World War II with Tom Hanks: Episode 2

EPISODE 2: BLITZ

Hanks master narration begins that Poland is “erased,” a vivid though fraught word in its depth of horror.

But for months to follow unwound a period termed “The Phony War.” This ends as Germany strikes at Denmark and Norway. This leads to political crisis in the UK. Prime Minister Chamberlain announces his resignation.

May 10, 1940. Where will Germany next strike? The answer is to invade the Netherlands and Belgium. Images of German paratroops jumping into Netherlands and Mark IV tank illustrate the next blow. The German main thrust seems to heading through Netherlands and Belgium. This seems to be route of the the third German offensive into France in the last seventy years.

But the French constructed a 280-mile line of fortifications called the Maginot Line. It included were surveyed series of underground emplacements with a wealth of artillery and below ground barracks for whole battalions, messing facilities and command and communications spaces. Refinements boosted electric trains to move troops. The French had great confidence in the Maginot Line.

When German troops advance inti the Netherlands and Belgium, the French send their best mobile troops into those countries, well north of the Maginot Line. The French Army was reputed to be the best in Europe. Its tanks like the Char B1 and the Sumua S-35, innovative and in many ways qualitatively superior to German models. At the same time. The British Expeditionary Force of 300,000 men joined this French deployment. The allied tank park was numerically superior to the German. But the Germans integrated all arms in tailored combat teams using extensive radio communications. The Germans could conduct rapid maneuvers that the allies could not compete with.

The lunge of Allied troops into the Netherlands and Belgium is exactly what the Germans wanted.

During the “Phony War” German General Eric Manstein conceived a daring plan to commit the bulk of German Panzer and mechanized units into the Ardennes Forest between the Netherlands and Belgium and the Maginot Line. This heavily vegetated area was deemed by the allies as “impassable” for masses of tanks and vehicles. But Manstein believed it could be navigated to reach the Meuse River. Once on the Meuse the German mobile forces would breakthrough the allied line and cut to the coast, surrounding the best allied armies to the north, and defeating them. Once this was accomplished, the fall of the rest of France would be inevitable.

Hitler was ecstatic. Manstein’s plan was what he wanted and the Fuhrer made it the German strategic plan.

On the same day Chamberlain resigned, May 10, 1940, the Germans struck. King George VI summoned the “maverick” Churchill to become Prime Minister. Churchill believed from an early age that he was destined to save Great Britain and the British Empire. He had been warning for years of the menace of Hitler. Now he was Prime Minister. In his first speech, Churchill told Parliament told his program was “blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” Without victory, there would mean no survival.

The German Ardennes offense on its sparse roads leads to massive traffic jams. It would have been a ripe target for allied planes. But the movement was largely ignored.

Then on May 13,1940, the Panzers reached the Meuse. Strategic srprise is nearly complete. The Allies still expect the main German effort in the north. But on the Meuse, surprised and then terrified French soldiers in lesser status units are hit hard. German pioneers get bridges or rafts across the river. Units assemble and then ride over or through soon demoralized French units. The Germans create a 60-mile gap in French lines and begin motoring towards the coast. French and British counterattacks have a few local successes, but all were inadequate to stem the German tide.

30:25 Rommel, the commander of the 7th Panzer Division, known as the ghost division, because it broke contact from higher headquarters. Rommel was not a classic Prussian War College graduate. But his record as a small unit commander in World War I was spectacular. He particularly sought and achieved surprise, defeating much larger enemy forces. He began served as an aide to Hitler who furthered his advancement including one of the prized panzer commands.

The narration accurately dismisses the label “blitzkrieg” for the true German concept of hundreds of years long standing of “war of movement.” Now in the 20th Century instead of horses and hard marching infantry, the German Army adapts gasoline engines, tires, tracks, and radio integration of all arms and air support.

May 15, 1940. Churchill is awakened by a telephone call from Paul Renard, the French leader. Renard states “We have been beaten.” The road to Paris is open. Send all the planes and troops you can.

