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.

The battles that were overlooked

NAZI VICTORY DESPITE CHAOS • The German attack on the Netherlands during World War II was sometimes confused and clumsy, and at times almost a complete failure. But despite this, large parts of Rotterdam soon lay in ruins.

BLITZKRIEG FROM ABOVE • In 1940, German paratroopers captured the ‘impregnable’ Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium. It was a daring operation, ordered by Hitler, which completely sabotaged the Allies’ plans.

ENTIRE DIVISION WAS WIPED OUT • Stalin had promised that his soldiers would be received as liberators when they invaded Finland. But the fighting at Suomussalmi in January 1940 proved otherwise.

PANZER GROUP FACED ACID TEST • The Battle of Dubno between 4,000 German and Soviet tanks in western Ukraine in June 1941 became arguably the largest tank battle in history. Initially, the German advance was blocked by the Soviet’s heavy tanks – until the Luftwaffe gained the upper hand in the air.

GERMANY’S FIRST DEFEAT • Operation Platinum Fox’s goal, to conquer Murmansk, was part of a larger strategy to secure the mines in Petsamo. But poor planning and ill-considered decisions resulted in Germany’s first operational setbacks of World War II.

ENEMY CAME FROM THE SKY • In May 1941, the sky over the island of Crete filled with thousands of parachutes. Germany’s well-trained troops had launched a bold unprecedented attack: the first invasion in history made solely from the air.

BRITISH FOUGHT THE FRENCH • British forces invaded the French colony of Madagascar in 1942. An initial bloody battle was followed by many months of inching forward, during which control of the entire Indian Ocean lay in the balance.

A LANDING TO PLEASE STALIN • To keep Stalin on side, the Allies launched a raid on the German-occupied French port of Dieppe in August 1942. The appalling disaster that followed has never been fully investigated.

US BAPTISM OF FIRE IN DESERT • It was in North Africa that the United States entered the war against Germany. Despite initial success, the operation was dominated by serious leadership problems, which almost cost the Allies their victory in the important Battle of Kasserine Pass.

LANDING WITH IMPEDIMENTS • The Allied landing at Salerno started well. But an inexperienced commander – General Mark Clark – and fierce German resistance made Operation Avalanche uncertain. For several days, Clark even planned a retreat.

INVASION OF THE RIVIERA • On 15th August 1944, the Allies launched Operation Dragoon in the south of France. The goal was to take the ports of Marseille and Toulon, and meet up with the Allies who had begun to break out of Normandy in the north. A fragmented German defence fought frantically to force the enemy back into the sea.

Island flooded in attack • In order to use the port of Antwerp, the Allies had to defeat the Germans on the island of Walcheren. The solution was drastic: the island was flooded while the invading forces attacked from the sea.

IN THE RED ARMY’S GRIP • When the Red Army attacked the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket on 24th January 1944, it succeeded in encircling nearly 60,000 German soldiers. On 2nd February, General von Manstein decided that his ill-equipped army would try to break out – a new Stalingrad had to be avoided...