All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S02E08.Sea.Fortress.of.Doom.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
A brutal soviet fortress
On the edge of the sea.

Nusbacher: you could expect
To lose yourself

In those cold, horrible walls.

Narrator:
A forgotten bunker system,

Lost in the french alps.

Why would anyone
Build something like this

So high up in the mountains?

Narrator: and a deserted freeway
Leading nowhere.

Gough: what function could it
Possibly have had,

Gough: what function could it
Possibly have had,

Here in the middle of
This lush brazilian rainforest?

*

Narrator: once, they were some
Of the most advanced structures

And facilities on the planet,

At the cutting edge
Of design and construction.

Today, they stand abandoned,
Contaminated,

And sometimes deadly.

But who built them, and how?

But who built them, and how?

And why were they abandoned?

*

*

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Near the southeast coast
Of brazil,

Amongst the mountainous peaks
Of the serra do mar,

Is an imposing structure.

Is an imposing structure.

*

Rising out of the mist and
Reaching across the rainforest,

A huge freeway disappears
Into the distance.

It's misty,
There's clouds rolling in.

And when you focus,
All of a sudden,

You see this huge
Concrete structure

Has just grown up
Out of the jungle

Has just grown up
Out of the jungle

And then disappears.

It's as though
A giant just picked up

A huge concrete piece of lego
And dropped it there.

I think you'd be taken aback

At something that
Is completely unexpected

In the middle of the jungle.

Narrator:
Who built this giant road

That dominates the landscape
On the side of a mountain,

And where does it go?

*

Clues can be found
In the history

Clues can be found
In the history

Of brazil's
Trans-coastal highway

In the 1950s.

It was the br-101 freeway

That would eventually
Stretch over 2,500 miles

North to south.

But if it is part of the 101,

Why is this section
Here in the jungle,

And not on the coast?

Brazilian engineer
Newton jose cavalieri

Brazilian engineer
Newton jose cavalieri

Knows the freeway well.

[ speaking native language ]

Interpreter:
Br-101 is a federal highway

Running along
The coastline of brazil.

But there's a strange break

Between the states
Of rio de janeiro, sao paulo,

And the state of piraná.

That's where the serra do mar
Mountains start.

Gough: the original plan
Was to take the freeway

Over the mountains.

Now, that had all sorts
Of inherent challenges,

Now, that had all sorts
Of inherent challenges,

So they looked
For an alternative.

Through the jungle,
That's going to be difficult,

But how about over the top
Of the jungle?

Narrator: following pipelines
And existing dirt roads

Built by the state-owned
Petrobras oil company,

The engineers forged
The most direct route.

One of the key pieces in
This ambitious highway puzzle

Is this,
The petrobras viaduct.

Is this,
The petrobras viaduct.

It will bypass over 30 miles
Of winding coastal road.

*

Gough: you can imagine how
Difficult this was to construct.

First of all,
You're in a jungle.

It's inhospitable,
It's hot, it's humid,

There's trees and insects.

It's over 130 feet tall.

It's 1,000 feet long.

Can you imagine the challenges
Of doing this,

Can you imagine the challenges
Of doing this,

Literally
In the middle of nowhere?

Narrator: but this isn't just
A freeway through the jungle.

It's an important part of
Brazil's new nuclear ambitions.

*

Interpreter:
This was a strategics trip,

Because the angra dos reis
Thermonuclear plant

Was being built
In rio de janeiro

Exactly where
The br-101 finished,

So it had an exit --
You might say a strategic one --

So it had an exit --
You might say a strategic one --

To the north,
But no exit to the south.

Narrator: and it was
This nuclear connection

That doomed the highway.

As brazil entered
The atomic age,

They needed an escape route
To the south of rio,

So the br-101 had
To be completed in time

Before the nuclear reactor
Went online.

*

*

Various teams worked along
The route on different sections,

Some faster,
Some slower than others,

But all faced an array of
Challenges against the clock.

*

So, when you're trying to build
Quite a complex road network,

And that might have tunnels,

It might have
Flat pieces of road,

And it also might have
These flyovers,

What you want to do, really,

Is do the most complex
Pieces first.

Is do the most complex
Pieces first.

