Mining

[andigger]

I am reading Ian Passingham's book Pillars of Fire (great book by the way) and he refers to the British tunneling companies being able to go up to 100 ft deep (or down to , as the case may be). How is that possible in a flood plain like Flanders? He talks about the firm blue clay, though I am not sure what that means. Although there are ridges and hills I thought the water table in Flanders would keep mines to 20-50 feet.

Andy

[gem22]

Andy

You need to read a book called 'Beneath Flanders Fields". It will explain everything you need to know about tunneling in the Salient. The 'blue clay mentioned is exactly what it says on the tin. It is a clay that is coloured blue and is found a little way below the surface in Flanders. It is one reason why the water table is so high in Flanders. Water doesn't drain away through it.

The miners, in particular the clay-kickers, who did much of the tunnelling in Flanders overcame the problems of working in clay and liquid sand and so were able to go deep. The German army never overcame these problems and so had to remain shallow. This of course gave them a problem as they held the high ground and so struggled to dig tunnels any distance under allied trenches.

Garth

[Simon Jones]

Yes the book mentioned by Garth is the one for you.

The attached cross sections from the Work of the RE… Geology volume shows the depths of some of the mines and also the geology. Over the Flanders plain is a layer of wet sand which was very difficult to tunnel through. It is wet because of the impermeable clay levels beneath. Both British and Germans managed to sink shafts through this layer to get to the clay levels. These rank amongst the most difficult feats of engineering achieved on the Western Front during the war. The clay levels were dry and firm enough to tunnel through easily. Most of the Messines mines were placed in a clay-sand mixture called Paniselien clay (generally called ‘b*st*rd clay’ by the tunnellers [this word is apparently not permitted on the forum!]) although some were placed in the deeper Blue or London clay. Occasionally the tunnels broke into the running sand above and were almost immediately filled with it. Sometimes this could be dealt with, such as at Ontario Farm, but in one instance the British tunnellers had to abandon a mine charge, the little-known other ‘lost mine’ at Peckham. The British began to go deep at the end of 1915 and gained a head start. The Germans never caught up because they could not replicate the specialists British tunnelling companies.

Regards

Simon

[andigger]

Thanks for the info guys, and Simon for the great verticle images. Mining is certainly something I know very little about, and sand vs clay probably even less so. This helps and I think I am going to look into 'Beneath Flanders Fields.

Andy

[salientguide]

And also Alexander Barries classic history of mining and underground warfare on the Western Front "War Underground" currently I believe in reprint. ( Read it and compare certain sections and names with the more recent bestseller Birdsong!! )