All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S10E03.Enemy.At.The.Gates.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

Tom ward (narrates):
A forgotten facility

that changed the
face of a nation.

The factory was the envy
of producers all over Europe.

Chilling tunnels hidden
beneath a Scottish city.

Many people believe
that body snatchers

might have used the vaults
to store their victim's bodies.

Vestiges of an empire in
Croatia still guarding the coast.

It's clear this site was built

to defend against a
mighty naval assault.

And ruins of a battle
that shook america.

The Japanese were able to
put their boots on American soil.

Decaying relics,

ruins of lost worlds,

ruins of lost worlds,

sites haunted by the past,

their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

(Theme music)

In the heart of
Scotland's capital city,

dark caverns are
hidden from view.

We're on a bustling
main street in Edinburgh.

You have no idea that
below the pavement

lies this whole series of
vaults, of open spaces.

It's a maze that you
wouldn't want to get lost in.

They weren't built
to be beautiful.

There's damp old stones,

clearly these were built long

before modern
construction techniques.

This place is spookily
dark, untouched by sunlight,

this place is spookily
dark, untouched by sunlight,

you definitely need a
torch to explore down there.

What secrets are hiding

in the darkness of
Edinburgh's vaults?

I've worked here for
many, many years now.

And when you begin
to get to know a place

very well you become
more and more aware of what

there is still to know about it.

As a tour guide, Naomi
Wells is fascinated

by Edinburgh's unseen past.

It's just a very
haunting human story

and how people use
and experience space

is something that I'm
particularly interested in.

This vast network of tunnels

and chambers lies under
a very unusual street.

What looks like
an ordinary street

is actually a bridge
spanning a low valley.

This is south bridge,

this is south bridge,

completed in 1788

with a bizarre ceremony
to Mark the occasion.

When the bridge was complete

it was agreed that the
eldest local resident,

a rich judge's wife,

would be the first
person to cross the bridge.

Unfortunately, the
particular old lady in question

passed away a few days
before the opening ceremonies.

They decided they would
still have the unfortunate

old lady cross the bridge

only it would be her
funeral procession

and she would
riding in a casket.

So, imagine,

the superstitious
among the Edinburgh

population looking up
at their brand-new bridge

and seeing it
opened by a corpse.

Many people from
that day forward

believed the bridge
was therefore cursed

and some people even
refuse to walk across it.

Yet others
recognised it's value,

these spaces left
under the Bridges arches

opened up a new
world of opportunities.

Opened up a new
world of opportunities.

When the bridge was built it
was simply a series of arches

holding up the roadway,

but very quickly people realised

that this artery of transportation
was a valuable piece of real estate.

They started building buildings
on either side of the bridge.

That meant that the arches

were completely surrounded
by these dwellings.

Floors and ceilings were
added within the arches

to create a series of chambers
up to four storeys deep.

In total the space is broken up

in to around 120
individual vaults.

The people who own
the buildings on either side

now, had access to this space
under the bridge, these vaults.

South bridge became
Edinburgh's first shopping street.

All sorts of trades
operated on the bridge,

everything from wine
merchants, leather merchants,

everything from wine
merchants, leather merchants,

book binders,
cobbler shoe makers,

tailors, milliners,
mansion makers as well.

And its merchants made
shrewd use of the hidden floors

below street level.

Some of the vaults were used
as workshops by the vendors

and those deeper below
ground were used as storage.

You can still see the numbers
painted on the storage shelves,

used as inventory
for the trades' people.

It's a way of
creating further profit.

They could make more
money by converting

and renting out the
space beneath it as well.

These chambers may have
been convenient and profitable,

but a huge problem was
starting to rear its head.

These vaults tended to get
very damp when it rained.

So, here is probably the best
example of how damp it is.

Anyone who is familiar
anyone who is familiar

with how long it takes
these mineral deposits

to form will know
that in about 250 years

we shouldn't really
have anything this size,

which shows truly
just how much water

has been dripping
down through the bridge.

