All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S08E11.Chinese.Nuclear.Box.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
A peculiar
concrete box

overlooking
the coast of China.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
It looks like
a speaker,

only it is the size
of a building.

[narrator]
The windswept remnants
of a seafaring people.

[Polly]
These men were
a special breed

of professional
plunderers.

[narrator]
And an epic
Alaskan venture

that led to fame
and fortune.

that led to fame
and fortune.

They were celebrities
and incredibly famous
in American culture,

and they were
controversial
at times.

[narrator]
Decaying relics,

ruins of lost worlds,

sites haunted
by the past...

their secrets
waiting to be
revealed.

On the coast
of a tiny island,

On the coast
of a tiny island,

just a few miles
from mainland China,

a bizarre block
looms over
the shoreline.

[Jim] One of
the strangest things
on the island

is this weird
concrete box.

It almost looks
like an office
building.

[Prof. Wawro]
What appear to
be windows

in an apartment
block

are not
windows at all,

they're little
circular openings,

almost like a speaker
on a radio.

almost like a speaker
on a radio.

[narrator]
Rusting structures
along the beach

suggest an attempt
was made

to protect against
a landing force,

but not all of
the defenses here are
immediately visible.

[Jim] There's a huge
underground complex

carved into one
of these mountains.

There are tunnels here
that are big enough to
drive a truck through.

This wasn't some
little hideaway,

this was a serious
underground base.

As small and
insignificant as
it appears today,

this island came very
close to triggering
a nuclear war.

this island came very
close to triggering
a nuclear war.

[narrator]
Yang Shi Rong
grew up here

and remembers a time
when this beach

was strictly
out of bounds.

[Yang] We could
not go to the sea
in the past.

We couldn't be
near the beach.

It's ironic,
we are surrounded
by the sea,

but we rarely
saw it.

[narrator] This is
Kinmen Island.

Within sight of
neighboring China,

Within sight of
neighboring China,

this territory
actually belongs

to another country,
Taiwan.

[Yang] I think
people in Kinmen

understand both
Taiwanese and
Chinese culture.

It's a bridge of
communication

between Taiwan
and the mainland.

[narrator]
This unique
understanding

was born out of
the Chinese Civil War,

which came to
a head in 1949.

[Prof. Wawro]
Mao totally defeats
the Nationalist forces

[Prof. Wawro]
Mao totally defeats
the Nationalist forces

and drives them
out of China

and onto the island
of Taiwan,

where they exist
to this day as
the Republic of China.

[narrator]
Chairman Mao's
communists,

the People's
Liberation Army,

had ousted
the Nationalists

led by general
Chiang Kai-shek.

Mao Zedong seats
himself in power in
mainland China

and the previous
government of China,

the Chiang Kai-shek
and the Nationalist
Movement

flees to the island
of Taiwan.

flees to the island
of Taiwan.

But they don't
only take the island
of Taiwan,

they take this
little island group

directly off
the coast of China.

[narrator]
The biggest island of
the group is Kinmen,

just four miles
from the mainland.

[Jim] There's no way
that the communists
wanted to tolerate

what they saw
as subversives right
off their coast.

And in 1949,
Mao's forces attack
Kinmen Island.

[narrator]
The defense still
on show today

suggest they knew
they were coming.

suggest they knew
they were coming.

[Prof. Wawro]
There's a 56 hour
battle for Kinmen,

as the amphibious
Chinese communist
forces

land on Kinmen
and try to rest it

from its Nationalist
defenders.

[narrator]
Bullet ridden buildings
are testament

to the ferocity
of the fighting.

The People's
Liberation Army was
in here at the time.

This was the command
headquarters.

We were surrounded.

We were surrounded.

It was a war
of annihilation.

[narrator] Yet,
Mao's communists army

wasn't up to
the challenge

of an amphibious
assault.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
They establish
a beachhead,

but they cannot
break out

onto the rest
of the island.

They didn't have
the technical
capability

to put a big enough
force on shore.

[narrator]
Those that did make it
onto the beaches

were met with mines,

bunkers
and obstacles...

backed up
by a force

far larger than
they expected.

[Prof. Wawro]
Using these
beach obstacles,

using these defenses,

Chiang Kai-shek
pushes them back
into the sea.

