All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S06E08.The.Thing.on.Hell.Mountain.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.en

Narrator: An epic terraced
construction

Once at the heart
of a mighty asian empire.

You see this overgrown structure
kind of tumbling

Down the mountain
and then reaching away

From it
are these long pipes

Stretching out over the hills,
almost like tentacles.

Narrator: A forbidding ukrainian
palace shrouded in intrigue.

Nusbacher: It's brooding.

Every one of those windows looks
like it ought to have a ghost

Hiding in the draperies.

Narrator: Mountainside ruins

Forged in one of humanity's
darkest hours.

Auerbach:
Emerging from the tunnel,
you see a grey stone building.

Grass and vegetation are
starting to climb up the walls

And nature
is beginning to reclaim it.

Narrator: And a massive facility
that powered america

To the forefront
of aviation technology.

It's an eerily deserted town.

Selwood: The houses
are all boarded up,

There's an old theater,
and the focal point

Is these three huge hangar
like structures.

♪

Narrator: Decaying relics,

Ruins of lost worlds,

Forged through years of toil,

Now haunted by the past,

Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪

On the rugged coastline
of jinguashih in taiwan

Where mountains rise
out of the ocean,

An imposing structure breaks the
otherwise lush green vegetation.

Bell: There looks to be some
kind of fortress

Built into the mountainside.

Fortress or castle,
it's not really very clear.

Barratt: So as you look at it,

It's hard to make out
what it's actually for.

It's terraced
and it's magnificent

In its monumental scale.

Meigs: It looks like some old
fortress or palace

Tumbling down the hillside,

Or maybe some overgrown
tibetan monastery.

Barratt: But it's not luxurious,
it's not ceremonial

But nor is it domestic,

There are no doors or windows
that are apparent.

Narrator:
Clues as to its function

May lie in the surrounding
infrastructure.

Meigs: Reaching away from it
are these long pipes,

Almost like
tentacles disappearing

Over the nearby ridges.

They're like veins
protruding out

From this
main fortress structure.

Narrator: On a hill overlooking
both the main complex

And these giant pipelines is
something altogether different.

Bell: It looks quite grand
and intricate

Compared to the other structure.

Maybe a sign of a more luxurious
period of time for this area.

Or perhaps the influence
of a different culture or ruler.

Narrator:
What kind of facility was this

And why would
hundreds of americans

Find themselves working here?

For local resident, mr. Cheng,
this place is in his blood.

Interpreter: I've been through
so much at this place.

I was born, educated,
worked here.

Even after I retired,
I'm still living here.

Narrator: Now in his mid 80s,

He remembers this facility
in full flow.

Interpreter: I was involved
with an experiment

With sulphides and copper.

If the density of the sulphides
were too high,

You weren't able to extract
the gold and copper from it.

So we'd have to grind it
in order to extract them.

Narrator: This is the
shuinandong smelter,

Known locally as the remains
of the 13 levels.

A processing plant for refining
and smelting copper and gold.

Interpreter:
The tunnel is a transportation
system for mining.

The rocks are transported
out from here.

This is tunnel six.

The miners used to work here
but there's no work anymore.

It's dangerous,
so they shut it down.

Narrator: Once the high grade
gold ore was extracted

From beneath the mountains,
these tunnels and railway lines

Took the rocks to the smelter
for processing.

The way they'd process the ores,

They would bring it in
at the top

And there were a series
of processes

And getting the ore
to be refined

In a pure and purest state

As they worked their way
down to the bottom.

Bell:
The reason it has these large
arches without any windows

Is that's where they loaded the
rocks and the ore in and out.

And the same goes
with the ceiling,

It was all about efficiency.

Barratt: The smelter is
a chemical process

That involves
huge amount of heat

And also a massive amount
of power

To split the component parts
of the raw ore into pieces

And it's done through
a process of reactions,

With trying to separate
and oxidize out

The metals that you want.

