New Zealand Tunnelling Company
| New Zealand Tunnelling Company | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1915–19 |
| Country |
 New Zealand
|
| Branch | New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
| Type | Royal Engineer tunnelling company |
| Role |
Military engineering Tunnel warfare |
| Nickname(s) | "The Kiwis" |
| Engagements |
World War I Battle of Arras (1917) Spring Offensive Battle of Havrincourt |
The New Zealand Tunnelling Company (also New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company) was a tunnel warfare unit of the Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during World War I which specialised in sapping and mining. The tunnelling companies were occupied in offensive and defensive mining involving the placing and maintaining of mines under enemy lines, as well as other underground work such as the construction of deep dugouts for troop accommodation, the digging of subways, saps (a narrow trench dug to approach enemy trenches), cable trenches and underground chambers for signals and medical services. The unit is particularly known for its role at Carrière Wellington and during the Battle of Arras.
By January 1915 it had become evident to the BEF at the Western Front that the Germans were mining to a planned system. As the British had failed to develop suitable counter-tactics or underground listening devices before the war, field marshals French and Kitchener agreed to investigate the suitability of forming British mining units. Following consultations between the Engineer-in-Chief of the BEF, Brigadier George Fowke, and the mining specialist John Norton-Griffiths, the War Office formally approved the tunnelling company scheme on 19 February 1915.
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