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00:00May 1940. Thousands of German tanks strike deep into Belgium, Holland and France, and a new era in armored warfare begins. This is Blitzkrieg.
00:19Move fast, hit hard, move fast again.
00:22The Allies, stunned by the speed of the attack, send thousands of their own tanks to meet the advancing panzers.
00:30Once that armor starts rolling, it's damn difficult to stop it.
00:36For the first time in history, two giant armored forces clash.
00:42It becomes one of the greatest tank battles of the Second World War.
00:46There was fire everywhere. Huge fireballs. We were absolutely blinded.
00:51At stake is nothing less than the fate of Western Europe.
00:55The situation is now absolutely desperate.
00:58This is the Battle of France.
01:00The Battle of France.
01:02September 20th.
01:06S��고 Tsouden Paris
01:20Sudan, France, on the Meuse River near the Belgian border.
01:28This pleasant rural countryside is dotted with crumbling concrete bunkers, stark reminders
01:35of Europe's dark past, a time when the entire world teetered on the brink of disaster.
01:46September 1, 1939, a German army with one and a half million men strong streams across
01:55the border into Poland, and the Second World War begins.
02:07Already Hitler's forces have annexed or conquered large swaths of Eastern Europe.
02:14In the spring of 1940, he turns his attention to the West.
02:21But the Western Allies are ready.
02:25Since the fall of Poland, France and Britain have been building defensive fortifications,
02:31stockpiling ammunition, and massing men and machines in Western Europe.
02:36The Allies believe they are ready for the inevitable German invasion.
02:41By May of 1940, they field almost three and a half million men, 14,000 artillery pieces,
02:49and 3,600 armored vehicles, a formidable defensive force that outnumbers and outguns the Germans.
02:58For their invasion, Germany has assembled 2.4 million men, more than 7,500 artillery gunners,
03:05and only 2,500 tanks.
03:10Under conventional military doctrine, the attacker should always be stronger than the defender,
03:16but the German plan is anything but conventional.
03:22Their plan calls for 10 panzer divisions to charge west across a 400-kilometer front,
03:27with a main attack driving through the Ardennes forest.
03:33Their goal, surprise, divide, and destroy the Allies.
03:40The hilly, rugged Ardennes is considered poor terrain for tanks.
03:48Here, heavy armor can get bogged down in the deep woods and gullies.
03:53It's one of the most unlikely places for a panzer attack, and for that reason, it's perfect.
04:01At no point, the French I command was prepared to suffer an attack in the Ardennes.
04:08The speed and ferocity of the German attack catches the Allies off guard.
04:14Still clinging to military tactics of the First World War,
04:18they are ill-prepared for General Heinz Guderian's new form of mobile armored warfare, the Blitzkrieg.
04:24Guderian and all the young panzer generals, they understood that speed and mobility and confusion
04:33are the key elements of this strategy.
04:36Creating a center of gravity, breaking through, piercing through it, then break out,
04:44and create confusion and terror, so the enemy's army collapses.
04:49More than 1,700 panzers cross the Ardennes with shocking speed.
05:01They cover 100 kilometers of difficult terrain in less than three days.
05:06And by May 13th, are only 300 kilometers from the English Channel.
05:12Reeling from the German attack, the Allies send all available forces east to intercept the
05:17Germans near the Meuse River.
05:25We received urgent orders to rush forward and counterattack the Germans that had crossed the
05:30Meuse.
05:32We had to stop them and throw them back across the river, to the other side.
05:39Spearheading the Allied counterattack and rushing headlong into the rapidly advancing panzers are
05:44three dozen French light tanks.
05:48The FCM 36 is well protected by 40 millimeters of frontal armor, but its short-barreled 37 millimeter
05:55main gun is designed primarily for infantry support and is all but useless against Guderian's tanks.
06:02All of a sudden, we saw clouds of dust.
06:17We were surprised that it was German armor.
06:20It wasn't just two or three.
06:22It was more like dozens of panzers and they were armed with cannons, with long barrels.
06:33Advancing towards the French are dozens of the formidable panzer Mark III.
06:39It is armed with a long-barreled 37 millimeter cannon, giving the Mark III much more killing
06:44power than the French tanks.
