The Mines of Messines

     Captain Oliver Woodward wiped the sweat from his eyes and carefully placed the stethoscope to the clay wall in the gallery. Nothing.........the German sappers were still unaware that beneath their feet lay close to 70,000 pounds of ammonal explosive. Mining under ones enemy was not a new concept and had been a method used in siege warfare since ancient times. Now on the Western Front, it was about to enjoy a brief and violent resurgence in what was to be known as the Battle of Messines.

     With a trench system stretching from the Swiss border to the North Sea, the Western Front was a static battlefield that quickly degenerated into a bloody war of attrition. Ground taken by either side could be measured in yards, not miles. The allies were desperate to break the German lines while avoiding a catastrophic loss of life like they had experiences during the Battle of the Somme in July of 1916. To this end, it was decided to dig a series of mines under the German trenches, pack them with tons of explosives, then right before the assault, detonate the mine which would create a massive crater which could then be occupied and reinforced. This was tried on July 1st, 1916 when the Hawthorne Ridge mine was detonated under a German redoubt near the village of Beaumont Hamel. Unfortunately, the mine was blown ten minutes too early before the main assault was to begin, so the Germans had enough time to occupy part of the massive crater and the assault failed.

     The British, not wishing a repeat of that disaster decided to dig a series of 21 mines under the German lines in the Ypres Salient. A special unit made up of Australian miners, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, were brought into the area to dig the mines. Largely made up of veteran miners, the Australians began to dig their way under the German lines starting in September of 1916. Working in depths of over 125 feet deep, the miners used a technique known as "clay-kicking", which was a laborious process in which the miner inserts a special tool with a cup-like end into the soil and then withdraws a sizable chunk which is then placed in a sandbag and handed off to the next man. The advantage to clay-kicking, although labor intensive, it's virtually silent which was a huge consideration when digging under the German lines. Often if a mine was discovered, the Germans would try to counter the mining operations by using a technique called "camouflets", which were small explosive charges designed to collapse the mine tunnels of the allies. On several occasions, desperate hand to hand fighting erupted in the underground galleries between the Australian and Germans.

     Overall, the British had the advantage when it came to digging mines due to their experience and techniques. The could dig quickly and silently, which is something the Germans apparently could not do. By the time of the Battle of Messines on June 7th, 1917, the 22 mines were ready. As was the plan, an artillery barrage began six days earlier and continued up until 2:50 a.m. on June 7th. Two parachute flares were then fired, and the German defenders rushed back to their forward positions thinking an infantry assault was eminent. At 3:10 a.m., 19 mines were simultaneously detonated in what at the time was the greatest man-made explosion in history. The blast lit up the night sky around the Messines Ridge in what was described as a "pillar of fire". Over ten thousand German soldiers were obliterated in the explosion that could be heard and felt over 20 miles away. Some even claim the shockwave was felt as far away as London. The largest mine created a crater over 40 feet deep and over 250 feet in diameter. Surviving Germans soldiers were completely disoriented by the blast and many cried in pure terror at what they had just witnessed. Immediately after the detonations, the British artillery fire resumed in a creeping barrage that screened the advance of the infantry. By noon of that day, all the intended target of the assault had been reached and the majority of the Messiens Ridge was now in British hands. Overall, the attack into the Ypres Salient was a resounding success thanks to the tactics of using mines, artillery, tanks and infantry. As for the remaining three mines that did not go off, one was discovered by the Germans prior to the attack and dismantled, one detonated on June 17th, 1955 when lightening struck a steel pylon that had been erected over the location of the hidden mine and the one remaining mine has yet to go off although the authorities believe they have identified it's location. As for Captain Woodward, he survived the war and passed away quietly at the age of 80 in Hobart, Tasmania.

A Most Valiant Action

     It was a little after 4:30 in the morning when 33 year old Captain Edward Bradbury roused the men of “L” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery from their slumber just outside the French village of Nery. It was September 1^st, 1914 and the British and French troops were engaged in a long, fighting retreat to the River Marne on the Western Front. The German army, acting under the Schlieffen Plan, had plowed through the allied attempt to stop their push to Paris. In what was to become known as the Retreat from Mons, the British and French troops were engaged in a desperate fighting retreat to stop the marauding Germans from reaching the capital city. The conflict known as The Great War had begun on July 28^th, 1914 with a declaration of war by Austria-Hungary against Serbia. Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4^th after Germany ignored a British ultimatum that Belgium be kept neutral. War had now come and the world would never be the same again.

     The men of “L” Battery were stood down to rest due to the fact a thick fog had enveloped the town of Nery and the surrounding countryside. Visibility was down to nothing, so the men were ordered to rest, prepare breakfast, and water their horses. At this time, horses were used to transport the quick firing thirteen pounder guns of the Royal Horse Artillery. Although the men were stood down, they kept the horses harnessed to the guns, but with the limbers lowered to ease their burden. At 5:25 a.m., a patrol from the British 11^th Hussars encountered a large force of German cavalry just outside the village and raced back to alert the gun crews. About 20 minutes later, machine-gun and artillery fire began from the heights overlooking the village. The German 4^th Cavalry Division had signaled it was surrounded by a “considerable hostile force” and were now trying to counter-attack what they thought was a large number of British cavalry. The German commander, realizing what was going on, ordered a dismounted attack on the village itself.

      Down in the village of Nery, the German gunfire caused panic amongst the horses of the cavalry and artillery, many of which bolted leaving the guns immobilized where they now stood.  The overall commander of “L” Battery was knocked unconscious by a shell blast and it was Captain Bradbury who now took command. He managed to get three guns into position to counter the twelve or so German guns up on the ridge. Two of the thirteen pounders were knocked out almost immediately, which just left the one remaining gun. That one remaining gun, under direction of Captain Bradbury, Sgt David Nelson and Sergeant-Major Thomas Dorrell kept up a steady fire, which drew the German artillery fire away from the British cavalry. Captain Bradbury was acting as an ammunition bearer when a shell fragment tore off one of his legs. Although bleeding to death, he continued to direct the gunfire until he died. Sgts Dorrell and Nelson continued to fire the gun until reinforcements arrived around 8 a.m. As a result of the gunfire from the single thirteen pounder gun of “L” Battery, the British cavalry regiments were able to outflank the German cavalry which was attempting an attack on the village itself and were able to force them to retreat taking approximately seventy eight German prisoners. Three Victoria Crosses were awarded to “L” Battery that day, one going to Captain Edward Bradbury who was killed in the action, the other two going to Sergeant-Major George Dorrell and Sergeant David Nelson. Nelson was killed in April 1918 while Dorrell survived the war and would reach the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He served in the Home Guard during the Second World War and died at the age of 90 in 1971. The three Victoria Cross medals as well as the actual thirteen pounder gun used in the engagement, now called the “Nery Gun”, can be seen today at the Imperial War Museum in London. In an unusual honor, L Battery had the title of “Nery” added to their official name. They are now known as “L (Nery) Battery, RHA Tactical Group Battery”.