(Great Commanders in Conflict)
(26 X 46 minute episodes)
THE SERIES
During the Twentieth Century there have been two world wars and numerous conflicts which have produced some of the most complex battles ever fought by Mankind on this planet.
The Second World War alone accounted directly or indirectly for the loss of fifty million lives. Each major war or conflict has produced heroes of the hour - men who rose above the mediocre to lead their fellow men to victory and sometimes defeat. These Great Commanders have led and inspired their troops on land, on sea and in the air.
In the great tradition of Alexander the Great, Nelson, George Washington and Napoleon, the Twentieth Century has produced its own commanders who for the first time, have had their exploits filmed. In many cases their rise through the ranks, their social backgrounds, their early mistakes and the formulation of their personalities have been recorded on moving film in a way that was not possible in any other age.
In this new series ‘Face Off’ the producers have had access to 500,000 hours of the finest and most elusive archive film in the world. By examining the lives of these great Twentieth Century Commanders in pictorial detail and with newly produced 3-D graphics it is possible to take, in each programme, two of the world's greatest combatants in their ultimate test - the Battle which took place at the peak of their careers and which led to victory for one and very often disgrace, defeat and failure for the other.
‘Face Off’ examines the background tactics and strategy which enabled Admiral Nimitz to defeat Admiral Yamamoto at Midway. It will take you behind the scenes in the Battle of Britain and show in never before shown footage how Air Marshall Dowding defeated the Luftwaffe of Herman Goering with only a handful of Spitfires and Hurricanes.
New state of the art 3-D graphics will enable the viewer to carefully weigh the balance of probabilities as codebreaking, logistics, bravado and luck all played the part as the great Commanders came together for the final face-off.
How did Bradley defeat Model in the Bulge? How did Halsey beat Kurita at Leyte? What were the tactics used by Schwarzkopf to defeat Saddam and how did Buckner beat Ushijima at Okinawa?
Only by viewing the secrets, some of which will be revealed in this series for the first time, will the viewer be taken behind the scenes and shown the build up to twenty-six of the most pivotal clashes of the Twentieth Century. Face-offs between the biggest names that history can provide. The ultimate weighed and measured clash of the Titans - ‘Face Off’.
FOR WORLDWIDE TV RIGHTS
PLEASE CONTACT :
MICHAEL KATZ
VICE PRESIDENT PROGRAMMING & PRODUCTION
THE INTERNATIONAL DEPT,
THE HISTORY CHANNEL
A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS
235 EAST 45TH STREET
NEW YORK
NY - 10017
USA
TEL: 001 212 210 9003
FAX: 001 212 907 9476
E-MAIL: michael.katz@aetn.com
FOR WORLDWIDE VIDEO AND ALL PUBLISHING RIGHTS
PLEASE CONTACT:
KATE WINN
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING HOME VIDEO
NEW VIDEO GROUP
A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS
216 EAST 45TH STREET
NEW YORK
NY - 10017
USA
TEL: 001 203 353 7204
FAX: 001 212 907 9418
E-MAIL: kate.winn@aetn.com
ALSO DVDs ARE AVAILABLEIN THE USA
PLEASE CONTACT:
SUSAN MARGOLIN
NEW VIDEO GROUP INC
902 BROADWAY (9TH FLOOR)
NEW YORK
NY 10010
USA
TEL: (212) 206 8600 X 226
FAX: (212) 206 9001
E-MAIL: SMargolin@newvideo.com
THE STORIES
(each programme = 26 minutes)
Programme 1
Hindenburg vs The Grand Duke Nicholas
(The Battle of Tannenberg)
Within weeks of the outbreak of World War 1, the course of the struggle on the Western Front was effectively decided amid the vast plains, forests, and lakes of East Prussia. A 67-year-old German general, Paul von Hindenburg, was brought out of retirement to defend his country. In one of the great annihilation battles of history he defeated two Russian armies co-ordinated by the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke Nicholas. Specially researched computer maps and graphics show in detail how the Germans used superior mobility to defeat a numerically superior enemy, and illustrate some of the critical moments of the battle.
For video availability click here.
Programme 2
Petain vs Von Falkenhayn
(The Battle for Verdun)
Desperate to break the stalemate on the Western Front in 1916, Germany's army chief-of-staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, conceived a diabolical plan -by attacking one of France's most symbolic towns he would draw her army into a bloodbath, and bleed it to death. At first this seemed to be working all too well, for more than six months the battle raged, with more than three-quarters of the French army going in to defend Verdun and suffering dreadfully. But the Germans had not allowed for the courage of the ordinary French soldiers, or the steadfastness of their commander, Philippe Petain.
For video availability click here.
Programme 3
Allenby vs von Sanders
(The Battle of Megiddo)
The last great cavalry battle in history was fought on the biblical site of Armageddon in Palestine during the latter stages of World War 1. In a brilliantly executed surprise attack, British Empire Forces led by Edmund Allenby and supported by Lawrence and the Arabs, shattered an outnumbered Turkish army under the command of German general Liman von Sanders, and brought about the collapse of the centuries-old Ottoman Empire. The battle also included the use of early air power, and specially-developed full-colour computer graphics illustrate one of the most crucial actions.
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Programme 4
Haig vs Ludendorff
(Kaiserschlacht - the German 1918 offensives)
As 1918 dawned, Germany's commander on the Western Front, Erich von Ludendorff, launched a desperate gamble to win the war before the growing flood of American troops being deployed against him led to certain defeat. Using specially-trained stormtroops and the most concentrated artillery barrage yet known, his troops burst through the British lines and seemed to be threatening Paris. But the nerve of the British, and their commander Douglas Haig held. Despite repeated attempts, the last great German offensive was ground down. The battles were notable for the first tank against tank engagement in history, and this is brought to life in a carefully-researched four-colour graphic.
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Programme 5
Pershing vs von Gallwitz
(The Meuse-Argonne offensives)
September 1918 saw the first full-scale action of the American Expeditionary Force during World War 1. Its commander, John 'Black Jack' Pershing had carefully built up its strength and now his inexperienced troops were committed to battle against some of Germany's most battle-hardened troops, led by their outstanding leader, Max von Gallwitz. Superb four-colour computer graphics illustrate the difficult wooded and hilly terrain with which the Americans were confronted, the superb German defences they had to overcome, and the way in which tanks worked with infantry to achieve a successful breakthrough.
For video availability click here.
Programme 6
Dowding vs Goering
(The Battle of Britain)
In the summer of 1940 Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany. Much of Europe had been defeated, and the triumphant Luftwaffe under its flamboyant leader Hermann Goering was poised to seize control of the air and allow an invasion of this last bastion of freedom. Only Royal Air Force Fighter Command stood in the way - and the Germans had no doubt that this could swiftly be annihilated. But its reserved and unassuming commander Hugh Dowding was determined that his massively outnumbered force could save his country. Action footage and specially-developed computer graphics combine to tell the story of a unique confrontation - the only battle which has ever been decided by air power alone.
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Programme 7
Rommel vs Montgomery
(The Battle of El Alamein)
Manfred Rommel made his name as one of the outstanding commanders of World War 2 leading the German Afrika Korps in a series of sweeping victories which took his forces almost to the banks of the Suez Canal. But at an obscure railway halt in the desert, he came up against his nemesis. Cautious and methodical, Bernard Montgomery was a very different sort of leader, but one ideally suited to the costly and desperate slogging match that was needed to penetrate the formidable Axis defence lines and begin the long advance across North Africa. Four-colour computer graphics complement action footage to bring alive the methods used to achieve the vital breakthrough.
For video availability click here.
Programme 8
Alexander vs von Arnim
(The endgame in Tunisia)
On the 13th of May 1943, the Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered. It was a cataclysmic defeat on the scale of Stalingrad, and one which the skill of the German commander Jurgen von Arnim and his outnumbered troops could only postpone but not avoid. For the first time in World War 2, British and US forces fought side by side under Harold Alexander, and the inexperienced American troops found that they had to learn fast against a determined and battle-hardened enemy. Soon new tactics were developed, illustrated here with unique computer simulations, to achieve a final victory.
For video availability click here.
Programme 9
Zhukov vs von Bock
(The Battle for Moscow)
By the beginning of December, German troops were within sight of the Kremlin. The Panzers of Fedor von Bock seemed poised to capture the capital of the Soviet Union and complete the triumph of Operation Barbarossa. But they had reckoned without the heroic resistance of the Russian people and the nerve of Georgi Zhukov. As ferocious conditions slowed their advance, the Germans were struck and hurled back by fresh Red Army divisions which had been brought up secretly for a surprise offensive. Rarely-seen archive film and four-colour graphics bring alive one of the most critical moments of World War 2.
For video availability click here.
Programme 10
Yamamoto vs Nimitz
(The Battle of Midway)
Few battles have been so decisive or decided so swiftly. In only four minutes the elite of Japan’s naval airpower was devastated by a surprise US divebomber attack. Japan’s legendary naval commander-in-chief, Isoruko Yamamoto, had hoped to settle the future of the war in the Pacific in one decisive operation. His over-complex plan did - but not in the way he had intended; for the brilliance of US Naval codebreakers, the courage of its naval pilots, and the daring of Chester Nimitz brought the apparently unstoppable Japanese offensive of the previous six months to a sudden halt. Four-colour graphics and action footage explain the battle at which the tide turned inexorably in favour of the United States.
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Programme 11
Doenitz vs Horton
(The Battle of the Atlantic)
It was the longest campaign in World War 2, and the one which came closest to gaining outright victory for Hitler. Had the German U-boat fleet of Karl Doenitz succeeded in throttling Britian’s supply lines all effective resistance in the West would have been at an end. For both sides it was an epic contest not just against a brave enemy but against the perils of the Atlantic Ocean and crucial advances in technology. The critical moment came in April 1943 when the Germans hoped to strike a critical blow at one convoy - ONS-5. Graphics and action footage combine to show how they were defeated by the skill of Max Horton, C-in-C of Western Approaches, and the courage and tenacity of his crews.
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Programme 12
Vandegrift vs Hyakutake
(The Guadalcanal Campaign)
When US reconnaissance aircraft spotted the Japanese building an airfield on the Solomon Island of Guadalcanal it was realised that urgent action was required if plans for a fightback were not to be disrupted. US Marines under Alexander Vandegrift were given only weeks to prepare for their first landings of World War 2. The first assault went well, but then the Japanese led by Haruyoshi Hyakutake struck back. The stage was set for an epic struggle in which the outnumbered Marines clung to their toeholds in a series of bloody battles which are brought to life by extraordinary action footage and four-colour graphics.
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Programme 13
Paulus vs Chuikov
(The Battle for Stalingrad)
The German defeat at Stalingrad was a defining moment in Hitler’s dream of world domination. For the first time in World War 2, a German field-marshal, Friedrich Paulus, was forced to surrender with his devastated army. Under the savage leadership of Vasili Chuikov, the Red Army had clung on to prove that it could defeat its implacable enemy and that ultimate victory was possible. Unique footage from both sides and detailed computer graphics show how both armies were drawn into an horrific and titanic struggle.
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Programme 14
Von Manstein vs Vatutin
(The Battle of Kursk)
Operation Citadel, Hitler’s attempt to ‘pinch out’ the Kursk Salient, was his last great offensive on the Eastern Front. It became the greatest clash of armour the world had ever seen, and both armies knew that this was a pivotal battle of World War 2. If the German Panzer armies under Erich von Manstein - reinforced with the latest Tiger tanks - could break through, more than half a million Soviet troops would be cut off. If Nikolai Vatutin’s men could hurl them back, then a resurgent Red Army could seize the initiative for a series of relentless offensives.
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Programme 15
Harris vs Kammhuber
(The Battle of the Ruhr)
With the words ‘They have sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind’, Arthur Harris sent the RAF’s Bomber Command to lay waste to Hitler’s Reich. Convinced that his air power could win the war, and reinforced with an ever-growing force of Lancaster bombers and new tactics, he targeted Germany’s industrial heartland for a massive 1943 offensive. But the RAF was up against ever-more sophisticated German air defence lines, orchestrated and controlled by the resourceful and resilient Josef Kammhuber. In the end, the losses to German flak and nightfighters could not be sustained.
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Programme 16
Eisenhower vs von Rundstedt
(D-Day)
The Allied invasion of Europe on 6 June 1944 was the greatest all-arms combined operation in military history. Allied Supreme Commander, Dwight D Eisenhower, had an armada of 6,000 ships, almost 3 million men, and a bewildering array of weapons and equipment for Operation Overlord. They faced a German enemy that was battle-hardened, formidable in defence, and commanded by one of the Wehrmacht’s most experienced leaders, Gerd von Rundstedt. D-Day was a huge gamble, and its success or failure would decide the war in the West.
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Programme 17
Patton vs von Kluge
(Breakout from Normandy)
For weeks after the D-Day landings, Allied troops were pinned down in the dense Normandy ‘bocage’, the small fields, narrow lanes, and high hedgerows where German anti-tank ambushes and snipers inflicted mounting casualties. Their resistance would only be broken by a spectacular breakout action, and this vital task was entrusted to the flamboyant, hard-driving George Patton. Once his armoured units had been unleashed on the Allied right wing, and were swinging round behind the German defences there was little that Guenther Hans von Kluge’s battle-weary troops could do to hold the line.
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Programme 18
Bradley vs Model
(The Battle of the Bulge)
The German counteroffensive in the Ardennes at Christmas 1944 was Hitler’s last throw of the dice, a desperate and ill-conceived attempt to split the Western Allies apart and win a spectacular victory. Despite warnings of an impending attack, Omar Bradley’s troops in the quiet Ardennes sector were taken by surprise as the Panzers of Walther Model burst upon them. Recovering swiftly from their confusion, the Americans fell back until supply problems slowed the German assault and a counterattack could be mounted.
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Programme 19
Stillwell vs Honda
(The Siege of Myitkyina)
Almost two years after the triumphant Japanese offensives in Malaya and Burma, the Allies were regaining confidence in their ability to take on their enemy in the jungle and beat them. This was to be put to the test in spring 1944 when the need to open supply routes to China demanded the capture of the key town of Myitkyina. The task was entrusted to Chinese troops led by US general ‘Vinegar Joe’ Stillwell and reinforced with a special American force ‘Merrill’s Marauders’. This faced a desperate struggle in the jungles and mountains against the fanatical troops of Masaki Honda.
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Programme 20
Halsey vs Kurita
(The Battle of Leyte Gulf)
By the autumn of 1944, US forces were poised to begin to recapture the Philippines. To destroy the American invasion fleet, the Japanese navy adopted a complex plan under which the US carriers of William ‘Bull’ Halsey would be lured away by a decoy force of the remaining Japanese carriers, while a powerful battlefleet led by Takeo Kurita would fall upon the unsupported US transports and their escorts. Computer graphics and action footage are used to clarify the stages of the ensuing engagements in which the Japanese came close to achieving their goal.
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Programme 21
Buckner vs Ushijima
(The Conquest of Okinawa)
With the war in Europe in its final throes and Japanese resistance crumbling, it was hoped that an American assault on the home island of Okinawa would be relatively straightforward. When the first waves of troops and Marines under Simon Bolivar Buckner went ashore against only token resistance, this hope seemed justified. But the Japanese commander, Mitsuru Ushijima, had other ideas, and soon the Americans were coming up against formidable defence lines manned by fanatical defenders. The battle became one of the bloodiest of the Pacific War, and before it ended, both commanders were dead.
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Programme 22
Clark vs Kesselring
(The Landings at Anzio)
By Christmas 1943 the Allied advance in Italy had ground to a halt before the formidable German defences of the Gustav Line. Winston Churchill played a key role in the decision to outflank these by landing a corps from Mark Clark’s US Fifth Army at Anzio, midway between the Gustav Line and Rome.
