The Phoney War

The annihilation of Hiroshima ends the war with Japan, but peace brings new enmities and flashpoints: Divided Berlin, Korea, Hungary and Suez. With Jonathan Dimbleby.

The Allied advance through Germany recaptures Berlin, but uncovers the atrocities of the Holocaust, as war in the Far East rages on. With Jonathan Dimbleby.

As Paris falls to the Allies and German resistance in Italy falters, the defeat at Arnhem in the Netherlands is a major setback for the Allies. With Jonathan Dimbleby.

1944’s hush-hush Allied plans to invade occupied France bring success, but hard fighting, as Hitler’s troops are well dug in in Normandy. With Jonathan Dimbleby.

The German army outflanks the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and forces the epic retreat of Dunkirk as Paris falls to Hitler’s forces.

WW2 begins quietly with little actual fighting, but BBC reporters develop brilliant skills at telling the story of ‘the Phoney War’. With Jonathan Dimbleby.

Jonathan Dimbleby listens to the 1930s drumbeat of war through the burgeoning reporting skills of the BBC’s newly-appointed reporter corps.