All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S05E06.Secrets.of.the.Doomsday.Caves.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

*

Narrator: an underground
Compound that contained

The power
To pull apart a nation...

To even get an idea
Of the immensity of this place,

You really have
To get down there.

It'll blow your mind.

Narrator:
...A pioneering complex home

To a covert plot that could've
Changed the world forever...

It's rare to be sad
About a death averted,

But in this case,
I think we can be.

But in this case,
I think we can be.

Narrator:
...And a desolate landscape

With a mysterious past...

As they started digging away,
They found bodies

That showed evidence
That they'd been murdered.

*

Narrator: decaying relics,

Ruins of lost worlds

Forged through years of toil

Now haunted by the past.

Now haunted by the past.

Their secrets
Waiting to be revealed.

*

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

*

In a remote part
Of washington state,

Miles from the nearest town
Lies an incredibly secret site.

Miles from the nearest town
Lies an incredibly secret site.

*

The area now is desolate with
Barren land

And a junkyard all around.

There aren't a lot of people.

There's not a lot going on, so
If you wanted to hide something,

It would be
A good place to do it.

There are these large
Concrete pads.

There are these structures
In the ground

That you can't quite place.

That you can't quite place.

The site gives very little
Indication of what it is

That's underground.

To find out,
You have to investigate.

Narrator: to do that,
You have to go deep,

Deep underground.

This is clearly a highly
Engineered structure,

And the fact that they put
So much underground indicated

They must've had
A really good reason

Not to just build a building
On the surface.

Not to just build a building
On the surface.

It's completely dark underground
With rusted tunnels

Leading off into the darkness,

Giving the impression
That the site is far larger

Than the human eye can see.

If you want to actually find out
What's there,

You need somebody to get their
Scuba suit on and go on in.

*

With so much water
In the tunnels,

It begs the question
Whether this was

The cause of the end
Of operations at this site.

*

*

Narrator:
Scuba diver jim brockus

Has spent many years

Exploring this baffling site.

So if you're looking for clues
To what this site

And this area actually was,

You really don't have to look
Any farther for the biggest clue

Because I'm standing on it.

These are actually
Two very large doors.

These are actually
Two very large doors.

They weigh 125 tons
For each half,

So you can imagine
The size of these doors,

What it would take
To lift them up.

*

The structure is something
Enormous.

The engineering
That was behind all of it

And the capabilities
To build something out

In this remote area
Of this magnitude,

It just makes your mind spin
Of what could this possibly be?

It just makes your mind spin
Of what could this possibly be?

*

Narrator:
So why put all this engineering

In the middle of nowhere?

The answer lies
In the nuclear-fueled politics

Of the 1950s

When the united states
And soviet union

Were on the brink of a war
Of an unprecedented scale.

Selwood:
The threat of the cold war

Was real
And very frightening.

America had never been
In this position before

With the specter
Of annihilation

Seemingly around every corner.

Seemingly around every corner.

Meigs:
The logic of nuclear weapons

Is absolutely terrifying.

There was this crazy logic

Called mutually assured
Destruction, mad,

That meant that the only way
To really be safe

Was to convince your opponent
That even if they hit you first,

You could still strike back
And wipe them off the map.

Narrator: the u.S. Needed
A weapons program

That would spread fear
Into the heart of their enemy,

And with soviet ground forces
Growing in size

And with soviet ground forces
Growing in size

Along the border region
Of western europe,

Time was running out.

Once the soviets acquire
Nuclear weapons,

Deterrence for the west
Is absolutely central

Because the western forces
Are vastly outnumbered.

*

Narrator: their answer was to
Build a weapons system

That had the power to blow apart
A whole nation --

The titan missile.

These rockets were
State-of-the-art technology

These rockets were
State-of-the-art technology

Of the sort
That nasa was using.

They had a range of 6,000 miles
And reached speeds of up

To 25 times the speed of sound
By the time the engines cut out.

*

Narrator: but to guarantee
You could strike back,

You needed to insure you could
Survive an initial attack,

And that is where this hidden
Facility came into play --

The larson air base titan I
Missile silo.

The larson air base titan I
Missile silo.

*

Well, right now, we're about
40 feet underground.

To even get an idea
Of the immensity of this place,

You really have to
Get down there

And see the size
Of those launch tubes

And the other supporting
Structures that are down.

