49:
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each commanded by a regular Royal
Engineers officer. These companies each comprised 5 officers and 269 sappers; they were aided by additional infantrymen who were temporarily attached to the tunnellers as required, which almost doubled their numbers. The success of the first tunnelling companies formed under Norton-Griffiths' command led to mining being made a separate branch of the Engineer-in-Chief's office under
26:
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was also restricted by the need to provide effective counter-measures to the German mining activities. To make the tunnels safer and quicker to deploy, the
British Army enlisted experienced coal miners, many outside their nominal recruitment policy. The first nine companies, numbers 170 to 178, were
264:
unit. The formation of twelve new tunnelling companies, between July and
October 1915, helped to bring more men into action in other parts of the Western Front. Most British tunnelling companies were formed under Norton-Griffiths' leadership during 1915, and one more was added in 1916.
230:
which required the deployment of new drafts of tunnellers for several months after the formation of the first eight companies. The lack of suitably experienced men led to some tunnelling companies starting work later than others. The number of units available to the
603:. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II (Imperial War Museum and Battery Press ed.). London:
320:
2nd
Canadian Tunnelling Company was formed in Alberta and British Columbia. The unit then moved to France and into the Ypres sector for instruction. Shortly afterwards, in April 1916, it relieved
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Norton-Griffiths ensured that tunnelling companies numbers 170 to 177 were ready for deployment in mid-February 1915. In the spring of that year, there was constant underground fighting in the
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for troop accommodation, the digging of subways, saps (a narrow trench dug to approach enemy trenches), cable trenches and underground chambers for signals and medical services.
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74:
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to a planned system. As the
British had failed to develop suitable counter-tactics or underground listening devices before the war, field marshals
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tunnelling companies were formed by March 1916, resulting in 30 tunnelling companies of the Royal
Engineers being available by the summer of 1916.
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192:
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agreed to investigate the suitability of forming
British mining units. Following consultations between the Engineer-in-Chief of the
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308:. One unit was formed from men on the battlefield, plus two other companies trained in Canada and then shipped to France. Three
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734:"Guide to sources relating to units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force: Tunnelling Companies and Canadian Engineers"
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110:
141:. The tunnelling units were occupied in offensive and defensive mining involving the placing and maintaining of
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Military
Operations France and Belgium, 1917: 7 June – 10 November: Messines and Third Ypres (Passchendaele)
533:
351:
219:
114:
354:(31 July–10 November 1917). The underground building activities of the Royal Engineer units consisted of a
292:. On 17 September, New Zealand became the first Dominion to agree the formation of a tunnelling unit. The
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office of the
Engineer-in-Chief. A second group of tunnelling companies were formed from
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on 3 February 1916 and was deployed to the
Western Front in northern France. The
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under enemy lines, as well as other underground work such as the construction of
749:"List of tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers, with short unit histories"
281:
138:
106:
36:
708:
Thirty-odd Feet Below Belgium: An Affair of Letters in the Great War 1915–1916
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The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European War 1914–1919: Military Mining
241:
196:
697:
651:
Battle Beneath the Trenches: The Cornish Miners of 251 Tunnelling Company RE
277:
752:
448:
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285:
530:"Corps History – Part 14: The Corps and the First World War (1914–18)"
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formally approved the tunnelling company scheme on 19 February 1915.
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54:
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area. The mines at Messines were detonated on 7 June 1917, creating
245:
604:
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in June 1917, the 2nd Canadian Tunnelling Company began work on
692:. Chatham, England: Secretary, Institution of Royal Engineers.
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On 10 September 1915, the British government sent an appeal to
240:, and the appointment of an 'Inspector of Mines' at the GHQ
477:"Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Norton-Griffiths (1871–1930)"
350:. The Battle of Messines was a prelude to the much larger
504:
Barton, Peter; Doyle, Peter; Vandewalle, Johan (2004).
