Few battles have been so decisive or decided so swiftly. In only four minutes the elite of Japan's naval air power was devastated by a surprise US dive bomber attack. Japan's legendary naval commander-in-chief, Isoroku Yamamoto, had hoped to settle the future of the war in the Pacific in one decisive operation. His over-complex plan did - but not in the way he had intended; for the brilliance of US Naval codebreakers, the courage of its naval pilots, and the daring of Chester Nimitz brought the apparently unstoppable Japanese offensive of the previous six months to a sudden halt. Four-color graphics and action footage explain the battle at which the tide turned inexorably in favor of the United States. Note: It appears The History Channel rebranded this series, as proof can be observed in the ending credits. This episode corresponds with the following: Clash of Warriors - s01e24 - Yamamoto vs. Nimitz
The Allied invasion of Europe on 6 June 1944 was the greatest all-arms combined operation in military history. Allied Supreme Commander, Dwight D Eisenhower, had an armada of 6,000 ships, almost 1 million men, and a bewildering array of weapons and equipment for Operation Overlord. They faced a German enemy that was battle-hardened, formidable in defense, and commanded by one of the Wehrmacht's most experienced leaders, Gerd von Rundstedt. D-Day was a huge gamble, and its success or failure would decide the war in the West. Note: It appears The History Channel rebranded this series, as proof can be observed in the ending credits. This episode corresponds with the following: Clash of Warriors - s01e12 - Eisenhower vs. Rundstedt
For weeks after the D-Day landings, Allied troops were pinned down in the dense Normandy 'bocage', the small fields, narrow lanes, and high hedgerows where German anti-tank ambushes and snipers inflicted mounting casualties. Their resistance would only be broken by a spectacular breakout action, and this vital task was entrusted to the flamboyant, hard-driving George Patton. Once his armored units had been unleashed on the Allied right wing, and were swinging round behind the German defenses there was little that Guenther Hans von Kluge's battle-weary troops could do to hold the line. Note: It appears The History Channel rebranded this series, as proof can be observed in the ending credits. This episode corresponds with the following: Clash of Warriors - s01e01 - Patton vs. von Kluge
In October 1944, US troops invaded Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. What followed was the largest clash of naval arms in history: 216 US and 64 Japanese warships in a series of dramatic battles. Note: It appears The History Channel rebranded this series, as proof can be observed in the ending credits. This episode corresponds with the following: Clash of Warriors - s01e06 - Halsey vs. Kurita
As he was forced to withdraw from the Philippines in the dark days of spring 1942, Douglas MacArthur vowed 'I will return'. Almost three years later he did, at the head of a massive US invasion force. Between October 1944 and August 1945, General Douglas MacArthur and his men recaptured the Philippines from the Japanese, led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita, in the largest single US campaign in the Pacific War. Knowing that he could not hope to successfully fight this force on the beaches, the Japanese commander Tomoyuki Yamashita planned a final stand in the mountains to tie down as many US troops as possible. The campaign went very much as he intended with fierce fighting continuing until the end of the war. Note: It appears The History Channel rebranded this series, as proof can be observed in the ending credits. This episode corresponds with the following: Clash of Warriors - s01e10 - MacArthur vs. Yamashita
When Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, sent his forces to occupy oil-rich Kuwait, he could hardly have anticipated the response. Within days, a massive international force, sanctioned by the UN and led by the US, but including a wide range of Arab allies, was pouring into Saudi Arabia. It was under the sometimes abrasive, but PR-friendly command of Norman Schwarzkopf, a veteran of Vietnam and acknowledged expert in mobile warfare. What followed was the first high tech war in history - specially developed computer graphics supplement action footage to show how an air campaign using cruise missiles and other precision weaponry preceded a massive armored assault. The liberation of Kuwait was achieved in less than four days. Note: It appears The History Channel rebranded this series, as proof can be observed in the ending credits. This episode corresponds with the following: Clash of Warriors - s01e19 - Saddam vs. Schwarzkopf
