Soviet Storm: World War II in the East

Insightful series offering a Russian perspective on the WWII conflicts on the Eastern Front, beginning with a look at the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Archive film, computer-generated imagery and innovative reconstructions tell the Red Army's story of their bloody defeat to Nazi Germany in Kiev in 1941.

Hitler's 1941 invasion of the USSR ran into some its fiercest resistance at the Black Sea ports of Odessa and Sevastopol, where Soviet elite naval infantry brigades fought doggedly to hold back German and Romanian troops. At Sevastopol, a long and bloody siege unfolded, causing the Germans to bring in some of the biggest artillery guns ever used.

A look from the Russian perspective at the siege of Moscow, where stretched Soviet troops adopted a `not a step back' policy while facing the advancing German army.

The horrific story of one of the longest sieges in military history, told from the Russian perspective. More than a million citizens lost their lives.

The capture of Rzhev, the city that connects all railroads in Western Russia, is imperative. It will cost the lives of some 3 million Soviet soldiers and 500,000 German soldiers. It will take the Soviets a total of 3 years to throw the Germans firmly out of the city. These bloodbaths will become known by the veterans and historians as "The Rzhev Meat-Grinder."