DISC ONE - BATTLESHIPS AT WAR
The battleship reigned supreme in naval warfare from the start of this century to 1945 and, though only the Dardanelles and Jutland provided action in World War I, German rearmament ensured the heavily armed queen of the seas would play a major part in the second conflict. The Royal Navy won early successes: the mighty Graf Spee was scuttled off South America, while half of Raeder's fleet was destroyed at Narvik. U-Boats and air power posed a real threat to battleship superiority, as proved by British torpedo bombers at Taranto. Admiral Cunningham's fleet, led by HMS Warspite, ensured the Royal Navy's mastery of the Mediterranean, crushing Italy at Cape Matapan. Battleships later played a leading role in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and the D-Day landings as floating weapons platforms pounding shore-based enemy positions. The US Navy proved all-powerful in the Pacific, Leyte Gulf leaving the Japanese with only one surviving battleship. Fittingly, the final act of the war took place on USS Missouri as Japan signed the surrender. The Allies had secured ultimate victory - a triumph in which the battleship had played its part.
DISC TWO - GREAT GERMAN BATTLESHIPS OF WORLD WAR TWO
This fascinating DVD, using archive footage, stills and interviews with German ex-Naval officers and seamen, concentrates on the exploits of the famous Bismarck. This is followed by an in-depth portrait of the mightiest and most famous German warships of World War Two, including the big sea battles they encountered.
DISC THREE - KRIEGSMARINE
Adolf Hitler had promised his naval commanders that there would be no war in Europe before 1942. Accordingly, plans were laid for the best naval force in the world, but when Hitler precipitated the Second World War in 1939, only a fraction of the necessary ships and submarines were ready. At the outbreak of war Germany did not even possess a single aircraft carrier. The battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz fought famous actions at sea, but the Kriegsmarine was always on the back foot, crippled by superior opponents and strangled by bureaucratic neglect at home. This DVD features rare footage from the British and German archives of the men and ships of the Kriegsmarine in its brief heyday plus innovative maps and graphics, and new footage of the last resting place of the Tirpitz. It also includes computer animation and military analysis from Dr. Simon Trew and Tim Bean of The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