Narrator: Yet none of the
valuable gold remained here.

When this compound
was constructed in the 1930s,

Taiwan wasn't part of china.

At that time mr. Cheng's father
was working in brutal conditions

Under the gaze
of a different overlord.

The ornate details and kanji
writing around the site

Reveal their identity.

The empire of japan.

Meigs: Wherever the japanese
went they expected to stay.

They thought they were building
a grand empire

That would last forever,
and so they built not just

Factories and smelters
but shrines.

Here in taiwan they built
the shinto shrine

To the mountain god.

Narrator: Originally built
to bring peace and stability,

The health of local workers
became secondary to gold,

As mr. Cheng's father
discovered.

Interpreter: He worked
in the mines as a mine worker.

He was digging in the fields.

I was four years old
when he passed away.

I was raised by my mother
and brother.

Narrator: Japan was an empire
on the rise.

Having emerged out
of an era of isolation,

The country had entered a period
of rapid transformation

And taiwan was incorporated into
the empire of japan in 1895.

It was the start
of a chain reaction

That would have devastating
consequences for the region

And for many young americans.

Taking over taiwan was one
of the first steps

In japan's expansionism,

Where they would ultimately
takeover much of asia

And finally attack the u.S.
At pearl harbor.

Narrator:
After taiwan came korea.

Then they turned their gaze
back to northern china

With the invasion of manchuria
in 1931.

Meigs:
Japan really conducted itself
like great britain at its prime.

They had a powerful navy,
they set up colonies,

They took over territory,

And wherever they went they
wanted to extract resources,

They wanted
to accumulate wealth.

Narrator: The taiwanese people
here in jinguashih

Would enjoy
little of this wealth.

Interpreter:
They exploited most of the gold
when it was under japanese rule.

They sent all of it japan
for their national celebrations.

Narrator:
The exploitation extended
into all aspects of life.

Interpreter: Since we were ruled
by the japanese,

We became second-class citizens.

It became much tougher.

Even with schools,
there were different schools

For the japanese and the locals.

We were segregated.

Narrator:
By the time mr. Cheng arrived
here as a young man in 1943,

The pacific war was raging.

Japan's desire to dominate
the pacific

Had brought them into
direct conflict with america,

And that meant a new labor force
was arriving on the island.

Bell: Prisoners of war
caught by the japanese

Were sent to this mine,

Now the biggest copper mine
in the japanese empire

And they were predominantly
british and american soldiers.

Narrator: In total, 1,100
allied prisoners of war

Served time here.

Many brought in on hell ships
from singapore

And the philippines.

Bell: Most were forced to work
here for almost three years

And faced conditions as bad,

If not worse than
on the railway of death in burma

Made famous by movies
like "bridge on the river kwai."

Narrator: Many died of disease,
and a prisoner of war

Memorial erected here in 1997
pays homage to their memory.

The japanese surrendered
and left in 1945,

So who was behind
the mammoth pipelines

That extend out of the facility?

♪

Narrator:
On the coast of taiwan,
a former gold and copper smelter

Built by the japanese empire
tumbles down the mountainside.

After the country's
restoration in 1945,

The taiwan gold and copper
mining bureau was established.

But it soon faced
new challenges.

With gold deposits depleted,
the focus was on copper refining

And then purification.

Interpreter: They started
purification in 1965.

There was a 65 meter
high chimney,

But it was really close
to the factory.

The sulfate levels were high.

And the residents and workers
couldn't take it.

Narrator: Safely disposing
of these toxic emissions

Required a marvel
of engineering.

Barratt:
What they ended up doing
was building a massive chimney

Or flue system
to take the gases up

And away out of the valley

And over the ridge
of the mountain.

Meigs: It's actually,
they say it's the longest

Concrete pipeline
ventilation system in the world.

Narrator: Despite this,
with dwindling profits

And compensation claims
hanging over their heads,

The company soon
shut down operations.

