Pen & Sword Digital offers an array of military history documentaries made by talented filmmakers, historians, authors and battlefield guides. The selection of films cover World War I and II, the Hundred Years War and the Napoleonic War, engaging multiple sources in the drawing together of interesting stories that encapsulate the life and, sometimes, death of a soldier at war. Our DVDs also examine different technological and tactical advancements of warfare such as tanks, aviation, naval, plus trench and siege warfare.
Whether you have been to the Western Front, or are about to visit, the series 'Walking the Western Front' continues to serve such a useful purpose of explaining the battlefield. With the continued probing questions of Ed Skelding, and the military expertise of Nigel Cave, this second volume in the series on the First Battle of Ypres, breaks down, sometimes complex military movements, with detailed clear descriptions, alongside views and being on the ground.
Jon Sandison
Whether you have been to the Western Front, or are about to visit, the series 'Walking the Western Front' continues to serve such a useful purpose of explaining the battlefield. With the continued probing questions of Ed Skelding, and the military expertise of Nigel Cave, this second volume in the series on the First Battle of Ypres, breaks down, sometimes complex military movements, with detailed clear descriptions, alongside views and being on the ground.
Jon Sandison
The most important thing about these series of documentaries from Pen and Sword, is that they bring to life elements of the battlefield that would be impossible capture, even in the most descriptive book. This is because they are delivered on the ground, by top military historians and guides. The film is written and presented by Tim Saunders, Tom Dormer, Andrew Duff, Mike Peters, Paul Oldfield and Ed Church. Throughout, you feel as if you are on the battlefields with these men, having the detail explained to you. It is presented in a very professional, but also relaxed and inclusive manner, which you would expect on a battlefield tour.... Overall, for any military enthusiast, this is a superb dvd to watch.
Jon Sandison
The most important thing about these series of documentaries from Pen and Sword, is that they bring to life elements of the battlefield that would be impossible capture, even in the most descriptive book. This is because they are delivered on the ground, by top military historians and guides. The film is written and presented by Tim Saunders, Tom Dormer, Andrew Duff, Mike Peters, Paul Oldfield and Ed Church. Throughout, you feel as if you are on the battlefields with these men, having the detail explained to you. It is presented in a very professional, but also relaxed and inclusive manner, which you would expect on a battlefield tour.... Overall, for any military enthusiast, this is a superb dvd to watch.
Jon Sandison
This is an excellent resource which provides an excellent reference point for the first few months of the war, and the important action in and around Ypres.
Jon Sandison, Freelance
This is an excellent resource which provides an excellent reference point for the first few months of the war, and the important action in and around Ypres.
Jon Sandison, Freelance
The story of the Battle of Mons is relayed by film maker Ed Skelding, and military historian Nigel Cave who is the series editor of the excellent Battleground Europe guides to the battles of the Western Front. The focus on Mons brings to life visually to the fore how this quiet Belgium town was to witness the first great battle between the British and the German during the First World War. The Battle of Mons was fought over two days in late August, 1914, marking the start of the British action on the Western Front. For anyone who has watched any of this series of documentaries, the ultimate strength of them is two fold. Firstly if you have not previously had the opportunity to visit the battlefields, they serve the fantastic purpose of not only inspiring you to want to visit, to plan a visit, and also give you a fantastic overview of the sequence of events and ground at particular locations. At the same time, they bring the locations into a modern concept with sweeping views of the ground... Read more
Jon Sandison, Freelance
The story of the Battle of Mons is relayed by film maker Ed Skelding, and military historian Nigel Cave who is the series editor of the excellent Battleground Europe guides to the battles of the Western Front. The focus on Mons brings to life visually to the fore how this quiet Belgium town was to witness the first great battle between the British and the German during the First World War. The Battle of Mons was fought over two days in late August, 1914, marking the start of the British action on the Western Front. For anyone who has watched any of this series of documentaries, the ultimate strength of them is two fold. Firstly if you have not previously had the opportunity to visit the battlefields, they serve the fantastic purpose of not only inspiring you to want to visit, to plan a visit, and also give you a fantastic overview of the sequence of events and ground at particular locations. At the same time, they bring the locations into a modern concept with sweeping views of the ground... Read more
Jon Sandison, Freelance
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
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
Special Operations: Bletchley Park and the Ultra Secret
During the Second World War, Bletchley Park was the site of the UK's main decryption establishment, the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), where cyphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted, most importantly the cyphers generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines. The high-level intelligence produced at Bletchley Park,… Read more...
Building on the success of various Commando Raids during 1941, Headquarters Combined Operations moved up the scale of size and complexity by electing to attack and deny the only dry dock that could take a German battleship for repairs, the Normandie Dock at St Nazaire on France's Atlantic coast. The problem was that the port was miles up an estuary… Read more...
Hougoumont & D'Erlon's Attack is the second part in the explosive four part series, The Waterloo Collection, which covers the entire Waterloo Campaign from Napoleon's return to France and ensuing battles to his final pursuit and eventual surrender to the British. Following on from Ligny and Quatre Bras, Part II starts by focusing on the concentration… Read more...
The Second Battle of Ypres was a battle of the First World War fought from 21 April–25 May 1915 for control of the strategic Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium, following the First Battle of Ypres the previous autumn. It marked the first mass use by Germany of poison gas on the Western Front. For the first time a former colonial force (the… Read more...
With the Battle of the Aisne grinding to a halt as trench warfare gradually set in, both the German and Allied commanders realised the dominance of the defensive, established by quick firing artillery and the machinegun, meaning that casualties in frontal attacks on a dug-in enemy were enormously heavy. Consequently, the armies sought to outflank the… Read more...
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. In this section we examine the background to the campaign… Read more...
