Introduction

Battlefield Detectives is a forensic documentary television series that aired on the History Channel from 2003 to 2006.

The series explores famous battles focusing on the battlefield itself, and tell its story based on recent scientific research. It uses modern science to examine how the battles were won or lost.

Outline

A scientific documentary that retells some of the world’s most famous and historic battles that have transformed the world as we now see it today.

Book

An accompanying book reflects on seven of the most famous battlefields in history: The Battle of Hastings, The Battle of Agincourt, The Spanish Armada, Waterloo, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Battle of Little Bighorn, and Gallipoli. It uses traditional methods and modern technology to discover what really happened on the day. The results include new and controversial insights into some of the world’s enduring military mysteries. Battlefield Detectives uses evidence uncovered by a team of experts from a wide range of disciplines: archaeologists, forensic scientists, crowd dynamics specialists, metal-detectorists and military experts contribute to a new understanding of these fields of war.

Battlefield Detectives Series

• Series 01 (2003):
  • Episode 01: Custer at Little Bighorn.
  • Episode 02: Charge of the Light Brigade.
  • Episode 03: The Gallipoli Disaster.
  • Episode 04: What Sank the Armada?.
  • Episode 05: Who Got Lucky at Hastings?.
  • Episode 06: Massacre at Waterloo.
  • Episode 07: Agincourt’s Dark Secrets.
  • Episode 08: Trafalgar.
  • Episode 09: Vietnam.

• Series 02 (2004):
  • Episode 01: World War II: Operation Market Garden.
  • Episode 02: Native American Wars: The Apache.
  • Episode 03: American Revolution: Battle of Monmouth.
  • Episode 04: World War I: The Somme.
  • Episode 05: Mexican-American War: Battle of Palo Alto.
  • Episode 06: American Revolution: Battle of Cowpens.
  • Episode 07: Civil War: Battle of Gettysburg.
  • Episode 08: Civil War: Battle of Antietam.

• Series 03 (2005-2006):
  • Episode 01: Battle of the Bulge.
  • Episode 02: Battle of Britain.
  • Episode 03: Waterloo.
  • Episode 04: Siege of Masada.
  • Episode 05: American Revolutionary War: Battle of Oriskany.
  • Episode 06: World War I: Jutland.
  • Episode 07: Stalingrad.
  • Episode 08: The War of 1812: The Chesapeake and the Shannon.
  • Episode 09: Pointe du Hoc.
  • Episode 10: The 6-Day War.
  • Episode 11: Civil War: Shiloh.
  • Episode 12: Alesia.
  • Episode 13: Battle of Big Hole.

• Series 04 (2006):
  • Episode 01: Siege of Alesia.
  • Episode 02: Trafalgar’s Fatal Flaw.

Production & Filming Details

• Narrator(s):
  • Gavin MacFadyen.
• Director(s):
  • Jeremy Freeston … (2 episodes, 2004-2006).
  • Mark Elliott … (2 episodes, 2004).
  • Chris Malone … (1 episode, 2003).
  • Bob Bentley … (1 episode, 2006).
  • Birgitte Johnson … (1 episode, 2006).
  • James Millar … (1 episode, 2006).
  • David Wright … (unknown episodes).
• Producer(s):
  • Liz McLeod … executive producer (6 episodes, 2003-2006).
  • David Wason … series producer / executive producer (5 episodes, 2004-2006).
  • Susan Werbe … executive producer: The History Channel / executive producer (5 episodes, 2004-2006).
  • Doug Gordon … supervising producer: The History Channel / supervising producer (4 episodes, 2005-2006).
  • Jeremy Freeston … producer (2 episodes, 2004-2006).
  • Brian Achin … assistant producer (1 episode, 2003).
  • Chris Malone … producer (1 episode, 2003).
  • Georgina Pye … producer (1 episode, 2004).
  • Sarah Cain … assistant producer (1 episode, 2006).
  • Birgitte Johnson … producer (1 episode, 2006).
  • Scott Martin … assistant producer (1 episode, 2006).
  • James Millar … producer (1 episode, 2006).
  • Jo Walker … assistant producer (1 episode, 2006).
  • Keith Farrell … producer (unknown episodes).
• Writer(s):
  • Jeremy Freeston … (writer) (2 episodes, 2004-2006).
  • Birgitte Johnson … (1 episode, 2006).
  • James Millar … (writer) (2 episodes, 2005-2006).
• Music:
  • Howard Davidson … (2 episodes, 2003-2004).
  • Paul Farrer … (1 episode, 2006).
• Cinematographer(s):
  • Tim Pollard … (7 episodes, 2003-2006).
  • Ben Hodgson … (unknown episodes).
• Editor(s):
  • Kim Horton … (4 episodes, 2003-2005).
  • Derek Inglis … (1 episode, 2004).
  • Liza Ryan-Carter … (1 episode, 2006).
  • Daniel Ward … (unknown episodes).
• Production:
  • Granada Television.
• Distributor(s):
  • Discovery Channel (2004) (US) (TV).
  • History Channel.
• Release Date:
  • Series 01: 04 October 2003 to 27 December 2003.
  • Series 02: 12 November 2004 to 20 December 2004.
  • Series 03: 14 November 2005 to 30 January 2006.
  • Series 04: 05 November 2006 to 19 November 2006.
• Rating: Unknown.
• Running Time: 60 minutes (per episode).
• Country: UK and US.
• Language: English.

Video Clip(s)