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00:00June 6, 1944, D-Day.
00:06Canadian Sherman tanks and infantry land on Juneau Beach in Normandy under murderous fire.
00:12There were so bloody much tanks burning that you were just in a bloody jungle.
00:18You saw one of your tanks in front of you hit.
00:21You didn't know what was happening.
00:23You kept going, you kept going.
00:25The Canadians overwhelm the Germans' coastal defenses and advance inland.
00:33I thought, wow, this is a breeze. We'll be on our way to Berlin next week.
00:38Only to come turret to turret with the most ruthless killers in the German army,
00:43the panzers of the battle-hardened SS.
00:46There was really no need to fear a Sherman. They were easy opponents for us.
00:52This is armored warfare at its bloodiest, the Battle of Normandy.
00:58Finally, I said, fire.
01:01I was not doing anything on the other side.
01:04I was not doing anything on the other side.
01:25Juneau Beach.
01:278 kilometers of gently sloping shoreline along the coast of Normandy.
01:37In the late spring of 1944, this was one of the beaches where the greatest amphibious operation in history took place.
01:45The Allies' all-out attack on Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
01:48Since the fall of France in 1940, the Germans have been preparing for the inevitable Allied invasion.
02:02Building a 5,000 kilometer chain of fortifications stretching from Norway to the Spanish border.
02:09This Atlantic Wall is considered impregnable with kilometers of concrete bunkers, tens of thousands of mines and anti-tank obstacles.
02:19And protected by over 3,000 big guns.
02:25This impressive defensive line seems a most unlikely place for an attack.
02:30But on June 6, 1944, that's exactly what the Allies do.
02:36At 0300 hours, a force, tens of thousands of men strong, approaches the Norman coast and unleashes a massive naval bombardment.
02:45All of a sudden, they started firing.
02:48There was a British cruiser right behind us, and these six-inch guns fired right over our heads, and my God, a six-inch gun when it fires.
03:06My shirt went out my back like a window button. Scared the hell of us.
03:16You can see it falling on the towns way up in front of you, and pounding all over the place.
03:25Operation Overlord is a joint Allied attack.
03:28And the Canadian objective is eight kilometers of heavily defended coast, codenamed Juneau Beach.
03:37Leading the assault is the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade.
03:40Their mission? Neutralize the German defenses and secure a beachhead for the infantry.
03:44At 0800 hours, the Canadians launch their attack.
03:49And leading the way are scores of amphibious tanks.
03:53They gave us all the basic training of preserving a tank in the water.
04:00We did the drill. Let the water come up and so on. Don't get panicked.
04:03First man that gets out is the driver.
04:10Stands on the back after he's got to steer this bloody thing, see?
04:18The DD, or swimming tank, has a sealed lower hull to keep it from sinking.
04:24And it gains extra buoyancy from high canvas skirts.
04:28But its most unique feature is its duplex drive.
04:32Twin propellers that push it along at a speed of almost four knots.
04:36The DD is an ungainly 30-ton monster, and is slow and hard to maneuver in rough seas.
04:42The skipper said, OK, we're going on the run-in, be prepared, and in we went.
04:48And of course, it's an awkward bloody thing to steer because it doesn't work very well in the tide and the wind.
04:55And it was an awfully rough day.
05:01The five-kilometer run into Juneau Beach is harrowing and lethal.
05:07High waves sink the tanks, as do underwater mines.
05:25As they near shore, they come within range of the Germans' well-placed guns.
05:38Of the 67 tanks launched from the landing craft, 11 never reach shore.
05:43Those that do have to lower the canvas skirts under heavy fire before bringing their guns into action.
05:56There was some fusion.
06:02It looked like chaos.
06:05And there were a lot of vehicles, but they were all moving as they were supposed to.
06:10During the first hours of the battle, the Canadians lose hundreds of men.
06:26And 19 tanks.
06:28I saw Canadians lying on the beach, some of them with stuff thrown over them.
