Hill 60 at Zillebeke is one of the most physically legible First World War battlefields around Ypres. It is not a natural hill. It was created from spoil excavated during nineteenth-century railway construction, yet its height of about 60 metres above sea level made it tactically important in the flat southern Ypres Salient. British and German forces fought over it repeatedly, and the underground mining war transformed the site into a landscape of craters, collapsed galleries and concrete positions.

The most important dates are April and May 1915, when British troops captured and then lost the hill during fierce fighting, and 7 June 1917, when the huge mines at Hill 60 and the nearby Caterpillar were detonated as part of the opening of the Battle of Messines. Today the surface remains uneven and deliberately preserved. Hill 60 is therefore a place to read the ground, not simply to look at a memorial.

Why sixty metres mattered

Visitors from hillier countries can look at Hill 60 and wonder why armies cared so much about such a modest rise. The answer lies in Flanders itself. Around Ypres, a few metres of elevation can open long views across otherwise flat ground.

Observation was one of the foundations of artillery warfare. An observer on higher ground could identify roads, troop movement, batteries and supply activity and then direct artillery fire onto them. Losing an observation point could therefore affect a much wider sector than the few hundred metres immediately around it.

How the railway created the battlefield

In the nineteenth century a railway line was cut through the ground south-east of Ypres. Earth removed from the cutting was deposited beside it, creating artificial mounds. Hill 60 was one of these features. Nearby, another spoil mound became known as the Caterpillar because of its elongated shape on maps and from the air.

The railway and the spoil mounds were civilian engineering works. War gave them military meaning. The cutting provided cover and movement routes, while the high points became observation positions. This is a good example of how armies adapted ordinary infrastructure to battlefield needs.

1914: the hill becomes part of the front

During the First Battle of Ypres the front stabilized around the southern part of the salient. Control of the Hill 60 area shifted as the armies entrenched and refined their positions. By early 1915 the Germans held the high point.

Direct infantry assault against a fortified observation position was difficult. The British response was to go underground.

Mining warfare before the great mines of 1917

Underground warfare did not begin at Hill 60 in 1917. Mining and counter-mining were already central to the site in 1915. Tunnellers drove galleries beneath enemy positions, packed chambers with explosives and attempted to destroy strongpoints from below.

The enemy was doing the same. Listening became a military skill. Men used geophones and simpler listening methods to detect picks and shovels through clay. A faint sound could mean an enemy gallery was only metres away. Once detected, a tunnel might be attacked with a counter-mine.

17 April 1915: the British attack

On 17 April 1915 British mines were detonated beneath German positions and infantry attacked the hill. The explosions destroyed sections of the German defence and created craters that could themselves become defensive features. British troops captured the summit.

Holding it proved as difficult as taking it. The Germans could concentrate artillery and counter-attacks onto the exposed position. Trenches were smashed, men crowded into crater lips for cover and control of individual pieces of ground changed repeatedly.

The Queen Victoria's Rifles

The Queen Victoria's Rifles became closely associated with the April 1915 fighting. Their memorial remains on Hill 60. The unit suffered heavily while helping to hold the captured position against German counter-attacks.

A memorial like this is most meaningful when placed back into the terrain. It is not simply a regimental marker. It stands on the ground where the unit's wartime identity was shaped.

Gas and the German recapture in May 1915

During the renewed struggle for the hill in early May, German forces used chlorine gas against British defenders. Gas had already been introduced on a large scale north of Ypres during the Second Battle of Ypres. At Hill 60 it added another weapon to an already violent combination of artillery, mines, machine guns and infantry assault.

The Germans retook the hill. The British had demonstrated that mining could rupture the position, but they had not solved the larger problem of holding exposed high ground under enemy artillery observation.

What was it like to tunnel under Hill 60?

Tunnelling was specialized work. The men often came from coal mines, metal mines, engineering backgrounds and construction. Underground they dealt with clay, water, bad air, cramped galleries and the constant possibility that the enemy was listening only a short distance away.

Silence mattered. In suitable clay, tunnellers used techniques such as “clay kicking,” working with special tools while lying or sitting in confined positions. Excavated material had to be removed without revealing activity on the surface. Ventilation systems supplied air deeper into galleries.

Death underground could come without warning. A counter-mine could collapse a gallery. Gas or bad air could suffocate men. Water could flood workings. Rescue itself was dangerous.

The long preparation for Messines

By 1916 and 1917 British planners were preparing an underground attack on a completely different scale along the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge. Tunnelling companies created deep galleries beneath German positions and charged large mine chambers.

The work required months of secrecy. Existing mine systems had to be protected from German counter-mining. At Hill 60 and the Caterpillar, the underground contest was particularly intense.

The Australian tunnellers

Australian tunnellers became responsible for the Hill 60 and Caterpillar mine systems before the Battle of Messines. The 1st Australian Tunnelling Company inherited difficult underground work and had to maintain the galleries while preventing German discovery.

This is why Hill 60 carries a strong Australian connection even though the 1915 surface fighting was largely British. For Australians, the site belongs to the story of specialized engineering and mining as much as infantry combat.

