WWII: Battles for Europe

In June 1944, the combined British, Canadian and American armies make up the most powerful invasion force ever. They plan to establish a bridgehead in Normandy, storming beaches along a 50 mile front while airborne troops secure targets inland.

This edition examines the efforts of the British and Canadians who fought elite German divisions to capture the city of Caen, the key to breaking out of Normandy.

Examining the work of the American forces who launched a huge offensive to blast a gap in the German lines and break through to liberate France.

Field Marshal Montgomery's daring airborne plan to end the war by Christmas, which went a bridge too far at Arnhem.

As the Allies' advance stalls, the Canadians had to seize Hitler's island fortress to open up the vital port of Antwerp and keep the war moving.

The Allies entered Germany and ran into the Siegfried Line. American troops fought to a gruelling, bloody standstill in the Huertgen Forest at a terrible cost.

Hitler's launch of his great counter-offensive against the unsuspecting Allies in the Ardennes. This was the Nazis' last gamble in the West to turn the tide of the war.

The Allies reached the last great natural barrier between their forces and the German heartland. If they could get across the River Rhine, the war would be won.