All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E08.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und]

[Steven]
Ominous destruction

on a Welsh hillside.

It's hard to believe that
something could have

taken out
that whole middle section.

[Steven] A deceptively
peaceful gateway to hell.

This was a real contrast to

what many of them
knew was to come.

[Steven] And a baffling
ancient wonder

in the new world.

You have all of these
massive arches

You have all of these
massive arches

that really just dominate
the landscape.

[Steven] Decaying relics,

ruins of lost worlds,

sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

In San Francisco Bay,

a cluster of relics
sits marooned

on a hilly island.

You'll come across
what look like

defensive structures,

and you'll see in some areas
there were gun emplacements.

Clearly this was a place
with, you know,

great military
or naval significance.

But when was it used
and who was it
working against?

[Steven] Elsewhere a series
of bucolic structures

[Steven] Elsewhere a series
of bucolic structures

conceals a dark history.

There are some that look
like quaint little houses.

It almost looks like
a little holiday village.

It's like a retreat

or some place
that you would go

to rest and relax,

but it's completely empty,
completely deserted.

[Steven] Who once lived
in these pretty houses?

And what kind of conflict
shattered their life here?

On Angel Island,
ranger Casey Dexter Lee

sifts through
layers of history.

One of the nice things
about exploring around

Angel Island,
is even someone like me

who's lived and
worked here for 20 years,

I'm still discovering
new things.

[Steven] The ruins here
date back to the 19th century.

With the beginning
of the Civil War in 1861,

public concern
over the lack of defenses

public concern
over the lack of defenses

in the San Francisco Bay
continued to mount.

[Steven] This is
Camp Reynolds,

a garrison for up to 700 men,

It's the first military site
to be built on Angel Island.

[Casey] Camp Reynolds
was built in 1863,

to help as defense during
the American Civil War,

to protect San Francisco from
attack from the Confederacy.

[Steven] At first,
Angel Island seemed like

[Steven] At first,
Angel Island seemed like

one of the US Army's most
desirable postings.

[Casey] In 1864, there was
an inspection

and one of the people in that
group was Mark Twain.

And he wrote
about Camp Reynolds

calling it
a pleasant little village.

I can see that little village

that Mark Twain
was talking about,

but this place
has a darker side.

As it turns out, soldiers
posted here were sent off

As it turns out, soldiers
posted here were sent off

to some pretty awful combat.

[Steven] When the American
Civil War ended in 1865,

soldiers stationed on Angel
Island were looking forward

to some well-earned respite.

But it wasn't long
before the threat

of another chilling conflict
rippled through their ranks.

As Americans were pushing

further west
and towards the pacific

these tensions
between Americans

these tensions
between Americans

and Native Americans
grew violent.

And this is known
as the Indian Wars.

[Steven] Native Americans
had attacked white settlers

who'd encroached
on their lands.

And by the 1870s,
the US Government
had forced them

onto reservations.

And the native people
say enough,

and start fighting back.

[Steven] For the two companies
of the US Army

based on Angel Island,

based on Angel Island,

it was only a matter of time
before they were sent

to keep the peace.

They knew they'd pay
the price for the invasion

of Native American lands.

If you were a soldier sent
to Angel Island,

there was a pretty
high probability

that you were going to be
sent to fight

these warring
tribes in the west.

And the troops here, you know,
scouted

provided guards and escorts,

and generally
patrol the American West

during this tumultuous period.

during this tumultuous period.

They would be sent
wherever they were needed.

Wherever there was
an outbreak of fighting
in the Indian Wars.

[Steven] And the men
of Camp Reynolds

knew what they were in for.

[Geoff] It came with
great dangers because,

these battles were fought
viciously without quarter.

So there would been
high anxiety
among troops here,

wondering where they would be
deployed and against whom.

[Steven] Over in Oregon,

rebels from the Modoc tribe
were refusing to stay

rebels from the Modoc tribe
were refusing to stay

on a reservation far from
their ancestral lands.

They were led by a warrior
named Kintpuash,

known to the white settlers
as Captain Jack.

Captain Jack

ended up fleeing
the reservation

that the US Government
had placed them in.

And they instead demanded

to be reserved
on their own land.

[Steven] Captain Jack wanted
to return home

[Steven] Captain Jack wanted
to return home

to lands the Modoc
had inhabited

for 14,000 years.

