Sworn to Secrecy: Secrets of War

Sep 13, 1998

They were the top spymasters in the Third Reich... two rivals who were shrouded in mystery and sworn to secrecy. With thousands of agents at their command, they were entrusted with Germany’s most sensitive intelligence operations in World War Two. In the end, one man would kill for Hitler, the other would betray him...

They were the English spies before “James Bond.” They operated in the shadows with innocuous names like the Special Operations Executive, MI-5 and MI-6, but their missions were deadly serious. Amazing facts that are stranger than fiction in the storied history of Britain’s intelligence service during the Second World War.

The story of America’s code-breaking efforts against seemingly impenetrable secret Japanese military and diplomatic communications. The heroic struggle of Army code-breakers, headed by William Friedman, and the Navy’s secret “on-the-roof-gang” to help win the Battle of the Pacific.

They were the stuff of fantasy and terror. Instruments of sabotage and clandestine operations. Born of great desperation and used under the cover of darkness, special tools of spies and espionage agents delivered war to the heart of the enemy on the invisible battleground.

They were unlikely heroes who fought behind enemy lines in every theater of World War Two. Female spies unearthed secrets, supported the resistance and destroyed the morale of the enemy. From women OSS agents dropped behind enemy lines, to female radio operators inside the Third Reich, stories of the decisive intelligence-gathering role women played in the war.

They were five disillusioned young men studying at Cambridge University in the 1930’s when they were secretly recruited by Soviet agents. They went on to become the most successful spies of the 20th century, penetrating both American and British governments at the highest levels.

The Kremlin operatives who were loyal to one man... a paranoid dictator who spied as intensely on his Allies as he did on his enemies. Features exclusive interviews with former NKVD intelligence officers and other eyewitnesses to the most ruthless dictator of the 20th century.

The story of the formation of the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA. From the recruitment and training of secret agents to undercover missions, OSS agents played an important role on the “Invisible Battlefield” in WWII.

Details the American President’s behind the scenes use of political and military intelligence operatives. From O.S.S. chief William Donovan to the wily Switzerland-based Allen Dulles, American spymasters helped Roosevelt keep an eye on his enemies – as well as his friends.

It was the greatest secret of World War Two... the time and place of the D-Day invasion. As the future of Europe and the world hung in the balance, an intricate web of lies tied up German army divisions across Europe – concealing the greatest assembly of men and machines in military history. From double agents to phantom armies, it was the battle behind the battle...

Oct 17, 1998

From his “grand deception” against Stalin to his spy operations in America, Adolf Hitler shared many secrets with his intelligence masters. An examination of Hitler and the eventual betrayal of his chief spymaster.

They were weapons systems that were far beyond anything the Allies had or could have imagined in World War II. Deployed properly, they could have changed the outcome of the war. From the world’s first ballistic missile and operational jet plane, to air-to-ground missiles and guided smart bombs, they were secret weapons of the Third Reich.

Behind the Nazi war machine was a well-crafted secret propaganda campaign aimed at Germans and foreigners. From newsreels and newspapers to well choreographed spectacles, Nazi propaganda laid the foundation early on for war and retribution in Europe.

It was a tremendous booty, prized by Hitler as much as territory. The priceless art, personal assets and national treasuries of an entire continent. The organized plunder of these riches would become the most enormous heist in history, amounting to a vast hoard lost in the fog of war. The trails of the spoils of war and Nazi gold.

In the critical battle for North Africa, German General Irwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, seemed unstoppable – a warrior with a mystical feel for the battle. But how did he really get his intelligence? The British countered with secrets of their own; phony spies, phantom armies, and battlefield “magic.” Declassified information shines new light on spy vs. spy operations in North Africa.

An examination of one of the burning questions of WWII: How did the Nazi’s hide their atrocities and what did the Allies know as the “final solution” was implemented across Europe? Secret documents, messages and cables shed new light on one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.

In World War Two one of Germany’s best-kept secrets was the code machine “Enigma.” But this covert weapon would also become one of the greatest tools the Allies used against the Third Reich. British code breakers were behind the greatest campaign of deception in military history, changing the outcome of the Second World War.

The struggle for the Atlantic pitted Germany’s lethal U-boat fleet against every weapon the Allies could muster to protect their vital supply routes to Great Britain. The story of naval intelligence, code-breaking and code stealing in the Battle of the Atlantic...

