Bbc Secrets of World War II

You probably know the History, now discover the incredible SECRETS OF WORLD WAR II. Rarely has a war produced such clear cut reasons to fight as World War II. On the one hand were the totalitarian Dictators - Tojo

You probably know the History, now discover the incredible SECRETS OF WORLD WAR II. Rarely has a war produced such clear cut reasons to fight as World War II. On the one hand were the totalitarian Dictators - Tojo, Hitler and Mussolini.

World War II was the greatest military confrontation the world has ever known. On land and sea and in the air the scale of the conflict was unprecedented.

Storyville: an investigation into who killed Welsh journalist Gareth Jones. Jones's greatest scoop was to reveal the starvation to death of millions in 1930s Ukraine, caused by Stalin's policies. A portrait emerges of a fiercely bright young man who preferred a journalist's life of courage and danger which took him from smalltown Wales to even hitching a lift in Hitler's private plane. However, in a 1930s world of competing ideologies, there existed a fine line between journalism and spying.

Winston Churchill once wrote that "The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril". In saying this, he correctly identified the importance of the threat posed during World War Two by German submarines (the 'Unterseeboot') to the Atlantic lifeline. This lifeline was Britain's 'centre of gravity' - the loss of which would probably have led to wholesale defeat in the war.

1943 – Germany and Russia clash near the Soviet city of Kursk, as each vies for control of the Eastern Front. The Germans are led by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein – an aristocratic master tactician. Facing him is the Red Army’s Marshal Zhukov – ruthless, opinionated and dangerous to know. Hitler is convinced new super-weapons like the Tiger tank will win the fight and insists von Manstein hold off his attack until more arrive. Zhukov exploits the delay and orders his men to dig for victory. They create an elaborate network of defences to grind the enemy down – or blow them up… The two armies finally meet in a titanic clash of tanks - the biggest tank battle of all time - which will change the course of the war.

1942 – as the Germans storm across the Soviet Union, Hitler becomes obsessed with taking Stalingrad – the city which bears the name of his arch-enemy Joseph Stalin. The German army is led by General Paulus, a meticulous war gamer. Facing him across the map table is Soviet General Chuikov – a hardened fighter, not afraid to get his hands dirty. Paulus is confident he will soon bring the city to its knees.