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Narrator: A coastal defence
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now exposed by vanishing
Atlantic sand dunes.
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It might seem like the
Americans were being paranoid,
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00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,920
I mean, who's going to attack
the us on the Delaware coast,
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the Jersey shore?
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00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,800
But, in fact, america
was attacked.
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00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,320
The stranded remains of a town
that once appeared to have it all.
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00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,000
They must have felt like they
had found a garden of Eden,
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an oasis in this dry zone.
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But someone with more
authority wanted it for themselves.
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Ruins on a tranquil Japanese bay
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with a deadly
technology at their heart.
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Were they doing something secret?
Were they doing something dangerous?
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There are stories
here in these buildings.
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And a network of abandoned
structures that cover an entire country.
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00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,200
It looks as though this land
has been carpet-bombed
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with these
mysterious-looking domes.
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You find them in the
roadside, in churchyards,
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in people's gardens.
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You have to wonder who or what
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were they protecting
themselves from?
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Decaying relics...
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..Ruins of lost worlds.
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Forged through years of toil,
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now haunted by the past,
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their secrets waiting
to be revealed.
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Albania,
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a country on the fringe
of modern-day Europe,
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a land covered
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in peculiar
mushroom-shaped structures.
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There are these weird
little constructions
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and they're all over the place,
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there's no pattern to it,
there's no restriction to them.
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It is a bizarre situation
where you have every village
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and every field almost is
covered with these things.
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They're carved
into mountainsides
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and spread along the
coast looking out to sea.
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They're everywhere,
like, I mean, everywhere.
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These tiny structures
appear to be fortified.
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00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,680
The sheer volume
and positioning of them
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tells you that a huge
force or population
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00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,600
was expected to mobilise
and defend this land.
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00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,800
Every now and again you
come across a bigger structure,
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one with more rooms,
more defensive capability,
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somehow there must be a system,
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there must be a way
that everything is linked.
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00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,280
Albania is riddled
with these places.
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00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,200
But a post-apocalyptic
landscape at the heart of this nation
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suggests the worst-case
scenario may have came to pass.
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00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,040
A vast complex covering an area
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00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,600
that goes as far as
the eyes can see.
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All that remains is
just the ghost town.
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00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:23,480
This place wouldn't
look out of sorts
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00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,920
in the dystopian world of
'mad Max' or 'blade runner'.
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00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,520
So what happened behind
the heavy iron curtain
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00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,120
that once shrouded Albania?
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00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,400
Elton caushi, a local
historian and tour guide
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grew up here.
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00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:43,720
These structures made
unusual playgrounds.
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You could find them everywhere,
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it was great to play
outside actually.
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00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,240
But there was a
serious side to them.
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This is what we call
mushroom bunkers.
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00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,160
Hundreds of thousands of these
were build all around the country,
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00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,760
mainly focusing
on the coastal areas
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00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:07,360
since d-day style of attack
was expected to come this way.
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00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,360
Throughout the 1970s
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00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,200
the Albanian population
was ready to mobilise
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00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:15,320
at a moment's notice
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00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,960
and use the mushroom
bunkers to defend the nation
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00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,920
against the most
terrifying attacks.
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00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,680
There was this constant
genuine fear of the attack
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00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:31,560
and I do remember the
trainings that they used to give us,
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00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:37,200
the adults throwing chlorine
all around the neighbourhood.
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00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,480
People closing off
the lights in the home
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00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:45,160
and families being
forced into some sort of
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00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:46,920
military action
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and finding shelter in the
neighbourhoods bunker
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00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,280
where we were
supposed to survive
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00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,400
in the case of an eventual
bacteriological attack.
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00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,880
The Albanian fear of invasion
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00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,200
dates back to the
end of world war ii.
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00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,440
In 1945, much of
Europe lay in ashes,
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00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,480
torn apart by six
years of total war.
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00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,160
Albania had suffered
occupation by both fascist Italy
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00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:15,640
and Nazi Germany.
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00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:17,520
In many ways,
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00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:21,160
the crushing defeats and
humiliation in world war ii
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00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,440
profoundly influenced the
direction the country would take
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00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:25,720
in the post-war era.
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00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,120
Out of the fight
for independence,
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one man emerged as
the country's dictator,
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00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:34,360
enver hoxha.
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00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:39,120
Despite being supported by British
and American intelligence services
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00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:40,360
during the war,
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00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,440
hoxha was a staunch communist
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00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,400
and quickly aligned
himself with the Soviet union.
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00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,720
Hoxha idealised
Joseph Stalin, in fact,
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00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,720
the Albanian communists
were the only communist groups
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00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:02,520
that openly supported
Stalin after his fall from grace.
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00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,120
Hoxha's dogmatic
attachment to Stalin
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00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,520
meant that when the
Soviet dictator died in 1953
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00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,880
he severed ties with his successor,
the more pragmatic nikita khrushchev.
