s the battalion headquarters and provided sleeping accommodation for the officers. On the Western Front the military got specialist miners to dig tunnels under No Mans Land. The main objective was to place mines beneath enemy defensive positions. When it was detonated the explosion would destroy that section of the trench. The infantry would then advance towards the enemy front-line hoping to take advantage of the confusion that followed the explosion of an underground mine. Soldiers in the trenches developed different strategies to discover enemy tunneling. One method was to drive a stick into the ground and hold the other end between the teeth and feel any underground vibrations. As well as digging their own tunnels the miners had to listen out for enemy tunnellers. On occasions miners accidentally dug into the opposing side's tunnel and an underground fight took place. When an enemy's tunnel was found it was usually destroyed by placing an explosive charge inside. Running out ahead of the front-line trenches on No-Mans Land were narrow, shallow, trenches or listening posts. These trenches were about 30 yards long. Small groups of soldiers were sent to the listening post and were given the order of finding out about the enemy. This included information about enemy patrols, wiring parties, or sniper positions. No Man's Land is the term used by soldiers to describe the ground between the two opposing trenches. Its width along the Western Front could vary a great deal. The narrowest gap was at Zonnebeke where British and German soldiers were only about seven yards apart (Livesey). No Man's Land contained a lot of barbed wire. In the areas most likely to be attacked there were ten belts of barbed wire just before the front-line trenches. In some places the wire was more than a 100 feet deep. If the area had been in a lot of action No Man's Land would be full of broken and abandoned equipment. After an attack No Man's Land would also have...
