The Mines in the Battle of Messines comprised a series of underground explosive charges which were fired during the First World War at the start of the Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) by the British Second Army near the village of Mesen in Belgian West Flanders. The mines, secretly planted and maintained by British tunnelling units beneath the forward position of the German 4th Army, killed approximately 10,000 German soldiers and created 19 large craters. Their joint explosion ranks among the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time.
Example of a mine gallery with timber roof support
Spanbroekmolen crater ("Lone Tree Crater" or "Pool of Peace") on one of the highest points of the Messines Ridge, in November 2009.
Plan for the British deep mines at Hollandscheschur Farm with German counter-mining efforts clearly visible
German trench destroyed by the explosion of a mine in the Battle of Messines. Approximately 10,000 German troops were killed when the mines were simultaneously detonated at 3.10 a.m. on 7 June 1917.
Battle of Messines (1917)
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The Battle of Messines was an attack by the British Second Army, on the Western Front, near the village of Messines in West Flanders, Belgium, during the First World War. The Nivelle Offensive in April and May had failed to achieve its more grandiose aims, had led to the demoralisation of French troops and confounded the Anglo-French strategy for 1917. The attack forced the Germans to move reserves to Flanders from the Arras and Aisne fronts, relieving pressure on the French.
Messines Ridge from Hill 63, George Edmund Butler
A howitzer firing during the battle
A view of Mesen from south-west of Wytschaete (Wijtschate) in 2007.