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00:30Stalin could not have been more mistaken.
00:34All wars change the world, but none of them change the world like the Second World War did.
00:41Japan's on the march. Germany's on the march.
00:45No one can imagine a nightmare they're about to unleash.
00:48The most destructive war in human history.
00:52Suddenly the world is turned upside down and all hell is let loose.
00:58The West is stunned by the speed of the advance.
01:02You get the Allies led by the big three.
01:06Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin.
01:08Men who are dealing with immensely complicated questions.
01:13It's the biggest military operation of human history.
01:18The Allies have to come together, not just militarily, but industrial scale.
01:22It's a global perspective.
01:24They have to fight in every climate from the Arctic to the jungles of the Pacific,
01:29to the deserts of Africa and the depths of the ocean.
01:36But there was no certainty of victory.
01:39It was going to be a horrific bloodbath.
01:42We see humans at their absolute worst, how they treat other human beings.
01:46And we see them at their absolute best, willing to give their lives that others might live.
01:50World War II was a struggle in which there could be one victor and one vanquish.
02:02World War II
02:03World War II
02:03World War II
02:03World War II
02:03World War II
02:03World War II
02:05World War II
02:23World War II
02:28As la guerra entre Great Britain y Alemania continúa,
02:33de su offices deep within the Kremlin,
02:36el líder de la Sovietie Joseph Stalin
02:39es confident que el pacto de la non-aggression
02:41ha hecho con la Alemania con la Alemania
02:44y que él va a tener más influencia
02:48en el mundo.
02:50Stalin's ideal plan
02:52era que los británicos y los franceses
02:53que los británicos y los dos lados
02:55y que los dos lados podían
02:57fight it out as much as they liked
02:59mientras Stalin watched from the sidelines
03:01as they exhausted themselves.
03:06Since he was a young revolutionary,
03:08Stalin hoped that conflict in the West
03:11would ultimately provide an opportunity
03:13for communism to spread throughout Europe.
03:20Vissarionovich Dugashvili,
03:21the man that we know as Stalin
03:23is Georgian by birth and origin.
03:27He comes from a particular milieu
03:29marked by, among other things,
03:31feuding and banditry
03:33and a certain code of honor,
03:35a code of vengeance and vendetta.
03:37In the 1920s,
03:39Stalin became the leader
03:40of the Soviet Union
03:43and quickly suppressed
03:45any opposition to his rule.
03:51In 1936,
03:53he launched a purge
03:55that became known as
03:56the Great Terror,
03:58targeting political opponents,
04:02then expanding it
04:03to high-level army officers.
04:06Stalin supervised,
04:08through the NKVD secret police,
04:10the killing of millions of people,
04:12the destroying of families.
04:15Millions were deported
04:18and sent to concentration camps
04:21known as the gulags.
04:23He turned the country
04:24into a totalitarian police state.
04:29A few years later,
04:30in 1939,
04:33Stalin makes a deal
04:34with Adolf Hitler.
04:38Even though Germany
04:39and the Soviet Union
04:40are hostile,
04:42Stalin signs an agreement
04:44known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
04:46with the Nazis.
04:49As a result of the pact,
04:51Hitler and Stalin
04:53not only carve up Eastern Europe
04:54and together invade Poland,
04:58Stalin also commits
04:59to supplying vast quantities
05:01of raw materials
05:02to the German Reich.
05:05The Soviet Union
05:06is providing Adolf Hitler
05:07massive amounts
05:08of natural resources,
05:09which is funding
05:10the economic engine
05:11to build the military machine
05:13that Adolf Hitler is using
05:14around the rest of the world.
05:16By 1940,
05:17it looks as if
05:18the pact has paid off,
05:20certainly for Stalin.
05:21He's got this agreement
05:23with the Nazis
05:24that he doesn't have
05:25to worry about a war
05:26on their Western front.
05:36Then,
05:36in late September,
05:38Germany, Italy,
05:40and Japan
05:40signed a military alliance
05:42called the Tripartite Pact.
06:00It was not clear
06:01what the role
06:02of the Soviet Union
06:02might be
06:03in this new pact.
06:04Would it become
06:05a quadruple pact
06:07instead of simply
06:08a Tripartite Pact?
06:09Would the Soviet Union
06:11become a full partner?
06:13These were all
06:14still open questions
06:14in the fall of 1940.
06:21In November,
06:22Stalin sends
06:23one of the few people
06:24he trusts to Berlin.
06:28His foreign minister,
06:30Vyacheslav Molotov.
06:35Molotov means hammer
06:37in Russian.
06:39His nickname
06:40was Iron Ass
06:41because he could sit
06:42for so long
06:43doing work.
06:45He was intelligent,
06:47he was ruthless,
06:47and Stalin
06:49trusted him.
06:54Hitler receives
06:55Molotov
06:56in the chancellery.
07:00There's an amazing scene
07:01as he enters
07:02huge, blonde,
07:04giant SS men
07:05in their gleaming
07:06black, death heads
07:07uniform salute.
