The Big Attack: Combat Heroes of WWII Season 2

The town of Hotten became very important during WWII as Hitler has ordered it held at all costs because of its key defensive location by the Siegfried Line. An infantry regiment and tanks attack but are stopped by heavy mortar fire. A small squad succeeds by using grenades and .45 submachine guns, allowing the tanks and infantry to take the town after a fierce fight. Stars actor Jim Hutton.

In mid-August 1944, the Allies launched "Operation Anvil" to increase pressure on German troops after the Normandy landings. The 517th Airborne was tasked with preventing enemy tanks from reaching the beachhead. This episode recounts the story of three American sergeants and a British major who jumped into enemy territory, successfully completed their mission, and survived to tell the tale.

Pee Wee Donovan became a first aid man after promising his mother he wouldn't hurt anyone. Amidst the chaos of mortar and machine gun fire during the 1944 Battle of Hurtgen Forest, he and another aid carried a severely injured soldier through enemy territory. Faced with danger, Pee Wee forgot his promise and fought bravely, leading to heroic moments that create a thrilling and heartwarming story.

Sergeant Cleo Lehenbauer, nicknamed "Indestructible," is wounded during the 101st Airborne's D-Day jump and, after being hospitalized, returns to Normandy. In September, he walks through a mine-infested field and rescues two comrades in Holland. After conflicts with his commander in the 5th Armored Division, he transfers back to the 101st, where he helps stop the last major German offensive.

This is the story of Emily, a young French girl who helps a wounded GI. On June 6, 1944, a glider crashes, leaving Private First Class Bud Harvey as the only survivor. Emily convinces her grandparents to shelter him in their cellar. Concerned for his injuries, she seeks aid from the local priest, the Abbe, who helps him by sneaking him through the German lines to an American field hospital.

When American soldiers occupied Germany, they faced orphaned German children resorting to looting. Sergeant Mike Bray was assigned to rectify the situation. He earned the children's trust and helped them establish the Young German Christian Association, restoring an abandoned castle for recreation. The children were sad to see Bray go when he left, grateful for his support.

In the fall of 1944, an isolated Allied platoon takes refuge in a deserted village. A French woman, "Madame Frou Frou," warns them about hidden Germans, helping the Allies capture the village. She then asks for their help to rescue her husband from Epinay but mis-directs them to a German command post, where they thwart a counter-offensive and reunite her with her husband. Stars actor Jim Hutton.

This is the story of "Nellie" Nelson; sometimes a sergeant, sometimes a private, but always a soldier. He enjoyed teasing new replacements, including officers, which often cost him his stripes. Nevertheless, Captain Jay Settle valued him for his skill with a grease gun in battle and sent him to front-line action. This is the tale of a true hero who shed a tear for each enemy soldier he killed.

This is the tale of a chaplain who, every Sunday, held services amidst ear-splitting gunfire in the fox holes. But when their officer was wounded, the men didn't need a Chaplain, they needed leadership to face the oncoming Germans. This chaplain didn't let his boys down, improvising leadership, not taught at O.C.S., to repel the attack.

An American Intelligence Officer faces off against a brutal Russian Colonel in a tense story about the "kidnapping" of fifteen German war orphans. Sheltered by a brave Baroness, the children's fate is threatened when V-Day Armistice places her home in the Russian zone. U.S. Captain Tom Ryan and Sergeant Steve Maycheck, decide to rescue the orphans and the Baroness, leading to a thrilling climax.