Simon Jones - Underground
Warfare 1914-1918
Underground
mine and explosion - this was one of the most feared words in the trenches of
the Great War. The troops were more or less aware of the dangers they met –
enemy bullets, artillery fire, bayonet, weather and disasters. All this was a daily
routine on the front - but being buried
alive by the underground explosion that came without any warning? This was
something really horrible, especially that soldiers were trying to hide in
their dug-outs, looking for some moments of quiet and relaxation from the hell
above. Underground warfare made those shelters as dangerous as staying out of
the trenches during the artillery fire.
A tunnel, leading to the Christchurch cavern beneath Arras, France
This is not
surprising that the information „there are the miners underground“ was one of
the most feared ones – as most of the troops could only imagine how close the
enemy miners were and they could only guess if the explosives were ready to
detonate.
Sometimes
they could see the spectaculars explosions made by their own miners – like the volcanos
they were erupting along the enemy lines, spreading death and destruction.
One of the preserved tunnels (Wikipedia)
„Underground
Warfare 1914-1918“ is a detailed study about the underground warfare in the
Great War. The book is full of personal memoirs and reminiscences, which help
him to tell us the story of this not so known part of the conflict. The war is
not divided in two parts – the troops „over the top“ and the miners „underground“.
Jones managed to describe the connections between both of them; he shows us how
the development of the underground warfare was depending on the general
situation on the front. As an addition, we can often read what the troops were
thinking about the miners and their works.
The book takes
us through the evolution of the underground warfare, starting with old concepts
from the 18th century and the necessary change of those ideas in the face of
the new type of the conflicts. The chapters are:
1 - Military Mining before 1914
2 - Mining Operations 1914 - early
1915
3 - French Mining Sectors: Carency,
Oise, Les Eparges and Vauquois
4 - British Mining Operations 1915 -
early 1916
5 - Hohenzollern and St Eloi 1916
6 - The Somme 1916
7 - Vimy, Arras and Messines 1917
8 - Miners and Technology
9 - Tunnels and the Infantry Attack
10 - Underground Accommodation and
Communications
11 – Conclusion
One of the British tunnels (Guardian)
Jones is trying to answer some
important questions – were there any attempts to move the troops under the
enemy lines? Were the underground dug-outs the best solution to survive the
hard times at the front line? Why underground warfare was not as effective as
it was expected to be?
One of the drawings from the book.
Just the few examples but I hope you
would learn from this book as I did. The book is also full of diagrams, maps
and instructions helping us to understand the underground warfare, the
conditions the miners met underground and their equipment and techniques. There
are also a few photographs in the book.
This book is really worth reading,
highly recommended.
(JD)
(JD)
