Sink the Bismarck!

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Sieg heil!

Sieg heil!

Sieg heil!

Sieg heil!

Sieg heil!

Sieg heil!

Sieg heil!

This is London. Ed Murrow reporting.

To an American reporter...

there is something very special

about the people of this city...

this island, this nation.

Never in the long and stormy

history of Great Britain...

have her fortunes been

as low as they are...

in this spring of 1941.

Britain is fighting alone

for her very existence...

fighting desperately.

Yet her people remain

steadfast and unflinching.

Britain's allies have been

defeated one by one...

as the dark stain of Nazi conquest...

spreads across the map of Europe.

In Africa, Rommel is giving

the Eighth Army a very bad time.

Greece has fallen.

And the Luftwaffe continues

to smash English cities.

The worst news of all

comes from the North Atlantic...

where last month, German U-boats

and surface raiders...

sank 600,000 tons of shipping.

In this battle,

Britain's lifeblood is at stake.

This is the battle on which depends...

the future course of the war...

the future course of British history.

The battle of the North Atlantic

is fought at sea...

but it is directed from

the admiralty, here in London.

Very deep in the ancient

Admiralty Building...

Here is the guiding brain

and central nervous system...

of the British navy...

The Operations Division.

Robert.

Sir?

Take Captain Shepard's things...

and put them in the office.

Aye, sir.

Thank you.

This, of course, is the message center...

for incoming and outgoing signals.

These tubes lead to

the wireless room down the hall.

Oh, Shepard...

Anything wrong?

That man's uniform.

Oh. We're quite informal here

about some things.

You'll find it's much different...

from the bridge of a ship at sea.

It has to be that way.

Shepard, this is Commander Richards...

the duty plot officer.

Captain Shepard is

the new director of operations.

[Mouth Full Of Food] How do you do?

Don't let me interrupt your meal.

Captain Shepard,

Second Officer Anne Davis.

Captain Shepard's taking over for me.

How do you do, sir?

How do you do?

Be nice to her, Shepard.

If she got angry and walked out,

we'd lose the war.

Really?

Seriously, you can depend on

this young lady.

I've done it many times.

Anne, be a darling, will you...

and get your plot report in

as soon as possible.

We mustn't be late...

forJimmy's party tonight.

Right-oh.

I suppose I should shed a few tears...

at leaving this place...

but quite honestly, I've hated the job.

Too much responsibility,

strain.

I'm getting a command at sea.

That's what I've always wanted.

Congratulations.

I hope you find one...

that doesn't involve too much strain.

It's a different kind of strain.

If a man's going to serve in the navy...

he ought to serve at sea...

unless, of course,

it's a man like yourself...

who's already seen action.

He should still serve at sea.

Yes. Well, I better get along.

I'll say good-bye now...

unless you have any questions.

I don't think so. Good luck.

Thank you.

We thought we might be of some

assistance, sir...

not knowing your way around yet.

Is there anything I can do for you?

Yes, there is something.

I saw a rating enter the war room...

without his jumper.

From now on, everyone

will be properly dressed at all times.

I cannot have officers

eating sandwiches on duty...

Commander, under any circumstances.

I'm sorry, sir. Won't happen again.

Excuse me, sir.

I think you should know

that Commander Richards...

stood two watches without relief...

I'm sure Commander Richards...

doesn't need an interpreter,

Miss Davis.

I was also surprised

to hear a Wren officer...

addressed by her Christian name.

To me, this kind of informality...

is both irregular and inexcusable.

Come in!

Sorry to interrupt, sir.

Priority signal.

Thank you.

Huh. Excuse me.

Come in.

Oh, Shepard.

You know the assistant chief

of naval staff.

Yes, indeed, sir. Very well.

How are you,Jonathan?

I'm glad to see you again.

I have a signal here...

from our naval attache in Stockholm.

He reports two large German warships...

steaming through the Kattegat.

What ships are they?

He doesn't say.

Think it might be the Bismarck?

It's possible, sir.

She's just completed

three months' training...

in the Baltic.

Couldn't pick a better time

to break out...

with this Crete business

going on...

and our convoys scattered.

I have a nasty hunch

that's the idea, sir.

I hope you're wrong.

Can't afford to have that monster loose.

Look what Scharnhorst

and Gneisenau did to us.

All in two months.

They don't have anything like

Bismarck's fire power.

She could stand off and sink

every ship in a convoy...

without ever coming under fire.

Shepard, get on to

the Commander-in-Chief,

Home Fleet.

Tell him we're not sure...

but we're very much concerned.

We'll let him have...

every scrap of information.

Aye aye, sir.

Oh, and, Shepard.

I wish you'd prepare

your recommendations...

in case it is the Bismarck.

Very good, sir.

Pretty rough assignment...

for a new man on the job.

I'm not worried about Shepard.

He's one of the ablest men

in the service.

I'm told he's as cold

as a witch's heart.

That's a slight exaggeration, sir.

I want a man who's cold.

I'd like a man with no heart at all...

no soul...

just an enormous brain.

The battle of the North Atlantic...

is a grim business.

It won't be won

by charm and personality.

We've had too much of that.

I've known Shepard for years.

We've served together before.

He was different then.

Any particular reason for the change?

I suspect there are many reasons, sir...

reasons of a personal nature.

Oh. I see.

Well, how are we going to

get the information...

on those two ships?

We have an agent in southern Norway...

Get in touch with him.

It's too dangerous to get in touch

with him directly.

There isn't time to go

through Zurich or Stockholm.

In this case,

you'll have to make direct contact.

Sir, this man is

in Nazi-occupied territory.

I realize that.

All the same, we must get

in touch with him immediately.

Aye aye, sir.

[Automatic Weapon Fire]

The enemy ships

were sighted coming out of the Baltic...

obviously heading out to sea...

obviously not in the service

of the king.

Now, what have we got over here

at Scapa Flow?

Battleships King George V,

Prince of Wales...

battle cruiser Hood...

a few cruisers and destroyers.

The rest of the fleet's

out on convoy escort.

It's from Admiral Cunningham, sir.

"Situation in Crete is deteriorating.

German airborne troops

have captured Maleme Airfield."

Why is it we never get

our bad medicine in small doses?

Perfect timing for an enemy breakout...

in the North Atlantic.

Cunningham and his fleet

busy down here in Crete.

Sommerville's got his hands full...

trying to reinforce Malta

with Force H.

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau

are up here at Brest.

We must keep them covered.

And 16 convoys to guard...

scattered all over the Atlantic.

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