Hutted Histories: Underground Warfare 1914-18 with Simon Jones

Military mining was an ancient part of siegecraft which was revived with the onset of trench warfare in 1914. As it escalated, it drew in thousands of skilled miners and mining engineers who dug hundreds of miles of tunnels and detonated countless underground charges, leaving the landscape permanently scarred. This talk will explain the techniques of underground warfare, who the troops were that carried it out and their equipment and methods. It will describe how mines of up to 50 tonnes were laid beneath enemy lines, and answer the question as to how effective they were in solving the problems of trench warfare. It is a story of heroism and endurance, constant danger, rescue and even underground combat. This talk follows the publication of the speaker’s book The War Underground 1914-18 Tactics and Equipment by Osprey in May 2024 which will include specially commissioned artwork and many previously unseen photographs.

Simon Jones has had a lifelong fascination with the First World War and is the author of books on gas warfare and underground warfare. He was formerly curator at the Royal Engineers and King’s Regiment Museums. He has lectured at Liverpool and Lancaster Universities and led battlefield tours to many destinations around the world. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has a blog at SimonJonesHistorian.com