18th Oct 1993

THE CENTURY OF WARFARE opens with a look at the defining characteristics of modern war and the development of the weapons that revolutionized combat.

Explore the factors that led to the outbreak of World War I and see why efforts to prevent the coming conflict failed.

Harrowing photos and rare footage show the grim reality of trench warfare on the Western Front.

Three empires clash on the Eastern Front, until the Russian Revolution topples the Czar and the nation withdraws from the fight.

Naval warfare in World War I, from submarine attacks and supporting forces on land to the Battle of Jutland.

See how the plane became a weapon, fly with the pioneers of military aviation, and relive the exploits of legendary pilots like the Red Baron.

The entry of the United States helped bring World War I to a close, but the harsh conditions of the Versailles Treaty paved the way for a greater conflict to come.

The years between the World Wars were marked by the rise of totalitarian states in Europe and a growing militancy in the Far East.

Conflicts in China, Spain and Africa presaged the horrors to come, while Hitler cemented his power and prepared for his bloody campaign of aggression.

Germany's invasion of Poland introduced the world to a new brand of warfare. Less than a year later, the fall of France left Britain to face Hitler essentially alone.

The extraordinary heroism demonstrated by British citizens and soldiers and a vital lifeline from across the Atlantic kept England from falling into Nazi clutches.

In and around the Mediterranean, Monty battled Rommel, American doughboys got their first real combat experience, and the Italian campaign gave the Allies a foothold in Europe.

Operation Barbarossa--the largest land invasion ever mounted--sent 3 million German troops and 3,300 tanks into the Soviet Union.

Defeated at Stalingrad and denied entry to Moscow, the Wehrmacht embarked on a two-year delaying action as it retreated to Germany.

Follow the preparations for D-Day and the course of the war in Europe after the successful invasion.

As Germany was squeezed in the vice of the Allied advance, the Big Three met at Yalta to plan for the aftermath of war.

Analyze the forces that drove Japan to war and relive the initial victories that gave the Imperial forces an air of invincibility.

The American island-hopping campaign drove the Japanese from their Pacific strongholds, but it would take a weapon of a different order bring the war to an end.

This sweeping overview of World War II's naval engagements includes footage from Atlantic convoys, major Pacific battles and the amphibious landing at Normandy.

Fly in a B-17 on a harrowing daylight bombing raid, see how British aviators staved off the Luftwaffe, and watch as carrier-based fighters battle Zeros in the skies over Midway.

Divided at the end of World War II, Europe was a potential flashpoint for 40 years as the superpowers maintained an uneasy peace built on deterrence.

From the withdrawal of the old Colonial powers to the conflict in Korea, instability, regional conflicts and the boiling over of Cold War tensions marked much of the 20th century in Asia.

The perennial problems of civil war, terrorism and bilateral wars have taken on a new urgency in the years since the end of the Cold War, and the international community is struggling to deal with them.

It was a war that proved that might and money do not lead inevitably to victory, and its harsh lessons forced America to rethink its role in the world.

From Israel's continual battles to defend itself to inter-Arab squabbles and the role of oil, trace the many conflicts that have shaken this tumultuous region.

The Allied victory over Iraq showed showcased a new generation of weapons and tactics, but evolving threats--particularly from weapons of mass destruction--require a new approach to deterrence.