{"title":"Battlefield Ltd","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"6th-airborne-dvd-5060247620435","title":"6th Airborne","description":"The Overlord plan called for the use of airborne troops to secure the flanks of the D Day landing and to form a buffer to keep the German counter-attacks away, thus allowing 3rd Division to advance from Sword Beach to seize Caen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6th Airborne Division was newly raised from infantry battalions converted to parachutists and glider infantry and it trained hard and prepared for its special missions. It was later to be joined by Lord Lovat s Commando Brigade who was to come under command on landing.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eExpert authors and battlefield guides explain the action on the ground where it happened. These locations include the epic attacks on Pegasus Bridge by the gliderborne infantry of John Howard s company of Ox \u0026amp; Bucks Light Infantry and Colonel Terrence Otway s 9 Para were to take the Merville Battery, whose guns were thought to dominate Sword Beach.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile, the reminder of the 3 and 5 Parachute Brigades were to secure key objectives. In the event, they were widely scattered and facing counter-attack by 21st Panzer Division. Despite this small bands of paratroopers cleared Merville Battery, blew bridges and secured vital ground, the significance of which is explained with maps, photographs and diagrams in the usual BHTV style.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49687292739857,"sku":"DVDB00D5S2DT0VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00D5S2DT0.jpg?v=1750907857"},{"product_id":"mons-1914-the-first-world-war-dvd-5060247621111","title":"Mons 1914: The First World War","description":"As Europe slid into war in 1914 the UK Government mobilized the British Expeditionary Force and declared war just before midnight on 4 August. A well oiled deployment to northern France followed, where in accordance with Plan WF (With France), the BEF would fight on the left wing of General Lanrezac s Fifth French Army. Field Marshal Sir John French and his allied counterpart, however, got on badly from the start and when the British advance reached Mons and tangled with German patrols on 22 August around Mons, the BEF s intent was to continue the advance into Belgium alongside their ally but Lanrezac only informed the BEF of his withdrawal from Charleroi late in the day. As a result with little time to prepare their defenses, the British were compelled into an unexpected encounter battle with von Kluck s First German Army outnumbering the BEF three to one. Fortunately he was also working in an information vacuum.In the resulting battle on 23 August in the dreary industrial area around Mons, the professional soldiers of the BEF s 3rd Division with the salutary experience of the Boer War behind them, proved themselves to be more than the equal of the German Army, man to man they were seriously outnumbered. Training counted and in defending the canal line the days spent on the range practicing the Mad minute of rifle fire counted and whilst the German army had closed up to and secured crossing points on the canal by nightfall, they were halted in their tracks.On 24 August the German advance resumed but with the threat of the Germans enveloping them, the BEF was to withdraw. 5th Divisions orders to move back, were however, delayed and consequently they fought a withdrawal in contact through the mean industrial streets, railway lines and slag heaps of Wasmes and Hornu. Out on the left flank the British cavalry was in action against a dangerous enveloping move by the Germans.The BHTV team take the viewers to the heart of the action to examine weapons, tactics and raw heroism as they tell the story. Illustrated with maps and location scenes, they make this most complicated of British battles easily understandable.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49688795709713,"sku":"DVDB00IITM5L2VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00IITM5L2.jpg?v=1750907860"},{"product_id":"bletchley-park-and-the-ultra-secret-dvd-5060247621142","title":"Bletchley Park and the Ultra Secret","description":"During the Second World War, Bletchley Park was the site of the UK s main decryption establishment, the Government Code and Cypher School (GC\u0026amp;CS), where ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted, most importantly the ciphers generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe high-level intelligence produced at Bletchley Park, code named Ultra, provided crucial assistance to the Allied war effort. Sir Harry Hinsley, a Bletchley veteran and the official historian of British Intelligence during the Second World War, said that Ultra shortened the war by two to four years and that the outcome of the war would have been uncertain without it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this newly commissioned documentary film, the BHTV team of historians and battlefield guides explain the history of this legendary World War Two site. Filmed in collaboration with the Bletchley Park trust, the team have been given complete access to the building and it s official history, culminating in a complete and detailed history of the site from it s vital use as an intelligence base to it s conversion as a museum in 1993. The team also interview some of the surviving veterans who worked at Bletchley at the time and helped to break the Enigma coding.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow underway is an 8m, Heritage Lottery Funded restoration program, which will come to fruition in time for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. This DVD will be launched in conjunction with the opening of the newly refurbished shop and will be an ideal purchase for all Second World War and Special Operations enthusiasts.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49689865715985,"sku":"DVDB00K87OKQAVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49700243308817,"sku":"DVDB00K87OKQALN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00K87OKQA.jpg?v=1751355038"},{"product_id":"panzer-marche-dvd-5060247620336","title":"Panzer Marche!","description":"This is the first of a new series of DVDs that will build into a collection covering all the highlights of this massive and controversial campaign. One that caught the Allies off guard and was fought in terrible weather conditions by some of the best German and Allied troops fighting in the West.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn this section, we examine the background to the campaign with a leading American historian before following the advance of one of Hitler s most successful panzer commander s, Hasso von Manteuffel, Fifth Panzer Army. We will travel in wintery conditions from the German border into the lightly held US front line. From the outset, small groups of GIs did their best to delay the advance of the panzers, buying time for the vital crossroad town of Bastogne to be reinforced by 101st US Airborne Division. Under the cloak of bad weather, the Germans initially advanced successfully but more slowly than planned However, Germany s chronic lack of fuel hamstrung the advance.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe British X Corps deployed to the River Meuse amidst controversy over Montgomery s role and injudicious words but the panzer spearheads were halted short of the river as the skies cleared and the feared fighter-bombers returned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the usual BHTV style, a selection of the countries most respected and knowledgeable experts take to the fields where the battles were originally fought almost 70 years ago to explain the conflict in meticulous detail.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49703084654865,"sku":"DVDB00D5UJSGEVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00D5UJSGE.jpg?v=1751322140"},{"product_id":"95th-rifles-1809-to-salamanca-dvd-5060247620381","title":"95th Rifles - 1809 to Salamanca","description":"95th Rifles 1809 to Salamanca is the second DVD in 95th Rifles trilogy of films and part of The Peninsular Collection from BHTV and Pen and Sword Digital. The DVD explores the history of the 95th Rifles, who were masters of the battlefield and particularly skilled in skirmishing. Held in high esteem by the French and Allies alike, they played a momentous role in the outcome of the Peninsular War. Following the events set out in the Salamanca DVD, this film serves as a prequel to explain the years leading up to the Battle of Salamanca, starting with the aftermath of Sir John Moore's retreat to La Corunna in the winter of 1808\/1809. During the Corunna Campaign of 1808 the two battalions of 95th Rifles proved their both metal and utility on the battlefield. Now in 1809 they were to return to the Peninsular as a part of Wellington's Army. With the Light Division, they undertook the epic march to Talavera and over the following three years enduring the hardships of campaign during freezing winters and scorching summers as well as the horrors of the battlefield such as Funtes d'Onoro as Wellington strove to maintain his army in Portugal. The film concludes in 1812 with the Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz before the bonds of the defense were finally broken for the British and the 95th Rifles by the Great victory at Salamanca. Filmed on location where the original battles took place over 200 years ago, the BHTV team experience first-hand the diversity of the Spanish weather in winter with rain, sleet, snow and sub-zero conditions, giving the viewer an idea of what the British and French troops had to endure at the time. Complimented by re-enactment footage from the 95th Rifles Living History Society, this DVD is compulsive viewing for all students of the Peninsular War period.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50027416977681,"sku":"DVDB00D5UJSR8VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50935845126417,"sku":"DVDB00D5UJSR8LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00D5UJSR8.jpg?v=1750810774"},{"product_id":"gold-beach-battle-for-the-beaches-dvd-5060247620367","title":"Gold Beach: Battle for the Beaches","description":"When Montgomery took over command of 21st Army Group, the COSAC plan only had three beaches. He promptly up-scaled the enterprise inserting two new beaches including GOLD and, what is more, he had just the boys to land there the veteran 50th Northumbrian Division who had fought with the Eighth Army and landed in Sicily. They were joined by the southern regulars of 231 Brigade who already had two assault landings under their belt and they would need every bit of experience to overcome Hitler s Atlantic Wall.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe film covers the buildup, expert commentary of the bombardment by land and sea shot on the decks and turrets of HMS Belfast, the assault landing and clearing the beach. 69 Brigade had a difficult but successful landing, including the first action that ultimately brought Sergeant Major Stan Hollis the only D Day Victoria Cross, and were to the consternation of the Germans heading inland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile all kinds of problems had beset 231 Brigade and the success of their landing was for a time in jeopardy. The veteran Dorsets, Hampshires and Devons got on with their tasks minus tanks and artillery thanks to a single surviving anti-tank gun and a massive crater on the only viable route off the beach. Despite these difficulties 50th Division, landing on Gold Beach, were heading towards their distant objectives by mid-morning.