07:17In walks
07:18this little Russian diplomat
07:20and Hitler
07:21greets him warmly
07:23and they have
07:23two big sessions
07:24of chats.
07:27Hitler's at an impasse
07:28in this war.
07:29He's conquered
07:29everything within reach.
07:30He's trying to talk
07:32to the Soviets
07:33about some tighter
07:34level of cooperation.
07:36Hitler wants to get
07:37the Soviets on board
07:38for some kind of
07:40global war
07:41against the British Empire.
07:43The Germans propose
07:44that the Soviets
07:45join the Tripartite Pact
07:47and offer India
07:49as a prize
07:50for when the British
07:51are defeated.
07:54Molotov doesn't
07:55take this seriously.
07:58Iron Ass is not impressed
07:59with Hitler
08:01and the conversations
08:03become increasingly awkward.
08:07German Foreign Minister
08:09von Ribbentrop
08:10is hosting a reception
08:11for Molotov
08:13when the Royal Air Force
08:15begins a raid
08:16on Berlin.
08:18In the middle
08:19of the banquet
08:22the air raid siren
08:24starts to sound
08:25and they have to go down
08:27into Ribbentrop's
08:28air raid shelter.
08:31And during the air raid
08:34Ribbentrop
08:35starts to boast
08:36that Britain is defeated
08:38and it's only a matter of time
08:40before Britain surrenders
08:41and the war is won.
08:44Ribbentrop
08:45trying to make the best
08:46of an obviously
08:47embarrassing situation
08:48jokes that the British
08:49are complaining
08:51that they have not
08:51been invited
08:52to the party.
08:54Molotov however
08:55is not charmed
08:56by the Germans
08:57attempt at humor.
08:58He says well
08:59if the war is over
09:01then why are we
09:02in this bomb shelter
09:03and whose bombs
09:04are falling on us?
09:09The next morning
09:10Foreign Minister
09:11Molotov returns
09:12to Moscow
09:15unaware that
09:16Hitler and his
09:17military leaders
09:18are planning
09:19a secret operation.
09:23Hitler is capable
09:24of shaking your hand
09:25and looking you
09:26in the eye
09:26and saying everything
09:27is okay
09:27while planning
09:28to stab you
09:28in the back
09:29and that is clearly
09:29what's going on
09:30between Molotov
09:32and Hitler.
09:34One month
09:35after Molotov's
09:36Berlin visit
09:37on December 18th
09:41Hitler signs off
09:42on Fuhrer Directive
09:43number 21
09:47a plan
09:48for a massive invasion
09:50of the Soviet Union
09:51the following year.
09:53The invasion
09:55is given
09:55a codename
09:56after a red bearded
09:58medieval German emperor.
10:01The stage
10:02is now set
10:03for the biggest
10:04military invasion
10:05in history
10:08Operation Barbarossa.
10:20In the last weeks
10:22of 1940
10:23Adolf Hitler
10:24tours German weapons
10:25factories
10:26as preparations
10:27progress
10:28for Operation Barbarossa.
10:31His plan
10:32is to attack
10:33and conquer
10:34the Soviet Union
10:35to establish
10:36more Liebenstrom
10:37living space
10:38for the new
10:39German empire
10:40in the east.
10:53The operation
10:54is top secret
10:56but within days
10:59sources have fed
11:00the information
11:01to the Soviet
11:01intelligence services.
11:04Stalin is receiving
11:05information
11:06from nearly
11:07every quarter
11:08right from the
11:09belly of the beast
11:09in Berlin
11:10from the American
11:12military attache
11:13from the British
11:15and from
11:17his spy
11:17in Tokyo.
11:19But Stalin
11:19doesn't believe
11:20what he's hearing.
11:22Stalin is paranoid
11:24that what is happening
11:25here is a very
11:26high level game
11:27on the part
11:28of the western powers.
11:30They're trying
11:31to maneuver him
11:32into a one-on-one war
11:34with the previously
11:35undefeated
11:36Wehrmacht
11:37that he does not
11:38believe he's ready
11:39for at the moment
11:40and he is bound
11:41and determined
11:42to avoid
11:43being maneuvered.
11:45You can get
11:46all the intelligence
11:46in the world
11:47but if you are
11:48predisposed
11:49not to believe it
11:50it doesn't really
11:51make that much
11:51difference.
11:53And when he receives
11:55a report
11:55from his master agent
11:57in the German air force
11:58that Hitler is planning
12:00an imminent invasion
12:01of Russia
12:03he says Hitler
12:04would not be so stupid
12:05because he doesn't
12:07even realize
12:07what he's dealing
12:08with
12:08the scale
12:09of the Soviet Union.
12:14Both Stalin
12:15and Hitler
12:16have read deeply
12:17into history.
12:21Stalin
12:21has studied
12:23the great
12:24German-Prussian
12:25statesman
12:26Bismarck.