06:50We take the shell, we put it in the cannon, we aim and we fire.
07:00We don't have time to think.
07:07But we couldn't pierce their armor.
07:14I saw some of my comrades get hit first.
07:17They were dead without being able to do anything.
07:24It's awful to think that there's nothing you can do to help them.
07:30But they just couldn't defend themselves against the larger and more powerful German cannons.
07:42The FCM 36 were no match for the panzers.
07:46The main drawback was armament, which was the short gun, which was almost useless against
07:57German armor.
07:58Our short cannon could not pierce their armor.
08:13All we could do is try to blind the drivers of the panzers in front of us.
08:21It wasn't easy to aim.
08:23We were raising the cannon up and down with our shoulder to pick the area we wanted to
08:28hit.
08:29But we somehow managed.
08:30We don't even think if we're going to make it or not.
08:44We have to do what we can with what we have.
08:47That's all.
08:49If we get killed, then so be it.
08:53When shells hit our armor, the steel turns bright red.
08:58Inside the tank, shards of metal would fly out, pieces that were red hot and piercing.
09:05When we see a tank burning with shell holes and the crew inside, it hurts.
09:14We feel it and we try to avenge them.
09:20While I was looking, a German shell hit our turret.
09:33It didn't go through, but it shattered the periscope and it fell on me, knocking me out.
09:39My tank was the last to be knocked out.
09:58Of the 39 tanks that set out that morning at 11.30, only 10 remained.
10:08But we stopped the Germans.
10:11That was our goal.
10:15Despite their losses, the French tanks slow the German advance, forcing Guderian to change
10:21his plans.
10:23He decides to bypass the French defenders to the south and continue his lightning attack
10:28west.
10:29But as the German blitzkrieg cuts a narrow swath westward, its flank becomes increasingly extended
10:36and poorly defended.
10:38The French realize that this is just the break they need and send two battalions of their
10:43heaviest tanks straight into the vulnerable German flank.
10:51May 10, 1940.
11:03Determined to dominate Western Europe, Hitler launches a massive blitzkrieg into Holland,
11:08Belgium and France.
11:10The blitzkrieg from a German point of view was just the war of movement.
11:16They always tried to move fast, hit hard, move fast again.
11:19And create confusion and terror in the back land of the enemy.
11:27So the enemy's army collapses.
11:29In just three days, the Germans advance more than 100 kilometers through the Ardennes forest.
11:39And the allies, caught off guard, send all available forces east to meet the onslaught.
11:46Although their light tanks are outgunned and they sustain heavy losses, the French manage
11:52to blunt the German attack, forcing them to change their plans and proceed with their advance to the west.
12:02Guderian's panzers cut a 30 kilometer swath deep into France, but at a cost.
12:08His flanks are now overextended and vulnerable.
12:13On May 15th, the French attack the Germans left flank, aiming to capture the strategic high ground
12:19at the French village of Stone.
12:21The small village of Stone was crucial.
12:24It was crucial for the Germans to hold it, to secure their bridgehead, and also their move westwards.
12:36For this critical battle, the French have deployed 68 of their most formidable weapon,
12:41the heavy Char B-1 BIS tank.
12:44The most feared allied tanks for the Germans, I think the most feared is the most feared
12:48the French Char B-1, a massive bulking tank with 60 millimeters of armor.
12:54The Char B-1 was the nightmare of the German tank crews.
13:01The day of the battle was very nice.
13:05It was ideal for us.
13:08We had great visibility from our tanks.
13:11We could see far into the fields.
13:15We had to go into Stone on a scouting mission.
13:22But we didn't have a radio at the time, so we were on our own.
13:26We not only had to fight the Germans, but we had to prevent them from getting past us.
13:32Going up the hill, we didn't see anything.
13:35No sign or contact with the enemy.
13:38As we continued to advance, we still didn't see the enemy.
13:42So we had to keep our guard up while we moved forward.
13:45We first made contact when German machine guns on the water tower opened fire and started shooting at us.
13:53The Germans put a machine gun on the water tower.
14:06They were shooting at us and pinning down our soldiers.
14:09We had to fire our 75 millimeter at the water tower.
14:12So I drove up to get closer.
