The 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company was one of the
tunnelling companies of the
Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, be ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The tunnelling units were occupied in offensive and defensive mining involving the placing and maintaining of
mines under enemy lines, as well as other underground work such as the construction of
deep dugouts 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.
Background
By January 1915 it had become evident to the
BEF at the
Western Front that the Germans were
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
to a planned system. As the British had failed to develop suitable counter-tactics or underground listening devices before the war, field marshals
French and
Kitchener agreed to investigate the suitability of forming British mining units.
[ Following consultations between the Engineer-in-Chief of the BEF, Brigadier George Fowke, and the mining specialist ]John Norton-Griffiths
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Norton-Griffiths, 1st Baronet, (13 July 1871 – 27 September 1930) was an engineer, British Army officer during the Second Boer War and the First World War, and a Member of Parliament. A colourful figure in his day ...
, the War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
formally approved the tunnelling company scheme on 19 February 1915.
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 Ypres Salient
The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War.
Ypres district
Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...
at Hooge, Hill 60, Railway Wood, Sanctuary Wood
Sanctuary Wood is an area east of Ypres, Belgium which was the site of fighting on the Ypres Salient in World War I.
Memorials
* Hill 62 Memorial
* Sanctuary Wood Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
* Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62
See al ...
, St Eloi and The Bluff 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 BEF 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 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 Major-General S.R. Rice, and the appointment of an 'Inspector of Mines' at the GHQ ]Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
office of the Engineer-in-Chief.[ A second group of tunnelling companies were formed from ]Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
miners from the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment
The Monmouthshire Regiment was a Territorial infantry regiment of the British Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in Monmouthshire in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and both World War I and World War II ...
, who were attached to the 1st Northumberland Field Company of the Royal Engineers, which was a Territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
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.
On 10 September 1915, the British government sent an appeal to Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
to raise tunnelling companies in the Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
s of the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. On 17 September, New Zealand became the first Dominion to agree the formation of a tunnelling unit. The New Zealand Tunnelling Company
The New Zealand Tunnelling Company (also ''New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company'') was a tunnel warfare unit of the Royal New Zealand Engineers during World War I which specialised in sapping and mining. The tunnelling companies were occupied ...
arrived at Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
on 3 February 1916 and was deployed to the Western Front in northern France. The Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, be ...
formed four mining units – initially grouped into the Australian Mining Corps
The Australian Mining Corps was a specialist military mining unit of the Royal Australian Engineers during World War I.
History
On 10 September 1915, the British government sent a formal appeal to Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealan ...
– for the British Expeditionary Force, all of which were operational by March 1916. Three were specialist companies of tunnellers ( 1st, 2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...
, 3rd), while the Australian Electrical Mechanical Boring and Mining Company
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
was tasked with carrying out related repairs. A Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
tunnelling unit was formed from men on the battlefield, plus two other companies trained in Canada and then shipped to France, resulting in 30 tunnelling companies being available by the summer of 1916.
Unit history
Formation
In early 1915, while the Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, be ...
were deployed in Egypt, the battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
-sized "Australian Mining Corps" was assembled from men with a background in civilian mining. The intention was to employ this unit, which was at that time about 1,000 strong, with the ANZAC
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...
at Gallipoli, but instead it was moved to France in May 1916, where it also appeared as the "Australian Mining Battalion". Soon after arriving in western Europe in May 1916, the battalion was split into three tunnelling and one repairs company, and the corps headquarters dissolved.
Laventie
Shortly after its formation, the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company relieved the 255th Tunnelling Company
The 255th Tunnelling Company was one of the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers created by the British Army during World War I. The tunnelling units were occupied in offensive and defensive mining involving the placing and maintaining of ...
in May 1916 in the Laventie-Fauquissart sector in northern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Loos
In April 1917, the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company moved to northern France where it took over the Hill 70 – Copse – Double Crassier area of Loos, together with Hulluch to the north, and relieved the 173rd and 258th Tunnelling Companies, which had been waging war underground on three levels ("Main", "Deep", "Deep Deep") there. By the time 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company took over the Loos-Hulluch sector, the enemy mining threat had ceased completely and the front was relatively quiet. By 7 February 1918, the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company was engaged in trench shelter and tunnel construction in a quarry near Loos, between Loos Crassier and the Lens-Bethune road, and on 17 February 1918, a trench excavated by the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company was photographed near Loos.
Spring Offensive
In April 1918, the 3rd Australian and several other tunnelling companies ( 171st, 173rd, 183rd, 184th, 255th and 258th) were forced to move from their camps at Boeschepe
Boeschepe () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France, next to the Belgian border.
Population
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the F ...
, when the enemy broke through the Lys positions during the German spring offensive. These units were then put on duties that included digging and wiring trenches over a long distance from Reningelst
Reningelst is a rural village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a "deelgemeente" of the municipality Poperinge. The village has about 1405 inhabitants.
The deelgemeente of De Klijte used to be a part of Reningelst (then independent, n ...
to near Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
. The operation to construct these fortifications between Reningelst and Saint-Omer was carried out jointly by the British 171st, 173rd, 183rd, 184th, 255th, 258th, 3rd Canadian and 3rd Australian Tunnelling Companies.
During the great advance to victory in Autumn 1918, the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company constructed a road bridge at Moudit under shell fire.
See also
* Mine warfare
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*{{cite book, editor-last=Stockwin , editor-first=Arthur, title=Thirty-odd Feet Below Belgium: An Affair of Letters in the Great War 1915–1916 , publisher= Parapress, location=Tunbridge Wells, year=2005, isbn=978-1-89859-480-2 , url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2aFqTxWh5hQC&dq=Railway+Wood+boothby&pg=PA123
External links
Australian War Memorial: Messines – Tunnellers and Mines
* ttp://simonjoneshistorian.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/born-fighters-who-were-the-tunnellers/ 'Born Fighters: Who were the Tunnellers?' Conference paper by Simon Jones.
Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers
Tunnel warfare in World War I
Army engineer units and formations of Australia
Army units and formations of Australia in World War I
Military units and formations established in 1916
Military units and formations disestablished in 1919