Experience the front line with The History Channel
As the only TV
channel dedicated to history, we feature programmes that cover history
from ancient civilisations to modern conflicts. The History Channel
offers a fascinating range of programmes that explore the momentous
events, remarkable personalities and defining conflicts that have
shaped the world today.
This summer The
History Channel presents a range of programmes focusing on the people
and the machines that battled through some of history's most famous
conflicts.
Colour of War
Sundays from 26th May - 18th August at 9pm
The story of World War II has been told many times, but never in
colour. 'The color of war' combines an epic collection of previously
unseen colour film and photos taken from government archives and
private collections. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of the
war, from pivotal battles to the struggles of first-time soldiers
adapting to life on the front, with commentary from the combatants and
the photographers who documented the struggle with a vast array of
letters, diaries and communiqués from the battlefield. Period music and
sounds of the era combine to create a powerful, intimate and unique
look at the Second World War.
Doodlebug Summer
Saturdays at 6pm & Sundays at 1pm from 8th June to 6th July
'I'll never
forget that sound... like an old motorbike, a huge wasp, ....and then
silence…you never knew where it was going to drop.' With archive
footage and first-hand recollections of the infamous 'V' bombs,
'Doodlebug Summer' chronicles the development and use of the
doodlebugs, and the fear and devastation they caused among the civilian
population.
Battle Stations
Tuesdays - Fridays at 10pm from 25th June - 19th July (repeated Wednesday - Saturday at 5pm)
Beginning with the Allies' most successful bomber: the Lancaster, each
episode describes how a particular wartime machine was designed,
manufactured and the vital role it played in wartime. Also featuring
the Messerschmitt 262, the German's legendary dive-bomber.
Hitler's Legacy
Friday 12th July at 9pm
Having spent the last 60 years attempting to commit Hitler to the
history books, it seems that Germany is now rethinking its attitude
towards the man who plunged the 20th century into its worst war. This
unusual documentary visits the places where Hitler lived, fought and
died, investigates how he is viewed today and what, if any, evidence of
him remains.
VJ Day
Thursday 15th August
Clash of Warriors: Yamamoto V's Nimitz
6pm
Six months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour the American Navy
struck back with a vengeance in The Battle of Midway, an infamous
encounter between two nations' foremost naval commanders - Admirals
Yamamoto and Nimitz. Using archival footage and the testimony of
veterans, 'Clash of Warriors' compares the styles of the two commanders
and pinpoints the pivotal moments of the encounter.
The True Story of the bridge on the River Kwai
7pm (2 hour special)
All those who
saw it lauded 'Bridge over the River Kwai' as a screen classic. All
except for the allied prisoners of war who were forced into building
the notorious Burma-Siam railway. They were horrified at the portrayal
of their much-loved commander Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Toosey - a man
who risked his own life to save his men. Using 50 hours of tapes he
left behind after his death 'Clash of Warriors' dispels the myths and
tells a tale that is perhaps more incredible than the film.
Surviving Hell
9pm
This two part
series looks at Churchill's worst defeat of World War II. Veterans
share with us their memories of the day the Japanese sank Britain's HMS
Prince of Wales and Repulse in the same day. Accounts are retold by
some of the 85,000 allied troops who were forced to surrender at the
battle for the 'impregnable fortress' - Singapore, and their
experiences as POW's working on the infamous Burma-Siam 'death railway'.
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Monday 12th August at 9pm & Tuesday 13th August at 4pm
At 7:53am on 7th December 1941, a Japanese commander radioed to his
pilots: "Tora! Tora! Tora!" In a matter of minutes a swarm of Japanese
fighter planes soared over Pearl Harbour and paralysed US Pacific Naval
forces, forging one of the most daring air manoeuvres of all time.
Dambusters - The True Story
Thursday 29th August at 10pm & Friday 30th August at 4pm
On 16th and 17th May 1943 a daring attack was launched by 617th
Squadron on the Moehne and Eder dams using a revolutionary bouncing
bomb. Immortalised in the classic 1954 film, this documentary recalls
one of the greatest British triumphs of World War II.