That are just --
It'll blow your mind.

Narrator: today, much of this
Facility lies beneath water.

Narrator: today, much of this
Facility lies beneath water.

*

When you get to the launcher,

You'll be on
The service elevator,

And the service elevator
Is permanently stuck

At the top end of the missile,

Which is where it was
Frozen into place

From the water
And lack of service,

And that's where you step off of
When you begin the dive.

That's really where you see
The enormity

Of the launch tubes
Themselves.

You look overhead,
And you see those launch doors.

They're closed,
125 tons a piece.

They're closed,
125 tons a piece.

*

Narrator: across this site
Are three of these spaces.

*

The three silos were all linked
By tunnels

Containing living quarters,
A medical center,

And most crucially
A command-and-control center,

And these were all entered
Around the missiles

To maximize the speed

With which they could be
Got ready and fired.

Brockus:
So we're in the control room.

This is definitely the heart
Of the facility.

This is definitely the heart
Of the facility.

The control systems in this room
Controlled the fueling,

The liquid oxygen,
The rocket propellant,

The whole launch sequence,

The raising of the antennas

Because those also had
To be done,

And the initialization
Of the countdown,

Which we have to remember
Took 15 minutes from the time

That they hit the go button.

*

Narrator:
The men behind the controls

Narrator:
The men behind the controls

Had the power
To unleash armageddon,

And one tiny mistake
Could cost them their country.

Brockus: there would always be
Probably six people in here.

They were very isolated,
Very lonely I'm sure,

But they probably were a real
Close group with the other four

Or six guys that were here.

I mean, they were family,
But at the same time

They were gonna take it
Very serious,

But they knew if they were
Called into service,

It might be the last service
They ever do.

It might be the last service
They ever do.

*

Narrator: so were the men down
Here ever called into action,

And why is this site

Now submerged
Under gallons of water?

*

Narrator:
Deep in washington state

Is a titan missile silo

That was on the front line
Of america's cold war defense.

Alert 24 hours a day,

This was one of many similar
Sites across the country.

Selwood:
Titan wasn't the only program

The americans were running.

Simultaneously, they were also
Developing the atlas program,

Simultaneously, they were also
Developing the atlas program,

And this was an indication

Of just how desperate
They were to make sure

They had the best technology
At any given moment.

Narrator:
But why go to all the effort

To bury these missiles
So far underground?

*

You put missiles deep
In the ground

With massive armored covers
And concrete around them,

And unless you score
A direct hit

And unless you score
A direct hit

On that complex,

That is going to survive,

And if it survives
A nuclear strike,

Then you can fire
Your retaliation.

That's what they were
Gambling on that enough missiles

Would survive an attack

That we could then open up
The silos and launch back.

*

Narrator:
But putting it underground

Caused some serious problems.

Caused some serious problems.

One key danger was that
The groundwater level

At the site was high,

And the water had to be
Pumped continuously

To keep it out of the system.

Technologically,
It's a simple problem to solve,

But looking around
At the flooding today,

It's clear quite how
Catastrophic it could've been

If it had gone wrong.

Narrator: but water was not
The only danger

These silos faced.

These silos faced.

Storing hundreds of tons
Of highly flammable rocket fuel

Presented its own risks.

Fueling the missile
Is a very complex process,

And it's very,
Very dangerous,

And if you make
The slightest mistake,

It can be very, very fatal.

Narrator: fortunately, these
Missiles were never launched.

In fact, the site was only
Active three years

Before it was left abandoned,
But why?

Before it was left abandoned,
But why?

Meigs: this period with
The titan missiles

Didn't last that long.

Ultimately, they designed
Better missiles,

More reliable,

That didn't require
These dangerous liquid fuels,

So the program was actually
Being phased out by 1965.

*

Narrator: today, this site
Sits abandoned and alone,

But its history
And what it was built for

Helped keep a nation safe.

Helped keep a nation safe.

Meigs: looking back,
It seems so insane.

We spent hundreds of billions
Of dollars

On these missiles
In holes in the ground.

The soviets pretty much
Wrecked their economy

Trying to keep up
In building their own missiles,

And yet, in a perverse way,

It worked in the sense
That we never had a major war,

Either nuclear
Or non-nuclear,

During that entire period
Of the cold war.

