Bomb crater and ww1

Huh, I shouldn't admit this as an American public school history teacher, but I haven't seen that film yet!

Later

 

Oops! The explosion:

http://www.cinefex.com/weeklyupdate/artwork/images/week_03/index.html

What are you guys doing down there??

http://www.cinefex.com/weeklyupdate/artwork/images/week_03/index_02.html

With these guys on top of the hill you really don´t want to be down in the crater...

http://www.cinefex.com/weeklyupdate/artwork/images/week_03/index_07.html

 

Just back in the Messines action on one book.... incredible...

Battle of Messines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"At 02:50am on 7 June 1917, the artillery bombardment ceased. Expecting an immediate infantry assault, German defenders returned to their forward positions. At 3:10am, the mines were detonated, killing approximately 10,000 German soldiers and destroying most of the fortifications on the ridge, as well as the town of Messines itself. Reports were made that the shockwave from the explosion was heard as far away as London and Dublin. To make matters worse for the Germans, the explosions occurred while the front line troops were being relieved, meaning both groups (relieving and relieved) were caught in the blasts."

 

A movie on the subject. Just ordered one:

BENEATH HILL 60 is an Australian War Movie set underneath the trenches of World War I. This never-before told Australian story is set in 1916 - where Queensland miner Oliver Woodward, under-trained and having never faced hostile fire before, finds himself on the Western Front, the bloodiest battlefield in history.

His new fiancée, 17 year old Marjorie, had pleaded with him not to enlist. She had only just discovered love and couldn't believe that it could be taken from her. But men with Woodward's underground skills are desperately needed to counter a deadly German offensive.

Young German coal miners, Ernst Wagner and Karl Babek have also been thrust into the war. They have been brought, along with thousands of other men and boys, from the mining villages in Bavaria.

The soldier-miners from both sides drive their narrow tunnels under no man's land. Attempting to out-manoeuvre and undermine each other they create a great labyrinth of tunnels. It's a silent and savage war where one tiny sound can turn a man from hunter to hunted, where skilled listeners are more sought after than fighters.

Beneath Hill 60 (2010) - Synopsis