Battlefield

The two mightiest air fleets in the world clashed in tumultuous combat over the skies of Britain and the English Channel. The very survival of the English depended on the bravery of the Royal Air Force, of whom Churchill said, " Never was so much owed by so many to so few."

The annihilation of an entire army amidst the charred and frozen ruins of Stalingrad was catastrophe for Nazi arms. Thereafter, the colossus of the Red Army was never to lose the initiative in the East.

The furious, climatic last battle of Hitler’s war. Over half a million lives were lost as the Red Army finally crushed the last Nazi citadel.

The longest continuous military campaign of WWII, The Battle of the Atlantic raged across the ocean from 1939 till 1945, pitting feared U-boats and other German naval warships against Allied shipping and troop convoys.

When victory in North Africa seemed assured, Allied Planners turned their attention to Italy. The objective was to seize Rome, knock Italy out of the war and push north towards Austria.

During the last months of 1944, the British and Americans pressed steadily through France and Belgium to the western frontiers of the Third Reich.

What starts as a ripple becomes a wave, and with the United States involvement in Vietnam, it began as a contingent of U.S. "military advisors" after the attack at Dien Bien Phu. From there it turned into "non-official combat missions," and finally, after an unprovoked torpedo attack by a North Vietnamese patrol boat against the unsuspecting U.S. destroyer Maddox, it became "The Undeclared War."

Expanding its presence in 1966, the U.S. Army sets up patrols in the south to draw out Viet Cong guerrillas, but cant force a decisive battle. Included: veterans recall missions to uncover Viet Cong bases; the political climate in Saigon.

Viet Cong guerrillas, backed by the North Vietnamese Army, staged a massive offensive against major cities and U.S. bases in January 1968, during the Tet holiday.

In early 1968, American and allied forces fought the North Vietnamese Army in one of the most dramatic battles of the Vietnam War. For 77 days, two powerful NVA Divisions laid siege to the U.S. Marine Corps base at Khe Sahn.

The air war against the north intensifies as fighting in the south escalates. The U.S. targets North Vietnamese transport and supply routes (some of them in Laos and Cambodia), culminating in the so-called Christmas bombings of Hanoi and Haiphong in December, 1973.

The U.S. withdrawal left the South Vietnamese with a well equipped but poorly led army unable to contain the 1974-75 Communist assault that ended in the capture of Saigon.

The Allies were determined to take the war to Germany both to disrupt German war production and weaken civilian morale, and in retaliation for the Nazi terror bombing of England. The "Strategic Bombing Campaign" by the RAF and the USAAF was one of the most controversial campaigns of WWII and cost thousands of Allied lives and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths.

The infamous Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii was one of the most significant events of World War II. Though brilliantly planned and executed, and though it dealt a crippling blow to the US Pacific Fleet, it failed to inflict any damage on the US aircraft carriers. Moreover, the attack brought the US and its industrial might into the war with disastrous consequences for the Axis powers.

This is the story of one of Second World Wars most harrowing episodes. The 890 day siege of the Soviet Unions second city has come to epitomise the misery, suffering and savagery of the war on the Eastern Front. The city was not finally liberated by Soviet troops until 19th January 1944 - by that time 600,000 of its citizens had starved to death and 200,000 more had perished in the bombing. This is a brand new episode from the landmark television series Battlefield. Featuring fascinating archive footage from all over the world the programme includes a review of the political and military situation before the battle, portraits of leaders and commanders, an explanation of weapons and tactics and the story of the battle itself. Vivid graphics place the battle into the context of the war as a whole.

Covering the leaders, the equipment, and the men, as well as the battles, it covers the period from the beginning of the war in Africa until the end where the Axis is expelled. The main battle covered here is the last battle of El Alamein.

This is the story of the construction and defence of Hitlers three-mile deep web of fortifications, pillboxes, troop shelters, and anti-tank obstacles that ran along Germanys western frontier. "The Siegfried Line," as it was nicknamed by the Allies, and the natural barrier formed by the Rhine River, were key to Germanys defence of its Western Front. The breaching of the Siegfried Line at the Battle of the West Wall, and the subsequent crossing of the Rhine barrier at Remagen, heralded the collapse of German resistance in the West.

Caen, perhaps the greatest major obstacle for the Allied advance inland after the landings in Normandy, 6 June 1944. Consequently it was a key objective for 3rd British Div. landing on Sword Beach. The Allies were unable to capture the strategically important city on D-Day in the teeth of armoured counter-attacks from 21st Panzer Div. Renewed attempts by 3rd Canadian Div. on 7-8 June were foiled by 12th SS Panzer Div. Hitlerjugend, as were 7th British Armoured Divs. thrusts towards the city on 11-14 June. On 25 June Operation Epsom was launched to take Caen. Preceded by RAF Bomber Command attacks, further British & Canadian assaults on 4 July stalled before the whole of the city could be taken. On 7 July Operation Charnwood forced the Germans to withdraw from northern Caen. Heavier bombardment opened Operation Goodwood on 18 July, in the course of which the Canadians finally managed to liberate the rest of Caen, by now largely demolished after five weeks of intensive fighting.

A vicious 14-week war between the Finns & the Russians ended in March 1940, the Finns finally surrendered a large part of its territory to the Soviet invaders. 500,000 were evacuated from the Karelian isthmus, the scene of the wars worst fighting. It was a hollow victory, as the Russians took a drubbing from the determined & resourceful Finns, who organised the defence of their country brilliantly. Nearly 1 million Russians lost their lives during the fighting & the weaknesses of the Red Army was exposed to the. Hitler was suitably encouraged, he was determined on the invasion & conquest of his erstwhile allied partner. Meanwhile, during the early months of the war, Hitler became increasingly aware of the potential threat of Norway & mounted the worlds first airborne invasion there in February 1940. At the same time, German Forces invaded Denmark. Over the next few years, the horrors & intrigues of the Quisling government in Norway unfolded amidst determined Norwegian resistance.

The battle for Okinawa, chosen to be the final springboard for an Allied invasion of Japan, claimed more American lives than any other battle in the Pacific campaign. The Japanese had constructed a formidable series of defences and were prepared to fight for every inch of the islands soil. The battle included a 700-plane Kamikaze raid against the US naval fleet. US casualties were estimated to be 49,000. Ultimately US forces took control of the island in June 1945 and in August, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the war against Japan to a dramatic end.

This is the story of the crucial battles for control of the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the irreplaceable oil fields of the Middle East. The program covers the great battles between the Italian Navy and British Navy, the land campaigns in the North African desert between Rommels Afrika Korp and the British 8th Army, and Britains struggle to retain its control of Malta. Additionally featured is the war for control of the skies between the German Luftwaffe and the RAF, eventually joined by the US Army Air Force, and the story of the war in Greece.