Britain at War

June 6th 1944, D-Day, codenamed "OPERATION OVERLORD" was the culmination of nearly two years of planning. It was the largest invasion force ever assembled. over 6,800 ships landing craft and other vessels were used to get over 130,000 men ashore onto the Normandy beaches. This incredible program shows it all.

The battle fought over Britain between the 10th of July and 31st of October 1940 was the most important RAF battle of the entire war. Fighter Command took on the Luftwaffe units arrayed against them and won. Using Pathe archive material as well as rarely seen colour footage of London's Blitz, this programme tells the blow-by-blow story of the desperately close-run conflict that was the death or glory battle fought in the skies over Britain.

The desert wastelands of North Africa provided the settings for some of the toughest fighting of the Second World War. Yet, it was here that Britain and her Allies found their early successes, first against the legions of Italian dictator Benito Mussoliini and then against the fabled Afrika Korps of Erwin Rommel. These amazing successes, particularly the victory at El Alamein in November 1942, are regarded as the turning point of the war.

An island race needs a navy more than any other and, for the six long years of the Second World War, Britain's lifeline was our senior service. Here British Pathe News brings to life the memories of the ordinary sailors who conquered both the sea and the enemy in the name of freedom, illustrated with some of the most amazing film ever taken from the deck of a ship. They relive life on the ocean wave as it was experienced in all its sweat, boredom, blood and tears.

Although British forces went into action at the very outset of the Second World War in 1939, it was not until 1940 that the land war began. But this was the beginning of a period of constant defeat. First, Norway, then the Low Countries and finally France culminating in the miraculous evacuation of what was left of British forces off the beach at Dunkirk. Fortunately, it was all to change as this informative and entertaining programme documents.

At the end of 1939, Britain was plunged into the most brutal war ever fought. British Pathe News has interwoven the memories of the young men and women left behind in Britain with the newsreel of the day to create 'The Blitz Years', a lasting tribute to the spirit of the Home Front.

As the war entered the third year, as period of retrenchment as Britain settled down for a long, hard slog. The cinemas played a vital role in not only recruiting women in some kind of war work, but also in encouraging the British people to do their bit for the war-effort. From rationing to gardening this programme illustrates the Home Front efforts as seen through the cinemas at the time.

As the Allies prepared for the invasion of France, on the home front there was an invasion of a very different kind. The G.I.s had arrived, sweeping many a young girl off her feet. Then came D-Day, followed by Hitler's final terror weapon, the Doodlebug. But Britain could take it, and victory in Europe was followed by victory in Japan.