06:41Despite their losses, they overrun the German defenses and take Juneau Beach.
06:46By the end of D-Day, the Allies have breached Hitler's Atlantic Wall along 80 kilometers of Normandy coastline and have begun their advance inland.
07:00Their strategy is to encircle and destroy the German forces in occupied France.
07:04The Americans are to swing west, while British and Canadian forces head south toward their next objective, the strategically important city of Cannes.
07:24But scarcely have the tanks of the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade rolled off the beach when they encounter a new kind of peril, the picturesque Normandy landscape.
07:32It's a maze of narrow fields, five-meter-high hedgerows, and sunken lanes, a tanker's nightmare.
07:45Maneuvering a tank through this is difficult and dangerous.
07:51This is nothing like the wide-open desert of North Africa or the steppes on the Eastern Front.
08:02In Normandy, the fighting is at close range, making surprise absolutely vital.
08:11The first idea you get is for Christ's sake, get out in the field and start moving.
08:17Suddenly, you're up against the Normandy hedge, which is 14 feet high. It's on a two-foot-high bank. You go crashing through it.
08:32And you go down into a sunken road, four feet deep. You go across the road and you're into another Normandy hedge.
08:47They're very difficult to get into and very difficult to get out of. And you can get hung up in the hedge and you're totally vulnerable at that point.
09:02But if you don't have a plan, you'll get nailed. Because the enemy always has a plan.
09:11D-Day plus one. Despite the difficult terrain, Canadian tankers of the 2nd Armored Brigade make steady progress towards Cannes.
09:20And as the battle enters its second day, they encounter a column of nine German Panther tanks.
09:29The Panther is considered one of the best tanks in the Second World War.
09:38Its long-barreled 75-millimeter cannon is deadly, even at long range.
09:44It's protected by 80 millimeters of frontal armor, welded at a steep 50-degree slope, making it almost invulnerable to frontal attack.
09:53The Panther was, and this was pretty well known, the most functional and best tank in the war, based on three components.
10:06Gun velocity, cross-country mobility and armored protection.
10:15But those advantages won't help these Panthers.
10:21Their frontal armor won't do them any good. They're side-on to the Shermans and highly exposed.
10:33The Sherman has a short-barreled, less powerful 75-millimeter gun and thinner 51-millimeter armor plating,
10:41making it vulnerable in a head-on battle with the Panther, but deadly at close range if they catch the Germans off-guard.
10:48For wireless operator Phil Lawrence and the other rookies of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, this will be their first head-to-head encounter with the enemy.
11:02We heard from the infantry that there were some Panther tanks coming.
11:09The tanks were fairly close. They're about 900 yards, 1,000 yards away.
11:16And meanwhile, I'm trying to wake up my gun. The captain got us all lined up. Each of us was given a target. And I'm kicking his legs to try to get some life into him.
11:34By this time, the order of fire has been given.
11:45And, uh, my gunner is fast asleep.
11:48June 6, 1944. D-Day.
12:04Canadian tanks and infantry land at Juneau Beach in Normandy under intense fire.
12:09They take heavy losses, but overrun German defenses and move inland.
12:23The Allied plan is to encircle and destroy the German forces in Normandy, with the Americans swinging west, while British and Canadian forces push south, towards the strategically important city of Cannes.
12:35Leading the Canadian advance are the tanks of the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade.
12:44A few kilometers inland, they encounter a column of German Panther tanks.
12:53The tanks were fairly close. They're about 900 yards, 1,000 yards away.
12:57By this time, the order of fire has been given, and my gunner is fast asleep.
13:06It's very scary.
13:08And the crew commander is batting him with his head, with his hands, to wake him up.
13:15He said to the gunner,
13:16You, you useless son of it, you are now the co-driver, trying to get in there and don't get in anybody's way.
13:22And finally, he traversed around and fired.
13:30The tank goes up on its springs, and the gun recoils and runs out, and the turret fills up with fire and smoke.
