The War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
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Episodes
S1 E1 - A Necessary War: December 1941 - December 1942
September 22, 20072 h 22 minThe tranquil lives of the citizens of Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Luverne, Minnesota, are shattered on December 7, 1941, as they are thrust into the greatest cataclysm in history.Free trial of PBS Documentaries or buyS1 E2 - When Things Get Tough: January 1943 - December 1943
September 23, 20071 h 54 minAmericans mobilize for war at home and overseas. Factories hum around the clock, while in North Africa and Italy, GIs learn how to fight. In Europe, American airmen gamble their lives against preposterous odds on daylight bombing missions.Free trial of PBS Documentaries or buyS1 E3 - A Deadly Calling: November 1943 - June 1944
September 24, 20071 h 50 minAmericans are shocked by terrible losses on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, while in Italy Allied forces are stalled for months at Monte Cassino. At home as towns boom, economic transformation leads to confrontation and ugly racial violence.Free trial of PBS Documentaries or buyS1 E4 - Pride of Our Nation: June 1944 - August 1944
September 25, 20072 h 16 minOn June 6, 1944, D-Day, Allied troops take part in the greatest invasion in history, but then bog down in the Norman hedgerows for weeks. While back home dreaded telegrams from the War Department begin arriving at an inconceivable rate.Free trial of PBS Documentaries or buyS1 E5 - FUBAR: September 1944 - December 1944
September 29, 20072 h 4 minVictory in Europe seems imminent, but in Holland, the Vosges Mountains, and the Hurtgen Forest, GIs learn painful lessons as old as war itself—that generals make plans, plans go wrong and soldiers die.Free trial of PBS Documentaries or buyS1 E6 - The Ghost Front: December 1944 - March 1945
September 30, 20071 h 57 minAmericans are shocked by Hitler’s massive counterattack in the Ardennes Forest - but by mid- March, 1945, they are across the Rhine while the Russians are 50 miles from Berlin. In the Pacific Iwo Jima is secured.Free trial of PBS Documentaries or buyS1 E7 - A World Without War: March 1945 - September 1945
October 1, 20072 h 5 minA few weeks after the death of President Roosevelt, Germany surrenders. In August, American planes drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese, too, surrender. Millions return home—to live in a world without war.Free trial of PBS Documentaries or buy
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Content advisory
- Violence smoking foul language sexual content
Subtitles
- None available
Directors
- Ken BurnsLynn Novick
Producers
- Ken BurnsLynn Novick
Studio
- PBS
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