All language subtitles for Secret.Nazi.Bases.S03E04.Underground.Terror.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

- [Narrator] In
2008, researchers in
the Netherlands

began a painstaking
excavation

on the outskirts
of the Hague.

Over the next 10 years,

they slowly reveal a
deeply disturbing sight,

a sunken city, all but
swallowed by sand dunes,

sitting right
below the Hague.

- The landscape is
constantly changing.

The sand blows around.

Water comes and
changes things.

Rain washes it away.

It is a really, really
dynamic environment.

- [Narrator] After
being lost for decades,

enormous buildings
were slowly excavated

to reveal the full extent
of the forgotten site.

- These enormous
buildings that,

for decades had
been lost to time,

are now being excavated,

and are re-emerging from
the sands across the Hague.

But what were they for?

Were they part of
something bigger?

Who was using them?

- [Narrator] Made up
of concrete bunkers

lined in a maze of
reinforced tunnels,

this enormous web
of fortifications

was made to house
thousands of men.

But just what are these
mysterious structures?

[upbeat music]

After the outbreak of the
Second World War in 1939,

the Netherlands
declared neutrality.

- In the First World War,

the Netherlands had
managed a neutrality.

As the Second World
War approached,

Dutch officials thought

that they may be able to
do the same sort of thing,

but that is just
not in the cards.

[upbeat music]

- In the spring,
May, 1940,

the Germans go on the
offensive in the West.

They take out
Luxembourg, Belgium,

and they take out
the Netherlands.

Even though all three
of those nations

were neutral countries.

- Once the Germans
control the Netherlands,

which they're able to
achieve relatively quickly,

they effectively
have easy access now

to the English Channel.

And then once France
capitulates, later in June,

they have the
whole coast.

- The idea was that,

if any kind of plans for
the invasion of Britain

were to be executed,

this would have
to be done using the
European coastlines.

- It was never in doubt
that the Netherlands,

from a German perspective,
needed to be conquered.

And the Dutch
population is

now subject to a pretty
harsh occupation.

- [Narrator] The
Nazi Army floods the
streets of the Hague

taking control of the
civilian population.

- When the Nazis
invaded the Hague,

135,000 people were forced
to leave their homes.

- [Narrator] Teams
of engineers arrive,

and begin to
take inventory

of the city and
surrounding area.

What on Earth could
the Nazis be planning?

- With the exception of the
British Isles holding out

after the fall of
France in June of 1940,

there would be no reason

that extensive
fortifications of any nature

would need to be immediately
built in Northwest Europe,

because who's going to
threaten Northwest Europe?

In 1940, the big
strategic question is

when the Germans are going
to invade Great Britain,

not when the Allies are going
to land in Northwest Europe.

That seems almost unthinkable
in the dark days of 1940.

- [Narrator] March, 1942,

Hitler issues the
famous Directive 40,

the construction of
the Atlantic Wall.

- The Atlantic
Wall was one of

the largest
construction projects
of the 20th century.

It extended for more
than 5,000 kilometers

along the French,
the Dutch,

the Danish, and the
Norwegian coastlines.

- Directive 40 very
clearly indicates

that the Allies
are coming.

The only question
is, where and when?

- [Narrator] To guard
against an Ally assault,

Hitler wants to create
a line of defenses,

fortifications to
prevent the Allies

from gaining a foothold
in Western Europe.

- The Atlantic Wall

was a series of walls, or
of defensive fortifications.

It involved gun emplacements
with massive cannons

designed to fire
out into the sea,

bunkers to allow
machine guns to shoot

at any troops that tried
to land on the coast,

anti-aircraft
emplacements

to shoot down enemy
bombers and aircraft.

- It's incredibly
ambitious.

The scale of the
Atlantic Wall, it's
just unbelievable.

- It's one of the largest
things ever built.

It does two things.

One, it is going to be

an absolutely amazing,
impressive array of
defenses aimed at

the possibility of an Allied
landing in Western Europe.

So, in that sense, the
wall is a real thing.

It's a strategic,
defensive position.

The other reason for building
it is for propaganda value.

- With the idea of
the Atlantic Wall,

it's a big symbol of
the new German state.

It's a symbol of
the strength.

It is a symbol of saying,

"We're here to stay
on these borders."

And that as a
propaganda tool,

provides almost
immediate benefits.

- [Narrator] Hitler
uses this symbol

to inspire confidence
in the German Army,

and fear in the
Allied forces.

- I imagine approaching
it from sea,

you can see the beach,

and eventually see
these looming structures

that carry such
weight and presence.

