Beneath Hill 60

[dustoff]

BENEATH HILL 60 is the TRUE STORY of Australia's cat-and-mouse underground mine warfare - one of the most misunderstood, misrepresented, and mystifying conflicts of WW I. It was secret struggle beneath the Western Front that combined daring engineering, technology and science. Few on the surface knew of the brave, claustrophobic and sometimes barbaric work of these tunnellers.

Our story surrounds the 1st Australian Tunneling Division who were responsible for the mines set under 'Hill 60', a high point that dominated that part of the killing fields of Belgium. They were led by Captain Oliver Woodward who had started his mining career in Charters Towers, Queensland. His bravery in guarding those underground mines and their subsequent massive explosions broke the gridlocked trench warfare of the past 3 years.

Hill 60 was charged with 53,500 lbs of high explosive. The gallery under 'The Caterpillar' was charged with 70,000 lbs of explosives. Captain Oliver Woodward and the Ist Australian Tunnelling Company were assigned the task of holding this mine until the order was given to go. This entailed endless fighting above and below ground to keep the enemy from discovering the galleries and charges.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUF_ALy9 ... re=related

Es gibt 13 Teile auf YouTube ...
For 7 months the underground system was held by the Capt Woodward and his Tunneling Company and the underground warfare reached a tension which was not surpassed anywhere on the Allied front.

Finally, at 3.10am precisely on June 7, 1917 Woodward's mine and 18 others were exploded, with a tremendous shock, similar to that of an earthquake. It was the biggest explosion the World had ever seen and was felt in London, some say even Dublin. Immediately after the mines were fired the entire artillery force of the Second Army opened a three-pronged, 10km barrage on the German lines and opened a road to Berlin.

10,000 Germans died instantly. The German line which had stymied the Allies for two and a half years was taken in six hours.