

Historian explores Ukraine's forgotten forts of World War I

A military historian has been granted rare access to a labyrinth of World War I fortifications in Ukraine.
The underground network of tunnels, guard houses and gun emplacements has been captured on video and posted on YouTube as part of the The Great War Project.
The fortress was besieged during World War I and was shelled by artillery. ()
Presenter and historian Indiana Neidell gained permission from the government of Ukraine to the fortifications in Przemsyl. It is believed he is the first member of the public to have gained access since the end of the Cold War.
Using a torch to guide himself through the darkness of the concealed fortifications, Neidell explains how the soldiers of Imperial Russia’s World War I army were based there along with their food, armaments and other key supplies.
He shows graffiti scrawled across a wall which reveals the boredom of the soldiers with their strict daily routine and lulls between fighting.
The overgrown exterior of the Przemsyl fortress which has been forgotten since the end of World War II. ()
The forts of Przemsyl were fought over between German forces and Russia during World War I and swapped sides several times.
But at the end of the conflict they became military relics, with little use during the fast moving warfare of World War II.

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