In 1940, France has fallen and Hitler orders Operation Sealion, the invasion of Great Britain. But first the Luftwaffe must defeat the RAF for seaborne landings to succeed. In July 1940 an epic struggle in the skies above England begins. Only a brilliant defensive system and the bravery of young pilots stand in the Luftwaffe’s way. Wave after wave of German bombers are attacked by British planes. Featuring the last interview with the youngest Spitfire-pilot in the battle, Geoffrey Wellum.

In the aftermath of Japan’s devastating attack on the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Imperial Navy moves in for a knockout blow. A surprise attack against the island of Midway is planned to draw the remaining American aircraft carriers out for a decisive battle. Admiral Yamamoto devises a meticulous plan. But the attack is in the hands of his by-the-book Admiral, Nogumo. When a genius American code-breaker unearths their plans – the Japanese attack is thrown into chaos.

High on cocaine, Hitler hatches an audacious plan to turn the tide of the war. He has been prescribed the drug for injuries sustained when Stauffenberg tried to kill him.
Colourised archive depicts the Germans’ opening salvo artillery barrage and George Patton’s arrival in Bastogne to break the German siege. The film also looks at the role played by commando Otto Skorzeny, who put English-speaking German soldiers behind the lines to sow confusion, spreading the rumour that they try to kill or capture Eisenhower.

This illuminating ten-part series tells the story of World War ll through the ten most pivotal turning points in the conflict. Gripping story-telling illustrated with exquisitely restored and colourised archived films and supported by a global cast of stellar historians bring this crucially important era in history to life.
In the first chapter, Britain and France declare war when Hitler invades Poland. In May 1940 the Germans attack Holland and Belgium as a decoy. As the Wehrmacht comes through the Ardennes and the Luftwaffe strikes in force, French leaders are caught like rabbits in headlights. The Germans are on a drug called Pervitin, which beats off fatigue, and reach the Atlantic coast. There is a danger that the Germans will encircle the Allies and cut them off from the sea. But Hitler issues his Halt Order and some 340,000 Allies are evacuated.

The Allies plan for years how to break through Hitler’s Atlantic Wall in France. The deception operations are some of the most elaborate of the war, including a huge inflatable army in Kent. The D-Day fleet is the biggest assembled in history, with over 160,000 men crossing the channel to land on five Normandy beaches, each with differing success. But landing is just the beginning, what follows is one of the bloodiest and most extraordinary battles of WWII.

As World War II drags on into another bitter winter the Allies become desperate to end the conflict. Winston Churchill turns to his formidable bomber force to break the deadlock.
The population of an eastern German city is caught in a devastating firestorm and harnessed by the Nazis; the controversy turns the Allies on themselves.