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Battle of France Documantary
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00:09the summer of 1944 brought one of the most critical points in the european theater of war
00:20allied forces were pushing back the germans but didn't have enough supplies to continue moving
00:25their armies the entire operation depended on a daring mission which was known as the red ball express
00:38june 6 1944 d-day nearly 200 000 troops of the allied armies establish a beachhead
00:45on the coast of france at normandy
00:55it takes weeks of heavy fighting and heavy losses until the allies are ready to move in
00:59to reach their goal of taking france back from the germans
01:12six weeks after d-day allied forces fighting in normandy begin a massive offensive they must push
01:18beyond the bitterly contested beachhead and keep up a momentum across france and into germany
01:27with the beaches cleared of enemy activity the allies bring in more men and supplies
01:32including a unit to handle delivery and distribution
01:50but the travel routes are still vulnerable to attacks by the luftwaffer
02:11the germans also have supply units to rush ammunition to the normandy battle zones
02:16we were all veterans all experienced so i was in the 21st panzer division yeah 24th regiment
02:30and when the invasion started the 6th of june 1944 we moved from fallay to kane
02:54allied air force planes locate and bomb german positions along a narrow front at saint lowe their
02:59next location to attack the germans with a powerful drive by infantry and armored units but to continue at
03:06this pace the supply convoys must keep up with the fighting men
03:22moving through the towns american troops are on their guard for german snipers even a dead german is
03:28enough to cause a soldier to proceed with caution
03:37as the germans retreat they set up holding positions to slow down the allies
03:44we didn't have much problem because when we move we move mostly
03:51in a forest or in a like a field you know where you say where the plane can't spot it
04:00up we always went we
04:02didn't move on the main roads no no we was moving on a cover-up plate you know german element
04:11was getting weak
04:12see we lost so many planes we lost things we didn't have much if we called for the help
04:23nobody came
04:29spearhead units fan out through the french countryside capturing villages in the south
04:33but it is not without facing fire from a tenacious enemy in just two days since the operation started
04:39there is a complete breakout from the normandy beaches the americans advanced 25 miles in 36 hours
04:47the soldier you don't think about the retreated things you just do what you have to do you don't
04:54think about the retreat that's a war you can't even imagine you in a fighting yeah fire from all over
05:04the
05:04place and then you only think about yourself your life you know if i'll be here tomorrow see you don't
05:13think about the retreat and stuff like that no general george patten is appointed commander of the new u.s
05:23third army a tough and controversial combat leader he is the ideal choice to push the limits of his
05:29fighting force he sends a strong spearhead force toward the heart of france
05:37within three days his armored units have conquered as far east as limon rapidly catching up with the
05:43retreating german armies on august 6th the germans launch a desperate counter-attack to cut off patten's
05:51unstoppable army but confusion and lack of communication make the goal unachievable
06:02the american you know was breaking coming close and close so he was backing up
06:08eliza say they took over like a can sanglo and we was backing up they surround us and we have
06:17to give up
06:19it was very rapid very rapid because they were running away from us we overran them that's what
06:25we that's what we did we overran
06:27we overran
06:27we overran
06:54we overran
06:57meanwhile the germans are pounded unmercifully by air bombings artillery and armor they retreat in
07:04stunned disorder through what becomes known as the faliz gap the commanders desperately order their
07:11troops to hold open the gap long enough to get their panzer divisions through so they can take a stand
07:16at
07:16the critical location of the sane river
07:41while eight infantry and two panzer divisions are captured by the allies
07:45over forty nine thousand combat troops managed to escape now patten's army races to the same
07:56the enemy
07:57i was a battalion motor sergeant we had them on the run five or six miles out of paris
08:03and they just left their equipment and everything and it took off i'm telling you they just they
08:08threw down their weapons and ran the infantry that we took with us just continued on and took it took
08:15the prisoners
08:16and we have repaired the roads and the bridges and that autobahn because that's what we were going to use
08:31finally the germans in retreat reach the same they're in no condition to fight back
08:37when it's hard to explain when you're on a front line the soldier is on a front line because you
08:45know
08:46it's dangerous yeah you pray you are afraid it is tough you know front line we didn't have much peace
09:07not nine kilometers
09:10numerous spearheads surge across western france at times gaining
09:14as much as 50 miles in one day chartres and orleans fall and beyond the sane paris
09:28one of the french greeted us they loved us they really did
09:33They would give us their last egg, which we'd never seen, but we wouldn't take anything off of them.
09:39They really, they went all out for us. They went crazy. They celebrated. I think they're still celebrated.
09:45Just when the Army's barreling ahead, Patton's gas supply runs out.
09:50The whole advance comes to a halt.
09:52Patton orders part of his reserve force to drain their tanks and transfer their gas to attacking units.
09:58But this Band-Aid procedure only brings limited supplies.
10:02Now, for the first time, the Allies experience the type of supply limitations that has plagued the German Army.
10:08There are virtually no stocks between Normandy and the small Army depots 300 miles away.
10:14Each of the Allied Army units expects priority for gasoline and oil.
10:18Tension develops between Patton and other Army commanders because each wants a full share of supply and transport.
10:25No general can win on this battlefield without receiving his delivery of material.
10:29Without ammunition or fuel, the soldiers don't advance.
10:34The retaking of France is now in jeopardy.
10:41August 1944.
10:43The Allied push across France gets bogged down as armored divisions run out of gasoline.
10:48To get the attack moving again, a last-minute supply line is cobbled together by the Allied command.
10:55The Army Transportation Corps organizes 141 truck companies, consisting of over 3,000 men, into the Red Bull Express.
11:04Their plan calls for a looped one-way traffic route stretching across northwest France from the supply depots to the
11:10fighting fronts and back again.
11:12There was a whole battalion of trucks and all black soldiers running that express.
11:19They ran to and fro, hauling.
11:23Our orders were to unload them as quickly as possible and send them back.
11:28Feed them, give them supplies, food.
11:31All the gas came in five-gallon cans, and we had to furnish our own people to unload the trucks
11:39when they got there, which didn't take long.
11:41And we dumped them in and give them the cans back, and they'd go back for more.
11:46By the time they went back and got more, we were 20, 30 miles away from there.
11:51Takes a lot of gas for a tank.
11:55And as we moved forward, they would move forward with us with their camps, and they did a great job
12:03for us.
12:03I can't say one thing about them.
12:06They lost a lot of people, too.
12:13Traffic control points are established in all major towns to record the movement of convoys,
12:19check their destination, and determine their cargo.
12:22Supporting services have their job, too.
12:25Thousands of road markers are placed along 800 miles of roadway.
12:29The signal core strings endless miles of telephone and telegraph wires.
12:39Replenished with gas and ammunition, the American armored columns again surge forward.
12:45We just had to be careful ourselves that we didn't go too fast.
12:48And that was one thing Patton, he always went too fast.
12:53He'd go until he ran out of gas.
12:55I'm not kidding.
12:56That's the way he operated.
12:59Always advanced.
13:00We'd never retreated.
13:01One time, all the time I was with him, we were always, always forward.
13:08One time, all the time, all the time we learned over the moon on Earth.
13:11You, you, you and you, you…
13:29You're going to be long here.
13:30All the time you're at it.
13:31One time, all the time I remember we were, always in the world.
13:42By August 29th, Patton's Third Army has crossed the Marne, capturing Ream and Shallow-sur-Marne.
13:49Patton now aims his armored spearheads toward Verdun, St. Bahiel, and Comercy.
14:07But almost immediately, this new momentum by advancing armies puts new strains and demands on the Red Bull Express.
14:14Relief drivers are urgently needed, and they are recruited from every outfit on the continent, even infantry units.
14:22Each truck is driven around the clock. Drivers fight exhaustion, and accidents increase.
14:43By August 29th, the Red Bull Express reaches peak performance.
14:47Almost 6,000 trucks deliver 12,000 tons of supplies to the forward areas.
14:53Columns of German prisoners marching away from battle can see the trucks that have hastened their defeat.
15:01While the Red Bull Express convoys work without let-up, a crucial meeting of Allied commanders takes place at Chartres
15:07to determine disposition of supplies.
15:10General Eisenhower wants the major portion to go to General Hodges' First Army.
15:14Patton protests that his main force has been halted at the Meuse River for two days because of insufficient supplies.
15:21He wants more fuel so his tanks can break for the German border.
15:25He persuades Eisenhower to increase his allotments.
15:27His reason is widely quoted.
