Naval Warfare in World War II

World War II begins and the Germans succeed in invading Poland and France. But German forces are restrained by the British thanks to the vital convoys, the German submarine war increases its crescendo thanks to new French bases.

Using Japanese footage, viewers see the planning, execution and, ultimately, the celebration of the country's attack on Pearl Harbor. There also is an explanation provided for the attack and some peaceful moments depicted among the U.S. sailors before the fateful events unfold.

With war now declared by the U.S., naval forces throughout the states have joined to bring convoys of supplies across the Atlantic Ocean to the Allies in England. German U-Boats come through and manage to destroy some of ships along the way.

The Japanese are ascendant as they successfully invade the East Indies, Singapore and the Philippines. But the Americans are victorious, first on the Coral Sea and ultimately on Midway as they manage to bomb and sink four of Japan's aircraft carriers; the same ones that were used for the attack on Pearl Harbor-making the imperial fleet retreat and giving the U.S. an early victory in the Pacific.

World War II comes to the Mediterranean Sea as Italian, French and British naval forces struggle. British forces have the unenviable position of guarding the sea as they escort convoys from Gibraltar to Malta.

After training in Australia and New Zealand, the U.S. Marines land on Guadalcanal. The U.S. Navy suffers defeats by the Japanese Navy around the island—in an area called Ironbottom Sound.

The Japanese Navy is ascendant in its conquests, of which its main base is on Rabaul in the New Britain Islands. This episode refers to the U.S. strategy of surrounding and strangling the Japanese base in the autumn of 1943 through invasions of its surrounding islands (Bougainville, Rendova).

Mussolini calls the Mediterranean 'mare nostrum', or 'our sea', and seeks to exploit it. British and Greek military forces, however, defeat the Italians, forcing the Germans to send the Afrika Korps. But it is the sea battles to control the Mediterranean that is the crux.

The USSR government demands a 'second front' as their country struggles against the Germans. The wish is granted as Roosevelt and Churchill in Washington agree on the first invasion of North Africa against General Rommel's forces via Operation Torch, while the Allies also neutralize many of the Axis' Mediterranean supply bases.

The South Atlantic becomes a front in the overall Battle of the Atlantic, from the pursuit of the German ship Graf Speeto the battle between HMS Devonshire and the German raider Atlantis.

This episode explores the battles between the Allies and Germans near the Arctic Circle, and the convoys battling past German-occupied Norway to Russia.

The Allies are victorious in New Guinea as they repel the Japanese. They thus bring the fight through a series of 'island-hopping' offensives using a new ship—the slow but vital LST.