Dad... dad!
lieutenant woodward.
I'm your new commanding officer.
I'm looking for sergeant simpson.
I can't seem to find my way out.
It's pretty narrow but you'll make it.
You'll find a shaft. Left at the top.
Thank you.
psst.
What's your name, sapper?
Tiffin, sir.
I heard something - just through there.
Hear that?
Listen.
You can hear 'em digging, sir.
- There. Fritz.
They're gonna break through.
Shh, shh!
That's it.
That's your heart.
What?
Feel it.
You're hearing your own heartbeat.
Make sure you clip that little fella's claws.
When does your shift end?
- Don't make me stay.
Please.
You ever play billiards, tom?
- Says who? - Well, ask anyone.
Best billiard players, best horsemen, miners...
bullshitters?
Keep a lid on it, you blokes.
Right.
Dug through to china by now.
Who are you?
Are you fraser?
I'm looking for sergeant simpson.
He's dead.
Sapper?
Norm morris, sir.
- Tom dwyer, sir. - Billy bacon, sir.
- Answers to ‘streaky'.
Where were we?
102 drive left.
Sir.
Show me to the officers' dugout.
Sir. Sir! It's this way.
10 more gone.
Come on, move! Move!
Walking wounded and blind.
Here you go. make way
Come on, sir.
stretcher bearer!
Forward!
Tiffin: Oh! Oh!
Tiffin! Hey, get up!
Get up.
- Come on, son.
This is an officer's dugout.
Woodward?
Bob clayton, northumberland fusiliers.
Oliver woodward, 1st australian tunnellers.
An explosive man, right, woody?
Could blow up at any time.
How long you been here?
Two days. It feels like a year.
We nearly came a-gutser.
A fritz machine gunner got a bead on us.
Yeah, it's boris. It's a farm building.
They call it the red house.
Solid as bloody gibraltar.
They have their own dugouts, you know.
A bit of air will see him right.
You got a home, son?
Wollongong, sir.
Coal miner?
- Gold, right? - Silver, lead. Broken hill.
Sweetheart?
Wife.
Wife?
Sweetheart.
You got a photograph, tiffin?
She's, um...
My mum, sir.
You're not even real soldiers, are you?
Tunnelling under german lines.
Protecting your trenches.
Your point being?
And shot at from in front.
Now they're being mined from underneath.
If the man is wounded, woodward,
either way, he shouldn't be here.
If you want my opinion, neither should you.
Good to feel wanted, eh, tiffin?
Wouldn't like to think we were over here
putting our arses on the line for nothing.
Hides it well.
People do.
Seems a shame to waste this.
oh, rather!
mama!
It's alright, tiffin. It's alright, son.
Hello? Is anybody home?
They don't belong to you, do they?
Oliver, is that you?
Mrs waddell.
Colin, gordon, round the back.
I was hoping i might catch moffat.
Light horse?
Of course.
I could have stayed there forever.
We want to hear all your stories.
Come on, mate.
Is that you, isabel?
At school, we called him ‘captain'.
And were there complaints?
- No, sir. - No.
- Woody, woody, woody! - Yes?
- Can he really? - Watch.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten...
where's he posted now.
Well, we don't know. Egypt, we think.
...sixteen, seventeen...
well, it's copper for the war effort.
...38, 39... Woody!
And it's mr woodward.
- Marjorie. - Mr woodward.
I'll be working at mt morgan mine
- They make them for kids. - No, it's beautiful.
I love it. Thank you.
Doesn't he look wonderful?
It's mr... - mr woodward.
Yes.
May i have some tea, please, mama?
Yes, if you refill the milk jug first.
Yes, mama.
She's so grown-up.
Well, she thinks so
It's alright.
What now.
And my left flank moves forward...
- mr woodward? - Yes?
Bad luck, they reckon.
Well, that's good
it must feel awfully claustrophobic.
It's funny. I quite like it down there.
Really? Why?
Snug.
Hmm. Snug.
- Marjorie!
- Sorry, i... - are you ok?
Yes, i just...
just go and clean yourself up immediately.
I'm so sorry.
16 is a very difficult age.
- You promise me? - I promise.
Right.
Of course. Think nothing of it.
Well, goodbye, all.
Oh!
He got into the lucerne this morning
So, when i arrived i loosened the girth.
Are you sure you're not injured?
No, i'm fine, honestly.
Thank you for the tea, mrs waddell.
Mr waddell.
Oliver.
Isabel.
Anything?
It's just making it darker.
It's not the candle, pull through. It's the air.
Not enough oxygen for it to burn.
Oh, jesus christ!
Could be worse.
Well, they could send us to hill 60.
What's hill 60?
Fritz has got the high ground.
That's just talk, probably.
Shush, you little bugger.
You'll get us all killed.
Norm...
- Aarggh!
Aarggh!
Aaaarggh!
Oh, my god.
Howd you know it wasn't me?
Lucky guess.
Jesus christ.
Is he dead?
Call it even, eh, tommo?
- Shit!
Mcbride.
Location?
Say again.
How many?
Right.
102 drive has been crumped.
Casualties?
Two missing - um, morris and dwyer.
Hows the air?
If they were near the face...
...they may have found an air pocket.
This strata holds up sometimes.
It's pointless - the whole miserable stunt.
- Lively, boys.
Steel soles.
German.
Stupid pricks. Hear 'em coming a mile off.
Mate? - I need you to move back.
Mate, are you alright?
Help me here.
Aarggh!
It's tommo.
Shh!
Hang on, pull through. We'll just...
easy.
Watch out for your specs.
- Easy. Easy.
Morris, can you hear me?
tommo?
- Tommo! - Morris, can you hear me?
Tommo! Tommo's in there.
There's a man buried. Tommo! Tommo! No!
Come on, pull through.
One arrives nearly every day -
no stamp, no return address, of course.
But what do they mean?
That i'm a coward.
Shush now, marjorie.
So, you agree with them?
On the contrary, just a few more feathers
and i'll have a whole chicken.
Isabel!
Are you missing papua?
I worry about the local workers.
If they send the german fleet down...
Marjorie, clear away the plates now.
Yes, mama.
Best put those back, woody.
William...
it's moffat.
Mama?
Isabel, boys, come on. Now, please.
William, tell me.
It's not good news, i'm afraid.
It's just cliffs, isn't it?
Is it not all just cliffs?
I don't know, sir.
I don't know.
Marjorie.
You don't have to go to the war.
I just couldn't bear it.
the point is
been there in the bloody first place.
Still don't know what i heard, but.
Maybe it really was me heart.
Maybe i never heard no germans.
Of course you heard 'em.
Don't make no difference.
- Oh, fuck, man.
Good on you, streaky.
Courtesy of the northumberland fusiliers.
Probably not a good idea, corp.
Mmm.
Tiffin?
- We wasn't. - Well, we was.
Well, you was. You said.
And that's why we kept digging.
Won't be the last either.
- He's alright, he is. - Yeah?
Then why'd he join late?
I was over here, killing germans,
months before his fuckin' number was dry.
Evening.
Stay there.
Surprised to see you here.
Me hearing came back.
Too bad.
- Smoke? - Yeah, thanks.
It's bad luck.
First one, fritz sniper sees you.
Second one, he gets an aim.
Third one, he blows your fuckin' head off.
I'll be writing to tom dwyer's family.
Officer approaching! Attention!
- Woodward? - Yes, sir?
I understand you're a demolition man.
I'm trained in mining explosives, sir, not...
you're aware that the germans
such that they can enfilade our trench?
En... enfilade?
Fire down it lengthwise.
Oh, yes, sir.
Depends where you placed it, sir.
50 pounds.
That'd put you about 70 foot from boris.
Let's have it done before sun-up, 0400.
I'll have the artillery give you one hour.
- Sir. - Sir!
...crossing no-man's-land, setting a charge.
I'll need two men.
I'll go, sir.
- You don't have to, morris. - Want to, sir.
Sit down, tiffin.
I'll go.
Here.
I heard you tunnelling chaps were wombats.
Come up for some air, have you?
Apparently you blokes keep missing.
Set the exploder up over there.
Right. That's us.
They'll start up again at dawn.
Christ.
If a flare goes up, freeze.
Keep one eye closed until the flare drops -
then you'll see better when it's dark again.
