Narrow Escapes of World War II
Season 1
Series honors the incredible heroes of World War II who stood up and fought when everything else seemed lost. The series highlights the brilliant generals and brave troops whose selfless acts of courage saved hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. Through their personal stories, this series recreates the suicidal raids, rearguard actions, and back-to-the-wall fighting it took to ensure, against all odds, that these men made it out alive.
Where to Watch Season 1
13 Episodes
- The Black Battalion Holds the Line
E3Episode 3The Black Battalion Holds the LineWhen Hitler launches his final major offensive on the Western front, everything turns on the ability of the U.S. Army to hold the town of Bastogne. Outnumbered 10 to one, a unit of African-American gunners must stand fast against the battle-hardened troops of Waffen-SS. - Manstein Holds the Line
E4Episode 4Manstein Holds the LineBy the spring of 1943, the German army is on the run across southern Russia. Gen. Erich von Manstein has plans for a new, highly mobile form of defensive warfare that might reverse the course of the war in the East. But first he has to convince Hitler, who is adamantly opposed to any kind of retreat, strategic or otherwise. - Lucky Laycock's Escape from Crete
E5Episode 5Lucky Laycock's Escape from CreteAfter the German invasion of Crete in May 1941, Winston Churchill orders the 25,000 British and Commonwealth troops stationed there to defend the island at all costs. A force of specially trained commandos under Col. Robert Laycock arrives to sabotage the Germans, but their mission soon changes. - Breakout Through Hell's Gate
E7Episode 7Breakout Through Hell's GateWith their backs to the Dnieper River in January 1944, 60,000 German troops face encirclement by the Soviets. After an airfield supplying defenders falls to the Russians, the Germans head for a corridor flanked by Russian soldiers, tanks, artillery, and cavalry--known thereafter as Hell's Gate. - Morshead Holds Tobruk
E9Episode 9Morshead Holds TobrukBy Easter 1941, all that stands between Afrika Korps commander Erwin Rommel and Egypt's Suez Canal is Tobruk. Australia's Gen. Leslie Morshead and his defenders are ordered to hold the Libyan port for eight weeks while the defenses of Egypt can be strengthened. The "Rats of Tobruk" are convinced that if they fail, the war against Germany will be lost. - The Real Bridge Too FarE10
Episode 10The Real Bridge Too FarSadly, the Allied Forces did not manage to capture the last bridge near Arnhem. Arnhem quite literally proved to be 'a bridge to far'. More than 1,750 Allied soldiers who were killed during Operation Market Garden lie buried at the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek. - Evacuation in the Baltic
E11Episode 11Evacuation in the BalticAs the war enters its final months, the nearly 2 million Germans living in East Prussia flee an advancing Red Army no longer distinguishing between German soldiers and civilians. Hundreds of thousands make for the Baltic ports--the start of the single biggest evacuation of WWII. - Operation Pedestal
E12Episode 12Operation PedestalBy 1942, the fight between the Allies and the Axis for control of the Mediterranean is focused on tiny Malta. From there, British aircraft and submarines have been preying on enemy supply ships. When Hitler and Mussolini decide to crush Malta, Churchill dispatches a huge convoy to run the gauntlet of Axis air and naval power to reach the beleaguered island stronghold. - Moore's March
E13Episode 13Moore's MarchWith the Italians preparing to invade Egypt in the summer of 1940, the British army's Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) causes havoc far behind the front. But after an LRDG patrol is attacked, a tough New Zealander named Ron Moore leads the survivors barefoot through the desert, 300 miles from Allied lines.
