The World at War 1973: Distant War (Sep 1939–May 1940)

The series has 26 episodes. Producer Jeremy Isaacs asked Noble Frankland, then director of the Imperial War Museum, to list fifteen main campaigns of the war and devoted one episode to each. The remaining eleven episodes are devoted to other matters, such as the rise of the Third Reich, home life in Britain and Germany, the experience of occupation in the Netherlands, and the Nazis' use of genocide. Episode 1 begins with a cold open describing the massacre at the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane by the Waffen SS.
2 "Distant War (September 1939 - May 1940)" 7 November 1973
The invasions of Poland, the Winter War, the sinking of the Graf Spee, the "phony war" and failure in Norway and the elevation of Winston Churchill to Prime Minister.
Interviewees include Lord Boothby, Lord Butler, Admiral Charles Woodhouse, Sir Martin Lindsay and Sir John "Jock" Colville.

The same event is referenced again at the end of Episode 26 and the series ends with Laurence Olivier uttering the poignant word, "Remember".