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Spy Web

Spy Web

1999•45m•Documentary
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Spy Web: International Espionage uncovers some of the most fascinating spying and espionage stories of the 20th century.

Jonathan Martin · Director

StatusReturning Series
Runtime45m
LanguageEN
First Air DateJan 1, 1999

Episodes

Episode 1 - Hitler's SpiesE145m

Hitler's Spies

During World War II, German intelligence spread its tentacles across the globe, operating throughout occupied and neutral Europe, and even as far afield as the United States. Discover how German intelligence proved a formidable foe, and how, in the end, it was totally compromised from its centre.

Jan 1, 1999

Episode 2 - Berlin Spy SecretsE245m

Berlin Spy Secrets

Berlin has always been a hotbed of espionage. Uncover the secrets under the Kaiser, during the tyranny that was Hitler's Third Reich, and throughout the long Cold War that followed the destruction of the Nazi empire by the Allies.

Jan 8, 1999

Episode 3 - Bletchley ParkE345m

Bletchley Park

An unprepossessing Victorian Mansion 50 miles north of London, Bletchley Park started life as Station X before developing into the most potent deciphering center of World War II when the German Enigma codes were cracked by its staff.

Jan 15, 1999

Episode 4 - The CIAE445m

The CIA

Established by President Truman, the CIA became a global agency for collecting and evaluating intelligence through covert action. It has a fascinating history throughout the post-war world to the modern day.

Jan 22, 1999

Episode 5 - The Code BreakersE545m

The Code Breakers

The fascinating story of 20th-century efforts by all sides to break down the enemy's signals security, to protect the sender's signals, and penetrate the enemy's secret communications. Many battles in the last 100 years have been won or lost because one side or the other could read its opponent's intercepted messages. From the famous Zimmerman Telegram in April 1917 through to the breaking of the Japanese Purple codes and the more recent Russian codes, trace the history of code breaking.

Jan 29, 1999

Episode 6 - The FBI Spy FilesE645m

The FBI Spy Files

The FBI serves as a national police force investigating interstate crime. However, it also handles violations of U.S espionage laws by foreign agents. Probe the department's entire history, including the G-man era, interception of Nazi agents, communist-hunting in the 1950s, the search for subversives, and its role in the post-Cold War world.

Feb 5, 1999

Episode 7 - The MossadE745m

The Mossad

Born in the crucible of Israel's war of independence and honed in the constant struggle for survival, the Mossad gained a fearsome reputation for ruthlessness. Whether tracking down criminals like Adolf Eichmann or eliminating terrorists like the Palestinian Black September movement, discover how Mossad allowed nothing to stand in its way.

Feb 12, 1999

Episode 8 - MI5E845m

MI5

During both World Wars, Britain's counter-espionage service proved highly effective - no enemy spies operated for more than a few days, and many were "turned" to send false intelligence back home. Later, MI5 faced criticism for failing to expose the Cambridge spies, then remodelled itself as a counter-terrorist organisation.

Feb 19, 1999

Episode 9 - MI6E945m

MI6

Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, and employer of the fictional James Bond, grew out of the need to combat imperial German and later Bolshevik ambitions in the early part of the 20th Century. Uncover the secret workings of MI6, and see how its spectacular successes, like breaking the Enigma code, were offset by devastating failures such as the inability to detect superspy Kim Philby.

Feb 26, 1999

Episode 10 - The KGBE1045m

The KGB

This episode focuses on the Komitet Gosudarstvennoe Bezopasnosti (Committee for State Security), the agency of the former Soviet Union responsible for state security from 1954 to 1991. KGB functions included counterespionage, foreign intelligence collection and analysis, protection of land and maritime borders, control of nuclear weapons, and the Kremlin's guards.

Mar 5, 1999

Episode 11 - The Cambridge SpiesE1145m

The Cambridge Spies

One of the Soviet Union's greatest espionage operations ended in 1951 when two diplomats at the British Foreign Office fled from Southampton Dock. Uncover the story of one of the most effective spy rings of all time as they passed along military, scientific, and political secrets that caused incalculable harm to British and American interests.

Mar 12, 1999

Episode 12 - The SOEE1245m

The SOE

Britain's secret wartime Special Operation Executive was responsible for recruiting and training hundreds of secret agents, who were systematically dropped into Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe to fight the enemy behind the lines. By setting up clandestine radio transmitters and organising local spy rings, see how they undoubtedly hastened the end of WWII in Europe.

Mar 19, 1999

Episode 13 - The OSSE1345m

The OSS

Take a look at America's Office of Strategic Services, which was modelled on the British Special Operation Executive. William J. Donovan established the famous U.S World War II intelligence and sabotage agency, which was the precursor of the CIA. Much of the OSS work concerned the Allies' landings in North Africa and Europe, the placing of nearly 200 agents in Nazi Germany, assisting French resistance groups, and working in the Far East against the Japanese.

Mar 26, 1999

Episode 14 - Spying and Espionage in VietnamE1445m

Spying and Espionage in Vietnam

In one of the deadliest and most difficult conflicts the world had ever witnessed, straightforward warfare was not enough. The Vietnam War demanded secret fighting. This is the story of the covert operations conducted by the CIA and US army intelligence. By employing tactics such as harassment, espionage and covert sea-born raids, the Americans weaseled out the enemy.

Apr 2, 1999

Episode 15 - Great Spies of the 20th CenturyE1545m

Great Spies of the 20th Century

Mata Hari, Sidney Reilly, Lawrence of Arabia, Cicero, Lonsdale, the Lucy Spy Ring: these are just a few of the most daring and outrageous spy cases in the 20th Century.

Apr 9, 1999

Episode 16 - Spying from the SkiesE1645m

Spying from the Skies

The balloon first gave mankind the ability to look down on the battlefield; then came ever more sophisticated aircraft with cameras. Today, much of the work of intelligence gathering is undertaken by satellites. The fascinating story of spying from the air over the last 100 years, including the hitherto untold story of the secret spy flights of the Cold War.

Dec 7, 1999

Episode 17 - Atom SpiesE1745m

Atom Spies

During World War II, the Soviet government operated a large spy ring that sought atomic secrets in Great Britain, Canada, and the US. The success of this operation enabled the Russians to detonate an atomic bomb several years earlier than believed possible. Not until the US 'Venona' code-cracking breakthrough was the full extent of the Soviet penetration revealed.

Jul 12, 2000

Episode 18 - Early Russian IntelligenceE1845m

Early Russian Intelligence

The Cheka was the infamous Bolshevik organisation which took control of Russia as Lenin's feared secret police. It was licensed to carry out executions and was responsible for the 'Red Terror' from September 1918. Its brutality knew no bounds and was run by the dreaded Felix Dzerzhinsky, who founded the Gulag Archipelago.

Jun 21, 2000

Episode 19 - Secret Air OperationsE1945m

Secret Air Operations

Aircraft were first used to drop agents behind enemy lines during World War I. The skills of the first pioneers were rediscovered twenty years later when Britain had to find ways of supporting Resistance throughout Nazi-occupied Europe. Agents were flown in or picked up, supplies and sabotage teams parachuted. The British Special Operations flights were joined by US 'Carpetbagger' squadrons, and their methods continued to be employed during the Cold War.

Dec 31, 2000

Episode 20 - US Army IntelligenceE2045m

US Army Intelligence

This organisation traces its roots back to 1776 and the spying service set up by George Washington. Since then the service has distinguished itself throughout the Twentieth Century, with exciting stories of intelligence gathering in both World Wars and during the Cold War and Vietnam, culminating in its electronic intelligence units which were first used in the Gulf War in 1991.

May 21, 2000

Episode 21 - US Air Force IntelligenceE2145m

US Air Force Intelligence

From its early beginnings with General John J Pershing and his Mexican expedition of 1916, the US Air Intelligence arm has a fascinating history, spanning both World Wars. It is now the world leader in the collection and analysis of all forms of photographic and electronic data, and deploys a bewildering array of ultra-high speed aircraft, satellites and unmanned drones.

Aug 2, 2000

Episode 22 - The GRUE2245m

The GRU

Sometimes referred to as the 'Fourth Department, Russian military intelligence', it was created in 1918 and produced a network of spies which operated worldwide through the Stalinist era, World War II and still employs 100,000. The GRU also controls Russia's Special Warfare Services known as the Spetsnaz.

Aug 30, 2000

E2345m

Spy Ships and Submarines

Throughout the Twentieth Century, in all the major conflicts, both sides have operated intelligence collection ships. In World War II, the warships of many navies began carrying high-frequency, direction-finding equipment and subsequently electronic intelligence collection equipment. But there have also been a fascinating array of non-naval vessels. Some of them, like the USS Pueblo, have been involved in major international incidents. Others have mysteriously disappeared.

Jun 14, 2000

Episode 24 - Japanese IntelligenceE2445m

Japanese Intelligence

Japan's traditional fascination with the West led at the beginning of the 20th century to the foundation of an elaborate spying network based on the need for military intelligence. Historically, its enemies were China and Russia, but by the 1920s and 30s, its main focus became the USA. The programme looks at the story of the Japanese intelligence network in the build-up to Pearl Harbor and beyond.

Sep 20, 2000

Episode 25 - French IntelligenceE2545m

French Intelligence

At the beginning of the 20th century, the French had a sophisticated intelligence network active during World War I, which went on to confront the Bolsheviks during the interwar years. It continued during World War II and has since been involved in post-war intelligence and various colonial conflicts.

Oct 20, 2000

Episode 26 - US Naval IntelligenceE2645m

US Naval Intelligence

The US's longest surviving intelligence service was created in 1882. One of its most prominent divisions was the American Photographic Interpretation Centre created in 1941 to train and support fleet photographers. It played an active role in the Cold War era particularly in electronic monitoring. By 1970 a vast expansion in Russian Naval operations on a worldwide scale created the necessity to keep track of all Soviet naval-related activities.

Oct 13, 2000

Actors

Stan Watt

Self - Narrator

Recommendations

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World War II with Tom Hanks
Doctor Who Confidential
American Experience
Drain the Oceans
Spycraft
Horizon
TYSON
American Masters
Top Gear
Dirty Money
Lost Treasures of Egypt
Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Greatest Events of World War II in Colour
Down to Earth with Zac Efron
James May's Cars of the People
How It's Made
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden

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