Battlefronts of World War II

The rugged battlefront of North Africa is the stage for a desperate three-year seesaw conflict pitting the resourceful Afrika Korps of Germany's Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox," against the inspired leadership of Britain's Lt. General Bernard Montgomery, aided by U.S. forces.

From the very outset of World War II in 1939, control of the sea lanes was essential for the movement of troops and supplies fueling the war effort. The Pacific and Atlantic battlefronts and their seas became hostile waters where the fortunes of nations followed deadly engagements.

World War II saw the skies over Europe, Africa, and the Pacific battlefronts roar with the sound of dogfights. Bombers methodically destroyed whole cities. The war began with wooden biplanes and ended with advancements in fixed-wing aircraft, culminating in jet planes.

The mighty German tank fueled the lightning war for Nazi conquest. Yet advancements in tank design kept Britain in the fight to capture the North African Battlefront. The great tank battlefronts of Russia saw powerful Soviet tanks sweep the Nazis back west to face Russian and U.S. tanks.

Fortress Europe itself is the battlefront in France after D-Day. Using films from the Imperial War Museum in London, we see the war as Allied newsreels of the time captured events. It is a fascinating record of how World War II was a struggle to push the Nazi's to the brink.

The Germans are in retreat on all battlefronts as the net slowly tightens around the once-proud Reich. Newsreels once again portray the Russian onslaught, constant day-and-night bombing from British and Americans, and encroaching Allies from the west and south as they seal Germany's fate.