Neuschwanstein is Louis II of Bavaria's 19th-century fairy-tale castle that inspired Walt Disney. Inside, medieval fantasy hides modern innovation: steel beams, plumbing, and central heating.

Begun in 1882, the Sagrada Família became Gaudí's radical engineering laboratory. In 2026, the church yet to be finished, builders use modern engineering to raise the 170-metre spires above Barcelona.

March 1945: the Allies have reached the River Rhine. Montgomery plans a giant operation to cross the river in the north, but luck hands the Americans a bridge over the Rhine at Remagen.

How could a nobody become a dictator and bring down a democracy in just a few years, what crucial events helped Hitler gain respectability and influence, and who were his supporters?

December 1944: Hitler has picked the Ardennes sector for a major offensive. The surprise attack, spearheaded by elite divisions, initially sends American units reeling.

Aachen Cathedral is a 1,200-year engineering marvel. We decode the 'smart' mortar, the hidden iron ring stabilising the cupola, and the metal reinforcements that let stained glass replace stone.

1940: France has fallen and Hitler orders Operation Sealion - the invasion of Great Britain - to commence, but first the Luftwaffe must defeat the RAF for seaborne landings to succeed.

Hitler retreats into his bunker as the Allies advance on Nazi Germany; the Fuhrer issues frantic orders to non-existent armies as he loses his grip on reality.

This documentary tells the story of a typical day in 1944 at the concentration camp of Auschwitz; it is based on a unique document which is kept in the Israeli memorial site of Yad Vashem.

Pierrefonds looks like a 14th-century fortress, yet it is a 19th-century masterpiece. We uncover how a ruined stronghold became a revolutionary hybrid of Middle Ages and Industrial Age innovation.

Rising 80 metres above Athens, the Acropolis is a high-speed engineering feat forged in an age of war and political ambition. This episode decodes the logistics behind the Parthenon.

Neuschwanstein is Louis II of Bavaria's 19th-century fairy-tale castle that inspired Walt Disney. Inside, medieval fantasy hides modern innovation: steel beams, plumbing, and central heating.

Begun in 1882, the Sagrada Família became Gaudí's radical engineering laboratory. In 2026, the church yet to be finished, builders use modern engineering to raise the 170-metre spires above Barcelona.

When Japan's expansion in the Pacific reaches fever pitch, Roosevelt must act. Instead of having them back down by cutting off oil supplies, he pushes them to attack the US fleet in Pearl Harbor.

In the aftermath of the Great War, the victors sign the Treaty of Versailles. We begin this series by exploring the 20 years after World War One and the events that led to the birth of World War Two.

In this episode, we reveal how Hitler manipulated and played games with the Czechs and the western powers of Britain and France to achieve his ends.

How could a nobody become a dictator and bring down a democracy in just a few years, what crucial events helped Hitler gain respectability and influence, and who were his supporters?

March 1945: the Allies have reached the River Rhine. Montgomery plans a giant operation to cross the river in the north, but luck hands the Americans a bridge over the Rhine at Remagen.

For 2,600 years, Carcassonne has stood as Europe's ultimate fortress. Blending archaeology and engineering, we learn how innovation, strategy and restoration shaped an 'impregnable' citadel.

How could a nobody become a dictator and bring down a democracy in just a few years, what crucial events helped Hitler gain respectability and influence, and who were his supporters?

Begun in 1882, the Sagrada Família became Gaudí's radical engineering laboratory. In 2026, the church yet to be finished, builders use modern engineering to raise the 170-metre spires above Barcelona.

Aachen Cathedral is a 1,200-year engineering marvel. We decode the 'smart' mortar, the hidden iron ring stabilising the cupola, and the metal reinforcements that let stained glass replace stone.