They decide to take no further action
until Staffenberg arrives in Berlin.
Still arguing, they go to lunch.
When Staffenberg lands in Berlin,
he arrives to a rude awakening.
The coup he thought
was underway is stillborn.
His co-conspirators seemed to have
lacked the initiative to move forward.
His co-conspirators have not been idle.
They attempted to
issue the Valkyrie orders,
but without Fromm's signature, it failed.
Beck, the leader in waiting,
confronts Staffenberg with the news
that's already circulating around Germany.
There was only
one solution left open to them.
Persuade Fromm to issue
the Valkyrie orders.
By mobilising troops on the street,
they can still overthrow Hitler.
Everything now rests upon Fromm.
Will he make the leap and join them?
But Fromm has also heard
that Hitler has survived the attack.
Fromm's only concern now
is to prove his loyalty to the Furor.
Fromm cannot be persuaded.
But Staffenberg and his conspirators
have come too far to turn back.
Fromm realises that
they have the upper hand.
But he is certain that the coup is doomed.
Staffenberg and his fellow conspirators
make a last desperate effort
to kick start the coup.
Back at the wolf's Lair,
the hunt has begun to find the assassin.
The net is closing in on Staffenberg.
All over Germany the coup has crumbled.
Troops which Staffenberg hoped to mobilise
never left their barracks.
Beck may realise the game is up,
but against all hope, still pushes on.
Attempts to rally
last minute support fall on deaf ears.
The undeniable fact of
Hitler's survival can't be ignored.
News is broadcast
that Hitler has escaped injury.
Hitler promises that he will be dealing with
the conspirators without mercy.
The truth has become too obvious to deny.
Many of the conspirators
are already being rounded up.
Fromm has broken out of his office
and made contact with
troops loyal to Hitler.
Even though Fromm took
no part in the conspiracy,
he knows he could still be shot
for failing to report it,
so he needs to deal swiftly with the men
who could testify against him.
Staffenberg and the conspirators
are marched at gunpoint to the courtyard.
One by one they are shot.
The German people
would pay a terrible price
for the failure to remove Hitler.
Germany was bombed into submission.
More than 10 million people died
in the last year of the war alone.
Hitler would survive
until April 1945 when,
faced by the inevitability
of defeat - he killed himself.
Staffenberg's last words were
'long live sacred Germany'.
The date is 22nd August 1962.
Two weeks ago,
the body of Marilyn Monroe
was found dead in her LA Bungalow.
A fleet of Russian ships
is crossing the Atlantic
to Cuba, laden with missiles.
And in England, the Beatles
are preparing to record their first single,
Love Me Do.
Petit Clamont, ten miles outside paris.
A gang of armed men pace out the street.
They have an audacious plan,
to assassinate Charles de Gaulle,
the president of France.
It's an operation they have been
rehearsing for weeks, down to the last second.
Twenty seconds is all
they need to kill the president
and topple the French republic.
The future stability of Europe
lies in their hands.
The outcome today will change forever
the course of French History.
Charles de Gaulle and his family
come down to breakfast at his country house,
160 miles south of paris.
The last thing he wants to do
is break from his location
to attend a cabinet meeting with
his ministers in paris later this morning.
Charles de Gaulle,
saviour of French honour in World War 2,
one of the few French generals to emerge
from that war with a shred of honour.
France suffered five years of humiliation
at the hands of Nazi Germany.
It was de Gaulle as leader
of the Free French
who became a symbol
of the nation's defiance.
In 1958, post war France
crumbled into political crisis,
leaving the country leaderless.
De Gaulle, now in retirement,
answers the call to save France -
but only if he can dictate his own terms.
Assuming the new office of president,
de Gaulle's return to politics
is greeted with popular acclaim.
Four years on, the president's
popularity is on the wane.
De Gaulle has just given away
the French territory of Algeria.
De Gaulle, an outspoken and
controversial figure at the best of times,
has now split public opinion between
those who adore him,
and those who consider him a traitor.
This morning on his journey into paris
he will be accompanied by his wife Yvonne
and son in law, Alain Voisier.
Voisier is personal secretary to de Gaulle.
34 year old Basniot Antierie,
works at the Government aviation department.
Trained as a fighter pilot,
he's a lieutenant colonel,
specialising in guided missiles.
He is part of a secret conspiracy
aimed at overthrowing de Gaulle
so that Algeria remains part of France.
Basniot Antierie has a plan
to kill de Gaulle.
One drawback -
he does not know how to set up an ambush,
so he has brought in someone who does.
His right-hand man is 36 year old
Alain Roublier de la Topney.
A military tactics expert
a deeply devout Catholic.
De La Topney believes
that his chances of success
are greatly enhanced
if he has his gun blessed by a priest.
