When the USS Jeannette was crushed by Arctic ice, her crew didn’t just face shipwreck—they faced a frozen death sentence. Trapped in the polar sea for nearly two years, the men set out on foot across hundreds of miles of ice and Siberian wilderness, dragging their boats and dwindling supplies behind them. What began as a bold expedition ended in hunger, madness, and a desperate fight to survive.

In this episode of Mysteries and Backstories, we follow the tragic voyage of the USS Jeannette—a tale of endurance, leadership, and loss in one of the most brutal environments on Earth. From the moment the ship was locked in ice to the final, fatal march across the tundra, every step was a battle against impossible odds.

If you thought Shackleton had it bad… you haven’t heard this story.