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The War

The War
★ 8.2/10•2007•TV-14•Documentary•War & Politics•Crime
Similars

The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

Ken Burns · Director

Lynn Novick · Director

StatusEnded
LanguageEN
First Air DateSep 23, 2007

Episodes

Episode 1 - A Necessary WarE1142m

A Necessary War

December 1941 - December 1942: The tranquil lives of the citizens of Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Luverne, Minnesota are shattered on December 7, 1941, as they, along with the rest of America, are thrust into the greatest cataclysm in history.

Sep 23, 2007

Episode 2 - When Things Get ToughE2115m

When Things Get Tough

January 1943 - December 1943: Americans mobilize for total war at home and overseas. Factories hum around the clock, while in North Africa and then Italy, inexperienced GIs learn how to fight. Meanwhile, in the skies over Europe, thousands of American airmen gamble their lives against preposterous odds on daylight bombing missions.

Sep 24, 2007

Episode 3 - A Deadly CallingE3110m

A Deadly Calling

November 1943 - June 1944: Americans are shocked by terrible losses on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, while in Italy Allied forces are stalled for months at Monte Cassino, and a risky landing at Anzio fails utterly. At home, as overcrowded "war towns" boom, economic transformation leads to confrontation and ugly racial violence.

Sep 25, 2007

Episode 4 - Pride of Our Nation / A Volunteer BasisE4136m

Pride of Our Nation / A Volunteer Basis

June 1944 - August 1944: On June 6, 1944, D-Day, 1.5 million Allied troops take part in the greatest invasion in history, but then bog down in the Norman hedgerows for weeks. Saipan proves the costliest Pacific battle to date, while back home dreaded telegrams from the War Department begin arriving at an inconceivable rate.

Sep 26, 2007

Episode 5 - FUBARE5124m

FUBAR

September 1944 - December 1944: Victory 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. Meanwhile, on the island of Peleliu, the Marines fight one of the most brutal and unnecessary battles of the Pacific.

Sep 30, 2007

Episode 6 - The Ghost FrontE6117m

The Ghost Front

December 1944 - March 1945: Americans 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, after weeks of desperate fighting, Iwo Jima is secured, and American bombers begin a full-fledged air assault on Japan.

Oct 1, 2007

Episode 7 - A World Without WarE7125m

A World Without War

March 1945 - December 1945: A few weeks after the death of President Roosevelt shocks the country, Germany surrenders. Meanwhile, American sailors, soldiers and Marines endure the worst battle of the Pacific - Okinawa. In August, American planes drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese, too, surrender. Millions return home - to try to learn how to live in a world without war.

Oct 2, 2007

Actors

Keith David

Keith David

Narrator (voice)

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Narrator / Al McIntosh (voice)

Josh Lucas

Josh Lucas

Narrator (voice)

Bobby Cannavale

Bobby Cannavale

Narrator / Babe Ciarlo (voice)

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson

Narrator (voice)

Eli Wallach

Eli Wallach

Narrator (voice)

Robert Wahlberg

Robert Wahlberg

Narrator / James A. Fahey (voice)

Adam Arkin

Adam Arkin

Reader (voice)

Carolyn McCormick

Carolyn McCormick

Reader (voice)

Paul Fussell

Self

Quentin Aanenson

Self

Sascha Weinzheimer

Self

Katharine Phillips

Self

Olga Ciarlo

Self

Robert Kashiwagi

Self

Anne DeVico

Self

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