0:00:03 > 0:00:05'This is the day and this is the hour.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07'The sky is lightening,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09'lightening over the coast of Europe as we go in.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15'The sea is a glittering mass of silver with all these
0:00:15 > 0:00:17'craft of every kind moving across it.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25'Allied Naval forces supported by strong air forces
0:00:25 > 0:00:27'began landing Allied armies this morning
0:00:27 > 0:00:30'on the northern coast of France.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39'Many hundreds and thousands of fighting men are going in now,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41'to do the biggest job they have ever had to do.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44'I can't record any more now because the time has come for me
0:00:44 > 0:00:47'to get my kit on my back and get ready to step off on that shore
0:00:47 > 0:00:49'and it's a great day...'
0:00:53 > 0:00:57The D-Day story's one that I've always found irresistible.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Growing up, I was captivated by tales of daring airborne drops
0:01:01 > 0:01:04and beach assaults against a mighty foe.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06But, as I've learnt more, I've realised that
0:01:06 > 0:01:10much of our accepted view of the Normandy campaign needs questioning.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13What's more, I think we owe it to those who fought here
0:01:13 > 0:01:14to get their story right.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23I believe the story is more nuanced...
0:01:25 > 0:01:27..that the Americans were not so dominant,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31the Germans not so skilful, nor the British so hapless...
0:01:36 > 0:01:38..and I think it's worth reconsidering the events
0:01:38 > 0:01:41that occurred in Normandy during the summer of '44.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02This is the D-Day image that everyone knows.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06One of only 11 surviving frames taken by Robert Capa
0:02:06 > 0:02:08on Omaha Beach that morning.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It has provided a visual cue...
0:02:15 > 0:02:19..a reference point that has informed the story for 70 years.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26It's a story that's been told from a predominantly
0:02:26 > 0:02:30American perspective, the British effort often relegated
0:02:30 > 0:02:33to little more than an amateurish sideshow.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38EISENHOWER: 'This landing is but the opening phase of the campaign
0:02:38 > 0:02:41'in Western Europe. Great battles lie ahead.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46'I call upon all who love freedom to stand with us now.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51'Keep your faith staunch. Our arms are resolute.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53'Together we shall achieve victory.'
0:02:58 > 0:03:02After nearly five years of war, the invasion took place here -
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Normandy, on the northern coast of France.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14An armada carrying 133,000 men would join 22,000 paratroopers
0:03:14 > 0:03:18in a massive assault that caught the Germans completely by surprise.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25All too often this is where the story ends, on D-Day itself,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27with the Allies taking the beaches.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32The events that followed are often overlooked.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Wars are fought on three levels.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41The strategic - the overall aims of the war leaders,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44the goals and objectives, the big picture.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48The tactical - the fighting.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51We've best come to understand this through
0:03:51 > 0:03:53the testimonies of those who were there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04The third level, operational, is the nuts and bolts,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08the logistical link between the big plans at the strategic level
0:04:08 > 0:04:10and the fighting at the tactical.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14'It's this aspect that's usually ignored
0:04:14 > 0:04:17'but which is of critical importance.'
0:04:17 > 0:04:19And this map shows it brilliantly.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Here you've got the sea lanes, the highway of supply.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26And it's not just D-Day - the Normandy campaign -
0:04:26 > 0:04:31it's every single day. It's that resupplying of trucks and tanks
0:04:31 > 0:04:34and fuel and rations and medical supplies.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37It's that ability to be able to bring that across and reinforce
0:04:37 > 0:04:41the battle front that's the key to unlocking the Normandy campaign.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45D-Day itself, it's the centre of the campaign,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47it's not the start of the campaign.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50For Allied airmen and for Allied sailors,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53that campaign had been going on for years beforehand,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57so, in 1943, breaking the U-boats in order to bring the US army
0:04:57 > 0:05:01safely across the Atlantic Ocean as a precondition for D-Day.
0:05:02 > 0:05:03HORNS BLARE
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Command and control of the enormous shipping effort was under
0:05:08 > 0:05:12the direction of the Royal Navy from its headquarters near Portsmouth.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Stephen Prince is the Navy's official historian.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23You are importing enormous amounts of power and people from all over
0:05:23 > 0:05:25the world and that requires sea control
0:05:25 > 0:05:27that stretches across the Earth.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30You're bringing in nearly two million people from North America -
0:05:30 > 0:05:33one and a half million Americans but, often forgotten,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35the half a million Canadians
0:05:35 > 0:05:37who were so important to the British war effort.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The Germans were also preparing for invasion.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Since 1942, they had been reinforcing positions
0:05:49 > 0:05:53all along the coast of France - the Atlantic Wall.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00It was strongest in the north, around the Pas-de-Calais.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03In Normandy, it had never been finished,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and the troops defending the coast there varied in quality.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The 15th Army, moved from Russia,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13was a mixture of veterans and new recruits.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18The 7th Army had been in France since 1940,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20seeing little, if any, combat.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25'We had no good infantry divisions.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27'They had been in France for two to three years,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29'and were completely spoiled.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32'France is a dangerous country, with its wine, women,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34'and its pleasant climate.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38'Troops who are there for any length of time become bad soldiers.'