They're the most expensive,

They're going to take
The longest,

And they need the most amount
Of investment

In order to get them built.

So, it's a good idea to get
The hard bits finished first,

And then what you can do later,
More easily,

Is just to join the dots.

So, that's the kind
Of typical way

That you would build something,

Even though it sounds
Really counterintuitive.

[ speaking native language ]

Interpreter: there are
Lots of difficulties

With this building work.

With this building work.

The viaducts have to go through
A lot of big, deep places,

And have pillars 40 meters high.

That's for relatively small
Strips of 300 to 350 meters.

*

Agrawal:
There are a lot of things

That can make your life
Very difficult.

That can start from
The ground being quite wet,

Having lots of roots
Of trees there.

You're thinking about,
"How do I bring the material

You're thinking about,
"How do I bring the material

To that location
To actually build it?"

How are you going
To get cranes there?

And then, if it's hot
And humid to add to that,

That makes things
Even more difficult.

Narrator: but could
Building this freeway

With concrete in the jungle

Actually save time
And be a benefit?

So, strangely enough,
The one thing

You don't really
Need to worry about

Is the concrete going off,

Because you've got
The humidity there,

And actually having
Quite the humid environment

And actually having
Quite the humid environment

Means that the concrete
Cures better

And it gains its strength
Really nicely

And uniformly
Across its whole body.

Narrator:
But this concrete leviathan

Never gets to perform its
Starring role in this new plan.

*

The brazilian economy
Suffers a major blow,

Thanks to the global
Oil crisis of the 1980s.

There are no funds available,
And the freeway is scrapped.

There are no funds available,
And the freeway is scrapped.

*

So, why is the huge petrobras
Viaduct still left standing

Out in the jungle?

*

*

Narrator: in the shadow

Of the serra do mar mountains
In brazil

Is the remains
Of the petrobras viaduct.

It was planned to be
A key component

Of an advanced freeway system

That was critical
To the nation's survival.

But, today, it stands abandoned.

Demolishing the viaduct
Can actually be more expensive

Demolishing the viaduct
Can actually be more expensive

Than the construction
Cost itself.

And so, in many times,
It's easier

To leave a structure like that
In place,

Even though it's very remote.

Narrator: the petrobras viaduct
Is a sad result

Of the brazilian economic crash.

It is never finished,

And fails to link up with
The new nuclear power plant.

It is left to be consumed
By the jungle.

*

*

Today, this concrete freeway

Is rooted
To the rainforest floor.

It has endured heavy rains
And extreme humidity,

And is rarely visited.

The petrobras viaduct just
Imposed itself on this jungle,

So I think it's somewhat ironic
But completely fitting

That nature is now consuming it
Back from whence it came,

That nature is now consuming it
Back from whence it came,

And I think that's
A fitting end to something

That probably shouldn't have
Been there in the first place.

*

Narrator: in europe,

On the coast of estonia's
Capital city, tallinn,

Is a structure
With a very dark past.

*

Spread over 180,000 square feet,

This ominous
Three-story fortress,

This ominous
Three-story fortress,

Battered and salt-sprayed
By the sea,

Once housed thousands of people.

Gough: the really peculiar thing
Is this triangular-shape,

Masonic-looking
Sort of structure

That protrudes
From the center of it,

And it just defies explanation.

Then, when you get
Close up to the site,

You realize, "Hang on,

What's all this
Barb wire about?"

What's all this
Barb wire about?"

Narrator: inside the building,

Miles of winding corridors

Pass hundreds of empty,
Rotting cells.

But who was kept here, and why?

You walk along the halls,
And you're instantly struck

About how cold and stark
This place is.

It was never constructed to give

Whoever it was
That inhabited it

Any sense of comfort.

Narrator: so, who built
This dark and dismal place,

And what was it used for?

And what was it used for?

*

Its roots can be traced back

To russia's long
Domination of estonia.

*

On the edge of the baltic sea,

Estonia is the perfect
Strategic location

For russian military
And intelligence services.

The ussr want the baltic states

To bow down to communist power
And its regime,

To bow down to communist power
And its regime,

But what do they do
With anyone who opposes them?

*

The ussr was this huge,
Controlling monolith.

