This is where Caesar made himself a Roman legend. He fought hundreds of thousands of Gauls, saw off Germanic invasions, and even had a little jaunt over the sea to Britannia. 

The Senate had been desperate to prosecute him for crimes during his Consulship, but he had taken a governorship of provinces bordering Gaul which gave him immunity for five years.

He then used those years to craft seemingly legitimate reasons to continually intervene in Gallic affairs, crushing tribes and intimidating others. In just over three years, Gaul was his. But it was far from easy, and on more than one occasion, Caesar was lucky to get out alive.

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It was Alexander the Great who spurred Julius Caesar to new heights. When Caesar saw a statue of him when he was 31, he realised that at his age Alexander had conquered half the world. Caesar was so distraught at his own relative lack of achievements, it's said he wept at Alexander's feet.

In just a few years Caesar had become the Chief Priest of Rome, Consul, and one of the members of Rome's first Triumvirate. 

Join us on his journey to political power, and meet Pompey, Crassus, and a rebel gladiator named Spartacus who sparked the whole thing off in the first place.

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Julius Caesar is one of the world's most famous and successful military genius' of all time. He conquered the fierce and warlike multitudes of Gaul with a few thousands men, and he beat some of the best Roman commanders in a civil war he ignited by crossing the Rubicon.

But where did Caesar come from? Where did it all start?

This episode covers the extraordinary groundwork of this extraordinary man's rise, from his childhood during the Marius-Sulla Civil War, near-death experience and his capture by pirates, to returning to Rome a military hero.

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In the face of the crushing ideologies of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, hundreds of thousands of civilians and former soldiers banded together in resistance right across Europe and Asia.

These created tales that need telling, and while some of them are already famous, I want to bring you some of those that are lesser-known but equally gripping.

Much as you’d imagine from WW2, these stories are full of horror and heroism, catastrophe and courage, tragedy and triumph. From daring rescues to audacious assassinations, and everyday people risking death by hiding Jews from Nazi hunters, to young men and women blowing up bridges and laying ambushes.

So get ready for an emotional rollercoaster in this, the final episode of the Bitesize Battles Secret Warfare series, the Resistance of WW2.

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The Middle East of WWI was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, but it was beginning to unravel. Arab nationalism was rising, and Britain told them that they would be allowed to establish a new, independent Arab nation following WWI.

So the Arab Revolt broke out. But in secret, Britain also settled on the Sykes-Picot Agreement with France, which divided the area between them instead, leaving nothing for the Arabs.

Into this cauldron of conspiracy strode Lawrence of Arabia, an unconventional archaeologist, writer, romantic, soldier and intelligence officer of the British Army. He was a lover of all things Arabia, and his effect on the Arab Revolt, and the coming post-war geopolitical battleground was profound.

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The Battle of the Teutoberg Forest in 9 AD was one of Rome's worst ever defeats. Just a few years either side of the death of Christ, the Romans had been subjugating many of the Germanic tribes just east of the Rhine – some by treaty, some by force.

But the Germans resented the encroachment and the will to resist was building.

All they needed was an opportunity to fight back. And soon, there was someone willing to give them one by betraying Roman trust.

In the year 9 AD, three Roman legions would be lured to the Teutoberg Forest, and the result would lead to the Emperor Augustus butting his head against a wall screaming.

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There was once a group of unsung heroes from World War II, a pioneering band of jungle warfare specialists fighting the Japanese behind enemy lines. This elite force was named after the mythical Burmese beast, the Chinthe, a fearsome blend of eagle and lion. To its commander, Orde Wingate, the Chinthe symbolised his vision of the close co-ordination of air and land forces.

The Chindits braved searing humidity, deadly diseases, impenetrable jungle and the remorseless Japanese army to disrupt the enemy behind their lines, destroy vital bridges and railways, and provoke them into rash decisions from which they could be punished.

The Chindits were responsible for provoking one of the greatest defeats for the Japanese Empire, and the lessons learned greatly enhanced the Allied cause both during and after World War 2.

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On 9/11, 2001, the United States and the world watched in shocked disbelief as al-Qaeda hijacked passenger airliners were flown directly into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre, causing them to collapse into dust, blood and tears. Nearly 3000 people were killed.

The Pentagon, a symbol of the United States’ military prestige, was hit too, and a final airliner crashed when its heroic passengers fought back against the hijackers.

The experience was searing, enraging, and awakening for the United States, in a way the country hadn’t experienced since Pearl Harbour 60 years before. And like Pearl Harbour, the American military giant now unfurled itself, flexed its muscles and called its friends to assemble.

Just a month later, the United States and its allies retaliated in a massive invasion of Afghanistan, from where the attack was orchestrated and financed. But while the conventional militaries of the coalition overran Afghanistan’s Taliban, what the American people and government wanted most of all was the man who had masterminded 9/11. Revenge would not be considered to have been had until he had been found and brought to justice.

That demand sparked the largest, most expensive, most determined and most far-reaching manhunt the world has ever seen. From the mission control rooms of the CIA, to the barren wastes of the Afghan-Pakistani mountains, the hunt lasted a decade.

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In the wake of 9/11, Britain stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States. It joined the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and soon its special forces were engaged all over the country.

In one mission, the largest concentration of SAS firepower since World War II took on crack al-Qaeda terrorists guarding an elevated, fortified opium factory at the base of a mountain. 

The Regiment had to draw on all its expertise to face down hardened, heavily-armed fanatics in a rare, direct-action assault.

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“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” The last words of Nathan Hale, an American patriot sent to spy on New York by George Washington, but captured by the British and hanged.

George Washington was hit hard and resolved never to use amateurs to do his spying for him again. Instead, he set up the United States' first professional spy network - the Culper Ring.

They saved the critical fort at West Point, uncovered the treachery of Benedict Arnold, saved the newly arrived French under Rochambeau, the new American economy and George Washington himself. I think, they saved the Revolution, and the new United States with it.

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