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On the 7th of June 1917, during the First World War, the village of Messines, Belgium, was rocked to its core by a massive earthquake... or at least, that’s what the German soldiers occupying the area thought it was. It was only when they saw the bodies of their comrades flung into the sky, which was burning orange with flames, that they suddenly realized this was no earthquake… this was a blast! One so huge it annihilated some 10,000 German soldiers, injured thousands more, and produced shockwaves felt as far away as France! But the most incredible part was that the explosion hadn’t come from a bomb or artillery that rained down from above – it had originated from right under their feet. How on earth had something capable of an explosion of this magnitude gone completely undetected by so many men? The answer lay deep underground. This was where a specialist unit of Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and British tunnellers had worked tirelessly to set up one of the largest man-made explosions in all of human history. While the horrors of the trenches have been well documented, the story of these tunnellers isn’t as widely known, though it’s arguably even more harrowing. So, get ready, because I promise what you’re about to learn about these amazing men will blow you away!
By Be Amazed4.9
806806 ratings
On the 7th of June 1917, during the First World War, the village of Messines, Belgium, was rocked to its core by a massive earthquake... or at least, that’s what the German soldiers occupying the area thought it was. It was only when they saw the bodies of their comrades flung into the sky, which was burning orange with flames, that they suddenly realized this was no earthquake… this was a blast! One so huge it annihilated some 10,000 German soldiers, injured thousands more, and produced shockwaves felt as far away as France! But the most incredible part was that the explosion hadn’t come from a bomb or artillery that rained down from above – it had originated from right under their feet. How on earth had something capable of an explosion of this magnitude gone completely undetected by so many men? The answer lay deep underground. This was where a specialist unit of Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and British tunnellers had worked tirelessly to set up one of the largest man-made explosions in all of human history. While the horrors of the trenches have been well documented, the story of these tunnellers isn’t as widely known, though it’s arguably even more harrowing. So, get ready, because I promise what you’re about to learn about these amazing men will blow you away!

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