13:44It makes a tremendous route. It's very scary.
13:49It wasn't so much a battle as it was an ambush.
13:53Those poor buggers never knew what hit them.
13:58I mean, one minute they're riding along, one behind the other, and the next minute, you know, everything's on fire.
14:04They fought them in a way that we thought was kind of stupid.
14:09They used to sit side on.
14:14The Panther has just 50 millimeters of side armor, about half as much as it has in front.
14:19Head on, a Panther can withstand almost any allied attack, but catch it side on in a close range, and it's very vulnerable.
14:30You could knock them off easily.
14:32All nine Panthers were knocked out like that.
14:37I thought, wow, this is a breeze. This is a great... I like this.
14:56We'll be on our way to Berlin next week.
14:58But the Canadians are about to get a surprise of their own.
15:08Rushing to meet them with orders from the German High Command to stop the Allied advance are units of the newly formed 12th SS Panzer Division, led by some of Hitler's most experienced tank commanders.
15:19The 12th SS is equipped with 48 Panthers, dozens of heavy guns, and almost 100 Panzer IVs.
15:34The SS were a rough lot, but they were very good at what they did.
15:38They were very good at what they did.
15:48If you make a mistake, they'll kill you.
15:50We knew that it was our duty as soldiers of the German Wehrmacht to serve whether we thought it would be successful or not.
16:02This was none of our business.
16:06The 12th SS, also known as the Hitler Youth Division, is led by Kurt Meyer, a decorated veteran of the Eastern Front, with a reputation as an aggressive and ruthless tank commander.
16:24His troops call him Panzermeyer.
16:28Battalion after battalion arrived.
16:33The soldiers waved at me.
16:34They were moving forward to their baptism of fire in a calm manner.
16:39They showed no self-pity.
16:41They were determined to prove themselves.
16:44D-Day, plus one.
16:55Kurt Meyer and his Panzers take up positions in the historic 12th century Abbey d'Ardene.
17:02There in the monastery gardens, the 12th SS Panzer Division lies in wait for the tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers,
17:08who are supporting the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, slowly advancing en route to Cannes.
17:14From high atop the Abbey Tower, Kurt Meyer can see them coming.
17:21He climbed up the tower of the Arden Church.
17:24The Abbey is 67 meters above sea level.
17:30The church itself is 26 meters high.
17:33He was able to see all the way to the western end of Juneau Beach.
17:39The terrain as far as the coast was spread before me like a sand table.
17:43The whole expanse looked like an anthill.
17:47He noticed the Canadian troops advancing.
17:52I then saw what was happening.
17:54My God, what an opportunity.
17:58I issued orders to all battalions, the artillery and the tanks.
18:02Fire on my command only.
18:09The squadron stopped, they had snacks, they ate.
18:21The Canadians had no protection on their flank.
18:24The tanks were right across the front of our regiment.
18:29The barrels of our guns were pointing at them.
18:34Then I gave the signal for the attack.
18:39All of a sudden, bang.
18:40The Canadians were caught off guard.
18:41They seemed totally surprised.
18:42They were so bloody much smaller.
18:43the tanks burning.
18:45The tanks burning.
18:46The tanks burning.
18:47The tanks burning.
18:48They weren't fighting.
18:49The Canadians were caught off guard.
19:01They seemed totally surprised.
19:05There was so bloody much smoke and tanks burning that they were just in a bloody jungle.
19:19D-Day plus one.
19:27Over the last 36 hours, the Canadian 2nd Armored Brigade has broken out from their Normandy beachhead and begun to battle their way inland.
19:35Rushing to meet them are tanks of the 12th SS Panzer Division, led by the infamous Kurt Meyer.
19:50His forces take up position in the Abbe d'Ardennes.
19:56There, the 12th SS set a trap for the tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, now slowly advancing toward the city of Cannes.
20:05All of a sudden, bang.
20:10Come in on, the battle started.
