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IT WAS THE TURNING POINT OF WORLD WAR II...
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THREE MILLION SOLDIERS,
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SHIPS, PLANES, AND TANKS,
A LOGISTICAL COMPLEXITY UNPRECEDENTED
IN A MILITARY OPERATION.
THIS WAS THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY.
MORE THAN 75 YEARS SINCE THE END OF THE WAR,
CERTAIN DETAILS OF THIS TREMENDOUS BATTLE
HAVE GONE UNTOLD.
VERY FEW PEOPLE COULD TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS
IN JUNE AND JULY AND AUGUST
AND HOW THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY ACTUALLY ENDED.
NOW UNPUBLISHED ARCHIVES,
20 YEARS OF RESEARCH,
EXPERTS FROM THE UNITED STATES, THE UK, AND CANADA
BRING TO LIFE THE BOOTS-ON-THE-GROUND REALITY
OF NORMANDY'S 85 DAYS OF HELL.
LIBERATION HAS COME TO NORMANDY, BUT SO HAS WAR.
THREE MONTHS OF SAVAGE COMBAT...
IF WE CAN DESTROY THE GERMAN ARMY IN NORMANDY,
THEN THE REST OF FRANCE WILL BE SAVED.
...DURING WHICH THE ALLIES AND THE GERMANS
WILL FIGHT MERCILESSLY.
IT'S A BATTLEFIELD WHERE THEY LIVE AND THEY DIE
AND WHERE THEY FIGHT AND WHERE THEY KILL.
FROM THE AVERAGE SOLDIER'S POINT OF VIEW,
THIS JUST SEEMS TO BE A HOPELESS SITUATION.
IT WAS A VERY DIRTY BATTLE, A SCHMUTZIGER BUSCHKRIEG,
A DIRTY BUSH WAR.
EVERYONE PAID A HECK OF A PRICE FOR THIS.
D-DAY WAS JUST THE BEGINNING.
JUNE 6th, 1944, EARLY MORNING.
THOUSANDS OF SHIPS EMBARK FROM ENGLAND,
HEADED TO THE FRENCH COAST OF NORMANDY.
TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING, IT'S AN ALLIED OPERATION
TO TAKE BACK FRANCE FROM THE GERMANS.
THEY CALL IT OVERLORD.
RARELY IN HISTORY WILL YOU FIND A TIME
WHERE THESE MAJOR POWERS ARE ALL MOBILIZED
ALMOST TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THEIR STRENGTH
TO HAVE THIS CONFRONTATION
OVER WHAT IS TO HAPPEN WITH THE NORMANDY INVASION.
ALLIED SOLDIERS WILL FACE A TERRITORY
THAT THE GERMANS HAVE OCCUPIED FOR FOUR YEARS.
CAEN, CHERBOURG, SAINT-LOÔ...
ALL THE GREAT CITIES OF NORMANDYARE UNDER NAZI CONTROL.
THE LANDING ZONE CHOSEN IS 80 KILOMETERS LONG.
PLACED UNDER THE COMMAND OF U.S. GENERAL EISENHOWER,
THE TROOPS WILL LAND ON FIVE SECTORS.
UTAH AND OMAHA BEACHES
WILL BE TAKEN BY THE AMERICANS;
GOLD, JUNO, AND SWORD BEACHES
BY THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS.
AROUND 6:30 A.M.,
THE FIRST WAVES OF ALLIED SOLDIERS LAND ON FRENCH SOIL.
DURING THE FIRST HOURS OF THE LANDING,
THE ALLIES SUFFER HEAVY LOSSES
FROM THE ENTRENCHED GERMAN DEFENSES.
BUT SOLDIERS AND ARMORED VEHICLES CONTINUE TO LAND,
PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE ENEMY.
THE VITAL PART OF ANY SEABORNE INVASION
LIKE OPERATION OVERLORD WAS TO GET GROUND RAPIDLY
BECAUSE ONLY THEN COULD YOU START TO PUSH BACK THE ENEMY
SO THAT THEY COULD NOT KEEP FIRING AT THE BEACHES.
AFTER JUST ONE DAY,
THOUSANDS OF ALLIED SOLDIERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN KILLED,
BUT THE WIDE SCOPE OF THE LANDING
HAS BEEN FATAL TO THE GERMANS.
THE FIRST PHASE OF OPERATION OVERLORD IS COMPLETED.
SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE LANDING ZONES,
THE ALLIES MUST NOW REGROUP THE DIFFERENT UNITS ON THE GROUND.
YOU'VE GOT TO LINK UP THOSE FIVE BEACHES
AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN.
IF THEY'RE NOT LINKED UP,
THEN THE GERMANS CAN FILL THE GAPS
AND CAN BEGIN ATTACKING THE ALLIES
FROM ANY DIRECTION THEY WANT,
FROM WHAT MILITARY PEOPLE CALL THE FLANKS.
EISENHOWER AND HIS GENERALS
NEEDED TO CREATE A BUFFER ZONE
TO PROTECT AGAINST THE GERMAN COUNTERATTACK
THAT WOULD COME,
AND, IN FACT, THEY PREPARED FOR THAT.