[narrator] For Mao,
it was a disaster.

9,000 communist
soldiers stormed
ashore,

the majority
were killed
or taken prisoner.

There were corpses
everywhere here.

It was tragic.

[Jim]
The Republic of
China's forces

[Jim]
The Republic of
China's forces

were able to
repel the attack,

but it wouldn't be
the last time

they came under fire.

[narrator] Separated
by only a few
miles of water,

the islanders
knew it was just
a matter of time.

We could see
mainland China
from here,

it's really close.

You can see it clearly
in that direction.

That's mainland China.

[Prof. Wawro]
The Taiwanese
filled up Kinmen

as a major
defensive bastion.

as a major
defensive bastion.

They honeycomb all
the cliffs and hills
with bunkers

and they make
this a much more
defensible place.

[narrator] The Cold War
was now running hot
throughout East Asia,

and the island
found itself on
the front line.

[Prof. Wawro]
We saw Korea falling
to the communists,

Indochina falling
to the communists,

all of China falling
to the communists.

The U.S. felt that it
was losing this battle
of containment...

and that something
had to be done.

[narrator]
U.S. President
Dwight Eisenhower,

[narrator]
U.S. President
Dwight Eisenhower,

fearing
a domino effect

of nations falling
to communism,

offered protection
to the Chinese
Nationalists

on Taiwan and Kinmen.

In 1954,
there's a major
international crisis

when Mao Zedong
bombards Kinmen

and the neighboring
islands with artillery,

forcing
the United States

to tell the communists
to cease and desist.

There's a second
crisis in 1958,
much bigger one.

[Jim] Mainland China
really unloaded
on Kinmen Island.

They launched
an artillery barrage

that went on day
and night and just
didn't stop.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
Over 44 days,

the People's
Liberation Army

would deliver
470,000
artillery rounds.

[Yang] At the time,
Kinmen was within
the shooting range

[Yang] At the time,
Kinmen was within
the shooting range

of mainland artillery.

So, in the aftermath,
the whole of Kinmen
suffered tragically.

A lot of houses
were destroyed,

especially the places
located near
the artillery ground.

They were all burned
to scorched earth,
to ashes.

[narrator] It seemed
only a matter of time
before the Nationalists

would have to
evacuate Kinmen.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
The big question

in the mind of
everyone in China,

everyone on Taiwan,

everyone on Taiwan,

and even back
in Moscow,

is what is Washington
going to do?

[narrator]
This tiny island
would bring the world

to the brink of
nuclear war,

but what role
would this bizarre
concrete box play

in the ongoing
dispute?

[narrator] In 1958,
Kinmen Island was
coming under attack

from Mao's
communist China.

America had
offered protection
to the Nationalists.

So, all eyes were
now on Washington.

[Jim] In the US,
at one point,

the Joint Chiefs
of Staff

recommended considering
nuclear weapons

to stop China's
aggression.

to stop China's
aggression.

Fortunately, cooler
heads prevailed.

[narrator] Eisenhower
resisted calls for
a nuclear strike.

Instead, he
combined a show of
naval strength

with the supply
of military hardware

that could fire
from the safety

of Kinmen's bunkers
and tunnels.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
The United States
started to give

heavy howitzers.

These guns
made it possible

for the forces
on Kinmen Island

for the forces
on Kinmen Island

to return fire.

They were able
to start shelling
the main land.

[narrator]
This initiated
a curious ritual.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
On alternate days,

the gunners
on each side

would prepare
their guns,

load them up
and bombard
the other side,

while the other side
kept their heads down.

[narrator] While
this bizarre artillery
duel continued,

[narrator] While
this bizarre artillery
duel continued,

the Cold War
was evolving.

[Jim] Part of
the continued conflict
was a propaganda war,

and that entailed
a secret weapon
on the island.

[Yang] We are
now located

in the Northwest
corner of Kinmen.

The place closest
to mainland China
is Dadeng Island,

about four miles away.

This building is
called the Beishan
Broadcasting Wall.

Its main function
is to send messages
to mainland residents.

Even now,
we send messages
to mainland China.

[narrator]
Built in 1967,

this was the last of
five broadcasting
walls

erected on Kinmen.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
The Chinese
Nationalists realized

that the communist
projects

that the communist
projects

had killed a lot of
people in China,

had made a lot of
people hostile

to the Government
in Beijing.