The US cavalry and a company
of infantry from Angel Island

were sent to defeat them
in battle

and drive them back
to the reservation.

[Steven] Angel Island was
the westernmost outpost

of the US Army.

And the nearest garrison
to the Modoc Wars.

They would leave
the island by steamer,

They'd be dropped
at a railhead

They'd be dropped
at a railhead

they'd be sent into
the interior of the country,

or up a trail into
Oregon Territory.

[Steven] By January 1873,

Captain Jack was holed up

with fewer than
60 Modoc warriors,

in an area of inhospitable
terrain called the Lava beds.

The US Army closed in.

US troops were approaching

what they thought
was flat land,

what they thought
was flat land,

and what they didn't know
was that the Modoc people

were hidden away
in a stronghold.

[Alicia] US troops expected
a quick Modoc surrender,

but that is not what happened.

[Katherine] You have this
great battle where

the American soldiers believed
they're gonna have
an easy go of it.

In reality,
it's very rugged terrain,

it's foggy, it's cold.

The Americans
just get confused.

They're being
attacked from all sides

and they finally retreat.

And this is a great victory
for the Modoc people.

[Steven] The troops withdrew
to Camp Reynolds.

[Geoff] They would be returned
to the island for rest
and relaxation

and to be reformed into
another unit
for another operation.

[Steven] But as the soldiers
on Angel Island

knew all too well,
there was one reason

why the war was far from over.

[Alicia] The Modocs would not
go down without a fight.

[Alicia] The Modocs would not
go down without a fight.

[Steven] In the 1870s,

soldiers stationed at
Camp Reynolds on Angel Island,

were waiting for the call
to return

to the dreaded Modoc War.

Meanwhile, back on
the mainland,

President Grant decided
to change tack in his dealings

with the Modoc leader,
Captain Jack.

He sent a peace commission,

one US general, a clergyman,
to parley with Captain Jack,

and Captain Jack, you know,
welcomed the peace Commission,

parleyed with him, was getting
nowhere with his demands,

so he killed
the two commissioners.

[Katherine] Though
Captain Jack had hoped

that killing these two
peace negotiators

would push the Americans
to back off,

it had the exact
opposite effect.

American troops come down
hard on the Modoc people.

American troops come down
hard on the Modoc people.

[Geoff] This provoked
a violent reaction from Grant.

He sent cavalry troops,
plus the 12th Regiment

from Angel Island,
and they pursued Captain Jack,

cornered them,
fought a battle,
defeated them.

[Katherine]
After their capture,

Captain Jack and three others
were hanged for their crimes.

[Steven] And their comrades
ended up on Angel Island.

The two men who were captured

The two men who were captured

with Captain Jack

died in prison and eventually
were buried on Angel Island.

[Steven] The Modoc War,
is thought to be

the costliest of all the
so called Indian wars.

The casualties
included 53 US soldiers,

17 civilians,
15 Modoc warriors,

of whom only five of which
died in battle.

[Geoff] Both companies
from Angel Island,

suffered heavy casualties
in the Modoc War.

[Steven]
Following the war,

most of the Modoc people
were relocated to Oklahoma.

Few ever returned to their
ancestral northwestern lands.

Angel Island is now
a California state park,

and historical landmark.

As the largest natural island
in San Francisco Bay,

it's become popular
with hikers.

it's become popular
with hikers.

[Katherine]
You've got the space

that was once for soldiers.

Now it's being used by
families and enjoyed by people

uh, from all across the state
and all across the country.

[Steven] On the central
Mexican Plateau,

is an engineering masterpiece,

that once brought life
to this arid land.

[Alicia] There is this
stunning bridge-like structure

that rises over the Earth

and then disappears
at the ends.

[Jim] It looks like
a railroad bridge,

but for some kind
of miniature train,

it's only a couple
of feet wide.

[Steven]
The architectural style

suggests the vision for
this classical looking ruin

was conceived
on foreign shores.

[Jim]
When you get close to it,
you see that,

first of all, it's very old

and it seems to be built like,

something that the Romans
might have built,

something that the Romans
might have built,

or that might have been built
in Renaissance Italy.

[Steven] Nearby,
are more stone structures

and a religious building
that at first glance

appears unconnected.

[Sascha] You've got
a series of tanks and pools,

scattered around the place,

and then you have
what looks like

an abandoned chapel.

[Steven] How do these
desiccated relics connect

to the massive stone monument

and to the surrounding
desert landscape?

and to the surrounding
desert landscape?

[Sascha] There must have been
a good reason

for engaging in such
an extraordinary act

of construction right here
at this remote spot.

[Steven]
The idea for this

outlandish piece
of engineering

came from
an unexpected source.

Raul Macul Martinez,
is an archeologist

at the
Mexican Ministry of Culture.

He spent years sifting through
the desert sands to understand

He spent years sifting through
the desert sands to understand

how these structures
were built.

[Raul]
This is the great arcade

of Padre Tembleque in Otumba.

[Steven] The history
of the Otumba region

is stained in blood spilt
at the hands
of foreign invaders.

[Sascha]
In the early 16th century,

Spanish conquistadors

began a campaign against
the Aztec Empire

here in this region
of Central America.

here in this region
of Central America.

[Steven]
Once the Aztec Empire

had been vanquished,

a period of brutal Spanish
occupation began.

And there seemed little
anyone could do

to unite this troubled land.

In the Mexican desert,

a centuries-old monument
towers towards the heavens,

but its origins
are rooted in hell.

[Raul] As the invading
Spanish armies spread out,

they took control
of nearby towns

and the ancient urban centers.

So on one side,

you had the communities
defending their territories,

their sacred sites and gods

while on the other,

the Spanish were imposing
the new Castilian order,

the European order.

[Steven]
And key to Spanish culture

was their religion.

[Jim]
Everywhere they went,

they would bring these
Catholic Friars

who would set up
missions and try to convert

the native people's
to Catholicism.

[Steven]
The Spanish conquistadors

also enforce their will
on the terrain.

also enforce their will
on the terrain.

The introduction
of European farming methods

like cattle grazing
took a devastating toll

on the limited supply
of fresh, clean water.

If there's one element
that defines Otumba

and the surrounding regions,

it's a scarcity of rivers
and fresh water.

[Raul] The presence of animals

constantly polluted the water.

So, there was a need
to build something

So, there was a need
to build something

to make the water
get to the town,

basically to supply
the convents

and the water fountains.

[Steven] A Spanish priest
called Father Tembleque,

arrived in Otumba
in the mid-1500s.

He suggested a solution
to the problem.

[Sascha] Father Tembleque was
an expert in hydraulic theory,

[Sascha] Father Tembleque was
an expert in hydraulic theory,

the construction of a new
and highly elaborate aqueduct

was meant to supply Otumba,

its residents
and the surrounding region

with the fresh water
that they needed.

[Steven] This is the
aqueduct of Padre Tembleque,

named after the,
Catholic clergyman

who inspired its creation.

Many religious people
in the 16th century,

studied at the
University of Salamanca.

studied at the
University of Salamanca.

One of the biggest
centers of education,

and knowledge in Spain.

And that's where they learned
about hydraulics

and the maintenance
of Roman aqueducts.

As the Padre
would have studied there,

when he got here and saw
the needs of the people,

he came up
with this great idea.

[Alicia]
Some of the people around him

did not have faith
in Tembleque's ideas,

and they called him
'fraile loco de la nada'

or crazy friar of nothing.

[Raul]
The plan was to take water

from the springs of Tecajete,

a small volcanic hill,

and carry it down
from its slopes

through Papalote
and onto Otumba.

The water's route would supply

The water's route would supply

the different convents
along the way.

[Steven] For a project

of this ambitious scale
to succeed,

Father Tembleque
needed the help

of the indigenous workforce.

But he had to convince

skeptical tribal chiefs

that a reliable source
of drinking water

was good news for everyone.

[Raul] He talked to tlatoque,

the local Aztec leaders
who once ruled these lands

the local Aztec leaders
who once ruled these lands

and proposed the construction
of this aqueduct to them.

They agreed to organize squads
of their people

as these indigenous
communities often did.

There were 20 people per squad

in each squad

and they worked
in weekly shifts,

which is what they did
in ancient times.

But they didn't receive money.

They weren't paid.

All they got was food
from their overlords,

from those who ruled them.

[Steven]
But the Spanish invaders

[Steven]
But the Spanish invaders

needed the knowledge
of the indigenous people.

In Europe, when people built
large stone structures,

whether it was a cathedral
or an aqueduct,

they would build an elaborate
wooden scaffolding

around it as they built it.