*

*

Narrator: south of
Germany's capital, berlin,

Is a former hangout
Of celebrities

And crucible of a deadly plan

That nearly changed
The course of human history.

*

Wawro:
You come upon this site,

And it's surrounded
By farmland, fields.

There's some broken tarmac
Around it.

It's got these big,
Cavernous buildings.

It's got these big,
Cavernous buildings.

The design is clearly meant
To incorporate

All of the most modern materials
Of mid-20th century technology.

Wawro: this has to have some
Kind of important purpose.

Here we have a building

That has got very few
Internal supports,

Very high roof, thin walls.

The building is designed

So that you can build
Very big things inside.

Narrator: some things around
The site didn't seem to add up.

Narrator: some things around
The site didn't seem to add up.

Inside, they're defaced
With all kinds of graffiti

In multiple languages,
Especially russian,

And that, of course,
Begs the question,

Why are these buildings
In the heart of germany

Filled with russian graffiti?

*

Narrator: in the 1930s,

A pastime was booming
In popularity across the world.

New feats were being achieved
That astounded fans.

New feats were being achieved
That astounded fans.

The 1930s is really
The golden age of flight.

*

At this time,
Pilots were celebrities.

They were adventurers
Of the sky.

Wawro:
You've got charles lindberg

Making the transatlantic flight

In the spirit
Of st. Louis in 1927.

Then in the early '30s
You've got the flights

Of amelia earhart
And italo balbo,

And we're seeing european
And american fliers

And we're seeing european
And american fliers

Crossing the atlantic

Expanding the boundaries of
Flight more and more and more.

Narrator: at the heart of this
Was rangsdorf,

Originally home to the booker
Airplane manufacturer

Who was world-renowned
For building

And testing sports planes here.

*

Knut hentzschel is
A historian at the site.

Interpreter: rangsdorf, was very
Popular among the pilots.

Interpreter: rangsdorf, was very
Popular among the pilots.

Many famous people trained
At the flight school

In rangsdorf.

Even the famous ocean pilot
Charles lindberg visited.

*

So this is a place
That's not far from berlin,

And in the early 20th century,

The most exciting thing
You could do

Is learn how to fly a plane,

And people with money
Would come from berlin,

And people with money
Would come from berlin,

And they would get
Their flying lessons here.

*

Narrator: so what caused this

Once-glamorous facility's
Downfall,

And what terrible event
Made this site notorious?

*

Just a few miles from berlin
Is an airport

That was once home
To the rich and powerful,

But with the onset of war,

All that was soon
To disappear.

The germans were banned
By the treaty of versailles

From having any
Offensive weapons,

So they weren't allowed
To have heavy artillery.

They weren't allowed
To have tanks.

They weren't allowed
To have tanks.

They weren't allowed
To have submarines.

They weren't allowed to have
Big battleships,

And they weren't allowed
To have aircraft.

So the german government
Encourages private individuals

To join flying clubs
And learn how to fly,

And the german government
Encourages companies

To build private planes
For people

Who want to learn how to fly.

And they would have these
Sport airports, like rangsdorf,

And they would have these
Sport airports, like rangsdorf,

Where fliers
Could practice flying

And say they were doing it for
A sport not for military use,

But, meanwhile, this was

Basically the seeds
Of the luftwaffe.

*

Narrator:
Rangsdorf was at the heart

Of this covert operation,

But there is something
About this airfield

That is notably missing.

Interpreter: unlike today
When every airport

Has one or more runways

Made of concrete, planes started
And landed on grass.

Made of concrete, planes started
And landed on grass.

At that time, the engines
Were quite weak,

So they always had
To start against the wind.

The round shape of the airfield
Allowed planes to take off

In every direction,
Wherever the wind came from.

*

Narrator:
Once war broke out in 1939,

There was no longer a need
For this ruse.

Along with most of
Industrial germany,

Along with most of
Industrial germany,

Rangsdorf was pressed
Into supporting the war effort.

Inside these hangers,

Some of the first
Military planes

Took the place
Of civilian aircraft.

Interpreter:
We're standing here in front of

The so-called
Special building.

This building was built
Especially for war production.

The aircraft parts
That the germans

Built at the rangsdorf airfield

Using foreign prisoners of war
Were for some of the most

Using foreign prisoners of war
Were for some of the most

Important planes in
The german arsenal,

Like the stuka dive bomber,
Like the focke-wulf fighter.

*

Interpreter: we're in
The final assembly hall

Where planes were assembled.

The aircrafts stood very close
Together, side-by-side.

The engines were installed.

The wings were mounted,

And finally,
The aircraft were weighed.

Here you can see the remnants
Of the aircraft scale

Where the center of gravity
Was measured.

Where the center of gravity
Was measured.

After they were done
With the measurements,

The big hall gates
Were pushed open,

And the planes were
Driven out to field.

Narrator: the parts
And planes made here

Were key
To the german war effort,

So it is slightly ironic

That a place
That helped the rise of hitler

Was to become the scene
Of a plot to stop him.

The airport really cemented
It's place in history

On july 20, 1944,
When a high-ranking officer

Named claus von stauffenberg
Boarded an aircraft

Named claus von stauffenberg
Boarded an aircraft

To fly to hitler's high-command
Post for an important meeting.

He carried with him a briefcase
With two bombs.

*

When he arrived at the meeting,

He found an excuse
To go off to the toilet.

He armed the bomb.

He came back
And put it in position.

[ explosion ]

And stauffenberg leaves
Hitler's bunker in rastenberg,

And stauffenberg leaves
Hitler's bunker in rastenberg,

Hears the explosion, assumes
That hitler is gonna be dead

Because he placed
His briefcase bomb

Essentially at hitler's feet
Under the table.

Narrator:
Unfortunately for stauffenberg,

The briefcase and bomb

Are moved behind
A heavy table leg,

Which takes most of the force
Of the blast.

Hitler is wounded but alive.

*

Interpreter: we still have
The original flight order

Documenting his return flight.

Documenting his return flight.

Stauffenberg landed in
Rangsdorf probably not

Knowing that the assassination
Attempt had failed.

*

Wawro: eventually, stauffenberg
And all the other plotters

Are rounded up
And brutally executed.

Some shot, some tortured,
Interrogated,

And then hung on meat hooks
To die slow deaths,

And hitler watches the videos
Of those executions.

*

Narrator: the war dragged on
For another bloody year,

Narrator: the war dragged on
For another bloody year,

And soon rangsdorf would have
New equally brutal owners.

Interpreter: the place was
Vacated in late april 1945.

The next day, the soviet army
Took over this airfield

And also flew
Their attacks on berlin.

Meigs: the soviets were great at
Taking over infrastructure

And putting it to new use,

So they took over
The manufacturing facilities

And used it to build engines
And specifically jet engines.

And used it to build engines
And specifically jet engines.

They built helicopter pads
So they could use it

As a base
For helicopter operations,

And they occupied the airport
For many years.

*

Narrator: following
The reunification of germany

In 1990,

The soviets soon abandoned
Rangsdorf and the airfield

Was left to decay.

*

Today, rangsdorf stands empty
And forgotten,

Today, rangsdorf stands empty
And forgotten,

But it's important place
In history

Should always be remembered.

We look at a lot of nazi sites,

And we see a lot of darkness
And evil and despair,

And it really means something
When we look at this airfield

To think about
The small number of people

Who had the moral courage
To put their lives on the line

Who had the moral courage
To put their lives on the line

To stop the darkness.

*

*

Narrator: deep in a remote
Corner of colorado

Lies an incredible landscape

That for decades was forgotten
And unexplored.

*

The environment's a really
Remarkable topographical feast.

The environment's a really
Remarkable topographical feast.

You've got these
Plunging canyons and valleys.

You've got flat-top hills
Everywhere.

It's a visual feast.

Meigs: it's a land of cliffs,

Narrow spaces, mysteries.

You could hide away in here

For a long time
And not be found.

Narrator: and it seems someone
Wanted to do exactly that

Because hidden away

Deep in the rocks

Deep in the rocks

Are some
Extraordinary remains.

What's unique about this site
Is if you were walking along

And you didn't happen to
Glance up you might miss it.

This is an area that holds
A lot of history,

But it's not always visible
On the surface.

*

Narrator: and it isn't just one
Or two of these remains.

They are everywhere.

They go on and on and on.

They go on and on and on.

It's not just a few
Small dwellings.

It's actually, you know,
A sort of town,

Almost like a city
In the cliffs.

They're truly awe-inspiring not
Only because of where they are,

That they're on rock face,
That they're high up,

But the sheer size of them.

