Episode 1
A New Germany (1933–1939)
Germany, a nation stricken by humiliating defeat and emerging from crippling economic depression, looks to one...
Episode 2
Distant War (September 1939–May 1940)
In Eastern Europe, the full force of the Nazi machine rolls on - but in Britain, an uneasy calm settles on the...
Episode 3
France Falls (May–June 1940)
France discovers it is woefully unprepared for modern warfare as the Nazi war machine easily skirts around the...
Episode 4
Alone (May 1940–May 1941)
After Dunkirk, Britain faces the German onslaught. Although the RAF wins the Battle of Britain, the cities are...
Episode 5
Barbarossa (June–December 1941)
Hitler at last turns his tanks towards Russia. After a succession of devastating victories, the Germans delay...
Episode 6
Banzai! Japan (1931–1942)
At war since 1931 on the Chinese mainland, the Japanese hope for easy victories over the British and Dutch. An...
Episode 7
On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942)
Americans are divided between fighting the Japanese and the Nazis. Hitler solves the problem by declaring war...
Episode 8
The Desert: North Africa (1940–1943)
For 2 years the 8th Army and Rommel's Afrika Corps fight in the wastes of North Africa. Finally the tide turns...
Episode 9
Stalingrad (June 1942-February 1943)
Hitler's early successes in Russia made him reckless and he resolves to capture Stalingrad. The battle lasts s...
Episode 10
Wolfpack: U-Boats in the Atlantic (1939–1944)
In a war of high technology and animal courage, the German U-Boats fight Allied merchantmen, hounding them in...
Episode 11
Red Star: The Soviet Union (1941–1943)
For two years the Soviet Army fights the Germans almost alone. After one of the greatest land battles in histo...
Episode 12
Whirlwind: Bombing Germany (September 1939–April 1944)
Bomber Command begin bombing German cities by night and the Americans reinforce the attacks by day; a whirlwin...
Episode 13
Tough Old Gut: Italy (November 1942-June 1944)
Churchill called Italy the 'soft underbelly of the crocodile' and thought the Allies could cut through it to t...
Episode 14
It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942–1944)
Vera Lynn sang of a lovely day tomorrow, but the war in Burma was mud and monsoon. Britain's largest army lear...
Episode 15
Home Fires: Britain (1940–1944)
Finding strength in unity at home in Britain during the war, it was a time of gas masks, Winston Churchill, Di...
Episode 16
Inside the Reich: Germany (1940–1944)
Initial victory in Europe turns sour after the defeat at Stalingrad, yet Germany prepares to fight to the end...
Episode 17
Morning (June–August 1944)
The Western Allies resolve to invade Europe. England becomes a floating supply dump and the British and Americ...
Episode 18
Occupation: Holland (1940–1944)
Through a neutral country, Holland is attacked by Germany without warning in 1940. During the next four years,...
Episode 19
Pincers (August 1944–March 1945)
The end of the war appears close at hand with the liberation of Paris in 1944, but the British and Americans d...
Episode 20
Genocide (1941–1945)
The Nazi's are racist; the Aryans are a master race, others, particularly the Jews are sub-human. Himmler's SS...
Episode 21
Nemesis (February–May 1945)
Hitler retreats to the Fuhrer bunker is Berlin as Germany crumbles around him and his lieutenants abandon him...
Episode 22
Japan (1941–1945)
Initially apprehensive about the outcome of declaring war, the Japanese quickly turn to celebration with early...
Episode 23
Pacific - The Island to Island War (February 1942–July 1945)
The Americans fight their way across the Pacific towards Japan and the Phillipines. Perhaps the bloodiest camp...
Episode 24
The Atomic Bomb (February–September 1945)
Western scientists have developed a new, immensely powerful weapon - the atomic bomb. On August 6th 1945, the...
Episode 25
Reckoning (April 1945)
The war ends slowly and messily. Britain is victorious but exhausted and the super-powers confront each other...
Episode 26
Remember
For many the Second World War was the most significant experience of their lives. Heartbreaking first hand rem...