♪

The japanese shrine still looks
over this dramatic scene,

A remnant of an empire that
emerged at an extraordinary pace

And crumbled away even faster.

Barratt: The ornate, well-built,
carefully-crafted shrine.

Stands in great contrast
to the brutality of the smelter,

But it shows exactly
how much the japanese

And the local people valued

The raw materials
buried under the earth here.

Once under the grip
of imperial japan,

Even today taiwan continues
to be at the heart

Of complex regional politics.

Some people here are
still fighting for independence,

This time from china.

Out in rural champagne county,
illinois

Lie a group of massive
abandoned warehouses.

But they're not alone.

Mitchell: It's a huge area
with buildings

That look
in fairly good condition.

It looks sort of like its own
self-contained town.

Corum: Fire station, warehouses,
housing, stores,

It's all shut down,
everything's overgrown.

Selwood:
The focal point is these three
huge hangar like structures.

Quite clearly the hangars
tell you what this site was

But yet when you look
at the other elements,

There's something
else going on here.

Narrator:
Clues inside suggest these
hangars weren't just for storage

But for something
rather different.

The large hangars give you the
impression that when this place

Was operating it must have
been filled with machines,

Aircraft, equipment and people.

Something that really makes
it feel rather ghostly

Is its vastness
and its emptiness,

And a sense of something
having just gone away,

Almost inexplicably.

You have a sense that the answer
to this place

Lies at the bottom
of the stairs,

Here is where you're finally
going to understand

What this is for.

But in fact what you're
confronted with

Is a lake of water,
it's entirely unpassable.

You can go no further.

Narrator: In its day, this place
was at the forefront

Of technological change.

But it was also at the heart

Of a ground breaking
social transformation.

The war department authorized
the formation

Of the 99th pursuit squadron,

Which was the first
all-black squadron.

Narrator: This vast site would
become the birthplace

Of an african american
air squadron

Who went on
to become world renowned.

The clue to the origins
of this site in rural illinois

Are found outside.

The air strip.

The first one built here was
completed in the early 1900s.

Aviation
in the early 20th century

Was an incredibly exciting
new adventure.

This was all about boundaries
and how to break them.

John pratt worked at this site
for 22 years.

I probably would have
retired here.

I was that close to it.

But the walk around now
is very painful.

It's hard to see this.

It was a beautiful installation.

This place was vital to the
protection of the united states.

At the time of the site's
inception,

The u.S. Military
was facing a problem.

Even though aviation
was really sort of born

In the united states,

The united states
was sort of slow

To take advantage
of that ability.

Selwood: The wright brothers
may have started it all,

But by 1917
the americans had fallen behind

In terms of aviation technology.

So this place was specifically
created to remedy that.

Corum: There was a vast
amount of money,

Over $600 million appropriated
by the congress in 1917

Solely for building up
u.S. Aviation infrastructure.

Narrator: A suitable site
had to be chosen for the u.S.

To develop their air power.

It was an isolated situation,
it's flat lands out here

And it was a good flying place,

It was centrally located
in the united states.

Narrator: But testing aircraft
was only the start.

As the site soon became a vital
cog in the u.S. War machine

And ultimately a training site
for operators

Of one of the largest
nuclear weapons in the world.

♪

Narrator: During the 1930s,
air force pilots

Were taking to the skies
above this site in illinois.

But back on the ground,
pilots were not the focus.

When you think of airplanes,
you think of pilots

But actually that's only
a small part of the story.

What it takes to keep
airplanes in the air

Is a vast number of different
skills, ground crew, engineers.

Mitchell: It's absolutely
critical that people are trained

In various aspects
of maintaining the planes,

And so
it's really about building

And training a crew
in all aspects of maintenance.

Narrator: This is the chanute
air force base.

Chanute field,
as it was first known,

Was used for technical training

And to instruct cadets in
the rigors of flying warplanes.