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00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,840
Khrushchev wanted to
lighten the heavy effects
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00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:25,080
of the Stalin reign
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00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,280
and hoxha of
Albania thought that
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00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:33,680
this was a betraying
the true communist ideal.
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00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:39,000
Hoxha could now add the
ussr to his long list of enemies.
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00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,520
In his increasing isolation,
hoxha's fear of invasion mounted
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00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:45,240
and his paranoia pushed him
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00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:47,520
to initiate his
bunkerisation programme.
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00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,960
The bunkerisation of Albania
was built on this siege mentality.
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00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,160
The idea that enemies
are everywhere,
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00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,520
ready to strike at any time.
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00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,360
There could be as many as
700,000 bunkers in Albania,
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00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,200
one for every four people
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00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:15,560
and they weren't all mushrooms.
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Hoxha reserved the
biggest for himself
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00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,040
and it's found beneath
the capital, Tirana.
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00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,720
Now we are in a completely
different kind of bunker,
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00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:31,320
this monster going five
floors under the ground.
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00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:34,920
Being equipped with 106 rooms
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00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:39,720
was supposed to protect hoxha
and the communist leaders.
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00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:44,520
And that included also the
whole directors of the army.
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00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,400
They needed to be secured here
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00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,520
against any nuclear, chemical
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00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:54,600
or bacteriological attack.
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00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,120
It was a monumental undertaking
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00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,520
and the tiny Albanian
nation wasn't able to complete
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00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,520
hoxha's maniacal
bunkerisation programme alone.
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00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:08,600
Every now and again
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00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,320
on some of the instruments
deep in these bunkers,
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00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:13,600
you catch a glimpse of a clue
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00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,520
that tells you who
was behind all this.
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00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,360
Hoxha had got into bed
with a dangerous ally.
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00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,000
Hoxha was a true
ideologue and a true believer
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00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:29,400
and so he turned to a
pure form of communism
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00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,320
which they saw in mao's China.
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00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:35,800
Relations with other
eastern bloc nations
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00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:37,240
were increasingly strained...
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00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,760
..And hoxha's alliance with
China was not well received.
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00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,480
During the 1970s, Albania
stepped up bunker production
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00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,040
to stave off the perceived
threat of invasion.
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00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,120
Hoxha had convinced his nation
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00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,480
that neighbours such as
Italy, Greece or yugoslavia
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00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,320
as well as nuclear
powers such as america
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00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,600
and the Soviet union were
on the brink of attacking them.
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00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,080
Their only ally, China,
poured industrial resources
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00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:13,360
into the small country.
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00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:15,880
At its core, was this,
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the metallurgical factory
complex at elbasan.
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00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,560
Framed by these beautiful
mountains in the background
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00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:31,520
you have a man-made
environmental disaster zone.
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There's chimneys,
there's factories,
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00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,840
there's buildings in all sorts
of different states of repair.
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00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,880
More than 500 of
these giant buildings
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00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:43,120
were constructed.
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00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:45,520
Accompanied by
all the infrastructure
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a complex of this
scale would require.
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Giant moulds allowed
prefabricated bunker parts
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00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:55,880
to be fitted together
like a Jigsaw.
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00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:02,160
You can barely imagine the
amount of noise and smoke
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00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:04,040
that must have
emanated from this place.
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00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,360
The metal and concrete
factories in the industrial zone
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00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,360
sped up the
production of bunkers
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00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,520
which were rolled
out across the nation.
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00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,400
But at the same time,
the housing was neglected,
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00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,400
the rest of the infrastructure in
the country was falling behind,
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00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,840
all at the expense of the
bunkerisation programme.
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00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:31,680
Domestic issues were soon
exacerbated by international development,
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00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,880
a pivotal moment in
sino-American relations
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threatened hoxha's rigid
allegiance to communist doctrine.
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00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,160
First kissinger,
then president Nixon
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00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,040
were allowed to visit China,
that was all too much for hoxha,
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and to him,
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00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,680
a sign of China's new
revisionist direction.
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00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,840
Chairman mao died in 1976
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and thawing relations
culminated with the Chinese
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00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,760
breaking off trade with
Albania two years later.
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00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,600
First, it was the Soviets,
then the Chinese,
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00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:09,960
he was falling out with
the very powerhouses
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that were bankrolling Albania.
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He practically
transformed Albania
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into what North Korea
stands today to the world.
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00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,120
This was the most
isolated country in Europe.
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00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:27,320
After hoxha's death in
1985, the regime clung on
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00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,760
but the people were getting
wind of communist collapse
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00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:31,920
across Eastern Europe.
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00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,160
First, you had hunger
strikes by students,
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00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,440
then the people Rose
up and took to the streets,
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00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:40,120
they'd had enough.
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00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:46,600
Albania's marxist-leninist
government fell in 1991.
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00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:49,720
Leaving behind
this bizarre legacy:
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00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,880
Hundreds of thousands
of bunkers left to decay.