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein had been transferred
0:06:43 > 0:06:46from the Eastern Front only a month before D-Day.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51He led the elite Panzer Lehr division.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55These men would be in the heart of the fighting.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03At dawn on 6th June, Bayerlein's division was at Le Mans,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05124 miles from the beaches.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12The task for the German commanders in the west was to defend a huge
0:07:12 > 0:07:13line that stretched all the way
0:07:13 > 0:07:15from southern France to the Low Countries.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Precisely where to put the Panzer divisions to best meet this threat
0:07:18 > 0:07:21was the subject of a major disagreement that had still
0:07:21 > 0:07:23not been properly resolved.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Mobility and maximum flexibility were crucial
0:07:26 > 0:07:28because the High Command did not know where
0:07:28 > 0:07:30the Allied hammer would fall.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38The German army in the west on 6th June 1944 is 58 divisions.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Six of them are armoured or mechanised,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43mechanised infantry are called Panzer Grenadiers.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45The rest, the other 52,
0:07:45 > 0:07:50are infantry who relied purely on horses for their mobility.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55It was these static divisions that would confront
0:07:55 > 0:07:57the Allies as they came ashore.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04These units would have to be swiftly overwhelmed
0:08:04 > 0:08:05and a bridgehead secured
0:08:05 > 0:08:08before the Panzer divisions could counterattack.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18The landings began with the American assaults at 0630.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It was on Omaha that US troops initially struggled,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29and it's the fighting here that has so defined D-Day ever since.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37From down on the beach, it's easy to think that the defenders hold
0:08:37 > 0:08:41all the aces, but from this point of view, I'm not so sure.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Imagine looking out to a scene dark with warships,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46all hurtling shells towards you,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and thousands of Americans coming towards you as well.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53This is one of the strongest positions of all the Omaha defences
0:08:53 > 0:08:56and yet it was manned by just 41 people.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01There were 15 of these strong points along the bluffs.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06They were strongest where they covered
0:09:06 > 0:09:07the four draws running off the beach.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13For those in the initial waves,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16opposite the two biggest exits, this was a killing zone.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24The position of these bunkers
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and trenches also seriously hampered the defenders.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31As soon as the battle began, they were trapped where they fought.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36The German defenders do a really good job for the first few hours
0:09:36 > 0:09:38of the invasion.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41But they can't reinforce the bunkers on the forward slope, they can't
0:09:41 > 0:09:44bring spare ammunition down, they can't take their casualties back,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47and they can't take any reinforcements down
0:09:47 > 0:09:48to replace the casualties.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52So those guys are isolated on the forward slope.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Sooner or later, they're going to run out of ammunition,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58and the moment they do, with no ability to bring down more,
0:09:58 > 0:09:59then they're finished, they're toast.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05And that's exactly what happens that morning on Omaha Beach.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09All those bunkers are falling silent at around about midday.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16As soon as the soldiers hit the beach, they came in range
0:10:16 > 0:10:18of powerful German machine guns,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21so identified with the deadly defence of Omaha.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30The Americans were quick to examine the most recent model.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33'The latest German machine gun and the one which is gradually
0:10:33 > 0:10:35'replacing the MG34
0:10:35 > 0:10:40'is the dual-purpose calibre 7.92mm MG42...'
0:10:42 > 0:10:45The main thing about it is the noise.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49It's firing at such a cyclic rate, it's got a distinctive noise.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55And everyone talks about Hitler's zip - the noise, the rate of fire.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04'To change the barrel,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08'a barrel change lever hinged on the right side...'
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Therein lies the rub.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13In the heat of battle, this was easier said than done.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16The very thing that made the MG42
0:11:16 > 0:11:19so terrifying was also its greatest weakness.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23The incredibly high rate of fire used
0:11:23 > 0:11:28so much ammunition, the barrel began to melt unless frequently changed.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31OK, gun clear.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Considering the barrel's hot,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34I will not manhandle it without a glove on, OK?
0:11:34 > 0:11:37However, this isn't sufficiently hot to burn me.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39So, if we elevate it slightly,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42the barrel...comes out.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47- OK.- This is where you will need a protective item of clothing,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49a rag, sandbag, or a glove,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53because it will fuse the skin onto the barrel, it is that hot.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Interestingly, the same diaries
0:11:58 > 0:12:02by the time we're breaching the Rhine a few months later,
0:12:02 > 0:12:03there's just as many guns,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06if not more, but there's no comment about it.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08People have got accustomed to that noise.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14The counterpart to the MG42 was the steady, ever-dependable
0:12:14 > 0:12:15British Bren Gun,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19originally designed in the mid '30s in Czechoslovakia.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24Although firing at a lower rate, the Bren had strengths the MG42 lacked.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29The two weapons perfectly demonstrate
0:12:29 > 0:12:31a massive doctrinal difference.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41So, the manufacture of one of these machine guns, the MG34,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- took 150 man hours to manufacture. - Really?
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- Even at the height of the war. - Yeah, that's incredible, isn't it? - It's ridiculous.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- A Bren Gun was 50 hours. - So you can do three Bren Guns...
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- In the time they made one gun. - And what about the MG42?
0:12:55 > 0:12:57That was reduced because it's pressed steel on the outside
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- but it only went down to about 75...- So it still takes...
0:13:00 > 0:13:03- ..so it still takes longer than the Bren Gun.- Right.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07And, remember, they're expense items. You use a lot of them.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Nearly half a million MG42s were built,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16but over-engineering wasn't the problem for these weapons at Omaha.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Lethal in the opening stages, as the defenders used up the ammunition
0:13:24 > 0:13:28and barrels began to melt, they became less effective.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33This is one reason why subsequent waves had an easier time
0:13:33 > 0:13:34crossing the beach.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37After the initial slaughter,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40the Americans overcame the German strong points.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Before the dawn beach assaults, airborne troops had been landed.
0:13:58 > 0:13:59The British, using gliders,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02had successfully captured bridges intact,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06an operation that would anchor the eastern edge of the invasion area.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17The western end was to be secured by American paratroopers.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22These were some of the finest fighting men in the US Army.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29But, despite numerous practice drops, as seen here,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33they were delivered into the battle by mostly inexperienced pilots.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38The result was just one in six troopers landing on target.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Nonetheless, paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions
0:14:45 > 0:14:47did what they did best
0:14:47 > 0:14:52and created havoc behind Utah Beach and across the Cherbourg Peninsula.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59During the first 48 hours of the invasion,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Panzer divisions rushed to reinforce the coast.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05They were attacked continually from the air.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09'It took two days and one night to reach the Caen front,
0:15:09 > 0:15:16'and, on 7th June '44, I lost 85 or 86 armoured vehicles, 123 trucks,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20'five tanks and 23 half-tracks, all through bombing.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22'Bayerlein, Panzer Lehr.'
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Competing German commanders had argued where these Panzer
0:15:28 > 0:15:31divisions should be held in preparation for the invasion.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Hitler had brokered a fudge that left many units
0:15:36 > 0:15:37with a long trip to the front.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Despite some spectacular personality clashes,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46leadership for the Allies was more efficiently structured.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Under the Supreme Command of General Dwight D Eisenhower,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53the chiefs of the air and naval forces were both British...
