World War II ignited a fierce battle for aerial dominance and drove nations to pioneer secret aircraft technologies; this episode explores the development of early jet fighters.

November 1944: as the Allies advance into Germany, they run into concrete bunkers, pillboxes, minefields and tank traps. German soldiers fight tenaciously to defend their homeland.

1942: Hitler pits the forces of the German Fatherland against those of the Soviet Motherland at Stalingrad. Stalin's fiercely patriotic army will fight the Nazis to the last drop of blood.

Countless stories have circulated about Cleopatra for over 2000 years; which ones are true, and will the latest archaeological discoveries give insight into the real life story of Egypt's final queen?

Could an exhibit from an oddities museum in Niagara Falls be a genuine long-lost pharaoh from Egypt's most iconic dynasty? A team of leading Egyptologists and scientists re-examine the evidence.

The remains of 7,000 humans were discovered in the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, Malta's Neolithic temple; could the temple reveal the mystery of who they belonged to and what happened to its owners?

The crucifixion of Jesus changed the world; how much of our understanding of this event is true, and what answers can be found in the Holy Land to back up the Bible's story?

The House of Romanov had imposed 300 years of strict Imperial rule, but royal authority was in question for the first time. The future of the Romanov dynasty was in danger.

Millennia-old stone monuments - the so-called megaliths - are scattered across Europe; they come with no written sources and how and why these structures were built remains a mystery to this day.

A recurring marker points to a lost Spanish gold mine directly on Slumach's path to the gold.

World War II was a battle for supremacy at sea more than any other conflict before or since; in this episode, we explore how the secret weapons of naval warfare changed the tides of history.

The Allies plan how to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall for years. The D-Day fleet is the biggest assembled in history, responsible for one of the bloodiest and most extraordinary battles of WW2.

From the super-dreadnought battleships of the First World War to the stealth submarines of the Cold War, maritime vessels have proved decisive in the fight for naval supremacy.

Countless stories have circulated about Cleopatra for over 2000 years; which ones are true, and will the latest archaeological discoveries give insight into the real life story of Egypt's final queen?

Could an exhibit from an oddities museum in Niagara Falls be a genuine long-lost pharaoh from Egypt's most iconic dynasty? A team of leading Egyptologists and scientists re-examine the evidence.

Ramses II launched the construction of two temples dedicated to the Pharaoh and to his wife Nefertari; how did the Egyptians organise and manage such a project 1,500 kilometres from the Nile delta?

Using the latest geological and forensic research, Bettany reveals a sequence of events as Vesuvius erupts, culminating in the deaths of our characters and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

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.

February 2021: a nearly intact Roman ceremonial chariot is unearthed to the north of the site of Pompeii. How could it have been used, and what would traffic have looked like in Pompeii's streets?

World War II was a battle for supremacy at sea more than any other conflict before or since; in this episode, we explore how the secret weapons of naval warfare changed the tides of history.

The Allies plan how to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall for years. The D-Day fleet is the biggest assembled in history, responsible for one of the bloodiest and most extraordinary battles of WW2.

Weapons win wars; it's been claimed that the human race has spent more time, money, and effort in developing weapons than in any other single field of human endeavour.

Bettany explores the Sultanate of Oman, a land full of surprises and contrasts that is wedged between the vast sands of the Arabian Desert and the glistening waves of the Indian Ocean.

Using the latest geological and forensic research, Bettany reveals a sequence of events as Vesuvius erupts, culminating in the deaths of our characters and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

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.

World War II was a battle for supremacy at sea more than any other conflict before or since; in this episode, we explore how the secret weapons of naval warfare changed the tides of history.

December 1944: Hitler has picked the Ardennes sector for a major offensive. The surprise attack, spearheaded by elite divisions, initially sends American units reeling.

The Allies plan how to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall for years. The D-Day fleet is the biggest assembled in history, responsible for one of the bloodiest and most extraordinary battles of WW2.

Bettany explores the Sultanate of Oman, a land full of surprises and contrasts that is wedged between the vast sands of the Arabian Desert and the glistening waves of the Indian Ocean.

Following the success of Hernán Cortés over the Aztecs, conquistador Francisco Pizarro sets his sights on conquering the Incas, the largest civilisation in the Americas.

In 1918, when Europe was still deeply involved in the Great War, a particularly virulent flu swept across the five continents. The disease was mistakenly called the Spanish Flu. The plague lasts for 18 months and kills between 50 and 100 million before it is forgotten. With humanity once again in the throes of a health crisis, what lessons can we learn from this much lesser-known tragedy, which was actually the mother of all pandemics?

Thousands of people were dosed with LSD by the CIA; did the CIA murder its own people, poison a whole French town, experiment on New Yorkers and assassinate Bobby Kennedy?

The House of Romanov had imposed 300 years of strict Imperial rule, but royal authority was in question for the first time. The future of the Romanov dynasty was in danger.

Air supremacy has been key to winning a war since the dawn of aerial warfare; from the Sopwith Camel biplane to the F22 Raptor, we identify and rank the most influential aircrafts in history.

20th-century battles have changed the course of history; the Battle of the Somme saw over 60,000 casualties on the first day alone and D-Day marked the beginning of Hitler's ultimate defeat.

Warfare has always driven the development of technology; from penicillin and pioneering plastic surgery to the development of the internet and GPS, we rank the most influential inventions of warfare.

From the super-dreadnought battleships of the First World War to the stealth submarines of the Cold War, maritime vessels have proved decisive in the fight for naval supremacy.

Weapons win wars; it's been claimed that the human race has spent more time, money, and effort in developing weapons than in any other single field of human endeavour.

Zahi and his team unearth sarcophagi dating from the New Kingdom and the Late Period of ancient Egypt that will need to be scanned and maybe even opened, but there are more surprises in store...

After three months of excavations and dozens of sarcophagi found, Zahi finds a stone sarcophagus that apparently belongs to a vizier who lived during the New Kingdom - inside, a surprise awaits him...

The pockmarked mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses V looks serene, but there's evidence of deliberately inflicted wounds that suggest a sudden violent death... if this was the case, then who was the killer?

The mangled mummy of Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa is a murder mystery that endures to this day; we discover the truth behind his brutal and humiliating death.

The shocking remains of a 3,000-year-old screaming mummy have haunted Egyptologists for decades; what happened to leave him looking like something from a horror film?

February 2021: a nearly intact Roman ceremonial chariot is unearthed to the north of the site of Pompeii. How could it have been used, and what would traffic have looked like in Pompeii's streets?

The life and death of Cleopatra is shrouded in mystery; the discovery of this legendary queen's last resting place could shed new light on her personal and political trajectory.

A burning story of love and power took place in Alexandria's sumptuous palaces; this ancient jewel of the Mediterranean brings to light relics that allow us to reconstruct the queen's true face.

Starring in only a handful of films, Bruce Lee is revered as an icon in popular culture, but Lee died as young and as suddenly as his son. How could their tragic destinies share so many similarities?

Viasat History. March 1945: a special unit of the SS feels disturbed by wandering forced labourers in the West when their commander orders a massacre; this was a war crime that remained unpunished for decades.

As a witness to some of the darkest chapters of human history, Polish officer Witold Pilecki was the first man to inform the Allies about the reality of the Holocaust from inside Auschwitz.