PBS has recently begun to replay an excellent series of tapes related to the great battles of World War II. The series focuses on six battles and covers them in depth.

The battles include: BATTLE OF FRANCE; BATTLE OF BRITAIN; BATTLE OF MIDWAY; BATTLE OF STALINGRAD; BATTLE OF NORMANDY and THE BATTLE OF BERLIN. Each title is enough to wet the appetite of any history buff.

Each battle has two 60 minute tapes associated with it. Tape one, for each battle, is devoted to the events leading up to and the significance of each battle. This puts the battle and its outcome into the proper geo-political context. For example on the Battle of Berlin tape it becomes clear that the actual storming of Berlin was an anti-climax.

Despite the fact that millions of men clashed within the city itself. The main show occurred a week before on the outskirts of the city. The fall of Berlin was a foregone conclusion.

The programs are the most complete historical treatment on video I have seen so far, and I have seen them all. My dial is stuck on the Discovery Channel, A & E, and the History Channel. I have a bookshelf full of taped videos and on any given week at least three Military Video catalogs show up.

BATTLEFIELDS has a crisp, well laid out, well organized and expertly illustrated approach to each battle. The material covers the events, the commanders, the weapons systems the tactics and then shows accurate video from the period under discussion. I hate those videos that dub in any old tank when discussing a time specific subject. I'm sorry there just weren't any King Tigers in Africa.

Another thing I hate is buying a video and seeing book pictures with voice over. If I wanted a book I'd go to the library. Video works best when things move and this series has it. I don't know where they got all this footage but most of it hasn't been seen before.

The BATTLEFIELD videos sell for $19.99 each. Tape one has the intro and tape 2 has the battle. The entire 6 volume, 720 minutes set sells for $159.00. This represents a savings of about $80.00. Shipping is $5.00 for the first tape and $1100 thereafter. Persons interested may order by phone at 1-800-343-4727. Or you may order from Video Finders: 4401 Sunset B1, Los Angeles, CA. 90027.