0:15:55 > 0:15:58..as was the army chief, General Bernard Montgomery.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Monty arrived in France and set up in the grounds of a chateau,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06near Creully.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12He had an extraordinary capacity to rub people up the wrong way,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15which has often overshadowed his abilities
0:16:15 > 0:16:17and skewed assessments of his performance.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Operation Overlord was largely Monty's plan.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29In his pre-invasion strategy,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Monty aimed to secure a continual bridgehead as quickly as possible
0:16:32 > 0:16:34and then to swiftly to capture Cherbourg
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and the high ground to the south and south-east of Caen.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39During the build-up, he also repeatedly stressed
0:16:39 > 0:16:42the need for the British to anchor the eastern flank
0:16:42 > 0:16:44and draw in the bulk of the German Panzers
0:16:44 > 0:16:45so allowing the Americans
0:16:45 > 0:16:48the freedom to manoeuvre south into Brittany.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54It's over Caen that a question mark remains about Monty's plan.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58The city was a vital confluence of road, rail and river,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01with high ground to the south and south-east.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Having taken the city, Montgomery aimed to be at the banks
0:17:04 > 0:17:08of the River Seine and the gates of Paris within 90 days.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19His orders called for the British from Sword Beach to capture Caen
0:17:19 > 0:17:23on D-Day itself, despite being ten miles inland.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Montgomery, when he takes over,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36is shown the original invasion plans, takes them apart and says,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40"These are inadequate, too few troops, wrong places."
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Draws up a new invasion plan and it's really his plan.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48One of the major changes Montgomery made was the swift capture
0:17:48 > 0:17:50of the Cotentin Peninsular,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52but that left him with just one division
0:17:52 > 0:17:54landing here on Sword Beach.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Despite intelligence showing that German forces had increased
0:17:57 > 0:18:00during May, the plan for Sword remained in place.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02If anyone had been worried
0:18:02 > 0:18:06that one division was too much to take Caen on D-Day,
0:18:06 > 0:18:07they never spoke up.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Who before D-Day is going to dare to turn around to General Montgomery
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and say, "Excuse me, General, I don't think your plan is quite right.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20"I think we need more forces in the British sector attacking Caen."
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Montgomery is really known for being quite vindictive and finickity
0:18:25 > 0:18:29and if anyone dare criticises his plan, then there is a chance
0:18:29 > 0:18:32they might not be in on D-Day itself.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40The planning process had been based on a certain level of German
0:18:40 > 0:18:42resistance and strength in Normandy.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Then the weeks leading up to D-Day, that strength
0:18:45 > 0:18:48increases significantly, to dangerous levels,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50as far as the planners are concerned.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52But it's too late to do anything about it.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58One enlarged division of some 25,000 men might have been enough
0:18:58 > 0:19:01had a sizeable proportion landed right away.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04But because of the availability of landing craft,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08just two battalions, or 1,600 men, came ashore in the first wave.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11And that was not enough for all that was being asked of them.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Monty may have been wrong about the scale of the attack at Sword,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26but he was certainly right about the need to build up
0:19:26 > 0:19:29the number of troops and equipment as quickly as possible.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37But along the invasion front, there was no sizeable port.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39During one of the early planning meetings,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Commodore John Hughes-Hallett said, "If we don't have a port,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44"we must take one with us."
0:19:49 > 0:19:51One of the principal solutions was
0:19:51 > 0:19:54an effort so vast that, 70 years on,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57its footprints are still here in the water...
0:20:00 > 0:20:02..monuments to industrial warfare.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07'Dozens, scores, hundreds of craft lying close inshore.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11'Pontoons and jetties being lined up to make a new harbour where,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14'six days ago, there was an empty stretch of shore.'
0:20:18 > 0:20:19At their height,
0:20:19 > 0:20:24the Mulberry harbours landed nearly 7,000 tons of supplies every day,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28but on D-Day everything had to come ashore by landing craft.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33This meant the troops heading ten miles to take Caen
0:20:33 > 0:20:35were only lightly equipped
0:20:35 > 0:20:37when they came up against their first obstacle -
0:20:37 > 0:20:40a bunker complex, Widerstandsnest 17,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43which the Allies had codenamed Hillman.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48We're just about to fly over Hillman, which caused
0:20:48 > 0:20:50so much problems for...
0:20:52 > 0:20:55..for the British as they were advancing on Caen on D-Day.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10It was built on a small rise that covered the Caen road
0:21:10 > 0:21:12and could not be bypassed.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21'Defended by a regiment of the 716th Infantry Division, not elite
0:21:21 > 0:21:24'or highly motivated soldiers, by any means, they had sat on this
0:21:24 > 0:21:27'hill looking at the coast for two years,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29'and were well supplied and dug in.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33'They held off the British until the following morning.'
0:21:33 > 0:21:37There's no question that Hillman scuppered British chances
0:21:37 > 0:21:38of taking Caen on D-Day.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41But there's a problem with a bunker complex like this.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45It's made of concrete. And concrete roots you to the spot.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53While the British from Sword were being held up at Hillman,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55the Canadians were off Juno Beach
0:21:55 > 0:21:58and the British from Gold were already moving inland.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03By evening, they were overlooking Bayeux.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11At first light, a young officer led three tanks into town.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16'We were the first troops in Bayeux
0:22:16 > 0:22:17'and were most relieved to find that,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20'except for isolated strong points and the odd sniper,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22'no Germans were to be found
0:22:23 > 0:22:26'Christopherson, Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry.'
