Red Dragon Crater

#OTD 22nd June 1916

2 RWF at Red Dragon Crater

The battalion had just returned to the trenches in the Givenchy area of France.  Shortly after 1.30 am the largest German mine of the war was detonated under B Company, many of whose members were buried alive.  The blast was followed by an enemy raid which was repulsed in hand-to-hand fighting.  The company suffered about 100 casualties.  Some men lay out in the open, exposed to German fire, until after dark.  The crater measured 150 by 75 yards at the base; the lips were 40 feet high. RWF at Red Dragon Crater, 1916

The battalion had just returned to the trenches in the Givenchy area of France.  Shortly after 1.30 am the largest German mine of the war was detonated under B Company, many of whose members were buried alive.  The blast was followed by an enemy raid which was repulsed in hand-to-hand fighting.  The company suffered about 100 casualties.  Some men lay out in the open, exposed to German fire, until after dark.  The crater measured 150 by 75 yards at the base; the lips were 40 feet high.