And so,
the Nationalists
decided

to start beaming
propaganda

at the communist
population on
the mainland.

[Jim] It said this
speaker was so loud,

it could be heard
15 miles inland
on the mainland.

[Yang]
Political propaganda
was broadcasted

across the strait
in the early days,

mixed with some
secret messages.

For example,
our undercover soldiers

who were sent
over there

were given
a coded instruction

before performing
their missions.

[narrator] Over time,
the speaker was used

not just for political
but cultural warfare.

not just for political
but cultural warfare.

[Jim] The speaker tower
blasted out songs

from popular
Taiwanese singers

and ear-splitting
anticommunist
propaganda.

[narrator]
By the late 1970s,

improving relations
between the United States,
China and Taiwan

meant the guns,
propaganda and music
finally fell silent.

Today,
a ferry service

Today,
a ferry service

runs between
Taiwanese Kinmen

and the Chinese
mainland,

but tensions in
the region remain.

[Jim] Officially,
our support for Taiwan

is known as
strategic ambiguity.

In other words,
neither Taiwan nor
China really knows

whether we would come
to Taiwan's defense.

But so far,
China has not wanted
to push its luck.

[narrator] Deep in
the Alaskan mountains,

perched precariously
on a steep slope,

is an extraordinary relic

from America's
pioneering past.

[Prof. Jerram] This area
really is remote.

It's a good couple
of days away from
any major towns.

[Jim] This setting
is just epic.

You've got these
beautiful mountain
peaks,

an enormous glacier.

[narrator] Breaking up
this rugged scene

is a collection of
red buildings

is a collection of
red buildings

tumbling down
a hillside.

[Jim] Everywhere
you look,

you see the ruins of
industrial equipment.

You see cables
and chains

and broken-down
machinery.

[Claire]
You realize this is
14 stories high.

This is on
a big scale.

[Jim]
You can imagine
living up here

if you were
a tough pioneer type,

but it is not
an easy place
to live.

[narrator]
Two of America's
best-known names

made fortunes here.

But prospecting
in this wilderness

wasn't for
the faint hearted.

Kyle Thilbert
is an Alpine Guide

and well used to
exploring these ghostly
ruins alone.

[Kyle] It can get
a little spooky
at times

walking through
these old abandoned
buildings

and knowing
that you are
the only person,

but you're still
hear things.

Those buildings are
starting to fall apart.

They're definitely
not quite safe enough
for us to go into.

[narrator] Yet,
some areas are
still accessible

and display
the remnants of
a fully-fledged town

once known
as Kennecott.

[Kyle]
Because this town
is so remote,

they had to be fully
self-sufficient.

You can imagine
everything

from food to parts,
to clothing.

Kennecott had
about 550 men
on payroll.

[narrator] So,
what was it that drew
this many people

[narrator] So,
what was it that drew
this many people

to such a remote
outpost?

In 1900, two men,

"Tarantula" Jack Smith
and Clarence L. Warner,

made a discovery
that spawned a legend.

[Jim] They stopped
for lunch

and looked across
the valley

and they saw
this green patch.

And one of them said,
"Oh, that might be
good for sheep."

[Prof. Jerram]
They scrambled up

the side of
the mountain

and what they
thought was green
vegetation

actually turned out
to be green rocks.

They're still credited
as one of the richest
deposits

They're still credited
as one of the richest
deposits

ever discovered
in the world.

They've made
the bonanza discovery.

[narrator]
"It's a bonanza,"

were the words
Smith and Warner

supposedly exclaimed
upon their discovery...
of copper ore.

[Prof. Jerram]
Copper was becoming

a very, very
valuable commodity.

With the advent
of electricity,

Copper was in
high demand.

[narrator] Getting it
out of the ground,
though,

in this unforgiving
landscape

would be
no mean feat.

[Jim] They
needed investors

[Jim] They
needed investors

with very
deep pockets,

and they found them.

In 1905,

a group called
the Alaska Syndicate
was formed

and its members
included

two of the richest
and most famous
bankers in the world,

The Guggenheim brothers
and J.P. Morgan.

They pooled
their vast resources

to begin the process

of developing
the mines.

