0:02 the second world war was the biggest
0:05 most destructive bloodiest war in
0:08 history every continent was touched by
0:11 the war yes even the Antarctic there was
0:16 military activity in China France Hawaii
0:19 Iceland Somalia Sri Lanka the Arctic and
0:23 far beyond it was fought in trenches on
0:26 Horseback in the air under the Seas it
0:28 was fought for the first time ever in
0:31 space and with nuclear weapons World War
0:33 II changed the world the European
0:35 Empires of Britain France Holland and
0:38 others never recovered the rest of the
0:40 20th century would be dominated by the
0:44 superpowers the USA and the Soviet Union
0:47 in Asia the war led eventually to the
0:50 victory of the Chinese Communist party
0:52 it also caused the partition of Korea
0:55 into two zones and the birth of India as
0:58 an independent country so when was it
1:02 what happened and who fought where this
1:12 know when did World War II start well
1:14 that depends on your point of view World
1:17 War II was caused by the desire for
1:20 Empire for territory for power for
1:24 wealth and resources three dictatorships
1:26 Germany Italy and Japan known as the
1:29 Axis powers had spent the 1930s
1:32 expanding their Empires Germany in
1:37 Europe Japan in northern China Italy in
1:39 Africa Japan and China have been locked
1:42 in a huge struggle since 1937 at least
1:45 some people think this should count as
1:47 the start of the war the Americans were
1:49 actually dragged into this Pacific
1:53 region war in December 1941 when Japan
1:54 attacked the American Navy in Pearl
1:59 Harbor Hawaii so it started for the USA
2:03 in 194 1 Europeans Canadians Australians
2:06 Indians and anyone else in the European
2:08 Empires which at that time was nearly
2:11 everyone count the start of the war from September
2:13 September
2:16 1939 at the start of that month Adolf
2:19 Hitler the German dictator invaded
2:21 Poland at that point lots of countries
2:24 declared war on Germany and the second
2:26 world war in Europe was
2:29 underway when the war ended that's a
2:32 little clearer Germany and Japan were
2:34 catastrophically defeated and occupied in
2:36 in
2:41 1945 so why does September 1939 matter
2:44 in Europe Adolf Hitler's Nazi party had
2:46 seized power in Germany he' done away
2:49 with democracy he was a dictator he has
2:51 started the persecution of political
2:55 opponents of Jews of other minorities He
2:59 is building concentration camps his aim
3:02 expand ing Germany he wanted to seize
3:04 back all the territory that Germany had
3:06 lost after it been defeated in the first
3:08 world war in
3:13 1918 so in 1938 he sees Austria then
3:15 parts of Czechoslovakia but he wanted
3:18 more he wanted an empire in the East the
3:21 rich farmlands of Ukraine the oil of the
3:25 Caucasus he dreamed of a vast German
3:28 Empire so he's grabbing bits of Europe
3:31 that he claims have always really been
3:33 part of Germany he's returning Germany
3:36 to Greatness and his next Target is
3:40 Poland Western Poland used to be part of
3:42 Germany until defeating the first world
3:45 war Hitler thinks it should be part of
3:48 Germany again so he does a deal with the
3:51 Communist dictator Joseph Stalin in
3:54 Russia or the USSR as it was properly
3:56 known at the time and they decide
3:58 they're going to invade Poland and split
4:02 it between them 1st of September 1939
4:05 boom we're off German troops in vain
4:07 Hitler thought Britain and France would
4:10 let him do it they'd reluctantly agreed
4:12 to allow him to snap up Austria and
4:14 parts of Czechoslovakia over the
4:17 previous couple of years but this was a
4:21 step too far they declared war on
4:24 Germany Hitler has got himself into
4:26 another world war what now he asked his foreign
4:27 foreign
4:30 minister with Britain and France
4:33 come some mighty Empires Canada India
4:35 Nigeria South Africa New Zealand
4:38 Australia and lots beside all now in the
4:42 fight so what happens buckle up pretty
4:44 quickly Germany and the Soviets divide
4:46 up Poland the British and French aren't
4:48 much help the French do launch a little
4:50 invasion of Western Germany but only
4:52 Advance a couple of Miles their heart
4:55 wasn't in it they withdraw once German
4:58 troops flooded back flush from their
5:00 victory in Poland
5:02 the Soviets have less success with an
5:04 invasion of Finland which ends in an
5:06 embarrassing defeat although the
5:08 following year they try again and do
5:11 take a bit of territory on the oceans
5:14 German submarines and ships try to
5:16 destroy Britain's trade and cut off
5:19 supplies a German uboat or submarine
5:22 sinks a passenger ship the athenia
5:25 within hours of the war starting this is
5:27 known as the battle of the Atlantic and
5:30 it will rumble on until the last days of
5:33 the second world war further a field any
5:36 German naval ship on the high seas is
5:38 hunted down and destroyed a British
5:42 Force sank the German Cruiser Admiral
5:44 graph in the battle of the River Plate
5:46 off the coast of South
5:48 America back in Europe though there was
5:51 a standoff both sides eyeballing each
5:54 other across the French German Border in
5:56 Britain at this time more people were
5:58 killed in road traffic accidents because
6:00 street lights were were blacked out then
6:02 members of the Armed Forces were killed
6:05 in combat but that would change in April
6:09 1940 both the allies and the Germans
6:11 decided to invade Norway to secure its
6:14 precious resources the iron oil which
6:16 was exported to Germany through the
6:19 Norwegian Port of narik was essential
6:22 for German steel production the Germans
6:23 moved North through Denmark conquering
6:26 it in the space of hours they also sent
6:28 a fleet to invade Norway which managed
6:30 to avoid the British Navy partly due to bad
6:31 bad
6:34 we the Allies attempted to move troops
6:36 into Norway to bolster Norwegians but
6:38 the Germans were too strong by the end
6:41 of May the final Allied troops were
6:43 evacuated along with the Norwegian royal
6:45 family this was very embarrassing for
6:48 the British and French allies and after
6:49 huge criticism in Parliament of the way
6:51 the war was being run the British
6:54 government collapsed iname a new prime
6:56 minister you might have heard of him
6:58 Winston Churchill he didn't have long to
7:01 ease himself into the the job the very
7:02 day he went to see the king and move
7:05 into Downing Street the Germans launched
7:08 the invasion of Western Europe a massive
7:11 German Force crossed into Luxembourg
7:14 Holland Belgium and France What followed
7:17 was one of the most dramatic upsets in
7:19 the history of war the Germans used
7:22 tanks aircraft and vehicles to Surge
7:26 through enemy territory surrounding and
7:28 surprising while the Allies moved to
7:30 counter the German troops marching
7:32 through Belgium as they had in the first
7:34 world war the Germans completely
7:36 surprised them with another thrust
7:39 through the Woody hilly Arden region
7:41 which most planners had thought was
7:43 impossible this thrust caught everyone
7:47 off balance and within just 10 days the
7:50 Germans were at the English Channel all
7:52 the Allied troops that had marched North
7:53 into Belgium to stop the Germans were
7:54 now cut off from the rest of their
7:58 forces in France the British and French
8:01 had been SL I in half the surrounded
8:04 forces in Belgium had no choice they had
8:06 to head to the coast and hope the Royal
8:09 Navy would rescue the Allies retreated
8:11 to a defensive perimeter around the town
8:14 of Dunkirk the Navy frantically
8:16 organized ships to go to their rescue
8:18 including eventually little boats
8:21 rivercraft barges and Yachts which could
8:23 pick soldiers up directly from the beach
8:25 rather than rely on limited Port
8:27 facilities many of which had been ruined
8:30 by German bombing the British hoped to
8:33 evacuate 45,000 men in the two days
8:37 before the Germans captured duner but
8:39 Hitler called his forces to a halt he
8:41 was concerned that his tanks and men
8:44 were stretched and needed to consolidate
8:46 the Germans were worried also the ground
8:48 around Dunkirk was too boggy for heavy
8:51 tanks this gave the British a precious
8:54 window over a week an astonishing
8:57 340,000 Allied soldiers were rescued
9:00 some called it a miracle
9:03 Britain had rescued its Army even if
9:07 they left nearly all their heavy weapons
9:10 behind Hitler's axis partner Italy
9:12 thought the writing was on the wall and
9:15 chose this moment to jump into the war
9:17 Italian troops launched an invasion of
