''Battlefield'' is a British-produced series by Lamancha Productions in Edinburgh, UK which first debuted on the American

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

channel in 1994. The series explored battles fought during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. The series employed a novel approach in which history is described by detailed accounts of major battles together with background and contextual information."Battlefield (TV series)"
Vasile Iuga. Retrieved 1 July 2014. The sixth and final series of the program was broadcast in 2002.

Production

The show describes the events preceding the featured battle as well as details about its aftermath. The show also goes in-depth to explain the political and military situation leading up to each battle, details about relevant weapons and tactics, analysis of the battle's cause, and its context in the war as a whole-all while using informative maps and graphical depictions of the relative strength of the respective forces and their movements during the battle in question. The series provides a comprehensive narrative of each battle and are narrated by

Tim Pigott-Smith Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he wo ...

. Visually, the show makes use of archive footage and 3D graphics. Rare colour footage specific to each battle is often included. Episodes consist of two-hour (~100-minute) programs. Each episode of ''Battlefield'' is divided into segments. A typical sequence is as follows :*Episode Title (Overview) :*Prelude to Battle :*The Leaders :*Strategy for Offense :*Strategy for Defense :*The Commanders :*The Opposing Forces :*Weapons :*The Men :*The Eve of Battle :*The Battle: Order of Battle and several Phases :*The Battle Won :*After the Battle The series was produced by Lamancha Productions in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Episodes

Series 1 (1994)

Series 2 (1996)

Battlefield Vietnam (1999)

Series 4 (2000)

Series 5 (2001)

Series 6 (2002)

Broadcast history

The Battlefield series was originally aired on PBS Television (USA). The Military Channel showed a shortened version of the series. Major networks still showing documentaries from the 'Battlefield' series include Discovery Networks Europe (UK) and PBS (USA).

Home video release

Series 1 release

The Battlefield series has been issued in videotape by PolyGram Video (UK - PAL format) and Time-Life (USA - NTSC format). DVD collections were reissued by PolyGram Video in the UK (PAL format) in 2005. In 2010 the original series was re-released on DVD in the US. Specifications: *Release date: 05 Feb 2005 *Format: PAL, six two-hour episodes on six DVDs *Running Time: 11 hours 10 minutes *Narrator -

*Executive Producers - David McWhinnie, David Rozalla, Ken Maliphant *Producer - Dave Flitton (series prod.) *Directors - Dave Flitton, Andy Aitken, Justin McCarthy

Series 2 release

Specifications: *Release date: 05 Feb 2005 *Format: PAL *Number of Discs: 6 *Running Time: 300 mins

Series 3 release

Series Three was reissued by Time-Life as 12 segments, each 50 minutes long, on NTSC VHS videotapes. The series was produced by LaMancha Productions and produced and directed by Dave Flitton. 3D Graphics by Greg Moodie and Gavin Bonnar. A PolyGram Visual Programming/Lamancha co-production. Narrated by

Gavin MacFadyen Gavin Hall MacFadyen (né Galter; January 1, 1940 – October 22, 2016) was an American investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker. He was the director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) at Goldsmiths, University of London; ...

Series 4 release

Series Four has been published by Time-Life with 50-minute NTSC VHS videotape episodes. The program copyright is Cromwell Productions, Ltd. (2001).

Reception

For Battlefield Vietnam: 'I have never seen a sustained narrative about the Vietnam War which captures the subtle nuances of it in such clear and simple language. Superb treatment.' - Dr. Robert Goldich, National Security Specialist, US Library of Congress 'Every department of politics or modern history should invest in this set, and use it.' -

Journal of Strategic Studies The ''Journal of Strategic Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering military and diplomatic strategic studies. It was established in 1978 by Frank Cass & Co. with John Gooch (University of Leeds) as founding editor-in-chief. The c ...

References

External links

Episode list
at SideReel {{DEFAULTSORT:Battlefield (American TV series) Documentary films about the Vietnam War Documentary television series about World War II English-language television shows