[narrator] Soon,
the Bonanza Mine

[narrator] Soon,
the Bonanza Mine

was connected
to a processing mill

and the Kennecott
copper mine was
in full operation.

So, these cables
here you see,

run about four
and a half miles
up the ridge line

behind us to
the mines themselves,

bringing those buckets

loaded with
500 to 600 pounds
of copper ore.

You would have
one bucket coming
down these lines

every 52 seconds.

So, in less
than a minute,

you'd have to
be able to dump
that ore,

get it back on
the line in just
enough time

to catch the next one
as it came off.

[narrator] From here,
the ore needed
to be sorted,

[narrator] From here,
the ore needed
to be sorted,

and this is where
the vast height

and slope of
the building
came in.

[Jim]
You put the ore
on the top,

you crush
the big pieces,

and then you let
gravity carry it down
level by level

one crushing machine
to another,

until it's reduced
to a fine sand.

When this building
was in operation,

the noise here
would have been
deafening.

There was a lot
of equipment,
crushers,

different machinery
that was separating out
that copper ore.

[narrator]
But getting the ore

out of the ground
and processed

out of the ground
and processed

wasn't the biggest
challenge facing
the Alaska Syndicate.

There was
no rail road
at that time,

but the buildings
and everything
were operating

before that
rail road came in.

So, all that equipment
was brought in by hand,
essentially.

We're just under
200 miles to the coast
from here,

so you can imagine
trying to bring all
that equipment in

by either dog sled,
pack horses.

It's amazing that
they could even
get that here.

[narrator]
Guggenheim and Morgan

desperately needed
a rail road

desperately needed
a rail road

to get the copper
to market.

[Kyle] They didn't
start construction

on the rail road
till 1907.

Part of that was,
they couldn't actually
find anybody to build it.

Nothing of this scale
or this terrain

had ever been
done before.

[narrator]
It was a monumental
engineering challenge.

And its pinnacle
was how to cross

the mighty
Copper River.

[Jim] If your idea
of a river

is something like
the rivers you see

in most parts
of the world,

in most parts
of the world,

you have no idea
what rivers in
Alaska are like.

[narrator] The most
infamous crossing

was just below
the Miles Glacier.

[Jim] So, this glacier
was not only
dumping out...

millions and millions
of gallons of water,

but in the warmer
seasons,

it was dropping
huge icebergs

into the river
that would then
flow down.

[Claire]
If one of those
hits a pier,

which is supporting
the trusses,

your whole bridge
comes down.

your whole bridge
comes down.

[Kyle] So,
to build that,

it was almost
impossible, really,

by those standards
at the time,

they didn't think
it could be done.

It would cost
well over
a million dollars

to build that
one bridge alone.

[narrator] Yet,
the Million Dollar
Bridge,

as it was
famously coined,

was just a fraction
of the overall cost

of building
the railroad.

The Alaska Syndicate
thought it worth
the investment,

but they
weren't alone.

[Jim] So, this new
group encountered

[Jim] So, this new
group encountered

these representatives
of the Syndicate...

and, ultimately,
a gunfight broke out.

It was
a huge scandal.

[narrator]
In the early 1900's,
the Alaska Syndicate,

led by the Guggenheims
and J.P. Morgan,

were building
a 200-mile rail road

to connect
the Kennecott copper
mine to the coast.

[Jim] While
the Alaska Syndicate

is busy building
their own route
up to their mines,

there was
another group

that claimed
to have rights to
also build a route.

that claimed
to have rights to
also build a route.

It got very heated.

It turned out
that the Syndicate,

they didn't want
anybody else building
a rail road line.

They were armed.
They wanted to
keep them out.

One member of
the Syndicate crew

hid behind a boulder

and really,
like a sniper,

he shot three men
from the other team.

[narrator] Dubbed
"the Keystone
Canyon affair",

it made national
headlines.

[Jim] J.P. Morgan
and the Guggenheim
brothers...

[Jim] J.P. Morgan
and the Guggenheim
brothers...

were incredibly famous
in American culture.

I mean, today,
you'd almost look

at somebody like
Mark Zuckerberg

or Elon Musk.

They were
celebrities

and it was
a huge scandal.

Legitimately,
it was cold-blooded
murder.

And, in Alaska,
the Syndicate
was viewed

very suspiciously
from that point on.