There was no opposition allowed.

If you were a leader of some
Of those baltic states,

Like estonia,
There's only one thing

That's going to happen to you.

You would be locked away
In prison,

Pretty much the key would be
Thrown away.

Narrator: this former
Russian naval sea fortress

Narrator: this former
Russian naval sea fortress

Is turned into one of the most
Dark and dangerous institutions

In the communist world --

Patarei prison.

Nusbacher:
Patarei prison was a branch
Of the kgb in moscow.

It was the hell of the most
Ruthless intelligence agency

In the world.

Narrator: patarei quickly
Became known as a place

Narrator: patarei quickly
Became known as a place

Where those who resisted
Russian expansion were sent.

Martin andreller is an expert

On what life was like
Inside this prison.

You would have one toilet
And cold water by design.

You'd have a blanket, that's it.

The whole intent
Was to dehumanize you,

To make you feel as though
You're not worth

Anything better than this.

It was a nasty place.

Narrator: patarei was used
As a staging post

For thousands of forced laborers

Who were sent off
To the gulags in siberia

Over 2,000 miles away.

The soviets
Were willing to deport

Thousands and thousands
Of estonians to siberia

Thousands and thousands
Of estonians to siberia

Just for being estonian.

*

Narrator: as punishment,

The estonian population
Are imprisoned,

And the conditions
In patarei are bad.

*

Nusbacher:
Patarei was a way of bringing
The frozen hell of siberia,

The ruthless exploitation
Of moscow

The ruthless exploitation
Of moscow

Right into the center
Of tallinn.

*

Narrator: but the way
Soviets treated prisoners here

Only aided
Its ultimate downfall.

Because of the physical
And psychological torture

At patarei prison,

Estonia's hatred
For russia runs deep.

It ignites strong resistance
Against their old enemy

It ignites strong resistance
Against their old enemy

From a group called
The forest brothers.

Gough: we first find
The phrase "Forest brothers"

In the baltic region
Around the time

Of the russian revolution --
Around 1905 --

And, supposedly, it comes from
School teachers and peasants

Taking refuge in the forest,

Hiding against
The occupation by russia.

It turns into
A real political movement,

Where partisans of
All the baltic states

Where partisans of
All the baltic states

Are willing to fight
For their lives

Against the russian occupation.

*

Narrator: it's said that
Up to 30,000 forest brothers

Fight the russians
In any way possible,

Through sabotage
Or hand-to-hand combat.

*

But will this resistance

Bring down the russian control
Of estonia,

And is this why patarei prison
Is eventually abandoned?

And is this why patarei prison
Is eventually abandoned?

*

Narrator: in estonia's
Capital city, tallinn,

Are the crumbling remains of
A brutal russian institution,

Patarei prison.

Many members
Of the forest brothers,

A partisan movement,
End up here,

Condemned to
Solitary confinement

In the very worst conditions.

In the very worst conditions.

The soviets were excellent
At manipulating uncertainty

In order to divorce prisoners
From reality.

They took away
Your sense of time

By taking away natural light.

They took away your sense
Of biological time

By feeding you
At irregular intervals.

You could expect
To lose yourself

In those cold, horrible walls.

In those cold, horrible walls.

Bell: during the cold war,
There's a real interest

In any groups who were
Resisting that soviet rule.

And the forest brothers
Were secretly getting support

From both mi6 and the c.I.A.

Gough: each of which
Had a vested interest

In the forest brothers' success,

'cause they wanted to see
Russia and communism

Stopped in its tracks.

Narrator:
The design of the prison

Narrator:
The design of the prison

Means that only
Three escape attempts

Are ever made from patarei,

And all end in failure.

Alongside the presence
Of the feared kgb,

This was one of the most secure
Sites in europe.

Andreller: 'cause it was
Very hard to get out.

The walls itself was based
As a naval fortress.

They were very thick.
They were two meters.

And, of course, the systems
Of internal security --

All the doors and so on.

All the doors and so on.

So, it was basically
Not possible to do that

If you didn't have
The inside help

From the prison guards.

Otherwise, you couldn't get out.

Narrator:
The last execution at patarei

Takes place in 1991,

The same year that
The soviet union breaks up.

