The Hidden Truth of WWII episode 4: July 10th 1944, six long weeks since D-Day. Allied forces have been caught in a murderous battle trying to breakout of the invasion beachhead. The Germans have rebounded from the shock of invasion and are fighting back furiously, inflicting horrendous casualties on the Allied ground forces; the Allies need a breakthrough, and fast. […]
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Narrow Escapes of World War II episode 12: A profile of Dudley Mason, who was awarded the George Cross after the tanker he was commanding came under attack during Operation Pedestal in August 1942 to relieve Malta. By 1942, the fight between the Allies and the Axis for control of the Mediterranean is focused on tiny Malta. From there, British
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World War II In HD Colour episode 13: The end of the War in the Pacific is one of the greatest and most terrible tales of modern history. The Japanese fought to the bitter end and continued to fight island by island, hill by hill. US Air Force command tried bombing Japan into submission, firebombing Tokyo but could not break
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World War II In HD Colour episode 12: The months of the war in Europe were shocking and desperate. This film follows the British and Americans as they cross the Rhine and the Russians as they push through Poland into Germany itself. It covers the horrors of the liberation of Belsen and Buchenwald, and the final terrible street fighting in
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World War II In HD Colour episode 11: Since December 1941, a vicious war against Japan was being waged in the Pacific. The Japanese were driven back across the ocean, island by island, in savage hand to hand fighting. American dominance at sea was finally established in “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”, when radar gave the US Navy advance warning
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World War II In HD Colour episode 10: In 1944 America and Britain in the West and Russia in the East began to close their pincer around Germany. But even now, the outcome was in the balance. The film explores the Allied disaster at Arnhem and the tragedy of the Warsaw uprising, when Polish freedom fighters were abandoned to their
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World War II In HD Colour episode 9: Today it is easy to see D-Day as inevitable – a straightforward victory against a German army that was already all but defeated. This film explodes that myth. It charts the careful planning of the campaign, the development of specialised equipment needed for the amphibious landing. It reveals the deception plan that
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World War II In HD Colour episode 8: By July 1943, the full extent of Hitler’s failed gamble in the East had become clear. After failing to deliver knock-out blows at Stalingrad and Moscow, his army was now at the mercy of the vast Soviet war machine. With its huge resources and seemingly limitless numbers of men, the Red Army
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World War II In HD Colour episode 7: Both the Allies and the Nazis were always looking for a single knock-out blow to end the war. Britain’s Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris thought the answer might lie in “strategic bombing.” The idea was to blow the belt out of Germany’s infrastructure and cities. This, he argued, would cripple the Nazis ability
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World War II In HD Colour episode 6: Mussolini’s ambition had always been to recreate the old Roman empire. The trouble was, militarily, he was a disaster. After failed attacks in North Africa and Greece, his armies were on the run. Hitler, now faced a difficult choice. Did he divert troops needed at other fronts to support his ally, or
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Secrets of World War II episode 11: The underwater war saw many innovations and a rapid increase in electronic technology, which eventually enabled the Allies to achieve ultimate victory. It was the only thing that truly frightened Winston Churchill. Silently patrolling the cold, gray waters of the Atlantic, the German U-boat almost sank Great Britain’s chances for victory. How could
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Secrets of World War II episode 9: In 1944 as Hitler faced defeat he tried one last gamble of an offensive on the Western Front. The result was the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. But what the Germans did not know was the Allies were decoding their radio messages. By late 1944, the Allied commanders were confident that the Third Reich
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