S1 EP 2 :- D-Day-Lost-Films

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00:00:00This program documents D-Day in the words of its soldiers.

00:00:03It features rare archival footage collected from a worldwide search and now presented in high definition.

00:00:08Many scenes are violent and viewer discretion is advised.

00:00:12Previously...

00:00:16The anti-aircraft fire was so intense. It was unbelievable.

00:00:20Lieutenant just yelled,

00:00:21Are you ready?

00:00:24And out the door we went.

00:00:27The lowering of the ramp was like a signal for every German machine gun to open up on our boat.

00:00:34We started going over the side. I dropped everything to avoid being drowned.

00:00:40The boat to our left blew up. We were showered with body parts.

00:00:44I heard an unmistakable rumble coming towards us.

00:00:50I was in the third wave. There's firing going on all over the place.

00:00:54We needed many replacements like me for the men killed on Omaha Beach.

00:00:58It was like opening up the gates of hell.

00:01:01And just stepping in.

00:01:03It was like...

00:01:04It was like being sold.

00:01:08It was like ainal bad made.

00:01:10But you won...

00:01:12The air is the mainstrichen.

00:01:13One, two, one.

00:01:15The air in the air.

00:01:16The air is the mainstay.

00:01:18The air isocal.

00:01:19It's like this.

00:01:20But it's like, the air is still...

00:01:21Any one...

00:01:22The air is still alive.

00:01:24The air is soaked.

00:01:25We made it off the beach and up to the foot of the bluff.

00:01:42It was like a swampy area with water up to almost to your knees and mud.

00:01:46We reached a crossroads and some of us were laying in a ditch next to the road.

00:01:50All of a sudden, machine guns started firing on us, and the lieutenant sent some people out to flank them.

00:01:58Private Mac Evans, 17 years old, from Clarksburg, West Virginia.

00:02:03Well, me and two of the 1st Division men got separated from the rest of the group, and we didn't know where they were.

00:02:10And it starts getting dark.

00:02:12One of the guys from the 1st Division said, what are you going to do, Evans?

00:02:16I said, I'm going to dig in somewhere because I'm not going to walk around in the dark out here with the Germans everywhere.

00:02:2514 hours after D-Day began, the longest day is far from over.

00:02:32For almost three years, Hitler's war machine has ravaged Europe.

00:02:37Now, the American-led Allied invasion is underway.

00:02:41D-Day, D-Day, the goal, liberate Europe from Hitler's Nazi regime.

00:02:48Along with the British, Canadian, and other Allied forces,

00:02:52American planners spend over a year preparing for the surprise assault on the beaches of Normandy, France.

00:02:59But all too soon, they realize the German defenses are much stronger than anyone had anticipated,

00:03:05and the first hours come with huge sacrifice.

00:03:07It's the first night in Normandy, and the beginning of many anxious nights before the D-Day mission is complete.

00:03:21Our battalion was about 500 yards off the beach.

00:03:25I was there in my little foxhole all by myself.

00:03:27They're not designed to make you feel good.

00:03:31Private Donald Van Roosen, 19 years old from Newton, Massachusetts.

00:03:34I listened to all the sounds of the night, and if there weren't any, I imagined them.

00:03:40My curiosity was supplanted by this feeling of being all alone.

00:03:46The only people around you were your fellow soldiers and the battalion.

00:03:53The next morning didn't start well.

00:04:01I was at the edge of a field, and a rifleman came up beside me.

00:04:04He decided he was going to go to the other side of the field to complete a defensive line.

00:04:09And as he walked across,

00:04:11a sniper shot him in the stomach.

00:04:15And I'm about 12, 15 feet away from him.

00:04:20And he's gritting his teeth and trying to not cry out.

00:04:26But I could see that he was hurting badly.

00:04:28And I started to go out for him, and I got a bullet very close to my right hand.

00:04:34So I thought, that's not a good idea.

00:04:35So I said, I'm going to try to get some other people here.

00:04:39I need somebody to give us covering fire.

00:04:42And he said, just hurry up.

00:04:44So I tried to get somebody to come over.

00:04:49It took too long.

00:04:51He died right there in front of me.

00:04:55That was the first inclination of what war was all about.

00:05:07That was not a good feeling at all.

00:05:16The D-Day invasion begins on the beaches of Normandy, France.

00:05:20The mission objective is to gain control of the major roadways in Normandy.

00:05:26The key to success, the crossroad city of St. Lowe,

00:05:30some 20 miles inland from the beaches.

00:05:33For as intense as the casualties were on the beaches of Normandy,

00:05:37the fighting inland to St. Lowe is going to be even worse.

00:05:41Almost every road goes through St. Lowe.

00:05:44So if you are to advance out of Normandy,

00:05:47and deeper into France, into the heart of France,

00:05:49and specifically to Paris,

00:05:50you almost certainly have to have St. Lowe.

00:05:53The plan for the Normandy invasion

00:05:55was to get to St. Lowe in a relatively short amount of time.

00:05:58That plan goes right out the window.

00:06:04The men aboard the USS Augusta

00:06:06must get the D-Day mission back on track.

00:06:09Day-to-day operations are orchestrated from the battleship,

00:06:12where General Omar Bradley keeps a watchful eye on his troops.

00:06:16By the morning of June 7th,

00:06:19we were not yet out of danger,

00:06:21commanding General Omar Bradley, United States First Army.

00:06:24On the thin, five-mile sliver of Omaha Beach,

00:06:27we had fallen far short of our D-Day objectives.

00:06:30German artillery still pounded the beaches.

00:06:40I didn't die like many in my landing craft,

00:06:43but I almost bled to death from the four different wounds I received on that first day.

00:06:49Private Harold Baumgart,

00:06:5119 years old from Brooklyn.

00:06:52An artillery shell ripped off my left cheek.

00:06:56An artillery shell had ripped off my left cheek.

00:06:57My upper jaw on the left side,

00:07:00a hole in the roof of the mouth,

00:07:02my tongue was cut,

00:07:03and a machine gun bullet

00:07:04had took my lip away

00:07:06and took away my upper jaw.

00:07:08Both jaws were gone,

00:07:10and teeth and gums on my tongue.

00:07:13There was this ambulance coming down the road.

00:07:15Flagged it down, and they put me on the floor,

00:07:17and I fell back.

00:07:18And my helmet hit the metal floor.

00:07:21I heard one of the ambulance drivers say,

00:07:24this guy just passed out.

00:07:26I didn't pass out.

00:07:26I was too weak to sit.

00:07:29They took me all the way back to the beach.

00:07:31There was twelve of us laying on the sand in stretchers.

00:07:35All of a sudden,

00:07:36snipers opened up from the top of the bluff.

00:07:39They started killing the wounded

00:07:40and the aid men.

00:07:43They had telescopic sights

00:07:44because one aid man got a bullet

00:07:45right through the Red Cross on his arm.

00:07:48When they came to me,

00:07:49they put a bullet in my right knee.

00:07:51They wanted to torture you,

00:07:53but the next one was going right through here.

00:07:57But just then,

00:07:58the destroyer McCook came offshore,

00:08:01scraping its bottom on the sand,

00:08:04and its five-inch guns...

00:08:06...they fired at the bluff.

00:08:09So I was saved again.

00:08:13While the Allies collect the wounded,

00:08:15on the outskirts of the beach,

00:08:17the German 352nd Infantry Division

00:08:19is regrouping.

00:08:22Responsible for yesterday's massacre on Omaha,

00:08:25they've been bloodied,

00:08:26but they still have plenty of fight left.

00:08:30Yesterday,

00:08:30we narrowly escaped from Bunker 72

00:08:32before the Americans overran it.

00:08:35Crawling back along ditches,

00:08:36we managed to link up

00:08:37with the rest of our unit.

00:08:39Grenadier Carl Wegner,

00:08:4019 years old,

00:08:41from Hannover, Germany.

00:08:43I was sent to this farmhouse

00:08:45to get some more ammunition.

00:08:47There was handed about

00:08:48a thousand rounds of mixed tracer

00:08:50and regular rounds.

00:08:51I grabbed them

00:08:52and ran back to the beach.

00:08:54My friend,

00:08:55Willie Schuster,

00:08:55and I managed to stay together

00:08:57before we are a complete machine gun crew.

00:09:00Our commander was killed yesterday,

00:09:01so we have a new one.

00:09:03He told us that our mission now

00:09:05was to hold the Americans

00:09:06until other troops arrived.

00:09:11When I arrived in Normandy,

00:09:15I was taken to a trench

00:09:17where we were to spend the night.

00:09:19There were a lot of dead Germans

00:09:20in that trench.

00:09:23Private Peter Thomas,

00:09:2519 years old,

00:09:26from Pensacola, Florida.

00:09:28We were always nervous.

00:09:30We didn't know

00:09:30what was going to happen,

00:09:32and I was a replacement,

00:09:33which I wasn't with any outfit,

00:09:35because they needed replacements

00:09:36after the beaches.

00:09:38And it was this major

00:09:39sitting behind a desk,

00:09:40and said,

00:09:41how would you like

00:09:41to join the MP platoon?

00:09:43I didn't know what that meant,

00:09:45because to me,

00:09:45MP meant military, police.

00:09:48He said, no, no, no.

00:09:49It's a different...

00:09:49You would be directing traffic,

00:09:51picking prisoners,

00:09:52and you could be assigned

00:09:53for many different things,

00:09:54and often alone.

00:09:58As the replacements file on shore,

00:10:00the D-Day wounded move

00:10:02in the opposite direction.

00:10:05I had to wait several hours

00:10:06on the beach

00:10:06before these four Navy men

00:10:08picked up my stretcher.

00:10:09They took me out to a ship,

00:10:12and with ropes,

00:10:13they got me upside of the ship.

00:10:15Laid me out on the deck.

00:10:17Now, all this time,

00:10:18I thought we lost the battle,

00:10:20because all I saw was dead bodies.

00:10:22I looked up and I saw this huge U.S. flag.

00:10:31And then I knew that we didn't lose.

00:10:38In the first 36 hours of D-Day,

00:10:41Harold Baumgarten is wounded five times,

00:10:44barely alive by the time

00:10:45he is loaded onto a hospital ship.

00:10:47He's among the lucky.

00:10:50But for thousands of Allied paratroopers

00:10:52still lost behind enemy lines,

00:10:55evacuation is not an option.

00:10:57The paratroopers' job is to contain the Germans

00:11:02inland from Utah Beach.

00:11:04They've got to open up all the causeways

00:11:06through the floods,

00:11:07hold the crossroads,

00:11:08and just pave the way

00:11:09ahead of the forces landing

00:11:11on the beach later on.

00:11:12So their job is absolutely vital.

00:11:15If the paratroopers fail,

00:11:16then essentially we lose D-Day.

00:11:18We landed about 18 miles

00:11:21from our drop zone

00:11:22in an area that wasn't even on our maps.

00:11:25John Hinchcliffe, 23 years old,

00:11:28from Park Rapids, Minnesota.

00:11:30We could see a church steeple

00:11:32with a cross on it, miles away.

00:11:34So we thought,

00:11:35well, that has to be high ground.

00:11:36So we made our way towards it.

00:11:39And it was daylight

00:11:40by the time we got

00:11:41to the village of Gronje.

00:11:43Guys kept coming in.

00:11:44We ended up with about 170 men.

00:11:45There was a little argument

00:11:47amongst the officers

00:11:48whether we should try

00:11:49to find our way back

00:11:50to our objective

00:11:51or if we should stay there

00:11:53and wait until our own arm

00:11:54has caught up with us.

00:11:57The paratroopers in Gronje,

00:11:59like those misdropped

00:12:01all over Normandy,

00:12:02are miles away from their targets

00:12:03and carry limited ammunition.

00:12:06And the one advantage they held,

00:12:08the element of surprise,

00:12:09is about to be compromised.

00:12:11The Germans have made

00:12:12a shocking discovery

00:12:13aboard a shattered landing craft

00:12:14on Omaha Beach.

00:12:15I must say

00:12:18that never

00:12:19in my entire military life

00:12:21have I been so impressed

00:12:23as in that hour.

00:12:24Lieutenant Colonel Fritz Ziegler.

00:12:26I held in my hands

00:12:28operational orders

00:12:29for the American landing forces.

00:12:33The fighting inland

00:12:35to St. Lowe

00:12:36is about to become

00:12:37even bloodier

00:12:38than the beaches.

00:12:39And he put the ground

00:12:41two inches away from my heart.

00:12:42That was the worst carnage

00:12:44that I had ever seen.

00:12:45You didn't know

00:12:46where the enemy was up there.

00:12:47The violence was,

00:12:49you just can't describe it.

00:12:50The fighting grows more savage

00:13:01as it moves inland

00:13:02and into small villages.

00:13:04French homes change

00:13:05from German to American,

00:13:06then back to German hands.

00:13:09During the chaos,

00:13:11German soldiers discover

00:13:12Allied documents,

00:13:14which they deliver

00:13:14to intelligence officers.

00:13:16Our men had already found

00:13:18operational plans

00:13:19and a landing craft

00:13:21on Omaha Beach,

00:13:22Lieutenant Colonel Fritz Ziegler.

00:13:25Now,

00:13:26less than a mile off the beach,

00:13:28a briefcase secured

00:13:29to a dead American officer.

00:13:32In it,

00:13:33a second set of plans.

00:13:35Now we knew

00:13:36the entire American invasion plan.

00:13:38Behind enemy lines,

00:13:42American paratroopers

00:13:43head towards

00:13:44their mission objectives,

00:13:45unaware of the breach

00:13:46in intelligence.

00:13:49And now,

00:13:50General Kreiss,

00:13:51of the German 352nd,

00:13:52knows every objective

00:13:54they're going to try to take,

00:13:55their main timetables,

00:13:57troops,

00:13:58elements,

00:13:59everything.

00:13:59He knows what is going to happen

00:14:01from that point on.

00:14:02The mission for the two

00:14:08American airborne divisions

00:14:09on D-Day

00:14:10was to seize

00:14:11critical roadways

00:14:12because the Mer-de-Ray River

00:14:13was swollen.

00:14:15It was 10 miles long

00:14:16and in some places

00:14:16it was three miles across.

00:14:18It was one giant lake.

00:14:19And one of the only places

00:14:20that you could get across

00:14:21that lake

00:14:21was the bridge

00:14:23at Lafayette.

00:14:27We managed to make our way

00:14:29over a bridge

00:14:29at a town called Lafayette.

00:14:30We were supposed to take

00:14:32control of the bridge

00:14:33and set up a perimeter

00:14:34to keep the enemy

00:14:35from crossing it

00:14:36and reaching the beach.

00:14:38Lieutenant Johnny Moore,

00:14:3925 years old,

00:14:40507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

00:14:45All of a sudden,

00:14:46we could hear the engines

00:14:47and the loud clicks

00:14:48of the tank track.

00:14:48Tank track.

00:14:49The metal tank track.

00:14:52And then the artillery

00:14:53falling on the road junction,

00:14:56it was quite clear

00:14:57that they were ranging in

00:15:00for a concentration of fire

00:15:03on that road junction.

00:15:07The paratroopers

00:15:08are only lightly armed.

00:15:10Facing down tanks

00:15:11would mean certain death.

00:15:13They retreat back

00:15:14over the bridge.

00:15:16By the time

00:15:17we reached the church

00:15:18on the west bank

00:15:19of the Meredere River,

00:15:20the Americans had already

00:15:21been driven back

00:15:22to the other side.

00:15:24Sergeant Gerhard Winn-Ecken,

00:15:2519 years old,

00:15:2691st Luftlandedivision.

00:15:28I fought in Russia

00:15:30for three months.

00:15:32This war was very different.

00:15:34In Russia,

00:15:34we always knew

00:15:35where the enemy was.

00:15:37They were right in front of us.

00:15:38In Normandy,

00:15:39the Americans were

00:15:40in front of us,

00:15:41behind us,

00:15:42right and left.

00:15:43And it was the same for them.

00:15:48I heard the captain

00:15:49screaming to the radio operator,

00:15:51if that anti-tank gun

00:15:52doesn't get here soon,

00:15:53we're dead meat.

00:15:56Troops from Utah Beach

00:15:57were supposed to relieve us

00:15:58within a few hours,

00:16:00but there was no sign of them.

00:16:03Just as the paratroopers

00:16:04are about to be overrun,

00:16:06they receive backup

00:16:07from heavily armed reinforcements.

00:16:11American Airborne Divisions

00:16:12were not just paratroopers.

00:16:14They also, importantly,

00:16:15made use of gliders.

00:16:17Now, the paratroopers

00:16:17weren't heavily armed,

00:16:18and they didn't have

00:16:19a great deal of equipment

00:16:20with them.

00:16:20So the glider provides

00:16:22an ability to bring in

00:16:23heavy equipment

00:16:24and heavy supplies.

00:16:31They brought in

00:16:32a 57-millimeter gun

00:16:34and they knocked out

00:16:35these tanks.

00:16:44That night,

00:16:45we regrouped.

00:16:47I remember thinking,

00:16:48hey, I'm alive,

00:16:49didn't get hurt too bad,

00:16:51and we advanced the mission.

00:16:52Things aren't so bad.

00:16:54But we had no idea

00:16:56what the Germans

00:16:56would throw at us

00:16:57the next day.

00:17:03In general,

00:17:04the American soldiers

00:17:04weren't any older than us.

00:17:06They seemed well-trained

00:17:07and well-equipped.

00:17:09But was their fighting spirit

00:17:11as good as ours?

00:17:12I dashed forward

00:17:14with my platoon.

00:17:15The battle for both sides

00:17:16was very hard

00:17:17and very bloody.

00:17:20Half the men

00:17:21in my platoon

00:17:21were wounded.

00:17:27During a lull

00:17:28in the fighting,

00:17:29Johnny Marr

00:17:29is sent out

00:17:30on a two-man

00:17:30reconnaissance mission.

00:17:32Purely by luck,

00:17:33they make

00:17:33an astonishing discovery.

00:17:35We went out

00:17:37to the northeast edge

00:17:38of the perimeter area

00:17:40and we saw

00:17:41large stones

00:17:42of crushed rock

00:17:43that rose out

00:17:45of the water.

00:17:47Sure enough,

00:17:48it was a road.

00:17:50Marr reports

00:17:51the road

00:17:52to his commanders,

00:17:53who decide to capitalize

00:17:54on the discovery.

00:17:56So the plan

00:17:57was that

00:17:57an entire battalion

00:17:58would maneuver around

00:18:00in a flanking maneuver.

00:18:01A Hail Mary pass,

00:18:02if you will.

00:18:03They would follow

00:18:04a cobblestone road

00:18:05that had been built

00:18:06by the Romans

00:18:06and the Germans

00:18:07don't even know

00:18:08it's there.

00:18:12We waited until night

00:18:14and made it across

00:18:14the river without a problem.

00:18:16Even got across

00:18:16the highway.

00:18:17But as we tried

00:18:18to turn left

00:18:19through a churchyard,

00:18:20things started to unravel.

00:18:22Almost immediately,

00:18:23we hit their booby traps.

00:18:25These were the warning devices

00:18:27the Germans had put up.

00:18:29So we lost all our surprise

00:18:31at that point.

00:18:35Behind the La Pierre farm,

00:18:36we could hear the Americans

00:18:37trying to move along a ditch

00:18:39to stage an ambush.

00:18:42I could hear them

00:18:43shouting commands

00:18:44and I knew they were

00:18:44moving their guns

00:18:45to get us in a crossfire.

00:18:47I didn't understand

00:18:48a word of German,

00:18:49but if that were me,

00:18:50that's what I'd be doing.

00:18:51The Germans lay in heavy fire.

00:18:56Marr's group is pinned down.

00:19:00One of our guys,

00:19:01private first class

00:19:02to Glaupper,

00:19:03he was a B.A.R. man,

00:19:05Brownie automatic rifle.

00:19:07I think it was about

00:19:0830 rounds before

00:19:09you had to reload,

00:19:10and so he just opened up

00:19:11on the Germans

00:19:12with that B.A.R.

00:19:13and he kept walking forward

00:19:15just shooting

00:19:16until they killed him.

00:19:18De Glaupper is the only man

00:19:23in the 82nd Airborne

00:19:24to earn the Medal of Honor

00:19:25in Normandy.

00:19:26His sacrifice saves

00:19:27the battalion

00:19:28and allows them to regroup

00:19:29with the rest of their unit.

00:19:32But they're still

00:19:33on the German-held side

00:19:34of the bridge.

00:19:40By now, the sun is up.

00:19:42We knew our ambush had failed,

00:19:43but we knew something

00:19:44had to be done

00:19:45to finish off the attack.

00:19:46that something

00:19:49suddenly comes

00:19:50from the Allied side

00:19:51of the bridge.

00:19:54At 10 a.m.,

00:19:55the Glider Infantry Regiment

00:19:56conducts a direct assault

00:19:58across the causeway.

00:20:00Most of them

00:20:01don't make it.

00:20:02The Germans

00:20:02sweep the area

00:20:03with intense

00:20:04machine gun

00:20:05and mortar fire

00:20:05to clear this stalemate,

00:20:08the 507th Parachute

00:20:09Infantry Regiment,

00:20:10that pushed

00:20:11across the causeway.

00:20:14Our soldiers

00:20:15ran the bloody gun.

00:20:16across that causeway,

00:20:18800 yards,

00:20:19nowhere to go for cover,

00:20:21charging the Germans

00:20:22who were on higher,

00:20:23drier ground.

00:20:25Yet, they did it.

00:20:27It was an act

00:20:28where many people

00:20:29had to say,

00:20:30I'm going to get there

00:20:31or I'm going to die.

00:20:33over 560 men

00:20:42are killed

00:20:43or wounded

00:20:43in what becomes

00:20:44the costliest

00:20:45small unit action

00:20:46in U.S.

00:20:47airborne history.

00:20:50Of the 30 men

00:20:51I originally commanded,

00:20:53only 8 were left.

00:20:55Gerhard Winnick,

00:20:5691st Luftlander Division.

00:20:57We were low on food

00:21:00and ammunition.

00:21:01We decided to avoid

00:21:02any more bloodshed

00:21:03and surrender.

00:21:05At 19 years old,

00:21:07the war ended for me

00:21:08at the La Pierre farm

00:21:09beside the Mer de Re river.

00:21:10Now, the Allies

00:21:14control the bridge

00:21:15at La Fier

00:21:15and the route inland

00:21:17from Utah Beach.

00:21:18But despite the victory,

00:21:20the Germans

00:21:20have a tactical advantage

00:21:21that the Allies

00:21:22know nothing about.

00:21:24The captured

00:21:25operational documents

00:21:26detail the Allies

00:21:27every move.

00:21:29General Kreiss

00:21:30knows what

00:21:31the American troops

00:21:33are going to try

00:21:34to obtain

00:21:35for objectives

00:21:35in the 352nd sector.

00:21:38They're going to attack

00:21:39this village next.

00:21:41So you get every troop

00:21:42you can get over

00:21:43to that village.

00:21:43That's what Christ did,

00:21:45leaving big holes

00:21:46in a line.

00:21:46We could have walked

00:21:47through many, many places,

00:21:48but we didn't do it

00:21:49because we were keeping

00:21:50to our plans,

00:21:51which they had.

00:21:53But one of the greatest

00:21:54obstacles in Normandy

00:21:55is one that the Allies

00:21:56don't have a plan for,

00:21:58and it will cost them

00:21:59thousands of lives.

00:22:01Germans knew

00:22:02that every attack

00:22:03was in their favor.

00:22:04You didn't know

00:22:05what you were going

00:22:05to run into.

00:22:06Nobody was prepared.

00:22:07They were practically

00:22:08impenetrable.

00:22:09Mac Evans is back

00:22:21with his original unit,

00:22:23the 29th Division.

00:22:24New to combat,

00:22:26they're trained

00:22:26to take the beaches

00:22:27of Normandy.

00:22:28But what lies

00:22:29beyond the beach

00:22:29will take them

00:22:30by complete surprise.

00:22:33And it will cost

00:22:34thousands of lives.

00:22:36nobody was prepared

00:22:40for the hedgerows.