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Beneath Flanders Fields: The Tunnellers' War 1914-1918
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Tunnelling companies to be fired at the start of the
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631:War Underground – The Tunnellers of the Great War
304:contributed three tunnelling companies to the
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163:By January 1915 it had become evident to the
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556:"New Zealand Tunnelling Company: Chronology"
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779:Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers
159:Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers
324:between Tor Top, Armagh Wood and St Eloi.
24:
762:"Born Fighters: Who were the Tunnellers?"
654:. Pen & Sword Military. p. 231.
532:. Royal Engineers Museum. Archived from
508:. Staplehurst: Spellmount. p. 165.
479:. Royal Engineers Museum. Archived from
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467:
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673:. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military.
15:
284:to raise tunnelling companies in the
7:
338:As part of the preparations for the
260:of the Royal Engineers, which was a
688:Royal Engineers' Institute (1922).
14:
75:Royal Engineer tunnelling company
258:1st Northumberland Field Company
47:
127:2nd Canadian Tunnelling Company
19:2nd Canadian Tunnelling Company
711:. Tunbridge Wells: Parapress.
705:Stockwin, Arthur, ed. (2005).
294:New Zealand Tunnelling Company
1:
784:Tunnel warfare in World War I
671:Underground Warfare 1914–1918
445:"The Tunnelling Companies RE"
386:(7–14 June 1917), while the
191:, and the mining specialist
65:Canadian Expeditionary Force
760:Jones, Simon (2014-02-14).
741:Library and Archives Canada
633:. London: Tom Donovan Pub.
394:Tunnelling companies built
306:British Expeditionary Force
302:Canadian Military Engineers
256:, who were attached to the
135:Canadian Military Engineers
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629:Barrie, Alexander (1988).
331:
156:
648:Johns, Robert K. (2015).
334:Battle of Messines (1917)
23:
322:172nd Tunnelling Company
238:Major-General S.R. Rice
115:Battle of Passchendaele
254:Monmouthshire Regiment
250:1st and 3rd Battalions
171:that the Germans were
669:Jones, Simon (2010).
352:Third Battle of Ypres
193:John Norton-Griffiths
396:underground shelters
356:series of deep mines
131:tunnelling companies
85:Military engineering
554:Byledbal, Anthony.
390:, 2nd Canadian and
358:dug by the British
384:Battle of Messines
340:Battle of Messines
111:Battle of Messines
718:978-1-89859-480-2
680:978-1-84415-962-8
661:978-1-47382-700-4
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447:. Archived from
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248:miners from the
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564:. Retrieved
560:the original
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538:. Retrieved
534:the original
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485:. Retrieved
481:the original
453:. Retrieved
449:the original
416:Mine warfare
376:3rd Canadian
372:1st Canadian
344:deep dugouts
337:
319:
316:Unit history
274:South Africa
267:
216:Railway Wood
201:
189:George Fowke
187:, Brigadier
162:
147:deep dugouts
126:
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400:Second Army
296:arrived at
282:New Zealand
262:Territorial
139:World War I
107:World War I
103:Engagements
95:Nickname(s)
37:World War I
773:Categories
590:References
566:2015-07-05
540:2010-06-21
487:2010-06-21
455:2015-04-25
310:Australian
242:Saint-Omer
197:War Office
153:Background
698:317624346
599:(1991) .
406:craters.
286:Dominions
278:Australia
228:The Bluff
181:Kitchener
410:See also
404:19 large
298:Plymouth
398:in the
346:in the
288:of the
252:of the
224:St Eloi
212:Hill 60
167:at the
137:during
133:of the
43:Country
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270:Canada
195:, the
177:French
173:mining
61:Branch
55:Canada
52:
33:Active
737:(PDF)
422:Notes
368:250th
364:175th
360:171st
246:Welsh
208:Hooge
143:mines
713:ISBN
694:OCLC
675:ISBN
656:ISBN
635:ISBN
609:ISBN
605:HMSO
510:ISBN
378:and
280:and
226:and
179:and
125:The
81:Role
71:Type
233:BEF
206:at
185:BEF
165:BEF
775::
739:.
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496:^
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