In 331 b.C., the two most powerful armies in the world met outside a small village in what is now considered to be Northern Iraq. On one side stood Alexander the Great, the young King of Macedonia, and his small but highly trained force of cavalrymen and foot soldiers. Opposing him was Darius III, the King of Persia, with an army of men that outnumbered Alexander’s forces by ten to one. This documentary reveals how Alexander’s innovative military tactics during the Battle of Gaugamela - now considered to be one of the greatest military engagements of the ancient world - allowed him to prevail against seemingly overwhelming odds to become the master of his world and one of the greatest warriors in history.
In December of 1944, the Germans launched 200,000 soldiers and over 500 tanks against the Allied lines in Belgium in what would prove to be the costliest land battle of World War II. Hitler’s desperate attempt to stave off defeat in Europe managed to catch the Allied forces off guard, pushing them back to form a new frontline that "bulged" into their controlled territory. For 41 days, amidst brutal winter conditions, the two sides engaged in fierce pitched fighting that involved over one million men in total and would eventually claim more than 160,000 casualties and the loss of over 1,600 tanks. This stunning documentary details how the tactics of the Allies repelled this massive offensive and broke the back of the German army in a battle that would eventually determine the final outcome of the war.
Napoleon’s last battle and one that would put a final end to his rule as Emperor of France, the Battle of Waterloo forever altered not only the future of the European continent but that of the world itself. On 18th June 1815, the fate of Europe rested in the hands of two distinguished generals. Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of France, had marshalled his forces together in an attempt to control the entire continent. Opposing him was an army of British, Dutch and Prussian Allies, led by the brilliant commander Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. The tactics employed during that brutal one-day confrontation and how it became the last stand, and ultimate defeat, for one of the greatest military geniuses to have ever lived provide the basis for this fascinating documentary.