The surprise of French is complete and demoralizing. Churchill embarks on a hazardous flight to Paris to assess the situation and buck up the French. He finds the French Foreign Ministry burning papers. In Paris there is chaos.

Rob Citano points out it is not an overwhelming German superiority over the French, but that the Germans have great superiority at the point of contact.

Churchill turns to US. He warns Hitler will menace the US. Churchill asks for fifty old US destroyers to help the British with trade protection. He also asks for planes and steel.

FDR had hoped Europe would contain Hitler, but now it looked Hitler’s reach might threaten the US. But US public strongly remained resolved not to get into Europe’s quarrels. Neutrality laws limit what direct aid the US could provide.

May 18, 1940. The Germans threatened to cut off Allied armies from the English Channel. The only option was to create defense of Dunkirk on the coast and attempt an evacuation across sixty miles of the channel to At this point, most optimistic assessment was to save 20-50,000 troops. It could fail even worse. The drama of this moment is captured accurately. By May 20, 1940, about 450,000 British, French, and Belgium allied troops gathered about Dunkirk, but Germans probed to the fringes of city. Even worse than the peril of the French who still had large forces, there was no other British Army. It was best officers and NCOs and irreplaceable.

Then Hitler orders a halt. He sees obvious problem that Panzer divisions were now far ahead of follow up infantry. Moreover, Hitler believes his generals were not keeping him informed. His solution was to take command of the situation.

23:15 images her are unmistakably what were German conversions of French Lorraine tank chaises organized by guy named Becker. The motion picture images at this time are unmistakably a Becker conversion mounting a PAK 40, 75 mm anti-tank gun not available in 1940. At 23:13 appears another Becker conversion with a 105 howitzer. Both of these being reviewed at the same time by then Field Marshal Rommel. This means images are from 1944. It appears that uniforms visible of crews are 1944 type, though not as clear as desirable, but the PAK 40 is beyond dispute.

22:56 Goering insists that the Luftwaffe alone can destroy the Allied force at Dunkirk. This section is in sum excellent in narration and images. There seems to be one image of very early HE 111 that would not be around Dunkirk.

Images capturing terror of exposed troops in open, being bombed, strafed, and dive bombed. One narrator says it is “total terror.” You get the feel of it.

London. The cabinet is dived. Churchill wants to try evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. But Foreign Secretary Halifax wants to open negotiation channel with Hitler. Halifax thinks that war with Germany pointless and cannot be won. Halifax seeks US diplomatic help to secure Mussolini as arbitrator.

But Churchill realizes if word of negotiations leaks out this will collapse British morale. Churchill insists to mount Operation Dynamo, an evacuation be sea across 60 miles of the English Channel. It begins with operations of the Royal Navy efforts from Dunkirk on May 26, 1940. The first day, fewer than 8,000 troops are picked up. This seems like a very bad start, even for the low hopes.

May 27, 1940. Panzer divisions start renewed attacks on Dunkirk. Time is running out.

At this time, the troops on totally exposed beaches. There are two piers reaching out a mile to deep water. Troops four abreast advance along the piers. These piers were never intended as a pickup means. The troops are subjected to strafing and bombing.

A call went out for private vessels of all sizes from small ships to life boats. They were captained and crewed with volunteers who sail into “firestorm” of Dunkirk.

The story is replete with courage and resourcefulness and with ample rations of loss and tragedy. There is no reason to dimmish what theses volunteers contributed. But in hard math most troops were picked up by Royal Navy and larger ships.

The BEF leaves all its equipment behind. Images include French tracked carriers rather than strictly British equipment. Over 399,000 British and French troops reach the UK. Thousands of troops are left behind. These numbers of evacuated soldiers is aptly called “The Miracle of Dunkirk.” Without it, its hard to see how the UK holds out.

June 4, 1940. Churchill gives his single greatest speech. He starts with comments about caution to give attributes of a victory to the Dunkirk evacuation. As he builds her reaches his immortal words that Great Britain will “Fight on beaches and landing grounds,” and continue onwards to finish with “We will never surrender.” This speech ends of any contemplation of negotiations or surrender.

