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In 1944 prior to D Day the allied planners realised it was vital to isolate the Normandy Battlefield from reinforcements. In particular it was essential to delay or stop the movement of 2 SS Pz Div (Das Reich) from the south of France. The initial plan called for the French Resistance to interdict the French Railway system to stop their movements. Doubts over the effectiveness of the resistance led to the deployment of 1st SAS to do the task. This programme covers both the deployment of a troop of B Sqn into the Poitiers, in what was known as OP BULBASKET, to delay the Das Reich and the movements and actions of the Das Reich as they move through the Dordogne and Vienne Regions culminating in the massacre at Oradour. Part 2 of this programme will cover the SAS actions in delaying the Das Reich.
2012-04-20
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The Battle of Hastings in 1066 is with out a doubt one of the most significant events in English history. In the aftermath of the battle, King Harold's Saxon England was brutally swept away by the Conqueror to be replaced by Norman Feudalism. With the decisive nature of the battle, it is often forgotten just how narrowly Duke William succeeded. This DVD identifies and examines those turning points in the 1066 Campaign and explains why Harold lost. Not only is Hastings covered in detail but also the first battle of the campaign against Harold Hardrarder's victorious Vikings at Fulford, William's landing at Pevensy, along with Harold's march north to victory over the Vikings at Stamford Bridge. Vignettes provided by leading living historians help paint a vivid picture of the men who fought the three battles, along with their weapons.
The most implacable opponents of the British and Canadians fighting in Normandy were the largely teenage soldiers of the Hitlerjugend. From D+1 through to attacking back into the Falaise Pocket, this unique division constantly thwarted Montgomery's plans and exacted a terrible price on the Allies for every mile gained. Formed from 'volunteers' from the Hitler Youth Movement in the aftermath of Stalingrad, this division of boys, aged 17 on recruitment into the SS, came of age and were declared fully operational just before D Day. Coming from a fully militarized society they made exceptional and highly committed soldiers but with officers and non-commissioned officers from the Leibstandarte commanding them, they were to become a ruthless and brutal arm of the Nazi fighting machine that battled towards the Eastern Front. Both Hitlerjugend's alleged atrocities and their remarkable doggedness in battle made them a loathed but grudgingly respected opponent to all who fought them.
This programme follows the deployment of the main body of the SAS, the Recces on targets, the raids carried out both by the SAS and the bombing attacks they called in. As the SAS created havoc to the railway system the Germans were hunting them down. Eventually by the use of torture and information by collaborators the Germans tracked them down to their camp near Verrieres. The majority of the SAS were killed or captured. Those captured were later murdered by the Germans.. Their actions tied up large numbers of Germans in guarding the railways and imposed a severe delay on the movements of the 2nd SS Pz Div to Normandy. A few brave men had an impact on the liberation of France out of all proportion to their numbers
Kurt Gerstein—a member of the Institute for Hygiene of the Waffen-SS—is horrified by what he sees in the death camps. he is then shocked to learn that the process he used to purify water for his troops by using Zyklon-B, is now used to kill people in gas chambers.
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
Bored with the limited and tedious nature of provincial life in 19th-century France, the fierce and sensual Emma Bovary finds herself in calamitous debt and pursues scandalous sexual liaisons with absolute abandon. However, when her volatile lifestyle catches up to her, the lives of everyone around her are endangered.
In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant, Jakob overhears a German radio broadcast about Russian troop movements. Returned to the ghetto, the shopkeeper shares his information with a friend and then rumors fly that there is a secret radio within the ghetto.
What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)
Ilsa, a warden at a Nazi death camp that conducts experiments on prisoners, strives to prove that women can withstand more pain and suffering than men, and therefore should be allowed to fight on the frontlines.
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.
In Montauban in 1944, Julien Dandieu in a surgeon in the local hospital. Frightened by the German army entering Montauban, he asks his friend Francois to drive his wife and his daughter in the back country village where Julien has an old castle. One week later, Julien decided to meet then for the week end, but the Germans are already occupying the village.
A filmmaker returns to Normandy thirty years after a working on a movie based on a local homicide and tries to find the actors who worked on the project.
When they start losing family members and neighbors due to WWII and the Nazi government's policies, a quiet married couple becomes disillusioned and begins spreading leaflets against the government - a crime punishable by death.
This gripping historical drama recounts the story of Armenian-born Missak Manouchian, a woodworker and political activist who led an immigrant laborer division of the Parisian Resistance on 30 operations against the Nazis in 1943. The Nazis branded the group an Army of Crime, an anti-immigrant propaganda stunt that backfired as the team's members became martyrs for the Resistance.
Mickey Tomlinson, a military chef, attempts the most dangerous military selection known to man: The Special Air Service (S.A.S.) selection. The S.A.S. Is the United Kingdom's most renowned Special Forces Regiment, tasked with life threatening missions in some of the most dangerous places on the planet. Mickey has more military experience than simply being a chef, something he doesn't let on to the other candidates... Mickey is smashed by this selection process - his mind, body and soul scream for mercy as he endures torturous speed-marches over the steepest mountains, running for his life during 'Escape and Evasion' and then facing the most evil interrogation possible, during the deadly phase known as: 'Tactical Questioning.' Even after everything, there is still only one way you can really prove yourself: in combat... Many try to get into the S.A.S. Only the elite make it.
After the D-Day landings in June 1944, a US squadron liberates a small village in Normandy from German occupation.
June 6, 1944: The largest Allied operation of World War II began in Normandy, France. Yet, few know in detail exactly why and how, from the end of 1943 through August 1944, this region became the most important location in the world. Blending multiple cinematographic techniques, including animation, CGI and stunning live-action images, “D-Day: Normandy 1944” brings this monumental event to the world’s largest screens for the first time ever. Audiences of all ages, including new generations, will discover from a new perspective how this landing changed the world. Exploring history, military strategy, science, technology and human values, the film will educate and appeal to all. Narrated by Tom Brokaw, “D-Day: Normandy 1944” pays tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedom… A duty of memory, a duty of gratitude.