THE PLAN FOR SEALING OFF NORMANDY
WAS CALLED TRANSPORTATION,
AND THIS MEANT BOMBING ALL OF THE BRIDGES
OVER THE RIVER SEINE TO THE EAST
AND OVER THE RIVER LOIRE TO THE SOUTH
SO THAT THE WHOLE OF THE NORMAN AREA WAS COMPLETELY CUT OFF.
BUT ALSO IT MEANT SMASHING HOUSES AND TOWNS AND VILLAGES
AT CRUCIAL CROSSROADS AND PLACESTO PREVENT THE GERMANS
BRINGING UP REINFORCEMENTS AND SUPPLIES.
THE AMERICAN PHRASE, WHICH HAD BEEN INVENTED IN ITALY,
WAS CALLED PUTTING THE CITY IN THE STREET,
WHICH BASICALLY MEANT SIMPLY BLOCKING THE ROADS
SO THAT TRAFFIC COULD NOT GET THROUGH.
EVEN BEFORE THE FIGHTING STARTS INLAND,
NORMANDY IS PARTIALLY DESTROYED...
NO WATER, NO ELECTRICITY, NO PHONE LINES.
AND NOW, AFTER TAKING THE FIVE LANDING BEACHES,
THE ALLIES MUST ADVANCE, WHATEVER THE COST,
TO PUSH THE GERMANS BACK
AND OCCUPY ENEMY TERRITORY.
THE FIRST OBJECTIVE OF GENERAL MONTGOMERY,
COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH AND CANADIAN FORCES,
IS TO SEIZE THE CITY OF CAEN,
LOCATED NEARLY 20 KILOMETERS FROM SWORD AND JUNO BEACHES.
ON DAY 2, MONTGOMERY IS CONVINCED
THAT HE WILL SUCCEED IN RAPIDLY CAPTURING CAEN.
BUT FACING HIM IS GENERAL ERWIN ROMMEL,
KNOWN FOR HIS FEATS IN AFRICA AND NICKNAMED "THE DESERT FOX."
ROMMEL MOBILIZES HIS MOST POWERFUL ARMORED DIVISIONS
TO MEET THE BRITISH-CANADIAN FORCES ADVANCING TOWARDS CAEN
AND BLOCK MONTGOMERY'S ALLIED OFFENSIVE.
THE FIRST DAYS OF FIGHTING NORTH OF CAEN ARE DEVASTATING.
THE PERFECTLY ORGANIZED GERMAN DEFENSES
INVARIABLY REPEL ALL ENGLISH AND CANADIAN ATTEMPTS.
FACING THE GERMAN MARK IV, MARK V, AND TIGER TANKS,
THE AMERICAN SHERMAN TANKS USED BY THE ALLIES
ARE JUST NOT UP TO THE MARK.
WHAT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER IS
EVERY AMERICAN SHERMAN TANK
HAS TO BE SHIPPED TO THE BATTLEFIELD,
SO IT MEANS YOU HAVE TO PRODUCE SOMETHING
THAT'S REASONABLY LIGHT ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO SHIP
AND SMALL ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN GET IT ON THE SHIP.
IT'S A REASONABLY GOOD TANK,
BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE IN A TOE-TO-TOE BATTLE
WITH A GERMAN TANK HEAD-ON.
33 TONS FOR THE SHERMAN.
MORE THAN 43 TONS FOR THE GERMAN TANKS.
MORE ROBUST, WITH ARMOR SUPERIORTO THE AMERICANS',
THEY DELIVERED DEVASTATING CANNON POWER.
THE MUZZLE VELOCITY OF THOSE TANKS
MEANT THAT IF IT HIT YOU,
THAT SHELL WAS GOING TO PENETRATE YOUR ARMOR PROBABLY,
YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE SIDES,
AND EITHER GO STRAIGHT THROUGH OR WORSE,
RATTLE AROUND INSIDE AND EXPLODE.
WHILE THE BRITISH AND THE CANADIANS
ARE DEFEATED ON THE EAST FLANK,
THE AMERICANS START ADVANCING ON THE OTHER SIDE.
GENERAL BRADLEY COMMANDS THE TROOPS.
THEIR FIRST OBJECTIVE IS 17 KILOMETERS FROM THE COAST...
THE SMALL TOWN OF CARENTAN
AND ITS NETWORK OF ROADS AND RAILWAYS.
CARENTAN IS REALLY THE KEY
TO SEAL OFF THE COTENTIN PENINSULA
AND THEN CAPTURE CHERBOURG,
WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE GREATEST HARBOR IN NORMANDY.
BUT ALSO IN TANDEM WITH THAT,
YOU'RE GONNA START MOVING SOUTHWARD
TOWARDS THE TOWN OF SAINT-LOÔ.
THE 101st AMERICAN AIRBORNE DIVISION
SURROUNDS CARENTAN ON JUNE 9th, 1944.
THE FIGHTING, RUTHLESS AND SAVAGE,
WOULD LAST FOUR DAYS AND FOUR NIGHTS.
ON JUNE 12th, CARENTAN FALLS INTO AMERICAN HANDS...
