Another outstanding documentary from the Battlefield History TV team, following the efforts in the last days of 1944 by Jochen Peiper's 1st Panzer Regiment of the 1st " Leibstandarte" SS Panzer Division, to break through the Allied lines in the northern sector of the Ardennes. The excellently informed historians first describe the state of this much reconstituted, fully staffed but in materiel understrength Division, and with the assistance of maps, photographs, archive footage and re-enactors, vividly bring to life the story of their advance. By walking the ground and describing the key phases, they reveal how the Leibstandarte attempted to make rapid progress but were continually hampered by poor roads, blown bridges, and ever stiffening resistance, and show how this frustration culminated in the Malmedy Massacre where almost one hundred American prisoners of war were murdered. The main focus of the narrative, however, is concerned with the Division's spearhead and their constant struggle.. Read more
Pegasus Archive

A DVD of original German newsreel footage as it would have been broadcast to the public at the time, showing the arrival and parading of the Afrika Korps in Tripoli and their subsequent advance on Tobruk. As one would expect the commentary is very biased and makes for an interesting study in propaganda, particularly in its repeated attempts to portray Britain's colonial troops as sacrificial pawns. The film footage often focuses on artillery exchanges and the advance of motorised columns, but in between are segments which cover a very broad range of aspects of life in the desert, including anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns in action, the work of medical staff, signallers, the typical daily routine of any German soldier, and the unloading and stockpiling of stores in supply dumps. It also follows the arrival of these stores from Europe in the heavily protected convoys which were repeatedly attacked by the Royal Navy, and includes some superb footage of the Luftwaffe engaging the RAF and.. Read more
Pegasus Archive

A big plus of the documentary is that it’s led by questions from the historians. Especially with a subject like this, the viewer will find this very useful. Instead of giving tons of information, asking questions to one another will keep the viewer alert. Tom Dormer and the crew of Battlefield TV did great job! I’m looking forward to the other documentaries. Read the full review [link=http://www.joedemadio.com/panzer-marche-the-dash-to-bastogne-review/]here.[/link]
JOEDEMADIO'S WW2 HISTORY & BATTLEFIELD BLOG

As featured on [link=http://www.joedemadio.com/battle-of-the-bulge-siege-of-bastogne-dvd-review/]JOEDEMADIO'S WW2 HISTORY & BATTLEFIELD BLOG.[/link]
JOEDEMADIO'S WW2 HISTORY & BATTLEFIELD BLOG

Consisting throughout of original German newsreel footage, this DVD follows the Afrika Korps and their Italian allies during the advance on Egypt in late 1942, and subsequent retreat into Tunisia during the following year. It begins with their great success at Gazala, using maps to explain the progress of the campaign and the defences encountered, and goes on to look at the fall of Tobruk and the retreat from El Alamein. Complete with its original, enormously biased commentary, it also makes for an interesting study in propaganda; with triumphant marching music, seemingly easy victories and doubtlessly satisfying columns of British prisoners, it proceeds with a great fanfare when the Afrika Korps was winning but is not so forthcoming during their retreat and ultimate eviction from the continent. There are several scenes of infantry and armour advancing through British artillery fire, but most of the action naturally takes place in the rear areas, around anti-tank weapons and artillery,.. Read more
Pegasus Archive