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The World War II Archives
This series of programmes tells the complete story of World War II
through fascinating archive footage that has become a living history
of the incredible series of events that shaped the future of the
entire human race.
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12 disc collection
Total Running Time: 689 mins
£24.99
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Disc 1 - The Storm Clouds Gather
This programme follows the events that led to the outbreak of World
War II and the characters that emerged to take up the challenge
posed by Adolf Hitler and his Axis of Evil, as the likes of Winston
Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt worked tirelessly to
ensure a future for mankind that was free of tyranny.
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Disc 2 - The Beaches of Dunkirk
The evacuation of more than 330,000 Allied servicemen from the
beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 was one of the most daring manoeuvres of
World War II. Follow the course of the fleet of civilian boats,
ranging from yachts to pleasure cruisers, that braved the elements
out in the English Channel, not to mention the sustained attacks of
the Luftwaffe, to bring their countrymen home, safe and sound, to
fight another day.
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Disc 3 - The Allies Fight Back
After the fall of France, when Winston Churchill and the British
virtually stood alone in the face of Hitler’s onslaught, the spirit
of resistance grew stronger than any form of weaponry. Further
strengthened by the entry of the Americans into the war at the end
of 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbour by the Japanese, the
Allies really did find themselves ready, willing and able to fight
back.
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Disc 4 - Adolf Hitler and the Germans at war
From the early 1930s nobody could challenge Hitler’s authority.
Gathering around him characters as Joseph Goebbels, who organised
Nazi propaganda, Herman Goering, the mastermind behind the Luftwaffe
and Heinrich Himmler controlling the SS, Hitler believed himself to
be invincible and for an alarming number of years, he was.
Nevertheless, there was a German Resistance who attempted to stop
the Fuhrer in his tracks, and their stories will also be told in
this programme.
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Disc 5 - Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain
This programme charts the first real fight back of the Second World
War, as the RAF took on the might of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of
Britain, and won the day against all odds. Then, when Hitler ordered
the Blitz, determined to crush the spirit of the British, and in
particular the people of London, he again underestimated the resolve
of the island nation, and its leader, who played such an important
role in the fight for freedom during World War II.
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Disc 6 - President Roosevelt and the American Dream
As Roosevelt campaigned for freedom against tyranny, providing loans
for re-armament after such disasters as Dunkirk, the fight against
Nazi Germany was able to continue as the tide gradually started to
turn in the Allies’ favour.
This programme explores the role of the Americans in WWII and the
intriguing larger than life Generals including George S Patton, Omar
Bradley and the legendary Dwight D Eisenhower as they did everything
in their power to fulfil the American Dream. |
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Disc 7 - D-Day and Beyond
This programme presents remarkable archive footage that recorded the
Normandy Landings for posterity. From the first airborne arrivals of
the British paratroopers at Pegasus Bridge to the now legendary
American landings on Omaha Beach, watch the events unfold that
changed the course of history. And although this was the culmination
of months of careful planning, it was only the beginning of the
battle for France, on the road to Paris and liberation.
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Disc 8 - Victory in Europe
After the success of the Normandy Invasion of June 1944 the Allies
truly had turned the course of World War II. As Paris was liberated
and the Allied forces had Berlin in their sights, the Russians were
also targeting the city at the heart of the Third Reich’s power,
from the east.
As the Battle for Berlin began on April the 16th 1945, Victory in
Europe was assured, and it was simply a question of when. With
Hitler taking refuge in his Berlin bunker, as the Russians drew ever
closer, his suicide heralded the dawn of a new age as Europe
celebrated freedom from tyranny.
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Disc 9 - The Defining Moments
This programme uses remarkable archive footage to trace the defining
moments of World War II in order to gain a fascinating insight and a
deeper understanding of the events that shaped our destiny.
From the moment Hitler ordered his tanks to cross the Polish border
in 1939, the escape of the British Expeditionary Force from the
beaches of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Hitler opening up an
Eastern Front, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, the North
African campaign, D-Day or the use of nuclear weapons to force a
Japanese surrender, looking at the bigger picture will gives the
truest account of what it was really like to be a world at war.
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Disc 10 - Attack on Pearl Harbour
This programme, uses dramatic archive footage to portray what
happened on that fateful December morning, described by Roosevelt as
“A date which will live in infamy”. Discover how such a strategy was
employed by the Japanese, as the reasons for targeting the US Fleet
become clear from both a military and historic perspective, and the
consequences of one of the most significant engagements of World War
II.
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Disc 11 - The Japanese at War
Historically and culturally the Japanese at war presented the Allies
with an enemy that was incredibly difficult to read, fighting to the
death in some of the most inhospitable terrain known to man.
Although Victory in Europe came with the suicide of Adolf Hitler, it
ironically would be the Japanese who continued to the last, with a
culture of no surrender. This programme explores every aspect of the
Japanese at war, demonstrating why America had to go to such
desperate measures to bring about a lasting peace |
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Disc 12 - Victory in the Pacific
As Europe celebrated the defeat of Adolf Hitler, the battle still
raged on in the Pacific as the Japanese refused to surrender. The
choices facing the newly appointed American President, Harry S
Truman were some of the most difficult imaginable. Truman had been
Roosevelt’s Vice-President and when Roosevelt died in April 1945,
the task of bringing World War II to an end fell on Truman’s
shoulders.
This programme explores the Truman’s dilemma of whether to order the
first use of nuclear weapons in combat, weighed up against the
prospect of risking thousands more American soldier’s lives on the
field of battle. |
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