Days That Shook the World

19 June 1953 and 25 May 1951 The differing fates of the most famous Soviet spies are explored as, in the USA, the Rosenbergs face the electric chair for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets and, after a dramatic flight, the British spies Burgess and Maclean find safety in the hands of the KGB.

26 October 1881 and 14 February 1929 From the wild west and the mob-run city come two stories that have entered American mythology: the gunfight in the obscure mining town of Tomestone and Al Copone's frenzied attack on George 'Busgsy' Malone in Chicago.

30 October 1938 and 24 April 1983 Over a million radio listeners panic thinking the nation was being attacked by Martians in Orsen Welles 'War of the Worlds' and one of the world's most venerable newspapers falls for fake diaries of Adolf Hitler. Clever fakers or just a gullible public?

11 November 1918 This dramatic story of the final days of World War 1 finds soldiers still fighting and Germany turning to anarchy. Meanwhile, in a wood in France, hostile negotiations take place in a race to end the war.

6 December 1773 and 14 August 1947 The catalyst and repercussions of freedom from colonial rule are explored in the American 'patriots' raid on a British ship and the web of devastation and destruction the soured India's independence celebrations.

7 June 1967 By the third day of a six day war, Israeli forces have destroyed egypt's armies in the Sinai, captured the West Bank and seized the Old City of Jurusalem. But the euphoria of victory soon turns to anguish.

4 June 1942 At a tiny atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the massed forces of the US and Japanese fleets meet for a decisive showdown. In the space pf just four minutes, the entire course of World War II is about to be transformed.

The impact of the executions of Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania and the Shah of Iran.