Combat Machines

Episode 01

WWI the Rise of Machines

Sep 16, 2018 · 60 min

WWI was the first truly mechanized war. All sides began with strategies from the Napoleonic Wars, resulting in troops being unprepared for the destructive new technologies such as Maxim machine gun and fast-firing artillery.

Episode 02

The Desert Rats

Sep 23, 2018 · 44 min

The North African desert campaign of World War II gave rise to the Desert Rats. Machines in this campaign were the Matilda II tank, Rolls Royce armored car, the Panzer III, 88mm anti-tank gun and the American M3 Grant tank.

Episode 03

Vehicles That Liberated Europe

Sep 30, 2018 · 44 min

n WWII, tanks, ships, and aircraft were well known, but there was also a whole fleet of lesser known vehicles such as the Jeep, the amphibious DUKW and a legendary American GI and his Harley motorbike.

Episode 04

Bombs, Bridges, and Tunnels

Oct 7, 2018 · 44 min

In WWI, the Corps of Royal Engineers invented the Geophone, a device to detect enemy tunnelers. In WWII, they drove converted tanks that created bridges and cleared minefields, and made mobile robots that defused bombs.

Episode 05

Spy Game

Oct 14, 2018 · 44 min

In any war, information is key. Examine the machines used to capture, transmit, and analyze vital combat information, featuring SOE agents and their equipment, spies stealing Royal Navy blueprints, and a daring submarine mission.

Episode 06

Nuclear Near Miss

Oct 21, 2018 · 44 min

Examine machines on the ground that would have fought in a nuclear war, featuring, amongst others, the 1961 tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin when Soviet T-54 tanks faced off with American M-48 Patton tanks.

Episode 07

Vietnam War

Oct 28, 2018 · 44 min

The Vietnam War. The Americans used their abundance of jet fighters, helicopters, and river patrol boats to try and stop the continuous stream of supplies and North Vietnamese fighters coming down the trail.

Episode 08

The Arms Race

Nov 4, 2018 · 44 min

The Cold War. East and West developed weapons that could destroy the world. Examine the origins of the Arms Race and the first use of nuclear weapons that ended World War II, featuring, amongst others, the Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and the Corona spy satellite.