When Things Get Tough. January 1943-December 1943

Your Playlist:

Description

It is now January 1943. Americans have been at war for more than a year. In When Things Got Tough, Ken Burns explores the state of the world during this tumultuous second year. The Germans, with their vast war machine, are still occupying most of Western Europe and the Allies have not agreed on a timetable to dislodge them. American troops are now ashore in North Africa ready to test themselves for the first time against the German and Italian armies. Most chilling...thousands of soldiers have now adopted the idea that "killing is a craft," as reporter Ernie Pyle explains to the readers back home. In cities such as Mobile and Waterbury, nearly all manufacturing is converted to the war effort. And in Europe, thousands of American airmen are asked to gamble their lives against preposterous odds. Episode 2 ends as 1943 comes to a close: Allied leaders plan for the invasion of the Europe, Hitler strengthens his coastal defenses, and back home, things are getting tougher still. Part of series