1945: The Beginning of the End | Yalta, Dresden & the Race for Berlin

Discover unpublished and rarely seen photographs from the Battle of Berlin in 1945, brought together in an exclusive collection for history enthusiasts. More than 200 historical photographs take you through the final days of the Third Reich and reveal scenes rarely shown in documentaries. Between 1943 and 1945, the Eastern Front was the stage for one of the most gigantic and destructive military campaigns in history. After stopping the Wehrmacht at Stalingrad and definitively regaining the initiative following the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army began an almost uninterrupted offensive toward the west. Millions of Soviet soldiers advanced through devastated territories, recapturing cities, towns, and regions that Germany had conquered since the start of Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Ukraine, Belarus, and vast areas of Russia became huge battlefields involving entire armies, thousands of tanks, and artillery concentrations of a scale difficult to imagine. It was no longer merely a matter of expelling the Germans from Soviet territory: the ultimate goal would end up being to destroy the military power of the Third Reich and bring the war to the very

From Tobruk to El Alamein and Operation Torch, see how Montgomery's 8th Army broke Rommel and ended Axis power in North Africa. June 11, 1940: Italy enters the war, threatening Suez and Britain's lifelines. Outnumbered in men and aircraft, General Wavell faces 250,000 Italian troops with thin forces from Egypt to East Africa. Early raids give way to bold counterblows as Bardia falls and Tobruk is taken, but the arrival of General Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps reverses fortunes. The siege of Tobruk grinds on, Halfaya Pass is a bruising contest, and on 21 June 1942 Tobruk falls, which Churchill calls one of the heaviest blows he could recall. Churchill arrives with new leadership: General Alexander and General Montgomery. With fresh Sherman tanks and RAF cover, Monty launches Operation Lightfoot on 23 October 1942, a night-long barrage that shocks the Axis. Fighting through deep minefields and fierce counterattacks, the Allies wear the enemy down. Operation Supercharge on 2 November breaks the line and forces a retreat. The 8th Army pursues fast, regaining Mersa Matruh, recapturing Tobruk on 13 November

Inside Operation Mushtarak, the massive 2010 Allied offensive to reclaim the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand Province. Experience the raw combat reality faced by US Marines as they navigate deadly IED networks, elite sniper fire, and brutal room-to-room combat while attempting to execute President Obama’s counterinsurgency strategy. War Stories is your one-stop shop for all things military history. From Waterloo to Verdun, we'll be bringing you only the best documentaries and stories from history's most engaging and dramatic conflicts. You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more. You can find more from us on

A daring plan, a deadly corridor, and one bridge that changed everything. Step onto the streets of Arnhem as the Allies launch Operation Market Garden, a high-stakes bid to end the war by Christmas. From Joe’s Bridge to the Lower Rhine, witness how flawless planning met fierce resistance: radios fail at critical moments, drop zones lie eight miles from the target, and SS Panzer divisions refit faster than expected. See why John Frost’s 2nd Battalion dug in at the road bridge with dwindling ammo and water, how the stormboat assault at Nijmegen turned the tide there, and why the Polish brigade’s delayed drop mattered more than anyone feared. Tiger tanks, broken tow ropes, lost gliders, and a nighttime evacuation known as Operation Berlin all collide in a battle that still provokes “what if?” Discover the courage, the missteps, and the razor-thin margins that made Arnhem a legend. Watch to uncover the decisive moments you think you know — and the ones history nearly forgot. Watch now for the full story.

From the omen of 1066's long-haired star to Hastings and the Harrowing of the North, this episode charts William the Conqueror's brutal rise. In History Makers, we trace the Norman story from Viking roots to the making of a king. We meet Rolf the Ganger and the birth of Normandy under Charles the Simple, then enter William's perilous childhood: assassination plots, the murder of his guardian Osborne Crepon, and years of anarchy. We see the young duke's iron resolve at Alençon, where taunts of "hides for the tanner" triggered a ruthless reprisal, and his strategic marriage to Matilda of Flanders. With Edward the Confessor's death, rival claims ignite. We examine Harold Godwinson's disputed oath in Normandy, William's papal-backed invasion force, and the contrasting battle doctrines of Norman combined arms of archers, spearmen and cavalry, as shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, versus the Anglo-Saxon shield wall and Dane axes. After Harold's dash north to defeat Harald Hardrada and Tostig at Stamford Bridge, the stage is set at Senlac Hill. At Hastings, arrows, infantry and cavalry grind at the Saxon line. When

Located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, between Poland and Lithuania, Kaliningrad is a piece of Russia in the heart of Europe. A curious territory, isolated from Moscow after the fall of the USSR, today transformed into a military fortress facing NATO. In Kaliningrad, headquarters of the Russian Baltic fleet, there are 30,000 soldiers, hypersonic missiles and nuclear capability. We were able to enter this territory almost inaccessible since the war in Ukraine. In this closely guarded enclave, the journalists followed the elections for the new governor. The outgoing candidate, Antone Alikhanov, who is totally loyal to Vladimir Putin, renewed his mandate with 80% of the votes. Kaliningrad is under economic embargo by the European Union and its population is suffering. Foodstuffs are becoming scarce. The price of coal is exploding. But, fed by the Kremlin’s television propaganda, most of the population supports the war. Only the Europeanized youth dare to half-heartedly criticize the government. The strategic situation of Kaliningrad and Putin’s desire to conquer it are worrying its neighbors, the Baltic states. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, former Soviet