20:12There was so bloody much smoke and dust and tanks burning that they were just in a bloody jungle.
20:37The Canadians are caught by surprise.
20:40Within seconds, the lead tanks of the Fusiliers' column are destroyed.
20:46Our commanding officer needs some more strength forward, and he asks my squadron commander to send up a troop of tanks, four tanks.
21:02And he asks for another troop.
21:04And now, there's my squadron commander, myself, and the 3rd tank, and that's all we got.
21:16And then the message comes from him saying,
21:18The Germans are breaking through on your left.
21:23Move over to your left.
21:25And he still thought we had a squadron, I guess.
21:29All of a sudden, the action started to move around our way.
21:33And at first, I saw the tanks, and they were at about, oh, a thousand yards away.
21:49Each one of us, you know, you had the jitters every time you saw the buggers, because the gun was so much superior.
21:54The Panzer IV carries a powerful 75-millimeter cannon.
22:08And although it has a shorter barrel than the Panther,
22:11a shell from a Panzer IV can still rip through the weak armor of a Sherman tank.
22:15The Sherman was an easy opponent for us.
22:27If you were able to keep your distance, then there was no need to fear a Sherman.
22:34The short-barreled Sherman doesn't have nearly as much punch as the Panzer IV.
22:38You have to start playing the game of tactics.
22:44And I start firing my smoke in front of them.
22:50Along with high explosive and armor-piercing rounds,
22:53the Sherman is also equipped with white phosphorus incendiaries.
22:57These shells can be used by tankers to mark enemy targets,
23:01or fired to create smoke screens to provide tactical cover.
23:04And they were about, oh, a thousand yards away.
23:12And I said, for Christ's sake, let them come in close.
23:16And watch the right-hand corner where I just put down the smoke,
23:21because you may see something come around the corner there,
23:23taking a look at us.
23:26And sure enough, you see a tank just sticking his nose around,
23:31looking, trying to get some view.
23:34Finally, I said, fire.
23:42And I hit him at about, oh, it must have been 800 or 900 yards, I guess.
23:52I can always remember the thing actually burning.
23:56It's Radley-Walter's first tank kill.
24:01By war's end, he will have 17 more,
24:04and recognition as Canada's leading tank ace.
24:10But on this day, the Canadians take a beating.
24:13They lose 28 tanks, 110 men killed,
24:22and 128 taken prisoner.
24:2618 of the captured are delivered to a terrible fate.
24:30The first group, which was mostly the North Nova Scotias,
24:37were brought to this courtyard here.
24:42These Canadian soldiers would have come up these stairs
24:45and into this park.
24:47They came along here.
24:48At the top of the stairs, there was an SS.
25:06Who would kill each one
25:08with a bullet in the back of the neck.
25:10The ruthless Kurt Meyer and his 12th SS Panzer Division
25:28have all but stopped the Canadians in their tracks.
25:30All along the Northern Front,
25:36the Allied advance slows to a crawl.
25:39The British and Canadians
25:41plan to take the city of Cannes in three days,
25:43but it takes them 34.
25:46The fighting is the bloodiest they have yet seen.
25:50To break the German's stubborn resistance,
25:52the Allies take drastic action
25:54and send in heavy bombers.
25:56Massive daily air raids
25:58reduce much of the ancient Norman city
26:00to rubble.
26:13What happened was that Cannes City
26:17was totally obliterated.
26:23On July 9th, D-Day plus 33,
26:31the Allies finally enter Cannes.
26:37Our tank advanced down
26:40one of the main streets of Cannes
26:42only to find that
26:44we were driving into huge,
26:47multiple bomb craters.
26:49Some of them were so big
26:51that the Sherman tank,
26:53which is 11 feet high,
26:55was actually going down underground.
27:01On one occasion,
27:02we came to a total stop,
27:04and I got up on the top of the tank,
27:06and I couldn't see
27:08where would be the normal ground level.
27:11There's rubble everywhere,
27:22but no Germans.
