A prestige film production of the History Channel. Israel declared its sovereignty on May 14, 1948. One day later, armies from Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan, Egypt and Iraq invaded. With only 600,000 people in the infant nation, the odds seemed overwhelming.

Yet they not only survived, they triumphed, and by 1949 armistice negotiations began that would ensure the existence of the Jewish State. Filled with rare footage, photographs, and interviews with participants in the War of Independence, this is the definitive document of one of the turning points in modern history. Extraordinary footage like a filme by Bernard Beecham, a British soldier, shows the reality of life in the fledgling nation.

T his is a remarkable chronicle of a nation won by courage and determination more than weaponry, the saga of a people finally returned to the land from which they had been away from for almost 2000 years.

Against the well-equipped Arab armies stood poorly armed Jewish forces dedicated to protecting a country whose population totaled just 650,000 men, women and children. Not only did Israel's young soldiers stop the Arab onslaught, but - with more bravery than bullets - they went on to create a military triumph that ensured the survival of the new Jewish State

Showing the dramatic days that surrounded the birth of the fledgling nation, this movie includes rare material – a unique film by a British Mandate soldier, footage of Ben Gurion at the Declaration of Independence, scenes from the war as well as interviews with those who actually fought in it.

Without doubt this extraordinary movie, produced by the History Channel, is the definitive document of one of the remarkable turning points in modern history.