15:30My men can eat their belts, but my tanks gotta have gas.
15:38Patton's Third Army thrusts armored columns across the Meuse River, capturing Verdun and Comercy.
15:44With astounding speed, they ford the Moselle River near Nancy and Metz.
15:50There was a lot of dissension between Patton and a few high-ranking officers.
15:55They had some arguments about him moving too fast and getting into trouble.
16:00He would steal supplies off of another general, you know.
16:04Convoy trucks would stop and want to know where such and such an outfit is.
16:08And he would tell them, right down the road, about two miles, turn left.
16:11That's his.
16:12I would have done the same thing.
16:14If a guy couldn't take care of his supplies, that's not our fault.
16:18He should have sent people out to guide him in to where he was.
16:22That's what we did with Patton.
16:26Regardless of Patton's unorthodox methods, his armies continue to blast German positions and push the enemy back.
16:40We retreat more, yeah.
16:42Naturally, because they was really pushing us after, you know.
16:45We was backing up fast, yeah.
16:48The longest time we stay came in St. Glow.
16:54After that, we was only going to move.
16:57We stay maybe overnight, the next day or the next night again move.
17:01Move, move back, back, back, back.
17:03See, we wasn't a move.
17:04So we were very weak.
17:07Getting very weak.
17:17German soldiers find that the countryside is becoming a death trap with French snipers.
17:21They have to patrol and question everyone they see.
17:25It is a time-consuming process which slows down their retreat and hobbles their defenses.
17:37The British and the American First Army strike hard toward Belgium, devouring supplies with an insatiable appetite.
17:49The Red Ball Express drivers bear the brunt of the stepped-up Allied advances.
17:53Within one month, over 6,000 vehicles are serviced for major repairs from accidents.
17:58Replacements flow in, and tired and exhausted drivers are sent back to hospitals and rest camps.
18:03Every time we lose somebody, we get a replacement, and I don't care how good the replacements are, they're not
18:10like their buddies that work with you and went to school with you and died alongside of you.
18:16And they said that we had about 3,000 guys left.
18:19That's a lot.
18:20That's a big loss.
18:21That's not counting the replacements that we lost, too.
18:25The second day, why, we went on through the Eiffel Tower and the gate.
18:29Just like you see in the movies, real small, cobblestone towns, roads, streets, houses close together.
18:38They liked us.
18:39They really loved us.
18:41Tried to help us all they could.
18:46Germans who return to their homeland are shocked by what they find.
18:49You, as a soldier, you don't know much about what's going on.
18:58We didn't have no much news of what was going on in Germany.
19:06War is one enemy fight with another enemy and to destroy the one another.
19:13And it's the same with the soldier who is fighting on the line, the same things you don't think about
19:21if you win the war or lose the war.
19:24No, you don't think about cars with this and, you know, you don't have time for that.
19:33As a soldier, you're just fighting.
19:37You have to fight, yeah?
19:39We never think about that and we never care about that at all.
19:49By September 5th, the original mission of the Red Bull Express is officially completed.
19:55Over 89,000 tons of supplies have been delivered to frontline armies, an average of 7,400 tons a day.
20:04In ten short days, this unplanned, improvised organization far surpasses the highest hopes of its planners.
20:12It provides the energy for Patton's race across France and enables allied forces to strike at the Germans while they
20:19are still confused and disorganized.
20:22By winning the Battle of Supply, it helps win the Battle of France.
20:28The famed Red Bull Express would be continued beyond its initial mission in the northwest of France.
20:34The route is extended eastward through Versailles and by the end of the operation in mid-September 1944, it has
20:41delivered over 135,000 tons to the Allied forces.
20:45The Red Bull Express turns out to be an enormously successful gamble and its motto becomes a part of American
20:52history.
20:56From the beginning of the southern invasion, all battlefronts in France really became one,
21:02and all plans, both tactical and logistical, were devised upon the assumption that soon the whole would constitute one continuous
21:10order of battle.
21:13The plan called for an allied landing on the Mediterranean French coast between Toulon and Cannes.
21:24The whole coastal area extending from the beaches inland for about a hundred and fifty miles was thoroughly softened up
21:30for the assault troops.
21:34For three and a half months preceding the invasion date, 5,000 allied planes dropped some twelve and a half
21:41thousand tons of bombs on southern France.