27:23They've withdrawn,
27:24leaving the ruined city to the Allies,
27:26who become bogged down
27:28in the wreckage created by their own bombs.
27:30The Germans have retreated south of Cannes,
27:44digging in along a 5-kilometer stretch
27:46of high ground,
27:47known as Verrier Ridge.
27:49The ridge rises 30 meters above the lowlands,
27:52making it an ideal defensive position
27:54for the Germans.
27:55From here,
28:00they can command the area
28:01all the way north to Cannes,
28:03making it a killing ground
28:04for the advancing Allied armor.
28:07The Germans deploy their arsenal,
28:10including 72 88-millimeter anti-tank guns,
28:1440 Panthers,
28:17and 80 heavy Tiger tanks.
28:21Even though they are facing
28:25one of the most formidable
28:26defensive positions in Normandy,
28:28on July 18th,
28:29nine days after entering Cannes,
28:32British and Canadian forces
28:33launch Operation Goodwood,
28:35an armored assault aimed directly
28:37at the Germans on Verrier Ridge.
28:42And once again,
28:43the tankers of the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade
28:46are in the thick of it.
28:47Their orders?
28:48take and hold a small Norman village
28:50at the foot of the ridge.
28:52I remember
28:53being in a place called
28:56St. Andre Soror.
29:00They had reported
29:01that there were 64 German tanks
29:03in St. Andre.
29:05We said,
29:05well,
29:06that means there's probably
29:08eight tanks.
29:09We tend to divide
29:15about eight,
29:17one-eighth of what they reported.
29:19So we thought
29:20to be safe
29:21was then in 12.
29:24It was raining
29:25and it couldn't see very well.
29:27Very hard to make anything out.
29:30We got in there
29:31and by God,
29:32there were 64.
29:37There were tanks everywhere.
29:39July 9th, 1944.
29:55After 34 days of fierce fighting,
30:03battered British and Canadian forces
30:05finally enter
30:06the heavily bombed
30:07Norman city of Cannes.
30:10Nine days later,
30:12they are ready
30:12to continue their advance
30:13and link up with U.S. forces
30:15routing the German army
30:17in southern France.
30:18But German forces
30:19in the north
30:20are far from defeated.
30:22Eight kilometers south of Cannes,
30:24they dig in
30:25along Verrier Ridge
30:26with masses of anti-tank guns
30:28and hundreds of tanks.
30:30The ridge is now
30:31one of the strongest
30:31defensive positions in France.
30:37July 18th, 1944.
30:40Combined British
30:41and Canadian forces
30:42launch Operation Goodwood
30:43aimed at driving
30:45the Germans off the ridge.
30:46On the western flank
30:51of the attack
30:52are the tankers
30:53of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers
30:54with orders
30:55to seize and hold
30:56the village
30:56of St. André-sur-Orne.
30:58They had reported
31:04that there were
31:0464 German tanks
31:06in St. André.
31:07We said,
31:08well,
31:09that means
31:10there's probably
31:10eight tanks.
31:12We got in there
31:12and by God,
31:13there were 64.
31:15There were tanks everywhere.
31:21And we couldn't
31:23get organized
31:24to take them on.
31:28And there was
31:32a lot of people
31:33getting knocked out.
31:39It was raining
31:40and you couldn't
31:41see very well.
31:42Very hard
31:43to make anything out.
31:46We seemed
31:47to have lost touch
31:47with everybody.
31:49We decided
31:49we better try
31:50to find a safe position
31:53and some targets.
31:58We found
32:00an excellent position.
32:02It was a stone building
32:04on our right.
32:04So we were covered
32:05from view
32:05and from fire
32:06from the right.
32:08You could hardly
32:08see us
32:09from this hedge.
32:11There were nine
32:12Panthers
32:12out about
32:13a thousand yards
32:14or so,
32:15side on.
32:17I had taken
32:18one last look
32:19out of the turret
32:21because I'm still
32:22having trouble
32:23with the mist
32:25and rain
32:26and whatnot.
