Smithsonian Channel

The first invasion of the Italian Campaign of WWII: Operation Husky.

A secret British regiment in 1942 led a daring raid on a Nazi-occupied Libyan harbor.

An elite squad of Norwegians destroy a power plant in 1943 that the Nazis may have been using for nuclear weapons research.

An elite group of British paratroopers launch a midnight raid in order to capture Hitler's unusual radar equipment.

American paratroopers are dropped behind German lines on D-Day in order to secure territory behind the beaches.

British Commandos raid two occupied Norwegian islands to wipe out fish oil factories used to make explosives.

The first invasion of the Italian Campaign of WWII: Operation Husky.

A secret British regiment in 1942 led a daring raid on a Nazi-occupied Libyan harbor.

An elite squad of Norwegians destroy a power plant in 1943 that the Nazis may have been using for nuclear weapons research.

An elite group of British paratroopers launch a midnight raid in order to capture Hitler's unusual radar equipment.

American paratroopers are dropped behind German lines on D-Day in order to secure territory behind the beaches.

British Commandos raid two occupied Norwegian islands to wipe out fish oil factories used to make explosives.

The first invasion of the Italian Campaign of WWII: Operation Husky.

A secret British regiment in 1942 led a daring raid on a Nazi-occupied Libyan harbor.

An elite squad of Norwegians destroy a power plant in 1943 that the Nazis may have been using for nuclear weapons research.

Tackling the grade 6 rapids and untamed waters of the Buller River on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, blessed by a Māori elder of the Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō.

A perfect circle carved around an ancient peak; a scary phenomenon in the Pacific; strange shapes in a Middle Eastern desert; a formation below the ocean's surface.

Responding to an emergency call, Northstar marine sets out to salvage a sunken tug in the Delaware Bay; following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sally, Capt. Chris Ward and his crew work to salvage sunken sailboats and wrecked powerboats.

Tackling the grade 6 rapids and untamed waters of the Buller River on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, blessed by a Māori elder of the Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō.

A perfect circle carved around an ancient peak; a scary phenomenon in the Pacific; strange shapes in a Middle Eastern desert; a formation below the ocean's surface.

Responding to an emergency call, Northstar marine sets out to salvage a sunken tug in the Delaware Bay; following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sally, Capt. Chris Ward and his crew work to salvage sunken sailboats and wrecked powerboats.

Rare archive footage charts the German Army in 1940 as it unleashes a new Blitzkrieg tactic.

Cameras roll as Nazi Germany launches an all-out assault on the Soviet Union.

Footage of life and death on the battlefield of El Alamein and behind the lines in the African desert.

The story of the greatest tank battle the world has ever seen.

Eyewitness accounts from those who fought in the US military's bloodiest battle on the European front in World War II.

Incredible footage, colorized for the first time, chronicles the final days of the Third Reich and the brutal battle for Berlin, though German defeat looked certain. Nazi soldiers persisted in fighting despite the inevitability of their downfall.

The crew of the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier prepares to give air support to ground troops battling ISIS in Iraq.

A behind-the-scenes look at the operations of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier; the dedicated sailors who keep it running at maximum efficiency.

Investigating how early concepts of armoured fighting vehicles influenced the creation of the very first tank prototype; seeing how the muddy battlefields of WW I became a crucial testing ground for a machine that would soon change military history.

From the USS Langley to the high-tech floating airports; the history of the aircraft carrier and how its air wing operates.

A behind-the-scenes look at how the U.S. Navy's radically redesigned Ford-class aircraft carrier was built.

Investigating how early concepts of armoured fighting vehicles influenced the creation of the very first tank prototype; seeing how the muddy battlefields of WW I became a crucial testing ground for a machine that would soon change military history.

The crew of the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier prepares to give air support to ground troops battling ISIS in Iraq.

A behind-the-scenes look at the operations of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier; the dedicated sailors who keep it running at maximum efficiency.

Investigating how early concepts of armoured fighting vehicles influenced the creation of the very first tank prototype; seeing how the muddy battlefields of WW I became a crucial testing ground for a machine that would soon change military history.

From the USS Langley to the high-tech floating airports; the history of the aircraft carrier and how its air wing operates.

A behind-the-scenes look at how the U.S. Navy's radically redesigned Ford-class aircraft carrier was built.

Investigating how early concepts of armoured fighting vehicles influenced the creation of the very first tank prototype; seeing how the muddy battlefields of WW I became a crucial testing ground for a machine that would soon change military history.

The St. Lawrence River is one that forged North America, allowing ships to traverse the continent; the adventure begins in Canada's first capital city of Kingston and near Canada's second-largest city of Montreal.

Decoding the secrets of long-lost human settlements; scrutinizing a mysterious Norwegian mound, a prehistoric stone circle on the banks of the Tagus River, a lost city in the cradle of civilization and bizarre rock shapes.

A mysterious object is raised from the depths of the ocean; a stranded speedboat; an elite crew works to salvage America's biggest shipwreck before hurricane season.

The St. Lawrence River is one that forged North America, allowing ships to traverse the continent; the adventure begins in Canada's first capital city of Kingston and near Canada's second-largest city of Montreal.

Decoding the secrets of long-lost human settlements; scrutinizing a mysterious Norwegian mound, a prehistoric stone circle on the banks of the Tagus River, a lost city in the cradle of civilization and bizarre rock shapes.

A mysterious object is raised from the depths of the ocean; a stranded speedboat; an elite crew works to salvage America's biggest shipwreck before hurricane season.

Revisit Colditz Castle, a Nazi fortress where breakouts featured human catapults and clever disguises; meet the pilots who staged the famed Great Escape from a Polish stalag; see how 32 POWs pulled off the Warburg Wire Job in just one minute.

Relive the Flight of the Crow, a trek across Nazi-occupied Europe; find out how two Austrian mountaineers hiked their way out of the Himalayas, then learn why 378 Japanese POWs risked it all in Australia's bloody Cowra Breakout.

Examine how German soldiers used an erotic painting and other decoys to distract their captors as they tunnelled out of Island Farm POW camp in Wales; see how American bombardiers were smuggled out of Russia, and study a wartime Trojan Horse plot.

A mass uprising that shows the world the truth about the Nazis' secret Sobibor death camp; learn how the Davao Dozen break out of a harsh Japanese penal colony and explore how two plucky German pilots plot to get out of Britain.

Discover the German submarines that caused havoc in the American desert, the playboy pilot they couldn't cage, and the young lovers whose escape defied all odds.

Track German tank commander Georg Gaertner, vanishes from a U.S. POW camp and eludes the FBI for 40 years; learn how two escaped Auschwitz prisoners help save countless lives and how Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann is finally brought to justice.

Revisit Colditz Castle, a Nazi fortress where breakouts featured human catapults and clever disguises; meet the pilots who staged the famed Great Escape from a Polish stalag; see how 32 POWs pulled off the Warburg Wire Job in just one minute.

Relive the Flight of the Crow, a trek across Nazi-occupied Europe; find out how two Austrian mountaineers hiked their way out of the Himalayas, then learn why 378 Japanese POWs risked it all in Australia's bloody Cowra Breakout.

Uncovering the inspiring stories of the U.S. Army's 761st Tank Battalion; descendants and historians discuss the honor of the first armored unit of its kind, entirely composed of African-American servicemen.

Revisit Colditz Castle, a Nazi fortress where breakouts featured human catapults and clever disguises; meet the pilots who staged the famed Great Escape from a Polish stalag; see how 32 POWs pulled off the Warburg Wire Job in just one minute.

Relive the Flight of the Crow, a trek across Nazi-occupied Europe; find out how two Austrian mountaineers hiked their way out of the Himalayas, then learn why 378 Japanese POWs risked it all in Australia's bloody Cowra Breakout.

Examine how German soldiers used an erotic painting and other decoys to distract their captors as they tunnelled out of Island Farm POW camp in Wales; see how American bombardiers were smuggled out of Russia, and study a wartime Trojan Horse plot.

A mass uprising that shows the world the truth about the Nazis' secret Sobibor death camp; learn how the Davao Dozen break out of a harsh Japanese penal colony and explore how two plucky German pilots plot to get out of Britain.

Discover the German submarines that caused havoc in the American desert, the playboy pilot they couldn't cage, and the young lovers whose escape defied all odds.

Track German tank commander Georg Gaertner, vanishes from a U.S. POW camp and eludes the FBI for 40 years; learn how two escaped Auschwitz prisoners help save countless lives and how Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann is finally brought to justice.

Uncovering the inspiring stories of the U.S. Army's 761st Tank Battalion; descendants and historians discuss the honor of the first armored unit of its kind, entirely composed of African-American servicemen.

Revisit Colditz Castle, a Nazi fortress where breakouts featured human catapults and clever disguises; meet the pilots who staged the famed Great Escape from a Polish stalag; see how 32 POWs pulled off the Warburg Wire Job in just one minute.

Relive the Flight of the Crow, a trek across Nazi-occupied Europe; find out how two Austrian mountaineers hiked their way out of the Himalayas, then learn why 378 Japanese POWs risked it all in Australia's bloody Cowra Breakout.

Navigating the historic Potomac River from West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay, passing through Washington, D.C. and the national monuments and ending at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate.

Zoom in on some otherworldly sights; spot a giant glacier on the Red Planet, let the milky seas off the coast of Java bathe your vision, ponder a huge hexagon floating above Saturn and take a spin around a doughnut-shaped lake in Saskatchewan.

A salvage maestro returns to raise more valuable tropical hardwood trying not to wreck his own boat in the process; the multimillion dollar operation to salvage America's biggest shipwreck.

Examining the science behind the birth of the universe.

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Zoom in on some otherworldly sights; spot a giant glacier on the Red Planet, let the milky seas off the coast of Java bathe your vision, ponder a huge hexagon floating above Saturn and take a spin around a doughnut-shaped lake in Saskatchewan.

A salvage maestro returns to raise more valuable tropical hardwood trying not to wreck his own boat in the process; the multimillion dollar operation to salvage America's biggest shipwreck.

After the landing on Normandy Beach, the Battle of Carentan breaks out and an American unit launches a desperate bayonet charge.

After months of fighting in Europe, U.S. troops finally enter Germany; with their sights set on the city of Aachen, the Americans must break through two rows of bunker fortifications to capture the old capital.

A Japanese American regiment fights through darkened forests, heavy rains and entrenched Nazis to reach a lost U.S. battalion in the Vosges Mountains.

During the Battle of the Bulge, a young U.S. scout gets trapped behind enemy lines.

A United States Army cook manages to stall Himmler's attempt to recapture Strasbourg.

A platoon of Canadian tank hunters engages a column of Nazi Panther tanks at nighttime.

In July 1944, French resistance fighters called Maquisards declared a Free French Republic on the remote Vercors plateau in eastern France to support the Allied invasion of Normandy.

In August 1944, when Hitler launches Operation Lüttich to retake the port city of Avranches, German panzer and SS troops quickly overrun the French town of Mortain and encircle a battalion of US soldiers who hold the high ground on Hill 314.

In the autumn of 1944, Patton's Third Army approaches the heavily fortified region of Metz; after being turned back from Fort Driant, Patton's men target Fort Koenigsmacker a month later.

In February 1945, Allied forces lead an attack out of the Netherlands and onto German soil west of the Rhine; a Canadian battalion administrator must assume command of a company and lead it into battle.

When his company attempts to capture a small village, an American soldier, born in Mexico but raised in Texas, must crawl through an enemy minefield to capture two German machine gun nests holding up his unit.

An American 2nd lieutenant sends his company back during an enemy counterattack during the Allied bid to clear the Colmar Pocket; he tries to hold off the German soldiers with his carbine rifle and calling in artillery but runs out of bullets.

After the landing on Normandy Beach, the Battle of Carentan breaks out and an American unit launches a desperate bayonet charge.