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00:00On the German border, a forest of dark secrets.
00:22American G.I.s called it the Death Factory.
00:30World War II was fought on vast landscapes across the planet.
00:39Where we're going, we don't need roads.
00:42But the evidence of that war is disappearing fast.
00:48That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen in the water.
00:52That's it.
00:53Congratulations.
00:54Now, technology expert Pete Kelsey and military historian Marty Morgan
01:03are using 21st century technology to strip away the present
01:10and reveal the buried secrets of World War II.
01:14This time, why was the Hurtgen Forest a death trap for the U.S. Army?
01:25How did the winter impede the U.S. advance?
01:30So he's now losing heat really fast.
01:35How did the Nazis turn the forest itself into a weapon?
01:39The Hurtgen Forest.
01:56Dense, dark, and today, eerily quiet.
02:02For 50 square miles, there's nothing but trees.
02:09U.S. military commanders expected to get through these woods
02:13on their way to Berlin in a couple of weeks.
02:19Instead, through the fall and winter of 1944,
02:23it took six months
02:25and cost tens of thousands of American lives.
02:33The Battle of Hurtgen Forest is carved into history
02:36as America's bloodiest battle.
02:42Why?
02:43What happened here?
02:45What led the U.S. Army into this mire?
02:55The story begins in the summer of 1944.
03:03June 6th, British, Canadian, and U.S. troops
03:06stormed the beaches of Normandy.
03:17By early September, they'd liberated Paris,
03:20most of northern France, and Belgium.
03:25Allied troops were racing to take Germany.
03:38And that will all come to a grinding halt
03:41here at the German border.
03:43Allied forces are going to be confronting
03:45German soldiers fighting for German soil.
03:49And from this point forward,
03:50things were only going to get worse.
03:55Military historian Marty Morgan
03:58and tech wizard Pete Kelsey
03:59have come to the Hurtgen Forest.
04:02They're looking for traces
04:04of an epic World War II battle.
04:07They've set up their HQ in a farmhouse
04:09near the edge of the forest.
04:15Pete wants to build a 3-D virtual terrain map.
04:19He'll combine German government LIDAR scans
04:22with more sophisticated aerial tech
04:25to lift away the trees and ground cover.
04:32He hopes to reveal the scars of battle beneath.
04:35Pete and Marty are joined by Professor Christoph Rass,
04:48a German military historian.
04:51He's studied the Battle of Hurtgen over many years.
04:54You have the Americans advancing from the west.
04:59And then as they get to the border of Germany,
05:02they have the Eiffel Mountains in front of them.
05:05The Eiffel Mountains block the way,
05:08funneling them into a narrow valley
05:10known as the Stolberg Corridor.
05:13This is the direct route into Germany.
05:16But to the south of the corridor
05:18lies the massive Hurtgen Forest.
05:20American commanders realized the Germans
05:32could hole up in the forest,
05:33then attack the American flank.
05:39So on September 12, 1944,
05:42General Cota sent in an advance party.
05:456,000 men of the 28th Infantry Division
05:51marched on the forest.
05:53Their mission?
05:55To clear the Germans out.
05:57So in a sense,
05:58the Americans are walking in,
06:01unknowingly walking into a heavily defended area
06:04that looks like that?
06:05Yes.
06:06And it's an impossible choice.
06:08You have to secure it.
06:10You can't go around it.
06:11And then as you go in it,
06:13for a while you lose all the advantages you have.
06:16And this, I mean, to me it's pretty clear
06:18this terrain is going to make
06:19moving any heavy equipment
06:22all but impossible.
06:25LIDAR shows a man-made barrier
06:2710 miles long.
06:29This confronted the advance party
06:31before they even reached the woods.
06:34Holy cow.
06:35Could this explain the loss
06:38of thousands of American soldiers?
06:42Pete and Marty go to check it out.
07:01It's an incredible sight to see, isn't it?
07:05Still here,
07:09after almost eight decades.
07:12Unbelievable.
07:13It seems to go on for miles
07:15in both directions.
07:18These square-based pyramids of concrete
07:20are called Dragon's Teeth.
07:23They were positioned to stop tanks and trucks
07:25in their tracks.
07:30You've come up on this
07:31and it's a bit intimidating.
07:33This belt should be going for miles
07:39to the north and miles to the south.
07:42These teeth were fiendishly simple,
07:44but precision-made.
07:46How effective was this line of defense?
