Introduction: The legend of WW2 (0.00 - 0.56)

The programme opens by examining the relatively rare visible remnants of the impact of the war on Britain. These pill boxes are the most enduring physical legacy of the threat of invasion. For the enthusiast, careful searching in Britain’s southern and eastern counties can still unearth these treasures, but they are most often now used for storage of animal feeds, or shelter for animals themselves. The point of this opening section is to raise the precariousness of Britain’s position in these early stages of the war. The mood may have been defiant, but Britain was much more hard pressed at this time than the government was prepared to admit. Part of the problem was Britain’s own lack of readiness, but the programme then goes on to describe another key aspect of the problem, the awesome power of the German war machine in 1939-40.

Blitzkrieg (0.57 – 2.30)

Several key points emerge in this part of the programme. Germany’s army was comparatively modern in 1939-40. Germany’s armed forces were strictly limited by the Treaty of Versailles, until Hitler simply ignored these restrictions in 1933. This meant that the Germans were building from scratch with new weapons and technology. Another key element in this was the fact that Hitler had illegally occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939. This gave him the Skoda steel and arms factories. The German tanks which swept through Eastern and Western Europe in 1939-40 mostly came from this source. The programme gives some examples of the weapons the Germans developed. However, it is important that Blitzkrieg was as much about speed and tactical skill as about superior weaponry. Teachers who want their students to focus on the mythology of the war might want to remind their students of the debate that continues to this day about the Dunkirk evacuation. Was it a daring and ingenious withdrawal or a humiliating rout?

Britain under siege (2.31 – 5.59)

Preparing defences
The programme then goes on to look at some of the frantic but highly effective work carried out in preparing the British Army for a possible invasion. The formidable Bren gun is featured, but also the shortage of them. Teachers interested in exploring this aspect of the war further might like to look at the Net Notes for the Channel 4 Schools series The Home Front Through Home Movies.

Battle of Britain
However, the critical role in Britain’s defence was to be played by the RAF. In order to invade, Hitler needed to control the skies over the Channel. Otherwise the RAF and the Royal Navy would devastate his invasion forces as they tried to cross the Channel. The issue of mythology crops up again in the programme, this time the reputation of the Spitfire as Britain’s saviour in the Battle of Britain. The role of the Spitfire is not denigrated, but due credit is given to the Hurricane. Credit is also given to the use of scientific advances in radar. Teachers might also want to stress the role played by intelligence agents, information supplied by resistance movements in Europe and the many observation posts, usually occupied by women, around the country. The section closes by trying to give students some inkling of the incredible strains and stresses of being in aerial combat.

War at sea (6.00 – 9.09)

The next section of the programme looks at a theme that received much coverage in Programme 1. The vital importance of the sea routes must be stressed. As with the 1914-18 war, the surface battles were spectacular, but the Battle of the Atlantic was more of a grim struggle between the merchant ships and their escorts and the German U-boats. Students may need to be made aware that the greater part of the attacks took place near to port. Even U-boat packs found it difficult to trace merchant ships in the open Atlantic. However, all ships had to come into port. Most came around the northern end of Ireland, because the Irish leader Eamon de Valera kept Ireland neutral during WW2. As a result, British naval ships could not operate from the ports in the South of Ireland. This meant that the north coast of Northern Ireland was regularly a deafening and terrifying battleground, especially in the nights of the winter of 1940-41. Frigates, destroyers, flying boats and the corvettes featured in the programme were all active in hunting and destroying U-boats.

Radio, intelligence and propaganda (9.10 – 10.05)

Some military analysts today believe that wars could be fought with information as the sole weapon. For example, computer experts on one side could hack into the computer systems of the other side and turn off the water and sewage supplies of major cities, at the same time as they instructed the city’s power stations to blow every fuse in the area by sending a major power surge through their network. The scientists who broke the German Enigma code in 1941 must be seen as the pioneers of this kind of warfare. In WW2 information and intelligence became almost as important as the ability to produce the food, equipment and ammunition to supply the armed forces. The programme highlights the use of coded radio messages to liaise with resistance groups. All manner of devious codes were devised. In one campaign in the Pacific the US Navy used Navaho Indians speaking their native language! Another critical aspect of the use of radio was as a tool for delivering propaganda. The Nazis were arguably the masters of this process, but the Allies also used propaganda and censorship on a grand scale to keep control of their populations and to boost support for the war effort.