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Christopherson found the Germans the very next day.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34As his unit moved south,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37they came up against the lead elements of the Panzer Lehr.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Despite suffering repeated attacks by Allied air forces,
0:22:44 > 0:22:50the division was now in position, south-west of Caen with 232 tanks,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52including the infamous Tiger.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Of all the German machinery that the Allies had to contend with,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00the most feared was the Tiger tank.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04You can't fully appreciate the size of the threat
0:23:04 > 0:23:06until you're up close to it.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14I've got to say, the Tiger tank is absolutely awesome. It's enormous.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18You can see why, if you were coming up against it, it would put
0:23:18 > 0:23:19the fear of God into you.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22But while tactically it may be fantastic,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24operationally, it's got all sorts of problems.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Just take the transmission, for example.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29It had a hydraulically controlled,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31semi-automatic, pre-selector gearbox.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It was invented by Ferdinand Porsche,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36and while it might have been great for the Nurburgring,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39this was only going to create a whole host of problems
0:23:39 > 0:23:40when it came to the battlefront.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47When we come to armour,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49we tend to think, if we're thinking of German tanks,
0:23:49 > 0:23:54of the Tiger tank, and it certainly made its presence felt in Normandy.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Most Allied soldiers talked in terms of seeing Tiger tanks and,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02with the greatest respect to all the veterans I've ever met,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06they cannot all have seen a Tiger tank. The Germans only made
0:24:06 > 0:24:091,500 of them, nearly all of them went to the Eastern Front.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14But the important thing about a Tiger tank is it looks powerful,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18it's frightening, it's got very thick armour,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21so if you're firing shells at it - bang! -
0:24:21 > 0:24:24they're all going to bounce off. It seems invulnerable.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26It's almost like a mobile pillbox.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30It may have been no consolation to anyone that came
0:24:30 > 0:24:33directly in its path, or found it in their living room,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37but the Tiger tank did have some significant disadvantages.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41To travel one kilometre,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45an Allied Sherman tank uses two litres of fuel.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49To travel the same kilometre, a Tiger tank uses five litres.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52And as the Germans are the ones short of fuel, the Allies aren't,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56then that limits your scope of manoeuvre for a Tiger tank.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59One of the problems is the Germans are producing some of these
0:24:59 > 0:25:01in fairly small numbers. They're perhaps not
0:25:01 > 0:25:05so easy to maintain or fuel as some of the Allied tanks.
0:25:05 > 0:25:12So the Tiger tank is a very dominant weapon in one sense, tactically.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14But the problem is once you break out, the main loss
0:25:14 > 0:25:16of Tiger tanks is simply they run out of fuel.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19They can't keep up with the Allied pace of warfare.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27It may have been rare, complex, and thirsty,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31but the Tiger did have a really big gun - the 88mm,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34probably the best-known artillery piece of the war.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Key to its success was the fearsome velocity
0:25:39 > 0:25:41with which it fired its shells.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51'What's often forgotten is that there was another gun -
0:25:51 > 0:25:55'the 17-pounder - which packed an even greater punch.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57'And it was British.'
0:25:57 > 0:26:00I'm going to have to have a go at this.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- So you just hop on to the seat here. Both feet down?- Yep.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05- They were smaller than me. - They were.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11I tell you what, it's easy to move from left to right, isn't it?
0:26:11 > 0:26:13This is not difficult at all.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16I can see that very easily.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Everything on here, it's engineered.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23It's tough, it's designed to last, and to do the job.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25And that's what they do.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27And the fact that these guns were still being used
0:26:27 > 0:26:31in Korea ten years later...
0:26:31 > 0:26:35When you're shooting at tanks with armour piercing rounds,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38you want a round that is going as fast as possible
0:26:38 > 0:26:39when it hits the target.
0:26:39 > 0:26:46And this is putting a round out at about 1,965mph. That's very fast.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48That is really, really quick.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50And ready to fire.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Fire. Fire.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Health and safety, and common good manners,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59meant we were unable to fire live rounds onto a small
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Buckinghamshire town, so these are just blanks.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07When doing it for real, the anti-tank gun
0:27:07 > 0:27:10is dragged into position to engage a moving target
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and fired at a flat trajectory.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19The 17-pounder could also be mounted onto a Sherman Firefly,
0:27:19 > 0:27:24making this usually under-gunned tank a serious threat to the Tiger.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28But if a Tiger broke through, the damage could be considerable.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39Seven days after D-Day, elements of the 22nd Armoured Brigade
0:27:39 > 0:27:43reached the town of Villers-Bocage, where they were ambushed.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50A 30-year-old tank commander, named Michael Wittmann,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54set about an impulsive attack, unsupported by infantry,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58and in just 15 minutes destroyed 14 British tanks,
0:27:58 > 0:28:0115 personnel carriers and two anti-tank guns.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Wittmann, a Waffen-SS officer,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09was one of the highest scoring Panzer aces of the war.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12He'd been awarded the Knights' Cross with Oak Leaves
0:28:12 > 0:28:15for his actions at the Battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front.
0:28:17 > 0:28:23You get people like Wittmann on the German side.
0:28:23 > 0:28:29Wittmann talked about knocking out 135 Allied tanks.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31We didn't do that.
0:28:31 > 0:28:37I was always lead tank and so I would get my whole troop to fire,
0:28:37 > 0:28:41so, consequently, if we knocked out a tank, it wasn't...
0:28:41 > 0:28:47Lieutenant Render's tank or Sergeant Jackson's tank, or any of that.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49It was Five Troop.
0:28:51 > 0:28:57We never claimed, er, sort of individual tanks being killed.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02The losses that the Germans suffer battling in Villers-Bocage
0:29:02 > 0:29:04is often overlooked.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07A number of the Tiger tanks are actually wasted in urban fighting
0:29:07 > 0:29:10in the town of Villers-Bocage in the afternoon
0:29:10 > 0:29:13of 13th June, because essentially they're without infantry support.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16A clever commander does not send an open country tank,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19like the Tiger, into the centre of town without proper infantry support.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Wittmann's actions at Villers-Bocage were of little strategic consequence
0:29:24 > 0:29:29but became a propaganda coup, and he was promoted to Hauptsturmfuhrer,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31an SS Captain.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34He received the Swords to his Knight's Cross from Hitler
0:29:34 > 0:29:36on 1st August.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40Only a week later, Wittmann's luck finally ran out.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45He was killed by a 17-pounder fired from a Sherman Firefly.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Wittmann is buried with the crew of Tiger 007
0:29:52 > 0:29:55at La Cambe Cemetery, outside Bayeux.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01The real significance of Villers-Bocage is it signalled
0:30:01 > 0:30:05the stiffening of German resistance to the British advance.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08What followed was a long attritional battle around Caen.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16Things were not going much better for the Americans, as they moved
0:30:16 > 0:30:20into terrain very different from the open land of the British sector.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25It's amazing just how much the countryside has changed.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Gone are the big, wide-open fields and suddenly,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32lots of little, tight squares lined with thick hedgerows.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35And up ahead you can see the big ridges around Saint-Lo,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38and this is where the Americans are heading.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44The further US forces pushed south from their beaches,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47the deeper they were drawn into the Norman hedgerows.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57Through every hedge was a new field, a new battle ground,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59and inevitably a new ambush.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06They were becoming bogged down in the bocage.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Infantry and tanks needed to operate together.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13The trouble was these hedgerows were so thick,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15not even a Sherman could get through them,
0:31:15 > 0:31:17and the infantry were getting decimated.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19An urgent solution was needed,
0:31:19 > 0:31:23and this came at the hands of classic American ingenuity.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29The commander of the US V Corps
0:31:29 > 0:31:32demanded his men solve the hedgerow problem.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35In one of his units was Curtis Culin,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38a National Guardsman who, in civilian life,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40had worked in a garage.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42He came up with a novel solution.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49- Morning!- Morning.- How are you?
