The Great War - World War 1 / World War II - Day By Day

1. 1914: To Arms

- The First Phase Of Wwi, Known As The Battle Of The Frontiers Included The Efforts Of The British Expeditionary Force At Mons, The Regrouping Of The British And French At Marne And The Brilliant Victory By The Germans At Tannenberg. The Second Phase The Race For The Sea Saw Both Sides Attempting To Outflank Their Enemies But By Christmas A Stalemate Was Reached And Trench Warfare Characterized The Conflict.

2. 1915: Death In Foreign Fields

- 1915 Was Characterized By Deadlock And A Widering Of The Conflict. British Cities Were Bombed By Zeppelin Airships, Germany U-Boats Attacking Neutral Shipping And Gas Was Used At The Battles Of Bolimov,Ypres And Loos.The Italians Faced Awful Hardships In The First Of Twelve Battles Along The Lsonzo River And The Year Ended With The AlliesWithdrawal From Gallipoli Which Typified Their Fortunes Throughout 1915,Small Gains At An Enormous Cost.

3. 1916: Stalement

- 1916 Saw The Carnage Increase To New Levels.In Febuary, The Germans Began Their Assault On The Forts At Verdun. In The East, The Russians Launched The Brusilov Offensive Whilst The British Initiated The Battle Of The Somme With Terrible Loss Of Lofe For Little Gain.At Sea,The Dreadnoughts Of The Royal Navy And German High Seas Fleet Clashed At Jutland In The Wars One Substantial Sea Battle.

4. 1917:The Breaking Of Armies

- Mutiny In Russia'S Ranks Forcedher Withdrawal From The Conflict. However, Morale Was Restored By A String Of Allied Successes. Spectacular Gains Were Achieved By Canadian Forces At Vimy Ridge And The Battle Of Messines Allowed For The Much Larger Third Battle Of Cambrai Heralded The First Time Tanks Were Used With Marked Success. By Christmas,Both Sides Realised That 1918 Would Be A Decisive Year.

5. 1918: Germany'S Last Gamble

- 1918 Began Disastrously For The Allies War Effort. Using New ' Storm Trooper' Tactics, The Germans Launched Attacks With Devastating Results. However,The Lack Of Supplies And The Outbreak Of Spanish Influenza Meant That The German Forces Were Unable To Push On. Their Collapse Was Rapid And Panic In The German High Command Led To An Armistice Which Began On November 11Th,1918. The Great War Was Finally Over.

6. Land Warface Technology

- This Programe Closely Examines The Development Of Land Warfare And The Effect It Had On The Conflict. The Killing Power Of The Machine Gun Resulted In Wholesale Slaughter. A New Terror Weapon Emerged In The Form Of Gas Used By The Germans With Terrible Effect At Ypres In 1915. Arguably The Most Dramatic Development Was The Tank,First Used At The Somme In 1916, It Would Prove A Decisive Weapon.

7. Air Power Technology

- The Great War Introduced Many New Technologies But Perhaps The Most Far Reaching Was The Aeroplane. In 1909, Louis Bleriot Managed To Fly Across The English Channel, An Event Which Wakened Military Commanders To Aviation'S Potential. At The Outbreak Of The War, Aircraft Were To Play An Increasingly Important Role In Reconnaissance And Range Finding For The Artillery. In The Latter Stages Of The Conflict, Their Roles Included Ground Attack And Long- Range Bombing.

8. Sea Power Technology

- The Battle Of Jutland In 1916 Was The One Great Showdown Of The War. Although It Ended Indecisively, The German Fleet Returned To Its Harbours Never To Pose A Serious Threat Again. Much Attention Was Given To Submarine Technology And The German Blockade Of Britain Nearly Succeeded In Forcing Victory. The Aircraft Carrier'S First Deck Landing In 1917 Was A Major Breakthrough But It Was To Play No Significant Role In The Conflict.

World War II Day By Day

The twentieth century was one of the most tumultuous in history. One hundred years that saw more drammatic and significant charnges than any other period -Socially, politically and technologically. World War II Day by Day is 366 sixty second short programmes that, in an entertaining and informative manner, descibe the most important actions day by day each day being selected from one of the war years.

Hitler A Career

None of the scenes in this film were reconstructed. They are without exception taken from authentic film and sound materials, original evidence from the Nazi period. This is also the case with the unusual and largely unknown sequences in colour. The film was complied from more than 300.000ft. of film material, including may incomplete or unreleased scenes from deomestic and foreign archives; many unusual swquences come from private collections. the film tries to give a rational and concerete account of the Hitler period. It describes a career and aims to counter the growing lack of information about the Tird Reich withc is particularly prominent amoung the young Joachim C. Fest's book HITLER , which was published in 1973, has rapidly become the standard work on the subject. Fest's commentary and Hans Posegga's music give a necessary historical distance to the events portrayed in the documentary material.