1973
TV-PG
52m

Summary A groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II. View more details

1973
TV-PG
52m

The World at War

Directed : Unknown

Written : Unknown

Stars : Laurence Olivier Albert Speer Anthony Eden Averell Harriman

All cast & crew

9.2

Details

Genres : History War Documentary

Release date : Oct 30, 1973

Countries of origin : United Kingdom

Language : English German Japanese French

Production companies : Thames Television Imperial War Museum

Summary A groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II. View more details

Details

Genres : History War Documentary

Release date : Oct 30, 1973

Countries of origin : United Kingdom

Language : English German Japanese French

Production companies : Thames Television Imperial War Museum

Photos

James Stewart in The World at War (1973)

Winston Churchill in The World at War (1973)

Episodes

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Episode 1 • Oct 30, 1973

A New Germany: 1933-1939

The rebirth of Germany and growth in power of the Nazi Party leading up to the outbreak of war.

Episode 2 • Nov 06, 1973

Distant War: September 1939-May 1940

The invasions of Poland, the Winter War, the sinking of the Graf Spee, the "phony war" and Norwegian Campaign, and the elevation of Winston Churchill to Prime Minister.

Episode 3 • Nov 13, 1973

France Falls: May-June 1940

French politics, the Maginot Line, the Saar Offensive, Blitzkrieg warfare and the Nazi invasion of France and the Low Countries.

Episode 4 • Nov 20, 1973

Alone: May 1940-May 1941

The Battle of Britain, defeats in Greece and Crete, Tobruk and life in Britain between the evacuation at Dunkirk and Operation Barbarossa.

Episode 5 • Nov 27, 1973

Barbarossa: June-December 1941

After dominating southeastern Europe through force or intrigue, Germany begins Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

Episode 6 • Dec 04, 1973

Banzai! Japan 1931-1942

The rise of the Japanese Empire, the Sino-Japanese War, the Soviet-Japanese border conflicts, Pearl Harbor, and the early Japanese successes in the Battle of Malaya and Battle of Singapore.

Episode 7 • Dec 11, 1973

On Our Way: U.S.A. 1939-1942

The opposition to the United States' entry into the war, Lend Lease, U-boat attacks on Atlantic convoys and American responses, mobilization of America after Pearl Harbor, loss of the Philippines, Doolittle Raid, Midway and Guadalcanal.

Episode 8 • Dec 18, 1973

The Desert: North Africa - 1940-1943

The desert war, starting with Italy's invasion of Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the Axis defeat at El Alamein.

Episode 9 • Jan 01, 1974

Stalingrad: June 1942-February 1943

The mid-war German situation in Southern Russia resulting in the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad.

Episode 10 • Jan 08, 1974

Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic - 1939-1944

The submarine war emphasizing the North Atlantic. Tracks the development of the convoy system and German submarine strategy.

Episode 11 • Jan 15, 1974

Red Star: The Soviet Union - 1941-1943

The rise of the Red Army, mobilization of Soviet production, the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet partisans, and the Battle of Kursk.

Episode 12 • Jan 22, 1974

Whirlwind: Bombing Germany - September 1939-April 1944

The development of British and American strategic bombing.

Episode 13 • Jan 29, 1974

Tough Old Gut: Italy - November 1942-June 1944

The difficulties of the Italian Campaign beginning with Operation Torch in North Africa and the invasion of Sicily. Salerno, Anzio, Cassino, and the capture of Rome.

Episode 14 • Feb 05, 1974

It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma - 1942-1944

The jungle war in Burma and India--what it "lacked in scale was made up in savagery."

Episode 15 • Feb 12, 1974

Home Fires: Britain - 1940-1944

Life and politics in Britain from the post-Battle of Britain period to the first V-1 attacks.

Episode 16 • Feb 19, 1974

Inside the Reich: Germany - 1940-1944

Changes in German society as the fortunes of war are reversed. Censorship and popular entertainment, German industry, recruitment of female, foreign and slave labor, Allied bombing, German dissent, and the mobilization of the Volkssturm.

Episode 17 • Feb 26, 1974

Morning: June-August 1944

Operation Overlord--starting with the failed Dieppe Raid--followed by battles in the Bocage, the Allied breakout, and Falaise.

Episode 18 • Mar 12, 1974

Occupation: Holland - 1940-1944

Life in the Netherlands under German occupation--when citizens chose to resist, collaborate, or remain passive.

Episode 19 • Mar 19, 1974

Pincers: August 1944-March 1945

Operation Dragoon, the liberation of Paris, the Allied occupation of France, and the failure of Operation Market Garden. The Warsaw Uprising, the battle of the Bulge, and the crossing of the Rhine. The Romanian coup and the Soviet advance.

Episode 20 • Mar 26, 1974

Genocide: 1941-1945

Begins with the founding of the SS, follows the development of Nazi racial theory, and ends with the implementation of the Final Solution.

Episode 21 • Apr 02, 1974

Nemesis: Germany - February-May 1945

The invasion of Germany by the Allies, the bombing of Dresden, and the events in the Führerbunker during the Battle of Berlin.

Episode 22 • Apr 09, 1974

Japan: 1941-1945

Japanese society during wartime. How life transformed as the country suffered defeats, including the Doolittle raid, Midway, the death of Isoroku Yamamoto, the Battle of Saipan, Okinawa, and the relentless bombing of Japanese cities.

Episode 23 • Apr 16, 1974

Pacific: February 1942-July 1945

The island hopping strategy of Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur leads from one costly, battle after another. The Japanese fight fanatically as the war gets ever closer to home, but Americans finally use their newest weapon, the A-bomb.

Episode 24 • Apr 23, 1974

The Bomb: February-September 1945

The atomic bomb, the ascendancy of President Harry Truman, growing splits among the Allies with Joseph Stalin, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, leading to the surrender of Japan.

Episode 25 • Apr 30, 1974

Reckoning: 1945... and after

As wretched survivours suffer deprivations amongst the ruins, half of Germany and eastern Europe trade one socialist tyranny for another as the Soviets take power. Japan is occupied by the U. S., but the colonial empires disintegrate.

Episode 26 • May 07, 1974

Remember

For many the Second World War was the most significant experience of their lives. These are heartbreaking first hand remembrances from a vast array of survivors from both sides of the war.

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