clive's - Rented List

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Hitler's trail to glory was blazed my Panzers. In Poland, Western Europe, North Africa and Russia they repeatedly overcame enormous odds by combining radio communications, tanks and Stuka dive-bombers to wage Blitzkrieg - lightning war.

Using such revolutionary tactics, commanders like Erwin Rommel rewrote the rules of tank warfare. However, Rommel's reverse at El Alamein was the first indication that the tide was turning - and on the Eastern Front the German defeat at Kursk was to confirm it. The Nazi armoured advance had seemed unstoppable - would Hitler succeed where Napoleon himself had failed? The Panzer was a potent symbol of German invincibility, but it was tactics - not technology, that brought success. In mounting Operation Citadel against Kursk, Hitler set up the greatest tank tattle in history. He needed an unqualified triumph "to shine like a beacon" and avenge the humiliation of Stalingrad. He had reckoned without the Soviet T-34, built in half the time of a Panzer and easier to maintain in inhospitable conditions. The German pincer movement was finally mounted in early June 1943, but after a week both Northern and Southern armies were at a standstill. Soviet Packfront tactics - rockets and artillery, backed by tanks and infantry - proved a costly but effective answer to Blitzkrieg. The worlds biggest ever tank battle at Prokhorovka saw 1,500 tanks on the battlefield - but as the lust settled, it was the Germans who licked their wounds. The action ground on for 20 more weeks - but Citadel was doomed, and with it Hitler's chances of remaining in Russia. Russia was the anvil on which the war machine was broken and the Panzers had finally lost their myth of invincibility.

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By the winter of 1942, Hitlers dream of Aryan supremacy had become a nightmare. His armies could be found freezing and starving on the Eastern front, and Americas fighting forces had just entered the war in the West.

On January 20th of that year, 15 Nazi officials attended a conference at Wannsee on the outskirts of Berlin. Organized by SS Major Adolf Eichmann (Stanley Tucci) under the direction of the ruthless and efficient Chief of Security Reinhard Heydrich (Kenneth Branagh), it was to be a polite conference with food, wine and some debate, but beneath this veneer of manners lay an evil intent. By the meetings close, the fete of six million lives would be decided with the decision that the Jews of Europe were to be exterminated in what would become known as the Holocaust.

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From early September 1940 air raids on London took place almost every night, as the Luftwaffe dropped hundreds of tonnes of bombs on the capital.

Atypical raid involved 100 to 200 bombers dropping around 200 tonnes of high explosive and 300 incendiaries, although there were raids involving 300 and 400 planes with more than double the amount of bombs dropped. The resilience of Londoners in the face of this nightly onslaught has passed into legend, as ordinary men, women and children showed amazing courage just by carrying on with their daily lives in spite of the nightly bombing raids. This programme tells the story of the horrific nightly bombardment which lasted from 7th September 1940 to 10th May 1941.

This film explores 'Operation Thunderclap', the thousand bomber raids on the German city of Dresden. It includes first hand accounts from the people of the city describing the horror and devastation as the city was pounded from the air by the Royal Air Force.

Lucy Worsley explores the lives of six real people who lived, worked and volunteered during the Blitz. It shows their remarkable resilience, as well as the terrible suffering they endured, shining a light on the role of the front-line workers and volunteers at the heart of it all.

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At the start of the Second World War, Coventry was an industrial city of about 320,000 people with industries that, like much of the industrial West Midlands, focused mainly on metal working. In Coventry's case, these included cars, bicycles, aeroplane engines and, since 1000, munitions factories.

The City of Coventry was therefore, in the eyes of the Germans, a legitimate target for aerial bombing. The raid that began on the evening of 14 November 1940 was the most severe to hit Coventry during the war. The attack, code-named Operation Mondscheinsonate (Moonlight Sonata), was carried out by 515 German bombers. The raid was intended to destroy Coventry's factories and industrial infrastructure, although it was clear that damage to the rest of the city, including monuments and residential areas, would be considerable. This programme tells the story of that fateful night.

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When Air Chief Marshal Arthur 'Bomber' Harris announced to the world that Hitler was about to 'Reap the Whirlwind' the people of Hamburg had no idea that their city would be set aflame by a firestorm from hell.

This is the story of 'Operation Gomorrah', one of the RAF's most infamous 1,000 bomber raids, a harrowing tale of death and devastation told by the British aircrews and citizens of Hamburg.

