Hill 60 is one of the key sites outside of Ypres that I want to visit. It was a key point just prior to the Third Battle of Ypres.
Seeing the video of what the state is of the site you can clearly see the scars on the landscape from the explosions and fighting.
History – Hill 60 mine from 9 November 1916 to 7 June 1917
The Battle of Messines (7 to 14 June 1917) began with the largest man-made explosion in history at that time prior to the use of Atomic Weapons in World War 2.
At Hill 60, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company had been at work since November 1916 at the northern extremity of the line. The Australian tunnellers were continuing work begun by British months before. They secretly dug 2 large mineshafts under Hill 60 and the Caterpillar (Kofferberg to the Germans).
Right along the British front were 17 other similar mines, all packed with explosives.
At 3:10 am on 7 June 1917, British forces simultaneously blew up 19 mines as the opening move in the Messines attack. The Hill 60 mine created a crater 60 feet (18 m) deep and 260 feet (79 m) wide. The German front-line troops were overwhelmed.
DVA (Department of Veterans’ Affairs) (2023 ), Battle of Messines 7 to 14 June 1917, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 2 June 2024, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/where-australians-served/western-front/battle-of-messines
Beneath Hill 60 is a movie that dramatises the stories of the Australians who worked in the mines of Hill 60. While this is a dramatisation, it gives some insights into what it would have been like for the Australians who worked in the mines, including the dangers and sacrifice.