Search - The History Channel American War Collection 42 Episode Collection : 14 DVD SET : Over 30 Hours : THE Revolution ,The Alamo , the Civil War ,World WAR I ,World WAR II ,The Korean WAR ,The Vietnam WAR ,The Gulf WAR , the Iraq War on DVD

Must Have Set

forgetthegouge | PA | 05/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the first musket shots at Lexington and Concord to the precision-guided munitions in modern-day Baghdad, America's history has been forged in the heat of battle. AMERICA AT WAR presents over 37 hours of documentaries from HISTORY, charting U.S. military conflict over two centuries. This fourteen disc set explores key moments of the American Revolution, the Alamo, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, as well as the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Iraq. The chronological collection draws upon the expertise of noted historians, military authorities, engineers, and war correspondents to convey the personal side of conflict not often found in history books. A trove of archival footage and documents brings viewers closer than ever to the heated heart of combat.


INCLUDED IN THIS MEGASET ARE THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS:

*VOLUMES 1-4: THE REVOLUTION (Episodes 1-13: Boston, Bloody Boston / Rebellion to Revolution / Declaring Independence / American Crisis / Path to World War / Forging an Army / Treason and Betrayal / The War Heads South / A Hornet's Nest / The End Game / Becoming a Nation / Road to the Presidency / A President and His Revolution
*VOLUME 5: THE ALAMO: Remember the Alamo / The Real West: The Battle of the Alamo
*VOLUME 6: THE CIVIL WAR: Civil War Combat - The Hornet's Nest at Shiloh / The Bloody Lane at Antietem / The Wheatfield at Gettysburg / The Tragedy at Cold Harbor
*VOLUME 7: WORLD WAR I: The Death of Glory / The Last Day of World War I
*VOLUMES 8-9: WORLD WAR II: The Last Days of World War II / USS Eagle 56: Accident or Target? / Last Secrets of the Axis
*VOLUME 10: THE KOREAN WAR: Making of a Bloodbath / Triumph to Tragedy / Retreat From Hell / Bitter Standoff
*VOLUME 11: THE VIETNAM WAR: Vietnam: On The Frontlines 1-4 - America Enters the War / Tet in Saigon and Hue / Ringing Down the Curtain / The End Game
*VOLUME 12: THE GULF WAR: The Air Campaign / The Ground War / The Final Showdown / Bonus program - Weapons at War: Smart Bombs
*VOLUMES 13-14: The Iraq War: The Fall of Saddam - Invasion / Tough Going / Baghdad's Doorstep/ Fall of Saddam / Aftermath / Bonus programs - Eyewitness in Iraq; U.S. Weapons Against Iraq; Iraq War: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency


*BONUS FEATURE: "History in the Making: The Revolution" Behind the Scenes Featurette; Bonus Programs "Weapons at War: Smart Bombs," "Eyewitness in Iraq; U.S. Weapons Against Iraq," "Iraq War: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency"



From the first incidents that led to rebellion to the declaration of independence in 1776, revolt is a perilous journey for the colonists.

*BOSTON, BLOODY BOSTON: Faced with escalating controversies and conflicts, the American colonists are forced to act. Some of the major political players of the rebellion are introduced as a Continental Congress convenes.
*REBELLING TO REVOLUTION: As rebellion escalates into war, the Continental Congress establishes an army and appoints George Washington to Commander-in-Chief. When the army surrounds the British troops in Boston, Britain sends additional troops and its three best generals. In spite of these tactics, the Continental Army's assault forces the British troops and loyalists to flee the city.
*DECLARING INDEPENDENCE: Finally, in 1776, noble ideas and long-desired dreams are realized as the Declaration of Independence is signed and America is born. Yet many dark and devastating struggles lay ahead, and few Americans trust that the glorious cause will survive.
*AMERICAN CRISIS: As the new nation begins to realize that all its efforts may have been for naught, a desperate and determined General George Washington gambles on a brilliant--yet dangerously daring--design, in order to save his army and America itself.


Things are not necessarily easier after 1776, as the fledgling government suffers through further threats to its ideals.

*PATH TO WORLD WAR: As the American situation reaches desperation, Benjamin Franklin descends on Paris and talks the French into joining the fight against Britain. Meanwhile, British General William Howe badly defeats George Washington's troops at the Battle of Brandywine. To the North, American general Horatio Gates takes the Battle of Saratoga, thus convincing France to enter the fight.
*FORGING AN ARMY: General Washington's losses continue, and some in Congress begin to question his leadership. Washington's immediate concern, however, is for the health and security of his ragged, starving, and slowly dwindling army.
*TREASON & BETRAYAL: The once heroic General Benedict Arnold turns his back on his country in an act of pride, sealing his legacy as a traitor. George Washington takes the war to the frontier, burning the Iroquois Indians out of New York State and leaving a wake of destruction and devastation.


New British plans leave a young America with a very real fear of losing everything it has suffered to gain.

*THE WAR HEADS SOUTH: In their failure to defeat George Washington, the British change course and turn their attentions southward. In a final effort to quell the rebellion, they surround and lay siege to Charleston, South Carolina. Continental General Benjamin Lincoln braces for the attack, but his outnumbered force ultimately falls.
*A HORNET'S NEST: After the fall of Charleston, the war explodes into the Carolina backcountry, touching off a brutal civil war. The Americans are defeated at Camden, and in an unconventional strategic move, Generals Nathaneal Greene and Daniel Morgan split the army between them, leading British General Charles Cornwallis on a chase that culminates in the Battle of Guildford Courthouse.
*THE END GAME: As the revolution continues, Washington faces two mutinies in the Continental Army. In England, opposition to the war grows, and while the French tire of supporting America, Franklin continues to successfully solicit their aid. General Cornwallis moves his army to Yorktown, Virginia, and the Allied forces close in for the last major battle of the war.


After struggling through the bitter end of the war, the Americans are finally free to live independently.

*BECOMING A NATION: News of the American victory at Yorktown spreads quickly around the globe. Parliament forces the King to agree to American independence, and John Adams joins Benjamin Franklin in France to negotiate the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The 13 new American states delineate a new form of government and urge Washington into the presidential office.
*ROAD TO THE PRESIDENCY: As George Washington rides to his inauguration as the first American president of the United States, he reflects back on the war and its most critical moments, and looks ahead to how he will make his mark on this new and revolutionary nation that has chosen him as its foundational leader.
*A PRESIDENT AND HIS REVOLUTION: George Washington completes his eight-day trip from his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia to New York City and his inauguration as the first president of the newly United State of America. The former Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army now becomes, simply, Mr. President.
*BONUS FEATURE: "History in the Making: The Revolution" Behind the Scenes Featurette


THE ALAMO

*REMEMBER THE ALAMO -- As a half-century of hostilities erupted in the Texas Revolution, a small group of filibusters, Texans, and Tejanos made a desperate stand against Santa Anna's army in a small San Antonio mission. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, politicians and diplomats wrangled over the rich territories of Texas and Florida. How should the Alamo be remembered? Depending upon who tells the story, the epic battle is related as either a tale of courageous freedom fighters, or of rebellious traitors.
*THE REAL WEST: THE BATTLE OF THE ALAMO -- The Alamo is nearly unrivaled in American history as a steadfast symbol of courage and self-sacrifice. Narrator Kenny Rogers reveals the true lives of the men behind the legends--men like Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Barret Travis--whose real ambitions, miscalculations and undeniable heroics were just as compelling as the tall tales that have long been told about them.


CIVIL WAR COMBAT

*THE HORNETS' NEST AT SHILOH: On the morning of April 6, 1862, at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Confederate forces under Generals Johnston and Beauregard launched a surprise attack that nearly defeated Grant's Army of the Tennessee.
*THE BLOODY LANE AT ANTIETAM: On September 17, 1862, Union General McClellan--possessing superior numbers, an advantageous position, and his opponent's battle plan--managed, through an excess of caution and poor execution, to turn an overwhelming rout of Confederate forces into a "strategic victory."
*THE WHEATFIELD AT GETTYSBURG: Ordered by General Meade to take a position at Cemetery ridge, Union Major General Sickles instead repositioned his III Corps half a mile away at the Peach Orchard, exposing his company to attack from multiple sides and forcing Meade to send waves of reinforcements.
*THE TRAGEDY AT COLD HARBOR: In March, 1864, General Ulysses Grant took supreme command of the Union Army with one goal--relentless pursuit of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Grant and his army caught up to Lee near the crossroads tavern at Cold Harbor, launched a nearly suicidal assault against entrenched Confederate forces, losing seven thousand men in 20 minutes.