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00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,480
Today, the many bunkers
are being repurposed.
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00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,480
Albania is trying
to build this future
197
00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,240
and image as a
tourism destination,
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00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:11,240
and is doing quite a good job.
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00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,480
Eventually, they will
host capitalist visitors
200
00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,120
and there will be
no better punishment
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00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:19,360
for the dictatorship.
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00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,480
And Albania is now
looking outwards
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00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,080
as a candidate to join
the European Union.
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00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,880
Albania for sure
is very enthusiastic
205
00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:31,920
about integrating the eu,
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00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:36,840
this is the big brother that
we've probably been dreaming
207
00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,160
and it's for us like going
back home somehow,
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00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,680
being a member of the
big European family is, like,
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00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,440
really finding out the parents
which we lost many centuries ago.
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00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,200
On america's eastern
seaboard in Delaware,
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00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,760
the drifting sand
dunes reveal a collection
212
00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:02,520
of threatening structures.
213
00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,880
The east coast of the us is
famous for beautiful beaches,
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00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:14,120
you have people picnicking,
you have surf crashing,
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00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,040
you could just be out
for a day on the beach.
216
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,080
Then in amongst the
dunes and the scrub pines,
217
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,080
you catch glimpses of something
that looks completely out of place.
218
00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,640
Closer inspection reveals
a clear military purpose.
219
00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:38,360
So you see remnants of bunkers
and these concrete towers.
220
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,280
It's really in congress, because
you're on this lovely beach
221
00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:44,360
where, as far as
most of us know,
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00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,000
there's never been
any kind of a war.
223
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,400
In fact, war did
come to these shores,
224
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,920
one that would claim
thousands of lives.
225
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,600
On the eastern shores of
the United States in Delaware,
226
00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:06,240
there are distinct signs
227
00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:08,520
that heavy artillery
was once deployed here.
228
00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,800
This long dark corridor
cuts through the centre
229
00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:15,560
of this huge bunker
230
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,040
and old rusty chains
hang from rails.
231
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,400
This was clearly used
for hoisting something
232
00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:25,440
of significant weight.
233
00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,840
Outside abandoned weaponry
still lurks behind the dunes.
234
00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:37,000
Like everything else at this
site, these guns face out to sea.
235
00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:41,440
But who were they afraid of?
236
00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,880
Who were they expecting to
invade the eastern seaboard?
237
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:48,800
It might seem like the
Americans were being paranoid.
238
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,880
I mean, who's going to attack
the us on the Delaware coast,
239
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:52,920
the Jersey shore?
240
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:56,160
In fact, an invasion did come,
241
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,920
but would this facility be
ready to meet the challenge?
242
00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,400
The desolate relics date
back to the late 1930s.
243
00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:10,760
Few people know
what went on here.
244
00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:13,920
For a long time,
245
00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:17,680
their use and function was
kept completely confidential.
246
00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,800
Today historians are keen to
preserve these military monuments,
247
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,040
and dr Gary wray is
leading the charge.
248
00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,320
When the military built this space,
this place became super-secret
249
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:34,800
so you weren't
allowed on the beach.
250
00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,360
Military put the word out that
nothing was to be talked about
251
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:40,160
so what you're looking at here
252
00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,720
is america's first
homeland security.
253
00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:46,680
This is fort miles.
254
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,960
A military complex guarding
the mouth of the Delaware river.
255
00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,520
We don't usually think that Delaware
is one of america's major rivers
256
00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:58,560
for shipping
257
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,880
but it does lead to a
very important harbour
258
00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:02,000
in Philadelphia.
259
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:07,240
A naval shipyard as well
as arsenals and refineries
260
00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,960
preparing high octane
fuel for combat aircraft
261
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,960
were all located up-river.
262
00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,360
This was a key defence
place and on the east coast.
263
00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:20,080
This water behind me was
just saturated with tankers.
264
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,040
So if a foreign power can
get in and stop the traffic
265
00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:25,640
in and out of Delaware bay
266
00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,840
they've taken a great
step toward victory.
267
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,000
The us military arrived
at this 5,000-acre site
268
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,360
and installed the first
large artillery pieces
269
00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:35,680
in 1938.
270
00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:37,720
Just over a year
271
00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,040
before world war ii
broke out in Europe.
272
00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,560
Hitler fantasised about
seeing New York City
273
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,360
engulfed in flames.
274
00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:52,760
Hitler used to talk
about his dreams
275
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,000
of seeing German long-range
bombers attacking our coast.
276
00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,000
One of his more
over the top concepts
277
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:04,040
was that he might actually be
able to do a land invasion of the us.
278
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:06,360
The threat was real,
279
00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,640
we thought the Germans
were coming over the horizon
280
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:09,920
and we were preparing for them.