12:27Bismarck
12:28thought that
12:28a war on two fronts
12:29was an extremely
12:30bad idea.
12:34Germany remains
12:35at war
12:35with Great Britain
12:36and Stalin
12:37doesn't believe
12:38Hitler would open
12:39a second front.
12:41Stalin thinks
12:42it's very unlikely
12:43that Hitler
12:44will invade
12:45because he thinks
12:45Hitler
12:46is a sort of
12:48rational
12:49Bismarckian player
12:50and in that sense
12:52he misread
12:52Hitler.
12:55But Hitler
12:56believes that he
12:57is destined
12:57to lead Germany
12:59to greatness.
13:00Hitler is
13:02nothing if not
13:03arrogant.
13:05He believes
13:06he's better
13:06than Bismarck,
13:07better than just
13:08about anybody else
13:09who's ever lived
13:09before him.
13:12Hitler finalizes
13:13the details
13:14of Operation Barbarossa.
13:16Proposed date
13:17of invasion
13:18May 1941.
13:21The plan
13:22is to overwhelm
13:23the Red Army
13:23and topple
13:24the regime
13:24within two months
13:26well before
13:27the Russian winter
13:28sets in.
13:30A lightning blow
13:31against the Russians
13:32that will prove
13:33once and for all
13:34that he,
13:34Hitler,
13:35and Germany
13:36are unconquerable.
13:38The offensive
13:39is divided
13:40into three giant
13:41army groups
13:42each with
13:43a specific
13:44objective.
13:45Going from
13:46north to south
13:47the first
13:48army group
13:48is Army Group
13:49North which
13:50moves along
13:50the Baltic
13:51and its
13:52final operational
13:54goal is
13:54Leningrad.
13:56The center
13:57of the invasion
13:58is Army Group
13:58Center.
13:59It's the largest
14:00force by far
14:01and it is going
14:02toward Moscow.
14:04Army Group
14:05South is moving
14:06through what we
14:07would now call
14:08Ukraine
14:09to secure
14:10resources
14:11and eventually
14:12the historic
14:13Ukrainian capital
14:14of Kiev.
14:15But in the spring
14:16of 1941
14:17the Nazis
14:18face a challenge
14:19in the Balkans
14:20in southeastern Europe.
14:29Hitler is forced
14:30to send an army
14:32into Yugoslavia
14:33to crush
14:33an anti-Nazi coup.
14:39His infantry
14:40then marches
14:41into neighboring
14:41Greece
14:42to help
14:43his Italian
14:43ally
14:44Benito Mussolini.
14:46Hitler has been
14:47cleaning up
14:48this mess
14:48in the Balkans
14:49and so
14:50it's now
14:51a five-week
14:52delay
14:52in the start
14:53of Operation
14:54Barbarossa.
14:56The Kremlin
14:57receives more
14:58intelligence
14:59that the Germans
15:00are preparing
15:00an invasion.
15:04Stalin
15:05dismisses
15:06it all
15:09and
15:10he doesn't
15:10stop sending
15:11Soviet grain
15:12oil
15:13and steel
15:14into Germany.
15:23June 22nd
15:251941
15:26as dawn breaks
15:28over three million
15:30and German soldiers
15:31poured across
15:32the border
15:32into Soviet territory.
15:37Operation Barbarossa
15:39is launched.
15:57It's the biggest
15:59invasion force
16:00in the history
16:01of human warfare.
16:02It's just so vast
16:04it's difficult
16:05to get one's
16:06mind around it.
16:11if you just
16:12take the
16:12eastern front
16:13it's like
16:13trying to invade
16:14the United States
16:15from San Diego
16:16to Seattle.
16:17It is
16:17by itself
16:18the largest war
16:19that's ever
16:20happened.
16:21That's crazy.
16:25It's
16:263,000 tanks
16:272,700
16:29aircraft
16:29another
16:307,000
16:31artillery pieces
16:32600,000
16:33vehicles.
16:36It is
16:37massive
16:38on a scale
16:38no one else
16:39has ever seen
16:39before.
16:44This is the
16:45largest army
16:46that's ever been
16:47organized
16:47in modern European
16:49terms.
16:49This is
16:503 million men
16:51spread across
16:52a couple of
16:52thousand miles
16:53of front
16:54300 divisions
16:55including
16:5619
16:57panzer divisions.
16:58this is
16:59a big
17:00force.
17:05This is
17:06German
17:06manpower
17:07moving east.
17:09This is
17:10the culmination
17:11of all
17:12the dreams
17:13the hopes
17:14that Hitler
17:15has put
17:16into his
17:16leadership.
17:17This is
17:18going to be
17:19the future
17:20of Germany
17:20in the east.
17:23Hitler thinks
17:24that the
17:25Soviet system
17:26is so rotten
17:26that he just
17:27has to kick
17:27in the barn
17:28door and
17:28the whole
17:29structure
17:29is going
17:29to collapse.