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This is the ultimate primary source guide to the aircraft that saved the British Isles from Nazi domination. Four contemporary films provide a fascinating primary source look at the aircraft in combat, on the ground and in the air.

Included here is the actual film of the Battle Of Britain made in 1941, plus three fascinating public information and training films, including the definitive Spitfire recognition film from 1944 and the famous public information film by Air Marshal Sir Philip Joubert celebrating the contribution of the RAF pilots.

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The "Gen" is the ultimate primary film source for aviation enthusiasts everywhere. The "Gen" was the official series of films made to communicate RAF activities to all sections of the RAF personnel and the general public.

Filmed in every theatre of the war both on the ground at RAF airfields and from the air by specially converted camera carrying aircraft, this unique series of films provides a comprehensive record of the activities of RAF personnel and the aircraft they flew including the fighters, fighter bombers, medium and heavy bombers. The "Gen" from 1943 features a comprehensive overview of the day to day activities of the RAF during the middle war period including The Queen congratulating the original Dambuster crews led by Wing Commander Gibson. Also shown are RAF crews at work assembling Spitfires from crates in Gibraltar, air to ground training featuring 40mm cannon armed Hurricane IID tank busters and real life attacks on a variety of ground targets in the Mediterranean, France and Germany. All three "Gen" films from 1943 are included in this unique collection.

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For many in the opening years of the Second World War, the vision of the menacing, gull-winged Stuka dive bomber, plunging vertically earthwards, its sirens wailing like banshees before releasing its bomb load, became the very embodiment of the terror created by the new form of 'Blitzkrieg' warfare

unleashed on Europe by the German Wehrmacht in September, 1939. Designed to assist ground operations, the Stuka was always to be found operating with the leading elements of the army in France, North Africa, and Russia as 'flying artillery'. In this wide-ranging presentation the Stuka is seen in action on all fronts, as well as the Hs-129s and Fw-190 in action in Russia.

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"History" puts viewers in the middle of the action with this revealing series that uses cutting-edge computer graphic animation and the latest technology to present a 360° view of World War II.

Over the course of four years, USS Enterprise and the men who crewed it, engaged in some of the fiercest, multi-front battles ever seen in modern combat. It was the only ^carrier to be front and centre in every major sea conflict in the Pacific. Each battle was marked by intense firepower, instinct and a 360° coordination between the carrier, the destroyers, the aircraft above and the submarines below. This series follows the Enterprise and her men from the start of the conflict through all the major battles of the war. As WWII progressed, the ship evolved, the men changed and the battles were never the same.

Call to Duty
For Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Enterprise, destined to become the most decorated ship of WWII, the Pacific War begins on December 7, 1941. Returning from a Top Secret Mission, her air groups fly right into the attack on Pearl Harbour and battle commence.
Vengeance at Midway
U.S.S. Enterprise and sister carriers Yorktown and Hornet, turn the tide of the Pacific War. In just a few violent days in the waters of Midway Island, the American carrier fleet pulverises the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Enterprise helps secure one of America's first victories in World War II.
Jaws of the Enemy
In the summer of 1942, the American Navy is on the offensive and the first strike is in the Solomon Islands, north of Australia. U.S.S. Enterprise supports the first American invasion of World War II as U.S. Marines storm ashore at Guadalcanal. The Japanese strike back with a vengeance and in a hellish slugfest the Enterprise suffers her worst battle damage yet.
Bloody Santa Cruz
Part two of the deadly saga of the Solomns plays out at the Santa Cruz Islands. In one terrible day of vicious combat, U.S.S. Enterprise losers her sister ship U.S.S. Hornet and becomes the only American carrier left in the Pacific. For the U.S. Navy at Santa Cruz, survival becomes the ultimate battle.
Enterprise vs. Japan
November 1942. When the Imperial Navy tries to retake Guadalcanal, it's the U.S.S. Enterprise, as the only remaining battle ready carrier in the U.S. fleet, that sends their transports and destroyers to a watery grave in Iron Bottom Sound.
The Grey Ghost
U.S.S. Enterprise is the first ship to receive the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award any American vessel can achieve. Watch as she is refitted with new technology and returns to taunt the enemy. The first night air operations ever launched from a carrier are flown from the decks of Enterprise during the bloody Gilbert invasion.
Hammer of Hell
In 1944 the U.S.S. Enterprise and the Carrier Task Forces push on through the pacific and hammer the enemy bases at Kwajalien and Truk Lagoon. the Japanese make a desperate stand in the Marshall Islands. From the Marshalls, Enterprise sets a course for New Guinea and supports the invasion of Hollandia during Operation Persecution.
D-Day in the Pacific
While the allies storm France, American forces hit Saipan in the Marianas Island. The U.S.S. Enterprise supports one of the largest and most deadly battles of the Pacific War. Enterprise and her sister carriers nearly wipe out Japanese Naval air power in the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" and devastate enemy surface forces in the Philippine Sea. It is one of the greatest carrier battles of the war. The Aircraft Carrier Enterprise became the most decorated ship of World War II.

