The War at Sea

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Early in the war, Germany dominates the Atlantic and threatens Great Britain. While Japan is attempting to build an empire across the Asia Pacific Theater, the attack on Pearl Harbor in Germany's Declaration of War brings America directly into the conflict a global struggle that will range across many seas and many oceans. But the US Navy has a new weapon, the aircraft carrier, which extends its reach and allows it to challenge an enemy thousands of miles away. This is World War II with Tom Hanks, Episode 5, the war at sea. In late 1940, British cities are pounded from the air by the Jillian Luftwaffe, almost every night. Led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the people of Great Britain show no sign of surrender. But most of the food and material the island nation needs to survive must be brought from abroad in British ships and Nazi U-Boats threaten every one of them. More than 2,000 Britain's food comes in by ship. Over 90% of Britain's oil comes by ship. Britain also needs raw materials. You can't build a Lancaster bomber or a Spitfire out of steel. You need aluminum. Britain has no aluminum, so it needs to ship it all across the Atlantic. Most of what Britain needs comes from one source, America. President Franklin D. Roosevelt has declared the United States an arsenal of democracy. A lifeline is established. American resources carried by British convoys. But it's a perilous journey. In 1940 alone, over 500 British merchant ships are lost. The Germans able to sink 3 million tons of British shipping between the summer of 1940 and the end of the year. That's unsustainable. If Churchill can't keep up the flow of supplies to Britain, well, you're in existential trouble. The Mandarin-directing Germany's U-Boat campaign is Admiral Carl Donets. A World War I U-Boat commander himself. Throughout the Great War, the Germans used unrestricted submarine warfare to attempt to choke Britain into submission. Donets' mind is pure mathematics. You sink more merchant ships than can be built. To starve the British. To deprive Britain of the raw materials and the calories needed to fight the war. In 1940, Donets devices a new tactic. He groups up to 20 U-Boats and orders them to hunt British convoys. They're called wolf packs. The moment one U-Boat finds a convoy, it radios back to Dernitz. Dernitz then looks at where all his U-Boats are. Donets then vectors all other U-Boats in and around those waters onto the same target. The wolf pack tactic requires good communication, good coordination, nobody attacks until they're all present, and then they pounce. Imagine what it's like to be in a convoy under attack. Even if your ship doesn't get hit, you cannot stop to pick up survivors. You hear them screaming, you want to help them, but you cannot stop because if you do, you know a submarine is waiting to sink you. Through 1940, the wolf packs are so successful. Their crews refer to it as the happy time. Donets' plan to strangle Great Britain is working. Attacked by sea and by air. Britain's survival falls largely on the shoulders of one man, Winston Churchill. In November 1940, church is told in no uncertain turns by government officials that they are simply not enough supplies getting into Britain. Britain is not going to be able to continue the war. He said it nodded his bowels. He said it's the only thing that kept him up at night in the Second World War, was the German threat in the Atlantic. Desperate, Prime Minister Churchill, writes to President Roosevelt. Franklin Roosevelt, it didn't assist the Secretary of the Navy during the First World War. He understood the role of sea power. In early December, Roosevelt sets aside the burdens of office for a few days in the Caribbean. And a sea plane brings a letter from Churchill. And Churchill says that this is the most important letter I will ever write. Churchill is terrified. He's coming closer to losing than he ever has. He says, I need help. I need planes, ships, guns, and money. Roosevelt has long understood the threat Nazi Germany poses to the United States. But he's been constrained from offering direct aid to the British because of American's anxiety of forgetting involved in another world war. Roosevelt had read my Compton German. He understood in a way that not many Americans did what Hitler was about. But 80 to 90% of the country had no interest and being involved in any way in military conflict in the old world. FDR understands that if the United States is to take its place as a leader of the world, he's got to do it very, very carefully. Roosevelt returns to Washington with a plan. He calls it "Lend lease." I asked this Congress for authority and for funds. Suppassion to manufacture additional munitions and war supplies of many kinds to be turned over to those nations which are now in actual war with Aggressor Nation. Churchill's letter has been answered. As he put it, "If my neighbor's house is