The construction of the
bridge was somewhat rushed

and done a little
bit on the cheap

and the bridge builders
neglected a key step.

One crucial material was
missing, puddling Clay,

which would have made
the bridge watertight.

Water percolated
through the structure

and into the vaults.

It was a catastrophic
blow to the merchants.

Goods are rotting,
tools are rusting.

It's creating health conditions.

And also if you're in a
very damp environment

which is very airless
as the vaults is,

it begins to affect
people's lungs.

It can begin to give you
joint problems as well,

particularly if your
feet are wet all day

and just the noise,

the continual drip, drip, drip

the continual drip, drip, drip

from the ceiling for
12, 14 hours a day.

One by one businesses
began to leave.

Only seven years
after their creation

the vaults were completely
deserted but not for long.

Edinburgh was in the midst
of a humanitarian crisis.

During this period there
was enormous migration

within Scotland as
people left the countryside

where the poverty was terrible,

and they moved by the
thousands into the city

looking for any kind
of work they could get.

No new buildings had been
built in the city for many decades.

And as a result as
the population doubles

in the early 1800s
more and more people

are not finding
anywhere to live.

The alternative to trying

to find shelter
somewhere above ground

was to come down in to
the now vacated chambers

beneath the bridge.
Beneath the bridge.

Despite being damp and
dark, the vaults appeared warm

and safe compared to
sleeping out on the streets.

Rooms such as this one
would have been advantageous

because it had a
strong heavy door,

it's also got a fireplace
so that you can warm up,

you can dry wet clothing,

and you have potential
to cook an evening meal

to get some warm
food inside you,

even if that's just a
very thin watery broth.

And it creates a space that at
least gives the opportunity for parents

to get their children up off
the floor away from the damp

and, of course, any vermin

that would have been
in the vaults as well.

Despite these benefits,

dangers were lurking
around every corner.

It was a hot bed
for criminal activity,

illegal whiskey distilleries,
black market dealings, and worse.

These dark secluded
chambers were the perfect place

because the police would
never come down here looking,

because the police would
never come down here looking,

no one would ever
be any the wiser.

Up to 3,000 people could
have been living here.

By the 1860s
overcrowding, disease,

and poverty were
completely out of control.

As Edinburgh's
population boomed,

along came the
eternal urban problem

of disease spread
by human filth.

There was no sewage system,

waste would collect
in the low lying areas,

and cholera was rampant.

The council needed to
do something about this

to reduce mortality.

They began knocking down
many of the old tenements,

so, they could be rebuilt
with modern sanitation.

The new standards of hygiene

made a big
difference in the city.

But destroying vast
amounts of housing,

but destroying vast
amounts of housing,

it's a major job and
created a lot of rubble.

The council shoved
all this rubble

from the demolition
in to the vaults.

The clearances were not
intended to do anything

about those that were
underneath the bridge,

but filling in these chambers
with rubble and stone

effectively evicted them.

Abandoned by the
people of Edinburgh,

the vaults remained
untouched for around a century.

Filled with rubble, the
vaults were forgotten about

until the 1980s

when they were
rediscovered and excavated.

A Scottish former rugby star

made it a project
to start excavating

and exploring these old vaults.

Even after 4 decades
of excavation,

Naomi believes there's
still more to be discovered

underneath south bridge.

A few years ago, more
vaults came to light.

So, there is
always a possibility

so, there is
always a possibility

that there might still
be some left to discover.

On the remote
Alaskan aleutian islands

is a collection of crumbling
ruins that seem eerily out of place.

These islands are so far out

that they're actually
closer to Russia

than they are to the
contiguous United States.

The area is known for its
harsh, inhospitable climate.

Yet, there are many
structures here.

There are bunkers, there
are gun emplacements.

This is definitely part
of some military activity

on the island.

This must have been an
important place to defend.

And there's evidence
of a violent attack.

The cratering
here makes it clear

that this was caused by
bombs dropped in anger.

That this was caused by
bombs dropped in anger.

