The War File - Great Sea Battles Of WWII (1/5)

The War File - Great Sea Battles Of WWII
After the horrors of the Great War, an uneasy peace prevailed. Britannia ruled the waves - but for how long? The mid 1930's saw Germany rebuilding her fleets, defying the Versailles Treaty as Hitler planned to encircle Britain with his Kriegsmarine. Within hours of war's declaration, a U-boat had claimed its first victim in an underwater reign of terror that struck merchantmen and warship alike.

By April 1940, Germany had sunk one million tons Of Allied shipping. The entrance of Mussolini's Italy shifted the balance of power in the Mediterranean. However the course of Naval warfare was changed in 1941 when torpedo bombers from HMS Illustrious decimated the Italian fleet at anchor in Taranto, crippling three of their battleships in the first Allied victory since the fall Of France. Japan soon learned the lesson - to America's cost.

The surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941 dwarfed Taranto, With 19 Warships and 190 aircraft lost and 22,500 dead. Sea power proved crucial in the Pacific. The battle of the Coral Sea was decisive in denying Japan a gateway to Australia and was a naval first - opposing forces, launching air attacks 120 miles apart, were never in sight of each other. After the US strike On Midway, there was no doubting the tide had turned. Leyte Gulf Was the last and greatest sea battle of World War II, leaving the Imperial Fleet all but destroyed. The era of the battleship had long gone: the aircraft carrier was now the undisputed master of naval warfare.

Playlist for whole episode: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=679EE6EF0294D7DA
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME_wz_EBRhc
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J79Y4XQazws
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxkFZkLO39Y
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VBX68Bez2U
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBQTxrtlIrM

See my account for more documentaries from 'The War File' and the Second World War.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• War
• File
• Second
• World
• Documentary
• Royal
• Navy
• Kriegsmarine
• Warship
• Battleship
• Carrier
• Atlantic
• Pacific
• United
• States
• Imperial
• Japanese
• Sea
• Battle

[keiweak]

@krcke ok i know your a nazi..let me add you whats missing on your post.

HEIL HITLER.

[krcke]

stupid pro american documentary....many facts are missleading or simply false.

[elrjames777]

@Jazreldedondru Re: "that looks like an MG 34" - yes: 34 being its year of introduction into service.

[labartic]

@Jazreldedondru correct

[Jazreldedondru]

@ 12:38. That looks like an MG 34. Am I wrong?