0:31:49 > 0:31:50- How's yourself?- How are you doing?
0:31:50 > 0:31:53We're going to try and make a hedge cutter, and what's this bit here?
0:31:53 > 0:31:56- We're cutting out the leading edge. - OK.
0:31:56 > 0:31:57So if we look at this,
0:31:57 > 0:32:00the point would go down into the bottom of the hedge
0:32:00 > 0:32:02and then as it came in contact with the roots,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04- it would shear the roots off and push through the hedge.- Got you.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07As opposed to riding up and exposing the soft underbelly of the tank.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09And how easy a job is this?
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Obviously you've got all the kit here today,
0:32:11 > 0:32:13but is it quite straightforward?
0:32:13 > 0:32:17We've seen pictures and photographs of what was made back in the war,
0:32:17 > 0:32:19- and it's basically a copy of that. - Right.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Culin's idea was as economical as it was effective.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29He sourced the raw material for the cutters
0:32:29 > 0:32:32from the German obstacles covering the invasion beaches.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Within two days he had his first prototype.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43How many hours do you think it's going to take, all in all,
0:32:43 > 0:32:45the whole thing, from thinking about it
0:32:45 > 0:32:48to getting it on the front of a Sherman?
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Probably the first one would take a little bit longer
0:32:50 > 0:32:53cos you've got to think of the design,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56but once they'd made one or two of them,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00I'd have thought half a day's or a day's work to do it -
0:33:00 > 0:33:03obviously if they've got plenty of men
0:33:03 > 0:33:06- cutting different pieces out...- Sure.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09'Culin's design had to be simple enough
0:33:09 > 0:33:13'that welders without great skill could mass-produce the cutters
0:33:13 > 0:33:15'in the field, where they were needed.'
0:33:20 > 0:33:22Perfect.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26Yeah, not the smoothest cut, but...
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Hmm... THEY LAUGH
0:33:31 > 0:33:33It took all of us three days to build a cutter
0:33:33 > 0:33:35and attach it to the Sherman.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41It took Sergeant Curtis G Culin Junior
0:33:41 > 0:33:45a week before his prototype was ready to be demonstrated
0:33:45 > 0:33:47in front of General Omar Bradley,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Commander of the whole US First Army.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55We're using the same technique as Culin -
0:33:55 > 0:33:58attach a cutter to the front of a tank, drive it at a hedge
0:33:58 > 0:34:00and see if it works.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10And it was seeing a demonstration like that
0:34:10 > 0:34:13that convinced Bradley this was the way forward.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Within two weeks, 60% of all US Shermans in Normandy
0:34:16 > 0:34:19had been adapted with Culin's hedge cutter.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Culin was awarded the Legion of Merit for his invention.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33He survived Normandy, only to lose a leg
0:34:33 > 0:34:35in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest that winter.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42Sitting here now, it may seem trivial
0:34:42 > 0:34:44to be celebrating the hedge cutter.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47After all, at the tactical level, all Culin had done
0:34:47 > 0:34:51was find a pragmatic solution to an immediate problem.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53But scale it up to the operational level,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56and it's impossible to calculate the number of lives and resources
0:34:56 > 0:34:59saved by this simple cutting tool.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02The combination of ingenuity on the ground
0:35:02 > 0:35:06and fast-moving flexibility within the American command structure
0:35:06 > 0:35:08ensured its troops could move forward
0:35:08 > 0:35:10at a far lower human cost.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12BELL CHIMES
0:35:13 > 0:35:19Caen, the capital of Normandy and birthplace of William the Conqueror.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21It was around this medieval city
0:35:21 > 0:35:23that the crux of the battle was played out.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29Montgomery's plan to take the city on D-Day may have failed,
0:35:29 > 0:35:33but as the British advanced, the area became a magnet for tanks.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39On no other front had so much German armour
0:35:39 > 0:35:43been concentrated into such a small area as it was around Caen.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Fighting less than ten miles from the beaches
0:35:51 > 0:35:54and their main point of supply
0:35:54 > 0:35:56gave the British a massive operational advantage
0:35:56 > 0:35:59over the Germans that would prove decisive.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07'The higher commanders were happy
0:36:07 > 0:36:10'that the German divisions had held up for so long,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12'not realising that what was happening
0:36:12 > 0:36:14'was good strategy for the Allies.'
0:36:17 > 0:36:21Unfortunately, in terms of the movement, in terms of the map,
0:36:21 > 0:36:23it doesn't look as though much is being achieved.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24And for many of the troops,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28who are still stuck in positions after a number of weeks in Normandy
0:36:28 > 0:36:30and around Caen, it's not looking too good.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33The reality is, of course, it's working really well
0:36:33 > 0:36:35and the Germans are suffering really badly.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38And the German strategy consigns them to a long-term defeat,
0:36:38 > 0:36:40which they cannot recover from.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45'Allied war leaders in London and Washington
0:36:45 > 0:36:48'were following lines on a map that appeared to be barely moving.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53'To them, this didn't look much like success.'