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50273491583249,"sku":"DVDB00D5RECYKLN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50323118588177,"sku":"DVDB00D5RECYKVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00D5RECYK.jpg?v=1751035519"},{"product_id":"sword-beach-dvd-5060247620831","title":"Sword Beach","description":"In 1940 3rd Division, then commanded by a little known major, General Bernard Montgomery, were unceremoniously evacuated from Dunkirk but four long years later they were to return to France in the van of the D Day assault force; the greatest invasion of all time. Their task was to break through Hitler s Atlantic Wall on a stretch of Normandy beach code named SWORD. With the assistance of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force they would blast their way through the concrete and steel defenses that lined the beach.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce ashore their problems were only just beginning  Montgomery had set the Iron Division a demanding D Day task, the capture of the city of Caen but the Germans were deployed in greater depth and strength than the Allies assumed and Rommel had sneaked forward 21st Panzer Division into positions immediately behind the invasion area. With bitter fighting in the villages and open ridges around Caen the two sides fought a desperate battle; the Germans knew that once firmly ashore it would be nigh on impossible to throw them back into the sea as Hitler demanded.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis film charts the operations on D Day from the build up and embarkation of the force through the crossing and subsequent assault landing. Once ashore, the program follows the advance of 3rd Division inland to the Perriers Ridge. Here the exhausted soldiers repulsed the attack of 21st Panzer Division. Meanwhile, the Suffolk Regiment were struggling to subdue the major German HQ bunker complex code named Hillman, while Lord Lovat s Commandos struck off to the flanks to Pegasus Bridge and the airborne troops.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50323118784785,"sku":"DVDB009BTPAFQLN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B009BTPAFQ.jpg?v=1751163231"},{"product_id":"le-cateau-region-1-dvd-5060247621135","title":"Le Cateau (Region 1)","description":"Having temporarily checked the Germans at Mons the BEF had no alternative but to withdraw as they were outnumbered by the enemy and Lanrezac's Fifth French Army was falling back. The Germans, however, were soon in hot pursuit, sensing the BEF were at their mercy. In a series of rear guard actions the BEF managed to hold - just. Despite Field Marshal French's instructions General Smith-Dorrien knew that he had to turn and fight on the open chalk hills above the town of Le Cateau. Here I Corps stood as the German pressure mounted and a desperate battle resulted as more and more German troops came into action; men fell, guns were lost and saved but again the BEF were able to escape. The retreat now began in earnest and repeated torturous marches followed, with little food and rest, testing even the sternest of constitutions; blisters burst and blood oozed from the boot. The Germans found the march equally challenging and at Nery once again the British Cavalry turned on the enemy and checked them. The retreat continued ever closer to Paris. Little did the Allies know that the German Schlieffen Plan was unraveling . The BHTV team again take the viewers to the heart of the action to examine weapons, tactics and raw heroism as they tell the story. Illustrated with maps and location scenes, they make this most complicated of British battles easily understandable.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50326176366865,"sku":"DVDB00K87OLSCVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00K87OLSC.jpg?v=1751387921"},{"product_id":"arnhem-battle-for-the-island-and-evacuation-dvd-5060247620312","title":"Arnhem: Battle for the Island and Evacuation","description":"This film covers the desperate fighting by the Guards Armored and 43rd Wessex Division between Nijmegen and the Rhine as they struggled to reach the Poles at Driel and the banks of the Rhine opposite the Oosterbeek Perimeter, where the increasingly beleaguered airborne troops were grimly hanging on. Experts in this often overlooked part of the battle link these events to those being played out north of the Rhine and bring a new clarity to what is often a one sided view of events. The international tensions between the Poles and the British, American criticism and the fact that the corridor was repeatedly cut behind them meant that Montgomery and his senior commanders had to face facts; the plan to cross Holland in a single leap onto the North German Plain and victory, had failed. Meanwhile, even when the spearhead of X Corps had reached the banks of the Rhine they were unable to get more than a handful of Poles and Dorsets across the River. Evacuation of the remains of the Airborne Division, who had been sustained in their positions by the guns of the Royal Artillery, across the Rhine, was the only option. Eight days after the operation began less than 300 exhausted men, all which remained of one of Britain's finest divisions, escaped and an eerie silence settled on Oosterbeek.