The World at War

Germany, a nation stricken by humiliating defeat and emerging from crippling economic depression, looks to one man for a resurgence of hope and dignity. That man is Adolf Hitler…

In Eastern Europe, the full force of the Nazi machine rolls on - but in Britain, an uneasy calm settles on the nation. It is the 'phoney' war, with the sound of distant guns thundering ominously on the horizon…

France discovers it is woefully unprepared for modern warfare as the Nazi war machine easily skirts around the Maginot Line. Britain retreats and prepares for invasion.

After Dunkirk, Britain faces the German onslaught. Although the Rap wins the Battle of Britain, the cities are blitzed and on the continent the last Allies are conquered. The outlook is grim.

Hitler at last turns his tanks towards Russia. After a succession of devastating victories, the Germans delay and the fierce Russian winter takes a grip.

At war since 1931 on the Chinese mainland, the Japanese hope for easy victories over the British and Dutch. And then on December 7th 1941, Japan makes their infamous attack on Pearl Harbour.

Americans are divided between fighting the Japanese and the Nazis. Hitler solves the problem by declaring war on the U.S.A.

For 2 years the 8th Army and Rommel's Afrika Corps fight in the wastes of North Africa. Finally the tide turns at El Alamein.

Hitler's early successes in Russia made him reckless and he resolves to capture Stalingrad. The battle lasts six months with the Russians emerging as victors. The Wehrmacht never recovers.

In a war of high technology and animal courage, the German U-Boats fight Allied merchantmen, hounding them in packs.

For two years the Soviet Army fights the Germans almost alone. After one of the greatest land battles in history, the nation survives and triumphs - but with a loss of no less than twenty million of its people.

Bomber Command begin bombing German cities by night and the Americans reinforce the attacks by day; a whirlwind of terror and destruction that will win the war.

Churchill called Italy the 'soft underbelly of the crocodile' and thought the Allies could cut through it to the heart of Germany. By the soft underbelly turned out to be a 'tough old gut'.

Vera Lynn sang of a lovely day tomorrow, but the war in Burma was mud and monsoon. Britain's largest army learned to master the jungle and fought the Japanese to standstill.

Life and politics in Britain from the post-Battle of Britain period to the first V-1 attacks.

Initial victory in Europe turns sour after the defeat at Stalingrad, yet Germany prepares to fight to the end - even after an assassination attempt on the Führer.

The Western Allies resolve to invade Europe. England becomes a floating supply dump and the British and Americans assemble the largest invasion fleet in history. It is June 6th 1944 - D Day.

Life in the Netherlands under German occupation--when citizens chose to resist, collaborate, or remain passive.

Operation Dragoon, the liberation of Paris, the Allied occupation of France, and the failure of Operation Market Garden. The Warsaw Uprising, the battle of the Bulge, and the crossing of the Rhine. The Romanian coup and the Soviet advance. The end of the war appears close at hand with the liberation of Paris in 1944, but the British and Americans disagree on how to advance.

Begins with the founding of the SS, follows the development of Nazi racial theory, and ends with the implementation of the Final Solution.