Thank you.
- Did your boys cut the wire? - Yeah.
He ain't back yet. I'll cover you.
Let's go.
Fuck!
its boris,alright
right lets go
Ready?
We'll have to go under.
There must be a cellar.
Corp!
Oh, jesus christ.
What? - We're short.
Sir, we could try again tonight.
I think so.
Stay on your bloody stomach
the tommies see any movement.
Oh!
Who's the fastest man in our company?
You need a runner?
Yes.
Yeah, streaky's bloody quick.
Christ.
Is it one of our boys?
Poor bastard.
Stay here.
Morris will be back any minute now.
Fraser: Wait.
Wait, sir!
Who are you?
- Clayton?
- Where did they get you?
- Mary, mary.
- Ok? Everything's ok.
Come on. Come on, captain.
Come on.
Help.
Field dressing.
Christ.
No! Wait.
- Bastard's got a pattern. - Thanks, mate.
Captain.
Just pray they haven't broken.
thank you.
Sir, are you wounded?
I don't think so.
- Hello, mr woodward. - Marjorie.
How is everything at home?
We're coping.
They've formed a mining battalion.
It's a secret, i think.
They're looking for miners and engineers.
I've joined up.
In a few weeks, i'll be leaving for training,
i see.
Marjorie, i'm nearly 10 years your senior.
You're only 16.
I'll be 17 in a month.
I signed the papers this morning.
I would be happy if you wrote to me...
then you must first ask my father.
Thank you for taking the trouble to see me.
Come in close.
Our left flank.
Man:
Boom, boom, out right!
Go, go, go, go!
One man down. Get up.
- Man: Ok, mark.
Come on. Turn it up. Get back.
Pass it! Pass it! Get out of here!
- Get onside! - Get in there! Come on! Tackle!
Scrum.
Pack it in, boys. Come in hard.
It's out! It's out!
Push! Push out! Run!
- Come on, billy! Go, billy!
- Man: I'm with you, billy.
- Billy, go! - Go, streaky!
Six points to three.
d parlez-vous?
D they'll stick your finger up your bum... d
d hinky-dinky, parlez-vous?
Well done, sir.
Thank you, sergeant fraser.
Hey, sarge!
As you were!
We're moving up the line.
We load up at midnight.
Get to move up the line.
Where we heading, sir?
Belgium.
Hill 60.
Better get your gear.
Righto, you blokes. Let's go.
I nearly forgot - a present from fritz.
He said to say, ‘‘thanks for all your help."
Cheers, mate.
You'll be right, lads.
Thanks, mate.
Too early for the grey hen, sir?
Never too early.
- I'm right. - Take 'em.
You're just skin and bones.
Come on, son.
Decent fit.
My elsa's a first-rate knitter.
Don't i know it? And he's still growing.
You join up together?
And he's quit the pits and joined up.
Yep
Well, you can't unjoin.
So, after walt went to bed, i said to elsa,
elsa didn't know what was worse -
Stay low! Stay low!
Stay here!
He said that way!
Or south to hill 60?
Fraser! This way!
Let's go!
Keep down!
Come on, boys!
Get up! Go!
Where are the others?
Sir!
We left the bloody kids behind.
Who's missing?
Young sneddon, tiffin and bacon.
Walter!
walt!
- Arggh!
He's got the high ground.
walter!
Over here!
Oh, fuck!
We've missed it.
Sap's over to the right. About 25 yards.
You ready?
Walt, we can't stay here, mate.
Tell you what,
i'll go to the left and draw crabs.
I'm twice as fast as you blokes.
Probably make it before youse do.
Come on, walt!
- Stay low! - Tiffin!
Walt!
Over here, mate!
Come on.
Streaky's still out there!
Billy!
Billy bacon!
Streaky!
They're home!
- Streaky! - Streaky!
- Run!
- Billy! - Go on, billy!
- Billy! - Come on, billy!
- Run, billy! - Come on!
Arggh!
Stretcher!
Stretcher bearers!
Streaky?
Oh, this is god's flamin' handiwork, is it?
Grab his disc and pay book.
We'll bury him in the morning.
Come on, frank.
Captain woodward.
1st australian tunnellers.
