Schedule

The Battle of Iwo Jima is best known for the famous flag-raising photograph taken on Mt. Suribachi, but there's an untold story behind the picture. Just before the photo was snapped, there was a bloody shootout on the mountain crest. This is just one of the true stories told by veterans of one of the Pacific's bloodiest battlefields, where 70,000 US Marines fought 21,000 entrenched Japanese over eight square miles of death. Follow the men of the 5th Pioneer Battalion as they fight off a savage, last-ditch suicide attack in the waning days of the battle.

The USS Laffey was in reality two great vessels with the same name--the first, DD-459, fought to the death in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. The second, DD-724, was at the center of World War II's most intensely brutal kamikaze attack, where it earned the nickname "The Ship that Would Not Die." However, the crew casualties were high: over 30 perished and another 70 were wounded.

World War Two was truly a global conflict. Allied soldiers fought in all theaters of war, exposing them to an extraordinary diversity of terrain and climate--from the Arctic Circle to desert sands and fetid jungles. An infantryman was engaged in combat for an hour each day on average, but he fought the environment around the clock. The war comes alive through a moving tapestry of letters, diaries, and color film and photographs unearthed from archives and personal collections. Peter Coyote narrates.

As the American Revolution unfolded, English King George III sought to put down the rebellious colonies by sending one of his most talented and respected generals to fight and conquer the insurrectionists--General William Howe. Arriving in June 1776, Howe amassed his forces and then, in August, soundly defeated General George Washington at the Battle of Long Island in a brilliant tactical display. The victory provided England with the most strategically critical position in America--New York City. By controlling New York, Howe held the center of American finance, the largest port in the colonies, and the vital commercial gateway to the interior--the Hudson River. We'll see how Howe's success in New York served to strengthen the English cause and prolong the war.

Host Hunter Ellis looks back at key ships that served in both World Wars, goes onboard modern military vessels, examines the biggest civilian ships afloat--Super Tankers--and gets an in-depth look at the Navy's newest aircraft carrier. Armored vehicles first rolled into battle in WWI--now fearful celebrities or worried Average Joes get peace of mind from personal armored cars. And we see how simulators have developed since WWII, and meet a hobbyist who creates his own flight simulator.

Hunter Ellis looks at the history of winter warfare--a tradition of fighting, surviving, and traveling in snow and ice that created commandos in Norway, Sweden, and Germany, and later, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division--and at the billion-dollar winter sports industry. Next, we see how gunsights make it possible for military and law enforcement snipers to do their jobs as we examine their gear and techniques. Then, we look at the first stealth fighters--gliders--and into their likely future in space.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

World War Two was truly a global conflict. Allied soldiers fought in all theaters of war, exposing them to an extraordinary diversity of terrain and climate--from the Arctic Circle to desert sands and fetid jungles. An infantryman was engaged in combat for an hour each day on average, but he fought the environment around the clock. The war comes alive through a moving tapestry of letters, diaries, and color film and photographs unearthed from archives and personal collections. Peter Coyote narrates.

As the American Revolution unfolded, English King George III sought to put down the rebellious colonies by sending one of his most talented and respected generals to fight and conquer the insurrectionists--General William Howe. Arriving in June 1776, Howe amassed his forces and then, in August, soundly defeated General George Washington at the Battle of Long Island in a brilliant tactical display. The victory provided England with the most strategically critical position in America--New York City. By controlling New York, Howe held the center of American finance, the largest port in the colonies, and the vital commercial gateway to the interior--the Hudson River. We'll see how Howe's success in New York served to strengthen the English cause and prolong the war.

Host Hunter Ellis looks back at key ships that served in both World Wars, goes onboard modern military vessels, examines the biggest civilian ships afloat--Super Tankers--and gets an in-depth look at the Navy's newest aircraft carrier. Armored vehicles first rolled into battle in WWI--now fearful celebrities or worried Average Joes get peace of mind from personal armored cars. And we see how simulators have developed since WWII, and meet a hobbyist who creates his own flight simulator.

Hunter Ellis looks at the history of winter warfare--a tradition of fighting, surviving, and traveling in snow and ice that created commandos in Norway, Sweden, and Germany, and later, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division--and at the billion-dollar winter sports industry. Next, we see how gunsights make it possible for military and law enforcement snipers to do their jobs as we examine their gear and techniques. Then, we look at the first stealth fighters--gliders--and into their likely future in space.

The Battle of Iwo Jima is best known for the famous flag-raising photograph taken on Mt. Suribachi, but there's an untold story behind the picture. Just before the photo was snapped, there was a bloody shootout on the mountain crest. This is just one of the true stories told by veterans of one of the Pacific's bloodiest battlefields, where 70,000 US Marines fought 21,000 entrenched Japanese over eight square miles of death. Follow the men of the 5th Pioneer Battalion as they fight off a savage, last-ditch suicide attack in the waning days of the battle.

The USS Laffey was in reality two great vessels with the same name--the first, DD-459, fought to the death in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. The second, DD-724, was at the center of World War II's most intensely brutal kamikaze attack, where it earned the nickname "The Ship that Would Not Die." However, the crew casualties were high: over 30 perished and another 70 were wounded.

World War Two was truly a global conflict. Allied soldiers fought in all theaters of war, exposing them to an extraordinary diversity of terrain and climate--from the Arctic Circle to desert sands and fetid jungles. An infantryman was engaged in combat for an hour each day on average, but he fought the environment around the clock. The war comes alive through a moving tapestry of letters, diaries, and color film and photographs unearthed from archives and personal collections. Peter Coyote narrates.

As the American Revolution unfolded, English King George III sought to put down the rebellious colonies by sending one of his most talented and respected generals to fight and conquer the insurrectionists--General William Howe. Arriving in June 1776, Howe amassed his forces and then, in August, soundly defeated General George Washington at the Battle of Long Island in a brilliant tactical display. The victory provided England with the most strategically critical position in America--New York City. By controlling New York, Howe held the center of American finance, the largest port in the colonies, and the vital commercial gateway to the interior--the Hudson River. We'll see how Howe's success in New York served to strengthen the English cause and prolong the war.

Host Hunter Ellis looks back at key ships that served in both World Wars, goes onboard modern military vessels, examines the biggest civilian ships afloat--Super Tankers--and gets an in-depth look at the Navy's newest aircraft carrier. Armored vehicles first rolled into battle in WWI--now fearful celebrities or worried Average Joes get peace of mind from personal armored cars. And we see how simulators have developed since WWII, and meet a hobbyist who creates his own flight simulator.

Hunter Ellis looks at the history of winter warfare--a tradition of fighting, surviving, and traveling in snow and ice that created commandos in Norway, Sweden, and Germany, and later, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division--and at the billion-dollar winter sports industry. Next, we see how gunsights make it possible for military and law enforcement snipers to do their jobs as we examine their gear and techniques. Then, we look at the first stealth fighters--gliders--and into their likely future in space.

In the annals of the Civil War, the great battles dominate. Names like Gettysburg, Chancellorsville or Antietam are famous by sheer weight of blood and horror. Where armies of men by the tens of thousands opposed each other, these were the vast, open, visible spectacles of the conflict. But the well-worn archives of that time are also filled with the details of far lesser-known actions like a Confederate attempt to burn down New York City. They were clever, daring, covert operations designed to frighten the enemy, disrupt his supplies, and destroy his morale. Clandestine plans, fueled by ingenuity and bravado, they defied the odds for a chance at success. In this 2-hour special, we'll explore these little-known but exciting acts of ingenuity and bravery.

General Robert E. Lee's first invasion into the North ended in the Battle of Antietam--the bloodiest single day in the Civil War--and in all US history. Just 12 hours of fighting resulted in nearly 23,000 casualties. On September 17, 1862, two determined armies gathered near Sharpsburg, a quiet backwater near Antietam Creek in western Maryland. Union forces were desperate to repel the South's invasion of their territory. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, its back to the Potomac River, was fighting for its very existence. Much was at stake. But just why was Antietam such a terrible killing field? Now the latest forensic techniques are shedding new light on the question. Experts from the fields of archaeology, geology, weapons technology, and pathology investigate this uniquely horrific moment in American history.

A key moment in the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and her 13 rebellious colonies, the Battle of Monmouth took place on June 28, 1778, in rural New Jersey. The British assumed that the American Army was weak, ill-disciplined, and incapable of facing up to seasoned British regulars. But at Monmouth, things turned out differently. Washington used his artillery so effectively that the cowed British were pinned down, took significant casualties, and left their dead unburied. In this hour, historians, archaeologists, meteorologists, physiologists, and munitions experts examine the evidence of what took place at Monmouth. In modern laboratory conditions, they test what happens when men in heavy woolen uniforms fight on one of the hottest days in New Jersey history, and investigate the effects of a new intensive training regime on the colonial forces.

R. Lee Ermey gets the skinny on Pinnacle Armor, the military's newest state-of-the-art body armor and finds out if it'll stand up to a direct hit from an AK-47. Learn the history of the U.S. Cavalry's last great campaign--the Punitive Expedition against Mexico that pitted Pershing against Pancho Villa. Take a joy ride in the M274 mechanical mule, a vehicle designed for the recoilless rifle and understand the history of combat cameramen with a focus on WWII and the outstanding work of Norm Hatch. Finally view a live-fire demonstration with the MG-42, the German-made machine gun with the highest rate of fire of any weapon in WWII.