14:19I had to get into position to fire on the machine gun nest so we could knock it out.
14:27We just had to eliminate them and move on.
14:45I kept driving the tank.
14:50We had to advance and keep engaging the enemy.
14:53So I was shooting the 75 millimeter cannon.
14:57We had to take that position and keep that hill.
15:02As the big French tanks reach Stone, they come under heavy fire from well-hidden German anti-tank guns.
15:11Inside the Charbet, we were very confident that our strong armor would keep us safe from danger or injury.
15:19Nicknamed the Colossus, the Charby One is protected by 60 millimeters of frontal armor, making it virtually impregnable.
15:34Combined with its incredible firepower, the Charby One is the most powerful tank on the battlefield.
15:40And the deadliest foe of the German anti-tank gunners.
15:47The fire from three heavy enemy tanks threatened to wipe out the platoon.
15:54At one point, one of the giants stood sideways.
15:59Our left gun commander spotted a small ribbed surface in the middle of the enemy tank's side.
16:05Apparently a kind of radiator.
16:07He aimed at it.
16:10A jet of flame shot out of the tank.
16:17Now the two field guns fired only at those little squares in the side of the 32-ton enemy tanks.
16:23At that moment, I decided to release a smoke shell so we could escape from there.
16:38Coming out of the smoke, there was an anti-tank gun right in front of us.
16:43He was getting ready to fire at me, but he didn't have time.
16:47I was too close and I couldn't fire.
16:49There was only one thing to do.
16:51I had to drive my tank over it.
16:53The crew of the anti-tank gun were raising their hands.
17:00I couldn't fire at them.
17:02So the tank commander took care of them.
17:04We left the village and went back to our base.
17:16Lucky to be in one piece.
17:20The French flanking attack at Stone fails.
17:24And Guderian's panzers continue to push through the Ardennes, virtually unchecked.
17:33To Guderian's north, at the spearhead of the German advance, is the elite 7th Panzer Division.
17:39Led by Germany's most famous panzer commander, Erwin Rommel.
17:46By May 14th, Rommel and his tanks reach the Belgian village of Favillon.
17:51Their last obstacle before the flat, open country leading to the English Channel.
17:57If they can break out here, Rommel's highly mobile panzers will be just a few days from the coast, threatening to split the Allied armies in half.
18:07May 15th, 1940.
18:17It's been five days since the beginning of Hitler's invasion of France.
18:22And his mighty panzer divisions have already bludgeoned their way 150 kilometers from the rugged Ardennes.
18:28Repeated attempts by French armor have failed to stop the German blitzkrieg.
18:38And they're now 250 kilometers short of their objectives along the English Channel.
18:43Leading the way is Erwin Rommel's mighty 7th Panzer Division.
18:48Who are on the verge of breaking out of the Ardennes and into the panzer-friendly Belgian flatlands.
18:57In desperation, the French rush 170 tanks of their powerful 1st Armored Division, North,
19:03to head Rommel off near the Belgian village of Favillon.
19:07But the French advance is slowed by tens of thousands of refugees who choke the roads and block their path.
19:16We had to cross a crowd of refugees.
19:21It took us five hours to cover just five kilometers.
19:26The fields were filled with a crowd that was completely lost and insane.
19:33Bit by bit, the French manage to push through the human chaos and finally reach Flavillon.
19:43The French tankers are exhausted and now critically short on fuel.
19:48As the French rest and wait for resupply, they are spotted by the 7th Panzer's advance guard.
19:58It's more than Rommel could have hoped for.
20:03Before him, and completely unaware of his presence, lies the French 1st Armored Division.
20:10Rommel splits his panzer force in two and moves them into position on either side of the oblivious French tanks.
20:17His deadly trap is now set.
20:20Any encounter between German Allied tanks has got to have been a surprise.
20:25And usually, the result of those battles, as much as anything else, is just like a Western gunfight.
20:32It's the guy who keeps his cool and gets his shot off first.
20:35Hit-string against the armor on the left side.
20:44My driver shouts, there's a tank by the edge of this wood.
20:50I realize then that the whole of our left flank is packed with German tanks.
21:00What the Germans did was to build circles around them.
21:05Move around them and shoot on and from every side.
