Chapter 8

Miners and Technology

One of the results of the recruitment of civilian experts into mining and tunnelling units was the application of modern technology and mechanisation to the underground war. The side which was able to make the most effective use of civilian skills and technologies gained the advantage. In some cases technology had to be developed, but in most it was already available. In terms of basic mining, the sinking of shafts and driving of galleries, the French had far more detailed instructional manuals than the British or Germans in 1914. The Germans reissued their old mining regulations and these manuals were used to carry out mining during 1914–15.¹ From the start, the British were reliant on civilian specialists and this was to become the major strength of their tunnelling operations. This is not to say that the French and Germans did not make use of civilian expertise. For example, the German 4th Division, part of the 7th Army Corps which was recruited in Westphalia, included many miners in the ranks. During 1915, the mining operations in the La Bassée sector were carried out by mining battalions formed from each infantry regiment:

The working practices followed those of conventional mining very closely. Three to five men work in a tunnel. A foreman oversees the work; he is responsible for the proper working and keeping the correct direction. Three to four tunnels are each under a foreman-NCO, who leads the personnel from their quarters to the workings, and is responsible for the necessary supply of materials. Several workings, usually twenty to twenty-five tunnels, are brought together under the command of a head foreman-NCO; he reports to a Duty Mining Officer, but can make urgent decisions himself; he gives a daily report to the Duty Mining Officer, who enters these into the Mine Book. The company commander receives a copy of the entries. The working hours in a three-shift system are twelve hours; this long shift was chosen so that the traffic on the roads leading to the workings could be kept to a minimum. Drill takes place at the quarters, where the miners are organized in twenty to thirty man sections, according to which company they belonged. Head foremen and mining officers are on duty for forty-eight hours. Each shift has a three-man pumping-squad; this is responsible for the necessary hoses. Two explosives squads, trained by the pioneers, report to the Duty Mining Officer for duty in the front line. The measurements are made by a mine surveyor. (Reserve Lieutenant von Klingspor of the 2nd Mining Company, Infantry Regiment No.56)²

We have already heard, however, Colonel Füsslein’s complaints about the difficulties of forming specialized German mining units. The extreme shortage of engineers in the British Expeditionary Force forced commanders to allow civilian experts freedom to employ their own methods. Much of the skill amongst British officers was derived from mining engineers returned from mineral mines in North and South America, Canada, Africa, Australasia, Malaya and elsewhere. This brought not only a range of skills, but also a tough and adventurous temperament. The first question that a newly arrived officer would be asked in a tunnelling company was ‘coal or metal’? It was held by the overseas mineral miners that they were more cosmopolitan and imaginative than the mining engineers from the collieries in Britain, although the many examples of bravery and audacity from this source suggest that there was a strong degree of prejudice. Commanders will have distrusted and feared the militancy of miners, but the British discovered, perhaps to their surprise, that miners already possessed qualities that armies tried to instil into recruits: mutual dependence, personal bravery and remarkable powers of physical strength and endurance.

By the end of 1915 the British had learned that the Tunnelling Companies could function effectively with the right civilian mining engineer in command. The best company commanders possessed not only technical skill and powers of leadership, but also both mental and physical stamina. Norton Griffiths rejected men in whom he did not see the necessary degree of ‘go get’. This process was enhanced enormously by the arrival of Tunnelling Companies from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A Canadian Tunnelling Company was created in France in December 1915 from personnel in the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions, and this was joined in France in March 1916 by two more companies recruited in Canada. A New Zealand Tunnelling Company and an Australian Mining Corps arrived in France in spring 1916 and from the personnel of the latter three Tunnelling Companies and an Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining and Boring Company were created. The best qualities of the mineral miners were found amongst all ranks of these units and the immediate result was the relief of companies, such as 172, which had been engaged for over a year in the worst conditions of the Ypres Salient.

The British often commented on the difference between their work and that of the French and Germans. When the British took over French workings on the Somme in 1915 and Vimy in 1916, they regarded their galleries, especially the rameaux de combat, as too small for effective working. The British adopted a standard size of 4ft 10in high by 2ft 9in wide in chalk. For infantry subways the dimension was 6ft 4in high by 2ft 9in.³ The New Zealand Tunnelling Company historian claimed that the former size was too small for the size of their men and that they adopted a much larger size of 6ft 3in by 3ft 6in.⁴ This would seem to be accounted for by the fact that the New Zealanders were withdrawn from front-line mining after a few months to work in Arras on infantry communication tunnels, where the larger size was standard. In fact all companies adopted their own methods and tools and claimed that they were superior. An officer of 250 Company described the methods needed for the deep mines in the clay levels at Messines: