The Great Underground War
This fascinating 5-part series unearths the untold story about how the Great War went underground - the tales of tunnellers and miners who dug under the enemy when there was no other choice but to attack from beneath. A 5-part series: The Mines of Ypres, The Secret of the Somm, Vauquois, Hill of Death, Monte Paterno, Col di Lana.
- 2014-2014
- 1 season
- Documentary, Action & Adventure
This fascinating 5-part series unearths the untold story about how the Great War went underground - the tales of tunnellers and miners who dug under the enemy when there was no other choice but to attack from beneath. A 5-part series: The Mines of Ypres, The Secret of the Somm, Vauquois, Hill of Death, Monte Paterno, Col di Lana.
Season 1 Episode Guide
5 Episodes 2014
Episode 1
The Mines of Ypres
44 mins
One hundred years have passed since the outbreak of the First World War - yet it remains difficult to grasp the scale and madness of the carnage. This covers the five months of the great Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest battle of the First World War - one million soldiers were killed, wounded, or went missing. On July 1, 1916, alone, 19,000 British soldiers were killed and 36,000 wounded. Ultimately, to no avail. Military historian Basil Liddell Hart: "Nothing more than stupid, mass slaughter of one another."
Episode 2
Monte Paterno
44 mins
A personal account of the tragic battles that unfolded amid the sharp gullies and ravines of the Dolomites, requiring men to perform the nearly impossible: excavate and tunnel through solid granite in freezing weather.
Episode 3
Vauquois, Hill of Death
44 mins
For three years the Germans and French blew each other up with massive explosions, using a maze of underground galleries and tunnels. The whole story is told through the preserved diaries of Herman Hoppe, a German engineer who built many of the tunnels.
Episode 4
Col di Lana, Blood Mountain
44 mins
Episode 5
The Secret of The Somme
44 mins
"The Tunnels of Flanders" covers the three major battles in Flanders, specifically the underground war that raged around the city of Ypres: some 50,000 engineers, hundreds of tunnels, explosives, chlorine gas, flamethrowers, and tanks were deployed. In total, around 500,000 soldiers fell in the bloody back-and-forth battle for 900 meters of land in the Flanders marshes.