In the face of the wholesale destruction of their homeland, young Germans were motivated to destroy American bombers by any means necessary. On April 7, 1945 a volunteer unit called the Sonderkommando ELBE takes to the sky with one goal in mind--use their own aircraft as battering rams to destroy American bombers. Rare interviews with the German pilots who mounted these attacks will offer an unprecedented look into the mindset of these ram-pilots. TVPG VL | CC

During WWII, the leaders of the US military challenged themselves to create the most advanced supply system in the history of warfare. The servicemen who fought the supply war played a critical, and under-appreciated, role in achieving victory. Without them the Allied war machine would have ground to a halt. Peter Coyote narrates this compelling journey into WWII through the eyes of those who lived it, using color film and photographs unearthed from archives and personal collections. TVPG VL | CC

Allied troops continue Operation Plunder, their thrust across the Rhine into Germany's heartland. Realizing the situation is hopeless, thousands of German troops surrender. The race to Berlin continues, and disagreement over their strategy plagues the Allies. Hitler is now holed up in his Berlin bunker, totally divorced from reality. In the Pacific, fighting finally comes to a head on Iwo Jima. As US Marines close in around them, 200 Japanese soldiers make a last desperate mass suicide--or banzai--charge at the Americans. The attack on Okinawa begins. TVPG VL | CC

The First Infantry Division, a.k.a. Big Red One, is the oldest and best division in the U.S. Army. These warriors fought more campaigns than any other U.S. division in World War Two. Elements of the division experienced action during the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War and fired the first American shots in World War I. Decorated veterans of World War II will take the viewer back to the tense battlefields of El Guettar, North Africa, Troina, Sicily, Normandy (Omaha beach) France and their final shootout at the Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. TVPG VL | CC

On February 19, 1945, men of the US Marine Corps invaded Iwo Jima. Over the next 36 days, the island became the site of a titanic struggle of sheer bloody will and determination. The Marines had to expel over 21,000 tenacious Japanese troops from a labyrinth of fortifications dug into the very bowels of this sulphurous island. Aerial photographs taken of the island during the war have now been layered over a 3-D contour map to create a CGI "model" of the island. But this is no computer game--it's a model of the actual island as the battle raged. The original high-resolution images allow viewers to track the conquest of the island, step by step, from the air. Individual stories of courage and heroism can be placed in the exact spot on the island where they took place. The Marines eventually secured the island, but half of the land combatants were killed or maimed. The battle assumed legendary status and earned its place in the collective consciousness of the American people. TVPG VL | CC

General Eisenhower has decided to halt the Allied advance at the Elbe River--just 60 miles west of Berlin. The Russians, therefore, take Berlin. Other forces head towards the south of Germany--to the Bavarian Alps--where they believe the Nazis will make their last stand. As the Allies advance throughout Europe, the initial stage of one of the largest and most devastating assaults in history begins--Operation Iceberg, the Battle for Okinawa, in which 172,000 soldiers and marines find themselves in a fight to the death against fanatical Japanese troops defending the island. Join us for a blow-by-blow, week-by-week look at the final months, days, and hours of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

In this episode, we look at the development of the tank and the monster that is the M1A2, which was developed to counter heavy Soviet tanks, but is so heavy that it can't cross bridges and can't be airlifted quickly to battle zones. We also chart the revolutionary change in thinking in the Army that led to a much more lightweight tank with a totally new gun that emphasizes accuracy over weight! TVPG VL | CC

During the Cold War, much of the Soviet Union's economy went into developing weapons. With paranoia about US technical superiority at a height, even the craziest sounding idea stood a chance--the military-industrial complex incubated ambitious, but often unfeasible weaponry. We focus on the sinking of M-256, which lost 37 submariners, and the Ekranoplan, a super-secret flying ship capable of carrying thousands of soldiers or missiles over great distances at high speeds under radar detection. TVPG VL | CC

Berlin lies in ruins. Nearly 120,000 people are homeless. FDR's sudden death stuns the world. Tension among the Allies builds as the gulf of distrust between Stalin and Churchill widens. The Ruhr industrial area west of Berlin is now nearly conquered. A Nazi treasure trove of nearly 8,200 bars of gold in addition to suitcases and trunks crammed with precious ornaments and priceless works of art is uncovered. Meanwhile, the penetration of the Gothic Line begins. It's the last and most decisive Allied offensive aimed at clearing Germans out of Italy. In the Pacific, the Army's 96th Division launches an attack on Mount Shuri on Okinawa. Tokyo is hit by more massive bombing raids as US troops continue to forge ahead. These are some of the events viewers witness in this episode of our series that takes a week-by-week look at the final days of WWII. TVPG VL | CC

Adolf Hitler dreamt of creating a master race, but achieved a Holocaust--the murder of millions of Jews and those deemed physical or mental defects. But the F hrer, an appalling hypochondriac, abused laxatives and suffered from stomach cramps and embarrassing flatulence. And that was just the start! When he committed suicide in 1945, the great dictator was frail with tremors and a shuffling walk--a feeble condition concealed from the world. We explore the relationship between Hitler and his personal physician, Dr. Theodore Morell. How did amphetamine abuse, Parkinson's Disease, and tertiary syphilis impact on his state of mind? TVPG VL | CC

Six months after Allied Forces liberated German concentration camps, a military tribunal formed at Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals. Some of the most dangerous were brought to justice--but not all. Over 4,000 former Nazis went to work for the US government, without the public's knowledge, to help fight the Soviet Union. Reinhard Gehlen, an intelligence officer for Hitler's General Staff, was tapped to head the US intelligence program in West Germany to spy on the Russians. At the same time, former Nazi scientists and engineers were welcomed onto American soil. In 1998, a bill was finally signed into law that mandated declassification of documents concerning recruitment of former Nazis. We dig into the records to see if the ends justified the means and ask how far the US should go to partner with a former enemy to fight another. TVPG VL | CC

The Red Army's assault on Berlin begins. Meanwhile, Hitler, sealed away in his bunker, marks his 56th birthday. US General Alexander Patch's 7th Army captures the city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. In the East, the Soviet Government and the Provisional Communist Government of Poland conclude a treaty of mutual assistance. In the Pacific, fierce fighting continues on Okinawa. American soldiers are finding the Japanese to be a savvy and tenacious enemy. Ernie Pyle, one of World War Two's most distinguished and revered correspondents, is fatally wounded on Okinawa. US forces complete the capture of the islands in Manila Bay. Join us for a week-by-week detailed look at the last days of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

October 25, 1983, Operation Urgent Fury. The Navy's newest, top-secret weapon against terrorism, SEAL Team Six, gets its first "hot" operation--a danger-fraught mission to restore democracy to Grenada, a tiny Caribbean country hijacked by Cuban communists. Told they will face only light resistance, SEAL Team Six's job is to rescue the trapped Grenadian Governor. But they fast-rope into a hornet's nest of small arms fire and anti-aircraft artillery. Set up to fail, SEAL Team Six simply refused! TVPG VL | CC

Behind Taliban lines in the foreign and notoriously dangerous terrain of Afghanistan, three Air Force commandos go hunting for terrorists in October 2002. Flaunting the notion of capture, Andy Kubik, Calvin Markham, and Bart Decker scout potential Taliban targets on foot or by horse, provide F-16s with real-time intelligence, paint each target with a laser pointer, and watch as precision bombs obliterate Taliban strongholds. This is the story of these little-known super soldiers. TVPG VL | CC