00:22:42From the air

00:22:43and the photographs,

00:22:44the military thought,

00:22:45well, they were like

00:22:46English hedges,

00:22:47which wasn't true.

00:22:49and they were practically

00:22:51impenetrable.

00:22:54They were like walls,

00:22:5612 foot high maybe,

00:22:57and they were big trees

00:22:58growing out of the

00:22:59hedgerows themselves.

00:23:00Gave excellent cover

00:23:01for German machine guns.

00:23:03It was perfect

00:23:03defensive positions.

00:23:05Terrible offense.

00:23:07You had to go slow

00:23:08everywhere you went.

00:23:09I mean, you didn't go

00:23:10charging anywhere.

00:23:11Very few people

00:23:14went charging anywhere

00:23:14without getting killed.

00:23:20If you were going

00:23:21to go through there,

00:23:22God help you,

00:23:22you had to work at it.

00:23:23And by that time,

00:23:24every German from a mile

00:23:26around heard you

00:23:26and was ready to shoot at you.

00:23:28If we got half a mile...

00:23:29We considered it

00:23:32to be an outstanding

00:23:33success.

00:23:35So there was a learning curve

00:23:37to take the next hedgerow.

00:23:39The German 352nd

00:23:44Infantry Division

00:23:45has been in Normandy

00:23:46for months,

00:23:48creating tunnels

00:23:48and machine gun positions

00:23:50in every hedge

00:23:51along every field.

00:23:53Our mission now

00:23:55was to hold the Americans

00:23:56until other troops arrived.

00:23:57To do this,

00:23:58we would dig in

00:23:59where we were

00:24:00and use the hedgerows

00:24:01in our defense.

00:24:03Grenadier Karl Wegner,

00:24:0519 years old,

00:24:05from Hannover, Germany.

00:24:07Our commander showed us

00:24:08how to position

00:24:09our guns in the hedgerows.

00:24:11We learned

00:24:12that the hedgerows

00:24:13were our allies.

00:24:15We made every field

00:24:16a fortress.

00:24:18In the corners,

00:24:19there would be openings

00:24:20and the Germans

00:24:21set up machine guns

00:24:21to fire through

00:24:22these openings.

00:24:24You couldn't see the gun.

00:24:26All of a sudden,

00:24:26it would start firing.

00:24:27They were so dense

00:24:31that they dampened

00:24:32all the noise around you.

00:24:33I was struck

00:24:34by the silence.

00:24:36We couldn't really

00:24:36hear anything

00:24:37on the other side

00:24:38of the hedgerow.

00:24:39We began to get

00:24:40a feeling of isolation.

00:24:41We began to get a feeling

00:24:41of isolation.

00:24:42Many times,

00:24:43we'd have a battalion

00:24:44within 300 yards of us

00:24:47and we never knew

00:24:47they were there.

00:24:48from above,

00:24:51the situation

00:24:52is different.

00:24:53Allied airpower

00:24:54far exceeds

00:24:55German air force strength

00:24:56and through nonstop

00:24:57bombing raids,

00:24:58the allies

00:24:59rule the skies.

00:25:02It was always the same.

00:25:03Dive into the ditch

00:25:04and keep your head down.

00:25:06For the most part,

00:25:08it was useless

00:25:08to shoot back

00:25:09because they were gone

00:25:10as fast as they appeared.

00:25:11During the day,

00:25:14Allied airstrikes

00:25:15pummel key roadways.

00:25:17The Germans hold

00:25:18their positions

00:25:19in the hedgerows

00:25:20and wait for the allies

00:25:21to cross their path.

00:25:23They can only move at night.

00:25:26So we're grinding them up

00:25:27with our airpower

00:25:28and our artillery,

00:25:29but they're grinding up

00:25:30our troops

00:25:31trying to get through

00:25:32the hedgerows.

00:25:34The Allies attack

00:25:35one field,

00:25:36then the next hedgerow,

00:25:38then the next field.

00:25:39It's a pattern

00:25:39that will continue

00:25:40for weeks.

00:25:41As they make their way

00:25:42to the D-Day mission objective,

00:25:44the German-occupied

00:25:45French city of St. Lowe.

00:25:48D-Day is only the beginning.

00:25:50It's the first step,

00:25:51what I often call

00:25:51a foot in the door

00:25:52of Hitler's Europe.

00:25:53What matters most

00:25:54is the campaign

00:25:55that's going to follow

00:25:56that gets you

00:25:56all the way into Germany.

00:26:00For as intense

00:26:00as the casualties were

00:26:01on the beaches of Normandy,

00:26:03the fighting inland

00:26:04to St. Lowe

00:26:05is going to be even worse.

00:26:08Getting to St. Lowe

00:26:09and all the way to Germany

00:26:10will only happen

00:26:11if the Allies

00:26:12can deliver

00:26:13a constant flow

00:26:13of supplies to the front.

00:26:16Stockpiles of weapons

00:26:17and ammunition

00:26:18cover every last inch

00:26:19of space in the UK.

00:26:21But landing it all in France

00:26:23is another challenge

00:26:24for the Allies.

00:26:26It was all Churchill's idea.

00:26:28He said,

00:26:29when we do the invasion,

00:26:30we can't rely on

00:26:31seizing a French port,

00:26:32so let's bring

00:26:33our own harbors with us.

00:26:34They're called

00:26:36Mulberry harbors

00:26:38and the Germans

00:26:38don't even know

00:26:39they exist.

00:26:41They're an ingenious design

00:26:42of concrete blocks,

00:26:44steel platforms

00:26:45and floating roadways.

00:26:47They will create

00:26:48an unloading advantage

00:26:49never before seen

00:26:50in warfare.

00:26:52It was all going to be

00:26:53towed across

00:26:54by little tugboats

00:26:55and put together

00:26:56like some big

00:26:56jigsaw puzzle.

00:26:58I mean,

00:26:58it's just amazing.

00:26:59They were huge.

00:27:00I mean,

00:27:00the caissons

00:27:01that made

00:27:01the outer wall

00:27:02of the Mulberry harbour,

00:27:03they're like the equivalent

00:27:04of a six-story building

00:27:05and the width

00:27:06of a football field.

00:27:08The Mulberry harbors

00:27:09are assembled

00:27:09at Omaha and Gold Beaches.

00:27:12Each one can move

00:27:137,000 tons of men,

00:27:15machinery

00:27:15and munitions

00:27:16every day.

00:27:18But overwhelming supplies

00:27:19only make a difference

00:27:21if they can be moved

00:27:22inland to the front.

00:27:24And hedgerow country

00:27:25is preventing that

00:27:26from happening.

00:27:27The American mindset

00:27:29was based around numbers.

00:27:30Around putting more

00:27:31replacements,

00:27:32more reinforcements

00:27:33into battle,

00:27:33overwhelming the Germans.

00:27:34And this was an advantage

00:27:35of the Americans,

00:27:36but it wasn't always

00:27:37going to help you.

00:27:38If you were simply

00:27:39throwing more people

00:27:40towards one hedgerow

00:27:41opening that was covered,

00:27:43you were just simply

00:27:46consigning more people

00:27:47to death or wounding.

00:27:53We had been going

00:27:55since 4 o'clock

00:27:57in the morning.

00:27:58It's now 2 o'clock

00:27:59at night.

00:27:59We were dead

00:28:01when we stopped

00:28:02for whatever reason.

00:28:05After a couple of seconds

00:28:06you'd hear a crash

00:28:07and somebody had fallen asleep

00:28:09and fallen over

00:28:11on his face.

00:28:12We were that tired.

00:28:14We got to a place

00:28:18to stop for the night,

00:28:19the Carrefour,

00:28:20the crossroads.

00:28:21So Andy Hansen,

00:28:22the squad leader,

00:28:23and I went into the field

00:28:24and set up our

00:28:25machine gun position.

00:28:27There was nobody around.

00:28:30I had a sick feeling

00:28:31that something horrible

00:28:32was about to happen.

00:28:34Then again it got quiet

00:28:36and the funniest thing

00:28:38happened to me.

00:28:38I knelt down.

00:28:47And I felt that I felt the presence

00:28:57of the Lord

00:28:59and I knelt there

00:29:02for a short time

00:29:05and something seemed

00:29:09to be telling me

00:29:10that I'd be all right.

00:29:12But for many

00:29:19in Van Rusen's unit

00:29:20this would be

00:29:21their last night.

00:29:23The German

00:29:24352nd Infantry Division

00:29:26that devastated

00:29:27American forces

00:29:28on Omaha Beach

00:29:29has moved inland.

00:29:32Sometime after midnight

00:29:33we stopped abruptly

00:29:34and were ordered

00:29:35to take cover

00:29:35and remain silent.

00:29:37Corporal Kalb

00:29:38went off

00:29:38to see what was going on.

00:29:40He came back

00:29:40out of breath

00:29:41and whispered.

00:29:42There's a large group

00:29:43of Americans

00:29:43camped right in front of us.

00:29:45So we were ordered

00:29:46to attack.

00:29:48I squeezed the trigger

00:29:49sending out

00:29:50a long burst.

00:29:52Corporal Kalb

00:29:52yelled to move forward.

00:29:54We had caught them

00:29:54in total surprise.

00:29:57I heard firing

00:29:58but I didn't know

00:29:59where it was coming from

00:30:00so I fired three rounds

00:30:01and then the gun jammed.

00:30:03I couldn't do anything

00:30:04and then down the road

00:30:05came two Germans

00:30:06and they got about

00:30:0820 feet away

00:30:09and they could see

00:30:10I was struggling

00:30:12with a machine gun

00:30:13so they stopped firing.

00:30:14They both had

00:30:15schmeisers

00:30:16of machine pistols.

00:30:18Damn it

00:30:19if they didn't run over

00:30:19and pick up

00:30:20the machine gun

00:30:21tripod and all

00:30:22and run off with it.

00:30:24And there

00:30:24Andy Hansen

00:30:25and I were

00:30:26left looking at each other

00:30:27with no machine gun.

00:30:29Scared the living

00:30:30dickens out of us.

00:30:32To this day

00:30:33Don Van Rusen

00:30:35doesn't know

00:30:35why he was spared

00:30:36at La Carrefour.

00:30:39When the fighting stops

00:30:41the Germans

00:30:41take some

00:30:4230 Americans prisoner.

00:30:45Kalb came over

00:30:46towards me

00:30:46while I was guarding

00:30:47the Americans.

00:30:48He told me

00:30:48something shocking.

00:30:50We were to shoot

00:30:50the prisoners.

00:30:52I protested

00:30:52and said that

00:30:53I would not do it.

00:30:54To my surprise

00:30:55Kalb ordered me

00:30:55to shut up

00:30:56and make the machine gun

00:30:57ready to fire.

00:30:59The lieutenant

00:30:59and the rest of our group

00:31:00moved off

00:31:01leaving just us

00:31:02and the Americans.

00:31:04Then I was given

00:31:05the order to fire.

00:31:14After a surprise encounter

00:31:16with the German

00:31:16352nd Infantry Regiment

00:31:18American POWs

00:31:20are marched out

00:31:21into the open.

00:31:23German commanders

00:31:25order Private Carl Wegener

00:31:26to do the unthinkable.

00:31:30We were to shoot

00:31:30the prisoners.

00:31:32The lieutenant

00:31:32and the rest of our group

00:31:33moved off

00:31:34leaving just us

00:31:35and the Americans.

00:31:37Then

00:31:37I was given

00:31:38the order to fire.

00:31:45But into the empty ditch

00:31:46on the opposite side

00:31:47of the road.

00:31:49I and everyone else

00:31:50were very relieved.

00:31:51The prisoners

00:31:52understood

00:31:52what we were doing.

00:31:54Then Kalb said

00:31:54bitte quiet

00:31:55wait here

00:31:56Americans

00:31:57come soon.

00:31:58Then we turned

00:31:58and ran down the road.

00:32:02The Americans

00:32:03at La Cara 4

00:32:04got lucky.

00:32:06That might not

00:32:06have been the case

00:32:07had they been prisoners

00:32:08of a different type

00:32:09of German soldier.

00:32:12One that was just now

00:32:13entering the battlefield

00:32:14in Normandy.

00:32:17In the Second World War

00:32:18the Germans

00:32:19developed this entirely

00:32:20separate fighting force

00:32:22called the Waffen-SS.

00:32:23Waffen-SS units

00:32:25were not present

00:32:25in Normandy

00:32:26at the time

00:32:27that the invasion began.

00:32:29But from June 6th

00:32:30Waffen-SS units

00:32:31began converging

00:32:32on Normandy.

00:32:34The Waffen-SS soldier

00:32:35was a young

00:32:36highly trained

00:32:37highly motivated

00:32:39soldier

00:32:40that had

00:32:41the latest

00:32:41equipment with him.

00:32:42And these soldiers

00:32:43had grown up

00:32:44under the Nazi system

00:32:45and they were

00:32:46fighting for their leader

00:32:47till the last drop

00:32:48of blood.

00:32:49And this made

00:32:49the SS soldiers

00:32:51so dangerous.

00:32:54In response

00:32:56to the attack

00:32:56on Normandy

00:32:57Hitler sends

00:32:58his most lethal

00:32:59fighting force

00:33:00to the beaches

00:33:00the Waffen-SS.

00:33:03Their primary mission

00:33:05is to stop

00:33:05Allied forward momentum

00:33:07by preventing

00:33:07the beach forces

00:33:08from linking up

00:33:09and creating

00:33:10a massive front.

00:33:12On their way

00:33:12to the beaches

00:33:13the SS will travel

00:33:15through the village

00:33:15of Granier

00:33:16where a ragtag

00:33:17unit of paratroopers

00:33:18has been encamped

00:33:19since the D-Day

00:33:20misdrops.

00:33:27It was a Sunday

00:33:28and I'm Catholic

00:33:29so I went to church.

00:33:31About 20 minutes

00:33:32after the service

00:33:33began

00:33:34this French woman

00:33:35burst through the doors.

00:33:36The Germans are coming!

00:33:37The Germans are coming!

00:33:39They hit us

00:33:40and with what we estimated

00:33:42to be a battalion

00:33:43500 men.

00:33:44I ran to my machine gun.

00:33:46My machine gun

00:33:46was probably

00:33:47300-400 yards away

00:33:48and they hit us

00:33:50in strength

00:33:50and we did a lot

00:33:54of damage to them.

00:33:58Wholesale slaughter.

00:34:01They didn't kill

00:34:02any of my men.

00:34:05Well, they finally

00:34:06pulled back

00:34:07and they had

00:34:08the local people

00:34:10take a cart

00:34:11with horses

00:34:12and pick up

00:34:12the dead and wounded.

00:34:14naturally,

00:34:18we wouldn't fire

00:34:19on them.

00:34:26Then about the middle

00:34:27of the afternoon

00:34:28they hit us

00:34:29in strength again.

00:34:30Same thing.

00:34:31They hadn't learned

00:34:31their lesson

00:34:32the first time

00:34:33and we mowed them down.

00:34:35the small group

00:34:42of paratroopers

00:34:43manages to hold off

00:34:44wave after wave

00:34:45of attacks

00:34:46but more German forces

00:34:48press into the village.

00:34:53When they made it

00:34:54past my machine gun position

00:34:56I looked at Patrick

00:34:57my assistant machine gunner

00:34:58and he goes

00:34:59John, you better get

00:35:00the heck out of here.

00:35:02So I said,

00:35:03well, okay,

00:35:03I'll take the machine gun

00:35:04and you grab the tripod

00:35:05and the ammunition.

00:35:07We ran down the hill

00:35:08probably 100 yards

00:35:09or so

00:35:09and I looked at Patrick

00:35:11and said,

00:35:12where the hell's the ammunition?

00:35:15He left it back.

00:35:16So I said,

00:35:17well, cover me

00:35:17and I'll run back

00:35:18and get it.

00:35:19So I ran back

00:35:21up the hill

00:35:21picked up the two boxes

00:35:23because I looked up

00:35:23and there was a German

00:35:24at the top of the hill

00:35:25but another 100 yards

00:35:26from me.

00:35:28Then he opened fire on me.

00:35:31Well, I took off

00:35:32down the hill

00:35:33as hard as I could run.

00:35:34He's just hitting

00:35:35all around me.

00:35:37I get to the bottom

00:35:38of the hill

00:35:38and dive headfirst

00:35:39into the hedgerow

00:35:40expecting Pat

00:35:41to take him out

00:35:42but he had picked up

00:35:44the machine gun

00:35:44and gone on down the trail.

00:35:46So I just grabbed

00:35:47my rifle

00:35:48and my musette bag

00:35:49and stuff

00:35:49and this guy was still

00:35:50running down the hill

00:35:51towards me.

00:35:53So I took him out

00:35:54and then I took off

00:36:01after Pat.

00:36:03Hinchliff escapes

00:36:04while more German troops

00:36:06including the Waffen SS

00:36:08storm into Ranier.

00:36:12They discover a group

00:36:13of wounded Americans

00:36:14unable to flee

00:36:15with the other paratroopers.

00:36:18We had about 32 guys

00:36:20that were wounded.

00:36:21We had them in the church.

00:36:23And of course

00:36:23we were relying

00:36:24on the Geneva Convention

00:36:26for them to take care

00:36:27of our wounded.

00:36:28Well, these were SS troops.

00:36:30Well, they didn't take prisoners.

00:36:33The SS marched the wounded

00:36:35and two medics

00:36:36to the back of a field.

00:36:37The SS initially

00:36:48was a political organization

00:36:50as well as a military organization.

00:36:52So in order to be in the SS

00:36:53you had to be a party member.

00:36:55You had to be a true believer.

00:36:57For the SS,

00:36:59the life of an enemy soldier

00:37:00was worth nothing.

00:37:01To them,

00:37:03an enemy

00:37:03was not considered

00:37:05a human being.

00:37:09The fighting in Granier

00:37:11delays the SS

00:37:12from reaching the coastal city

00:37:13of Karentan.

00:37:15After four days of fighting,

00:37:17Allied troops moving up

00:37:18from the beaches

00:37:19begin capturing the city.

00:37:20At 6 a.m. that day

00:37:26we drove into

00:37:27the city streets

00:37:28to open the main road

00:37:29between Omaha and Utah.

00:37:32Omar Bradley,

00:37:33commanding general,

00:37:34United States First Army.

00:37:37On our seventh day ashore,

00:37:38we had linked

00:37:39the Allied forces together

00:37:40in a beachhead

00:37:4142 miles wide.

00:37:43Karentan is in allied hands.

00:37:49Now they advance inland

00:37:51in a massive unified front.

00:37:59But the enemy

00:38:00is also surging forward

00:38:02and SS units

00:38:03bring with them

00:38:04the most feared weapon

00:38:05on the ground.

00:38:07The Allies are about to come up

00:38:09against the infamous Tiger tank.

00:38:13They were huge things.

00:38:15My machine gun would just

00:38:16be like a firecracker

00:38:17against them.

00:38:19Their firepower

00:38:20was tremendous.

00:38:21They'd scare the bejeebies

00:38:22out of you

00:38:23because you had no protection

00:38:24against tanks.

00:38:30Almost a week

00:38:31after the D-Day invasion,

00:38:33the most feared German weapon

00:38:34on the ground

00:38:35begins bearing down

00:38:36on the Allies,

00:38:38the Tiger tank.

00:38:39Its armor is thicker

00:38:41than any tank ever made.

00:38:43Allied tanks can only

00:38:44break through it

00:38:45at close range.

00:38:47And the Tiger's

00:38:4888mm gun

00:38:49is the most powerful

00:38:50on any tank in Normandy.

00:38:52The Allies are almost

00:38:54defenseless against it.

00:38:57There were rumors

00:38:58the German Tiger tank division

00:38:59was heading in our direction,

00:39:01which made everybody nervous.

00:39:04Private First Class Peter Thomas.

00:39:06We had our own tanks,

00:39:09Sherman's.

00:39:10And the Sherman tank...

00:39:10Sherman tank was a great tank.

00:39:12And the one thing it had

00:39:13was speed,

00:39:15maneuverability.

00:39:16But against one of those

00:39:18huge, monumental Tigers,

00:39:20nothing could strike terror

00:39:22into your heart

00:39:23if you came across

00:39:24one of those things.

00:39:25and it always pained me

00:39:31to see the tanks come by

00:39:33and all these young guys

00:39:34sitting on top of the tank

00:39:35and you knew they were

00:39:36going into combat.

00:39:38Sometimes they'd yell out,

00:39:40the MPs are winning the war!

00:39:42But you'd know

00:39:43they were going into combat

00:39:44and you wondered

00:39:45how many would be alive

00:39:46tomorrow.

00:39:47American tanks move out

00:39:52to support

00:39:53British armored divisions.

00:39:55The British have been

00:39:55unsuccessful in taking

00:39:57their June 6th objective,

00:39:59the coastal city of Kahn.

00:40:01Its roadways are vital

00:40:03to the Allied push inland.

00:40:05But German Tiger divisions

00:40:06have blocked all routes

00:40:08leading into the city.

00:40:09Now, new Allied intelligence

00:40:11has identified a weak spot

00:40:13in the German line,

00:40:14dubbed the Kalmont Gap.

00:40:16The British will start

00:40:17to sweep around

00:40:18to the west of the city,

00:40:20through the gap

00:40:20and into Kahn.

00:40:23Interestingly enough,

00:40:24at this stage of the game,

00:40:25because of the captured

00:40:26operations orders

00:40:27that they got on D-Day,

00:40:29the German zone,

00:40:30the flank is wide open

00:40:31and that there's going

00:40:32to be an attack

00:40:32through there.

00:40:34Allied intelligence

00:40:35said there was nobody there.

00:40:39The order came through

00:40:40to move out.

00:40:42I knew that the Americans

00:40:43were just four miles

00:40:44to our right.

00:40:46Other than that,

00:40:46I had no idea

00:40:48what to expect.

00:40:50Lieutenant John

00:40:51Cloudsley-Thompson,

00:40:5223 years old,

00:40:53from Sandhurst, England.

00:40:56We were told

00:40:57that there were no German

00:40:58tanks in the area.

00:40:59We heard they were miles away,

00:41:01stuck in the hedgerows

00:41:02and out of petrol.

00:41:03In fact,

00:41:06Waffen SS Panzer Divisions

00:41:08are heading towards

00:41:09the Kalmant Gap

00:41:10and one of Germany's

00:41:12most feared commanders

00:41:13is leading the charge.

00:41:16Michael Wittmann

00:41:17is one of Germany's

00:41:18most successful tank aces

00:41:19with over 100 known kills.

00:41:21I had no time to assemble

00:41:25my company.

00:41:26Instead,

00:41:26I had to act quickly,

00:41:28as I had to assume

00:41:29that the enemy

00:41:30had already spotted me

00:41:31and would destroy me

00:41:32where I stood.

00:41:34Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann,

00:41:3630 years old,

00:41:38from Vogeltal, Bavaria.

00:41:39I set off with one tank

00:41:41and passed the order

00:41:42to the others

00:41:43not to retreat

00:41:44a single step

00:41:45but to hold their ground.

00:41:48Many Allied tank crews

00:41:50in Normandy

00:41:51have only been together

00:41:52on training missions.

00:41:53For some,

00:41:54like Bob Mixa,

00:41:55it's their first

00:41:56combat experience.

00:41:59We had earphones on

00:42:01because we communicated

00:42:02together on earphones,

00:42:04all five of us

00:42:05in the tank.

00:42:06So you didn't hear

00:42:07too much from the outside.

00:42:10You just could feel

00:42:11the rumble of the tank.

00:42:12You talk to each other

00:42:14but you don't know

00:42:16about combat

00:42:17until you experience it.

00:42:21British commander

00:42:22John Cloudsley Thompson

00:42:23is more seasoned.

00:42:25He tangled with the Germans

00:42:26in North Africa

00:42:27but this is the first time

00:42:28he has faced Whitman.

00:42:31The British make it

00:42:32to the outskirts

00:42:33of Ville Bocage

00:42:34with almost twice

00:42:35as many tanks

00:42:36as the Germans.

00:42:39We stopped

00:42:40on the outskirts

00:42:41of town.

00:42:41I was tank number two

00:42:43out of four tanks.

00:42:44We were close together

00:42:45about 15 to 20 yards

00:42:47between tanks.

00:42:52Suddenly,

00:42:53the tank in front of us

00:42:54burst into flames.

00:42:58No one got out.

00:43:02I knocked out

00:43:03two tanks

00:43:03from the right of the column

00:43:04then one from the left

00:43:06then I drove

00:43:07straight into the town.

00:43:10The smaller German

00:43:12Tiger unit

00:43:12begins leveling

00:43:13the British.

00:43:16I backed

00:43:17between two houses

00:43:18to get some cover

00:43:19and a better shot.

00:43:21Our tank

00:43:22had scarcely

00:43:22left the road

00:43:23before the Tiger

00:43:24loomed through the smoke

00:43:25less than 35 yards away.

00:43:27I drove along the street

00:43:30knocking out

00:43:31every tank

00:43:31that came towards me

00:43:32as I bent.

00:43:35We couldn't

00:43:36unscrew the gun lock

00:43:37and this Tiger tank

00:43:38was only 15 yards away.

00:43:42I fired

00:43:42a two-inch

00:43:43smoke mortar

00:43:44but it went

00:43:44way over his head.

00:43:47The enemy

00:43:48was thrown

00:43:48into total confusion.

00:43:51The Tiger

00:43:52traversed

00:43:52its huge

00:43:5388mm gun

00:43:54and fired.

00:43:58I felt

00:43:58my legs

00:43:59tingling

00:43:59as the shot

00:44:00passed between them.

00:44:01Flames licked

00:44:02over the turret

00:44:02and my mouth

00:44:03was full of grit

00:44:04and burnt paint.

00:44:08Bail out!

00:44:09I yelled

00:44:09and left clear.

00:44:17The British

00:44:18retreat

00:44:19towards the safety

00:44:20of the beaches.

00:44:21The Americans

00:44:22turned back

00:44:22before even

00:44:23engaging

00:44:23in the battle.

00:44:25The Germans

00:44:25reinforce their line

00:44:26and close

00:44:27the Kaumont gap.

00:44:31Michael Whitman's

00:44:32Tiger

00:44:32destroys as many

00:44:33as 14 tanks,

00:44:3515 personnel carriers

00:44:36and two anti-tank guns

00:44:38all within the space

00:44:40of 15 minutes.

00:44:44A handful of SS

00:44:46with Tiger tanks

00:44:47was actually able

00:44:48to stop

00:44:49a whole armoured

00:44:50column,

00:44:52tanks,

00:44:53tracked vehicles

00:44:54and this

00:44:55sent a shockwave

00:44:56through the

00:44:56Allied troops

00:44:57that led

00:44:58to the fear

00:44:59of the Tiger tank.

00:45:03Despite the devastating defeat,

00:45:05the worst

00:45:06is yet to come.

00:45:08A blow from above

00:45:10that's about

00:45:10to cripple

00:45:11the entire campaign.

00:45:13We had some

00:45:14horrific storms there.

00:45:16We wiped out

00:45:17our air support.

00:45:18Nobody could fly

00:45:19in that gale.

00:45:19All unloading operations

00:45:22have to seize.

00:45:23800 Allied ships

00:45:25wrecked.

00:45:25This storm

00:45:26meaningfully changed

00:45:27to Second World War.

00:45:28The Allies have endured

00:45:36almost two weeks

00:45:37of non-stop fighting

00:45:39through the hedgerows

00:45:40and they've only made it

00:45:41a few miles inland

00:45:42to their D-Day objective,

00:45:44the city of St. Lowe.

00:45:47Living conditions

00:45:48and lack of food

00:45:49and sleep

00:45:49have added

00:45:50to their misery.

00:45:51A lot of times

00:45:54we had to go off

00:45:55food for several days.

00:45:57One day

00:45:57when we hadn't

00:45:58had any food again,

00:45:59a buddy of mine

00:46:00from Chicago,

00:46:01Bruno de Gela,

00:46:02says,

00:46:03Hey John,

00:46:03I saw a chicken.

00:46:04I saw a chicken

00:46:04running up the street.

00:46:05He said,

00:46:06John,

00:46:06let's go catch it

00:46:07and we'll fix it

00:46:07in our mess kits.

00:46:08So I said,

00:46:09okay.

00:46:11The Germans

00:46:12must have had

00:46:13an observer

00:46:13or something

00:46:14because we barely

00:46:15started up the street

00:46:16and shells

00:46:16started coming in.

00:46:18We'd hit the dirt

00:46:19and it would blow up

00:46:20and we'd get up

00:46:21and run.

00:46:23Still,

00:46:24we caught two chickens.

00:46:24We caught two chickens

00:46:25and I found some

00:46:27old moly butter

00:46:28in one of the houses

00:46:29and we fried up

00:46:31that chicken.

00:46:33Thanksgiving dinner.

00:46:37But most meals

00:46:38at the front

00:46:38aren't very appealing.

00:46:41K-ragins

00:46:41with a little package

00:46:42with a little can

00:46:44of like sardines

00:46:45or something

00:46:46as meat

00:46:47and you had

00:46:47a little chocolate bar

00:46:49once in a while

00:46:51when we got

00:46:52in reserve

00:46:53they brought up

00:46:53these sea rations

00:46:55and sea rations

00:46:57was a can of spam

00:46:58and that was

00:47:00supposed to be

00:47:01a treat.

00:47:03The company cooks,

00:47:04they couldn't

00:47:05keep up with us

00:47:06so we mostly

00:47:07lived on K-rations,

00:47:08sea rations.

00:47:12Allied supplies,

00:47:14food and ammunition

00:47:15are delivered

00:47:16into Normandy

00:47:17by way of

00:47:17Mulberry Harbors.

00:47:19Continuous operation

00:47:20of these ports

00:47:21is critical

00:47:22to the success

00:47:23of the mission.

00:47:24Now the harbors

00:47:25are about to come

00:47:26under attack

00:47:27and not by the Germans.

00:47:31Forecasters knew

00:47:31the storm was approaching,

00:47:33they just had no idea

00:47:34that the storm

00:47:34was going to be

00:47:35as big

00:47:35or as powerful

00:47:36as it was.

00:47:39The Normandy coast,

00:47:40it's the Atlantic Ocean,

00:47:41there are storms

00:47:41all the time

00:47:42but this was the worst

00:47:43one on record

00:47:44for about 100 years

00:47:45or something

00:47:45and the problem

00:47:46is we weren't quite

00:47:48up to speed

00:47:49with all our reinforcements.

00:47:50The artificial harbors

00:47:51we were building

00:47:52were behind schedule

00:47:53and so it just hit us

00:47:54at exactly the wrong time.

00:47:57The Mulberry Harbors

00:47:58at Gold

00:47:59and Omaha Beach

00:48:00begin to show signs

00:48:01of stress

00:48:02from the 20-foot waves

00:48:03crashing over them.

00:48:04We awakened

00:48:07to an ominous wind,

00:48:09a leaden sky

00:48:10and a cold scaly rain

00:48:12tore at the tent flaps.

00:48:15Omar Bradley,

00:48:15commanding general,

00:48:16United States First Army.

00:48:18The channel

00:48:19had broken into white caps

00:48:21and the surf

00:48:21foamed against the beach.

00:48:24Not until it was reported

00:48:26that unloading

00:48:27had closed down

00:48:28on Omaha Beach

00:48:29did we realize

00:48:30how serious

00:48:31this crisis was.

00:48:32The only chance

00:48:34we had of keeping

00:48:35our landing craft

00:48:36from being beaten to bits

00:48:37was to anchor

00:48:37a long way off the beach

00:48:38out in the channel

00:48:39and hope we could

00:48:40ride out the storm.

00:48:41The seas became so rough

00:48:42that the skipper

00:48:42was afraid that the ship

00:48:43would crack in two.

00:48:45He ordered mooring cables

00:48:46to be strung four and aft

00:48:47to give extra support

00:48:48to the deck.

00:48:48It was a deadweight business.

00:48:50Six of my men drowned.

00:48:55It really paralyzes

00:48:56Allied operations in Normandy.

00:48:58All unloading operations

00:48:59have to seize,

00:49:00can't land reinforcements,

00:49:02because it's going to affect

00:49:04the soldiers fighting

00:49:05in the hedgerows

00:49:06because the storm

00:49:07has reduced the amount

00:49:08of munitions

00:49:09getting forward

00:49:10to the troops

00:49:10that are holding the line

00:49:12against the German army.

00:49:13The other huge factor was

00:49:15Allies have no air power.

00:49:17They can't fly up

00:49:18in these bad conditions.

00:49:19So therefore,

00:49:21the Germans can use

00:49:22the railway system

00:49:23to bring up

00:49:23their reinforcements

00:49:24because for the first time

00:49:26they're not in fear

00:49:27of being shot

00:49:27by the fighter bombers

00:49:28coming in.

00:49:30He wiped out

00:49:30our air support.

00:49:31Nobody could fly

00:49:32in that gale.

00:49:33But more depressing

00:49:34was standing

00:49:35in the chow line,

00:49:37the constant rain

00:49:37dripping off your helmet

00:49:38turning your mashed

00:49:39potatoes into mush.

00:49:41You're trying to stay dry.

00:49:42Just to live,

00:49:43to exist.

00:49:44And we would put

00:49:45sort of lean-tos

00:49:46over our slit trenches

00:49:48that were dug in

00:49:50at the base

00:49:50of the hedgerow.

00:49:51And they would leak

00:49:53after a while,

00:49:54but they were better

00:49:55than nothing.

00:49:55When we went down

00:50:02to the beach

00:50:03on June 22nd

00:50:04to survey the damage,

00:50:05I was appalled

00:50:06by the desolation,

00:50:08for it vastly

00:50:08exceeded that of D-day.

00:50:12The giant concrete caissons

00:50:14of the artificial harbors

00:50:15were now scattered

00:50:16across Omaha Beach.

00:50:17In four days,

00:50:20this channel storm

00:50:21had threatened

00:50:21Operation Overlord

00:50:23with greater danger

00:50:24than had all the enemy's guns

00:50:26in 14 days ashore.

00:50:28The mulberry at Omaha

00:50:31is damaged beyond repair.

00:50:33And the mulberry at Gold

00:50:35is crippled for weeks.

00:50:37By the time the storm is over,

00:50:39you're going to have

00:50:40800 Allied ships

00:50:42wrecked or run onto the beach

00:50:43and unusable.

00:50:45You've got a situation

00:50:46in the latter part of June

00:50:47in the aftermath of this

00:50:49in which ammunition

00:50:50is becoming at a premium.

00:50:52General Bradley

00:50:53is sending orders

00:50:54downward to his units

00:50:55saying, hey,

00:50:56you're limited

00:50:57to a certain number

00:50:58of artillery shells

00:50:59fired per day

00:51:00because we don't have

00:51:01enough of it ashore.

00:51:02Riflemen are running

00:51:03out of bullets.

00:51:06With food and ammunition

00:51:08even more scarce

00:51:09than before the storm,

00:51:10the Allies continue

00:51:12the march

00:51:12to their D-day objective,

00:51:14St. Lowe.

00:51:16Now they are facing

00:51:17a reinforced enemy

00:51:18and pushing

00:51:19into thicker hedgerow country

00:51:20where they hit

00:51:21one German trap

00:51:22after another.

00:51:24The casualty rate

00:51:25skyrockets.

00:51:27But we had a saying

00:51:28in the 29th Division,

00:51:30we're three divisions

00:51:31in one.

00:51:32We have a division

00:51:33on the front line,

00:51:34a division in the hospital,

00:51:36and a division

00:51:37in the cemetery.

00:51:38The Allies have been

00:51:48in Normandy

00:51:49for over a month.

00:51:50According to the original

00:51:52D-Day plan,

00:51:53they should have already

00:51:54taken the crossroads city

00:51:55of St. Lowe.

00:51:56But they're still

00:51:57some 13 miles away,

00:51:59and the casualty rate

00:52:00is soaring.

00:52:01By July,

00:52:04the attrition

00:52:05of casualties,

00:52:06the terrain,

00:52:06and the demands

00:52:07for constantly attacking

00:52:08were seriously reducing

00:52:09our numbers.

00:52:11We must have had

00:52:12six different

00:52:13company commanders.

00:52:14Our original ones

00:52:15had been replaced

00:52:16two or three times,

00:52:17and it was up to

00:52:18largely non-coms

00:52:20because the officers

00:52:21had been,

00:52:22second lieutenants

00:52:23lasted four weeks

00:52:24at best.

00:52:25And we came up

00:52:27over a hill,

00:52:28and down to our left

00:52:30was the 116th

00:52:32attacking.

00:52:34And I had

00:52:34squad leaders,

00:52:36binoculars,

00:52:36and I could see

00:52:37the Germans

00:52:38on a hedgerow

00:52:39firing at the 116th.

00:52:41So I had them

00:52:42set up the machine,

00:52:43heavy machine gun

00:52:44right there

00:52:45on the open field,

00:52:47and started

00:52:49to zero it in.

00:52:50And all of a sudden,

00:52:51I got the most

00:52:52god-awful bang

00:52:53on the top of my head.

00:52:54And it hurt,

00:52:56and I came up

00:52:57ready to swing,

00:52:58and here's a captain.

00:53:00And he said,

00:53:00you damn fool,

00:53:02out of action,

00:53:02out of action.

00:53:03And I said,

00:53:04sir,

00:53:05there are the Germans

00:53:05down there.

00:53:06There's my machine gun.

00:53:08Why should I go

00:53:08out of action?

00:53:09And they said,

00:53:10you don't go out

00:53:11of action,

00:53:11and I'll have you

00:53:12court-martialed right now.

00:53:14And I thought,

00:53:15well, sir,

00:53:15I guess I'll

00:53:16go out of action.

00:53:18Turned out he was

00:53:19the replacement

00:53:20intelligence officer

00:53:22for the battalion,

00:53:23and he was so scared.

00:53:24of attracting fire

00:53:25to himself

00:53:26that he gave up

00:53:27one golden opportunity.

00:53:29I think the 160s

00:53:31were blown kisses at me.

00:53:33I was going to make

00:53:33their job

00:53:34so much easier.

00:53:40Without experienced

00:53:41officers leading

00:53:42the charge,

00:53:43the mission inland

00:53:44from Omaha Beach

00:53:45to St. Low

00:53:45falls further

00:53:46behind schedule.

00:53:47D-Day is not

00:53:51going to plan.

00:53:53And it's really

00:53:54the soldiers

00:53:55on the ground,

00:53:56the NCOs,

00:53:57the privates,

00:53:57even a few lieutenants

00:53:58that have to make

00:53:59the tactical decisions.

00:54:01The leadership

00:54:02is hit or miss.

00:54:04You can imagine.

00:54:04You're bewildered,

00:54:05you're scared,

00:54:06you're not sure

00:54:06what to do,

00:54:07where to go,

00:54:07maybe even how

00:54:08to use your weapon

00:54:09the best you can.

00:54:11Nothing's getting done.

00:54:13You're bogged down

00:54:13and you're losing

00:54:14a lot of people

00:54:15for no good reason.

00:54:17That's the nightmare

00:54:18of this whole scenario.

00:54:21In the hedgerows,

00:54:22you're following orders.

00:54:24You're taking this hill

00:54:25and you're taking

00:54:26that hedgerow.

00:54:27You're villages

00:54:28along the road,

00:54:29you're taking this village,

00:54:30you're taking that village.

00:54:34The Germans were waiting.

00:54:36They knew that every attack

00:54:38was in their favor.

00:54:40We were being

00:54:42banged this way

00:54:43and that way

00:54:43and you've got to learn

00:54:46to live with it.

00:54:48We had got very used

00:54:50to the way

00:54:50the Americans would fight.

00:54:52Carl Wigner,

00:54:5319 years old.

00:54:56First would come

00:54:56the artillery

00:54:57and when death

00:54:58would shift to the rear,

00:55:00we knew the infantry

00:55:00would come,

00:55:01usually with tanks.

00:55:03Of course,

00:55:03the air force

00:55:04were somewhere above.

00:55:06We would fool them

00:55:06by putting out

00:55:07captured marker flags.

00:55:08They wouldn't shoot,

00:55:09thinking us

00:55:10their own men.

00:55:12Roads and tunnels

00:55:12had been cut

00:55:13through the countryside.

00:55:14When we did have

00:55:15to retreat,

00:55:16we would blow

00:55:17the tunnels behind us

00:55:18in order not to be followed.

00:55:23They had a mine.

00:55:24They called it

00:55:25the bouncing batty

00:55:26and we called it

00:55:28the ball buster.

00:55:29And it would jump up

00:55:31to about waist high

00:55:33and go off.

00:55:36So it hit right

00:55:37in the vital area

00:55:38of your groin.

00:55:42I think you counted

00:55:43your days

00:55:43one after the other

00:55:44because there were

00:55:45so many people

00:55:46that were getting

00:55:47wounded and killed

00:55:48that if you thought

00:55:51about it,

00:55:52you could drive

00:55:52yourself crazy.

00:55:55Infantrymen

00:55:56desperately need support

00:55:57from Allied tanks,

00:55:58but the Allied tank

00:56:00commanders can't

00:56:01break through

00:56:01the hedgerows.

00:56:02From inside the tank

00:56:03it looks like a forest

00:56:04in front of you.

00:56:05They were so high

00:56:06with trees and bushes.

00:56:08And you had to get up

00:56:09over it.

00:56:10It was hard for us

00:56:11to advance

00:56:11because the Germans

00:56:12were on the other side

00:56:13of the hedgerows

00:56:14and the tank

00:56:15tried to get up

00:56:16over his body,

00:56:18his belly was exposed

00:56:19and that was

00:56:20the weakest part.

00:56:21With the German

00:56:22Panzerfests

00:56:23or what they call them,

00:56:24they'd knock you out.

00:56:25At this point,

00:56:30they're going to have

00:56:31to innovate

00:56:31and figure out

00:56:32a new way

00:56:32to deal with this problem.

00:56:34The existing opening

00:56:35in any hedgerowd

00:56:36is obviously going

00:56:36to be covered

00:56:37by every German weapon

00:56:38in the neighborhood.

00:56:39So, what you have to do

00:56:41is create

00:56:41a brand new opening.

00:56:44We ultimately reacted

00:56:46by taking these obstacles

00:56:47that the Germans

00:56:48had conveniently left

00:56:49out on the beaches

00:56:49for us,

00:56:50cutting them up

00:56:50with blow torches

00:56:51and then welling them

00:56:52to the front of tanks.

00:56:55They would back away

00:56:56from a hedgerow

00:56:56and take a run at it.

00:56:58When those prongs hit,

00:56:59they could tear a path

00:57:00right through the hedgerow.

00:57:02This monster

00:57:03with large horns

00:57:04sticking out

00:57:05could plow right through.

00:57:06It was a new tactic.

00:57:09We just busted

00:57:10into these hedgerows

00:57:11and made our own path.

00:57:14American way,

00:57:15you know,

00:57:15we'd always find a way

00:57:16somehow.

00:57:18The Allies

00:57:19start punching their way

00:57:20through the hedgerows,

00:57:21but to gain real momentum,

00:57:22they need to capture

00:57:23the major roadways

00:57:25that lead to St. Lowe.

00:57:28American paratroopers

00:57:29are ordered

00:57:30to attack a German unit

00:57:31defending one

00:57:32of the critical roads.

00:57:34Field 95,

00:57:36we didn't know

00:57:36where the enemy

00:57:37was up there.

00:57:38You're just waiting

00:57:39to get it

00:57:39because we were

00:57:40under such great odds.

00:57:42That was the worst

00:57:42carnage

00:57:43that I have ever seen.

00:57:46Enough to make this sick.

00:57:47The Allies are finally

00:57:54making progress

00:57:55through the hedgerows

00:57:56and moving closer

00:57:57to their D-Day objective,

00:57:59the city of St. Lowe.

00:58:01In the final push,

00:58:02they move to cut off

00:58:03St. Lowe

00:58:04from German-held

00:58:05strong points

00:58:06to the north.

00:58:08American paratroopers

00:58:09are sent to Hill 95,

00:58:11a strategic high point

00:58:12and key

00:58:13to controlling roadways

00:58:14into St. Lowe.

00:58:16The Allies planned

00:58:17to take the hill

00:58:18in a coordinated attack

00:58:19from the ground

00:58:20and above.

00:58:25This officer

00:58:26drew a diagram

00:58:27in the sand

00:58:28and he told us

00:58:28that we'd have

00:58:29two dive bombers

00:58:30coming in.

00:58:31They were going

00:58:31to drop their bombs

00:58:32real close by us.

00:58:33Everybody get behind

00:58:34trees or something,

00:58:36rocks or whatever

00:58:36you can

00:58:37because shrapnel

00:58:37would be flying around.

00:58:39And he said,

00:58:40I'm going to blow

00:58:40the whistle

00:58:41and we're going

00:58:42to go in

00:58:43at a dead run

00:58:44and we're going

00:58:44to take this hill.

00:58:48We got about

00:58:49800 or 1,000 yards

00:58:51up into that wood

00:58:52that we ran

00:58:53smack into

00:58:54the German's

00:58:54main battle position.

00:59:02I jump over the trench

00:59:04and there's a German

00:59:05at the bottom.

00:59:06He let loose

00:59:07with his automatic weapon.

00:59:08And I had a raincoat

00:59:10on the back

00:59:10of my cartridge belt

00:59:11and he riddled

00:59:12that raincoat

00:59:13and two rounds

00:59:14went through

00:59:15the seat of my pants

00:59:15and never touched

00:59:16the skin.

00:59:19And then they started

00:59:20throwing grenades

00:59:21and they were ricocheting

00:59:23above the trees.

00:59:24One of them

00:59:25felt very close to me.

00:59:27I put my head

00:59:28behind the tree

00:59:28but that was

00:59:29the best I could do

00:59:30and it took me

00:59:33along my left side.

00:59:38It's one of the first

00:59:43major battles

00:59:43in Normandy

00:59:44fought with air support

00:59:45and the Germans

00:59:47don't have a chance.

00:59:50That was the worst

00:59:51carnage

00:59:52that I had ever seen.

00:59:54Those dive bombers

00:59:55and that heavy artillery

00:59:57opened up

00:59:57directly in front of us.

01:00:00That was just

01:00:02enough to make you sick.

01:00:04With the help

01:00:14of Allied air support

01:00:15the paratroopers

01:00:16take Hill 95

01:00:17and with it

01:00:18one of the major arteries

01:00:19in Normandy.

01:00:21After almost

01:00:22a month of fighting

01:00:23the Allies

01:00:24finally pushed

01:00:25to within striking distance

01:00:26of St. Lowe.

01:00:30But nothing

01:00:31could prepare them

01:00:32for what they would see.

01:00:34Part of the

01:00:39Allied air strategy

01:00:40is to bomb

01:00:41small towns

01:00:42not just because

01:00:44they're a congregation

01:00:45place for German troops

01:00:46but by bombing

01:00:47those buildings

01:00:48you're blocking

01:00:49the roads.

01:00:50You're making

01:00:50these arteries

01:00:51impassable.

01:00:54San Lowe

01:00:54is absolutely

01:00:55laid waste.

01:00:56If you could find

01:00:57an intact structure

01:00:58in San Lowe

01:01:00by the third week

01:01:00of July

01:01:01you were doing

01:01:02pretty well.

01:01:04Allied forces

01:01:06move into

01:01:07St. Lowe

01:01:08and take the fighting

01:01:09to the streets.

01:01:10but despite

01:01:19heavy bombing raids

01:01:20they quickly find

01:01:22that the Germans

01:01:22still have a firm

01:01:23grip on the city.

01:01:29The 332nd is holding

01:01:30in the north

01:01:31of St. Lowe

01:01:31it will not crack.

01:01:33It's got

01:01:34the tactical situation

01:01:35in hand

01:01:36it's front line

01:01:37is compressed

01:01:38so that its troops

01:01:39are holding

01:01:39it's got defense

01:01:40and depth.

01:01:41The U.S.

01:01:42divisions are pushing

01:01:43into the city

01:01:43they make a toehold

01:01:45they get pushed out.

01:01:46There are instances

01:01:47of buildings

01:01:49changing hand

01:01:49many times

01:01:50one house

01:01:51changed hands

01:01:5211 times

01:01:53fighting through

01:01:54the kitchen

01:01:54fighting through

01:01:55the living room

01:01:56back and forth

01:01:57back and forth.

01:01:57their head-on attack

01:02:07fails

01:02:07and the Allies

01:02:08are pushed

01:02:09out of St. Lowe

01:02:09they form a plan

01:02:12to sweep around

01:02:13from the northeast

01:02:14over a high point

01:02:15called

01:02:16Martinville Ridge

01:02:17by attacking

01:02:20the central hill

01:02:21on Martinville Ridge

01:02:22it's going to make

01:02:23the rest of the

01:02:24German defenses

01:02:24worthless

01:02:25taking Martinville Ridge

01:02:26is basically

01:02:27opening the door

01:02:28to St. Lowe

01:02:29Americans are going

01:02:31to make one

01:02:31concerted push

01:02:32for St. Lowe

01:02:34it's going to be

01:02:35as bad as it

01:02:35could possibly be

01:02:36it's the last chapter

01:02:38in an awful

01:02:39awful mess.

01:02:42We were getting

01:02:43down to 15

01:02:44or 20 men

01:02:44per unit

01:02:45we were finally

01:02:46relieved by the

01:02:4735th division

01:02:48just come overseas

01:02:49we noticed

01:02:50immediately

01:02:51that they had

01:02:51presses in the

01:02:52uniforms

01:02:52and their faces

01:02:53and hands were

01:02:54clean

01:02:54and it was

01:02:55impressive.