281
00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:13,800
The layout of the site
282
00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,520
reflects how the us expected
the Germans to attack,
283
00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,360
with their powerful
superfast battleships,
284
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,280
the observation towers
were the first line of defence.
285
00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,520
Tyler dreiblatt has been
studying the site for years.
286
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,440
So this tower was here to spot
for the big German battleships,
287
00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:36,856
like the Bismarck
and the tirpitz,
288
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,160
that's what we were worried
about here at fort miles.
289
00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:43,640
When construction
began on these towers,
290
00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:45,840
the us had yet to enter the war.
291
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,760
But they were sending cargo
ships down the Delaware river
292
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,000
and out across the Atlantic to
support their ally Great Britain.
293
00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,360
After the fall of France
in may, June 1940,
294
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,440
Great Britain stood alone
against Nazi Germany.
295
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,320
The battle of the Atlantic was
an attempt by the Americans
296
00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:08,640
to supply Great Britain
297
00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,200
despite the presence
of the German fleet.
298
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:15,360
This was a tonnage war
299
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,480
and if Hitler could cut
britain off from her supplies
300
00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,520
then victory would
be within his grasp.
301
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,040
Heavy artillery that
could fire miles out to sea
302
00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:29,320
protected the bay...
303
00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,720
..And the flow of
traffic heading to britain.
304
00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:40,160
About late '42, early '43 the
fort was ready to rock and roll.
305
00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:44,960
Made of 100,000
tonnes of concrete,
306
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,360
battery 519 hides the Jewel in
the crown of this defence system.
307
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,160
This corridor cuts
through the centre
308
00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:55,800
of this huge bunker.
309
00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,360
Old rusty chains
hang from rails,
310
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:05,320
this rail leads you to
this monstrous gun.
311
00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,600
When you see this, the
towers start to make sense.
312
00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:17,360
These lookout towers were
intended to help the artillerymen
313
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:19,200
find their targets better.
314
00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:21,560
They would take a
shot, see where it landed
315
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,200
then the guys in the tower
would say two degrees right,
316
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:25,480
two degrees left.
317
00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:30,480
So this tower was one of
15 up and down the coast,
318
00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,680
all working together to target
those enemy battleships.
319
00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,760
The fort's smaller guns also
required bombproof housing,
320
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,000
this mighty structure
is battery herring.
321
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,640
Herring was part of
one of four batteries,
322
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,200
and you can still
see the turntables
323
00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,440
where the six-inch
guns would have sat.
324
00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,880
You could fire a six-inch
gun, it fired 100-pound shell,
325
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,200
armour-piercing shell about
once every 15 seconds.
326
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:02,880
And so a blizzard of
shells would start coming in
327
00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:03,920
on enemy ship.
328
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:06,280
And with more artillery
329
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,200
and fortifications
installed 12 miles away
330
00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:10,960
on the other side
of the Delaware bay,
331
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,120
fort miles was complete.
332
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,680
Now the Americans believed
they were ready to take whatever
333
00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:19,280
the Germans could throw at them.
334
00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,240
A lot of military experts had
their minds in the mentality
335
00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,200
that wars are fought
between giant battleships
336
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,720
bombarding things on land,
337
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,760
giant forts on land
bombarding the battleships.
338
00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,280
Those ships are going
to appear over the horizon
339
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,200
to attack the east coast
of the United States,
340
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,096
so this fort was built
to defend against them,
341
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,680
the Germans,
unfortunately, outfoxed us.
342
00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:46,640
The problem was
Germany didn't arrive
343
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:47,760
with battleships.
344
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:52,960
The Germans arrived with
something far more deadly
345
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,960
that would soon claim
thousands of American lives.
346
00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,920
Just when this defensive
system was completed
347
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,840
it suddenly became obsolete.
348
00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:06,680
December 1941,
349
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,000
Hitler declared war on the us
350
00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,800
and dispatched five state
of the art long-range u-boats
351
00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,000
to attack america's
Atlantic coast.
352
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,480
The stealth of Hitler's submarines
had already caused devastation
353
00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:23,880
in European waters.
354
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,520
The Americans don't really have
good sort of submarine sense,
355
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,200
they're still thinking in
terms of the fleet actions
356
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:32,320
and the open sea
and they don't realise
357
00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:35,440
that these German submarine
wolf packs are creeping
358
00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:36,960
right up to the American shore.
359
00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,680
The lookout towers designed
to help aim the big guns
360
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,280
turned out to be basically
useless against submarines.
361
00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,200
The result was carnage.
362
00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:58,760
During world war ii,
363
00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,920
fort miles had been built
to protect Delaware bay
364
00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:03,680
against Nazi attack,
365
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,080
but they were not prepared
366
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,680
for Hitler's state of
the art German u-boats.
367
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,640
During a five-month
period over 600 us ships
368
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,600
totalling 3 million
tonnes were lost.
369
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,400
Over 5,000 American
sailors lost their lives.
370
00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,280
18 of these ships sank
in front of fort miles
371
00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:27,240
at the entrance of
the Delaware bay.
372
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:31,400
In the interest of morale,
373
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:33,880
us military chiefs
may have wanted
374
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,120
to keep this humiliating
defeat secret.
375
00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,280
But the locals knew something
was happening out there
376
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:43,000
because you could
hear the explosions
377
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:44,720
and see the flames at night,
378
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,040
and then in the morning
you would see the oil
379
00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:48,960
and the flotsam that
would come ashore.
380
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,400
It was a disaster
of the first order.
381
00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,520
The German u-boat
war against us shipping
382
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,920
on our own coast
was devastating.
383
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:01,840
The German admirals
and submarine skippers
384
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,800
referred to these early months
of the battle of the Atlantic
385
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:06,840
as the happy time.
386
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,000
The Americans had to come
up with a counter move fast,
387
00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,720
the curiously long
jetty at fort miles
388
00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:17,320
was part of their response.
389
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:23,640
The decision was taken to
deploy this enormous minefield
390
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:25,520
across the mouth
of Delaware bay.
391
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,480
500 floating mines
tethered to the sea bed
392
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,800
to stop any German submarines
coming up the Delaware river.
393
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,280
The 6,000-pound mines were
deployed in the deepest channel
394
00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,240
of the Delaware bay where
submarines could lurk.
395
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:48,600
The mine were for 1,700 feet
long and it was out in deep water
396
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,280
and you had a
minefield out in front.
397
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,520
It was a huge cable
that went across
398
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,000
from the Delaware side
to the New Jersey side
399
00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:57,720
which blocked the
mouth of the bay.
400
00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:00,680
The men in this tower
also worked together
401
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,600
to spot ships
moving into the bay
402
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,800
where they could make the
decision to set off one mine, 15 mines
403
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,720
or all 455 that crossed all
the way across the Delaware.
404
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,600
With the remotely
detonated mines in place,
405
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,720
fort miles was finally
able to protect war supplies
406
00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,200
coming out of Delaware bay.
407
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,840
Until 14 14th of ay 1945,
408
00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:27,920
when u-boat 858
surrendered at the pier
409
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:31,520
effectively marking the end
of world war ii for this region.
410
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:36,760
After the war,
411
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,840
the German u-boats were
replaced by Soviet submarines.
412
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:46,640
And when the cold war ended
fort miles finally closed in 1991.
413
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,480
Today this dramatic facility
is preserved as a museum.
414
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,520
It serves as a stark reminder
415
00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,720
of just how real the Nazi
threat to america was.
416
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:10,320
In north-eastern Spain in
the ancient province of aragon,
417
00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:11,880
a cluster of buildings
418
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:13,720
have been left high and dry.
419
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,520
This place used to
be really civilised,
420
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,400
there are balconies,
a local watering hole,
421
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,160
a beautiful great church.
422
00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:29,640
You can see where people
lived and where people worked,
423
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,600
where people worshipped,
424
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,680
the only thing you
can't see is the people.
425
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,840
The old stone buildings
are completely crumbling,
426
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,160
the ceilings are really
only being held up
427
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:40,760
by half-rotten tree branches.
428
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,480
At first, there's little indication as
to why this place was abandoned.
429
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:53,400
What kind of evacuation
gives people the time to pack up
430
00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:57,440
all of their worldly goods
and go down the road
431
00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,920
and in hopes of building
a future somewhere else?
432
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:03,600
Something about this
site that doesn't add up.
433
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:09,760
North-east Spain
is a pretty dry area
434
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,200
but there was water here
435
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,760
so it must have been
an attractive place to live
436
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,400
at some point. Why
would anyone leave?
437
00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:22,080
The people who are settled here
had found the garden of Eden,
438
00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,160
but someone with an
even bigger stick wanted it.
439
00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:28,400
It's a David and Goliath story
440
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,520
but this one doesn't
have a happy ending.
441
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,560
This is the ancient
village of esco.
442
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,280
For hundreds of years,
it was a stopping point
443
00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,760
along the 1,000-mile
pilgrimage route,
444
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:47,600
the camino de Santiago.
445
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:53,040
Thousands, millions of christians
would make the pilgrimage
446
00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:55,200
along this route on foot.
447
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,800
This place, esco village,
was a very welcome rest stop
448
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:00,880
on that pilgrimage.
449
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,680
Esco lies in a rugged
mountainous region
450
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,480
thanks to the pilgrims
and the fruits of the land,
451
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,960
it thrived well into
the 20th century.
452
00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,480
Jose Luis clemente
remembers that time well,
453
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,320
this was his childhood home.
454
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,400
Translation: "This
is where I was born.
455
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,960
"I was happy here, I
lived here for ten years.
456
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,920
"I remember it all very fondly.
457
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,440
"Years ago these
ruins we see now
458
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:36,400
"they had a life of their own.
459
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,520
"There was a very
strong community here.
460
00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:45,440
"At the beginning
of the last century,
461
00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,200
"there was as many
as 260 villagers here."
462
00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:54,200
Land suitable for growing
crops is scarce here,
463
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,520
limited to the
narrow valley floor.
464
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,440
But the relics of
irrigation channels,
465
00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:01,800
terraces and orchards
466
00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,000
show the esco farmers made
the most of what they had.
467
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:08,520
Farming was clearly at
the centre of village life.
468
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,480
Translation: "People
lived off the land.
469
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,880
"In these groves, they
grew vegetables, fruit,
470
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:20,400
"all sorts of things."
471
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,200
The village of esco blossomed
by virtue of its geography.
472
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,280
This is a very dry part of Spain
473
00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,920
but this particular
region is well watered
474
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:36,920
by runoff from the
pyrenees mountains.
475
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,040
So for hundreds of
thousands of years,
476
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:43,640
this valley is nicely wetted
by its favourable geology.
477
00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:48,536
Translation: "There was a
water channel that brought water
478
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:49,680
"from the esco river
479
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:51,920
"and that irrigated
all the orchards."
480
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,800
But when Jose was just ten
years old something happened
481
00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,000
to change this
ancient way of farming.
482
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:04,920
The very water that
was the font of life
483
00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:05,960
for this village
484
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,640
would ultimately
strike its death knell.
485
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,560
The mid 20th century was
the height of the fascist dictator
486
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,200
general Franco's reign.
487
00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,360
He led Spain's
drive to modernise.
488
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:23,280
In the 1950s
489
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:25,040
Spain was beginning
to rebuild itself
490
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:26,800
after a series of crises.
491
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:29,440
The civil war, world war ii
492
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,320
and the decision was made
to modernise this part of Spain.
493
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,160
Spanish industry
starts to develop
494
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:41,400
and there is more and more
need for water for farming,
495
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,200
for drinking water in cities,
496
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:46,640
for powering industry
497
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,440
and that water's got to
come from somewhere
498
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,360
and you can't wait
for the rains to come
499
00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:55,320
to run a modern
industrial economy.
500
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,520
Esco sits in the yesa valley,
501
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,640
an oasis in a
notoriously dry region.
502
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:08,240
Here snowmelt and summer
rains coursed downstream.
503
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,600
It was a prime target for
one of general Franco's
504
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:15,960
ambitious water
infrastructure schemes.
505
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,000
The decision was made to
put a reservoir in the valley
506
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:24,680
which they did by damming the
river that runs right through here.
507
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:31,120
In 1960 general Franco
opened his prized yesa dam.
508
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,400
Towering almost 250 feet high
509
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,600
it created one of
the largest reservoirs
510
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:39,760
in the pyrenees,
511
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,480
and flooded 2,500
hectares of land,
512
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,880
including the precious
fertile pastures of esco.
513
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:55,040
But general Franco's iron
grip on the people of Spain
514
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:56,920
meant speaking
out was unthinkable.
515
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,160
Translation: "There were
no protests or anything
516
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,840
"because they were a political
crime and simply not permitted.
517
00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:10,040
"Here the people were
very straightforward,
518
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,760
"not cunning enough and
they did what they were told."
519
00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:18,320
Esco itself wasn't flooded
520
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:22,680
so at first Jose's family and
the other villagers thought
521
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:23,800
they could survive.
522
00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:27,080
So the water starts to rise,
523
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,960
their farmable
land starts to shrink,
524
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,840
their bread basket
was becoming a bucket.
525
00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,800
They tried to sustain themselves
on the land they had left
526
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:38,680
but it simply wasn't
enough to feed everyone.
527
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,640
Bit by bit the villagers saw
528
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:47,480
that their livelihoods were
going under the surface
529
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:48,600
of that lake.
530
00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:52,320
Translation: "The reservoir
flooded all the richest lands.
531
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:56,000
"It wasn't enough for
all the families to live on
532
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,920
"so everyone of them chose to
leave and live somewhere else."
533
00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,960
Water for these farmers
was the stuff of life
534
00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,360
and it was water
that snuffed it out.
535
00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,760
Today Jose heads up the
esco residents association
536
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,200
which campaigns
to get their land back.
537
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,520
But their ultimate goal is
to return home one day.
538
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,280
Translation: "It takes one
drop to start a waterfall.
539
00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:38,960
"So if I put down a
stone and build a house
540
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,680
"others will start to follow
and build more houses
541
00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,120
"and the village will
come back to life."
542
00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,040
Spain has been a
democracy a few years now,
543
00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:55,800
so now it might be
possible for people to return
544
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,720
and make new lives
in their old village.
545
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:10,080
In kawatana, in the
far southwest of Japan,
546
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:11,840
strange structures jut out
547
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:13,200
into the bay.
548
00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:20,680
When you see this area
it looks very peaceful.