[narrator] Yet,
this scandal
didn't stop them.

Having fended off
the competition

and completed
the railroad,

nothing, it seemed,

nothing, it seemed,

could stand
in the way

of Guggenheim
and Morgan.

[Kyle]
When the rail road
came in at 1911,

they had enough
ore stocked up,

so they could fill
that very first train,

send it out with
$250,000 worth
of copper ore.

[narrator]
The mine was running

as one of
the most profitable
in the world.

[Kyle] So,
this building here

was the ammonia
leaching plant

used to extract

all those little
pieces of copper ore
that were left.

And with this building,

they were running
at about
92% efficiency.

they were running
at about
92% efficiency.

That's, even by
today's standards,
is unheard of.

[Jim] By 1916,
the price of copper
was climbing

and these mines
were running
around the clock.

Three shifts,
trying to get
as much copper

out of these mountains
and into the ships

and onto market
as they could.

[narrator] Yet,
Kennecott's fortunes

were tied to
the global market,

and with
the Great Depression,

and with
the Great Depression,

came plummeting
copper prices.

And in 1938,

management prepared
to shut down operations.

[Kyle] But they
didn't tell
the men that,

'cause they
were afraid

if they started
warning people

that things were
going to start
closing down,

work production
would start
to decline.

So, to try to
maximize

the amount of work
they could get
out of these men,

they didn't
tell them

until 24 hours
before that last train
was going to leave.

If you were not
on that train,

you were gonna
get left behind.

[narrator]
Almost overnight,

[narrator]
Almost overnight,

this place became
a ghost town.

Today,
Kennecott lives on

through hiking trails
and guided tours,

highlighting
the enduring legacy
of this site.

[Kyle] All that
copper that was
produced here

was used to create
copper wiring

to electrify
the east coast,

shell casings
during the World War.

Very crucial impact
on the United States
and the world.

[narrator] On an island
in the North Atlantic

is a place
that time forgot,
twice.

As you approach
these islands
from the south,

you can see
the remnants

of a very large
stone building.

It's reminiscent
of a castle,

but that's not even
the half of it.

but that's not even
the half of it.

[narrator]
The stone walls
suggests a structure

that's hundreds
of years old,

but at its feet
are structures
far older.

[Sascha]
You wind up in these
circular rooms,

all made out
of blocks,

piled up
precariously,

but there's no mortar
in use here.

And it feels as if
if you knock
one stone over,

that the whole
thing's gonna come

crumbling down
around you.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
They really blend
into the Earth.

They are part
of the land.

It's very organic
form of building.

[narrator]
The mixture of the old
and the ancient

suggests this place
had a long history.

But one more clue

might reveal how
it became abandoned.

[Sascha] Slightly
further away from
the main building

are these
shallow channels

are these
shallow channels

cut into the ground.

[narrator] Inside
the smallest remains,

lies the answer
to this mystery.

And it's a story
of greed
and bloodshed.

[Polly] These men
were highly advanced.

They were pushing
the limits of
the known world

and they could be
extremely violent.

[narrator] In Scotland's
most northern region,

Dr. Val Turner
has studied a ruin

and the legend
of its unscrupulous
former owner.

[Dr. Turner] This is
the laird's house

and it became
the home
of obsession

of Patrick Stewart,

who was the Earl
of Orkney
and Shetland.

[narrator] Patrick
was the son of
Robert Stewart,

[narrator] Patrick
was the son of
Robert Stewart,

a man with
connections.

He was
the half-brother
of a queen

with one of
the most tumultuous
reigns in history,

Mary, Queen of Scots.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
Because the lairds
here in Shetland

were so far from
royal authority,

their power
was untrammeled.

And that meant,
when they got
out of line,

there was no body
to discipline them.

And these guys
got out of line.

[narrator]
Patrick exploited
this power

and freedom
remorselessly.

And as Lord of
Shetland,

he was notorious
for being barbarous,

rapacious,
womanizing,

intimidating,
letting off criminals
and murderers.

He found
the perfect spot to
build a monument

to his conquest,
to mark his spot.

[Dr. Turner] I think
his quality of life

would have been
very good,

because, I mean, we see
here as bare walls,

but it would have
had ornate paintings,

hangings,
tapestries.

hangings,
tapestries.

