Nazi Mega Weapons
An examination of Nazi Germany's various military engineering projects during World War II.
Genre: Documentary, History, War
Cast:James Holland , Tony Pollard , Richard Lintern , Julian Forsyth , Mike Pavelec , Chris Wilson , Patrick Bury , David Forde , Peter Lieb , Robert Meller , Tosh Minohara , Mark Waycaster , Corey Johnson , Corey Johnson , Eiji Mihara , Carsten Hayes , Arthur van Beveren , Oliver Fritz
S1.E1 ∙ Atlantic Wall
To protect occupied Europe from an Allied invasion, Hitler demanded the construction of a defensive wall stretching thousands of kilometers from France in the south to Norway in the north.
S1.E2 ∙ U-Boat Base
From PBS - Examine the impenetrable submarine pens the Nazis built to protect U-boats from Allied attacks. Such was their size and strength that these pens survive today, a testament to their engineering.
S1.E3 ∙ V2 Rocket
Discover how Nazi scientist Wernher von Braun heralded the birth of ballistic missiles and laid the technological foundations for the space race.
S1.E4 ∙ Super Tanks
The story of Nazi engineers tasked with fulfilling Hitler's megalomaniac demand for the construction of a land battleship weighing 1,000 tons.
S1.E5 ∙ Hitler's Jet Caves
Explore the story behind one of the most advanced aeroplanes of WWII, the Messerschmitt Me 262, and the subterranean bat-cave where it was built.
S1.E6 ∙ Fortress Berlin
April 1945. Safe in his heavily fortified Führerbunker in the centre of Berlin, Hitler prepares for the Allies' final attack.
S2.E1 ∙ V1: Hitler's Vengeance Missile
In retaliation for devastating Allied bombing raids on German cities, Hitler orders the development of a groundbreaking weapon. This is the story of one of the most ambitious projects of the Third Reich: Hitler's Vengeance weapon, the V1. Though it was ready too late to make a difference to the outcome of the war, its legacy is the cruise missile -- a weapon that changed the face of war forever.
S2.E2 ∙ The Wolf's Lair
As European countries fall like dominoes to the all-conquering German armies, Hitler becomes convinced of his own military genius. He plans to invade Russia and orders the construction of a huge, heavily protected command complex of bunkers and buildings named the Wolf's Lair. But as he isolates himself in his concrete city, the war begins to slip from his grasp and a conspiracy is hatched to make the secret base his tomb.
S2.E3 ∙ The SS
As Hitler's power grows within Nazi Germany, so does that of the SS. From its humble beginnings as Hitler's personal body guard, the SS under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler becomes a terrifying cult that engineers Hitler's vision for a new Germany. By the start of the war, the SS holds sway in politics, police and security and is responsible for the creation of the concentration camps. Its power, influence and terror spread with the creation of a military wing: the Waffen SS. By the end of the war, the SS has grown into a machine that controls of every aspect of the Third Reich and brutally disposes of any opposition to Hitler.
S2.E4 ∙ Hitler's Siegfried Line
The formidable Seigried line, didn't come into play prior to Nazi Germany's invasion of France so it was substantially disassembled to build the Atlantic Wall. Five years later after D-Day Germany desperately attempted to refortify the decayed, disassembled and somewhat obsolete defenses. Battle focuses on Aachen where the allies employ withering fire power but become stalled leading Germany to squander its remaining military strength in the Battle of the Bulge leaving the Sigfried line open to a rapid crossing by the allies.
S2.E5 ∙ Hitler's Megaships
In violation of the Treat of Versailles Hitler embarked on a program to build massive battleships but was only able to produce two; Bismarck and Tirpitz. To the frustration of his naval commanders Hiller found the ships far more valuable as propaganda weapons then warships. But they were obsolete almost as soon the they were launched and both succumbed to the emerging dominance of air power.
S2.E6 ∙ Kamikaze Suicide Bombers
As American naval forces hand Japan defeat after defeat Japan turns in desperation to the Kamikaze. The tactic proves effective against smaller ships but does not fails to sink a major vessel. Japan turns to an rocket propelled human guided bomb known as the Ohka and a torpedo know as the Kaiten. German considers a Kamikaze version of the V-1 rocket and later employs Kamikaze fighter attacks on Allied bombers.
S3.E1 ∙ Eagle's Nest
The design, construction and use of Hitler's retreat in the Bavarian Alps, Eagle's Nest.
S3.E2 ∙ Hitler's Island Megafortress
In yet another example of Hilter's folly he orders impregnable fortresses built on the Channel Islands. Despite the incredible expense of construction the fortifications prove useless when the Allies go on the offensive on D-Day. But , it was a safe, if dull, place for a few German soldiers to wait out the war.
S3.E3 ∙ Blitzkrieg Lightning War Machine
Guderian's book "Achtung Panzer" introduces the concept of the combined arms offensive. Hitler seizes upon it as the way to use modern weapons technology in Germany's tradition of fighting fast, short wars to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare.
S3.E4 ∙ Hitler's Killer Subs
U-boat innovations that were advanced well beyond any other submarine designs of WW2, including the Walter propulsion system, the Type XVII the Type XXI.
