DEFENDING EUROPE: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TO LAUNCH NEW HISTORICAL SERIES

Building on its rich tradition of captivating historical storytelling, National Geographic proudly introduces Defending Europe—a brand-new series that explores the incredible strategies, weapons, and structures used by different European countries to defend and protect their territories through the ages.

Spanning over 1,000 years of history, this insightful series reveals how often-forgotten stories and sites played a pivotal role in shaping the countries and borders of modern Europe.

From the Stone Age to the present day, Europe has been in a near-constant state of war. In this relentless cycle of hostile raids, land invasions, and naval armadas, only the toughest nations emerged and survived.

Every country on the continent was born in battle, and their continued existence, even today, depends on their ability to defend and protect their borders. Now, across six episodes, Defending Europe uncovers that hidden history, decoding the national survival stories concealed in the forts, bunkers, and castles left behind by our ancestors.

Each episode of Defending Europe focuses on a different country – Great Britain, France, Spain, Finland, Poland, and The Netherlands – taking a deep dive into the critical moments when each nation’s survival was threatened and discovers how the Europe we know today was created.

The stories featured in each episode are connected by a central organising principle: every country is influenced by its location and geography, providing unique challenges in defending its territory.

A recurring cast of top experts explore the ingenious engineering and often mind-blowing scale of the defensive fortifications, weapons, and strategies developed over time. Supported by local specialists, each episode exposes the hidden secrets of these sites, investigating how they kept each country safe, forged and defined national borders, and helped build the character and identity of their people.

Alongside access to these astonishing historical sites and experts who bring history to life, cutting-edge graphics illustrate the march of time as never before, showing hundreds of years of Europe’s shifting borders and the birth, growth, and development of the continent’s most influential nations.

Over the centuries, the battle for national survival has occupied the finest strategic, military, and engineering minds. Faced with different threats, tactics, technologies, and resources through the ages, the unique and inventive defensive strategies devised are as numerous and varied as the countries in Europe themselves.

Defending Europe is produced for National Geographic by Atomic Television (a Zinc Media company).  The series is executive produced by Stephen McQuillan, with series producers Bee Smith and Nick White. Executive producer for National Geographic is Simon Raikes.

Defending Europe premieres on 17 September, exclusively on National Geographic.