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For a few tense days in June 1944, the success of the greatest military invasion the world had ever seen depended on weather readings taken by Maureen Sweeney at the remote Blacksod weather station on Ireland’s west coast. Maureen’s data threw Eisenhower’s meticulously planned invasion strategy into chaos, forcing him to mediate between opposing US and UK weather advisers and Generals and ultimately leaving him alone to make one of the most difficult decisions of the entire war. Completely unaware of the significance of her work - she was simply doing her job - Maureen’s readings were the first to point out an impending storm which led to the postponement of the invasion.Then, in an impossibly dramatic twist, her readings were the first to pinpoint a short window of opportunity that Eisenhower needed to launch the invasion, thereby changing the course of the war.
The Battle of Shanghai has been described as both the last battle of World War I and the first of World War II. This revealing film recounts the events that led to the fighting that began in Shanghai in 1937, which would become part of a larger, global conflict. The programme reflects the latest historical perspectives, with rare footage and vivid recollections of people who experienced the events as children living in Shanghai.
Exploring the river environment, where the enormous Nile crocodiles and hippopotamus are found. Part 12 of 12.
From Julius Caesar to Napoleon Bonaparte, ancient generals took advantage of a military tactic still used in modern warfare, employing overwhelming power to paralyse the enemy. A tactic known as Rapid Dominance. This episode explores the lives and feats of four men who used it to achieve victory: Moshe Dayan, Erwin Rommel, Colin Powell and Isoroku Yamomoto... Part 1 of 4.
Combined arms operations use the force of different military corps to increase the combat power deployed against an enemy. Combining these forces needs incredible planning, decisiveness and authority. This episode explores the lives and feats of four military leaders who used the tactic to achieve victory: Bernard Montgomery, William Westmoreland, Georgy Zhukov and Norman Schwarzkopf. Part 2 of 4.
Disinformation, decoys, and traps. Strategy and tactics can be creative. But behind every deception and masquerade are the Military Masterminds creating, planning and executing each strategy to defeat an enemy. This episode explores how leaders Winston Churchill, Nikita Khrushchev, George Patton and Muhammad Anwar Sadat, used the tactic to achieve victory. Part 3 of 4.
To surprise the enemy, attacking and disappearing without a trace. To harass, sabotage, ambush. Throughout the 20th Century the majority of guerrilla warfare centred around the confrontation between right and left ideologies. This episode looks at how Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Josip Broz Tito and Võ Nguyên Giáp used Guerrilla Warfare to overcome a militarily superior enemy. Part 4 of 4.
On December 7, 1941 Japan bombed the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. In the following months Japanese forces rampaged across Asia, humiliating America and seizing country after country. But then America fought back. By summer 1942 the United States ruled the waves but Japan was still undefeated on land and a powerful, threatening force in the air. The future was still far from certain. Part 1 of 3.
By the summer of 1942 the US Naval Fleet has fought back against the Japanese Imperial Navy in the Pacific and they have started to dominate the sea war. But now they must engage in a bloody and brutal war of attrition on land and in the air. By the spring of 1945 the loss of life is great for both sides but Japan refuses to surrender, leaving US Chiefs desperately looking for a way to end the war. Part 2 of 3.
The War in the Pacific is starting to go America’s way. Yet Japan is more determined than ever to fight to the death, and to test if the US has the stomach for a long fight. This way, Japan could come out of the war with something. The Americans are doing everything they can to break Japan’s will, launching a ruthless aerial fire-bombing campaign. But will a secret new US weapon offer an even quicker end to the war? Part 3 of 3.