[KISAH MISTERI] Uncovering World War I Death Tunnel Puzzle Page all

KOMPAS.com – Important discoveries from the Great War or World War I were last found in France in the 1970s.

But thanks to the father and son team work of local historians, the entrance to the Winterberg tunnel on the Chemin des Dames battlefield has been found.

They found more than 270 German soldiers lying for more than a century. Its location in the forest on a ridge not far from the city of Reims.

Due to the chaos of the war, their previous location was a mystery that the French and German authorities did not reveal.

They died in the most excruciating way imaginable.

Also read: 1000 Kg World War II Bomb Detonated, Residents Still Fleeing

Trapped alive

In the spring of 1917, France launched an offensive to recapture the hilly region located on the west-east line, a few miles north of the river Aisne.

The Germans by then had controlled the hilly areas along the Chemin des Dames for more than two years. They have a complex underground defense system.

Near the Village of Craonne, the Winterberg tunnel stretches 300m from the north side of the summit. This tunnel was not visible to the French.

Its use was to supply a trench for German soldiers to shelter on a slope facing south.

On 4 May 1917, France launched an artillery attack targeting both ends of the tunnel. They launched an observation balloon to look at the north-facing slopes.

This time, their accuracy was incredible.

A projectile fired from the cannon hit the entrance. This attack triggers an explosion of ammunition stored there.

Another projectile closed the exit.

Inside, the German troops from the 10th and 11th companies of the 111th Reserved Regiment were trapped.

Over the next six days, the oxygen got thinner. They start to suffocate or kill themselves. Some asked fellow soldiers to kill themselves.

Also read: [Cerita Dunia] Ice cream was popular when alcohol was banned in America before World War II

Safe story

The three men lasted long enough to be taken out by rescuers, only a day before the crest was abandoned.

One of them, Karl Fisser, left a record of regimental history. Its contents tell the terrible experience of days without water trapped in the tunnel.

“Everyone asks for water, but in vain. Death is laughing at and death guards the barricades, so no one can escape.”

“Some raved about the rescue, others asked for water. A colleague lay on the ground next to me desperately asking someone to load the gun. “

When France took the territory, the scene was unimaginable chaos and destruction.

Digging tunnels was hardly a priority, so they abandoned it.

The Germans reclaimed the Chemin des Dames at a later date. But at that point they didn’t have time to search for their surviving remains.

At the end of the war, no one was sure where the Winterberg tunnels actually were.

Since it was not the corpse of the French soldier that was inside, it was decided to leave the body lying there.

It was in the same condition as many of the other bodies still lying undiscovered along the Western Front.

Also read: First AIDS Patient Claimed by Starving World War I Soldier

Search again

The forest grew back and artillery shells became popular spots for those taking their dogs on walks.

But a local named Alain Malinowski couldn’t help but think about the tunnel.

The man, who had worked on the Paris metro in the 1990s, made daily trips to the capital. He used his spare time to visit the military archives at Château de Vincennes.

Over the course of 15 years he collected descriptions, maps and documents of the detainees’ interrogations. But his efforts were fruitless.

The place had been badly damaged by bombing. So it is difficult to compare with the information or information that was previously available.

It wasn’t until 2009 that he came across a contemporary map that shows not only the tunnels, but also the two trails that have survived to this day.

Carefully, he measured the angle and distance and arrived at what was now a small, anonymous forest.

“I felt it. I knew it was close. I knew the tunnel was somewhere under my feet,” Alain Malinowski told the newspaper. The world.

Also read: Viral on TikTok, 110 Years Old Great-Grandmother Performs Popular Songs from World War I Era

Illegal excavation

For 10 years nothing happened. Alain has already informed the authorities. But there was no follow up. They have no interest in mass graves left over from war.

Until finally this discovery was continued by his son, Pierre Malinowski. This 34-year-old man is a former soldier who used to work for Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Now he runs a foundation in Moscow. The institute is dedicated to tracking war victims from the Napoleonic era and other eras.

Angered by the convoluted bureaucracy, Pierre took the initiative to open the tunnel. It’s illegal, but he thinks it’s worth the punishment.

One night in January last year, he led a team carrying an excavator to a place his father had identified.

They dug four meters away. What they found proved that hundreds of soldiers were indeed at the entrance to the tunnel.

There are bells that are used to sound the alarm; hundreds of gas mask cylinders; ammunition rails, two automatic pistols, rifle, bayonet and two bodies.

“It’s like Pompeii. Nothing’s moving,” one team member told BBC.

Pierre Malinowski then covered the hole, leaving the place as anonymous as he found it, and he contacted the authorities.

Ten months later, again frustrated by the slow pace of the official response, he made the findings public The world.

Also read: Biden Calls Death Victims of Covid-19 in the US the Same as World War II Deaths

Breaking the law

It can be said that Pierre Malinowski is not a popular figure in the world of archeology and history.

The scientist in this field actually assesses that what Malinowski did was not just a violation of the law.

The problem is he has acted without authority. He also put aside the argument that the dead are better off resting where they are.

Meanwhile the government was forced to open the tunnel or at least protect the tunnel.

His actions actually triggered the emergence of other independent excavations. Most of it is done only for the motive of obtaining a valuable object.

Official authorities are clearly reluctant to continue investigations. This was disclosed by a spokesperson for the German War Cemetery (VDK), Diane Tempel-Barnett.

“To be honest we are not too excited about the discovery. In fact we feel this is very unfortunate,” he told German radio.

It’s hard to imagine the Commonwealth of War Cemeteries Commission adopting a similar policy if the bodies of 270 British soldiers are found.

But then the First World War was often described in Germany as a “forgotten war.”

Also read: After 76 years, US World War II Veterans Meet Again with 3 Little Children Who He Almost Killed

Identification problems

In fact, efforts are being made to trace the descendants of those who died in the tunnels. Several were found.

The 111th Regiment recruited men from the Baden region in the Swabian Alps, and nine soldiers who died on 4 and 5 May 1917 have been identified.

“If I can help a family trace ancestors who died in the tunnels, that would be very beneficial,” said Mark Beirnaert, a genealogist and Great War researcher.

He hoped the bodies could be taken out and identified by their IDs.

“Ideally, they would leave this terrifying cold tomb and be buried together as soldiers.”

That’s what happened to more than 400 German soldiers who were found in 1973. They died in a similar tunnel in Mont Cornillet east of Reims.

Pierre Malinowski also hopes they are given the award they deserve.

“They are farmers, hairdressers, bank officials who come voluntarily to fight and then die in ways we can’t understand,” he said.

He was very careful in respecting human remains. The corpse he found had been returned to the ground. He won’t let them be photographed.

Apart from the solidarity of the soldiers, for him it also has its charms.

“The corpses will be preserved, so that they become like mummies, with skin and hair and uniforms.

According to him, it should be remembered that the tunnel was where the soldiers lived from day to day. So their daily items are all there.

Each soldier has a story to tell. It would be the largest repository of remains from the First World War.

Also read: South Korean Court Orders Japan to Compensate World War II Sex Slaves

Threat of looting

The urgent question that arises then, what to do next after the discovery of this body?

The governments of the two countries are still discussing this matter. The first possibility was that the body was immediately removed and buried in a German war cemetery.

Another option is to carry out large-scale archaeological excavations at the site. With the aim to learn more about war and the lives of people in wartime.

But the time is running out. If the location of the tunnel was still a secret in theory, then the secret was poorly kept secret.

The problem is that when the two historians revisited the place a few days ago, it seemed that the looters had just been there the night before.

A hole three meters deep was dug near the entrance. Collections of wartime artifacts, axes, shovels and projectile marks, were left piling up.

Also found the human cubit, the forearm bone. The looters didn’t seem to have made it into the deeper tunnels.

But no one doubted the thief would return. The reason is believed, whoever enters the Winterberg tunnel first, they will find a treasure.

– .