That's a message.

They're sending
that message

right away, as
soon as possible.

They're saying,
"We're here.

We're not going anywhere.

You've gotta watch out."

- [Narrator] Hitler's
orders to build these
massive defenses

is a direct response to two
ill-fated invasion attempts

in the previous
two years.

- After the fall of
France, Britain's the
last man standing.

- [Narrator] On
July 10th, 1940,

the Nazis begin the
Battle of Britain.

- What the Battle
of Britain is,

is a massive
aerial campaign

led by the Luftwaffe
under Hermann Goring.

And its intentions
are to bomb the British
into submission.

The problem in
this planning is

that the British fight
back extremely well.

They're unable to soften
up the British defenses.

The British do
not surrender.

And even more importantly,
Hitler panics.

He loses patience,

and he loses confidence
in the Luftwaffe.

And so he changes
the game plan.

- In the summer of 1941,

Nazi forces turned east,

and attacked the
Soviet Union

as part of Operation
Barbarossa.

- By the winter of
1941-42, it looks like

the Germans are actually
gonna be victorious...

[tanks traveling]

But then it all
falls apart.

- [Narrator] The Red Army's
retreat draws the Germans

into Russian cities,

forcing them to
fight man to man,

and nullifying the
German blitzkrieg tactic.

- It's clear that
this campaign

is not going to be
resolved anytime soon.

- [Narrator] Now with
an enemy on both fronts,

Germany's defeat in the
Soviet Union adds urgency

to the Atlantic
Wall project.

A series of bunkers
lies buried

in the sand
outside the Hague.

Connected by a huge
network of tunnels,

remnants of Nazi
occupied Netherlands.

But why did the Nazis spend
so much time and resources

building these huge
fortifications?

Hitler felt that building
a defensive wall

on the Western Front

would free up troops to
send to the embattled East.

At the same time,
making sure

that Germany wouldn't be
hemmed in on both sides.

- If someone gave
me this project,

to fortify that
entire coast,

it's so overwhelming.

It's a massive
area of land.

It's difficult to rain.

There's no access,

there's no existing
infrastructure

to bring the
materials in.

It's a huge, huge,
huge undertaking.

You'd have to
plan so much.

- [Narrator] The military
installations at the Hague

are so crucial
to the Nazi plan

that they draw
extra attention

from the Nazi's
top engineers.

- It was the organization

that taught the German
government's engineering
organization

that was responsible

for this massive
building project of
the Atlantic Wall.

- Really the best
and the brightest

of engineers,
architects, scientists

who developed all sorts
of unique approaches

to the construction
of bunkers,

and fortifications,
gun placements.

- [Narrator] Designs
for bunkers are drawn
from a catalog,

which includes hundreds of
approved bunker blueprints

that have proven
effective in the past.

- This is no ad hoc
construction project

made up on the spot.

This is the Regalbau
design system.

And here at the Hague, and
elsewhere in Nazi Europe,

the Germans had
a very specific set
of instructions,

almost a catalog
that told them

how to go about
building these types
of fortifications.

- Some of the fighting
positions are small,

just for a couple
of soldiers.

And some of them
are large enough

to house artillery that
can fire all the way

across the English Channel
to hit the Cliffs of Dover.

There is a broad range
of types of positions,

but if there are,

standard patterns becomes
a repetitive process.

- You've done structures
like this before.

There's a standard
to follow.

It's well-documented.

You just keep moving forward
at a really aggressive pace.

- This was not just an
average military contractor.

Fritz Freitag was
a dedicated Nazi,

and he was a
brilliant engineer,

and he also had the
organizational skills

to realize what
would be needed

for this kind of
construction.

This guy could deliver
exactly what was required,

two specifications.

In the case of the Hague, he
used Dutch contract labor.

But in other parts
of occupied Europe,

he was able to assemble
all kinds of labor

to build these
massive structures.

- The German labor situation
is itself a labyrinth.

So, you have slave labor,

you have Jewish prisoners who
were in concentration camps.

They're often
marched to projects.

There's no irony
that that a lot of the
concentration camps

are near really
important, economically
viable situations.

So, most of these
construction programs
that we talk about,

including the wall,

involved slave labor.

The Hague in
particular, there were
contract laborers.

There were people
who were locals who
were forced into it.

They were compensated,
but I'd be hesitant

to frame it in the sense
that this is consensual,

because otherwise
you get sent to a
concentration camp,

or you're killed, or you're
arrested and tortured.

