The German Army on Vimy Ridge 1914-1917 by Jack Sheldon

Author:Jack Sheldon [Sheldon, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: World War I, Battles, Campaigns
ISBN: 9781844156801
Google: 36BBGQAACAAJ
Amazon: 1783461845
Goodreads: 2571122
Publisher: Pen & Sword
Published: 2008-07-15T04:00:00+00:00

“The hands of the clock moved to the appointed second. The engineer officer twisted the small switch of his firing device and, with a thunderous crash, which vibrated throughout the positions, enormous quantities of earth and rocks were projected skywards. The air was filled with the roar from a hundred guns, from machine guns and mortars, from a thousand rifles and hand grenades. Then at the same instant, through the dust which darkened the sky, through the smoke and gases of the explosion, the assault force raced forward to occupy the steaming hot forward edge of the crater.

‘We blew a mine’, the Army communiqué would state briefly.”

As has been mentioned in the previous chapter, January 1916 saw the start of the series of ‘Rupprecht’ limited scope attacks, each of which was more or less successful. What was not stressed, however, was the extent to which their effective execution depended on the contribution of the engineers and miners. Already outlined are the emergency measures and counter-mining activities of 2nd Company Bavarian Pionier Regiment in the improvised ‘minefield’ to the southwest of Thélus. December was a relatively quiet time on this particular sector, but the work previously achieved and the number of galleries driven forward by the company had the potential to be incorporated into future offensive operations. So it was that when the planners of 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division were drawing up a selection of possible locations for ‘Rupprecht I’, it was decided to exploit the potential of the newly created minefield and to launch the attack near to Thélus. 2nd Field Engineer Company of I Bavarian Corps took over the sector at the beginning of January and their war diary indicates how efficiently and swiftly the miners could operate when they had the initiative.25

“The Company assumed responsibility for the minefield in Sector IIIa on 5 January 1916. Its initial intention was to ignore the existing galleries, which had been dug at five to six metres depth and, instead, to create five deep galleries, beginning at the entrances to Galleries Dora, Irma, Lina, Oldenburg and Tom and driving them forward offensively against the enemy positions. Initial work (creation of gallery entrances of high profile, with fifteen steps and equipment chambers measuring 2 x 2 x 1.8 metres) was almost finished when, on 9 January 1916, orders arrived stating that the galleries in the left half of Sector IIIa were to be used in an operation against the so-called Halbmondstellung [Half Moon Position] and were to be ready for blowing by the end of January. On 11 January the date for readiness was moved to 20 January.

“Following comprehensive examination and survey of our own position and the galleries in question, which had been prepared by 2nd Company [Bavarian] Engineer Regiment, it transpired that Galleries Oldenburg, Peter, Theo, Trudl and Ursula could be used to achieve the intended aim. To place the mine chambers directly beneath the critical points of the enemy positions would, however, require the digging of a total of ninety metres of branching galleries and the working of five new headings.

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