Series:
Battlefield: World War II
Mon-Fri, at 6 p.m. ET/PT
Each program reviews the political and military situation prior to the battle, illustrates clearly and intelligently the component phases and tactics, and summarizes the implications for both victor and the defeated. Each program also includes profiles of the principal leaders and commanders, in-depth analysis of the main weapon systems, and assessments of the military forces engaged.
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Battlefield: Vietnam
Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Battlefield: Vietnam is a definitive documentary of the Vietnam War as a war. It intentionally avoids the subsidiary issues that cloud judgment of the war, so that a clearer picture of what actually happened on the ground and in the air will emerge. The Vietnam War was the most photographed war in history, and the series will benefit from the rich archival footage available. But the series will be distinctive in that it will draw upon many new sources unfamiliar to American audiences. French and Chinese footage will be used, as will footage by Vietnamese cameramen (from both sides), which has only recently become available.
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Specials:
Gunner Palace
Thu, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Gunner Palace reveals the complex realities of the situation in Iraq not seen on the nightly news. Told first-hand by our troops, Gunner Palace presents a thought-provoking portrait of a dangerous and chaotic war that is personal, highly emotional, sometimes disturbing, surprisingly amusing … and thoroughly fascinating.
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Big Red One: Behind the Game
Tue, Nov. 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new video game "Call of Duty 2: Big Red One" as well as a historical overview of the famed division itself. During World War II, the men of the 1st Infantry Division — aka the Big Red One — were the first to reach England, the first to fight the enemy in Africa and Sicily, the first on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, and the first to capture a major German city — Aachen.
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Operation Sea Dragon
Thu, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
The Northern Persian Gulf …40 miles from the Iraqi coast. A US Navy Carrier Strike Group is on full combat alert. On the flight deck of the carrier USS Carl Vinson jet turbines roar to life and F-18s scream north into Iraq. Twenty miles to the east, a US Navy boarding party races to intercept a suspicious oil tanker. To the west, an Italian Navy helicopter gun ship swoops in for a better look at a fishing dhow …
In the darkened air bridge of the US cruiser, Antietam , every blip on the glowing computer screens represents potential danger. Land-based missiles in Iran are 45 seconds away. Every small boat is a bomb threat.
This is Operation Sea Dragon — an enormous international naval coalition waging a dramatic 24/7 war on terror in the most economically important and most dangerous body of water in the world.
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Top Ten Fighting Ships
Fri, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Will sea-going behemoths like the Bismarck drive Fletcher class destroyers out of the list? Can the high tech but untested guided missile cruisers of the Ticonderoga class really be serious contenders against HMS Warspite with her countless battle honors and service in two World Wars? And is the brand new stealth corvette HMS Visby really the forerunner of a whole new breed of warship? Our experts will examine British American, German and Swedish designs, comparing their firepower, armor, speed and operational success. Only one of the ten selected designs can earn the title of the ultimate fighting ship. As each warship comes under scrutiny the dramatic story of war at sea in the 20th century will emerge — ships with batteries of huge guns that can fire one ton shells at targets 14 miles away, nuclear-powered floating cities that carry as many aircraft as some nations' entire air forces and humble 'tin can' escort vessels. Each has played their part in the shaping of the modern world.
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Goin’ Back: Korea
Fri, Nov. 11, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
The third installment of Goin’ Back takes a group of Korean War veterans back to the battlefields in "The Land of Morning Calm" where they fought as young men. Servicemen of all stripes are featured — from Privates to Generals — and the history of the conflict is revealed from the hands-on memories of warriors from the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. The highly-decorated cast features two Medal of Honor winners and a Korean-American doctor many believe should have won the Nobel Prize for his role in saving the lives of 100,000 of his countrymen when they were refugees from the Chinese Communists. He has been called the "Schindler" of Korea. The tour visits all politically-available destinations on the Korean peninsula — Seoul, the DMZ, the Inchon Landing, the Pusan Perimeter, and more.
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Top Ten Infantry Fighting Vehicles
Fri, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Can the lumbering half-tracks of the World War II compare with today's high speed designs? Is the fully armed 'infantry fighting vehicle' better for the job than older armored personnel carriers? And how does the US Army's new but still controversial wheeled Stryker vehicle measure up against fully tracked systems? Our experts will look at American, British, Soviet, Canadian and Israeli designs. Innovation, protection, mobility and overall battlefield performance will determine the place each machine occupies in the final Top Ten list. As we select the ultimate Infantry Fighting Vehicle of all time the story of the struggle to protect the vulnerable infantryman and the theories behind rival designs will emerge. Wheels versus tracks, heavy firepower versus the simple 'battle taxi'? Top Ten Infantry Fighting Vehicles reveals the competing theories behind these vital machines.
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10th Mountain Division
Sun, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
This program goes into the field with the storied 10th Mountain Division to show how they operate in Afghanistan and Iraq and how they live and train at their headquarters in Fort Drum, New York.
Escape to the Legion
Sun, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. ET/PT
For generations the French Foreign Legion has been romanticized as a place where men can take flight to find a second chance in life. But what’s it really like? In this series a group of volunteers are put through a month’s brutal training at an ex-Legion fort in the Western Sahara. In the hands of three ex-Legionnaires the recruits discover the truth about the unique military culture that makes the Legion among the toughest of fighting forces.
Goin’ Back: Vietnam
Mon, Dec. 19, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Goin’ Back: Vietnam takes particular notice of the unique character of the Vietnam War and its long-lasting effects on its veterans. A hand-picked group of veterans is being selected for the trip in cooperation with the V.A. and several mental health professionals, with an eye to capturing the healing that is possible when individuals have the courage to revisit places which haunt them. The tour will hit all the most famous locations of the war, starting with both Hanoi and Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City), and visiting the battlefields at Hue (including the Forbidden City), DaNang, Hoa Lo Prison (The "Hanoi Hilton"), China Beach, Quang Tri, Vinh Moc (with a rarely seen Viet Cong Tunnel Complex), the Razorback, the Rockpile, Hamburger Hill, and more.
Stunts/Anniversaries:
Veteran's Day:
Voices of the Great War
Fri, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Voices of the Great Waris a very human, very real and very moving exploration of a world at war. Through the words of a generation no longer with us we can visualize the front line and re-live the endless artillery barrages, suicidal assaults across no-man's land and torpedo attacks on the high seas. Unique voice recordings combined with historical imagery take us back to the trenches and help us relive the human tragedy that was the Great War. The Imperial War Museum in London houses an unrivalled Sound Archive that contains over 1,500 interviews with World War One veterans. Totaling 8,000 hours of audiotape, these fascinating recordings make an impersonal war personal and speak volumes of the horror and the tragedy, the comic and the mundane, that made up over four years of global conflict. The true horror of World War One can only be told by the men and women who were there.
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Other programs airing on Veteran’s Day:
Citizen Soldier : 9 p.m. ET/PT
Goin’Back: Korea: 10 p.m. ET/PT
Army/Navy Week:
Mon, Nov. 28 to Sat, Dec. 3
We’ll celebrate the road to the annual Army/Navy game with five nights of programming on these two most renowned US armed services. 8 p.m. will be dedicated to an Army program and 9 p.m. will be dedicated to a Navy program every night from Mon, Nov. 28 to Fri, Dec. 2.
Our live event titled Live from Army/Navy will air from 12:30-2:30 p.m. ET prior to kick-off of the Army/Navy game on December 3.
