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Private Notes
1942, two of the most charismatic generals of all time, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, and General Bernard Montgomery face off over a barren stretch of rocky desert in the Egyptian desert. Each is determined to outwit and outfight the other in a bloody battle of minds as well as men. As they duel for North Africa and the oilfields of the Middle East, Rommel relies on blitzkrieg tactics of speed, surprise and daring. Montgomery takes a different tack. He digs in for a defensive battle and puts his faith in planning, training and new equipment. The outcome of their head to head turns Hitler's fortunes in North Africa and gives the British their first decisive win of the war.
1943 - Germany and Russia clash near the Soviet city of Kursk, as each vies for control of the Eastern Front. The Germans are led by Field Marshal Von Manstein - an aristocratic master tactician. Facing him across the battlefield is the Red Army's Marshal Zhukov - ruthless, opinionated and dangerous to know. Hitler is convinced new super-weapons like the Tiger tank will win the fight and insists Von Manstein holds off his attack until more arrive. Zhukov exploits the delay and orders his men to dig for victory. They create an elaborate network of defences to grind the enemy down - or blow them up... The two armies finally meet in a titanic clash of tanks - on a mind-blowing scale. It is the biggest tank battle of all time and the result changes the course of the war forever.
1944Adolf Hitler plays his last trump card - a gigantic offensive in the West, using his last troops and materiel. Leading the charge is Field Marshal Walther Model - a ruthless commander and loyal servant of Hitler. Model sends his armoured spearheads crashing through the weakly defended American lines of US General Omar Bradley, who is caught completely off guard. If Bradley can't contain the German advance Adolf Hitler could win a victory that may end the Allies' invasion of Germany.
1942 - The United States Navy has just been devastated at Pearl Harbour. But the Japanese attackers fail to destroy an important American asset - their aircraft carriers. To wipe out these carriers once and for all Japanese Admiral Nagumo takes the mighty Japanese fleet to the island of Midway and lays a trap for US Admiral Fletcher and his decimated forces. Nagumo believes he will finally crush his adversary, but he doesn't know that Fletcher holds a lethal trump card - he has broken Nagumo's code and knows his plan…
1942 - as the Germans storm across the Soviet Union, Hitler becomes obsessed with taking Stalingrad - the city which bears the name of his arch-enemy Joseph Stalin. The German army is led by General Paulus, a meticulous war gamer. Facing him across the map table is Soviet General Chuikov - a hardened fighter, not afraid to get his hands dirty. Paulus is confident he will soon bring the city to its knees. But the German army reduces Stalingrad to rubble so successfully, that the ruined city actually works against them. It blocks their tanks and creates the perfect killing ground for Russian snipers and street fighters. The battle degenerates into bloody pockets of fierce hand-to-hand combat. The Germans eventually gain control of 90% of the city. Then the Russians unleash a counter-offensive. The Russian "rats" spring the trap back onto their attackers and encircle the German army. Paulus insists on waiting for the order from Hitler to break out, but the order never comes. Ultimately Paulus is forced to make the hardest decision of his military career, and his life….
In 1941, the British totally underestimate the fighting ability of the Japanese- until Japan launches a surprise attack on Singapore, a tiny jewel in the Crown of the British Empire. General Arthur Percival is the British general tasked with the defence of the wealthy colonies of Malaya and Singapore. General Tomoyuki Yamashita -the Tiger of Malaya - leads the "driving charge" to oust him. The Japanese are outnumbered from the start, but with the help of bluff, speed and bicycles they put the British to rout, striking a blow at the very heart of Britain's Empire in the East.
