New warships would be smaller and more manoeuvrable. ibid.
Protective balloons are sent up. GPO: The First Days, Sky Arts 2014
People joked but in their hearts was devastation. ibid.
Filling sandbags is everybody’s business. ibid.
London calling ... That front is still intact. ibid.
This is Trent Park in north London. Today part of Middlesex University. In the Battle of Britain every single German pilot shot down over this country was brought here completely unaware that every word they said was secretly bugged by British Intelligence. Battle of Britain: The Real Story, PBS 2010
In 1940 far from being weak and isolated, Britain was a marine superpower. ibid.
This change of tactics from attacking airfields to British cities was the decisive moment in the Battle. ibid.
‘We heard the planes coming in and everyone like stood around and looked at them.’ The Bombing of Darwin: An Awkward Truth, H2 2014
The bombing of Darwin in February 1942 is one of Australia’s greatest ever disasters. ibid.
Australia’s own defences were seriously lacking. ibid.
For me, one man stands out: Captain Eric Winkle Brown, probably the best pilot this country has ever produced. James Holland, Britain's Greatest Pilot: The Extraordinary Story of Captain Winkle Brown, BBC 2014
Captain Eric Winkle Brown has flown 487 different aircraft types. This world record is unlikely to ever be beaten. ibid.
Much of our excepted view of the Normandy campaign needs questioning ... The story is more nuanced. James Holland, Normandy '44: The Battle Beyond D-Day BBC 2014
General Bernard Montgomery ... he had an extraordinary capacity for rubbing people up the wrong way. ibid.
The Tiger Tank was absolutely awesome. ibid.
The underwhelming performance of the British – to a large extent Monty himself is largely to blame for this perception. ibid.
This is Chesil Beach in Dorset. In January 1943 a British engineer called Barnes Wallis came here to carry full-scale trials of his latest invention: a bomb that could bounce on water. James Holland, Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams
It’s been repeatedly reappraised. ibid.
October 1944: A British bomber is in big trouble. Over the Arctic Circle hit by flack during a top-secret mission. Two engines damaged and leaking fuel. The pilot has been trying to keep her in the air for two hours. But finally he loses the battle. What the Dumbusters Did Next, Channel 5 2014
An elite bomber squadron that helped change the course of the war. ibid.
Eight of the bombers were lost and almost half of the 133 aircrew were killed. But they managed to breach two dams and flood a city. ibid.
V2 missiles weren’t the only superweapon Hitler had pointing at Britain: in great secrecy, three hundred metres below ground ... the finishing touches to another more fearsome threat ... A superbomb built on three levels. ibid.
A fleet of new mega-subs ... He [Hitler] was using slaves to build a super-factory. ibid.
On one day in September 1940 the Battle of Britain reached its decisive moment. Throughout the summer months Britain’s fighter command had fought a desperate battle against the Luftwaffe. 13 Hours That Saved Britain, H2 2015
[Keith] Park later described as a man who could have lost the war in an afternoon has sent every available squadron into action. ibid.
15 September: Battle of Britain Day. ibid.
In 1939 a group of eccentric inventors were brought together by Winston Churchill. They fought the Nazis with British bulldog spirit and ingenuity. Churchill's Toyshop, Discovery 2015
But he [Ike] reckoned that his place in history as a captain of war was secure: my book has demolished that. Ike and Monty: Reputations: Generals at War, Monty, BBC 2015
This is Monte Cassino in March after we dropped twenty tons of explosives on it. The Monuments Men 2014 starring George Clooney & Matt Damon & Cate Blanchett & Bill Murray & John Goodman & Jean Dujadrin & Bob Balaban & Hugh Bonneville & Sam Hazeldine & Dimitri Leonidas et al, director George Clooney
We have been tasked to find and protect buildings, monuments and art. ibid.
It’s exactly what we’re fighting for – for our culture and for our way of life ... But if you destroy their achievements and their history then it’s like they never existed. ibid. Clooney to men
There were over five million pieces recovered. ibid.
During the Great War there had been no dramatic increase in aircraft speed ... Aircraft range, however, was vastly extended. The War in the Air, Movies4Men 2013
The RAF had two fighters which could match those of the Luftwaffe … the rugged Hawker Hurricane ... the Super Marine Spitfire. ibid.
The RAF introduced the Hawker Tempest, which ... could fly at over 450 miles per hour. ibid.
The Aircraft Carrier took over as the Navy’s principle weapon from the Battleship. ibid.
Winston Churchill in the summer of 1940 – Britain was unprepared for war. As the army retreated across the English Channel from the beaches of Dunkirk, many must have blamed the guilty men – politicians who had rejected vigorous rearmament in favour of placating the dictators. For the next half century Britain’s policy of appeasement was remembered with shame. Charles Wheeler, The Road to War 1/8, BBC 2015
Hitler came to power on a promise to tear up the peace treaties and restore Germany’s role as a major power in Europe. ibid.
More than any other man, Adolf Hitler was the cause of the Second World War. Charles Wheeler, The Road to War 2/8: Germany, BBC 1989
Hitler could have been stopped. ibid.
Curiously, it was a series of general elections that brought the Nazis within reach of government. (World War II & Nazis: Hitler) ibid.
Hitler now put the country to work. ibid.
Lenin and the Bolsheviks feared foreign invasion from the day they came to power. Charles Wheeler, The Road to War 3/8: Soviet Union
The war against the peasants was followed by widespread famine. ibid.
Stalin sent twenty bombers to Czechoslovakia and promised forty more would follow. ibid.
Benito Mussolini was a born actor. He had remarkable powers of leadership and the capacity to inspire. But his dream of creating by conquest a second Roman Empire was fated to collapse. Italy was too backward and too weak to engage in major wars. Charles Wheeler, The Road to War 4/8: Italy
Many lived in extreme poverty, and emigration offered the only hope of a decent life. ibid.
‘We supported Mussolini rather than the fascist party.’ ibid. Italian
Mussolini approved the use of poison gas. ibid.
In 1923 French troops occupied the Ruhr, Germany’s richest industrial region. Charles Wheeler, The Road to War 5/8: France
The British had put their trust in appeasement. ibid.
Many years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, officers of the Japanese Navy drew up their first operations plan to destroy the American fleet in the Pacific. Charles Wheeler, The Road to War 6/8: Japan
The assault on Shanghai began ... Then the bombing began. ibid.
It was a surprise attack that brought a reluctant America into the War in 1941. Charles Wheeler, The Road to War 7/8: USA