It would have been
quite cozy and warm.

And, of course,
he would have
had servants

and people working
for him as well.

[narrator] But in
the late 19th century,

it emerged that
the Laird of Shetland

wasn't the first person
to recognize the value
of this site.

[Dr. Turner]
In 1897, there was
a huge storm,

and it lashed away

at the edge
of the coast.

And a few
days later,

And a few
days later,

somebody walking
along the shore

noticed that there
were the edges

of what looked like
buried buildings
poking out.

[narrator] The storm
uncovered dwellings

that predated
the laird's house

by at least
a thousand years.

They were arranged
in a circular pattern

and made of
layered stone.

[Dr. Nusbacher] But
they also partitioned
these houses

into a number
of cells or rooms,

and the local
people would
have taken refuge

and the local
people would
have taken refuge

in these
wheelhouses

from the harsh
weather coming
off of the sea,

possibly from their
harsh neighbors.

And it would have
created a feeling
of community.

[narrator]
The wheelhouses were
built by early settlers

known as the Picts.

[Polly] The Picts
were a native
Celtic tribe

from the Iron Age

from the Iron Age

who managed to
make the journey

all the way from
mainland Scotland to
the Shetland Islands.

That kind of
journey

would take
a tremendous
strength of will

and a tremendous
strength of arms.

[Sascha]
It's 100 miles to
the nearest mainland.

And it's pretty much
a one-way journey

because the way
the currents work,

once you get here,

it's gonna be
almost impossible
for you

to get back
to the mainland.

[narrator]
Evidence of even
earlier structures

add to the mystery,

add to the mystery,

and suggests
that defense

had long been
a priority on these
rugged islands.

[Dr. Turner] So,
this is the base
of a massive tower.

And, while that's
the inner face,

just wait to see where
the outer face is.

There's a cell,

which is in between
the two walls...

and the outer face
is right here.

So, all of that...
is the base of
the broch.

So, all of that...
is the base of
the broch.

[narrator]
2,000 years ago,

this structure
stood 40 feet tall.

It had four levels
for people, animals,
and the central hearth.

It was one of
hundreds

that lined
the Shetland coastline.

A few still
survive intact.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
All over the north
of Scotland

and the isles,

there are
these towers
called brochs.

You can sleep
in comfort

You can sleep
in comfort

knowing that
nobody's going to
sneak up

and cut your throat
in the night.

[narrator]
But these sturdy
defenses

were about to be
put to the test.

[narrator]
On a remote island
in the North Atlantic,

1,000 years ago,

strangers landed
on the shoreline.

[Polly] Britain has
had a long history
of invasion,

but these men
were a special
breed

of professional
plunderers.

They were
highly skilled,

had complete mastery
over the sea.

had complete mastery
over the sea.

[narrator]
These invaders...
were Vikings.

[Sascha] When
the Vikings arrived

in this part of
the Shetland Islands,

it's possible
that the Picts
were still here,

still living in
their traditional
wheelhouses.

But Vikings did
things differently.

[Dr. Turner]
The Viking longhouses
are rectangular.

The area here is
where people lived.

And there were
benches on
either side

And there were
benches on
either side

of the living,
feasting area,

which people
would have sat on
in the day,

but then at night,

there would
have been skins
on the benches,

and they would have
been where people
slept as well.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
If we look at
the foundations

of this long house,

it reminds us
of Beowulf,

where Hrothgar
lived with his sword
and friends.

It reminds us
of a smoky night

where Grendel creeps
in through the door.

where Grendel creeps
in through the door.

[narrator]
This wasn't just
one hut,

this was
a settlement,

one of hundreds
that would lead

to the Vikings
conquering two thirds
of Britain.

[Sascha]
So, using these
incredible long ships

and their
navigational skills,

they actually traveled
as far as the coast
of North America.

They also raided
and eventually
settled

all along the coast
of Western Europe.

And then,
they traveled up
the rivers,

And then,
they traveled up
the rivers,

as far as Moscow.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
We don't know
what happened

to the native
population
of Shetland

when the Norse came.

It could be that,
instead of keeping
the locals as slaves

or marrying
the local
population,

it could be
they killed them all.

[narrator]
Despite more
recent excavations,

the fate of
the native Picts
remains a mystery.

