Beneath Hill 60

[Hauksbee]

I'd like to reccomend this film (Beneath Hill 60). It's an account of Australian miners recruited to dig shafts under German lines. Hill 60 was on the Messine Ridge in Belgium. It is said that the blast was felt as far away as Dublin. It's available on Netflix, and Netflix Instant if you've got that.

[markl]

Just read a review, I will try to see this one.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

MarkL

[+Olham]

Here is a video from a still intact tunnel system.

 

Vimy Ridge - Tunnels and Trenches

[Andy73]

Saw this Movie one Year ago, it's really worth it. It was said that this Explosion under the German Lines was the biggest Blast with "normal" TNT ever made by Humans. It was also said that you could hear the Explosion in Paris, or even in Cologne or London. The Germans also tried to dig under the Allied Lines to make the same Explosion at the same Time, but the Australians were a little bit faster It's a good War Movie.

[von Baur]

In all fairness, the Germans held the high ground, meaning the British (Aussies) could dig nearly horizontally, or at least at a shallower angle, and still wind up below German trenches. The Germans had to dig much further down to get low enough, resulting in a greater actual distance covered and a generally more difficult dig.

[HumanDrone]

Just looked it up. The official movie site said that there was fighting in the tunnels, which must mean that enemy crews occasionally criss-crossed their tunnels! I wonder if this is true, or did they need more interesting things for the movie than digging tunnels (not to mention the pretty girl on the poster...)? I mean, if the two sides are fighting in the tunnels, both ends have been compromised, now what?

 

Interesting, thank you!

Edited October 28, 2012 by HumanDrone