There are little cliff dwellings
Tucked in almost everywhere,

Very hard to see in some cases,

Far off the ground, incredibly
Remote and inaccessible.

Far off the ground, incredibly
Remote and inaccessible.

Narrator:
So why are these remains here,

And what terrifying danger

Were the people
Who built them hiding from?

*

In the late 19th century,

A group of men
Made an amazing discovery.

*

So I have something pretty
Incredible to show you,

But first we have to get up
To the top of the ladder.

Narrator: cristy brown is
A guide at the site.

Narrator: cristy brown is
A guide at the site.

She has spent the last 15 years
Studying the ruins

And learning more about
The people that built them.

*

So we just climbed 32 feet
Up this ladder,

But we're hundreds of feet
Above the canyon bottom,

And we're about to go into
Balcony house.

Narrator: the men
Who discovered this site

Stumbled upon it by accident.

The first, you know, people that
We really credit

The first, you know, people that
We really credit

With discovering these sites
Were the wetherills.

They were a ranching family
Out of mancos,

And they started recognizing,
You know, what they were seeing

As dark shapes on the cliffside
Was actually a cliff dwelling.

*

Can you imagine what it was like
To scramble up here

And walk into
These ancient homes

And realize
You might be the first person

To set foot in here

Since the original
Inhabitants left?

Since the original
Inhabitants left?

*

Narrator: in fact, the group had
Accidentally discovered

One of the most important

Ancient sites
In north america --

Mesa verde.

*

But what had they found?

Who built it,
And why is it now abandoned?

*

*

In the dry southwest of america
Is mesa verde,

A site that laid
Forgotten for centuries.

After its discovery, you could
Imagine as an archaeologist

This would be
An absolute playground,

So there was a lot
To be uncovered,

And as
They started digging away,

They found more
And more and more.

So just like
Any true curiosity,

So just like
Any true curiosity,

You know, the more we learn

And the more the earlier
Archaeologists learned

About what was going on here,
The more questions they had.

*

Narrator:
The mysteries were vast,

But there are clues that lie

In the buildings
That can help identify

Who these people were and when
The buildings were built.

So we look at the openings
Of these sites,

And we think that
They're windows

And we think that
They're windows

Because they're so small,

But in actuality
They're doorways,

And that helps us understand
How tall these people

Were in stature.

And we look back in history,

And we can start dating,
You know,

When these people might have
Been around this area.

*

Once archaeologists
Really began

To investigate
These cliff dwellings,

They realize this was an era
Of native american life

They realize this was an era
Of native american life

That we didn't know
Anything about,

And it predated
All of the tribes

And peoples
That were in that region

When the first people
Of european descent

Started to come into that area.

*

Narrator: the archaeologists
Discovered this was home

To the ancestral puebloans.

The ancestral puebloans had
To have been very skilled

Not only in terms of making
Baskets, making pottery,

Not only in terms of making
Baskets, making pottery,

Making things that would sort
Of help serve everyday life.

They engineered this space,

And it's something
To really marvel at.

Narrator: so many amazing
Discoveries were made,

But the most enlightening
And incredible

Was that the cliff dwellings
At 800 years old

Were just the tip
Of the iceberg.

*

*

This was just a small piece

Of a bigger part
Of a huge puzzle.

The archaeologists have
Unearthed some 4,700 sites

Over tens of thousands
Of square miles

That these people have made
A success over many,

Many years living in this area.

Narrator: curiously,
These precarious sites

Were not their first homes.

So although the cliff dwellings

Were some of the first sites
To be discovered,

Were some of the first sites
To be discovered,

The archaeologists realized
That the history of these people

Went back much, much further.

What we're seeing here is one of
Those dwellings that they were

Living in before they were
In the cliff dwellings.

This pueblo-style construction
Allowed them to be closer

To their crops
And at the same time

Allowed them to take advantage
Of habitation

For their expanding population.

Narrator:
The ancestral puebloans

Thrived on these mesa tops.

Thrived on these mesa tops.

At its height, there were 30,000
People living in the area.

They developed roads,
Built sun temples,

Reservoirs,
And farmed the land.

Mitchell: the ancestral puebloan
People were able to command

Around 40,000
Square miles of land.

This puts them on par with
The sort of most important

Ancient civilizations
In the americas,

And so they're incredibly
Significant.

They were able to establish
An empire, if you will.

They were able to establish
An empire, if you will.

Narrator:
But then something changed.

They suddenly decided
In the late 1190s to give up

All they had on the mesa tops

And migrate from the flats

To the cliff enclaves below.

One has to wonder why it is
That a culture that was doing

So well on the mesa tops moved
Into these cliff dwellings,

And then the mystery deepens
Whenever you realize

And then the mystery deepens
Whenever you realize

That they were only here
For a short period of time

And then they left.

Whatever drove these people
From their open villages

And their mesa-top farms
Into these remote, dangerous,

Difficult cliff dwellings,

It must have been
A powerful force.

Mitchell:
You have to wonder whether

There were ecological concerns

Or whether they were trying
To find more secure dwellings.

They might've been at war
With other indigenous people,

They might've been at war
With other indigenous people,

And so there are all sorts
Of things

That are kind of hard to know.

There must've been something
That was so terrifying

That they would take these risks
Of dragging their families

And their babies up
These cliff faces

To live in these tiny,
Cramped little rooms,

But whatever it was
That they were fleeing

From made it worth it.

*

Narrator: so what secrets
Do these ruins reveal?

Narrator: so what secrets
Do these ruins reveal?

What happened to
The site's inhabitants?

*

Narrator:
In the high cliffs of colorado

Are the amazing ruins
Of mesa verde.

Because the civilization
Is so undocumented

And there's no written
Language associated with it

In terms
Of archaeological finds,

There's no real way of fully

Understanding the great extent
Of this civilization.

What was it's final demise?
We'll probably never know.

What was it's final demise?
We'll probably never know.

Narrator: for decades,

Researchers have
Debated the possible reasons

That could've caused this
Ancient civilization to fall.

The site seems to have only been
Used for 100 years,

And a grim discovery
May point to a violent end.

*

They found bodies that showed
Evidence that

They'd been murdered,

And so that led people
To start thinking,

And so that led people
To start thinking,

"Well, certainly
Something is happening

In terms of a conflict."

Now whether that's internal
Or external, we can postulate.

Although there's a lot
Of theories

About why these people left,

Whether it was conflict
With groups of people coming in,

Whether it was just
Societal changes in general,

Whether it was a drought
Or a change in climate,

We really don't have a good
Answer as to why they left.

*

*

Today, these haunting ruins
Stand as a legacy

To the vanished people
That built them.

When you look at these
Beautiful cliff dwellings,

You look at the effort
That went into them,

You look at all the engineering
Work and brilliance,

And then you realize they were
Only here for a heartbeat,

You know, maybe two generations,
So it's a tragedy.

*

*

Narrator: on the paradise island
Of st. Lucia,

Extensive ruins
Dominate the land

Pointing to a brutal time
In its past.

*

It's a tropical paradise
With these brilliant beaches,

And you see these

Crumbling european buildings.

It was obviously in use
For a good long time

And was worth a great deal
Of investment,

And was worth a great deal
Of investment,

And now it is absolutely
Going to pieces.

Narrator: but why were there
So many substantial buildings

Constructed on such a remote
Tropical island so long ago?

*

Nusbacher: this place is
Clearly very, very important.

This is
The center of a struggle

Over something
Worth a great deal.

It's hard to believe
That an area so idyllic

Can be a site for
So much violence and conflict.

Can be a site for
So much violence and conflict.

Narrator: but what did
St. Lucia have to offer

That meant it was to become

One of the most fought-over
Islands in the world?

*

In the 17th century,
The caribbean,

With its fertile soils
And warm climate,

Was the perfect place to grow
Lucrative crops like sugar,

Which were in high demand
In europe.

Nusbacher: sugar islands
In the caribbean

Nusbacher: sugar islands
In the caribbean

Meant money
For the home country.

Every country in europe

Wanted to have
A sugar island or two.

Narrator: but there was another
Incredibly valuable feature of

The island -- castries harbor.

The deporter harbor, that's
The real value of the place.

It has tremendous
Strategic importance.

Narrator:
France and great britain,

The two superpowers
Of the 18th century,

Clashed over this territory
Again and again,

Clashed over this territory
Again and again,

And these ruined fortifications
Were both sides

Attempts to keep control.

Dr. Gregor williams is an expert
On these defenses.

We're walking towards
The half moon battery,

Which was built by the french

When they started serious
Fortifications in st. Lucia.

*

*

In each of these would've been
An eight-inch canon.

*

France, with those canons,

Would be defending
The entrance to the harbor

From the british ships
That really wanted to go in.

In st. Lucia they talk
About seven times french,

Seven times british,

Meaning they passed from french
To british control

Seven times
As these great powers

Fought for control
Of this island.

Narrator: eventually,
After years of bloodshed,

Narrator: eventually,
After years of bloodshed,

The fighting between the french
And british came to an end,

And the military structures

That dotted the island
Were abandoned.

If this british-held island
Was now at peace,

What new deadly menace

Saw these fortifications
Fight for survival once more?

*

*

Narrator: on the tropical island
Of st. Lucia

Sit some fearsome defenses,

Which hadn't been used
For decades,

But with the onset
Of world war ii,

They were about to be
Called back into action.

Williams: when the war started,

These buildings had been
Unoccupied.

They were sitting here
Doing nothing,

They were sitting here
Doing nothing,

So the british engaged
These buildings

To house soldiers
Of the second world war.

The caribbean becomes a vital
Front during world war ii

Because you think about
The allies in europe,

The red army, the u.S. Army,
The british army,

They were all basically supplied
With oil from the united states,

And so, all this oil transited
Through the gulf of mexico,

Through the caribbean in tankers
Headed for europe.

Through the caribbean in tankers
Headed for europe.

Narrator: the german navy,
The kriegsmarine,

Saw an opportunity to throttle
These essential supplies.

The germans are trying to use
Very efficient weapons,

Small warships, and submarines,

To sink as much
Britain-bound commerce,

Including american ships,

As they possibly can.

Narrator: their tool of choice
Was the secretive,

Narrator: their tool of choice
Was the secretive,

Cunning, and deadly u-boat.

Wawro: it's sort of
Cat-and-mouse stuff.

As the allies are hunting
These german u-boats,

The german u-boats are trying
To dart into inlets and coves,

Try to resupply themselves

And avoid detection
By the allied destroyers.

Every port in north america,

The caribbean was filled
With people nervously

Scanning the sea
For periscopes.

Scanning the sea
For periscopes.

Narrator: new fortifications
Were built to try and protect

The island
From the unstoppable nazis.

Williams:
We're on meadows battery.

First of all, there was an old
French fortification here.

Then the british came in,

And then they established this
During the second world war

When then were fighting
Against the germans.

Another thing that these
Structures tell us

Is the immense scale
Of the second world war

And how it really touched
Every corner of the globe.

And how it really touched
Every corner of the globe.

No place was spared from it.

Narrator: on the night of
March 9, 1942,

Michael chasta was just
A young boy when he witnessed

These fortifications
Swing into action once more.

*

In the hours of 9 and midnight,

We heard this very loud
Explosion,

So we were immediately awoken,
And we looked out the veranda,

So we were immediately awoken,
And we looked out the veranda,

And we saw a number of people,
And when they were questioned,

They said that
We were under attack.

It was a lot of pandemonium.

Narrator: the meadow battery
Spat out machine-gun fire

Into the dark waters below,

But the great harbor of castries
That had lain peacefully

For decades
Had been breached once again.

The german u-boat u-161
Sneaks silently into the harbor,

The german u-boat u-161
Sneaks silently into the harbor,

Fires its torpedoes and sinks
Two massive british freighters

That are anchored there --
An 8,000-ton freighter,

A 5,000-ton freighter.

Both sink very quickly
With great loss of life.

The german u-boats
Actually came in from this end.

Yeah.

They came up quite quickly
Because it's not a long harbor,

And they knew
We were ill-prepared.

The st. Lucia policeman,

The constable who is
Looking down at the harbor

The constable who is
Looking down at the harbor

From these old fortifications

With his creaking
Nordenfelt machine gun

Is able to bring
The u-boat under fire

And able to force
It back out of the harbor.

Narrator: u-161 was the last
Invader of the island.

After the war, the military
Structures that had dominated

Castries for so long
Were finally abandoned.

*

*

Today, the mighty fortifications
Of castries

Are silent once more,

A testament
To a tumultuous past.

The second world war is not just
A story of the big countries

And the big battles.

Here it is a story
That is as intimate

As a small island's
Own harbor.

*