The first real challenge
for this place

Came with the outbreak
of the second world war.

Selwood:
Everything changed for the
united states with pearl harbor.

After that attack,
america was on a war footing

And knew it was about to engage
and so this place became

Absolutely key
to the air effort.

Corum:
The u.S. Army air corps expands
from perhaps 20,000 in 1939

To several million
by 1943, 1944.

Now this expansion requires
a training infrastructure

That is enormous.

Well, this place is huge.

It's bigger even
when it's empty.

There was all kinds of training
that went on in here

And all kinds of activity
from wall to wall.

There would be planes
and activity and classes

Going on
all the way through here.

Corum: Let's take a b17 bomber,

A b17 bomber
carried a flight engineer

Who would have been trained here
at chanute field.

The b17 also carried
the radiomen,

They had radio courses
and then radio repair courses,

Radio specialist courses
here at chanute field.

Pratt: There were four places
similar to this

And they were filled
with activity everyday.

There were students coming
and going all the time.

Narrator:
To support these large-scale
training programs,

A vast infrastructure emerged.

It had its own food,
it had its own road department,

It had its own water system,
it had its own heating plants.

Chanute was almost
its own city.

It was totally self-supporting.

Narrator:
But it wasn't just the kind
of training taking place here

That was groundbreaking.

It was also
who was being trained.

At the beginning
of world war two,

The society in the united states
is thoroughly segregated.

Narrator: In 1940,
the u.S. Census recorded

Only 140 african american pilots

Across the nation.

But this would soon change.

There were black airmen
that came here

And then they were trained
as mechanics.

But some of them had prior
flying experience,

And they were doing
exceptionally well

In the classes

And so some of the people
in the base

Decided that they would
make them into actual pilots.

Narrator: Fighting a war
against the fascist

And racist regime in europe,

Suddenly the united states own
policies were under scrutiny.

Mitchell: So it's a moment that
united states realizes that

Having this squadron,
this 99th squadron,

Training these black pilots,
is a way to indicate an opening,

A commitment to democracy,
a commitment against racism.

Unlike some of their peers
in the army for example,

They're being trained equally,
and so this is a breakdown

Of segregation
in the united states military.

Narrator: That unit would evolve
into the tuskegee airmen,

Who would become world famous.

And so the 99th pursuit squadron
became the tuskegee airmen

And they moved them
to tuskegee, alabama

From here and became pilots.

So they were trained initially
at chanute.

The forming
of the tuskegee airmen,

A very important part
of the chanute's history.

Mitchell: These first black
military aviators

Had a really
critical role to play.

They flew over 15,000
individual sorties

Over north africa and europe.

So they really had a wide
ranging impact

And sphere of influence.

And for their skill and bravery
and commitment,

They received 150
distinguished flying crosses,

Which is a very
significant record.

Well, chanute's favorite saying
was we were the pace setters.

We were willing to stay up front
of everything that was going on.

The people
that were trained here

Were the top technicians
in their fields.

Narrator: Whilst the work being
done here during world war two

Was vital
to the u.S. War effort,

Much of what remains lies empty,

Yet the interior
of one hangar suggests

The site still had
a crucial role

To play later
in the nuclear age.

♪

Narrator: In illinois,
the chanute air force base

Played an integral part

In the u.S. Efforts
during world war two

But just a few years later
a new threat was on the horizon.

Corum: We're talking
about a very powerful,

Aggressive, totalitarian
soviet union on one side

With a vast number
of nuclear weapons.

Mitchell:
There was a new type of aerial
warfare during the cold war,

During this nuclear age
and chanute

Was at the forefront of offering
this training in a situation

Where mistakes
could cost american lives.

Narrator: These new weapons
were titan intercontinental

Ballistic missiles,

Some of the largest
ever deployed.

Selwood: But that spirit
and legacy of innovation

And training and reliability,

When the time came for
the titan missile program,

Chanute was the obvious
place to host it.