In our series that dissects the last days of World War Two on a weekly basis, we witness Berlin reduced to rubble, setting the stage for the Red Army's entry into the beleaguered city. News reaches Hitler that some of his key advisors are now negotiating "surrender" deals with the enemy and, with the brutal execution of his cohort Benito Mussolini, he is forced to face reality...and the demise of the Third Reich. Allies from the East and West meet for the fist time in the West on the Elbe River. Just three days before the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp near Munich, SS soldiers force about 7,000 prisoners on a death march. In the Pacific, action on Okinawa comes to a boil as American forces inch closer to penetrating the barrier that sits between them and the enemy's main base--the Shuri region. TVPG VL | CC

The world is filled with people trying to find others that at one time had a profound affect on their lives, and no stories are more compelling than those connected to wartime. Aided by private investigators, we assist veterans with a passion to reconnect and bring closure to events and emotions, including Larry Kern, a helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam, searching for his gunner "Mac" MacFarland; and "Shorty" Estabrook, looking for Goyo Mata, a fellow Korean War POW. TVPG VL | CC

Aided by private investigators, we reunite veterans of war with a passion to reconnect and bring closure to events and emotions. In this episode, Green Beret Sgt. Lee Burkins and Sam Houston, a photographer assigned to Burkins' unit in Vietnam, meet at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the first time in 33 years. And Armando Ybarro, who survived the 1983 terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, searches for the 4 marines who dug him from the rubble. TVPG VL | CC

A modern day warrior, Green Beret Terry Schappert tests the deadly weapons and psychological tactics of legendary Samurai. Legendary samurai Musashi meets archrival Kojiro in climactic duel. TVPG VL | CC

"Landing Ship Tanks" weren't deemed noble enough even to have names. They were not thought of as warships even though they were always the first floating metal to touch fire-swept beaches from North Africa, to Sicily, to Normandy, and from the Philippines to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The story of these ships is therefore one of an unsung hero, as it reveals not just the considerable war-long battle action of one ship, but exemplifies the collective saga of a design class that had absolutely no military precedent before the first keel was laid in June of 1942. We learn the dire necessity of these ships from crucial roles in D-Day--how the date was postponed to allow for more to be constructed, and how precariously close they came to disaster with the tragic story of Exercise Tiger, the botched D-Day dress rehearsal that claimed the lives of hundreds of LST sailors and put the entire mission in jeopardy. TVPG VL | CC

By the spring of 1942, Hitler had made a fortress of Europe, and the Allies began to plan the biggest invasion in military history. The history-altering success of the D-Day Invasion depended on innovative engineering and technological advances. This is the story of those scientific and mechanical breakthroughs--the overwhelming array of landing craft, specialized weapons, and ingenious electronics--used to breach Fortress Europe on June 6, 1944. TVPG VL | CC

A month after the D-Day Invasion, when the Allies believed all was safe off the beaches of Normandy, the Minesweeper YMS-304 was blasted out of the water--with 100% casualties. The initial detonation tore apart the minesweeper, taking her down in only 63 seconds--the fastest sinking of WWII. What happened was a secret hidden for more than 60 years. Deep Sea Detective John Chatterton travels to Normandy to dive the remains of this tragic wreck with the help of French diver Bertrand Sciboz. TVPG VL | CC

In 58 BC, the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar pushed north from Rome into the wild and unruly lands of the barbarians (current-day France), and in less than eight years, extended the border of the Roman Republic's territories as far west as the Atlantic, even making raids and incursions into Britain. The key element to Caesar's victory in Europe lay not in the superiority of the Roman war machine--the Gallic cavalry, horseman to horseman, was probably far superior to the Roman legions. Rome's military superiority derived from mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. And there was no master of strategy greater than Julius Caesar. According to Plutarch, Caesar's campaign resulted in 800 conquered cities, 300 subdued tribes, a million slaves, and 3-million dead on the battlefield--all this, not to mention becoming First Man in Rome. TVPG VL | CC

For many years, the Odessa was thought to be a fictional organization that helped Nazi war criminals escape Allied justice. But in truth, many of the most brutal murderers of WWII lived to see the old age that they had denied their victims. How did they escape justice? Is it possible that Allied authorities were complicit in their escape? We reveal how known killers were secreted down ratlines through Europe to South America, where many used their deadly training to support militaristic regimes. TVPG VL | CC

Hunter Ellis heads to sea and learns about an intriguing array of watercraft for both consumer and military use, then takes to the sky aboard a high-tech MedEvac helicopter--with roots that go back to WWII flying ambulances. Espionage has been part of war as far back as 1800 BC, and Hunter checks out historic spy gear at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., teams up with a private investigator to check out new gumshoe technologies, and learns tradecraft tips from CIA masters of disguise. TVPG VL | CC

In the face of the wholesale destruction of their homeland, young Germans were motivated to destroy American bombers by any means necessary. On April 7, 1945 a volunteer unit called the Sonderkommando ELBE takes to the sky with one goal in mind--use their own aircraft as battering rams to destroy American bombers. Rare interviews with the German pilots who mounted these attacks will offer an unprecedented look into the mindset of these ram-pilots. TVPG VL | CC

Hitler's special forces, led by the ruthless Otto Skorzeny, carried out some of the most daring raids of WWII, including the first glider-borne assault, a paratroop aerial assault on the Island of Crete, and the audacious rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from his mountaintop prison. For the first time, the hidden world of these elite forces is uncovered as we feature never-before-seen footage filmed by German cameramen. TVPG VL | CC

Join us for a review of the incredible 51-year career of BB-63, the battleship Missouri, which fought in WWII, the Korean War, and Desert Storm. The crew that served on her last voyage could have been grandchildren of the men who fought on her first. Though this behemoth should have been a relic after WWII, she was continually upgraded, making her a formidable first-line warrior to her final day in commission. Launched in 1944, she was the last battleship built and the last in service. But her most enduring image came in 1945, when the Allies accepted Japan's surrender on her deck in Tokyo Bay. Now a national monument in Pearl Harbor preserving the details of that historic day, we step aboard with some of the great men who served in her during the long career of this icon of US naval history. TVPG VL | CC

The First Infantry Division, a.k.a. Big Red One, is the oldest and best division in the U.S. Army. These warriors fought more campaigns than any other U.S. division in World War Two. Elements of the division experienced action during the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War and fired the first American shots in World War I. Decorated veterans of World War II will take the viewer back to the tense battlefields of El Guettar, North Africa, Troina, Sicily, Normandy (Omaha beach) France and their final shootout at the Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. TVPG VL | CC

Examines U.S. intelligence gathering--from inception in the 1920s and development during WWII through the Office of Strategic Services and the Allied Intelligence Bureau. We investigate espionage during the war, the breakthrough in aerial reconnaissance technology, cracking of the Japanese naval codes by Navy intelligence, and birth of the Central Intelligence Agency. We also look at the darker side. Did the CIA strike a deal with Nazi war criminals in return for their help in the Cold War? TVPG VL | CC

June 6, 1944--the greatest machine of World War Two springs into action. It is made up of thousands of ships and aircraft, tens of thousands of men and millions of tons of steel and concrete. This is Operation Overlord--the invasion machine that will send Allied soldiers dropping from the skies and storming the beaches of Normandy. Each piece of this machine has been designed to fulfill a specific task in the air, on land, or at sea. The success of D-Day depends on it. Interlocking with pinpoint precision, the men and machines of Overlord overcome not just Hitler's beach defenses, but nature itself in the greatest assault the world has ever seen. Using archive film, and color reenactments, we reveal the phenomenal hardware of D-Day. TVPG VL | CC

