The Retreat from Mons

S02 E01 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

The small British Expeditionary Force, moving up into Belgium on the left flank of the French 5th Army, met with the full weight of the German 1st Army advancing towards Paris under the Schlieffen Plan. A short but intense fire fight - where the British caused heavy casualties to the thick masses of enemy infantry - was followed by a British withdrawal out of the canal salient. This manoeuvre was made more urgent by news that the French Army on the right flank was in retreat.

Cambrai (1917)

S02 E02 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

At Cambrai in November 1917, a tank force of over three hundred tanks punched a hole four miles deep into the German lines in the space of a single morning, But the Germans counter-attacked and the result of the battle was a virtual draw, with the front lines shifting slightly. However the battle of Cambrai marked a major turning point in the course of the war - as the era of trench warfare was coming to an end and technology was beginning to reign supreme on the battlefields of Europe.

Gallipoli (1915)

S02 E03 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

The story of the Allied campaign in the Dardanelles that was supposed to knock Turkey out of World War One. Winston Churchill convinced Allied High Command that an attack at Gallipoli would also open up vital supply lines to Russia and establish a third front against Austria-The Australian and New Zealand troops who fought and died during the ten month Gallipoli campaign that saw an estimated 36,000 Commonwealth troops lose their lives before the allied withdrawal in January 1916. It was not only Turkish shot and shell at infamous places such Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay that claimed so many lives, but also those other traditional hidden enemies of the solder - sickness and disease.

The Somme (1916)

S02 E04 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

July 1st 1916 was the blackest day in the history of the British Army when a combination of bad planning and German bullets sent Kitchener's Army to their doom. An army that had taken two years to build took only a day to destroy.

The Battle of Gettysburg (1863)

S02 E05 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

The historic Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, a turning point in the American Civil War, in which the Confederate troops and the Federal force fought an escalating battle at a cost of more than 50,000 lives.

Balaclava (1854)

S02 E06 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

The battle of Balaclava, aka The Charge of the Light Brigade, was the famous engagement during the Crimean War in which a Russian commander attempted to lift the siege of Sevastopol by attacking with 25,000 troops.

The Battle of Waterloo

S02 E07 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

Graphic reconstructions are used to illustrate how Wellington's departure from military tradition at Waterloo secured victory over the French and managed to change the course of European history

The Battle of Borodino (1812)

S02 E08 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

The Battle of Borodino, fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties. It was a pivotal point in the campaign, as it was the last offensive action fought by Napoleon in Russia.

The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

S02 E09 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

View the most famous naval engagement in history from Admiral Lord Nelson's perspective and see what Villenueve's Allied fleet could see as the English fleet approached them on that fateful October day in 1805. From the hugely-popular television series “Line of Fire”, this programme harnesses state of the art computer technology to explore, explain and bring new perspectives to the story of Nelson's victory. Featuring specially treated recreations, “Trafalgar” also includes authoritative comment and analysis by leading military historians from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

The Battle of Austerlitz (1805)

S02 E10 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

As the famous sun of Austerlitz rose through the pale mist on the morning of December 2nd 1805, the stage was set for one of the most decisive battles of the Napoleonic era. By evening, the combined armies of Austria and Russia would be utterly destroyed. It was to be Napoleon's greatest victory, achieved by a commander at the very peak of his powers.

The Battle of Agincourt (1415)

S02 E11 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

This battle was fought on 25 October 1415 at Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War, between Henry V of England and a much larger force of French under a divided command. Henry completely defeated the French, hastening the English conquest of Normandy. Some 6,000 French died and hundreds, including the richest nobles, were taken prisoner. Henry gained France and the French princess Catherine of Valois as his wife. The village of Agincourt (modern Azincourt) is 48 km/30 mi south of Calais, in northern France.

The Battle of Culloden (1746)

S02 E12 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

On 16 April 1746, on Drummossie Moor overlooking Inverness, a well supplied Hanoverian army led by the Duke of Cumberland annihilated the much smaller army of Lord John Murray and the leader he mistrusted, Prince Charles Edward Stuart. It was Bonnie Prince Charles' final assault on the English, and the bloodiest of all the Jacobite battles. It was also the last battle fought on British soil.

The Third Crusade (1187)

S02 E13 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

Proclaimed by Pope Gregory VIII, the Third Crusade set out to reclaim Jerusalem from Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and Syria, who had seized it after the battle of Hittin in 1187. Led by the three great leaders of western Christendom Richard I, Frederick I and Philip II, the Crusaders left home with high hopes and expectations. Their hopes, however, would be dashed and expectations would largely go unmet. Frederick drowned before even reaching the Holy Land and as a consequence the German effort fell apart. Tensions between the English and the French saw Philip return home early. The siege of Acre was brought to a successful conclusion in 1191 and there was a morale-boosting victory over Saladin's armies at Arsuf during the same year, but by the time domestic problems forced Richard to return home 1192, Jerusalem was still in Muslim hands.

Episode 14

S02 E14 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 48m

Episode 15

S02 E15 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 45m

Ramesses Warrior Pharaoh

S02 E16 • Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 • Dec 31 • 47m

Looks at the struggle for supremacy in the Middle East between Egyptian ruler Ramses II and his Hittite counterpart Muwatalli, which culminated in the battle of Qadesh in circa 1300 BC.