While the rest of the army mounted diversionary attacks the landings achieved complete surprise. But then the US commander failed to exploit this, and a counterattack, brilliantly improvised by Albert Kesselring almost succeeded in driving the Americans back into the sea.
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Programme 23
Yamashita vs Macarthur
(The Invasion of the Philippines)
As he was forced to withdraw from the Philippines in the dark days of spring 1942, Douglas MacArthur vowed ‘I will return’. Almost three years later he did, at the head of a massive US invasion force. Knowing that he could not hope to hold this on the beaches, the Japanese commander Tomoyuki Yamashita planned a final stand in the mountains to tie down as many US troops as possible. The campaign went very much as he intended with fierce fighting continuing until the end of the war.
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Programme 24
Saddam vs Schwarzkopf
(The Gulf War)
When Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, sent his forces to occupy oil-rich Kuwait, he can hardly have anticipated the response. Within days a massive international force, sanctioned by the UN, led by the US, but including a wide range of Arab allies, was pouring into Saudi Arabia. It was under the sometimes abrasive, but PR-friendly command of Norman Schwarzkopf, a veteran of Vietnam, and acknowledged expert in mobile warfare. What followed was the first high-tech war in history - specially- developed computer graphics supplement action footage to show how an air campaign using cruise missiles and other precision weaponry preceded a massive armoured assault. The liberation of Kuwait was achieved in less than four days.
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Programme 25
Dayan vs Amer
(The Six-Day War)
In early June 1967 the signs of an imminent Arab assault on Israel finally to eliminate the hated enemy were unmistakeable. But the Israelis did not sit around waiting. In a brilliantly-executed preemptive air strike the Egyptian air force was destroyed on the ground in minutes. Then Israeli defence minister Moshe Dayan co-ordinated a lightning armoured assault on the Egyptian forces in the Sinai Peninsula. Faced with the speed and aggression of the Israeli troops, there was little that the Egyptian commander Abd el Hakim Amer could do. It was all over in just six days.
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Programme 26
Giap vs Westmoreland
(The Tet Offensive)
By the beginning of 1968, the war in Vietnam had reached stalemate. The US had deployed half a million men, massive firepower, and every high-tech weapon in its armoury, but the Vietcong guerrillas and their North Vietnamese backers did not seem to realise that they should have been beaten. Then on 31 January, as the Tet Festival began, Communist forces co-ordinated by the legendary Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap launched a major offensive against every major city and military base in South Vietnam. At last the US commander, William Westmoreland had an enemy he could see and fight conventionally. He won the campaign, but the US lost the war. Popular opposition escalated, Westmoreland was replaced, and peace talks began a few months later.
For video availability click here.
FOR WORLDWIDE TV RIGHTS
PLEASE CONTACT :
MICHAEL KATZ
VICE PRESIDENT PROGRAMMIN & PRODUCTION
THE INTERNATIONAL DEPT,
THE HISTORY CHANNEL
A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS
235 EAST 45TH STREET
NEW YORK
NY - 10017
USA
TEL: 001 212 210 9003
FAX: 001 212 907 9476
E-MAIL: michael.katz@aetn.com
FOR WORLDWIDE VIDEO AND ALL PUBLISHING RIGHTS
PLEASE CONTACT:
KATE WINN
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING HOME VIDEO
NEW VIDEO GROUP
A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS
216 EAST 45TH STREET
NEW YORK
NY - 10017
USA
TEL: 001 203 353 7204
FAX: 001 212 907 9418
E-MAIL: kate.winn@aetn.com
ALSO DVDs ARE AVAILABLEIN THE USA
PLEASE CONTACT:
SUSAN MARGOLIN
NEW VIDEO GROUP INC
902 BROADWAY (9TH FLOOR)
NEW YORK
NY 10010
USA
TEL: (212) 206 8600 X 226
FAX: (212) 206 9001
E-MAIL: SMargolin@newvideo.com