HELL BELOW, July 17 - Smithsonian Channel to Premiere New 6-Episode Series

[Onkel Neal]

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/a...-717-20160614#

https://www.facebook.com/HellBelowTV/

American subs and U-Boats, looks really good!

A new Smithsonian Channel series will chart the stealthy game of undersea warfare from the greatest submarine campaigns of World War II. The six-episode HELL BELOW premieres Sunday, July 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. It profiles the strategic masterminds behind the brutal tactics of Nazi U-boats and reveals the extraordinary feats of Allied subs in the Atlantic and Pacific.

Both the Axis and Allies employed unrestricted submarine warfare to bring their enemies to their knees in World War II. Submariners on both sides were a special breed of warrior, always volunteers, often fighting alone. Sub warfare evolved rapidly during the war, as German U-Boats and American submarines attacked military targets and commercial shipping. Submarine attacks created chaos and unnerved adversaries. And while the world's oceans provided concealment and protection, the environment was unforgiving. Each hour-long episode of HELL BELOW features expert analysis and stock footage along with dramatic re-enactments filmed aboard authentic World War II era submarines, placing viewers in the heart of the action.

[nohouan]

Awesome, thanks for the heads up Neal !

[harag]

Great, thanks for the heads up - though being in the UK I'll have to wait till I can stream it all in one go

[wolfofthedeep]

wooohooo! best news this month

[Commander Wallace]

Thanks for the heads up.

[limkol]

Looks good. The clips look very interesting. Unfortunately I can't the program in Denmark. Will have to wait until it pops up somewhere else. Have looked for it on YouTube but nothing yet.

Thanks for the tip Neal

[Jimbuna]

Must find a source

[andy_311]

Can't get it in the Uk

[Jimbuna]

They have a channel on YouTube.

[Penguin]

I'm glad that we have the chance to get the Smithonian channel here, given the insane amount of restricted content we have in Germany. I think they might follow the policy they have about other series: you can watch the first episode for free, then have to pay for the others. Sounds fair to have a sneak peek for free, though I haven't checked out how much of a hassle the payment options for us Euros are.

[Onkel Neal]

Try this video source: https://vimeo.com/159822425

I got an email from the Production Coordinator with a link to the title sequence.

I've seen a lot of history and WWII programs in the last 15 years or so, and Hell Below really looks like a fresh and authentic approach, with current fx. Looking forward to seeing the initial installment soon.

[Onkel Neal]

http://smallscreen.monstersandcritic...reats-of-wwii/

Smithsonian’s Hell Below reveals the terrifying unseen threats of WWII

[gmccabe01]

Just wondering could someone tell me why the wording between the Allies and
Axis is different ?
(as stated in OP)
strategic masterminds behind the brutal tactics of Nazi U-boats and reveals the extraordinary feats of Allied subs in the Atlantic and Pacific.

The Allied sub forces had the same orders as the Axis sub forces.
Even Nimitz said so at Donitz's trial after the war.

Still looking forward to the programs though.

[Catfish]

^ as already Churchill said, the good ones are the submarines, the bad ones are the U-boats. "We" (Germany here) lost the war, so it is being told from a certain perspective..
But i like all documentaries, also looking forward to this one.


A bit of background as i see it:
The trial of KLt. Eck was a very bad example of justice. The court obviously needed a scapegoat, and the fairness of said trial is doubtful. It did not help that the accused and his defender were not properly prepared. The court could not provide evidence that Eck and the boat's doctor (also a combatant b.t.w.) had intentionally shot at survivors, but Eck and two crew members were shot.
Not one US captain was accused of shooting at shipwrecked, nor was any UK captain. While there is evidence some did.

For what i read and heard, german U-boat commanders and crews cared more for shipwrecked if the situation allowed, than their enemies. Not that allied crews did not also save german shipwrecked, but there seems to be a certain difference in proportion. And then the US submarine war in the pacific.

This is especially true for the german boats of WW1. The book "Die U-Boote des Kaisers" (~ "The Kaiser's U-boats") is a real good book about it, but i think it has not been translated into other languages.
Story about english trawler crews that met the same U-boat sinking their ship over and over again, and then again towing them towards the british coast. This was not an isolated case, but the british crews were not allowed to talk publicly about it, by threat of death penalty (traitors and all that).
The so-called "german unrestricted U-boat war" in WW1 was never really unrestricted, opposite to the british who conducted the war unrestricted and totally, from beginning to the end.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Catfish

^ as already Churchill said, the good ones are the submarines, the bad ones are the U-boats. "We" (Germany here) lost the war, so it is being told from a certain perspective..
But i like all documentaries, also looking forward to this one.


A bit of background as i see it:
The trial of KLt. Eck was a very bad example of justice. The court obviously needed a scapegoat, and the fairness of said trial is doubtful. It did not help that the accused and his defender were not properly prepared. The court could not provide evidence that Eck and the boat's doctor (also a combatant b.t.w.) had intentionally shot at survivors, but Eck and two crew members were shot.
Not one US captain was accused of shooting at shipwrecked, nor was any UK captain. While there is evidence some did.

For what i read and heard, german U-boat commanders and crews cared more for shipwrecked if the situation allowed, than their enemies. Not that allied crews did not also save german shipwrecked, but there seems to be a certain difference in proportion. And then the US submarine war in the pacific.

This is especially true for the german boats of WW1. The book "Die U-Boote des Kaisers" (~ "The Kaiser's U-boats") is a real good book about it, but i think it has not been translated into other languages.
Story about english trawler crews that met the same U-boat sinking their ship over and over again, and then again towing them towards the british coast. This was not an isolated case, but the british crews were not allowed to talk publicly about it, by threat of death penalty (traitors and all that).
The so-called "german unrestricted U-boat war" in WW1 was never really unrestricted, opposite to the british who conducted the war unrestricted and totally, from beginning to the end.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz-Wilhelm_Eck
As this site points out: Eck did himself no favors; He did not destroy his own logbook! And ADM Nimitz did not come to his defense as with ADM Donitz war crimes trial! Eck, August Hoffmann, Walter Weisspfennig, Hans Lenz, Wolfgang Schwender. The leftmost three were executed. http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/11/30/1945-heinz-eck-u-boat-commander/

Part of the past-is-prologue contest for this case was the World War I sinking of the Llandovery Castle by a German submarine, which had then proceeded to hunt down the lifeboats. It resulted in (non-death penalty) war crimes convictions for some of the U-boat officers involved. The existence of this precedent helped to defeat the “superior orders” defense of the junior officers, since they could be held to have known that Eck’s command was illegal.