07:50Pete puts his tech to work
07:51to find out.
07:53We really want to create a 3D model
07:55of the Dragon's Teeth.
07:56So with me,
07:58I have a tablet equipped
08:00with essentially
08:01a 3D handheld scanner.
08:05And as I move around
08:07using this device,
08:10in real time,
08:11it's going to be capturing data
08:13in 3D as I go.
08:17Pete's scanner bounces infrared light
08:20off the teeth
08:21to capture every detail.
08:23From there,
08:32he can build a precise
08:333D virtual model
08:35and demonstrate
08:36how they might have worked.
08:42Advancing tanks
08:43would quickly become stranded
08:44and vulnerable
08:45to enemy fire.
08:47What this wall does
08:50is it reduces
08:51a modern mechanized army
08:53to a rabble
08:55of lightly armed infantrymen.
08:58But Pete and Marty
09:00notice something strange.
09:04These teeth don't appear
09:05to have bitten hard steel.
09:08There are none of the scrapes
09:10and grazes
09:10that heavy armor
09:11would leave on their surfaces.
09:12If engineers came here
09:15and wanted to blow a path
09:17through this band of obstacles,
09:19that would be
09:20an enormous task
09:21that would take
09:22an enormous quantity
09:23of explosives
09:23and it would take
09:24a lot of time.
09:25Sure.
09:26U.S. Army engineers
09:28improvised.
09:29They buried the teeth
09:30with earth
09:31and easily
09:32passed over them.
09:35This line of defense
09:36was monumentally
09:38ineffective.
09:39Nevertheless,
09:42by September 18th,
09:44just five days
09:45into the battle,
09:47the 28th Division
09:48had sustained
09:491,500 casualties
09:50and six days later
09:52withdrew to Belgium.
09:56Now the 9th Infantry Division
09:58took up the fight.
10:00What kind of defenses
10:01would they encounter?
10:09The Dragon's Teeth
10:15were only the first line
10:16of defense
10:17on Germany's
10:18western border.
10:21Marty Morgan
10:22knows that they were part
10:23of a much more complex
10:25defense system
10:25in the Hürtgen Forest.
10:28The Germans called it
10:30the West Wall.
10:31The Americans knew it
10:32as the Siegfried Line.
10:35The U.S. 9th Division
10:37entered the forest
10:38on September 29th, 1944.
10:44They suffered
10:454,500 casualties
10:47in their first three weeks
10:49and advanced
10:50less than two miles.
10:53They couldn't even see
10:54the German defenses.
11:02Pete and Marty
11:03can't see those positions either.
11:05But maybe a high-fidelity scan
11:08will fix that.
11:17Haram.
11:18Hi, Pete.
11:18Oh, am I glad to see you.
11:21Look at this.
11:23Very, very impressive.
11:26Very large drone.
11:28Basically, what this drone
11:30can do is get this
11:31very accurate laser-based
11:33unit into the air.
11:35This rather amazing piece
11:37of technology,
11:39in a sense,
11:41is going to make
11:42the invisible visible.
11:44Backup running.
11:45Yeah.
11:52Wow.
11:53Wow.
11:57This flying scanner
11:59is capturing finely
12:00detailed data
12:01to augment Pete's
12:033D terrain map.
12:05Lasers penetrate
12:07the tree canopy
12:08to record what lies beneath.
12:09Then, using advanced
12:17processing software,
12:19Pete can strip away
12:20the trees
12:21to uncover
12:23Hurtgen
12:24as never before.
12:27Back at HQ,
12:29the results
12:30are impressive.
12:31We've so far
12:33never seen
12:34LIDAR
12:35with such a resolution.
12:38And look at the details
12:39you can see.
12:40Could those
12:40potentially be bunkers?
12:44Only three miles
12:45from the dragon's teeth,
12:46they've spotted something.
12:48It looks like
12:49an elaborate system
12:50of German bunkers.
12:53I've got the drone
12:53LIDAR loaded up.
12:55And look at this.
12:57Armed with new
12:57scanning data,
12:58they're looking
12:59for these hidden defenses.
13:01Hey, Marty.
13:05You got something?
13:06Look at that.
13:08Oh, yeah.
13:09Now we're talking.
13:10Right where it should be.
13:17Wow, talk about
13:19high ground.
13:19Yeah.
13:21According to the LIDAR,
13:22this is the highest point
13:23in the area.
