Nazi Mega Weapons

Narrator

12,000 NAZI BUNKERS, 400 MILES OF TANK TRAPS AND HIDDEN UNDERGROUND FORTRESSES. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST FORMIDABLE DEFENSES EVER BUILT IN EUROPE. BUILT TO PROTECT THE SACRED SOIL OF THE FATHERLAND AND INTIMIDATE THEIR ENEMIES... OUR FORCES MUST FIGHT FOR EVERY INCH OF GROUND!

Man

ITS SHEER SCALE, THE SHEER NERVE AND ARROGANCE OF THINKING UP SUCH A PROJECT IS QUITE BREATHTAKING.

Narrator

THE ALLIED CAMPAIGN TO CRACK THESE DEFENSES RAGED FOR 6 MONTHS. THIS PLACE IS ARMED TO THE TEETH. AND RESULTED IN SOME OF THE BIGGEST AND BLOODIEST BATTLES OF WORLD WAR II. THE ENEMY MUST BE DESTROYED.

Man

LOOK ALIVE!

EXPLOSION

Narrator

THIS IS HITLER'S SIEGFRIED LINE. THE BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF WORLD WAR II. ORDERED BY HITLER TO SECURE WORLD DOMINATION. NOW THEY SURVIVE AS DARK REMINDERS OF THE FUHRER'S FANATICAL MILITARY AMBITIONS. THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF THE NAZI MEGA WEAPONS. NOVEMBER 1944. 5 MONTHS AFTER D-DAY. THE NAZIS ARE BATTLING TO STOP THE ALLIED ADVANCE ACROSS EUROPE. BUT THEY'RE IN RETREAT AND NOW FACE AN ALLIED ASSAULT ON GERMANY ITSELF. 21-YEAR-OLD GERMAN ARMY PRIVATE FRITZ TILLMANNS IS ON THE FRONT LINE, FIGHTING TO DEFEND THE FATHERLAND. HIS LIFE, AND THE FUTURE OF NAZI GERMANY, NOW DEPENDS ON ONE OF HITLER'S MOST AMBITIOUS MEGA WEAPONS. CALLED THE SIEGFRIED LINE BY THE ALLIES, THIS NETWORK OF DEADLY DEFENSES IS KNOWN TO THE GERMANS AS THE WEST WALL. IF THE LINE IS BREACHED, THE ALLIES ARE A STEP CLOSER TO BERLIN AND WINNING THE WAR. FORMER LIEUTENANT AND INFANTRY COMMANDER PATRICK BURY IS EXPLORING WHAT REMAINS OF THE FORTIFICATIONS. THE SIEGFRIED LINE DEFENSES ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMPLEX DEFENSES EVER BUILT. THEY'RE DESIGNED IN BELTS AND TO CREATE DEFENSE IN DEPTH. AND THEY CONSIST OF CONCRETE BUNKERS; LOG-LINED TRENCHES; FORTRESSES; HUNDREDS OF MILES OF BARBED WIRE, AND THOUSANDS OF MINES. IT STRETCHED ALL THE WAY FROM THE NORTH OF GERMANY'S WESTERN BORDER DOWN TO THE SOUTH, AND WAS PART OF HITLER'S PLAN TO MAKE THE WESTERN PART OF GERMANY IMPREGNABLE. THE STORY OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE STARTS IN 1936, WHEN HITLER MAKES A DECISIVE MOVE TOWARDS WORLD DOMINATION. IN TOTAL DEFIANCE OF WORLD WAR I'S VERSAILLES PEACE SETTLEMENT, HE STATIONS TROOPS IN THE RHINELAND. THE ALLIES HAD BANNED THE GERMAN MILITARY FROM THIS INDUSTRIAL BORDER ZONE, TO PREVENT FURTHER EUROPEAN CONFLICT. HITLER'S MASTER PLAN HINGES ON REMILITARIZING THE RHINELAND AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASSIVE DEFENSES. HITLER'S VERY KEEN TO DEFEND HIS WESTERN FRONTIER BECAUSE HE HAS BIG PLANS. AND THOSE PLANS INVOLVE GERMAN EXPANSION. BUT HE SEES THAT EXPANSION TAKING PLACE TO THE EAST. WHAT HE FEELS IS THAT IT'S GERMANY'S MANIFEST DESTINY TO TAKE TERRITORY AND HE'S GOING TO DO THAT IN PLACES LIKE POLAND AND THE UKRAINE. AND SO DEFENDING HIS WESTERN FRONTIER ALLOWS HIM TO DO THAT TO THE EAST WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT ATTACK FROM THE WESTERN POWERS. HITLER STARTS CONSTRUCTION ON A SERIES OF FORTIFICATIONS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY STRETCH 400 MILES ALONG GERMANY'S WESTERN BORDER. IT'S AN INTERLOCKING SYSTEM OF TANK TRAPS, ANTI-PERSONNEL DEVICES, TRENCHES, PILLBOXES, AND SUBTERRANEAN COMMAND CENTERS. THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS WHAT IS KNOWN AS A DEFENSE IN DEPTH. A DEFENSE IN DEPTH DOESN'T RELY ON A SINGLE LINE OF FORTIFICATION. IT'S NOT A SINGLE LINE OF TRENCHES. RATHER, IT IS A SERIES OF INTERLOCKING DEFENSIVE ZONES. AS AN ENEMY ADVANCES INTO A DEFENSE IN DEPTH, THE WAY THAT THE DEFENSIVE ZONES AND OBSTACLES ARE STRUCTURED FORCES THEM TO TAKE CERTAIN PATHS INTO PRE-PLANNED KILLING GROUNDS. AS THE ATTACKERS ARE DRAWN DEEPER INTO THE MAZE OF DEFENSES, THEY ARE STRIPPED OF THEIR SUPPORTING ARMOR AND ARTILLERY. EXPOSED AND ISOLATED, THEY CAN BE EASILY ELIMINATED. IN JUNE 1936, THE ARMY STARTS BUILDING A THIN LINE OF GUN EMPLACEMENTS AND OBSERVATION BUNKERS ALONG THE GERMAN BORDER WITH FRANCE. BUT THERE'S LITTLE FUNDING OR RAW MATERIALS AND PROGRESS IS SLOW. AFTER TWO YEARS, JUST 640 BUNKERS ARE COMPLETE. AT THIS RATE, THE WALL WILL NOT BE FINISHED FOR ANOTHER 10 YEARS. HITLER CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG. HE MAKES THE SIEGFRIED LINE A NATIONAL PRIORITY AND IN MAY 1938, BRINGS IN ENGINEER DR. FRITZ TODT TO OVERSEE THE WORKS. MODEST AND UNASSUMING, TODT IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL NAZI. BUT AS THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD-FAMOUS AUTOBAHN ROAD SYSTEM, HE'S PROVEN THAT HE CAN THINK BIG. WHICH IS JUST WHAT HITLER WANTS FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE THIRD REICH.

Translator

MEIN FUHRER. THE FORTIFICATIONS WILL BE COMPLETE BEFORE THE START OF WINTER, INCLUDING THE EXTRA ARMOR AND CONCRETE STRUCTURES YOU ORDERED. 287,000 WORKERS ARE NOW ASSIGNED TO THIS PROJECT FROM OUR ORGANIZATION ALONE. GOOD. EXCELLENT.

