In World War I, the Flanders village of Hooge belonged to one of the easternmost sectors of the Ypres Salient, which made it the site of intense and sustained fighting between German and Allied forces. From 1914 the front line of the Salient ran through the Hooge area and there was almost constant fighting in the area over the next three years, during which the village was totally destroyed.

Hooge was the site of a château which was used by the British Army as the divisional headquarters for the area. Several senior British officers from the 1st and 2nd Divisions were killed when the Château de Hooge was shelled by German units on 31 October 1914. German forces attacked the château from 24 May 1915, and, despite the detonation of a mine by the 175th Tunnelling Company (operating with the 3rd Division) on 19 July 1915, leaving a massive crater, took control of the château and the surrounding area on 30 July. This mine was only the second British offensive underground attack in the Ypres Salient; 173rd Tunnelling Company had blown five mines at Hill 60 on 17 April 1915, but none of these mines were even half as powerful as the Hooge charge. Following the detonation of the mine on 19 July 1915, the Château de Hooge and the craters (being strategically important in relatively flat countryside) were taken by the British 6th Division on 9 August.

The area was reclaimed by the Germans on 16 June 1916 and retaken by the British on 31 July 1917 when the 8th Division managed to push past it by about a mile. Several large craters from underground mines were blown over the course of the 1917 fighting. The Germans retook Hooge in April 1918 as part of the Spring Offensive but were expelled from the area by the British on 28 September as the Offensive faltered. The Château de Hooge was completely destroyed along with the entire village.

Source: Wikipedia

Hooge Crater Museum

In the summer of 1915, the British positions around Hooge have become precarious. From their vantage point the Germans here have a good view over the British frontline. With a limited but well targeted attack, the British try to eliminate German strongholds. On 19 July 1915 they detonate a charge of 1,700 kilograms of explosives in a tunnel that had been driven by the special Tunnelling Companies of the Royal Engineers. Immediately after the explosion the allies rush the crater in order to consolidate their advance. Later it was referred to as ‘the Hooge Crater’.

The small church in which the museum is established dates from the twenties of the 20th century. It was built across the road of Hooge Crater Cemetery in commemoration of the scores of soldiers killed here in the area during the first world war. In the years 1992-1993 the church and the adjacent community school were bought by the family De Smul-Ceuninck, thus saving the buildings from decay through thorough renovation. Inside the church is now the museum, while the former school houses the theme café. The museum Hooge Crater opened its doors on Easter 1994. From the first of January 2009, the museum has become the property of Niek and Ilse Benoot-Watteyne. It’s a private war museum which exhibits World War One collections in an appropriate setting.

Source: www.hoogecrater.com

Hooge Crater

A large crater was blown at Hooge in July 1915. This was a relatively quiet period on the British part of the Western Front when few major assaults were made. However, the average casualty rate for the British and Commonwealth forces was around 300 men per day. Hooge, having been earlier lost, had been retaken in May 1915.

Lieutenant Geoffrey Cassels was the officer in charge of tunnelling and laying the mine at Hooge. The 175 Tunnelling Company completed the work in just five and a half weeks. Compared to the months of preparation before the mines used in the Battle of Messines in 1917, this was quick work.

The first attempt at tunnelling for the mine, starting from within a stable, failed, because the earth was too sandy. A second shaft was sunk from the ruins of a gardener’s cottage nearby. The tunnellers reached blue clay and made good progress. The main tunnel was 190 feet long, with a branch off after about 70 feet, this second tunnel running a further 100 feet on. The intention was to blow two charges under concrete fortifications which the Germans were constructing, although the smaller tunnel was found to be somewhat off course.

The mines were laid using the explosive ammonal, as well as gunpowder and guncotton. The largest mine of the war so far was blown on the 19th of July at 7 p.m. – but not before a German shell had severed the detonator wires only a few minutes before. They had to be rapidly repaired. The crater made was estimated at 120 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The crater was captured by men from the 1/Gordon Highlanders and 4/Middlesex. Ten of the latter were killed by debris from the mine as they waited in advanced positions.

Lt. Cassels was almost arrested shortly afterwards because of this, although subsequently he was awarded the Military Cross, and praised for his efforts. The German losses from the mine were estimated to be several hundred.

Source: World War One Battlefields

Hooge Cemetery

Hooge Crater Museum (above image courtesy Wikipedia)

Hooge Crater