Operation Barbarossa's endgame does not come to fruition; with the world distracted, Japan launch their attack on Pearl Harbor, forcing American isolationists to join the war in earnest.

War in Europe ends with Soviet and American troops surrounding the German army; in the Pacific, it takes the devastating nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force the Japanese surrender.

By 5:00pm on the 2nd of May, 1945, the last guns stopped firing among the ruins of Berlin as the iconic image of the Soviet Red Flag rising above the Reichstag symbolised an irreversible change.

Japan stood at a crossroads after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings; on the 14th of August, 1945, Emperor Hirohito retreated to his office bunker to record a message announcing Japan's surrender.

6000 years ago, Sumerians built the world's first cities in southern Iraq; the first Westerners to explore these ruins were inspired by Bible stories. What was the world of the Book of Genesis like?

Nineveh and Babylon were two superpowers of the ancient world, but they were the cities of sin for the writers of the Bible; why do they have such poor reputations in the Old Testament?

Newfound writings have turned the history of Christianity upside down; did Jesus marry Mary Magdalene and have children with her? We try to solve one of the world's most puzzling mysteries.

We will examine the stories of people who travelled to Egypt in 19th-20th centuries to uncover the earliest Christian texts. Their discoveries shed controversial new light on the story of the Bible.

Discoveries in Egypt in the 19th and 20th centuries included strange zodiacs, hymns to Egypt's solar god, and heretical Christian texts that threatened to shake the foundations of Christianity.

For more than 3,000 years, the Maya civilisation flourished in Mesoamerica, developing cities, a sophisticated writing system, and an advanced understanding of time, astronomy, and the natural world.

In the eastern Maya Lowlands, a dynasty once shrouded in mystery gradually emerges as the most powerful political force of the Classic Maya world: the Kaanul, identified by their serpent emblem.

The rivalry between Calakmul and Tikal reached its climax. Warfare, once a source of strength, became a catalyst for instability. This set the stage for the decline of the Classic Maya world.

The Serpent dynasty's dominance ended. Under Jasaw Chan K'awiil, Tikal briefly led, but instability grew. Political, ecological and social pressures caused the gradual collapse of the age of Classic Maya.

In this two-part series, we reveal the devastation inflicted on medieval Europe by the 14th-century outbreak of the plague that remains the deadliest recorded pandemic in history.

In this two-part series, we reveal the devastation inflicted on medieval Europe by the 14th-century outbreak of the plague that remains the deadliest recorded pandemic in history.

Hitler's DNA is discovered for the first time in history as experts investigate what it reveals about his heritage and his formative years.

Experts investigating Hitler's DNA uncover psychiatric conditions and find a genetic mutation that disrupts sexual development.

The Berlin Olympics of 1936 were innovative, introducing television coverage and the torch relay. We show the highlights, but also how Hitler used the Games as propaganda for his brutal regime.

Ancient history knows few rulers like Constantine the Great. This first episode follows archaeologists on the stages of his life from Naissus to Rome.

Constantine's claim to power knew no bounds. This final episode follows the emperor's archaeological traces to the new Rome, Constantinople.

We reveal the ground-breaking science being used by Professor Brent Seales as he attempts to be the first person in nearly 2,000 years to read inside the ancient scrolls found in Herculaneum.

What is a tank? From the early concepts to the first tank prototype, we examine how the battlefields of WWI set the scene for the mechanised warfare of WWII.