*WWI: THE DEATH OF GLORY: Beginning with a single shot in Sarajevo, the "War to End All Wars" set the stage for even deadlier conflicts. Battlefield chivalry and honor yielded to the impersonal U-boat and poison gas, the devastating firepower of tanks and machine guns, and trench warfare. Nations disappeared from the map of Europe as the seeds were planted for the rebirth, merely twenty-five years later, of a new and deadlier German juggernaut.
*LAST DAY OF WORLD WAR I: On November 11, 1918, known as Armistice Day, the "Great War" was declared over and Allied victory seemed assured. Yet over thirteen thousand men would die that day. Allied leaders, seeking promotion or vengeance, manufactured outrageous excuses to send thousands of soldiers against a defeated enemy. The territories won would be returned to Germany, while the soldiers were sacrificed for vanity.


*THE LAST DAYS OF WORLD WAR II: Defeat after defeat sent Hitler's plans for global domination spinning inexorably out of control, and Nazi leaders scrambled to protect their treasures and secrets at all costs. Meanwhile, the advancing Allied forces discovered the unimaginable depth of Nazi depravity as they liberated the infamous extermination camps hidden in plain sight throughout eastern Europe. A string of strategic, political, and diplomatic blunders sealed the fate of the Third Reich as Berlin fell in flames and Hitler died in his bunker along with his mistress and his dog. The Allies exerted a final successful push in the Pacific Theater. And on September 9, 1945, the deadliest war in human history formally came to an end. Finally, the world demanded justice at the unprecedented Nuremburg trials, as a new type of conflict loomed on the horizon--The Cold War.


*USS EAGLE 56: ACCIDENT OR TARGET?: In April 1945 as the Allies closed in on Berlin, the USS Eagle 56, a World War I-era ship towing targets for torpedo bombers off the coast of Rhode Island suddenly exploded, killing fifty officers. Survivors reported seeing suspicious naval activity around the ship, but the U.S. Government insisted it was an accident. Now, sixty years later, the government has confirmed that the USS Eagle 56 was sunk by a German submarine in U.S. waters as the Reich's final act of aggression.
*LAST SECRETS OF THE AXIS: Behind the most notorious men of the Nazi regime stood the little-known geography professor Karl Haushofer, who coined the term "geopolitics," and whose obsession with Japan's cults and secret societies may have shaped Hitler's vision of global Aryan domination. Other Axis secrets included German and Italian support of a renegade Iraqi general and a Japanese program to drop biological weapons on California.


*THE KOREAN WAR: MAKING OF A BLOODBATH: On June 25, 1950 North Korea surged across its southern border, catching South Korea and its allies off guard. U.S. and United Nations forces acted swiftly, but faced the likelihood of a humiliating evacuation.
*THE KOREAN WAR: TRIUMPH TO TRAGEDY: With U.N. forces on the verge of defeat, Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur masterminded a brilliant landing at Inchon. The onslaught of hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops forced the Americans to make a desperate retreat.
*THE KOREAN WAR: RETREAT FROM HELL: As American forces were nearly overrun, they engaged in the largest retreat in U.S. history. By December of 1950, the Communists recaptured Pyongyang. In January, Seoul fell as both sides dug in at the 38th Parallel.
*THE KOREAN WAR: BITTER STANDOFF: American casualties mounted, as did the pressure to end the war. Truman replaced MacArthur with General Matthew Ridgeway, who retook Seoul. U.S. policy shifted from liberation to containment until the armistice of July 1953. Technically, North and South Korea were still at war.


*VIETNAM: ON THE FRONTLINES: AMERICA ENTERS THE WAR: Courageous U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, both on land and in the air, faced an unrelenting enemy in bloody battles at Ia Drang Valley, Khe Sanh, Con Thien, and Dak To.
*VIETNAM: ON THE FRONTLINES: TET IN SAIGON AND HUE WAR: In January 1968, during the Tet holiday cease-fire, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacked over one hundred cities and bases in South Vietnam. The bloodiest battle, near the ancient capital of Hue, inflicted a fifty percent U.S. Marine casualty rate.
*VIETNAM: ON THE FRONTLINES: RINGING DOWN THE CURTAIN: As Nixon withdrew troops from Vietnam, he orchestrated an incursion into Cambodia. On Easter 1972, North Vietnamese swarmed into South Vietnam.
*VIETNAM: ON THE FRONTLINES: THE END GAME: U.S. Marines rescued almost seven-thousand people--both Americans and South Vietnamese--in the hours before Saigon fell to the Communists.


*OPERATION DESERT STORM: THE AIR CAMPAIGN: Tomahawk missiles, Stealth bombers, traditional F-111 and F-5 bombers, and Apache and Cobra helicopters cleared the way for the war on the ground.
*OPERATION DESERT STORM: THE GROUND WAR: A new generation of tanks, global positioning systems and the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) allowed the coalition to carry out General Schwarzkopf's bold plan in only four days.
*OPERATION DESERT STORM: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN: The Republican Guard made a desperate effort to stop the coalition advance, while Iraqi forces destroyed Kuwait's infrastructure and industry.
*BONUS PROGRAM: WEAPONS AT WAR: SMART BOMBS: America discovered a unique new war weapon: the precision-guided munitions known as "Smart Bombs." Delivering devastating payloads with unprecedented accuracy, these satellite-guided weapons could target individual buildings in central Baghdad itself, eliminating their targets while causing a minimum of civilian casualties.


*THE IRAQ WAR: THE FALL OF SADDAM: INVASION: From the devastating event of September 11, 2001 to President Bush's declaration against the "axis of evil", to U.N. negotiations, invasion, and the end of combat operations, this program explores what decisions were made, which worked, and why they were successful.
*THE IRAQ WAR: THE FALL OF SADDAM: TOUGH GOING: The air war against Iraq progressed as planned until the capture of a number of U.S. combatants, including an Apache Longbow helicopter crew and Private Jessica Lynch, reshaped the expectations held by Americans at home.
*THE IRAQ WAR: THE FALL OF SADDAM: AT BAGHDAD'S DOORSTEP: As the Third Infantry took the critical Karbala Gap and Baghdad Airport, Kurds and Special Forces moved toward Mosul and Kirkuk, and Allied planes flew two-thousand sorties a day. Finally, the Third Infantry made its first foray into Baghdad.
*BONUS PROGRAM: EYEWITNESS IN IRAQ: Embedded photographers traveled with U.S. fighting units on the front lines capturing the raw truth of combat, revealing never-before-seen photos from inside the conflict.


*IRAQ WAR: THE FALL OF SADDAM: THE FALL OF SADDAM: Marines helped pull down a statue of Saddam as Iraqi Army units melted away. Kurds and Coalition Special Forces captured Kirkuk and Mosul and Task Force Tripoli took Tikrit more easily than expected.
*IRAQ WAR: THE FALL OF SADDAM: AFTERMATH: In May 2003, as President George Bush stood in front of a banner reading "Mission Accomplished," the lack of infrastructure caused chaos in Iraq and mass looting ensued. Soldiers taught to fight were now being trained "on the job" as occupiers while more U.S. soldiers died in post-war operations than during the war.
*BONUS PROGRAMS:
U.S. WEAPONS AGAINST IRAQ: Cutting-edge aircraft like the F117 Stealth Fighter and B2 Stealth Bomber are examined as well as a microwave weapon that fries ground electronics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and the "Stryker" combat vehicles.
IRAQ WAR: INSURGENCY AND COUNTERINSURGENCY: As coalition failures against a violent insurgency demanded new strategies and alliances, the progress of American and Iraqi forces through the Fall of 2005, including operations in Mosul, Samara, Baghdad, and Tal Afar, were heavily scrutinized.
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