0:36:57 > 0:36:59It's amazing when you're in the plane like this,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01and you can look out, and there's the sea,
0:37:01 > 0:37:05there's Sword Beach down there and Caen just over here.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08It's so close, and you can imagine how the Allied planners,
0:37:08 > 0:37:10when you are looking on the map
0:37:10 > 0:37:13and when you're flying over it for those reconnaissance photographs,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15it must have felt like such a short distance, it must have seemed
0:37:15 > 0:37:20such an achievable goal, I suppose, to get there in one day.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30But the British HADN'T got there in a day, so a new plan was needed.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35The Panzers had been drawn in around Caen,
0:37:35 > 0:37:38and that determined where the Allies would fight them.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43All that NOW mattered was annihilating
0:37:43 > 0:37:46the cream of the German Army in the west.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54It's often been portrayed that the Allies were beating their heads
0:37:54 > 0:37:57against a brick wall of German Panzer divisions,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00when actually it was the other way around.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03By 1944, the Allies had worked out how to defeat
0:38:03 > 0:38:05the enemy forces in the field.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08For all the Germans' much-vaunted tactical flair,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11they could always be relied upon to counterattack -
0:38:11 > 0:38:13and in so doing, exposed themselves
0:38:13 > 0:38:16to the overwhelming Allied firepower.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19What the Allies had to do was probe forward,
0:38:19 > 0:38:21defeating as much of the enemy as possible,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24then sit back and wait for the inevitable response.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29Typical of the fighting that followed was that near Tilly,
0:38:29 > 0:38:31to the west of Caen.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36The road into Tilly is a road of devastation.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38It's lined at intervals with soldiers' graves.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Each grave with a rough wooden cross at its head -
0:38:41 > 0:38:45sometimes a cross just hastily made from two sticks cut from a hedge
0:38:45 > 0:38:46and nailed together.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51The farmhouses, the cottages, almost every building along the road,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54they're either gutted out or smashed up by shell fire.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Every yard of this road was shouting at you
0:38:57 > 0:38:59that it had been fought for, bitterly.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry again found themselves
0:39:05 > 0:39:07fighting the Panzer Lehr.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12'The CO's tank had received a direct hit from a heavy shell,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15'which had instantly killed Major Laycock,
0:39:15 > 0:39:19'who had been Acting Colonel since Anderson had been wounded on D-Day.'
0:39:20 > 0:39:22The colonel had just been killed.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26Don't forget, we lost three colonels in five days
0:39:26 > 0:39:27in the Sherwood Rangers.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31So the next one down was Stanley Christopherson.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34And then my father assumed command
0:39:34 > 0:39:35of the regiment,
0:39:35 > 0:39:40and this was probably after four days of really very stiff fighting.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Three senior officers killed,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46and one officer and one sergeant wounded by the same shell.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48This was indeed a shattering blow.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57'Christopherson's son has returned to the small Norman hilltop
0:39:57 > 0:40:00'his father held with the Sherwood Rangers for most of that June.'
0:40:04 > 0:40:07I can really imagine what it must have been like, James,
0:40:07 > 0:40:12um, and in a funny way it brings a slight lump to my throat.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15You can just imagine how exposed you are
0:40:15 > 0:40:19when you're sitting on a hill in your tank at Point 103.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24I think it was possibly one of the most unpleasant experiences -
0:40:24 > 0:40:27and certainly from Dad's recollection of it -
0:40:27 > 0:40:31that they went through in almost all the war, really.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33'We felt rather naked
0:40:33 > 0:40:37'and lonely on this high ground without infantry protection.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41'Being the senior squadron leader, I took control of the regiment,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44'feeling utterly dejected and shocked.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48'Christopherson, Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry.'
0:40:51 > 0:40:52I came to Normandy with Dad.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58I have vivid recollections of, you know, our time here.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09And I also then do remember going to visit the cemetery.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12You know, my father, who was always rather good fun,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16suddenly became rather sort of reserved and very silent.
0:41:18 > 0:41:24My father really didn't, like so many, talk about his experiences,
0:41:24 > 0:41:28I think, which was very typical of that generation,
0:41:28 > 0:41:33and it was only in really later life where, having read his diaries,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36did I really understand what had gone on.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42'John Hanson-Lawson, B Squadron Commander,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45'tried to stalk a German tank, which appeared to be dead.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48'However a Mark IV shooting from the flank brewed him up.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52'John and Sergeant Crookes were both wounded.'
0:41:52 > 0:41:54'Sergeant Crookes was in a bad condition,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56'but when I spoke to him
0:41:56 > 0:41:59'he smiled and told me that he suffered no pain.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01'He died very shortly afterwards.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06'Christopherson, Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry.'
0:42:06 > 0:42:07This is where they all were?
0:42:07 > 0:42:10- 70 years ago, almost to the day. - Almost?
0:42:10 > 0:42:12I mean, it is almost to the day, isn't it?
0:42:12 > 0:42:14There's a lot of talk about heroes today
0:42:14 > 0:42:16and I've no doubt, I suppose,
0:42:16 > 0:42:18in some people's eyes they ARE heroes,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21but, I mean, we didn't have ANY heroes in the Sherwood Rangers.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25I might tell you that if you said to Stanley Christopherson
0:42:25 > 0:42:28or any of those people, "Do you know what?
0:42:28 > 0:42:30"I think I did rather well today.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34"I mean, er, we got a tank and, er, we took 30 prisoners.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36"I mean, that was jolly good, wasn't it?" you know.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39You wouldn't half come in for a ticking-off.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43The Sherwood Rangers could have never maintained action
0:42:43 > 0:42:47at this furious pace without the Allies' massive operational support.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Each day, they were replacing killed and wounded men,
0:42:52 > 0:42:54as well as damaged tanks,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57in a manner that was impossible for the Germans.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00There were three regiments in the brigade
0:43:00 > 0:43:04and each regiment had 50 tanks, so there were 150 tanks.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Well, to keep 150 tanks going
0:43:06 > 0:43:09they had to supply us with 1,073 new ones.
0:43:09 > 0:43:161,073 to keep 150 going.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20I mean, I came out of three, I didn't lose the last one,
0:43:20 > 0:43:21but I came out of three tanks.
0:43:23 > 0:43:24And that was nothing.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Don't forget, Stanley Christopherson in the desert
0:43:27 > 0:43:30came out of five tanks in one day!
0:43:33 > 0:43:36Another veteran of the desert was General Bayerlein.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39'Half of my division was still at Tilly-sur-Seulles,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42'and had had four weeks' severe fighting with the British.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44'I explained the condition of my division
0:43:44 > 0:43:47'and that, so far as strength was concerned,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50'it was not in a position to make a counterattack.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54'At Tilly-sur-Seulles, we had been attacked every second day,
0:43:54 > 0:43:58'and had been continually subjected to artillery fire.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01'Bayerlein, Panzer Lehr.'
