All language subtitles for World War II Secrets from Above - S01E03 (2022) WEB.eng

1945.

Soviet forces charge across Europe

in a race to conquer
the Nazi capital, Berlin.

To succeed, they must fight their way

through heavily fortified enemy territory,

overcome a vast network
of deadly defenses,

and defeat a series of German strongholds.

Where defenders are prepared to fight

to the death.

These epic battles pit Nazi engineering

against Soviet military might

and will ultimately seal
the fate of Hitler and the Third Reich.

In this series,

we investigate the most
extraordinary events of World War II,

from a brand-new perspective.

Matching rarely seen archive film,

photography from the front line,

and remarkable
aerial reconnaissance images

to their original locations.

We reconstruct the crucial battles,

daring bombing raids,

And deadly terror weapons
that changed the course of history.

Soaring over the battlefields,

we reveal the secrets of World War II

from above.

An allied reconnaissance pilot
flies over Nazi-occupied Europe.

Soaring above
the city of Poznań in West Poland,

he spots a striking array
of huge concrete buildings.

Aerial images show each complex
is a 19th century fort,

now occupied by German forces.

A closer look reveals the Nazis have
fortified this megastructure.

adding guns, trenches, anti-tank ditches,
and artillery positions.

To reach the German capital,

the Red Army must break through
all these ferocious defenses

and overcome a series of Nazi obstacles
on the road to Berlin.

January, 1945.

The western allies fight across Europe
to reach Berlin.

but Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin

is determined to beat them
to the Nazi capital

and pay back Hitler
for invading the Soviet Union.

He orders an all-out offensive,

with 6,000 tanks
and over two million soldiers.

They must secure
the northern and southern flanks,

so they can launch
a central attack towards Berlin.

But 200 kilometers east
of the German capital

lies a small city
that turns into a major obstacle.

Poznań.

A Nazi rear attack launched from here

could cut off and destroy
the Soviet forces.

The Red Army must secure
this German stronghold

before they can begin
their assault on Berlin.

The Soviets expect
they can easily crush this small city,

but Poznań won't be taken so easily.

It has one of the strongest fortifications
in Europe.

With an incredible 18 forts
protecting its borders.

Hitler is so determined
to stop the Soviet advance,

he declares Poznań a stronghold

and orders 20,000 soldiers
to hold the city at all costs.

Fort Tietzen covers an area
of over 55,000 square meters.

It forms part of the ring of forts
that protects Poznań.

Tietzen is built from brick and concrete
and protected beneath a layer of soil.

At its entrance, a drawbridge
and blockhouse protect the main gate.

And along its edge, an 850-meter-long moat

up to 11 meters wide and nine meters deep
surrounds the entire structure.

Dozens of German troops
barricade themselves inside this fort

and prepare for the Soviet attack.

Local expert Marcin Walkowiak
investigates this extraordinary edifice.

A vast maze of rooms
lies hidden inside the fort.

With two-story barracks,

emergency shelters,

and five gunning stations.

Inside, the Nazis stockpile

2,000 grenade launchers
and roughly 200 machine guns

in its ammunition rooms,

and upgrade the complex
with the best weaponry available.

Including two MG 34 machine guns
placed on top of the fort,

with a range of two kilometers.

The fort's elevated position provides
a clear field of view for the German guns

to direct fire down
on approaching enemies.

On the 25th of January,

36,000 Soviet troops and supporting units
encircle Poznań

and begin their attack
on its fortifications.

To take down Fort Tietzen,

the Soviets fight their way
across its ditch,

under fire from grenade launchers...

...and a hail of bullets.

A platoon charges towards the main gate

and use eight grenades
to blow up the armored door...

...to break into the barracks.

The fort's tunnels,
once a safe haven for German soldiers,

are now a death trap.

The Germans are overwhelmed
and unable to put up any resistance.

Within 24 hours,
the ring of forts is penetrated.

The Red Army thrusts into Poznań

and seizes the city block by block.

Soviet tanks storm down
its narrow streets.

They blast holes through buildings...

...and level entire blocks.

On the ground,

soldiers engage in an intense close combat
fight for control of the city.

To extinguish the German resistance,
the Red Army takes no chances.

