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All Episodes of The World at War

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Browse all episodes of The World at War

All Episodes of 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...
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Season 1

  • A New Germany (1933–1939)
    7.5/102 votes

    A New Germany (1933–1939)

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/31/1973

    Germany, a nation stricken by humiliating defeat and emerging from crippling economic depression, looks to one man for a resurgence of hope and dignity. That man is Adolf Hitler…

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Distant War (September 1939–May 1940)
    7.3/103 votes

    Distant War (September 1939–May 1940)

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 11/7/1973

    In Eastern Europe, the full force of the Nazi machine rolls on - but in Britain, an uneasy calm settles on the nation. It is the 'phoney' war, with the sound of distant guns thundering ominously on the horizon…

    Director: David Elstein

    Writer: Unknown

  • France Falls (May–June 1940)
    8.2/105 votes

    France Falls (May–June 1940)

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 11/14/1973

    France discovers it is woefully unprepared for modern warfare as the Nazi war machine easily skirts around the Maginot Line. Britain retreats and prepares for invasion.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Alone (May 1940–May 1941)
    7.0/102 votes

    Alone (May 1940–May 1941)

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/21/1973

    After Dunkirk, Britain faces the German onslaught. Although the Rap wins the Battle of Britain, the cities are blitzed and on the continent the last Allies are conquered. The outlook is grim.

    Director: David Elstein

    Writer: Unknown

  • Barbarossa (June–December 1941)
    7.0/103 votes

    Barbarossa (June–December 1941)

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/28/1973

    Hitler at last turns his tanks towards Russia. After a succession of devastating victories, the Germans delay and the fierce Russian winter takes a grip.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Banzai! Japan (1931–1942)
    7.5/102 votes

    Banzai! Japan (1931–1942)

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 12/5/1973

    At war since 1931 on the Chinese mainland, the Japanese hope for easy victories over the British and Dutch. And then on December 7th 1941, Japan makes their infamous attack on Pearl Harbour.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942)
    8.0/102 votes

    On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942)

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 12/12/1973

    Americans are divided between fighting the Japanese and the Nazis. Hitler solves the problem by declaring war on the U.S.A.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Desert: North Africa (1940–1943)
    6.5/102 votes

    The Desert: North Africa (1940–1943)

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 12/19/1973

    For 2 years the 8th Army and Rommel's Afrika Corps fight in the wastes of North Africa. Finally the tide turns at El Alamein.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Stalingrad (June 1942-February 1943)
    6.5/102 votes

    Stalingrad (June 1942-February 1943)

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 1/2/1974

    Hitler's early successes in Russia made him reckless and he resolves to capture Stalingrad. The battle lasts six months with the Russians emerging as victors. The Wehrmacht never recovers.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Wolfpack: U-Boats in the Atlantic (1939–1944)
    6.0/102 votes

    Wolfpack: U-Boats in the Atlantic (1939–1944)

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 1/16/1974

    In a war of high technology and animal courage, the German U-Boats fight Allied merchantmen, hounding them in packs.

    Director: Ted Childs

    Writer: Unknown

  • Red Star: The Soviet Union (1941–1943)
    6.0/102 votes

    Red Star: The Soviet Union (1941–1943)

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/23/1974

    For two years the Soviet Army fights the Germans almost alone. After one of the greatest land battles in history, the nation survives and triumphs - but with a loss of no less than twenty million of its people.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Whirlwind: Bombing Germany (September 1939–April 1944)
    6.7/103 votes

    Whirlwind: Bombing Germany (September 1939–April 1944)

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/30/1974

    Bomber Command begin bombing German cities by night and the Americans reinforce the attacks by day; a whirlwind of terror and destruction that will win the war.

