Starting this Saturday there is a 13 Disc World War II in colour DVD collection in the Mail Newspaper. The discs can be obtained from either WHSmiths or Tesco each day (or Ebay if you are patient lol). Sounds interesting, Discs featured are:
Disc 1: The Gathering Storm
This film shows how the major powers ignored all the signs and allowed the likes of Mussolini and above all Hitler to begin the course that would lead the world into catastrophe.
Disc 2: Lightning War
This film focuses on Blitzkrieg, the terrifying military tactic developed by the Nazis which crushes Poland and conquers France within weeks but it also reveals the heroics of the French resistance and the role they played in Dunkirk.
Disc 3: Britain At Bay
In June 1940, Britain stood alone against the Nazis. This film shows how close Britain came to defeat, as it’s exhausted air force struggled to fight off the German Luftwaffe. However, due to errors made by the Germans, Britain was able to regroup
Disc 4: Hitler Strikes East
When Hitler expounded his intention to invade Russia his generals looked at him in horrified silence. However, Hitler himself was certain of victory. This film follows the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, the biggest tank battle in all history.
Disc 5: Red Sun Rampant
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attach on Pearl Harbour. As the sleeping giant awoke, the war that followed was characterised by major innovations, in particular the emergence of the aircraft carrier as the decisive weapon of the seas.
Disc 6: The Mediterranean And North Africa
This film tells the extraordinary story of the war in North Africa and features the heroics of the tiny island of Malta as it withstood wave after wave of Nazi assault. It ends with the Allies fighting their way up Italy with Germany in retreat.
Disc 7 Turning the Tide
This film follows the ’strategic bombing’ plans of Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris including the tragedy of Dresden where tens of thousands of ordinary German suffered and the Nazis attempts to cut American supply lines to Britain across the Atlantic.
Disc 8: The Soviet Steamroller
By July 1943, the Nazis were at the mercy of the mighty Soviet war machine. This film follows the Red Army as they slowly push the Germans back out of Russia up through the Ukraine, Poland and the Balkans – this was war on a monster scale.
Disc 9: Overlord
This film charts the careful planning of the D-Day campaign and the development of specialised equipment needed for the amphibious landings. It also reveals the deception plan that wrong-footed Hitler and how the Americans were very nearly driven off Omaha beach.
Disc 10: Closing The Ring
The year is 1944 and although the Allies are closing in around Germany, the outcome is still uncertain. This film explores the Allied disaster at Arnhem and the tragedy of the Waraw uprising, when Polish freedom fighters were abandoned to their fate by Stalin.
Disc 11: The Island War
This film looks at the war of the jungles including Burma where new specialist fighting units – like Ord Wingate’s Chindits – slowly pushed back the Japanese despite horrific conditions and savage hand to hand fighting.
Disc 12: Victory In Europe
This film follows the British and Americans as they cross the Rhine and the Russians as they push through Poland into Germany itself, covering the horrors of the liberation of Belsen and Buchenwald, the carving up of Germany by the allies and the Nuremburg trials.
Disc 13: Victory In The Pacific
Despite firebombing Tokyo and the loss of 200,000 lives, the Japanese refused to surrender. President Truman had no option but to go nuclear and the fates of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sealed. The film ends with Japan subdued as their war crimes emerge.