Why were these
rugged isolated islands

so, fiercely contested?

Many flat tyres in my
lifetime doing just this.

This is a really scary place
to drive, very sheer cliffs.

Laresa syverson is a
native of the aleutian islands

and looks after many
military structures

left abandoned here.

As a kid it was a
giant playground.

So, right now

it's a pretty important
national historic area.

The aleutian's military
history began in 1867

when the United States
bought Alaska from Russia.

But an armed presence
wasn't really felt until 1940,

but an armed presence
wasn't really felt until 1940,

when us troops descended on to
amaknak and UN-Alaska islands.

The aleutian islands
are militarised very rapidly

and very effectively at
the outset of world war ii.

With a clear vantage point, a
series of defences were built

on mount ballyhoo to protect

a us naval base
in Dutch harbour.

These ruins are
part of fort schwatka.

The buildings were made
up of multiple barracks

and recreation centres,
all to serve the 250 soldiers

who were stationed
on this mountain.

Well, we're gonna go
over to the barracks,

which is where a lot
of the soldiers lived,

did their day-to-day activities.

There is about 100
buildings here in this area,

all up this side and...

Further all the way
around to the point there,

further all the way
around to the point there,

the lookout point.

This one obviously it's
been pretty obliterated.

So, that's happened a lot to
the other structures as well.

This damage reflects the
unforgiving environment.

The weather here, I
mean, it can be beautiful

and calm and serene,

and then it could also
be blowing 120mi an hour,

especially up here.

We're a little over
800ft up from sea level.

That's one of the highest
instalments actually

for us army in
the United States.

It made life particularly tough
for the soldiers stationed here.

Being sent to the aleutian's
was not a moment of joy

for many of the men
who served there.

Despite the harsh terrain,

a military presence here was
deemed crucial by the us army.

After the attack on Pearl
harbour, December 7th, 1941,

the American people
shift their mind set.

They are ready for
a war in the pacific.

As the Japanese achieved
victory after victory in the pacific,

the us were scrambling to get
their forces to new defences.

The aleutian islands could
enable the Japanese forces

to attack the west coast

of the American and
Canadian mainland

and control the north pacific.

Fort schwatka was one of many

defence fortifications
strategically placed

along the
archipelago's coastline.

They became known
as the iron ring.

So, we have a lot
of cement bunkers,

we have the gun emplacements.

That's one of the gun
mounts out towards that way.

That's one of the gun
mounts out towards that way.

On a clear day you could
potentially see aircraft.

In may 1942

the defenders worst
fears were realised.

A secret Japanese message
had been intercepted by the us,

warning of an impending attack.

They had rushed
planes to nearby airfields

so, that they would be ready
to launch on a moment's notice.

They were just completely
ready for this attack.

The 3rd of June, the day
they had been anticipating.

However, the notoriously bad
weather was about to wreak havoc

on the us plan when
the skies turned.

The Japanese fleet
got lost in the fog,

not lost to themselves
but lost to the Americans.

And that gave the Japanese
a new element of surprise.

Cutting through the fog,
the Japanese were heading

for the us naval
base below the fort,

for the us naval
base below the fort,

Dutch harbour.

In the early hours of the morning,
a deadly barrage was unleashed.

On the ground,
shrill sirens sounded

waking sleeping soldiers.

Men ran to their
anti-aircraft guns.

This was an 8-inch gun,

the largest gun the
military had at that time.

And it gave you
22mi in any direction

that you were shooting.

This was probably
one of the first things

that started going off
when they were attacked.

It wasn't just the fog
that would cause chaos.

The gunners are shooting
at the Japanese planes,

they're expecting air support.

They're expecting
it, they're expecting it,

and it doesn't come.

The nearest airfield 70mi away

on umnak island was hampered
by communication problems.

There was interference, so
the men weren't able to get

news to the
airplanes to take off.

So, the crews sat there completely
unaware of what was going on.

The Japanese
were able to continue

their ferocious airstrikes on
Dutch harbour the next day.

