Battleplan 17. Flank Attack (1 of 20)

Battleplan

Battleplan is a military-based television documentary series examing the various military strategies used in modern warfare, since World War I. It is shown on the Military Channel and UKTV History. Each episode looks at a particular military strategy (or "battleplan") used in warfare, through two well-know historical examples and compares them both with the military requirements needed in order to conduct that "Battleplan". All the episodes use examples from modern warfare, dating from the First World War (1914–18) up to the recent Iraq War (2003).

July, 1944.
US General George Patton's tanks lead the vital break-out from the D-Day beaches of Normandy and head for the German flank.

February, 1991.
American tanks race across the desert to outflank Saddam Hussein's much-vaunted Republican Guard and liberate Kuwait.
Flank attack - going around the side of the enemy instead of taking him head-on is one of the most basic of military manoeuvres.
Key victories, decided by a flanking manoeuvre, fill military text books.
And the ultimate goal, which only a few generals ever achieve, is encirclement - sealing off and destroying the enemy.
The battleplan is flank attack.
Mid-July, 1944, six weeks after the Allies successfully landed on D-Day.
But they have not broken out.
Progress is slower than intended.
There is a danger that all momentum will be lost.
The Allies need a new plan.
What can Allied supreme commander Dwight Eisenhower and ground forces commander British General Bernard Montgomery do?
Their decision could mean the difference between victory and defeat against Nazi Germany.