Episode 1 presents four installations from the mid-19th century up until the middle of World War II. Such as the legendary fortress of emperor Francis I of Austria in today’s Northern Italy which was never put to the test. In the 1930s, the so-called East Wall was intended to shield Germany’s border against a suspected invasion from its Polish neighbour. However, when the Soviet Army advanced to Berlin in early 1945, its bunkers proved worthless. From 1940 onwards, Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill coordinated the war from a bomb-proof shelter right in the heart of London. Along the French Atlantic Coast, colossal blocks of steel concrete were erected to provide shelter for the German U-Boats until, finally, they had to give themselves up.
