MILITARY APPLICATIONS OF UNDERGROUND OPENINGS
https://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/umrcourses/ge342/RogersMilitary-Applications-Underground-May4-2011.pdf
J. David Rogers, Ph.D., P.E., P.G.
Karl F. Hasselmann Chair in Geological Engineering
Missouri University of Science & Technology
for
Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering
United States Military Academy, West Point, NY
Wednesday May 4, 2011
BRIEF OVERVIEW
MILITARY APPLICATIONS
OF
UNDERGROUND
OPENINGS
HISTORIC EXAMPLES
Sappers used to penetrate
medieval castles, resulting
in perimeter moats
Crater tunnels excavated
during American Civil War
and First World War
Sewer systems utilized by
insurgents in Warsaw
Ghetto during WW2
Bataan Peninsula Redoubt
WW2
German aircraft
production moved below
ground during WW2
HISTORIC EXAMPLES
Underground POL
storage at Pearl Harbor
Strategic POL reserve
excavated by Japan
Hardened sites excavated
by former Soviet Union to
protect high value targets
Silos for ballistic missile
complexes
North Korean infiltration
tunnels
Tunnels of Cu Chi in Iron
Triangle of South Vietnam
Caves used by
Mujahideen in
Afghanistan
Underground nuclear
waste storage
Water Supply Infrastructure
Ancient Jerusalem was equipped with a more
defendable water supply to withstand siege
warfare in 700 BC
Warren’s Shaft was discovered in 1867. The shaft
allowed water from the Gihon Spring to be accessed
from behind the walls of Jerusalem
Hezekiah’s Tunnel was excavated from both
portals simultaneously when Jerusalem was
threatened by an Assyrian siege.
Hezekiah’s Tunnel
was re-discovered
by British explorer
Edwin Robinson in
April 1838 as part
of the English
Palestine
Exploration Fund.
The tunnel is 1750
feet long between
the Gihon Spring in
the Kidron Valley
and the Pool of
Siloam, inside the
old city wall.
According to
scriptures, the
water supply
tunnel was
excavated
during the reign
of Israeli King
Hezekiah in 701
BC
Note serpentine
path, following
solution cavities
in the limestone
Hezekiah’s Tunnel - 701 BC
The tunnel was re-discovered by Edwin Robinson in 1838, but the Siloam
Inscription was not discovered at the meeting point until 1880. It was
removed in pieces from the tunnel in 1891 and taken to the Istanbul
Archaeology Museum. The tunnel was cleared by Montague Parker’s team
in 1909-11, and cleaned out again by Israeli archaeologists in 1973, and a
replica of the inscription was inserted into the tunnel in 2010.
Siloam
Inscription
The Siloam Inscription was discovered by two boys in 1880 about
20 feet in from the tunnel’s mouth in the Pool of Siloam. It reads:
"[...when] (the tunnel) was driven through. And this was the way in which it was
cut through: - - while...] (were) still [...] axes (s) , each man toward his fellow,
and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the
voice of a man calling to his fellow, for there was an overlap in the rock on the
right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen
hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water
flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits and the height of
the rock above the head (s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits."
This suggests that the miners used acoustic methods to
approach one another’s tunnels from opposing headings
Ancient cities were usually equipped with buried water
supply and storage systems to enable survival under
sieges. Nebuchadnezzar's unsuccessful siege of Tyre
lasted 15 years, between 586 and 571 BC.
The ancient tell of Megiddo is typical of fortress
cities throughout antiquity, with a stone-faced
glacis, main entry gate with multiple guard
towers, commanding view of the surrounding
country and a siege-proof source of water.
MEGIDDO WATER TUNNEL
2800 years ago King Ahab excavated a secure
water supply by excavating a 390-ft long
tunnel to the natural springs along the Mt.
Carmel fault that lay outside the city walls.
The entry shaft (at left) was 200 feet deep.
Megiddo’s spring (arrow) is located on a splay of the
Carmel-Gilboa fault, a left-lateral feature extending
northwesterly from the Dead Sea Rift that is believed to
have destroyed Megiddo on at least three occasions.
