Throughout World War Two, one unit came to define elite military excellence in the American Army. Superb warriors, pushed to the limits in the most difficult missions ever conceived. From assaulting African beaches, to clearing the mountains of Italy and scaling French cliffs, they were the US Ar...

During World War Two, when things looked at their worst, an elite American Airbourne Unit was created for the most extreme combat missions. They were the first US soldiers to set foot in Nazi-occupied France, who took part in the biggest airbourne assault in history and stood firm in Hitler's las...

During the Second World War, a British Unit won fame as pioneers of armoured warfare. They were one of Churchill's favoured divisions, who tackled Hitler's most feared commanders and his worst war machines... at great cost.

Fighting all the way from the baking sands of the desert, to the hedger...

In Britain's Darkest Hour, a new force of crack troops was founded. Trained for combat behind enemy lines, they descended from the skies to take part in some of the most daring raids of the Second World War.

From the deadly deserts of North Africa to a heroic stand at Arnhem, they established t...

Re-join Leutnant Friedrich Sander, a Panzer officer in the German Wehrmacht as he continues his journey into the heart of the Soviet Union as part of Operation Barbarossa.

In Part two, we pick up with Sander as the Russian weather starts to turns, the German advance begins to stutter and the So...

Follow the path of Leutnant Friedrich Sander, a Panzer officer in the German Wehrmacht during Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union.

In the first part of a two-part film, we follow Leutnant Sander on the strenuous, and costly race towards Leningrad and learn about the murderous a...

Part 1 of 4. James Holland explores the T-34 tank, the pride and joy of the Soviet Union in WWII.

Part 2 of 4. James Holland investigates the mighty 'Jagdpanther', a German tank destroyer of WWII.

Launched on 14 February 1939, the German flagship and pride of the Kriegsmarine, Bismarck was launched. In the darkness of the early morning of the 19 May 1941, Bismarck slipped out of harbour on the Baltic coast and started making its way through the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage, Operation Rh...

After their country was invaded in 1939 on two fronts, by both German and Soviet forces, those who lived in occupied Poland throughout the Second World War endured some of the most appalling living conditions and became the victims of the most horrific war crimes of the Holocaust. From the ghetto...

20 miles north-east of Warsaw lies the small Polish town of Radzymin. Forgotten by history, this region is home to Jaktory House, a small manor house or dwór which has been at the centre of some of the most remarkable and violent history of the twentieth century. Napoleon was here, Lenin was here...

British deception before D-Day was such that it tricked the Germans into concentrating their forces around the Pas-de-Calais, rather than near the beaches of Normandy. Blow up tanks, scarecrow paratroopers and dropping tin foil all contributed to creating a huge diversion and helped secure the be...

A US War Department film details the vital role of tanks in defeating the Axis during World War Two, particularly in Europe. Not only were tanks deployed for punching through enemy lines, but also mine and obstruction clearance and supporting engineer units. Sourced via AP Archive.

Many Allied political leaders and generals delivered remarkable speeches on D-Day, here are 5 of the greatest.

A series of four D-Day veteran interviews from WarGen - an online repository of oral history from the people who lived through World War Two. Short versions of these interviews with Arthur Davis, Ken Stone, Harry Appleton and Jack Bracewell also feature in our documentary D-Day: As It Happened.

Before the masses arrived by sea on D-Day, the brave few came from the air. This archive documentary follows the operations of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, who landed behind enemy lines to prepare the way for the D-Day landings.

James Holland, author of Normandy ‘44: D-Day and the Battle for France, answers the key questions surrounding D-Day.

An immersive documentary of how the Allied landings on D-Day unfolded from midnight to late afternoon on 6 June 1944. Using extensive archive footage, veteran interviews and expert interviews this will get viewers closer to what happened during the Normandy landings, as it happened.

History Hit subscriber Nathan Portlock Allan interviews Fred Bates who was a Private landing on Gold Beach on D-Day. In this poignant interview, Bates recalls what it was like for the young men who stormed the beaches and remembers those who were left behind.

In 1945, as the Red Army arrived at the edge of Warsaw, it was confronted by a sea of destruction, rubble, ash and misery. Arriving as "liberators", the shadow of the Soviet Union would soon loom large over a population brutalised by five long years of Nazi occupation - a population that had los...

After the country's occupation in 1939, the people of Poland were brutally oppressed by the Nazi SS and Geheime Staatspolizei. Yet, they never gave up the fight. Throughout the Second World War, a Polish Underground State was established - the largest underground resistance movement in all of occ...

In February 1942, the Second World War came to Australia. The same Japanese fleet that had attacked Pearl Harbor only ten weeks before had set its sights on a new target. The harbour town of Darwin. In two separate attacks on February 19 1942, nearly 250 Japanese aircraft wreaked havoc on the lig...

During the Second World War, one US Army Infantry Division repeatedly proved itself as America's finest. Leading the way into action in Africa, Italy and on to bloody Omaha Beach, lightly armed G.I.s who stood their ground against Hitler's best SS Panzers.

They are the 1st Infantry Division - t...

In this poignant interview, Lord Saye and Sele shares his unique story from the Second World War, which began on D-Day, 6 June 1944.