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"Arnhem - The Battle For The Bridges" is the first part in the explosive new "Operation Market Garden" series of films, which aims to explore the whole of this most controversial Allied campaign of the Second World War, from the break out of XXX Corps from Joe's Bridge to Arnhem.

The Battle of Arnhem, fought in the early autumn of 1944, remains without doubt the most hotly debated battle of the North West European Campaign. From its inception in the sixteen cancelled airborne operations during August, we chart the problems, compromises and ultimate mistakes that pitched lightly armed and poorly equipped paratroopers and glider infantry into an unequal struggle against an experienced and deadly force of SS Panzer troops. The team then follow the eight mile route that 2 Para took to reach the bridge at Arnhem, slipping through the German defences. Meanwhile, the remainder of the force tangled with 9th SS Hohenstaufen Panzer Division, whose presence in the woods north of Arnhem had been dismissed as a figment of an intelligence officers' imagination. The film climaxes by explaining the desperate struggle between 1 Para Brigade and an increasingly strong German force that included Tiger tanks and SS Panzer Troops in their attempts to reach the isolated men of 2 Para at the northern end of the Arnhem Bridge. After heavy German counter-attacks, the remains of Brigadier Hackett's Brigade fell back to Oosterbeek leaving Colonel John Frost's battalion isolated at the bridge, desperately waiting for relief by XXX Corps; relief that tragically never came. With the help of experts on the battle, the BHTV team systematically strip away layers of myth, misunderstanding and occasionally deliberate obscuration to reveal the startling facts behind decisions and events that led to some of the most courageous and tenacious fighting by soldiers on both sides, making this feature a must for all military enthusiasts and students of the campaign alike.

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The Soldiers of the Wehrmacht

After the British and French declared war with Germany on September 3rd, 1939; the Western Front became a ghost front. It was only the beginning of the Western Campaign on May 10th, 1940 that started the battles. The fast advance to Moscow in 1941 forced the German soldiers to use tremendous marching skills to overcome challenging terrains. On dirt roads, often through boggy surfaces, the German troops pushed eastwards. The Wehrmacht Soldiers had to cope with an enormous and difficult workload. Trenches had to be dug, mines had to be set or diffused, new bridges had to be erected over rivers and huge quantities of supplies (ammunition, food, vehicle parts, etc.) needed to be transported to the fronts. Heavy military equipment of all types were deployed along the main battle lines. The weaponry and equipment of the soldiers were constantly evolving and improving to compete with the enemy.

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This war-time film was made in 1943 in order to help motivate the hard pressed German infantry to resist the increasing tide of Soviet armour.

Made shortly before the introduction of the 'Panzerfaust' it is a remarkable film in many respects as it features a dramatized and highly realistic record of a Soviet attack on the German lines by T-34 tanks and provides a detailed summary of the potential defences which the infantryman could use to defend against Soviet tanks. This unique film is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the true nature of warfare on the Russian front.

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The Nuremberg trials began in 1945 and the film cameras of the victorious Allies were there to record the proceedings. The first documentary film to emerge was the Soviet film account which appeared as soon as the verdicts were given and before the full proceedings had even been completed.

As might be expected, the narrative is vengeful, partisan and jingoistic. The ringing accusations of the prosecutors are illustrated by extracts from newsreels. The court room footage, however, provides the most complete primary source reference and extensive extracts from the speeches made by the Soviet prosecutors are featured. The film makes much play on the often overlooked fact that the Soviet Union objected to the acquittal of Hans Fritzsche, Franz von Papen and Hjalmar Schacht, and also to the fact that Rudolf Hess was given a sentence of life imprisonment, rather than a death sentence.