Hatred of de Gaulle is so widespread
he has no trouble finding one.
He has recruited other members of the gang
including Georges Wapper,
nicknamed Limber.
Weapons expert and mercenary fighter,
never travels without a weapon.
Born in Algeria,
he owns land in the former territory.
Algerian independence
will cost him dearly.
Basnior Antierie and De La Topney
assemble the hit team at their
hideout on the outskirts of paris.
They have two chances to kill de Gaulle -
on his way into paris this morning,
and on his return home this evening.
As they arrive, they get a phone call,
from the Elysees palace,
de Gaulle's residence in paris.
The man on the other end
of the phone is Jacques Candelot,
head of de Gaulle's personal security.
He, too, is part of the conspiracy.
He is phoning Basniot Antierie,
to let him know that today
is a good day to kill the president,
and that de Gaulle has
just left his country home
to catch his flight to paris.
They run through the
ambush sequence one more time.
Machine guns will be hidden
behind the back door
and side door of the van
on the side of the road.
At the top of the road,
Basnior Antierie will be look out,
and signal the van
when the president comes.
At the other end of the road, de La Topney
will block off the president's escape route.
The stakes are high.
If they succeed,
they believe Algerian
independence can be reversed,
making them heroes of a new French regime.
If they fail,
they'll face the death penalty.
Algeria has been a violent and bloody
battle ground for several years.
Two factions emerged.
The indigenous Muslim people
and the colonialist French.
Four months ago,
de Gaulle gave Algeria its independence,
removing French rule.
A million French citizens lost
their homes and livelihoods as a result.
There is rioting on the streets,
and a quarter of a million people are dead.
The colonialists and their
supporters back home in France,
are appalled by this turn of events,
and so are many in the French Military.
French military pride has
been dented in a series of conflicts,
from defeat in World War 2
to their humiliating surrender
in the former colony of Indo China.
In the context of these military defeats,
Algeria is seen as one
humiliating capitulation too many.
Disillusioned factions in the French military
tried to organise a coup against De Gaulle.
They failed,
but extremist factors
have formed a secret army
called the OAS.
Intent on killing de Gaulle
and restoring Algeria to French rule.
Basnior Antierie and his gang
are among the first members of the OAS.
De Gaulle lands at Vilacoublay airfield,
ten miles from the outskirts of paris,
and begins the 30 minute drive into town.
He always uses the same airfield.
He is always driven in a black Citroen DS,
and generally sits in the back
on the passenger's side.
De Gaulle insists on minimal security.
He has no patience with fuss.
His son in law, de Bousier,
compensates for the lax security
by constantly varying the route
to and from the airfield.
Basnior Antierie has a network
of right wing students.
They track the old general
and report back to Basnior Antierie.
They have figured out that De Gaulle
tends to use three or four different routes.
It's holiday season for the Finiol family.
They've got a busy day ahead,
what with packing and loading the car.
They are typical of the new car
owning French middle class.
Beneficiaries of the economic
and political stability
de Gaulle has brought to France.
With any luck,
they'll enjoy a nice day out
and be back by early evening.
Basnior Antierie and his team
load up the van to go
and intercept de Gaulle.
But unbeknown to them,
de Gaulle has already given them the slip.
De Gaulle has taken a different route,
and lost Basnior Antierie's spies in traffic.
De Boisier gets de Gaulle to
his cabinet meeting in paris on time.
First up on the agenda -
Algeria.
It's the most pressing issue of the day.
Basnior Antierie and his gang
ready themselves for
de Gaulle's return journey.
Even though they missed
their chance this morning,
they are encouraged that
they can predict the route and time
of when he will travel back
to the airfield this evening.
They have a machine gun
position in the back of the van,
and a spy hole from where
they can watch Basnior Antierie
at the top of the road
give the signal to open fire.
Their finest sharp shooter
will take out the
tyres of De Gaulle's car,
and bring it to a standstill.
Further up the road from the van,
de la Topney will cut off De Gaulle's
escape route by driving his car into the road.
Today's meeting with the council
of ministers drags on and on.
At the last minute,
two extra passengers are
brought to the president's car.
Madam de Gaulle has a couple of
chickens put in the boot of the Citroen,
which she is intending to
serve up for lunch tomorrow.
The student reports to Basnior Antierie
that the president has left the palace.
They have been notified of heavy traffic.
De Boussier decides at
the last moment to change the route.
Because they are running late,
de Boussier decides to take
the short route to the airfield,
through the district of petit Clamont.
They have a 30 minute journey
through the heart of paris.
Basnior Antierie's spies
track the car along the route.
Large black clouds loom over paris.
The Finiol family are coming
from the opposite direction,
keen to get home as early as possible.