Pratt: Well, in the 1950s
it was decided

That all seven different
missile programs

Would move here to chanute and
the training was conducted here.

This was the primary
training facility

For especially missile launch
and missile maintenance.

Narrator:
The titan missile housed a nine
megaton nuclear warhead,

Making it america's single most
powerful nuclear weapon

At the time, and at chanute
the titan missile silo

Was housed inside a vast hangar
so missileers

Could train in the latest
deployment techniques.

They were fully prepared
to go out into the field

And take the order
if necessary to fire a missile.

Narrator: The crews trained
at chanute through the years

Had to be vigilant and alert for
whatever threats were coming.

Corum:
So chanute is one of the pillars
of the success of western power

In the cold war
and we're free today

Because chanute did a very
good job in training its people.

Narrator:
Chanute provided training

For thousands
of u.S. Air force airmen

Until the government
downsized the armed forces

And it was closed in 1993.

♪

Selwood: The slightly melancholy
aspect to places like this,

The sad reality is that
whilst war is live,

Places like this
are of a supreme importance.

But when the war is over,
there's no real need for it.

Their legacy is one
that is so powerful

But so quickly forgotten.

This was like a family,
there were a lot of people

That just really
enjoyed working with each other,

And they enjoyed their jobs,

And they really enjoyed
what they were doing.

It gave their life a meaning
to work here.

And, at least for me,
that was a very important thing.

Narrator:
Beyond its invaluable
contribution

To the defense of a nation.

Chanute air force base
is at the heart

Of an important
and an enduring legacy.

It's in the buildings of chanute
where integration

Actually starts to occur,

Meaningful integration,
in terms of training

Of black pilots
with white pilots,

Black crew
with white crew,

And so there's a real moment
in terms of something happening

Within the buildings,
an erosion of segregation.

A segregation that was really
part and parcel

Of the american fabric
at this time.

♪

Narrator: In a remote region
of western ukraine,

Stands an imposing building
with an unusual charm.

Meigs: You're out
in this rural area

And here's a hulking,
massive castle.

It looks almost like
an english manor house

Out of a tim burton movie.

In examining this palace,

You know, you're struck
by its grandeur,

It's munificence
and yet something really bad

Has happened to it.

Nusbacher: It's brooding.

Every one of those windows
looks like it ought

To have a ghost
hiding in the draperies.

You can see how people
could find this kind of spooky

And unsettling.

Narrator: All across
this grand building

Are confusing design aspects.

Meigs: This has kind
of a split personality.

On the one hand, it looks like a
sprawling english country estate

With grand windows
and ballrooms.

On the other hand,
it has a military quality,

It's got a moat
and then placements for cannons.

Narrator: Throughout its life,

This building
went through so much turmoil,

But what finally struck
this place down was a bizarre

And unexpected twist
to its story.

♪

The foundations of this castle
are buried in the 17th century

When this area was part of the
polish lithuanian commonwealth,

A territory that stretched
over 400,000 square miles

In eastern europe.

Wawro: Palace was built by a guy

Named stanislaw koniecpolski
who was a grand hetman,

Meaning a senior advisor
to the king and a guy that,

You know,
exercised a lot of power

And wanted to build a house
that reflected his personal role

In this polish
lithuanian commonwealth.

Narrator: Historian, ivan dudych
has explored

Every room in this building.

Interpreter: Hidden behind
the fortress walls

There is a real royal
luxury inside.

There are bright grand rooms
that display wealth.

There were balls
and thematic evenings here,

Both theatrical and poetic.

There were also musical
performances.

Life raged within these walls.

Narrator:
But this building doesn't only
feel like a luxurious palace,

The parties came later,

Something else was going
on here before.

It's not exactly
a palace for a aristocrat

To enjoy
all the pleasures of life

Because it has
some real military features.

