Over 100 years ago, humanity witnessed the greatest war that had ever occurred: World War I. Nearly two million men from across Asia were recruited to fight in the war. They were Indian soldiers from remote communities, Chinese farmers from rural outposts who worked as laborers, Vietnamese fishermen participating on behalf of their French colonial masters, and Japanese sailors in service of their emperor. But today, few remember them or their sacrifices. From India's Forgotten Army to the Chinese Labor Corp, Vietnam's war and rebellion to Japan's alliance and subsequent imperialism, this program examines Asia's war effort and how it...
In the last months of 1942, only a few yards of bitterly contested ground stood between Hitler and the prize which he valued above all others - Stalingrad. The fighting for Stalingrad was intense, protracted and took place under the worst imaginable conditions, including the iron grip of a Russian Winter. After the battle the wretched survivors of a beaten German army surrendered to the Red Army. They had once been 350,000 strong but only 90,000 of these frost bitten, starving scarecrows remained to make the painful forced march into Russian captivity. In the weeks to come 85,000 of these pathetic prisoners would die from disease, starvation, brutality, neglect and despair. Only 5000 survivors from the doomed 6th Army endured the long years of captivity in slave labor camps and lived to see Germany again. This is their story.
Often forgotten, and rarely punished, the lies of those in power always achieve their goals: THEY CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY
Who are the liars? Heads of state, politicians or military leaders, supported by their hierarchies. They have no qualms about lying to the radio, to television, to millions of people, end even, on oath, to the highest authorities and institutions. They use secret services, military strategy or communications agencies to make their lies more credible. The only motto is: «the bigger the lie, the more it will be believed!»
In affairs of state, all and every means can be used to certify or conceal an operation. Lies are not just a matter of words, or of silence. They entail practical acts as well as technical support. Whole teams are sometimes necessary to construct believable illusions. In the service of a nation, lying just means reinventing the world.
Hitler had proclaimed that Nazi conquered Europe was an impenetrable fortress. On the 6th of June 1944, the Allies launched the largest combined land, air and sea operation ever. This invasion, designed to begin the liberation of Europe, would forever be known as D-Day. The years leading up to 1944 had seen total domination of Europe by Nazi Germany. Despite the entry of America into WWII, strategic bombing, the invasions of North Africa and Italy, Germany remained in control and was able to strength its coastal defenses, The Atlantic Wall, in preparation for the inevitable Allied invasion. Operation Overlord was the Allied plan to defeat those defenses and open a Western Front. The hard lessons learned at Anzio, Dieppe and Salerno were about to be brought into focus with the greatest invasion the world had ever seen. But how had the Allies come to this point? Who were the personalities and what compromises were made to forge this great alliance?
Lyse Doucet tells the story of the Syrian war through extraordinary testimony from those who have lived through it on the ground as well as politicians who tried to shape events.
British military historian Professor Richard Holmes takes the viewer through four major battles of world war two. The Battles of Cassino, El Alamein, Arnhem (Operation Market Garden), & the RAF Bomber Command. An insightful overview of each of these diverse campaigns is given in each of the four episodes.