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.

Agile plane secures victory

1939 10 TH SEPTEMBER TREACHEROUS MINE CONFUSES BRITISH • In 1939 British ships mysteriously begin to sink in waters supposedly clear of mines. Churchill gives orders to find out what the Germans are up to. And a dark November evening proves lucky for the British.

1940 20TH AUGUST SPITFIRE BATTLES MESSERSCHMITT TO VICTORY • In the 1930s, Briton Reginald Mitchell is under intense pressure to develop a fighter plane that can stand up to Hitler’s powerful air force. But as the Spitfire’s development is delayed again and again, the threat of a German invasion of Britain grows…

1941 13TH NOVEMBER GERMAN U-BOATS FORCE BRITAIN TO ITS KNEES • The threat from the depths was a hair’s breadth from crippling Britain. Hitler’s most feared weapon sank thousands of merchant ships laden with supplies for the desperate island nation and killed 35,000 marine civilians. Only a tactical switch would prevent the subs from taking over the Atlantic.

1941 FANTASY WEAPONS LEAVE THE DRAWING BOARD • As the fight on the battlefield waves back and forth, frazzled brains on both sides try to come up new weapons that can win the war. Some projects come to fruition, but many more creative weapons prove to be more dangerous to the user than to the enemy.

1941 18TH DECEMBER FROGMEN SNEAK INTO EGYPTIAN HARBOUR • On a dark December day three manned torpedoes speed into the port of Alexandria. Italian frogmen ride on the torpedoes, which carry a deadly cargo on board. The next morning, the frogmen are caught – and the British believe the action against the battleships in the harbour has been thwarted.

1942 6TH JUNE SUPER GUN WIPES OUT SEVASTOPOL • In the summer of 1942, seven-tonne shells three and a half metres long from the German gun Schwerer Gustav shower down over one of the world’s strongest fortresses on the Soviet Crimean peninsula. The fierce shelling will allow the army to finally end a frustrating siege of the strategically important city that has lasted over six months.

1943 5TH JULY THE TIGER IS ITS OWN WORST ENEMY • The German Tiger tank is the strongest of the war, both in armour and firepower. But the super tank is heavy and its weight often causes its gearbox and other mechanics to break down. At the same time, the Tiger is expensive to produce. Tigers face a difficult task when deployed against the Soviet Union’s high number of smaller T-34 tanks.

1944 30TH MARCH BOMBERS LEAVE GERMAN CITIES IN RUINS • Again and again Allied bombers open their hatches to drop tonnes of shells over the Third Reich while defenders desperately try to stop the aircraft with anti-aircraft guns and fighter planes. But raids continue 24 hours a day, turning cities into fireballs.

1944 25 TH NOVEMBER ROCKETS MUST BREAK LONDON • From 1944, German V-2 rockets have hammered the British capital, where they pulverise buildings and fill Londoners with terror. Hitler hopes his new rocket weapon will scare the British into ending the war.

1945 7TH APRIL GIANT OF THE SEA IS SUNK • On a spring day in 1945, the...