21:09The German tanks tried to act like wolf packs.
21:12They tried to get around isolated Shardiran.
21:18Which was quite easy, because the Allied tanks were scattered upon the battlefield,
21:22so they picked one out already using the radio to say,
21:26Let's pick this one, the one, the right half, first tanks.
21:33So, all the tanks were concentrating on this one lonely Shardiran.
21:47Surprised and low on fuel, the scattered French tanks are all but helpless against the panzer ambush.
21:53After some minutes of battle, each French tank was fighting for itself.
22:09And, at most, for the tank on his left and the tank on his right.
22:14Red flashes, and a crash on our armor.
22:20One shot strikes the side door, which bangs open half-mangled.
22:25Imogen, you are a tank commander.
22:27You are alone in your turret.
22:32You have to...
22:34...eat your tank.
22:35You also have to man your gun.
22:38You have to sight.
22:40You have to choose your enemy.
22:45You have to fire.
22:47And you have to do everything.
22:49You are like a timber man inside a coffin of steel.
22:54In the French tank, the man in the turret was just seeing through this slit, this view hole.
23:08And he was seeing just rotating tanks around him.
23:11And he couldn't revolve the turret just to keep track with one.
23:16Not to speak of five or six or seven.
23:18One hits into our radiator.
23:21Another shell strikes our 75-millimeter gun, jamming it.
23:25The noise is deafening, as we are hit from our sides.
23:28But we keep fighting with the 47-millimeter cannon.
23:32When you confuse the enemy tank crew enough,
23:37and if you shoot enough,
23:38sometimes you will hit the tracks, you will hit something vulnerable,
23:41or they simply will give up under the pressure.
23:43My right track is rattling furiously.
23:47And my 47-millimeter gun has been worked so hard that the bolt could not be closed.
23:52So we withdraw slowly.
23:54The German tanks would find a weak spot,
23:58would take them out somehow, and then concentrate on the next.
24:02Like animals jumping from one point to the other,
24:05like really the predatory animals on the next.
24:08The next big time.
24:16Avion is a terrible place for the French tank force.
24:21The division was completely smashed up.
24:25It was unable of any other action.
24:30Rommel's attack destroys two entire tank battalions.
24:33And by the end of the day, the French 1st Armored Division,
24:37originally 170 tanks strong, is reduced to just 36.
24:43The victory at Flavion allows the Germans to break out of the rugged terrain of the Ardennes,
24:48and into the tank-friendly country of Western Belgium.
24:52And they advance to the sea at full speed.
24:55Allied command scrambles to mount another counter-attack against the ever-lengthening German flank.
25:07And now the stakes are even higher.
25:10If the blitzkrieg can't be stopped, all of Western Europe will be lost.
25:14May 1940.
25:24Allied armies fight to stop the German invasion of Western Europe.
25:28But it's a losing cause.
25:33After almost obliterating the French 1st Armored Division at Flavion,
25:35General Erwin Rommel's panzers break out into the open country of Western France and Belgium,
25:42and race almost unopposed towards the English Channel.
25:49The French high command, desperate to stem the German onslaught,
25:53quickly tries to reorganize their armored forces at Stone.
25:56Their mission is to slice through the German southern flank,
26:01and cut their lines of communication and supply.
26:06But five days of constant German attacks have taken a heavy toll on the French.
26:11Their army is wracked by severe disorganization,
26:15and at the last minute they call off the attack.
26:18But in the confusion, the message doesn't reach the 49th Tank Battalion.
26:22And on May 15th, at 5.30 p.m., without artillery or infantry support,
26:29they begin their advance towards the German line.
26:33With our five tanks, we emerged from the woods.
26:39We were surprised by an artillery barrage.
26:46But we had to go through it, although we couldn't see.
26:49There was fire everywhere, like huge fireballs, and huge chunks of earth.
27:00We were absolutely blinded by it all.
27:04We got beaten up.
27:09We had to look for a way out.
27:13We had to look for a way out.
27:14So at that moment, we began to assemble into line formation,
27:19and throw ourselves into the attack.
27:28Having just made it through the barrage,
27:30we immediately came under fire by anti-tank guns.
27:32The French have driven straight into a trap.