22:07Early on the morning of August 15th, 1944, the mounting air bombardment was supplemented by strong weapons.
22:13There was one naval fire against the beaches.
22:19Soon after dawn on the same morning, the invasion troops prepared for the trip to shore.
22:25There was as yet no hint of enemy resistance.
22:43Spearheaded by three American divisions supplemented by French units, the U.S. 7th Army made the assault.
22:50The troops, many of them veterans of the North African and Italian campaigns, stormed ashore at 8 a.m. and
22:56met very light opposition.
22:58The landing was executed exactly as planned.
23:17The enemy was caught by surprise.
23:20The American and French assault units, once ashore, were opposed by only two German divisions spread along the coast and
23:28eight more farther inland.
23:30Seventh Army troops won a fifteen-mile-wide beachhead with comparative ease.
23:35And the operation was considered an overwhelming success by allied field commanders.
23:42With the beachhead securely ours, the drive inland was begun without delay.
23:47The course of the advance was to be up the valley of the Rhone River.
23:51The troops started their drive toward the valley against stiffening resistance.
24:13The assault forces were helped materially by members of the French underground, as well as by French villagers encountered along
24:20the path of the advance.
24:23During the first few days of the campaign, the 7th Army and the Marquis captured more than 10,000 Nazi
24:29troops.
24:31Throughout the allied drive in southern France, the Marquis played an especially active and extremely valuable part.
24:40The southern France invasion force was to fight its way up the Rhone Valley and then swing eastward into Germany.
24:51Having overcome the Nazi defenders along the coast, the 7th Army pushed up the valley on the heels of the
24:57main body of German forces racing north toward the German frontier.
25:09The pursuit was speeded up in an attempt to trap the fleeing Nazis.
25:14The Air Force pounded the exposed German columns steadily.
25:45At intervals, the allied chase was slowed down.
25:48As the 7th Army troops were called upon to reduce a pocket of Nazi resistance.
25:53The GIs went about the job quickly and efficiently.
26:20During the first two weeks of the campaign in southern France, thousands of Nazis were killed and 50,000 soldiers
26:26were killed.
26:29After 10 days of fighting, the Allied force reached the Rhone River itself at Montellemore, a hundred miles from the
26:36landing beaches.
26:38Here, a last-ditch Nazi stand was quickly beaten down.
26:43The advancing Americans trapped one Nazi Panzer Division and elements of two other German divisions.
26:53The Germans lost great quantities of material in their unsuccessful defense at Montellemore.
26:58And additional thousands of German soldiers were killed or captured in the brief but savage battle.
27:11In town after town in their victorious drive up the Rhone Valley, the GIs were greeted with enthusiasm by the
27:18overjoyed French townspeople.
27:33The GIs was killed by the overjoyed French townspeople.
27:48On September 11th, junction was made between the southern France Assault Force and American units which had entered France from
27:56the Atlantic coast.
27:58In the Dijon area, the U.S. 7th and 3rd Army troops made contact and western France was sealed off.
28:06For the final push to the German frontier, the Allies presented a single powerful battle line.
28:14Sparking the drive to the east was Patton's 3rd Army.
28:19Patton realized that through speed and determination, each successive advantage is more easily and economically gained than the previous one.
28:29Relentless and speedy pursuit is the most profitable action in war.
28:35But the Germans did not simply fall back.
28:38The Nazis showed every intention of fighting savagely for every mile of eastern France still in their hands.
28:46They used all available mobile equipment in their strong effort to stem the Allies' advance along the whole battle line.
28:55In a concerted attempt to stabilize their defense, the Nazis fought stubbornly, fully aware that if this stand were unsuccessful,
29:04the Allies would before long penetrate into Germany itself.
29:13In their determined defense, they used their newest, most improved weapon.
29:22The Allies hammered continuously at the Nazi line, which had stiffened abruptly.
29:28The Allied attack was not quite strong enough.
29:47Though handicapped by lengthening supply lines, the Allies kept up their attack on all sections of the front in an
29:54all-out drive toward the German frontier.
29:59The battle continued for weeks during the early autumn.
30:02Elements of Patton's 3rd Army advanced the Allied position a little closer to the German Siegfried Line as they crossed
30:08the Meuse River.