The Russian Front: Tanks and motor vehicles (10.06 – 10.59)
Most of the fighting in WW2 was mobile, contrasting starkly with the static trench warfare of WW1. The programme outlines the developments in tank and motor vehicle technology as a partial explanation of this. The Battle of Kursk is little known in the West, and yet was the largest tank battle ever fought. The initial German bombardment consisted of more high explosive than was fired in the Battle of the Somme. The technology was a key factor in this battle. It was the conflict of two philosophies. The German tanks were superb machines, well armoured with tremendous firepower and very ‘high tech’. Pitted against them were the Russian T34 tanks. They were excellent fighting vehicles, but not a match for the German tanks. They won because there were far more of them. This war was not just about weapons and tactics, but also about the efficiency of the factories back home.

Total war and bombing (11.00 – 14.44)

The programme then picks up the linked issues of total warfare and bombing. Victory in WW2 was achieved through the vast resources of the USA and the USSR. The programme focuses on the attempts of the various sides to cripple the other side’s means of production. The Allies were far more successful in this respect. Germany suffered from saturation bombing. Controversy still rages about how far raids such as the bombing of Cologne were really strategic attacks on production targets or simply acts of terror. Students should be aware of this. The key instruments of this campaign are examined, specifically the American B17 and its escort fighter the P51 Mustang.

The rest of this section of the programme focuses on the role of the USA as the arsenal of democracy. A vast array of goods, materials and vehicles was turned out by the American war machine. Some of those are featured in the programme, such as the Liberty Ships, the DUKW amphibious vehicle and the Douglas DC47 Dakota transport plane.

D-Day (14.45 – 17.54)

All of these resources were thrown into the D-Day invasion of occupied Europe in June 1944. The programme describes the range of different tactics, approaches and weapons used. There was the misinformation – the Germans found it hard to believe the Allies would land in Normandy. There were paratroops and glider-borne troops. There were thousands of tanks, but also specially modified tanks to deal with minefields and ditches. There was also the extraordinary artificial harbour, Mulberry.

The programme moves on to describe the Allied push inland. Here the Allies met the same formidable German armour as the Russians. The Allies were able to handle this threat because of their near total air superiority. The programme features the tank busting Hawker typhoons armed with rockets. These were indeed devastating if they hit their targets, although the incidences of ‘friendly fire’ must have been common in the difficult conditions of Normandy. Air power - destroying railway lines, blowing up ammunition and fuel dumps and wrecking factories – was equally important in stopping the German armour.

The German response, in a different form of air power, is dealt with briefly. The V1 and V2 rockets were incredible technical achievements, and were a major concern to Britain. With hindsight, we know that the bombing campaign and the advance of the Allies into occupied territories severely hampered the rocket programmes.

War in the Pacific (17.55 – 18.39)

The programme then switches tack to look at the war in the Pacific. The footage shows clearly the nature of this war. Aircraft carriers were the new super weapon in this campaign, but there was hard hand-to-hand fighting as well. The tide turned in favour of the Allies after the Battle of Midway in 1942. Even the kamikaze pilots featured in the programme could not stop the advance of the Allies. However, this advance meant island-hopping – winning back the territories conquered by the Japanese in the period 1937-42. This was ruinously expensive in equipment and lives. As 1945 approached, the prospect of invading the Japanese mainland filled the American President Truman with dread.

The nuclear age (18.40 – end)

The programme concludes with the American decision to drop nuclear weapons on Japanese cities. This is another controversial area for historians. Did Truman authorise the atomic bombs to end the war quickly? Was it to save American lives, which would have been lost in thousands if they had to invade Japan? Was it to make a point to the USSR? By 1945 the USSR had emerged as a superpower. Its leader Stalin was still technically an ally in 1945, but he was emerging as more of a rival. The new nuclear weapon was to dominate politics for the next 50 years.