Unsung Heroes
Tuesday 6th - Friday 9th August at 9pm
This new series
looks at the many individuals whose stories and contributions to
America's wars have never been told. Including the Navy Medics whose
selfless bravery saved the lives of many during the Vietnam War, the
Combat Photographers who braved the horrors of the battle to bring the
reality of conflict to the people at home and the test pilots who
risked their lives to perfect the aeroplanes which helped win World War
II.
War Weekend
Saturday 31st August
6pm - Spitfire Squadron
The History Channel commemorates the Royal Air Force with a close look
at the famous Spitfire telling the story of the plane, from its design
and manufacture, through to its performance in combat, adding first
hand testimony of veteran pilots.
7pm - Britain's War Heroes: The Merville Paras
6th June 1944 - D-Day. The allied forces launch the crucial military
operation of the Second World War: Operation Overlord. This programme
follows Commander Terence Otway, Sid Capon and Fred Milward on a daring
mission in the hours before the D-Day landings, to knock out a
terrifying battery of well-defended German guns aimed directly at the
British sea-borne troops.
7.30pm - POW: Japan's Prisoners of War
A selection of interviews with some of the British survivors of the
Japanese prison camps. They tell their own harrowing stories of how
they coped with everyday life in the camps.
8pm - Suicide Missions of D-Day
Follow the mission of the British 9th Parachute Battalion, charged with
taking out the supposedly impregnable German gun battery at Melville.
Finally see how Navy Combat Demolition Units performed the critical
task of clearing obstacles so that the allied invasion ships could land
on the most critical day of the Second World War.
9pm - Battle of the Atlantic
When the Reichsmarine added a fourth rotor to their Enigma machines,
the British codebreakers were blocked and German Wolfpacks ran loose on
the high seas. This documentary describes the desperate efforts by
codebreakers to penetrate Germany's secret communications and thereby
protecting Britain's lifeline to the world.
10pm - Bletchely Park
An unprepossessing Victorian Mansion fifty miles north of London,
Bletchely Park started life as Station X before World War II, but it
developed into the most potent deciphering centre of World War II when
the German Enigma codes were broken by its 12,500 code breakers.
11pm - Great Planes: The Mustang
We take a look at one of the great planes of the 20th century - the Mustang- nicknamed the Cadillac of the skies.
Sunday 1st September
6pm - The Real Dad's Army: 1941
From May 1940 to Spring 1945 the largest civilian army in history, The
Local Defence Volunteers, defended England in her darkest hour with
nobility and absurdity; with patriotism, strength and steadfastness
never witnessed before or since.
7pm - Clash of Warriors: Harris Vs Kammhube
March 1943 saw commander-in-chief of RAF Bomber Command Arthur 'Bomber'
Harris and German Luftwaffe General Joseph Kammhuber come head to head
in a 3 month battle that saw deadly Allied bomber missions over Germany
but wasn't the war-winner that Harris had intended.
8pm - The Dambusters Raid
Using interviews with Lancaster pilots and archive film, this is a
revealing account of the Bouncing Bomb operation, explaining that
whilst in military terms the raid was a limited success, in propaganda
terms the attack was very significant.
9pm - HMS Belfast
Designed in 1938 to patrol the seaways of Britain's vast empire, HMS
Belfast was the most modern warship in the Royal Navy with rapid-firing
six-inch calibre guns and high speed capability. HMS Belfast tells the
inside story of life on one of the greatest armoured warships that
ruled the waves.
10pm - Warriors of the Night: Millennium To Gomorrah 1942-1943
The introduction of primitive navigational and electronic aids ushered
in a new era in the battle over the darkened European continent. Bomber
Command introduced the bomber stream and the 1000 bomber raid. The
Luftwaffe response is recreated with an interception of a Lancaster
bomber by a former German nightfighter.
11pm - Churchill's Gambles
An inside look at the man who, more than any of his contemporaries,
embraced secret intelligence operations, deception and code-breaking as
viable instruments of modern war.
Click here to visit the History Channel's website.
War
and Peace Show 2002