They attacked fuel tanks,

they attacked the barracks
and they attacked the hospital.

And things were
about to get worse,

a landmark event that
shocked america to its core.

The Japanese landed ground
troops on two of the islands.

Now, these islands are not
themselves of great significance,

but the Japanese
presence on land

had the potential to be
psychologically effective.

This is a big deal
to the United States

and it's a big deal to Japan.

And it's a big deal to Japan.

No other foreign power
had occupied American soil

since the British in 1812.

The us government knew that
it could not allow the Japanese

to hold us soil so
close to the mainland.

They retaliated by
launching an all-out campaign

to recapture the islands.

Victory was secured 14
months later at a heavy cost,

nearly 4,000 American

and Japanese soldiers
lost their lives in the fighting.

The native umnak people
who had inhabited the islands

for 8,000 years also
suffered the horrors of war,

and not only at the
hands of the Japanese.

After the bombing the
American government

after the bombing the
American government

rounded up all the umnak people

and interned them
in south east Alaska

to abandoned fish camps.

The evacuation was
meant to secure their safety

but the operation
was a disaster.

They are not well housed,
they are not well fed,

and it is not a good look

for america that
the aleut islanders

were treated like
enemies almost.

It's really hard to hear the
stories of people dying on the way,

people dying there, never
being able to return home,

not being able to
be buried at home.

They were banished
for three years.

It's a very dark chapter.

It's really hard for people to talk
about it like even my grandma,

it's really hard to hear what
those people went through.

And with each time that, you
know, one of our elders passes away,

and with each time that, you
know, one of our elders passes away,

we learn a little bit more
and we lose a little bit more.

Alaska would never
be the same again

after the battle of
the aleutian islands.

In the world war ii,
it became very clear

how important Alaska
is for strategic control

of the north pacific.

Only a few years after
Alaska becomes a state.

Alaska was not a folly,

Alaska was strategically vital.

In 1996 us congress designated

the aleutian islands as
a national historic area,

dedicated to the aleut people.

They lost so much,

and today there's
a national world war

and today there's
a national world war

ii park in the area that works

to recognise the
sacrifices that they made.

So, those stories
are starting to be told

and becoming a part
of the broader story

of the United
States in world war ii.

My hope for the
future is that it will be

a safe place for
people to learn about

the world war ii
history of the aleutians,

not just our island but the
whole aleutian campaign.

In remote northwest
Iceland lies a sleepy village

that was once an
economic powerhouse.

Well, this is a land
that's well-known

for things like vikings
and witchcraft, sorcery,

as well as the
beautiful northern lights.

The surrounding landscape
gives this isolated village...

Another worldliness
type feeling.

Broad daylight reveals
clues to the village's past.

One building really stands out,

this concrete structure that
you really wouldn't expect

to find in an otherwise
picturesque place.

The first thing you see
when you step inside

are these vintage machines.

We see conveyor belts,

and pipes, and all
kinds of equipment.

In it's day this was probably
a cutting-edge facility.

Could the industrial
building explain

why this village has
been abandoned?

It smelled, but they
called it the money smell.

Yeah, it's difficult to imagine

yeah, it's difficult to imagine

to have hundreds
of people living here

but it was a thriving
little village back then.

This is djupavik,

a quiet Hamlet that
sits on one of Iceland's

many beautiful fjords.

Heoinn asbjornsson grew up here.

My parents moved here
when I was very young.

They're probably the
only ones that lived here

the whole year-round.

Empty buildings,
no sounds of traffic,

and not a single
person in sight.

But in the first half
of the 20th century

life here was very different.

These houses were
built here in the 1940s

due to the fact that
people had jobs here,

and they started to settle
and had their families.

So, all of these houses were
full of people back in the day.

And they were all here
because of one thing.

Herring is a fish
that has been used

herring is a fish
that has been used

for human consumption
for many, many centuries.

Iceland's relationship with
this humble fish began in 1867.

