Season 1
(1973)
Cast
as Narrator
Episodes
A New Germany (1933–1939) 7.5
October 31, 1973
Germany, a nation stricken by humiliating defeat and emerging from crippling economic depression, looks to one man for …
Distant War (September 1939–May 1940) 7.3
November 7, 1973
In Eastern Europe, the full force of the Nazi machine rolls on - but in Britain, an uneasy calm settles on the nation. …
France Falls (May–June 1940) 8.2
November 14, 1973
France discovers it is woefully unprepared for modern warfare as the Nazi war machine easily skirts around the Maginot …
Alone (May 1940–May 1941) 7.0
November 21, 1973
After Dunkirk, Britain faces the German onslaught. Although the Rap wins the Battle of Britain, the cities are blitzed …
Barbarossa (June–December 1941) 7.0
November 28, 1973
Hitler at last turns his tanks towards Russia. After a succession of devastating victories, the Germans delay and the f…
Banzai! Japan (1931–1942) 7.5
December 5, 1973
At war since 1931 on the Chinese mainland, the Japanese hope for easy victories over the British and Dutch. And then on…
On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942) 8.0
December 12, 1973
Americans are divided between fighting the Japanese and the Nazis. Hitler solves the problem by declaring war on the U.…
The Desert: North Africa (1940–1943) 6.5
December 19, 1973
For 2 years the 8th Army and Rommel's Afrika Corps fight in the wastes of North Africa. Finally the tide turns at El Al…
Stalingrad (June 1942 - February 1943) 6.5
January 2, 1974
Hitler's early successes in Russia made him reckless and he resolves to capture Stalingrad. The battle lasts six months…
Wolfpack: U-Boats in the Atlantic (1939–1943) 6.0
January 16, 1974
In a war of high technology and animal courage, the German U-Boats fight Allied merchantmen, hounding them in packs.
Red Star: The Soviet Union (1941–1943) 6.0
January 23, 1974
For two years the Soviet Army fights the Germans almost alone. After one of the greatest land battles in history, the n…
Whirlwind: Bombing Germany (September 1939–April 1944) 6.7
January 30, 1974
Bomber Command begin bombing German cities by night and the Americans reinforce the attacks by day; a whirlwind of terr…
Tough Old Gut: Italy (1943 - 1944) 7.0
January 30, 1974
Churchill called Italy the 'soft underbelly of the crocodile' and thought the Allies could cut through it to the heart …
It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942–1943) 6.5
February 13, 1974
Vera Lynn sang of a lovely day tomorrow, but the war in Burma was mud and monsoon. Britain's largest army learned to ma…
Home Fires: Britain (1940–1944) 7.0
February 20, 1974
Finding strength in unity at home in Britain during the war, it was a time of gas masks, Winston Churchill, Dig for Vic…
Inside the Reich: Germany (1940–1944) 4.7
February 27, 1974
Initial victory in Europe turns sour after the defeat at Stalingrad, yet Germany prepares to fight to the end - even af…
Morning (June–August 1944) 8.0
March 6, 1974
The Western Allies resolve to invade Europe. England becomes a floating supply dump and the British and Americans assem…
Occupation: Holland (1940–1944) 6.5
March 13, 1974
Through a neutral country, Holland is attacked by Germany without warning in 1940. During the next four years, life car…
Pincers (August 1944–March 1945) 7.5
March 20, 1974
The end of the war appears close at hand with the liberation of Paris in 1944, but the British and Americans disagree o…
Genocide (1941–1945) 10.0
March 27, 1974
The Nazi's are racist; the Aryans are a master race, others, particularly the Jews are sub-human. Himmler's SS sets abo…
Nemesis (February–May 1945) 8.3
April 3, 1974
Hitler retreats to the Fuhrer bunker is Berlin as Germany crumbles around him and his lieutenants abandon him to a fate…
Japan (1941–1945) 6.0
April 10, 1974
Initially apprehensive about the outcome of declaring war, the Japanese quickly turn to celebration with early victory.…
Pacific - The Island to Island War (February 1942–July 1945) 6.0
April 17, 1974
The Americans fight their way across the Pacific towards Japan and the Phillipines. Perhaps the bloodiest campaign of a…
The Atomic Bomb (February–September 1945) 8.0
April 24, 1974
Western scientists have developed a new, immensely powerful weapon - the atomic bomb. On August 6th 1945, the Enola Gay…
Reckoning (April 1945) 7.0
May 1, 1974
The war ends slowly and messily. Britain is victorious but exhausted and the super-powers confront each other as they d…
Remember 6.5
May 8, 1974
For many the Second World War was the most significant experience of their lives. Heartbreaking first hand remembrances…