But out there in the desert,

you didn't have
sources of timber

and, and working with wood
was not something

these local artisans
really knew how to do.

[Alicia] But if you actually
look at this structure,

[Alicia] But if you actually
look at this structure,

we can get some clues

of how they worked
around this issue.

[Jim] So, they came up
with a brilliant idea,

which was to build,
in essence,

a structure out of adobe
that would rise up

as they built the stones,
support the stones

until they got everything
put together,

And then they could take
the adobe away

And you'd have
this beautiful,

self-supporting
stone structure.

[Steven] But with their
brutal treatment

of the indigenous workforce

would the Spanish be able
to convince them

would the Spanish be able
to convince them

to use their skills
and realize the Padre's dream?

In the mid-16th century
in Mexico,

a major civil engineering
project was underway.

Building began in 1555
and lasted 17 years.

Roman ingenuity inspired
the aqueduct's design.

Homegrown expertise
accomplished its construction.

Homegrown expertise
accomplished its construction.

[Raul]
The best way to summarize

the indigenous presence here,

the labor of local men
and women,

boys and girls is that

they left their souls
in these stones.

[Jim] Another clue
to the idea

that these local artisans
were really invested

in this project was
the decorations they did,

the little paintings,
the little insignia,

the little paintings,
the little insignia,

little markings in the rocks.

This shows that it was
the indigenous people

who built this aqueduct,

and they left the mark
of their community's lives

on its walls.

[Jim]
That seem to say,

we're taking some pride
in this, and I wanna

put my John Hancock on this

arch that I built,
because it's a big deal.

The building of this waterway

The building of this waterway

would not have been possible

were it not for the indigenous
people and their knowledge.

[Steven]
When complete,

the entire canal system
stretched for 30 miles.

The channel carrying water
was only about a foot across.

But if that channel
is full of water

all day and all night,
that's a lot of water.

Now they had a system

that distributed water
all year round.

[Steven] And for the next
few centuries,

water continued to flow
along this marvel

water continued to flow
along this marvel

inspired by
ancient engineering.

But in time,

the mountain spring that
supplied it began to dry up

and new sources of water
were sought out.

[Raul] So the abandonment
was already happening

as it hadn't been
used for a while.

It was neglected

and grass and bushes started
to block the water flow.

[Steven] The monument
stands as an enduring

reminder of the clash
between two worlds.

[Alicia]
What remains today is this

fusion of two distinct
cultures and ideas.

You have this Mesoamerican
knowledge of construction

with this Roman hydraulics,

and the two exist together
in this aqueduct.

and the two exist together
in this aqueduct.

[Raul] When the construction
of this aqueduct started,

no one believed that
it would ever be finished

or that it could work.

Local communities here
are still proud

that their ancestors
built this.

[Steven]
On a remote hillside in Wales

[Steven]
On a remote hillside in Wales

a series of stone relics
has survived the centuries.

[Geoff] Looking around in the
valley you see a lot of these

old, old structures.

[Steven] There are homes here
as well as signs of industry.

[Jim] As we make
our way up this valley,

we see these two strange
thick walls.

[Claire] And it looks
a bit higgledy piggledy,

but it's definitely been
placed there deliberately.

[Jim] The whole middle section
of the wall is
completely missing,

[Jim] The whole middle section
of the wall is
completely missing,

and through the gap flows
a small little river.

[Steven]
Something catastrophic

caused this well-built wall
to collapse.

[Claire]
If there's a failure

in either
the masonry structure

or an explosive failure,

then you're basically sitting
on a bomb of energy.

[Steven] As the pieces of this
stone jigsaw come together,

a picture of an important past
starts to emerge.

[Jim]
This valley was pivotal to

British history
for several reasons.

[Steven]
David James' family has lived

in the Elan Valley
for generations

He knows how to read
this landscape.

[David]
So we're walking towards
the entrance of the mineshaft.

There was metal work here

to lift the lead ore
out of the mine.

to lift the lead ore
out of the mine.

[Steven]
Lead has been mined here
for thousands of years.

And over the centuries,

an extensive infrastructure
had developed.

[Geoff]
By the 18th and 19th century,

Britain becomes the center
of lead mining in Europe.

[Steven] The Elan Valley
became a hive of industry

as people flocked
to work here.

[David]
The miners that worked here

lodged in the different
cottages and farms

lodged in the different
cottages and farms

spread throughout
the Elan Valley here.