13:26It's got a commanding view
13:27down onto the road.
13:29At the end of October,
13:30the 28th Infantry
13:32returned to the forest.
13:35Advancing through
13:36these trees
13:36is deadly.
13:39Wow, look at that
13:39gun port
13:40looking right at us.
13:43Wow.
13:45Oh, yeah.
13:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:49This thing's intact.
13:53Wow, standing water.
13:54That's a bit of a surprise
13:56considering how cold
13:57it is out here.
14:01Is it me
14:01or is that pattern
14:02on that wall
14:03right there
14:04look like somebody
14:05threw a grenade
14:07in here
14:08and the fragmentation
14:09just went everywhere?
14:13You know,
14:13it does look
14:14a little bit like
14:15there are some
14:16impacts on the side
14:18of that wall.
14:18It must have been
14:21daunting to advance
14:22on a gun emplacement
14:23like this.
14:25And the scan
14:26reveals that it's
14:27one of nine
14:28in just this short
14:29stretch of the forest.
14:33The LIDAR
14:34clearly shows
14:35that the bunkers
14:36command strategic
14:37high ground.
14:40They have
14:41interlocking fields
14:42of fire.
14:42Pete spots
14:47something odd.
14:49These bunkers
14:49don't seem
14:50heavily damaged
14:51while others
14:53nearby
14:53are completely
14:55shattered.
15:07Clearly
15:08there's a lot
15:09of damage
15:09to this place
15:10but
15:11what happened
15:13here?
15:15Was this part
15:16of some
15:16great battle?
15:19Was this
15:20an airstrike?
15:26Pete's gathering
15:27data for a 3D
15:29model of the
15:29German bunkers.
15:31He'll capture
15:32every bullet
15:33strike,
15:34crack,
15:35and fracture
15:35to learn
15:37how some
15:37were destroyed.
15:41Back at HQ,
15:44he and Marty
15:45are trying
15:45to work out
15:46why some
15:47bunkers remain
15:47intact,
15:48while others
15:49are blown
15:50to smithereens.
15:52I've been
15:52looking at
15:53some of the
15:53scan data
15:54from these
15:55demolished bunkers.
15:56On this
15:57first one,
15:58this roof
15:59slab,
16:00which is at
16:00least three
16:01feet thick,
16:02maybe four,
16:03has been split
16:04in two
16:05places.
16:07The walls
16:08on either
16:08side,
16:09specifically
16:09over here
16:10on the
16:10right,
16:11you can
16:11actually see
16:12that it's
16:12bowed out.
16:13It's popped
16:13out.
16:14Exactly.
16:14Look at that
16:14angle.
16:15On close
16:16examination,
16:17Pete concludes
16:18that these
16:19smashed bunkers
16:20weren't attacked
16:20from the
16:21outside.
16:22This is
16:23almost certainly
16:24an explosive
16:25charge from
16:26inside.
16:28There's no
16:28signs of an
16:29assault or pitch
16:30battle or anything
16:31on this bunker,
16:31so almost
16:33certainly
16:33post-war
16:34demolition.
16:36So,
16:37just as U.S.
16:38forces overcame
16:39the dragon's teeth,
16:40they also got
16:41past most of
16:42the bunkers
16:43on the
16:43Siegfried Line.
16:45If these
16:46bunkers weren't
16:47destroyed in
16:48battle,
16:49how in the
16:49world did the
16:50Americans get
16:50past them?
16:51The Siegfried
16:52Line was
16:52presented as
16:53this impenetrable
16:54wall,
16:55and what we
16:56now know is
16:56that it was
16:57not as much
16:58of a tough
16:58nut to crack
16:59as had been
17:00expected.
17:02Marty thinks
17:03that American
17:04troops likely
17:05spotted the
17:06bunkers and
17:06somehow got a
17:07small force
17:08around behind
17:09them to
17:10attack.
17:11This
17:12structure was
17:12oriented toward
17:14the west,
17:15and instead our
17:16forces slip in
17:17on it from
17:18its blind side.
17:20At some
17:21cost, the
17:22second line of
17:23German defense
17:24is breached.
17:24But as the
17:27American army
17:28advanced deeper
17:29into the
17:30Hurtgen forest,
17:31they come up
17:32against an
17:32obstacle more
17:33fearsome than
17:34any man-made
17:35fortification.
17:37The forest
17:39itself.
17:40October 1944.
17:51U.S.
17:52troops have
17:52breached the
17:53dragon's teeth,
17:54and they've
17:54overcome a
17:55daunting system
17:56of concrete
17:56bunkers in
17:57Germany's
17:58Siegfried line.
18:01But Pete
18:02Kelsey and
18:03Marty Morgan are
18:04looking deeper
18:05into the forest
18:06for evidence
18:07of full-on
18:07battle.
18:10Something on
18:10the LIDAR
18:11has caught
18:12Pete's
18:12attention.
18:14I thought
18:15you should
18:15have a look
18:16at this.
18:16What do you
18:17think?
18:17Definitely
18:17not German,
18:18no trenches.
18:19They look
18:20oblong.
18:21They don't
18:21look like
18:22shell craters.
18:23But then,
18:24look at all
18:24of this behind
18:25them.
18:25Right.
18:26There's so
18:27many of them.
18:28Wow, there
18:29is something
18:29going on here.
18:31These scars
18:32on the landscape
18:32are six miles
18:33beyond the
18:34dragon's teeth,
18:35and two-and-a-half
18:36miles east
18:37of the concrete
18:38bunkers.
18:40Marty soon
18:41zeroes in
18:41on them.
18:42Huh.
18:49The LIDAR
18:50has collected
18:52this fascinating
18:53range of
18:54imagery of
18:55this site.
18:57And what I
18:58want to have
18:59a look at
18:59is this
19:00big one
19:01here.
19:06Oh, look
19:07at this
19:07on the
19:07other side
19:08of this
19:08tree.
19:11That
19:12is a dug
19:13position.
19:14Oh, yeah.
19:17That's a
19:18foxhole.
19:21There are
19:22just positions
19:23absolutely
19:24everywhere.
19:25That's one
19:25right here.
19:29Foxhole.
19:29foxhole over
19:34there.
19:39Man, this
19:40is something
19:40else.
19:42This is the
19:43evidence Pete
19:44and Marty
19:44have been
19:45searching for.
19:46Since their
19:47return to the
19:47forest, the
19:4828th Division
19:49had advanced
19:50rapidly over
19:51the Siegfried
19:51line.
19:53But right
19:54here, that
19:55stopped.
19:56The
20:02Americans dug
20:03foxholes when
20:04they couldn't
20:05advance.
20:10And Marty's
20:11found something
20:12even more
20:13significant.
20:19This is
20:20special.
20:21Obviously,
20:22this is a
20:23troop shelter,
20:24not a
20:25shell crater.
20:26dug by
20:29Americans during
20:30the Battle of
20:30the Hurricane
20:30Forest 75
20:32years ago.
20:33This shelter
20:34position would
20:34have had logs
20:35over the top
20:36of it.
20:36It provided
20:37some measure
20:38of shelter
20:38and comfort
20:39in a battle
20:40that was not
20:41known for
20:42providing many
20:42comforts.
20:44A position
20:45like this
20:45could have
20:45housed as
20:46many as
20:4620 people.
20:47The size of
20:48it makes me
20:49think that it
20:49was probably
20:49associated with
20:51maybe a
20:51communications
20:51center,
20:52maybe a
20:53battalion
20:53headquarters,
20:54or maybe a
20:55medical aid
20:55station.
20:56And if it
20:56wasn't for
20:56the LiDAR,
20:57you'd never
20:58think for a
20:58second that
20:59anything was
20:59up here.
21:04This was
21:05no temporary
21:06refuge.
21:07It was part
21:08of a complex
21:09of properly
21:10engineered dugouts.
21:13A whole
21:13battalion of
21:14800 men
21:15hunkered down
21:16in this
21:17vicinity.
21:18The U.S.
21:19army was
21:20getting bogged
21:21down in a
21:21static war
21:22of attrition.
21:28Even the
21:29trees seemed
21:30to be against
21:31them.
21:31the forest is
21:42as much of a
21:43character in
21:43this drama
21:44as the two
21:45opposing sides
21:46that are
21:46confronting each
21:47other on the
21:47battlefield.
21:48And that's
21:49because the
21:49forest is a
21:50great equalizer.
21:52It creates
21:52circumstances
21:53where neither
21:54side can bring
21:56their most
21:57powerful weapons
21:58to bear.
21:59The American
22:00military by this
22:00point is making
22:02extensive use of
22:04armor support,
22:06tactical close
22:06air support,
22:07and artillery
22:08support, and
22:09yet the Hurtgen
22:09Forest strips
22:10those advantages
22:11away.