Narrator

HITLER WANTS THE FORTIFICATIONS READY IN JUST 4 MONTHS, TO COINCIDE WITH PLANS TO INVADE CZECHOSLOVAKIA IN OCTOBER 1938. TODT IS AUTHORIZED TO CALL UPON ALL THE RESOURCES GERMANY HAS TO OFFER. TODT THROWS EVERYTHING AT THE PROJECT. I MEAN, ALL OTHER MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS WHICH ARE UNDER WAY IN THE REICH ARE CANCELLED, THEY'RE PUT ON HOLD. VAST AMOUNT OF MANPOWER, VIRTUALLY EVERY SINGLE CIVIL ENGINEER IN THE COUNTRY IS DIVERTED TO THIS TO FEED THIS ONE BIG PROJECT OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE. WITH TODT IN CHARGE, CONSTRUCTION MOVES FORWARD AT A RAPID RATE.

Holland

THE SIEGFRIED LINE DEVELOPMENT IS A HUGELY, HUGELY AMBITIOUS PROJECT. I MEAN, THE AMOUNT OF CONCRETE INVOLVED, THE AMOUNT OF MANPOWER INVOLVED, THE COST INVOLVED IS TRULY PHENOMENAL.

Narrator

400,000 CONSCRIPTED LABORERS AND 50,000 ARMY ENGINEERS ARE BROUGHT IN FROM ACROSS GERMANY TO BUILD THE WALL.

SPEAKING GERMAN

Narrator

100 TRAINS A DAY BRING CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO WESTERN RAILHEADS. FROM THERE, OVER 8,000 TRUCKS TRANSPORT THE MATERIALS TO SITE. WORKERS SPREAD 7 MILLION TONS OF GRAVEL... POUR 6 MILLION TONS OF CEMENT... AND UNFURL 3 MILLION COILS OF BARBED WIRE.

Holland

YOU'VE GOT AROUND 70 NEW DEFENSIVE POSITIONS EVERY DAY BEING CONSTRUCTED, AND THE NET RESULT IS THAT IN 4 MONTHS, AROUND 10,000 BUNKERS HAVE BEEN BUILT. NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS EVER BEEN BUILT IN GERMANY BEFORE.

Narrator

BATTLEFIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST DR. TONY POLLARD IS NEAR THE GERMAN BORDER WITH BELGIUM. HE IS SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE OF HOW FRITZ TODT ENGINEERED HITLER'S SIEGFRIED LINE. THIS LOOKS LIKE A, A HEDGE LINE, THE EDGE OF ANY FIELD--BEAUTIFUL ROLLING AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE. BUT WHEN YOU GET INTO IT, WHAT YOU FIND ARE THESE HUGE CONCRETE CHUNKS. THEY'RE KNOWN AS "DRAGON'S TEETH" AND THESE ARE ANTI-TANK DEFENSES AND THEY'RE ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTIC COMPONENTS OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE. TANKS ROLL FORWARD AND BECOME TRAPPED ON THE DRAGON'S TEETH. THE HULL OF THE VEHICLE IS EXPOSED AND CAN THEN BE TARGETED WITH EXPLOSIVES. HERE'S A BROKEN TOOTH THAT GIVES US A GREAT IDEA OF HOW THESE THINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED. THEY WOULD TAKE WOODEN MOLDS, PUT IN THE IRON REINFORCING RODS, AND THEN POUR IN THE CONCRETE. THIS IS JUST ONE TOOTH, BUT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THEM. A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING. YOU'RE LOOKING AT 193 TONS OF THIS IRON PER KILOMETER OF DRAGON'S TEETH. 5,500 CUBIC METERS OF CONCRETE FOR EVERY KILOMETER. BUT DRAGON'S TEETH ARE JUST THE BEGINNING. HITLER ALSO ORDERS THE CONSTRUCTION OF ANOTHER 10,000 BUNKERS.

Holland

THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS HUGELY AMBITIOUS. ITS SHEER SCALE, THE SHEER NERVE AND ARROGANCE ALMOST OF THINKING UP SUCH A PROJECT IS QUITE BREATHTAKING.

Narrator

THE SIEGFRIED LINE BUNKERS RANGE IN SIZE AND STYLE. THERE ARE SIMPLE CONCRETE SHELTERS, MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENTS, AND THEN THE ENORMOUS AND HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED UNDERGROUND FORTS KNOWN AS B-WERK BUNKERS. THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS MADE UP OF A HUGE NUMBER OF INSTALLATIONS AND AMONG THE MOST IMPRESSIVE OF THOSE ARE THE SUBTERRANEAN B-WERK BUNKERS AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM... THE CAT'S HEAD. THOUGH UNASSUMING AT GROUND LEVEL, THE KATZENKOPF BUNKER IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPLEX FORTIFICATIONS EVER BUILT BY NAZI ENGINEERS. IT'S ONE OF 32 ENORMOUS COMMAND AND CONTROL CENTERS PLACED AT KEY TACTICAL POINTS ALONG THE GERMAN BORDER. 4 STORIES DEEP, THIS SPRAWLING UNDERGROUND LAIR CONTAINS EVERYTHING AN 80-MAN TROOP NEEDS TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT FOR UP TO 30 DAYS. WOW! DOWN HERE, WE'VE GOT AN ABSOLUTE SPAGHETTI JUNCTION OF TWISTED PIPES AND BOILERS AND TAPS. THIS IS WHERE WATER WOULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE FORTRESS. THEY'VE DRILLED DOWN 150 METERS UNTIL THEY'VE REACHED THE WATER TABLE AND SO THEY CAN PUMP THAT UP. THEY'VE GOT A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF FRESH WATER HERE. IT'S INCREDIBLE. THE BUNKERS USE CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY TO GIVE OCCUPANTS THE MAXIMUM CHANCE OF SURVIVAL.

Pollard

LOOK AT THIS. THESE BIG DUCTS COMING THROUGH THE WALL. THIS IS THE VENTILATION SYSTEM AND IF THERE IS A GAS ATTACK, THE BUNKER IS SEALED, ALL OF THOSE HEAVY IRON DOORS ARE CLOSED. SO, EVEN IF THE OUTSIDE IS COVERED WITH GAS, YOU CAN STILL FUNCTION IN HERE. IT'S AN INCREDIBLY INTELLIGENT STRUCTURE.

Narrator

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES ARE THE GUN TURRETS. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A STEEL TURRET HERE 30 CENTIMETERS THICK, AND MOUNTED INSIDE IT WERE A PAIR OF TWINNED MACHINE GUNS. AND THIS THING WOULD HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF TURNING 360 DEGREES. AND IF YOU LOOKED OUT, YOU'D HAVE AN AMAZING VIEW OF THE VALLEY, SO, THIS COULD SPRAY MACHINE GUN FIRE ACROSS THE ENTIRE LANDSCAPE. BUT THIS ISN'T THE ONLY ARMAMENT THAT THIS BUNKER HAD. IN ANOTHER, THERE'S A FLAME-THROWER, OR A "FLAMMEN-WERFER" AS THE GERMANS DESCRIBE IT, AND THAT COULD FIRE FLAMES FOR OVER 80 METERS-- AGAIN AROUND A 360-DEGREE CIRCLE. THIS PLACE IS ARMED TO THE TEETH. 4 FLOORS DOWN, AN 80-METER TUNNEL LEADS TO A SECOND, SMALLER GUN TURRET. OH, THAT'S NEAT. THAT'S A GUN PORT SO A MAN BEHIND HERE COULD SHOOT ALL THE WAY UP THE TUNNEL IF THE ENEMY WAS STORMING THROUGH. BUT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PRETTY LAST DITCH STAND, I THINK. THIS REMOTE TURRET IS A SELF-CONTAINED UNIT. IT'S EQUIPPED WITH YET MORE MACHINE GUNS AND GRENADE LAUNCHERS. LOOKS LIKE THE ACCOMMODATION BLOCK FOR THE CREW. AND THESE BRACKETS WOULD HAVE HELD BUNK BEDS. WOULDN'T REALLY FANCY BEING ON THE BOTTOM BUNK HERE. THIS WOULD BE REASSURING, IF THINGS GET REALLY BAD-- HERE'S AN ESCAPE HATCH. BUT NOT EVERYTHING IN THIS BUNKER IS HIGH-TECH. WHOA, I KNOW WHAT THIS IS. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A TRAPDOOR OVER HERE THAT MOST OF THE TIME WOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSED. BUT IF THE PLACE WAS UNDER ATTACK, THE TRAPDOOR WOULD HAVE BEEN LIFTED, AND IF THE ENEMY BROKE THROUGH THE DOOR, THEY'D FALL STRAIGHT INTO THIS. HITLER WATCHES CLOSELY AS THE SIEGFRIED LINE TAKES SHAPE. HE CAREFULLY STAGE-MANAGES HIS FREQUENT VISITS TO SITE... AND PROJECTS AN IMAGE OF NAZI GERMANY AS AN IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS.