- Mcbride! - Captain mcbride, actually.
Where you been? Been waiting for hours.
Hell of a place, eh?
Your men can bunk down in there.
Couple of hours?
Gee, sir. They'll turn soft on you.
Come on!
Have you seen the tunnels?
You've got a big surprise in store for you.
Come on.
Officers' dugout's down this way.
Wetter in here than it is out there.
More rats than in frickin' france.
At least they're belgian rats.
Change is as good as a holiday.
At least we're back underground.
And we'll be staying underground.
One way or another.
What's that supposed to mean?
This is how it goes from now on.
We'll be dodging shells and shrapnel
like poor old streaky.
And it's no game of skill down here, neither.
Or buried alive for our fucking troubles.
Well, that cheered us all up.
Mr waddell.
Oliver.
When do you set off?
About three weeks.
Right, well... you'd better come in, then.
Actually...
...i'd like to ask you something.
And...
- i know. - Damn it.
oh.
- Emma. - What?
Your walk?
Aye.
If you'd care to come?
Oh... of course.
When i get back...
...i'll take you walking every day.
Ja.
Can't see it.
Keep going.
Mate, can i have a bo-peep?
- Yeah, help yourself. - Thanks.
Hey, pull through. Hill 60 - take a look.
Is that it?
So, why ‘berlin sap'?
They reckon it almost reaches berlin.
This whole area is below sea level.
Was?
Now it's ours.
we're 90 feet down now.
Right below german lines.
Hill 60 is directly above us.
Eh, eh, eh? Shh-shh. Shh.
The blue clay of flanders.
Beautiful.
Major north, 3rd canadian tunnellers.
Fritz has set up in the swim sand.
He can't get at us. Oh, no, no, no.
If you will.
53,000 pounds of ammonal high explosive.
8,000 pounds of guncotton.
No, nobody has. Nobody.
500 feet down there is a caterpillar mine.
That one's 70,000 pounds.
There's 21 of them.
Nearly a million pounds of ammonal.
Mm-hm?
You know, when this thing blows,
Mm-hm.
And keep it secret from fritz.
No, no, no. No. Fritz has got no idea.
He thinks we're digging wells.
Well, this'll finish the war.
End it altogether.
Think of that, huh?
When do they plan to detonate?
They're pulling me out.
It's up to you now.
It's all up to you.
Poor bugger.
Yeah, he sleeps down here.
So, when are they gonna blow them?
No-one knows.
Well, i'm a miner not a general...
...but i reckon it's simple arithmetic.
But if they think there's an attack coming,
and kill thousands.
Time it right,
tens of thousands.
Nein.
Ja.
Jim, check every prop and every stay,
- take walter and ginger. Sir.
- I'll do the same for caterpillar. - Righto.
- Take percy. - Righto.
Fraser, you check the water line.
I want to know the depth from the surface.
- Take tiffin with you. - Sir.
Come on, tiffin.
To the left. Yeah.
Come out!
Bit bloody close.
Sniper shell, by the size of it.
Would have made a mess of your melon.
Only his smile left.
How old are you?
16.
Keep me away from the horrors of war.
Over here.
Stretcher bearer!
- Alright, come on. Let's go.
Water seeps down, pools above the clay.
Just to keep the water level down.
If we lose even a few of those men,
bloody mines'll be useless.
That's oak.
Me dad's a carpenter.
Get out of them bloody pits.
Church?
Cathedral. Ypres cathedral.
Probably.
And get the water out that way?
The whole middle section is unstable.
Shaft walls collapse after about six feet.
We propose sinking a shaft
rutledge?
This is over 90 feet deep.
The new ones will, sir.
This is not a new idea, sir.
Have you been down there, colonel?
Alright. That will be all.
- How. - We don't dig from the surface, sir.
And hide the blue clay.
Captain woodward, 20 feet down
you are wrong, colonel!
We'll use steel sections to control the water
and stop the walls collapsing.
We use jacks from the roof of the gallery
to force the steel sections downwards.
- Rough estimate? How long?
Three weeks, give or take.
Go, go, go!
Go! Keep going.
Aarggh!
- Aarggh!
One more.
Yep.
Shh. Shh.
We're nearly there.
