clive's - Rented List
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"SAS Operation Bulbasket" is the first of two films that explore the ill-fated operation carried out by B B Squadron in the months of June and July 1944. Although this Special Forces operation did have some significant success, it also resulted in the capture and subsequent murder of 35 British and American servicemen. Most of the SAS returned from the Mediterranean in early 1944 but at home they were greeted as yet another of the unwelcome private armies that had proliferated during the war. It was a struggle to find suitable manpower and the D Day planners were reluctant to give them a mission. The former was solved by taking high quality manpower from Churchill's Secret Army the stay behind Auxiliary Force. However, it took doubts over the French Resistance's ability to execute Plan Vert, the disruption of the railways that were vital for the Germans to move the Das Reich Panzer Division from South West France to Normandy. In Operation Bulbasket, A Troop of B Squadron, 1st SAS Regiment were allocated a vast area south of the Loire through which Das Reich would have to transit. With the SAS only allowed to operate after the invasion had begun the Germans faced the pent up anger of the French who started to rise-up against them. Das Reich convoys were attacked as they crossed into the Dordogne and the Vienne regions. Brutal reprisals followed that culminated in the massacre at Oradour. Filmed on the ground by the Battlefield History TV team, the film takes the viewer to the scenes of the action following the resistance and the SAS in the early phases of the operation. Bulbasket s first phase culminated with the men on the ground calling in an airstrike by Mosquito fighter bombers that destroyed eleven vital German petrol trains. In finding the enemy fuel and directing the attack a few men deep behind the enemy lines had a truly significant impact on German operations in Normandy - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Tom Dormer, Tim Saunders, Andrew Duff
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When Montgomery took over command of 21st Army Group the COSSAC plan only had three beaches. He promptly up-scaled the enterprise inserting two new beaches including GOLD and, what is more, he had just the boys to land there the veteran 50th Northumbrian Division who had fought with the Eighth Army and landed in Sicily. They were joined by the southern regulars of 231 Brigade who already had two assault landings under their belt and they would need every bit of experience to overcome Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
This film covers the build up, assault landing and cleaning of the beatches of Nazi-occupied France. The action is accompanied by expert commentary of the bombardment by air and sea, some of it shot on the decks and turrets of HMS Belfast, as well as on the actual ground where the action took place almost seventy years ago.
69 Brigade had a difficult but successful landing, including the first of his actions that ultimately brought Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis the only D Day Victoria Cross. Thanks to him they were soon heading inland. Meanwhile, all kinds of problems had beset 231 Brigade and the success of their landing was in jeopardy. The veteran Dorsets, Hampshires and Devons got on with their tasks without tanks and artillery thanks to a single surviving anti-tank gun and a massive crater on the only viable route off the beach. Despite these difficulties 50th Division were heading from Gold Beach, towards their distant objectives by mid morning.- Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Tom Dormer, Richard Hone, Tim Saunders
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Following on from BHTV's earlier film in the 'Operation Market Garden' series, Hell's Highway, the series now reaches the battle to seize two Bridges over Europe's largest water ways; the Maas and Waal rivers at Nijmegen. Here the 82nd US airborne were denied coup de main attacks to seize the bridges by the air commanders. Whilst Grave Bridge was captured, confusion in US orders meant that the barely defended bridge at Nijmegen was only attacked when the Germans had taken an opportunity to reinforce the garrison. The resulting battle to regain control of the situation is an epic of Anglo-American military history. With the 10th SS Frundsberg Division marching south to block the Allied advance, the British Guards Armoured Division, delayed by a blown bridge on Hell's Highway, arrived and were pitched into a quick attack fighting alongside the American Paratroopers but this quick attack failed to grab the bridges. A better organised and supported attack was needed the following day. The key was to be a river crossing by 3rd 504th Parachute Infantry that British General Miles Dempsey described as he watched as 'unbelievable'. With the Guards and 82nd closing in on the bridges from both sides the German defence crumbled. Even though the bridges were in Allied hands the 82nd was being assailed by counter attacks from every compass point and the metaphorical life blood of the armoured division, its supplies coming up from Hell's Highway, was being choked off. Our team of expert historians explain this amazing story in impeccable detail whilst not avoiding the controversies of this battle, which are so often divided on national lines, and have concentrated on military logic to cut to the truth. The video also boasts the first on-screen interview with Lord Peter Carrington, who crossed the Nijmegen Bridge in the wake of the first four tanks. - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Mike Peters, Jo Hook, John Greenacre
