The World at War (TV Series) Alone: May 1940-May 1941 (1973) User Reviews

Wonderful interviews

[snoozejonc · 10/10 · 17 May 2022]

For me this is the most interesting episode so far in the series due to the volume of first hand accounts.

Listening to British and German perspectives of the Blitz, particularly the witness accounts of Londoners, who describe their experiences of the bombings, are both horrifying and fascinating at the same time. In fact, you here Olivier's voice a lot less in this episode due to there being so many contributions from eye witnesses.

The narrative of the episode follows on strongly from the previous episode and gives a good overall picture of what was going on in the war between Britain and Nazi Germany at the time. It also mentions other relevant factors such as the campaigns in the Baltic states, Yugoslavia and Africa.

As always, the archive footage, narration and graphics are used effectively for the subject matter.

The "Finest Hour" for "The World at War" Thus Far

[darryl-tahirali · 10/10 · 14 July 2023]

Opening with its evacuation of more than 300,000 troops from the besieged French harbor town of Dunkirk, Britain truly is "Alone" in facing Nazi Germany by mid-1940 as the only power still unvanquished by dictator Adolf Hitler's seemingly-invincible war machine that had handily conquered most of Northern Europe. What followed was a searing trial by fire for the island nation whose imperial eminence, already in decline since the First World War, seemed about to be subsumed by the Third Reich but would eventually deal Hitler his first strategic setback of World War Two.

Guided efficiently by producer-director David Elstein and written crisply by Laurence Thompson, this fourth installment of the 26-part "The World at War" sustains its gripping narrative from start to finish thanks not just to the evocative film footage ably assembled by editor Jeff Harvey but also to the impressive array of interviewees, exclusively British save for one, whose recollections and insights make "Alone" the most moving and compelling episode of this landmark documentary series to date.

The miracle of Dunkirk, "Operation Dynamo," averted the capture or slaughter of hundreds of thousands British and French troops trapped by German forces in the final stages of the Battle of France (excellently depicted in the previous episode "France Falls"), but despite good weather during the ten-day seaborne evacuation, the Royal Air Force (RAF) struggled to assert air superiority over the beaches and the English Channel as the German Luftwaffe's (air force) bombing of the motley armada took its deadly toll.

And while the operation's relative success buoyed British morale as Britons girded themselves for an expected invasion by Nazi Germany, Prime Minister Winston Churchill had warned (not mentioned in "Alone") that "wars are not won by evacuations"; however, Churchill is heard naming that upcoming battle as the Battle of Britain in the climactic segment of his immortal "Finest Hour" speech, which, in describing the "new Dark Age" to befall Europe and indeed the world should Britain fail to stop Hitler, emphasizes the dire consequences of that confrontation.

It was to be the first battle fought entirely in the air as Luftwaffe commander-in-chief Hermann Göring was tasked with softening up the British Isles prior to Operation Sea Lion, the proposed German invasion of southern England that was fraught with difficulties and misgivings: The German Heer (army) was dissatisfied with preparations made by the Kriegsmarine (navy), with both branches of the Wehrmacht (military) dubious about the Luftwaffe's ability to neutralize the RAF. In fact, even those in the Luftwaffe itself were skeptical, as Adolf Galland, one of Germany's premier wartime flying aces and the sole non-British interviewee, candidly admits.

The Luftwaffe's initial focus was on British coastal cities and shipping convoys, with archival footage showing, unlike at Dunkirk, German bombers' inability to hit any ships as BBC radio reporter Charles Gardner narrates the action as if he were announcing a football match. Göring then shifted his focus to RAF airfields and radar installations.

This proved to be far more effective--and crippling, as the Luftwaffe came close to destroying the RAF's ability to mount an aerial defense. As Robert Wright, assistant to Fighter Command's Air Marshal Hugh Dowding, explains, a chain of radar installations in southern England enabled the British to track incoming German airplanes and estimate their intended targets, a crucial point reinforced by Sir Max Aitkin, a fighter squadron leader (and son of Lord Beaverbrook, in charge of aircraft production) who states categorically, "radar won the Battle of Britain."

That battle in the skies over Britain is depicted with dramatic aerial footage of British Hurricane fighters engaging German Dornier, Heinkel, and Junkers bombers while British Spitfires tangle with Messerschmitt 109 fighters (which Galland flew), recalling the 1969 movie "The Battle of Britain" (in which series narrator Laurence Olivier portrayed Dowding). And while fighter pilot interviewee Ray Wright takes a chivalrous stance toward the Germans, Aitkin is unequivocal--he hated the Germans: "they were trying to enslave us."

Then, although not made entirely clear as to why, the Nazis shifted their focus to terror bombing of cities as "the Blitz," which lasted until May 1941, inflicted an awful cost on civilians, as related by several unnamed Blitz survivors recounting their stark, sometimes humorous, but often poignant experiences in what is arguably the highlight of "Alone." As the capital city, London bore the brunt of the Germans' nighttime raids, sometimes with incendiary bombs that actually drained the water reserves of firefighters battling the blazes, although other cities as far away as Swansea (Wales) and Belfast (Northern Ireland) received pastings by the Germans.

Interviewee Lord Avon, Anthony Eden, Churchill's war minister and foreign secretary, notes that although Britain had thwarted Germany's assault, it did not have the ability to mount a counter-offensive in Europe but could engage the Axis Powers in North Africa as General Archibald Wavell's forces routed the Italians in Libya. However, Germany rescued its Italian ally, reversing British gains, while Britain's attempts to create a bulwark against Nazi expansion in Greece, including its largest island, Crete, resulted in the loss of both as this epilog to "Alone" attempts too hastily to summarize these critical yet often-overlooked events. Nevertheless, this does not detract too seriously from what is truly the "finest hour" for "The World at War" thus far.

REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?

Rule Britannia

[nickenchuggets · 10/10 · 16 June 2022]

Last time on World at War, we saw how France had failed to stop the Nazi onslaught because of their reliance on defensive tactics reminiscent of the First World War. After france is subdued, Britain stands alone against Hitler. The non-aggression treaty the latter had made with the Soviets was still intact, most of Europe was under nazi rule, and America was not in the war yet. The UK faced seemingly impossible odds, but via the sheer will to survive, they made it through. This episode goes into detail on how much agony the Germans put britain through and what the british did to fight back. At the end of the battle of france, british soldiers sent to help the french are evacuated by many ships from the port city of Dunquerke, but many are left behind. The british didn't have the time to take their vehicles back with them either. Meanwhile, Hitler realizes that although britain is his last obstacle (for now), defeating them will be a problem. Because it's an island country, his formidable armored forces were, for the first time, completely worthless. Britain also had a much more imposing navy, which would make any amphibious assault on the country rather difficult. The nazis plan to invade England using around 9 divisions of soldiers supported by 2 airborne divisions landing on the southeastern coast by Dover, around 200k men in all. Britain was expecting this and placed a large number of soldiers in this area to stave off any potential invasion. As per usual, the Luftwaffe was supposed to clear the way of any threatening targets (in this case aircraft and ships) blocking the way of the invasion force. Germany starts assembling a large force of ships and landing craft to assault british beaches with, but the plan, now codenamed Operation Sea Lion, didn't have the support of the german air force on whom everything depended. Sea Lion was eventually cancelled and germany turns to other methods of getting britain to submit, namely bombing. Goering first orders his bombers to attack british shipping in the Channel, then ups the stakes by attacking RAF airfields themselves. The Royal Air Force had lost many planes helping the french, and its chief, Hugh Dowding, was under constant strain to provide britain with adequate numbers of aircraft for defense. In August, the luftwaffe changes focus and starts to attack radar installations, knowing that radar is what was enabling the british to see where german planes were appearing from before they even came into view. Because of the distance luftwaffe planes had to travel to reach britain, fighters could only stay over the country for half an hour, so the RAF had a big advantage. Still, the last week of august and first week of September in particular prove brutal for the RAF, as the germans relentlessly pound their airstrips from the sky. Right when it looks like britain has no more planes left to defend itself, Goering changes his strategy again. He now decides to bomb London instead of the airfields, and in a twist of irony, the RAF is saved from disaster. While London burns, britain's aircraft reserve steadily replenishes itself. Starting in September 1940, the germans bomb London for 76 nights in a row. Citizens living there simply have to accept that their house might no longer exist when they exit the bomb shelter the next morning. Thousands of people are killed in what is today known as the Blitz, about half of them Londoners. Finally, in May, Hitler turns his attention to the conquest of Russia and pressure is taken off of britain. They know that since most of europe is now controlled by the nazis, they can't attack them on the continent for the foreseeable future, so britain decides to take the fight to them in North Africa and the Middle East. In December 1940, britain finally hits back at the Axis by attacking Italian positions in Egypt and Libya. Shortly after, british troops start arriving in Greece in order to help prevent the conquest of the country by Hitler, but they ultimately fail, losing Yugoslavia in the process as well. Finally, germany hits back at the british by invading the greek island of Crete with paratroopers in may 1941. Even though britain loses its one and only air and naval base in the east Mediterranean, the british nation had withstood Hitler's wrath. As expected, this is another great entry in what many people (including myself) consider to be the king of all World War 2 documentaries, and I can watch this any day without it feeling repetitive or stale. Laurence Olivier's narration is great as always, but interestingly, it's not heard that much here compared to other episodes. This is mostly due to the sheer amount of interviews they put into this one, and we get to hear riveting and disturbing tales from people who experienced carnage in britain firsthand, whether it was in the skies or in the bombed out streets of various cities. One person says how a huge bomb tore off the front of an apartment building, and there was a person still asleep on the fourth floor with around 2 dozen beer bottles around his bed. I guess this is how a lot of the public dealt with such a horrible situation. We also get to hear about how british children were evacuated to other areas, sometimes overseas even, but this was stopped eventually when a german submarine torpedoed a ship with 90 kids onboard. War is truly indiscriminate in its chaos.