Bucket it out. Get those jacks back up.
Drive it further into the clay.
It's going, sir.
Not exactly gushing.
What's happening, tiffin?
It seems to be working.
Ridiculous.
Must be too much pressure.
I'm sure we...
full report by the morning.
Yes!
And two diversion tunnels.
- What diversion tunnels? - I'll show you, sir.
There's no need.
- It's no trouble. - There is no need.
I think fritz is coming at us again.
That means it's working.
He's been quiet for four minutes.
I reckon he could be ready to blow.
Let them.
Is it just the two of you down there?
- Just me, sir. - Where's walt?
He's up getting me a billy of tea.
What? He abandoned his post?
- No, he just... - put it on the report.
Why aren't you at your post?
Sir, the listeners have permission...
i know the orders, captain!
Get back down there.
Sir...
jim.
Jim!
Dad!
Jim!
- Dad!
Daddy, can you hear me? Dad!
Amen.
Sir?
I've been wanting to give you this...
...for that girl of yours, sir.
I made it from that wood you liked...
...from the cathedral.
It's beautiful.
By a nice young chap named frank tiffin.
And thank him for his handiwork.
- What is it? - Not sure.
15 degrees, about 20ft forward, 15ft down.
Nothing.
An attack tunnel?
No, it's different.
No. Can't be.
Man: Come on!
Come on!
Du, nach oben.
Woodward? Woodward?
Woodward!
Captain woodward, get up!
That's in 36 hours.
Sir.
There'll be 21 blasts in all.
Yours will be the final two in the sequence.
It's critical to the entire operation
yes, sir.
Firing orders.
Attention.
All quiet, sir, apart from a few squeaks.
- Rats? - Probably.
Why do you say that?
Where?
Lower listening post, berlin sap.
Windlass.
It's a shaft.
Right here.
That's right on top of the mine at hill 60.
- I've calculated the depth... - yes.
63 feet, sir.
We blow in 10 hours.
I hold you personally responsible.
Do what you have to do, woodward.
- That's just above the mine. - Yes.
That's suicidal.
That's an order, sergeant.
Let's go.
Come on, let's go!
They're 10 feet forward, 15 feet up.
Morris.
Check it again.
Mm-hm.
29 minutes.
I'm going back down.
Clear, please.
Out of the way!
Some tea coming.
on three.
One...
...two...
...three.
They're almost on top of us.
I've gotta set the charge.
No. That'll set off the main mine.
Wait till they're a few feet away.
Then use the camouflet.
A few feet?
Another four feet forward.
There's no time.
Four feet forward, fraser.
Then set the charge.
set the charge.
Finish the backing, boys.
They did it.
I'm coming home.
Voomp!
- Splat!
Go easy, boys.
Load up. Let's get out of here.
Nein, nein! Schnell! Schnell!
- All clear below. - Yes, sir.
The german shaft has been crumped.
All circuits are complete.
Five minutes!
five minutes!
Five minutes!
This is our great occasion.
- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.
Good luck.
Four minutes to go.
- Did it easy. - Yeah.
Man buried!
- Who is it? - It's tiffin! He's back there!
Fuck.
Go! Go!
Tiffin!
Sarge?
I'll get them to hold the mine.
Well, what do we do?
Tiffin!
just go.
No point in all of us dying.
Fraser will get them to stop!
We'll come back when we know!
Righto!
'Bye, tiffin!
Come on, walt! Come on!
Cheerio, lads.
One minute!
Out of the way, please! Move!
fuckin' move!
Fix bayonets!
Fraser: Out of the way! Move!
Out of the way! Make way!
Out of the fuckin' way!
20 seconds!
Out of the way! Move! Out of the way!
- Out of the fuckin' way! - 15 seconds!
Tiffin's still in there.
- What happened? - Collapse.
Sir, please.
10 seconds!
- He's still alive. - Nine!
Eight!
We'd have him out in a few minutes.
Seven!
Six!
Five!
Four!
Three!
Woodward! - Two!
for christ's sake! It's tiffin!
Fire!
Feel it?
You're hearing your own heartbeat.
Woodward. People are waiting.
Woody, are you alright?
- I'm fine.
I'll be out shortly.
You right?