These people
have no choice,

but to work, and to do
the bidding of the Nazis.

- [Narrator] The Nazis viewed
the Dutch as close kin.

And as such, the Netherlands
construction was carried out

by Dutch companies with
a well-paid workforce.

Trucks brimming with
laborers arrive

to help build the
massive fortifications,

bringing men from occupied
France and Belgium

to join the existing
Dutch crew.

The men are a broad
mix of tradesmen,

including electricians,
carpenters, and masons.

- The network
outside the Hague is

basically a city
buried in the sand.

It's of massive proportion
and grandiose Nazi project.

- When you change
your mode of going

from aboveground
to underground,

your conditions are
wildly different.

As you excavate, the soil is
sometimes self-supporting,

but when you think
about tunneling,
tunneling in sand,

there's nothing there.

There's no structure.

The soil can't support
itself at all.

And so, you have to
install temporary structure

that actually
holds things up

before you get your
full structure in place.

You're building up
a masonry arch.

An arch is a
structural element that
can support loads,

but if you're
missing that piece,

that sort of keystone that
holds everything together,

it's just going
to collapse.

It's the completeness
of the structure

that's able to
carry that load.

So, there's a lot of
staging involved,

a lot of thought
and planning.

And the effort behind
that must have been
horrendous really.

- 35,000 tons
of concrete go

into the building
of this project,

along with
thousands of tons

of steel and
wood designed

to reinforce the
entire fortification.

- Constant delivery,

constant building form
work, constant pouring,

constant stripping of that
form work moving forward.

It is just an
endless operation.

- This was a tremendous
building project that
required space

and it required
building materials.

And so, the Nazis
destroyed 3,000 houses,

and they took apart
2,500 other homes

to use the material
and resources

from those building
projects to build their
fortifications.

- There's structures
that exist.

They're built, there
are people living in
them, using them,

and you need a
line of sight.

And you come in, and you
level those buildings,

and you're so dialed
in on your focus, what
you need to do,

that that's not
even a thought.

You just decimated
a community, and built
what you needed

to achieve your means
of military force.

It's ruthless really.

- The result of this
building project is

to leave 65,000
residents displaced.

- [Narrator] Shifting sands
on the beaches of the Hague

reveal skeletons
of World War II.

Teams of engineers, skilled
contractors, and laborers

worked furiously to construct
these fortifications

in anticipation of
an Allied invasion into
Western Europe.

The bunkers are
primarily designed

to shield German artillery
from Allied air raids,

complete with
medical rooms,

and radar detection
facilities.

But the structures are
also residential buildings,

dormitories, kitchens,
communal dining areas,

and even saunas are
included in the designs

to make life for those
stationed in the Hague

as comfortable
as possible.

- Think about trying to
live in these spaces.

They're made out
of concrete.

Concrete has a
particular field.

They're not spacious.

You don't have windows.

They are damp.

Your tunnels are
quite narrow.

You're worried about
being bombarded.

The sounds would
echo through.

Everything about it
is not inviting.

- [Narrator] To an
attacking force,

the labyrinth of corridors
can be disorienting.

- I would think that
the zig-zagging nature
of the tunnels

is a defensive mechanism.

It's slowing people down.

It's potentially
creating pinch points

where you can
manage that threat.

Think about throwing
a grenade in there.

You're not likely to reach
your intended target.

It's going to ricochet
off the walls,

and get stuck right in
the entrance there.

It's a control mechanism
for any sort of attack.

- In the event that
there's heavy fighting,

reinforcements moving up
to the front need to know

what's situated where,

where certain types
of ammunition need
to be carried.

For efficient delivery
of supplies and material,

one needs an address
that they're heading to.

- These tunnels house
thousands of German forces,

and it's clear
from the markings

of the wall on
these tunnels

that this was an
extremely well-organized

and well-appointed
system for these troops.

- [Narrator] PAK for
anti-tank guns, K for coast,

and FLUW for
aircraft spotters.

At its peak, 5,000
German officers lived
in these bunkers,

and depended on
these pointers

to safely and efficiently
navigate the complex.

- An ants nest.

All of this activity
and buzz hidden underneath
these things

connected that there's
just so much happening

that you don't even see.

How do we even begin
to attack this station?

- [Narrator] For months,

the Nazis had been
planning and carrying
out construction

on a network of
tunnels in the Hague

in anticipation of
an Allied attack.

But one of the
Nazi;s VIPs

is about to arrive on site
to inspect the construction.

- Erwin Rommel is
the most important
general in 1943-44,

and he now pays a great
deal of attention

to the Atlantic Wall.

