Mines in the Battle of Messines (1917)

At the start of the Battle of Messines  during the First World War, a series of underground explosive charges were detonated by the British Army beneath German lines near the village of Mesen (Messines in French, historically used in English), in Belgian West Flanders. The mines, secretly planted by British tunnelling units, created  craters and are estimated to have killed approximately 10,000 German soldiers. Their joint explosion ranks among the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time.

The evening before the attack, General Sir Charles Harington, Chief of Staff of the Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), remarked to the press, "Gentlemen, I don’t know whether we are going to make history tomorrow, but at any rate we shall change geography". The Battle of Messines marked the zenith of mine warfare. On 10 August 1917, the Royal Engineers fired the last British deep mine of the war, at Givenchy-en-Gohelle near Arras.

Background

British mining, 1915–1916

As part of allied operations in the Ypres Salient, British mining against the German-held salient at Wijtschate near Messines had begun in early 1915, with diggings  below the surface. The concept of a deep mining offensive was devised in September 1915 by the Engineer-in-Chief of the BEF, Brigadier George Fowke, who proposed to drive galleries  underground. Fowke had been inspired by the thinking of Major John Norton-Griffiths, a civil engineer, who had helped form the first tunnelling companies and introduced the quiet clay kicking technique.

In September 1915, Fowke proposed to dig under the Ploegsteert–Messines (Mesen), Kemmel–Wytschaete (Wijtschate) and Vierstraat–Wytschaete roads and to dig two tunnels between the Douve river and the south-east end of  Plugstreet (Ploegsteert) Wood, the objectives to be reached in three to six months. Fowke had wanted galleries about  long, as far as Grand Bois and Bon Fermier Cabaret on the fringe of Messines but the longest tunnel was a  gallery to Kruisstraat. The scheme devised by Fowke was formally approved on 6 January 1916, although Fowke and his deputy, Colonel R. N. Harvey, had already begun the preliminaries. By January 1916, several deep mine shafts, marked as "deep wells" and six tunnels had thus been started. Sub-surface conditions were especially complex and separate ground water tables made mining difficult. To overcome the technical difficulties, two military geologists assisted the miners from March 1916, including Edgeworth David, who planned the system of mines.

Co-ordinated by the Royal Engineers, the mine galleries were dug by the British 171st, 175th and 250th Tunnelling companies and the 1st Canadian, 3rd Canadian and 1st Australian Tunnelling companies, while the British 183rd, 2nd Canadian and 2nd Australian Tunnelling companies built dugouts (underground shelters) in the Second Army area. Sappers dug the tunnels into a layer of "blue clay"  below the surface, then drifted galleries (horizontal passages) for  to points beneath the position of the German Group Wytschaete, despite German counter-mining. German tunnellers came within metres of several British mine chambers and, well before the Battle of Messines, found La Petite Douve Farm mine. On 27 August 1916, the Germans set a camouflet, which killed four men and wrecked the chamber for ; the mine had been charged and the explosives were left in the gallery. A gallery of the Kruisstraat mine, begun on 2 January 1916, had been dug for  and was flooded by a camouflet explosion in February 1917, after which a new chamber was dug and charged next to the flooded mine. The British diverted the attention of German miners from their deepest galleries by making many minor attacks in the upper levels.

Prelude

British mining, 1917

The BEF miners eventually completed a line of deep mines under Messines Ridge that were charged with  of ammonal and gun cotton. Two mines were laid at  on the northern flank, one at St Eloi, three at Hollandscheschur Farm, two at Petit Bois, single mines at Maedelstede Farm, Peckham House and Spanbroekmolen, four at Kruisstraat, one at Ontario Farm and two each at Trenches  on the southern flank. A group of four mines was placed under the German strongpoint Birdcage at Le Pelerin, just outside Ploegsteert Wood. The large mines were at St Eloi, charged with  of ammonal, at Maedelstede Farm, which was charged with , and Spanbroekmolen on one of the highest points of the Messines Ridge, which was filled with  of ammonal. The mine at Spanbroekmolen was set  below ground, at the end of a gallery  long.

When detonated on 7 June 1917, the blast of the mine at Spanbroekmolen formed the "Lone Tree Crater" with a diameter of  and a depth of .) The mine at Ontario Farm did not produce a crater but left a shallow indentation in the soft clay, after wet sand flowed back into the crater. Birdcage 1–4 on the extreme southern flank in the II Anzac Corps area, were not required because the Germans made a local retirement before 7 June. Peckham 2 was abandoned due to a tunnel collapse and the mine at La Petite Douve Farm was abandoned after the German camouflet blast of  The evening before the attack, Harington, the Second Army Chief of Staff, remarked to the press, "Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography".

German mining, 1916–17

In December 1916,  Füßlein, commander of German mining operations in the salient, had recorded that British deep mining was intended to support an offensive above ground and received three more mining companies, to fight in the British lower as well as the upper mine systems and had gained some success. In April 1917, the 4th Army (General Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin) received information from air reconnaissance that a British offensive was being prepared in the Messines Ridge sector and a spy reported to OHL, that if the offensive at Arras was frustrated, the British would transfer their effort to Flanders. Hermann von Kuhl, the Chief of Staff of  (Army Group Crown Prince Rupprecht), suggested that the salient around Messines Ridge be abandoned, since it could be attacked from three sides and most of the defences were on forward slopes, vulnerable to concentric, observed artillery-fire. A voluntary retirement would avoid the calamity experienced by the defenders at the Battle of Vimy Ridge on 9 April.

Kuhl proposed a retirement to the  Line (Oosttaverne Line to the British), halfway back from the Second Line along the ridge or all the way back to the Third Line (Warneton Line). At  a conference with 4th Army commanders to discuss the defence of Messines Ridge on 30 April, most of them rejected the suggestion, because they considered that the defences had been modernised, were favourable for a mobile defence and convenient for counter-attacks. The artillery commander of  said that the German guns were well-organised and could overcome British artillery. The divisional commanders were encouraged by a report by Füßlein on 28 April, that the counter-mining had been such a success, particularly recently that

For this and other reasons the withdrawal proposal was dropped as impractical (). Soon after the conference, Füßlein changed his mind and on 10 May, reported to the 4th Army his suspicions that the British might have prepared several deep mines, including ones at Hill 60, Caterpillar, St. Eloi, Spanbroekmolen and Kruisstraat and predicted that if an above-ground offensive began, there would be big mine explosions in the vicinity of the German front line.

On 19 May, the 4th Army concluded that the greater volume of British artillery fire was retaliation for the increase in German bombardments and although defensive preparations were to continue, no attack was considered imminent. On 24 May, Füßlein was more optimistic about German defensive measures and Laffert wrote later, that the possibility of mine explosions was thought remote and if encountered they would have only local effect, as the front trench system was lightly held. From 12 May, weekly reports by the 4th Army made no mention of mining and Rupprecht made no reference to it after the end of the month. Other officers like Oberstleutnant Wetzell and Oberst Fritz von Lossberg, wrote to OHL warning of the mine danger and the importance of forestalling it by a retirement and were told that it was a matter for the commanders on the spot.

Battle: 7 June 1917
The artillery fire was lifted half an hour before dawn, and as they waited in the silence for the offensive to begin, some of the troops reportedly heard a nightingale singing. Starting from 3.10 a.m. on 7 June 1917, the mines at Messines were fired within the space of 20 seconds. The joint explosion ranks among the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time and surpassed the mines on the first day of the Somme fired 11 months before. The sound of the blast was considered the loudest man-made noise in history. Reports suggested that the sound was heard in London and Dublin, and at Lille University's geology department, the shock wave was mistaken for an earthquake. Some eyewitnesses described the scene as "pillars of fire", although many also conceded that the scene was indescribable.

The fact that the detonations were not simultaneous enhanced their effect on the German troops. Strange acoustic effects also added to the panic – German troops on Hill 60 thought that the Kruisstraat and Spanbroekmolen mines were under Messines village, which was located well behind their front line, while some British troops thought that they were German counter-mines going off under the British support trenches. The combined explosion is considered to have killed more people than any other non-nuclear man-made explosion in history; it killed approximately 10,000 German soldiers between Ypres and Ploegsteert.