Alexander’s Seven
Month Siege of
Tyre
Nov 333 to
Aug 332 BC
At the time of Alexander’s siege, Tyre held approximately 40,000 people, though the women
and children were evacuated to Carthage. As Alexander did not have much of a navy, he
resolved to take the city and thus deny the Persians their last harbor in the region. After
months of trying to capture Tyre the Persian fleet surrendered about 332 BC. This enabled
Alexander to attack from all sides.
Alexander built a causeway one kilometer long on a tombolo feature about 2 m below mean
sea level. This mole allowed his artillery to get in range of the walls, but the water became
deeper, and the counterattacks from the walls and the Tyrian navy slowed progress to a
crawl.
The Tyrians Win Round 2
Alexander constructed two siege towers 160 ft
high and placed them to the end of his mole. These
towers employed catapults to bombard the
parapets and ballistas to hurl stones at attacking
ships. The towers were sheathed in rawhide to
protect them from fire arrows.
The Tyrians quickly devised a counterattack, filling
an old horse transport ship with dried branches,
pitch, sulfur, and other combustibles. They then
hung cauldrons of oil from the masts, so that they
would fall onto the deck once the masts burned
through. They also placed ballasts in the ship’s
stern to raise its bow above the water. They then lit
it on fire and ran it up onto the causeway. The fire
spread quickly, engulfing both towers and other
siege equipment that had been brought up.
The Tyrian ships swarmed the pier, destroying any
siege equipment that hadn’t caught fire, and
driving off Macedonian crews that were trying to
put out the fires.
Forced to engage in a
naval battle
After the defeat of his massive siege towers by
the Tyrian’s fire ship, Alexander realized that
he would not be able to take Tyre without a
navy.
When the Persian Navy attempted to return to their home ports, they found
they were under Greek control. The Persians' allegiance to their cities
allowed Alexander to find himself in command of 80 ships, which coincided
with the arrival of another 120 ships from Cypress and an additional 23
ships, all of whom wished to share in the plunder of Tyre. Alexander thus
found himself in command of no less than 223 galleys.
Alexander blockaded the Tyrian ports, and began fitting some of his slower
ships with battering rams. Finding that large underwater blocks of stone
kept the rams from reaching the walls, Alexander had them removed by
crane ships. The rams then anchored near the walls, but the Tyrians sent out
ships and divers to cut the anchor cables. Alexander responded by
replacing them with chains.
Conclusion of the Siege
of Tyre
Alexander started testing the wall at various points
with his rams, until he made a small breach in the
south end of the island. He then coordinated an
attack across the breach with a bombardment from
all sides by his navy. Alexander is said to have
personally taken part in the attack on the city,
fighting from the top of a siege tower.
Once his troops forced their way into the city, they
easily overtook the garrison, and quickly captured
the city.
6,000 fighting men were killed within the city and 2,000 Tyrian men were crucified
on the beach. The others, some 30,000 people, mostly women and children, were
sold into slavery. The severity of reprisals were both because of the length of the
siege, and because the Tyrians had executed some captured soldiers on the walls,
in view of the attackers.
The lessons drawn from the Siege of Tyre were taught to all Roman officers a few
centuries later, all of whom were trained as engineers. These lessons were that
military engineering, protection of one’s flanks, a sustainable chain of supply, the
ability to counter new threats with flexible response, and the staying power of sheer
tenacity, could be combined to defeat a well-entrenched and confident foe.
More robust and
resilient
fortifications
During the post-Crusader period
(1187 to 1570 AD) fortifications were
equipped with rounded surfaces,
deeper moats, higher walls, and
drawbridges to better resist sieges
Between the Romans and the Renaissance, fortified
cities were often built around castles, with multiple lines
of defense against attacks by marauding forces, such as
the Norsemen, as well as extended sieges.
The Crater at Petersburg – July 1864
Natural lava tubes are formed
by the withdrawal of molten
lava after the formation of a
surficial crust.
Common in Hawaiian and
Cascadian volcanic regions
Captain Jack (Kintpuash or
Keintpoos) and his Modocs are
hiding in the northeastern
California lava beds.
LAVA TUBES are natural
underground openings
that can be exploited for
military purposes
This map shows the cave
complex used by the
Modoc Indians in the
uprising of 1872-73, in
which MGEN Canby was
killed
Major General
Edward R.