[Steven]
But there are also some

seemingly unrelated structures
hidden near this site.

[David] You've got bricks
inside and outside,

and then the concrete,
reinforced concrete
in between.

The walls are roughly
about a foot and a half thick.

[Claire] They're leftovers
from the Second World War

All they're designed
to do is hold a man,

All they're designed
to do is hold a man,

a gun and defend an area

that he can see
directly from it.

They line up
one after the other

and you create
a wall of fortification.

In here, you have a window,
for the marksmen to

point their guns out of.

[Kasper] These gun ports
face down the valley

toward a series of lakes,

which have been manmade,
but for no apparent reason,

but directly downstream
of Elan Valley

is the city of Birmingham

and its vast
industrial hinterland.

[Jim]
In the late 19th century,

Birmingham needed a better
source of fresh water

as their population grew.

They constructed a series
of dams to impound

the water in this valley.

[Steven]
It took almost 10 years

to lay 73 miles
of underground pipe,

build four dams,

and flood 850 acres
of Elan Valley,

submerging a manor house
and a lead miners' village.

And by the Second World War,

water from the Welsh valleys
had helped Birmingham grow

into a center of ordinance,
armaments,

and vehicle manufacture.

The British were worried

that the Germans
might try to attack

and take out these dams.

[Geoff] This was
the German planning

[Geoff] This was
the German planning

for Operation Sea Lion,
their eventual takeover
of the British isles

And so the British were
on guard against attacks

on key infrastructure.

[Steven]
The overgrown fortifications

were built to guard

Birmingham's
crucial water supply.

But one dam at the head
of the Elan Valley

has been blasted apart.

So, did the Germans
fulfill their mission?

In Wales,

the broken Nant-Y-Gro Dam sits
at the top of the Elan Valley

Its destruction dates back
to the Second World War.

[David]
So what we had here

was Nant-Y-Gro Dam

Um, it was stretched across

the Nant-Y-Gro stream here.

As 35 foot high
and full of water.

As 35 foot high
and full of water.

And as you can see,

the middle of the section
of the dam

was completely blown away.

[Steven]
By the start of the war

the Nant-Y-Gro Dam
had become redundant.

[Claire] The Nant-Y-Gro Dam
was a substantial

structure in its time,

originally built
for the workers

living in the area.

But times have moved on

and it wasn't needed any more.

[Steven]
But with the onset of war

the out-of-use dam
came into its own

when it attracted
the attention

when it attracted
the attention

of the British inventor
and aeronautical engineer,

Barnes Wallace.

[Jim]
Barnes Wallace

began thinking about
what it was gonna take

to damage
German infrastructure.

The British knew there
were a number of dams

on Germany's Ruhr River.

If they could knock out
one, two, three of these dams,

it could set the Germans
back months or years.

[Claire] So, Barnes was
starting from scratch here.

How could he

How could he

take out a huge dam
behind enemy lines?

[Steven]
No fighter plane

had the capability to carry
a bomb that was big enough

to blast the dams
from the air.

So, Barnes Wallace

started by experimenting
with naval torpedoes.

But the Germans had
already thought of this,

and they had assembled

an array of underwater nets

to protect these dams
from just this risk.

to protect these dams
from just this risk.

[Steven]
He had to find a way

to blow up the dams
using smaller bombs.

He needs to find
a place in the UK

where he can try out this
dam busting concept.

[Claire] That's where
the Nant-Y-Gro came in.

It's only a fifth of the
size of the dams

that they were aiming
for in Germany.

But if they could get it
to work on this one,

there was a good chance

if they scaled it up, it would
work behind enemy lines.

[Steven]
But the Nant-Y-Gro Dam

[Steven]
But the Nant-Y-Gro Dam

wasn't that easy to destroy.

[David]
The first experiment

was done in May 1942.

And even though
it was spectacular,

it didn't cause
much damage to the dam.

[Claire]
It goes off successfully,

but barely dents
the dam structure itself.

They need to think bigger.

[David]
They come back in July 1942,

with a bigger bomb,
a 279-pound explosive,

with a bigger bomb,
a 279-pound explosive,

dangled it from the center
of the dam, under the water

and remotely detonated it
and boom!

It blew a hole in the dam
you see today.

Sixty foot wide, the hole is,

and if you come through here,

what we have here

is the remains
of the other side of the dam.