The herring industry
really built the economy

of modern Iceland.

By the early 1930s
herring accounted for almost

a half of the nation's
total export income.

Djupavik with it's natural
harbour wanted a piece of the pie.

In 1934 ambitious plans

were put in place to build
a herring processing plant

and the largest concrete
building Iceland had ever seen.

So, the amount of concrete
is really unbelievable.

The factory is around
6,000 square meters.

The factory is around
6,000 square meters.

There's over 1,200
tons of strengthening iron

in every beam and
the lofts and roofs.

Construction was
a huge challenge.

There were no
roads to this location,

everything had to
be bought in by ship,

the concrete, the equipment,
and ultimately all the workers.

So, this is the boiler,

the steam engine,
the heart of the factory.

It's over 50 tonnes.

This was taken out of a shipwreck
on the south coast of Iceland

and dragged behind a boat

all the way from the
stranded ship towards here.

The travel took about...

Three months.

And this actually
was coal heated

and produced
steam for the factory

in order to just
let it function.

So, there was a vital
part to bring to this factory.

So, there was a vital
part to bring to this factory.

Building this factory

was an utterly remarkable
engineering feat.

It really shows how
extraordinarily resilient

and resourceful
these Icelanders were.

It was one of the largest

and most modern of
its kind in all of Europe.

The production line
was set in motion

in 1935 when the first boats

sailed into the bay with
their holds full of herring.

So, this is where they stored

the fish underneath
the main building.

So, on both sides of this
corridor are eight big rooms,

the middle that we see here

they had a conveyor belt

that actually transported
the fish when it came time to

process it, it came all the
way up to the third level

where the production started.

All three of the factory floors

were filled with modern
machinery for processing the fish.

The key to a factory like this

was that it broke
the herring down

in to constituent parts that
could be sold separately.

One by-product was
invaluable, herring oil,

which the efficient
modern production

was able to make in
staggering quantities.

So, in each tank they
could actually store

between 1,000 to
1,200 tonnes of oil.

When it was at the
peak of the production

they could run
through the factory

for 24 hours over 500
tonnes of material of fish.

A lack of oil before and
during the world war ii meant

this Icelandic product
was in great demand.

Fish oil particularly was used
to lube up small machinery

and even in some cases used

and even in some cases used

for military purposes
to make explosives.

Prices went up

and the factory
experienced rapid success.

It was actually liquid
gold at the time.

For one ton of herring
oil sold from the factory

you could actually go
and buy an American car.

The owners of the factory
became incredibly wealthy.

Herring changed the
economic landscape,

entire towns and
cities like djupavik

were built on the
legacy of the trade.

This was Iceland's version
of the American gold rush.

People came from far and
wide to seek their fortune.

They had a bakery, there
was a doctor on the spot,

there was a post office
and telephone station.

At the height of
the fishing season,

hundreds of people
would descend on djupavik.

The factory was so crowded
that workers lived in tents

the factory was so crowded
that workers lived in tents

and even on an
abandoned steam ship.

Between 20 to 30 people
the most in the ship at once.

The people that
took the short straw

of sleeping in the
ship were often

single men that loved to drink.

Business was good here but
the bubble was about to burst.

By the 1940s

the ships were bringing
back just a fraction

of what they've been
bringing in a decade earlier.

The number of
herring in Icelandic

waters had
dramatically declined.

You had bigger
boats, bigger nets,

and with that bigger catches.

And so herring stocks
began to collapse

in parts of the Atlantic.

Climate change
effecting ocean currents

was also a major factor.

As a result, herring
migration routes shifted.

As a result, herring
migration routes shifted.

And with no herring
in nearby waters

the tanks dried up.

The plant finally shut its
doors for good in 1954.

It had had a brief
but intense run

less than 20 years
from boom to bust.

After the factory's closure

the village remained
abandoned until the 1980s.

We had a connection
because of my great grandfather

was here working
for the factory.

The image of the place
never left my father.

And then all of a sudden, he
was the owner of the factory.

They opened a hotel that we
know as the hotel djupavik today.

The hotel that they run

has been referred to as
the loneliest hotel in Europe.

Has been referred to as
the loneliest hotel in Europe.

Of course, it's
not a luxury hotel,

but it's like a grandma,

good feel, guest house.

And that's the spirit of
djupavik in our opinion.

The upkeep of the
former factory isn't easy.

We take tours
through the factory,

we have opened an exhibition

that tells the history about it.

There's no doubt that
without the herring,

Iceland wouldn't be
the country it is today.

We have very high
living standards.

And this building
is part of the steps

that we took towards
the modern-day Iceland

that we know.

In north west Croatia

in the calm waters
of the adriatic is a ruin

that charts the rise and
fall of a European empire.

It's a beautiful rugged stretch

and with beautiful aquamarine

blue water washing
against a rocky coast.

Then perched
high on this hillside

is a building that seems to
blend in to the surroundings.

The top is carpeted
in vegetation.

But as you get closer,

there are distinctive features

that indicate that
this is a complex built

for defence.

It's a fortress.

A circular construction

at the heart of the
building appears older

than its surroundings.

The way the rest of
the structure radiates out

from the central point
seems to suggest that

it expanded over time.

Underground is a maze of
claustrophobic passageways.

Once you get inside
it's quite cramped.

Quite dark and dingy

and into these narrow
galleries and narrow rooms.

The sheer scale of it suggests

that it housed a lot of
soldiers and a lot of supplies.

Who built this and
what was it that required

who built this and
what was it that required

such immense protection?

And did this fort do the
job it was designed for?

The story here dates back
to the early 19th century,

a time when Croatia fell under
the rule of the Austrian empire,

and then later the combined
forces of the austro-Hungarians.

I like come to here.

This is a very fascinating place

because there
are lots of stories,

or legend about this fortress.

Igor jovanovic is a
local teacher intrigued

by the building's past.

You can feel the
history from that stone.

They are shouting about history,

pula and Europe of the
19th and 20th century.

The first structure's
built in the 1820s,

and that's when
the Austrian empire

really started to
fortify this area.

It's original construction

it's original construction

owes much to the
strategic position of the city

and the harbour it overlooks.

Pula has a long history
that goes back centuries.

You only have to look at the
incredible Roman amphitheatre

to get an idea of just how long.

What's interesting is that it
was kind of forgotten about

until the early 1800s.

At that point it
wasn't even a town,

it was just a small fishing village
of around 800 or 900 people.

But suddenly everything changed.

Prior to 1815,

the Austrian empire
was landlocked

after it lost its coastal lands
in the war with Napoleon.

After Napoleon's fall,

they were able to
claw back territory

and pula was top of their list.

They got their access
to the ocean back again,

and they didn't waste any time

in making it a centre
for ship building

and a way to
project naval power.

And they've got to
endower it with fortifications

that will mean that no
foreign Navy can come in

and tear it all up.

Located just a few
miles from the city of pula

and the harbour it
was built to protect,

this is fort punta cristo.

This huge monument
was built in several phases.

First phase started

when first martello
tower was built here.

Second phase was 1851

when the second larger
semi-circular fort was built.

From 1880 to 1883 two
additional wings were added,

which transformed it
in to the polygonal fort

that we see today.

There are no cannons
or big guns left,

but you can still see

the circular metal mounting
points at strategic places.

This was short range
Cannon, field Cannon,

16 centimetres
rotating with four people,

supplied with four people,

and protected three
sides of the view.

And protected three
sides of the view.

We had this Cannon
mount on every corner

of fort punta christo.

This fortress was
heavily defended

and most definitely
ready for action.

As the fortification grew
so, too did the empire's Navy.

Soon the harbour was
brimming with heavy destroyers,

cruisers, and torpedo boats.

The pride of the fleet

was the new dreadnaught
class battleships,

stronger, faster, and
more heavily armed

than any ships ever
built before them.

In a pretty short space
of time they had amassed

a significant and powerful Navy.

And it would have been
really a sight to look out

in to this bay of pula
during the heyday

of the austro-Hungarian empire

when their entire battle
fleet was assembled there.

It was full of warships
ready to go in the war,

ready to act. Ready to act.

It's genuinely easy to see

why this was such a
vital area to protect.

But to defend this
mighty naval fleet,

punta christo was
just one of a series

of forts built during this time.

The austro-Hungarian's knew

that it wasn't enough merely
to fortify the harbour of pula,

they had to fortify the
entire area and coastline.

27 forts and 60 artillery
batteries were constructed,

which fort punto
christo was the largest.

It's 100,000 square feet,

it accommodates around
500 soldiers, you know,

several companies of
infantry and all their stuff.

People lived here
from all the nations

from austro-Hungarian empire,

long military service.

There is no connection
with local people.

It was very, very, very
difficult to live here.

The soldiers slept in
cramped underground quarters,

spending each day
preparing themselves for war.

Spending each day
preparing themselves for war.

Now, we are here
in the rifle mount

for 15 shooters.

The shooter stand
here on the guard

like this with the rifle.

Next to him was second
member of the crew

who give him ammo.

This was very hard job.

You can imagine,
stay here eight hours,

it was the shift, or
if you are punished

maybe 10, maybe 12 hours.

With the guns at fort
punto christo ready,

who would possibly
dare to invade?

In December 1914

France made it's move.

When world war I started,

one French submarine curie

tried to enter in pula bay

to destroy some warships,

but they were discovered.

The sub was
spotted from the fort

and the south battery
was the first to open fire.

Very rapidly other ships
from the fleet closed

very rapidly other ships
from the fleet closed

in and sunk the sub, they
took it down very quickly.

The failed attack sent
a powerful message

to the enemies of the
austro-Hungarian empire.

The reality was that
there was no way

a conventional seaborne
attack could succeed.

They had to come up
with something much better

to get any hope of
getting in to that harbour

and sinking a lot of
austro-Hungarian ships.

In the final days
of world war I,

Italy played its hand.

A 37-year-old major
named rafello Rosetti

had been working
on a new technology

designed specifically to
take out pula's defences.

Under the cover of
darkness two Italians

secretly piloted a torpedo
that had been designed

to run at low speed
to avoid detection.

And they go right up to
austro-hungry first dreadnaught,

the viribus unitis,

and they attach tnt mines
to the hull of the ship.

The charges were set,
the charges were set,

around 6:30am they detonated.

Around 400 crew
members were killed,

either by the initial blast
or by drowning afterwards.

This was one of
the only occasions

when the defences of fort
punto christo were breached.

But the tragic
irony of this story

is that the war was already
over for the austro-Hungarians.

They had surrendered
their fleet only the day before

and it handed it over to
the newly created kingdom

of the Serbs,
croats and Slovenes.

It's not sure if the Italians
who made this attack

knew that the austro-Hungarians
had already surrendered

or if they just
wanted to make sure

that their ship didn't fall
into the hands of their rivals.

Either way the
outcome was the same,

and it meant that a lot of
people were needlessly killed.

At the war's end,

fort punto christo
passed peacefully

to Croatia's new
occupying force.

There is no enemy
anymore, the war is over.

There is no enemy
anymore, the war is over.

Here was celebration,
party, 400 soldiers,

they celebrated,
they will go home.

The fort would soon
become redundant.

Basically built on technology

from the 1830s through the 1890s

it's now effectively obsolete,

so, it's all abandoned

and has no military
purpose any longer.

Fort punto christo

may no longer be used
as an instrument of war,

but that hasn't stopped other
marauding hoards from invading.

Once a place full
of young soldiers,

it's now full of
young party goers.

For the last few years,

it's been the base for
summer music festivals,

exhibitions, and
other cultural events.

It's a complete world away
from it's original purpose,

which is probably a good thing.

(Music)

Captioned by
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