BattleField Detectives

- Season 1

(2003)

Native American eyewitness accounts tell a new story of the Battle of Little Bighorn: of chaos and panic, no gallant last stand by Custer. Using the methods of crime scene investigation, forensic scientists are uncovering evidence of what really happened.

Researchers use satellite technology and archaeological finds to unearth the truth about Balaklava during the most celebrated battle of the Crimean War. How disastrous was the British cavalry charge--and who were the actual heroes in the defense?

Historians shows how bad maps and worse intelligence produced the catastrophe of Gallipoli in 1915, and geologists reveal how terrain won the battle for the Turks and lost it for the Allies.

The sinking of the Spanish Armada in the summer of 1588 has been attributed to English heroism, Spanish incompetence, and bad weather. Now archaeologists are working with oceanographers, meteorologists, and ship design experts to uncover the real reasons.

An academic uses modern management theory to determine whether William was a better leader than Harold at Hastings in 1066. Meanwhile, an equestrian historian assesses the behavior of horses in battle, and computer experts create 3-D maps of the Hastings.

What went wrong for the French at Waterloo? Experts re-create the defensive ridge where Wellington stationed the allied troops, assess the impact of the weather conditions on Napoleon's artillery, and consider the psychological state of his commander?

Medieval warfare specialists investigate how terrain affected the way the 15th-century Battle of Agincourt was waged, what the rare battlefield artifacts tell us, and just what happens when an English bodkin point meets French armor.

New research shows that the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar was anything but inevitable. Far from executing a carefully developed plan, Nelson sailed straight at the enemy broadsides based on little more planning than a quick tactical sketch.

Veterans from both sides explain how modern weaponry and huge budgets failed to overcome the morale and ingenuity of the communist forces. Experts show how America never really understood who it was fighting, what motivated them, or what methods they used.