Bringing History to Life

In 1933, Adolf Hitler seizes power in Germany, where he has seduced the population with golden promises of a restoration of the Great German Empire. He allies himself with Mussolini's fascist Italy, Stalin's communist Soviet Union and the military dictatorship in Japan, which has the same dreams of grandeur as Germany. In this series, you get a thorough review of World War II - from the birth of fascism through the war's many dramas to the aftermath, where the victors deal with the war's worst criminals.

THIRD REICH AT WAR

INVASION OF POLAND • Despite Germany's military might, it was nervous of attacking Poland, which had Europe’s fifth largest army. To surprise the Poles, Hitler didn't declare war, but sent his troops across the border without warning. Four eyewitnesses reveal what happened next...

Hitler’s BLITZ KRIEG forces Europe to its knees • At the beginning of World War II, Germany had fewer tanks, soldiers and aircraft than France and Britain. However, Prussian General Heinz Guderian had, with Hitler’s approval, developed a groundbreaking military tactic: blitzkrieg. The tactics’ four phases of attack made Germany’s armoured divisions invincible during the early years of the war.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN For 117 days the British population fought for their lives

Hitler’s panzer divisions roll east: History’s largest CAMPAIGN • In June 1941, Hitler launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. Around 3.7 million soldiers stormed across the border in a gigantic German blitzkrieg operation, but the vastness of Stalin’s empire proved too much for the previously unbeaten invasion force.

Rommel outwitted the British in the Sahara DESERT FOX • The odds seemed impossible when Erwin Rommel arrived in North Africa in 1941. The British were winning victories everywhere, and Germany’s Italian allies were useless. But the panzer general’s strategies were a potent weapon, and soon even the enemy came to admire the Desert Fox’s guile.

History’s biggest TANK BATTLE • IN A FINAL ATTACK ON the Eastern Front in 1943, Hitler ordered the German Army to capture the city of Kursk. But the Soviets were well prepared. The battle of Kursk culminated as thousands of tanks clashed south of the city.

Hitler’s supergun would level London to the ground • As the Allies succeeded in pushing Hitler back on all fronts, the Führer prepared a contingency plan: Germany would build the world’s biggest gun and carpet-bomb London from the northern French coast. German engineers were in a race against time to make the gun ready and turn the tide of war in Hitler’s favour.

The Allies paid dearly for Monte Cassino • A single mountain peak, containing a beautiful old monastery, stood between the Allies and Rome. For the soldiers on both sides, the battle for the summit was a throwback to the madness of WWI trench warfare. They would be forced to fight for every square metre of territory, while relentless shelling ensured life on the front line was a living hell.

D-DAY THROUGH NAZI EYES • The Germans had been waiting for the inevitable invasion for months. Along the beaches of Normandy’s coast, young soldiers were crammed into small bunkers with a shocking lack of ammunition. Then, all of a sudden, Allied troops began storming towards them. The Germans retaliated with thundering machine guns and transformed the beach into a bloodbath. But they soon realised that they had no hope of victory and the fight had become about one thing only: surviving D-Day.

HIMMLER’S WEREWOLVES FOUGHT TO THE LAST • From October 1944, Allied troops captured one German city after another. In response, Himmler unleashed his new Werewolf corps. Its task was to covertly attack the enemy and kill any...