17:32The
17:33Wehrmacht
17:33moves fast.
17:36In just
17:37a few
17:37hours
17:37miles
17:38of Soviet
17:39territory
17:40is overrun.
17:45The
17:46invasion
17:46seems
17:47to be
17:47going
17:47according
17:48to plan.
18:00on the
18:00morning
18:01of the
18:01invasion
18:03Stalin
18:03is awoken
18:04by his
18:04chief of
18:05staff.
18:08The
18:09phone rings
18:10in Stalin's
18:11bedroom
18:11and Stalin
18:11answers it
18:12and it
18:13just says
18:14the war
18:14started
18:15and the
18:16silence
18:17and he
18:17can just
18:18hear Stalin
18:18breathing
18:19as he
18:20wakes up
18:21and absorbs
18:22this information.
18:31The
18:32German
18:32advance
18:33is fast,
18:34it's furious,
18:36it's efficient,
18:37it's brutal.
18:43Adolf Hitler
18:44today
18:44launched
18:45his fast
18:46mobile
18:46panzer
18:46divisions
18:47against
18:48what may
18:48be the
18:49largest
18:49mass
18:50army
18:50of the
18:50world,
18:51the
18:51Red
18:51Army
18:52of
18:52Communist
18:52Russia.
18:57The
18:58Red
18:58Army
18:59and the
18:59Soviet
19:00Air
19:00Force
19:00are
19:01caught
19:01unprepared.
19:11on the
19:11very first
19:12day,
19:15the
19:16German
19:16Luftwaffe
19:17report
19:17that
19:17they've
19:17destroyed
19:18nearly
19:182,000
19:19Soviet
19:20aircraft,
19:21both
19:21in the
19:21air
19:22and
19:22on
19:22the
19:22ground.
19:24Russian
19:25airfields
19:26were
19:26bombed,
19:27Russian
19:28cities
19:28were
19:28bombed,
19:31all
19:31hell
19:32was
19:32let
19:32loose.
19:43soviets
19:43do
19:44resist
19:44bravely
19:46but
19:47they
19:47are
19:47constantly
19:48outmaneuvered,
19:50captured
19:50almost
19:52immediately.
19:53The
19:53vast
19:54Soviet
19:54army
19:54is
19:55already
19:55in
19:56free
19:56fall.
20:02The
20:03opening
20:03days
20:03of
20:03Barbarossa
20:04are
20:04Hitler's
20:05dream.
20:05It
20:05goes
20:06incredibly
20:07well.
20:08The
20:08forces
20:08are
20:09racing
20:09through
20:10former
20:10Poland.
20:11They
20:11go
20:12across
20:12below
20:12Russia.
20:13They
20:14get
20:14through
20:14the
20:14Baltic
20:14States.
20:16It's
20:17just
20:17amazing.
20:17It's
20:17like
20:18a
20:18hot
20:18knife
20:18cutting
20:18through
20:19butter.
20:21In
20:22just
20:22the
20:22first
20:23week,
20:23the
20:24Wehrmacht
20:24pushed
20:24300
20:25miles
20:25into
20:26Soviet
20:26territory,
20:27capturing
20:28over
20:28400,000
20:29troops.
20:32The
20:32Russians
20:33are
20:33simply
20:33being
20:34stampeded
20:35by a
20:35much
20:36more
20:36savvy
20:36German
20:37force.
20:40During the
20:41Great Terror,
20:42Stalin
20:42dismantled
20:43the
20:43leadership
20:44of the
20:44army,
20:45executing
20:46thousands
20:46of
20:47experienced
20:47military
20:48officers.
20:54It is
20:55on a
20:55colossal
20:56scale.
20:56Three
20:57of five
20:57field
20:58marshals,
20:5813
20:59of 15
21:00army
21:01commanders,
21:0250
21:02of 57
21:03corps
21:03commanders,
21:0445% of all
21:05brigadier
21:06generals,
21:0650%
21:07of all
21:07colonels
21:08have been
21:08executed.
21:10The
21:11leadership
21:11of the
21:11Soviet
21:12armed
21:13forces
21:13is not
21:14in
21:14place.
21:17Stalin
21:18had
21:18decapitated
21:19his own
21:19army.
21:20He put
21:20younger men
21:21in their
21:21place,
21:22but they
21:22weren't
21:22experienced,
21:23and sometimes
21:24they were
21:24little more
21:25than Stalin
21:25loyalists
21:26or party
21:27hacks.
21:28They're
21:28rookies.
21:29This is an
21:29army that
21:30has suddenly
21:30been reduced
21:31to kind
21:31of the
21:32teething
21:32level.
21:36Some
21:37Soviets
21:38initially
21:38welcome
21:39the
21:39Germans.
21:43They
21:44even tear
21:44down
21:45communist
21:45statues
21:45raised
21:46in
21:46Stalin's
21:47honor.