Hitler unleashes his forces to drive south into France. French population reels in panic and eight million take to roads and railroads. Both are packed.

June 14, 1940. German forces occupy Paris. It is unimaginable. Grown men cry.

Hitler insists that French surrender in same rail car Germans surrender to end World War One.

Alexis Richie says Hitler as a giddy as a school boy. He cannot believe his good fortune. The terms include a French Army of only 100,000 men. Occupation of France gets Germany three-fifths of France, and two-fifths retain for the Petain regime in Vichy.

The fall of France is a colossal international seismic event.

Hitler conducts his one and only visit to Paris with notable scenes at his gazing at the Eiffel Tower.

FDR and his administration realize what this portends.

Narration states this means large army and large navy. But narration gets sequence out of order in the sense that the fall of France triggers emergency legislation in two measures for authorization of a massive ship building program. The second of these laws is famously the “two Ocean Navy Act.” This will mean the US will have greatest fleet in world with larger vessels like carriers (and the Iowa class battleships) into service in later 1943 in some numbers but much more numerous carriers in 1944 and 1945. The passage of these acts enjoyed massive majorities. In some cases, voice votes without roll calls so that there were no precise totals.

Further steps included mobilization of the National Guard and reserves to begin expansion of ground forces and the first peace time draft in US history.

The narration is correct in the long perspective that the US afterwards will never leave our security in the hands of even a friendly country and that security would be deemed a global presence.

On July 6, 1940, Hitler goes to Berlin to bask in the rapturous reception of the population. In retrospect, this was the peak of Hitler’s glory days. But Hitler now thinks he is the great leader of all modern history and infallible.

Hitler speaks effectively dictating peace terms to end current hostilities, but Churchill rejects them.

Hitler then orders Operation Sea Lion, and invasion of southeastern Great Britain.

Images of Stuka dive bombers as the Luftwaffe commences strike for air superiority over southeastern United Kingdom. Goering believes this will secure air superiority in three days. Although many proper images for this period at 7:11 the gun camera film clearly shows a much later FW 190 being shot down. The very wide main landing gear of the FW 190 is unmistakable.

The narrative describes Churchill’s “few” as numbering about 2,950 defensive aircraft, but supported by the first really fully integrated air defense system. The radars gave early warning, but the system integrated the inputs of limited code breaking, observers from the coast to inland with the data integrated and plotted to a picture that permitted the vectoring of fighters to intercept German raids. Famously Churchill declares That never in the field of human conflict have so many owed as much to so few. But those “few” might take as many as six take offs in a day.

The narrative describes the German air superiority effort continuing into late August 1940 It highlights German losses. But in reality, the British see a looming disaster as Fighter Command is driven back from forward bases an pilot attrition veers on an unsustainable ability to mount an effective defense. Why this point is omitted I do not understand.

Then the Germans switch to “terror bombing” against civilians as London as the premier target. London would be attacked fifty-seven nights in a row. Deaths are in the 10,000s, random and violent. The campaign spreads out to other cities, but London remains the prime target. The British like most other bombed nations, release lots of images of destruction and scenes of fire fighting and rescue. They do not release official images of the dead, or if such images slip out, they were extremely rare.

Singled out are the dramatic broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow. The CBS correspondence did live broadcasts that reached a large audience. Because of the time differential of UK time five hours ahead just of the US East Coast, and even earlier in Central and later times, it was easily accessible to American audiences. This generated great sympathy for the British. The narration attributes theses broadcasts as moving many Americans from “isolationism” towards support for war.

President Roosevelt walked a careful line before securing an unprecedented third term in November 1940. Afterwards, he pledged a “short of war,” of support for enemies of the Axis Powers. This required the US to become “The Arsenal of Democracy” and shortly to the Lend Lease Program of expanded US munitions to support the Axis opponents.

Overall, this is a high quality episode.

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