Genre · ranked
The best war & military series of all time
25 ranked · updated October 2026
The best war and military series capture the raw reality of combat alongside the psychological toll endured by soldiers across generations. From meticulously colorized archival documentaries to harrowing ground-level dramatizations of front-line brotherhood, these landmark productions examine how violent conflicts reshape humanity and history.
How this ranking works
Ranked by a Bayesian-weighted score (rating average + rating count) across series classified as War & Military.
Band of Brothers
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks deliver an unmatched standard of wartime brotherhood by chronicling the combat journey of Easy Company through European battlefields.
Explores: brotherhood, war trauma, leadership.
Vinland Saga
This gripping Viking Age anime masterfully charts Thorfinn's relentless pursuit of vengeance across Europe, exploring the destructive psychological cycles of war.
Explores: Revenge, War, Vikings.
Shōgun
Rachel Kondo
Co-created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, this political drama thrives on intricate cultural clashes and high-stakes maneuvering on the brink of Japanese civil war.
Explores: Power Struggle, Cultural Clash, Survival.
The Last Kingdom
Stephen Butchard
Stephen Butchard blends historical fact with invented drama, capturing the fierce cultural clashes of ninth-century England through Saxon-born warrior Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
Explores: warrior culture, identity crisis, cultural clash.
Das Boot
Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen creates suffocating tension aboard submarine U-96, delivering a relentlessly claustrophobic study of psychological strain during the Battle of the Atlantic.
Explores: Claustrophobia, Moral Ambiguity, The Horrors of War.
Apocalypse: The Second World War
Isabelle Clarke
By utilizing fully colorized archival footage filmed by soldiers and civilians, this six-part documentary reveals the global catastrophe of World War II with visceral immediacy.
Explores: World War II, Historical Footage, Colorization.
The Vietnam War
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick present an exhaustive, empathetic portrait of conflict by combining vast archival records with candid testimony from nearly eighty witnesses.
Explores: War Trauma, Anti-War Movement, Cold War Conflicts.
Generation War
Philipp Kadelbach
Philipp Kadelbach traces the devastating loss of innocence among five German friends navigating the Eastern Front and life under Nazi rule from 1941 onward.
Explores: Loss of Innocence, The Horrors of War, Friendship Tested.
The World at War
Narrated with gravitas by Laurence Olivier, this definitive twenty-six-part British chronicle captures the full scope of World War II through profound firsthand survivor interviews.
Explores: World War II, Historical Account, The Holocaust.
D.P.
Kim Bo-tong
Adapted from Kim Bo-tong's webtoon, this searing Korean drama exposes systemic corruption and violent abuse inside the military through a deserter-hunting squad.
Explores: Military Abuse, Deserter Story, Systemic Corruption.
Generation Kill
David Simon
David Simon and Ed Burns deconstruct the chaotic fog of war during the 2003 Iraq invasion with razor-sharp dialogue and unflinching military realism.
Explores: fog of war, moral ambiguity, military bureaucracy.
Tour of Duty
L. Travis Clark
Making history as the first series to regularly depict Americans in combat in Vietnam, this ground-level drama conveys the psychological trauma of jungle warfare.
Explores: anti-war sentiment, loss of innocence, psychological trauma of war.
The Pacific
Bruce C. McKenna
Bruce C. McKenna captures the brutal physical and psychological horrors endured by U.S. Marines fighting across the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Explores: Pacific Theater, Marine Corps, Brutality of War.
Greatest Events of World War II in Colour
By revitalizing key turning points with restored, colorized film footage, this documentary series brings monumental global battles like D-Day and Stalingrad into vivid focus.
Explores: World War II, Historical Events, Military History.
Boots
Andy Parker
Andy Parker explores resilience and brotherhood during 1990 Marine Corps boot camp through the eyes of a closeted recruit navigating institutional discrimination.
Explores: Marine Corps, Boot Camp, Brotherhood.
Masters of the Air
John Orloff
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: Brotherhood, Courage Under Fire, The Cost of War.
The Civil War
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: Brother vs. Brother, Reconstruction Era, Abraham Lincoln.
SAS Rogue Heroes
Steven Knight
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: World War II, Military History, Underdog Story.
Apocalypse: World War I
Isabelle Clarke
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: World War I, Historical Footage, Colorized History.
Combat!
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: Brotherhood in War, The Horrors of War, Leadership Under Pressure.
War and Peace
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: Russian Nobility, Napoleonic Wars, Social Class.
World War II in Colour
Jonathan Martin
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: World War II, Military Campaigns, Historical Events.
Hell on Wheels
Tony Gayton
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: Revenge, Reconstruction Era, Manifest Destiny.
Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: The Holocaust, Concentration Camps, World War II.
Nuremberg
A standout of war & military series.
Explores: War Crimes Trials, Post-War Justice, Moral Responsibility.
Common questions
What is the plot of Band of Brothers?
Band of Brothers dramatizes the history of the 101st Airborne Division's "Easy" Company during World War II. It follows the parachute infantry unit from jump training in America through intense European combat actions until the end of the war.
How was Ken Burns's The Vietnam War documentary made?
Directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novick assembled archival footage, home movies, photographs, and audio recordings alongside testimony from nearly eighty witnesses. The ten-part series includes perspectives from American veterans, anti-war protesters, and Vietnamese soldiers and civilians.
What historical events does the miniseries The Pacific focus on?
The Pacific focuses on the United States Marine Corps's military actions during World War II in the Pacific Theater. The ten-part HBO miniseries follows the real combat experiences of Marines Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone.