The Worst Episodes of Battlefield

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Hitler's plan for the conquest of Russia called for a classic Blitzkrieg offensive, which would be pressed ruthlessly to its conclusion within the course of a single season's campaign.

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When victory in North Africa seemed assured, Allied Planners turned their attention to Italy. The objective was to seize Rome, knock Italy out of the war and push north towards Austria.

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During the last months of 1944, the British and Americans pressed steadily through France and Belgium to the western frontiers of the Third Reich.

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In 1953 the French and Viet Minh forces had been at war for seven years. The climactic encounter of the war occurred at Dien Bien Phu, a small hamlet in northwestern Vietnam, in a battle that neither side could afford to lose

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What starts as a ripple becomes a wave, and with the United States involvement in Vietnam, it began as a contingent of U.S. "military advisors" after the attack at Dien Bien Phu. From there it turned into "non-official combat missions," and finally, after an unprovoked torpedo attack by a North Vietnamese patrol boat against the unsuspecting U.S. destroyer Maddox, it became "The Undeclared War."

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While the method of "search and destroy" is the ultimate goal for any armed conflict, it developed a new face in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. With the absence of an actual front line, the North circumvented skirmishes by entering neighboring Cambodia, only to reappear within striking distance of the South stronghold of Saigon. With such bold initiative, the American contingent retaliated with heavily armed helicopter gunships from the U.S. First Air Cavalry Division, thus introducing the world's first helicopter-based military formation at the battle of the La Drang Valley.

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Expanding its presence in 1966, the U.S. Army sets up patrols in the south to draw out Viet Cong guerrillas, but can't force a decisive battle. Included: veterans recall missions to uncover Viet Cong bases; the political climate in Saigon.

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Viet Cong incursions in 1967 prompt the U.S. to reinforce key southern bases, unaware that the North Vietnamese were planning an all-out assault for early 1968. Included: combat footage; comments from veterans.

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Viet Cong guerrillas, backed by the North Vietnamese Army, staged a massive offensive against major cities and U.S. bases in January 1968, during the Tet holiday.

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Unlike the two world wars and the many before, the conflict in Vietnam was void of a so-called front line. Battles were fought in pockets of resistance, with troops dropped in by helicopter. What did exist was the section of the country dividing the North from the South known as the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone). This was often an arena of heavy combat, and Battlefield Vietnam: War on the DMZ highlights such furious fighting as "Operation Hastings" and "Operation Prairie."

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In early 1968, American and allied forces fought the North Vietnamese Army in one of the most dramatic battles of the Vietnam War. For 77 days, two powerful NVA Divisions laid siege to the U.S. Marine Corps base at Khe Sahn.

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The first of two programs on American bombing during the war, concentrates on the campaign prior to 1965, and examines how the Communists responded to U.S. air superiority.

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The air war against the north intensifies as fighting in the south escalates. The U.S. targets North Vietnamese transport and supply routes (some of them in Laos and Cambodia), culminating in the so-called Christmas bombings of Hanoi and Haiphong in December, 1973.

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The Paris Peace Accord finally brought an end to the Vietnam War, and the last U.S. Soldiers left Vietnam on March 29th, 1973. Two years later, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army. Vietnam was reunited.

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The U.S. withdrawal left the South Vietnamese with a well equipped but poorly led army unable to contain the 1974-75 Communist assault that ended in the capture of Saigon.

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In the summer of 1943 more than 2,000,000 men and 6,000 tanks of the German and Soviet Armies faced each other near the Soviet city of Kursk. The ensuing battle was, to this day, the largest tank battle ever fought in history. It marked the last major offensive operation of German forces in the East and, combined with the Soviet victory at Stalingrad, was the decisive turning point on the Eastern Front.

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The Allies were determined to take the war to Germany both to disrupt German war production and weaken civilian morale, and in retaliation for the Nazi terror bombing of England. The "Strategic Bombing Campaign" by the RAF and the USAAF was one of the most controversial campaigns of WWII and cost thousands of Allied lives and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths.

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The remarkable Soviet victory over the once mighty Japanese Kwangtung Army in the mountains of Manchuria is one of the least known of the Second World War. This was no steam roller triumph of greater numbers and brute force but a victory for superior weaponry, brilliant tactical use of surprise and bold command that was achieved in little more than a fortnight. This is a brand new episode from the landmark television series 'Battlefield'. Featuring fascinating archive footage from all over the world the programme includes a review of the political and military situation before the battle, portraits of leaders and commanders, an explanation of weapons and tactics and the story of the battle itself. Vivid graphics place the battle into the context of the war as a whole.

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The infamous Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii was one of the most significant events of World War II. Though brilliantly planned and executed, and though it dealt a crippling blow to the US Pacific Fleet, it failed to inflict any damage on the US aircraft carriers. Moreover, the attack brought the US and its industrial might into the war with disastrous consequences for the Axis powers.

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Guadalcanal was the first major land battle of the Southern Pacific campaign. The island was considered key to the defence of eastern Australia and was the first step in the "march" up the Solomon Island chain to neutralize the key Japanese base at Rabaul, open up the road to the Philippines, and ultimately to Japan itself.

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This is the story of one of Second World War's most harrowing episodes. The 890 day siege of the Soviet Union's second city has come to epitomise the misery, suffering and savagery of the war on the Eastern Front. The city was not finally liberated by Soviet troops until 19th January 1944 - by that time 600,000 of its citizens had starved to death and 200,000 more had perished in the bombing. This is a brand new episode from the landmark television series 'Battlefield'. Featuring fascinating archive footage from all over the world the programme includes a review of the political and military situation before the battle, portraits of leaders and commanders, an explanation of weapons and tactics and the story of the battle itself. Vivid graphics place the battle into the context of the war as a whole.

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The campaign in Tunisia saw the battles that finally ended the brutal war in the desert. The arrival of the British 1st Army gave the Allies a six-to-one numerical advantage in troops and a fifteen-to one superiority in tanks, guns, and aircraft. The Allied blockade in the Mediterranean also began to bite, making the beleaguered Germans short of fuel, food, and ammunition. Eventually, all German troops in Tunisia surrendered.

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Covering the leaders, the equipment, and the men, as well as the battles, it covers the period from the beginning of the war in Africa until the end where the Axis is expelled. The main battle covered here is the last battle of El Alamein.

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Covering the entire Italian campaign including the battle of Monte Cassino.

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