French museum opens WW1 tunnels
a French museum giving visitors a close-up glimpse of a network of tunnels where ANZAC and allied forces hid as they prepared to attack German lines during World War I was inaugurated.
Visitors to the Carriere Wellington memorial in Arras, northern France, can tour the tunnels and learn about them in interactive exhibits.
New Zealand miners were brought to northern France in 1916 to build underground tunnels out of chalk quarries. The complex system included kitchens, headquarters and hospitals, and it was able to house 20,000 men.
The tunnellers burrowed toward German lines, allowing troops to plant mines underneath. One of the war's great engineering feats, the tunnels also allowed troops to pop up quickly into their positions for an offensive on April 9, 1917.
In the ensuing fighting, Canadian troops seized a key German defence position at Vimy Ridge, but the success came at a heavy price, with 11,000 casualties, including about 3,600 deaths.
The tunnels were closed after the war and not rediscovered until the 1990s.
France's top official for veterans, Alain Marleix, and Mahara Okeroa, New Zealand's associate minister of arts culture and heritage, attended the opening.