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Private Notes
To protect occupied Europe from an Allied invasion, Hitler demanded the construction of a defensive wall stretching thousands of kilometers from France in the south to Norway in the north.
From PBS - Examine the impenetrable submarine pens the Nazis built to protect U-boats from Allied attacks. Such was their size and strength that these pens survive today, a testament to their engineering.
Discover how Nazi scientist Wernher von Braun heralded the birth of ballistic missiles and laid the technological foundations for the space race.
The story of Nazi engineers tasked with fulfilling Hitler's megalomaniac demand for the construction of a land battleship weighing 1,000 tons.
Explore the story behind one of the most advanced aeroplanes of WWII, the Messerschmitt Me 262, and the subterranean bat-cave where it was built.
April 1945. Safe in his heavily fortified Führerbunker in the centre of Berlin, Hitler prepares for the Allies' final attack.
In retaliation for devastating Allied bombing raids on German cities, Hitler orders the development of a groundbreaking weapon. This is the story of one of the most ambitious projects of the Third Reich: Hitler's Vengeance weapon, the V1. Though it was ready too late to make a difference to the outcome of the war, its legacy is the cruise missile -- a weapon that changed the face of war forever.
As European countries fall like dominoes to the all-conquering German armies, Hitler becomes convinced of his own military genius. He plans to invade Russia and orders the construction of a huge, heavily protected command complex of bunkers and buildings named the Wolf's Lair. But as he isolates himself in his concrete city, the war begins to slip from his grasp and a conspiracy is hatched to make the secret base his tomb.
As Hitler's power grows within Nazi Germany, so does that of the SS. From its humble beginnings as Hitler's personal body guard, the SS under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler becomes a terrifying cult that engineers Hitler's vision for a new Germany. By the start of the war, the SS holds sway in politics, police and security and is responsible for the creation of the concentration camps. Its power, influence and terror spread with the creation of a military wing: the Waffen SS.
The formidable Seigried line, didn't come into play prior to Nazi Germany's invasion of France so it was substantially disassembled to build the Atlantic Wall. Five years later after D-Day Germany desperately attempted to refortify the decayed, disassembled and somewhat obsolete defenses. Battle focuses on Aachen where the allies employ withering fire power but become stalled leading Germany to squander its remaining military strength in the Battle of the Bulge leaving the Sigfried line open to a rapid crossing by the allies.
In violation of the Treat of Versailles Hitler embarked on a program to build massive battleships but was only able to produce two; Bismarck and Tirpitz. To the frustration of his naval commanders Hiller found the ships far more valuable as propaganda weapons then warships. But they were obsolete almost as soon the they were launched and both succumbed to the emerging dominance of air power.
As American naval forces hand Japan defeat after defeat Japan turns in desperation to the Kamikaze. The tactic proves effective against smaller ships but does not fails to sink a major vessel. Japan turns to an rocket propelled human guided bomb known as the Ohka and a torpedo know as the Kaiten. German considers a Kamikaze version of the V-1 rocket and later employs Kamikaze fighter attacks on Allied bombers.
Guderian's book "Achtung Panzer" introduces the concept of the combined arms offensive. Hitler seizes upon it as the way to use modern weapons technology in Germany's tradition of fighting fast, short wars to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare.
U-boat innovations that were advanced well beyond any other submarine designs of WW2, including the Walter propulsion system, the Type XVII the Type XXI.
The design, construction and use of Hitler's retreat in the Bavarian Alps, Eagle's Nest.
In yet another example of Hilter's folly he orders impregnable fortresses built on the Channel Islands. Despite the incredible expense of construction the fortifications prove useless when the Allies go on the offensive on D-Day. But , it was a safe, if dull, place for a few German soldiers to wait out the war.
The design, construction and operational history of the two greatest battleships ever built - the Japanese super-battleships Yamato and Musashi.
Details the formidable Japanese defenses on the island of Okinawa during WW2, and the ultimate test of them.
