The series was written by Brian McKenna, an award-winning journalist and founding producer of The Fifth Estate and his brother, Terence McKenna, and was directed by Brian McKenna.The series consisted of three two-hour films: Savage Christmas: Hong Kong 1941, Death by Moonlight: Bomber Command and In Desperate Battle: Normandy 1944, and was broadcast to critical acclaim.

The central theme of this program was that the force of soldiers sent to fight in the Battle of Hong Kong was "knowingly sent into a war zone without adequate training.

[1] Pierre Berton, Margaret Atwood and Shirley Douglas, as well as PEN, the Writer's Union, the Guild, the Producer's Association, and many others defended the series.

The awards were: For the first and only time in history, the French versions of the films received similar honours at the Prix Gemaux—awarded the prizes for Best Documentary and Best Direction.

[12][13] The report's findings concluded that some claims were untrue; material was presented out of context so that it was misleading; information differing from the producers’ views were ignored; and that the series cannot be considered history rather, at best, editorializing.

[13] The CBC Ombudsman then issued a report noting that The Valour and the Horror has serious problems with accuracy in particular "various interpretations and assertions which the producers were unable adequately to support with documentary evidence and which were questioned or challenged by the historians consulted, including those recommended by the program makers themselves.

Military historians David Bercuson and S. F. Wise later published The Valour and the Horror Revisited, a book examining the historical accuracy of the films.

When the official history of the Royal Canadian Air Force was finally published, the main points of the Bomber Command episode were supported, prompting Maclean's magazine to write that the film and the filmmakers were "totally vindicated.

"[16] Historian Jack Granatstein, in a book review in Quill and Quire, sarcastically called it "'The Valour and Horror' ' with footnotes.