World War II In Colour

The series starts with that great paradox. How could the settlement at the end of World War One – the “war to end all wars” – lead to an even greater conflict just a few years later? The answer is a tale with terrible resonance today. This film shows how the Great Depression sapped the will of the emocracies of the West to face up to a new and disturbing political phenomenon – the rise of militaristic dictators, in Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain. The result was that the major powers ignored all the warning signs and allowed the likes of Mussolini and above all Hitler to begin the course that would lead the world into catastrophe. The programme ends as Hitler plots his attack upon Poland.

This film shows how the Nazis developed a terrifying new military tactic – Blitzkrieg - and how it caught first Poland and then Britain and France utterly unprepared. It charts the fall of Poland and how Hitler then conquered France in just a few weeks, an achievement that had eluded Germany throughout all the four years of World war One. It also reveals how heroic French resistance allowed the British to escape from Dunkirk and live to fight another day.

In July 1940, Britain stood alone against the Nazis. Hitler was convinced that it was only a matter of days before it sued for peace. He had more troops, a better air force and the better weapons. This film shows how close Britain came to defeat, as its exhausted air force struggled to fight off the German Luftwaffe. However, because of critical errors by the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering, Britain was able to regroup. Then using its brilliant team of code crackers and specially trained spies, it begin the fightback, working alongside the resistance movements in the occupied territories.

When Hitler expounded his intention to invade Russia his generals looked at him in horrified silence. The Soviet Union was vast and had matchless resources. Hitler’s whole plan depended upon striking a swift and decisive knock-out blow. Get sucked into a long, drawn-out war and Germany would surely lose. Hitler was certain his forces could do it. No one had so far defeated them. But there had never been a military gamble like it... This film takes in Stalingrad and the battle of Kursk, the biggest tank battle in all history.

December 7th 1941 is “a date that will live in infamy” proclaimed President Franklin Roosevelt. That was the day that Japan entered World War II, with its surprise attack upon the US Fleet in Pearl Harbour. Japan swiftly followed this up with the defeat of a huge British army in Singapore. For a while Japan was rampant in the Pacific. But gradually, America, the sleeping giant, awoke. The war that would follow would be characterised by major innovations. In particular it saw the battleship consigned to history and the emergence of the aircraft carrier as the decisive weapon of the seas.

Mussolini’s ambition had always been to recreate the old Roman Empire. The trouble was, militarily he as a disaster. After failed attacks in North Africa and Greece, his armies were on the run. Hitler now faced a difficult choice. Did he divert troops needed at other fronts to support his ally, or did he let Mussolini fall? Hitler chose to support him - a decision that would spell disaster for both of them. Hitler would, lose hundreds of thousands of troops. Mussolini would lose his life. This film tells the extraordinary story of the war in North Africa and features the heroics of the tiny island called Malta as it withstood wave after wave of Nazi assault. It ends with the Allies fighting their way up Italy and Germany in retreat.