21:55On
21:56June
21:5628th,
21:59Hitler's
22:00army group
22:01center reaches
22:01Minsk,
22:02the capital
22:03of Belorussia,
22:04just over
22:05400 miles
22:06from Moscow.
22:10The Germans
22:11keep coming.
22:12Those 3 million
22:13Nazi troops
22:14keep advancing
22:15ruthlessly,
22:16and Stalin
22:17is ordering
22:18counterattacks
22:19that never
22:19happen.
22:20It's just
22:21chaos out
22:22there.
22:23There was
22:24now a very
22:25palpable
22:25sense of
22:27paranoia and
22:29fear that the
22:29Germans now
22:30might be able
22:32to advance
22:32as far
22:33as Moscow.
22:37At the
22:38Kremlin,
22:39the news
22:40reaches
22:40Stalin.
22:44Stalin
22:45suddenly
22:45realizes
22:46that he's
22:47lost control
22:48of the
22:48Soviet Union,
22:49he's lost
22:49control of
22:50the invasion.
22:51He turns
22:52to Molotov
22:53and he just
22:53says,
22:54everything's
22:54lost.
22:55So many
22:56lands have
22:56been lost.
22:59He's not
23:00simply talking
23:01about the
23:01army,
23:01he's talking
23:02about the
23:02revolution,
23:03he's talking
23:03about the
23:03first proletarian
23:04dictatorship,
23:05the birthplace
23:06of communism.
23:07All this,
23:07he says,
23:08has been flushed
23:09down the
23:09toilet.
23:10He says.
23:14Stalin
23:15retreats to
23:16his dacha,
23:17his country
23:17home outside
23:18Moscow,
23:20and shuts
23:21himself off
23:22completely.
23:23At this
23:24crucial moment,
23:26the Soviet
23:26Union has
23:27no leader.
23:36As the
23:37Wehrmacht
23:37tears through
23:38Soviet territory,
23:41Stalin has
23:42not left
23:43his country
23:43house.
23:46Some of
23:47his closest
23:47aides fear
23:48he's suffering
23:49a nervous
23:49breakdown.
23:51Back in
23:52the Kremlin,
23:53there's total
23:53panic.
23:54So finally,
23:55Molotov says,
23:56we've all got
23:57to go out
23:57to see Stalin
23:58and to tell
23:59him to come
23:59back.
24:00So they
24:01drive out
24:02and Stalin
24:03is sitting
24:04in a chair,
24:04pale,
24:05thinner,
24:06exhausted.
24:08He says,
24:09what have you
24:09come for?
24:10They say,
24:11come back,
24:12lead us,
24:12we can't do
24:13this without
24:13you.
24:16Molotov
24:17persuades
24:17Stalin to
24:18return to
24:19the Kremlin,
24:20where he
24:21speaks directly
24:22to the
24:23Soviet people.
24:26But instead
24:27of talking
24:28about communism,
24:29he evokes
24:30their sense
24:30of history,
24:31honor,
24:32and national
24:33pride.
24:44Stalin appeals
24:45to mother
24:45Russia.
24:46He appeals
24:46to the
24:47sorts of
24:48attitudes
24:49and spirit
24:50of the
24:51people.
24:51He could
24:52have been
24:52the czar
24:53in the way
24:54that the
24:54czar
24:54might have
24:55appealed
24:55to the
24:55people.
25:14This is a
25:15really smart,
25:16canny move.
25:17This is a
25:18wonderful way
25:19to unite
25:19society in
25:20a way that
25:21brings people
25:22together.
25:23We have
25:23the same
25:24enemy,
25:25and mother
25:26Russia is at
25:27stake here,
25:27so rally
25:28to the cause.
25:32Tens of
25:33millions of
25:34Soviet peoples
25:34are moved
25:35by Stalin's
25:36words.
25:37He appoints
25:38himself
25:38supreme
25:39commander-in-chief
25:40and he
25:41takes
25:41complete
25:42control
25:43of the
25:43war effort.
25:45The Soviets
25:46also begin
25:47to receive
25:48unexpected
25:48support
25:49from the
25:50West.
25:51The Soviet
25:52Union is
25:53now acquiring
25:54sympathy.
25:55From Winston
25:56Churchill in
25:56London,
25:57from President
25:58Roosevelt in
25:59Washington,
25:59these countries
26:00will offer
26:01Stalin aid.
26:04Roosevelt
26:05sends to
26:06Moscow his
26:07closest advisor,
26:08Harry Hopkins,
26:09to find out
26:10how America
26:11can support
26:12the Soviet
26:12Union.
26:13At the
26:14airport,
26:15our camera
26:15filmed the
26:15arrival of
26:16Mr. Harry
26:16Hopkins,
26:17who conferred
26:18with Stalin
26:18on Russia's
26:19immediate
26:19need.
26:20But it
26:21will be
26:21some time
26:22before
26:22Western aid
26:23will arrive.
26:37By mid-July,
26:39the Red Army
26:39has lost
26:40nearly 4,000
26:41tanks
26:41and over
26:426,000
26:43aircraft.
