The Best Modern Wars Documentaries

War & Military - 65 free documentaries about modern wars.

Start with Once Upon A Time In Iraq: Fallujah (53 min, FRONTLINE PBS), then NATO - The largest military alliance in the world (89 min, DW Documentary). All 65 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on modern wars is Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden.

• Once Upon A Time In Iraq: Fallujah (53 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• NATO - The largest military alliance in the world (89 min, DW Documentary)
• Billion Dollar Base: Army Base in Afghanistan (48 min, Free Documentary)
• Obama's War (55 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• The Future of War, and How It Affects YOU (Multi-Domain Operations) - Smarter Every Day 211 (28 min, Smarter Every Day)
• Drones, hackers and mercenaries - The future of war (42 min, DW Documentary)
• The Age of Laser Warfare Has Begun (23 min, Real Engineering)
• Inside Afghanistan: Rare Uncensored Footage From The Battle For Marjah (84 min, Real Stories)
• Defeating Microwave Weapons! - Part 1 (29 min, Tech Ingredients)
• Can a Millennial Troll Survive NATO's Biggest War Games? (21 min, VICE)
• Myanmar Civil War: What Will Be Left When The War Is Over? | Insight (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Bosnia's invisible children: Living in dignity (26 min, DW Documentary)
• Fighting The Taliban: The Battle Inside Afghanistan (85 min, Real Stories)
• How The Largest Surviving WW2 Military Base Was Shut Down | Camp Bastion (47 min, Spark)
• Foreign Legion - Recruits put to the test (42 min, DW Documentary)
• The Terrifying Efficiency of Drone Warfare (23 min, Wendover Productions)
• Operation Black Hawk Down: US Military Trapped In Somalia (49 min, Wonder)
• British Army Take Wrong Turn Into Taliban Territory | Road Warriors S1 EP1 (45 min, Wonder)
• World's Most Dangerous Jobs | Mercenaries: Soldiers of Fortune (104 min, Free Documentary)
• Operation Sudden Death: The War Lord Who Captured 11 US Soldiers | Special Forces (97 min, Real Crime)
• US Special Ops Rescues SEAL Team Survivor In Afghanistan | Helicopter Warfare (50 min, Spark)
• Red Zones - World’s Toughest Places | Myanmar Civil War (48 min, Free Documentary)
• Confessions of a Mercenary and Million-Dollar Arms Dealer (91 min, Wonder)
• How 14 Soldiers Survived Against 200 Taliban Fighters (132 min, Wonder)
• Conquering A Terrorist Stronghold: Inside Operation Viking Hammer (49 min, Wonder)
• Navy SEALs Rescue Mission Against Enemy Rebels (47 min, Wonder)
• Army Truckers Spotted By Enemy Spies In Dangerous Warzone | Road Warriors (44 min, Wonder)
• Operation Certain Death: The SAS vs. Sierra Leone's Dangerous Warlords (97 min, Wonder)
• SAS Soldiers Infilitrate Iraq During The Persian Golf War | Special Forces S1 EP3 (50 min, Wonder)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: an ethnically divided country (26 min, DW Documentary)
• Afghanistan's Deadliest Siege: Inside Operation Moshtarak (84 min, Wonder)
• Inside The World's Most Powerful Mercenary Company (43 min, Wonder)
• Toxic Tech: The Deadly Magic of Depleted Uranium (52 min, ENDEVR)
• I'm Coming For You, Brother | 9/11: One Day in America (44 min, National Geographic)
• 9/11 As It Happened: Uncensored Footage Minute By Minute (56 min, Real Stories)
• SEALs and Marines Raid Embassy Taken Over By Rebels (47 min, Wonder)
• Northern Ireland and Brexit: Is Violence Returning? | The 100-Year War (50 min, ENDEVR)
• 3+ Hours Of Survival Stories From Enemy Lines (201 min, Wonder)
• Elite Military Rescue Hostages From Hijacked Plane | Special Forces (50 min, Wonder)
• Green Beret Troop Operate Deep Within Enemy Territory | Special Forces S1 EP1 (51 min, Wonder)
• Everyday life in the Bosnian War - What happened in Srebrenica? (88 min, DW Documentary)
• Why Britain Cares So Much About the Falklands (23 min, Wendover Productions)
• New York fifteen years after 9/11 | Documentaries (26 min, DW Documentary)
• Surviving Black Hawk Down: U.S. Forces Under Siege in Somalia | Special Forces (49 min, Real Crime)
• Divided and Damaged: Northern Ireland's Peace Walls (49 min, Real Stories)
• Inside the Conflict: Northern Ireland's Troubled History (84 min, Real Stories)
• These War Veterans Were Sick of Hollywood Military Movies So They Made Their Own! (82 min, Real Stories)
• The Extreme Military Training Of China's Elite Operatives | Special Forces S2 EP3 (47 min, Wonder)
• The 40-year War In Mindanao, And The Women Who Helped End It | The Peacemakers - Ep 2/3 (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Europe's Most Fragile Peace | Bosnia: A Nation Held Together by a Single Deal (53 min, ENDEVR)
• Military Commandos Face Gruelling Special Forces Training | Special Forces (47 min, Wonder)
• Archeologists Investigate A Bronze Age Village In Northern Ireland (96 min, Odyssey)
• Surviving 9/11: The Untold Stories (50 min, Real Stories)
• Healing The Wounds Of War In Bangsamoro, Philippines (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Operation Viking Hammer: Black Ops Mission To Take Down Militants In Iraq | Special Forces (49 min, Real Crime)
• 9/11: 25 Years Later Remembering The Day the World Stood Still (49 min, Real Stories)
• Elite Soldiers Fight For Their Lives In Enemy Territory | Special Forces (101 min, Wonder)
• The Staggering Cost of the Never-Ending War on Terror (48 min, ENDEVR)
• Will Bosnia become the next European battleground after Ukraine? (35 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Was 9/11 The Most Secretive Cover-Up in Modern American History? (46 min, Real Stories)
• Training To Be The Ultimate Soldier | Special Forces (48 min, Wonder)
• The Netherlands' Elite Anti-Terrorism Force: Inside The Rescue Of 167 Hostages | Special Forces (50 min, Wonder)
• Why Armed Groups Still Enforce Violence in Northern Ireland (45 min, Real Stories)
• A Way Out Of The War On Terror - VPRO documentary - 2009 (47 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Chiller faults - troubleshooting (16 min, The Engineering Mindset)

Top-Rated Books About Modern Wars

1. Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden (3.8/5) - View on Amazon
2. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins - View on Amazon
3. Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (3.9/5) - View on Amazon
4. War by Sebastian Junger - View on Amazon