The russians may have left,

But patarei continues to
Function as a prison until 2002.

This building,
Soaked in tragedy,

Lies derelict and abandoned,
A dark reminder of the past.

Lies derelict and abandoned,
A dark reminder of the past.

Bell:
You can really see what that
Soviet oppression was all about

For anyone
Who was imprisoned there.

It's almost an opportunity today

To still look behind
The iron curtain.

*

Narrator: off the coast
Of new york city,

At the mouth
Of the hudson river,

Is a gateway to america.

*

*

In the shadow of lady liberty
Lies a 28-acre manmade landmass,

Scattered with 22 neat,
Red-brick buildings

That contain a deadly past.

Gough: to say that this place
Is atmospheric

Would be an understatement.

It's really creepy.

There's vines
Growing on the walls.

There's bars on the windows.

There's bars on the windows.

All you can hear is dead silence

And the occasional
Sort of sea bird

Crying in the distance.

It's no wonder it brings about
Images of horror movies

And experiments
Kind of gone wrong.

*

Narrator:
Today, dappled light and sea air
Stream through the large windows

In this dilapidated complex,

Revealing little about
Its original purpose.

Revealing little about
Its original purpose.

If you were to find yourself

Walking down the corridors
Of this place,

You would ask yourself,
"What's going on?"

These huge, ironclad doors

With these sealed-tight
Sort of locks --

Is this a prison?

What is this place?

Narrator: what was the function
Of this sprawling complex,

And why was it left
To fall abandoned?

And why was it left
To fall abandoned?

In 1892, the prospect of jobs
And a better way of life

Draws immigrants
From all over the globe

To the shores of new york city.

As they pass through
The immigration station

On ellis island,

Many travelers bring with them
Deadly diseases.

How can the authorities prevent

A pandemic spreading
Throughout the u.S.?

Gough:
America had opened its doors.

Gough:
America had opened its doors.

That sounds great,

But the dark side,
The flip side,

The concern that no one really,
Probably thought through

Is that you're welcoming disease

From all over
The rest of the world.

There were no shots.

There were no antibiotics
You could give people

As they walked through the door.

You had no idea what
They were bringing with them,

And this created the need
For a hospital.

Narrator: this is the ellis
Island immigration hospital,

America's first line
Of defense against disease,

America's first line
Of defense against disease,

And one of the largest
Public-health hospitals

In u.S. History.

Its job is to stop
A dangerous outbreak of disease

Spreading across the country.

But will it work?

An absolute
State-of-the-art hospital

That had huge capacity,
Highly trained staff.

Mcinnes: it employed the most
Modern medical practices

That exist into this day.

It was purposely designed

To protect the people
Who worked here,

The people in the united states,

The people in the united states,

And the other immigrants.

Narrator: this cutting-edge
Medical complex is so vast,

It needs its very own
Purpose-built island,

Separate
To the immigration center.

Back in the day, when
You arrived at ellis island,

You were greeted
With a security check

And a health check.

It forced the health community
To grow its expertise,

To test for things, to learn,
To become more proficient,

And it was really the genesis

And it was really the genesis

Of the american
Healthcare industry.

Narrator: in 1898, construction
Begins on island number two

That will increase
The total mass to over 15 acres.

But how can you build an island
In the middle of the sea?

By taking inspiration from
The ancient roman engineers.

So, what they used to do,
Which was quite cunning,

Is to create two rings
Made out of timber logs

And then pack the little space
Between these two rings

And then pack the little space
Between these two rings

With clay,

Pump the water
Out from the middle,

And then you've got a dry space
In which to work.

Narrator:
Laborers fill the watertight
Framework of the island

With rubble from the newly
Excavated new york subway.

On the new island base,

Six dedicated hospital
Structures are built

At a cost of over $23 million
In today's money.

By 1901, the hospital
Is processing

Huge numbers of immigrants.

Huge numbers of immigrants.

Most of us get nervous today
Going through airport security,

But that's nothing
Compared to the anxiety

That immigrants felt as
They arrived at ellis island.

We've been on planes for hours,

They've been on boats for weeks,
In dire conditions,

And they don't speak
The language.

