UNDERGROUND WAR Vimy Ridge to Arras

The war underground has fascinated visitors to the battlefields from the very beginning of battlefield pilgrimages in the years immediately after the Armistice, and locations such as Hill 60 and the Grange Subway at Vimy have always been popular stops on such tours. This volume looks mainly at central Artois, comprising the whole line of the Vimy Ridge to the River Scarpe and Arras. Included are the use of ancient underground quarries, taking Roeux as a good example. There are extensive descriptions of mining on and around Vimy Ridge, including photography and explanations of systems that have been accessed recently but are closed to the public, such as the Goodman Subway.
The narrative draws on French and German as well as British archival material, and personal descriptions. The text is illustrated with numerous diagrams and maps, in particular from the British and German records, and there is an exhaustive guide to the Grange Subway. Other sites open to the public, in particular the Wellington Cave system at Arras, are also explained and put into context.