It's up on this hill,
it has a moat around it,

It has a couple of fortified
bastions on it

To repel attackers.

Nusbacher: When you look
at this place from the air,

You see the long pointy corners
of what's called

The truss italian,
the italian shape of fortresses.

And this is designed
to repel cannon fire.

Meigs: To the extent
that koniecpolski built

A military structure,
one that could be defended,

That turned out to be smart,
because in fact,

This palace was the focal point
of a number of battles

And attacks
over the years.

♪

Narrator: Reflecting the violent
times it was built in,

The result was
a unique hybrid design.

An opulent grandiosity
on the inside,

But a brutally efficient
military structure

On the outside.

This is pidhirtsi castle.

♪

Interpreter: What were
the defensive advantages

Of this type of castle?

At close range it was easy to
fire effectively from the castle

And the fact that it had
a bastion and pentagon towers

Made it hard to breach.

Nusbacher:
Here is a strategically
important valley.

If you come charging up
this valley

And if you can get up there
with impunity

Then you can make inroads

Against the polish
lithuanian commonwealth.

Narrator:
Across the first 150 years
of its existence,

The castle saw battle
after battle,

But the warring
wouldn't last forever.

Wawro:
It suddenly arrives in an era
of peace from the 1770s onward

Because of the partitions
of poland.

So now this is a golden age
for the castle

Because now it's in a region
that's characterized by peace,

It can develop
all of its economic assets.

Nusbacher: As the
austro-hungarian empire

Starts to exert control
over galicia,

This part of the world,
it becomes a lot more peaceful

And as austro hungarian empire

Policies start to make
this place wealthy,

This fortress becomes a jewel
of a country house.

Narrator: Designed
with opulence in mind,

Pidhirtsi castle now reverts
to its original purpose.

Interpreter:
The second floor was occupied
by the royal rooms.

There were several halls,
crimson hall, yellow hall

And the european throne room.

They all helped influence
the decorative style

Of other palaces
and castles in the region.

There were highly artistic
parquet floors,

Marble window sills

And all the walls were covered
with precious tapestries.

Nusbacher: This castle becomes
a place of ostentation.

It becomes a place
to show off wealth.

But for all its glamour,

There was something troubling
lingering in the background.

A gruesome tale that still
haunts the castle's empty rooms

And dark corridors.

Interpreter:
We're currently standing
in the dungeons of the castle.

This place
gives you the shivers.

It's cold and damp.

The 18th century was a strange,
bizarre epoch

And there was no better place

Than the basement
to hide your secrets.

Narrator:
The second owner of the castle
was waclaw rzewuski,

And dark legends surround him.

Interpreter: His fiancée,
maria rzewuska,

A beautiful 16-year-old girl
who constantly cheated on him.

Rumor has it that driven
by suspicion and jealousy,

He murdered her.

Her body has never
been discovered.

It's believed that her spirit
never found peace

And she is buried
somewhere within these walls.

Narrator:
Maria's spirit however,

Wouldn't be the only one
to haunt the castle's corridors.

For in time a different use
would soon see

Other lost souls join her.

♪

Narrator:
In a remote area of ukraine,

The dramatic ruins
of pidhirtsi castle

Are giving up
their ghostly tales.

Soon after the turn of
20th century,

War had returned to the castle.

So this era
of prosperity and peace

Which ensued after
the partitions of poland,

Ends, obviously,
with world war I

When the austrian army
collides with the russian army.

Narrator: And the castle
soon found itself

On the front lines.

The first world war
rages around this house.

As the austrians retreat,
the russians come in,

They loot the place,
they use it as a field hospital

And it becomes a shell
of its former self.

Narrator: The fragile peace
of the interwar years

That followed
were soon shattered

By the outbreak
of the second world war,

And the rapid nazi advance
through eastern europe.

Not wanting to take any chances

As the rampaging forces
approached,

The castle's owners
removed the last of the trasures

And fled to brazil.