on fire, I lend him the hose, I don't make him pay for it. I just ask for it back afterward." "Church has been throwing a lifeline." "Lend lease would keep Britain alive." President Roosevelt shepherds the lend lease legislation, designated HR 1776 through Congress. American weapons, including tanks and planes, are headed for Great Britain. But these conboys will move through hazardous waters. Spring 1941. American ships carrying lend lease supplies to Britain are threatened by Donets' wolf packs. Roosevelt understands the risk. But because he knows what's at stake, it's a risk he believes we're taking. He writes to Prime Minister Churchill, "I believe that the outcome of this struggle is going to be decided in the Atlantic. And unless Hitler can win there, he cannot win anywhere in the world." FDR extends the US maritime security zone to 26 degrees west. A significant part of the Atlantic is now patrolled by the US Navy. He takes over more than half of the Atlantic and turns it into an American lake. Roosevelt is now saying, "We will attack anyone who goes to war in those areas, knowing the only people who are going to make attacks in that area is Germans and submarines." As American and British interests align, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill agreed to a summit to discuss strategy. Not just for the battle in the Atlantic, but for the whole war. They will meet in a bay just off Newfoundland on the eastern edge of Canada. Roosevelt tells the Washington Press that he's taking a vacation on the presidential yacht, the Potomac. But once it's seen, he transfers to the heavy cruiser Augusta and sits sail to meet Churchill. And events were conspiring to bring them on stage at the same hour at a cataclysmic moment. Roosevelt wanted Churchill as close as possible. Churchill travels to meet Roosevelt on the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, escorted by royal Navy destroyers. But summer storms prevent the escorts from staying with the Prime Minister's ship. Alone, the HMS Prince of Wales travels through youboat menace waters, the same journey that British ships continue to make every day. On August 9th, the President and the Prime Minister meet. It's a deeply emotional and powerful moment because it's their first meeting as the leaders of their respective countries. Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were very similar men in many ways. They both believed that they were destined to play a great role in the lives of their nations and of the world. It was very important, FDR, to stand when he met Churchill because of the polio, this was a pure effort of will. He did not want to be seated in front of men who were fighting. You can see the beginnings of what would become arguably the most important political friendship in history in those first moments. Churchill's boyishly happy and is so excited that the President of the United States is receiving him. It's also important to remember the intimacy of being together at sea in the vast ocean where they're looking each other in the eye. They want to get along, they want to please the other. The two leaders also want to map a way forward for the world. They produce the Atlantic Charter with joint war aims and a blueprint to prevent another world war. They knew that history had mysteriously but unmistakably cast them in this drama. And it was a reminder, an emotional reminder of what was at stake. When Churchill departs for home, FDR sends two American warships to accompany him as far as Iceland. In fall 1941, Roosevelt orders the US Navy to escort British convoys halfway across the Atlantic. It puts US forces now very close to Europe. Everything about that is a way to be more aggressive to Germany. On September 4, 1941, the USS Greer is attacked by a German U-boat. The Greer strikes back. Roosevelt responds with a shoot on site order. I tell you the blunt fact that the German submarine fired first upon this American destroyer, Greer, with deliberate design to sink out. What we are seeing are tensions ratcheting up in the Atlantic, an undeclared war almost certainly at some point coming to turn into a shooting one. On October 17th, the USS Kerney is damaged by a torpedo from a German U-boat. 11 sailors are killed. Two weeks later, the USS Ruben James is torpedoed and sunk. 115 sailors are killed. Roosevelt again condemns German barbarism, German brutality. How can they do this? But Roosevelt doesn't declare war, and he realizes this isn't quite enough to base an entry into the Second World War. I've always dreamed of being able to order my coffee in Italian like a local instead of just pointing at the menu and hoping for the best. There's something about speaking another language with real confidence that opens up a whole new world of experiences. That's why I'm so excited about Rosetta Stone's Sapphire. 