0:44:03 > 0:44:08Three weeks after D-Day, Montgomery had finally built up enough strength
0:44:08 > 0:44:13to launch a major set-piece assault on the German line at Caen.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15The result, though hardly conclusive,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18had far-reaching consequences.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Operation Epsom might not have achieved a decisive breakthrough,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25but when the Germans desperately flung their Panzer divisions
0:44:25 > 0:44:29into the battle, so went their last chance of a massed counterattack
0:44:29 > 0:44:32against the Allies on their own terms.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37'My men went to war weeks ago with fresh blooming faces.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40'Today, muddy steel helmets shade emaciated faces
0:44:40 > 0:44:44'whose eyes have, all too often, looked into another world.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47'They present a picture of deep human misery.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49'The division's front is stretched to breaking.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51'Reserves are no longer available.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55'I cannot stand this any more.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56'Dietrich, 1st SS Panzer Corps.'
0:44:59 > 0:45:02The British opposite them were also suffering.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Having lived through the slaughter of '14-'18,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08Allied leaders were determined
0:45:08 > 0:45:11to fight a modern, technologically-driven war,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14but exposing the infantry and armour was unavoidable.
0:45:14 > 0:45:19And for these mostly conscripted troops, the odds were appalling.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21Maintaining morale was essential.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26The Allies thought long-term about, "How are we going to win the war?"
0:45:26 > 0:45:30rather than, "How are we going to win this particular battle?"
0:45:31 > 0:45:32But if you maintain your army
0:45:32 > 0:45:35and keep it functioning over the entirety of a campaign,
0:45:35 > 0:45:37you're much more effective than if your throw everything
0:45:37 > 0:45:40at the first few weeks and just hope something turns up for later on.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46On July 12th, the millionth Allied soldier arrived in Normandy.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49It was not simply about increasing numerical advantage
0:45:49 > 0:45:52of the fighting force.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55With each new arrival so grew the demands of supply.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00So the British, Americans and Canadians invest heavily
0:46:00 > 0:46:02in medical support, for example,
0:46:02 > 0:46:04they invest heavily in logistical support, making sure
0:46:04 > 0:46:07there's enough supplies, they rotate the units out of the line,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and they maintain links with home, with newspapers and letters -
0:46:10 > 0:46:13there was great emphasis on that - and maintaining morale.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17Montgomery was acutely aware that his forces were often inexperienced,
0:46:17 > 0:46:21they weren't battle-hardened the way that the Germans were.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Battle-hardened or not, this vast mass of men required
0:46:25 > 0:46:26three million meals a day,
0:46:26 > 0:46:31and that's before the Allies started shipping ammunition, weapons,
0:46:31 > 0:46:32tanks, trucks, fuel -
0:46:32 > 0:46:35everything that was running so desperately short
0:46:35 > 0:46:37for the German army.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40The story of the Normandy campaign
0:46:40 > 0:46:42is the Allied system builds up
0:46:42 > 0:46:44and functions better and better over time,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47and sustains ever-growing numbers of people,
0:46:47 > 0:46:51whereas the German system starts off relatively strong,
0:46:51 > 0:46:53um, and the Germans are very, very good at their tactical fighting
0:46:53 > 0:46:55and their tactical firepower,
0:46:55 > 0:46:59but increasingly they solve crises in Normandy
0:46:59 > 0:47:03by borrowing from support troops, by patching up solutions,
0:47:03 > 0:47:06which is very effective for the first stage of the campaign
0:47:06 > 0:47:10and holds us close to the beaches for much longer than we expected.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12But all the time their system is weakening
0:47:12 > 0:47:14while ours is growing stronger,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17and then at the end of July our system bursts through theirs
0:47:17 > 0:47:20and theirs has no ability to react fast enough
0:47:20 > 0:47:22for Allied troops who are well supplied
0:47:22 > 0:47:23and are travelling in motor vehicles.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38The Germans were struggling to supply their front,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41mainly because Allied aircraft ruled the skies,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43attacking anything that moved.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46And Monty's assaults continued.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Operation Goodwood was launched on 18th July,
0:47:51 > 0:47:52with armoured divisions advancing
0:47:52 > 0:47:56after a huge air, naval and artillery bombardment.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00It was designed as the first part of a two-fisted punch,
0:48:00 > 0:48:04to draw in the Germans before the Americans attacked around Saint-Lo.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08But after seven miles, the advance ran out of steam.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13Montgomery had sold Goodwood as a massive killer blow,
0:48:13 > 0:48:15largely as a ploy to get the air forces
0:48:15 > 0:48:17to supply the bombers he felt he needed.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24When the attack petered out, Eisenhower's aide, Harry C Butcher,
0:48:24 > 0:48:26witnessed Ike's frustration.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30'Ike said yesterday that 7,000 tons of bombs dropped
0:48:30 > 0:48:33'in the most elaborate bombing of enemy front-line positions
0:48:33 > 0:48:34'ever accomplished.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37'Only seven miles were gained.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41'Can we afford a thousand tons of bombs per mile?
0:48:41 > 0:48:44'The air people are completely disgusted with the lack of progress.'
0:48:45 > 0:48:47"Disgusted" was an understatement.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, who loathed Monty,
0:48:52 > 0:48:53tried to get him sacked.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57'Last evening about nine, Tedder phoned Ike
0:48:57 > 0:49:00'and said that the British Chiefs of Staff would support
0:49:00 > 0:49:03'any recommendation that Ike might care to make with respect to Monty
0:49:03 > 0:49:07'for not succeeding with his big three-armoured division push.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10'Butcher, SHAEF.'
0:49:10 > 0:49:14'Monty was very good at talking to his soldiers or the press,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17'but terrible at communicating with his peers and superiors,
0:49:17 > 0:49:22'especially Eisenhower, whom he often left in the dark.'
0:49:22 > 0:49:25One of the enduring legacies of the Normandy campaign is
0:49:25 > 0:49:28the underwhelming performance of the British.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31To a large extent, Monty himself is to blame for this perception.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36If he'd bothered to explain his REAL intentions for Goodwood,
0:49:36 > 0:49:38where 400 tanks had been knocked out,
0:49:38 > 0:49:40there wouldn't have been such a storm.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45This has always been seen as British ineptitude,
0:49:45 > 0:49:47but ignores the fact that three quarters of them
0:49:47 > 0:49:50were fixed and back in action within days.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Because Montgomery is a difficult customer,
0:49:55 > 0:49:58it's kind of got in the way of any kind of real assessment
0:49:58 > 0:50:00of what the British Army achieved in north-west Europe in '44-'45.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04Which is not to say that Montgomery's personality does not generate
0:50:04 > 0:50:06problems and difficulties and friction - at times it does -
0:50:06 > 0:50:09overall there are far more positives than there are negatives.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14Monty was focused purely on the battle in Normandy.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18He didn't see the mounting problems facing Eisenhower as his concern.
