WWII's Most Daring Raids
External Rating43%
201660 minEnded

WWII's Most Daring Raids

Network:Smithsonian Channel

Previous Episode

S01E06 - "Secret Weapon Sabotage"

Aired on Oct 24, 2016, 1:00 AM

Next Episode

Show Ended

Description

They were U.S. paratroopers, Norwegian operatives, and British Commandos, Allied teams leading high-risk operations throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia to fight Hitler and turn the tide of the war. WWII's Most Daring Raids puts you in the heart of the action, giving you a minute-by-minute account of the most astonishing surprise attacks against the Third Reich. We forensically examine how exactly these assaults played out, through expert analysis and testimonies from the brave men who carried them out.

Details

Status
Ended
Language
English
Runtime
60 min
Premiered
September 18, 2016
Ended
October 23, 2016
Schedule
Sunday at 9:00 PM

External Links

Episodes (1 Season · 6 Episodes)

Stealing Hitler's Radar

An elite group of British paratroopers launch a midnight, airborne raid in order to capture a German radar system. Witness a minute-by-minute account of the operation and the heroes who risked everything to carry it out. Britain's Bruneval Raid of 1942 in northern France sent a message to Hitler and set a precedent for future airborne raids to come. 

Sep 18, 2016

60 min

Easy Company's First Assault

Witness the moments before the D-Day invasion through the perspective of the men carrying out the daring raid, including commanding officer Lieutenant Winters, whose remarkable improvised assault against a much larger force would make history. Enter Brecourt Manor, where a daring raid by U.S. paratroopers from 101st Airborne Division helped turn the tide of D-Day.

Sep 25, 2016

60 min

Churchill Strikes Back

Operation Archery was a British Combined Operations raid during World War II against German positions on the islands of Maaloy and Vaagso, Norway, on 27 December 1941. 570 British Commandoes raided the islands to wipe out fish oil factories used to make nitroglycerin and force Germany to keep increased forces in Norway that might be used on other fronts. Relive this pivotal moment of World War II through actual footage of the raid and demonstrations of the weaponry used.

Oct 2, 2016

60 min

Storming Mussolini's Island

It's July 10, 1943, and the Allied Forces have evicted the Axis Powers from North Africa and can finally begin the Italian Campaign. The first mission: Operation Husky, a massive amphibious invasion of the island of Sicily by American, British, Canadian, and French forces. Before the assault can start, however, an elite new unit of U.S. Army Rangers and combat engineers called Force X must storm and clear the beaches and main streets of Gela. Thousands of ships, aircraft, and troops depend on the success of these soldiers. It's a brutal mission, but failure is not an option. 

Oct 9, 2016

60 min

Cutting Rommel's Lifeline

A secret British regiment in January 1942 led a daring raid on Buerat, a Nazi-occupied Libyan harbor well behind German lines. This was a joint operation of the Special Air Service (SAS) and Long Range Desert Group (LRDG). The raid destroyed supplies, fuel, port/communication facilities vital to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. 

Oct 16, 2016

60 min

Secret Weapon Sabotage

An elite force of Norwegian resistance fighters returns to their invaded homeland to carry out one of the most daring and significant acts of sabotage in World War II. During what could be a suicide mission, they must raid and destroy the heavy water production facility at the Vemork hydroelectric power plant at Rjukan, Norway in February 1943. The Nazis intended the heavy water for nuclear weapons research. The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) named this raid Operation Gunnerside. 

Oct 23, 2016

60 min

Reviews