The War

2007 - 2007

A Necessary War

23rd September 2007

Episode 1

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.

When Things Get Tough

24th September 2007

Episode 2

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.

A Deadly Calling

25th September 2007

Episode 3

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.

Pride of Our Nation / A Volunteer Basis

26th September 2007

Episode 4

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.

FUBAR

30th September 2007

Episode 5

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.

The Ghost Front

1st October 2007

Episode 6

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.

A World Without War

2nd October 2007

Episode 7

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.

Top Cast

Keith David•Tom Hanks•Josh Lucas

Director

Ken Burns

Documentary War & Politics Crime

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.

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Full Cast

Keith David Image

Keith David

Narrator (voice)

Tom Hanks Image

Tom Hanks

Narrator / Al McIntosh (voice)

Josh Lucas Image

Josh Lucas

Narrator (voice)

Bobby Cannavale Image

Bobby Cannavale

Narrator / Babe Ciarlo (voice)

Samuel L. Jackson Image

Samuel L. Jackson

Narrator (voice)

Eli Wallach Image

Eli Wallach

Narrator (voice)

Robert Wahlberg

Narrator / James A. Fahey (voice)

Adam Arkin Image

Adam Arkin

Reader (voice)

Carolyn McCormick Image

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

Joe Medicine Crow

Self

Sam Hynes

Self - Marine Pilot

Full Crew

Lynn Novick Image

Lynn Novick

Producer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Executive Producer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Director

Lynn Novick Image

Lynn Novick

Director

Arvo Pärt Image

Arvo Pärt

Additional Soundtrack

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