“Sprigg”
Canby ( 1817-
1873)
graduated
from West
Point in 1839,
and was the
highest
ranking officer
killed during
the Indian
Wars
The First World War (1914-18) marked the transition
between ancient and modern warfare, where
technology, wartime production, and logistics emerged
as key factors. 4.5 million men died in the 4-year
conflict, mostly from artillery and disease.
British infantry knee deep in mud. An Australian trench at Messines Ridge.
An abandoned German trench at Messines
Ridge.
Officers walking through a flooded
communication trench.
FIRST WORLD WAR ENTRENCHMENTS
MINES BENEATH ENEMY
ENTRENCHMENTS IN WORLD WAR I
• Offensive Mining
• Schematic section view (not to scale)
•Anything one side tried that was even marginally
successful, was usually tried by the opposing side
shortly thereafter
Mines on the Western Front 1914-18
• Defensive Mining
• Geophone
• Camouflet
HILL 60 MINES EXCAVATED BY
ROYAL ENGINEERS
• Offensive Mining
• Example
The Third Battle of Ypres:
Messines Ridge (1917)
The British
attack
commenced
on June 7,
1917 at 0310
hours with the
simultaneous
detonation of
21 buried
mines
SHOCK AND AWE AT 3 AM
• Explosives
• Over 1.2 million lbs detonated
• Craters
• 21 Mines detonated
• 200 – 2000 ft in Length
• 50 – 125 ft in Depth
MINE EXPLOSIVES
LOADOUTS
Some very useful data on explosive yield
versus crater size was developed during
these operations, which proved valuable
during the Second World War.
ADVENT OF PROTECTIVE
STRUCTURES 1939-45
Aircraft achieved dominance
during the Second World
War, raining destruction on
military and civilian targets
well behind enemy lines
400,000 civilians were killed in
Great Britain during The Blitz.
During the Summer of 1940 the
government began evacuating
children under the age of 12 to
live with families in the
countryside.
Utilization of Transportation Infrastructure
Underground transportation facilities, such as
railway subways, were used as bomb shelters
One of the first underground
railway stations converted to
bomb shelters during the
night was Picadilly Station,
shown here
Down Street Station Underground Command Center
Down Street UCC as it
appeared during the war (at
right) and today (above)
Home Security Region 5 War Room
Command, communication and
control facilities were moved
underground after the fall of
France in June 1940
The second generation structures were constructed solely as
shelters. This shows the deep level shelters at Belsize Park,
which were accessed by two circular turrets, which contained
elevators and a spiral staircase leading down to the twin tunnels
below.
Pairs of deep tunnel air raid shelters were
constructed beneath existing underground
railways in London after 1942. Each tunnel was
intended to shelter 8,000 people!
The deep tunnel shelter bores were 1400 feet long,
using 16’-6” diameter bores. The government
provided bunks, canteens to serve food, and a
protected air supply. These were upgraded for use as
fallout shelters during the Cold War
The Rotundas in London
The Rotundas were enormous underground
command and control structures, designed to
protect essential government offices for
extended periods of time
By mid-1943 critical Allied facilities for command,
communications, control, and intelligence (C3
I) were
moved to hardened underground structures across
Great Britain.
Ridge Quarry
Old underground mines in
Great Britain were also utilized
for storage of munitions and
other critical war materials
Homeguard Underground Hideouts
After the fall of France in
June 1940, homeguard
units were established
across England. These
units constructed
underground bunkers with
escape tunnels. The
bunkers were to provide
shelter from artillery and
aerial bombardment
Philippine Redoubt 1941-42
The island fortress of
Corregidor held out for
six months, between
December 8, 1941 and
May 6, 1942, exactly as
planned
Red Hill Fuel
Storage Tanks
Pearl Harbor
Construction
began Christmas
1940, and was
completed in
September 1943
Project included 20
cylindrical tanks
100 feet diameter,
250 feet high
Design capacity of
6 million barrels
fuel oil
These were largest and most
complex underground openings
ever constructed up until the late
1960s, when the Japanese began
constructing similar storage
facilities for their strategic oil
reserve.
BOMBING OF GERMANY 1940-45
During World War II 2,700,000
tons of bombs were dropped
on Germany by Great Britain
and the United States, raining
destruction on German
industry and their major cities
Many hardened
objectives
included
extensive
underground
works, such as
the catacombs
at Monte Casino
Monastery in
central Italy.
It was bombed into oblivion by B17s,
B-25s, and B-26 bombers of the
15th Air Force after other attempts to
neutralize it failed.
It was not actually being used as
an OP by German spotters
The Germans were able to direct
accurate artillery fire because Allied
forces limited themselves to using
the established road network, which
the Germans had precisely mapped.
ROUND-THE-CLOCK STRATEGIC BOMBING
German war production plummeted as Allied bombing
increased; persuading the Germans to take their critical
facilities underground
German Underground Openings
Schwalbe
This underground facility was
intended to store 240,000 gallons of
diesel fuel and 50,000 gallons of
aviation gas. The overall tunnel length
was about 3 km. The tunnels were
built by about 500 forced laborers and
prisoners.
The German’s first underground POL storage
facility located the Schwalbe in the Hoenne
Valley. This was part of the German’s
Mineraloelsicherungsplan, created by
excavating tunnels from the Emil rock quarry.
Lachs
Me 262 factory in converted mine at Kahla/Grosseutersdorf, in
Thueringen. Following an old mine, an extensive tunnel system was
built. The whole tunnel system should reach 30 km. The underground
working conditions were very bad; there was not sufficient fresh air.
Seven months after beginning the fresh air problem was not solved.
Most of the work was carried out by 12,000 slave workers; of which 991
deaths were recorded due to malnutrition and accidents.
Junkers aircraft factory near Langenstein and
Halberstadt. By the end of the war the Germans had
lost 4,819 workers through “tunneling accidents” and
another 853 died while building aircraft, because of
the poor ventilation.
The Germans gradually stashed all of their critical materials
underground, including the Deutschebank silver and gold
reserves, shown at left. The photo at right shows Generals
Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton inspecting stolen art treasures
that had been hidden in an old salt mine, discovered by Patton’s
combat engineers.
BUZZ BOMBS
AND
VENGEANCE
WEAPONS
The Germans launched
9,521 V-1 buzz bombs and
3,000+ V-2 rockets at Allied
military and civilian targets
in western Europe and
England.
American proximity AA
rounds saved the day by
downing about 79% of the
V-1s launched by late 1944.
The V-2s could not be
challenged because of
their speed and altitude.
Spitfire fighter chasing a V-1 positioning itself to tip the drone
over with its wingtip
The V-1 fell on a parabolic trajectory
after its engine shut down
The V-2 moved at supersonic speed,
between 1,790 and 3,580 mph
WIESE
The V3 had a barrel length of about 124 meters! The weight of this weapon was 76,000
kg. Every time, the grenade passed one of 32 intermediaries, a new charge of explosives,
stored in the sides, was ignited, so that the grenade gained more and more thrust to an
planned velocity of 1500m/sec., with a range of ~160 km. Actual velocities reached about
1400m/sec. The underground fort was excavated to a depth of more than 100 m and
employed a gun crew of about 1100 soldiers. The fort was projected for 25 guns. In July
1944 an allied air attack destroyed the fort’s entrances using 11,000 lb Tallboy bombs.
Every plan has its Achilles Heel. The Germans were
unable to relocate their electric power plants and oil
refineries underground because of ventilation and space
requirements (e.g. for cracking towers). This limitation
hastened their rapid downfall during the last year of the
Second World War.
PETROLEUM, OIL, AND LUBRICANTS
From April to September 1944, 96% of Germany’s
petroleum, oil and lubricants manufacturing capacity
was destroyed by American strategic bombing
BURIED UTILITIES ABOUND
in BIG CITIES
WARSAW GHETTO REVOLT of 1943
During the Warsaw Ghetto Revolt
of April-May 1943 Jewish fighters
survived fire bombings, gassing,
and flame throwers by hiding in
the underground sewers of
Warsaw.
LARGE DIAMETER SEWERS
There are 6,000 miles of sewers in New York City.
