Voices of Liberation - Season 1 (2022)

From the moment the Allied soldiers had crossed the Seine, the road to Paris was opened. But it was the Parisians who would take the initiative in its liberation by triggering a general strike. The arrival of the 2nd Armored Division on the 24th of August and General de Gaulle the following day, marked a highly symbolic turning point in the liberation of France.

Having mauled German armies in Normandy and liberated Paris, the Allies began their pursuit after the retreating Germans. Soon they overran the Belgian border at Tournai on the 2nd of September. The following days, the liberation of Brussels and Antwerp began. Immediately, the payback against suspected collaborators started. Over 80.000 citizens were arrested just after the liberation.

After liberating Belgium, the Allied advance started to falter due to the lack of supplies. This gave the German forces a chance to catch their breath and set up an effective defense, partly along the West Wall (aka. The Siegfried Line). It was Montgomery who came up with a plan to land 35.000 paratroopers at Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem to capture vital bridges on rivers and canals in the Netherlands. Simultaneously, a ground force would advance northwards from Belgium to relieve the paratroopers. The operation proved to be extraordinarily ambitious and failed to ...

Although the Allies were able to enjoy liberated Belgium in early October, the large port of Antwerp remained inactive in vain due to the German occupation of the Scheldt estuary. The Battle of the Scheldt that followed is known for its bloody battles in appalling weather and semi-flooded areas.

Due to the delayed advance of the Allies and the efficient German defense network, the pre-war defensive wall known as the Siegfried Line, ultimately proved its worth. Fierce fighting would break out south of Aachen, in a hilly, wooded area called Hürtgenwald.

In mid-September 1944, Hitler decided to organize a counteroffensive through the Ardennes in order to regain the strategic initiative. Also, to force the Western Allies to negotiate for peace in order to throw all the forces against the Red Army. Although this final gamble initially took the US forces by surprise, it ended with a hard-fought Allied victory.

When in the North, Montgomery was planning a forced crossing of the Rhine. Further to the South in the American sector, US troops managed to capture an intact railroad bridge at Remagen, creating the first bridgehead on the eastern shore of the Rhine. Berlin was within reach.

In mid-April the Red Army began the Berlin operation with heavy artillery support. After bloody fighting, the strong German defenses were overwhelmed and the Red Army approached the city. On the last day of April, Hitler committed suicide. Two days later, the Reichstag fell and the extremely savage and bloody battle of Berlin was done. World War II was over.