The History of War & Battlefield Technology

Featuring interviews with military experts and serving soldiers, Ground War explains how the art of war has changed over 5,000 years. Part history, part science, it highlights landmark battles and leaps forward in battlefield technology, demonstrating how offensive and defensive strategies evolved to counter each lethal new weapon. Always starting in the present, it compares facets of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with those of World War Two, The Crusades and Ancient Egypt. It follows the development of land warfare from the axe to the assault rifle, the catapult to the computer-guided missile.

This film was first broadcast: 2009