WWI - Hill 60

Hill 60 - Zillebeke

Hill 60 moon landscape is an authentic witness from the Great War. The artificial hill from 1850 lies about 60 meters above sea-level, hence the name. During the war, this site saw some heavy fighting and changed sides frequently. Both parties took part in the underground war which led to the blowing of numerous mines from 1915 onwards. The explosion from the Berlin Tunnel on 7 June 1917 gave the landscape it’s current shape. Countless soldiers worked in the cold and the dark of the mine tunnels. Some of them have never left. In this sense, Hill 60 is their cemetery.

Hill 60 was captured by the 11th Battalion West Yorkshires on 7 June 1917 during the Battle of Messines, when two huge mines were blown; one on the Hill itself which was a charge of more than 53,000 lbs blown by the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, whose memorial is on the Hill, who also blew the neighbouring Caterpillar Crater. The hill remained behind the British lines, and in early 1918, Australian Engineers built an Observation Bunker on the eastern side, with good views across Battle Wood towards Hollebeke. The Hill fell into German hands again during the Battle of the Lys in April 1918, and was recaptured by British troops, with American units on their flanks, in the Fourth Battle of Ypres in September 1918.