30:11We were certain that by continuing an unremitting offensive, we would, in spite of hardship and privation, gain additional advantages
30:19over the enemy.
30:21Specifically, we were convinced that this policy would result in shortening the war and, therefore, in the saving of thousands
30:28of Allied lives.
30:31Consequently, the fall period was to become a memorable one because of a series of bitterly contested battles,
30:37usually conducted under the most trying conditions of weather and terrain.
30:54The fighting throughout the front, from Switzerland to the mouth of the Rhine, descended during the late fall months to
31:01the dirtiest kind of infantry slugging.
31:04Advances were slow and laborious.
31:06Gains were ordinarily measured in terms of yards rather than miles.
31:12operations became mainly a matter of endurance, stamina and courage.
31:17Because of depletion of their infantry strength, divisions quickly exhausted themselves in action.
31:23Our offensive strength fell off markedly.
31:32During the three months beginning September 1st, I spent a great portion of my time in travels.
31:38I visited commanders in their own headquarters.
31:41Kept personal touch with problems as they arose and, above all, gained a feel of the troops.
31:49All along the front, Allied planes kept up the attack on Nazi defensive positions.
32:15All along the front, Allied planes kept up the attack on Nazi defensive positions.
32:20American troops advanced yard by yard in the drive to push the enemy back within his own borders.
32:33The French First Army led the attack on the Belfort Gap and breached it within a week.
32:38Its leading troops quickly reached the Rhine.
32:42This turned the flank of the German position in the Vosges Mountains and forced a general withdrawal.
32:51We were disposed along a line which, beginning in the north on the banks of the Rhine,
32:56stretched 500 miles southward to the border of Switzerland.
33:13All our divisions were short in infantry replacements.
33:16And in total numerical strength of ground forces, the Germans still had a marked advantage.
33:22We could, on the average, deploy less than one division to each 10 miles of front.
33:38By October 1st, our aggregate strength on the continent was 54 divisions.
33:56As a result of the junction with Patch's 7th Army, a considerable number of Germans were trapped in southwestern France.
34:03These began to give themselves up by driplets.
34:06Except in one instance, when 20,000 Germans surrendered in a single body.
34:12At Beaujancy on September 17th, Nazi General Eric Elster had surrendered 20,000 German troops under his command,
34:20marking the end of the Nazi army of occupation in southern France.
34:25The mass surrender was made without the loss of a single Allied soldier's life.
34:32In the north, the Allies decided to drop three parachute divisions into German-held Holland,
34:37in an operation ultimately designed to turn the Nazis' northern flank.
34:43The British 1st Airborne Division was to land farthest north, near Arnhem,
34:48while the Americans of the 82nd and 101st Airborne were dropping a bit farther south.
34:54The operation was regarded as a large gamble.
34:57But if the Nazi bridges across the Rhine in the north could be seized, the war might be shortened materially.
35:14The drops were executed as planned.
35:17The first landings by the main airborne forces were made on September 17th,
35:22and continued for several days following.
35:27Initial losses were slight, but there were some.
35:43In two weeks, more than 20,000 airborne troops had dropped into Holland.
35:52Over 13,000 more landed in gliders, which had been towed across the English Channel.
35:59The attack began well, and unquestionably would have been successful,
36:04except for the intervention of bad weather.
36:07This prevented the adequate reinforcement of the northern spearhead,
36:11and resulted finally in the decimation of the British Airborne Division,
36:15and only a partial success in the entire operation.
36:20But the Allied airborne troops in Holland accomplished one important task.
36:27Of the bridges to be seized, one of the most vital was the Nijmegen Bridge over the Wall, a branch
36:33of the Rhine.
36:34British and American troops surprised the Nazi force guarding the bridge,
36:38and captured the valuable prize before the defenders had a chance to set off the demolitions already prepared.
36:45Allied ground forces moved safely across, and continued the attack.
36:50During the fall months, there was, as originally planned, much to be done operationally.
36:55In the north, besides capturing the approaches to Antwerp,
36:59it was desirable to make progress toward closing the Rhine,
37:02because it was from this region that our heaviest attacks would be launched in the crossing of that river.
37:08Winter conditions were now approaching, and Montgomery's advances were made over a difficult country.
37:14Because of the extended front held by Montgomery's 21st Army Group,
37:19it was impossible at the moment to launch further strong offensives in that area.
