Winston Churchill’s War

S01E03 Episode Three sees Britain – and her empire – joined in the war by a powerful friend and ally. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, and the German declaration of war, The United States has joined the fight. In Eastern Europe, Stalin and the Soviets are in a desperate struggle for survival. Churchill faces terrible reverses in Asia where, stretched too thin because of the war in Europe, such British possessions as Singapore are overwhelmed by the Japanese surge. After years of fighting alone, Churchill must find a way to work with his increasingly powerful allies to make the decisions that will alter the course of the war. The United States and Britain combined forces to launch a new offensive in North Africa, and then Italy. In the Soviet Union, Stalin also wanted an offensive from his Allied partners, but he wanted a second front in France, not peripheral action in North Africa. Over the course of 1942 and 43, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, hold several tense conferences to discuss strategy and their differing objectives. Although Churchill is reluctant to send British troops back into Western Europe, Stalin and Roosevelt eventually convince him to commit to an invasion of France. As 1943 winds to a close, plans begin for Operation Overlord. Over 3 years after the British were bundled off the continent at Dunkirk, Churchill and his allies will return to France, and take the fight to Germany.