He has to view the wall,

make decisions about what's
needed to get it ready

for what will eventually
be an Allied assault,

and then, to explain to the
boss how doable that is.

And none of that is a
very nice scenario,

if you're Erwin Rommel.

- [Narrator] Upon
his arrival,

Rommel begins to
reinforce the wall.

- When he takes over the
defenses of Western Europe,

he understands one
truth pretty quickly,

which is that they
are inadequate for the
Allied invasion.

- Rommel proceeds
to make the landing

certainly as difficult
as possible.

- [Narrator] He floods
huge parts of sea land,

the westernmost province
of the Netherlands,

forcing 60,000 sea
landers to evacuate.

This is to ensure

that Allied
paragliders drowned
before reaching land.

Rommel also orders
millions of landmines

to be planted
along the beaches.

These are intended
to work hand in hand

with the existing tank
traps and ditches

to slow the enemy
advance once on shore.

- It's a lot of effort

to control the beachfront,
control that landing zone.

They were willing

to really throw any resource
at it to make it happen.

- [Narrator] As
well as anticipating
a naval assault,

Rommel knows to expect
attacks from the air.

His time fighting the
British in North Africa

has given him
first-hand experience

of the Allied's
superior aircraft.

This leads to his most
famous innovation.

- You have land that's
open, that's inviting

for an aerial assault, for
parachuters, for anything.

How do you protect that?

You need to take away
the opportunity to land.

So, why don't you
create a forest?

- Famously, thousands
of wooden poles

that become nicknamed
Rommel's asparagus,

are set up in kind
of like a grid,

and they're tied
with barbed wire.

This, of course, makes
it very difficult

for troops landing to
get up on the beach.

- It's pretty economical.

It's sustainable, right?

You find a tree
nearby, you strip it,

you bury it, and you
create this hazard.

It's not steel,
it's not concrete.

It's easy to get there.

It's pretty effective.

- Initially, the
Atlantic Wall was built

to deter an attack from
British and American forces

across the
English Channel.

But as the war continued,

Hitler believed
that the Atlantic Wall
would be a weapon,

a tool to defeat American
and British forces.

And he came to wish for an
Anglo-American invasion,

believing that he'd
be able to destroy it

against the strength
of the Atlantic Wall.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] The Atlantic
Wall fortifications

located in the Hague
are formidable.

Bunkers connected with
a series of tunnels

intertwined their way
across the landscape.

But it's not just a
defensive structure.

The Hague's
position vis-a-vis the
United Kingdom,

makes it the
perfect location

to launch an offensive
against the Allied Army.

And the Nazis have
a terrifying,

new development in
store for Britain.

[upbeat music]

On the morning of
September 8th, 1944,

the remaining residents
of the Hague hear a
strange rumble.

[rocket flying]

Though they're
used to the noise

of wartime bombings
and artillery fire,

this sound is different.

It was the sound
of a new terror,

one the world had
not witnessed yet,

streaking across
the skies

over the English
Channel towards London.

- They were
weapons designed

with psychology in mind
to terrify people.

The British, of course,
called them buzz bombs,

because of the telltale
noise that they made.

And they represent
the cutting edge of
Nazi technology.

- The V-2 was a remarkably
advanced weapon.

In fact, it was the first
guided ballistic missile.

And due to the
Netherlands' proximity to
the United Kingdom,

the Nazis used
the Netherlands as
a launching site

to send these V-2
missiles into England.

- [Narrator] The V-2 includes
an onboard analog computer,

gyroscopes to
determine its course,

and rudders to adjust its
trajectory in the air.

- By virtue of
their speed,

they're essentially
impossible to stop.

- They were very fast,
they were high flying,

they were unmanned.

These ones had a
range of 200 miles,

so they could easily
make it, and knock out
parts of London.

They're better, faster,
more explosives.

- By 1944, the Germans
don't have the capacity

to mount bombing
rigs anymore.

And increasingly, the
Germans are suffering,

not only from
shortage of aircraft,

but from a desperate
shortage of trained crews.

They just haven't
got time anymore.

So, potentially
weapons like the V-2

could supplant
the bombers.

- [Narrator] The V-2
launch sites at the Hague

are mobile pads capable
of being removed

as quickly as they appear

to conceal their location
from Allied aircraft.

- These mobile
launch sites

were a logistical and
engineering challenge

that required a huge
amount of expertise,

a huge amount of manpower,
and specialist equipment.

The rocket itself would
be brought in by rail,

the explosive warheads would
be brought in by trucks,

and then they'd be
stored temporarily

before coming together
to be assembled.

And they'd be assembled
by expert technical crews

who would need
specialist equipment

like mobile cranes
and command vehicles

to lift the rocket up into
its vertical position.

And even when the rocket was
in that vertical position,

it could still take
an hour and a half

before it was
ready to be fired.

- [Narrator] Between
September of 1944 and
March of 1945,

more than 1,000 A-4
and V-2 rocket launches

are staged in and
around the city.

- V-1 and V-2s had
been used already,

and launched from various
sites in occupied Europe.

But now the V-2s will be
launched from the Hague

to rain down on England.

[rocket flying]

[upbeat music]

- While the Atlantic Wall
claims numerous sites

along the Nazi
occupied coast,

the sheer scale
of the defensive and
offensive operations

at the Hague
is set apart.

Underground bunker networks
even carve their way

beyond the city limits

to the nearby seaside
town of Scheveningen.

[upbeat music]

Here sits an imposing
command bunker

built to house
Waffen-SS officers.

The Waffen-SS are a
paramilitary branch

of Hitler's special
police, Schutzstaffel.

This bunker is an example
of the Regalbau 622,

a strength
class B bunker,

designed and built to
house up to 20 men.

It includes two
sleeping chambers,

a combined guard
room and shooting range,
and a gas lock.

It's highly unusual

for so many Waffen-SS members
to be stationed here.

The base is so
close to the coast,

it would usually
have been

left to the Kriegsmarine,
the German Navy.

This increase in
combat officers

combined with the
enormous size of the base,

begs the question,

what else are the
Nazis protecting here?

Hidden a short distance
away under the guise
of a farmhouse,

a new and mysterious
structure begs
investigation.

- It just looks like a kind
of big, ugly farmhouse.

When you start
to get closer,

there's weird
things about it.

It just starts to seem,

well, there's something
else under here.

This is different.

This isn't how we would
build a farmhouse.

- It was made to look
like your average barn

with walls painted
with a brick pattern,

and the roof
disguised to look like
average roof tiles.

- [Narrator] In the gardens
around the building,

tobruks are discovered,

clearly meant to
defend the structure.

- As you're walking
through this,

you're seeing huge
concrete beams.

It's not just carrying
its own weight

and the expected forces on
it from the environment.

It's meant to
withstand blasts.

It's a fully concrete
structure all the
way to the roof.

This isn't how we would
build a farmhouse.

These angles, these
ideas, it just doesn't
feel quite right.

It makes no sense.

It is way over-designed.

It's incredibly
heavy-handed,

so you'd know that
it's anticipated to
be for shelling.

It's part of the war.

They built it in a way
to withstand forces

that were above and beyond
any design constraints

that we would typically
design to today.

- This had a four
meter thick roof

and two meter
thick walls.

In the very center of
this enormous bunker

was what's become known
as a concrete shoebox,

49 meters long, 17 meters
wide, and 15 meters high.

- [Narrator] Beneath
this giant structure,

lie two massive
diesel generators

capable of powering
the entire facility.

- This bespoke
construction was

actually a collection
of fortifications that
were enormous,

far bigger than any of the
standardized bunker designs

in dimensions
in the area.

- [Narrator] Known as
the Clingendael Bunker,

the structure alone cost

over 2 million
guilders to construct,

a fortune at that time.

This massive bunker is

made up of a collection
of fortifications

known as
Stutzpunktgruppe.

This group includes

a command bunker, a troop
bunker, latrine bunker,

all connected by underground
tunnels, and escape routes.

- It doesn't look like
all the other bunkers.

It's a little fancy.

It's different.

The design is different.

The aesthetic is
a bit different.

And it's heavily
fortified as well.

- [Narrator] Two
anti-aircraft emplacements

are perched upon the roof,
disguised as chimneys.

Accessible by ladder
from the interior,

these perches give
a 360 degree view of
the entire estate

and a clear view of the
skies in every direction.

- From the outside,

the bunker was protected

by its own anti-tank
ditch that surrounded it.

- [Narrator] Despite
its heavy defenses

and formidable
fire power,

contained within
the command bunker

are opulent quarters
for its chief resident.

Spacious bathing facilities,
and a large bathroom area.

Private offices,

including radar detection and
radio communication devices.

Rounding out the
amenities located here

is a large
double-kitchen.

- Why is it that way?

Is it for someone?

Is it for something?

What was the main
purpose of this bunker?

Because it's not
just a bunker.

