Timeline - World History Documentaries

This is the story of a band of six geniuses whose names carry meaning to this day. The research and scientific achievements of John von Neumann, Edward Teller, Eugene Paul Wigner, and Leo Szilard were vital in the invention of the atomic bomb and modern warfare as we know it. Robert Capa became the world’s most famous war photographer. And Michael Curtiz’s film “Casablanca” is considered to be one of the most iconic propaganda films of all time. Individually and collectively, each of these Hungarian Jews declared war on totalitarianism. Each in their own way, but all with the same goal, the same mission, and the same enemy. None of them wanted to give Europe up without a fight.

An Irish doctor survived the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki and was given a Samurai sword for the lives he saved. 70 years later his family searches for the origin of their father's sword.

Was there a more devastating and violent rivalry in the ancient world than that between Rome and Carthage? Discover how the Punic Wars shaped the ancient world and how they brought one superpower close to death and left another broken and lost to history.

Submarines are cramped and uncomfortable at the best of times. Now imagine trying to reach the North Pole in a Submarine built in 1916 without heating or insulation. That was the fate of the crew of the Nautilus in this daring and ill-fated expedition to reach the pole in a submarine.

This is the story of a band of six geniuses whose names carry meaning to this day. The research and scientific achievements of John von Neumann, Edward Teller, Eugene Paul Wigner, and Leo Szilard were vital in the invention of the atomic bomb and modern warfare as we know it. Robert Capa became the world’s most famous war photographer. And Michael Curtiz’s film “Casablanca” is considered to be one of the most iconic propaganda films of all time. Individually and collectively, each of these Hungarian Jews declared war on totalitarianism. Each in their own way, but all with the same goal, the same mission, and the same enemy. None of them wanted to give Europe up without a fight.

The Battle of Shanghai has been described as both the last battle of World War I and the first of World War II. This revealing film recounts the events that led to the fighting that began in Shanghai in 1937, which would become part of a larger, global conflict. The programme reflects the latest historical perspectives, with rare footage and vivid recollections of people who experienced the events as children living in Shanghai.

The Imperial War Museum is the UK's largest military museum and contains thousands of priceless artefacts from Britain's armed forces. Join the staff that maintain these objects and discover the incredible history behind them.

This is a powerful account of the German bombing raids on the central towns and airfields of England, including the terrible blitz on Coventry and the smaller raids on the airfields of Lincolnshire and East Anglia.

From his birth in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio in August 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte seems to have been marked down for greatness. There was little during his early years to suggest as much however for he came from an ordinary if well-to-do family and had a difficult schooling in France. Joining the military was the making of him and he soon discovered a remarkable gift for impressing people.

Nearly 1,000 years ago, the Vikings left Scandinavia and settled across Europe - giving their name to Normandy along the way - before their Norman descendants seized the English throne at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. But what do we really know about them? By combining expert analysis with compelling drama, 'The Last Journey of the Vikings' tells a new and often surprising story about this complex people.

A trip to one of the world’s most extreme environments is one you’ll never forget. Today on MojoTravels, we're discussing Why You Need to Travel to Antarctica. For this list, we’ll be taking at some of the most compelling arguments as to why you should be adding the frozen continent to your bucket list, by highlighting what makes this such a unique experience, start to finish.

The second episode looks at the early weeks of the war and explains the events leading up to the battle of First Bull Run - the battle that people thought would decide the outcome of the war. We see and hear the story of the battle and how the Confederate defeat sent Washington into a panic. During four dark years of bitter and bloody fighting between the Northern and Southern states, more than 600,000 troops lost their lives. The country was torn apart as the military, political and ideological struggle dragged on and on. For those who lived through it, life would never be the same again. This powerful series tells the full story of The American Civil War - a conflict that left a deep scar on the soul of a nation.

This documentary examines the conflicts between the French and the British in North America during the eighteenth century, with particular focus on the engagements featuring the Native American warriors used by both sides. By the end of the fighting, Quebec and Canada were in British hands, and North America became part of the British Empire. Features battle reconstruction footage, re-enactments, and expert comment and analysis by Dr Scott Lucas and historian Stuart Reid, with narration by Ian Brooker. m;lgt54m

Marriage to Joséphine de Beauharnais did little to quell Napoleon's vaulting ambition. Now he had the opportunity to display his military talents, which he showed to full effect during the stunning first Italian campaign - a campaign that saw him win the respect of his officers and gain the love of his men, merely by ensuring that, for the first time in years, they were paid properly.

In a major investigation, this documentary exposes the chlorine industry's negligence in tackling a potential time bomb - the poison dioxin. There is no safe level of exposure to dioxin and this fatal substance has been linked to a series of major medical conditions such as heart attacks, liver disease and neurological problems. What is being done to stop the increase in this perfect poison?

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded.