Aftermath

Two days after the battle, the  commander General Maximilian von Laffert was sacked. The German official history report,  (volume XII, 1939), placed the mines, which were unprecedented in size and number, second in a list of five reasons for the German defeat. In an after-action report, Laffert wrote that had the extent of the mine danger been suspected, a withdrawal from the front trench system to the  Line, halfway between the First and Second lines, would have been ordered before the attack, since the cost inflicted on the British by having to fight for the ridge justified its retention. In 1929, Hermann von Kuhl lamented the failure to overrule the 4th Army commanders on 30 April and prevent "one of the worst tragedies of the war".

List of the mines
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+British mines, Messines Ridge, June 1917
|-
!  No.
! Name /  Location
!  Position
! Explosive charge
! Tunnellength
! Depth
!  Constructed
! Result
! style="width:30%; align=left"| Notes and images(May be under first row of each group of mines)
|-
| 1
| Hill 60 (or Hill 60 A)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 22 August 19151 August 1916
| align="left"| Fired
| align="left"| Shared gallery with Caterpillar, started in mid-1915 as one of the first allied mines at Ypres and known as Berlin Tunnel. By June 1917, the mine consisted of a main gallery leading to two separate mine chambers (Hill 60 A and Hill 60 B). See note:

Plan: ;Views: aerial view
|-
| 2
| Caterpillar (or Hill 60 B)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 22 August 191518 October 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| Views: aerial view, photo
|-
| 3
| St Eloi
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 16 August 1915 11 June 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| Largest detonation during the Battle of Messines. The deep mine crater is located next to double crater from 1916.
See note:

Plan: ;
Views: aerial view of all 3 craters at St Eloi
|-
| 4
|  Hollandscheschur Farm 1
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 18 December 1915 20 June 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| The mine consisted of three chambers (Hollandscheschur Farm 1–3) with a shared gallery. It was placed around the German strongpoint Günther between Wijtschate and Voormezele, not far from the Bayernwald trenches in Croonaert Wood. See note:

Plan: ;
Views: aerial view 1, aerial view 2
|-
| 5
|  Hollandscheschur Farm 2
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 18 December 191511 July 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| 
|-
| 6
|  Hollandscheschur Farm 3
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 18 December 191520 August 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
|-
| 7
|  Petit Bois 1
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 16 December 1915 30 July 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| The mine consisted of two chambers (Petit Bois 1 and 2) with a shared gallery. It was placed west of Wijtschate. See note:

Plan: ;
Views: aerial view of the double crater
|-
| 8
| Petit Bois 2
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 16 December 191515 August 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| 
|-
| 9
| Maedelstede Farm
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 3 September 1916 2 June 1917 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| Two chambers (Wytschaete Wood and Maedelstede Farm) were planned, but lack of time prevented the former from being finished and all effort was concentrated the latter. It was placed west of Wijtschate. See note:

Plan: ;
Views: aerial view
|-
| 10
|  Peckham 1
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 20 December 1915 19 June 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| The mine consisted of two chambers (Peckham 1 and 2) with a shared gallery. Peckham 1 was detonated during the battle. Peckham 2 was placed under a farm building but abandoned after the tunnel flooded. See note:

Plan: ;
Views: photo
|-
| 11
|  Peckham 2
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 20 December 1915 December 1916
| align="left"|  Abandoned
| align="left"| 
|-
| 12
|  Spanbroekmolen (or Lone Tree Crater, Pool of Peace)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 1 January 191626 June 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| Discovered by German troops in February 1917, later reclaimed and fired in the Battle of Messines. The crater was acquired in 1929 by the Toc H foundation in Poperinge, today recognised as peace memorial. See note:

Plan: ;
Views: photo
|-
| 13
|  Kruisstraat 1
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 2 January 1916 5 July 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| Building preparations for a two-chamber mine started in December 1915. Kruisstraat 1 was placed at the end of a  long gallery, Kruisstraat 2 some  to its right. Kruisstraat 3 was added two months later and Kruisstraat 4 in 1917. Two craters remain, which seem to have been caused by the first and second charges. Kruisstraat 1 and 4 shared a gallery and were fired together. See note:

Plan: ;
Views of the double crater: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3
|-
| 14
|  Kruisstraat 2
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 2 January 1916 23 August 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| 
|-
| 15
| Kruisstraat 3
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 2 January 1916 23 August 1916
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| Kruisstraat 3 had the longest gallery of the mines at Messines.
|-
| 16
|  Kruisstraat 4
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| February 19179 May 1917
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| 
|-
| 17
| Ontario Farm 
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 28 January 1917 6 June 1917 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| The mine did not produce a crater but left a shallow indentation in the soft clay; the shock wave did great damage to the German position. It was placed west of Mesen (Messines). See note:

Plans:  ;
|-
| 18
| La Petite Douve Farm
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 28 January 1916 n/a
| align="left"|  Abandoned 
| align="left"| The mine was placed under the barn of the farm La Basse Cour. It was discovered by the Germans on 24 August 1916, then flooded and abandoned. See note:

Plan: ;
|-
| 19
| Trench 127 Left (or Trench 127 North)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 28 December 191520 April 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| The mine consisted of two chambers (Trench 127 Left and Right) with a shared gallery. It was placed east of St. Yvon (St. Yves). The crater was in a field near the Khaki Chums Cross memorial and filled in during the latter part of the 20th century. See note:

Plan: ;
|-
| 20
| Trench 127 Right (or Trench 127 South, Ash Crater)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| 28 December 1915 9 May 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| 
|-
| 21
| Trench 122 Left (or Factory Farm 1, Ultimo Crater)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| February 1916 14 April 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| The mine consisted of two chambers (Trench 122 Left and Right) with a shared gallery. It was placed east of St. Yvon (St. Yves). Preparations for a two-chamber mine extending from Trench 122 started in December 1915. A charge of  was laid in May 1916 and a second of  was placed at the end of a  long gallery, beneath the derelict Factory Farm. See note:

Plan: ;
Views: photo
|-
| 22
| Trench 122 Right (or Factory Farm 2, Factory Farm Crater)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"| February 191611 June 1916 
| align="left"|  Fired
| align="left"| Views: photo 1, photo 2
|-
| 23
| Birdcage 1 (or Trench 121)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  December 1915 7 March 1916 
| align="left"| Not fired
| align="left"| The mine was placed east of Ploegsteert, around the German strongpoint Birdcage at Le Pelerin, near the southern end of Messines Ridge. Five mines were planned here, of which four (Birdcage 1–4) were constructed. None of them was fired, as they were too far behind British lines by the time the Battle of Messines commenced.

Plan: 
|-
| 24
| Birdcage 2 (or Trench 121)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  December 1915n/a
| align="left"| Not fired
| align="left"| 
|-
| 25
|  Birdcage 3 (or Trench 121)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  December 191530 April 1916 
| align="left"| <small>Explodedin 1955
| align="left"| Detonated by lightning on 17 June 1955, after an electric-power pylon had been built over the site.
|-
| 26
|  Birdcage 4 (or Trench 121)
| align="left"| 
| 
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  m
| align="left"|  December 1915n/a
| align="left"| Not fired
| align="left"| 
|}

Gallery

See also

 Mining (military)
 Battle of Messines (1917)
 Beneath Hill 60 (film)
 Mines on the first day of the Somme
 Mines on the Italian Front (World War I)

Notes

Citations

ReferencesBooks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Journals Newspapers'''
 

Further reading
 
 
 Goodbody, A. (2016), "Tunnelling in the deep: Battle of Messines", in: Mining Magazine'', 13 September 2016, London: Aspermont Media 2016  (online)

External links

 Tunnelling companies RE
 Database with technical specifications of the mines (Dutch)
 Messines Ridge photo essay
 AOH Appendix 1 The Mines at Hill 60
 Map of the mines
 Map of the mines (Google Earth)
 Messines with images of the craters
 With the British Army in Flanders
 Battle of Messines Ridge with images of the craters
 Discussions of mines that were not fired
 The Western Front Today, Messines

Category:1917 in Belgium
Category:1917 in France
Category:Explosions in 1917
Messines 1917
Messines 1917
Messines 1917
Category:Ypres Salient