Living History with Mat McLachlan

While American troops were being cut down on Omaha Beach, their comrades to the west were coming ashore on the rolling dunes of Utah Beach. Why did this landing go so much more to plan?In the second of our special series on the D-Day landings, Mat is joined by historian John McManus to tell the story of Utah Beach.Hosts: Mat McLachlan and John McManusProducer: Jess StebnickiSubscri

It's the 80th anniversary of D-Day and Mat is breaking down the entire day by telling the story of each of the five beaches. It's a five-episode special series that will reveal the real story of the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Today the Americans are tasked with the toughest mission of D-Day: landing in front of the imposing cliffs and tough defences of Omaha Beach. Was '

The end is drawing near. After failure, disappointment and outright disaster, it's time for the Allies to evacuate Gallipoli. But this is no simple task - nearly 100,000 men need to be withdrawn from the peninsula under the noses of the Turks. Will the British and Anzacs be able to pull it off? How can they slink away without losing half their force?In the eight and final episode o

As part of their cunning plan to outflank the Turks and seize the high ground in the August Offensive, the Allies play their trump card. They stage a new landing at Suvla Bay and bring thousands of reinforcements ashore. But the terrain at Suvla is not as easy as it appears on a map, and the British are dogged by indecision and poor leadership. Will the men get ashore, and what new

The Allies are getting desperate and as the heat of summer descends on the peninsula, they are determined to try a bold gamble to win the campaign once and for all. Turning their attention to the Anzac sector, they come up with an ambitious plan that involves breaking out to the north of Anzac and seizing the high ground. But the men are wracked by disease, the terrain they must cr

Stalemate has descended on Gallipoli and both sides now have to confront a new enemy - the appalling living conditions in the trenches. If the constant risk of death was not enough to do a man in, he also had to contend with heat, flies, corpses, disease and a nauseating diet. Could things get any worse?In the fifth episode of our special series on the Gallipoli campaign, Mat is jo

The British and French have secured the barest of toeholds at Cape Helles, and the Anzacs are hanging on by their fingernails at Anzac Cove. Now their commanders must decide what to do next. Turning away from Anzac for the time being, they decide to throw their scarce resources into the main battlefield of Helles, and finally secure the objectives of Krithia village and Achi Baba h

While the Australians and New Zealanders are struggling to come ashore at Anzac Cove, the British are landing at Cape Helles, on the southern toe of the Gallipoli peninsula. But once again, the Turkish defenders put up a stiff resistance that far exceeds their small numbers. Can the British get ashore in the face of this withering fire?In the third episode of our special series on

The Allies are going ashore at Gallipoli! In the frosty dawn of April 25, 1915, 16,000 Australian and New Zealand troops prepare to land on a hostile shore. The Turks know a landing is coming, but will their defences be enough to drive the Anzacs into the sea?In the second episode of our special series on the Gallipoli campaign, Mat is joined by historian Peter Hart to tell the sto

It's March, 1915. Turkey has entered the war on Germany's side and promptly closed the Dardanelles strait, closing off a vital sea route for our Russian allies. Britain and France decide to take decisive action - they will send a fleet to Gallipoli and storm the Dardanelles!Armed with a half-baked plan, 16 obsolete warships and little idea of the formidable Turkish defences, the na