9:20 Southern France after Dunkirk German
9:23 forces were free to turn South and
9:26 concentrate on the rest of the French
9:30 army within weeks France fell Hitler
9:33 visited Paris for some gloating shots
9:36 for social media Germany now dominated
9:39 Western and Central Europe inspired by
9:42 Winston Churchill the British and their
9:44 empire Beyond the Seas made the firm
9:48 decision not to give in Hitler had a
9:51 British problem he needed to make peace
9:54 with Britain or defeat Britain totally
9:56 or they'd make a nuisance to themselves
9:59 when Hitler turned East to fulfill his
10:01 real dream that huge Empire stretching
10:03 off into the Russian
10:06 States so Hitler told his army to draw
10:08 up plans to invade while he used his Air
10:10 Force to try and force Britain to the
10:14 negotiating table What followed was the
10:16 Battle of Britain the first battle
10:19 fought in history predominantly in the
10:22 skies German bombers flew over Britain
10:24 striking military targets they focused
10:26 at first on the Royal Air Force trying
10:28 to knock them out so Germans could
10:29 control the sky
10:31 and forced the British government to
10:34 yield through bombing but the RAF proved
10:36 tenacious German raids were pounced on
10:40 by RAF hurricane and spitfire Fighters
10:41 German bombers were shot down in
10:44 unsustainable numbers the RAF had
10:47 invented an ingenious system to identify
10:50 and attack German raids pioneering radar
10:52 was used to spot German aircraft the
10:54 information was then passed to groups of
10:56 fighter aircraft who could Dash up into
10:59 the sky and shoot them down as the
11:02 summer went on the RAF seemed
11:05 unbreakable the Germans switched tactics
11:07 and started pounding London hoping to
11:09 force the British to change their minds
11:12 and sue for peace it was the start of
11:15 what Brits call The Blitz the systematic
11:19 bombing of civilians in cities by the
11:21 Germans but by the middle of September
11:23 it was clear that the Germans have been
11:25 defeated in the air the RAF was still a
11:27 formidable presence and the bombing of
11:29 London was taking far too higher toll on
11:33 German aircraft and crew Hitler admitted
11:35 he would not be able to knock Britain
11:37 out of the war he certainly couldn't
11:39 launch an invasion with the RAF
11:42 undefeated and the Royal Navy ready to
11:45 pounce on any German invasion Fleet
11:47 Germany switched to bombing British
11:50 cities at night but the invasion plans were
11:51 were
11:53 shelled while Britain had been fighting
11:55 for survival it also had to fight the
11:57 Italians in the Mediterranean where
11:59 their Empires rubbed do alongside each
12:02 other in North and East Africa the
12:05 British seized Italian Ethiopia but the
12:08 fighting in Libya and Egypt would prove much
12:15 tougher 1941 would be a big year as
12:16 fighting between the axis and the
12:19 British Sea sword in North Africa the
12:21 Italian invasion of Greece which they
12:23 launched right at the end of 1940 was
12:27 going badly wrong the Italians were
12:29 forced into humiliating treats they
12:32 turned to Hitler to bail them out well
12:34 he couldn't stand by and let his allies
12:37 embarrass him so he invaded Southeast
12:40 Europe overrunning Yugoslavia and Greece
12:43 pretty quickly but that wasted valuable
12:46 time and resources for the axis because
12:49 that summer they had a big plan the
12:52 invasion of the Soviet Union One of
12:56 history's most terrible struggles was
13:00 about to begin in June Hitler shocked
13:03 his former Ally Stalin by launching the
13:06 most massive invasion in history nearly
13:09 4 million men 3 and a half th000 tanks
13:13 over 8,000 other vehicles and thousands
13:17 of aircraft plus over half a million
13:19 horses the Soviets were completely
13:22 outclassed millions of men were killed
13:25 or captured and sent to camps where most
13:28 of them stared to death even Stalin's
13:30 son was among the prisoners who would
13:33 perish by December German spearheads
13:36 were at the outskirts of Moscow but
13:39 ferocious Soviet resistance and shocking
13:40 cold weather stopped them in their
13:42 tracks and the Soviets launched a
13:44 Counterattack that was even able to push
13:47 them back Hitler had believed as he put