- [Narrator] The Nazis were
nothing, if not consistent.

And fortifications had strict
standards for a reason.

Why then is this
bunker unique?

The only one of its kind,
made at a tremendous cost.

- I don't think this is

just for a bunch of
soldiers potentially,

or it'd be really,
really important soldiers

or very paranoid ones.

- [Narrator] Why is this
the only bunker of its kind?

- In this defensive
system, the Hague,

there is one special
bunker there,

kind of the
governor's bunker.

- [Narrator] This
bunker is ordered,

especially by its
chief resident,

Reichskommissar
Arthur Seyss-Inquart.

Reichskommissars or
commissioners of the empire

are responsible for the
ruthless interpretation

of the Nazi regime

with an eye for instilling
long-term Nazi ideals

in occupied territories.

In short, these governors

are seen as one of
the key elements

in Nazi world domination.

And Seyss-Inquart
desperately wants

his bunker to
reflect his status.

- Seyss-Inquart was
a big, Austrian Nazi

who facilitated Germany's
takeover of Austria.

So, his reward for that

was the governorship
of the Netherlands.

- [Narrator] As the
largest structure

on the whole
Dutch-Atlantic Wall,

Seyss-Inquart's bunker is
a contentious undertaking,

and is strongly opposed

by the minister of armaments
and war production.

- Albert Speer assumes
the job from Todt

in 1942 after
Todt's death.

- When it came to
allocating resources

as armaments minister,

it's not surprising then,
that Schubert would be

against investing time,
and effort, and material

into what I
understand to be

a relatively
ostentatious structure

that ultimately served no
functional military purpose.

- And so, he builds this
extra, opulent bunker.

He's not only
saying, "I'm better,

and I feel I
deserve this."

He's also then saying,

"I am higher in the
hierarchy than you are,

because I have something more
ostentatious than you do."

- That speaks
fundamentally

to this avaricious
and competitive nature
of the Nazis,

that, "I'm bigger
than you are.

I'm more important
than you are.

And my status has
to be evidenced by
a giant bunker."

And I think Rommel
knows that.

My understanding is,

when he takes over
all defensive planning
for the wall,

he's the first
to point out

that there are some
really ridiculous things,

not the least of which is
Seyss-Inquart's bunker.

[upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Commander Erwin
Rommel has taken charge

of the defenses on
the Western Front

with remarkable progress

on the Atlantic Wall and
the Hague in particular.

Massive bunkers
line the coast,

interconnected with
a series of tunnels.

He's ordered troops

to bury millions of
landmines in the sand.

Forests of posts
linked by barbed wire,

known as Rommelspargel
or Rommel's asparagus.

But careless spending
of time and resources

is causing Nazi
tensions to rise.

The looming threat of
an Allied invasion

is causing constant
disagreements

among the German
high command.

- The question is,

how best to defend
Western Europe,

given the limited resources
available to the Germans?

We have Rommel
who is arguing

that the Germans need to
put their fortifications

as far forward
as possible,

because he believes

that if the
Allies are able

to establish a foothold
or a bridgehead,

that it will be
difficult to undo that.

But by the same token,

it may not take
fully into account the
extent of coastline

that has to be protected
and the costs involved.

And that's where other
viewpoints comes into play.

- [Narrator] The
fortifications in the Hague

and along the
Atlantic Wall

are not supported
unanimously by high command.

The Nazi commander-in-chief,
Gerd von Rundstedt,

believes that moving
the equipment inland

will give the Germans
a better chance

at counterattacking the
coming Allied invasion.

- Not all of the Nazi
generals attached

the same importance to
the wall as Hitler,

but ultimately
it was Hitler's view
that held sway.

- The moment that Hitler
and senior leadership

who aren't well-versed
in military strategies

start to intervene
in the war,

military leaders
deeply resented.

- Historians
often describe

the Nazi system
and the Nazi party

as chaotic
authoritarianism.

It's built on conflict.

Dog versus dog.

Dog eats dog.

Hitler encourages that.

He often gives people
ranks and appointments

in the same sphere,
so that they conflict
with each other.

Lines of authority are
constantly crossing.

- If your course
of action

was not sitting well
with the Fuhrer,

then you had a
serious problem.

This inflexibility
in the face

of a dynamic,
changing situation

was the Achilles'
heel for the Nazis.

- [Narrator]
Compounding the issue

of ineffective
leadership,

the pioneering advances
in German weaponry

is also beginning
to show its cracks.

Nazi plans to
use the Hague

as a launch point for
German V-2s begin to crumble

under the pressures of war,
and technological failure.

- The technology
behind the V-2 rocket
was groundbreaking,

but it was also
in its infancy.

And this became obvious as
more rockets were launched,

many missing their
major city targets,

some not even making
it to England,

and crashing into
the North Sea.

Over 1,000 rockets were
launched from the Hague.

87 of them failed
completely.

- [Narrator] To
make matters worse,

many of the rockets
are in poor condition.

The parts are
relatively delicate,

and their prolonged
time in transit,

and days spent in
field stores mean

that vital components
often corrode.

- Despite the
engineers being there,

trying to assemble
these mobile launch pads
for the rockets,

things would
just not work.

- [Narrator] Although
many thousands

of Allied civilians died at
the hands of V-2 rockets,

it's estimated 20,000
force laborers died

while constructing the
missiles themselves,

meaning that these weapons
cost the Nazis more

than they ever gained.

- And so, the V-2 pressed
into service very early,

made a dramatic
appearance in the war,

but it never fully lived
up to its true potential

as this new
wonder weapon.

- [Narrator] A series
of mounting defeats

on the Eastern Front,

and dwindling fuel
and other resources,

put the Germans
on the defensive.

And yet, work continues
on the Atlantic Wall.

German officials
know the project is

too ambitious as a late
stage defensive strategy,

but Hitler refuses
to abandon his idea.

Against formal advice,

he insists on pursuing
its construction.

Why was Hitler so
stubbornly set

in his vision of
the Atlantic Wall?

Did it represent
something for him

beyond its
functional purpose?

- When generals and
others are suggesting

that it should
be canceled,

part of the decision
making that's going
through there is,

"If we stop it, we're
admitting failure."

And it's gonna go from
a positive morale boost

to a negative
morale boost

as news of giving
up on the Atlantic Wall
would get spread.

So, even if it's
not completed,

as long as it's continuing,
it's not a failure.

- [Narrator] As the
war progresses,

and stresses on the
Nazis increase,

the Dutch too begin

to change their relationship
with the Germans,

and the resistance grows.

The increasingly
unrealistic demands

pushed construction crews
to a breaking point.

- In the Netherlands,

they are working with
contract laborers

who went discontented,

make it clear that
they're discontent.

There's only so much
force which could be used.

- If you are on
that workforce,

and you're not
keen on contributing
to these builds,

you need to put more
water in that mix,

you could miss some
bags of cement.

In an operation that's
moving so rapidly

and at such a big scale,

you're gonna miss things.

- [Narrator] Even Erwin
Rommel's expert strategizing

can't get the Atlantic
Wall back on track.

He misses his May
1st, 1944 deadline.

Even though much of
the work is complete,

the coast has been
heavily fortified

with miles of
Rommel's asparagus,

millions of landmines
buried in the sand,

510 reinforced
concrete bunkers

connected by a series
of passageways.

Thousands of troops are
stationed in the Hague

with months of supplies,

waiting in anticipation
of an Allied invasion.

[upbeat music]

On June 6th, 1944,

the Allied armies begin
the D-Day invasion.

The greatest defense
project in European history

would be at the heart
of the Nazis' downfall.

- In the initial hours
of June 6th, 1944,

Hitler thought that
Normandy was the diversion.

- The Atlantic Wall defenses
placed heavy emphasis

on fortifying the
Belgian and Dutch coasts,

including in the
vicinity of the Hague.

And the German high command,
but Hitler in particular,

were so thoroughly
convinced

that this was where the main
Allied effort would come

that even after
Allied forces landed

in Normandy on
the 6th of June,

Hitler wasn't convinced that
this was the real invasion,

but rather that
it was a faint,

because he
couldn't figure,

why would the Allies go
all the way to Normandy?

It's much further
from the bases

where the invasion forces
were marshaling in England.

It's further from Berlin,

compared to landing sites
in the low countries.

It's a cul-de-sac,
it's a peninsula.

It didn't seem to
be a rational choice
for landing sites.

- The question on the
battlefield often is

massing your force at the
weakest point somewhere,

not spreading your
lines too thin.

And this was enormous
force that was going

to punch through those
fortifications at any cost.

- What happens
at Normandy is

that the German
defenses are there,

but they're not at
their optimum size.

And they're largely
caught off guard.

- Even as the
battle of Normandy

was hanging in
the balance,

and ultimately the war
on the Western Front,

the German high command
maintains powerful forces,

the German 15th Army,

in the low countries

waiting for a second
cross-channel assault
that never comes.