And reduces the center of Poznań
to a pile of smoldering ruins.

As the final vestiges
of the city's defenses are taken down,

the Soviet First Guard Tank Division
continue the advance to Berlin.

But in their way lies a truly
state-of-the-art Nazi defense network.

23rd of January, 1945.

Stalin has launched a major offensive
on the Eastern Front.

But right in the center of his attack,

Soviet reconnaissance units
discover a huge set of fortifications,

including more than 100 combat stations,
numerous bunkers,

artillery positions, and anti-tank traps.

They form part of multi-layered defense,

Hitler's Ostwall.

It's 80 kilometers long,

and designed to thwart the Soviet assault
on the German capital.

The Red Army have no choice
but to attack the Ostwall head-on.

At its edge, Nazi engineers
build an immense and ingenious barrier

that weaponizes the landscape

by harnessing
the powerful forces of nature.

The barrier plugs into
a network of canals and dams.

A system of mechanical gates
allows them to redirect water

to flood specific areas,

forcing the enemy
into predesignated kill zones.

Historian Robert Kubiszewski investigates
this incredible Nazi defense system.

He examines one of the last
operational dam gates in the area.

This huge system
was designed to flood the terrain

and to cut off the western side
from the eastern side,

and prevent the attack
or, at least, slow it down.

The machinery inside this room

allows Nazi soldiers to flood the enemy
at the turn of a lever.

This is the heart of the system
that the dam could be moved up or down

to lower the water level, or to raise it.

Incredible engineering,

incredible art of technology
was used in here.

Every detail was carefully designed.

The dams are so vital
to the Nazi defenses

that they encased the controls
in a tough armored shell.

KUBISZEWSKI Also got steel boards,
steel batons,

reinforcing the ceiling of the chamber.

The door is also armored.

These defenses
are a marvel of Nazi engineering

and can easily create a huge obstacle
for Soviet soldiers and tanks.

But on the 29th of January,
when the Red Army arrive,

Mother Nature gives them
a unique opportunity.

January of 1945 is one of
the coldest on record.

Sub-zero temperatures
cause the dam machinery to seize up.

The lakes and canals freeze over.

The icy weather allows the Soviets
to cross unimpeded

and override the Ostwall's
first set of fortifications.

Now the Red Army must break through
its second set of defenses,

the combat stations.

Known as Panzerwerks,

these steels domes are built
to withstand continuous enemy fire.

This is a combat cupola

made of the mixture of regular steel
and different precious metals.

It could stand
multiple impact of 150mm caliber

and single impact of 210mm howitzer.

Each Panzerwerk
is also armed to the teeth.

Equipped with MG 34 machine guns,

a fortress flamethrower,

and an M19 mortar grenade launcher,

all surrounded by a ring of barbed wire
and trenches.

But what can be seen from above

is just a tiny part
of a huge and hidden complex.

Beneath the steel domes
sprawls an underground network of offices,

barracks for soldiers,

and storage for ammunition.

A railway line runs through
a subterranean tunnel.

It extends over 32 kilometers

to connect dozens
of the combat stations together.

This subterranean city
can house 24,000 soldiers.

It is the second largest underground
military facility in the world.

With generators for electricity,
a direct water supply,

and an air filtration system,

the Ostwall is fully self-sufficient

and an intimidating barrier
for the Red Army.

On the 31st of January,

Soviet T-34 tanks surround the Panzerwerks
in overwhelming numbers

and fire their cannons
at the combat stations.

Although the armored cupolas
are impervious to their rounds,

Hitler makes a crucial mistake.

He's reassigned most of his forces
to fight the allies on the Western Front,

leaving a meagre 1,000 soldiers
to guard the 80-kilometer defense line.

With the Ostwall
unable to operate at full capacity,

the Soviets destroy the Nazi juggernaut
in just 72 hours.

Having neutralized
the Ostwall's defense network,

the Red Army charges towards Berlin
at incredible speed.

Stalin is desperate

to the settle the score with Hitler
and take Berlin.

Over the last four years,

German forces have murdered around
27 million Soviet civilians and comrades.

Fueled by rage
and the lust for Nazi blood,

Stalin wages a war of annihilation.

