June 6th, 1944. A titanic fleet take on the beaches of Normandy. Their goal: liberating Europe from Hitler's yoke. Thanks to the lessons learned from the Dieppe raid of August 42, and supported by the Provence landing of August 44, the mission is a spectacular success: the Second World War Allies succeeded in moving beyond their political differences, overcoming logistical difficulties and carrying out an operation with unprecedented military stakes. How, before and after D-Day, did the authorities, soldiers and civilians experienced this turning point in history?
D-Day, June 6th, 1944. As the Allies storm the beaches of Normandy, Hitler orders the return of the Das Reich, the infamous Panzer elite division known for its mass murders in Ukraine and Belarus, based at that time in southwest of France. Its mission: to push the Allies back into the Atlantic and turn the tide of the conflict in favor of the Nazi Germany.
Dan Snow examines how the Allied Forces planned and executed the D-Day landings, as surviving veterans tell the story of one of the most dramatic military operations in history.
Frontlines presents a roll call of desperate courage: Midway, Anzio, Monte Cassino, Omaha, Hill 112, Bastogne, Iwo Jima and Berlin. Moments and locations where luck and quick thinking often proved as critical as planning and firepower. Compelling first person testimony, unique location demonstrations, cutting edge analysis and vivid storytelling bring these crucial frontlines alive, dispelling the myths. Told not only from the foxhole, bunker or cockpit, but also by those in the vital support roles. This exhilarating series takes us around the globe, bringing the experience to life from all angles, providing particular insights to the often-crude medical treatments and psychological trauma.Frontlines takes you deep into the heart of the action, to reveal the turning points in some of the war's most decisive confrontations.
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?
On the night of 5th June, 1944, a C-47 paratrooper aircraft, nicknamed "That’s All, Brother" took off from England, heading in the early hours of June 6th, to drop Allied fighting men into Normandy. A chance discovery in 2015 led a scramble to save the aircraft, after standing for decades forgotten in a scrapyard. This UK premiere traces the story of an American icon, it’s reconstruction and hazardous Transatlantic mission to honour America’s fallen in Europe.
THE PERSONAL STORIES FROM THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE WORLD.
In the spirit of LOST FILMS: WORLD WAR II and LOST FILMS: VIETNAM, this 2-part special event features the most critical military operation of World War II. D-DAY: LOST FILMS presents this iconic battle using newly discovered colour footage, much of which has never been seen. For the first time, viewers can see the largest amphibious assault in history entirely in newly transferred colour HD - 5,000 Allied ships landing over 160,000 soldiers across a 50 mile stretch of Normandy beaches.
D-DAY: LOST FILMS presents this world-changing week through the personal accounts of soldiers on both sides, focusing on three specific units: the American 1st Division at Omaha Beach, the American 507th Paratroopers, and the German 352nd Division. Allied and German survivors give their first-hand stories on the war that changed the course of the world. The long held belief that an Allied victory was secured after a single, bloody day will be dispelled. And the final death toll far exceeds anything seen on the beaches. D-Day remains one of the most important turning points of WWII, yet very few of us know the real story...until now.
Fifteen critical battles that changed the outcome of a world at war and altered our destinies—forever! Now, from the vantage point of 50 years after, from files opened for the first time, from action films and battle footage never seen on video before, watch the course of history change.