World War II - The War Chronicles — Season 1

Aired 31 May 1983 • 38 min

A quick review of the various campaigns and calamitous occurrences that happened from the start to the end of World War II.

Aired 6 June 1983 • 23 min

The birth of the Afrika Korps and it's leader Erwin Rommel who was to earn the pseudonym Desert Fox.

Aired 13 June 1983 • 22 min

Beginning with Operation Shingle, the allies obtained a foothold in Italy while the Germans were determined to make the allies job a difficult one starting with the Gustav line.

Aired 20 June 1983 • 23 min

Operation Overlord began on Jun 6, 1944, with parachutists, deception tactics, and Mulberry harbors so as to ensure a successful invasion in France.

Aired 27 June 1983 • 21 min

Once the Normandy invasion was concluded it was a cacophony of multiple allied drives to silence the German offensives with having to deal with some strong defensive fronts and offensive attacks.

Aired 4 July 1983 • 23 min

In 1943, Britain began bomber offensives over Germany's war production sites, some without fighter protection because of limited fuel capacity. Bombing targets and improved fighter protection would soon occur.

Aired 11 July 1983 • 21 min

Adolf Hitler is desperate to stop the allies advance onto German soil and pushes a number of his military forces through the Ardennes and begins what has come to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The allies had a number of clues that something was going to happen but ignored them.

Aired 18 July 1983 • 23 min

A more detailed overview of the causes of the German assault through the Ardennes and the battle in Bastogne. The German line fell apart on the 25th after the weather cleared on the 23rd of December 1944. The allies then continued to drive toward the Rhine.

Aired 25 July 1983 • 22 min

Beginning with the battle on Tarawa, the Gilbert's, Marshall's, and Mariana's island groups were next in the island hopping strategy.

Aired 2 August 1983 • 23 min

The jungle campaigns in New Guinea and Burma were necessary. This was more easily accomplished by attacking the weaker Japanese defenses.

Aired 9 August 1983 • 23 min

Chronicling the war’s first days through the suicidal Kamikaze attacks and the bombing missions that brought the war to the Japanese homeland, this documentary utilizes extensive air combat footage.

Aired 16 August 1983 • 23 min

From the opening Naval bombardment, to the hand-to-hand combat and vicious guerrilla warfare, this is the complete story of this brutal and historic battle.

Aired 23 August 1983 • 21 min

From MacArthur's strategy to the heroics of the ground troops, the 7th Fleet’s naval forces, and the pilots of the Air Force, the heroic saga of the Philippines is a stunning story of unstoppable determination.

Aired 30 August 1983 • 23 min

Winston Churchill described it as the most intense and famous battle in military history. Witness the desperate, suicidal resistance of the Japanese in the final battle of the Pacific campaign.