The Koursk, a missile-carrying nuclear submarine, was the pride of the Russian navy. No one expected problems with such a sophisticated vessel. But on August 12th, 2000, everything and everyone aboard the Koursk would plummet to the bottom of the Barents Sea.

In 1940, the world held its breath waiting to see how two innovative fortifications by the French and Germans would withstand World War II. The French’s Maginot Line was an ambitious and admired concept of its day. To compete, Hitler launched the construction of his own wall, the Siegfried Line.