0:50:23 > 0:50:28With London under attack by V-1s, there was great pressure on Ike
0:50:28 > 0:50:29to capture the rocket launch sites
0:50:29 > 0:50:31still out of reach in northern France.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41'There was further pressure to match the great strides being made
0:50:41 > 0:50:43'by the Red Army in the east.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47'There, Hitler could trade space for time.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50'In Normandy, of far greater strategic importance,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53'he had no such luxury.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56'The Germans' determination to keep fighting close to the coast
0:50:56 > 0:50:59'has been seen as evidence of their tactical skill.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02'But the two don't always go hand-in-hand.'
0:51:02 > 0:51:05One of the things that's supposed to be so good about the Germans
0:51:05 > 0:51:06is their tactical flexibility,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08the sort of Kampfgruppe and all this kind of stuff.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11Um, but, you know, the British are doing battle groups
0:51:11 > 0:51:14just as easily as the Germans.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16I don't know if it's QUITE as easily,
0:51:16 > 0:51:20but they certainly are learning during the campaign.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24Um, and the example of things like perhaps the Guards Armoured Division,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27who are first in action on a large-scale Operation Goodwood.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30And they fight for various doctrinal and training reasons
0:51:30 > 0:51:33very largely as a tank brigade
0:51:33 > 0:51:37and as a mobile infantry brigade, fairly separately.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40But after that battle, they are regrouping themselves.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43So you put an armoured regiment next to a motorised infantry regiment,
0:51:43 > 0:51:45and they work together in intimate support.
0:51:48 > 0:51:53On D plus 49, the Americans had launched Operation Cobra -
0:51:53 > 0:51:56the second part of the Allies' two-fisted assault.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03More than 3,000 aircraft pummelled German positions around Saint-Lo.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07Once again the Panzer Lehr were moved to face the attack.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12'100% casualties in the front line.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14'On 24th-25th July,
0:52:14 > 0:52:19'I lost about 2,000 men - either dead or missing from the bombing.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23'I collected the few reserves we had north of La Chapelle-en-Juger,
0:52:23 > 0:52:25'and tried to re-establish the old line.
0:52:26 > 0:52:32'I received more infantry, and put about 800 to 1,000 men in the line.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35'The next day, they too were destroyed.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39'I don't believe hell could be as bad as what we experienced.'
0:52:46 > 0:52:50Already overstretched defending their position south of Caen,
0:52:50 > 0:52:52the Germans were simply unable to hold off
0:52:52 > 0:52:55the massive American attack as well.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59By the end of July, German resistance was finally crumbling.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05'I observed the whole bombardment. Artillery positions were blasted.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08'The front line was wiped out.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11'All communications were completely destroyed
0:53:11 > 0:53:15'and there was no possibility of moving along the roads.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19'I have been at all the hotly contested points on various fronts,
0:53:19 > 0:53:21'but these three days at Saint-Lo
0:53:21 > 0:53:23'were the worst I have ever experienced.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27'Bayerlein, Panzer Lehr.'
0:53:42 > 0:53:45By now, the German line was collapsing everywhere.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51TRANSLATION:
0:53:58 > 0:54:01Johannes Borner, a new paratrooper recruit
0:54:01 > 0:54:03with the 3rd Fallschirmjager Division,
0:54:03 > 0:54:06had arrived at Saint-Lo just after D-Day.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11On D plus 62,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14along with all the remaining German reserves in Normandy,
0:54:14 > 0:54:18he was thrown into yet another disastrous counterattack,
0:54:18 > 0:54:19the survivors of which
0:54:19 > 0:54:23were forced back onto ground near the town of Falaise.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25The end was inevitable.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29TRANSLATION:
0:55:24 > 0:55:28Johannes Borner was captured amidst the wreckage of the Falaise pocket.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35As a POW, he worked on a farm near Bayeux.
0:55:35 > 0:55:40He married a French woman and, for most of the 70 years since D-Day,
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Borner has lived quietly in a little town just behind Sword Beach.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58The Normandy campaign was over.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Two German armies had haemorrhaged men and machinery
0:56:03 > 0:56:06until they could simply resist no longer.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14Traditionally, this has been a tale of heroic Allied struggle
0:56:14 > 0:56:19against seemingly impossible odds in the early hours of the invasion.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23But Normandy had, in fact, been won by tactical ingenuity,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26and a vast operational machine supplying an army
0:56:26 > 0:56:31now able to adapt its strategic aims to a rapidly changing battlefield.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36There are 77 days in the Normandy campaign.
0:56:36 > 0:56:42And the British Army and the American Army that land on D-Day on 6th June
0:56:42 > 0:56:46are very different to those who leave on the 20th-21st August.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50In the First World War the armies have to adapt,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54and it takes them four and a half years, from 1914 to 1918.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57In Normandy, they're going through the same transition,
0:56:57 > 0:56:59but that's squashed into two and a half months.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04Montgomery reckoned the campaign would last for 90 days.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07They'd beaten his target by nearly two weeks,
0:57:07 > 0:57:11and then advanced with spectacular speed.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15It's true the fighting at the tactical level had played out
0:57:15 > 0:57:19very differently from what had been expected.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21But in terms of the broader strategy
0:57:21 > 0:57:24the campaign had more than fulfilled its aims.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27By D plus 90, Paris had been liberated
0:57:27 > 0:57:30and Allied forces were as far as Brussels.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37The price had been terrible.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40On every day of the Normandy campaign,
0:57:40 > 0:57:43casualties averaged 6,500 men.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51Men whose stories are not told by Hollywood or in history books.
0:57:51 > 0:57:56Faces staring at us from faded photographs.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58Names on long-forgotten lists.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04As the generation who fought here slips quietly away,
0:58:04 > 0:58:08it's left to us to try and tell a more complete story,
0:58:08 > 0:58:12so we might understand what THEY went through in Normandy,
0:58:12 > 0:58:14during the summer of '44.