War of the Century Season 1

Examines why the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 and how it was that, by October of the same year, Hitler looked poised to take Moscow. Eyewitness accounts from soldiers on both sides of the battle and new footage. Among the details revealed are Stalin's dismissal of reports of the impending invasion and his attempts to seek a negotiated peace once it had begun.

While the soldiers on both sides fought around Moscow under particularly brutal conditions, they weren't the only people to suffer. Around 13 million Soviet civilians died during Hitler's war against Stalin - more civilians than in any other war. This programme examines why this happened and sets it against the story of the brutal Nazi occupation and Stalin's own brutal partisan war.

1942 was a year of transformation on the Eastern Front. At the start of the year the Germans were near the gates of Moscow. By the end, the mighty 6th army was encircled at Stalingrad.

As the Red Army advanced eastwards, many sought vengeance, not just on Germany, but on their own fellow citizens who had dared to allow themselves to be captured by the enemy.