27:40A V-shaped killing zone, where German anti-tank guns are positioned
27:45to catch the advancing tanks in a deadly crossfire.
27:48When an anti-tank gun fires at you, it makes a deafening noise.
27:55And when it hits, it leaves a mark inside the tank.
28:02It creates a weird effect.
28:04What I was afraid of is all the fuel we had inside at the time.
28:12We had 400 liters of gasoline.
28:15Never mind the 80 shells inside.
28:18If ever there was a fire or a spark in there,
28:22the tank becomes a bomb.
28:25I got hit 17 times from the anti-tank guns.
28:3312 on the right and 5 on the front.
28:39When an anti-tank gun fires at you, it creates a long flame.
28:43So I was able to detect them like that.
28:46When I saw a flame, I turned around
28:50because I wanted to aim where it was coming from.
28:52They couldn't turn and run away.
28:56So I aimed and fired.
29:01I destroyed three anti-tank guns.
29:09We turned and saw the captain of our company
29:1210 meters in front of us.
29:18His tank had gone down a ravine and got stuck in a stream.
29:23The driver was killed by a shell that went through his hatch.
29:31It's very different when you have comrades that are injured.
29:35It changes everything.
29:37So we tried to save as many as we could.
29:40We turned around and there was another tank commander.
29:51He gave us a sign that his driver was severely injured.
29:59We drove closer and brought them into our tank.
30:04We wound up with nine people in the tank, being stuck like sardines.
30:09At that moment, I couldn't fight anymore.
30:12With the recoil of the gun, I couldn't fire.
30:15So I drove to the forest to bring the wounded to the ambulance.
30:25The French attack fails.
30:27And the German blitzkrieg continues rolling west towards the sea.
30:32The formidable panzer columns now seem unstoppable.
30:35The Germans, they were always up there, they were always pushing, they were always scaring people.
30:44And you never quite knew how and where to react to that.
30:48Once that armor starts rolling, it's damn difficult to stop it.
30:54On May 20th, ten days after the invasion began, the vanguard of Guderian's panzers reaches the English Channel at Abbeville, France.
31:07And cuts the Allied forces in half.
31:10The situation for the Allies is dire.
31:14They must relink their armies before the Germans can bring up reinforcements.
31:19And they prepare for one last do-or-die attack.
31:22It will be the decisive tank-on-tank clash in the Battle of France.
31:33May 20th, 1940.
31:38The German blitzkrieg into Western Europe enters its 10th bloody day.
31:47The vanguard of Guderian's tank force reaches the English Channel,
31:51cutting the Allied armies in half.
31:56But the German's speedy advance has left them a thin and weakly defended panzer corridor.
32:02And hoping to exploit this, the Allies mount one last assault, aimed at smashing through the German flanks.
32:09The plan, a pincer movement near the city of Arras, with British tanks attacking from the north, and the French from the south.
32:19But the plan falls apart when the French army, fatally weakened by 10 days of continuous fighting, fails to reach Arras in time for the attack.
32:33Without the French, the Allied tank force is reduced by almost half, leaving them with only 2,000 men, 48 field guns, and 88 tanks.
32:50It is a small force, easily outmatched by the tanks of Rommel's 7th Panzer Division.
33:00But the Allies realise time is running out, and despite the heavy odds against them, they launch their attack.
33:11I was stopped at a little village just outside Arras, to join the tanks that were already out there.
33:21We had about 5 or 6 Matildas then, so we set self.
33:26We just kept going as fast as we could.
33:30We were told to shoot to kill.
33:32The Matilda II is equipped with a 2-pounder cannon, capable of destroying German armour at a range of 1,500 metres.
33:45But its most impressive feature is its 78 millimetres of frontal armour, making the Matilda II the best protected tank on the battlefield.
33:56The tank that was causing the most nerve on the German side was the Matilda.
34:00It wasn't fast, its gun wasn't so impressive, but the thick armour was impenetrable for everything the Germans had.
34:10The main anti-tank gun on the German side was the 37 millimetre anti-tank gun.
34:17This proved so unaffected that it was called Army Knocking Machine.
34:22So because it didn't anything but knock-knock and then the tank drove on, so that was the nickname for this gun.
