BattleField Detectives

Seen on the History Channel

New scientific insight into historic battles

"An eye-opening documentary" —The Times (U.K.) "Clear, concise, and rich in detail" —The Sunday Times (U.K.)

What explains the massacre at Waterloo? Why was Gallipoli such a disaster? What role did luck play at Hastings? Battlefield Detectives puts these and other famous battles under the microscope by revisiting the sites—some little changed, others transformed completely—where the fighting took place. Using 3-D computer models, maps, artifacts, original footage, and dramatic reenactments, investigators recreate the conditions at the scene.

New research is adding to our understanding of what really happened in some of the great battles of history, including Agincourt, Trafalgar, Balaklava, Little Big Horn, and Vietnam. Geologists are finding answers in the landscape and psychiatrists in the minds of the warriors, while climatologists and meteorologists are showing how weather was often crucial. From firearms experts and forensic scientists to crowd-behavior specialists, genealogists, and engineers, a wide range of authorities unlock the long-buried secrets of the battlefields.