...WITH HEAVY LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES.
BUT THE ALLIES HAVE ACHIEVED THEIR GOAL.
SIX DAYS AFTER THE LANDINGS,
ALL THE COALITION FORCES ARE FINALLY LINKED UP.
THE TROOPS OCCUPY A BEACHHEAD 80 KILOMETERS LONG,
REACHING AT CERTAIN POINTS 10 TO 30 KILOMETERS DEEP,
WHILE ON THE WEST SIDE, THE AMERICANS ADVANCE
TOWARDS CHERBOURG AND SAINT-LOÔ,
ON THE EAST SIDE,
THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS STILL CLASH WITH THE GERMANS,
WHO MAINTAIN THEIR POSITIONS AROUND CAEN.
THESE REPEATED DEFEATS PUT MONTGOMERY
IN A DIFFICULT POSITION WITH THE U.S. COMMAND.
HE'S DESPERATE TO WIN A FIRST IRREFUTABLE VICTORY
ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
ON JUNE 12th, HE ATTEMPTS AN ENCIRCLEMENT MANEUVER
BY SKIRTING CAEN FROM THE WEST TO TRAP THE GERMAN DIVISIONS.
THE 7th BRITISH ARMORED DIVISION
IS SENT TO THE SMALL TOWN OF VILLERS-BOCAGE.
BUT THE GERMANS ANTICIPATE THE MOVE
AND AMBUSH THE BRITISH WITH A TIGER TANK BATTALION
COMMANDED BY MICHAEL WITTMANN,
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE TANK COMMANDER OF WORLD WAR II.
ONE BY ONE, THE BRITISH TANKS ARE DESTROYED.
THE FAILURE TO CAPTURE VILLERS-BOCAGE
BY THE 7th ARMORED DIVISION AND XXX CORPS
DID IMPACT BADLY ON MORALE.
THEY JUST REALIZED THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A FAR TOUGHER JOB
THAN THEY HAD THOUGHT ABOUT OR IMAGINED WHEN THEY SET SAIL.
IN THESE CONDITIONS, TAKING THE PORT OF CHERBOURG
BECOMES AN ABSOLUTE PRIORITY FOR THE ALLIES.
AFTER CAPTURING CARENTAN, THE AMERICANS TAKE TEN DAYS
TO TRAVEL 50 KILOMETERS AND REACH CHERBOURG.
THE 4th, 9th, AND 79th U.S. DIVISIONS
FINALLY REACH THE CITY ON JUNE 21st.
THEY LAUNCH THE ATTACK THE FOLLOWING DAY.
THREE U.S. DIVISIONS ARE ALL JUST ADVANCING
NORTH TOWARD CHERBOURG
AND TRYING TO GET INTO THE TOWN AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN.
THE CITY IS DEFENDED BY 30,000 TROOPS
TRAPPED BY THE ALLIES.
THEY'RE DOOMED BECAUSE THE ALLIED NAVY
FROM THE SEAWARD SIDE CAN POUND THEM,
AND THEN THE AMERICAN ARMY COMING FROM THE LANDWARD SIDE
CAN KINDA JUST CATCH THEM IN A VISE.
SO, THE WHOLE THING KIND OF JUST DEVOLVES
INTO THIS SORT OF BLOCK BY BLOCK FIGHT.
IT WILL TAKE A FEW DAYS
BEFORE THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS
DRIVE OUT ALL POCKETS OF RESISTANCE IN THE CITY.
ON JUNE 26th, THE GERMANS SURRENDER.
THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS ARE TAKEN PRISONER.
AFTER FOUR LONG YEARS OF OCCUPATION,
CHERBOURG FINALLY TASTES FREEDOM ONCE AGAIN.
CHERBOURG IS CERTAINLY THE BIGGEST CITY
AT THAT POINT THAT IS LIBERATED.
THERE IS THIS LARGER GERMAN SURRENDER,
AND THE ALLIES THEN HAVE IT.
AS AN AVERAGE SOLDIER,
THAT STILL WASN'T NECESSARILY YOUR TYPICAL DAY,
SO THOSE WHO WERE THERE, SAY, AT CHERBOURG,
TENDED TO REMEMBER THAT.
DESPITETHIS FIRST VICTORY IN CHERBOURG,
THE CASUALTIES AFTER THREE WEEKS OF FIGHTING ARE STAGGERING.
THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN KILLED OR WOUNDED.
ON THE BATTLEFIELD, THE MEDICAL TEAMS
TRY TO INTERVENE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
THEY TRANSPORT BLOOD,
SET UP FIELD HOSPITALS.
A COMPLEX ORGANIZATION IS ESTABLISHED
TO FOLLOW THE TROOPS AS THEY ADVANCE.
IN SPITE OF THE LOSSES, THE ALLIES KEEP MOVING FORWARD
DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY.
AFTER THE AMERICANSTAKE CHERBOURG, THEY HEAD SOUTH.
THE NEXT ALLIED TARGET IS
LESS THAN 90 KILOMETERS AWAY...
THE CITY OF SAINT-LOÔ.
BUT THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS FACE
ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUSREGIONS FOR INFANTRY AND TANKS...