37:25To the south of the British forces, the Americans also ran into trouble.
37:32The American First Army got involved in the Hertgen Forest,
37:36the scene of one of the most bitterly contested battles of the entire campaign.
37:40The enemy had all the advantages of strong, defensive country.
37:44The weather was abominable, and the German garrison was particularly stubborn.
38:17The tower was over.
38:17All along the front and the platform inside the colonациals,
38:18sector as winter grew near, the fighting continued heavy. But in the Hurtgen Forest, the battle was
38:25especially tough. After the battle, whenever veterans of the American 4th, 9th, and 28th
38:32divisions referred to hard fighting, they did so in terms of comparison with the Battle of Hurtgen
38:37Forest, which they placed at the top of the list. Yankee doggedness had finally won.
38:47By mid-December, the Allies had penetrated the outer defenses of the Siegfried Line at
38:52several points. American troops were crossing the German frontier in preparation for the final
38:58phase of the war in Europe.
39:08Only six months after the Normandy beaches had been stormed,
39:11the battle for Germany was begun.
39:20But there was a threatening physical weakness in our communication zone,
39:24stretching from the French coast to the front, that endangered our future offensive operations.
39:30The lifeblood of supply was running perilously thin throughout the forward extremities of the army.
39:38With Allied victories in Italy, the tide of the war has continued to turn against the Axis powers.
39:45The time has come for the Allies to break into France and push the Germans back to their own border.
39:52The war will now move into the resort towns of southern France, the French Riviera.
39:59Since 1943, with Allied victories in Italy, German troops have been reassigned to shore up defenses
40:06in France and Germany. The D-Day landings at Normandy bring Allied armies right into France.
40:17By August 1944, two months after the D-Day invasion, the Allies have consolidated their forces.
40:24Now they head east to break down German defense positions.
40:28The further the Allies drive into France, the more vulnerable they become. To protect themselves,
40:34a secondary offensive is ordered. The invasion of southern France.
40:41Operation Dragoon is to land Allied troops east of Marseille in Toulon on the Mediterranean coast,
40:48and to open a new battlefront on the French Riviera. The landing beaches and their approaches are
40:53chartered to perfection, and the deployment of enemy troops is no secret. The Maquis, the French
40:59resistance forces, report every movement.
41:08Three American and two French divisions are withdrawn from Italy. These will become the nucleus of the
41:14invasion force. They are rolled into the 7th Army under the leadership of Lieutenant General Alexander Patch.
41:20To minimize the continuing problem of inter-service rivalries, the entire assault command is given
41:25headquarters aboard one ship, the USS Catoctin.
41:43The Germans are expecting the landings in southern France. General Johannes Blachowicz stations 30,000
41:50troops in the assault zone. They are ordered to hold the invaders for a few days, until the Allies have
41:57tipped off their main landing area. Then 200,000 more German troops will move in to counter-attack.
42:04It's quite secure. They also had guns to fire out to see, of course. Retractable copulas for their forward
42:12observers. Their accommodations were quite luxurious. As Wehrmacht combat troops are deployed throughout
42:19key defense sectors. Various support units are alerted to move to southern France.
42:28The support units also experimented with weaponry, trying to figure out ways to use ordinary machines
42:34as lethal weapons. And they actually came up with a remote-controlled anti-tank device.
42:54When they were needed in the front lines, the mechanics and the engineers could be transferred into
42:58fighting units. So these units were following the panzers wherever they went.
43:05The Germans were very anxious to keep the population and the army from knowing just how precarious the
43:12situation was. So they were never told what was going on. But when they got to France and they
43:18found that things were not going well, these were many of these young men who had never been out of
43:22Germany before in their lives. But many of them had fathers who had fought in World War I and been
43:27killed in World War I or earlier in World War II. And they knew all too well that the risk
43:32was that they
43:33might wind up the same way. So the morale was not as good as it would have been had the
43:41soldiers not on
43:43the scene and seen what the Allies were throwing against them.
43:54There is no hope of surprising the Germans, but efforts are made to keep the exact landing sector
43:59a secret. Bombers of the Mediterranean Allied Air Force hit selected stretches of coastline,
44:05but only one of them is the intended assault area.
44:33of course.