32:27And a tiger tank
32:29came around
32:30the corner
32:31of the building,
32:33saw the position,
32:37thought,
32:37that's a great position.
32:38and they pulled
32:40in a stop
32:41right in front
32:41of us.
32:49It was just
32:50the scariest
32:51damned apparition
32:52I've ever seen.
32:53Just loomed up
32:55like that.
32:56We were almost
32:57touching on it.
32:59So I had an AP
33:00up this boat
33:01and I fired that
33:02and hit him
33:03and it just bounced off.
33:05And after that
33:06we just fired
33:06a high explosive.
33:07as fast
33:09as we could.
33:13How about
33:14that fast?
33:16I was literally
33:18just holding
33:18the firing button
33:19down.
33:20The gun was firing,
33:21recoiling,
33:21running out,
33:22firing,
33:23recoiling,
33:23running out.
33:24And my loader
33:25operator was
33:26flinging the shells
33:27in.
33:28And then he fired back.
33:33The tiger weighs
33:3457 tons,
33:36almost twice
33:37as much
33:37as much
33:37as a Sherman.
33:38It has 100 millimeters
33:40of frontal armor
33:41making it almost
33:42impregnable.
33:43It carries an 88 millimeter
33:45gun that can destroy
33:46a Sherman more than
33:47two kilometers away.
33:50And this tiger
33:51is practically
33:52on top of Lawrence's tank.
33:54there are no words
33:59that can convey
34:02the incredible
34:03violence
34:06of that
34:07strike.
34:09The AP shell
34:21that hit our turret,
34:22it looked as if someone
34:23had taken a torch
34:25and just burned the channel
34:27front to back.
34:30I said,
34:30you know,
34:31drive a reverse,
34:32hired right.
34:32And our co-driver
34:34was driving
34:35and he wasn't
34:35a very good driver
34:36and we went
34:37to go into reverse,
34:39he revved up
34:40the engine.
34:41The real driver
34:42grabbed the hand throttles
34:43and then he just
34:45grabbed the gear shift lever
34:46and rammed it
34:47into reverse
34:47and he yelled
34:48into the face
34:49of the co-driver,
34:50let out that clutch
34:51and get the hell
34:52out of here.
34:53And so we went
34:53shooting back.
34:54The Sherbrooke Fusiliers
35:02lose half their tanks
35:03and are forced
35:04to retreat.
35:06Other units
35:06suffer similar losses
35:08and pull back.
35:10Operation Goodwood
35:11is a disaster.
35:14The British
35:15sent 800 tanks
35:17across that open ground
35:20just south of Karn
35:22and 400 of them
35:23were knocked out.
35:26The Germans
35:27were up
35:28on the
35:29Bourguibus
35:30Ferrier ridge
35:31and were able
35:33to see for miles
35:34and miles.
35:36Along those miles
35:37the Germans
35:37were entrenched
35:38in farmhouses
35:39hidden away
35:41with their big guns.
35:44Able to see
35:46everything that moved,
35:47able to cover
35:48the whole area
35:49with their
35:5088mm,
35:52their famous
35:53anti-tank guns
35:55which were
35:56anti-aircraft guns
35:57supposed to fire
35:59at aircraft
36:0020,000 feet up
36:01in the air
36:02but firing at us
36:03200 yards away.
36:09On the 21st
36:10the offensive
36:11against Ferrier ridge
36:12is called off
36:13as the enormity
36:14of the losses
36:15sinks in.
36:16In just four days
36:17the Allies lose
36:18over 6,000 men
36:20and more than
36:20300 tanks
36:21and the Germans
36:23still remain
36:24firmly in control
36:25of the ridge.
36:26Now our task
36:27was to go up
36:28that hill
36:28and find a way
36:30in which we could
36:32get through
36:33those German lines
36:34which are now
36:36reported to be
36:37possibly one
36:38of the strongest
36:39defenses
36:40that the Germans
36:41set up
36:41anywhere in World War II.
36:43The Allies are desperate
36:46for a breakthrough.
36:48Canadian Lieutenant
36:49General Guy Simmons
36:50comes up with a bold
36:51and risky plan
36:52to take the ridge.
36:54Codenamed Operation
36:56Totalize
36:56Simmons' plan
36:58calls for 400 tanks
36:59to quickly advance
37:00in six columns
37:01straight into the
37:02German defensive positions
37:04and to reduce
37:05the effect
37:06of the German
37:06big guns
37:07he will launch
37:08the attack
37:08at night.
37:12If one asks
37:13what did one see
37:14the simple answer
37:16is nothing.
37:28July 21st, 1944.
37:31After taking
37:33enormous casualties
37:34in four days
37:36of bloody fighting
37:36the Allies
37:40cancel their
37:41massive armored
37:42offensive
37:43aimed at eliminating
37:44the stubborn
37:45German defenses
37:46along Verriere Ridge.
37:49Lieutenant General
37:50Guy Simmons
37:51comes up
37:52with a new plan.
37:54The Allies
37:54must take the ridge
37:55because a breakthrough
37:56is key to the overall
37:58campaign in Normandy.
38:00Codenamed
38:01Operation Totalize
38:02it calls for 400 tanks
38:04supported by infantry
38:06to rush forward
38:07in six columns
38:08headlong
38:09into the German guns.
38:12To reduce the effect
38:13of the guns
38:14Simmons plans
38:15to strike
38:16under the cover
38:16of darkness.
38:20A nocturnal armored
38:21operation
38:22on this scale
38:23has never been tried
38:24before
38:24so Simmons
38:25orders his infantry
38:26and tanks
38:27to practice the attack
38:28in daylight
38:29over and over again.
38:31getting ready
38:35for Totalize
38:36was basically
38:37about a week
38:38of really studying
38:40how to put
38:41it together.
38:44They put
38:44one, two, three, four.
38:47They made up
38:47four columns.
38:48Behind those four tanks
38:49they put four more.
38:51Behind that
38:51they put
38:52four flails.
38:54Behind that
38:54another four flails.
38:56and then
38:57four companies
38:58of infantry
38:59in armored
39:00personnel carriers.
39:02Everything tracked.
39:03Not one wheeled
39:04vehicles at all.
39:081130 hours
39:09August 8th.
39:15After a massive
39:16bombardment
39:17Operation Totalize
39:18begins.
39:20400 British
39:21and Canadian
39:21tanks
39:22lurch forward
39:23into the darkness.
39:25So
39:25you were
39:26in a mixture
39:29of
39:29sentiments.
39:31You were
39:32afraid.
39:33You were proud.
39:34You were thrilled.
39:36You were bewildered.
39:37The tanks
39:43stay close together
39:44crawling slowly
39:46toward the ridge
39:47following lines
39:48of tracer fire
39:49that point the way
39:50to each unit's
39:51objective.
39:55All you saw
39:56was the red
39:56tail light
39:57of the tank
39:58in front.
39:58So you fixed
39:59your eyes
40:00on that red
40:01tail light
40:01and you followed
40:02for your life's
40:04sake.
40:07The buggers
40:13would be
40:13putting in
40:14mines
40:14knowing
40:14reasonably well
40:16where we were
40:17and which way
40:17we might
40:18come out
40:18against them.
40:22Total chaos
40:23with flashes
40:25going on
40:26all over the
40:27place
40:27shells exploding.
40:32You hear the
40:33shooting going on
40:33all over the
40:34damn place.
40:37On the way
40:40you saw
40:40some Germans
40:41in slit
40:42trenches
40:42but you've
40:43been told
40:43not to stop
40:44to keep going.
40:48You saw
40:49one of your
40:50tanks in front
40:50of you hit
40:51and going up
40:53in flames.