THE NORMANDY BOCAGE.
THE BOCAGE IS MADE UP OF CULTIVATED FIELDS
SEPARATED BY DITCHES AND EMBANKMENTS,
CANOPIED BY HEDGEROWS SEVERAL METERS HIGH.
IT'S BASICALLY A MAZE OF THESE HEDGEROWS,
MOST OF WHICH ARE ABOUT 8 FEET TO 13 FEET HIGH,
THAT THICK NORMAN SOIL, CLAY-LIKE SOIL,
PACKED AROUND FENCES AND STONE
THAT CERTAINLY INDIVIDUAL SOLDIERS CAN'T GET THROUGH,
SO THE HEDGEROW OPENING BECOMES A KILL ZONE.
THE GERMANS HAD FOUR YEARS TO PREPARE THEIR DEFENSE.
HEAVY MACHINE GUNS WERE POSITIONED
IN THE CORNERS OF EACH FIELD.
MORTARS TARGET EVERY SPOT THE ALLIES MIGHT CROSS,
AND MINES HIDE IN THEIR PATHWAYS.
WITH A VISIBILITY OF NO MORE THAN A COUPLE OF METERS,
THE AMERICANS ADVANCE BLINDLY.
UP AGAINST THE GERMANS,
DOZENS OF ALLIED SOLDIERSDIE TAKING BACK A MERE MEADOW...
...OR A SINGLE HEDGE.
THE U.S. ARMY FINDS ITSELF IN NORMANDY
IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLOODBATH, ABSOLUTE BLOODBATH.
DAY BY DAY, HEDGEROW BY HEDGEROW,
CHOKE POINT TOWN BY CHOKE POINT TOWN,
EVERY ONE OF THEM WHERE YOU FIGHT,
YOU'RE GOING TO SUFFER CASUALTIES.
FROM THE AVERAGE SOLDIER'S POINT OF VIEW,
THIS JUST SEEMS TO BE A HOPELESS SITUATION.
YOU JUST KNOW THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE
KIND OF THE ROAD TO NOWHERE IN NORMANDY.
AS THE AMERICANS TRY TO NAVIGATE
THE NORMANDY HEDGEROWS,
THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS
ARE STILL ATTEMPTING
TO BREAK THE GERMAN STRONGHOLD
AROUND THE CITY OF CAEN.
THE BRITISH GENERAL MONTGOMERYDECIDES TO CHANGE HIS OFFENSIVE.
HE LAUNCHES OPERATION CHARNWOOD.
ON JULY 7th, 467 ALLIED PLANES
DROP MORE THAN 2,500 TONS OF BOMBS
ON ENEMY-OCCUPIED AREAS AROUND CAEN.
AFTER HAVING BEEN HEAVILY BOMBED ON JUNE 6th,
THE CITY OF CAEN IS DECIMATED.
ON JULY 9th, THE BRITISH AND CANADIAN SOLDIERS
FINALLY ENTER THE CITY FROM THE NORTH.
AS THE CANADIANS AND BRITISH FOUGHT INTO CAEN,
THROUGH THE RUBBLE, THEY SAW FRENCH CIVILIANS
WHO HAD SURVIVED THE BOMBING
BUT WHOSE FAMILY MEMBERS HAD BEEN KILLED.
THEY TALKED ABOUT HEARING THE SCREAMS
OF THE FRENCH CIVILIANS WHO WERE TRAPPED.
BUT FOR THE ALLIED COMMAND,
THE ANNIHILATION OF CAEN
AND THE THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS KILLED
UNDER THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH BOMBS
WAS A NECESSARY EVIL...
THE PRICE TO PAY IN WINNING THE BATTLE.
IT'S ALWAYS HARD TALKING ABOUT ENDS AND MEANS
AND WHAT JUSTIFIES WHAT IN WARFARE.
A MORAL DECISION WOULD BE THAT THE KILLING OF CIVILIANS
IS, ALMOST BY DEFINITION, A WAR CRIME.
BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO AVOID IT IN REALITY.
THE PRIORITY WAS WE'VE GOT TO DEFEAT THE GERMANS
BECAUSE, IN A WAY, WE ACCEPT THAT NORMANDY IS GOING TO BE
REALLY THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB FOR THE WHOLE OF FRANCE.
IF WE CAN DESTROY THE GERMAN ARMY IN NORMANDY,
THEN THE REST OF FRANCE WILL BE SAVED.
WHILE THE BRITISH AND CANADIAN TROOPS
GRADUALLY LIBERATE THE CITY OF CAEN,
THE AMERICANS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE
AGAINST A STRONG GERMAN RESISTANCE
ON THEIR WAY TO SAINT-LOÔ.
THOUSANDS OF ALLIED SOLDIERS ARE TRAPPED
IN THE NORMANDY BOCAGE.
THE INCESSANT RAIN AND MUD SLOW THEIR PROGRESS EVEN MORE.
TO ESCAPE THIS FATAL LABYRINTH, THEY TRY AN INGENIOUS STRATEGY.
WE'VE GOT TO CREATE A NEW OPENING
THROUGH THE HEDGEROWS, BECAUSE THE MAIN ONE,
THE GERMANS HAVE COVERED,
AND THEY'RE GOING TO KILL EVERYBODY
WHO MOVES THROUGH THERE.
SO, THEY BEGIN TO WELD, IRONICALLY ENOUGH,
THE REMNANTS OF GERMAN BEACH OBSTACLES,
THE METAL, ONTO THE FRONT OF TANKS WITH PRONGS...
...AND BEGIN TO USE THE TANKS THEN
TO PUNCH A NEW OPENING THROUGH THE HEDGEROW.
WITH THESE SO-CALLED RHINO TANKS,
THE ALLIES TAKE THE GERMANS BY SURPRISE.
BUT FOR EVERY HEDGE CROSSED,
THEY REMAIN AT THE MERCY OF THE ENEMY SOLDIERS.
AS THE GERMANS HAVE IN THE DITCHES,
BEYOND THE HEDGEROW, A LOT OF PANZERFAUST GUNNERS.
IT'S A ONE-TIME, ONE-SHOT KIND OF ANTI-TANK WEAPON
THAT CAN BLOW UP YOUR TANK,
SO THE INFANTRYMEN HAVE TO MOVE VERY CLOSE TO THE TANK
AND BASICALLY WHAT THE MILITARY CALLS "CLEAN OUT"
THE GERMANS IN THE DITCHES.
THAT BASICALLY MEANS KILL THEM.
AND VERY CLOSE, FACE-TO-FACE QUITE OFTEN.
AND THEN THE TANKERS WILL LAY DOWN
WHAT'S CALLED WHITE PHOSPHOROUS FIRE,
AND WHITE PHOSPHORUS IS A TERRIBLE WEAPON.
IT'S BASICALLY A CHEMICAL THAT WILL JUST BURN THROUGH YOU
AS LONG AS IT HAS OXYGEN.
IT WAS A VERY DIRTY BATTLE.
I MEAN, THE GERMANS THEMSELVES DESCRIBED IT
AS A SCHMUTZIGER BUSCHKRIEG, A DIRTY BUSH WAR.
AND GENERAL COLLINS, WHO'D BEEN FIGHTING IN THE FAR EAST,
SAID THIS WAS WORSE THAN THE JUNGLE.
ON JULY 18th,
AFTER THREE WEEKS OF RELENTLESS FIGHTING
SINCE THE CAPTURING OF CHERBOURG,
THE ALLIED SOLDIERS FINALLY ENTER THE CITY OF SAINT-LOÔ.
BUT UPON ARRIVAL, NOT MUCH REMAINS.
THE SOLDIERS HAVE TO ADVANCE EXTREMELY SLOWLY
AS THE GERMANS HAVE MINED THE ENTIRE CITY.
A FEW CIVILIANS EMERGE FROM THEIR SHELTERS
TO SEARCH THE RUBBLE FOR OBJECTSTHAT MIGHT HAVE SURVIVED
THE ONSLAUGHT OF ALLIED BOMBS.
AFTER CHERBOURG, SAINT-LOÔ IS THE SECOND GREAT VICTORY
FOR THE ALLIED COMMAND.
BUT THE STATE OF THE CITY,
WHICH IS LATER NICKNAMED "CAPITAL OF THE RUINS,"
EXEMPLIFIES THE HIGH PRICE OF LIBERATING NORMANDY.
AFTER A MONTH AND A HALF OF FIGHTING,
THE TROOPS' MORALE IS AT AN ALL-TIME LOW.
EVERY FOOT GAINED AGAINST THE GERMANS
COMES AT THE COSTOF INTENSE AND MERCILESS COMBAT.
THERE'S THE STRESS OF NOT KNOWING
WHEN THE NEXT GERMAN SHELL IS GOING TO COME IN
AND WHETHER IT'S GOING TO HIT NEAR YOU OR NOT.
THEY SEE A VERY LIMITED BATTLEFIELD.
IT'S A BATTLEFIELD WHERE THEY LIVE AND THEY DIE
AND WHERE THEY FIGHT AND WHERE THEY KILL.
FOR THE SOLDIERS, THE WARM WELCOME OF THE LOCALS
REMINDS THEM WHY THEY CAME HERE TO RISK THEIR LIVES.
A LITTLE ALCOHOL, CIGARETTES,
SIMPLE GIFTS THAT LIFT THE MEN'S SPIRITS
BEFORE THE NEXT ADVANCEMENT,
THE NEXT MORTAR FIRE,
THE NEXT DEAD.
OVER TIME, MANY OF THEM REALIZE THAT THE ONLY WAY OUT
WAS TO BE KILLED OR WOUNDED,
EVEN AS REINFORCEMENTS CAME BEHIND THEM.
THEIR WORLD BECAME VERY SMALL.
BATTLE STRESS BECAME A TREMENDOUS PROBLEM
IN THE FIGHTING IN NORMANDY, AND IN JULY AND IN AUGUST,
AS THE STRAIN CONTINUED,
BETWEEN ABOUT 20 AND 30 PERCENT OF THE CASUALTIES
WERE COMBAT STRESS.
TO COMPENSATE FOR LOSSES,
REINFORCEMENTS LAND DAILY ON THE NORMANDY BEACHES
AND ARE IMMEDIATELY SENT TO THE FRONT LINE.
AFTER A MONTH AND A HALF OF INTENSE FIGHTING,
THE MAIN CITIES OF NORMANDY
HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM THE HANDS OF THE GERMANS,
BUT THE BATTLE IS FAR FROM OVER.
TO PIERCE THE GERMAN DEFENSES
AND ACCELERATE THE TROOPS' MOVEMENT,
THE ALLIED COMMAND LAUNCHES OPERATION COBRA.
COBRA IS CONCEIVED AROUND THE IDEA OF, GOSH,
WE HAVE ALL THESE GREAT BOMBERS,
ALL THIS AIRPOWER WE'VE BEEN USING TO PUMMEL GERMAN CITIES.
WHAT IF WE CARPET-BOMBED
A PART OF THE GERMAN LINES IN THESE HEDGEROWS
TO PUNCH A HOLE AND HAVE AN OPENING NOW
FOR OUR ARMOR AND ALL OF OUR OTHER TROOPS
TO GET THROUGH HERE VERY QUICKLY?
IT MAKES A GREAT DEAL OF SENSE ON PAPER.
IT'S IN THE IMPLEMENTATION
THAT IT CREATES SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS.
WHY? BECAUSE THE BOMBERS ARE NOT THAT ACCURATE.
YOU'RE ASKING THEM TO DO SOMETHING
THEY'RE NOT REALLY CAPABLE OF DOING,
WHICH IS TO BOMB CLOSE,
WITHIN ABOUT 1,000 TO 2,000 METERS
OF THEIR OWN GROUND TROOPS.
THEY'RE LUCKY TO HIT A TARGET WITHIN THREE MILES OR SO.
FOR TWO DAYS, THOUSANDS OF BOMBS
HIT THE FRONT LINE SOUTHEAST OF SAINT-LOÔ.
OVER THE COURSE OF TWO DAYS,
JULY 24th AND 25th, 1944,
THE HEAVY BOMBERS COME OVER FROM ENGLAND
AND THEY BOMB IN FRONT OF THE U.S. ASSAULT DIVISION.
THEY BOMB SHORT, AND THEY KILL SEVERAL HUNDRED AMERICANS.
THIS IS, I BELIEVE, THE GREATESTFRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT
IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
BUT ALSO THE GOOD NEWS IS IT DOES TREMENDOUS DAMAGE,
OF COURSE, TO THE PANZER LEHR DIVISION,
THE GERMANS WHO WERE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THIS,
AND SO COBRA DOES WHAT IT'S DESIGNED FOR.
THE PANZER LEHR DIVISION,
OTHER GERMAN DIVISIONS,
WERE SO BADLY THROWN BY THE HEAVY BOMBING
THAT THEY WERE IN A COMPLETELY DAZED STATE
WHEN THE AMERICANS GOT TO THEM.
WITHIN TWO DAYS, THE REAL BREAKTHROUGH HAD BEEN ACHIEVED.
IN JUST A FEW DAYS,
THOUSANDS OF GERMANS ARE TAKEN PRISONER.
THE REICH FORCES HAVE SUFFERED ONE OF THEIR HEAVIEST DEFEATS
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR.
DESPITE THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE,
THE MILITARY SUCCESS OF OPERATION COBRA
BRINGS THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY INTO A NEW PHASE.
ON JULY 28th,
THE TOWN OF COUTANCES IS CAPTURED BY THE ALLIES.
THE SAME DAY, A NEW COMMANDER ARRIVES...
GENERAL PATTON.
FAMOUS FOR HIS FEATS IN NORTH AFRICA AND SICILY,
PATTON HAS JUST TAKEN COMMAND OF THE THIRD U.S. ARMY.
HIS MISSION... MAKE A BREAKTHROUGHTO THE SOUTH OF NORMANDY.
THE GERMANS FEARED PATTON
MORE THAN ANY OTHER ALLIED GENERAL.
PATTON'S NEW JOB, WHICH HE WAS EXTREMELY EXCITED ABOUT,
WAS THE PROSPECT OF TAKING OVER, HAVING HIS OWN ARMY,
ONCE THE BREAKOUT CAME FROM NORMANDY.
IN JUST FOUR DAYS,
PATTON'S TROOPS WILL RETAKE THE CITIES
BETWEEN COUTANCES AND AVRANCHES
AND ADVANCE MORE THAN 50 KILOMETERS TO THE SOUTH
AT A PACE NOT YET SEEN IN THIS BATTLE.
AS THEY PROGRESS,
THOUSANDS OF GERMAN SOLDIERS ARE TAKEN CAPTIVE.
THIS REALLY TOOK THE AMERICANS
ALL THE WAY THROUGH, DOWN PAST AVRANCHES,
AND OUT OF NORMANDY, EVEN INTO NORTHERN BRITTANY.
IT WAS A SPECTACULAR SMASHING OFTHE GERMAN ARMIES IN NORMANDY.
THIS WAS DEFINITELY THE START OF TAKING THE FIGHT
RIGHT THE WAY THROUGH INTO FRANCE.
ON JULY 31st, PATTON AND HIS TROOPS
RECLAIM THE PONTAUBAULT BRIDGE THAT CROSSES THE SEÉLUNE RIVER.
THEY GAIN DIRECT ACCESS TO THE WEST OF FRANCE AND TO BRITTANY.
THE FOLLOWING DAY,
THE AMERICANS ARRIVE AT MONT-SAINT-MICHEL,
COMPLETELY ABANDONED BY THE ENEMY.
PATTON'S BREAKTHROUGH IS A SERIOUS SETBACK
FOR THE GERMAN ARMY.
THE GERMANS ARE IN AN EXISTENTIAL SITUATION
IN NORMANDY.
AND THE LOGICAL THING TO DO
WOULD BE TO SIMPLY RETREAT EASTWARD
AND GET OUT OF THERE AND FIGHT SOMEWHERE ELSE,
BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT LOGIC
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE LIKE ADOLF HITLER.
INSTEAD OF ORDERING HIS TROOPS TO RETREAT,
HITLER DECIDES TO COUNTER-ATTACK.
HIS PLAN... SEND HIS TANKS TO THE TOWN OF MORTAIN,
CLOSE TO WHERE SEVERAL AMERICAN UNITS HAVE JOINED UP.
THE GOAL IS TO CREATE A BREACH IN THE ALLIED CONFIGURATION
MEANT TO REACH AVRANCHES
BY CUTTING THE AMERICAN ARMY IN TWO
AND REGAINING CONTROL OF THE AREA.
RELUCTANTLY, THE GERMAN GENERALS ON THE GROUND
PREPARE THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE.
THEY HAD THESE FIRM ORDERS FROM HITLER,
EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE COMMANDERS
OF THE GERMAN PANZER UNITS
WERE DUBIOUSABOUT THIS PARTICULAR OPERATION.
BUT THEY HAD NO OPTION, BUT THEY HAD TO GO AHEAD AND ATTACK.
ON AUGUST 7th, 1944,
THE GERMANS LAUNCH A COUNTERATTACK IN MORTAIN,
CODE NAME... OPERATION LUÜTTICH.
COLUMNS OF PANZERS ATTACK THE 30th U.S. INFANTRY DIVISION
WITH FULL FORCE.
THE GIs RESIST THE POWERFUL GERMAN TANKS
AND MANAGE TO SLOW THE NAZI TROOPS' PROGRESS,
GIVING TIME FOR REINFORCEMENTS TO ARRIVE.
WITHIN A FEW DAYS, THE MASSIVE INFLUX OF ALLIED FORCES
PUSHES BACK THE GERMAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE.
HITLER'S OPERATION LUÜTTICH IS A TOTAL FAILURE.
THE GERMANS SUFFER AT LEAST 50 PERCENT CASUALTIES,
PARTICULARLY ALONG THE ROADS THAT KIND OF ENVELOP
ON EITHER SIDE OF MORTAIN.
IT'S REALLY A DISASTER FOR THE GERMANS.
BY MID-AUGUST, THE GERMAN FORCES ARE DEFEATED.
ON AUGUST 15th, 1944, HITLER THROWS IN THE TOWEL
AND ORDERS HIS TROOPS TO FLEE NORMANDY.
ARRIVING FROM THE WEST,
THE AMERICANS ADVANCE
AT FULL SPEED TOWARDS ARGENTAN
TO JOIN FORCES WITH THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS.
VILLAGE AFTER VILLAGE, ONE BY ONE,
THEY OCCUPY ENEMY POSITIONS.
THEY ANNIHILATE THE AREAS OF GERMAN RESISTANCE.
THE SMALL VILLAGE OF RAÂNES,
TIRELESSLY HELD BY THE WEHRMACHT AND AN SS UNIT,
IS REDUCED TO RUBBLE.
DOZENS OF CIVILIANS ARE KILLED.
BUT NOW IS THE TIME TO EXPEL
EVERY LAST STANDING GERMAN SOLDIER IN NORMANDY.
BRADLEY AND MONTGOMERY
COORDINATE THE ALLIED TROOPS' MOVEMENT.
IN THE WEST, THE AMERICANS
ADVANCE TOWARDS THE SEINE.
IN THE NORTH,
THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS
INCREASE THEIR PRESSURE
ON FALAISE.
IN THE SOUTH,
THE FRENCH ARMORED DIVISION
OF GENERAL LECLERC,
ALONG WITH THE AMERICANS, HEAD BACK UP TO ARGENTAN.
BETWEEN THE CITIES OF FALAISE AND CHAMBOIS,
A POCKET STARTS TO FORM,
TRAPPING NEARLY 100,000 GERMAN SOLDIERS.
IF THE ALLIES MANAGE TO CLOSE THE GAP ON THE EAST SIDE,
THEY WILL CUT OFF ANY CHANCE FOR ESCAPE.
BRADLEY BOASTED TO VISITORS TO HEADQUARTERS,
"NEVER DOES A GENERAL GET AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE WE HAVE NOW
TO CLOSE THIS GAPAND BASICALLY TO SEAL THEM OFF."
THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY HAD BEEN FOUGHT
OVER HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES,
BUT IT SEEMED TO FUNNEL AT THE FALAISE GAP.
AND THIS ENORMOUS BATTLEFIELD OF HUNDREDS OF MILES
GETS FOCUSED DOWN TO A VERY SMALL DEADLY PLACE.
TO WEAKEN THE ENEMY'S FINAL DEFENSES,
THE ALLIED AIR FORCES HAMMER THE GERMAN POSITIONS.
ON THE GROUND, THE FIGHTING IS UNPRECEDENTED.
THE CANADIANS TAKE FALAISE
ON AUGUST 17th,
TRUN, THE 18th.
LITTLE BY LITTLE, THE VISE
TIGHTENS ON THE GERMANS.
THEY HAVE A CORRIDOR OF NO MORE
THAN SEVEN KILOMETERS WIDE
TO FLEE TO THE EAST.
THE MASSACRE INSIDE THEPOCKET AT FALAISE WAS HORRIFIC.
THE FIGHTER BOMBERS KEPT ON COMING IN.
ALL OF THE GERMAN TRANSPORT HORSES,
DRAGGING FIELD HOSPITALS OR GUNS OR WHATEVER,
WERE JUST SIMPLY MACHINE-GUNNED IN THEIR TRACES.
THE SMELL, THE STENCH OF CORPSESFOR WEEKS AFTERWARDS
WAS SIMPLY APPALLING.
IT WAS A TURKEY SHOOT, AS THE AMERICANS WOULD HAVE CALLED IT.
ON AUGUST 21st,
THE FALAISE POCKET IS CLOSED ONCE AND FOR ALL IN CHAMBOIS.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF GERMANS ARE TAKEN PRISONER,
AND THOUSANDS LAY DEAD.
THE BATTLE WILL LATER BE KNOWN AS THE STALINGRAD OF NORMANDY.
YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF DEAD BODIES,
ANIMALS AND HUMANS, THAT ARE IN THAT AREA.
EISENHOWER WILL LATER WALK IT FAMOUSLY
AND SAY IT WAS POSSIBLE TO WALK
FROM ONE SIDE OF A FIELD TO ANOTHER
WITHOUT EVER STEPPING ON ANYTHING BUT DEAD FLESH.
I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING TO TRY TO IMAGINE TODAY,
THAT FALAISE GAP FILLED WITH CORPSES
AND WOUNDED, SCREAMING MEN.
AND THAT WAS THE PRICE OF VICTORY.
IN THE CITY OF ARGENTAN,
LIBERATED THE DAY BEFORE BYTHE 80th U.S. INFANTRY DIVISION,
CAMERAS IMMORTALIZE THE MEETING
BETWEEN THE SOLDIERS AND THE CITY'S MAYOR.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RUBBLE,
SOME CIVILIANS FINALLY DARE TO EMERGE FROM THEIR SHELTERS.
THE FALAISE-CHAMBOIS BATTLE WILL BE THE LAST ONE
IN THESE THREE MONTHS OF FIGHTING IN NORMANDY.
ON THE ALLIED SIDE, 220,000SOLDIERS WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED,
AND 20,000 CIVILIANS WERE KILLED.
ON THE GERMAN SIDE, THE REICH ARMY LOST MORE THAN 200,000 MEN
AND ANOTHER 200,000 WERE TAKEN PRISONER.
ON AVERAGE, A BATTALION AND A HALF
WERE BEING GROUND DOWN OR DESTROYED
ROUGHLY EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
IN MANY CASES,
A DIVISION WOULD LAST NO LONGER THAN, SAY, TWO WEEKS.
WELL, THIS GIVES ONE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH NORMANDY CONTRIBUTED,
I THINK, TO THE OVERALL ALLIED VICTORY,
JUST PURELY IN THE CASE OF THE DESTRUCTION
OF GERMAN FORMATIONS.
BY THE END OF AUGUST,
HORDES OF SOLDIERS AND VEHICLES LAND AT CHERBOURG
AND HEAD EAST TO ERADICATE THE REST OF THE NAZI ARMY.
EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUTTHE LANDINGS ON THE 6th OF JUNE.
VERY FEW PEOPLE COULD TELL YOU
WHAT HAPPENS IN JUNE AND JULY AND AUGUST
AND HOW THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY ACTUALLY ENDED.
AND I THINK TO THIS DAY,
WE ARE STILL DEALING WITH THOSE BATTLES, THAT WAR,
TRYING TO COME TO GRIPS WITH IT, TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT,
TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE RUINS OF NORMANDY 75 YEARS AGO.
AS FEW AS 50 CAMERAMEN
TIRELESSLY SHOT EACH DAY OF THIS HISTORIC BATTLE.
THEY LEFT BEHIND HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF FOOTAGE,
SOME OF WHICH ONLY SURFACED DECADES LATER.
FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS,
THESE IMAGES WILL REMAIN THE FINAL WITNESSES
OF NORMANDY'S 85 DAYS OF HELL.