Synopsis
From overviews of battles to intimate stories of veterans, World War II Chronicles sought to keep the legacy of the "Greatest Generation" alive
Episodes
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Episode 175: The Ruhr Pocket
08/04/2020 Duration: 03minBy April 8th, 1945 U.S. and allied forces were still battling to take down Nazi Germany. On the Western front U.S. soldiers had 300,000 Nazi's trapped in a geographical pocket in Ruhr Germany. After days of resisting U.S. advances, the 1st and 9th Armies teamed up and successfully split the pocket, leaving the Germans left to crumble.
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Episode 174: The Battle of Okinawa
01/04/2020 Duration: 03minBy April of 1945 the United States had thousands of troops prepared to fight in what would become the largest naval assault in the Pacific War. On the 1st of the month troops landed on the island of Okinawa and met little resistance by the Imperial Japanese Army. The battle of Okinawa would continue for weeks with U.S. troops dominating the Japanese resistance.
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Episode 173: Allied Forces Breach the Heart of Germany
25/03/2020 Duration: 03minIn the final stretch to get the entire German resistance to leave the edge of the Rhine river U.S. and British soldiers team up. Together with forces coming at the Germans by air attack and by water the German don't stand a chance and the heart of Germany becomes open to the allied forces.
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Episode 172: The Grand Slam Weakens Germany
18/03/2020 Duration: 03minMarch of 1945 aircrafts bombings had become a staple weapon of the war. On the week of March 15th aircrafts carriers were given permission to drop the largest bomb ever created in the war to take out enemy targets. The bomb is known as "The Grand Slam" and weighing in at about 10 tons it played a vital role in the fast paced deterioration of the Nazi Germany army.
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Episode 171: The Battle of Remagen
11/03/2020 Duration: 03minBy March 11th, 1945 the U.S. soldiers had discovered that the only bridge the Nazi's had failed to demolish was the Ludendorff Bridge leading to the town of Remagen. In a race to get to the Germans before they blew up the the last connecting piece of the Shrine river the U.S. soldiers immediately began a full-scale attach on the bridge. Military engineers from the U.S. were able to dismantle most of the bombs the Germans had left on the bridges structure. It didn't take long for the U.S. soldiers to fully secure the bridge and reach the other side.
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Episode 170: German Forces Retreat Across the Rhine
04/03/2020 Duration: 02minBy March of 1945 the U.S., Canadian, and British forces had done serious damage to the Nazi army. With barely any line of defense left the Nazi's began to retreat across the Rhine. As they crossed the river they attempted to blow up all the bridges. On March 3rd 1945, the U.S. 9th and Canadian 1st officially teamed in a fight along the West bank that would later lead to the Battle of Remagen.
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Episode 169: The Recapturing of Philippine Islands
26/02/2020 Duration: 02minBy 1945 the U.S. had been fighting Japanese forces for almost three years over the Philippine Island of Luzon and Corregidor, located in Manila Bay. Both islands were the last allies the U.S. had in the Philippines, so they fought long and hard to capture the territories. After several defeats U.S. soldiers won the battles once and for all the week of February 26th when General Douglas MacArthur had soldiers airborne and seaborne invade the island territories.
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Episode 168: The Battle of Iwo Jima Begins
19/02/2020 Duration: 02minOn February 19th, of 1945 U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing on the island of Iwo Jima to continue their fight against the Japanese. Although they were well prepared for battle the beach terrain proved to be a great struggle in their capturing of the island.
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Episode 167: The Yalta Conference
12/02/2020 Duration: 02minThe Yalta Conference was a meeting where government leaders from the allied nations of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union met up to discuss how Germany and Europe should be organized following the end of WWII.
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Episode 166: American POWs Rescued
05/02/2020 Duration: 03minThis week American soldiers along with other allied men who were prisons of war in the Philippines are liberated by U.S. Rangers.
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Episode 165: Russia Advances
29/01/2020 Duration: 03minRussias Red Army makes colossal gains on the Eastern front. Hitler and his Nazi Army face many defeats as they seem unprepared for the strength and fast pace progression of Stalins Red Army.
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Episode 164: FDR Inaugurated for 4th Term
22/01/2020 Duration: 02minPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thomas E. Dewey went neck and neck during the presidential campaign. President Roosevelt came out on top and was sworn into his fourth term as Commander and Chief.
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Episode 163: The Battle of Luzon
17/01/2020 Duration: 03minThe battle of Luzon was another fight in the Philippines led by General MacArthur. The battle was land based as the Japanese moved inland to use a defensive tactic. General MacArthur went on to win this battle claiming yet another Philippine island from the Japanese.
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Episode 162: Attack on Formosa and Ryukyu Islands
17/01/2020 Duration: 02minU.S. forces attacked the islands of Formosa and Ryukyu in their ongoing efforts to take down the Japanese resistance. Two U.S. carrier planes targeted the two bases on the islands that guarded the entrance to the China sea.
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Episode 161: The End of The Battle of The Bulge
17/01/2020 Duration: 03minThe Battle of The Bugle was Hitlers final offense on the Western front against the allies. After many days of fighting the allies won the battle and could make their way through too Berlin.
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Episode 160: The Battle for Budapest
17/01/2020 Duration: 03minThe Battle for Budapest was a fight by the Soviets Red Army and Romanian army against Hungarian and German forces for the Hungarian Capital of Budapest. The battle lasted more than a month.
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Episode 159: German Offensive to Recapture Antwerp
17/01/2020 Duration: 03minIn hopes of recapturing the port of Antwerp and splitting the British and U.S. forces, Germany compiled several divisions to move in on the port in the West.
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Episode 158: US Forces Invade Island of Leyte
17/01/2020 Duration: 03minGeneral Douglas MacArthur along with thousands of his soldiers landed on the Philippine island of Leyte to begin another invasion. The U.S. suffered many casualties with this battle becoming one of the bloodiest from the Pacific War.
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Episode 157: Allied Forces Gain Access To The Port of Antwerp
17/01/2020 Duration: 02minThe Port of Antwerp was the third largest port in Europe. Once the allied forces gained access to the port the difficulties of getting supplies to the front line was greatly decreased.
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Episode 156: Japan Attacked
17/01/2020 Duration: 03minAfter the long range B29 bomber was ready to be put to use in the field the U.S. began to use air strikes to attack the Japanese Capital.