In this episode, we look at the development of the tank and the monster that is the M1A2, which was developed to counter heavy Soviet tanks, but is so heavy that it can't cross bridges and can't be airlifted quickly to battle zones. We also chart the revolutionary change in thinking in the Army that led to a much more lightweight tank with a totally new gun that emphasizes accuracy over weight! TVPG VL | CC

In 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain and her allies and opened a new front in North Africa--if he could push the British out of Egypt, he could control the Suez Canal. And when Germany's Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Corps joined the fray, the stakes soared. The British could only spare a small force and used deception, camouflage, and sheer brilliance to win in North Africa, aided by virtuoso magician Jasper Maskelyne. Find out how he made the Suez Canal "disappear". TVPG VL | CC

Hitler caused more death and destruction than anyone else in history. But he also planned to build on a massive scale and place a new Germany on a par with ancient Greece and Rome. Our investigators piece together a picture of how Hitler wanted Germany to look from the ruins of what was built and from plans of his architect Albert Speer. In Nuremberg, we recreate the Zeppelin Tribune: where 60,000 people could overlook a parade ground. We reveal the real purpose of the stadium Speer planned to hold the Olympic Games--with seating for 405,000 people. And we rebuild, with computer-generated images based on Speer's plans, the monuments Hitler planned for himself: the Triumphal Arch--twice the height, and four times the width of Paris's Arc de Triomphe--and the People's Hall--a structure so big the Eiffel Tower could fit inside it. Monstrous, intimidating, built on slave labor--this is the Lost World we'd now inhabit if WWII had gone differently. TVPG VL | CC

Adolf Hitler dreamt of creating a master race, but achieved a Holocaust--the murder of millions of Jews and those deemed physical or mental defects. But the F hrer, an appalling hypochondriac, abused laxatives and suffered from stomach cramps and embarrassing flatulence. And that was just the start! When he committed suicide in 1945, the great dictator was frail with tremors and a shuffling walk--a feeble condition concealed from the world. We explore the relationship between Hitler and his personal physician, Dr. Theodore Morell. How did amphetamine abuse, Parkinson's Disease, and tertiary syphilis impact on his state of mind? TVPG VL | CC

A steady drip of crucial information made its way out of Germany and over to Russia during the course of WWII. It came from the Red Orchestra--a group of people from nations worldwide, united by their faith in Communism. The information the spy ring provided was so startlingly accurate that today many people believe there must have been a Communist spy in the highest echelons of Nazi government. We follow the stories of Red Orchestra members and attempt to track their superspy. TVPG VL | CC

Afghanistan, 1981. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, threatening to expand its huge hold of territory and edge closer to the rich oilfields of the Middle East. President Reagan decided to send CIA officers in to train Afghan rebels to fight against the Soviets. But he didn't want to tip America's hand, so he sent in a small team of undercover officers from the CIA's Islamabad station in Pakistan. Working in dark alleys and traveling on Pakistani military helicopters, Milt Bearden and his team of CIA officers gradually built a network to funnel arms and cash into Afghanistan and train the rebels to fight. Dodging bullets and risking their lives, the CIA officers became secret warriors fighting America's last battle of the Cold War. TVPG VL | CC

October 25, 1983, Operation Urgent Fury. The Navy's newest, top-secret weapon against terrorism, SEAL Team Six, gets its first "hot" operation--a danger-fraught mission to restore democracy to Grenada, a tiny Caribbean country hijacked by Cuban communists. Told they will face only light resistance, SEAL Team Six's job is to rescue the trapped Grenadian Governor. But they fast-rope into a hornet's nest of small arms fire and anti-aircraft artillery. Set up to fail, SEAL Team Six simply refused! TVPG VL | CC

Regarded as the turning point of WWII, the daybreak invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 actually began the night before. Shrouded in darkness, 18,000 Allied paratroopers jumped into the fog and flak-filled skies, landing behind enemy lines before the full invasion. Among them, the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the famed 101st Airborne Division. Although they became one of the most decorated units in the D-Day operation, their story has never been fully told. We illustrate how the 502nd earned distinction by achieving vital objectives through acts of great personal bravery and strong tactical leadership. The story travels from their final staging in England to the massive confusion of that perilous night--when most troops, under heavy enemy fire, missed their intended drop zones--to their setting upon the intended targets. TVPG VL | CC

Featuring candid interviews and never-before-seen video, we tell the story of the hardest hit combat unit of the Iraq war. Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve unit out of Columbus, Ohio was deployed to Iraq from February 28-September 30, 2005. This two-hour documentary captures significant moments from their tour of duty, including dramatic combat missions. COMBAT DIARY: THE MARINES OF LIMA COMPANY provides an unprecedented and harrowing window into the harsh reality of war. TVPG VL | CC

By the spring of 1942, Hitler had made a fortress of Europe, and the Allies began to plan the biggest invasion in military history. The history-altering success of the D-Day Invasion depended on innovative engineering and technological advances. This is the story of those scientific and mechanical breakthroughs--the overwhelming array of landing craft, specialized weapons, and ingenious electronics--used to breach Fortress Europe on June 6, 1944. TVPG VL | CC

Allied troops continue Operation Plunder, their thrust across the Rhine into Germany's heartland. Realizing the situation is hopeless, thousands of German troops surrender. The race to Berlin continues, and disagreement over their strategy plagues the Allies. Hitler is now holed up in his Berlin bunker, totally divorced from reality. In the Pacific, fighting finally comes to a head on Iwo Jima. As US Marines close in around them, 200 Japanese soldiers make a last desperate mass suicide--or banzai--charge at the Americans. The attack on Okinawa begins. TVPG VL | CC

In an exciting miniseries exploring the dramatic rise and decline of English naval power, host Prince Andrew, Duke of York, examines Britannia's rule of the seas for several centuries. Witness creation of a Royal Navy under orders of King Henry VIII, the daring exploits of Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hinde, the revolutionary innovations of John Hawkins' race-built Galleons, backbone of Elizabethan naval power in the Age of Discovery, and the climatic showdown with Spain's Invincible Armada in 1588. TVPG VL | CC

For many years, the Odessa was thought to be a fictional organization that helped Nazi war criminals escape Allied justice. But in truth, many of the most brutal murderers of WWII lived to see the old age that they had denied their victims. How did they escape justice? Is it possible that Allied authorities were complicit in their escape? We reveal how known killers were secreted down ratlines through Europe to South America, where many used their deadly training to support militaristic regimes. TVPG VL | CC

General Eisenhower has decided to halt the Allied advance at the Elbe River--just 60 miles west of Berlin. The Russians, therefore, take Berlin. Other forces head towards the south of Germany--to the Bavarian Alps--where they believe the Nazis will make their last stand. As the Allies advance throughout Europe, the initial stage of one of the largest and most devastating assaults in history begins--Operation Iceberg, the Battle for Okinawa, in which 172,000 soldiers and marines find themselves in a fight to the death against fanatical Japanese troops defending the island. Join us for a blow-by-blow, week-by-week look at the final months, days, and hours of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

During three 17th-century wars against a powerful Dutch fleet, the Royal Navy's war efforts are aided by Samuel Pepys' visionary reforms of the Admiralty, and by codification of naval tactics in "The Fighting Instructions". However, during the American Revolution, French admirals win astonishing victories over the British, ultimately helping free America. Then, a little-known Scottish landlubber stimulates a revolution in naval tactics and Admiral Horatio Nelson wins a stunning victory at Trafalgar. TVPG VL | CC