26:47Two million
26:48soldiers
26:48have been
26:49captured
26:49or killed.
26:53troops
26:54taken
26:54prisoner
26:54are sent
26:55to German
26:56work
26:56camps
26:57or left
26:58to starve.
27:04It
27:04becomes
27:05the most
27:06pitiless
27:06campaign
27:07ever launched,
27:08I think,
27:08in modern
27:09history.
27:11They were
27:12rounded up
27:12in their
27:13thousands
27:13and hardly
27:14given any
27:14food.
27:15In fact,
27:15they would
27:15just throw
27:16loaves over
27:17the barbed
27:17wire and
27:18laugh when
27:19the prisoners
27:19fought amongst
27:20themselves
27:20because they
27:21were starving.
27:27The Nazis
27:28also target
27:29civilians.
27:32Both the
27:33army and
27:33the SS
27:34are ordered
27:34to eradicate
27:35all resistance.
27:37Hitler's
27:38guidelines
27:38for the
27:39conduct
27:39of his
27:39troops,
27:40issued ahead
27:41of Barbarossa,
27:42demand ruthless
27:43and energetic
27:44measures against
27:45political agitators,
27:46saboteurs,
27:47and Jews.
27:51They give
27:52the army
27:53carte blanche
27:54to do
27:54exactly what
27:55they want
27:56to the
27:56populations
27:57as they
27:58swarm over
27:59the borderlands.
28:02This is where
28:03we start to talk
28:03about the idea
28:04of total war.
28:05We are now
28:05going to literally
28:06target civilians
28:07on purpose.
28:18But the Soviets
28:19begin to fight
28:20back.
28:22Partisans
28:23raid German
28:24outposts
28:25and Stalin
28:25demands
28:26a scorched
28:27earth policy.
28:29People are
28:30told to burn
28:31everything
28:31as they flee,
28:33depriving the
28:34Nazis of
28:35food and
28:36shelter
28:36as the
28:37German army
28:38marches
28:39into the
28:39immensity
28:40of the
28:40Soviet Union.
28:44The terrain
28:45in this part
28:46of Russia
28:46is like the
28:47Great Plains
28:48of the United
28:48States.
28:49It's like
28:49being in
28:50Nebraska
28:51or Iowa,
28:53flat seas
28:54of grass.
28:57When you
28:58start with a
28:59front of a
28:59thousand miles
29:00long, and
29:00as they
29:01advance, it
29:01gets to
29:02two thousand
29:03miles, they
29:04don't know how
29:04to deal with
29:05an area where
29:05the armies are
29:06operating like
29:07ships at sea.
29:09There is no
29:10running out of
29:11territory when
29:12you're fighting
29:12the Soviets.
29:13There's always
29:14more territory
29:14to retreat
29:15to.
29:18By the
29:19end of July,
29:20the German
29:20army has
29:21progressed over
29:22400 miles,
29:23but their
29:24advance is
29:24slowing, and
29:25supply lines are
29:27being stretched.
29:28Every army has
29:29to understand
29:30that if it
29:31advances rapidly,
29:33it can
29:33outrun its
29:34supplies.
29:35They always
29:35say, you
29:36know, amateur
29:37stock tactics,
29:38professionals
29:38talk logistics.
29:40Tank
29:41repair,
29:42replenishment
29:43of ammunition,
29:44food,
29:45uniforms, it
29:45just consumed
29:46the German
29:47armed forces.
29:49Eventually,
29:50every force
29:50will reach
29:51what's called
29:52a culminating
29:53point, where
29:54you've simply
29:55exhausted the
29:56men, outrun
29:57the supplies,
29:57hit something
29:58you can't
29:58overcome.
29:59Your combat
30:00power has
30:01been expended.
30:04As German
30:05commanders and
30:06their men
30:06confront the
30:07magnitude of
30:08their task,
30:10Hitler faces
30:11perhaps the
30:12greatest test
30:13of his
30:13leadership.
30:26It's been
30:26six weeks
30:27since German
30:28troops stormed
30:29into Soviet
30:30territory.
30:31Hitler visits
30:32his men
30:33on the front.
30:37He meets
30:38with his
30:38commanders
30:39to discuss
30:39strategy.
30:41The army
30:42groups are
30:43no longer
30:43moving at
30:44the same
30:44pace.
30:47Army group
30:48center has
30:49pushed too
30:49far ahead.
30:51It is only
30:52about 200
30:53miles outside
30:54Moscow.
30:56But its
30:57supply lines
30:57are perilously
30:59thin.
31:01That's a real
31:02problem if
31:03you're an
31:03operational
31:03planner.
31:04You have
31:05one thrust
31:05that's hanging
31:07out there
31:07on a limb.
31:09The German
31:10high command
31:11is divided
31:12about what
31:12to do
31:13next.
31:14Some of
31:15Hitler's
31:15generals want
31:16to continue
31:17pushing towards
31:18Moscow and
31:19capture the
31:19capital before
31:20winter sets
31:21in.
31:23Hitler believes
31:24if he and
31:25the German
31:25armies can
31:26overrun Ukraine
31:26it'll undercut
31:28the economic
31:28basis of
31:30Stalin's
31:30dictatorship
31:31and undercut
31:32the economic
31:32basis of
31:33the Soviets
31:33continuing
31:34the war.
31:37And so the
31:38decision is
31:38made to hold
31:39the tanks
31:40from their
31:40thrust against
31:41Moscow and
31:42send a vast
31:43force into
31:44the Ukraine.
31:54On
31:55September
31:5518th the
31:56city of
31:57Kiev is
31:57encircled by
31:58the Nazis.
32:00Kiev is
32:01enormously
32:01important because
32:02Kiev in and
32:03of itself is
32:03the control of
32:04Ukraine.
32:05And what's
32:05Ukraine?
32:05Ukraine is
32:06the bread
32:07basket of
32:08Europe.
32:10So there's
32:11a huge
32:11encirclement
32:12battle at
32:12Kiev.
32:13One of the
32:13biggest battles
32:14thus far in
32:15the war.
32:33With the
32:35panzer groups
32:35coming from
32:36the north
32:37from the
32:37central axis
32:39and also
32:40in the south
32:42they capture
32:43600,000
32:44troops.
32:46It's
32:46staggering.
32:47One's never
32:48imagined a
32:49battle like
32:49that in
32:50the past.
32:51Hitler keeps
32:52on saying
32:53they can't
32:54go on
32:54providing more
32:54troops for
32:55us to
32:55surround in
32:56this particular
32:56way.
32:57They're going
32:58to collapse
32:58at any
32:59moment.
33:04With over
33:05half his
33:06forces resupplied,
33:12Hitler turns
33:13to Moscow.
33:22The
33:23Wehrmacht
33:23forces progress
33:24very, very
33:25rapidly.
33:26They get so
33:27close to the
33:28city of
33:28Moscow.
33:29You can
33:29actually see
33:29the towers
33:30of the city
33:31center.
33:32People were
33:33obviously scared
33:35at the prospect
33:35of what was
33:36likely to
33:36happen.
33:37But at the
33:37same time,
33:38by now,
33:38there was a
33:39determination
33:39to fight
33:40back.
33:43They are
33:44preparing the
33:44defenses of
33:45the city.
33:46Men and
33:47women are
33:47out digging
33:48ditches.
33:50Everything is
33:51ready for a
33:51last-ditch
33:52defense of
33:52Moscow.
33:54That is,
33:55Moscow will
33:56be defended
33:56to the last
33:57drop of
33:58blood.
34:01Stalin
34:01considers
34:02evacuating the
34:03Soviet
34:03government
34:03to a
34:04city
34:04on the
34:04river
34:05Volga
34:05over 500
34:06miles away.
34:08Stalin's
34:09staff
34:10begin to
34:11prepare
34:11his own
34:13library,
34:14his own
34:14houses
34:15to be
34:16evacuated
34:17and to
34:18abandon
34:18Moscow.
34:20But Stalin
34:21is very
34:21aware of
34:22appearance.
34:23He's always
34:24thinking about
34:25history.
34:26He knows
34:26if Stalin
34:27leaves
34:28Moscow,
34:28Moscow will
34:29fall.
34:33Many
34:33people
34:33think
34:34that
34:34the
34:34regime
34:34is
34:34about
34:35to
34:35collapse.
34:36For the
34:37first time,
34:37it looks
34:38like the
34:38Communist Party
34:39is actually
34:40about to
34:40be toppled.
34:43At the
34:44last moment,
34:46Stalin
34:46decides to
34:47stay.
34:52The German
34:53army is
34:53poised to
34:54capture
34:55Moscow.
34:58But Stalin
34:59has an
34:59ally.
35:05General
35:06Winter.
35:18Four months
35:19into the
35:20invasion of
35:20the Soviet
35:21Union,
35:21the German
35:22army faces
35:23a new
35:24enemy.
35:25It was
35:26always said
35:27that Russia's
35:27greatest general
35:28was General
35:28Winter.
35:29So the
35:30Russians were
35:31much better
35:31prepared for
35:33winter than
35:34the Germans.
35:39So what
35:39happens in the
35:40Soviet Union
35:41if you're on
35:41the path
35:41toward Moscow
35:42as invaders
35:43have found
35:43over the
35:43centuries?
35:44The weather
35:45turns bad.
35:45It rains.
35:46And a very
35:47inadequate road
35:48network now
35:48gets turned
35:49into mud.
35:50The Russians
35:51call it
35:51the roadless
35:53time.
35:57This is not
35:58like normal
35:58mud.
35:59But you
35:59can't move
36:00and you
36:00can't bring
36:01supplies
36:01forward.
36:03General
36:03Mudd
36:04slows the
36:05German
36:05advance at
36:06a time when
36:07they're trying
36:07to beat the
36:08clock here.
36:09Then when it
36:09gets really
36:10cold, you
36:11see an
36:12entirely
36:12different
36:13situation.
36:14The soldiers
36:15start freezing.
36:17By November,
36:19temperatures are
36:20plummeting to
36:20as low as
36:21minus 40
36:22degrees
36:22fahrenheit,
36:24devastating the
36:25Wehrmacht's men
36:26and supply lines.
36:28These German
36:30soldiers were
36:30fighting with
36:31frozen steel,
36:32with their bare
36:33hands, unable to
36:35service their
36:36weapons.
36:37So the weapons
36:38jam.
36:38The lubricants
36:40freeze on the
36:41tanks.
36:42They have to build
36:43fires under the
36:44tanks at night to
36:46keep the oil
36:47loose enough.
36:47everything degrades
36:50their combat
36:50performance.
36:52Hitler told them
36:53they were going to
36:54be the all-conquering
36:55master race of
36:57Europe.
36:58They're cold and
36:58they're tired and
36:59they probably haven't
37:00had a square meal in
37:01two weeks.
37:04An invading army
37:05has been here
37:06before.
37:07Napoleon Bonaparte
37:08had tried to seize
37:09Russia in 1812.
37:12Napoleon invades
37:13Russia, takes
37:14Moscow, but as
37:16winter comes, is
37:17defeated by the
37:18unconquerable
37:19vastness of
37:20Russia and the
37:21cold, and in the
37:23end, the retreat
37:23from Moscow really
37:25destroys Napoleon's
37:27empire.
37:30But Hitler ignores
37:32the lessons of
37:33history.
37:34He orders his
37:35troops forward to
37:37take Moscow.
37:41Stalin still has a
37:42fear that there'll
37:43be some breakthrough
37:44into the heart of
37:45Moscow itself.
37:46But, you know,
37:46something happens in
37:47this period.
37:48A piece of
37:49intelligence comes
37:50across his desk that
37:51for once he's
37:52willing to listen to.
37:54And it comes from
37:55his agent in Japan.
38:03The intelligence from
38:05Stalin's agent in
38:06Tokyo suggests that
38:07Japan will not attack
38:09the Soviet's eastern
38:10border.
38:11Instead, Japan is
38:14planning to move south
38:15against British, French,
38:17and Dutch colonies in
38:19Asia, and perhaps
38:21against the United
38:22States in the
38:23Philippines.
38:25So Stalin transfers
38:27400,000 troops that
38:29were stationed in the
38:30Soviet Far East to
38:32Moscow.
38:35A whole new army, fresh,
38:39untouched, fully manned,
38:41tanks, howitzers, planes.
38:45This is the Siberian
38:46Reserve.
38:47These are troops dressed
38:48in heavy white parkas,
38:50ski troops.
38:51They're used to operating
38:53in the cold.
38:57In November, with some
38:59German units just 21 miles
39:01from Moscow,
39:05Stalin celebrates the
39:07anniversary of the
39:08Russian Revolution in
39:10Red Square.
39:31Marching in the parade are
39:34Stalin's Siberian divisions.
39:39They were not raw recruits
39:41being sent to the front.
39:42They were trained and
39:43experienced, hardline
39:45soldiers.
39:48The defense of Moscow is
39:50largely in their hands.
40:17On December 5th, Stalin
40:20launches his counter-offensive.
40:37It catches the Germans at
40:39their worst possible
40:40moment.
40:42They're tired.
40:43They're hungry.
40:43They're sick.
40:44They're freezing to death.
40:45They're out of supplies.
40:51And the Soviet offensive sweeps
40:53all before it.
41:09The Germans are completely
41:10stunned, and they are thrown
41:12back over 100 miles.
41:14It's an astonishingly
41:15successful counter-offensive,
41:17and Moscow is safe.
41:22Over the next weeks, Soviet troops
41:25halt the Wehrmacht and begin to
41:28push the Germans back.
41:34Stalin has stemmed the tide.
41:39The defeat of the German drive on Moscow
41:41and the near destruction of the Germans
41:43is a sea change for both Hitler
41:45and Stalin.
41:46Hitler now has to look at a scene
41:48of desperation and trying to rebuild
41:51his army in the Soviet Union.
41:54Stalin now not only knows that he's
41:57going to survive, he also knows
41:59that he's going to be able to launch
42:00one hammer blow after the other
42:02against the Germans.
42:07Designed to be another victorious
42:09blitzkrieg, Operation Barbarossa
42:11descends into a deadly stalemate
42:14for the Germans.
42:15In the Free West, President Roosevelt
42:17and Prime Minister Churchill
42:18provide support to the Red Army
42:20to wear down the Nazi invaders.
42:23Across the Pacific, a new power
42:26has been building its own empire,
42:28one that will attempt to destroy
42:31American forces in a single day
42:34of infamy.