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6 Episodes 2012 - 2012
Episode 1
Tue, Apr 3, 201245 mins
"EDGE OF WAR: Hitler's False Flag" is the story of Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany and the events that start World War II. A failed coup attempt and a stretch in prison give Adolf Hitler time to think. He emerges from jail determined to take total power. Using deception, manipulation and personal force of will, he takes his belief in manifest destiny to a receptive German people. His message is Lebensraum - living space - for Germans. Elected to power, he creates a military and propaganda machine never before seen, and puts into action a plan for retrieving German land lost in World War I. Tensions in Europe run high over German demands, yet Hitler charms British PM Neville Chamberlain into believing there can be peace. When Hitler backs out of his non-aggression pact, Chamberlain backs Polish leader Edward Smigly-Rydz - promising that Britain will defend Poland in case of unprovoked attack. Now Hitler needs a reason - a justification - for war against Poland. He turns to Nazi intelligence chief Reinhard Heydrich, who enlists SS recruits to pretend they are Polish soldiers. And one final essential ingredient: victims - who won't be missed - will be gunned down and left as evidence of the Polish attack. On August 31, 1939, the operation goes ahead and "Polish" attacks on German sites are reported worldwide. It is among the first 'false flag' operations in history, and Hitler now begins his quest: Blitzkrieg on Poland.
Episode 2
Tue, Apr 10, 201245 mins
"EDGE OF WAR: MacArthur's Great Gamble" is the story of how General Douglas MacArthur is able to land massive UN Forces far behind enemy lines during the Korean War. In 1950, Korea stands divided by ideologies, ambitious leaders and competing superpowers. The ravages of the 35 year-long Japanese occupation are a fresh memory. Rivals divide Korea along the 38th parallel into a Soviet-backed north and a US-friendly south. But with US interest in Korea waning, Soviet and Chinese ambitions grow, and the Cold War heats up. Korea spirals; border skirmishes flare, then a shooting war erupts, and finally a soviet-equipped North steamrolls an ill-prepared South. Kim Il Sung's North Korean People's Army threaten to push Syngman Rhee's South Korean and UN forces off the peninsula altogether. Enter US General Douglas MacArthur with an audacious battle strategy - sever the North's communication and supply lines by landing where the North Koreans least expect it - the port city of Inchon. Inchon is a little known city, and reliable information about the city must be gathered. US naval officer Lt Eugene Clark goes in undercover. He recruits a team of locals; operatives that want the invaders out. Clark's recruits - mostly very young or very old - gather information on North Korean troops, munitions and movements.
Episode 3
Mon, Apr 16, 201245 mins
1950s Cuba. A Caribbean paradise. A playground for the wealthy. And a hotbed of political unrest. This is the story of a dictator, a freedom-seeking people and an opportunistic revolutionary. This is the Cuban Revolution. In 1953, Cuban strongman Fulgencio Batista enjoys the comforts of an ill-gotten presidency as opposition to his brutal and corrupt rule stirs among the Cuban people. Frustrated by unsuccessful opposition to Batista, lawyer-turned-activist Fidel Castro leads an attack on an army stronghold - the Moncada Barracks. The attack fails miserably, but at his trial, Castro becomes the voice of the revolution, declaring, "History will absolve me!" A year later, Castro is free, but is kept under constant scrutiny by Batista's secret police. Slipping away to Mexico, Castro gathers and trains a small army, recruiting Che Guevara and nearly 100 others along the way. A new plan takes shape - Castro will invade Cuba from the water as, at the same moment, urban revolutionaries will attack government targets within the country. But with an overloaded boat, a bad motor and terrible weather, Castro's force lands two days late. The brief urban uprising has been destroyed and its leader, the popular Frank Pais, is on the run. Worse, Batista sits waiting for Castro's boat to land, and only a handful of Castro's fighters survive the counter attack. For the next year and a half, Castro's forces grow stronger in the Sierra Maestra Mountains, but Castro knows he must one day face Batista head on. The prize - Cuba itself.
