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Also relevant is the Battle of the Crater during the civil war, in which Union forces dug a giant hole underneath the Confederates defenses and packed it with g

Also relevant is the Battle of the Crater during the civil war, in which Union forces dug a giant hole underneath the Confederates defenses and packed it with gunpowder. The resulting explosion was so impressive that none of the soldiers were able to capitalize on the sudden opportunity. General Burnside had trained special black troops to head this assault because of just how complicated this mission was compared to anything else in contemporary existence. They were pulled at the last minute by General Meade for a combination of PR reasons (can't have black people winning the war), personal glory reasons, and skepticism. The entire thing is a very sad story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crater

enjo 11y ago
My understanding wasn't that the men were stunned by the impressive explosion, but rather that Ledlie had so badly botched the whole thing that they literally had no idea what to expect or where to go or what to do. Hell the guy was drunk for most of the battle, which is a fascinating detail in the whole thing. It'd be a perfect Drunk History episode.
- unimpressive 11y ago
  >My understanding wasn't that the men were stunned by the impressive explosion, but rather that Ledlie had so badly botched the whole thing that they literally had no idea what to expect or where to go or what to do. Both, really. They didn't know what they were meant to be doing and the massive explosion did not exactly promote their higher faculties in figuring it out.
ldpg 11y ago
Tunneled bombs were used in a major way in WWI too. In January, 1917, General Sir Herbert Plumer, gave orders for 20 mines to be placed under German lines at Messines. Over the next five months more than 8,000 metres of tunnel were dug and 600 tons of explosive were placed in position. Simultaneous explosion of the mines took place at 3.10 on 7th June. The blast killed an estimated 10,000 soldiers and was so loud it was heard in London. http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWtunnelling.htm http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWtunnelling.htm The craters are still there and form ponds in the fields where the battle took place.
- lobster_johnson 11y ago
  The Battle of Messines was portrayed in an excellent Australian film called Beneath Hill 60 from 2010: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneath_Hill_60 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneath_Hill_60.
- jo6gwb 11y ago
  Cillian Murphy plays a character in a show called Peaky Blinders (Netflix) who was a tunneler in WWI. The way the tunneling is portrayed is unbelievable.

enjo 11y ago

My understanding wasn't that the men were stunned by the impressive explosion, but rather that Ledlie had so badly botched the whole thing that they literally had no idea what to expect or where to go or what to do. Hell the guy was drunk for most of the battle, which is a fascinating detail in the whole thing. It'd be a perfect Drunk History episode.

unimpressive 11y ago
>My understanding wasn't that the men were stunned by the impressive explosion, but rather that Ledlie had so badly botched the whole thing that they literally had no idea what to expect or where to go or what to do. Both, really. They didn't know what they were meant to be doing and the massive explosion did not exactly promote their higher faculties in figuring it out.

ldpg 11y ago

Tunneled bombs were used in a major way in WWI too. In January, 1917, General Sir Herbert Plumer, gave orders for 20 mines to be placed under German lines at Messines. Over the next five months more than 8,000 metres of tunnel were dug and 600 tons of explosive were placed in position. Simultaneous explosion of the mines took place at 3.10 on 7th June. The blast killed an estimated 10,000 soldiers and was so loud it was heard in London. http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWtunnelling.htm http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWtunnelling.htm The craters are still there and form ponds in the fields where the battle took place.

lobster_johnson 11y ago
The Battle of Messines was portrayed in an excellent Australian film called Beneath Hill 60 from 2010: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneath_Hill_60 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneath_Hill_60.
jo6gwb 11y ago
Cillian Murphy plays a character in a show called Peaky Blinders (Netflix) who was a tunneler in WWI. The way the tunneling is portrayed is unbelievable.