The Cold War: When nuclear weapons kept the entire world on the edge of M.A.D. – Mutually Assured Destruction. As Russia, China and the USA flex their military muscles on the global stage today, ‘M.A.D. World’ takes a close look at the last time we were threatened by the might of world superpowers: The Cold War. In this episode: - The first Marxist government to be democratically elected is thrown out by a military coup, plunging Chile into a brutal military dictatorship. There is no doubt now that the CIA played a role in supporting the actions of the military. - After 10 years of fighting a proxy war, the US pulls its troops out of Vietnam and the North Vietnamese forces march peacefully into Saigon. - The nuclear arms race is out of control as the superpowers build huge numbers of ever more sophisticated nuclear warheads. High level discussions begin to put the build-up of weapons into reverse. - A war that could be worse than Vietnam breaks out in Angola as Portuguese colonisers leave and rival groups fight for supremacy. US and Soviet weapons flow into the country as well as a new trend in proxy wars – mercenaries. - Talks to reduce nuclear arms stumble as the USA objects to huge numbers of Russian tanks on European soil and the soviets demand the Americans remove their nuclear weapons from West Germany. - The most chilling weapon of the Cold War is tested in Nevada and sends headlines of horror across the globe. The Neutron Bomb uses an intense burst of radiation to maximise casualties while minimising damage to property. - Against a backdrop of mass anti-nuclear protests, Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev meet in Vienna to sign a treaty limiting nuclear weapons systems to a total of 2400 each.

The French and Indian War was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes

The Cold War: When nuclear weapons kept the entire world on the edge of M.A.D. – Mutually Assured Destruction. As Russia, China and the USA flex their military muscles on the global stage today, ‘M.A.D. World’ takes a close look at the last time we were threatened by the might of world superpowers: The Cold War. In this episode: - The world steps to the edge of annihilation as the Soviet Union starts to place nuclear warheads in Cuba. Delicate negotiations between Presidents Kennedy and Krushchev bring the crisis to a peaceful close. - Vietnam: This small nation far from the Cold War front in Europe rebounds from French colonial oppression with a desire for communism. The USA decides to send in its own troops to stop the spread of communism into SE Asia. - Czechoslovakia tries out ‘communism with a human face’ by relaxing control of the press, and allowing a limited free the market. This lasts 8 months before soviet tanks arrive overnight and violently crush the new freedoms. - The USA finally pulls ahead in the Space Race by putting the first human being on the moon. It is a demonstration to the world that the west has cutting edge technology in rocket and missile development. - The Vietnam War becomes a drawn out and bloody battleground for the US and the USSR, costing millions of lives and billions of dollars.

A climatic catastrophe rocked the Earth in A.D. 535, causing two years of darkness, famine, drought and disease. Was it a comet? An asteroid? A volcano? Written records from China, Italy, Palestine and many other countries suggest a huge catastrophe blighted the world in 536 AD. But the cause of it has been uncertain. Archaeologist David Keys reveals that a volcano is to blame for the Dark Ages of famine and plague that shaped the world order of today.

As the Royalists and Parliamentarian conflict of 17th century England comes to a head, a pitched battle is chosen for both sides to make their stand: Edge Hill. But this battle would prove notable in a way neither side expected in the story of the English Civil War.

"Fighters" tells the story of those women who have experienced battle at first hand. Dressed as women - and often as men - they have fought in the wars that have shaped our world, from the English and American Civil Wars and the Napoleonic Wars to the Two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East.

The Imperial War Museum is the UK's largest military museum and contains thousands of priceless artefacts from Britain's armed forces. Join the staff that maintain these objects and discover the incredible history behind them.

The Cold War: When nuclear weapons kept the entire world on the edge of M.A.D. – Mutually Assured Destruction. As Russia, China and the USA flex their military muscles on the global stage today, ‘M.A.D. World’ takes a close look at the last time we were threatened by the might of world superpowers: The Cold War. In this episode: - Just as détente seems to be working and the Cold War is thawing, the West is outraged when Soviet troops move into Afghanistan. The USA immediately offers arms and support to the anti-government rebels, the Mujahideen. - World Champion boxer, Muhammed Ali is the face of the Olympic boycott as he leads a US team to persuade nations to stay at home rather than compete in the Moscow Olympics. The boycott is seen as an international protest against Soviet troops in Afghanistan. - Fear of global annihilation triggers mass demonstrations in cities across the globe and huge numbers of people join the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Governments seek to alleviate fears by building nuclear shelters and broadcasting nuclear war survival strategies. - As Western money and weapons boost the rebels and hi-tech soviet weapons defend the government, the war in Afghanistan intensifies. An unusual group of Middle Eastern soldiers emerges – women. Allowed university education and employment under soviet rule they are prepared to fight to protect their new-found freedoms.

The Cold War: When nuclear weapons kept the entire world on the edge of M.A.D. – Mutually Assured Destruction. As Russia, China and the USA flex their military muscles on the global stage today, ‘M.A.D. World’ takes a close look at the last time we were threatened by the might of world superpowers: The Cold War. In this episode: - The Caribbean island paradise of Grenada has a Marxist government and it’s just three and a half hours flight from Miami. When a violent coup installs an extremist leader, the USA moves swiftly. Overnight, they send in troops to invade the island and take over the government. - The corrupt and brutal military dictatorship of Nicaragua is crushed by a national rebellion but the rebels are Marxist. The USA funds the counter-revolutionaries in a scandal that goes right to the top of the US Government. - Ronald Reagan announces a new arms program that is so far from reality it is quickly dubbed ‘Star Wars’. The program aims to use a range of futuristic technology to build a laser defence system against nuclear attack. Many fear that if ever SDI becomes reality, it will upset the delicate balance of power of the Cold War. - Gorbachev wants to stage a new revolution in Russia. He wants economic reform, greater freedom and an end to the Cold War. Talks begin with US President Reagan to begin destroying nuclear weapons and forge a renewed friendship between East and West. - A new Russian Leader decides try and rescue the failing soviet economy. One of Mikhail Gorbachev’s first moves is to pull his troops out of Afghanistan. But the Mujahedeen do not sign the peace treaty and the Afghanistan war is far from over.