The Best World War II TV Shows on Free Services

What it's about: The exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one Englishman — who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II. Their mission: "to attack, harass and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps".

Where to Watch: 58 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (PlutoTV).

What it's about: The second world war experiences of brave women recruited as undercover agents behind enemy lines.

Where to Watch: 23 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 23 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (AcornTV). 11 episodes (48%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: Five young German friends promise to meet again after WW2 ends, but soon their naive wishes of peace and happiness will become a long and tragic nightmare.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 3 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hoopla). 3 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme. The show was created by Donald P. Bellisario. The first three seasons star Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, and Jean Bruce Scott. After the original series was cancelled, a fourth season, with an entirely new cast and on a much smaller budget, was filmed in Canada for the USA Network.

Where to Watch: 76 episodes (94%) are available to watch free online (Peacock & The Roku Channel).

What it's about: Charles Ryder, an agnostic man, becomes involved with members of the Flytes, a Catholic family of aristocrats, over the course of several years between the two world wars.

Where to Watch: 11 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, Plex, Vudu & 3 others). 11 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Philo & BritBox). 10 episodes (91%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: Set in a bizarre, 1960's inspired version of World War II, the action comedy series follows the finest group of spies the Allies have to offer on a mission to kill Adolf Hitler.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & IMDb TV). 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Shout Factory TV). 12 episodes (92%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The Bletchley Circle follows the journey of four ordinary women with extraordinary skills that helped to end World War II. Set in 1952, Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean have returned to their normal lives, modestly setting aside the part they played in producing crucial intelligence, which helped the Allies to victory and shortened the war. When Susan discovers a hidden code behind an unsolved murder she is met by skepticism from the police. She quickly realises she can only begin to crack the murders and bring the culprit to justice with her former friends. The Bletchley Circle paints a vivid portrait of post-war Britain in this fictional tale of unsung heroes.

Where to Watch: 4 episodes (36%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 7 episodes (64%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Google Play).

What it's about: Island at War is a British television series that tells the story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class Dorrs, the middle class Mahys and the working class Jonases, and four German officers. The fictional island of St. Gregory serves as a stand-in for the real-life islands Jersey and Guernsey, and the story is compiled from the events on both islands.Produced by Granada Television in Manchester, Island at War had an estimated budget of £9,000,000 and was filmed on location in the Isle of Man from August 2003 to October 2003. When the series was shown in the UK, it appeared in six 70-minute episodes.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV & The Roku Channel). 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & AcornTV).

What it's about: Sword of Honour is a two-part adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s semi-autobiographical World War II trilogy that aired Channel 4 in 2001. It centers on Guy Crouchback's, played by Daniel Craig, heroic quest to fight for a deep moral cause and to reclaim his manhood after a shattering divorce from the society beauty Virginia Troy.

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV, Plex & 1 other). 2 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (AcornTV). 2 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: This documentary series examines the Einsatzgruppen, Nazis responsible for the mass murder of Jews, Romani and Soviet prisoners in Eastern Europe.

Where to Watch: 4 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 4 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: The unique, and rarely told true stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses serving at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & The Roku Channel). 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & AcornTV). 6 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: Nazi diehard and fanatics fight to the last man to stop Allied forces from freeing Europe, keeping an unrelenting grip on the naval bases, citadels and fortresses of occupied Europe.

Where to Watch: 4 episodes (31%) are available to watch free online (NatGeo). 8 episodes (62%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & fuboTV). 4 episodes (31%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (NatGeo).

What it's about: This ten-part docuseries tells the comprehensive story of the First World War, featuring excerpts written by Winston Churchill, Karen Blixen, Georges Clémenceau, David Lloyd George, Siegfried Sassoon and Rudolf Hess.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV, IMDb TV & 1 other). 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Xive TV). 10 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: The Camomile Lawn is British adaptation of the Mary Wesley's classic novel that aired on Channel 4. As storm clouds gather over Europe in 1939, five cousins meet to pay tribute to a world that will never be the same again.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 5 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (AcornTV).