Hitler's special forces, led by the ruthless Otto Skorzeny, carried out some of the most daring raids of WWII, including the first glider-borne assault, a paratroop aerial assault on the Island of Crete, and the audacious rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from his mountaintop prison. For the first time, the hidden world of these elite forces is uncovered as we feature never-before-seen footage filmed by German cameramen. TVPG VL | CC

Berlin lies in ruins. Nearly 120,000 people are homeless. FDR's sudden death stuns the world. Tension among the Allies builds as the gulf of distrust between Stalin and Churchill widens. The Ruhr industrial area west of Berlin is now nearly conquered. A Nazi treasure trove of nearly 8,200 bars of gold in addition to suitcases and trunks crammed with precious ornaments and priceless works of art is uncovered. Meanwhile, the penetration of the Gothic Line begins. It's the last and most decisive Allied offensive aimed at clearing Germans out of Italy. In the Pacific, the Army's 96th Division launches an attack on Mount Shuri on Okinawa. Tokyo is hit by more massive bombing raids as US troops continue to forge ahead. These are some of the events viewers witness in this episode of our series that takes a week-by-week look at the final days of WWII. TVPG VL | CC

Except for setbacks inflicted by the fledgling U.S. Navy in the War of 1812, the 19th century proved a time of unchallenged mastery for the Royal Navy, with technical innovations developing at an unprecedented rate--iron and steel replaces wood and sails give way to steam power. In 1906, in an extraordinary leap forward, the supership HMS Dreadnought is launched, which sparks an arms race with Germany that helps touch off WWI, and also sows the seeds of the Royal Navy's ultimate downfall. TVPG VL | CC

Examines U.S. intelligence gathering--from inception in the 1920s and development during WWII through the Office of Strategic Services and the Allied Intelligence Bureau. We investigate espionage during the war, the breakthrough in aerial reconnaissance technology, cracking of the Japanese naval codes by Navy intelligence, and birth of the Central Intelligence Agency. We also look at the darker side. Did the CIA strike a deal with Nazi war criminals in return for their help in the Cold War? TVPG VL | CC

The Red Army's assault on Berlin begins. Meanwhile, Hitler, sealed away in his bunker, marks his 56th birthday. US General Alexander Patch's 7th Army captures the city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. In the East, the Soviet Government and the Provisional Communist Government of Poland conclude a treaty of mutual assistance. In the Pacific, fierce fighting continues on Okinawa. American soldiers are finding the Japanese to be a savvy and tenacious enemy. Ernie Pyle, one of World War Two's most distinguished and revered correspondents, is fatally wounded on Okinawa. US forces complete the capture of the islands in Manila Bay. Join us for a week-by-week detailed look at the last days of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

As WWII begins, England stands alone, paying the price of treaty limitations that allowed Germany and Japan to secretly build more powerful ships. Though England can't spare ships from the Atlantic to pursue the Japanese, after VE Day, her carriers prove decisive elements in the Pacific. After WWII, the Empire and the Royal Navy decline as a world force. But the 1982 Falklands War revives the Navy, and today, its nuclear subs and jump-jet carriers attest to its centuries-old history and tradition. TVPG VL | CC

In 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain and her allies and opened a new front in North Africa--if he could push the British out of Egypt, he could control the Suez Canal. And when Germany's Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Corps joined the fray, the stakes soared. The British could only spare a small force and used deception, camouflage, and sheer brilliance to win in North Africa, aided by virtuoso magician Jasper Maskelyne. Find out how he made the Suez Canal "disappear". TVPG VL | CC

In our series that dissects the last days of World War Two on a weekly basis, we witness Berlin reduced to rubble, setting the stage for the Red Army's entry into the beleaguered city. News reaches Hitler that some of his key advisors are now negotiating "surrender" deals with the enemy and, with the brutal execution of his cohort Benito Mussolini, he is forced to face reality...and the demise of the Third Reich. Allies from the East and West meet for the fist time in the West on the Elbe River. Just three days before the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp near Munich, SS soldiers force about 7,000 prisoners on a death march. In the Pacific, action on Okinawa comes to a boil as American forces inch closer to penetrating the barrier that sits between them and the enemy's main base--the Shuri region. TVPG VL | CC

Pound for pound, the Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats were WWII's most heavily armed fighting boats. Screwed and glued together on a hull made of wood, these 50 tons of fast fighting fury were hated by the Japanese who nicknamed them "The Devil Boats of the Night". With their three powerful marine engines and speedboat designs, they took on the enemy at close quarters with greater frequency than any other type of surface craft--from firefights with coastal barges to protecting the invasion fleet at D-Day. And they attacked the enemy from the freezing seas of the Aleutian Islands to the treacherous waters of the South Pacific. Using unique archive film, reenactments, and extraordinary interviews, here is the story of how this wooden wonder struggled for early recognition, but through the brilliance of its design, daring of its missions, and courage and sacrifice of its crews would play a major part in WWII. TVPG VL | CC

A steady drip of crucial information made its way out of Germany and over to Russia during the course of WWII. It came from the Red Orchestra--a group of people from nations worldwide, united by their faith in Communism. The information the spy ring provided was so startlingly accurate that today many people believe there must have been a Communist spy in the highest echelons of Nazi government. We follow the stories of Red Orchestra members and attempt to track their superspy. TVPG VL | CC

A modern day warrior, Green Beret Terry Schappert tests the deadly weapons and psychological tactics of legendary Samurai. Legendary samurai Musashi meets archrival Kojiro in climactic duel. TVPG VL | CC

"Landing Ship Tanks" weren't deemed noble enough even to have names. They were not thought of as warships even though they were always the first floating metal to touch fire-swept beaches from North Africa, to Sicily, to Normandy, and from the Philippines to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The story of these ships is therefore one of an unsung hero, as it reveals not just the considerable war-long battle action of one ship, but exemplifies the collective saga of a design class that had absolutely no military precedent before the first keel was laid in June of 1942. We learn the dire necessity of these ships from crucial roles in D-Day--how the date was postponed to allow for more to be constructed, and how precariously close they came to disaster with the tragic story of Exercise Tiger, the botched D-Day dress rehearsal that claimed the lives of hundreds of LST sailors and put the entire mission in jeopardy. TVPG VL | CC

In 58 BC, the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar pushed north from Rome into the wild and unruly lands of the barbarians (current-day France), and in less than eight years, extended the border of the Roman Republic's territories as far west as the Atlantic, even making raids and incursions into Britain. The key element to Caesar's victory in Europe lay not in the superiority of the Roman war machine--the Gallic cavalry, horseman to horseman, was probably far superior to the Roman legions. Rome's military superiority derived from mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. And there was no master of strategy greater than Julius Caesar. According to Plutarch, Caesar's campaign resulted in 800 conquered cities, 300 subdued tribes, a million slaves, and 3-million dead on the battlefield--all this, not to mention becoming First Man in Rome. TVPG VL | CC

William's story begins in Northern France with his accession as William of Normandy in 1035. Over the next 30 years, he solidifies his rule through marriage, diplomacy, battle, intrigue, and savage intimidation. His foes prove no match. He builds numerous castles and cathedrals in Normandy to legitimize his rule, while laying claim as the rightful heir of Edward the Confessor and the throne of England. But when Edward dies in 1066, he bestows heir status on the Anglo-Saxon King Harold of Godwin. An enraged William, feeling betrayed by Edward and Harold, seeks papal support of his claim to the English throne. When it is granted what follows is the first D-Day--but in reverse: William's invasion of England from France. Join us for a riveting look at the invasion and the innovations William brought to his new empire. TVPG VL | CC