    Director: Ted Childs

    Writer: Unknown

  • Tough Old Gut: Italy (November 1942-June 1944)
    7.0/102 votes

    Tough Old Gut: Italy (November 1942-June 1944)

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/30/1974

    Churchill called Italy the 'soft underbelly of the crocodile' and thought the Allies could cut through it to the heart of Germany. By the soft underbelly turned out to be a 'tough old gut'.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942–1944)
    6.5/102 votes

    It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942–1944)

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/13/1974

    Vera Lynn sang of a lovely day tomorrow, but the war in Burma was mud and monsoon. Britain's largest army learned to master the jungle and fought the Japanese to standstill.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Home Fires: Britain (1940–1944)
    7.0/102 votes

    Home Fires: Britain (1940–1944)

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/20/1974

    Finding strength in unity at home in Britain during the war, it was a time of gas masks, Winston Churchill, Dig for Victory, evacuation, George Formby, the Land Army, ITMA, the Squander Bug and the Beveridge Report.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Inside the Reich: Germany (1940–1944)
    4.7/103 votes

    Inside the Reich: Germany (1940–1944)

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/27/1974

    Initial victory in Europe turns sour after the defeat at Stalingrad, yet Germany prepares to fight to the end - even after an assassination attempt on the Führer.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Morning (June–August 1944)
    8.0/102 votes

    Morning (June–August 1944)

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 3/6/1974

    The Western Allies resolve to invade Europe. England becomes a floating supply dump and the British and Americans assemble the largest invasion fleet in history. It is June 6th 1944 - D Day.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Occupation: Holland (1940–1944)
    6.5/102 votes

    Occupation: Holland (1940–1944)

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 3/13/1974

    Through a neutral country, Holland is attacked by Germany without warning in 1940. During the next four years, life carries on seemingly without incident, but underneath resistance never dies.

    Director: Michael Darlow

    Writer: Unknown

  • Pincers (August 1944–March 1945)
    7.5/102 votes

    Pincers (August 1944–March 1945)

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 3/20/1974

    The end of the war appears close at hand with the liberation of Paris in 1944, but the British and Americans disagree on how to advance. Meanwhile, Poland suffers devastating losses to achieve victory.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Genocide (1941–1945)
    10.0/102 votes

    Genocide (1941–1945)

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/27/1974

    The Nazi's are racist; the Aryans are a master race, others, particularly the Jews are sub-human. Himmler's SS sets about ridding Europe of millions of Jews.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Nemesis (February–May 1945)
    8.3/103 votes

    Nemesis (February–May 1945)

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 4/3/1974

    Hitler retreats to the Fuhrer bunker is Berlin as Germany crumbles around him and his lieutenants abandon him to a fate of suicide. Meanwhile, the Russians raise the red flag in Berlin.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Japan (1941–1945)
    6.0/101 votes

    Japan (1941–1945)

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/10/1974

    Initially apprehensive about the outcome of declaring war, the Japanese quickly turn to celebration with early victory. In the end, their worst fears are unimaginably exceeded.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Pacific - The Island to Island War (February 1942–July 1945)
    6.0/101 votes

    Pacific - The Island to Island War (February 1942–July 1945)

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 4/17/1974

    The Americans fight their way across the Pacific towards Japan and the Phillipines. Perhaps the bloodiest campaign of all, each island has to be taken by storm and the Japanese fight to the last man.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Atomic Bomb (February–September 1945)
    8.0/102 votes

    The Atomic Bomb (February–September 1945)

    Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 4/24/1974

    Western scientists have developed a new, immensely powerful weapon - the atomic bomb. On August 6th 1945, the Enola Gay delivers the world's first atomic bomb to Hiroshima. The world would be forever altered.

    Director: David Elstein

    Writer: Unknown

  • Reckoning (April 1945)
    7.0/102 votes

    Reckoning (April 1945)

    Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 5/1/1974

    The war ends slowly and messily. Britain is victorious but exhausted and the super-powers confront each other as they decide the fate of Europe.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Remember
    6.5/102 votes

    Remember

    Season 1 Episode 26 - Aired 5/8/1974

    For many the Second World War was the most significant experience of their lives. Heartbreaking first hand remembrances from a vast array of survivors on both sides of the war.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown