The greatest 20th-century commanders understood warfare at both strategic and tactical level; some instilled loyalty in their troops through fear and intimidation while others inspired confidence.

What defines a successful fighting force? Warfare has changed radically over the last century, and armed forces have had to adapt to new technologies and tactics.

The Mark 1 tank was first used in 1916 to give the Allies an advantage in the trenches; it changed how battles were fought and became the foundation of a century of innovation in armoured vehicles.

Claudius rose to the throne but was poisoned by his wife; after his successor Nero alienated Rome, Livia Drusilla's dynasty ended with brutal power struggles but having changed the course of history.

This documentary shows a different side of D-Day: not just the famous shots of the beaches at Normandy, but the troops, sailors and civilians on the South Coast of England preparing for battle too.

In 2017, an ordinary archaeological dig in the Cambridgeshire Fens turns up a sensational discovery when the best-preserved example of a Roman crucifixion ever discovered is unearthed.

The Allies succeed in crossing the Rhine and fight their way through Germany as the Red Army finally forces Axis troops from Soviet territory and closes on the capital, Berlin.

The Mark 1 tank was first used in 1916 to give the Allies an advantage in the trenches; it changed how battles were fought and became the foundation of a century of innovation in armoured vehicles.

Starting in the beerhalls of post-First World War Munich, Adolf Hitler captivated a nation desperate for hope; a movement was sparked that drew a loyal inner circle together driven by ambition, extremism, and blind devotion. This sprawling series unravels how economic turmoil, wounded national pride, and 'charismatic' leadership gave rise to unprecedented brutality shaped by the men and women who stood closest to Hitler; each episode focuses on one Nazi figure and provides insight into their lives. These are the threads that made up Hitler's unleashed nightmare...

The first empress of Rome, the ruthless Livia Drusilla, carved a corpse-strewn path to putting her own son on the emperor's throne before her golden dynasty descended into an age of terror.

Livia, the first empress of Rome, came to regret the scheming that put her son Tiberius on the throne as he and his heir Caligula dragged the empire into an age of tyranny and shocking depravity.

Claudius rose to the throne but was poisoned by his wife; after his successor Nero alienated Rome, Livia Drusilla's dynasty ended with brutal power struggles but having changed the course of history.

He is infamous for ordering the murder of all first-born male children in an attempt to prevent the coming of the Son of God Jesus Christ, but Herod may not be as evil as the Bible made out.

Berlin falls and the war in Europe ends. Okinawa falls with terrible losses on both sides as each prepares for the invasion of the first of the major home islands - but a new weapon is unleashed.

The struggle for victory necessitated development of gun technologies; new inventions would emerge on the battlefields and at times surprise soldiers on both sides of the fight.

War hero Gilles de Rais was tried and executed in 1440 for murdering over 100 children; at the 1440 Black Dinner, the young Douglas brothers were invited to dine with the king, then seized and killed.

The grave of Bad Dürrenberg revealed not a male warrior, but a powerful and dark-skinned female shaman; misrepresented by the Nazis, her true story still fascinates 9,000 years on.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

In the Bay of Naples, Villa Oplontis - a 2,000-year-old villa - reveals a buried world of luxury. As excavations resume, clues point to the infamous Poppaea Sabina, Nero's second wife.

Starting in the beerhalls of post-First World War Munich, Adolf Hitler captivated a nation desperate for hope; a movement was sparked that drew a loyal inner circle together driven by ambition, extremism, and blind devotion. This sprawling series unravels how economic turmoil, wounded national pride, and 'charismatic' leadership gave rise to unprecedented brutality shaped by the men and women who stood closest to Hitler; each episode focuses on one Nazi figure and provides insight into their lives. These are the threads that made up Hitler's unleashed nightmare...

The first empress of Rome, the ruthless Livia Drusilla, carved a corpse-strewn path to putting her own son on the emperor's throne before her golden dynasty descended into an age of terror.

Livia, the first empress of Rome, came to regret the scheming that put her son Tiberius on the throne as he and his heir Caligula dragged the empire into an age of tyranny and shocking depravity.