
Explore the universal drama of war: why leaders and soldiers pick up arms to fight, the technologies that have determined outcomes, the tragedies and triumphs of history’s great battles.

The early years of the war see deception in its infancy: code breaking, glamorous spies, fake bombing sites, and even inflatable tanks; World War II begins with a deadly deception inside a Polish radio station.

By 1942, deception has become extremely sophisticated; American arms factories are disguised as towns while double agents manipulate the enemy; the most cunning operation uses a deceased homeless man to trick the entire Nazi leadership.

Radios and transmitters spread false information, and a ghost army uses sound effects to deceive enemy forces; the Allies deploy one of the most famous double agents of the war.

The Allies are winning the war, but both sides continue to use masterful deceptions to confuse and trick the other; the immediate postwar years see the US and Soviet Union begin a deadly game of espionage in the race for atomic supremacy.

Archival research reveals the squalid secrets of a sex life Hitler lied and killed to protect.

The detailed plan that could have led to the assassination of Adolf Hitler and why it failed.

Roman legion recruits sought adventure, but in peace, defended borders or cities; Vindolanda and Lugdunum unveil their daily lives through ancient artifacts.

In Roman legions, camaraderie in contubernium sustained soldiers; Lyon excavations reveal their humanity and piety, hinting at hopes for retirement after 25 years.