What it's about: Adapted from Len Deighton’s 1978 alternate history novel. A British detective investigates a murder in German-occupied Britain during World War II.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Starz & Hoopla). 6 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: An FBI cold case that has laid dormant for 70 years, leads a group of world-renown investigators on the ultimate manhunt to finally answer the question: Did Adolf Hitler survive World War II?

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (96%) are available to watch free online (PlutoTV). 25 episodes (93%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Philo, Hoopla & 1 other). 26 episodes (96%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (History). 25 episodes (93%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A historical saga, it tells the story of six young men and women who, in 1914, are full of plans and dreams for the future. Cutting between life at home, Gallipoli and Egypt, this spectacular drama begins in a time of optimism and hope, on the eve of war.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Xive TV).

What it's about: As dawn breaks on April 25, 1915, ANZAC troops go into battle on the beaches of the Gallipoli peninsula. Landing in the dark chaos, Tolly, Bevan and their mates struggle to establish a tenuous foothold on the treacherous slopes and deep ravines. They endure the next eight months on the peninsula learning lessons of survival. By the time of the final evacuation they have also learned the skills of combat and what it means to be a young man in war.

Where to Watch: 7 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & IMDb TV).

What it's about: The story of three decades of war told through the eyes of various men who were its key players: Roosevelt, Hitler, Patton, Mussolini, Churchill, Tojo, DeGaulle and MacArthur. The series examines the two wars as one contiguous timeline starting in 1914 and concluding in 1945 with these unique individuals coming of age in World War I before ultimately calling the shots in World War II.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & The Roku Channel). 3 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hoopla). 3 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: One month after the outbreak of World War I, Paris is bombarded by German airplanes. Parisians witness a whole new type of warfare. Five pilots from France, Germany, and Britain take us into the world of the greatest "flying aces" of the First World War.

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 2 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 2 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: A former POW leads a special task force to hunt down the culprits responsible for carrying out the orders to murder 50 of the 76 escapees from Stalag Luft III.

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & The Roku Channel). 2 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Battle 360°, also written as Battle 360, is an American documentary television series that originally aired from February 29 to May 2, 2008 on History. The program focuses on the World War II-era aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.The series consists of ten episodes.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (91%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 10 episodes (91%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & History Vault). 10 episodes (91%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Secrets are divulged and stories of espionage, conspiracy, murder, sabotage and greed are uncovered.

Where to Watch: 75 episodes (60%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & IMDb TV). 14 episodes (11%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 65 episodes (52%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Witnesses and historians retell the events leading up to the capture and or death of some of World War Two's most heinous Nazi fugitives.

Where to Watch: 20 episodes (83%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV). 3 episodes (13%) are available to stream on a subscription service (IndieFlix). 13 episodes (54%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (iTunes).

What it's about: Focusing on a group of women working in a munitions plant during World War II, this ensemble drama depicts the dangers and new experiences they face.

Where to Watch: 18 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV, Vudu & 1 other). 18 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (AcornTV).

What it's about: Victory at Sea is a documentary television series about naval warfare during World War II that was originally broadcast by NBC in the USA in 1952–1953. It was condensed into a film in 1954. Excerpts from the music soundtrack, by Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett, were re-recorded and sold as record albums. The original TV broadcasts comprised 26 half-hour segments—Sunday afternoons at 3pm in most markets—starting October 26, 1952 and ending May 3, 1953. The series, which won an Emmy award in 1954 as "best public affairs program", played an important part in establishing historic "compilation" documentaries as a viable television genre.Over 13,000 hours of footage gathered from US, British, German and Japanese navies during World War II were perused in the making of these compelling episodes.

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (8%) are available to watch free online (The Roku Channel).

What it's about: A 1994 war television miniseries which portrays Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin as they maneuver their countries through several of the major events of World War II - such events include the Blitz, Operation Barbarossa, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the North African Campaign, the Allied invasion of Italy, and concluding with the Tehran Conference.

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & The Roku Channel).

What it's about: The Eastern Front, 1943. Two Soviet pilots, straight out of training, join a veteran fighter squadron on the front line.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (50%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 12 episodes (50%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 12 episodes (50%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The Ashton family struggles to deal with the harsh realities of the Second World War as their sons are sent away to fight. Those who remain at home in Liverpool live in constant fear of a knock on the door with a telegram from the War Office or the Luftwaffe bombs overhead as they sleep at night.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (25%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & IMDb TV).

What it's about: David Reynolds traces the legacy of the Great War across 100 years and 10 different countries, examining how the war haunted a generation and shaped the peace that followed.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Plex & IMDb TV). 3 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The Great War is a CBC television film documenting Canadian participation in the First World War. The film stars Justin Trudeau and was shown on Canadian television during the 90th Anniversary of the Vimy Ridge battle, airing in two parts on April 8 and April 9, 2007. The Fox website included the following notice seeking people to participate in the making of the film:Did your great-grandfather take Vimy Ridge? Did he play a part in the three-month battle at Passchendaele? Did he break through the German line at Amiens? For a landmark film to mark the 90th anniversary of the First World War, the CBC is recruiting 300 descendants of those who went to war between 1914 and 1918. The descendants will walk in the footsteps of their ancestors and take part in massive battle recreations.

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & Plex).

What it's about: From the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 to the hanging docks at Nuremburg in 1947, this uncompromising documentary follows Adolf Hitler’s cunning and ruthless quest to take over Germany, his brainwashing of Germany’s young people, his insane dreams of Jewish genocide, his creation of one of the world’s most feared military forces, and his pursuit of global domination. Including interviews by eye-witnesses of the takeover of France, the invasion at Normandy, the death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the military failure at Stalingrad, and the fall of Berlin, Hitler & The Nazis is the true story of the rise and fall of a hate-fueled and manipulative madman, and those who faithfully followed him

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (83%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 5 episodes (83%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: Comedy drama set during World War Two following the misadventures of two very different bandsmen - one an ex-air force pilot, the other a draft dodging, scheming private detective - as they get caught up with gangsters and romance in blitz torn London.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi, IMDb TV & The Roku Channel). 3 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (AcornTV).

What it's about: Actor and British national treasure Sir David Jason travels around the UK and beyond to reveal the secret places and people who act as guardians and gatekeepers of the incredible but true story of Britain’s spy history.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (PlutoTV & Plex).

What it's about: Why did the Allies chose to fight the Axis in North Africa and Italy, when France presented the most direct gateway to Germany?

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV).

What it's about: As commanders from the great battles of WWII go head-to-head on the battlefield, they attempt to outwit and outfight each other with strategic moves in a game of skill, bluff and counterbluff. With the lives of thousands of men at risk, the generals’ reputations hanging in the balance, the stakes are impossibly high and the pressure is on.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi).

What it's about: In 1941 Russia, Arina and Zoya are hired by NKVD to become secrets agents and infiltrate enemy lines. They have to fight adversaries and enemies but also their own fear and convictions.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi).

What it's about: This is an interesting documentary about Stalin, his rise to power, and the invasion of the USSR by Germany in WWII. It's split into two parts, the first a general overview of the early ...

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi).

What it's about: Documents both the influences of alternative belief systems on the Nazi ideology and Hitler's personal philosophy, and the history and development of the ideas and symbols that would be used along with eugenicist racial politics to perpetrate the murder and oppression of millions during World War II.

Where to Watch: 4 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu).

What it's about: Soviet Storm is the epic television history of the Second World War’s Eastern Front. Giving an unprecedented Russian perspective on the war’s most decisive and bloody theater.

Where to Watch: 18 episodes (64%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 11 episodes (39%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 11 episodes (39%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).