Hitler’s lightning strike in Poland soon gave way to a strange eight month waiting game. Blitzkrieg became “Sitzkrieg,” a declared but not yet fought battle – allowing spies, diplomats, agents of influence, intelligence officers, opportunists, charlatans and statesmen to make their moves... From the rape of Poland to the fall of France, the secrets of Sitzkrieg.

Secret Nazi attempts to turn the tide of war as Berlin crumbled. Joseph Goebbel’s diaries provide a fresh understanding of life inside Hitler’s bunker in the final days of the Reich.

Feb 1, 1999

Exclusive interviews with North Vietnamese veterans, secret American operations in Laos and Cambodia, and the Navy’s classified program to counter heavy losses against Vietnamese pilots.

From the Ho Chi Minh trail to the tunnels of Cu Chi, the remarkable story of hidden supply highways, underground cities, covert camps and double agents.

The stories of clandestine operational groups, their missions and mysterious means of survival...

Secret Vietnamese strategies were designed to sabotage American morale, while Lyndon Johnson’s White House attempted to keep the support of U.S. citizens.

The secrets behind Ho Chi Minh’s control of Vietnam and his ability to force the Japanese, the French and the Americans out of his country during his three decade reign.

Jan 23, 1999

From Germany's Big Bertha in World War One to Iraq's top secret Project Babylon, they are the ultimate projection of force... secret cannons designed to strike their target from miles away, hand-held rifles that pack the power of the atom and super guns capable of launching satellites into space.

The soldiers who employ "Psy Ops" use every means available to destroy the will of the enemy to resist, the secret tools and techniques of wartime persuasion.

They are the means by which to confuse an enemy, forcing him into making a fatal mistake. From decoy tanks and phony radio broadcasts, to the spy whose lies led Hitler to ruin, tools of deception can be the most deadly weapons of all.

An examination of the secret deployment of modern aircraft designed to spy from the sky. From remotely piloted vehicles on today's battlefield to the venerable U-2 and the SR-71, spy planes have long been the most vital top covert aircraft in the sky.

From mustard gas artillery shells used along the trenches in WWI to the U.S. gas stockpiles in the Pacific during WWII, to the Iraqi gassing of the Kurds, chemical warfare has long been shrouded in a veil of secrecy.

From the "Battle of the Beams" in WWII, to the evolution of weapons guidance and the blinding effects of electronic jamming, a look at the quest to dominate the "electromagnetic spectrum”.

From rubber tanks and camouflage to booby traps and tactical maneuvers of deception, the role "trickery" plays on the modern battlefield.

An inside look at the man who, more than any of his contemporaries, embraced secret intelligence operations, deception and code-breaking as viable instruments of modern war.

From silent one-man midget subs to U-boats on secret missions, both sides used secret submersibles of all shapes and sizes to conduct clandestine warfare in the war.

Classified missions over the Yalu set the tone at the onset of the Cold War. UN pilots battled anti-aircraft fire and a mysterious enemy in the skies over Korea. Previously classified telegrams reveal Stalin's personal role in the conflict.

Jan 23, 1999

The Supreme Allied Commander of World War II relied on the covert arm of the CIA to an unprecedented scale during his presidency. From his education on clandestine warfare from Winston Churchill to CIA missions all over the world, Eisenhower unleashed his operatives like no other U.S. leader.

The all-important race to develop an atomic bomb led to some of the most daring Russian spy operations in the United States. Exclusive interviews with Russian agents detail the inside story of the Soviet atomic spy ring.

How close did the Superpowers actually come to a nuclear holocaust? New information on brutal power struggles behind the Iron Curtain, the Cuban missile crisis and the terrifying "Doomsday Machine" built to end the world.

From revolutionary coups and election rigging to embassy spying, the West employed the CIA in controversial ways to win the Cold War.

Hear the untold stories behind the headlines in the unseen cold war battles between the Western intelligence agencies and the KGB.

This youngest of American presidents took over in the most tense period of the Cold War. Hear the stories from within the White House, on the front lines of CIA operations in Cuba and in the espionage capital of Berlin.

Although he tried to distance himself from Stalin's ruthless regime, Khrushchev brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Take a look at the Cuban Missile Crisis from the Soviet point of view, as well as brutal repressions in Poland and Hungary against Communist resistors.

The story behind Richard Nixon's resounding triumphs and crushing defeats, included are his stinging investigation of alleged Communist Alger Hiss, the covert missions carried out during his presidency in Vietnam and the secrets behind his foreign policy victories with China and the Soviet Union.