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'Arnhem: Battle for the Island and Evacuation' is the fourth film in the 'Operation Market Garden' series of video's. This film covers the desperate fighting in the Oosterbeek Perimeter by 1st Airborne Division and 43rd Wessex Division between Nijmegen and the Rhine. Having reached the Poles at Driel on the banks of the Rhine opposite the Oosterbeek Perimeter, the West Country soldiers struggled to get the Poles and stores across the fast flowing river to the increasingly beleaguered airborne troops, who were grimly hanging on. Experts in this often overlooked part of the battle link events astride the Rhine and bring a new clarity to what is often a one sided view of events.
The tensions between the Poles and the British, American criticism and the fact that the corridor was repeatedly cut behind XXX Corps meant that Montgomery and his senior commanders had to face facts; the plan to cross Holland in a single leap onto the North German Plain and victory had failed. Meanwhile, the Wessex Division attempted to reinforce the airborne troops but only seventy-five out of 300 Dorsets made it across the River and into the Perimeter. Evacuation of the remains of the Airborne Division, who had been sustained in their positions by the guns of the Royal Artillery, was the only option. Eight days after the operation began 2,398 exhausted men, all that remained of one of Britain's finest divisions, escaped 'the Witches' Cauldron' and an eerie silence settled on Oosterbeek.
Presented in the usual BHTV style and complimented by detailed maps and original archive and re-enactment footage, this video gives a fitting conclusion to the 'Arnhem' series, making this a compulsive purchase for all those interested in military history.- Director:
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"Operation Market Garden" was designed to end the war by Christmas 1944 and clear away Hitler's V weapons from the North Sea Coast. Following the collapse of the German Army in Normandy, it seemed that a bold move to seize the three major and numerous other waterways across Holland would place the Second British Army beyond the Rhine, putting the Allies on the North German Plain and on the road to Berlin. The Allies had, however, outrun their supplies and the Germans were staging an amazing strategic recovery. On 17 September 1944 the 101st US Airborne Division parachuted into a drop zone, north of Eindhoven in a bid to avoid 'unnecessary casualties from flak', denying them a coup de main against the first significant canal bridge at Son. With plenty of warning of the approach the Germans blew the bridge, arguably dealing Market Garden a potentially mortal blow from the very outset. Meanwhile, the British XXX Corps were also facing an arduous uphill struggle. A mixture of SS and Fallschirmjagertioops halted the breakout of the Guards Armoured Division in its tracks. However, by nightfall the Irish Guards were through the German defences and had reached Valkenswaard 10 miles along the 60 mile route to Arnhem. With the bridging operation complete the Grenadier Guards Group covered the next 30 miles to Nijmegen in little over three hours. Market Garden looked as if it were back on schedule despite the setbacks and Arnhem was only 10 miles further on. It was one thing to reach Nijmegen in forty hours but for the American Paratroopers holding the route open the situation was bleak. The road north across Holland quickly earned the well deserved nickname 'Hell's Highway' as the Paratroopers fought to fend off a seemingly endless torrent of enemy troops from the east and west. The Germans only had to get within firing range of the road to effectively close the vital highway and starve the troops of all kinds of vital combat supplies. With the help of military experts, the BHTV team will examine the successes and failures on Hell's Highway to paint a true picture of the bitter fighting that took place there almost seventy years ago. - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Mike Peters, Jo Hook, John Greenacre
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General Winter Takes Command (2001)The Weather at War: General Winter Takes Command
One of the most calamitous military campaigns ever undertaken was planned by an acknowledged military genius, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The invasion of hated Russia in 1812 involved an army of more than 500,000 men but less than 50,000 lived to see their homeland again. Was Napoleon undone by a dramatic loss of his military prowess? The answer is no - he was defeated by the freezing snows of a merciless Russian winter, the most severe for more than one hundred years. The unimaginable misery of the infamous retreat from Moscow is vividly retold with the use of extensive film footage and period imagery. The events of 1941 proved that Hitler was no student of history, for the fate suffered by his armies during the Russian campaign in the third year of World War Two was virtually identical to that which befell Napoleon some 130 years earlier. Sent to conquer the great enemy during the summer, the German Army expected and was prepared for, a swift decisive campaign but the Russians refused to buckle and the fighting dragged on. Soon the Germans, supplied with only light summer clothing, were faced with an enemy every bit as dangerous as the Red Army, the savage Russian winter. This episode of "The Weather at War" describes the effects of winter conditions on these disastrous campaigns and draws eerie similarities and coincidences between them both. - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler
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"Hitler's Bodyguard" tells the fascinating story of jealousy, betrayal and murder and what it was like to protect the biggest villain in history from bombs, snipers, plots, maniacs, poison gas and Allied assassination attempts. This is the detailed story of Hitler's survival from a very new angle. Access to original SS records gives a fascinating insight into Hitler's inner circle of bodyguards, providing a unique insight into The Fuhrer and the men who made up the his team of bodyguards, their protection techniques and the rivalries that raged between them. - Director:
- Jonathan Martin
- Cast:
- Robert Powell, Adolf Hitler, Sepp Dietrich
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The German Propaganda Kompanien (PK) captured the events of Hitler's war on every front. Their footage was used to produce Die Deutsche Wochenschau, a weekly cinema newsreel detailing the events of World War II on land, sea and air. For the first time these unique primary source films have been collated, edited and translated into English in order to produce a complete military history of the Third Reich drawn exclusively from German primary sources. This amazing range of films captures the events of World War II exactly as they were presented to contemporary cinema audiences while the actions on the battlefield were still unfolding. This volume features translated Wochenschau newsreels dating from June through to August 1940 and records the military events following the collapse of French resistance and the withdrawal of the BEF from France. Particular emphasis is placed on Hitler s triumphal return to Munich and Berlin. - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Adolf Hitler
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In 1919 the first wave of fascism is created in Italy by Benito Mussolini and in Germany by Adolf Hitler. In his infamous rise to power Il Duce (Mussolini) bans all other parties, freedom of the press is abolished and opponents butchered. Adolf Hitler's ascent to absolute power is equally violent with all enemies either assassinated or imprisoned. The Swastika - the party emblem becomes a symbol of fear and hatred wherever it is displayed. This video, using some of the most unique library footage currently in existence, takes you through all the major events leading up to the second World War and the ultimate demise of both dictators. - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler
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When Adolf Hitler inherited political power in Germany, he became the idol of a country that had been brought to its knees and humiliated after defeat in World War I. Following the Great War, Germany was engulfed in total poverty, financial collapse and violent social disarray. Hitler seized this opportunity to elicit favor, and remodeled an entire nation to his idealistic view. At first, his fiery rhetoric encouraged people's faith in 'A New Order', but as unprecedented incursions into neighboring countries rapidly escalated into the outbreak of World War II, Hitler began to make seriously catastrophic errors in military strategy. Despite the urgent pleas of his military generals, Hitler continued to pursue an extraordinary course of action that would eventually end in total defeat for Germany. This fascinating documentary highlights the fundamental mistakes made by Germany's once revered Fiihrer, and accurately follows Hitler's 'Strategy of Failure' - Director:
- Roger Owen
- Cast:
- Stephen Greif
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This fascinating BBC drama is set in the darkest days of World War II when Winston Churchill (Timothy West) and his Generals - Montgomery (Ian Richardson), Alexander (Terence Alexander), Wavell (Patrick Magee) and Brooke (Eric Porter) were lacing disaster on every front. Timothy West brings a superb and convincing performance in the title role as the erratic, instinctive leader pitted against the traditional, staid and in Churchill's opinion over cautious Generals in a personal battle which influenced the future of the world. Churchill and his Generals saved over 300,000 men at Dunkirk and won the Battle of Britain. With enormous amounts of courage and skill they fought off the Luftwaffe and were instrumental in the success of the Allied invasion of Europe. This superb BBC television drama reveals that Churchill's relationships with these remarkable men and the American Generals who followed them -Dwight Eisenhower and George Marshall, were full of tension and discord. - Director:
- Alan Gibson
- Cast:
- Timothy West, Eric Porter, Arthur Hill
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This is the story of the German Panzer forces of World War II, when these awsome fighting machines came of age.
