World War II In Numbers

Episode 2

Lightning War

Continuing on with Germany invaded Poland in August 1939, no-one was ready for war.

Episode 3

Backs to the Wall

A look at the Battle of Britain, examining the limited resources the British military were left with following the retreat from Dunkirk, and the pressure on German forces to conquer England quickly, so attention could be switched to Russia.

Episode 4

Global War

The second half of the programmes examines the US entry into the war, in defiance of the promise made by President Roosevelt during his re-election campaign.

Episode 5

The Road to Stalingrad

A look at how Hitler calculated that to fight on long enough to fulfil his aim of eradicating Europe's Jews he needed to capture the Caucasus, and to do that he had to take Stalingrad.

Episode 6

Leviathan Wakes

A look at how the US rebuilt its navy and took itself from the 18th-ranked army in the world to be second only to the Soviet Union, a tale of ingenuity and enterprise that turned the vast resources of America into the numbers that could win a war.

Episode 7

The Allies Strike Back

Examining the botched raid on the German-occupied harbour of Dieppe, France in August 1942, which resulted in the loss of around 4,000 Allied men and drove home just how costly an invasion of France would be.

Episode 8

Twilight of the Axis

Focusing on Hitler's order in 1945 to destroy any military or industrial facilities that could be useful to the enemy - which would have condemned the German people to utter desolation.