Background
In siege warfare, tunnelling is a long-held tactic for breaching and breaking enemy defences. The Greek historian Polybius, in his Histories, described accounts of mining during Philip V of Macedon's siege of the town of Prinassos; there is also a graphic account of mining and counter-mining at the Roman siege of Ambracia.
Mining was also a method used in siege warfare in ancient China from at least the Warring States (481–221 BC) period forward. When attackers attempted to dig tunnels under walls for mining or entry into the city. The defenders used large bellows (the type the Chinese commonly used for heating up blast furnaces for smelting cast iron), to pump smoke into the tunnels in order to suffocate the intruders.
In 1215 during the First Barons' War, John, King of England laid siege to Rochester Castle. Eventually, he ordered his troops to dig a tunnel under the south tower, which they held up with pit props. After the tunnellers lit the props, the tower fell down, ending the siege even though the castle's main walls remained standing.
In 1346, Edward III of England requested that miners from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire accompany his expedition to France, during the first part of the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
The Corps of Royal Engineers were formed in 1717. In 1770, the Company of Soldier Artificers formed a specialist tunnelling troop in Gibraltar to dig defensive positions into the Rock.
During the Siege of Lucknow in 1857, Royal Engineers were asked to undertake counter-mining.
Read more about this topic: Tunnelling Companies Of The Royal Engineers
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