In the face of the wholesale destruction of their homeland, young Germans were motivated to destroy American bombers by any means necessary. On April 7, 1945 a volunteer unit called the Sonderkommando ELBE takes to the sky with one goal in mind--use their own aircraft as battering rams to destroy American bombers. Rare interviews with the German pilots who mounted these attacks will offer an unprecedented look into the mindset of these ram-pilots. TVPG VL | CC

During WWII, the leaders of the US military challenged themselves to create the most advanced supply system in the history of warfare. The servicemen who fought the supply war played a critical, and under-appreciated, role in achieving victory. Without them the Allied war machine would have ground to a halt. Peter Coyote narrates this compelling journey into WWII through the eyes of those who lived it, using color film and photographs unearthed from archives and personal collections. TVPG VL | CC

Allied troops continue Operation Plunder, their thrust across the Rhine into Germany's heartland. Realizing the situation is hopeless, thousands of German troops surrender. The race to Berlin continues, and disagreement over their strategy plagues the Allies. Hitler is now holed up in his Berlin bunker, totally divorced from reality. In the Pacific, fighting finally comes to a head on Iwo Jima. As US Marines close in around them, 200 Japanese soldiers make a last desperate mass suicide--or banzai--charge at the Americans. The attack on Okinawa begins. TVPG VL | CC

The First Infantry Division, a.k.a. Big Red One, is the oldest and best division in the U.S. Army. These warriors fought more campaigns than any other U.S. division in World War Two. Elements of the division experienced action during the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War and fired the first American shots in World War I. Decorated veterans of World War II will take the viewer back to the tense battlefields of El Guettar, North Africa, Troina, Sicily, Normandy (Omaha beach) France and their final shootout at the Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. TVPG VL | CC

On February 19, 1945, men of the US Marine Corps invaded Iwo Jima. Over the next 36 days, the island became the site of a titanic struggle of sheer bloody will and determination. The Marines had to expel over 21,000 tenacious Japanese troops from a labyrinth of fortifications dug into the very bowels of this sulphurous island. Aerial photographs taken of the island during the war have now been layered over a 3-D contour map to create a CGI "model" of the island. But this is no computer game--it's a model of the actual island as the battle raged. The original high-resolution images allow viewers to track the conquest of the island, step by step, from the air. Individual stories of courage and heroism can be placed in the exact spot on the island where they took place. The Marines eventually secured the island, but half of the land combatants were killed or maimed. The battle assumed legendary status and earned its place in the collective consciousness of the American people. TVPG VL | CC

General Eisenhower has decided to halt the Allied advance at the Elbe River--just 60 miles west of Berlin. The Russians, therefore, take Berlin. Other forces head towards the south of Germany--to the Bavarian Alps--where they believe the Nazis will make their last stand. As the Allies advance throughout Europe, the initial stage of one of the largest and most devastating assaults in history begins--Operation Iceberg, the Battle for Okinawa, in which 172,000 soldiers and marines find themselves in a fight to the death against fanatical Japanese troops defending the island. Join us for a blow-by-blow, week-by-week look at the final months, days, and hours of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

In this episode, we look at the development of the tank and the monster that is the M1A2, which was developed to counter heavy Soviet tanks, but is so heavy that it can't cross bridges and can't be airlifted quickly to battle zones. We also chart the revolutionary change in thinking in the Army that led to a much more lightweight tank with a totally new gun that emphasizes accuracy over weight! TVPG VL | CC

During the Cold War, much of the Soviet Union's economy went into developing weapons. With paranoia about US technical superiority at a height, even the craziest sounding idea stood a chance--the military-industrial complex incubated ambitious, but often unfeasible weaponry. We focus on the sinking of M-256, which lost 37 submariners, and the Ekranoplan, a super-secret flying ship capable of carrying thousands of soldiers or missiles over great distances at high speeds under radar detection. TVPG VL | CC

Berlin lies in ruins. Nearly 120,000 people are homeless. FDR's sudden death stuns the world. Tension among the Allies builds as the gulf of distrust between Stalin and Churchill widens. The Ruhr industrial area west of Berlin is now nearly conquered. A Nazi treasure trove of nearly 8,200 bars of gold in addition to suitcases and trunks crammed with precious ornaments and priceless works of art is uncovered. Meanwhile, the penetration of the Gothic Line begins. It's the last and most decisive Allied offensive aimed at clearing Germans out of Italy. In the Pacific, the Army's 96th Division launches an attack on Mount Shuri on Okinawa. Tokyo is hit by more massive bombing raids as US troops continue to forge ahead. These are some of the events viewers witness in this episode of our series that takes a week-by-week look at the final days of WWII. TVPG VL | CC

Adolf Hitler dreamt of creating a master race, but achieved a Holocaust--the murder of millions of Jews and those deemed physical or mental defects. But the F hrer, an appalling hypochondriac, abused laxatives and suffered from stomach cramps and embarrassing flatulence. And that was just the start! When he committed suicide in 1945, the great dictator was frail with tremors and a shuffling walk--a feeble condition concealed from the world. We explore the relationship between Hitler and his personal physician, Dr. Theodore Morell. How did amphetamine abuse, Parkinson's Disease, and tertiary syphilis impact on his state of mind? TVPG VL | CC

Six months after Allied Forces liberated German concentration camps, a military tribunal formed at Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals. Some of the most dangerous were brought to justice--but not all. Over 4,000 former Nazis went to work for the US government, without the public's knowledge, to help fight the Soviet Union. Reinhard Gehlen, an intelligence officer for Hitler's General Staff, was tapped to head the US intelligence program in West Germany to spy on the Russians. At the same time, former Nazi scientists and engineers were welcomed onto American soil. In 1998, a bill was finally signed into law that mandated declassification of documents concerning recruitment of former Nazis. We dig into the records to see if the ends justified the means and ask how far the US should go to partner with a former enemy to fight another. TVPG VL | CC

The Red Army's assault on Berlin begins. Meanwhile, Hitler, sealed away in his bunker, marks his 56th birthday. US General Alexander Patch's 7th Army captures the city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. In the East, the Soviet Government and the Provisional Communist Government of Poland conclude a treaty of mutual assistance. In the Pacific, fierce fighting continues on Okinawa. American soldiers are finding the Japanese to be a savvy and tenacious enemy. Ernie Pyle, one of World War Two's most distinguished and revered correspondents, is fatally wounded on Okinawa. US forces complete the capture of the islands in Manila Bay. Join us for a week-by-week detailed look at the last days of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

October 25, 1983, Operation Urgent Fury. The Navy's newest, top-secret weapon against terrorism, SEAL Team Six, gets its first "hot" operation--a danger-fraught mission to restore democracy to Grenada, a tiny Caribbean country hijacked by Cuban communists. Told they will face only light resistance, SEAL Team Six's job is to rescue the trapped Grenadian Governor. But they fast-rope into a hornet's nest of small arms fire and anti-aircraft artillery. Set up to fail, SEAL Team Six simply refused! TVPG VL | CC