From CIA assassination attempts foiled by Cuban Intelligence agents to Castro's secret pacts with the Soviets and his survival after the Cold War, a look at one of the most enduring revolutionaries of the twentieth century.

Before Leonid Brezhnev signed nuclear arms reduction agreements with the West, he led the Soviets into one conflict after another. From Soviet involvement in Vietnam and its role in Arab-Israeli conflicts to the untold stories of the invasion of Afghanistan.

Sworn to Secrecy examines the French Resistance. After Nazi Germany's invasion and capture of France, brave French citizens take it upon themselves to wage a guerrilla campaign against their occupiers. Eventually they play a role in assisting the Allies and help to liberate their country from the Germans.

The secret US plan for the invasion of Japan was shrouded in secrecy. It was anticipated to be the most horrific battle of the war with hundreds of thousands of casualties. New revelations detail manipulated casualty figures and secret plans to stockpile gas weapons as the US prepared for "hell on earth."

June, 1940. England fights alone against aggressive brutal attacks. The Germans have yet to be stopped in their lightning plunge across Europe. The British are outnumbered, but they have a secret weapon four years in the making.

Japanese tradition made him a god, but Japanese law made him Commander in Chief of the Japanese Armed Forces. Never tried for war crimes or even interrogated, Hirohito was an enigmatic figure from Pearl Harbor to his secret role in the surrender of Japan.

An inside look at fascist Italy. Starting with Mussolini's rise to power, the unknown stories of the shadowy figures who protected "Il Duce" and the tenuous Axis relationship with Nazi Germany.

Uncover the best kept secrets of the air campaign in the Gulf War. From the classified spy plane missions to the clever use of deception, learn more about the controversial yet strategic plans to destroy Iraqi targets.

From the German undercover agent who worked for Iraq, to the discreet role of the U-2 spy plane and the hunt for mobile scud missile launchers, discover the real stories of Secret Operations and spies behind enemy lines in the Gulf War.

The top-secret planning behind the Coalition's victory over Iraq. How former CIA director President George Bush, General Norman Schwarzkopf, General Colin Powell and others gathered and analyzed the crucial information needed to develop their deceptive and overwhelming battlefield strategy in the Persian Gulf.

Saddam Hussein used cunning and deception to befriend the West, before turning his back. He has risked everything to secretly develop his weapons of mass destruction, including the welfare of his own people.

Learn more about the classified mission to rescue an American hostage and the man hunt for a dictator that led to the boldest US military strike since Vietnam, the surprise invasion of Panama in December of 1989.

The roots of China's conflict with Taiwan go back to WWII. While the Allied and Axis powers battled for control of Europe, China's Chiang Kai-Shek and his US-backed State Police fought a bloody secret war against Mao Tse-tung's Soviet trained and financed army.

The Six Day War was a battle no one really wanted, and a victory far greater than anyone expected. Israel, outnumbered and outgunned, fought on the field of espionage. Take an insider's look into how secret agents gathered vital information for a daring first strike and crafted an ingenious plan to capture a Russian jet.

In a constant war of survival, the state of Israel commissioned super sleuths for military intelligence, kidnappings, assassinations and hostage rescues. From retributions against ex-Nazis after WWII to the establishment of the Mossad, an inside look at "Israeli intelligence."

Learn more about newly discovered documents that revealed Stalin's influence over China's Mao Tse Tung and Korea's Kim El Sung and the other hidden factors behind the first conflict of the Cold War.

From primitive balloons to supersonic spy planes and amazingly sophisticated satellites, get an insider's look at the pioneers of aerial reconnaissance and the profound impact they have had on modern warfare.

Nov 28, 1998

Examines the treatment of prisoners of war early in the 20th century. From capture to interrogation and internment, the fate of thousands of WWI prisoners was determined by their captors off the battlefield.

Examines the treatment of prisoners of war on both sides during WWII. From interrogation to housing to repatriation, civilian and military POWs were often used as pawns between warring nations.

From brainwashing in Korea to courageous acts of heroism in Vietnam and the Gulf War, a unique examination of POWs, their families, and their secrets.

A look at the secret forces behind the strife throughout the Balkan States. From a single gunshot in Sarajevo that started WWI to the Nazi occupation in WWII, to "ethnic cleansing" and the war in Kosovo, this volatile region has long been a threat to the peace of Europe.

As the armies of World War One struggled under an onslaught of terrifying weapons, the German government broke the stalemate and issued in a new era of warfare by turning to covert operations.