01:02:56Battalion commander

01:02:57said who's in charge

01:02:58and I said

01:02:58I think I am sir

01:03:00and he said

01:03:00you think

01:03:01I said well

01:03:02I haven't looked

01:03:03around to find out

01:03:04who we've lost

01:03:05today

01:03:05but in this group

01:03:07I'm in charge

01:03:09he said well

01:03:10where are all

01:03:12the foxholes

01:03:12I said sir

01:03:14we have foxholes

01:03:15for everybody

01:03:16that's here

01:03:17how many is that

01:03:19and I said

01:03:20I think the last

01:03:21count I had

01:03:22was about 35

01:03:23that's out of

01:03:26178

01:03:28it's been almost

01:03:30two months

01:03:30since the Allies

01:03:31landed on the

01:03:32beaches of Normandy

01:03:33now their D-Day

01:03:34objective is less

01:03:35than a mile away

01:03:36the final battle

01:03:38for St. Lowe

01:03:39is about to begin

01:03:40the final battle

01:03:52to capture St. Lowe

01:03:53the objective

01:03:53of the entire

01:03:54D-Day mission

01:03:55has begun

01:03:56the Allies

01:03:57have been fighting

01:03:58through hedgerow country

01:03:59for almost two months

01:04:00if they can take

01:04:02the crossroads city

01:04:03of St. Lowe

01:04:04they will finally

01:04:05break out

01:04:05of the hedgerows

01:04:06we moved out

01:04:09in three companies

01:04:10we was in the center

01:04:11H or J or something

01:04:12companies

01:04:13on the two sides

01:04:14flanks

01:04:14and we moved out

01:04:17on Martinville Ridge

01:04:18that was a high

01:04:20piece of ground

01:04:20that ran maybe

01:04:21two miles

01:04:22outside of St. Lowe

01:04:23and we didn't know

01:04:24the two companies

01:04:25on the flanks

01:04:26had stopped

01:04:27somehow we managed

01:04:30to slip right

01:04:31through the German lines

01:04:32but we were just

01:04:33200 of us

01:04:34with four machine guns

01:04:35four mortars

01:04:36and a radio

01:04:36it felt like

01:04:38we were just

01:04:38sitting ducks

01:04:39we radioed back

01:04:40for orders

01:04:41we didn't have any food

01:04:53we didn't have any water

01:04:54the batteries

01:04:55on the radio

01:04:56were dying

01:04:56they can't reach

01:04:58the rest of the unit

01:04:59to find out

01:05:00why the other companies

01:05:01stopped

01:05:01or if reinforcements

01:05:02are coming

01:05:03they do know

01:05:04that they are well

01:05:05within range

01:05:06of German heavy artillery

01:05:07we just waited

01:05:09out there

01:05:10alone

01:05:11waiting for the Germans

01:05:12to notice us

01:05:13and attack

01:05:14so we were out there

01:05:16all night by ourselves

01:05:18the next day

01:05:27our radio was dead

01:05:29and we didn't know

01:05:30a task force

01:05:30was sent in

01:05:31and was going to try

01:05:31to get past us

01:05:32in St. Lowe

01:05:33they were a large group

01:05:35much larger than ours

01:05:36and they had tank destroyers

01:05:38tanks

01:05:38armor

01:05:39everything

01:05:40and they moved in

01:05:41they hit broadside

01:05:45they hit in force

01:05:47the task force

01:05:51carves into the German

01:05:52defensive line

01:05:53and starts pushing down

01:05:54Martinville Ridge

01:05:55towards St. Lowe

01:05:57towards St. Lowe

01:05:57the Allies

01:05:59put everything

01:06:00they can

01:06:01to bear

01:06:01on Martinville Ridge

01:06:03they hammer it

01:06:04with artillery

01:06:04incessantly

01:06:05put armor up there

01:06:06they bomb it

01:06:07from high level

01:06:08they keep knocking

01:06:09and knocking

01:06:10and knocking

01:06:10and hammering

01:06:11and they're whittling them down

01:06:12but from inside

01:06:16the city of St. Lowe

01:06:17the Germans

01:06:18had their sights

01:06:19trained on the Allies

01:06:20watching men

01:06:22approach to that

01:06:22telescopic sight

01:06:23was an eerie saying

01:06:24Carl Wegener

01:06:26German 352nd Infantry Division

01:06:28I could see them

01:06:30yelling and pointing

01:06:31moving forward

01:06:32as the inverted view

01:06:33of the sight

01:06:33swept across their bodies

01:06:34I wondered

01:06:35what they would say

01:06:36to me

01:06:37if they knew

01:06:37I had them

01:06:38in my sights

01:06:38Carl sundered

01:06:43out his order

01:06:44to fire

01:06:44in seconds

01:06:45I sent 50 rounds

01:06:46into the advancing Americans

01:06:47some fell

01:06:48others went for cover

01:06:50the Germans

01:06:53cover the hill

01:06:53in machine gun fire

01:06:54and pound the Allies

01:06:56with heavy artillery

01:06:57a mortar round

01:06:59hit really close

01:07:00to where I was positioned

01:07:01I was knocked out

01:07:02when I came to

01:07:03I could hear

01:07:04a popping sound

01:07:05one of those

01:07:06hot fragments

01:07:07from the mortar

01:07:07had hit the ammunition

01:07:09and was setting it off

01:07:10and those

01:07:11were the little puffs

01:07:12that I was hearing

01:07:12and then I

01:07:13looked at my jacket

01:07:15the middle of it

01:07:17was shredded

01:07:17and I looked out there

01:07:19and there at arm's length

01:07:21was where the mortar landed

01:07:22so that was about

01:07:24as close as I wanted

01:07:24to get that day

01:07:26despite the high

01:07:28casualty toll

01:07:29the large Allied force

01:07:31coming off

01:07:31Martinville Ridge

01:07:32begins to break

01:07:33the German defensive line

01:07:34the strain of combat

01:07:38was beginning

01:07:38to show on us

01:07:39Doppel Kalk

01:07:40the veteran from Russia

01:07:41could see it

01:07:42he said

01:07:43you can't sweat out

01:07:44every shell coming

01:07:45as if it were aimed at you

01:07:46that'll drive you crazy

01:07:47looking me straight

01:07:49in the eye

01:07:50he continued

01:07:50if it's your time

01:07:52no matter how deep

01:07:53your hole

01:07:53or how good your cover

01:07:55the game's over

01:07:56the Allied task force

01:08:01leads the charge

01:08:02into the city

01:08:03and starts capturing

01:08:04St. Lowe

01:08:05and there wasn't

01:08:09two whole works

01:08:10in that town

01:08:10the city was

01:08:16completely destroyed

01:08:17Kalk said to me

01:08:22Kalk any fool

01:08:23can see that

01:08:24we are beaten

01:08:24there is no hope

01:08:26of holding

01:08:26this lousy French ruin

01:08:27if those fools

01:08:28with the oak leaves

01:08:29and crimson

01:08:30on their colors

01:08:30had any sense

01:08:31they would have

01:08:33let us keep going

01:08:34until we got

01:08:34to the other side

01:08:35of the river

01:08:35or even better

01:08:36they'd end the war

01:08:37before we're all dead

01:08:39we got up

01:08:42on the top of the hill

01:08:42and we could look down

01:08:43and when

01:08:45the task force

01:08:47did their

01:08:47remarkable work

01:08:49of coming down

01:08:50Martinsville

01:08:50and got behind

01:08:52the German lines

01:08:53and held on

01:08:54and they could do

01:08:55it if anybody could

01:08:56they were the

01:08:57best regiment

01:08:58in the division

01:08:59and they were

01:09:01brought down

01:09:01into the city

01:09:02itself

01:09:03the Allies move

01:09:07into St. Lowe

01:09:08against a German army

01:09:09desperately clinging

01:09:10to the ruined city

01:09:11the outcome

01:09:12of the entire

01:09:13D-Day invasion

01:09:14will be decided

01:09:15here

01:09:15in the fighting

01:09:16through St. Lowe's

01:09:17streets

01:09:17and the blown out

01:09:18buildings

01:09:19we moved out fast

01:09:21running through

01:09:22the destroyed streets

01:09:23we kept close

01:09:24to the walls

01:09:24and remnants

01:09:25of buildings

01:09:25for the best cover

01:09:26the Germans

01:09:29are on the run

01:09:30but the fight

01:09:31is far from over

01:09:32their orders

01:09:33are to hold

01:09:34the city

01:09:34to the last man

01:09:35the Allies

01:09:44have lost

01:09:44thousands of men

01:09:45fighting their way

01:09:46through the hedgerows

01:09:47to complete

01:09:47their D-Day mission

01:09:48in the city

01:09:49of St. Lowe

01:09:50if they can win

01:09:53control of the city

01:09:54the rest of France

01:09:55will soon follow

01:09:56after a successful

01:09:59assault

01:09:59down Martinville Ridge

01:10:00and into the city

01:10:01the Allies

01:10:02have the Germans

01:10:03on the run

01:10:04they moved out fast

01:10:08running through

01:10:08the destroyed streets

01:10:09Carl Wegener

01:10:1019 years old

01:10:11then it happened

01:10:13when Corporal

01:10:15Carl Brown

01:10:15in the next corner

01:10:16he ran right

01:10:17into a group

01:10:17of Americans

01:10:18and armored vehicles

01:10:19really my assistant

01:10:21gunner

01:10:21wasn't able

01:10:21to stop

01:10:22quickly enough

01:10:23gunfire

01:10:26pierced the air

01:10:27screams and shouts

01:10:28followed

01:10:28the Corporal

01:10:30dragged Willy

01:10:31by his boots

01:10:31back around the corner

01:10:32his cries of pains

01:10:34and shivers

01:10:35down my spine

01:10:36I gave the machine gun

01:10:38to Gunther

01:10:39and told him

01:10:39to fire at anything

01:10:40that came around

01:10:41the corner

01:10:41the wounds were bad

01:10:43so the lung

01:10:45and stomach

01:10:45my god

01:10:47how the Corporal

01:10:48tried to save him

01:10:48as if he were

01:10:50his own brother

01:10:50the look on his face

01:10:52told me that

01:10:52his face became

01:10:54sunken and lost

01:10:55its color

01:10:56he knew he was

01:10:57finished

01:10:58he stopped

01:10:59shrieking in pain

01:11:00and began to cry

01:11:01softly

01:11:02he looked at me

01:11:04with eyes

01:11:04one cannot describe

01:11:05and said his last

01:11:06I never forgot it

01:11:08Willy said to me

01:11:09Carl

01:11:10throw all this

01:11:11just to

01:11:12die in the rubble

01:11:13it makes

01:11:15no sense

01:11:16soon after

01:11:25Carl Wegener

01:11:26is a prisoner of war

01:11:27six weeks after

01:11:30landing in Normandy

01:11:31the Allies

01:11:32achieve their

01:11:32D-Day mission objective

01:11:34and take back

01:11:35St. Lowe

01:11:36from the Germans

01:11:36but liberating

01:11:47the city

01:11:48comes at a

01:11:48huge price

01:11:49the citizens

01:11:52who are so excited

01:11:53about liberation

01:11:54everywhere else

01:11:55in the Normandy area

01:11:55are not as happy

01:11:57with the American troops

01:11:58as they enter

01:11:58because St. Lowe

01:11:59has taken such a pounding

01:12:00it's absolute ruins

01:12:03as one of the American

01:12:04soldiers will say

01:12:05I think pretty famously

01:12:06liberated the hell

01:12:07out of this place

01:12:08going through St. Lowe

01:12:11it was very difficult

01:12:12just unbelievable

01:12:14destruction

01:12:15I've never seen

01:12:15such terrible devastation

01:12:17I mean

01:12:18it was just

01:12:18flat

01:12:19and I felt so sorry

01:12:20for the French people

01:12:21because

01:12:21thousands of them

01:12:23died

01:12:24during the Normandy campaign

01:12:26you knew it had to be done

01:12:28they knew it had to be done

01:12:29that was the only way

01:12:30they was going to get

01:12:31the Nazi boot

01:12:32off their throat

01:12:32and

01:12:34you try to make it

01:12:36as painless as possible

01:12:37to us

01:12:40moving into St. Lowe

01:12:41was just another day

01:12:43to somebody

01:12:44with a map

01:12:45and a grease pencil

01:12:45I'm sure it made them

01:12:46very happy

01:12:47General Gearhart

01:12:48could triumphantly report

01:12:49back to the core commander

01:12:50that he had taken St. Lowe

01:12:52he had taken St. Lowe

01:12:52he had done his job

01:12:54but I think we were getting

01:12:56more and more fatalistic

01:12:58we recognized that

01:13:00yeah we had come to

01:13:02one of the major objectives

01:13:03we had done it

01:13:05we were alive

01:13:07thank God for that

01:13:09but the man credited

01:13:12for leading the task force

01:13:14into St. Lowe

01:13:15wasn't so lucky

01:13:16Major Tom Howey

01:13:18was not yet off

01:13:19Martinville Ridge

01:13:20when a piece of shrapnel

01:13:21pierced his lung

01:13:22like most of us

01:13:25I'm sure Major Howey

01:13:26prayed he'd make it

01:13:27through alive

01:13:28but

01:13:28well

01:13:29he wasn't afraid

01:13:30to put himself

01:13:31in harm's way

01:13:31General Gearhart

01:13:33had his body

01:13:34taken in

01:13:35after St. Lowe

01:13:35fell

01:13:36and put on

01:13:36the ruins

01:13:37of the church

01:13:37of the cathedral

01:13:39and had

01:13:41draped in

01:13:41an American flag

01:13:42the men moving

01:13:45into St. Lowe

01:13:46passed Major Howey's body

01:13:48to pay their respects

01:13:49to the man

01:13:50who would go down

01:13:50in history

01:13:51as the Major

01:13:52of St. Lowe

01:13:52one of the reasons

01:13:56he's held up

01:13:56as the Major

01:13:57of St. Lowe

01:13:57is because of the esteem

01:13:59in which he was held

01:14:00by his fellow officers

01:14:01certainly

01:14:01but also by that

01:14:02ragtag group of men

01:14:03he had led

01:14:04under these terrible

01:14:05circumstances

01:14:06he becomes

01:14:07kind of the symbol

01:14:07of the American sacrifice

01:14:08to take St. Lowe

01:14:10whereas on the other

01:14:13side of town

01:14:13you have a symbol

01:14:14of defeat

01:14:15there's a broken

01:14:16German kid

01:14:17in a ditch

01:14:17that gave his life

01:14:19his country

01:14:20the wrong cause

01:14:21left in a hole

01:14:22two bodies

01:14:24two very different

01:14:25outcomes

01:14:26in a city

01:14:27that's broken itself

01:14:28St. Lowe

01:14:35St. Lowe has fallen

01:14:36the Allies have secured

01:14:37their foothold

01:14:38in Normandy

01:14:39and the D-Day mission

01:14:40is complete

01:14:41now a new way

01:14:43of waging war

01:14:44in Europe

01:14:44will begin

01:14:45for the Allies

01:14:46St. Lowe

01:14:48is going to mark

01:14:49the end

01:14:50of the hedgerow fighting

01:14:51and it's going to see

01:14:53the dawn of the breakout

01:14:54of maneuver fighting

01:14:55for the American Army

01:14:56U.S. Army

01:14:57in the summer of 1944

01:14:58is the most heavily

01:14:59mechanized army

01:15:00in the world

01:15:00by far

01:15:01it's designed

01:15:03for slash

01:15:04dash

01:15:04maneuver

01:15:05St. Lowe

01:15:06makes that possible

01:15:07with the capture

01:15:09of St. Lowe

01:15:10and the hedgerows

01:15:11behind them

01:15:12the Allies bring in

01:15:13the remainder

01:15:14of their forces

01:15:15including the 3rd Army

01:15:16led by legendary

01:15:18General George S. Patton

01:15:19within a month

01:15:21the Allies liberate Paris

01:15:22within a year

01:15:26they reach Berlin

01:15:27Nazi Germany surrenders

01:15:31and Hitler is dead

01:15:32then after serving

01:15:42and sacrificing

01:15:43for a struggle

01:15:44that changed

01:15:45the world forever

01:15:46the men who survived

01:15:48D-Day

01:15:48could finally

01:15:49return home

01:15:50well naturally

01:15:57it was wonderful

01:15:57and we got discharged

01:16:04at Boston

01:16:05I get in the train

01:16:07and I'm coming in

01:16:08to Camp McCoy

01:16:09here in Minnesota

01:16:10and I'm looking

01:16:12out the side window

01:16:13and here's Muriel

01:16:15standing on the deck

01:16:16you can imagine

01:16:19hadn't seen her

01:16:21for two and a half

01:16:21three years

01:16:22beautiful

01:16:24she was a beautiful

01:16:25girl anyway

01:16:26want to see her picture

01:16:28when I got wounded

01:16:34I came back

01:16:35by a British ship

01:16:37by golly

01:16:38I got to sit

01:16:39with a regular tablecloth

01:16:41and a servant

01:16:42and a lot of class

01:16:45so I was grateful

01:16:46to the British

01:16:47so I was in

01:16:51Mitchell Air Force

01:16:52Hospital

01:16:53in Long Island

01:16:54New York

01:16:54so my hair was still

01:16:56growing back

01:16:56I had no teeth

01:16:58in my mouth

01:16:59in the front

01:17:00I weighed 110 pounds

01:17:03from not eating

01:17:05and my parents

01:17:08they came out

01:17:09with my two sisters

01:17:10their husbands

01:17:11their children

01:17:13and my mother

01:17:14walked right by me

01:17:15I was on crutches

01:17:17and she walked

01:17:18right by me

01:17:19didn't recognize me

01:17:20well after St. Louis

01:17:26was when I went

01:17:27to the hospital

01:17:28with pneumonia

01:17:29so I was taken

01:17:31off the line

01:17:32and they didn't have

01:17:33they wanted to send me

01:17:34back to England

01:17:36and I just refused to go

01:17:38I said no

01:17:38because I want to

01:17:40stick with my outfit

01:17:41you know

01:17:42for 50 years

01:17:45I never talked

01:17:46about it

01:17:46at all

01:17:47then a reporter

01:17:51for Times

01:17:51Picayune

01:17:52she wrote

01:17:54an article

01:17:55about me

01:17:56and two other

01:17:57people

01:17:58and my children

01:18:00read this

01:18:01and they said

01:18:02why didn't you

01:18:03ever tell us

01:18:04about this dad

01:18:04and I said

01:18:05I was too busy

01:18:06making a living

01:18:06and I just

01:18:07didn't want

01:18:07to talk about it

01:18:08for 34 years

01:18:11I couldn't really

01:18:12get into the nitty

01:18:13you know

01:18:13you talk about it

01:18:14a little bit

01:18:15but I could never

01:18:16get into the nitty gritty

01:18:17of it

01:18:17I lost almost

01:18:19all my men

01:18:19in World War II

01:18:21lost 75%

01:18:23in Normandy alone

01:18:24it's hard to discuss

01:18:32and talk about it

01:18:33I often wondered

01:18:36why them

01:18:38and not me

01:18:38but that was

01:18:41our destiny

01:18:42and a destiny

01:18:45that we had

01:18:45no control over

01:18:46some of the men

01:18:50died very young

01:18:51they had never

01:18:53experienced life

01:18:54as it was meant

01:18:55to be

01:18:55to have a wife

01:18:57and children

01:18:58but they had

01:19:01to die

01:19:01very young

01:19:03the first time

01:19:19back

01:19:19to Omaha

01:19:21the cemetery

01:19:25it was hard

01:19:29when I got there

01:19:36in 1988

01:19:36and I went down

01:19:38to the beach

01:19:39I was crying

01:19:41when I went down

01:19:42because I could picture

01:19:45each dead body

01:19:47and where they were laying

01:19:48Bedford Hoback

01:19:50Elmium Wright

01:19:51Clarence Wilberson

01:19:53I knew where

01:19:54each body was

01:19:56I said to my wife

01:19:58nobody will ever

01:19:59know what they did

01:20:00who they are

01:20:02where they came from

01:20:04I said

01:20:06now I know

01:20:06one of the reasons

01:20:07God saved me

01:20:08he wanted me

01:20:09to be their spokesman

01:20:10so

01:20:11right then and there

01:20:13I became

01:20:13their spokesman

01:20:14that was in 1988

01:20:16in the end

01:20:20D-Day lasted

01:20:21not one day

01:20:22but 43 days

01:20:23the total cost

01:20:25in dead and wounded

01:20:26220,000

01:20:28Allied troops

01:20:28240,000 Germans

01:20:31and 50,000

01:20:33French civilians

01:20:33those who survived

01:20:37carry memories

01:20:38that never fade

01:20:40I'm just a farm boy

01:20:44from West Virginia

01:20:45my name is

01:20:46Clarence Mac Evans

01:20:47and everybody

01:20:49calls me Mac

01:20:50I was 17 years old

01:20:51at that time

01:20:52which the army

01:20:53didn't know

01:20:54I don't particularly

01:20:55like killing people

01:20:56but sometimes

01:20:57you have to think about

01:20:58it's either

01:20:59you or him

01:21:00Lieutenant Johnny Moore

01:21:0225 years old

01:21:05First Lieutenant

01:21:06507th Parachute

01:21:07Infantry Regiment

01:21:08my name is

01:21:09John Joseph Hinchcliffe

01:21:10and like I say

01:21:11I was 21

01:21:12when I jumped

01:21:13in the Normandy

01:21:14to this day

01:21:15I say thank you

01:21:17every night

01:21:17when I go to bed

01:21:18and I'm kind of

01:21:20a hard man too

01:21:21Private Donald

01:21:23Van Roozen

01:21:23from Newton

01:21:24Massachusetts

01:21:25on D-Day

01:21:27on D-Day

01:21:27I was 18

01:21:30Private First Class

01:21:32Peter Thomas

01:21:33on D-Day

01:21:34I was 19 years of age

01:21:36Baumgartner

01:21:38Harold

01:21:38I was 19 years old

01:21:40on D-Day

01:21:41now I'm an old man

01:21:43of 88

01:21:43and I'm here

01:21:46to tell my story

01:21:47to people

01:21:48and make sure

01:21:49that none of my buddies

01:21:51are ever forgotten

01:21:52what they did

01:21:54where they came from

01:21:55Transcription by CastingWords

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