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The 2010 movie 'Beneath Hill 60' tells the real tale of a group of soldiers from the 1st Australian Tunnellers led by Captain Oliver Woodward CMG MC and 2 bars. In the movie, Woodward is portrayed by Brendan Cowell. He was a miner and metallurgist from New South Wales and had not joined up as a lot of other men from the area had done. He was seen to be required to stay home to help the war effort and consequently, he had been sent various white feathers. It had been commonplace back then for individuals to present white feathers to the people that they considered to be cowards.
Hill 60 can be found in the southern section of the Ypres Salient and it was not a natural feature. The hill is made with soil dug away to produce a local railway cutting. A few serious battles occurred at Hill 60 during both World War I and World War II. During one evening in 1915, four Victoria Crosses were granted as a German offensive was effectively fought off.
The movie concerns the action at the start of the Battle of Messines in 1917. 19 mines with close to half a million kilograms of explosives were fired prior to the start of the attack. The story revolves around the exploits of Woodward and his men highlighting exactly what the tunneller companies needed to withstand, a part of war that gets little coverage.
Woodward is given command of a company and sets an example all through the build-up ahead of the assault around Ypres. The attack starts out in the early hours of the morning when Woodward sets off the mine his soldiers have spent the previous weeks putting in place and defending.
Following the war, Woodward returns to Australia to marry his young sweetheart who had begged him not to join up.
'Beneath Hill 60' is a really good dvd which portrays the story of undoubtedly one of the most horrifying parts of the Western Front. The tunnellers on both sides had to operate in horrendous conditions understanding the enemy could quite possibly be only metres away preparing to either explode their tunnel or break in and begin shooting.
Hill 60 can be found in the southern section of the Ypres Salient and it was not a natural feature. The hill is made with soil dug away to produce a local railway cutting. A few serious battles occurred at Hill 60 during both World War I and World War II. During one evening in 1915, four Victoria Crosses were granted as a German offensive was effectively fought off.
The movie concerns the action at the start of the Battle of Messines in 1917. 19 mines with close to half a million kilograms of explosives were fired prior to the start of the attack. The story revolves around the exploits of Woodward and his men highlighting exactly what the tunneller companies needed to withstand, a part of war that gets little coverage.
Woodward is given command of a company and sets an example all through the build-up ahead of the assault around Ypres. The attack starts out in the early hours of the morning when Woodward sets off the mine his soldiers have spent the previous weeks putting in place and defending.
Following the war, Woodward returns to Australia to marry his young sweetheart who had begged him not to join up.
'Beneath Hill 60' is a really good dvd which portrays the story of undoubtedly one of the most horrifying parts of the Western Front. The tunnellers on both sides had to operate in horrendous conditions understanding the enemy could quite possibly be only metres away preparing to either explode their tunnel or break in and begin shooting.
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The battles on the Western Front during World War One were terrible and the region around Ypres saw some of the worst action.
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