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00:10The End
00:41THE END
01:13The heart of the Middle East lies in the desert, the deserts of Arabia, of Egypt, of Libya.
01:37Since the Turks were driven out at the end of the First World War, the heart of the Middle East
01:42has been guarded by slender forces of British and colonial troops and a few squadrons of the Royal Air Force.
01:49In the summer of 1940, the peace of the Egyptian sky is broken.
01:54We are sweeping the Red Sea for magnetic mines.
02:10We land more troops to protect the Suez Canal and to stand in the Western Desert against a new empire
02:17which is massing forces in Libya, the fascist empire of Mussolini's Italy.
02:35Roma, the 10th of June, 1940.
02:39Il Duce has declared war on Britain and France.
02:41Our young men are ready to join Marshal Graziani's regiments in North Africa.
02:46Il Duce will lead us from the Tiber to the Nile.
02:55We have our orders.
02:57Federe, obviere, combattore.
02:59To believe, to obey, to fight.
03:05We have our orders, too.
03:08Middle East forces are to defend Egypt and the Suez Canal and to maintain communications through the Red Sea.
03:14For all this, we have Wavell's 40,000 men and 29 squadrons of obsolescent aircraft.
03:20Less than half of them are in the Western Desert.
03:22All the same, we attack.
03:32December the 9th, 1940.
03:36The first Desert Offensive.
03:38The first Desert Offensive.
03:40The first Desert Offensive.
03:45The first Desert Offensive.
04:10December the 16th.
04:11The Italians have been driven out of Egypt.
04:14January the 1st, 1941.
04:17We advance into Libya.
04:19Bardia falls on the 5th.
04:21Tobruk on the 22nd.
04:22Benghazi on the 6th of February.
04:26In two months, we've driven nearly 1,000 miles across the blue and broken Graziani's legions.
04:34Empires pass, but the desert remains a stronger enemy, gripping the tires of our lorries and swallowing our laborious tracks.
04:52Although we have cleared the air of Italians, we have no great fleet of transport planes to carry our force
04:58forward and hold securely the victory we have touched.
05:14Our fuel troop carriers can fly only to those in greatest need, and all the rest is drifted into sand.
05:32As the year turns and the Italians falter, the Germans move into the Mediterranean.
05:38Flieger Corps 10 will be based in Sicily.
05:42Fliegerführer Afrika will have over a hundred warplanes to drive the British out of Libya.
05:48Luftflotte 4 will strike down through Greece.
05:51Flieger Corps 8 und 9 will send over 600 aircraft to invade Crete.
05:57Flieger Corps 8 and 9 will be based on the coastline.
06:26Flieger Corps 9 and 10 will be based on the coastline.
06:28We have the air transport, the paratroops, the fighters and the bombers to drive the British out of the Middle
06:34East.
06:35We will attack Crete on May the 20th at dawn.
06:52¶¶
07:23By the time the first Germans land, the Luftwaffe has shot our air force out of the Cretan sky.
07:29They throw down transport after transport, regardless of loss, until the island is full of Germans.
08:00¶¶
08:06Our troops fight on with rifles and machine guns, but by the end of May, its resistance is flattened out.
08:19¶¶
08:20War of his communique, 1st of June, 1941.
08:24After 12 days of what has undoubtedly been the fiercest fighting in the war, it was decided to withdraw our
08:30forces from Crete.
08:50¶¶
08:52They have lost the spearhead of their paratroops and glider troops, and they will never launch another airborne invasion.
08:59But they have won an island commanding the eastern Mediterranean and the approaches to Egypt, the island where the civilization
09:06of Europe was born.
09:09¶¶
09:09But while the German flag is raised on our northern flank, the Italian flag is lowered in the south.
09:15The Italians in Abyssinia have cracked, and soldiers and airmen from south and east Africa have fought their way across
09:21the mountains to Addis Ababa.
09:23¶¶
09:24Our southern flank is safe, and with it, a new air supply route across Africa.
09:28What we lose in the Mediterranean, we gain on the equator.
09:34¶¶
09:34We pioneered this route for British Airways before the war, slapped across Africa from west to east.
09:40Now we are cutting more airstrips in the jungle so that we can ferry fighters and light bombers from the
09:45Atlantic ports to Egypt.
09:47¶¶
09:49If you miss one of these trips, you've got a choice of jungle or swamp or scrub to ditch down
09:54in.
09:54Your next landing ground is at least four or five hundred miles away.
09:59We've built a flying bird base on the west coast to guard the ships that bring the land planes in
10:04from Britain and the States.
10:06It's not a bad station.
10:08They send you home when you've had malaria twice.
10:11We run a flying bird service too from here across the Congo to the Nile.
10:16Provide some sort of airlift to the Middle East.
10:28The fighters fly the shortest route, only three and a half thousand miles,
10:33across the Gold Coast, Nigeria, French Equatorial Africa and the Sudan to Egypt.
10:40With the Mediterranean almost closed to us, and the Cape route long and dangerous,
10:46this is our only quick way of getting new aircraft to the western desert for our second offensive.
10:52It's a year since Wavell's men attacked the Italians.
10:56Now the sand is furrowed with the moving tracks of our second winter offensive.
11:01And this time we can call up a desert air force of greater strength.
11:05Seventeen Royal Air Force squadrons, two of the fleet air arms, six South African, one Rhodesian, two Australian, one Free
11:13French.
11:18Operation Crusader is launched on the 18th of December, 1941.
11:22Our objective, to relieve Tobruk, retake Saranayaka, and drive on to Tripoli.
11:35Air Minister communicate.
11:37Throughout yesterday, our fighter and bomber aircraft incessantly harassed the westward retreat of the enemy forces in Saranayaka.
11:44Heavy casualties were inflicted on enemy troops, and a large number of vehicles were left in flames.
12:16Air force candidates had nicely caused by the continue of Cairo men to gangbushes.
12:19Where is the police?
12:19But this time it ain't just the eye ties.
12:22The Luftwaffe has a bash at us, then the Africa core, then the Luftwaffe again.
12:29Our annual swan up the desert ends with our usual panic back again.
12:34Who wants this much sand anyway?
12:52The Germans hold firm in Libya, and as another year starts, the initiative is with Rommel.
12:57And by the end of June, the Eighth Army has been thrown back to El Alamein.
13:02The Africa core are within 60 miles of the Nile.
13:07Now the Luftwaffe turns north across the Mediterranean against Malta,
13:11an island so small that from the air it looks like a leaf floating on an Italian lake.
13:17Here is the last link in our quickly breaking chain across Mussolini's mare nostrum,
13:22and our last threat to Rommel's supply lines from Europe to Africa.
13:27Here still, after two years of bombardment, Malta, GC.
13:33This is our city, the city of Valletta, standing around the Grand Harbour as it had stood for hundreds of
13:39years.
13:40In the old days, the British fleet is to anchor here, but now hardly any ships get through to us.
13:46Malta is used to being besieged, and now we are used to being bombarded.
13:50But our stocks are running low, and we are hungry for food and fighters and petrol.
13:56Last month, the Spitfires came, flown in off carriers.
13:59Now the Navy are trying to bring more fuel and ammunition for them, and more food for us.
14:05The Germans and Italians will stop them if they can, for they know that without them we cannot go on.
14:14Operation Pedestal, August 1942, the last great attempt to run a convoy from Gibraltar through to Malta.
14:21The enemy have bombers and torpedo bombers all along the route.
14:24We have 14 merchantmen, one of them a tanker, escorted by battleships, carriers, cruisers, destroyers.
14:31Or we had when we started.
14:44Of our 14 merchantmen, only five reached Malta.
14:48One of them, the tanker, the Ohio, sinking and lashed between two destroyers.
14:53Nine merchantmen, four warships, 18 aircraft at the price we paid for this landfall.
14:58But now, Malta can live and fight again.
15:01The End
15:14Tire on bike 3-3, take down north wind.
15:45Fire!
15:50Fire!
15:51Fire!
16:17Fire!
16:18Operation Hercules, the reduction of Malta, has failed.
16:22And now German's tragedy throws its full force into the third plan.
16:26To break the Alamein line and drive across Egypt to the oil fields of Arabia and Asia Minor.
16:33In all this long battle for the Middle East, oil has been the one strength we have never lacked.
16:39And oil has become the god of war, without whom we cannot fly or drive or fight.
16:45Here it comes easily to us, but not to the enemy who has to drain his small supply from Europe.
16:51And carry it across the Mediterranean to his desert forces for the last round in the Middle East.
16:58Here in Cairo a miracle has happened.
17:01Rommel has been stopped and in the autumn of 1942 we are planning our third and strongest winter offensive.
17:10In this attack lies our last hope of defence.
17:15You can tell something pretty big is brewing up when Winston Churchill looks in on you.
17:20The old man would hardly visit the Middle East just now for the fun of it.
17:25And he's been changing the high command around too.
17:29They even say the three services have promised to fight on the same side in future.
17:35At GHQ now we have a general called Alexander, an admiral named Harwood, and an air marshal, Tedder.
17:44All on speaking terms.
17:47Our strategy now is built on an army 160,000 strong and an air force of 1,500 planes.
17:54In the desert the ground and air commanders Montgomery and Cunningham combine their two headquarters for a single effort.
18:01As the new army prepares to march, the desert air force prepares to fly ahead of it.
18:09He's ready!
18:21We are ready.
18:26The two buildings are ready.
18:28We were going to find the fire at this time.
18:29We had to get back to the station, again to get out of it.
18:29The stone began.
18:31It has to be wrapped in the fire, the cannon is being beaten up and the forrest.
18:36You build up a plan like an aircraft out of bits and pieces that all fit together to give you
18:40what you want.
18:41What we want now is to deny Rommel the force to stand up to the 8th Army.
18:45And we've started that already.
18:48201 Group is briefed to shoot up every enemy ship he can find in the eastern Mediterranean
18:52and bomb the sea routes to Rommel's front.
18:55This is the first part of the plan.
19:17This is the first part of the plan.
19:17We are going into the next plane.
19:18The first part of the plan was to do with Rommel the force to lead the force to battle the
19:19force,
19:20and no one is going to be in place to lead.
19:20Now, that's how I'm going to do this.
19:35This is where the race is going to be,
19:37Oh, my God.
20:16The next part of the plan is to bomb the enemy's North African ports
20:19so that he cannot unload those ships that do arrive.
20:23A gang of the U.S. Air Force found itself in the Middle East
20:26when they were wanting bombers here.
20:28So we stayed on, and now we do the mail run to Benghazi
20:32most nights with the British.
20:34We take off in the afternoon and land back next morning.
20:37It's kind of a long round trip, but we're getting to know the way by now.
21:00While the heavies attack Benghazi,
21:03our medium bombers are sealing up the brook
21:05from the last of the little ports towards the front.
21:08That's the third part of the plan.
21:11Rommel writes,
21:12Our petrol did not arrive.
21:15By October, less than half of Rommel's supplies are getting through.
21:21By October, the next part of our build-up is ready for action.
21:25Now we have better close support planes in the desert than the Luftwaffe,
21:28a four-cannon tankbuster, quite a bomber.
21:36Now we have a force of medium bombers
21:38that flies all day across the enemy's lines
21:40and breaks up his concentrations as they fall.
21:56Now we have spitfires,
21:57and a fighter's strength to shoot up the Germans on their own runways.
22:01The day of the Stuka is over.
22:03Now we can write a different history in the desert.
22:32Now we can write a different history in the desert.
22:34Thejockey!
22:51The Joc designs
22:51The Joc substitutes
22:51The Jocality!
22:52The Joc mistaken
22:52And a tir stop
22:53The Joc
22:54The Joc
22:54The Joc
22:59Your friends
23:12¶¶
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23:34¶¶
23:36¶¶
23:37¶¶
23:37¶¶
23:41¶¶
23:44¶¶
23:50The bombs go down, the fighters stand by for their last patrol as night falls,
23:56¶¶
23:58¶¶
23:58¶¶
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24:00¶¶
24:01¶¶
24:05¶¶
24:26The date is October the 23rd, 1942.
24:32The place, El Alamein.
24:54Middle East Joint War Communique No. 8.
24:57The 8th Army with strong air support attacked last night.
25:05Communique No. 9.
25:07Operations were covered by strong fighter sweeps,
25:10and little enemy air opposition was encountered.
25:13Communique No. 10.
25:15Fighting continues.
25:19Communique No. 28.
25:21The Axis forces in the western desert,
25:24after 12 days and nights of ceaseless attacks,
25:27are now in full retreat.
25:30Their disordered columns are being attacked by our land forces
25:33and by the Allied air forces.
25:35Up to date, we have destroyed more than 260 tanks,
25:39and our air forces have destroyed over 300 aircraft in air combat
25:43and a like number on the ground.
25:50This year, the desert journey goes faster and further.
25:55Mercer Matrou, Dubrov, Benghazi,
26:02De La Gela, Marble Arch.
26:08In December, the 8th Army passes through Mussolini's triumphal gateway
26:12into the province of Tripoli,
26:14and with them an advance wing of the desert air force.
26:27This year, we have the air transport to carry our force forward.
26:32This year, we'll have Christmas in Tripolitania.
26:36The roar of itsé, the angels say,
26:43was the sword and the jelly in fields that they lay.
26:49In fields where they lay, keeping their tree,
26:56on the cold winter's night, that's far so deep.
27:02Noelle, Noelle, Noelle, Noelle,
27:09For is the truth of our people.
27:15We pray our Lord before our Lord,
27:23His name will prove our heavenly Lord.
27:29Exactly three months after the Battle of El Alamein,
27:33the British enter Tripoli, Mussolini's capital in Africa.
27:44The Middle East is safe at last.
27:58Mussolini's empire is ended here in the desert,
28:01where the Roman Empire was built.
28:04O mighty Caesar, dost thou lie so low,
28:07are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, boils
28:11shrunk to this little measure.
28:22The Middle East
28:24The Middle East
28:30The Middle East
28:43The Middle East
28:43The Middle East
28:55The Middle East
29:00The Middle East
29:12THE END