06/06/2025
The tunnelling and mining operation at Messines on the Ypres Salient was a staggering feat of engineering, which played a vital part in the Battle of Messines. The mining work had begun in spring 1915, with the tunnels dug approximately 4.6-6.1m deep.
The open warfare and flanking manoeuvres of the early stages of the war had ceased as both sides dug in, and specialist weapons and units were needed to break the deadlock. Digging underneath defences to undermine them was not a new tactic, however the Germans were the first to exploit this tactic in the First World War.
The first mines laid by British Tunnellers were detonated as early as April 1915 at Hill 60, near Ypres. The 70ft crater destroyed German trenches and pillboxes and was the first of many successful mining operations that followed over the years.
Messines Ridge, located south of Ypres, was captured by German forces in 1914. The ridge granted the German Army a dominant position overlooking the Ypres salient. After years of suffering heavy casualties in the salient, in 1917 the Allies planned to break out. Their first move was to capture the Messines Ridge. Doing so would leave the Allies better placed to launch their offensive to the north-east toward Passchendaele.
On 7th June 1917, 19 mines were detonated by the British to launch the Battle of Messines.
Four mines were deliberately not detonated at Messines. The Tunnellers did not remove them at the time, as they were directed to another front and their location was lost as the fighting continued. In 1955, one of these mines exploded during a storm, which killed a cow. The three others remain lost and unexploded.
📸 German prisoners taken in the Battle of Messines, 8th June 1917. © IWM (Q 2276)
