In this programe we examine the background to the campaign with a leading American historian before following the advance of one of Hitler's most successful panzer commanders, Hasso von Manteuffel, Fifth Panzer Army. We will travel in wintery conditions from the German border into the lightly held US front line. From the outset small groups of GIs did their best to delay the advance of the panzers, buying time for the vital crossroad town of Bastogne to be reinforced by 101st US Airborne Division. Under the cloak of bad weather, the Germans initially advanced successfully but more slowly than planned However, Germany's chronic lack of fuel hamstrung the advance. The British XXX Corps deployed to the River Meuse amidst controversy over Montgomery's role and injudicious words but the panzer spearheads were halted short of the river as the skies cleared and the feared fighter bombers returned.
Hamburger Hill (1987)
The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.
Courage Under Fire (1996)
A US Army officer, who made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up, has been reassigned to a desk job. He is tasked to investigate a female chopper commander's worthiness to be awarded the Medal of Honor. At first all seems in order. But then he begins to notice inconsistencies between the testimonies of the witnesses...
Windtalkers (2002)
Joe Enders is a gung-ho Marine assigned to protect a "windtalker" - one of several Navajo Indians who were used to relay messages during World War II because their spoken language was indecipherable to Japanese code breakers.
During One Night (1961)
Story of a young U.S. Army officer, stationed in England during World War II, who is suddenly conscious of a desire to "prove" himself sexually.
Tears of the Sun (2003)
Navy SEAL Lieutenant A.K. Waters and his elite squadron of tactical specialists are forced to choose between their duty and their humanity, between following orders by ignoring the conflict that surrounds them, or finding the courage to follow their conscience and protect a group of innocent refugees. When the democratic government of Nigeria collapses and the country is taken over by a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran is dispatched on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician.
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.
Battle of the Bulge (1965)
In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
The Great Raid (2005)
As World War II rages, the elite Sixth Ranger Battalion is given a mission of heroic proportions: push 30 miles behind enemy lines and liberate over 500 American prisoners of war.
When Trumpets Fade (1998)
In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they have all been killed in action. Despite requesting a discharge on the grounds of mental disability, Manning is promoted to sergeant and assigned to lead a new platoon of young inductees.
The Pentagon Wars (1998)
From the director of “Made In America” and “The Money Pit” comes a hilarious look at one of the most expensive blunders in military history. Over 17 years and almost as many billion dollars have gone into devising the BFV (Bradley Fighting Vehicle). There's only one problem. . . it doesn't work. (Spoiler alert: 25 years later ... it does work.)
Battle of the Bulge: Kampfgruppe Peiper (2016)
This film tells the story of one of the most contentious combats of WW2, the actions of Kamfgruppe Peiper during the Battle of the Bulge.From the outset the King Tigers of December 1944, in poor winter weather, could not cut through the forest roads as the smaller Panzers had done in 1940 but were slowed down by determined resistance by small groups of American GIs, Obersturmbannfuhrer Jochan Peiper, commander of the elite spearhead, the Leibstandarte's 1st Panzer Regiment advancing west on one of the Division's three rolbhans became increasingly frustrated by enemy resistance and poor roads. Eventually anger boiled over into atrocity and the murder of US soldiers and Belgian civilians at Malmendy and elsewhere along the route. Experienced soldiers, historians and film makers analyse events on the very ground where they happened, stripping away legend and obfuscation of all kinds to present the facts for the viewer to make their own decision..
Battle of the Bulge: Saint Vith (2015)
The Northern most thrust into the wintery Ardennes of General Manteuffel's Fifth Panzer Army fell on the inexperienced 106th US Infantry Division, who had not only just arrived in the Europe but had only been in the line for five days, in what was supposed to be a 'ghost front'. One of the best German infantry divisions, the 18th VG fell on the over extended 106th dug in on the Schnee Eifel, where two US regiments were surrounded and forced to surrender.Major General Jones was unable to stem what became a general retreat but, as in all retreats, both the best and the worst of human nature was on display. Small groups of officers and men fought on repeatedly, delaying the German spearheads on the road to St Vith and buying time for elements of 7th US Armd Div to arrive. After a desperate fight, Field Marshal Montgomery controversially took over the Northern shoulder of the Bulge and ordered 7th Armd Div and the remnants of the 106th to abandon St Vith.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.
Hostile Waters (1997)
Based on true events, an American submarine collides into a Soviet sub of the coast of America and an ensuing standoff occurs that could lead to total annihilation.
A Yank in Korea (1951)
A tough sergeant has to teach a hotshot young soldier how to be a team player.
Assault on Normandy: Sword Beach (2012)
The 3rd Division was in the van of the D Day assault force. Their task was to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall on a stretch of Normandy beach codenamed SWORD. Once ashore their problems were only just beginning! Montgomery had tasked the Division with the capture of Caen but the Germans were deployed in greater depth and strength than the Allies assumed. Rommel had deployed 21st Panzer Division into positions immediately behind the invasion area. With bitter fighting in the villages and open ridges around Caen the two sides fought a desperate battle; the Germans knew that once firmly ashore it would be impossible to throw them back into the sea. This film charts the operations on D Day from the embarkation of the force, the crossing, assault landing and the subsequent advance to the Perriers Ridge.
The Germans in Normandy: 6th Fallschirmjaeger (2015)
The German paratroopers established a reputation in Crete as an elite force. A battalion commander now led a new Fallschirmjäger regiment, deployed to Normandy in the spring of 1944 to the very area where the US Paratroopers were to drop on D Day. This DVD will tell the story of this regiment, one that was more like a pocket division than a regiment, and its six day battle around the base of the Cotentin Peninsula to prevent the effective link up between Omaha and Utah Beaches.Using the established and popular style of expert interviews, pieces filmed on the ground where the battle happened, illustrated with contemporary re-enactment footage and numerous maps, the story of the part played by the 6th Fallschirmjäger in the key engagements against the 101st Airborne Division around Saint-Come-du-Mont, the flooded marshes and the key town of Carentan will be told in graphic and controversial detail.
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.
Joel Hunt: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) (2015)
Joel Hunt served as a combat engineer from 1998-2007, with multiple tours in Iraq. While there, he endured more than 15 roadside bombs, and experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Today, with the help of his dog, Barrett, he uses sports to push through the challenges of having a TBI.