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50799202042129,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50799202205969,"sku":"DVDB0084VL1O6VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53423009792273,"sku":"CIN0247620319G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B0084VL1O6.jpg?v=1751194187"},{"product_id":"the-battles-of-the-marne-the-aisne-and-the-race-to-the-sea-dvd-5060247621128","title":"The Battles of the Marne, the Aisne and the Race to the Sea","description":"While the Allied Generals were nearing panic as the Germans approached Paris, Marshal Foch quickly realized the German intent and that the Schlieffen plan was unraveling. In a master piece of military diplomacy he persuaded Filed Marshal French to join the Attack on the exposed flank of the Germans as it wheeled to the east of Paris. The battle was monumental and indeed a miracle, with the British playing a key part alongside the French in halting the German advance and driving them back behind the next river The Aisne. Here, the next Allied attack crossed the river and up onto the open ridges of the Chemin des Dames. The Germans held them and Field Marshal French ordered them to dig-in as a temporary measure but the line moved but little here in the next four years. With neither army able to make headway against modern small arms, the machine gun or quick firing artillery in a conventional frontal battle, the armies raced to redeploy into the uncontested ground north to the sea. Here on the La Basse canal and north to Armentieres and the Belgian city of Ypres both the Germans and the BEF attempted to advance but the result was a four hundred mile line of trenches from the Swiss frontier to the North Sea.REVIEWS The maps are clear and instructive, the presentation is enthusiastic and assured. There is also the important assistance that comes from former soldiers with an eye for the terrain which shapes the progress and outcome of land battles. Another splendid DVD.Fri 31\/07\/2015. Source: Firetrench","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50838634234129,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50838635577617,"sku":"DVDB00K87OMAOVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53426798690577,"sku":"CINB00K87OMAOVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B00K87OMAO.jpg?v=1751322141"},{"product_id":"gold-beach-battle-for-the-beachhead-dvd-5060247620916","title":"Gold Beach: Battle for the Beachhead","description":"In the first part of this duo of DVDs we examined in detail the combined weight of naval, air and land forces and the tactic they used to break through Hitler s vaunted Atlantic Wall into Festung Europa. Now the veteran 50th Northumbrian Division had to fight its way inland to establish a beachhead that had sufficient depth to survive the inevitable German counterattack.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e69 Brigade had a highly successful landing and now had to fight its way through layers of German defense to its objectives eight miles away. While clearing through German held villages and defensive positions the northern warrior, Sergeant Major Stan Hollis, continued the actions that led to him receiving the only D Day Victoria Cross.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile 231 Brigade, whose landing had been badly disrupted, were attempting to recover the situation and were fighting through successive German positions towards Arromanches and the enemy held hills and villages. These battles lacked the close coordination achieved by 69 Brigade and were up against field grade German infantry. Hours behind schedule the village of Ryes was taken and the second wave of brigades was able to take over, reaching the outskirts of Bayeux by dusk.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e50th Division had the most extensive D Day objectives and considerable difficulties and ultimately achieved more that any other Allied Division on D Day.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53052031271185,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53052031566097,"sku":"DVDB00GS86TTOVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/5060247620916.jpg?v=1769070675"},{"product_id":"operation-bulbasket-part-2-destruction-of-the-french-railways-dvd-5060247620374","title":"Operation Bulbasket: Part 2: Destruction of the French Railways","description":"Continuing the story of Operation Bulbasket the Battlefield History TV team of soldier historians follow the development of the attacks on the railways in order to delay the arrival of crucial German re-enforcements in Normandy. They find the clandestine drop zones where the main body and for the first time jeeps dropped, look at the targets (railway bridges and junctions) and camps deep in isolated forests, before examining how it all started to unravel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFollowing the information from the torture cells of the Gestapo headquarters in Poitiers to the barracks of the S training battalion who were to attack the SAS, the film details the German cordon and search tactics used in the Verrieres Camp Raid. The majority of the SAS were captured by the S and the Resistance fighters with them were summarily executed. After interrogation and buck passing Hitler s Kommando Order to execute all Allied commandos was finally carried out in the depths of a remote wood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the operation went on Captain Tonkin and the surviving officers and men of the SAS carried out regular and increasingly risky attacks on the railways, having been joined by shot down US airment. Together they forced the Germans to tie up increasing numbers of men guarding the lines if they were to avoid total logistic paralysis on the routes north to Normandy. A few brave men had an impact on the liberation of France out of all proportion to their number.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFinally, orders were received in early August for their extraction and the BHTV team look at the preparation of the landing strip and the risky night landing of RAF and USAF aircraft to take them home.