As they drive through
the suburbs of paris,
the quickest way is through
the district of petit Clamont.
One of the young gunmen
announces to his friends
that he needs to go to the toilet.
His colleagues tell him he'll have to wait,
but he tells them
he's been waiting for ages,
and can't hold on.
The Filiol family are now turning
into the street where the ambush is set up.
As it gets darker,
the men in the van are now
having trouble making
out Basnior Antierie.
Suddenly, Basnior Antierie looks up,
and sees the presidential convoy
travelling towards him.
He signals frantically to the gunmen,
but Basnior Antierie's signal isn't
immediately spotted by the men in the van.
De Bousier tries to get
his parents in law to duck down,
but they fail to see the danger.
Mr Filiol looks up to see
that he has driven to a shoot out.
He finds himself heading
straight for de Gaulle's car.
Filiol swerves in a desperate attempt
not to hit De Gaulle's cavalcade.
His window shatters under gunfire.
Glass ricochets around him.
In the confusion,
de la Topney is unable to start his car
and block off the president.
Voisier hits the back windscreen,
sees de Gaulle fall down,
and is convinced that
he is killing the president.
De Voisier sees both the de Gaulle's
crumpled on the floor
and tells the driver- get them to safety.
Maurrot has no idea whether
his passengers are alive or dead.
De Gaulle's personal security
are utterly taken by surprise.
Voitan has de Gaulle's car in his sights.
It's less than four miles to the airfield.
De la Topney does his best,
but can't catch de Gaulle's car.
They pull out and make a getaway.
Despite two punctured tyres,
Marrout manages to retain control of the car,
and outrun the assassins.
Having shaken them off, Marrout reaches
the safety of Villacoublay airfield.
Reports are circulating that the president's car
has been caught in a hail of bullets,
but no one knows
if de Gaulle has survived.
Slowly the figure of the old president
emerges from behind the seat.
He exclaims what terrible
shots the gunmen are.
Amazingly, neither he nor madam de Gaulle
have a scratch on them.
Madam de Gaulle
suddenly remembers the chickens
that are still in the boot of their car.
The chickens are alive.
For another day, at least.
Filiol and his family survived intact.
His hand was raked with
shrapnel and splintered glass.
He was extraordinarily lucky to
have escaped with such minor injuries.
Police investigation later revealed that
more than one hundred rounds were fired.
Fourteen bullets punctured
the car from three directions.
Forensics found one bullet
had lodged itself in the head
rest of de Gaulle's seat.
Had he not ducked down
at that precise moment,
he would have been shot through the head.
The inherent stability of
the hydraulic fluid suspension
allowed Marraut to continue driving,
despite two blown out tyres.
The failure of the assassins is total.
Not only have they failed
to kill de Gaulle,
but news of such a savage attack
raises his standing with
the French public to new heights.
De Gaulle takes advantage of events,
capitalising on a wave of sympathy,
de Gaulle holds a referendum,
to change the constitution
and increase the prestige
of the presidency.
He wins, easily.
A massive investigation
quickly identifies the conspirators.
Within a few weeks,
most of the gang are behind bars.
Amid massive public interest,
Basnior Antierie and his comrades
are brought to trial.
A mere six months after
the assassination attempt.
They are tried
before a military high court,
accused of conspiracy against
the state with the use of weapons.
Six weeks later,
Basnior Antierie and de La Topney
are sentenced to death.
The rest of the gunmen receive prison sentences,
although none will serve more than six years.
Only the president
can pardon condemned men.
The defence appeals to de Gaulle
to spare Basnior Antierie
and de La Topney's lives.
De Gaulle pardons de La Topney
but will not forgive Basnior Antierie.
The president is adamant.
That Basnior Antierie
should be put before a firing squad
as he was the mastermind,
and the one who gave the signal to fire.
Basnior Antierie is taken away
to Fort lvy barracks
to face execution in a week's time.
Time to contemplate
the failure of his mission,
to kill the president and restore Algeria
to French rule.
Algeria overcame its
civil strife and established
an independent state,
which continues to this day.
Before his execution,
Basnior Antierie gives
his last confession.
He writes to his wife -
telling her of their past happiness
and his undying love
for their three children.
Basnior Antierie goes to his death
without ever revealing the names
of his network of spies.
Next morning he is taken out to the courtyard
and put before the firing squad.
De Gaulle succeeded in
ending the Algerian Crisis
that no other French leader
had been able to resolve.
He went on to maintain economic growth
and political stability for France.
He would remain in office
almost to the end of his life,
leading France into
the European community -
and keeping Britain out.
Only at the age of 80 years old
did he stand down, in April 1969.
He retired to his country estate
to write his memoirs.
A year later, he died peacefully in his sleep
on 9th November 1970.