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This gets you access to Rosetta Stone Sapphire in 25 languages. Visit RosettaStone.com/RS10 to redeem your 20% off. That's RosettaStone.com/RS10. If you want to go to Rosetta Stone Sapphire, go to RosettaStone.com/RS10.com/RS10.com/RS10 to redeem your 20% off. Wherever you get your podcasts, December 7, 1941. Six Japanese aircraft carriers, with over 300 dive bombers and torpedo planes, approach America's largest naval base in the Pacific. [BLANK_AUDIO] We interrupt this broadcast, bring this important bulletin from the United Press. Mad, Washington, the White House announces Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. What is the country that finally attacks America on American soil? It's Japan. Messages from Tokyo say that Japan has announced a formal declaration of war against both the United States and Britain. Churchill learns about Pearl Harbor from the BBC. Here's the broadcast announcing this. He calls FDR, FDR says it's true, we're all in the same boat now. Four days later, Germany declares war on the United States. America will fight a war across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. And FDR is now a war time president. Roosevelt comes in under a great pressure. He really finds the first few months of 1942 probably the most difficult in the war. But if you're Roosevelt, everyone's yelling at you. The British are yelling at you to convoy in the North Atlantic, the Navy is yelling at you for more resources to go to the Pacific. To fight the war in the Pacific. Tokyo appoints Admiral Chester Nimitz as the new Commander-in-Chief Pacific, SYNC PACK. Nimitz arrives to assume command of the Pacific Fleet while Pearl Harbor is still a burning mess. It just stinks of death and fire and destruction. Nimitz takes command of a weakened Pacific Fleet. Most American battleships are destroyed or damaged at Pearl Harbor. But its aircraft carriers were at sea and escaped the attack. Nimitz is relying on admirals like William Bull Halsey to press the fight against the Japanese. He sees that American naval strategy based on the battleship is all gone. But we still have aircraft carriers and we still have submarines. Nimitz understands OK, out with the old and with the new. Nimitz adjusts American naval strategy to rely on aircraft carriers and a series of raids. Because those aircraft carriers are available, he does have a tool to punch back at Japan. The Imperial Japanese Navy is well trained and well equipped. They dominate and control the Western half of the Pacific. April 1942. Four months after Pearl Harbor, Admiral Nimitz is eager to go on the offensive. But where? The Navy's top-crypt analyst, Commander Joseph Rochvors and his team decode signals that reveal the Japanese Navy's plans. The intelligence that Rochvors is bringing to Nimitz is not necessarily all that clear cut. But the picture that is developing is one of continued Japanese interest in the South Pacific. Rochvors believes that Japanese are going to invade southern New Guinea. From there, they could block the sea lanes that connect the United States and Australia, and possibly strike Australia. Which is the key to the American strategy in the South Pacific. The Japanese would control everything from Japan to Australia. That entire linkage to the Indian Ocean and by the way, a principal ally in the southern part of the hemisphere. Nimitz dispatches two aircraft carriers, the Lexington and the Yorktown, to intercept the Japanese force. They are the only two carriers available. His basic game plan is to cruise in the coral sea and wait for the Japanese moves and deliver an attack against the Japanese. It's hard sometimes to remember because we have satellites that illuminate the whole world in real time. And at sea, it's an even bigger deal. Trying to find your enemy is half the battle. A large fleet can become almost invisible. And then once you find it, you have to hit them before they find you. Rochvors intelligence is correct. And reconnaissance aircraft spot the Japanese fleet in the coral sea. Both American carriers launch their planes. This attack is really the first sign that what we have here is what's called an RMA nowadays, a revolution in military affairs. The two fleets are more than 100 miles apart. They're attacking with aircraft from far away, right? They're not exchanging salvos from big guns. Americans have never done anything like that with aircraft carriers before. American dive bombers strike first, finding the Japanese carrier Shoho. She's hit and sinks in less than an hour. Shoho is the first Japanese carrier that's going to be sunk during this war. When you throw a punch in boxing, you open yourself up to a counter-punch. So your choices are don't fight or fight and open yourself up to a devastating blow. The United States Navy has struck first. But now Nimitz's force faces the Japanese counterattack. The US Navy sinks their first Japanese aircraft carrier in the coral sea. But the next day, Japanese planes locate and target the USS Lexington. America's oldest carrier, nicknamed Lady Lex. She