13:49 it that by kicking in the front door the
13:51 whole rotten structure would come
13:54 crashing down instead the Soviets had
13:56 retreated but they hadn't collapsed they
13:59 were still in the fight the stage was
14:03 set for a long terrible struggle while
14:06 the Germans were falling just short of
14:09 taking Stalin's Capital thousands of
14:12 miles away another surprise attack was
14:16 about to take place Japan was struggling
14:18 to win its War in China they needed raw
14:21 materials Rubber and oil these could be
14:25 found in Southeast Asia places like
14:27 Malaysia the Japanese thought the United
14:29 States would stop them from invading
14:32 these territories so they decided to
14:35 strike first knock out the American Navy
14:38 in the Pacific then they could seize all
14:41 the territory they liked so in early
14:45 December 1941 six Japanese aircraft
14:49 carriers headed for Hawaii on the 7th of December
14:50 December
14:53 1941 the Japanese struck bombs and
14:56 Torpedoes rained down on the US Pacific
15:01 Fleet headquarters at P Harbor on aahu
15:04 eight battleships were sunk or damaged 2
15:08 and a half th000 Americans were killed
15:11 President Roosevelt called it a day of
15:15 infamy and declared war on Japan then
15:19 remarkably Adolf Hitler declared war in
15:22 America the USA was in the war with both
15:26 Japan and Germany the war in Europe and
15:30 the war in Asia was now a global one the
15:32 Japanese didn't just attack the
15:34 Americans they also put into plan their
15:36 attempt to secure the resources of
15:39 Southeast Asia at the same time those
15:41 bombs were falling on Pearl Harbor the
15:43 Japanese invaded British controlled
15:46 Malaya then Indonesia and the
15:49 Philippines within months all of them
15:51 would fall to Japan
15:53 Japan
16:03 1942 started with axis
16:07 advances but ended in terrible defeats
16:10 the Japanese continued to expand across
16:12 Asia and the Pacific they captured Burma
16:14 they arrived at the gates of India they
16:17 bombed Australia and Sri Lanka the
16:20 Germans and their axis allies charged
16:23 through Ukraine into Southern Russia by
16:25 late summer they'd reached the city of
16:27 Stalingrad but their momentum stopped as
16:29 they struggled to secure the city in the
16:32 face of house to house
16:35 fighting that summer too the Japanese
16:38 suffered a catastrophic defeat the
16:40 Americans had broken the Japanese Naval
16:42 codes which allowed them to Ambush the
16:45 Japanese Fleet off Midway Island US
16:48 Naval dive bombers destroyed four
16:50 Japanese aircraft carriers ripping the
16:53 heart out of the Japanese Navy the tide
16:56 had turned the tide also turned in
16:59 Africa as well an impressive axis
17:02 Advance had taken their forces deep into
17:04 Egypt threatening the entire British
17:06 position in the Middle East but the
17:08 British attacked at El alamain in
17:11 October and forced the axis back it was
17:14 the start of a long
17:18 retreat days later the Americans arrived
17:20 in the western theater for the first
17:23 time in the war they and the British
17:26 landed in Morocco in Algeria threatening
17:30 to crush the axis between them and the
17:33 British army advancing from Egypt in November
17:34 November
17:38 1942 the Soviets launched a massive
17:41 Counterattack on the German troops at
17:43 Stalingrad within days they were
17:46 surrounded the Germans held out
17:49 desperately but by February 1943 the
17:53 final Remnant surrendered it was a devastating
17:54 devastating
17:56 defeat in
18:01 1943 the allies really turned the screws
18:03 in the skies of Europe fleets of bombers
18:06 smashed German cities and factories
18:09 night after night a daring raid in May
18:11 saw British bombers strike at German
18:14 dams disrupt hydroelectric and Water
18:17 Supplies in the industrial region of the
18:20 r in the Soviet Union the Germans
18:24 attempted one last big offensive they
18:26 attacked the Soviets around the city of
18:29 KK but the British had br broken German
18:31 codes and gave Stalin detailed
18:33 intelligence the Soviets built massive
18:35 defenses which took a terrible toll on
18:38 the Germans and then struck back at them
18:42 sending them reing back the Germans
18:45 would know only Retreats from this point