[Polly]
So, what happened
to the Vikings

here in the Shetland
islands?

In some ways,
they never
went away.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
The Viking Norse

were happy to
leave behind
their descendants,

who still live there

as proud descendants
of Vikings today.

And people feel
a very strong affinity
with Vikings.

And, of course,
there's this big
Viking festival

in Shetland
every January.

[narrator]
At this fire festival,

Shetlanders
take to the streets
with flaming torches

and burn a Viking
long boat.

High in the Swiss
mountains,

sits a pretty
Alpine village,

but for those
in on the secret,

it's anything but.

The Swiss Alps
are beautiful.

It's lush,
it's manicured.

It's lush,
it's manicured.

[Prof. Wawro]
You wander across
a meadow here

and you see
what look like

totally innocuous,
little cottages.

[Prof. Jerram]
They could be
summer huts,

they could be
storage barns for
farming and so on.

[narrator] The reality,
though, is completely
unexpected.

So, this isn't
just a hut

or an animal
shelter.

This is actually
a camouflaged cannon,

ten and a half
centimeter cannon.

They can turn
360 degrees

They can turn
360 degrees

to be able to
shoot down
into the valley,

or all the way
around.

And there's four of
these in the village
up here.

[Claire] The little,
kind of... hut

is just there
for disguise.

It's for display
purposes only.

And underneath there,

is a serious amount
of weaponry.

[Prof. Wawro]
You start to realize,

"No, this is not
your average bucolic
Swiss pasture."

This is
a killing field.

Someone's taken
a lot of time to hide
at this military site.

[narrator]
This masquerading gun

is just the tip
of the iceberg.

Another innocuous
looking building
nearby

conceals an even
bigger surprise

and explains
the real reason

behind the disguises.

[Dr. Breitenmoser]
This isn't a barn,

this is
actually a bunker,
a concrete bunker

that's part of
the fortress.

[narrator] One of
the largest fortresses

ever built in
Switzerland

is right here,

is right here,

masterfully hidden
from view.

Behind
the set dressing
of the cottages

and stable blocks,

inside the mountain,
that's where
the action is.

[Prof. Jerram]
They dug the fortress

into the solid
mountains.

We're talking
about five miles
of tunnels

that could hold
around 500 troops.

[Prof. Wawro]
Basically, two storeys
of fortifications

built into the side
of a mountain,

with 60 feet
of rock

between
the lower story

between
the lower story

and the upper
story.

[narrator]
This is Fortress
Furggels,

a battleship
hidden inside

the belly of
a Swiss mountain,

and a vital part
of a little-known
military operation.

[narrator]
Fortress Furggels,
built from 1939,

was Switzerland's
response to

an increasingly
volatile Europe.

[Prof. Wawro]
This thing is not
just a fort,

it's an ensemble
of facilities.

You've got
the fortifications,

you've got rooms
for storage
of munitions,

you've got barracks
for the garrison.

[narrator]
Dr. Erich Breitenmoser

[narrator]
Dr. Erich Breitenmoser

is now the fort's
proud owner

and enjoys
showing off

its incredible array
of facilities
and weaponry.

Here we have
the sleeping quarters
for the soldiers.

This room and
the one next door

would house
120 soldiers
for sleeping.

[narrator] Troops
could live here

completely
shut off from
the outside world

completely
shut off from
the outside world

for as long as
six months.

[Prof. Wawro]
And, of course,
no fort is complete

without a good
armament,

and this place
was bristling
with good guns.

We have four
10.5 cm guns

which are up
in the village,

and then we have
four 15 cm guns.

It was the most
heavily armed
fortress

in Switzerland.

They would tell you,

"I'll go set up
the gun...

and then
give commander
to shoot."

Right?
They'd shoot,

the guy would
pull the thing
over there.

the guy would
pull the thing
over there.

Boom. [whistles]
Shot would go off.

The whole mountain

shook like
an earthquake

when they shot
the gun.

[narrator] Trained
soldiers would use

manuals
and instruments

to expertly
calculate

the trajectory
of the missile.

But back in the day,
it was far from
an exact science.

[Dr. Breitenmoser]
They always waited until
the call came back

over the hit,
the target,

to see how accurate
they were.