- [Narrator] With
forces spread out along
the Atlantic Wall,

and thousands awaiting
imminent invasion
in the Hague,

the Atlantic Wall
installations in
Northern France

fall to landing forces.

- The Allies get
aground, which wasn't
supposed to happen.

So, all these fortifications,
all these things

that were supposed to stop
them in the water failed.

And now they've
got a leak.

And now the Allies are

pouring hundreds of
thousands of men in armor,

and there's no
stopping them.

- [Narrator] As the Allies
advance beyond the wall,

the German Army and civilians
are shocked by the news.

- As a German citizen,

to see this wall crumble
would be pretty shocking,

because you've been fed
this narrative, this idea

that you have this
massive Atlantic Wall,

these concrete walls,
these bunkers that
are impenetrable,

that are incredibly powerful,
that are domineering.

To have the
Allies past them,

that would probably
be pretty scary,

and would shake the
foundation in the the
belief somehow.

- This becomes in a
really obvious sense

a monument of futility.

They're building
monuments

as the Allies are
amassing a huge army,
and coming for you.

And don't forget the
Russians who are coming
the other way.

There again speaks
to this disconnect

that the Germans were
building, and creating,

and tunneling, and digging
right to the very end,

even though their
fate was sealed.

- The full scope
of what's going on

would only be known to
the higher echelons,

rather than the common
troop that's on the ground.

It's easier to fight
in a losing battle,

if you think your country
is doing well overall.

It's easier to
stop fighting,

if you think you're
losing everywhere.

- [Narrator] But for those
stationed in the Hague,

news of the invasion
in Normandy

must have come as an
incredible shock.

Though thousands
of troops,

the Waffen-SS and
Nazi high command await
an invasion here.

Hitler's fortified city never
sees action or completion.

- This was a
massive enterprise,

and the Nazis poured
millions of tons of concrete

into this project.

And yet it never
fully lived up to what
Hitler wanted to be.

He had hoped to have
15,000 bunkers stretched

across this wall.

The Germans only ended
up building 6,000.

And so, the wall,

while it was formidable,
was never truly finished.

And it's clear that
Hitler stacked

far too much value
on this wall

as a defensive
fortification.

- So, they only got
a fraction of the work
actually done.

And it's staggering
to think about that,

because these structures
are incredibly imposing.

They're huge, the
networks, the tunnels,

the trenches, the
bunkers, everything.

The scale is significant.

It's really, really big.

And to know that that
was only a fraction

of the work that
they were gonna do,

but that wasn't even as
big as Hitler wanted it,

man, that's wild.

- [Narrator] In the end,

the chronic lack of
labor and raw materials,

as well as disagreements
between Nazi leaders means

that the Atlantic Wall never
reaches its full potential.

- Often, we find that Hitler,
in his decision making,

was prone towards
the fantastic,

rather than towards
what's really achievable.

So, it does not
surprise me at all

that the Atlantic
Wall failed

ultimately to do what
it was supposed to do.

- It's so big, and it's
so imperfect along the way

that it is indefensible.

- The building of
6,000 bunkers,

and the parts of the Atlantic
Wall that were built

were significant
defensive fortifications.

But for the Atlantic Wall
to be truly effective,

to truly be a wall

against which invasion
would be impossible,

would've required
Hitler's full dream

of 15,000 bunkers
being built.

And this was simply
far too much,

far too much for even
this Nazi empire

harnessing its engineers
and forced labor.

Too much to accomplish in any
reasonable amount of time.

And so, a half-built
Atlantic Wall was

perhaps as good as no
Atlantic Wall at all.

- [Narrator] Placing all
his bets on the Hague,

and refusing to
change course

cost the Nazis dearly
in Northern France.

In the meantime, convoluted
command structures,

diminishing supplies,
and inferior aircrafts

all work to undermine
the Nazis' grip on
Western Europe.

Now, these deserted
structures at the Hague

stand as a testament

to Nazi dysfunction
and ultimate collapse.

To this day, millions
of tons of concrete

litter the European
coastline.

These ghostly
structures tell of a Nazi
promise unfulfilled

of a world in which Hitler
plans to conquer Britain,

and successfully staves
off Allied attack.

Imagine if the
strategy had worked.

Imagine if the Allies'
attack landed in the Hague,

and broke against
these fortifications.

- It could potentially
be devastating.

It might not have
gotten by it.

It might not have
had that weakness

that we were
able to exploit.

And even though it
was a severe fight,

still, it could
have been worse.

We could have
not made it.

[upbeat music]