Pollard

THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS A VERY IMPORTANT PROPAGANDA TOOL FOR HITLER. IT DEMONSTRATES GERMANY'S ABILITY TO MUSTER MANPOWER, RESOURCES, AND ALSO REPRESENTS ITS MILITARY STRENGTH. AND IT'S A WARNING SHOT TO THE WEST. ON VISITING THE SITE ONCE HE SAID, "I AM THE GREATEST BUILDER OF DEFENSES OF ALL TIME."

Narrator

MARCH 1939. HITLER ANNEXES CZECHOSLOVAKIA. DESPERATE TO AVOID ANOTHER WAR, AND INTIMIDATED BY GERMANY'S NEW DEFENSES, BRITAIN AND FRANCE HAVE AGREED NOT TO INTERVENE. STAGE ONE OF HITLER'S MASTER PLAN IS A SUCCESS. WITH GERMANY'S WESTERN BORDER FINALLY SECURE BEHIND THOUSANDS OF BUNKERS AND GUN EMPLACEMENTS, HITLER SETS HIS SIGHTS EAST ON POLAND.

Holland

BY THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER 1939, THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES COMPLETED. AND THAT'S A HUGE RELIEF FOR HITLER BECAUSE HE'S ITCHING TO GET INTO POLAND; HE DOES INVADE ON THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER, 1939.

Narrator

POLAND FALLS IN JUST 4 WEEKS. THE SIEGFRIED LINE NOW BECOMES THE FRONT LINE FOR HITLER'S EXPANSION WEST. ONCE POLAND'S UNDER NAZI CONTROL, HE THEN TURNS HIS ATTENTION WEST AND ON THE 10th OF MAY 1940, HE INVADES BELGIUM, HOLLAND, AND FRANCE. FRANCE IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MILITARY COUNTRIES IN THE ENTIRE WORLD AND ALL 3 COUNTRIES ARE COMPLETELY OVERRUN WITHIN 6 WEEKS. BY THE SUMMER OF 1940, NAZI GERMANY HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED IN SIZE. IN THE WEST, THE THIRD REICH REACHES THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. WITH ALL THESE VICTORIES, THE WESTERN FRONT IS NO LONGER ON THE BORDERS OF GERMANY BUT ACTUALLY ON THE ATLANTIC COAST. WHAT THAT MEANS IS FOR THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS SUDDENLY IT'S NO LONGER NEEDED. DESPITE BEING COMPLETED ONLY A YEAR EARLIER, THE SIEGFRIED LINE'S VALUABLE WEAPONS AND FITTINGS ARE NOW SHIPPED WESTWARD.

Holland

SO, WHAT HAPPENS IS A WHOLE KIND OF DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS WHERE EVERYTHING IS STRIPPED OUT, ALL THE GUNS, ALL THE AMAZING OPTICS, EVEN THE AIR CONDITIONING IS REMOVED.

Narrator

THEN IN DECEMBER 1941, HITLER DECLARES WAR ON AMERICA. HIS WESTERN BORDER ALONG THE FRENCH COAST IS NOW AT RISK OF ALLIED INVASION. HE ORDERS THE SIEGFRIED LINE TO BE DISMANTLED AND USED TO STRENGTHEN THE ATLANTIC WALL. AND THEY TAKE AWAY THE DOORS, THEY TAKE AWAY THE VENTILATION SYSTEMS. AND LOOK AT THIS, THIS HUGE STEEL BLAST DOOR HAS JUST BEEN RIPPED OUT AND RECYCLED. THE GUN-MOUNTS, ANYTHING THAT'S OF USE. AND IT'S ALL SHIPPED OVER TO THE ATLANTIC WALL TO BOLSTER ITS DEFENSES. BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT WEAKENS THE SIEGFRIED LINE. THE GERMAN ARMY ABANDONS THE BUNKERS, DRAGON'S TEETH, AND TRENCHES OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE. THE ONCE-FORMIDABLE STRUCTURES FALL INTO DISREPAIR. WITH THE WAR NOW PLAYING OUT ON A GLOBAL SCALE, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUNG MEN ARE CONSCRIPTED INTO THE GERMAN ARMY.

SPEAKING GERMAN

Narrator

AMONG THEM FRITZ TILLMANNS, WHO RECALLS THE WAR IN HIS MEMOIRS.

Man as Tillmanns

ON THE 13th OF APRIL 1942, I WAS DRAFTED INTO THE WEHRMACHT.

SPEAKING GERMAN

SPEAKING GERMAN

Man as Tillmanns

AFTER JUST 12 WEEKS OF TRAINING, I WAS SENT TO THE EASTERN FRONT TO BUILD DEFENSIVE POSITIONS AND FIGHT THE RUSSIANS.

SPEAKING GERMAN

SPEAKING GERMAN

Man as Tillmanns

I DIDN'T REALIZE AT THE TIME, BUT THESE EXPERIENCES WOULD STAND ME IN GOOD STEAD TO SERVE ON THE SIEGFRIED LINE.

Narrator

WHILE THE WAR RAGES, THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS VIRTUALLY FORGOTTEN... UNTIL D-DAY. ON JUNE 6, 1944, 160,000 ALLIED TROOPS STORM THE BEACHES AT NORMANDY AND OVERRUN THE ATLANTIC WALL. HITLER HAS MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.

Holland

IT'S ALL VERY WELL TAKING ALL THIS STUFF FROM THE SIEGFRIED LINE, AS LONG AS YOU DON'T EVER NEED IT AGAIN. THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT THE ALLIES OVERRUN THE ATLANTIC WALL, THE GERMANS ARE IN FULL RETREAT FROM NORMANDY, ER, AND SUDDENLY THEY'RE HEADING BACK TO THE SIEGFRIED LINE, WHICH IS NOTHING MORE THAN A CONCRETE SHELL. AND IT'S MADE WORSE BY THE FACT THAT SO MANY OF THE THINGS THEY NEED ARE JUST SIMPLY GONE FOREVER.

Narrator

HITLER HAS TWO PROBLEMS. NOT ONLY ARE HIS DEFENSES INADEQUATE, BUT HIS PRIZE-WINNING ENGINEER, DR. FRITZ TODT, HAS BEEN KILLED IN A PLANE CRASH. HITLER DECIDES TO OVERSEE THE RENOVATIONS HIMSELF.

Translator

THE WESTERN FRONT MUST BE STRENGTHENED AT ONCE. I WANT AN IMMEDIATE REPORT ON THE ORGANIZATION OF LABOR AND THE PROGRESS OF CONSTRUCTION. OUR FORCES MUST DEFEND EVERY INCH OF GROUND FROM OUR ENEMY! THAT IS AN ORDER!

Narrator

THE NAZIS RACE TO REINFORCE THE SIEGFRIED LINE. THEY INSTALL SMALL BUNKERS WITH CIRCULAR OPENINGS FOR WEAPONS KNOWN AS "TOBRUKS" AND 5,000 TUBE-LIKE "KOCH" BUNKERS WHICH ACT AS EXTENSIONS TO EXISTING STRUCTURES. THERE'S ALSO A HECK OF A LOT OF MINES AND LOTS MORE WIRE. IT'S JUST DOING WHAT THEY CAN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS AS IMPREGNABLE AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN IN THE TIME ALLOWING. IT'S ONLY BEEN 5 YEARS SINCE THE SIEGFRIED LINE WAS COMPLETED. BUT TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS DURING THE COURSE OF THE WAR MEAN THAT DEFENSES ARE ALREADY OUTDATED.

Holland

TECHNOLOGY HAS REALLY CHANGED OVER THE INTERVENING YEARS AND, ER, GUNS HAVE BECOME A LOT MORE POWERFUL. SO, A LOT OF THE CONCRETE THAT, THAT WOULD HAVE WITHSTOOD ALLIED FIREPOWER IN 1939 NO LONGER WILL AND THAT'S A MAJOR PROBLEM. ALSO, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN POSITIONS WERE DESIGNED FOR A PARTICULAR TYPE OF GUN WHICH EITHER HAS BECOME OBSOLETE OR SIMPLY NO LONGER EXISTS ANYMORE, SO THERE'S A WHOLE HOST OF PROBLEMS FACING THEM.

Narrator

TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS, HITLER BRINGS IN HIS BEST DEFENSIVE TACTICIAN-- FIELD MARSHAL WALTHER MODEL. HE IS A RUTHLESS AND ACTUALLY, NOT PARTICULARLY WELL-LOVED COMMANDER BY THE OFFICERS. THE MEN LIKE HIM. THEY NICKNAME HIM THE "FRONT PIG" BECAUSE HE SPENDS A LOT OF TIME VISITING THE SOLDIERS ON THE FRONT AND HE'S VERY CAREFUL TO MAKE SURE THAT HE'S TAKING RISKS THAT HIS SOLDIERS TAKE. ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS HE ACTUALLY PERSONALLY LEADS DEFENSES WITH PISTOLS IN HIS HAND. BECAUSE OF THIS SORT OF AGGRESSION AND HIS LACK OF FINESSE, HITLER PARTICULARLY LIKES HIM. ON AUGUST 15, 1944, HITLER SUMMONS MODEL TO THE WOLF'S LAIR.

Translator

AH, MY FAVORITE GENERAL! HEIL HITLER. I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU. YOU ARE MY LION OF DEFENSE. FOR YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN RESTORING THE FRONT IN CENTRAL POLAND.

Narrator

AFTER DECORATING MODEL, HITLER REVEALS HIS PLAN. I HAVE A NEW ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU. YES, MEIN FUHRER. YOU ARE TO TAKE OVER THE COMMAND OF ARMY GROUP WEST WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT. THE DEFENSE OF THE FATHERLAND'S WESTERN BORDER IS IN YOUR HANDS, HERR GENERAL. UNDER MODEL'S COMMAND, THE NAZI WAR EFFORT IN THE WEST IS NOW FOCUSED ON THE SIEGFRIED LINE. AFTER STORMING THE BEACHES AT NORMANDY, THE BRITISH AND OTHER ALLIES PUSH NORTH ALONG THE COAST TO LIBERATE BELGIUM AND HOLLAND, WHILE THE AMERICANS HEAD STRAIGHT FOR THE SIEGFRIED LINE TO STRIKE AT THE HEART OF GERMANY.

MAN SHOUTS IN GERMAN

Narrator

MODEL WAITS FOR THE AMERICANS AT THE POINT MOST PRONE TO ATTACK--

Translator

EVERYTHING IN ORDER, MAN?

Narrator

A ZONE CALLED THE AACHEN GAP. YEAH. YEAH, YEAH. THE AACHEN GAP IS A NARROW CORRIDOR BETWEEN THE CITY OF AACHEN AND THE DENSELY WOODED HURTGEN FOREST. A HISTORIC INVASION ROUTE, IT'S THE MOST DIRECT WAY INTO GERMANY'S INDUSTRIAL HEARTLAND. RICH IN COAL, STEEL, AND IRON RESOURCES, THE RUHR VALLEY IS A VITAL TACTICAL POSITION.

Gustafson

THEY REALLY NEED TO KEEP GERMANY INTACT, ESPECIALLY THE INDUSTRIAL REGIONS OF THE RUHR VALLEY. IF THE AMERICANS TAKE THOSE, THE WAR IS EFFECTIVELY LOST. SO, MODEL IS PUT IN EFFECTIVELY TO SAVE GERMANY.

Narrator

MODEL IS PLEASED WITH WHAT HE FINDS.

Translator

EXACTLY. THE POSITION IS FANTASTIC!

Narrator

THE COMBINATION OF BUNKERS AND DENSE FOREST AROUND AACHEN WILL CAUSE MAJOR PROBLEMS FOR THE AMERICANS. THE REMAINS OF THESE FORTIFICATIONS CAN STILL BE FOUND IN THE FORESTS OF WESTERN GERMANY TODAY.

Bury

IN THE HURTGEN FOREST, HITLER'S ENGINEERED A NIGHTMARE FOR THE ALLIES. THIS BOMBED-OUT BUNKER MIGHT NOT LOOK LIKE MUCH NOW, BUT 70 YEARS AGO, IT WAS A PRETTY FORMIDABLE POSITION FOR THE ALLIES TO HAVE TO TAKE AND IT COST THEM A LOT OF CASUALTIES IN DOING SO. IT WAS BUNKERS AND PILLBOXES LIKE THIS THAT FORMED THE HEART OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE. THIS ONE WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLEMENTED BY ANOTHER ONE PERHAPS 200 YARDS UP THERE, AND ANOTHER ONE 200 YARDS OVER THERE, ALL INTERLOCKING WITH EACH OTHER SO THEY COULD SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS BEST AS POSSIBLE.

Narrator

THIS IS ONE OF ALMOST 3,500 "TYPE 10" BUNKERS THAT MODEL STRENGTHENS IN PREPARATION. SO, HERE WE'VE GOT A GUN PORTAL WHERE THEY COULD HAVE PUT ANY KIND OF MACHINE GUN OR MAYBE PERHAPS A LARGER CALIBER WEAPON HERE TO FIRE OUT ON THE ATTACKERS. YOU'VE GOT THE AIR INTAKE DUCT HERE. WE KNOW THEY WERE VERY KEEN TO KEEP THE BUILDING GAS-TIGHT. THEY'RE AFRAID OF GAS ATTACK. AND THEN WE MOVE IN WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE HAD A HEAVY THICK DOOR, PERHAPS UP TO WITHIN 20 AND 50 MIL THICK, WHICH WOULD HAVE CLOSED TIGHTLY AGAINST THIS TO KEEP THE, UM, TO KEEP THE STRUCTURE AIRTIGHT. PAST THE GAS-PROOF ENTRANCE IS A STAND-TO AREA WHICH ACTS AS LIVING AND SLEEPING QUARTERS. SEPARATE TO THIS IS THE COMBAT ROOM.

Bury

YOU CAN SEE HERE, YOU'VE GOT HERE A MOUNT, FOR PROBABLY A MACHINE GUN. AND YOU'VE GOT THE WIDE OPEN PORT FOR THE GUN TO FIRE FROM. AND IF YOU LOOK JUST HOW WIDE THE FIELD OF FIRE IS, YOU'VE ALMOST GOT A, A PROBABLY ABOUT 160, 150 DEGREES, SO, IT'S REALLY QUITE IMPRESSIVE. THEY'D HAVE THE GUN SET UP HERE AND IT'S QUITE LOW FOR ANY ONCOMING ATTACKERS, GONNA SHOOT THEM IN THE LEGS, OR IN THE CHEST, BUT ONLY AS THEY GET CLOSER TO YOU. AND THEN, YOU CAN SEE HERE, THEY'VE GOT ANOTHER POSITION, A SECONDARY POSITION WHICH HAS GOT FAR TIGHTER FIELD OF VISION BUT CAN COVER THE APPROACHES TO THE DOOR HERE. AND THE FINAL LAST MAN STANDING POSITION IS BASICALLY THIS HOLE HERE, WHICH MEANS YOU CAN SHOOT THROUGH ANY ATTACKERS COMING THROUGH WHILE YOU'RE PROTECTED BEHIND THIS HEAVY WALL.

Narrator

WITH CEILINGS AND WALLS 5 FEET THICK, EACH BUNKER HOLDS UP TO 12 MEN. THE CONDITIONS HERE WOULD HAVE BEEN CRAMPED, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN GRIM, AND THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN COLD. BUT IF YOU WERE A GERMAN SOLDIER, YOU'D MUCH RATHER BE IN HERE WITH OVERHEAD PROTECTION THAN OUT THERE WHERE YOU'RE TOTALLY EXPOSED. NOT ONLY DOES IT PROTECT YOU FROM ARTILLERY SHELLS LANDING, BUT CRUCIALLY, IT PROTECTS YOU FROM "TREE BURSTS." NOW, TREE BURSTS ARE WHEN ARTILLERY SHELLS LAND OR HIT THE TOPS OF THE TREES AND THEN CAUSE SHARDS OF TIMBER AND SHRAPNEL TO COME DOWN ON THE TROOPS EXPOSED UNDERNEATH. THEY WERE ONE OF THE BIGGEST CAUSES OF AMERICAN CASUALTIES IN THE BATTLE OF HURTGEN. BUT FOR THE GERMANS INSIDE, THEY'RE PROTECTED. MODEL'S TROOPS DIG IN, WAITING FOR THE AMERICAN ATTACK. AMONG THEM IS PRIVATE FRITZ TILLMANNS. HE'S ALREADY BATTLE-WEARY FROM SERVING ON THE EASTERN FRONT.

Man as Tillmanns

IN 1944, THEY WERE DESPERATE FOR EXPERIENCED SOLDIERS TO FIGHT ON THE WESTERN FRONT. I'D FOUGHT IN RUSSIA, BUT BEEN INJURED BY SHRAPNEL AND ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, I WAS DISCHARGED AND SENT STRAIGHT TO THE HURTGEN FOREST.

Narrator

5 YEARS AFTER BEING BUILT, HITLER'S MIGHTY SIEGFRIED LINE WILL FINALLY BE TESTED IN BATTLE. ON OCTOBER 2, 1944, AMERICAN TROOPS LAUNCH THEIR ATTACK NORTH OF THE HISTORIC CITY OF AACHEN. AFTER ANNIHILATING THE GERMANS AT NORMANDY, THE AMERICANS BELIEVE THEY ARE FIGHTING A BROKEN, SECOND-RATE ARMY. BY THIS POINT OF THE WAR IN EUROPE, THE ALLIES HAD NUMERICAL ADVANTAGE OVER THE GERMAN. THEY HAD AIR SUPERIORITY, THEY HAD MORE MEN ON THE GROUND, AND IMPORTANTLY, THEY OUTNUMBERED GERMAN TANKS BY ABOUT 10 TO ONE. WHAT THE GERMANS HAD WAS THE SIEGFRIED LINE. IT QUICKLY BECOMES CLEAR THAT AACHEN IS A FOCUS OF NAZI RESISTANCE. BYPASSING IT IS NOT AN OPTION-- THE AMERICANS WILL HAVE TO TAKE THE CITY. THERE ARE EFFECTIVELY TWO STRONG LINES OF DEFENSE BUILT AROUND AACHEN. IT IS REALLY A HARD NUT, A HINGE ON WHICH THE REST OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS SITTING. SO, THE AMERICANS ARE ANTICIPATING A FAIRLY EASY FIGHT, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN INTEGRATED AS THE HARD POINT IN A VERY COMPLEX DEFENSIVE SYSTEM. THE AMERICAN STRATEGY IS A TWO-PRONGED ASSAULT ON THE SIEGFRIED LINE FROM THE NORTH AND SOUTH. ONCE THEY HAVE ENCIRCLED THE CITY, THEY CAN PULVERIZE IT WITH BOMBS AND SHELLS. IF THEY SUCCEED, AACHEN WILL BE THE FIRST MAJOR GERMAN CITY TO FALL, BUT THE NAZIS HAVE TAKEN EXTRA CARE TO PROTECT THE STRATEGIC CITY. THERE ARE MORE DRAGON'S TEETH... REINFORCED BUNKERS... AND BIGGER ANTI-TANK OBSTACLES.

Pollard

GRIEF. THIS IS AN ANTI-TANK WALL, PART OF THE DEFENSES OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE. AND MUCH GRANDER THAN THE DRAGON'S TEETH. WOW. I CAN SEE STEPPING BACK THAT IT'S AT THE BASE OF A HILL AND WHAT IT DOES AS PART OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE, WHAT IT DOES AT REALLY MINIMAL EXPENSE, IT MAKES THIS HILL THEORETICALLY IMPREGNABLE. WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS USED THE TERRAIN INTELLIGENTLY. IT'S THAT COMBINATION OF BLOCKING DEFENSES IN TACTICALLY IMPORTANT LOCATIONS. SO, THIS IS RIGHT AT THE FOOT OF THE HILL, SO, IT EFFECTIVELY STOPS ANY ADVANCE UP SLOPE. IT'S AN INCREDIBLY IMPRESSIVE STRUCTURE.

Narrator

AFTER 3 WEEKS OF HARD FIGHTING, THE AMERICANS OVERWHELM THE TANK DEFENSES. THEY ARE CLOSE TO ENCIRCLING AACHEN. MODEL MUST ACT FAST TO SAVE THE CITY.

Translator

WE MUST STOP THEM SURROUNDING AACHEN. I'VE COME FROM AACHEN. THE FUHRER HAS COMMANDED THAT WE WILL NOT GIVE UP ONE INCH OF GROUND! HIS COMMAND IS SACRED! CAN FIGHT TO THE LAST MAN. IF NECESSARY, BE BURIED IN THE RUINS! SEND IN THE 116th PANZER AND THE THIRD PANZER GRENADIER DIVISIONS! YES, GENERAL FIELD MARSHAL.

Narrator

NICKNAMED "THE FIREMAN," MODEL IS THE MAN HITLER SENDS IN RESCUE THE THIRD REICH FROM DESPERATE SITUATIONS. BUT EVEN HIS TACTICAL EXPERTISE IS NO MATCH FOR THE AMERICAN FIREPOWER.

Gustafson

MODEL REALLY JUST DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH ARMOR TO STAVE OFF THIS GREAT AMERICAN ATTACK. THE AMERICANS HAVE SUCH AN ADVANTAGE IN ARMOR AND FIREPOWER THAT MODEL'S LIMITED RESOURCES SIMPLY CAN'T KEEP UP.

Narrator

ON OCTOBER 11, THE AMERICANS UNLEASH HELL. IN A SINGLE HOUR, ARTILLERY BATTALIONS FIRE 5,000 SHELLS INTO THE CITY, WHILE ALLIED AIR FORCES DROP OVER 62 TONS OF BOMBS. THEY FINALLY BLAST THEIR WAY INTO AACHEN. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN WORLD WAR II, THE NAZIS ARE FIGHTING FOR A MAJOR GERMAN CITY.

Gustafson

THE AMERICANS PUNCH THROUGH AND THEY GET INTO AACHEN, BUT THAT ISN'T THE END OF THE FIGHT BECAUSE IT ISN'T A SINGLE LINE THAT THEY'VE PUNCHED THROUGH. IN FACT, THEY'VE PUNCHED INTO A DEFENSIVE ZONE, OF WHICH AACHEN IS PART. THE CITY ITSELF CONTAINS FORTIFIED ZONES AND BUNKERS AND LINES OF DEFENSE, SO, THE FIGHT INTO AACHEN ISN'T A TRIUMPHAL ENTRANCE, IT IS A BRUTAL HAND-TO-HAND, DOOR-TO-DOOR, HOUSE-TO-HOUSE FIGHT TO CAPTURE WHAT IS EFFECTIVELY A FORTRESS CITY. THE GERMANS KNOW THIS TOWN LIKE THE BACK OF THEIR HANDS AND THEY USED IT TO THEIR ADVANTAGE. THEY USED EVERYTHING IT HAD TO OFFER AS A FORM OF DEFENSE. THEY WERE IN THE CELLARS, THEY TURNED THEM INTO BUNKERS, AND THE AMERICANS PASSED, THE GERMANS WOULD POP OUT AND ATTACK THEM FROM THE REAR. THE AMERICANS WERE FORCED TO ATTACK THEM WITH GRENADES AND FLAME-THROWERS. IMAGINE WHAT THE GUYS IN THERE SUFFERED DURING THAT FIGHT. THEY WERE IN THE SEWERS. THE AMERICANS HAD TO BLOCK UP THE MANHOLES TO STOP THEM POPPING UP. THEY TOOK TO THE ROOF TOPS WITH SNIPERS. THEY EVEN DRAGGED PIECES OF ARTILLERY UP TO THE UPPER STORIES TO RAIN FIRE DOWN ONTO THE AMERICANS. THEY MADE THEM PAY FOR EVERY INCH OF THIS TOWN. AFTER HEAVY STREET FIGHTING, THIS IS WHERE THE GERMANS MADE THEIR LAST STAND IN AACHEN. WHEN HITLER BUILT THE SIEGFRIED LINE, HE ALSO FORTIFIED AACHEN. AND THAT'S WHAT THIS BUILDING REPRESENTS. IT'S A MASSIVE AIR RAID SHELTER FOR THE CIVILIANS. BUT AS THE BATTLE PROGRESSES AND STARTS TO GO BADLY FOR THE GERMAN MILITARY, THEY MOVE IN AS WELL, AND BY THE END OF THE BATTLE, IT'S THEIR COMMAND POST. BY THE 21st OF OCTOBER, THE SITUATION FOR THE DEFENDERS OF AACHEN IS HOPELESS. THE AMERICANS ARE IN THIS STREET SHOOTING AT THIS AIR RAID SHELTER AND YOU CAN SEE HOW HEAVILY THE AMERICANS HAVE HIT IT. THIS ENTIRE WALL IS PEPPERED WITH MACHINE GUN FIRE AND SHRAPNEL SCARS, AND ESPECIALLY AROUND THE DOORWAY... SO, YOU CERTAINLY WOULDN'T WANT TO BE COMING OUT OF THIS BUILDING WITHOUT A WHITE FLAG IN YOUR HAND. THE GERMAN COMMANDER PUTS OUT HIS LAST RADIO MESSAGE TO THE HIGH COMMAND

AND IT GOES ALONG THE LINES OF

"AFTER VERY HEAVY STREET FIGHTING ALL AMMO EXPENDED, "NO WATER, NO FOOD, THE ENEMY ARE CLOSE "TO THE COMMAND POST OF THE LAST DEFENDERS OF THE IMPERIAL CITY. RADIO PREPARED FOR DESTRUCTION." IT DOESN'T GET ANY MORE EVOCATIVE THAN THAT. AND NOT LONG AFTER, THE GERMANS SURRENDER.

Narrator

IT IS A BRUTAL BATTLE WHICH TAKES A HUGE HUMAN TOLL. MORE THAN 10,000 AMERICAN AND GERMAN TROOPS KILLED, WOUNDED, OR MISSING IN ACTION. 80% OF THE HISTORIC CITY OF AACHEN DESTROYED. AMERICAN FORCES HAVE PUNCHED THROUGH A SMALL SECTION OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE AND CAPTURED THEIR FIRST MAJOR GERMAN CITY. BUT THE FIGHT FOR THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS FAR FROM OVER. THE AMERICANS DO ULTIMATELY CAPTURE AACHEN AFTER A PROTRACTED ATTACK AND A LOT OF VERY DIRTY URBAN FIGHTING. BUT THAT'S NOT THE END OF IT FOR THE AMERICANS; THEY NOW HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE HURTGEN FOREST. AND THE HURTGEN FOREST IS A VERY COMPLEX DEFENSE, IN WHICH THEY HAVE NO ADVANTAGE. THE AMERICANS ARE ABOUT TO STUMBLE STRAIGHT INTO

MODEL'S DEATH TRAP

THE HURTGEN FOREST. ON NOVEMBER 2, 1944, AMERICAN TROOPS ARE IN THE FOREST FLANKING THE CITY OF AACHEN. MODEL PREPARES HIS MEN. AFTER LOSING AACHEN, THE SITUATION LOOKS DESPERATE BUT MODEL HAS BUILT HIS REPUTATION ON WINNING AGAINST THE ODDS.

Translator

EVERYONE MUST UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION. THIS MOMENT WILL BE ENOUGH TO DISTINGUISH THE TRUE MEN FROM THE INEPT ONES. EVERY SOLDIER HAS THE SAME RESPONSIBILITY. IF ONE FALLS, ANOTHER MUST BE READY TO TAKE HIS PLACE.

Holland

THE BATTLE MOVING INTO THE HURTGEN FOREST FEEDS INTO MODEL'S HANDS, BECAUSE NOT ONLY HAVE YOU GOT THE FIXED DEFENSES OF THE BUNKERS AND THE MINES AND GUN POSITIONS AND ALL THE REST OF IT, YOU'VE ALSO GOT THE NATURAL DEFENSES OF THE FOREST.

Gustafson

THE TWO GREAT AMERICAN STRENGTHS IN FIREPOWER-- TANKS AND CLOSE AIR SUPPORT, AIRCRAFT--ARE STRIPPED AWAY. THEY SIMPLY CAN'T OPERATE IN THE HURTGEN FOREST. THE TREES ARE TOO TIGHTLY PACKED, THE GROUND IS TOO CLOSE.

Narrator

THE HURTGEN FOREST'S RUGGED TERRAIN LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD, GIVING THE GERMANS A FIGHTING CHANCE AGAINST THE SUPERIOR MILITARY MIGHT OF THE AMERICANS.

Translator

GET READY, LADS. HANS, ARE YOU READY? JA.

Narrator

FRITZ TILLMANNS RECALLS THE START OF THE BATTLE.

Man as Tillmanns

OUR TROOP'S MISSION WAS TO DEFEND THE VILLAGE OF SCHMIDT-- A KEY POSITION ON OUR SUPPLY ROUTE. WE COULD SEE THE AMERICANS ACROSS THE VALLEY WERE TRYING TO ATTACK WITH TANKS AND INFANTRY. THERE WERE SO MANY OF THEM, AND WE COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW THEY JUST KEPT COMING. MEN LIKE FRITZ TILLMANNS AND HIS UNITS WOULD HAVE BEEN DUG IN IN THIS AREA HOLDING FIRM. AND HERE COULD WELL HAVE BEEN A FIGHTING POSITION. AND IF YOU GET DOWN HERE, YOU CAN SEE THAT BASICALLY THIS WOULD BE A DECENT ENOUGH POSITION FOR A MACHINE GUN. YOU CAN SEE OVER THE BROW OF THE HILL, IT CAN SUPPORT THE OTHER POSITIONS WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER THERE AND DOWN THAT WAY AND CRUCIALLY, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ANOTHER BIG BUNKER POSITION UP ON THAT HILL. SO, IT'S ALL PART OF AN INTERLOCKING DEFENSIVE PLAN, TRYING TO MAKE IT AS TOUGH AS POSSIBLE FOR THE ALLIES TO GET INTO THIS AREA.

Narrator

THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS NOT JUST CONCRETE STRUCTURES AND TRENCHES, BUT BARBED WIRE, BOOBY TRAPS...AND MINE FIELDS. SURROUNDING THE TRENCHES AND BUNKERS ARE BELTS OF ANTIPERSONNEL MINES. THROUGHOUT THE HURTGEN FOREST, THESE CAN BE LAID AS DEEP AS ONE MINE EVERY 8 PACES. IF YOU'RE AN AMERICAN SOLDIER TRYING TO ATTACK THE GERMANS, IT IS A NIGHTMARE. IT'S PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. IT IS THE LAST THING THAT YOU WANT TO BE DOING. IT'S A REALLY, REALLY TOUGH PLACE TO BE FIGHTING. FROM SEPTEMBER THROUGH OCTOBER, THE ALLIES BATTLE TO CLEAR THE HURTGEN FOREST, BUT THE GERMAN DEFENSES PREVENT ANY NOTABLE ADVANCE. CONDITIONS ARE COLD AND WET. THE FIGHTING IS BRUTAL. TWO AMERICAN REGIMENTS ARE COMPLETELY WIPED OUT. G.I.s CALL THIS DENSE FOREST "THE DEATH FACTORY." EVERY TWO WEEKS, A NEW WAVE OF AMERICAN TROOPS IS THROWN AGAINST THE SIEGFRIED LINE. BUT THEY JUST CAN'T BREAK THROUGH. THERE'S ONE, TWO-- THESE LOOK LIKE FOXHOLES THAT WERE DUG BY THE AMERICANS HERE. WE'VE GOT A FEW OF THEM. IT'S JUST BASICALLY A SIMPLE PREPARED POSITION DUG BY INFANTRY SOLDIERS. THAT'S ALL IT IS. YOU KNOW, COMPARED TO THE GERMANS WHO'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, CONCRETE DEFENSES ON THE SIEGFRIED LINE, ALL THE POOR BLOODY INFANTRYMEN HERE CAN DO IS DIG IN WITH THEIR SPADES, YOU KNOW, AND THEIR SHOVELS-- THEIR SMALL SHOVELS. MODEL'S TACTICS ARE WORKING. BUT HE'S NOT CONTENT WITH JUST HOLDING THE AMERICANS BACK-- HE WANTS TO DESTROY THEM.

Translator

ENSURE THAT TROOP WEGELIN IS SENT TO THE HURTGEN FRONT IMMEDIATELY! I DEMAND TOTAL DEDICATION. THE ENEMY MUST BE DESTROYED.

Gustafson

MODEL IS CONSIDERED TO BE A RUTHLESS COMMANDER. HITLER SAYS TO ONE OF HIS STAFF OFFICERS AT ONE POINT, "BY GOD, DID YOU SEE THAT MAN? I TRUST HIM BUT I WOULDN'T WANT TO SERVE UNDER HIM."

MAN SHOUTING IN GERMAN

Narrator

DETERMINED TO TURN THE WAR FOR HITLER, MODEL ORDERS HIS MEN TO DRIVE THE AMERICANS OUT OF THE HURTGEN AND GERMANY. NOVEMBER 8,

1944

GERMAN ARMY PRIVATE FRITZ TILLMANNS HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO LEAVE THE SAFETY OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE... AND ENTER THE FRAY. IT'S A DOOMED MISSION.

Man as Tillmanns

WE'D SEEN A HUGE NUMBER OF G.I.s DIGGING IN THE DAY BEFORE AND WE ONLY HAD A STRENGTH OF ABOUT 30 TO 40 MEN, MANY OF WHOM WERE NOT EXPERIENCED SOLDIERS. I HAD SERIOUS DOUBTS ABOUT OUR ATTACK. IT SEEMED LIKE A SUICIDE MISSION. THE PROBLEM NOW IS THE SHOE'S ON THE OTHER FOOT AND ATTACKING IS VERY DIFFERENT TO DEFENDING.

Translator

RIGHT FLANK!

Narrator

WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF THE SIEGFRIED LINE, TILLMANNS'S UNIT BECOMES VULNERABLE.

Man as Tillmanns

WE RECEIVED ORDERS TO PUSH OUR ATTACK FURTHER ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE VALLEY. THE FIRST FEW HUNDRED YARDS WENT FINE, BUT THEN... WE CAME UNDER ARTILLERY FIRE AND WE HAD OUR FIRST CASUALTIES.

Translator

FORWARD! GO, HANS, I'LL COVER YOU! HANS! ARE YOU HIT? OH, NO! PIGS! ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS WAS BADLY WOUNDED. HE DIED LATER AT THE FIRST AID STATION.

Narrator

THE GERMANS QUICKLY RETREAT THROUGH THE FOREST.

Bury

THINGS ARE GETTING PRETTY DESPERATE. THE CONDITIONS ARE HORRENDOUS HERE. WE KNOW THAT THE QUALITY OF THE TROOPS IS DECLINING, THEY'RE LOSING A LOT OF SENIOR NCOs-- WHICH ARE NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS--BASICALLY LEADERS, SO, THEY'RE NOT AS WELL LED, AND THEN SUPPLIES ARE RUNNING OUT, TOO. THEY'VE GOT FEWER AND FEWER AMMUNITION, THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ARTILLERY SHELLS TO SUPPORT THEM, AND CRUCIALLY, THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF THEIR KIND OF PERSONAL FIGHTING EQUIPMENT LIKE SLEEPING SYSTEMS AND ALSO RATIONS.

Narrator

FIELD MARSHAL MODEL'S COUNTER-ATTACK MAY HAVE FAILED. BUT THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS STILL HOLDING FIRM. HURTGEN FOREST IS ONE OF THE LONGEST AND BLOODIEST BATTLES THE U.S. ARMY EVER FIGHTS AND THE TRULY HORRIFIC COSTS AREN'T REALLY BORNE OUT ON THE GROUND. THEY HAVEN'T ADVANCED THAT FAR. THE SIEGFRIED LINE, WHERE THE POSITIONS ARE AND THE FOREST DEFENSES ARE STILL LARGELY INTACT, SO THEY HAVEN'T FULFILLED THEIR OBJECTIVES. IN JUST UNDER 5 MONTHS, THE ALLIES HAVE LIBERATED OVER 224,000 SQUARE MILES OF WESTERN EUROPE. BUT NOW THEY'VE STALLED AT THE SIEGFRIED LINE. THE BATTLE OF THE HURTGEN FOREST ENDS IN A KIND OF BITTER, BLOODY STALEMATE, IN WHICH CASUALTIES ON BOTH SIDES ARE ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS. ABOUT 30,000 MEN ON BOTH SIDES ARE KILLED. CRITICALLY, THE STALEMATE IN THE HURTGEN FOREST HAS BOUGHT HITLER TIME. HE HAS BEEN SECRETLY PLANNING A MAJOR OFFENSIVE JUST 20 MILES FURTHER SOUTH AND IS MOVING TROOPS INTO POSITION, READY TO LAUNCH THEM AT THE ALLIES. THE MAN HE PUTS IN TOUCH WITH IT IS THE MAN WHO'S SO TENACIOUSLY DEFENDED THE SIEGFRIED LINE UP TO THAT POINT-- FIELD MARSHAL MODEL. ON DECEMBER 16, HITLER'S MIRACLE WORKER, FIELD MARSHAL MODEL, PUTS THE FUHRER'S AUDACIOUS PLAN INTO ACTION. 250,000 GERMAN SOLDIERS, 2,000 ARTILLERY PIECES, AND 1,000 TANKS ASSAULT A 75-MILE STRETCH OF THE AMERICAN LINE. THE PLAN IS TO SURGE FORWARD THROUGH BELGIUM AND DRIVE THE ALLIES BACK INTO THE SEA. IT WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE. DECEMBER 1944. THE GERMAN COUNTER-ATTACK ACROSS THE SIEGFRIED LINE IS HITLER'S LAST ROLL OF THE DICE. HITLER, IN ALL HIS IRRATIONALITY, STILL THINKS HE CAN SOMEHOW SCRAPE A VICTORY OR SOME ADVANTAGE AT THE END OF THE WAR WITH AN OFFENSIVE. IT CATCHES THE AMERICANS BY SURPRISE AND ACTUALLY DOES GAIN SOME INITIAL ADVANTAGE AND SOME INITIAL ADVANCES. REALLY, IT'S NEVER GOING TO SUCCEED. BUT THE GERMAN FORCES CAN'T SUSTAIN THEIR FEROCIOUS MOMENTUM.

Gustafson

OUTSIDE OF THE DEFENSIVE ADVANTAGE OFFERED BY THE HURTGEN FOREST AND THE SIEGFRIED LINE, THE GERMANS REALLY DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO LAUNCH AN ATTACK. THEY DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT AIRPOWER, THEY DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT ARTILLERY, AND THEY'RE RUNNING OUT OF FUEL.

Narrator

ONCE AMERICAN REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE, THEY QUICKLY HALT THE NAZI ADVANCE. HITLER'S DESPERATE GAMBLE TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE WAR FALTERS IN JUST 3 WEEKS. THE GREAT OFFENSIVE THAT HITLER'S PLANNED, THAT MODEL'S CARRIED OUT, HAS PROVED A BUSTED FLUSH AND THEY NOW HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO RETREAT BACK AWAY FROM THE SIEGFRIED LINE, ABANDON IT, AND FALL BACK BEHIND THE NEXT GREAT OBSTACLE, WHICH IS THE RIVER RHINE. THE ALLIES COORDINATE A MASSIVE FINAL PUSH ON ALL FRONTS. WITH THE GERMAN TROOPS NOW IN RETREAT, THE SIEGFRIED LINE FALLS AT A RAPID RATE.

Gustafson

MODEL NO LONGER HAS THE ABILITY TO COUNTER-ATTACK, TO STOP THOSE BREACHES, WHEN HE CAN'T PLUG THE HOLES. BECAUSE HE DOESN'T HAVE THE TANKS, THE MATERIAL, THE MEN, TO DO IT, THEN THE LINE BECOMES POINTLESS, IT CAN'T BE DEFENDED. IT'S JUST A BUNCH OF FURNITURE OUT IN THE FOREST.

Narrator

FOR ALL ITS TECHNOLOGY AND WEAPONRY, THE KATZENKOPF BUNKER IS OVERRUN IN A DAY. AND THE REASON IS SIMPLE. IT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD HAVING A REALLY IMPRESSIVE DEFENSIVE SYSTEM LIKE THE SIEGFRIED LINE, BUT YOU NEED THE SOLDIERS TO MAN IT, AND BY THE TIME THE ALLIES ARE KNOCKING ON GERMANY'S FRONT DOOR, THEIR MILITARY MACHINE IS PRETTY MUCH BROKEN. AND HITLER JUST DOESN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO THROW AT IT AND THEY CAN'T STAVE OFF THE INEVITABLE.

Bury

ALTHOUGH THE SIEGFRIED LINE WAS A REALLY STRONG DEFENSIVE NETWORK, ULTIMATELY IT WAS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE MEN WHO OCCUPIED IT, AND WHEN THEY LOST THEIR FIGHTING SPIRIT, IT WAS EASILY OVERCOME.

Narrator

THE SIEGFRIED LINE WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY FEAT OF MILITARY ENGINEERING. IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL PROPAGANDA WEAPON THAT GAVE HITLER THE POWER TO INSTIGATE WORLD WAR II. IT ALLOWED THE NAZIS TO HOLD THEIR ENEMIES BACK LONG ENOUGH TO COUNTER-ATTACK IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE. JUST 6 WEEKS AFTER THE AMERICANS BREAK THROUGH THE FINAL SIEGFRIED LINE DEFENSES, HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE, AND THE END OF THE WAR SWIFTLY FOLLOWS. AS THE ALLIES ADVANCE TOWARDS BERLIN, THEY CAPTURE PRIVATE FRITZ TILLMANNS. FIELD MARSHAL MODEL REFUSES TO SURRENDER TO THE BRITISH. ON HEARING HE COULD FACE CHARGES FOR WAR CRIMES... HE SHOOTS HIMSELF. DESCRIBED BY ONE ALLIED COMMANDER AS "THE STRONGEST NET OF FORTIFICATIONS EVER CONSTRUCTED BY THE HUMAN RACE," THE SIEGFRIED LINE CAMPAIGN COST THE AMERICANS 140,000 CASUALTIES. BUT ULTIMATELY, IT WAS AN OVERLY AMBITIOUS PROJECT THAT THE GERMAN FORCES SIMPLY COULDN'T MAINTAIN.

Holland

THE TRUTH IS WITH THE SIEGFRIED LINE, AND IT APPLIES TO SO MANY OF THE BIG NAZI PROJECTS, IS THAT GERMANY IS JUST RESOURCE-POOR. THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF ANYTHING. AND SO THEY START THESE HUGE GREAT PROJECTS BUT THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE MANPOWER OR THE MATERIALS TO REALLY SEE IT THROUGH. AND THIS IS CERTAINLY THE CASE WITH THE SIEGFRIED LINE. IT'S JUST TOO VAST, IT'S TOO BIG AN OBSTACLE TO-- TO EFFECTIVELY MAN.

Narrator

MANY OF THE STRUCTURES ALONG THE SIEGFRIED LINE WERE SO SOLIDLY BUILT THAT THE ALLIES FOUND THEM IMPOSSIBLE TO DEMOLISH. THEY ARE TESTAMENT TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS EVER UNDERTAKEN ON GERMAN SOIL-- AND A REMINDER OF THE MEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES FIGHTING TO DEFEND, AND DESTROY, IT. NAZI MEGA WEAPONS, SEASON TWO IS AVAILABLE ON DVD. TO ORDER,

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