Scorched Earth

HITLER'S BODYGUARD: Caesar had his Pretorian Guard, and Napoleon, the Old Guard. Hitler's equivalent was the Leibstandarte, which grew from a small hand picked battalion, to a complete Panzer Division twenty thousand strong. Naturally, the Leibstandarte received the best and most modern equipment, but they needed it. As the situation deteriorated, the division became a mobile fire brigade, deployed wherever the fighting was fiercest in Russia and France. Even the end of the war brought no respite, as the survivors marched into captivity from which few returned.

EYE DEEP IN HELL: On the Russian Front, there were no rules. No code of honour, decency or humanity. It was a barbaric struggle to the death. It was also the largest, and most brutal war in history. It contained the biggest tank battles ever fought, and recorded the most casualties. Whole armies were swallowed up. Enormous distances boggled the mind and the constantly changing seasons brought either mud and rain, heat and dust, or ice and snow, but misery was always present. Combat on the Russian Front attempts to describe the indescribable. The experience of combat at the sharp end in this most vicious of conflicts.

THE WEAKEST LINK: Without the extra operational range of four-engine aircraft Germany was deprived of the necessary weapon to strike deep into the heart of a well-defended enemy. The short and medium-range bombers necessary for the blitzkrieg tactics were unable to deliver effective, strategic bombing. The Luftwaffe was superbly structured and equipped to fulfil the tasks that Hitler had chosen for it. Unfortunately, it was to prove to be the wrong task. The bombers of the Luftwaffe were unable to prevent the ultimate defeat of the German war machine.

THE FORGOTTEN SERVICE: Adolf Hitler had promised his Naval commanders that there would be no war in Europe before 1942. Accordingly plans were laid for the best Naval force in the world, but when Hitler precipitated the Second World War in 1939, only a fraction of the necessary ships and submarines were ready. At the outbreak of World War Two Germany did not even possess a single aircraft carrier. The battleships Bismark and Tirpitz fought famous actions at sea, but the Kreigsmarine was always on the back foot, crippled by superior opponents and strangled by bureaucratic neglect at home

THE DEFENDERS OF BRITAIN: The Spitfire and Hurricanes of the RAF were the shield of Britain during the dark days of the Battle of Britain. In comparison to the huge diversity of aircraft developed by Germany, the RAF concentrated on constantly improving a few tried and tested machines which served Britain well, throughout the course of the war. This is the story of the fighters which saved a nation.

AIR WAR OVER GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command was responsible for carrying the war to Hitler's Germany when Britain stood alone during the early days of 1940 and 1941. By 1942, losses had grown so heavy, that the RAF adopted a policy of night bombing only. The staggeringly high casualties were borne with stoic resolve by the men who knew they had a job which had to be done. This is the story of the air war over Germany from the British viewpoint.