S3.E5 ∙ Pacific Megaships
The design, construction and operational history of the two greatest battleships ever built - the Japanese super-battleships Yamato and Musashi.
S3.E6 ∙ Japanese Superfortress
Details the formidable Japanese defenses on the island of Okinawa during WW2, and the ultimate test of them.
S4.E1 ∙ Hitler's War Trains
Railroads were the enabling technology for Hilter's war machine during World War Two.
S4.E2 ∙ Hitler's Railways of Death
The mechanical monsters that helped carry out the Holocaust are explored.
S4.E3 ∙ Hitler's Italian Fortress
When Albert Kesselring recommends the creation of forty defensive lines to make the allies pay for every inch of Italy they capture, Hilter loves the idea. But the allies have more to worry about than German defenses. There's also bad weather, Germany's scorched earth policy and worst of all, the mountainous terrain in which German holds the high ground.
S4.E4 ∙ Hitler's Artic Fortress
Initially repelled by the British Navy, Hitler's invasion of France serves as a diversion allowing German forces to conquer Norway. By holding Narvik in the far north Germany is assured of a reliable source of iron ore. Holding Norway also offers the opportunity to seize the part of Murmansk and cut the allied supply line to Russia. But what is conquered must then be defended which means the construction and manning of extensive defenses diverting critical resources from the Eastern Front.
S4.E5 ∙ Hitler's Propaganda Machine
Hitler, himself a propagandist, recruits Josef Goebels to embark on a program to gain the unquestioned support of the German people. Inspired by Russian communist propaganda Geobels employs all forms of media and entertainment. He particularly targets German youths who will ensure the future of the Thousand Year Reich and foreign spectators when rumors of the Holocaust begin leaking out.
S4.E6 ∙ Hitler's Luftwaffe
Begun in secret, even before the rise of Adolf Hitler, the Luftwaffe became the spearhead of Hitler's Blitzkrieg. Tony Pollard visits the ruins of key Luftwaffe facilities set against the history of the rise and fall of the German air force.
S5.E1 ∙ Blitzkrieg in the East
Artefacts left over from Hitler's invasion of Russia, from the vast weapons built for the German army to the stronghold at Sevastopol where they met their match.
S5.E2 ∙ Russia's War: The Battle of Kursk
Examining how Hitler responded to defeat at Stalingrad by increasing Germany's mass production of tanks - leading to the largest clash of armoured vehicles in history at Kursk.
S5.E3 ∙ Russia's War: Hitler's Fighting Retreat
Structures built to prevent a Soviet counter-attack against Germany as Nazi forces retreated in the wake of the failed invasion of Russia.
S6.E1 ∙ America's War: Pearl Harbor
Learn the extraordinary story of how Japan planned and carried out the surprise air attack on the U.S. Navy in Hawaii, from Admiral Yamamoto's bold idea through months of secret preparation, pilot training, innovations in torpedo design and clever ruses to deceive U.S. military intelligence, culminating in a devastating strike on America's mighty Pacific Fleet on December 7, 1941.
S6.E2 ∙ America's War: Japan's Warrior Code
The battle for Saipan is the ultimate test for Japan's greatest weapon: the warrior mindset.
S6.E3 ∙ America's War: D-Day
Spring 1944. The strategic intrigue of German generals Rommel and his superior, von Rundstedt, for the ear of Hitler, intensifies as the imminent, massive, allied attack invariably approaches. But when and where will they land? A fascinating game of cat and mouse ensues leading to the inevitable, legendary battle on June 6th, D-Day.
S6.E4 ∙ America's War: Japan's Island Of Death
In September 1944 on Peleliu, Japanese soldiers build an island-wide structure creating a killing zone that leads to the deaths of tens of thousands.
S6.E5 ∙ America's War: Hitler's Final Offensive
Hitler's final attempt to win the war was a surprise winter attack. What resulted were some of the worst war crimes ever committed against America.
S6.E6 ∙ America's War: Fortress Japan
This is the story of Japan's final months of World War II. When America threatens to invade, the Japanese turn their country into a fortress and unleash a terrifying new weapon, suicide bombers. With surrender not an option, the Japanese prepare for the ultimate showdown on home soil. They plan to mobilize the entire country. Civilians must be ready to fight in hand-to-hand combat.
S7.E1 ∙ Hitler's War in the Skies
January 1943. With defeat in Russia and North Africa, Hitler now has to face a new battlefront: the fight for the skies above the Fatherland itself.
S7.E2 ∙ Hitler's British Invasion Plan
Hitler plans to destroy Britain's air power and land troops in southern England.
S7.E3 ∙ Hell Island
Japan's do-or-die struggle to create and control an airfield in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is chronicled. A succinct historical summary of the American vs Japanese Battle of Guadalcanal.
S7.E4 ∙ Japan's Death Railway
The battle for Saipan is the ultimate test of the megastructure underpinning Japanese forces.
S7.E5 ∙ Hitler's Desert War
Hitler and Erwin Rommel take on the Allies in the epic Desert War.
S7.E6 ∙ Hitler's Mediterranean Fortress
The Nazis make use of Sicily's rugged landscape to evade the Allies' vast invasion force.
