by
davejb
An interesting point that i have just seen in a TV programme , dealing specifically with the digging of tunnels and laying mines, it was stated that the whole emphasis in digging was secrecy and in order to do this absolute silence was observed so the enemy could not hear you, as you drew nearer to the point of detonation the sappers would be working with bayonets against the chalk surfaces , removing small pieces at a time, should they hear the enemy digging close the tunnel would be sealed with sand bags and a small charge would be placed in order to collapse the enemy tunnel, sealing them in, because of the nature and depth these unfortunate men would not be recovered, i was watching with interest that the sappers were not armed at all apart from their tools for digging and their bayonets, however i didnt see any officers with pistols either, i can imagine, from what was being said was that the last thing you wanted was a gun battle underground, mainly because of the noise and the poisonous gases that would result, also these sappers would be working with just a couple of candles, in fact many of them had to be taken out because of a "chalk blindness", akin to snow blindness, again i cannot imagine any type of running battle with very little or no light at all
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