Episode 2 | D-Day: The Last Heroes

Duration: 58'43''

Synopsis

The concluding part of historian Dan Snow's documentary series tells the powerful and heroic stories of those who risked their lives on the beaches of Normandy to save the world from Nazi Germany.

Further Information

More resources about Twentieth century warfare

S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World

S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 29'03''

How the duke's death led to the start of the First World War.

The Somme: From Defeat to Victory

The Somme: From Defeat to Victory

BBC One | 2006 | 58'17''

Drama-documentary which offers a new perspective on the most infamous battle of World War I, revealing how it was on the Somme that the Bri...

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

BBC Two | 2018 | 1'34'52''

Transforming archive footage more than a century old, Peter Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell the story of World War I: the ...

S1E4: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World

S1E4: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World

BBC Four | 2003 | 59'07''

Documentary recalling 6 August 1945, when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, with testimony from American colonel Paul Tibbe...

1: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

1: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'01''

Andrew Marr revisits Britain in 1945 and finds the country victorious but nearly bankrupt, beginning a battle ...

S2E2: The Christmas Truce | Days That Shook the World

S2E2: The Christmas Truce | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 59'24''

An account of Christmas Day in 1914, when German and British soldiers initiated a spontaneous truce across the frontline.

1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'04''

David Olusoga challenges our perceptions of the First World War with the stories of the millions of Indian, ...

3: The Home Front | History File

3: The Home Front | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'32''

The First World War was a total war. Nobody escaped, even the women and children at home. In this third section we look at how the lives of ...

5: Making Peace | History File

5: Making Peace | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'24''

The Treaty of Versailles has been widely criticised and many believe the Second World War was due to its failure. In this section we explore w...

8: Their Finest Hour | Battlefield Britain

8: Their Finest Hour | Battlefield Britain

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'32''

Peter and Dan Snow take an in-depth look at the battles that shaped our nation. The Battle of Britain was the pivotal air battle o...

The Wipers Times (2013)

The Wipers Times (2013)

BBC Two | 2013 | 1'28'59''

World War I drama based on a true story. An army captain discovers a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium, in 1916, and decides to publish a...

4: Slaughter | 1914-1918

4: Slaughter | 1914-1918

BBC Knowledge | 2001 | 48'35''

Documentary series telling the history of the Great War, in which nine million people perished. The battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele w...

6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten

6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten

Channel 4 | 2007 | 48'21''

In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop explores the powerful and often overlooked stories of conscientious object...

1: 1918 Western Front | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields

1: 1918 Western Front | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'00''

The Snows visit Northern France to tell the story of the 1918 Battle of Amiens.

1: Deja Vu (1858-1961) | The Vietnam War

1: Deja Vu (1858-1961) | The Vietnam War

BBC Four | 2017 | 55'05''

Revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end French colonial occupation. Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva.

4: Living and Dying | History File

4: Living and Dying | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'23''

The Great War was the first 'world' war, there were soldiers from Africa, Australia and India as well as Europe. In this section we look a...

2: The War Machine | Britain's Great War

2: The War Machine | Britain's Great War

BBC One | 2014 | 58'54''

With the country unprepared for war, the whole population is enlisted to turn Britain into a war machine.

Chinese Labour Corps | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

Chinese Labour Corps | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'01''

David Olusoga discusses the experiences of the Chinese labour corp in WW1.

2: Stalemate | History File

2: Stalemate | History File

BBC Two | 1999 | 18'34''

The second section explores why the war wasn't over by Christmas 1914 and what life was like in the trenches.

Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk (2017)

BBC One | 2020 | 1'37'04''

Hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops find themselves in an impossible situation. Christopher Nolan's epic wartime action thriller.

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China and Hong Kong | World's Busiest Cities

China and Hong Kong | World's Busiest Cities

BBC Two | 2017 | 3'15''

Dan Snow investigates Hong Kong's precarious relationship with China.

New York: America's Busiest City

New York: America's Busiest City

BBC Two | 2016 | 59'04''

Anita Rani, Ade Adepitan, Ant Anstead and Dan Snow try commuting New York-style, joining 5.5 million commuters on the iconic Staten Island f...

1066 Unpacked | The One Show

1066 Unpacked | The One Show

BBC One | 2016 | 4'36''

Dan Snow recruits a team of volunteers to demonstrate the movements made by the rivals to the throne and how King Harold's armies attempted to d...

The Battle for the Isle of Wight | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

The Battle for the Isle of Wight | Armada: 12 Days to Save England

BBC Two | 2015 | 3'50''

Dan Snow discusses the English and Spanish tactics in the battle for the Isle of Wight.

Learning Zone | The Birth of Empire: The East India Company

Learning Zone | The Birth of Empire: The East India Company

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'05''

A compilation of short films made specially for schools on the rise and fall of the East India Company, which acc...

A History of Syria with Dan Snow | This World

A History of Syria with Dan Snow | This World

BBC HD | 2013 | 59'15''

Dan Snow travels to Syria to see how the current civil war has been shaped by the country's tumultuous history, unpicking the h...

Britain and the Start of WW1 | Learning Zone

Britain and the Start of WW1 | Learning Zone

BBC Two | 2013 | 7'30''

Dan Snow recreates a map of Europe on the beach to explain how Britain became involved in World War I.

Episode 1 | D-Day: The Last Heroes

Episode 1 | D-Day: The Last Heroes

BBC One | 2013 | 58'58''

In the first of a two-part series, historian Dan Snow examines how two years of meticulous planning, espionage and the analysis of million...

3: Industrial New York | Filthy Cities

3: Industrial New York | Filthy Cities

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'07''

Dan Snow looks at 19th century New York when migrants arrived in a city consumed by squalor, stench and soot.

03: High Tide | Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World

03: High Tide | Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'27''

Dan Snow presents a series on the Royal Navy's role in British history. Dan looks at the evolution o...

6: 1973 Middle East | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields

6: 1973 Middle East | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'25''

Peter and Dan Snow unpick the fighting that broke out in 1973. Known by some as the Yom Kippur War, it wa...

7: Culloden: The Jacobites' Last Stand | Battlefield Britain

7: Culloden: The Jacobites' Last Stand | Battlefield Britain

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'17''

Dan and Peter Snow use computer animation and dramatised testimony to relive defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie's h...