Behind Taliban lines in the foreign and notoriously dangerous terrain of Afghanistan, three Air Force commandos go hunting for terrorists in October 2002. Flaunting the notion of capture, Andy Kubik, Calvin Markham, and Bart Decker scout potential Taliban targets on foot or by horse, provide F-16s with real-time intelligence, paint each target with a laser pointer, and watch as precision bombs obliterate Taliban strongholds. This is the story of these little-known super soldiers. TVPG VL | CC

In our series that dissects the last days of World War Two on a weekly basis, we witness Berlin reduced to rubble, setting the stage for the Red Army's entry into the beleaguered city. News reaches Hitler that some of his key advisors are now negotiating "surrender" deals with the enemy and, with the brutal execution of his cohort Benito Mussolini, he is forced to face reality...and the demise of the Third Reich. Allies from the East and West meet for the fist time in the West on the Elbe River. Just three days before the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp near Munich, SS soldiers force about 7,000 prisoners on a death march. In the Pacific, action on Okinawa comes to a boil as American forces inch closer to penetrating the barrier that sits between them and the enemy's main base--the Shuri region. TVPG VL | CC

The world is filled with people trying to find others that at one time had a profound affect on their lives, and no stories are more compelling than those connected to wartime. Aided by private investigators, we assist veterans with a passion to reconnect and bring closure to events and emotions, including Larry Kern, a helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam, searching for his gunner "Mac" MacFarland; and "Shorty" Estabrook, looking for Goyo Mata, a fellow Korean War POW. TVPG VL | CC

Aided by private investigators, we reunite veterans of war with a passion to reconnect and bring closure to events and emotions. In this episode, Green Beret Sgt. Lee Burkins and Sam Houston, a photographer assigned to Burkins' unit in Vietnam, meet at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the first time in 33 years. And Armando Ybarro, who survived the 1983 terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, searches for the 4 marines who dug him from the rubble. TVPG VL | CC

A modern day warrior, Green Beret Terry Schappert tests the deadly weapons and psychological tactics of legendary Samurai. Legendary samurai Musashi meets archrival Kojiro in climactic duel. TVPG VL | CC

By the spring of 1942, Hitler had made a fortress of Europe, and the Allies began to plan the biggest invasion in military history. The history-altering success of the D-Day Invasion depended on innovative engineering and technological advances. This is the story of those scientific and mechanical breakthroughs--the overwhelming array of landing craft, specialized weapons, and ingenious electronics--used to breach Fortress Europe on June 6, 1944. TVPG VL | CC

A month after the D-Day Invasion, when the Allies believed all was safe off the beaches of Normandy, the Minesweeper YMS-304 was blasted out of the water--with 100% casualties. The initial detonation tore apart the minesweeper, taking her down in only 63 seconds--the fastest sinking of WWII. What happened was a secret hidden for more than 60 years. Deep Sea Detective John Chatterton travels to Normandy to dive the remains of this tragic wreck with the help of French diver Bertrand Sciboz. TVPG VL | CC

In 58 BC, the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar pushed north from Rome into the wild and unruly lands of the barbarians (current-day France), and in less than eight years, extended the border of the Roman Republic's territories as far west as the Atlantic, even making raids and incursions into Britain. The key element to Caesar's victory in Europe lay not in the superiority of the Roman war machine--the Gallic cavalry, horseman to horseman, was probably far superior to the Roman legions. Rome's military superiority derived from mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. And there was no master of strategy greater than Julius Caesar. According to Plutarch, Caesar's campaign resulted in 800 conquered cities, 300 subdued tribes, a million slaves, and 3-million dead on the battlefield--all this, not to mention becoming First Man in Rome. TVPG VL | CC

For many years, the Odessa was thought to be a fictional organization that helped Nazi war criminals escape Allied justice. But in truth, many of the most brutal murderers of WWII lived to see the old age that they had denied their victims. How did they escape justice? Is it possible that Allied authorities were complicit in their escape? We reveal how known killers were secreted down ratlines through Europe to South America, where many used their deadly training to support militaristic regimes. TVPG VL | CC

Hunter Ellis heads to sea and learns about an intriguing array of watercraft for both consumer and military use, then takes to the sky aboard a high-tech MedEvac helicopter--with roots that go back to WWII flying ambulances. Espionage has been part of war as far back as 1800 BC, and Hunter checks out historic spy gear at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., teams up with a private investigator to check out new gumshoe technologies, and learns tradecraft tips from CIA masters of disguise. TVPG VL | CC

Hitler's special forces, led by the ruthless Otto Skorzeny, carried out some of the most daring raids of WWII, including the first glider-borne assault, a paratroop aerial assault on the Island of Crete, and the audacious rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from his mountaintop prison. For the first time, the hidden world of these elite forces is uncovered as we feature never-before-seen footage filmed by German cameramen. TVPG VL | CC

Hitler's special forces, led by the ruthless Otto Skorzeny, carried out some of the most daring raids of WWII, including the first glider-borne assault, a paratroop aerial assault on the Island of Crete, and the audacious rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from his mountaintop prison. For the first time, the hidden world of these elite forces is uncovered as we feature never-before-seen footage filmed by German cameramen. TVPG VL | CC

Join us for a review of the incredible 51-year career of BB-63, the battleship Missouri, which fought in WWII, the Korean War, and Desert Storm. The crew that served on her last voyage could have been grandchildren of the men who fought on her first. Though this behemoth should have been a relic after WWII, she was continually upgraded, making her a formidable first-line warrior to her final day in commission. Launched in 1944, she was the last battleship built and the last in service. But her most enduring image came in 1945, when the Allies accepted Japan's surrender on her deck in Tokyo Bay. Now a national monument in Pearl Harbor preserving the details of that historic day, we step aboard with some of the great men who served in her during the long career of this icon of US naval history. TVPG VL | CC

Examines U.S. intelligence gathering--from inception in the 1920s and development during WWII through the Office of Strategic Services and the Allied Intelligence Bureau. We investigate espionage during the war, the breakthrough in aerial reconnaissance technology, cracking of the Japanese naval codes by Navy intelligence, and birth of the Central Intelligence Agency. We also look at the darker side. Did the CIA strike a deal with Nazi war criminals in return for their help in the Cold War? TVPG VL | CC

Examines U.S. intelligence gathering--from inception in the 1920s and development during WWII through the Office of Strategic Services and the Allied Intelligence Bureau. We investigate espionage during the war, the breakthrough in aerial reconnaissance technology, cracking of the Japanese naval codes by Navy intelligence, and birth of the Central Intelligence Agency. We also look at the darker side. Did the CIA strike a deal with Nazi war criminals in return for their help in the Cold War? TVPG VL | CC

June 6, 1944--the greatest machine of World War Two springs into action. It is made up of thousands of ships and aircraft, tens of thousands of men and millions of tons of steel and concrete. This is Operation Overlord--the invasion machine that will send Allied soldiers dropping from the skies and storming the beaches of Normandy. Each piece of this machine has been designed to fulfill a specific task in the air, on land, or at sea. The success of D-Day depends on it. Interlocking with pinpoint precision, the men and machines of Overlord overcome not just Hitler's beach defenses, but nature itself in the greatest assault the world has ever seen. Using archive film, and color reenactments, we reveal the phenomenal hardware of D-Day. TVPG VL | CC

In 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain and her allies and opened a new front in North Africa--if he could push the British out of Egypt, he could control the Suez Canal. And when Germany's Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Corps joined the fray, the stakes soared. The British could only spare a small force and used deception, camouflage, and sheer brilliance to win in North Africa, aided by virtuoso magician Jasper Maskelyne. Find out how he made the Suez Canal "disappear". TVPG VL | CC

