Military History Programs on Hulu

By Jim H. Moreno

Three channels and there’s still nothing worth watching! Despite the phenomenal increase in channels since this photo was taken in 1958, military history enthusiasts can get frustrated trying to find programs that interest them in TV’s heap of frozen truckers, duck-call inventors and Sasquatch specials. Long-time Armchair General contributor Jim H. Moreno is here with some suggestions. National Archives photo.

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Trying to find quality military history TV shows and movies on basic cable may now be as difficult as being given a bayonet and told to destroy a Tiger tank. Not even the *cough* History Channel can be counted on to live up to its name, as it seemingly abandoned authentic history for “reality” TV shows long ago. There is absolutely, positively, and irrevocably no way I’ll submit myself to such grotesque drivel.

So, I turned to the beloved Internet to seek out what military history viewing pleasures could be found. Specifically, I logged in to my Hulu account and dug through the vast variety of TV shows and movies hosted there, and to my surprise, found the military history genre well-represented.

In case you’re new to the 21st century, Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/) “is a website and over-the-top (OTT) subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, TBS, and many other networks and studios.” (Wikipedia) In short, it’s one of many websites that are steadfastly ending the cable & TV era that many of us grew up with, an era that many in the younger generations already consider history.

Below is a list of ten military history TV shows and movies that I found to be of most interest to me, all of them ones that I have not had the pleasure to see. They are not ranked in any order, nor am I giving them any sort of review; the descriptive text is taken directly from Hulu’s own listings. I am simply sharing a small sampling of the military history–themed fare that is currently available on Hulu, for those of you who may not be aware, and for those who may be interested.

The shows on this list are freely available on the general Hulu.com site, and do not require the $8 a month Hulu Plus subscription to view. However, some of the shows do have an expiration date, and no guarantees can be made that even the ones without expiration dates will be online indefinitely.

So, pour yourself a glass of your favorite Scotch, settle back in your favorite chair, and help keep online military history alive with what Hulu has to offer.

Battlefront WWII

http://www.hulu.com/battlefront-wwii

Documentary
40 episodes, complete
Expires 12/16/2013

The fiercest battles of WWII come to life as never seen before in this stunning collection of one of the most powerful epics of history. ACTUAL FOOTAGE from all sides of the war in COLOR. This documentary series takes you behind enemy lines and to the front lines of the tumultuous campaigns of the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific theaters where the soldiers, sailors and airmen fought in the most defining time in the history of the modern world.

Battle Ground: World War II

http://www.hulu.com/battle-ground-world-war-ii

Documentary
61 episodes, incomplete (season 8 missing 3 episodes)
Expires 11/28/2013

This eight season series chronicles pivotal events during World War II.

The Bomber

http://www.hulu.com/the-bomber

Action, Adventure, Drama
Russian, subtitled
8 episodes, complete
No Expiration Date

In this award-winning action series a Soviet aircraft crashes on Nazi-occupied territory. The pilot and his beloved radio operator miraculously survive, along with the flight navigator. It is now up to each of them to put their military training into action to escape the enemy forces. In the fight to get back to their own troops, they uncover an act of sabotage by a commanding officer and are branded as traitors.

Comrades

http://www.hulu.com/comrades

Action Adventure, Drama
Korean, subtitled
20 episodes, complete
Expires 12/30/2030

This drama commemorates the soldiers who gave their lives in the Korean War, fought between North and South Korea between 1950 and 1953, and is designed to remind people that the heavy cost of human lives far outweigh any national glory. Lee Hyun Joong (Choi Soo Jong) is a South Korean squad commander and war veteran who is dedicated to protecting the lives of the soldiers serving under him, despite his jaded outlook. His chance meeting with Lee Soo Kyung (Lee Tae Ran) on the battlefield stirs memories of the past, but she is now a lieutenant of the North Korean army.

Secrets of War

http://www.hulu.com/secrets-of-war

Documentary
65 episodes, incomplete (episode 34 missing)
No Expiration Date

In the epic historical documentary series Sworn to Secrecy, secrets are divulged and stories of espionage, conspiracy, murder, sabotage and greed are uncovered.

Army of Shadows

http://www.hulu.com/watch/455372

Action, Adventure, Military, War
Length: 2 hours 24 minutes
French, subtitled
Expires 03/01/2014

France, 1942, during the occupation. Philippe Gerbier, a civil engineer, is one of the French Resistance’s chiefs. Given away by a traitor, he is interned in a camp. He manages to escape, and joins his network at Marseilles, where he makes the traitor be executed… This non-spectacular movie (do not expect any Rambo or Robin Hood) shows us rigorously and austerely the everyday of the French Resistants : their solitude, their fears, their relationships, the arrests, the forwarding of orders and their carrying out… Both writer Joseph Kessel and co-writer and director Jean-Pierre Melville belonged to this “Army in the Shadows”.

Combat America

http://www.hulu.com/watch/231930

Documentary
Length: 1 hour 1 minute
No Expiration Date

351st Bombardment Group of US Army in England during WWII. Here, the film follows the ground and air crew from training through a series of bombing missions over Germany.

Desert Victory

http://www.hulu.com/watch/235705

Documentary
Length: 1 hour 10 minutes
No Expiration Date

The Allied campaign to drive Germany and Italy from North Africa is analyzed.

Tunisian Victory

http://www.hulu.com/watch/232471

Documentary
Length: 1 hour 15 minutes
No Expiration Date

Documentary made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps that contained footage from American and British governmental agencies, American newsreels, captured enemy film and newsreels, the Canadian National Film Board and more.

WWII: History Remembered

http://www.hulu.com/wwii-history-remembered

Documentary series

• Prisoner of Paradise 1:27:20, Expires 11/27/2013
• Hitler’s Britain 1:34:33, Expires 11/27/2013

Almost 75 years later, World War II is still one of the most talked about wars today. Considered the deadliest international conflict in human history with an estimated 70 million fatalities, this global, widespread war has been remembered throughout history for the many significant events that occurred; including the Holocaust, D-Day, Pearl Harbor, Battle of the Bulge, and United States’ atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With advances in technology and mobilization, this universal war forever changed how we view the world as Nazi rule almost succeeded in complete domination.