You can imagine the anxiety,
The confusion,

And the tension on both sides.

Narrator: in 1907,
Over a million immigrants

Narrator: in 1907,
Over a million immigrants

Pass through ellis island.

The medical complex is
Overwhelmed with patients.

But will this facility
Succeed or fail

To control a serious outbreak?

*

*

Narrator: at the heart
Of the hudson river,

On this tiny landmass,

Was america's
Most advanced hospital.

Today, it's a shell
Of its former self.

But over a hundred years ago,

It was overrun by patients
From all around the world.

This is ellis island hospital.

This is ellis island hospital.

But to isolate and control
Contagious diseases,

They needed to build
A third island,

200 feet across the water.

One of the reasons
Ellis island was built

On an island in the first place

Is because it isolated
The complex from the rest

Of the north american
Population.

If there was some kind
Of epidemic or disease,

It could be held on that island,

And wouldn't
Immediately be spreading

Through the rest
Of the population.

Through the rest
Of the population.

Narrator: made up
Of 17 separate buildings,

All dedicated to
Specific illnesses,

The contagious-disease hospital

Can seal off each section

And prevent the spread
Of deadly infection.

Mcinnes: you can be brought
To a ward like this --

This large, open room.

It's all going to be likely
Men just like you.

You're going to be here.

Beds are going to be between
Each of the windows,

Surrounding the area.

Now, this room is actually

Now, this room is actually

A design theory of florence
Nightingale's from 1860.

She thought there was
Something in the air,

Called bad air, miasma.

So she had this theory
Of getting it out of the room.

And what you see
Is actually engineered,

It's putting it at work --

Three sides of fresh air,

And sunlight coming through.

These large windows,
They're going to be open

About 18 inches
Throughout the year

To allow the bad air out.

And then she has something
Unique in design --

This coving that you'll see
Around the ceilings.

That's going to facilitate
The flow of air,

Allow the air to travel
Up the walls,

Allow the air to travel
Up the walls,

Collect the bad air out,
Come out the other side,

Go out the window
On the other side of the room.

An advanced theory in 1860.

Narrator: this was the age
Of tuberculosis and cholera,

So disease control is paramount.

The onsite industrial laundry

Processes 3,000 towels
And sheets daily.

*

A giant steel chamber
Called an autoclave

Uses high-pressure steam
To disinfect whole mattresses.

Uses high-pressure steam
To disinfect whole mattresses.

Doctors and nurses
Do everything they can

To prevent cross contamination.

And the room's
Going to be locked.

People are going to be here
For about three weeks

While they're being treated
For their infectious disease.

Narrator: there are
Few antibiotics available,

So treatment relies on waiting

And seeing if the patients
Get better or worse.

And seeing if the patients
Get better or worse.

It must have been
A scary process.

You were threatened
With being sent back home

If you didn't recover.

The good news is,
The vast majority of them did.

Only about 1% of the passengers

Were returned to their home
Countries because of illness.

Narrator: so, ultimately,
Ellis island's medical facility

Was a success.

But modern technology,

Along with advancements
In medicine,

Ironically outstrip
The island's facilities,

Ironically outstrip
The island's facilities,

And it's closed down.

After the hospital closes
Its doors for immigrants,

The island continues
To be used by the fbi,

Which is quite interesting,

And then as
A prisoner-of-war facility.

So, it had some functional use

After it closed down
As an immigration hospital,

But, ultimately, it would
Close its doors for good.

Narrator: in 1954,

Narrator: in 1954,

Ellis island and its hospital
Are abandoned.

Once bursting at the seams,

This medical institution
Lay empty and derelict.

But today, thanks to the save
Ellis island foundation,

The hospital is being restored

And is reopened to so-called
"Hard hat tours."

Immigration center is
A popular tourist attraction.

Immigration center is
A popular tourist attraction.

They come in droves.

But what they don't see is
The hospital right nearby,

And the hospital, you know,
It should be thought of

As every bit as important
As the immigration center,

Because this is where the legacy
Of american healthcare

Can really be celebrated.

*

Narrator: over 6,000 feet up
In the french alps

Are a series of deserted
And mysterious structures.

Are a series of deserted
And mysterious structures.

*

*

What race of beings built
This vast encampment,

So much of it underground?

It's like something
Out of tolkien --

You know, something
The dwarves would've built.

Narrator: a maze of dark,
Desolate corridors

Leads into the deepest recesses
Of the alps' peaks.

Leads into the deepest recesses
Of the alps' peaks.

Why would anyone build
Something like this

So high up in the mountains?

Narrator: but who built
These bizarre alpine structures?

What was their purpose?

And how did they
Become abandoned

Out here in this barren place?

The answer lies in the aftermath
Of the first world war.

Back in the 1930s,

The french wanted
To defend their borders

Against the germans,

So they built a set
Of defensive fortifications --

So they built a set
Of defensive fortifications --

The infamous maginot line.

Reporter: it was a labyrinth
Of fortifications

Above and below ground,

Considered at the time the
Ultimate in military defense.

Narrator: but would
This first line of defense

Be enough against
A german onslaught?

Would it work?

Meigs:
The idea of the maginot line

Is it's not just one wall
Or one line.

It's a defense in depth.

So, you have
Anti-tank barricades,

So, you have
Anti-tank barricades,

Sections of barb wire,
You have lookouts.

It's not like
The great wall of china.

It's more like
A system of defenses

That's layered over
The whole border area.

You should always consider
Defense in your strategy.

It's like boxing.
You don't just punch.

You protect yourself,
As well as punching.

Their idea was basically,
Let's build up

All the infrastructure we need
To defend our country,

All the infrastructure we need
To defend our country,

So if the germans come,
This time, we'll be ready.

Narrator: but germany is not
France's only enemy.

There is a threat
From another fascist force

Allied to the germans --

The italians.

Were these structures
A waste of time,

Defending the country
From the wrong enemy?

And is that why they are
Forlorn and forgotten today?

*

*

*

Narrator: after world war I,

France seeks
To protect its borders

With one of the largest

Defensive fortifications
In history,

The maginot line.

*

Nusbacher: as tensions
With mussolini's italy

Start to escalate in the 1930s,

The french developed
Further fortifications

The french developed
Further fortifications

Along the alpine line,

Along france's mountainous
Border with italy.

Narrator: just four miles
From the italian border,

Along the crest
Of these mountains,

Is the highest and most
Impressive alpine fortress

On this line,

Ouvrage restefond.

*

But was it an ill-conceived
Waste of time and resources?

But was it an ill-conceived
Waste of time and resources?

How can such a tiny outpost
In this vast landscape

Defend against the enemy?

Nusbacher: an alpine fortress

Could control passes
With artillery

And make it difficult
Or impossible,

Even under the best
Summer conditions,

For mussolini's army to come
Through the passes into france.

Narrator: construction starts
On ouvrage restefond in 1931.

Narrator: construction starts
On ouvrage restefond in 1931.

In a race against time,

Engineers must fortify this
Region against possible attack.

Forts are dug and
Drilled into the ground,

Going right down,
In many cases,

Right down into bedrock.

French engineers
Had tremendous difficulty

With the logistics
Of moving heavy equipment

And concrete up into the alps.

And concrete up into the alps.

Meigs: they're made
Of reinforced concrete.

Reinforced concrete
Means it's concrete

Poured over a lattice
Of steel bars.

So those things could take
Incredible punishment

Without caving in.

Narrator:
But by touring them today,

It's clear
They were never finished.

What happened?

Did the italians get here first?

Gough: there just
Wasn't enough time.

By the time they got
To constructing them

By the time they got
To constructing them

In the summer months,
The summer had ended,

Winter had arrived.

You couldn't do
That kind of construction

In the winter
In the french alps.

So, they were literally shells

Of what they had fully blown out
Along the german border,

But the italians
Didn't know that.

Narrator:
The french soon learned

That what they had
Would have to be enough.

The enemy was at the gates.

But they had another problem
To overcome, as well.

Miles from anywhere,
How can the french army

Miles from anywhere,
How can the french army

Defend this position
For any length of time?

Meigs: these fortresses
Had to be self-contained.

They needed their own power,
Water supply.

They had to have
Everything they needed

To sustain hundreds or even
As many as a thousand troops

Through brutal alpine winters
And periods of minimal supply.

So, food, hospitals, bunk rooms,
Everything you would need,

But all underground,

But all underground,

All protected from bombing,
From artillery.

*

Nusbacher: the ventilation
System was able to vent

Not only to protect
The occupants from gas attack,

But also from the diesel exhaust
From their own generators,

And from the gases

Coming out of their own
Artillery pieces.

Narrator:
But time ran out in 1939,

When nazi germany and italy
Joined forces.

When nazi germany and italy
Joined forces.

They formed what became known
As the "Pact of steel."

Reporter: the french troops

Were marched
Into their modern caves

To wait for the nazi blitz

To smash itself
Against the maginot line.

Narrator: now at war,
France's military resources

Needed to be diverted
To its battlefronts.

This leaves its vast alpine
Region largely undefended

This leaves its vast alpine
Region largely undefended

And staffed
By second-rate troops.

*

Nusbacher:
The maginot line is designed

To efficiently use
Poorly trained conscripts

Who only have
A short period of service

By putting them into positions

Where all they have to do
Is perform one simple task.

And all of those soldiers,

Augmented by the technology
Of the maginot line itself,

Augmented by the technology
Of the maginot line itself,

Are able to defend france.

Narrator: on june 10, 1940,
The italians invade france.

*

Will its unfinished
Alpine defenses,

Armed with
Inexperienced soldiers,

Withstand the advancing army?

Was all their years' work
At the top of the world in vain?

*

*

*

Narrator: france's
Highest defensive fortress

On the maginot line
During world war ii

Was called ouvrage restefond.

*

But will the poorly manned
And incomplete fortress

Be able to keep out
The invading forces,

Especially the italians?

*

*

The italian army had a lot
Of alpini, alpine soldiers,

Who were trained in exactly
The kind of warfare you need

To get into france
Through the mountains.

Narrator: the passes through
These impregnable mountains

Are the main route into france

For the invading italian army.

This, in turn, makes them
A prime target for the guns

Of the french defenders.

Nusbacher:
You can't underestimate

Nusbacher:
You can't underestimate

How powerful even
A small fortress can be

In denying alpine roads
To a modern, mechanized army.

Meigs: everything
Had to be engineered

So that they could have
Overlapping fire.

They could aim their guns
From several different angles

At once onto an area
Where the enemy might come.

*

Narrator:
The gaping voids in these
Crumbling fortifications

Narrator:
The gaping voids in these
Crumbling fortifications

Would have once held an array

Of machine guns, mortars,
And heavy artillery.

Now, the only reminders
Of its armaments

Are their protective shells.

Nusbacher:
The domes that cover each of
The machine gun emplacements

Are thick steel.

Even german 88 millimeter guns

Had tremendous difficulty
Penetrating the steel domes

Had tremendous difficulty
Penetrating the steel domes

On top of those maginot line
Fortifications.

Narrator:
But will this be enough

To suppress
The invading italian army?

*

Corum: the fortifications
Held out quite nicely.

But, taken as a way of
Maximizing your manpower

And defensive capabilities,

For the most part,
As a strategic weapons system,

For the most part,
As a strategic weapons system,

It worked.

Narrator:
These alpine fortresses

Succeed in stopping
The italian onslaught,

But it's all for nothing.

After 46 days of fighting,

The french surrender
To the germans

On june 25, 1940,

And their italian allies flow
Through into france.

Nusbacher: if the french had
Managed to build restefond

As powerfully
As it was designed,

As powerfully
As it was designed,

It could very well have stopped

A lot of italian combat power
Getting into france.

Narrator:
No longer useful to the french,

And never repurposed
By the invading fascist forces,

Ouvrage restefond
Is left alone and deserted

In the mountains.

*

*

Today, in this remote area
Of the alps,

The remains of these
Defensive fortifications

Carved into the mountainside

Are a monument
To this global conflict.

*

Nusbacher: ouvrage restefond
Is a testament

To french engineering skill
And military technology.

Creating something
That has the staying power

Creating something
That has the staying power

To remain there for decades,

And that will remain there
For centuries,

Is very special.

It's a kind
Of engineering magic.

*