18:48 forward in the Atlantic British American
18:51 Canadian other Allied ships and planes
18:53 developed techniques to overcome the
18:54 threat of German
18:57 submarines in a series of battles Allied
18:59 ships sunk German submarines in such
19:01 large numbers the German Admirals
19:04 suspended all operations they would
19:07 never again enjoy the upper hand in the
19:08 spring of
19:17 Africa and in July the invasion of Italy
19:20 began with Landings in Sicily the first
19:23 Allied boots on the home turf of an Axis
19:27 power later that month the fascist
19:29 leader musolini was ousted from power
19:32 and arrested the Allies then invaded the
19:35 Italian mainland in early September
19:37 Italy agreed to surrender but German
19:39 forces in Italy seized control and
19:41 ensured that the Allies would have to
19:44 fight their way right up the Italian
19:47 peninsula in the Pacific the Americans
19:50 were on the offensive they hoed from
19:53 Island to Island in two main thrusts
19:55 there was a Southern Drive in which New
19:57 Guinea and its surrounding Islands would
19:59 be captured then there was a Thrust up
20:01 through the Central Pacific with attacks
20:04 on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands the
20:09 axis were on the retreat they now had no
20:11 chance of winning the war as the
20:14 situation worsened for the Germans their
20:16 genocidal campaign against Europe's Jews
20:19 and other groups accelerated millions of
20:22 Jews were killed in industrial murder
20:25 camps across Germany's shrinking Empire
20:28 the walls really closed in on the axis
20:35 1944 the Soviets launched offensive
20:38 after offensive millions of men surging
20:41 forward driving the axis forces before
20:45 them vast numbers of people were now
20:48 locked into bloody destructive awful
20:50 Fighting by the end of the year the
20:54 Soviets were on German soil in the
20:57 Pacific the USA inflicted defeat after
20:59 defeat on the the Japanese most their
21:02 Navy was wiped out in massive battles
21:04 like the Philippine Sea and the late
21:07 Gulf they captured Island after Island
21:11 cipan tinian Guam all fell from these
21:14 islands American bombers could now reach
21:15 the Japanese home islands and unleash
21:18 terrible destruction the Japanese
21:20 attempted a pathetic attempt to strike
21:23 at America they released Balloons with
21:25 explosives tied onto them one of them
21:28 killed six civilians in Oregon the only
21:30 Americans killed in the continental US
21:33 by Axis powers during the second world
21:36 war the Japanese also tried to invade
21:38 India but were held at battles at kohima
21:41 and infal before falling back the
21:44 Americans British Canadians and their
21:46 allies launched their invasion of
21:49 Western Europe on the 6th of June 1944
21:51 1944
21:54 D-Day in just 24 hours around
21:58 150,000 men were landed in Normandy some
22:00 drop from aircraft but the majority
22:04 coming across the channel in 7,000 ships
22:07 and boats and storming up the beaches
22:09 hours of savage fighting were needed to
22:10 get off some of the beaches as the
22:13 German Defenders Unleashed a storm of
22:15 machine gun fire from concrete bunkers
22:17 but by the end of the day the Allies had
22:19 penetrated this defensive wall and
22:22 cleared the beaches and huge numbers of
22:24 men and vehicles would land in the
22:27 coming days German reinforcements rushed
22:28 to Normy
22:31 and a brutal attritional battle followed
22:33 it wasn't until early August that the
22:35 Allies defeated the German forces
22:37 comprehensively and they raced across
22:39 northern France liberating Paris at the
22:41 end of the
22:43 month it seemed like the end of the war
22:45 might be near the Allies launched an
22:47 ambitious attempt to seize the bridge
22:50 across the rine at arnam but the Germans
22:52 were not defeated yet they fought back
22:55 and frustrated the plan the war would
22:58 drag on through another terrible winter
23:01 and at midwinter Hitler would launch his
23:04 last offensive with snow thick on the
23:06 ground the Germans struck at Allied
23:08 troops in Luxembourg and
23:11 Belgium they bent back the Allied line
23:14 into a bulge but could not break through
23:16 massive reinforcements were rushed to
23:18 the region and this Battle of the Bulge
