Rare footage, state-of-the-art colorization and newly uncovered documents are used in this examination of the strategies and battles of World War II.

1. The Gathering Storm 51m With the Great Depression sapping the will of Western democracies to intervene, Mussolini and Hitler are able to grab and expand their powers.

2. Lightning War 51m This installment shows how the Nazis developed a terrifying new military tactic called Blitzkrieg, which caught Poland, Britain and France unprepared.

3. Britain at Bay 51m In July 1940, Hitler has victory in sight, but Britain, using its brilliant team of code crackers and specially trained spies, begins to fight back.

4. Hitler Strikes East 51m Hitler's generals are horrified when he expresses his intention to invade Russia, leading to history's largest-scale tank battle.

5. Red Sun Rampant 51m Franklin Roosevelt declares December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy" after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor forces the U.S. into the war.

6. The Mediterranean and North Africa 51m The war in North Africa, critical due to its location and oil reserves, starts well under Rommel's leadership but soon deteriorates for the Axis.

7. Turning the Tide 51m Both the Allies and the Nazis engage in a brutally deadly and protracted back-and-forth battle to strike a knockout blow that will end the war.

8. The Soviet Steamroller 51m July 1943 and Hitler's failure on the Russian front becomes clear as his forces fall mercy to the vast Soviet war machine.

9. Overlord 51m Charting the careful, laborious planning of the campaign to invade France and the secret plan that successfully misled Hitler about the invasion site.

10. Closing the Ring 51m As Britain and Russia begin to close their pincers around Germany, the true extent of the Holocaust and its gruesome death camps is revealed.

11. The Island War 51m On the Pacific front, horrific conditions in island jungles and mountains slow the Allied advance against Japan to a meter-by-meter death match.

12. Victory in Europe 51m The end is in sight as British and American forces cross the Rhine while Russian troops simultaneously push through Poland and into Berlin.