Playback is currently unavailable for S1 E1 · A Necessary War. Episode details remain available below.
The War
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.
- Cast:
- Keith David, Tom Hanks, Josh Lucas, Bobby Cannavale
- Language:
- English
- Country:
- United States of America
- Network:
- PBS
Episode guide
Seasons
Miniseries
Episodes
E01
Episode 1
★ 8.2A Necessary War
2007-09-23 · 142mDecember 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.
Current episode
E02
Episode 2
★ 7.8When Things Get Tough
2007-09-24 · 115mJanuary 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.
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E03
Episode 3
★ 7.5A Deadly Calling
2007-09-25 · 110mNovember 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.
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E04
Episode 4
★ 7.5Pride of Our Nation / A Volunteer Basis
2007-09-26 · 136mJune 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.
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E05
Episode 5
★ 7.5FUBAR
2007-09-30 · 124mSeptember 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.
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E06
Episode 6
★ 7.5The Ghost Front
2007-10-01 · 117mDecember 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.
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E07
Episode 7
★ 8.2A World Without War
2007-10-02 · 125mMarch 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.
Watch progress · Not trackedCast
Keith David
Narrator (voice)
Tom Hanks
Narrator / Al McIntosh (voice)
Josh Lucas
Narrator (voice)
Bobby Cannavale
Narrator / Babe Ciarlo (voice)
Samuel L. Jackson
Narrator (voice)
Eli Wallach
Narrator (voice)
Robert Wahlberg
Narrator / James A. Fahey (voice)
Adam Arkin
Reader (voice)
Carolyn McCormick
Reader (voice)
Paul Fussell
Self