The BEST episodes of Battlefield
Every episode of Battlefield ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Battlefield!
The landmark television series 'Battlefield' is a documentary series initially relased in 1994 that explores some of the most important battles fought during the Second World War and the Vietnam War. Featuring fascinating archive footage, the programme includes a review of the political and military situation before the battle, portraits of leaders and commanders, an explanation of weapons and tactics and the story of the battle itself. Vivid graphics place the battles into the context of the war as a whole. Seasons 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 are all WW2 battles and Season 3 focuses on the Vietnam war in a special 12-part season.
#1 - The Battle of Midway
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/8/1994
The Battle of Midway changed naval combat forever. Fought almost entirely with aircraft, the United States destroyed Japan’s first-line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots. Together with the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Midway ended the threat of further Japanese invasion in the Pacific.
#2 - The Battle of France
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/8/1994
Blitzkrieg's most astonishing triumph, establishing Hitler as unassailable within continental Europe.
#3 - The Battle of Britain
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/8/1994
The two mightiest air fleets in the world clashed in tumultuous mortal combat. At issue was Britain’s very survival.
#4 - The Battle of Stalingrad
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/8/1994
The Battle of Stalingrad is infamous as one of the largest, longest and bloodiest engagements in modern warfare. From August 1942 through February 1943, more than two million troops fought in close quarters – and nearly two million people were killed or injured in the fighting, ultimately turning the tide of World War II in favor of the Allied forces.
#5 - The Battle of Normandy
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/8/1994
The Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Normandy landings. A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.
#6 - The Battle of Berlin
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/8/1994
The furious, climatic last battle of Hitler’s war. Over half a million lives were lost as the Red Army finally crushed the last Nazi citadel.
#8 - The Undeclared War
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the US's growing invovlement from military advisors to combat troops after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Also covered is Operation Starlight which was the US Marines first battle against the Vietcong in 1965.
#9 - Scandinavia: The Forgotten Front
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/1/2002
The vicious 14-week war between the Finns and the Russians ended in March 1940 when the Finns finally surrendered a large part of its territory to the Soviet invaders. It was a hollow victory, since for much of the war the Russians took a drubbing from the determined and resourceful Finns, who organised the defence of their country brilliantly. It is believed that one million Russians lost their lives during the fighting. Hitler became increasingly aware of the potential threat of Norway and mounted the world's first airborne invasion there in February 1940. At the same time, German Forces invaded Denmark. Over the next few years, the horrors and intrigues of the Quisling government in Norway unfolded amidst determined Norwegian resistance.
#10 - The Battle of Kursk
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/2000
In the summer of 1943 more than 2,000,000 men and 6,000 tanks of the German and Soviet Armies faced each other near the Soviet city of Kursk. The ensuing battle is the largest tank battle ever fought in history. It marked the last major offensive operation of German forces in the East and combined with the Soviet victory at Stalingrad was the decisive turning point on the Eastern Front.
#11 - The Fall of Saigon
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the Easter Offensive of 1972 and the unrestricted Christmas Bombings which leads to the Paris Peace Accords of 1973 and the end of the War for the US. This episode finishes with the battles that occurred in the two years after the US left and the resulting defeat of South Vietnam with the fall of Saigon.
#12 - Air War Over Germany
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/1/2000
The Allies, determined to take the war to Germany, launch the largest strategic bombing campaign to disrupt German war production and weaken civilian morale. The RAF and USAAF bombing campaign cost thousands of Allied lives and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths.
#13 - Manchuria - The Forgotten Victory
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/1/2000
The remarkable Soviet victory over the once mighty Japanese Kwangtung Army in the mountains of Manchuria is one of the least known of the Second World War. This was no steam roller triumph of greater numbers and brute force, but a victory for superior weaponry, brilliant tactical use of surprise and bold command that was achieved in little more than a fortnight.
#14 - Pearl Harbor
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/1/2000
The infamous Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was one of the most significant events of World War II. Brilliantly planned and executed, it dealt a crippling blow to the US Pacific Fleet, however it failed to inflict any damage on the US aircraft carriers. Ultimately, the attack brought the US and its industrial might into the war with disastrous consequences for the Axis powers.
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#15 - Guadalcanal
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/1/2000
Guadalcanal was the first major land battle of the Southern Pacific campaign. The island was considered key to the defense of eastern Australia and was the first step in the "march" up the Solomon Island chain to neutralize the key Japanese base at Rabaul, open up the road to the Philippines, and ultimately to Japan itself.
#16 - The Siege of Leningrad
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/1/2000
The 890 day siege of the Soviet Union's second city has come to epitomise the misery, suffering and savagery of the war on the Eastern Front. The city was not finally liberated by Soviet troops until 19th January 1944 - by that time 600,000 of its citizens had starved to death and 200,000 more had perished in the fighting.
#19 - Countdown to Tet
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the events in 1967 which lead the Vietcong to plan an all out attack on South Vietnam during the Tet New Year of 1968.
#20 - The Tet Offensive
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the Tet Offensive of 1968 in great detail, especially the street battles in Saigon and Hue and the resulting near annihilation of the Vietcong.
#21 - War on the DMZ
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the battles and US Operations that raged around the DMZ in the years before 1968.
#22 - Siege at the Khe Sahn
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers in great detail the largest battle of the war around the US Marine base at Khe Sanh, including the surrounding hill battles and the many B-52 strikes.
#23 - Air War Vietnam
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the early years of the Air War with American and South Vietnamese pilots flying tandem to the beginning of the Rolling Thunder campaign.
#24 - Rolling Thunder
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the air attacks on North Vietnam by US forces during Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965-68.
#25 - Peace With Honour
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/1/1999
Covers the struggle US forces have in turning the ground war over to the South Vietnamese and their effort to destroy NVA bases in Laos and Cambodia in 1970. This episode ends with the NVA's buildup before the Easter Offensive of 1972.