February, 1945.

Stalin's central forces
have reached Küstrin

on the banks of the River Oder,
just 85 kilometers east of Berlin.

But the Red Army's rapid advance
causes a major problem.

They've overrun their flanking armies

and now risk being encircled
and attacked by the Germans.

Before the Soviets
can launch their attack on Berlin,

they must first consolidate their forces

and secure a supply line
across the Oder River at Küstrin.

Küstrin is crucial
for the Red Army to conquer.

Military historian Matthew Menneke
explores this key battleground.

Without Küstrin,
Berlin cannot be taken.

Having a number of road bridges
was very important

for the Soviets to be able to capture
because they needed these bridges

in order to build up their forces
for the ultimate advance on Berlin.

The German Army is rapidly
running out of trained soldiers.

To defend Küstrin against Soviet attack,

the Nazis form a unit
with over 16,000 German soldiers.

It's made up of support troops, teenagers,

and young men
from the local people's militia,

the Volkssturm.

What the Volkssturm lack
in combat experience,

they make up for in fighting spirit.

The revenge that the Soviets
are bringing with them is very much

on the minds of all the German soldiers
that were fighting here,

so it now becomes something more
than simply holding ground.

This is now defending the homeland.
It's defending their own families.

In early February,
the Red Army besieges Küstrin.

The German defenders hold out for 60 days,

but they're eventually overwhelmed
by Soviet forces

hellbent on revenge.

The Red Army shows no mercy
and flattens Küstrin.

Bombs and heavy artillery
shatter buildings.

They obliterate homes,
the shopping street,

and the local church.

It's kind of
a strange feeling, actually,

when you walk down the streets here
of once what was the old city.

There was certainly no illusion

that the Soviets were bringing
that same level of brutality

that the Germans
had brought to them in 1941.

German soldiers
flee across the Oder

and blow up several bridges behind them.

You're now talking about the Russians
being within 90 kilometers of Berlin,

and there's this real sense of urgency

in wanting to stop the Russians
at the Oder River.

Hitler is desperate
to defend Germany at all costs,

even if it means sacrificing his own men.

He plans a series
of suicide missions,

using Luftwaffe pilots
to destroy bridges across the Oder.

The unit is given the nickname
The Leonidas Squadron.

The German Air Force has sustained
heavy losses by this stage of the war.

They have plenty of aircraft,

but don't have enough pilots or fuel
to keep them all in the air.

Their solution is to turn
their excess planes into gliding bombs.

A pilot flies a light plane

mounted on top
of a larger pilotless aircraft

packed full of explosives

The missions are fraught with peril.

Early raids have just
a 1% chance of survival.

This was effectively
the German version of the kamikaze.

These men went into the skies
with the explicit knowledge

that they were not going to come back
onto the ground.

On the 17th of April, 1945,

the Leonidas Squadron flies 30 raids.

Once the pilot has the target in sight,

he maneuvers into a 30-degree dive,

flying at 650 kilometers per hour.

Under a hail of enemy fire,

he triggers explosive bolts
to release the lower aircraft

which descends steeply
towards the bridge

and detonates on impact.

The suicide missions destroy
two key railway bridges across the Oder

and stem the Red Army's
relentless advance.

But the Soviets waste no time
establishing a new crossing.

Aerial reconnaissance photos

reveal they repair the bridges
within several days

to carry the crucial supplies they need
across the river.

Now their attack on Berlin can begin.

Mid-April, 1945.

On their way to Berlin,
the Western Allies face fierce resistance.

Their advance grinds to a halt
close to the Elbe River

over 200 kilometers from Berlin.

In the East,
Soviet Armies are now on German soil,

just 80 kilometers from the Nazi capital.

Ahead of them is Reichsstraße 1,

a state road that gives them
a straight run at Berlin

and a chance to win the race
against the Western Allies.

But Hitler recognizes the threat

and sets up defenses on a hillside
known as the Seelow Heights.

Here, 110,000 Germans

face a Soviet invasion force
of nearly one million soldiers.

Taking Seelow Heights

rests on the shoulders
of Marshall Georgy Zhukov.

He's ordered to capture Berlin
before the Western Allies reach the city.