The germans overrun the place

In their invasion
of the soviet union,

And they use it
as a military hospital.

Narrator: Yet, the castle
soon changed hands once more

As hitler's invasion plan
failed.

When the russians took control
of this territory

Late in world war two,

They didn't care about
the opulent past of the castle.

They turned it into a hospital
for tuberculosis patients.

Interpreter:
They divided all the halls
into narrow corridors

And tiny hospital wards,

Which significantly changed the
layout of the interior space.

Narrator:
As the second world war ended,

Finally there was hope for peace
and calm again at pidhirtsi.

But in 1956,
a finishing blow was struck.

Wawro:
And just when the palace had
emerged from centuries of war

And looked like it was going
to reclaim its old luster,

Somebody was working up
in the roof with a blowtorch

Doing some repairs,
started a fire.

So a lot of the damage
to the palace that we can see

With the naked eye today,

You know stems
from that big fire.

This place that was so strong
for so long,

This fortress that existed
for hundreds of years,

Built to last,

Was so absurdly destroyed
by a simple house fire.

Meigs: Think about how much
history happened inside

And around this castle
over its long life.

The different armies
that passed through,

The different languages that
were spoken within its walls.

That it's still standing at all
is really quite miraculous.

Narrator:
And plans are now afoot for
the next stage of its life.

Interpreter: The actual goal
is to rebuild this place

And open a museum
about pidhirtsi castle.

We are hopeful that this castle
will attract visitors

And will have
another chance to shine.

♪

In spite of everything

That was thrown at this place
for centuries.

The walls are still there,
the new roof is up,

And maybe this place
has got the staying power

To continue
to dominate this valley

For a long time to come.

Narrator:
In the mountains of slovenia
are a set of crumbling ruins

Perched above
a precipitous gorge.

You might think of this at a
distance as an old monastery.

The thing that strikes you
is it's a very calm,

Tranquil place.

Narrator: But scars
on the mountainside hint

That the serenity
is not what it seems.

Selwood: There's a whole series
of stone walls

Tunneling through the earth,

And something about it
doesn't feel quite right.

Narrator: Structures scattered
around this whole area point

To a history of conflict.

Corum:
These are trench systems that
somebody went to enormous effort

To actually cut through rock
and excavate trench systems.

Auerbach: This building
hasn't just decayed,

Massive damage
was inflicted upon it.

Whole walls have been
brought down.

Narrator: And on the plains
below this place,

Half a million men
were slaughtered.

This site saw one of the most
futile and deadly battles

In one of history's
most catastrophic conflicts.

Narrator: What kind
of savage war was waged

In this chillingly
beautiful landscape?

Narrator:
At the turn of the 20th century,
the region this site is located

Lay under austrian rule

At the edge
of the austro hungarian empire

On the border
with a newly unified Italy.

Italy wanted the austro
hungarian land

Just across its border
in the julian alps,

In what was at the time,
austro hungarian territory.

Narrator:
With the threat of war looming,

In 1900 the austrians finished
building this, fort hermann.

The purpose of fort hermann
is to mount heavy guns

That will control the valley
and the pass below.

At every key pass and valley,

There are
military fortifications

That are very,
very tough to take.

Narrator:
Local historian and tour guide,
vladimir lipovec is an expert

In the austrian border
defense system.

Auerbach: Fort hermann really
commanded this valley region

With particularly
good viewpoints

And you can imagine this fort
perched on this mountainside

And glaring down at troops
marching towards it.

Selwood: There was an awareness

That if something
was going to happen,

It would take place
at the border,

And that's why structures
like this were needed.

Narrator: Everything was
designed in preparation

For an italian attack.

Narrator: But no amount
of mountain defenses

Would prevent the carnage

That was about to play out
in the valley below.

♪

Narrator: In the first decade
of the 20th century,

In the mountains
of western slovenia,

The austrian fort hermann
was ready for action.