Episode 4
Tue, Apr 24, 201245 mins
The Persian Gulf. Ancient. Rich. Dangerous. And from the dawn of time, home to brash and brutal rulers. This is the story of two such leaders - with a deep and deadly hatred for each other. These are the events that lead them to battle. This is the beginning of the Iran/Iraq War. In Iraq, strongman Saddam Hussein is happy hosting the exiled Khomeini when the Ayatollah is making trouble for the Shah of Iran. But when Khomeini and his Shi'ite brethren agitate for revolution inside Iraq itself, Saddam tosses the cleric out. Hussein continues to consolidate power within Iraq - terrorizing friend and foe alike. His murderous secret police enthusiastically dispatch his deadly decrees. Pretending to be devout, the secular Saddam casts himself as the new big man in the Arab world. In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile in France to take total power in Iran, enjoying a jubilant welcome from Iranians of all political stripes. Professing to be a man of God, Khomeini soon reveals a darker and deadlier face. When Khomeini sees his Shi'ite brethren being brutally evicted from Iraq by Saddam's sycophants, he grows increasingly hostile - attacking Saddam's embassies around the world. The promise of eternal bliss makes bold his extremist followers. In this tale of empires and extremes, of killers and Korans, of God and guns - no one is spared. Death is no deterrent for he who does not fear death. And so nearly a million people die, turning the ancient desert sand red with blood.
Episode 5
Tue, May 1, 201245 mins
The Falkland Islands. A rocky outpost at the bottom of the world. Cold. Remote. But things are about to heat up. It's 1982. Argentine leader Leopold Galtieri has a problem. His economy is failing and his Dirty War grows into civil unrest. What's a junta ruler to do? Britain's Margaret Thatcher has problems of her own. The economy is sputtering and her government's Conservative agenda creates civil unrest. What's an Iron Lady to do? For Galtieri, the time is now to invade the Falkland Islands, and right a historic wrong. Those islands, after all, belong to Argentina - where they are known as the Malvinas. So he dusts off his army, navy and air force, and sends them to invade. He can't be blamed for thinking nothing will happen - the Brits have been trying to offload this property for decades. Not so fast. Mrs. Thatcher has ambitions of her own, and going down in history as the Prime Minister that backed down from a fight isn't one of them. There's British pride at stake. And a few hundred British citizens. So she dispatches an armada on an 8000-mile journey to the far side of the planet. And so the stage is set for one of the most logistically-challenging, courage-testing, head-scratching dust-ups between two countries, and leaders, in modern history. It's Galtieri vs. Thatcher. The prize? A half a million sheep and some windy real estate in the middle of nowhere. And, of course, the pride of nations.
Episode 6
Tue, May 8, 201245 mins
Panama. A nation born of revolution. A convenient and manageable neighbor. An American vassal state. It's the late 1980s, and for nearly a decade, General Manuel Noriega - soldier turned general, general turned head of state - has been living large. Through fear and intimidation, he's rid himself of pesky democracy-seeking opponents. He's stolen an election or two. And he has his hand in lots of murky deals in Central America. Best of all, he's been getting by with very little supervision from his minders in the USA. But, in 1988, Manuel Noriega - one-time CIA operative, de facto leader of Panama, and very successful drug trafficker - finds himself indicted by a US federal grand jury for money laundering and drug smuggling. His former CIA handler - now President - George HW Bush wants Noriega out and funds opposition groups in the country. Bush wants democracy, not a dictator, in his sphere of influence. Noriega gets upset with his former boss and lets his temper get the best of him. He starts a campaign of bluster and intimidation against US residents in Panama, both civilian and military. Not a great idea when you have US military bases on your soil. Finally, and maybe predictably, Noriega's Panamanian Defense Force kills an off-duty US Marine just before Christmas 1989, then harass and assault Americans who witness the shooting. This is the spark that ignites one of the most technologically advanced, operationally complex military operations in modern history.