Armour in Profile Armour of The Western Front

Every major war of the 20th Century has produced heroes of the hour - men who rose above the mediocrity to lead their fellow soldiers to victory, or sometimes defeat.

World War II was the first great technological war. Innovations included long range missiles, submarines, fighters and bombers and of course Tanks! Armoured clashes were on a scale never seen before or since. Tanks were a significant factor in most of the main fighting theatres, from North Africa to Russia and northern France. They featured in some of the critical battles of the war, such as El Alamein in 1942 and Kursk in 1943.

Co-writer and presenter of Crusades, Terry Jones has a solid academic background in medieval history, but he's also an ex-Python, which makes for an entertaining combination of erudition and wit in this four-part BBC series.

Ancient Rome was televised by the Discovery Channel and is now available on this 8 DVD box set.