Documentary
Foot Soldier is a 45 minute documentary hosted by Richard Karn explaining the life of a Foot Soldier in various armies throughout time.
A look at the history of ancient Egypt's fighting forces, the world's first organized group of soldiers.
The warriors of ancient Greece, from the warring city-states of Athens and Sparta to the Macedonians under Philip II and Alexander the Great.
The warriors of ancient Rome, who established an empire from Scotland to Saudi Arabia before succumbing to invasions of Germanic peoples in the 5th century.
A look at “The Barbarians,” the warriors who lived on the fringes of ancient Greece and eventually put a halt to Roman expansion. Originally, the word applied to those who spoke a different language than their more “civilized” opponents.
A look at the knights of medieval Europe who pledged loyalty to their kings and fought for feudal lords in their quests for land and power. And though chivalry was the order of the day, not everyone wore shining armor.
A study of Vikings, who, though they were known for their seafaring abilities, were also fierce warriors on land, and their influence spread across Europe and parts of North America.
A study of the men who fought in Napoleon's armies around the turn of the 18th century. The troops conquered more of Europe than anyone since Caesar, but met their match at Waterloo in 1815.
"Yankees" looks at the soldiers who fought for the Union in the American Civil War, and were made up of groups of men from a variety of backgrounds.
A look at the Rebels who fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War, and who, though often ill-equipped, nearly toppled the Union. Included: camp life; their devotion to General Robert E. Lee.
The infantries of World War I that fought across most of Europe and in Russia with the newest and deadliest weapons the world had ever known.
The “Axis” looks at the men who fought for Germany, Italy and Japan in World War II, from the deserts of Africa and the jungles of Asia to the Eastern front.
A look at the men who contributed to the Allied victory in World War II over dictatorships and nationalism.
"Today and the 21st Century" examines the current training and weaponry of the infantry soldier, and high-tech battle devices of the future.
Host
Ancient Warriors is a 1994 20-part documentary series from the Discovery Channel. Each half-hour episode looks at a major fighting people or force and charts the reasons for their rise to dominance and subsequent fall. The show explores the motivations of ancient soldiers, as well as how they lived, fought, trained, died, and changed the world. It also uses battle re-enactments and computer graphics to demonstrate military strategy.
A six-part French documentary about the Second World War composed exclusively of actual footage of the war as filmed by war correspondents, soldiers, resistance fighters and private citizens. The series is shown in color, with the black and white footage being fully colorized, save for some original color footage. The only exception to the treatment are most Holocaust scenes, which are presented in the original black and white.
Myths die hard, and the history of the 20th century is no exception to this rule. Even today, we hold popular beliefs that we take for Evangelical truths. Thus, we believe that Hiroshima caused Japan to surrender, that the Marshall Plan saved Europe, that Adolf Hitler was a military genius, or that Mao Zedong was a necessary evil for China’s modernization. Of course, these judgements contain some truth; but, too broad-stroked to be accurate, they contradict the historical reality by denying its complexity. What if the truth was slightly different? Through an exploration of great national or international myths, this full archive documentary collection revisits the key moments of the 20th century with a new perspective in order to provide a new, smarter and more subtle interpretation, bringing elements to light that have been forgotten or sometimes overshadowed.
The elite Combat Rescue members of the U.S. Air Force, Pararescuemen, or PJs, have one mission: rescue American or Allied forces in extreme danger. Whether their targets are shot down or isolated behind enemy lines, surrounded, engaged, wounded, or captured by the enemy, PJs will do whatever necessary to bring those in peril home. For the first time in their history, the PJs allow camera crews to cover their missions in Afghanistan. Inside Combat Rescue is the story of the lives of these elite airmen.
Mount Kologet, Goldsboro, Palomares, Thule… Four nuclear accidents, four stains on the history of the Cold War. Four names that are now forgotten. These events lay undiscovered for years having been classified as official secrets. Now published, the files show how the relentless standoff between the two superpowers spiraled out of control and led us to the brink of obliteration.
Blueprints of War will strive to encompass the most famous military conflicts, leaders and weapons throughout time. From the beaches of Normandy to the fields of Gettysburg and the minefields of Vietnam, Blueprints of War will traverse the battlefields of the globe telling the story hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute
During the second world war, the Nazis looted everything they could get their hands on, including an estimated 600 tons of gold, thousands of pieces of artwork, and millions of priceless artifacts. While some of these items have been found, much of it remains missing. Treasure hunter Darrell Miklos believes some of these stolen riches were loaded into specially modified U-Boats that are currently lying at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. His evidence: two top-secret documents acquired over 40 years of research.
Told from the perspective of the rebel leaders, the series chronicles a wave of rebellions against absolute power by those the Roman Empire called “barbarians” – tribes they viewed as beyond the fringe of civilization that lived a brutish and violent existence. But these also were men and women who launched epic struggles that shaped the world to come with a centuries-long fight to defeat the sprawling empire.