And under immense pressure from Stalin
who wants the world to see

it's the Soviet Union who ultimately
crushes Hitler's Third Reich.

Attacking this valley
will be no simple task.

The Nazis have diverted water
from nearby fields

to turn the area into marshland.

Steep hills limit tank access,

and deep ravines,

ideal for concealing soldiers
armed with guns,

give the defenders the edge.

Military Historian Mark Newton

investigates the challenges
Zhukov must overcome.

From here you can really see
the entire battlefield.

It would've been very hard
for the Soviets to conceal

any large movement of troops
as they came towards the Heights.

The Germans, for the most part, can dig in

and really just face
the oncoming onslaught.

And so,
although it's a ten to one advantage,

if you're on good, defensive ground,

it doesn't necessarily mean this
is gonna be a cakewalk for the Soviets.

At 3:00 a.m.
on the 16th of April, 1945,

more than 40,000 Soviet guns,
mortars, and rocket launchers

light up the skies to attack Seelow.

It's one of the greatest concentrations
of firepower ever seen.

Thirty minutes into the battle,

the Soviets switch on
143 giant searchlights

to signal the advance.

They direct them straight
at the German lines to stun the enemy,

but the effect proves cataclysmic.

Smoke from the barrage
and the early morning mist

reflect the powerful lights.

The scattered light
not only blinds the Soviet soldiers,

but also reveals their silhouettes,

making them easy targets for the Germans.

It's a massacre.

Zhukov struggles
to break through the German defenses.

He launches wave after wave of attacks,

turning the fields of Seelow
into a blood-drenched battleground.

To support the assault, 800 Soviet planes
bomb German positions from the air.

3,000 tanks fight on the ground.

But the boggy terrain slows them down.

Within hours,
the tanks are stuck in the quagmire.

The vast traffic jam completely exposed
to the full force of German artillery.

This was a killing field.

It was not a good place to be
as an infantryman or a tanker.

The one thing Zhukov wants to prevent
is losing all momentum in the attack.

So he has to keep throwing forces
onto the Seelow Heights

to try and achieve his breakthrough.

By the time the smokes clears,

hundreds of tank carcasses
lie strewn across the valley floor.

12,000 Germans are killed

and 33,000 Soviets are dead.

But Zhukov's assault
on Seelow Heights succeeds.

The Red Army eliminates
the last organized defense

that stands between them and Berlin.

The road to the German capital
is now clear for the taking.

Stalin's forces are now
poised to strike Berlin from all sides.

The plan is for Zhukov's army
to attack from the north and the east

and a second group
to strike from the south and west

to completely encircle the city.

On the 20th of April, 1945,
Hitler's 56th birthday,

the Nazi leader makes a rare appearance
outside his bunker in Berlin.

He awards the Iron Cross
to members of the Hitler Youth

for their heroic acts defending Germany.

Hitler is becoming
increasingly detached from reality

and believes the war can still be won.

That same day, at 11:00 a.m.,

Zhukov's long-range artillery
begins a non-stop assault on Berlin.

Their aim is to cause
widespread destruction

and shatter German morale
before the final ground assault.

They launch more explosives
in a single attack

than the Western Allies
had dropped on the German capital

since the war began.

Having softened up Berlin,

Soviet troops encircle the bombarded city.

Hitler is surrounded.

His only chance of escape

is from here.

This is Tempelhof Airport.

An extraordinary megastructure

situated just three kilometers south
of Hitler's Führerbunker.

Viewing from above reveals its vast scale.

The site is almost twice the size
of the city-state of Monaco.

The enormous elliptical shaped airfield
covers an area over one square kilometer.

Its main building is 1.3 kilometers long
and houses giant hangars.

Battlefield archaeologist Natasha Billson
explores this remarkable site.

Tempelhof was to be a symbol
of Hitler's world capital.

It's monumental. Its architecture.
The airfield space.

The sheer size of it. This is massive.

Tempelhof Airport
was inaugurated in 1923.

In the 1930's,
Hitler's engineers rebuilt it

to create an extraordinary transit hub
and showcase the might of the Third Reich.

The complex is a physical
manifestation of Nazi megalomania.