Across the border, their italian
rivals believed this land

To be rightfully theirs.

Selwood:
When world war one started,

Italy should have sided with
germany and austria-hungary,

But in fact
Italy decided to be neutral.

That meant that it was courted
by both sides.

And ultimately it was the allies
who were able to offer

Italy the greatest prospect
of success.

Narrator:
The allies promised Italy

The prize
of these disputed lands,

And in 1915
the italians joined the war

Led by the notorious
general luigi cardorna.

Selwood: One commentator
described him

As an old roman cast in the big
simple mold of antiquity.

Corum: Cardorna as the italian
chief of staff

Is the picture of the officer
who has a headquarters

17 miles far behind the front,

Almost out of hearing
of any artillery fire.

Selwood:
He was an authoritarian,
he was old fashioned,

He was a strict disciplinarian.

He ran the army like a dictator.

Narrator: One of the first
prizes in cardorna's sights

Was fort hermann.

In anticipation of this,

The austrians reinforced their
defenses on the plains below,

An area known
as the bovec basin.

There's a whole series
of stone walls

Snaking across the mountainside,
and as you look

It becomes apparent
these are trenches.

Narrator: This is battery cello,
a 650 foot long trench

Connecting
two artillery positions.

The austrian defenses
continued below ground

Where shored up caves
would act as bunkers.

On may 29th, just six days after
the italians joined the war,

Luigi cardorna gave the order
for his troops to attack.

Fort hermann held its own,

But luigi cardorna
was far from done.

He throws away large numbers
of troops in pointless attacks

And then criticizes
his commanders

Who have had their units
decimated

By austrian artillery
and machine guns,

And for minimal gains,

Keeps doing the same thing
over and over again.

Narrator: The italian attack
on fort hermann

Heralded the start of cardorna's
ill fated campaign

Along the infamous isonzo front,

Which ran south from
fort hermann.

Here some of the bloodiest
battles of the first world war

Were to be waged.

Corum: This is a front
of only 60 miles.

On a 60 mile front,
we have 300,000 dead italians

In the course of the war,
200,000 dead austrians.

This is one of the bloodiest
battlefields anywhere.

Selwood: This is the place where
everything ended with

Just one battle,
but not before

Half a million men
had lost their lives.

Narrator: Eventually,
in 1917 cardorna's men

Were nearing the bovec basin

And the mountain town
of caporetto.

Narrator: Instead of defending,
the austrians called in help

From a specialized german
military unit.

Selwood: They proposed
attacking the front

With an unusually deadly plan.

They had 894 metal tubes

Which they implanted
into the rock,

Each one loaded
with an electronic trigger.

Narrator: The germans came armed
with a controversial weapon.

Auerbach: A cloud of poison gas
enveloped the italian lines.

These are terrible weapons.

Phosgene gas causes blistering
where it touches the skin.

It causes lesions,
and if you breathe it in,

It burns
the inside of your lungs.

Corum: The italians taken by
surprise break very rapidly

And the entire front
collapses in a two week period.

Narrator: The italian loss
at the battle of caporetto

Is one of the most
comprehensive defeats

In italian military history.

General luigi cardorna
is finally sacked.

Despite their victory
at caporetto,

The austrian-german alliance
lost the war

And the vast austro-hungarian
empire collapsed.

Corum:
And at the end of the war,

Italy gets this piece of land
that they had wanted,

But it's certainly not worth

The price of several hundred
thousand dead

And the virtual ruination
of the italian economy.

♪

Narrator:
Today, the crumbling structures
that litter the bovec basin

Are all that's left
of a bitter conflict.

Selwood:
These days, the military roads
have found a new life

As hiking trails,
creating a network

Between the alps
and the adriatic.

Auerbach: Now the region
is known for the beauty

Of the landscape and hiking.

There's even a path of peace
created that connects the forts

And the old trench system.