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The Great Underground War

5 episodes 94%4KCC

Beneath shattered battlefields, the First World War became a deadly war of mines.

Discover how fighting in the Great War moved beneath the surface, from the tunnels of Ypres and the Somme to brutal underground battles at Vauquois and in the Dolomites. Through archeology, letters, and battlefield evidence, the series reveals the tactics, fear, and human cost hidden below the trenches. Sign up to uncover a powerful side of wartime history rarely seen so clearly.

Episode guide

5 episodes
1
1The Mines of Ypres
The story of how a unique British tunneling technique developed for the mud of Flanders was employed to win the strategic ground during the gruesome trench warfare of the Ypres Salient.
44 min
2
2The Secret of the Somme
An exploration of newly discovered fortresses, dugouts, and bunkers tells the story of the innovative German engineering that made defenses resistant to massive bombardments.
44 min
3
3Vauquois, Hill of Death
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.
44 min
4
4Col di Lana
The largest mine blown on the Italian front literally destroyed half the mountainside of this strategic point in the Dolomite mountains. We explore trenches and tunnels and interview descendants of the Austrians and Italians who fought under and above this treacherous terrain.
44 min
5
5Monte Paterno
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.
45 min
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