549
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,280
Wooded hills, lovely bays,
550
00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:27,280
it looks like maybe someplace
you'd go on a yoga retreat.
551
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,240
But as tranquil as this
place might first appear,
552
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,480
in truth it conceals
a violent past.
553
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,800
As you head up one of the
hills you can see up to the peak,
554
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:42,280
get the most amazing
views out across the water.
555
00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,880
And that I think is the clue
as to what this place was for.
556
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:55,960
This is a very remote location.
557
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,800
You don't see major
towns, it's not a major port,
558
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,160
you don't see a lot of
other boats in the area.
559
00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,080
Whoever built these
buildings had a reason
560
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,720
to be as far away from
other people as possible.
561
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,080
Were they doing something secret?
Were they doing something dangerous?
562
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,400
There are stories
here in these buildings.
563
00:34:17,720 --> 00:34:19,600
While few clues remain,
564
00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:22,800
this site was, in fact,
connected to the deadly attack
565
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,000
on Pearl harbour.
566
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:27,160
So what secret
work took place here?
567
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,640
And what role did it
have on that fateful day?
568
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,040
The peak of activity
dates back to world war ii.
569
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:44,680
Translation: "74 years
have passed since the war
570
00:34:44,720 --> 00:34:47,840
"but in kawatana there
are many places like this
571
00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:49,320
"leftover from that time."
572
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,720
Murai tatsumi is a
volunteer guide in the area
573
00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,520
and first began exploring
this site at a young age.
574
00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,320
Translation: "I happened to be
born here and grew up around here.
575
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:06,720
"So this was a
good area to play in,
576
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,240
"but it used to be like
an overgrown forest here,
577
00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:11,360
"nobody really knew
578
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:13,400
"what those buildings
originally were."
579
00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:19,920
While the history of the
site was neglected for years,
580
00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:24,000
from its earliest days
at the end of world war I,
581
00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,760
this location
played a vital role
582
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,240
in improving Japan's
naval capabilities.
583
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:33,320
I think today many
people don't realise
584
00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,960
just how powerful Japan was
585
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,320
in the first half of
the 20th century.
586
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,920
It had taken over territory
on the Chinese mainland,
587
00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:45,160
it had taken over a number of
formerly German island groups
588
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:46,400
in the pacific.
589
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,280
And they were needing
bigger and bigger
590
00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:54,160
more sophisticated naval facilities
for this big ocean-going fleet
591
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,000
that was going to protect
this growing Japanese empire.
592
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,320
The unique features
still visible today
593
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:04,240
betray the specific
purpose of this facility.
594
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:08,200
The key thing about
this area is the pier
595
00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:10,440
and more importantly
that section at the end,
596
00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:11,680
the cut-out section.
597
00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:14,560
This site is all
about the water,
598
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,600
but we're not looking
at ships or vessels here,
599
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:19,520
it's all about weapons.
600
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:25,320
This was the location Japan
used to test new torpedo designs.
601
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:30,840
This is the katashima
torpedo test site:
602
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:34,920
Situated on the
shore of omura bay,
603
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,440
a large inland body of water,
604
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:41,000
the Japanese Navy had found
a quiet and secure position
605
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:42,920
to advance their
weapons programme.
606
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:50,160
But how would this site go
on to play a devastating role
607
00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:52,200
in drawing the us into battle?
608
00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:56,160
Translation: "Here are the marks
609
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:57,960
"from where the mine
cart rails used to be.
610
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:01,520
"They'd put the
torpedoes in the mine carts
611
00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:02,600
"and then bring them here.
612
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:06,560
"And then here, there
was probably a crane.
613
00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:08,800
"They'd put the
torpedo on the crane
614
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,800
"and lower it 3m to
5m under the water.
615
00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:16,360
"They'd aim it at a target
2km away and fire it from here."
616
00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:20,800
So the whole of the
infrastructure here
617
00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:24,760
is aiming at one thing and
that's testing torpedoes.
618
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:26,640
You have to be
able to track the thing
619
00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:31,040
and that's where we've got the
whole tower up on the hillside.
620
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,600
We can see the
observation platforms
621
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:37,160
where naval officers testing
the torpedoes would watch them
622
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:41,080
run across the water and, you know,
note down observations about route,
623
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:43,160
speed, direction, velocity
all that kind of stuff.
624
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:46,440
You've had spotters
out on boats as well,
625
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:47,760
a risky business
626
00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:50,680
because those torpedoes didn't
always go where they thought
627
00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:51,800
they were going to.
628
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:55,720
Testing facility like this
they were doing a dry run
629
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:57,960
with all of their various
torpedo technologies,
630
00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,640
testing the various fuses,
631
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,880
testing how it would
run at certain depths.
632
00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:04,640
Testing whether it
would explode on impact
633
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:07,160
or if the fuse would explode
near the hull of the enemy ship.
634
00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:11,520
Throughout the 1930s
635
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:15,440
Japan used torpedoes in
pursuit of its expansionist aims.
636
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:18,840
But to perfect their
weapon of choice
637
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:21,600
the land-based facilities
were just as vital.
638
00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:26,336
Translation: "Here
you can see a channel,
639
00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:27,880
"this must be the waterway.
640
00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:31,520
"There are water pools
for industrial water next to it.
641
00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:35,440
"Over here we think
there were machines
642
00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:36,640
"for processing."
643
00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:41,200
Little evidence remains
644
00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:43,640
to determine exactly
how this place ran
645
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:46,280
and the full extent of
the work carried out here.
646
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,520
But tatsumi is certain of
this building's importance
647
00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:51,560
to the project.
648
00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:55,600
Translation: "To fire torpedoes,
649
00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:57,720
"you have to use
air to burn the fuel.
650
00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:02,240
"So in this room the compressed
air was put into the torpedoes.
651
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,040
"This was the most important
part of the preparations."
652
00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:15,240
After years spent
perfecting their weapon,
653
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,880
on the horizon was Japan's
greatest challenge yet,
654
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:21,080
an attack on the us Navy.
655
00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:24,040
To help prepare them
656
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,600
a specific model of torpedo
was tested numerous times here:
657
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:29,960
The type 91.
658
00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,880
This was a torpedo designed
to be dropped from aeroplanes,
659
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:39,680
they specifically modified
it to work in shallow water
660
00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:41,400
because they had
a target in mind.
661
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:44,280
They wanted to use
it for the big attack
662
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,600
they were planning on
Pearl harbour in Hawaii.
663
00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:55,840
Following the
successful attack in 1941,
664
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,280
Japan continued with
its torpedo campaign
665
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:00,160
across the pacific theatre.
666
00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:05,040
Japan's focus on
developing torpedo technology
667
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:07,960
was very smart
because at this time
668
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,720
many naval experts
were still thinking
669
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:14,520
about battleships as the
primary weapon of war.
670
00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:17,760
And battleships, in fact,
were almost obsolete by then.
671
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:22,360
Their strategy was to
kind of draw the Americans
672
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:24,040
across the broad pacific
673
00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:27,560
and whittle down the
strength of the American fleet.
674
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,960
By taking out their big
battleships and aircraft carriers
675
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:32,280
with torpedoes.
676
00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:37,560
The vast majority of ships
sunk in the pacific during the war
677
00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:39,360
were sunk by torpedoes,
678
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:42,200
whether fired from other
ships, from submarines
679
00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:43,960
or dropped from aeroplanes.
680
00:40:45,880 --> 00:40:48,000
With a renewed
interest in this weapon,
681
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,760
the site here began to
expand as investment flowed in,
682
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,560
reclaiming land from the water
to turn the island into a peninsula
683
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,840
and expanding the facilities
upwards and outwards.
684
00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,560
Marooned in the
water, lies the remains
685
00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:06,720
of what was intended
to be the next step.
686
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,416
Translation: "Torpedoes were
believed to be the best weapon
687
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:14,680
"in the world at the time.
688
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,320
"Japan wasn't thinking
about losing the war at all.
689
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:21,320
"So they need to mass-produce,
690
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:23,600
"and they built a factory here
691
00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:26,480
"which was the largest
one in the country."
692
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:31,640
The pace of engineering advancing
during world war ii was phenomenal
693
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:35,360
and this extra building
was for targeting torpedoes,
694
00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:39,320
it was for research into
cutting-edge sonar technology.
695
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:44,016
Translation: "This building
696
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:46,280
"is called investigating
receipt test site,
697
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:48,600
"it was a testing
facility for sonar.
698
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,280
"To help accurately determine
the enemy warship's location
699
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:54,480
"and distance.
700
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:03,880
"We don't have any
records of tests here
701
00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:07,240
"because just after two
years of building the site
702
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:08,480
"the war ended.
703
00:42:10,080 --> 00:42:12,200
"So we think this
was all for nothing."
704
00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:17,440
On 9 August 1945
705
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:20,360
the atomic bomb was
dropped on Nagasaki
706
00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:22,080
less than 20 miles away.
707
00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:26,120
Within days the
Japanese surrendered,
708
00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:30,320
and this entire site has
lain deserted ever since.
709
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:36,080
Translation: "Now we
put emphasis on the war
710
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:38,040
"as something we
shouldn't repeat again.
711
00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:40,400
"And to keep the peace,
712
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:42,320
"we want people to
come and see this place
713
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:44,320
"and think about it carefully."
714
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:56,280
Abandoned, disintegrating,
reclaimed by nature.
715
00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:59,360
Structures once
at the cutting edge
716
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:03,640
bearing witness to the
forces, pioneers and villains
717
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:05,720
that defined the world today.
718
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:11,240
Emblems of a shared past
still standing in our present.
719
00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:14,280
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