The History Channel Ultimate Collections: World War II DVD
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 Rating: - A brief comment
I note that there are a lot of lukewarm reviews of this set, and even a fair number of negative comments relating to its shortcomings. For me, though, as a beginner in World War II history, something I knew very little about, I found this set quite enjoyable and informative. I liked how each episode is divided into various segments discussing the country's leaders and generals, the armies and positions involved, order of battle, military strategy, and the weapons themselves--ships, tanks, planes, etc. This approach made it very easy for a non-specialist to follow and to learn from.

The footage is truly spectacular; in one film sequence, a Stuka dive-bomber scores a near miss on a tank, which flies up into the air, flips over, and lands on its turret, upside down. Wow. The extensive footage of fighters strafing tanks on the ground, shooting down enemy planes, bombers dropping hundreds of bombs, and battleships firing massive broadsides are amazing to watch. With extensive footage of aerial dogfights, sea battles, artillery, tank, and infantry action, you get fantastic footage of every aspect of mechanized warfare in the 20th century.

Besides the many important facts about the history, you pick up many fascinating smaller tidbits of information. I had thought that the Russian equipment was inferior to the other armies, but the Russian T-34 tank was the best of any tank in WWII. It had thick, sloping armor that the Germans couldn't penetrate initially, since most German tanks were equipped with a lighter machine gun and the heavier, more effective gun was only in limited use by the time of the battle of Russia. During the battle of Stalingrad, the rifles of the Germans froze and often became unusable. But the Russians mixed gasoline with the gun grease, which lowered the freezing point so they still worked. As many German soldiers succumbed to the cold and frostbite as from their wounds, but the Russian soldiers wore layered, quilted tunics that came from the Asian and Mongolian steppes that were warmer, compared to the Germans who just wore the standard woolen winter coats.

I didn't realize flame thrower tanks were in such wide use during WWII, but you often see footage of them in these movies. They were especially effective during the Pacific war when the Japanese would hide in caves behind thick foliage. I once read that being a flame thrower tank soldier was one of the most dangerous assignments, because the tanks were so hated that the crews were often executed on the spot if a flame thrower tank was captured.

Amidst the many horrors of war, there is the occasional scene of humanity. In one scene, a G.I. helps a captured, starving German soldier down from a tank. Back then, we really were still the good guys.

One difference I noted between this series and the Last Days of WWII set, which I'm watching now, is that in the latter production there are numerous interviews with soldiers, on both sides of the war, who participated in these battles. This is a nice feature, although the live interviews don't always shed that much light on the events since many of them are fairly short. But as there will soon be a time when no more surviving WWII veterans exist, again, it's a nice feature to have.

I note that many people seem to prefer the much praised World at War series from the 80s, and the BBC World War II production. Having seen this set now, I intend to get those also now that my interest has been piqued. My only criticism is I agree that at just under 900 minutes, the whole set could have fit on 4 DVDs rather than on 10. Why this was done I don't know, but I do agree with the complaint about this. Overall though, a fine beginner's set that's easy to watch and learn from.

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