44:45August 14th, the main convoys pass between the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Barrage balloons
44:52protect the ships from low-flying enemy planes. But in truth, the Germans have little air power
44:57available to them from their depleted Luftwaffe. At dusk, the ships change course and head for
45:04their destination too long and can. Chaplains of the different faiths gather the men together while
45:13still at sea. The soldiers know at this point that they are committed to battle. They also know
45:23there's no guarantee about getting out of this with their lives. It gives them time for reflection,
45:31and at times like this, many of the men are more than willing to acknowledge their religious beliefs.
45:48Before the landing, underwater demolition teams, also known as frogmen, do their part to prepare for the invasion.
46:09When the job is completed, they're retrieved in a way that prevents them from becoming a stationary
46:14target if they're under fire.
46:42Since we couldn't bring our half-tracks in on the islands,
46:46we landed on the mainland, and that was the first place I saw the rocket launchings from the
46:53landing craft and the rolling thunders impact on the beach.
46:59On August 15th, Invasion Day, small commando groups on each flank set up for shore.
47:05Meanwhile, 400 transport planes carrying over 5,000 paratroopers are flying over the Mediterranean.
47:12Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France has begun.
47:31August 15th, 1944, the invasion is underway.
47:46The gold coast of the French Riviera, once the playground of Europe's elite,
47:50is under attack by invading allied armies.
47:54Nine miles inland, 5,000 paratroopers of the 1st Airborne Division make a drop near the town of Lemoye.
48:00Then come hundreds of glider-borne reinforcements.
48:04Landing behind the German lines creates a chaotic situation for the enemy.
48:09French commandos land on the left flank east of Cap Negri, wipe out a coastal battery,
48:14and block the road to Toulon in a letter-perfect operation.
48:24The Germans heard of the allied attacks at the Côte d'Azur,
48:27and that the landings were going on. The specialized units were put into battle.
48:32The panzers rushed in from the Italian front.
48:39The repair units had to improvise because there were very few spare parts,
48:42and a lack of supplies, and a lack of reserves.
48:45These people realized what a terrible shortage there was of parts and gasoline,
48:49and they knew to fight without the parts, without the supplies, was extremely risky.
49:07While the naval barrage softens up the enemy on the beach, the landing crafts wait offshore out of
49:12range of German artillery. The rendezvous continues for hours. Then, finally, they head to the beach.
49:218 a.m. All of the different divisions head to their landing points on the beach.
49:26A message is sent to headquarters on the USS Catoctin that the landings are on time, and the opposition is
49:33light.
49:38As the landing crafts head for shore, the men have a few anxious moments to ponder their fate.
49:43Then, the adrenaline kicks in. There's a positive sign. The fire coming in at them is not as bad as
49:52they expected.
50:18The rocket, by launching, cleared the beach nicely.
50:22The rocket, by launching, cleared the beach nicely.
50:22I had participated in the invasion of Sicily back with the rangers. This was much easier.
50:29Our function was on landing. After the tracks were available, we drove eastward to the French-Italian border.
50:45In the early stages, it is a battle of isolated actions. Until the pieces fall into place, headquarters does
50:52not know how it stands. It does not even know that its paratroopers have, by chance, landed right next to
50:58the headquarters of the German corps, guarding the assault beaches. They're able to take several
51:03hundred prisoners, including the corps commander. The 45th Division captures the German signal center
51:11for the south coast. With these losses, the Germans' top leadership and communications are cut off at the
51:17critical moment. For the Allies, it has been a smooth operation.
51:23The line companies, the riflemen, would be in advance and so forth. However, that was not the case
51:31with our type of unit. We would be in front of the riflemen. We would be doing our own reconnaissance
51:38for the force in general. And that's why we were the first in to liberate some of these places,
51:45rather than it being a rifle company. The Sixth Corps, under Lieutenant General
51:51Lucien Truscott, quickly sweeps over the two German divisions facing the assault beaches.
52:00German morale on the continent finally appears to be cracking.
52:04German morale was was getting shaky in southern France. The best German units were on the eastern
52:09front and fighting in northern France. So a lot of the troops in southern France were not the very
52:14best troops in the German army. And over 2,000 of them surrendered on the first day of strong
52:19fighting, even more surrendered the next day. We had one fellow with us. He had been born in Berlin.
