WWII Battles in Color

Synopsis

World War II was marked by its epic battles, which decided the fate of nations and changed the course of history. From Germany's Blitzkrieg attacks on Poland that launched the European campaign to the Allied invasion of Berlin that signaled its violent end, we bring these seminal conflicts to life through never-before-seen colorized combat footage. This six-part series puts you in the center of the action through rarely scene films from the frontline plus personal memoirs and oral histories from both sides of the battle lines.

First Air Date: 2021-10-31

Last Air Date: 2021-12-05

Number of Seasons: 1

Number of Episodes: 6

Networks: Smithsonian Channel

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Seasons

Season 1 (2021)

This series will document the most important battles of the European theatre, from the Blitzkrieg attack on Poland in 1939 to the Battle for Berlin in 1945. Gripping real life stories are brought to life in never before seen colorized battle footage.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Blitzkrieg (2021-10-31)

It took only six weeks for the Nazi Army to conquer France, overwhelming the enemy with an onslaught of tanks, aircraft, and German troops. Witness the extraordinary military success of the Blitzkrieg campaign, captured through rare, color combat footage and firsthand accounts. From ground and aerial battles to rescue efforts at Dunkirk to the signing of the Armistice agreement that marked France's humiliating defeat, it's Hitler’s "Lightning War" as you've never seen it before.
Ep. 2: Barbarossa (2021-11-07)

On June 22, 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a savage and merciless attack on the Soviet Union, designed to obliterate the Red Army and massacre its population. Hitler's dream of overtaking Moscow and the nation appeared ready to become a reality, but Stalin's army and Mother Nature had other plans. Now, newly colorized film and amateur home movies provide an unprecedented inside look at this brutal conflict as the Nazi killing machine cut a bloody scar through the pages of history in the deadliest campaign ever fought.
Ep. 3: El Alamein (2021-11-14)

1942. Nazi Germany's Blitzkrieg enters Egypt. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, a.k.a. the Desert Fox, has his eyes set on Cairo, but first he must overcome General Bernard Montgomery, the British Eighth Army, and the area's punishing fighting conditions. Though newly colorized footage and personal firsthand accounts, we enter the heart of the War in the Mediterranean, from German fighter aces dominating the skies to British battleships contesting the seas to the desert battle of El Alamein, which will ultimately decide the fate of North Africa.
Ep. 4: Kursk (2021-11-21)

July 1943. For six months, the German advance has stalled, but Hitler is convinced that his new generation of Nazi tanks will help put the Reich back on the path to European domination. His target: the Soviet town of Kursk. Through extraordinary archive footage—colorized for the first time—and firsthand accounts by those who were there, we tell the story of the greatest tank battle the world has ever seen, featuring gargantuan German Tigers facing off against hundreds of Russian T-34 tanks.
Ep. 5: The Bulge (2021-11-28)

In the fall of 1944, Allied confidence was high. Flush with success after Normandy, they pushed into Belgium and advanced toward the German frontier. They had no idea that the war was about to take a dramatic turn, one that would result in the U.S. Army's largest and bloodiest conflict of World War II: The Battle of the Bulge. Stunning, newly colorized combat and newsreel footage plus personal memoirs take us to the heart of a battle that would be a catastrophic blow to both sides and leave a muddy graveyard across East Belgium.
Ep. 6: Berlin (2021-12-05)

April 1945. The Soviets have gained control of Poland and have crossed the borders of Germany. The Nazis begin a desperate last stand, drafting in the old and the young to defend the capital of the Third Reich: Berlin. What follows is the greatest artillery barrage in history, including over a million Red Army troops and thousands of tanks. Rare newsreel and amateur footage, newly colorized, take us inside Hitler's crumbling empire and onto the front lines of the firefight for the streets of Berlin, a battle that will determine the fate of World War II.