The World at War

A documentary series that gives a historical account of the events of World War II, from its roots in the 1920s to the aftermath and the lives it profoundly influenced.

Despite having the largest pre-war European army, France's outdated forces were humiliated by the Germans. Identifying a weakness in the Maginot Line, a defensive border that ran along the north-east of France but did not extend to the channel in the west, German air and armour power simply skirted the line in the north and forged south.

Hitler turned his tanks towards the Soviets with Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, but a fatal German delay after a succession of devastating victories allowed the fierce Russian winter to take its grip.