52:27There was a whole company of Germans. He was able to talk them into surrendering to our cannon company.
52:34The collapse of the beachhead defenses comes too fast for General Blachowicz to rush in reserves.
52:40Now he finds, with all the bridges down over the Rhône,
52:43his troops are divided into two uncoordinated forces, east and west of the river.
52:55The Germans on the southern front knew that the Americans were advancing,
52:59and some were being pinned down by French resistance fighters.
53:09Whenever the Germans moved or tried to hide or tried to make a move, the French villagers of the
53:14resistance would inform the Americans where they were and what they were doing, and bombers would
53:19come over these the German units so that the German army was splintered and the resistance had a great
53:26deal of impact, not only as a fighting unit, but as an intelligence unit.
53:33Success has come too quickly in the operation. The Germans have no cohesive plan of retreat,
53:39and the Allies have no practical plan of advance. Improvising, General Truscott determines to cut off
53:45the Germans and order his columns northwest to the Rhône River. Their objective is to wipe out enemy
53:52pockets of resistance. However, there's very little of the enemy left to fight.
54:01There are the occasional small holding forces. The Germans are leaving just enough men behind to hold
54:08off the Americans from catching up with them. This type of fighting is so easy, the men call it the
54:14champagne campaign. Going through France, while we're doing the liberating, one town, a girl was getting
54:23a haircut for collaborating with the Germans. And she kept saying, it's not true, but the OSS had been
54:32operating in the area. And for all I know, this girl might have been helping them underground,
54:39thereby appearing to be collaborating, but not. And then she was doubly suffering.
54:53The best German escape route is through a narrow gap north of the town of Montalemar.
54:58A 1,000 foot high ridge overlooks the pass. Truscott determines to take the ridge before the Germans get there.
55:09The first troops to reach the Montalemar area on August 21st attack the town instead of the all-important
55:16ridge. Thousands of Germans squeak through the gap. The battle around Montalemar continues for seven days,
55:22with the Germans, with the Germans getting much of the worse of it.
55:25Jack!
55:27SUV's floodlight
55:29.
55:38.
55:39.
55:40I don't know.
56:06By the time the bombing at Maglumar took place, the Germans were completely demoralized and the bombing was the last
56:14straw.
56:15They headed for their vehicles and they dropped their guns because you couldn't get home on a gun and you
56:20might get home on a vehicle.
56:27Meanwhile, other American troops have been circled too long while the French McKee come out into the open to battle
56:33the Germans in Marseille.
56:49The French quickly round up German sympathizers and collaborators.
56:57August 23rd, the McKee gained control of the city of Marseille.
57:03It is a time for joy and sorrow. The people who live here know the tide has finally turned.
57:13The French were quite happy to see us. I have this photo of our half-track going through Nice and
57:22the civilians all around us obviously happy.
57:26Civilians gave us the little jircula, the tricolored circle that they were wearing and wanted us to wear.
57:47After waiting four years for this moment, the Free French Army returns in victory.
58:05September 11th, both American and French columns now harass the Germans as they race towards their border.
58:14Patrols of the 7th Army and General Patton's 3rd Army make contact near the town of Chatillon and the allies
58:20regroup for the invasion of Germany.
58:30The shattered units of the German Army limp back to their homeland in retreat.
58:35It had to be bittersweet for them. After all, they were going back home for one thing, but on the
58:40other hand, they were going back home as defeated troops.
58:43And they knew that the allies were going to be attacking Germany and that the war was not over, but
58:51that Germany was certainly not likely to win at that point.
58:54And they knew all too well. They had seen the size of the Allied forces and they had seen the
59:00supplies and the air power.
59:02And so they knew that Germany was on its last legs.
59:07In southern France, the Germans have suffered a humiliating defeat. Some die for what they believe, but more of them,
59:14upwards of 100,000, surrender.
59:16At long last, the German war machine is breaking down.
59:21They knew that it was probably better to surrender to the Americans than to be sent to the Eastern Front
59:26against the Russians, who were merciless.
59:28So when they had a chance to surrender, it looked like a good deal to a lot of them, and
59:32they did.
59:33These were people who knew all too well what they were up against, and surrender was an attractive option.
59:38One of the rewards for veterans of southern France is a place for R&R, the French Riviera town of
59:45Nice.
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