War Walks

Presenter Richard Holmes retraces Henry V's route to Agincourt, where in 1415 he won a remarkable victory against a French force that outnumbered him by five to one. It's a story of both heroism and brutality.

Richard Holmes explores Wellington's victory against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, which caused the fall of the most powerful European empire since that of Rome. He explores the region as it is today and, using testimony, letters and dispatches, tells the story of the epic battle.

The British troops who marched against the Germans in August 1914 believed the war would be over by Christmas. But at Mons they learned that the old world of swords and bugles would be swept away by the machine gun and the shell. Richard Holmes follows in their footsteps as they retreated south from Mons.

Richard Holmes walks through the fields where the Battle of the Somme took place on 1 July 1916 and 57,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in the space of a few hours. Testimony, dispatches and letters tell the story of the Somme campaign up until its conclusion in 1916.

In May 1940 the Germans staged a lightning invasion of Belgium and France in a new kind of armoured warfare called 'blitzkrieg'. Richard Holmes traces their route to the French city of Arras, where a small British force launched a counterattack that gave the Allies vital breathing space.

Goodwood was the name chosen for the British armoured breakout from the Normandy bridgehead in 1944. The operation was later called 'the death ride of the armoured divisions'. Richard Holmes follows in the tracks of the tanks and a tank crew member tells of the horrors of 'brewing up'.