In 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain and her allies and opened a new front in North Africa--if he could push the British out of Egypt, he could control the Suez Canal. And when Germany's Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Corps joined the fray, the stakes soared. The British could only spare a small force and used deception, camouflage, and sheer brilliance to win in North Africa, aided by virtuoso magician Jasper Maskelyne. Find out how he made the Suez Canal "disappear". TVPG VL | CC

Hitler caused more death and destruction than anyone else in history. But he also planned to build on a massive scale and place a new Germany on a par with ancient Greece and Rome. Our investigators piece together a picture of how Hitler wanted Germany to look from the ruins of what was built and from plans of his architect Albert Speer. In Nuremberg, we recreate the Zeppelin Tribune: where 60,000 people could overlook a parade ground. We reveal the real purpose of the stadium Speer planned to hold the Olympic Games--with seating for 405,000 people. And we rebuild, with computer-generated images based on Speer's plans, the monuments Hitler planned for himself: the Triumphal Arch--twice the height, and four times the width of Paris's Arc de Triomphe--and the People's Hall--a structure so big the Eiffel Tower could fit inside it. Monstrous, intimidating, built on slave labor--this is the Lost World we'd now inhabit if WWII had gone differently. TVPG VL | CC

A steady drip of crucial information made its way out of Germany and over to Russia during the course of WWII. It came from the Red Orchestra--a group of people from nations worldwide, united by their faith in Communism. The information the spy ring provided was so startlingly accurate that today many people believe there must have been a Communist spy in the highest echelons of Nazi government. We follow the stories of Red Orchestra members and attempt to track their superspy. TVPG VL | CC

A steady drip of crucial information made its way out of Germany and over to Russia during the course of WWII. It came from the Red Orchestra--a group of people from nations worldwide, united by their faith in Communism. The information the spy ring provided was so startlingly accurate that today many people believe there must have been a Communist spy in the highest echelons of Nazi government. We follow the stories of Red Orchestra members and attempt to track their superspy. TVPG VL | CC

Afghanistan, 1981. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, threatening to expand its huge hold of territory and edge closer to the rich oilfields of the Middle East. President Reagan decided to send CIA officers in to train Afghan rebels to fight against the Soviets. But he didn't want to tip America's hand, so he sent in a small team of undercover officers from the CIA's Islamabad station in Pakistan. Working in dark alleys and traveling on Pakistani military helicopters, Milt Bearden and his team of CIA officers gradually built a network to funnel arms and cash into Afghanistan and train the rebels to fight. Dodging bullets and risking their lives, the CIA officers became secret warriors fighting America's last battle of the Cold War. TVPG VL | CC

Regarded as the turning point of WWII, the daybreak invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 actually began the night before. Shrouded in darkness, 18,000 Allied paratroopers jumped into the fog and flak-filled skies, landing behind enemy lines before the full invasion. Among them, the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the famed 101st Airborne Division. Although they became one of the most decorated units in the D-Day operation, their story has never been fully told. We illustrate how the 502nd earned distinction by achieving vital objectives through acts of great personal bravery and strong tactical leadership. The story travels from their final staging in England to the massive confusion of that perilous night--when most troops, under heavy enemy fire, missed their intended drop zones--to their setting upon the intended targets. TVPG VL | CC

Featuring candid interviews and never-before-seen video, we tell the story of the hardest hit combat unit of the Iraq war. Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve unit out of Columbus, Ohio was deployed to Iraq from February 28-September 30, 2005. This two-hour documentary captures significant moments from their tour of duty, including dramatic combat missions. COMBAT DIARY: THE MARINES OF LIMA COMPANY provides an unprecedented and harrowing window into the harsh reality of war. TVPG VL | CC

Only Alexander the Great would have the audacity to attempt such a daring siege--the fortified island city of Tyre seems invincible, but his Macedonian troops are inspired and determined, and the young Alexander has a secret weapon--a machine created for the destruction of cities: the catapult. If Tyre falls, it will be a pivotal victory in Alexander's quest for a new empire--a key stop on a march that will cover more than 10,000 miles and span three continents. TVPG VL | CC

The First Infantry Division, a.k.a. Big Red One, is the oldest and best division in the U.S. Army. These warriors fought more campaigns than any other U.S. division in World War Two. Elements of the division experienced action during the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War and fired the first American shots in World War I. Decorated veterans of World War II will take the viewer back to the tense battlefields of El Guettar, North Africa, Troina, Sicily, Normandy (Omaha beach) France and their final shootout at the Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. TVPG VL | CC

On February 19, 1945, men of the US Marine Corps invaded Iwo Jima. Over the next 36 days, the island became the site of a titanic struggle of sheer bloody will and determination. The Marines had to expel over 21,000 tenacious Japanese troops from a labyrinth of fortifications dug into the very bowels of this sulphurous island. Aerial photographs taken of the island during the war have now been layered over a 3-D contour map to create a CGI "model" of the island. But this is no computer game--it's a model of the actual island as the battle raged. The original high-resolution images allow viewers to track the conquest of the island, step by step, from the air. Individual stories of courage and heroism can be placed in the exact spot on the island where they took place. The Marines eventually secured the island, but half of the land combatants were killed or maimed. The battle assumed legendary status and earned its place in the collective consciousness of the American people. TVPG VL | CC

General Eisenhower has decided to halt the Allied advance at the Elbe River--just 60 miles west of Berlin. The Russians, therefore, take Berlin. Other forces head towards the south of Germany--to the Bavarian Alps--where they believe the Nazis will make their last stand. As the Allies advance throughout Europe, the initial stage of one of the largest and most devastating assaults in history begins--Operation Iceberg, the Battle for Okinawa, in which 172,000 soldiers and marines find themselves in a fight to the death against fanatical Japanese troops defending the island. Join us for a blow-by-blow, week-by-week look at the final months, days, and hours of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

In this episode, we look at the development of the tank and the monster that is the M1A2, which was developed to counter heavy Soviet tanks, but is so heavy that it can't cross bridges and can't be airlifted quickly to battle zones. We also chart the revolutionary change in thinking in the Army that led to a much more lightweight tank with a totally new gun that emphasizes accuracy over weight! TVPG VL | CC

During the Cold War, much of the Soviet Union's economy went into developing weapons. With paranoia about US technical superiority at a height, even the craziest sounding idea stood a chance--the military-industrial complex incubated ambitious, but often unfeasible weaponry. We focus on the sinking of M-256, which lost 37 submariners, and the Ekranoplan, a super-secret flying ship capable of carrying thousands of soldiers or missiles over great distances at high speeds under radar detection. TVPG VL | CC

Berlin lies in ruins. Nearly 120,000 people are homeless. FDR's sudden death stuns the world. Tension among the Allies builds as the gulf of distrust between Stalin and Churchill widens. The Ruhr industrial area west of Berlin is now nearly conquered. A Nazi treasure trove of nearly 8,200 bars of gold in addition to suitcases and trunks crammed with precious ornaments and priceless works of art is uncovered. Meanwhile, the penetration of the Gothic Line begins. It's the last and most decisive Allied offensive aimed at clearing Germans out of Italy. In the Pacific, the Army's 96th Division launches an attack on Mount Shuri on Okinawa. Tokyo is hit by more massive bombing raids as US troops continue to forge ahead. These are some of the events viewers witness in this episode of our series that takes a week-by-week look at the final days of WWII. TVPG VL | CC