Tempelhof reflects Hitler's dreams
of reshaping Berlin.

He wants to create a global Nazi Capital
that rivals the likes of ancient Egypt.

Tempelhof is
the only remaining escape route

for Hitler and his Nazi officials.

The Soviets must cut off
and immobilize the airport.

On the 26th of April,
the Red Army launches their attack.

They position tanks
to block aircraft from escape

and blast the buildings and hangars
with artillery and rockets.

A heap of twisted metal and wrecked planes
lie across the tarmac.

Tempelhof is finally captured.

With the Nazis'
only means of escape cut off,

the Soviets close in on the city center.

Intense street warfare
breaks out across Berlin

as the Red Army advances through the city.

Just 90,000 German defenders
protect the capital

against a Soviet invasion force
of one million troops.

Red Army soldiers
relentlessly move from block to block

and building to building,

blasting anything
that stands in their way.

It's total carnage.

Aerial images taken by allied aircraft
a month earlier

reveal the center of Berlin
is a heavily defended zone.

The Nazis code-name it "Sector Z,"
short for "the Zitadelle."

It is the beating heart
of the German government,

the site of the Reich Chancellery,

the Ministry of the Interior,

and the Reichstag,
one of Germany's most iconic landmarks.

With the fall of Berlin inevitable,

Stalin orders Marshall Zhukov
to capture the Reichstag

and raise the Soviet banner over its roof
by the 1st of May.

It is one of the most sacred days
in the Soviet calendar.

He now has less than 48 hours
to complete his mission.

The Reichstag is seen
by the Soviets

as the seat of German government.

Stalin wants to tell the world

that Soviet Russia
has total victory over Nazi Germany.

The Reichstag's thick walls

have withstood brutal punishment from
Allied shelling and aerial bombardment.

German soldiers now prepare its defense
by bricking up its doors and windows.

They place machine guns
on its corner towers

and above its main entrance.

And position two 88mm guns
to cover the approach to the building.

They flood the construction site
for an underground tunnel,

creating a huge anti-tank ditch.

And establish several strongpoints
in the square outside.

Any Soviet tanks coming through here

would have been faced
by a hurricane of fire.

You can just imagine the sound.

And the soldiers
trying to approach the Square

would have been shredded to pieces.

But an even greater threat
for the Red Army

lies on their approach to the Reichstag,

Berlin's flak towers.

This concrete stronghold
houses a huge gun complex

and is one of three massive anti-aircraft
facilities that guard Berlin.

The flak towers soar five stories tall

and have reinforced walls
two meters thick.

They are built
to be impervious to tank fire

and armed
with a formidable array of weapons,

including four
twin 128mm anti-aircraft guns.

Effective as tank killers.

One of the flak towers
has a clear line of sight

to the entrance of the Reichstag.

This meant
that the Germans could effectively

mow down any Soviets
attempting to breach the building.

The Soviets pound
the flak towers with cannons and bombs,

but the barrage
barely dents the concrete structure.

To give them their best chance
of advancing past the flak towers,

the Soviets must wait until nightfall

and launch a covert mission
under the cover of night.

At 6:00 p.m. on the 30th of April,

the sun sets over the German capital

and the Red Army
launches their final assault.

Soviet Troops race through Sector Z.

They fire two mortars

to smash a hole through the bricked up
entrance to the Reichstag.

The soldiers pour into the building,
fighting floor to floor to reach the roof.

At 10:40 p.m. on the 30th of April,
80 minutes before their deadline,

the troops finally raise
the Soviet banner of victory

above the Reichstag.

A photo of the scene is captured
and circulated around the world

symbolizing the Soviet military victory
over Nazi Germany.

Stalin is overjoyed.

Just 800 meters away in the Führerbunker,
Hitler, knowing the war is lost

and refusing to be captured
by the Red Army,

takes his own life.

After six long years of bitter fighting,

the war in Europe
comes to an end in Berlin.

More than 40 million people have died
across Europe and the Soviet Union.

The German capital's landmarks,
once the focal point of Nazi rallies,

are now overrun by Soviet soldiers.

The tyranny of Hitler's Third Reich
is over.

Peace finally returns to Europe.