And if you look down here,
the bottom of the dam was left

And if you look down here,
the bottom of the dam was left

and the rest was blown away.

[Claire]
This experiment proves that

if he could get
a big enough explosion

just below the waterline,

you could blow
the masonry apart

and then use the pressure
of the water built up

behind the dam,
use all of that energy

to tear apart
the structure itself.

You're onto a winner.

[Geoff]
Now they have to figure out

the tactics
of skipping that bomb

up against the wall
of the dam.

[Jim] Wallace thought,
"What if I can build a bomb

[Jim] Wallace thought,
"What if I can build a bomb

that could bounce along
the top of the water

over the nets the Germans
had assembled

to protect their dams?"

[Steven]
With the Nant-Y-Gro Dam gone,

the bouncing bomb
was perfected

on other British reservoirs.

And in May 1943,

Barnes Wallace's
bouncing bombs

successfully took out
two German dams,

marking a big turning point

marking a big turning point

for the allies in the
Second World War.

Back at the broken dam
in Wales,

enthusiasts like David

continue to unearth
the secrets of this site.

[David] I absolutely love
the history
of the Elan Valley.

It goes back as far back
as the Bronze Age

and is still making
history today.

[Steven] On the flatlands
of central Belarus

sits a small
collection of ruins

with a big history.

[Sascha] All across the site,
there's a real hodgepodge

of different
types of buildings

from different periods,

some ancient,
some more modern.

[Michele]
Ceilings have caved in,

walls have collapsed

and the greenery
and grass look like

they're almost swallowing

they're almost swallowing

the structures up.

[Steven]
Spanning just 100 acres,

the secret to this
site's success

is cleverly concealed.

[Claire] It's not all about
the surface,

underneath there's lots
and lots of tunnels,

lots and lots of places
to get lost.

[Steven] These hunkered down
military constructions

would dictate
the fate of Europe.

[Sascha] Were it not for
the small but mighty fortress,

the situation might have
turned out very differently.

the situation might have
turned out very differently.

A lot more Europeans might be
speaking French today.

[Steven] Local historian
Sergei Pshantsev

has known this place
for many years.

[Sergei] During my childhood,

I came here with my friends.

We were curious to learn
more about every basement,

every tunnel,
every part of it.

every tunnel,
every part of it.

[Steven] This is the
Babruysk Fortress.

Its story is linked
to one of the most

infamous men
in European history,

Napoleon Bonaparte.

[Michele]
In the early 19th century,

most of the European continent
was under French rule

and the power of the mighty
Napoleon Bonaparte.

[Steven] Back then,
these ruins and the country

of Belarus were part of the
Russian Empire,

the sworn enemy of Napoleon
and his allies.

the sworn enemy of Napoleon
and his allies.

[Michele] Various plans were
drawn up for the defense

of the Russian Empire

and one suggested
a series of fortresses

along the rivers on the
western side of the empire.

[Steven] In 1810,
construction began.

A series of state-of-the-art
strongholds would

block Napoleon's paths
into Russia.

And the town of Babruysk was
essential to guarding Moscow.

And the town of Babruysk was
essential to guarding Moscow.

[Claire] This was a key spot
on the river,

a tactical advantage
to create a fortification.

You could stop
a huge number of people

moving from A to B
in this particular spot.

[Steven] The Russian czar
threw everything he had

at building a fortress
to defend his empire

against the most
formidable of adversaries.

[Claire] Napoleon didn't do
things by halves,

he raised a massive,
massive army

he raised a massive,
massive army

a huge number of men

and started approaching
the Russian border.

[Sascha] Using troops
from all over
his European territories,

he raised an army
that's estimated to have been

between 450,000
and 650,000 soldiers.

This was the largest
invasion force

that had ever been
put together
in European history.

[Steven] And with fewer than
half Napoleon's troops,

the Russian commanders were
facing almost certain defeat.

the Russian commanders were
facing almost certain defeat.

In 1812, in the Belarus
town of Babruysk,

a carefully designed
Russian fortress

was bracing itself
for a vicious onslaught.

Two hundred miles away,

the warring Napoleon Bonaparte

had crossed the border
into Russia.

[Sascha] Napoleon expected
a quick victory.

He thought he could
push straight through

He thought he could
push straight through

to the capture of Moscow,
the capital.

