Discovery Channel - Battlefield Series 2 (1994) Part 3 The Battle for Russia

A comprehensive documentary series about the key battles of World War Two. This sweeping series offers detailed accounts of the key battles, combining extensive use of archival footage with full color 3D animation and a compelling and vivid narrative, complete with main weapon systems used and portraits of the principal leaders and commanders. Strategy and tactics are described in detail with excellent graphics, providing a fascinating analysis of the forces in conflict. A review of the political and military situation prior to battle and an examination of the weaponry and combat-readiness of the men are followed by original archive footage of important phases of the battle, supplemented by Situation Reports and finished off with a summary. Dramatic use of 3-D computer graphics and actual battle footage transport the viewer directly in the thick of the fight. Battlefield is a series that chronicles the decisive events and critical battles that shaped history. Archival footage from several sources includes film from the Moscow central military archives. Watch rare archival footage from vaults around the world!

Part 3 The Battle for Russia

PRELUDE TO BATTLE In 1939, dictators Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler signed a non-aggression pact which traded Russian foodstuffs for German arms. What “The Battle for Russia Prelude to Battle” reveals is that each was buying time in order to prepare for their hideous fight to the finish – a melee notorious for its ferocity and unspeakable barbarism. Hitler's plan for the conquest of Russia required a classic blitzkrieg offensive, which was to be ruthlessly carried out until it was terminated within a few months. Although the element of surprise could be used effectively and three million soldiers and an overwhelming air force superiority were available, the plan failed. Because of this failure, Germany was embroiled in a long, terrible war in which it had neither the troops nor the resources to emerge victorious. Since 1928, Stalin had been ruthlessly decimating the regiments of his once-formidable military by executing or imprisoning his political enemies. Such paranoia had spelled the Red Army's humiliation at the hands of the Finnish armed forces in the winter of 1940 – a fiasco witnessed by the entire world – and Stalin was determined to restore Russian dignity. However, the shocking blunders perpetrated by both leaders cost their nations dearly in supplies, artillery…and human lives. THE BATTLE Hitler pitched three million men – 78 percent of his entire army – into his audacious campaign to crush Moscow, and eventually Russia herself. He would proclaim it “The Greatest Battle in History!” The initial German successes, though spectacular, were short-lived. As the gray troops advanced eastwards towards Moscow, the climatic and geographical conditions proved to be insurmountable obstacles. Rain and snow slowed the advance to crawl. So the ailing Soviet troops could be regrouped and gather new strength. When the Germans were stuck in the freezing fist of an extreme winter in December, the Red Army launched the first of a series of highly effective counter-offensives. Though surprised by the Germans' initial assault, Stalin's hardy forces refused to buckle. Three million of the Red Army would eventually be captured by the Germans, yet more and more emerged to continue the fight, vividly demonstrating that the soul of Russia was far more rugged than her invaders had wagered. When the spring thaw put an end to the fighting, the German troops in Russia were so badly damaged that Hitler was forced to give up his dreams of conquest. New plans had to be made for a long and grueling war that he had already lost from the start.

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