About 75% of these are combined lines, carrying
stormwater runoff as well as sewage, and would be
large enough for a person to pass through.
Most sanitary sewer systems in the USA are
inventoried on existing GIS
Typical layout of a room and
pillar underground mine
In the 1980s inactive underground
mines began to be utilized for
commercial storage and energy
efficient office space
Old limestone quarries
increasingly utilized for
underground climatecontrolled
storage
COLD WAR ERA 1949-1991
Fears of atomic war typified the Cold War era following
World War II, between 1949-91
Construction of a protective bunker for the U.S. Congress began in
early 1959 and took 2 1/2 years to complete, at an estimated cost of
$86 million. The 112,544-square-foot bunker lies 64 feet beneath the
West Virginia wing of The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur
Springs, West Virginia.
At the time, the cover story for the shelter was that The Greenbrier
was constructing a medical clinic. Word first leaked about its
existence in the Washington Post magazine in 1992. The resort is
now a national historic landmark.
GREENBRIER CONGRESSIONAL
BUNKER
The two-story bunker was designed to
house the entire United States Congress
and support staff for forty days in the
event of a nuclear attack on this country.
Emergency
broadcasting
studios
KOREAN INFILTRATION TUNNELS
Tunnel #1 Tunnel #2
Tunnel #3: Notice the rails for muck cars and
water lines emplaced by the North Koreans
View inside Tunnel #4
Detection Methods and Techniques
Boreholes used in exploration for
Tunnel #4 and the intercept adit
constructed by allied forces
U.S. mobile
(skid) drill
rig used in
the rugged
steep terrain
ROK
truck
Mounted
drill rig
used on
the old
access
road
Cutaway view of a typical underground Titan II missile
complex
Control Center Access Portal & Silo
Blast Lock Area
Close up of Launch Control Capsule under construction at
Ellsworth AFB, SD in Sept.1962
Construction of Minuteman Launch Silo B-11 at Whiteman AFB, MO on
June 18, 1962
During the Cold War the Soviets constructed dozens of tunnels
at their submarine bases to shield them from nuclear attack.
Several of these now serve as tourist attractions.
THE VIETCONG TUNNELS OF CHU CHI
WERE CONCENTRATED IN THE IRON
TRIANGLE AREA, WEST OF SAIGON
The Chu Chi tunnels were a serpentine labyrinth of
interconnected openings with multiple levels, separated
by water and air tight trap doors.
The tunnels were excavated in cemented laterite clay
above the water table, which was at -9 m
Today some of the tunnels are set aside as a war
memorial/tourist attraction, intended to commemorate their
success. Here the soil cover has been excavated to reveal
their internal layout and structure.
GEOFORENSICS AND
THE WAR ON TERROR
Geoforensics is the use of
geoscience principles to
solve various mysteries
involving earth and ocean
systems. This includes
applications to engineering
failures as well as crimes
involving our criminal justice
system.
The background in this photo
of the late Osama bin Laden
appears to be a type of karst
feature called "rillenkarren,”
in the Tora Bora Mountains.
Rillenkaren is not altogether
rare, but not that common
either.
KARST FEATURES AND CAVERNS
Approximately 22% of the United States is
underlain by karst
Three-dimensionally complex: Plan view of Mercer
Caverns in California prepared using methods
recommended by the Cave Research Foundation: using
a Suunto compass, inclinometer and fiberglass tape.
Section view of Mercer Caverns
Mapping Underground Openings
Today underground surveying techniques utilize total
station technology, Laser levels, and GPS, allowing for
more accurate mapping than previously possible .
GROUND BASED LiDAR
Ground based LiDAR (Light
Detection and Ranging) allows
precise mapping of convoluted
surfaces, such as bluffs or
caverns.
Abandoned underground openings can be used for both
conventional and irregular warfare, provided their
whereabouts are known and accurately co-located
CONCLUSIONS
The Department of Defense will likely
embark upon a program to inventory
underground openings during the 21st
Century.
These will include ANYTHING that can
shelter a terrorist, such as: basements,
sewers/storm drains, underground tanks,
buried pipelines, old and active
transportation infrastructure, active and
abandoned mines, and natural caverns.
