The Tunnels Of Arras
An almost forgotten bit of history from the First World War has been rediscovered under the streets of the French city of Arras. A huge tunnel complex built by the British to allow their troops to attack the German Army by surprise has been partially unearthed and is now open to the public. A reporter for the Daily Mail went to see the complex.
Here, beneath the northern French town of Arras, years of careful excavation have finally unveiled the secret city where 25,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers lived just yards beneath an unsuspecting enemy.
Canteens, chapels, power stations, a light railway and even a fully functioning hospital were all established in this chilly labyrinth where I am standing with freezing water dripping on my head.
Scarred by the devastating losses on the Somme in 1916, British generals came up with a new strategy ahead of their next major offensive at Arras in 1917.
A series of subterranean medieval quarries on the edge of the town would be linked by tunnels to create the most extensive underground network in British military history.
These were not narrow shafts for men on all fours to crawl along. Tunnels had to be wide enough for soldiers to march in one direction and pass stretcher parties coming the other way. The larger routes had to accommodate a supply railway as well.
It proved to be a mighty feat of engineering but, in the chaotic aftermath of war, it was simply forgotten and covered up. But that neglect is our gain.
Today, much of it remains exactly as it was on that extraordinary morning in 1917 when, at the given signal, several British divisions burst forth under the noses of the enemy.
By the end of one day, they had advanced further into enemy territory than the entire British Army had advanced in years.
And yet the subsequent Battle of Arras would still see the worst bloodshed of the war.
As far as the Great War is concerned, the Arras discovery is on a par with the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb.
The French have built a museum and an elevator to the opened sections of the huge complex. Much of the network is damaged, collapsed or extremely dangerous. Arras has grown in the years since the tunnels were dug and the city now sits squarely on top of the engineering feat. But at least they have now saved a part of it and people can see where some of the 25,000 men huddled for days waiting for the order to emerge and attack. More on the Battle of Arras here.
By feeblemind, Sunday, 16 March , 2008 @ 6:53 am
In my opinion, a far more interesting tourist attraction than the Eiffel Tower.