7 June 1917: the mines are fired

In the early hours of 7 June 1917, mines were detonated beneath German positions along the Messines front. Nineteen mine explosions are conventionally counted as part of the opening attack. Two major charges were associated with Hill 60 and the Caterpillar.

The explosions were followed immediately by artillery and infantry assault. The aim was not merely to create spectacular craters. The mines destroyed or disorganized German strongpoints at the exact moment Allied infantry moved forward.

Do not repeat the “heard in London” story as proven fact

A famous story says the Messines explosions were heard in London and even heard by Prime Minister David Lloyd George in Downing Street. The story has been repeated for generations, but the documentary basis is weak. The old live page already warned that it is more legend than securely proven fact.

The improved version keeps that caution. The mines were enormous and their psychological effect was extraordinary. They do not need an unsupported London anecdote to make the story impressive.

The Caterpillar: Hill 60's other half

The Caterpillar lies close to Hill 60 and should be understood as part of the same tactical landscape. Its elongated pre-war spoil mound gave it the nickname. A large mine was fired beneath the position on 7 June 1917, leaving the crater that dominates the site today.

Visitors who see only Hill 60 miss part of the mining story. The railway cutting, Hill 60 and Caterpillar together reveal why artificial landscape features could become military objectives.

Walk the battlefield
Hill 60 makes sense when you read the ground
Connect the railway cutting, Hill 60, the Caterpillar and the underground war with the wider story of the southern Ypres Salient.
Explore Hill 60 on a Private Battlefield Tour
Private tour · Battlefield maps · Historic photographs on the ground

What caused the craters?

Not every depression at Hill 60 has the same origin. The ground suffered shellfire, trench construction, smaller mines, major mines and later erosion. The huge 1917 mine explosions are part of the visible landscape, but it is too simplistic to label every hollow as one named mine crater.

The broader point is that the surface is a surviving battlefield palimpsest. Its irregularity records repeated destruction.

Concrete structures on the site

Concrete remains survive among the cratered ground. Some are associated with German defensive construction. Over a century of weathering and damage means they should be observed rather than entered.

Concrete pillboxes matter because they explain a major tactical development of the Ypres fighting. Earth trenches could be obliterated by artillery. Reinforced concrete positions had a better chance of surviving and becoming the hard points around which defence continued.

The landscape is the memorial

Hill 60 feels different from Tyne Cot or the Menin Gate because the principal historical object is the ground itself. There are memorials, but the craters and uneven surface dominate the experience.

This is rare around Ypres. Much of the battlefield was returned to agriculture after 1918. Shell holes were filled, trenches levelled and fields drained. Hill 60 escaped that complete return to normality. The surviving scars allow a visitor to see a battlefield surface rather than imagine one beneath a ploughed field.

Unexploded ordnance and why you stay on the path

The Ypres Salient still produces unexploded ammunition during farming and construction. Preserved battlefield sites deserve particular caution because the ground has not been comprehensively disturbed in the way ordinary farmland has.

Never dig, remove metal objects or climb fences. A rusted object may be ammunition rather than a harmless souvenir. The correct battlefield habit is simple: look, do not touch.

Hill 60 in 1918

The story did not end after Messines. In spring 1918 German offensives forced the British to abandon or lose ground around parts of the Ypres Salient. Later in the year Allied forces advanced again during the final campaigns.

This later history matters because preserved sites can freeze visitors mentally in one famous year. Hill 60 was a military position across several phases of the war, not merely a 1917 mine crater.

How to read Hill 60 on the ground

Start with the railway cutting. It explains why the hill exists. Then identify the main high ground and look for the relationship with the Caterpillar. Walk the permitted paths slowly and notice how limited the distances are. Mining warfare occurred beneath a battlefield compact enough to cross on foot in minutes.

Use a trench map if possible. Underground diagrams are even more useful because the most important part of Hill 60 is invisible. Several levels of galleries once existed beneath your feet.

How long to spend

Twenty minutes is enough for a quick walk. Forty-five minutes is more realistic if you want to understand the railway, the 1915 fighting, the mining system, memorials and the 1917 Messines connection.

Combine Hill 60 with the Messines Ridge, Caterpillar, Sanctuary Wood or Hooge if you want to understand the southern salient. Polygon Wood lies farther north-east and shifts the story into Third Ypres.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hill 60 a natural hill?
No. It was created from spoil excavated during nineteenth-century railway construction.

Why was Hill 60 important?
Its elevation gave valuable observation over the southern Ypres Salient, allowing artillery observers to see movement and positions across otherwise flat ground.

When did the major fighting happen?
Important fighting took place in April and May 1915. Hill 60 was also part of the mining preparation for the Battle of Messines, whose mines were fired on 7 June 1917.

Who dug the 1917 mines at Hill 60?
The mine system passed through several tunnelling units. The 1st Australian Tunnelling Company was responsible for maintaining and preparing the Hill 60 and Caterpillar mines before they were fired in June 1917.

Were the Messines explosions really heard in London?
That story is famous but not securely documented. It is better treated as a wartime or post-war legend rather than a proven fact.

Can visitors leave the paths or enter bunkers?
No. Stay on marked routes, do not enter unsafe concrete structures and never disturb or collect battlefield objects because unexploded ammunition remains a real hazard.