The Light and Medium PanzersThis is the story of the early war panzers: the Mark I and II machine which formed the bulk of the Panzerwaffe in the early years of the war. These machines were already considered unfit for service in 1939, but nonetheless had to be pressed into action in Poland, France, Norway, Greece Africa and Russia. Featuring rare footage and incisive commentary this unique film illustrates the follies of war. The versatile Panzer III, the German medium tanks, were forced into action to plug the gaps torn in the Wehrmacht ranks by the T-34. The medium tanks were quickly eclipsed by the superior numbers of tanks fielded by the Red Army, but nonetheless had to be kept in service in all theatres until the end of the war.
The Tiger
This is the story of the legendary heavy tank developed by the Panzerwaffein response to the Soviet T-34 and KV1 tanks. This fearsome machine was the equal of any other tank on the battlefield, but there were simply never enough to turn the tide which was already flowing against Hitler's Germany.- Director:
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History is always written by the victors...this is the other side of the coin. This is the ultimate overview of World War II as seen through the eyes of the losing side, the men who fought for Hitler. The four video's (with a total running time of eight hours) draw extensively from footage of the German news crews on all fronts. This is the tale of the men of the Kriegsmarine, the Luftwaffe and the Wehrmacht. These are the men who fought in vain at Stalingrad, El Alamein, Monte Cassino, Moscow and Berlin. These are the U-boat men, the Panzer crews. This is military history at its best from primary sources. - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Adolf Hitler
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This is the story of 'Operation Market-Garden', the code name of the offensive which was supposed to bring the Allies victory before the end of 1944. Despite the bravery of the Allied troops, the attack was a costly failure...the war would not be over by Christmas. Taken from the hugely-popular television series 'Line of Fire', this programme harnesses state-of -the-art computer technology to explore, explain and bring new perspectives to one of the most notorious battles of World War Two. It also features archive film, specially treated recreations and authoritative comment by leading military historians from the Royal Military Academe, Sandhurst. About the 'Line of Fire' - 'Line of Fire' is history with a difference. For the first time, the great battlefields of war are presented in a unique animated environment, providing new insights into military history's most compelling events. Each powerful episode combines unrivalled graphics with atmospheric recreations to analyse every facet of famous battles from the medieval period to modern times. - Director:
- Not Available
- Cast:
- Colonel Bob Kershaw, Lloyd Clark
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Experience the terrible final battle for Berlin in 1945 from the perspective of the attacking Red Army . and the positions of the shattered German forces who made a final desperate defence of the city. Taken from the hugely-popular television series 'Line Of Fire', this programme harnesses state-of-the-art computer technology to explore, explain and bring new perspectives to the last major battle of the War in Europe. It also features rare archive footage, specially treated recreations and authoritative comment by leading military historians from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. - Director:
- Not Available
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