Crusade in Europe S01E13 · Preparation for Invasion

Overview

Eisenhower works with the Allied Joint Chiefs of Staff to plan the invasion of France and beyond. The Ruhr is featured because of coal and industry. German defenses are shown, including naval mines. Reinforcements come from the U.S. and Canada, both ground and air units. Allied maneuvers are shown. The "Mulberry" harbors are assembled. The air campaign against French railroads cuts off the beaches. Eisenhower inspects the troops to boost morale and get the men to talk to him. The ships are loaded for the Channel crossing. A storm causes D-Day to move to June 6th.

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1. 1 1. Prelude to War1949-05-05The surrender at Reims ended the major phase of the European Theater of WWII. The film dissolves from the surrender to Hitler in his early years of power, follows the rise of Nazi
2. 2 2. America's Unpreparedness1949-05-12The draft law of 1940 is passed and American men are inducted into the Army. Large-scale maneuvers are held in 1941. Pearl Harbor is bombed and Franklin Roosevelt asks Congress f
3. 3 3. America Goes to War1949-05-19President Roosevelt lectures Americans on their conduct. Churchill visits the U.S. American troops are deployed in England, and Eisenhower gets command of the European Theater of
4. 4 4. Platform for Invasion1949-05-26Americans arrive in Britain, try to get along with British civilians, and are made ready physically and mentally to fight the Germans. The Eighth Air Force begins its bombing offe
5. 5 5. Africa: Our First Offensive1949-06-02The troops of Operation Torch come from the U.S. and Britain. U.S. industry is shown going to full war production. Equipment is shown being loaded up for transport to North Afric
6. 6 6. The Campaign1949-06-09Eisenhower has to deal with keeping the French in North Africa from causing trouble in the American rear, while at the same time advancing into Tunisia to destroy the Afrika Korps.
7. 7 7. Rommel Routed1949-06-16Eisenhower describes how the Allies squeezed Rommel's forces in Tunisia. The Afrika Korps attacks to the Kasserine Pass but is pushed back thanks to Patton. Allied air power help
8. 8 8. Sicily: Operation Husky1949-06-23The decision is made at Casablanca to invade Sicily. Pantelleria is bombed and surrenders. The invasion convoys come after an airborne drop, and after a major storm. The landing
9. 9 9. Assault on Italy1949-06-30General Montgomery attacks Italy across the Strait of Messina. A landing is made at Salerno to coincide with Italy's surrender, after Italy's fleet surrenders at Malta. The Germa
10. 10 10. Rise and Fall of a Dictator1949-07-07On July 25th, 1943, Benito Mussolini is ousted from power. We then flashback to his rise to power, including the Fascist march on Rome in November, 1922. In 1936 Ethiopia is inva
11. 11 11. The G.I: Hero of the War1949-07-14The Italian Campaign was termed by most G.I.'s as the toughest campaign in the European Theater. A G.I., now in a veteran's hospital, reminisces over scenes of the Italian Campaig
12. 12 12. Victory in Italy1949-07-21Eisenhower tours the Italian Front in December, 1943. The terrain and weather make life difficult for Allied troops. Pontoon bridges collapse in the raging rivers. Eisenhower le
13. 13 13. Preparation for Invasion1949-07-28Eisenhower works with the Allied Joint Chiefs of Staff to plan the invasion of France and beyond. The Ruhr is featured because of coal and industry. German defenses are shown, in
14. 14 14. D-Day1949-08-06Paratroops are dropped into France in the early hours of June 6th. Forty-one hundred Allied ships bring the men and equipment across the Channel. Gliders bring more firepower to
15. 15 15. Beachhead and Breakthrough1949-08-11Eisenhower inspects the landing beaches and we see the "Mulberry" harbors put in place along the Normandy beaches. Airfields are built and supplies offloaded. V-1 rockets attack
16. 16 16. Liberation of Paris1949-08-18The German attack at Mortain is defeated with the help of Allied airpower. The Allies cut off large German forces at the Falaise pocket. One hundred thousand Germans are captured
17. 17 17. Pursuit1949-08-25Operation Anvil-Dragoon lands in Southern France on August 15, 1944. The troops land against light resistance which gets stronger as they move north. The role of the Maquis is hi
18. 18 18. The Battle of Supply1949-09-01The supply services strain to the utmost to supply the Allied advance. Equipment was offloaded at the "Mulberry" harbor as well as at Cherbourg. Black troops are featured as drive
19. 19 19. The Air War1949-09-08This film recounts the air offensive against Nazi Germany after the RAF had successfully repulsed the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. The first low-level bombing raid in Europ
20. 20 20. The Battle of the Bulge1949-09-15The opening shows the American capture of Strasbourg from the Germans, followed by the leave facilities for American servicemen. Hitler is shown with General Jodl planning the Ba
21. 21 21. Crossing the Rhine1949-09-22The Allies cross the Rhine River into Germany in the early part of 1945. The Canadians cross in February, followed by the Americans and British, with the Americans taking Cologne
22. 22 22. Overrunning Germany1949-09-29The Western Allies entrap a large part of the German Army in the Ruhr Pocket, and captures some 325,000 enemy soldiers. The Americans and Russians meet at Torgau on the Elbe River
23. 23 23. Victory's Aftermath1949-10-06This installment talks about the lesson learned, military and diplomatic, about coalition warfare. It includes a reenactment of the Alamogordo atomic bomb test, as well as its use
24. 24 24. American Military Government1949-10-13The post-war government of Germany is shown. The U.S. in Cologne puts things in order. The Potsdam Conference and Nuremberg War Crimes Trials are shown.
25. 25 25. Russia1949-10-20Russian and American attitudes about fighting war are compared. The Germans surrender to Zhukov, and Eisenhower goes to Moscow. The Berlin Blockade is mentioned, and the UN found
26. 26 26. Review1949-10-27This final installment is a review of the whole series. Highlights deal with the rise of Nazism, finishing with the Battle of Britain, FDR's speech asking for a declaration of war