23:21 Ended as another German defeat they'd
23:26 lost men tanks and fuel they could not
23:29 afford it was all over in
23:32 1945 but the axis fought hard to the end
23:36 causing huge unnecessary hardship trauma
23:39 and loss of life as the Snows melted in
23:42 the spring of 1945 the Allies swept
23:44 through Northern Italy finally
23:45 completing the
23:48 Liberation on their Western Front the
23:49 Germans blew up one of their biggest
23:52 dams causing flooding to slow the Allied
23:56 advance but in March the Western allies
23:57 gained footholds on the east side of the
23:59 the mighty River rine and advanced
24:03 across Germany by April they were just
24:06 50 mi from Berlin in the East the
24:09 Soviets rampaged across Poland and East
24:12 Germany nearly 2 and a half million men
24:14 proved far too much for the German
24:16 Defenders Stalin was desperate to get to
24:19 Berlin the enemy's Capital first and he
24:21 pushed his generals to beat the Western
24:25 allies to it they succeeded Berlin was
24:27 surrounded by Soviet troops by late
24:31 April on the 30th of April Hitler
24:33 married his longtime partner Eva Brown
24:37 then killed her and committed suicide
24:39 the third reich's short-lived second
24:42 furer Admiral donits surrendered
24:45 unconditionally a week later on the 7th
24:50 of May the war in the west was over 43
24:53 million had died 2third of Europe's
24:56 Jewish population had been murdered
24:58 cities had been erased Treasures
25:01 destroyed a continent lay in
25:04 Ruins Japan remained in the fight for
25:07 the moment its cities were incinerated
25:09 its Empire
25:12 humbled American forces moved ever
25:15 closer to the home Islands they captured
25:18 islands like iojima and Okinawa after
25:20 horrific fighting which saw suicidal yet
25:24 hopeless Japanese defense plans were
25:28 made to invade Japan itself but then
25:32 the USA stunned the world a single plane
25:33 dropped the most powerful weapon in
25:38 history a miracle weapon the atomic bomb
25:41 a top secret massive industrial and
25:42 scientific effort had been underway in
25:45 America to harness the power of the atom
25:47 and create a bomb of hitherto
25:51 unimaginable strength in July
25:54 1945 there had been a successful test
25:56 which had turned a patch of New Mexico
26:00 desert into glass in August the new
26:02 American President Truman who had
26:04 succeeded after the death of Roosevelt
26:07 in April took the decision to drop the
26:09 bomb on Japan to force their
26:12 unconditional surrender on the 6th of
26:13 August a single bomb was dropped on
26:17 Hiroshima followed by a second bomb 3
26:18 days later on
26:21 Nagasaki hundreds of thousands of people
26:23 were killed or suffered horrific
26:26 injuries in the two strikes at the same
26:29 time the Soviet Union finally entered
26:31 the war in the Pacific the day after
26:34 Hiroshima Stalin launched a massive
26:36 offensive against Japanese forces in
26:39 northern China bowing to the inevitable
26:42 the Japanese government surrendered the
26:44 official ceremony took place on the 2nd
26:45 of September
26:49 1945 on the American battleship in Tokyo
26:53 bay the second world war was over the
26:55 world was transformed in Europe the
26:57 eastern part of the continent was now
27:00 under Soviet communist occupation
27:03 Germany was divided in two the East
27:05 occupied by the Soviets the west by the
27:08 Western democracies nuclear armed
27:10 America was now a global superpower
27:12 totally replacing the British and the
27:14 French Empires which were weakened by
27:17 the exertions and the expense of war in
27:21 Asia Japan was occupied and rebuilt by
27:23 the Americans Korea was divided like
27:25 Germany between the democracies who
27:28 controlled the South and so forces who
27:30 installed a communist regime in the
27:34 North Vietnam had thrown off the French
27:37 Imperial yoke during the war and began
27:39 its independent struggle as the French
27:41 arrived back to take
27:45 control China was devastated by the war
27:47 and the Communist forces there redoubled
27:50 their efforts to seize power by 1949
27:53 mainland China was in the grip of the
27:56 Chinese Communist party in so many ways
28:00 we are still living in a world forged by
28:01 World War [Music]
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