Episodes

In the summer of 1776, the largest expeditionary army in British history arrives off New York to crush the American rebellion once and for all. Facing the full might of the British Empire, the Continental Army fights desperately to hold New York. But after a series of defeats, General Washington struggles to hold together his forces. Then, in the Revolution's darkest hour, he decides to risk everything to turn back the tide.

In 1937, conflicts across the globe wreak new levels of destruction and suffering. A civilian massacre in Ethiopia, the bombing of Guernica in Spain, and the ‘Rape of Nanking’ in China, provide glimpses of what could be endured in another world war. Reports and images from these conflicts are received with horror and increasing alarm, but Britain, France and the USA cling to their policy of ‘non-intervention’. As the alliances that will define the next great war take shape, the drift towards it seems inescapable.

February 1815. A small flotilla slips silently across the Mediterranean. On board: a former Emperor and fugitive, attempting the most audacious comeback in military history. Napoleon Bonaparte has dominated Europe for a decade. Defeated, exiled, and written off by the great powers of the world, he is supposed to be finished. Instead, he sails from Elba with just 1,000 men, marches on Paris... and the continent holds its breath. This episode maps Napoleon's extraordinary march north — from his landing at Golfe-Juan to the gates of Paris — tracing every twist of his impossible gamble in vivid detail. The Hundred Days has begun. But with 200,000 exhausted troops facing a million-strong coalition, can Napoleon's genius survive what's coming?

On 21st February 1916, a thousand German guns opened fire on French positions around Verdun - launching one of the most brutal battles in human history. For 300 days, Verdun consumed a thousand lives a day. This is how it unfolded. Using detailed 3D graphics, we reveal the strategic landscape that made Verdun so critical - from the ring of fortresses guarding France's eastern frontier, to the exposed salient that gave German commander Erich von Falkenhayn his deadly opportunity.

1938 is a critical year on the road to World War Two. In Asia, the Sino-Japanese War continues to leave a trail of devastation across China. Now, as Chiang Kai-shek tries desperately to save Wuhan, the human cost becomes unimaginable. In Spain, Hitler and Mussolini’s interventions in the Civil War are proving decisive. But Europe now faces another great crisis when Hitler annexes Austria and then threatens to invade Czechoslovakia. As European leaders scramble to prevent another major war, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain comes to the fore with his strategy of appeasement.

By April 1916, the Battle of Verdun had become a grinding struggle of attrition, killing, on average, a thousand men every day for 300 days. In this episode we follow the battle to its shattering conclusion: desperate struggles for the prized forts, catastrophes for both sides, and a final chapter that will decide the fate of Verdun.

Most of what we know about the ancient world survives by accident. So many of the great historical texts have been lost to time. But what if we could bring just one of these works back? Five leading historians make their case for the ancient book they'd rescue from oblivion — from a missing insider account of Nero’s court, to the untold epics that could rewrite the legend of the Trojan War. Each choice reveals a fascinating, mysterious story — and raises the question: how much knowledge of the ancient world are we missing without even knowing it?