takes four direct hits. She still see worthy but a gas line ignites and she catches fire. She burns to the water line and is scuttled to avoid capture. To protect their remaining carriers, the Japanese call off the invasion. The battle of the coral sea is the first time that the United States has turned back a Japanese offensive. From Nimitz's standpoint, he's learned to trust his intel officers. He's also learned that the carriers are going to be the way to go, even though this is kind of a wild west of naval combat at this point. Carriers are effective. They can sink enemy warships. Fearing a long war with America, Admiral Isoyoku Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl Harbor, is always seeking a knockout blow against the US Navy. So, he says, "I need to destroy these American carriers, but how do I do it?" And so, they'd cook up this plan, the Japanese naval staff, is that they'll attack a vital American place and they decide midway islands, so-called because it's midway between the west coast of the United States and China. It is American territory, something the Americans value it. That might be enough to lure the Americans out to defend that territory, and if they do, then we can annihilate their carriers and have a free hand in the Pacific. Yamamoto's plan is to launch a surprise attack on midway, with four of his carriers. The Japanese will take this strategic island, and believe midway will then radio Pearl Harbor for help, prompting Nimitz to send his carriers to defend the island. Once the American carriers get to midway, Yamamoto will appear with the rest of his fleet. He will trap them in jaws of iron, crush them, and destroy not only the American carriers, but also the battleships at which point the Americans will have no naval forces of any worth left in the Pacific. This could be a decisive strike against the U.S. naval forces in the Pacific. In late May, the Japanese task force had to midway island. There are 250 aircraft on its carriers. It cryptanalyst Joseph Roachford once again has intercepted the Japanese-coded signals. Roachford believes Japan is sending its fleet to attack midway. The problem is that the Japanese aren't referring to midway island as midway island. They're saying, "A-F, we're going to attack A-F." Roachford has a plan to reveal the identity of A-F. Midway sends false radio messages on a channel the Japanese monitor, suggesting there's a problem on the island. Midway is going to radio back in the clear. Hey our desalination plan has just broken and we're running out of freshwater and then they wait and listen. And shortly thereafter a Japanese radio station will send another message back to the Japanese fleet that AF has just run out of freshwater. And now for the first time they know it's midway. Nimitz dispatches his three remaining aircraft carriers and a supporting fleet towards midway. The US Navy is lying in wait to intercept the Japanese attack on midway if they can locate the Japanese carriers. This is the first time many young pilots will go into battle. There are some that had never even taken off an aircraft carrier before. We do have a fascinating bit of footage that shows VTA that torpedo squadron on the USS Hornet. When we look at that picture what you see is a bunch of 20 something year old naval aviators. And what you see is the swagger. Now probably in that swagger and the smoking of the cigarettes it's probably hiding a little bit of the fear of the unknown. But even still, you see that twinkle. This is our time. At 6.30 a.m. Japanese aircraft attack midway at inflict heavy damage. The battle starts off really going perfectly according to the Japanese plan. But the Japanese don't know that the American fleet has moved into position to the northeast of midway and are now ready to launch a surprise attack. Being at 7 a.m., more than 100 aircraft launch from the Hornet and the Enterprise. Squadrons search for the Japanese fleet at 19,000 feet. As an aviator in World War II, you might have a set of binoculars to help increase your vision. But otherwise, you're looking at about 30 square miles worth of sea and trying to figure out where anything is. Three squadrons fly to west, but can't find the Japanese carriers. One squadron of devastating torpedo planes, VT-8, flies south west. Next after 9 a.m., through broken clouds, they spot the Japanese fleet. The torpedo planes are terrible. It's only got a single machine gun, and so these things are just lumbering slow, vulnerable targets that are going to be horribly exposed to any sort of Japanese fighter opposition if they run into it. As VT-8 lines up to attack the carriers, they're intercepted by Japanese zeroes. The Japanese zero is the most advanced Japanese aircraft that they have. It is a world-class fighter. It can maneuver like crazy. It can climb like a banshee. The zeroes fire on VT-8. They just tear into these formations and begin very quickly sending them ones and twos, arrowing down into the