What is WW2: Women on the Frontline?

WW2: Women on the Frontline is a new three-part history documentary series by Channel 4. It reveals the unknown histories of the daring female pilots, journalists, guerrillas and spies who fought, flew and died in the Second World War, defying expectations, overcoming prejudices, and often outperforming their male counterparts.

The first episode tells the remarkable stories of women who fought the Nazi invaders in occupied Europe, as well as an Austrian spy who successfully infiltrated the United States. Josephine Baker, an American-born singer who became a major star in 1930s Paris, joined forces with French Military Intelligence during the war, spying on Axis officials and smuggling vital information across borders - often written in invisible ink on her sheet music. The Special Operations Executive sent hundreds of agents, including women, into occupied Europe to help the Resistance movement, including Noor Inayat Khan, who navigated the dangerous role of a wireless operator.

Across the Atlantic, young Austrian spy Lilly Stein infiltrated military industries, seducing high-profile men into giving away their secrets. She was vilified by the press and the FBI, but as a Jew allegedly blackmailed by the Nazis, her story is more complex than it seems. Another Jewish woman, Selma Van de Perre, joined the Dutch Resistance, in a dangerous role as a courier. And teenage girls Truus and Freddie Oversteegen (pictured) used their youth as a disguise, luring German officers into the woods and shooting them dead, as well as committing acts of sabotage like blowing up railway bridges, often dressed as men.

When is WW2: Women on the Frontline on TV?

The first episode of WW2: Women on the Frontline will be broadcast on Channel 4 at 7pm on Saturday 3 August. The next two episodes will air on Saturday 10 August and Saturday 17 August.