40:54You saw
40:54another one hit
40:55going up
40:56in flames.
40:57You didn't know
40:57what was happening.
40:58You kept going,
40:59you kept going.
41:07By dawn
41:08on August 8th
41:09Canadian
41:10and British
41:10forces have
41:11captured most
41:12of Verriere Ridge.
41:14By noon
41:15the entire
41:15position is
41:16in Allied hands.
41:20Phase 1
41:21of Operation
41:21Totalize
41:22is a success
41:23opening the way
41:24for the Allies
41:25to advance
41:26and hook up
41:26with U.S.
41:27forces further south.
41:29On August 21st
41:31after two more
41:31weeks of fierce
41:32fighting
41:33the Allies
41:33finally complete
41:34their encirclement
41:35of the German army
41:36in Normandy.
41:38Those Germans
41:39who remained
41:40trapped inside
41:41the pocket
41:41are now easy
41:42prey for the Allies
41:43superior airpower.
41:48And for a while
41:50this tremendous
41:52slaughter,
41:55you can only call it,
41:56went on.
41:58More and more
41:59bombers and fighter
42:00bombers attacked.
42:02The misery around
42:03us screamed
42:04to high heaven.
42:06Refugees and soldiers
42:07from the defeated
42:08German armies
42:09looked helplessly
42:10at the bombers
42:10flying continuously
42:11overhead.
42:15It was useless
42:16to take cover
42:16from the bursting
42:17shells and bombs.
42:19Concentrated
42:20in such a confined
42:21space,
42:22we offered
42:22once-in-a-lifetime
42:23targets to the
42:24enemy airpower.
42:27Death shadowed
42:28us at every step.
42:31He stood out
42:32like targets
42:33on a range.
42:36It was impossible
42:37to miss us.
42:38The destruction
42:49of the German army
42:50in France
42:50marks the end
42:51of the Battle
42:52of Normandy.
42:54German losses
42:55are horrific.
42:57200,000 are killed
42:58or wounded
42:59and 1,300 tanks
43:00are destroyed.
43:04Normandy
43:05has become
43:05a graveyard
43:06for the once-mighty
43:07German panzers.
43:10Of the 12th SS
43:12panzer division,
43:13only 10 tanks
43:14and 300 men
43:15are reported
43:15to have escaped,
43:17including Kurt Meyer,
43:20who is later
43:20put on trial
43:21for war crimes,
43:22including the killing
43:23of 18 Canadian prisoners
43:25at the Abbey d'Ardenne.
43:27But he spends
43:28just nine years
43:29in prison.
43:33For the Allies,
43:34the Battle of Normandy
43:35is a great victory,
43:37but it comes
43:37at a steep price.
43:4050,000 men
43:41are killed
43:41and over 150,000
43:43are wounded.
43:45In the Battle
43:46of Normandy,
43:47the Sherbrooke Fusiliers
43:49suffer some of their
43:50heaviest losses
43:50of the war.
43:51Many still wonder
43:54how they survived.
43:56You know,
43:57I've been in tanks
43:58who were knocked out,
43:59but the shell
44:00didn't hit where I was.
44:01I've been in
44:02mortar barrages,
44:06but no mortar
44:08came down
44:09where I was.
44:10It's just
44:11dumb luck.
44:14I think everybody
44:15would agree on that.
44:17You've got to be
44:18skillful,
44:19you've got to be
44:19thoughtful and careful
44:20and all of that.
44:21But if you're not
44:22lucky,
44:23you're not going
44:23to make it.
44:24you're not going to be
44:25undefeated
44:26with garbage.
44:26You're not going...
44:37You're not going to be
44:38gdzie opa...
44:38You're not going...
44:39going to be
44:40what you're saying.
44:42There is a team
44:43in my heart.
44:45You're checking
44:46how many people
44:47can come...
44:49You're not going to be
44:49what we're getting.
44:50I'm coming across
44:51you're not going to be
44:51what we're getting
44:52You
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44:55
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