ocean and flames. And the entire squadron is wiped out. Squadron VT-8 is destroyed. It takes less than 15 minutes. When we think about those guys, we see in the footage of the 15 aircraft that attacked 14 of them will be shot down. They get absolutely sacrificed. Some group sacrifice more than others, and in that case they sacrificed all. While marine fighters from Midway attack the Japanese, they don't inflict real damage. Their U.S. squadrons continue to search for the Japanese fleet. At about 9.30 in the morning, things are going terribly. The Americans are losing this battle, and Nimitz' battle plan is falling apart. If Navy pilots don't locate the Japanese carriers, Midway will fall, and America's strategy in the Pacific will be dealt a crushing blow. Hey, all right, it's almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped the video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet, looking at my watch group bananas with the group chat, and of course still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once? Yep. Story of my life. That's why I switched to T-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. Okay, multi-tasker. I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once. It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching. 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Wade McCluskey goes out to the portion of ocean where he expects the Japanese to be located and there's nothing but sun, and sea, and sky, and some clouds. The squadron is in the air for close to two hours. By 9.30 a.m., they're running low on fuel, but McCluskey continues the search. This is an incredibly gutsy move on McCluskey's part. The fuel gauges are really bad. Deciding to continue his search and continue looking for the enemy. me. That's really ballsy. Oh, by the way, everybody's barking at him. We're pretty low on fuel. We got to get back. But he implements a box search and starts looking for the Japanese, flies north for a bit, nothing. But finally, as he's about to turn for home, he sees a lone Japanese warship. But he goes, "That guy looks like he's had somewhere in a hurry. If I follow that ship, it's going to take me someplace." 30 minutes later, McCluskey spots the Japanese aircraft carriers. By chance, another squadron of American dive bombers is nearby. These planes would show up out of the blue through a break in the clouds, and all of a sudden they're like a swarm of bees closing in on your fleet and it happens insanely fast. What you'd want to do is come out of the sun, and then you roll over and roll back out and you'd set about a 70-degree dive angle. You want to get as close as you can to that carry, about 1,500 feet. In the span of four minutes, United States dive bombers knock out three Japanese aircraft carriers. The Japanese have one remaining carrier, the Hiru. At midday, its dive bombers find and attack the American carrier Yorktown. After attempting to save her for hours, the Yorktown's captain finally orders the crew to abandon ship. But the Hiru's victory is short-lived. American bombers find it and sink the fourth Japanese carrier of the day. 12 hours after the first Japanese attack, Yamamoto's plans to deliver a decisive blow to the U.S. fleet has collapsed. Instead, America has delivered a devastating and decisive blow of its own. Four of Yamamoto's carriers are at the bottom of the ocean. Three thousand of this men are killed. This is a turning point. It's easy to forget now the feeling of revenge that Americans felt when they were finally able to strike back at the Japanese. As it isn't Roosevelt who has been monitoring the battle, finally receives word that America has won. Midway is absolutely critical. It allows Roosevelt to get out of this defensive crouch that we've been in for the first seven months of this war and begin thinking about, okay, how would we like to reshape this war? Where would we like to go on the offensive? The emotional outcome of Midway might be the biggest thing, right? This is the psychological blow. The idea that they come to Midway gets smacked in the face and turn around and go back home psychologically devastating to the Japanese. Oh, by the way, for the Americans, the idea that we can fight and win against the Japanese, that's powerful. After Midway, the United States takes the upper hand in the Pacific. For the first time, the country wins a decisive victory against the Japanese. America is now on the offensive in the Pacific. World War Two with Tom Hanks is produced by Netopia Limited, A&E Factual Studios, Play Tone Productions, and Backpocket Studios in association with Motion Entertainment for the History Channel. This episode was narrated by Tom Hanks and mixed by John Lloyd, additional voicing provided by me, Jeremy Reagan. From the History Channel, our Executive Producers are Eli Lara and Liv Fiddler. For Play Tone, Executive Producers are Tom Hanks and Gary Getsman. For Backpocket Studios, our Executive Producers is Ben Dixting.