One day,
no radio message
came back,

so they waited.

So, then a follow-up
phone call came in
from Liechtenstein.

So, then a follow-up
phone call came in
from Liechtenstein.

In the town
of Malbun,

they said,
"There was
a bomb that hit

right in front
of the village.

What happened?"

So, obviously,
somebody made
a mistake.

So, they found out
the fellow here

did the wrong
calculations

and they almost
had a war with
Lichtenstein.

[Prof. Wawro]
Swiss neutrality
is legendary,

but what
distinguishes
Switzerland

from other
neutral countries

is Switzerland's
policy of armed
neutrality.

Meaning, you know,
"don't mess with us".

[narrator] But in
the early 1940s,

two of Europe's dictators

were planning to
carve up the nation

and share in
the spoils.

[Prof. Wawro]
Early in World War II,

Italian dictator
Mussolini

and German
dictator Hitler

actually concocted
a plan,

"Operation Tannenbaum"
or "Christmas tree,"

in which Italian
forces would
invade Switzerland

from the south,
German forces
from the north,

they would
partition the country
between them.

[narrator]
The fort was
a crucial link

[narrator]
The fort was
a crucial link

in Switzerland's national
fortification chain,

built in
anticipation of
an access invasion.

But as a neutral
country,

building a heavily
armed fort
of this size

was treading
a fine line.

[Claire] They're not
supposed to be doing

any military
engineering,

but what they do do

is carry it out
very, very quietly.

[Dr. Breitenmoser]
This place was
very secretive.

In fact, I've known
people who worked here

In fact, I've known
people who worked here

and they wouldn't
even be able to
tell their wives

where they
went to work.

[narrator] This wasn't
the only reason for
secrecy, though.

[Prof. Jerram]
An important factor,
as well,

about this place
was you could catch
the enemy by surprise.

If your guns
are hidden in
the mountains,

then, all of a sudden,

there's massive
firepower

that they weren't
expecting.

[Prof. Wawro]
There's no
better example

of how the Swiss
plan to control

the only
serviceable routes
through the country

with fortifications
than this one.

[Dr. Breitenmoser] They can
see the Germans

[Dr. Breitenmoser] They can
see the Germans

coming up from
the Rhine valley
down there,

from Austria,
Lake of Constance,

or from
this side here

from the San
Bernardino mountain
pass from Italy.

So, they were to
be protecting this
whole area here

from them being
able to go towards
Zurich over there.

[narrator]
Once the Second
World War ended

and Switzerland
survived unscathed,

they didn't reveal
or even disarm
Fort Furggels.

Their attention,
instead,

turned to a new
and potentially

turned to a new
and potentially

even more
destructive menace.

[Prof. Wawro]
The Cold War

immediately
springs up,

so all of
these World War II
era forts

were maintained
and upgraded

for the event of
a Soviet invasion.

[Prof. Jerram]
The fortress itself
was then adapted

with nuclear filters
and so on.

[narrator]
The Swiss took this
nuclear threat

so seriously,
that Fort Furggels

was still top secret
in the 21st century,

well after
the Cold War
had thawed.

well after
the Cold War
had thawed.

[Prof. Jerram]
The fortress was
decommissioned in 2002,

and the secret
that was hidden
beneath this village

could be finally
revealed.

[narrator]
With declassification,

the fort
lost its military
significance.

But just before
it closed down,

one final shot
was fired.

[Prof. Jerram]
In the last time
it was ever used,

one of the canons
was actually
fired off

to get rid of
avalanches.

[narrator] Today,
the fort is occasionally
opened up

for small groups
to explore these
fascinating relics.

[Prof. Wawro]
Nowadays, you can
wander around

and you can see
the barracks,
and the field hospital,

and the ammo
storage rooms,

and you can see
the cannons
in their turrets.

[narrator]
The fort's constant
cold temperature

now attracts new
and interesting
tenants.

now attracts new
and interesting
tenants.

A lot of people
are inquiring about
rooms like this

for storage, wine.

It'd be a great
wine storage,
cheese.

I had a guy here
for cheese storage.

[narrator]
Fortress Furggels'
purpose

evolved to match
Switzerland's
perception

of what posed
the greatest threat.

A peaceful
Furggels full of
wine and cheese

is good news
for everyone.