Hell Below
★ 6.6 · 2016 · 60m · Documentary
Hell Below is an event-based series charting the stealth game of sub sea warfare, tracking the dramatic narrative from contact to attack of the greatest submarine patrols of World War II. From the rise of the Wolfpack to the drive for victory in the Pacific, we profile the strategic masterminds and the rapid evolution of technology and tactics, as the threat of undersea warfare brings every sailor's worst nightmare to life. Expert analysis and stock footage are woven with narrative driven re-enactments filmed on authentic Second World War era submarines to place the characters at the heart of the action.
Episodes
1. America Fights Back45m · It's January 1943 in the Pacific and American submarine skipper Dudley Morton is just 10 days into his first patrol aboard USS Wahoo. His mission: to sink Japanese ships and disrupt supply lines. This aggressive strategy is a radically new tactic for the U.S. Navy, and Morton is just the man to carry it out. See these water wars up close and witness Morton take on entire Japanese convoys above and below the Pacific in this thrilling exploration.
2. Fatal Voyage45m · Submarine commander Dick O'Kane participated in the most successful attacks on Japanese ships during World War II, until his luck, and the last torpedo he fired, took a dramatic turn. We track O'Kane's successful career, first as a protege aboard the legendary USS Wahoo, and then as Commander of the short-lived but lethal USS Tang. Through expert testimony, we relive O'Kane's seminal triumphs, and the tragic path of his last warhead.
3. Destroyer Killer45m · The USS Harder, led by Commander Sam Dealey, sank multiple Japanese destroyers, rescued Allied operatives from capture in Borneo, and outmatched many rival ships and aircraft to return home. And that was during just one patrol. Take a deep dive aboard this submarine as we relive this incredible war patrol in the spring of 1944, and witness the events that accelerated the campaign against the Japanese and earned Dealey the Medal of Honor.
4. The Wolfpack45m · The wolfpack tactic was made famous by Admiral Karl Donitz, Hitler's mastermind of submariners. His strategy: to send teams of U-boats to bear against the convoys of ships heading from Canada to Britain, cut maritime lifelines, and starve the enemy into defeat. Take a deep dive into the North Atlantic as we go above and below sea level to relive one of the first attacks of Donitz's lethal subs in 1940, headed by leader of the pack Commander Otto Kretschmer. Then follow Britain's war strategists as they race to combat this new deadly attack.
5. Hitler's Revenge45m · Just one month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, another enemy brought World War II to American shores, not through the air but beneath the sea. This is the story of Operation Drumbeat, German Admiral Karl Donitz's campaign to send U-boats to the doorstep of the U.S. and attack Allied merchant shipping from Newfoundland to North Carolina. Through archival war footage and military expert testimony, we reveal how the Nazis managed to hammer our coast again and again and why the U.S. Navy was unable to stop them.
6. Atlantic Showdown45m · A Nazi U-boat heading back for repairs unintentionally cruises right into the middle of a large Allied convoy on March 16, 1943. It is a lucky accident that sets the stage for the largest convoy battle of World War II. Relive this momentous chapter in the war for the Atlantic, an intense game of chess pitting Admiral Karl Donitz's wolf pack against a battered British Navy. It's a three-day showdown with unparalleled violence and unexpected outcomes that will turn the tide of the war.More Like This
Soviet Storm: WW2 in the East
2010 · ★ 8.2
The epic television history of the Second World War’s Eastern Front giving an unprecedented Russian perspective on the war’s most decisive and bloody theater.
More info →
The Gestapo: Hitler's Secret Police
2004
During the darkest days of the Third Reich, the most dreaded sound was a knock at the door after dark. Everyone who lived under Nazi rule lived in fear of the secretive agents known colloquially as "V-Men". Hitler called them his "deadliest weapon", and without them the Fuhrer's ambition could never have been realized.
More info →
Battlefront (DVD Edition)
2001
The earthshaking battles of WWII come to life in this fascinating collection reviewing one of the most epic and disturbing chapters in history. This visually stunning series is a powerful testament to the titanic struggles of those who lived, fought and died in a war that shook the world. Astonishing color footage, taken from newsreels and captured enemy film, reveals the grinding intensity of campaigns fought in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. WWII Battlefront covers the war in the air, on the ground, and above and below the sea in color footage and captures WWII the way it was--lived and fought by soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen from both the Allied and Axis armies.
More info →
The Blitz: Britain on Fire
2019
Exploring the eight days in May 1941 when Britain, and Liverpool in particular, was subjected to one of the most intense bombardments of the entire war. Featuring eyewitness accounts and recollections from many whom have never spoken out before.
More info →
Great Blunders of WWII
★ 8
Great Blunders Of World War II is a documentary series looking some of the worst errors of World War II that affected the course of history. They are the decisions that have gone down in infamy, the battles determined not by bravery and brilliance but by incompetence and arrogance.
More info →
The World at War
1973 · ★ 8.3
A documentary series that gives a historical account of the events of World War II, from its roots in the 1920s to the aftermath and the lives it profoundly influenced.
More info →