34:27With no way to stop them, the Matildas overrun German positions, sending panic through the lines.
34:38With his forces wavering and in retreat, Rommel rushes to Arras to take personal command.
34:47We arrived at Wali. The enemy tank fire had created chaos and confusion among our troops.
34:56We drove off to a hill west of the village, where we found a light anti-aircraft troop and several anti-tank guns located in a small wood.
35:06At the same time, several enemy tanks were advancing down the road. It was an extremely tight spot.
35:16May 21st, 1940. In a do or die bid to stop the Nazi invasion of Western Europe, the British attacked German positions in the French city of Arras.
35:40It just kept going. It was supposed to be good. We were told to shoot, to kill.
35:47British Matilda II heavy tanks lead the attack and easily eliminate the lighter German armour.
35:57Desperate to prevent a British breakthrough, Rommel deploys his 88mm anti-aircraft guns in a defensive line and orders them to fire at the advancing Matildas.
36:15Every gun was ordered to open rapid fire immediately. I personally gave each gun its target.
36:26When they brought the 88mm, they would go through any tank.
36:34The German 88mm Flak 18 gun was designed as a long-range anti-aircraft weapon.
36:42And when used against tanks, this high-velocity cannon can easily penetrate the thickest Allied armour, even at ranges of over one kilometre.
36:53So, that was only turmoil for defrayed.
36:56With the enemy tanks so perilously close, only rapid fire from every gun could save the situation.
37:09We ran from gun to gun. The objections of the gun commanders, that the range was still too great to engage the tanks effectively, were overruled.
37:19All I cared about, was to hold the enemy tanks by heavy gun fire.
37:26Well, we could see the other tanks on the horizon. And as soon as they saw, they started firing at us, as you see.
37:41I can see them now, one of the tanks backing up this road and shooting with this machine guns. And then, that was it.
38:03Soon, we succeeded in putting the enemy tanks out of action.
38:10We now directed our fire against another group of tanks attacking.
38:15Setting fire to some, halting others, and forcing the rest to retreat.
38:24I had a mate killed in one. You know, it had his head shoot off. Tank commander. Open visor. On his head off.
38:43Well, that was a bit sickening then.
38:46Although we were under very heavy fire from the tanks during this action, the gun crews worked magnificently.
39:01So that was retreat. Fight retreat. That's the only way we got retreat.
39:07Well, we couldn't, there's nothing else we could do.
39:13Rommel's victory at Arras is hard won.
39:17The Germans have sustained their heaviest casualties of the campaign.
39:22Losing 30 panzers and more than 600 men.
39:26But the British have suffered far worse.
39:30Just 28 of the original 88 tanks make it back to their lives.
39:35And hundreds of men are killed and wounded.
39:39After Arras, and after the fighting in Western France,
39:41we have lost virtually all our tanks, all our anti-tank guns.
39:46As far as Britain itself is concerned, the situation is now absolutely desperate.
39:54German divisions reach the coast.
39:56And by June 4th, the last British troops evacuate France at Dunkirk.
40:00Three weeks later, France surrenders.
40:10The quick and decisive German victory is a testament to the power of Blitzkrieg.
40:18And most crucial to their success are their mighty panzer formations.
40:27In 1940, the tank has come of age.
40:30The tank is now the leading player in the ground war.
40:34It's what brings France to her knees and kicks Britain out of France.
40:37A huge number of soldiers have lost their lives for the defense of France.
40:54Especially in the tank forces.
40:57All the men have fought fiercely with hope that their action would stop the enemy.
41:04We lost the battle of France.
41:15We were simply overwhelmed by the enemy's equipment.
41:19We had nothing to go against this mass.
41:26Losing war is one thing.
41:29Losing hope is another.
41:30The fall of France is considered one of the greatest military victories of all time.
41:39With it, Hitler achieves what most thought impossible.
41:43Total Nazi domination of Europe.
42:00The enemy with itself posición.
42:01The enemy, St. Peter Christie.
42:032.
42:07A war with moins.
42:10First thing, Hoots.
42:13Third thing, Hawots.
42:15Thirteen.
42:17The avalanche and Z rattrame and Zización.
42:20Until first.
42:21After all, Chris dost.
42:23My Faro.
42:24adox.
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