History Channel

The History Channel – Saturday 10 May, 8.30pm

On December 10, 1936 King Edward VIII of England gave it all up ostensibly for the love of a woman. No man has ever sacrificed so much to enable himself to marry, but the Duke of Windsor gave up Crown and Country for Mrs Wallis Simpson. Practically everyone knows the great love story of how the two met, became lovers and married. But what is less known is what happened next, the enormous fall out his actions caused, the tremendous shock it was to the rest of the Royal Family and what it meant for the Queen Mother and her husband, George VI as he was forced to take on the mantle of King. We follow the travels, and the strange twists and turns of fortune that dogged the years after the Duke’s abdication: The controversy of meeting Hitler, the years spent in the Bahamas, France and New York, the years spent with no real role, no power and no children.This is the inside story of what happened to Edward and Wallis Windsor, told first hand by those who know him, those who dined with them, paid for their meals and hired their limousines. It is a stylish and emotional glimpse into a life spent in exile, it is a living tragedy played out at the highest level.

The History Channel – Monday 5 May, 8.30pm

Fort Knox, Kentucky – home of the powerful United States Army and home of one of the world’s most top secret fortresses: The U.S. Bullion Depository, simply known as Fort Knox. Hidden deep inside the vault is an estimated $73 billion dollars in gold. But Fort Knox is shrouded in secrecy. Almost all information about it is classified by the U.S. government. Through interviews with eyewitnesses, rare photos and rarely seen films, we will construct a picture of what the building might look like. Discover the secrets behind its construction in 1936 and find out how the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 created Fort Knox in the first place.

Friday 25 April, from 11.30am

The History Channel commemorates Anzac Day with related programming throughout the day from 1130am. The line-up features the following programs:
11.30am: 1916: The Somme
The 1916 Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War, with more than one million casualties.
12.30pm: Not Forgotten: Commemoration
The search is on for a handful of descendants whose relative’s names are inscribed on war memorials scattered across the UK.
1.30pm: Remembrance
This program pays homage to the Australians who served in the Second World War and a farewell to the generation now passing into history.
2.30pm: The Quiet Lions: The Weary Dunlop Story
The amazing story of one of Australia’s greatest heroes and surgeons, Weary Dunlop and the legacy he left behind.
3.30pm: Spitfire Guardians
Narrated by Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, this is the story of the Spitfire fighter plane that still capture the imagination of generations.
4.30pm: The Battle of Long Tan
This exclusive documentary honours the true story behind the heroic deeds of a group of young Australian and NZ soldiers in one of the most pivotal and shocking engagements of the Vietnam War.
5.30pm: He’s Coming South: The Attack on Sydney Harbour
The Attack on Sydney Harbour: This documentary lifts the lid on the mystery of one of Australia’s most significant wartime episodes, the surprise Sydney Harbour attack by the Japanese in 1942.
6.30pm: Gladiators of WWII: The Anzacs
The Anzacs were amongst the finest fighting troops in the world and the first to succeed against the Japanese.
7.30pm: Gallipoli: Untold Stories
A month by month account of the Gallipoli experience through the eyes of Australia’s celebrated war correspondent Charles Bean, and other firsthand accounts. Narrated by Jack Thompson.
9.00pm: War of the World Pts 1 & 2: The Clash of the Empires
What made the twentieth century, despite all its scientific and material progress, the most violent in history?
11.00pm: History’s Greatest Blunders: Disaster in the Dardanelles:
When Churchill was First Sea Lord he thought the deadlock on the Western Front could be broken by an attack on Turkey.
11.30pm: World War I in Colour
Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, this landmark series brings to the screen the gritty reality of life in the trenches of World War I in full colour.

The History Channel – Tuesday 22 April, 8.30pm

In the 70s and 80s female East German athletes and swimmers came from nowhere to dominate international sport. How did they do it? This film reveals new and disturbing details of the communist state’s secret doping programme, a vast project which secretly fed untested steroids and male hormones to its sporting elite, including girls as young as 12. But now those girls are grown women – and their broken bodies bear witness to the cruelty of a country that pursued gold medals at any cost. It was an unprecedented chemistry experiment whose long-term impact can finally be revealed.

The History Channel – Sunday 30 March, 9.30pm

It was all supposed to be shipped back to Japan by the victorious Imperial Japanese forces but wasn’t. Wherever the Japanese conquered, they looted. Banks, government treasuries, temples, monasteries, monarchies, rich families – all were stripped bare: so, too, were the fabulously wealthy gangster syndicates and black money economies of south-east Asia. Shanghai and Hong Kong, the sultanates of the Malaysian peninsula, the ancient kingdoms of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, French Indochina, the Dutch East Indies, Manchuria, China, Burma, the Philippines… All were ransacked. Some say the amassed treasure was the greatest-ever collected in human history, consisting of gem-stones, platinum, gold – at least 6000 metric tons of gold…At today’s values, they estimate the treasure to have been worth over US$100 billion.

The History Channel – Tuesdays from 1 April, 7.30pm

From the distinguished UK producers, Nugus-Martin, under the cover of darkness and armed with the element of surprise these are History’s Raiders. This series takes an exciting look at some of history’s greatest raids during the conflicts of the 20th Century.

Conflict has shaped the course of mankind’s history however some battles were more decisive than others. In February the History Channel will showcase some of the history’s most monumental battles culminating in a countdown as voted by the History Channel audience when we present History’s Greatest Battles of WWII.

Sunday 24 to Friday 29 February 9.30pm on The History Channel

In 1942, a lonely, desperate battle was waged in one of the most desolate places on earth. Few Americans realize that in World War II, Japan occupied U.S. territory, laying siege to the Aleutian Islands in the Alaskan north. We’ll uncover the story of the unsung heroes who waged a bloody war in a merciless landscape as deadly as the enemy’s bullet, a feature a wealth of archival material, interviews with campaign veterans, and historical perspective provided by leading experts.

Monday 25 February 8.30pm on The History Channel

NZ TV Premiere: Battle Of Tripoli

The History Channel – Thursday 14 February, 8.30pm

“From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.” Everyone knows the first line of the Marine’s Hymn, but few are familiar with the dramatic battle that inspired these famous words. This program will tell the remarkable story of William Eaton and his heroic but outrageous plan to overthrow the powerful Mediterranean nation of Tripoli and free 307 Americans hostages. The story takes us on a journey across hundreds of miles of Egyptian desert to the US Marine’s first battle on foreign soil.

NZ TV Premiere: Columbus: The Lost Voyage

The History Channel – Monday 11 February, 7.30pm

He is a celebrated hero and the most famous explorer in history. But the truth behind his final voyage- the triumphs, the disasters, and the betrayals- has never been revealed before…until now. Less than a decade after his famed voyage in 1492, Columbus had fallen from grace. Accused of being a liar and a criminal, he waits in a Caribbean prison for his final judgement. But in the shadow of the gallows, he plots his escape- a last voyage that will restore his name and his reputation forever. But it wouldn’t be easy. Described by Columbus himself as his most treacherous journey, it ended with the loss of all four of his ships and left Columbus and his crew shipwrecked with barely any hope of survival.