22:14The Hurtgen
22:15Forest, planted
22:16a century earlier
22:17by the Prussians,
22:19was a stout
22:20defense.
22:22Standing 100
22:23feet high and
22:24set just 8 feet
22:26apart, the trees
22:27were a massive
22:28obstacle.
22:32And this is
22:33part of the
22:33reason why the
22:35Battle of the
22:35Hurtgen Forest
22:36descends into
22:36this stalemate
22:37where the
22:38Americans aren't
22:39able to make
22:40significant progress
22:42across the
22:43battlefield, because
22:44the battlefield is
22:45the forest, and
22:46you're fighting
22:47that as much as
22:48you're fighting
22:49the enemy that
22:50opposes you.
22:57aerial reconnaissance
22:59was also obscured
23:00by tree cover.
23:02The troops were
23:04advancing blind and
23:05without aerial
23:06support.
23:08After three weeks
23:09in the woods,
23:09they'd suffered
23:104,500 casualties.
23:14There are some
23:15trails through the
23:16forest.
23:17The U.S.
23:18Army used them to
23:19send tanks, trucks,
23:20and artillery to the
23:21front line, but
23:23hardly any
23:24arrived.
23:29Pete's come to
23:30the call trail to
23:32see if he can work
23:33out what happened.
23:35We've heard stories
23:37that there's actually
23:38a tank track
23:39embedded in this
23:41trail, and sure
23:43enough, here it
23:45is.
23:46And I've got to
23:47scan this.
23:48We have to scan
23:48this.
23:49What an amazing
23:50artifact.
23:54Wow, look at
23:55that.
23:59Yeah, that's
24:00pretty amazing.
24:03That's got to be
24:0420 feet, probably
24:05more.
24:07Pete sets to
24:08work with his
24:09static scanner.
24:10He wants to
24:11build a 3D
24:12virtual model of
24:13the tank track.
24:20Maybe it'll
24:21explain why the
24:23world's best
24:23equipped army had
24:25to fight without
24:26its most powerful
24:27weapons.
24:35Back at HQ,
24:36Pete Kelsey's
24:37examining a 3D
24:38virtual model of
24:40the old tank
24:40track.
24:41There's something
24:42strange about it.
24:44It's a big piece
24:45of equipment to
24:46leave lying around.
24:47Marty, have a
24:51look at this.
24:52We're doing some
24:53scanning up on the
24:54call trail, and
24:55look what is in
24:57the middle of the
24:57road.
24:58Well, well, well,
24:59that appears to be
25:00a section of track
25:01from a Sherman
25:02tank.
25:03Okay.
25:04I'm not thinking
25:05that this is from
25:06a mine because the
25:07tracks don't appear
25:08to be damaged.
25:09And then also,
25:11they are belly
25:12up.
25:13So what we're
25:14seeing is actually
25:15the surface that
25:15would be in
25:16contact with the
25:16road.
25:16If it's upside
25:18down, it hasn't
25:19just come adrift.
25:21So, it's a puzzle.
25:24You said it was
25:25at a bend, didn't
25:26you?
25:26That's right.
25:27Yeah.
25:28Was it uphill,
25:29downhill?
25:29It's on a very
25:31marked slope,
25:33uphill.
25:33Yeah.
25:34I bet you they
25:35put this here to
25:36provide traction for
25:37vehicles trying to
25:38climb the call
25:38trail.
25:39Really?
25:39And that would
25:40explain why they
25:41are upside down in
25:42a perfectly straight
25:43line going up the
25:44grade.
25:45That would explain
25:45it.
25:46So you have some
25:47spare parts laying
25:47around, you have
25:48a need, you make
25:50it happen.
25:52Marty and Pete
25:53have proof that
25:54heavy equipment
25:55struggled on these
25:56narrow trails.
26:01When a tank got
26:02stuck, it became a
26:0430-ton roadblock.
26:07Whole convoys would
26:09be vulnerable to
26:10enemy ambush.
26:11The U.S.
26:15Army was forced to
26:17improvise.
26:18The tank track was
26:20their ingenious
26:21solution.
26:24But even these
26:25difficulties can't
26:26account for the
26:27terrible death toll
26:28suffered in the
26:29battle for Hurtgen
26:30Forest.
26:34Marty suspects the
26:36most lethal enemy is
26:38all around them,
26:39hiding in plain
26:42sight.
26:52To test his theory,
26:54Marty is meeting with
26:55explosives expert,
26:56Trevor Lawrence.
26:57Marty's theory is based
27:15on the difference
27:15between a
27:16conventional mortar
27:17and a super quick
27:18fused mortar.
27:19The conventional mortar
27:22explodes on impact
27:23with the ground,
27:25and some of its force
27:26is absorbed by the
27:27earth.
27:30But a mortar with a
27:32super quick fuse
27:33coming down in a
27:34forest is brutally
27:36different.
27:42It all comes down to
27:44this, this very simple
27:46weapon system of mortar
27:47tube plus mortar bomb.
27:49As the mortar bomb
27:52descended down toward a
27:54target in a heavily
27:54forested area,
27:56branches of trees could
27:58come into contact with
27:59this simple point
27:59detonating fuse, and
28:01that would set the
28:02round off well above
28:03the ground.
28:06To demonstrate what
28:07happens when a mortar
28:09explodes overhead,
28:10Trevor has prepared a
28:12powerful experiment.
28:14OK, so what we're
28:15going to do here is try
28:16and replicate what we
28:17saw in the forest in
28:19the Second World War.
28:20So we've built this
28:21scaffolding structure,
28:22and across here we've
28:24put these thick pine
28:25boards, which are
28:26similar in the way to
28:27the branches.
28:28So you can simulate
28:29basically what this
28:30would have done on
28:32impact.
28:32Absolutely, and what
28:33we're going to do is use
28:34one of these, which is,
28:36if you look, quite
28:36similar.
28:37So it's a very similar
28:38sort of metal, very
28:39brittle cast iron, and
28:41we're going to fill that
28:42with explosives exactly the
28:43same as would be inside
28:44here, and detonate it up
28:46in the canopy.
28:47They'll use an ultra-
28:48high-speed camera to
28:50film what happens.
28:58This is a camera capable
29:00of a high motion capture
29:01rate, and what that means
29:02is that when we record the
29:04explosion, we can slow it
29:05down to this very elegant
29:06slow motion.
29:07All personnel withdraw to a
29:09bunker as Trevor prepares
29:11for detonation.
29:14We ready out there?
29:16We're all good to go.
29:22Confirm range clear.
29:24Yeah, range clear.
29:25Roger, range clear.
29:26Stand by.
29:29Firing in three, two, one.
29:34Firing.
29:37Whoa, I felt that in my
29:42chest.
29:46The ultra-high-speed camera
29:48captures every detail as
29:50the mortar explodes.
29:53First, there's a blast wave.
29:56This alone can be lethal.
30:00Then the mortar shatters,
30:02and shards of hot shrapnel
30:04burst out.
30:04Finally, the tree branches
30:07shatter, creating a hail of
30:09deadly debris.
30:14An overhead blast is utterly
30:17devastating.
30:19GIs below had no real
30:22defense.
30:23Oh, my God.
30:24Look at this.
30:26The aluminum sheets really
30:27took it on the nose.
30:29That sheet's even worse than
30:30this sheet.
30:30That's just plain vicious.
30:34Look at that.
30:35Look here.
30:36We've gone right through the
30:38scaffolding.
30:38Oh, my God, yeah.
30:39Straight through it.
30:41Those fragments slice the
30:42steel pipe like that.
30:45They'd go right through the
30:46people beneath it.
30:47If you had a larger mortar
30:52concentration coming in on a
30:54platoon that was dug in, you
30:55could wipe out everybody.
30:56Absolutely.
30:57And 30 men dug into a
30:59position, almost everybody
31:00would be the dead or injured.
31:04These airburst mortars,
31:06digging in, there's no
31:07protection from them.
31:08This is what stopped the
31:12Americans in Hurtgen Forest.
31:15It's called a tree burst.
31:20Thousands of U.S.
31:22soldiers die this way.
31:33It's crushing for morale.
31:35Soldiers know they face death
31:39at any moment.
31:41Foxholes offer no protection.
31:45And to make matters worse,
31:47it's November.
31:49A wet fall is becoming a bitter
31:51winter.
31:52Fifty square miles of forest,
32:03the Hurtgen was treacherous
32:05territory.
32:15After three months of fierce
32:17fighting, the U.S.
32:18Army was bogged down,
32:21stuck.
32:22And the winter of 1944 was
32:26exceptionally cold.
32:29This is January.
32:31This gives at least a strong
32:33impression of the actual time
32:35period, the Battle of the Hurtgen
32:36Forest.
32:37And it gives you the visceral
32:40impression of what it's like to
32:42be here in wintertime.
32:44The U.S. Army was reputedly the best
32:51equipped fighting force in the world.
32:54So, how would they fare in a German
32:57winter?
32:59To find out, Marty Morgan and Pete Kelsey
33:02are conducting some tests with local
33:04reenactor, Michel Zimet.
33:06The American soldiers that fight this battle,
33:09they bring uniforms, weapons and equipment
33:12that we have available here because
33:14Michel's brought it.
33:15And not all of it was ideal for the type
33:18of environment that the Hurtgen Forest
33:19provided.
33:22Trialing World War II standard issue kit
33:25may prove revealing.
33:29Which jacket are you wearing, Michel?
33:30I'm wearing the Mackinac jacket, which
33:33was some sort of coat.
33:36It's not very great for cold weather, but it's
33:40already something, I would say.
33:42Many of the soldiers are still wearing the
33:44uniforms issued to them in the summer.
33:47They're forced to improvise.
33:50Here's a look that you often see in the
33:52Battle of the Hurtgen Forest where they
33:53have put on the gas mask cape and then
33:55they throw the helmet on on top of that.
33:57And so, the gas mask cape is not intended as
34:00a piece of cold weather gear and it's being
34:03adaptively used as that.
34:06Well, now that we've got all the gear on,
34:08I'm thinking of an experiment that we can
34:10conduct.
34:11Pete, do you have that thermal imaging
34:13detector?
34:14I do.
34:17Pete applies the latest thermal imaging
34:20technology to see how these clothes perform in
34:24cold conditions.
34:25Well, let's have a look.
34:27So, what you're looking at, what's bright, is
34:33where heat is being lost.
34:35The poor GI is suffering.
34:40He's, Michel is cold.
34:41You don't even have to tell me you're cold.
34:43You're cold.
34:43I won't lie.
34:46This bright image proves that after just
34:49minutes, an American GI would have been losing
34:52critical body heat in this uniform.
34:55Whereas, over to Marty, who's wearing 21st century synthetics and goose down, and you can see how his core is much darker, which means warmer, which means Marty is not losing heat.
35:13And it's not just the body's core that suffers.
35:18If a soldier's feet get cold and wet, trench foot becomes a deadly threat.
35:23I'm going to take a wild guess that Michel's feet are probably pretty uncomfortable, leather boots, which were probably perpetually wet.
35:37But many soldiers didn't even have the basic equipment that Michel is wearing.
35:42Standard issue Meccano trench coats were in short supply.
35:46Many never got them.
35:49Here's the real test.
35:51Let's see what it would look like if he was equipped like a lot of guys were, and that is without the Mackinac.
35:55Can you take it off?
35:56So, he's now losing heat really fast.
36:02In so many of the period photos, this is what you see them wearing in the Hurricane Forest.
36:08And that garment's just not up to the task.
36:11It's too lightweight.
36:12And of course, if we were looking at a poor GI in a foxhole, he's going to be soaking wet.
36:19So, Michel's thermal signature would be dramatically different if he was wet.
36:26Ill-equipped for freezing conditions, American troops paid a high price.
36:33It's estimated that 70,000 U.S. soldiers suffered injuries caused by that harsh winter in the Hurtgen Forest.
36:42Trench foot and hypothermia did more damage than the dragon's teeth or the bunkers.
36:48And all the while, the German army fought ferociously in defense of the fatherland.
36:55Trench foot and hypothermia did more damage than the Hurtgen Forest.
37:10December of 1944 in the Hurtgen Forest.
37:14The freezing conditions and the tree burst mortar fire are taking a terrible toll on the American forces.
37:21But where are the German mortar rounds coming from?
37:27Have the German infantry built further defenses beyond the Siegfried Line?
37:34The LIDAR looks blank, except for some faint, twisting lines.
37:39They seem to stretch for miles and they're pockmarked with shell craters.
37:45They're less than five miles ahead of the U.S. foxholes.
37:49Marty and Christoph go to investigate.
37:53What do you think, we're about 50 meters from it?
37:55Yeah.
37:56If we draw a line from the wood, we should see it.
38:00Oh yeah, I see it.
38:01Oh God, look at that.
38:04It's clearly visible.
38:06I expected it to be overgrown, but it's not.
38:08Oh my, yeah, look at it right here.
38:11Oh wow, this is incredible.
38:13Yeah.
38:14And we could now basically follow it for 10 kilometers.
38:21Is it that long?
38:22Yeah.
38:23My gosh.
38:27The dragon's teeth, the bunkers, now this third line of defense.
38:33The German strategy was defense in depth.
38:37Instead of relying on a single line of defense, they were prepared to retreat from one line,
38:42only to create another line a few miles behind.
38:46When they built this trench, the West Wall has already been breached.
38:51So they lost what they think of as their most powerful line of defense.
38:55And it falls to this.
38:58And then it falls to this.
38:59Dug trenches in the woods.
39:00The Americans have to fight for every inch of the way.
39:05This defense in depth enabled the Germans to counter every American advance.
39:14U.S. forces still haven't achieved the decisive breakthrough they'd hoped for.
39:19But by mid-December 1944, the tide is turning.
39:23This trench line really is a metaphor about the different situations that the Germans and the Americans were in.
39:30These German positions are little more than hastily dug scrapings.
39:35No concrete defenses here.
39:39After many months of guerrilla warfare, they are desperate.
39:44Was this the site of fierce fighting?
39:5021st century tech may have an answer.
39:54We're hoping that the answer lies with our friend Andreas here, who happens to have the ideal piece of kit for this, which is a magnetometer.
40:03And between the two sensors, it can pick up variations in the Earth's magnetic field.
40:09Andreas scans the ground.
40:13The magnetometer can detect disturbances caused by intense heat.
40:18Oh, look at that.
40:24And those jump right out at you.
40:25These are two really, really big ones here.
40:27These are not caused by agriculture.
40:29That means we had a chemical fire there of a thousand degrees.
40:33A very, very strong fire.
40:34So probably ammunition burning.
40:36Yeah.
40:41Well, we don't really see a trench, not a structure, not a linear structure.
40:45I mean, if you look at these anomalies, the black ones without the white rim, these are usually man-made holes.
40:53So the Earth has been shifted.
40:55Somebody dug a hole there.
40:57And there's so many of them.
40:58Yes.
40:59We're standing on a Korean pasture.
41:00Underneath, you have the war still present.
41:04It's amazing.
41:06And there's more.
41:07Lucas has been over the area with a metal detector.
41:11We found a container for a German gas mask.
41:14The gas mask is evidence of battle.
41:18And it holds a grisly secret.
41:22This is a very nice find.
41:24It's a canteen bottle, maybe from a German soldier.
41:29And we see here a bullet.
41:31And he is going inside, and that's going outside.
41:34This battlefield of shallow scrapes and relics is evidence of German desperation and a last-ditch mentality.
41:43And wave after wave of American infantry keep coming.
41:47We keep pouring humanity into that battle.
41:50We keep pouring divisions that get so hopelessly banged up that they have to go somewhere to repair themselves after the Hurtgen.
41:57That was the cost of the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest.
42:00It just, it took in humanity and it spit out what was left.
42:04This was one of the toughest battles of the American military fights in the Second World War.
42:10Small wonder that many didn't make it out alive.
42:13In a sense, the whole of the Battle of Hurtgen Forest was part of defense in depth.
42:26Because behind German lines, Hitler was amassing a huge force of troops and tanks for a massive surprise attack.
42:36On December 16th, they would crash through the American line to start a new fight.
42:43The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler's last desperate bid to defend the fatherland.
42:52But the German army was overstretched and the offensive failed.
42:58By February 1945, the Americans were out of the woods and across the Ruhr River heading for Berlin.
43:13The Battle of the Hurtgen Forest cost almost 30,000 American lives, but critically weakened the German army.
43:22It played a vital part in the eventual defeat of Hitler in May 1945.
43:30Sadly, even after the war, the forest went on killing.
43:34There's an extra level of sadness to this cemetery, because here you have buried 3,001 victims of the Hurtgen Forest.
43:45Mostly German combatants, but also 35 German civilians.
43:51Russians, Belgians, and even 100 men who lost their lives here after the war ended,
43:57attempting to clear all of the unexploded ordnance that was left behind.
44:02So, the Hurtgen Forest was even claiming lives after the end of World War II.
44:07And that somehow makes this place seem all the more tragic.
44:27The Hurtgen Forest will close to the U.S.