[Steven] He was determined
to reach the city

and engage the Russian army
in open battle.

Napoleon Bonaparte
was a scrapper.

He was a fighter.

He was a...

You know, really wanted
to get up close

and punch the enemy.

And he had thousands
of troops behind him.

[Steven]
But little did he know

that this time

his daredevil attitude
would work against him.

[Claire]
What he wasn't expecting

was for the Russians
to retreat.

[Steven] With Napoleon
hot on their heels,

the fleeing Russian army
raced across 100 miles,

heading for the safest place
they knew,

the Babruysk Fortress.

[Sascha]
This was the only fortress

on the route to Moscow
that had the infrastructure

that could hold out against
a determined assault.

[Claire]
When the Russian troops

made it to Babruysk,

they received a warm welcome.

they received a warm welcome.

They found medical supplies,
they found food,

and they found a defensive,
safe place to stay.

[Steven] When the French Army
reached Babruysk,

Napoleon was hoping

to find the Russians lined up
for a glorious battle.

But the Russians
had retreated,

and all that remained was
a small garrison of men

cowering in the fort.

Even so,

the clever design
of the czar's fortress

the clever design
of the czar's fortress

meant that
the battle-hungry Napoleon

would be unable to conquer it.

Behind me, you can see

the defense moats
of the Babruysk Fortress

that would have been full of
anti-infantry spikes
at the bottom.

These spikes were there

to stop the enemy's cavalry
and infantry.

And the cannons that defended
the Babruysk Fortress.

Once stood above the moat
all around the perimeter.

Once stood above the moat
all around the perimeter.

There would have been
about 300 cannons

a very serious threat
to any enemy.

[Claire] If anyone steps
into that zone,

they are risking
getting a huge, huge

set of explosives
sent their way.

[Steven]
The well-planned kill zone

ensured that Napoleon
could not take the fort.

So, he left behind

a large detachment
of 10,000 men

a large detachment
of 10,000 men

to lay siege

and starve out the remaining
Russian defenders

holed up inside.

But thanks to the foresight
of the Babruysk planners,

the Russian garrison had
one more trick

to thwart Napoleon's
domination of the fort.

[Sergei] We are currently
standing in a mine tunnel

around five or six meters
below ground.

These mine tunnels were built

These mine tunnels were built

so that soldiers could leave
the fortress

for scouting or sabotage

without being seen
by the enemy.

Altogether, it was
a unique creation at the time.

During the siege,

they used the tunnels
to sneak out

and spy on the army,

collecting vital intelligence
that could then be forwarded

to the Russian Army
high Command.

[Steven] Meanwhile,
as the remaining
Russian troops

at Babruysk continued
to withstand the siege,

at Babruysk continued
to withstand the siege,

Napoleon drove
his exhausted men

on towards Moscow,

expecting to find
the Russian army there.

But at the gates of the city,

the French dictator met
a confusing sight.

When Napoleon's
depleted grand army

finally reached Moscow,

to their utter disbelief,
they find it abandoned

and scorched
to the ground as well.

[Claire] The Russians
had already left.

They already moved out.

They already moved out.

They were not going
to engage in the fight.

And Napoleon and his

already stretched, depleted,

unhappy troops
found an empty city.

[Steven]
With winter approaching

and food supplies dwindling,

Napoleon had no choice
but to retreat.

And there was one thing

blocking his path
back to safety,

the still undefeated
Babruysk Fortress.

During their retreat
from Moscow,

Napoleon's troops were
really quite battered.

So, they had to find somewhere
to get some rest,

regain stability

and regroup their forces.

But since
the Babruysk Fortress

was still held
by the Russians,

he had nowhere to retreat to

and that was the final straw.

After such a long retreat,

the French army
never recovered from it.

[Steven] The fortress
remained unconquered,

and for The Great
Napoleon Bonaparte,

it was an utter humiliation.

[Sascha] The Napoleonic
invasion of Russia

is one of the greatest
military disasters of all time

and that is really
the beginning

of the end for Napoleon.

Within two years,

Napoleon is going to
have to abdicate

and go into exile.

[Steven]
Today, the Babruysk ruins

[Steven]
Today, the Babruysk ruins

lie silent and crumbling.

[Sascha] Why is this place
important to me?

I lived here

and also my father served
in the military here

before retiring as Major.

So every building,

every bush is familiar to me.