Adolf Hitler dreamt of creating a master race, but achieved a Holocaust--the murder of millions of Jews and those deemed physical or mental defects. But the F hrer, an appalling hypochondriac, abused laxatives and suffered from stomach cramps and embarrassing flatulence. And that was just the start! When he committed suicide in 1945, the great dictator was frail with tremors and a shuffling walk--a feeble condition concealed from the world. We explore the relationship between Hitler and his personal physician, Dr. Theodore Morell. How did amphetamine abuse, Parkinson's Disease, and tertiary syphilis impact on his state of mind? TVPG VL | CC

Six months after Allied Forces liberated German concentration camps, a military tribunal formed at Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals. Some of the most dangerous were brought to justice--but not all. Over 4,000 former Nazis went to work for the US government, without the public's knowledge, to help fight the Soviet Union. Reinhard Gehlen, an intelligence officer for Hitler's General Staff, was tapped to head the US intelligence program in West Germany to spy on the Russians. At the same time, former Nazi scientists and engineers were welcomed onto American soil. In 1998, a bill was finally signed into law that mandated declassification of documents concerning recruitment of former Nazis. We dig into the records to see if the ends justified the means and ask how far the US should go to partner with a former enemy to fight another. TVPG VL | CC

The Red Army's assault on Berlin begins. Meanwhile, Hitler, sealed away in his bunker, marks his 56th birthday. US General Alexander Patch's 7th Army captures the city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. In the East, the Soviet Government and the Provisional Communist Government of Poland conclude a treaty of mutual assistance. In the Pacific, fierce fighting continues on Okinawa. American soldiers are finding the Japanese to be a savvy and tenacious enemy. Ernie Pyle, one of World War Two's most distinguished and revered correspondents, is fatally wounded on Okinawa. US forces complete the capture of the islands in Manila Bay. Join us for a week-by-week detailed look at the last days of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC

October 25, 1983, Operation Urgent Fury. The Navy's newest, top-secret weapon against terrorism, SEAL Team Six, gets its first "hot" operation--a danger-fraught mission to restore democracy to Grenada, a tiny Caribbean country hijacked by Cuban communists. Told they will face only light resistance, SEAL Team Six's job is to rescue the trapped Grenadian Governor. But they fast-rope into a hornet's nest of small arms fire and anti-aircraft artillery. Set up to fail, SEAL Team Six simply refused! TVPG VL | CC

Behind Taliban lines in the foreign and notoriously dangerous terrain of Afghanistan, three Air Force commandos go hunting for terrorists in October 2002. Flaunting the notion of capture, Andy Kubik, Calvin Markham, and Bart Decker scout potential Taliban targets on foot or by horse, provide F-16s with real-time intelligence, paint each target with a laser pointer, and watch as precision bombs obliterate Taliban strongholds. This is the story of these little-known super soldiers. TVPG VL | CC

In our series that dissects the last days of World War Two on a weekly basis, we witness Berlin reduced to rubble, setting the stage for the Red Army's entry into the beleaguered city. News reaches Hitler that some of his key advisors are now negotiating "surrender" deals with the enemy and, with the brutal execution of his cohort Benito Mussolini, he is forced to face reality...and the demise of the Third Reich. Allies from the East and West meet for the fist time in the West on the Elbe River. Just three days before the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp near Munich, SS soldiers force about 7,000 prisoners on a death march. In the Pacific, action on Okinawa comes to a boil as American forces inch closer to penetrating the barrier that sits between them and the enemy's main base--the Shuri region. TVPG VL | CC

The world is filled with people trying to find others that at one time had a profound affect on their lives, and no stories are more compelling than those connected to wartime. Aided by private investigators, we assist veterans with a passion to reconnect and bring closure to events and emotions, including Larry Kern, a helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam, searching for his gunner "Mac" MacFarland; and "Shorty" Estabrook, looking for Goyo Mata, a fellow Korean War POW. TVPG VL | CC

Aided by private investigators, we reunite veterans of war with a passion to reconnect and bring closure to events and emotions. In this episode, Green Beret Sgt. Lee Burkins and Sam Houston, a photographer assigned to Burkins' unit in Vietnam, meet at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the first time in 33 years. And Armando Ybarro, who survived the 1983 terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, searches for the 4 marines who dug him from the rubble. TVPG VL | CC

A modern day warrior, Green Beret Terry Schappert tests the deadly weapons and psychological tactics of legendary Samurai. Legendary samurai Musashi meets archrival Kojiro in climactic duel. TVPG VL | CC

By the spring of 1942, Hitler had made a fortress of Europe, and the Allies began to plan the biggest invasion in military history. The history-altering success of the D-Day Invasion depended on innovative engineering and technological advances. This is the story of those scientific and mechanical breakthroughs--the overwhelming array of landing craft, specialized weapons, and ingenious electronics--used to breach Fortress Europe on June 6, 1944. TVPG VL | CC

A month after the D-Day Invasion, when the Allies believed all was safe off the beaches of Normandy, the Minesweeper YMS-304 was blasted out of the water--with 100% casualties. The initial detonation tore apart the minesweeper, taking her down in only 63 seconds--the fastest sinking of WWII. What happened was a secret hidden for more than 60 years. Deep Sea Detective John Chatterton travels to Normandy to dive the remains of this tragic wreck with the help of French diver Bertrand Sciboz. TVPG VL | CC

In 58 BC, the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar pushed north from Rome into the wild and unruly lands of the barbarians (current-day France), and in less than eight years, extended the border of the Roman Republic's territories as far west as the Atlantic, even making raids and incursions into Britain. The key element to Caesar's victory in Europe lay not in the superiority of the Roman war machine--the Gallic cavalry, horseman to horseman, was probably far superior to the Roman legions. Rome's military superiority derived from mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. And there was no master of strategy greater than Julius Caesar. According to Plutarch, Caesar's campaign resulted in 800 conquered cities, 300 subdued tribes, a million slaves, and 3-million dead on the battlefield--all this, not to mention becoming First Man in Rome. TVPG VL | CC

Legendary fighter pilot, Colonel Robin Olds, sets an intricate trap for the North Vietnamese MiG-21's. His Squadron, the Wolfpack, disguise their lethal F-4 Phantoms as vulnerable bombers. The MiGs scream in to challenge the Americans. The result is the most elaborate air sting of the war... code-name... Operation Bolo. First-hand accounts, rare archival footage and original shooting will supplement the remarkable computer graphics. TVPG VL | CC

As WWII raged across Europe and the Pacific, one branch of the US military went quietly about its business, moving with such secrecy that it was dubbed the "Silent Service". The elite submarine sailors endured an unique type of battle--with little chance of escape if disaster struck, the submarine itself often became a steel coffin. WWII comes alive through a moving tapestry of letters, diaries, color film and photographs unearthed from archives and personal collections. Peter Coyote narrates. TVPG VL | CC

Berlin falls. Hitler and Eva Braun, his wife of one day, along with some of his leading henchmen commit suicide. Dachau--one of the worst concentration camps ever--is liberated. German forces surrender to the Allies in Italy, Holland, Denmark, and northern Germany. Fighting continues in the south but is futile. Germany surrenders to the Allies. On Okinawa, the Japanese launch a massive counter attack against US forces. A Japanese balloon-bomb floats across the Pacific and kills six people in Oregon. The campaign in the Philippines draws to a close. These are some of the events that viewers relive in our detailed series that examines the final days of World War Two. TVPG VL | CC