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53357248971025,"sku":"DVDB00D5UJSBYVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/5060247620374.jpg?v=1774886607"},{"product_id":"special-forces-bruneval-raid-dvd-5060247620886","title":"Special Forces: Bruneval Raid","description":"In 1941 Dr RV Jones became convinced that the Germans had developed their own radar system that would account for increasing RAF bomber casualties. The hunt was on  Eventually an enemy Wurzburg system was located on the cliffs of Northern France at Bruneval and seizing it would be the solution to overcoming the enemy radar problem. A joint operation was planned by HQ Combined Ops that would involve all three Services, including the newly raised and barely parachute qualified C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion, Commanded by Major John Frost.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe planning went well but the rehearsals involving the Royal Navy were all disastrous. As the narrow window of moon and tide approached it was decided 'to bash on'. Nine of the twelve sticks of Paratroopers were dropped by 51 Squadron and the Germans were caught napping on a winters night. However, they quickly responded and the Paras had a serious fight on their hands to keep the enemy at bay while the experts, who the Paras had orders to kill rather than let fall into enemy hands, dismantled. With the enemy closing in the job was done and the force started to withdraw but elements of Frosts plan were beginning to unravel. It seemed that they may be blocked but with the Paras converging on the beach they secured their escape on the badly delayed Royal Navy landing craft.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Britain's darkest hour the success of the Bruneval raid was just what Churchill needed and the information gained saved the lives of many aircrew.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53423423127825,"sku":"CINB009BTPAHEVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/5060247620886.jpg?v=1776383690"},{"product_id":"poitiers-1356-dvd-5060247620459","title":"Poitiers 1356","description":"10 Years after the English victory in Crecy an Anglo\/Gascon Army led by Edward of Woodstock won a great victory at Poitiers on 19 September 1356. Once again a French Army was decimated by the despised English but what made this victory different was not only the capture of the French King, John I, but the fact that was a victory won by all arms, not just the longbow. In the 10 years since Crecy, the Black Death had ravaged Europe and England in particular. As a result, there had been a halt to hostilities between the two countries. In the respite, the French King carried out many much needed reforms to the French military system; in particular in the training and equipping of crossbowmen and the defenses of towns. In 1355, the English launched a series of Chevauchees against the French. The Prince of Wales's Chevauchee, known as the Great Chevauchee, ravaged the south of France as far as Narbonne, causing immense damage to the French economy. On 19 September 1356, the French encounter the rearguard of the English Army. Edward and his generals are planning to retreat but they see a chance to strike. The battle that ensues is both bloody and decisive. By the end of the day, a large part of the French aristocracy was dead, dying or prisoner, including King John I. The Anglo\/Gascon army was enriched beyond its wildest dreams with the ransoms that would be paid. This campaign was a masterpiece of strategic warfare. In 3 months, the Anglo\/Gascon had carried out a devastating campaign of economic warfare that undermined the French State and destroyed the wealth of a major area of France. The final gloss on the campaign was the victory battle and the capture of the French King. In this program, the BHTV team uses their experience as soldiers and guides to bring this iconic campaign to life. The team examines the political, military and economic background to the campaign and brings the subject to life by visits to all the major locations, skillful use of maps and complimented by re-enactment footage and vignettes of life and combat in 1356.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53461119369489,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53461119402257,"sku":"DVDB00D5UJSAUVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/5060247620459.jpg?v=1777103496"},{"product_id":"pointe-du-hoc-dvd-5060247620411","title":"Pointe Du Hoc","description":"The German battery of six 150mm guns established on Point du Hoc during 1943 covered both the American Omaha and Utah Beaches. It wasn t a suitable objective for paratroopers, who were anyway fully committed. On hearing the Ranger plan to scale the cliffs and seize the battery before the landings, experienced commanders commented that an old woman with a brush could sweep them off the cliffs . To get up the hundred foot high cliffs Colonel Rudder developed and trained 2nd Rangers in scaling techniques that included sectional aluminum commando ladders, rocket grapples and ropes, plus the so called Swans London Fire Brigade ladders.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn the event bad weather, navigational errors and communications failure meant that less than 200 Rangers were delivered to the foot of the cliffs late and under enemy fire. In an epic of American military history against every kind of difficulty, small groups of Rangers battled their way up ropes and ladders, with grenades bursting around them, to scale the muddy unstable cliff. A handful of men spread out and cleared the stunned defenders but, as often is the case, seizing the objective was only a part of the battle. Isolated for over 24 hours, with no relief from the near disaster at Omaha, the Rangers fought on against increasingly determined German counter-attacks.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":54551966646545,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":54551966744849,"sku":"DVDB00D5VF1G4LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/5060247620411.jpg?v=1788350769"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-battlefield-ltd.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}