Ed Helms

The U.S.

leaders had learned a very hard lesson taking Atu.

So for Kiska, they knew they needed a new approach.

This time, it was going to be a massive operation.

Over 30,000 troops, 100 warships, and 100 aircraft converging on a single fog-shrouded island.

And at the tip of the spear, of course, was Colonel Robert Frederick's crew, now proudly known as Freddy's Fighters.

And now for some reason, this entire operation was named Operation Cottage.

I don't know why.

How do they come up with these things?

Operation Cottage kicked off with two solid weeks of bombing the ever-loving dingus out of this island.

American and Canadian pilots dove through the fog at dangerously low altitudes and pounded Kiska with bombs.

Next was the ground assault.

Colonel Frederick's elite commandos were to slip ashore under cover of darkness, secure the beaches and clear the way for the throngs of infantry waiting just offshore.

It takes a little...

A little something special to be these like tip of the spear commandos, right?

Yeah.

Well, yeah, just hardship, basically.

Yeah.

Outdoor hardship.

And also just be like, hey, you're going in first.